Chapter Text
Gunfire sounded out and echoed through the destroyed buildings. A team shouted callouts and commands to each other. Metallic sounds of all kinds could be heard through the firefight.
All hell was breaking loose. Machines afflicted with the Punishing Virus, better known as the Corrupted, overran a patrolling group within City 078.
“Protect the Commandant!”
“There’s too many of them!”
Gunfire rang out over the shouting between the Constructs. As their Commandant began to reload his rifle. He quickly switched to his sidearm and fired with that instead, knowing a Corrupted had drawn near.
One of the Commandant’s Constructs saw and covered his flank, the others knee deep in the growing numbers of Corrupted approaching their position, like a pack of wolves.
“Commandant! I’ve got your flank!”
“Hold your ground! Show these bastards what Babylonia is capable of!” the Commandant ordered.
“Roger!” The Constructs replied.
The more they fought, the more Corrupted intruded on their position. The group had begun to move strategically, covering each other’s flanks and using Serum to dim the Punishing levels.
But like any surrounded group… they wouldn’t last long until one got injured…
“Babylonia Command, this is Commandant Geoffrey! Come in, Command!”
Not long after, a hologram of a blonde-haired woman appeared on the Commandant’s wrist, waving. She wore a black buttonless coat, a white shirt with a black tie, a black office skirt with black stockings, high heels, and a beret.
“Celica here, what’s the issue?” She asked cheerily until she noticed the look on his face.
“We’re under heavy attack! Too many Corrupted for me to count! Jered is badly injured, Ivy and Poppy are under heavy influence from the Virus, but they’re still standing, send reinforcements, ASAP!” the Commandant pleaded. “We won’t last much longer out here!”
“Copy,” Celica began, finding any available squad units within the same area of City 079…
Searching…
With the intercoms sounding off, the gunfire continued unabated.
Meanwhile, Celica got to work on searching for a team that was nearby and could get there quickly. Every second spent searching was a second wasted. Then her eyes landed on one particular group…
Or rather, just one person.
Commandant [REDACTED]
Squad: None
Call sign: Blade
“Commandant Blade, this is Babylonia Command. Do you copy?” Celica called.
“I hear you loud and clear, Command. What seems to be the problem?” ‘Blade’ responded.
“SOS signal close to your position. Sending coordinates now.”
“Shit,” the man said, realizing the severity of the situation. “I got them. I’m heading over now.”
“Commandant Geoffrey, I’m sending Commandant Blade to your location, he’s nearby and approaching your position,” Celica announced to the Commandant. “Just hold on a little longer.”
“Wait… you sent him?” An almost sigh of relief escaped him.
The communications line was cut between them as Ivy got back on her feet, checking Jered’s injuries.
“He’s stabilized, but we need to get him back to the Star of Life as fast as possible,” the Support type Construct informed her Commandant with a worried tone. Clutching at her wound slightly.
“Ivy… You’re-”
“I’m okay, don’t worry about me, Commandant,” she gave him a reassuring smile, attempting to reach out.
“Can you two idiots flirt later? We’re completely surrounded!” Poppy, a Tank type, shouted at them before driving a blade through a Corrupted, which split it in half, spilling Vital Fluid all over her figure.
“Are we getting reinforcements?” Ivy asked Geoffrey, making sure to cover him and her fallen comrade, as he was still unconscious from his wounds.
“Command is sending reinforcements, albeit one person. The Blade of Babylonia himself,” he responded.
“Wait… Him? You gotta be kidding me?” Ivy said with surprise as Poppy growled under pressure, tanking a hit and returning the favour to the Corrupted that hit her.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Geoffrey pulled the trigger of his sidearm, having run out of ammo for his rifle.
“I’ve heard rumours about this Blade of Babylonia guy. Heard he’s a showoff.” Poppy spoke, stepping back to rejoin her group more closely. “And a lone wolf. People used to call him an outsider.”
“Those people are dicks, especially those Commandants who spoke ill of him. You haven’t met him like I have.” Geoffrey reloaded his sidearm before bringing out his combat knife to stab a Corrupted in the head. “He’s a good person, someone I’ve put my trust in.”
The fighting continued. Five minutes had passed, and Geoffrey began to get tired after fighting for endless minutes, wave after wave of Corrupted kept pouring in, as Ivy and Poppy faltered a little too.
More injuries were inflicted on the two Constructs. Ivy fell to one knee as her M.I.N.D. began to fluctuate with danger messages, telling her to seek repair immediately.
“Ivy!” Poppy shouted for her comrade, having witnessed her falter to a knee as the Commandant got even more tired.
She thought they’d be dead when this ‘Blade of Babylonia’ arrived. She reminisced about her comrades, her Commandant, and how he always put a smile on their faces, especially Ivy’s. It was almost like she had a crush on him or something.
But… a miracle happened.
