Daedalus’ Labyrinth

"Tch…"

The mere sound was laced with annoyance.

Jack, stuck within his own fantasies, heard it but even he who controlled their very lives didn't plan on stopping the upcoming argument.

At this point, it was almost just a custom to just watch as these two yell and scream at each other.

"You fucking whore, what the hell are you doing here!?"

Long Liz, one of the members of the Canonical Five yelled at Elizabeth who was two seats away from her.

"The fuck you just say!?"

Elizabeth said, already knowing this argument was inevitable from the start. Whenever these two were even a few meters from each other they turned into 'polar opposites'. But in reality they were much more closer in personality than anyone could admit to their faces.

The more quiet members of the thirteen present ignored the confrontation entirely as the two women got stuck in their own little world.

Mary, stuck between the two, daydreamed about leaving Britain before dying peacefully, though she knew her little dream of hers were mere daydreams, nothing more.

Her daydreams were so thick in fact, even the two screaming and yelling beside her didn't bother her in the slightest.

Or was it that she just ignored them entirely? Either of the ways were highly probable in this case.

The dark wooden floors and pillars surrounding the large black marbled round table gave for quite a… 'dark aesthetic'.

Just another one of Jack's preferences of mocking fun at the Round Table and their ideals.

The bickering of Elizabeth and Long Liz went on for another minute before they abruptly shut their mouths.

'I' was beginning to shake in his chair, the schizophrenic hurriedly looked around for any apparitions that haunted his every move and sometimes even touched various objects to make sure they weren't mere illusions casted by his own mind.

(A/N: Yes, his literal name is the letter 'I', that's how he'll be addressed now since just using 'I' without the quotes will be too hard to know who is referring to what)

Kosim sat, talking to Francis who ignored his every word and instead focused on his steaming tea instead.

The amount of chaos emanating from the table was not subtle in the slightest as everyone was left to their own devices and as such created the current scene.

Elizabeth, in a foul mood from the argument before, brought out a couple of beers and snacks to eat (from who knows where) whilst watching everyone doing their own activities.

Unknown Man simply sat like a statue, just observing.

From Unknown Man's stillness to 'I''s shivering, different atmospheres clashed yet kept an uncanny and inexplicable sense of harmony. 

'How will you fare against my monstrosities?'

Everyone here was abnormal, either from birth or through 'design'. Though, what 'design' meant in this specific case was up for thought.

*

*

*

This was the final front.

The cumulation of the over hundreds of years had led to this point. With an enemy now cleared from the mystery once held, the Round Table rushed for preparations.

Merlin watched everything take place.

Though his body sat at the highest point in the control room, he felt as if he was a prisoner to his own body.

The deal…

If only he hadn't taken the deal…

His greed led him astray, he wanted to see more of the world and the organization he made with his friend. But now his body was rotting, and everyone was living their lives whilst he sat above, like a god but stuck.

Ironic indeed.

"Merlin?"

The voice was clear, his golden hair reflected the bright white lights from the ceiling giving a fairy tale-like appearance.

'He reminds me of you…'

Merlin thought.

"Yes… young Arthur?"

His voice felt as ancient as time itself, and his very voice was so soft that even Arthur had a hard time hearing his words.

"Might you know anything about Jack the Ripper? Anything?"

Previous heads had asked the same question.

The most infamous and even more infamous inside the Round Table, Jack the Ripper.

Back then, in the 1800's, he still had some strength to move and thus witnessed the tragedy that was the Whitechapel slums.

There were many moments in his life where he wasn't proud of things, but the slums were one of the worst.

People were murdered almost constantly and police could do nothing but investigate before another murder appeared until there were too many murders to be solved.

"...I'm afraid not…"

There was a certain phrase that Whitechapel had: 'The slums where people drank blood instead of water'.

It spoke volumes.

Arthur scratched his head in defeat. If he could get any piece of information he could. Takahiro, while being a good informant, was no longer needed.

He was a mere outsider, someone who shouldn't involve himself any longer. But his strength would be crucial for the next battle.

