The Star Warriors

by C. S. Cooper

  Spirit sneered, and his hand transformed into a black scythe blade. “Trust me, I’d gladly end your ass. Don’t think I feel for your kind.”

  “Yes,” chortled Moonface. “I am the Asura Egg to your Demon Weapon.” The homunculus glared up at Bravo and snarled, “But the Reaper didn’t create the Asura, did he?”

  Spirit glanced at Bravo with a twinge of confusion. He knew that the antecedents of the Regiment had created the homunculi centuries ago, but the tone of Moonface’s voice told him that there was something personal at work.

  “You made the choice to become a monster, Nikolaev,” spat Bravo as he massaged his hand. “Don’t play the victim now.”

  The homunculus started to laugh in long languid cackles. He spat out another mouthful of black blood and glanced at Spirit. “Like smokers and lung cancer … they brought it on themselves, so they don’t deserve our care, eh?

  “And what of the single mother who lost a child to cancer, and could never get past it? What about the awkward boy with a fondness for pink, lynched by bigots and forever traumatised? What about the child who watched from afar the fall of those towers, but couldn’t see his father leaping from the roof? What of the father whose daughter was groomed?

  “They didn’t bring it on themselves to become Asura Eggs... no! It was the big bad world! So they get quick deaths … because it’s not their fault.”

  Spirit had been so transfixed by Moonface’s words, he hadn’t noticed Bravo’s breathing quicken. He fell back in shock as Bravo proceeded to savagely beat the homunculus in the chair. He reached forward and pulled the manic Bravo away from the prisoner.

  “Commander, calm down!” yelled Spirit.

  Moonface’s visage was almost a black liquid, like bubbling tar. He struggled to breathe through the swelling. Yet he somehow stayed alive. The wounds healed, but slowly, owing to his advancing hunger.

  “That’s how we do things,” panted Bravo as he came down from his rage high. “We put these things under discomfort, and then injure them until the hunger gets to them. Then they’ll tell us whatever we want.” He turned to Spirit. “It’s the advantage of dealing with creatures that still have some semblance of humanity, even if it is twisted.”

  Spirit pursed his lips. He almost wanted to bring his daughter in to check the status of Bravo’s soul – just in case there wasn’t any risk of a future Asura Egg. He turned to Moonface, who was motionless save for the slow rising and fall of his chest.

  “What’s your plan?” asked Spirit.

  “Status quo,” muttered Moonface. He forced his head up to look at the men. “You have fought wars against Asuras, Witches, and Homunculi, for centuries. All for what? To stem the world’s tendency to chaos? All you’ve done is cause more chaos … more madness.”

  “We protect order in the world,” said Bravo proudly.

  “And who are you to declare what order the world should be in?” spat Moonface. “Who is the Reaper to decide that?”

  “One who is wiser and more powerful than you,” proclaimed Spirit.

  “Not for long,” chuckled Moonface, though it came out in a fit of coughs and splutters. “The Silver Key will open the Ultimate Gate – the doorway to a new order!” Bravo choked, overcome with a horrified realisation. “Moon! You know what the Silver Key does, don’t you?” mumbled Moonface.

  Bravo wasted no time. He punched Moonface up and down the torso. He then gripped the homunculus’ arms and glanced at Spirit.

  “His fingers!” he yelled.

  Spirit drew a deep breath and, with his hand as a scythe blade, lopped off the homunculus’ fingers. Black blood pooled on the floor as the digits disintegrated into smoke. Moonface wailed, finding it more difficult to speak. The fingers regrew, and Spirit cut them off again. They repeated the process meticulously, Bravo growing more furious and Spirit becoming more reluctant.

  “Fine!” bellowed Moonface. He panted and sobbed, anxious to be done with the whole interrogation. “Somerset Dam,” he moaned. “That’s where she is. She’s holding Doctor Avalon there too.”

  “How many?” asked Bravo.

  “The remains of my forces … eleven humanoid and thirty-nine animal and plant types,” said Moonface with a resigned tone.

  Bravo and Spirit stepped away. Bravo deactivated his Silver Skin, and Spirit stowed his scythe form beneath his skin. The exchanged glances and then left the room.

  * * *

  The hangar of the Regiment headquarters was a flurry of activity as Bravo’s strike force prepared to embark. Ten men and women lined up beside an aircraft, with Kakugane strapped to their chests, ready for action. Bravo laid out the plans for the assault, based on the intelligence from Moonface. He pointed to Spirit, Maka, Soul, and Xiaolang, who also stood ready.