Just as Poppy was about to falter, like Ivy…
Gunshots rang out, taking down the Corrupted that surrounded them.
One…
By…
One…
Each Corrupted fell with one bullet.
And with the remaining Corrupted heading their way…
Their prayers had been answered.
“Hey! Need a hand?” a young man shouted from above. His landing startled the ground beneath him. He wore the armour standard to all Commandants, but his looked altered. To serve what purpose, Poppy didn’t know.
His pistol was also standard except for Constructs, not Commandants.
The man who stood in front turned around after making his grand entrance, checking on Poppy and her comrades, as Geoffrey looked up at the man.
“Sure… Took… Your time… Blade,” he heaved out.
“Sorry, I’m late. Ran into some trouble along the way, y'know how it is,” Blade replied, before the growls of Corrupted broke the conversation.
“Well, gotta get to work. Stay here and watch, you might learn something,” He said to the rest.
Poppy was about to say something, but Geoffrey stopped her, using her for support. “This is the first time you’ll ever see him in action, just let him do his job.”
“So… That’s him? The Blade of Babylonia himself?” Ivy managed as Geoffrey knelt to her.
“Tch,” Poppy sneered.
“Wait and you’ll see why they call him the ‘Blade’. Trust me,” Geoffrey told both.
Blade continued walking up to the incoming Corrupted. Switching his pistol to his left hand, he drew his combat knife. He tapped a button on his helmet before a display emerged from inside.
‘Let’s see, gotta make sure I have a good soundtrack for ass kicking.’ With a bit of searching, he managed to find a good playlist. ‘I’ll thank the good people at WGAA for the fact that we still have Golden Age music, this shit goes hard!’
“Let’s rock!” he smirked as he ran to them.
The Corrupted advanced quickly, rushing up to the young man. Blade held his gun in both hands and shot out the eyes of a Corrupted. Finally running out of ammo, he holstered it while impaling his knife into another Repairer’s head.
Turning back, he shot something out of his arm before he and his knife were yanked from the Repairer because of his grappling hook. In an instant, Blade appeared, slamming his fist into a Corrupted Executor, collapsing to the ground as its blades clattered against the concrete. Standing up, he quickly thrust his namesake into a Corrupted that snuck up behind him with little effort, clicking his tongue mockingly.
Despite how quickly he was destroying the robots, the horde kept growing. He may be good, but his resources were limited.
The darkness of night falls around my soul
And the hunter within loses control
Gotta let it out - gotta let it out
Gotta let it out - gotta let it out
Then he spotted several propane tanks, and an idea formed.
‘Let’s get airborne.’ Blade aimed his now-reloaded pistol.
This demon inside has a hold of me
Clenching its power, trying to break free
Gotta let it out - gotta let it out
Gotta let it out - gotta let it out!
“WOO-HOO!” Blade used the blast to launch himself to run up the wall and into the air. The explosion destroyed some of the Corrupted or launched them into the air. Most were damaged but functional, as they saw their target in the air.
Like a flock, they all leapt up to attack him.
And time seemed to slow down…
*BANG*
Blade positioned himself in the air, moving his body to dodge a swing from an Executor before aiming at his attacker.
*BANG*
He landed on the wall and ran across it before leaping off, shooting a sign to knock it out of his way before reading to shoot another Executor in the head.
*BANG*
*BANG*
Using his momentum, Blade hooked onto the sign, giving himself a boost and kicking it away before impaling an Executor’s head. He flipped upside down as a Repairer launched at him from the blast.
*BANG*
Embrace the darkness that’s within me!
No hiding in the shadows anymore!
Flipping over in the air, he came face-to-face with two Executors.
*BANG*
*BANG*
His eyes shifted toward more Corrupted in the air, having leapt up to get him. A grin appeared on his face.
“Bullseye!”
All of these thoughts runnin’ through my head
Arm on fire, veins burnin’ red
Frustration is getting bigger
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
Pull my Devil Trigger!
With the last remaining Corrupted finished, time returned to normal as Blade landed on both feet, machines falling flat with sparks, traces of fluid running out of holes left by his pistol.
“What an explosive way to start,” he laughed at his horrible joke.
He turned around, heading back towards the squad. Holstering his gun again in his hidden holster within his armour, he walked past a dying Corrupted he had shot in the air earlier.
“Still alive?” he asked, mocking before plunging the blade into the Executor.
“Rest in pieces,” He sheathed his knife once more, continuing down the path as he heard voices up ahead.
“How’s that feel?” Despite sustaining many injuries, Ivy had patched up Poppy within the time frame of Blade fighting off the many Corrupted that once surrounded them.
“It’ll do until we get back to Babylonia,” Poppy grunted. “What about Jered?”
“Alive,” groaned Jered, now conscious, and sat up against a wall as Ivy went to check up on him next.