Though… he didn't exactly give him a choice on the matter as well.

Takahiro was stronger than even the 'Royal Knights' underneath the Knights of the Table but still weaker than the Knights, and in conjunction, himself.

But day by day Arthur wondered if that was truly the case. He saw the visible improvement that allowed Takahiro to hold up against Jack the Ripper for even a few minutes. Even he, with keen eyes, couldn't tell if Takahiro had truly improved or just hid his strength.

'The world will be in disarray if he survives this…'

The countless machinery inside the command center beeped, turned on and off and other things as well. It led to a sight of technological wonder.

But to Arthur, the only thing that mattered was the large pictures or rather, the lack of pictures on the screens. Each showing a member of the currently known Five and Suspects.

Dark Mary, Lancelot (Jack the Ripper), and a description with a rough sketch of a man in an asylum's suit.

There were sightings and names attached but not one of them had a description aside from the aforementioned three.

Anyone who had met them met a miserable end.

After all, the only ones who could even compete were always a step too late. The extreme minority that did in fact manage to survive an encounter with the Five or the Suspects only gave names and nothing more, they were scarred for life.

His face shifted from one expression from another, Merlin noted. In the past, his face was ice cold, only thinking about work. But now, with his heart opened, he let out some emotions.

'I believe… I am almost ready to see these children away…'

Merlin had seen everything. From the medieval era when Arthur had pulled up his prophesied sword, Caliburn. All the way to the current period of 2012 AD.

At times when he slept on the chair, he dreamt and felt almost possessed, like his body was trying to forcefully expel him from it.

There, he was met with a scene that almost made him give up his stubbornness for life. A scene where Arthur along with the original members of the Round Table awaited.

His hand reached out yearning for the utopia that awaited him…

But he woke up.

It was not yet time.

The staff may show him apathy, remorse or even respect for what he had done in the past, but it was still not yet time.

Merlin pried opened his heavy eyes to a contemplating Arthur, an image of the original overlapped in his mind but he quickly dispelled it away.

His hand motioned for Arthur to come closer.

Arthur, seeing his hand leaned closer to Merlin who had countless wires and fluids being pumped into him constantly.

"...There may be nothing I can tell you about Jack the Ripper…"

Merlin started out.

"...But there is one person you should be more wary of in this world…"

He may be older, but this man was wiser and more cunning than he could ever be. The one who prolonged his life even further…

"His name is…"

*

*

*

A grand attraction had sprung up in Whitechapel. Except for its popular Jack the Ripper museum that tourists went to, there was another more peculiar attraction.

It was a giant labyrinth. The labyrinth itself wasn't the most peculiar part however. It was the speed of construction and completion.

In less than three weeks it was up and running.

There were conspiracies among the residents, large construction companies had all worked together to build it after all. Yet for what reason?

The only people who had such power to pull off such a large scale operation was the official government but no announcement had yet to be seen. Almost as if they were avoiding it…

Unbeknownst to most people, this labyrinth had a secret, it had a second floor, one under the ground.

Of course it wasn't as large nor as grand as the labyrinth above it but it held a special purpose.

Crunch!

A man crunched on the hard candy in his mouth, shattering it into tiny pieces which he relished.

'Now now… isn't this interesting?'

He was just visiting because of the war happening but it seems he had a mystery to uncover.

'I guess the rehabilitation program is working as intended.'

He noticed the less usage of cigars and cigarettes that he normally carried around just a year prior. Now he had a sweet tooth, always carrying his favorite hard candy that resembled a clear marble.

Unwrapping another piece of candy, he noted its lemon flavor.

He couldn't tell if letting his lungs die was any different than eating large amounts of sugar that could potentially get him diabetes but who was he to complain about?

"Welcome sir, this is Daedalus' Labyrinth, a new attraction, may I interest you in a ticket perhaps?"

The man was eloquent with his words. It obviously showed his expertise and his artificial smile as easy as breathing.

"How much?"

"Ten pounds."

He replied curtly. The entry cost itself was rather mild compared to the large attraction it gave the entrance to. Pulling out a ten pound bill, he shoved it into the man's hand.