  “This will be a joint operation with DWMA and the Lee Clan,” said Bravo. “Our objectives are to neutralise the enemy force, apprehend Witch Shaula Gorgon, recover the Silver Key, and rescue at least one hostage, Doctor Avalon. All homunculus targets are to be eradicated. Understood?”

  “Yes, Captain Bravo!” bellowed the strike force.

  “Bravo! Get on board and prepare for take-off,” yelled Bravo. He approached Maka and Soul, the former of whom wanted to be as far from her father as possible.

  “I’d happily come along, if he weren’t,” snarled the blonde.

  “We’ll need an extra pair of hands,” said Bravo.

  Maka pointed at Sakura, who stood behind Xiaolang like a bride seeing off her soldier husband. The blonde complained, “Why isn’t she coming then? She can fight homunculi.”

  “I want her here looking after the Silver Key,” said Xiaolang.

  “What about Nathan and Astrid?” exclaimed Maka.

  “They’re grounded,” snapped Bravo. “I can’t trust two loose cannons in the field. And,” he glanced at Sakura, “no offence, Miss Kinomoto, but I don’t think it’ll be best for you to be there. I’m afraid you’ll get distracted, since your father’s involved.”

  Sakura pursed her lips to hide her relief. She chastised herself for her cowardice as she said, “Just bring him home.” Her words were more directed at Xiaolang, who turned and kissed her forehead.

  “I’ll definitely bring him home,” he said confidently. He tapped the box in Sakura’s arms. “You just keep this close, okay?”

  Sakura nodded with determination. She trembled with fear as Xiaolang’s touch left her. The ground crew guided her away as the aircraft lifted off and soared through the hangar door. She skulked back to Nathan’s holding cell.

  “They’ve deployed?” asked Astrid upon Sakura’s entry. Sakura nodded, but said nothing more.

  “And left us with our thumbs up our bums,” grumbled Nathan as he stretched out on one of the chairs.

  “We did disobey orders,” said Astrid. “I’ll be lucky to get a desk job after that.”

  She huffed with irritation. Her hands had been shaking with idleness ever since she’d handed over the Kakugane. As she gritted her teeth, she noticed Sakura plonk down on the chair opposite her. The girl had a troubled expression.

  “I wish I was home,” said Sakura when Astrid asked. “I’m only here because I won a trip to Hong Kong in a lottery. I only wanted to see Xiaolang.” She gripped the box in her hand tightly. “Now I’m in a foreign country, on my own, in a strange place, where there’s cannibal monsters that kidnapped my Dad and …”

  She broke down.

  Astrid’s expression softened and she strode across the cell to sit beside the distraught girl. She hesitantly reached out and patted the girl’s head in an effort to comfort her. She felt clumsy doing it, but it diminished Sakura’s sobs. The girl shifted toward Astrid and placed her head on her shoulder, surprising the older woman.

  Sakura looked up at Astrid and said, “Thank you, Miss Rachelle. You’re a nice person.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Astrid. She eyed Nathan, who lounged on the sofa nearby, and silently thanked him and his younger sister.

&nb
sp; Were it not for you, I wouldn’t be able to do this, she thought.

  Sakura sniffed back her tears and sighed, “You’re way nicer than that girl, Maka.”

  “I reckon,” chuckled Nathan. “What’s up her butt, anyway?”

  Astrid shook her head incredulously, as did Nathan. Sakura wiped away the last of her tears and mumbled, “If she smiled, she’d probably look really cute.”

  “Who would?” chimed a voice that made Astrid gasp with dismay.

  Sakura shot up in surprise and exclaimed, “Eriol! What’re you doing here?”

  “Just consulting,” said Eriol. He brushed off the guard who tried to dissuade him from entering the cell. Then he glanced at Astrid and said, “Triddy! How’s it going?”

  Astrid wished her glare could kill.

  “Do not call me Triddy,” she growled.

  “Oooh, so scary,” retorted Eriol.

  “Wait, Astrid, you know Eriol?” asked Sakura.

  “From a long time ago,” muttered Astrid. “We worked on a mission together, and he was just unbearable! No sense of respect for privacy or even human decency.” Eriol let out a pshaw, but said nothing more. Astrid glared at Sakura. “I assume he trained you in magic?”