“I’ve had to turn off your pain inhibitors to prevent M.I.N.D. deviation affecting you, Jered. You’re fortunate to be alive.”
“Not once have I doubted your abilities, Ivy.” Jered smiled at her. “You did what you could, it’s okay.”
Geoffrey was about to speak up, but he noticed the silhouette of ‘Blade’ approaching their position after the sounds of combat seemed to die down ahead of him and the squad. A look of relief washed over his face.
His figure soon gathered everyone’s attention as Geoffrey approached first, greeting the young man like an old friend.
“You have no idea how glad I was when Celica mentioned sending you, out of all the other active squads”.
“Oh, I don’t have an idea? I think I do, man,” Blade joked, before the two burst out in laughter.
“Its good to see you.” Geoffrey patted Blade on his shoulder, and he did the same on the uninjured shoulder.
“You too,” Blade greeted back.
“Soon as Celica gave out the order, I immediately dropped what I was doing and began rushing over,” he continued.
“Oh? What were you doing?”
“…” Blade fell silent, trying to think of a lie to cover that he was trying to boot up an old game he found within the City’s Mall.
“Uh…scouting, usual stuff,” he rubbed the back of his head with an awkward laugh.
“Not usually your type of work,” Geoffrey suspected, then shrugged. “But, I digress. Good thing you got here as soon as you could, I didn’t know if we were gonna last much longer.” He turned to look at his comrades.
Poppy had her arms crossed, eyeing Blade from head to toe, toe to head, before letting out a muted scoff, before approaching the two.
“For someone who claims to be Human. You sure you ain’t?” Poppy asked Blade directly, who scoffed at her question.
“What kinda question is that? Of course I’m Human. I’m not a Construct”.
“Uh-huh,” She didn’t sound convinced. “Not from what I’ve-”
“Poppy… Enough,” Geoffrey said with authority as she swung her arms up.
“I was only asking, am I not allowed to ask questions?” She asked her Commandant.
“Yes, you are allowed, but not personal questions,” he frowned as Blade lightly laughed.
“Nah, it’s fine. She can go ahead, I don’t mind,” he shrugged. “Besides, I treat Constructs as equals, like your Commandant does. Whenever someone talks trash? They’re just jealous. Ignore ‘em next time, yeah?”
Poppy was unsure of what to say next, as Ivy approached with Jered being supported over her shoulder.
“You must be the ‘Blade of Babylonia’ himself. Thank you for helping us back there,” Ivy sheepishly thanked the young man as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Don’t sweat it, just doing my job. Helping folks, whether they like me or not,” he chuckled in response, smiling at Ivy next. “How’s your comrade?”
“He’s-”
“Peachy,” Jered said.
“Well, I’m sure Celica has sent out a transport to pick you four up. You four seemed to be roughed up still before I got here.”
“Aren’t you gonna tag along? Catch up, y’know?” Geoffrey asked as Blade shook his head.
“Nah, got a mission to complete, scouting and all, it ain’t done yet,” he lied. “Plus… It’s my last day as a one-man squad.”
“Really?!” Geoffrey said with a surprised look. “How come?”
“Well… I got called back to Babylonia not long ago. It was a meeting with President Hassan, Commander-in-Chief Nikola and Sky Lord Celica. It was about Gray Raven, in fact.”
“Wait… You’re not telling me…”
“Well…”
Two Days Ago
Babylonia
Meeting Room
13:05
Blade skimmed the file he was given to look at while three voices spoke beyond his hearing as he focused on reading the file he was given.
‘Jesus… Their last Commandant was… Something. If I ever see the bastard, I’ll knock some sense into him. Glad it wasn’t their first Commandant.’
“You’re kidding, Hassan. Why pick him out of every other qualified Commandant that graduated from the F.O.S.?” A gruff man spoke to the president of the Babylonian Council and leader of Babylonia.
He wore a suit and tie with his identification card in his breast pocket. A classy man some would call him. Only that he was the Commander-In-Chief of Babylonia and a member of the Council. He has greyish-white hair. He even looked older than Hassan, too.
“You do realize the Council knows of his… heritage, right? Not to forget, some graduates know about it too. They won’t accept this if he chooses to do this, and that’ll cause even more problems, not just for him, but for everyone else,” Nikola argued.
“I do realize, Nikola. But I believe Blade has the right mind to be Gray Raven’s new Commandant, even if it’s not permanent until a suitable replacement is found,” Hassan replied.
“And he’s someone I trust who fits all categories to lead Gray Raven, even if it’s in the meantime.”
‘Gray Raven members… Oh, there are even their pictures too.’ Blade thought, taking a look at each picture.
‘First off… Lee’
‘Hmm. Like the look. Horns are… something, probably his Inver-Device. Attacker type, frame designation BPN-06, call sign: Palefire, carries dual sidearms… Hmm, could get along with him, if I do accept the offer,’ he thought.
‘Next up… Liv.’
‘I think I’m starting to see a pattern with the horns. Heard she was harassed by their last Commandant. Lee always stuck by her, according to the file… I can’t imagine what they all went through from that Commandant.’ A little anger rose, but it faded as he continued reading. ‘Support type, frame designation BPN-08, call sign Eclipse, and uses Levitated Weapon Platforms. Hmm, I could kill for Levi-Guns… Maybe one day…’ his eyes then stopped upon reading the last name on the file. ‘Finally, Gray Raven’s leader, Lucia’
A little smile then appeared before it vanished. ‘Attacker type much like Lee, frame designation BPL-01, call sign Lotus, a katana is her main weapon.’ He finished reading her profile. Still, the more he thought about being Gray Raven’s new Commandant, the more he felt… hesitant.
He wasn’t one to work with people. His mother has encouraged him to work with a squad.
A sigh escaped him as he dropped the file onto the table, with his legs kicked up still over the table, though he had been asked not to. His sigh grabbed everyone’s attention, however, stopping Nikola from continuing his argument with Hassan.
“So… read everything?” Hassan asked, eyes now on Blade as he let out another sigh.
“I read about their skill sets but ignored the interpersonal profiles,” Blade answered, which seemed to catch the attention of the entire command centre.
“Why is that exactly?” Celica asked, curious, as this was the first time a Commandant had chosen to ignore that part of the dossier.
“Don’t get me wrong and think I don’t want to get to know them or anything. I’d prefer to get to know them personally than read some cherry-picked profile,” Blade answered.
In response, a period of silence seemed to echo across the command centre, only to be completely overshadowed by an abrupt laugh from Hassan.
“Well, well, still a rarity through and through, eh?”
“Did I say something weird?” Blade asked, looking towards Celica.
“Not exactly; it’s just that no Commandant has ever ignored that part of the dossiers before, especially for wanting to know from a personal perspective,” she answered.
“I’m gonna be honest, Hassan. You sure you want me for this? I mean, I’m honoured that you thought of me to lead, but I’m not exactly a… team leader, I’m more a lone-wolf,” he explained. “Besides, I work better alone”.
“I expected you’d say that,” Hassan replied as Nikola crossed his arms, having a look of ‘I told you so.’
“And as much as I do feel bad for the Gray Ravens, I’m not exactly qualified,” The reason he was always picked on and bullied, not just because he saw Constructs as equals…
He was stronger than all the Commandants, even the ones with cybernetic enhancements, while being completely natural. He was even stronger than Constructs, people who abandoned their humanity for power. He could take hits and still walk off like it was nothing. His speed and reaction times were inhuman.
He wasn’t human…
Hassan had the Council keep the details about Blade’s heritage redacted from all records until Blade revealed them to the entirety of Babylonia whenever he felt doing so.
“You do forget that you graduated like everyone else, right?” Hassan reminded.
“Oh… Yeah…”
“If you become a Commandant with a squad, especially a premier one like Gray Raven, you’ll have higher priority when it comes to repairs and new weapons.” Blade started salivating at the possibility of new toys to play with. “And as a bonus, I’ll throw in some free coupons if you accept the offer,” Hassan continued as Blade thought.
“And why would he-”
“Alright,” Blade moved his legs off the table and stood up, interrupting Nikola. “I’ll be their new Commandant”.
Nikola looked completely shocked at Blade’s answer. “Bribing him?! Hassan, this is insane!”
“It’s not, trust me, Nikola. Blade is qualified for this”.
“To be honest, Commander, I probably would’ve accepted anyway, even if Hassan hadn’t bribed me,” he told Nikola as he gave him an unconvinced look. “Okay, maybe not, but the Gray Ravens went through a lot from that last Commandant; it’d be selfish not to be their next one, even though I’m typically not a team person. I’ll do my best, honest.”
“Not even I expected that,” Celica smiled amusingly. “Well, congratulations… Commandant,” she smirked at the young man. “I’ll make sure to get you your Commandant outfit by tomorrow”.
“Sure, just drop it by my parents’ tomorrow. Anyway… I should get going; I need to go back on patrol.” Blade took his leave, satisfied. “Wait… when do I get to meet them?”
“In three days,” Hassan answered. “Count them, they’ll be the last you’ll work alone.”
“Thank you,” Blade responded, then waved a salute.
Nikola looked disappointed with Hassan, but he was the boss; he couldn’t believe Hassan would bribe Blade into accepting the offer.
“Celica.”
“Yes, Big Boss?” Celica looked at the president again.
“Make sure to send Blade’s file to Gray Raven, so they get an idea of who he is before they meet him.”
“Copy that.”