  “In a sense,” said Sakura, smiling warmly at the man. “He disguised himself as an English teacher at my school and secretly helped me transform the Clow Cards into my own.”

  “Well, if you know him, how can you put up with him?” exclaimed Astrid. “He’s so obnoxious.”

  “He’s quirky,” said Sakura, looking affectionately at Eriol. “And I like quirky people.”

  Eriol smiled warmly in gratitude. But Astrid wouldn't have it.

  “Coyote’s perfectly normal, and you like him,” she said.

  “He attacked me when we first met,” retorted Sakura.

  “He’s what!?” exclaimed Astrid.

  Eriol left the girls to talk about Xiaolang, and skirted around them toward Nathan. He looked down at the boy, still lounging on the couch. He smiled softly, and his gaze pierced into the boy.

  “I’m honoured to finally meet you, Starlight Lancer,” he said.

  “I take it you’re another wizard or something?” said Nathan. He stood and looked the Scotsman in the eye.

  “I am Eriol Lamperouge,” he said, holding his hand out.

  Nathan gave a one-sided smile and said, “Nathan Grant.” He took the man’s hand and shook it.

  In the blink of an eye, the room around Nathan vanished. He found himself standing amid a sea of stars. Around him stood five silhouettes, each of them holding some kind of weapon or staff. Despite the brightness of the stars around him, he could not make out their faces. Then he looked outward. A forest of spiralling galaxies surrounded him. In the distance, he saw one of them disappear. Then another suddenly vanished, then another, and then another. Some shadowy entity grew closer and, as it did, Nathan realised the galaxies were being consumed in its wake.

  The entity besieged him and the ghostly figures around him.

  Then he held up his lance, and the others around him held up their own weapons. Terrific luminance burst from them, blasting outward toward the entity. Bars of light cleaved the entity, shredding it until it was gone, leaving the stars around them to shine in ever-increasing brightness.

  Nathan found himself back in his cell. He was still holding Eriol’s hand, and the girls were still gossiping. Not a second of time had passed.

  Eriol noticed the boy’s perturbed expression and he inquired, “Something the matter?”

  Nathan’s brow furrowed with confusion. He couldn’t work out whether the vision had been a memory, a fantasy, or something else entirely. But he elected not to discuss it. He shrugged Eriol off, and sat back down.

  Eriol regarded the boy with a wide smile. He sat down beside Nathan, and glanced over at Astrid and Sakura. He said, “Thanks for keeping Sakura company. It’ll help keep her mind off her father’s rescue mission.”

  “No problem,” said Nathan. “To be honest, it’s nice to have visitors.”

  Chapter 15: Skirmish in the Dam

  The Alchemic Regiment’s stealth craft cleaved the high skies. Its crew was restless. Most of them stood eager to cleanse the Earth of more homunculi. Others were determined finish the job so they could go home. One in particular just wanted to save his future father-in-law.

  Of course, should you be thinking about that? Xiaolang asked himself. Oh, come on. You knew it the moment you saw her.

  Xiaolang’s hand clenched with determination, earning a few glances from the Alchemic Warriors lining the plane’s cabin. Some turned their noses up at his age and stature, while others regarded his magical nature with awe.

  Soul glanced his way, and found himself curious about something else entirely. He unbuckled his harness and stood, much to the chagrin of his meister.

  “Soul! Where are you going?” snapped Maka.

  “I ain’t your daddy-shield,” retorted Soul as he walked down the cabin to Xiaolang. Spirit took the moment to shift one seat over to chat with his unwilling daughter.

  Soul sat down next to Xiaolang with a sigh.

  “Shao-lan is the right pronunciation?” he asked. Xiaolang corrected him, but Soul still got it wrong. “Sounds like Bruce Lee’s real name. No relation?”

  “That’s Xiaolong,” said Xiaolang. “And no, I’m not related.”

  “Well, screw it, I’m just gonna call you ‘Bruce,’” said Soul. “Listen, I wanted to ask you something.”

  He directed Xiaolang’s gaze to Maka, who leaned away from her jabbering father with a scowl. Spirit paused to wink at one of the female Alchemic Warriors, earning a disgusted scoff from his daughter. Xiaolang pursed his lips and glanced at Soul with a questioning glance.