City 078
12:37
Present Day
Blade remained with Geoffrey’s squad to ensure they’d get onto the transport safely once it arrived to pick them up, even helping the injured Jered up onto the transport shuttle along with that. After having explained why he was becoming a Commandant soon…
Or becoming Gray Raven’s new Commandant tomorrow.
It sickened Blade to his core about what happened with their last Commandant. Not their first one. Hassan told him the first Commandant wasn’t the first, but he lasted longer when Lee and Liv joined Gray Raven. He was severely wounded on a mission in a life-or-death situation when he was split from Gray Raven.
He lost an arm that day, which prevented him from going out on the field again, even if he had a bionic arm built for him. It would, however, cost many Assembly Lines for Constructs to make one new arm for one person, so he declined the offer.
Gray Raven’s third but technically second Commandant was a sick human being; he even reminded Blade of one of the F.O.S. Cadets that bullied him back in the day, only that he was older than him by three years.
The thought of what he had done to them angered him. No one should have to go through what he did.
While what happened to him was never publicized, his punishment was reportedly severe. He felt relieved, but based on his experience, he doubts he was told the truth.
Blade continued through City 078, heading back to the same location he was at before within the Post-Apocalyptic city, ravaged by the Punishing Virus.
Who could have imagined that these cities were crowded and lively? Blade thought. ‘The peak of Humanity, taken down by a blown-up Zero-Point energy reactor .’
When the reactor blew up, the Virus spread into the atmosphere, spreading throughout the Earth and its natural air currents. At least, that’s what he was taught when he was younger.
He has always known Babylonia as home. His parents told him stories about Earth and what used to be, but that seemed to be a long time ago.
‘If the virus is beaten one day, if there was a cure, would Earth be ours?’ He wondered. ‘Or would Babylonia still have to retake it from others?’
Forsaken may be neutral, but they aren’t allies of Babylonia. There has been hostility, but nothing unusual. Even Blade has fought against the Forsaken a few times.
And then there’s the other problem. The one problem Babylonia certainly did not need, especially in a situation like this…
And with that…
Blade now found himself sitting on a desolate rooftop of a ruined shop, with the city’s skyscrapers in the background, after having run into another Babylonian squad that seemed to be struggling to fight a more advanced Corrupted.
‘You’d think that for something I helped so much in, I’d at least get me thank you. Not that I give a shit.’
“Ahh… I’m bored,” he said, feet dangling off the rooftop of a ruined shop, waiting for any more distress signals or any Corrupted activity after roaming for almost an hour.
“Hmm, I should probably head back to the abandoned mall, continue tryna get that old Golden Age console to work…” he thought aloud before sitting up.
“Actually, that was what I was supposed to do, why am I slacking? It’s my last day of freedom,” He jumped off the roof and landed onto the concrete with minimal effort.
He stretched, feeling his bones a little strained from all the effort he’d had to do within the past hour and a half, before setting his hands to the back of his head, continuing to walk.
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
“Hmm?” Blade looked at the touchpad on his wrist to see who was calling him.
“Oh… Mom,” he was surprised, but picked up anyway. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey sweetie!” His mom’s voice boomed through the pad; her hologram was now visible as he was to her. “Thought I’d call to check up on my favourite child.”
“Mom, I’m your only kid.” Blade rolled his eyes. “You don’t have a secret kid, don’t you?” he said with a worried tone as she laughed.
“Oh, I’m only kidding, Lele,” she said lightheartedly. “Anyway, I’m calling to ask how you’re feeling about tomorrow. Hassan came by today to talk to me about it.”
“Wait, Hassan visited you?” he asked calmly.
“Yeah, he was wondering how I felt about you not being alone on missions, starting tomorrow, I’ve never been happier to see you’re taking an enormous leap, especially being a Commandant! I’m so proud of you, Lele,” she said, praisingly.
“You think Dad is proud?”
“Oh, don’t be like that. Of course, your dad is proud. He’s just bad at expressing his feelings.”
“Oh, uh… about how I feel before I somehow forget,” Blade brought up her earlier question. “I’m gonna be honest, kinda nervous. But I hope to gain their trust. This is the first time I’m doing something like this.”
“Oh, the female Construct you mentioned. Lucia?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“I’ve met her in the Business District, at Pasta Parthenon. She’s shy, but she’s a nice girl,” Rosie continued, speaking nicely of the red and black themed Construct. “Hassan told me about the other two Constructs, Lee and Liv, who I also met before,” she revealed, much to his surprise.
“Really? Can you give me anything about them?”
“Well, Lee doesn’t talk much from my experience, but he’s kind, though he seems very protective of Liv and Lucia, and I can understand why.”
“Yeah.” Blade thought back on what he saw in the file. ‘As sexist as it sounds, if I were the only guy in a group of girls, I would try to protect them. Especially after all that shit happened to them.
“Liv, on the other hand, she’s such a sweetheart, she insisted on helping me around the restaurant one day when I hurt my hand, I’m sure you remember that day.”
“Oh I remember alright. One of the best chefs in Babylonia manages to hurt herself during work, doesn’t say anything about it until a support Construct noticed.” Blade rattled off, getting a chuckle from Rosie.
“She even checked up and offered to look me over to check for any other issues, she’s very kind,” Rosie said.
“She used to be part of the Star of Life, from what I heard. I’ll make sure to tell her my thanks for looking after you when I couldn’t.” Blade said.
“She’s shy, shyer than Lucia, but she’s a sweet girl, very gentle, she is, do treat her well, especially with what happened with their last Commandant.”
“You think they’ll trust another Commandant after that?” he asked his mom, who thought.
“Well, if it was with any other new Commandant, probably not. But the name ‘Moreno’ should bring comfort. They’ll know you’re my son,” Rosie answered after thinking. “But don’t fret if they don’t, trust must be built through time and experience, and as that progresses? They all will trust you completely.”
“I’ll… keep that noted. Thanks Mom”.
“Oh! Before I forget. Will you be back for dinner? I made lasagna, my recipe. And… as a treat, I made your favourite”
“For real!? You’re the best mom! Yeah, I’ll definitely be back for that. Gotta enjoy the rest of my freedom though before the big day tomorrow,” he answered.
“Good to hear, Lele. I should let you continue your work, as should I. Talk soon, sweetie! Love you!”
“Love you too, Mom,” he responded. Finally, he let out a sigh. “I’d never peg you guys as the polite types, but if you need permission, here it is.”
Blade’s surroundings darkened before monsters emerged out of nothing, the air shattering like glass. Blade chuckled as he watched ragged, robed, skeletal figures rise from the ground, wielding scythes.
“Well, well, well… I was wondering if I’d ever encounter your kind again,” Blade smirked. He grabbed his weapons and got into a combat stance.
Before his chest tightened.
‘Dammit. I hoped it was only a one time thing.’ He dropped his weapons and undid his helmet, taking it off and throwing it onto the ground. ‘Ah, much better.’
Blade picked up his weapons, but holstered his gun.
“Well, then… shall we dance!?” he roared as he leapt towards the demons, the group charging from each angle.
Blade stabbed forward, destroying the ribs of the one before him. He punched and kicked the surrounding others, breaking enough bones to form a skeleton.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of them as they either reformed or another appeared to take their place.
“Looks like I have to get serious.” He said, grinning ear to ear. “Good! I haven’t had a workout in a while!”
He vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing in the air. Kicking down, Blade’s leg cleaved the demon in half. It erupted in a burst of red orbs, blood and bone splattering across his armour.
“Behind you!” Blade laughed. He dashed forward at blistering speed, thrusting his fist forward and impaling the Demon. With it stuck, he swung around, sending it flying into another that rushed him, before stomping another Demon, crushing the skeletal creature, and his foot contacted the hardened concrete.
The demon he knocked down earlier lunged, raising its scythe high. It slashes down, aiming to swipe his head clean off. Blade ducked under and grabbed the weapon in a reverse grip in his hand. He swung up at a diagonal angle to send a shock wave, paralyzing it momentarily.
Blade spun the scythe around, then followed up with a million slashes. He swung the scythe upward, launching the demon into the air. He kicked up his leg, gripping the scythe two-handed like a batter. “Batter up!”
Blade swung with his weight using the blunt part, smacking the skeleton across the jawline. He heard bones and sticks crackling, sending the Demon down the street. “Finish!”
He looked at his weapon, or rather what remained of it. “Looks like I got a little too excited. At least it wasn’t part of my gear.
Blade’s eyes caught a Demon in the corner. He yanked the blade from the scythe with one arm, parrying a Demon’s attack and drove his blade up to launch the Demon into the air.
Blade leapt and viciously sliced through the Demon before forcing his blade down onto the earth. Sparks flew off the sharp edge as the cut-up Demon evaporated from existence like dust blown away.
He soon found himself surrounded by Demons, which spawned during his air combo. He smirked, performing a combat-ready stance as each scythe crashed onto him.
But it did no damage whatsoever.
The scythes bounced off Blade as he swung the blade around, parrying the weapons and cleaving each Demon surrounding him. “Didn’t think that’d work.”
More spawned from within the ground, literally rising from the Underworld.
“Aww, you shouldn’t have!” One that was knocked down from earlier, attacked with shambling movement. Blade lifted his blade as sparks erupted from the clash. He kicked the Demon away and threw his blade into its chest, sending it down the street.
He ripped his gun from its holster. A smirk grew on his face as he fired the first shot. The bullet travelled through the air and pierced through a Demon before unleashing a barrage of gunfire into the Demon shambling toward him and gunning down a few.