  “You and your girlfriend are so tight,” said Soul. “I mean, you’re happy together. How did you get her to, ya know, not be like Maka?”

  Xiaolang looked hurt by the question, and he quickly replied, “She was never like that. Sakura has always been a wonderful person. She does sometimes lose her temper, but only if someone’s threatening her or her family. But I didn’t have to do anything to make her nice person.” He glanced at Maka, who was now plugging her ears. The altercation had become uncomfortable for the other passengers. “Albarn sounds like she has issues you can’t fix,” he added.

  “Yeah,” said Soul with a resigned tone. “And you can guess it’s the parents.”

  “Her father looks like he has mental issues,” intoned Xiaolang.

  “And her mom’s dead,” said Soul. “Cancer, she told me.”

  Xiaolang raised an eyebrow. “Sakura too. But her father is a wonderful man. That might have been the difference.” He patted Soul on the shoulder. “Sorry, dude, but that's one thing I can’t fix.”

  Soul smirked and shook his head. As Xiaolang withdrew his hand, Soul noticed a stain on his forearm, only slightly hidden by his sleeve.

  “Hey, what’s this?” he asked inquisitively. Xiaolang held his forearm defensively. “C’mon, man, you got a gang tattoo or somethin’?”

  Xiaolang sighed, and rolled back his sleeve to reveal the Rainbow Dash tattoo on his forearm.

  “Got a problem?” he muttered.

  The corner of Soul’s mouth upturned and he glanced around the rest of the cabin. Then he removed his beanie to reveal an embroidered picture of Applejack. Xiaolang chuckled and said, “Respect!” He then fist-bumped Soul.

  Soon after, the pilot announced they were nearing Somerset Dam. It was dark out, with sparse light from the township to the southwest. The pilot landed the craft silently behind the hill on the opposite side of the lake. The troops flooded from the craft’s rear hatch and took up positions looking out over the dam. Bravo left two soldiers with the craft as defence, and then moved to the lookout.

  “Commander Costable, I make two guarded entrances on either side of the river,” said one of the Alchemic Warriors as he glanced through a set of binoculars.

  “Warrior Sa
ti,” said Bravo. “You have a rifle form to your Arms Alchemy, correct? Take up a sniper position and radio when you have a shot.” The Indian woman to his left nodded and skulked through the trees, down the hill toward an outcropping of rocks. She concealed the flash of her weapon’s activation, and laid it on the rock.

  “I have a shot on both entrances, Commander,” said the woman.

  Spirit whispered to Maka, who closed her eyes and reached out with her soul. She sensed the horde of homunculi within the dam. Among them, she could smell the familiar wretched stink of Shaula Gorgon. A single, distraught human soul sat near her.

  “That’s likely Sakura’s father,” said Xiaolang.

  “They’re on the west side, lower floor,” said Maka. “But there’s something else. There’s a soul I can’t identify on the east side. It’s alone in a square chamber on the upper floor.”

  “They’ve got another hostage, maybe,” said Soul.

  Bravo interjected, “Alright! Alpha team takes the east side. Kill everything with black blood, and check if they’ve got another hostage. Spirit, Coyote, Maka, Soul, you’re with them. Beta team is with me. We’ll take the west and rescue Doctor Avalon and secure the Silver Key.”

  “I’m going to get Mister Kinomoto,” Xiaolang snapped.

  “And you’ll need me against Shaula,” said Maka.

  “You should take them, Costable,” said Spirit.

  Bravo huffed, annoyed at being disobeyed. He acquiesced and said, “Ten minutes, in and out. Understood?”

  “Yes sir,” said the battalion.

  Bravo leaned into his radio. “Sati, wait for my signal then take out the guards.” The woman replied obediently.

  The battalion, Bravo included, placed their hands to the Kakugane on their chests and proclaimed, “Arms Alchemy.” Their weapons materialised in technicoloured flashes. Xiaolang clapped his hands to summon his sword, and Soul took his scythe form in Maka’s hands.

  “Mission start,” said Bravo.

  Alpha and beta team started down the hill. They moved with all speed, making every effort to not disturb the foliage as they descended. They reached the river, at which point they halted just short of the woodland’s edge. Bravo issued the order, and a second later, the sentries at the east entrance collapsed and disintegrated. The sentries at the west entrance, spooked by the final grunts of their comrades, darted out of the way of the sniper fire.