Blade leapt into the air, spinning upside down whilst firing his guns. “Hahahahaha!” Each bullet fired from his pistols became a hailstorm of death.
Upon landing on the ground, he fired upon the remaining that survived the ‘rain’. With one last remaining, Blade dances around the skeletal creature to mock the Demon before putting one more bullet in it.
The adrenaline of combat died as Blade put away his pistol in its holster, returning to the Demon down the street.
“Well… That was fun. Even though it ended quickly,” the Commandant said, walking down the street. He watched the Demon struggle on the ground, the blade weighing it down.
Once he arrived to retrieve his helmet, he scoffed at the Demon’s poor attempt to get back up, but to no avail.
“Poor thing, can’t even get back up with those frail arms of yours,” he mocked before twisting the blade. He whipped out his gun and put the Demon out of its misery, watching it evaporate into dust, which freed his blade.
“I gotta pity these Demons. Whoever sent them must be a cruel bastard,” he said. “Well… time to enjoy the rest of my time as a free man,” he put his helmet back on and holstered his pistol as he walked off.
Continuing his journey back to the abandoned mall…
Babylonia
Gray Raven Dormitory
13:30
Lee read through the file Celica recently gave them, days before the announcement that they were getting a new Commandant to lead them. Celica had told them to read it as soon as possible.
At first, they weren’t thrilled about getting a new Commandant; they all wished they could have their old one back, since he treated them nicely and was very respectful.
It took Liv some time to recover from… the horrific acts of their last Commandant. She was lucky to have teammates she called friends around her to give her comfort. But with the news of gaining a new Commandant? It’s put her on edge.
“Hmm…” Lee hummed to himself, reading the file that belonged to their new Commandant.
“The more I read about this guy, the more mysterious he becomes.” He mused to himself.
“That’s concerning,” a voice said. Lee stopped reading for a moment to look at Lucia, who spoke. “All of our previous Commandants had their personal information. Is there anything available?” she asked.
“Well, first, both his parents are alive and in Babylonia, a rarity. However, their names are not given,” Lee replied, his eyes shifting to Liv, whose face became furrowed in thought at that, before he continued. “His name is redacted, but he goes by Blade because of his moniker ‘Blade of Babylonia,’ a title given by President Hassan for his achievements. The rest is about what you’d expect: passed with flying colours, incredibly strong, et cetera, et cetera.”
Lee put down the files and sighed, rubbing his temple afterward. While the massaging motion doesn’t soothe his robotic body, the practice still calms him. “That’s the rundown of everything official.”
“However, the things off the record paint a much different picture.” He paused for permission.
“Continue,” Lucia replied.
“Well, going back to one of my later points, the file states that he’s the strongest in his graduating class, but it doesn’t have any figures.”
“I-is that really that strange?” Liv asked.
“On its own, no,” Lee answered. “But with the rest of the omissions in the file, it might as well be a fill-in-the-blank.”
“He’s also quite popular in the rumour mill.” He continued, taking a sip of water. ‘My mouth feels dry. What I would give for a coffee!’
“On one hand, he was bullied because of his opinions on Constructs. On the other hand, some people were terrified because of some things he did.”
“What did he do?” Liv asked.
Lee averted his eyes as he tried to figure out what to say. “While the stories keep getting more exaggerated, one thing that remains consistent is that he attacked his peers.” The girls gasped.
“Wouldn’t someone be kicked out of the F.O.S. Academy for something so severe?” Lucia asked.
“You’d think, but that shows the biggest issue of all,” Lee answered. “The amount of cover-ups on this guy is astounding. I’ve heard of higher-ups interfering when a Commandant is too good to let go, but this is scary.”
“If you want my honest opinion of this guy, he’s suspicious. He might be the strongest Commandant out there, but his track record is too big to ignore. It feels like something straight out of Kurono.”
Gray Raven was silent for a moment. “U-um. Can I say something?” Liv spoke up.
“I see no reason for you not to,” Lucia said.
“Remember Pasta Parthenon? The fusion restaurant I go to sometimes.”
“That place isn’t a fusion restaurant. It just combines ingredients and techniques from two cultures.” Lucia said.
“…that’s what a fusion restaurant is, Lucia,” Lee said calmly.
“Oh.”
“…a-anyway, Rosie, the owner and head chef of the place, mentioned that her son is a Commandant,” Liv continued. “She also said recently that he would be getting a squad soon.”
“So you think that Rosie is his mother?” Lee asked.
“I-i know it’s a long shot, but it’s too much of a coincidence that I thought I should mention it,” Liv said.
“She has mentioned that he’s a kind soul. Maybe just don’t know the entire picture.” Lucia suggested.
“Maybe, but we shouldn’t throw out all of our evidence because of something a supposed mother said.” Lee countered.
‘Even with all of his accomplishments, for the president to step in so much, even assigning him to Gray Raven, is beyond suspicion.’ Lee kept to himself; he was unconvinced. Judging from the last one, he wasn’t sure whether Blade could be trusted, especially given the impact left on Liv and Lucia. He’d have to be extra cautious in that regard.
Lucia could’ve gotten reported for lashing out physically at their last Commandant if Lee hadn’t been there to prevent it. He had gathered plenty of evidence to get their Commandant booted and stripped of his rank.
“I guess we’ll have to see tomorrow,” Lee put down the file for Liv and Lucia to see.
They both saw and understood the irregularities that Lee complained about. Because of that, they both started to mentally picture what Blade looked like from their experiences with Rosie.
They didn’t get far, as the best they could do was a male Rosie. Both decided to go back to their activities.
However, Lucia stared back at the file. She played back everything she learned about Blade. His impressive records, lack of personal information, connection to the president, and potential relation to a kind woman.
Lucia snapped herself out of her thoughts, staring at the file with her attention drawn now towards her two teammates…
Her friends…
Gray Raven.
But if this new Commandant is to be trusted.
Perhaps he could also be friends, too, after all.
Omake
City 078
Abandoned Mall
13:40
The sounds of an arcade cabinet booting echoed in the dark room, stopping Blade’s hands. After some loading, pop music started playing from the slotted rhythm game. Using the dance pad, he tried to get a feel for it, altering settings.
“Oh yeah, it works alright!” He was proud of himself after messing around with some components to get it working again. The technology was primitive, but this was from the Golden Age, way before the Punishing Virus ever existed.
“Now where did I put it?” Blade looked around before finding what he was looking for. “Ah! There it is!”
It was a white fedora, based on a famous Golden Age musician titled the ‘King of Pop.’ The hat fit perfectly on his head.
“I could probably take this home. Wonder how well it fits on my helmet.” Blade put the fedora on the helmet, and it fit pretty well. “Wow. Feels pretty empty with just that though. Maybe a white scarf could do the trick?”
Putting the fedora back on, he stood over the dance pad. After looking through the catalogue of songs from the Golden Age, mostly out of his knowledge, he pressed start.
“Heh… Let’s dance!” Blade slowly stepped on the arrows as the song started.
Uh-oh
Din Don Din Don Dan
Do you feel my love?
Din Don Din Don Dan
In your heart
Kiss me
Din Don Din Don Dan
I need your love
Din Don Din Don Dan
In my heart
The song was slow, so the arrows weren’t moving too fast. To compensate for the harder difficulty, more arrows were added.
I’m waiting for you in the pouring rain
I will be brand new, just call my name now
Na Na Na Na Na Na
I miss you
Na Na Na Na Na Na
I need you
Na Na Na Na Na Na
I kiss you
Na Na Na Na Na Na
Just you
By this point, the arrows picked up their speed. Blade could match the pace, but it was much harder with the armour on his body.
Uh-oh
Din Don Din Don Dan
Do you feel my love?
Din Don Din Don Dan
In your heart
Kiss me
Din Don Din Don Dan
I need your love
Din Don Din Don Dan
In my heart
You’re talking in the shining day
One more time, just feel my heart now
Na Na Na Na Na Na
You are mine
Now Blade was sweating. His breathing was even, but it was harder.
“Screw it. You want me to go all out? I’ll go all out!”
You’re talking in the shining day
One more time, just feel my heart now
Na Na Na Na Na Na
You are mine
Na Na Na Na Na Na
Only you
Na Na Na Na Na Na
You are shine
Na Na Na Na Na Na
It’s true
Blade was hitting every note perfectly. However, with how hard he was hitting the panels, it didn’t take long for something to break.
Uh-oh
Din Don Din Don Dan
Do you feel my love?
Din Don Din Don Dan
In your heart
Kiss me
Din Don Din Don Dan
I need your love
Din Don Din Don Dan
In my heart
Na Na
Blade was so in the zone that he hit arrows with his eyes closed. But he was unaware he was missing, since he was moving too fast on the board.
I know what you want to do
I miss you, I need you
Na Na
You know what I want to do
You are mine, just you
Uh-oh
Din Don Din Don Dan
Do you feel my love?
Din Don Din Don Dan
In your heart
Kiss me
Din Don Din Don Dan
I need your love
Din Don Din Don Dan
In my heart
Uh-oh
Din Don Din Don Dan
Din Don Din Don Dan
Kiss me
Din Don Din Don Dan
Din Don Din Don Dan
Need my love
“Yeah!”
He pointed towards the screen, striking a pose before the score showed up on screen…
Giving him a flat D score.
“Ugh!” his eye twitched before he fell dramatically.
He lay there, mouth hanging open, arms and legs spread out, his hat falling to the side.
He stayed there momentarily before opening his eyes and sitting back up.
“How the fuck did I get a D from that?!”