Nimbly, he took out a ticket and punched a hole using a hole puncher.

"Quite old fashioned, eh?"

The man said, eying the process.

"From what I've heard it's to set the mood right."

His business smile came on, handing him the newly punched ticket.

"Enjoy sir, I'm sure you'll have a great time."

Folding the ticket up in half, he placed it into his back pocket where doors automatically opened up for him.

Perhaps an impulsive decision, but for him there was nothing more he trusted than his own strength. The doors shut tightly behind him, for a moment he thought he saw a glint in the man's eyes.

'Who cares, let them come.'

He was already well aware that this was Jack the Ripper's contraption. Something he found almost impossible to believe. How could a single man create such an elaborate structure to be built in just three weeks? 

There was skepticism in his mind but he was more so a scout, searching the parameters and how things were faring.

And his organization already knew of his troublesome habits and personality, why would they send him here if they didn't wish for his death?

'Once I'm done with this mission, I'll ask 'her' out again. Why does she keep rejecting me?'

The thought alone made him feel warm. 

*

*

*

"'Daedalus' Labyrinth'."

I spoke out loud, reading the articles surrounding this strange building.

In truth, I already knew of the building. Going through my memories only reinforced that.

It was a large project that Knowledge and Virus had wanted to create, it was a two part plan, one physical and one digital.

The physical blueprint was made and completed by Knowledge while the digital, the more 'Virus' side of things was completed by her.

I assumed everything on the island was destroyed since nothing was left, but I guess Virus took a couple of presents along as farewell gifts.

The blueprints I saw were incomplete, partially structured models that had been laying around the library like they were trash.

Geniuses… they wanted perfection and nothing else.

Because of its incompleteness, I don't know much about it, only that it was something that compared to the legend it was about.

A labyrinth that was so elaborate it kept the mythical Minotaur inside without escaping.

Even before I only saw merely an incomplete single floor that was halfway done so the final product could have even more elaborate traps than before.

From what I know, there were hidden turrets, traps and protocols installed to make an impenetrable fortress.

But in three weeks most of it must be gone without a doubt.

Virus must be putting quite a bit of effort into this organization for her to pull this out.

I held my face with my hand, my arm resting on the table.

"Hah…"

I stretched in my chair, my arms reaching for the ceiling while my legs extended further giving me a sense of pleasure that can only be described as 'refreshing'.

My head layed on the top of my chair, stuck looking at the ceiling of the room.

'...What are the Termites doing right now?'

My blank head suddenly came up with a question that was irrelevant to my current situation.

'The Termites would be on missions, I suppose.'

Makoto gave an ungodly amount of work, my share would most likely be evenly distributed amongst the members.

I wonder where in the world they are right now, Italy? France? Germany? Perhaps somewhere in the west.

After being transferred to Makoto, it was rare to go on any mission that required more than a single person but perhaps that was only myself since I was so far ahead than the rest.

After some pointless reminiscing I got out a blueprint and copied the information I saw before onto my mind.

Countless notes off to the side speaking of weapons, traps were all there. There were turrets, moving walls, almost all you would think of was here.

'How much of this could be implemented in just three weeks?'

Any weapon would be easily implemented as long as the instructions were clear enough, and since major construction companies were without a doubt threatened to build this thing…

…

Even if I find out what could be built from here, anything from the current, finished blueprint is still up for question.

'This will be a good starting place.'

Slowly, time passed as my research grew. In the background, the grandfather clock ticked and a small bell rang at every hour signifying that another hour had passed.

[Flow], my technique, helped pass time in a manner that would help my psyche, as the concept of 'time' itself seemed to not exist while active.

Ding~!

The bells within the clock rang for the sixth time.

'...The turrets, moving walls are all feasible, but… no, that would be better if this was all that was accomplished.'

I shook my head, I didn't want any more to be done. If it was easier that would be for the best.

'So… moving walls and hidden turrets…'

It was rather barebones, especially since it was made by people renowned as geniuses. But no matter who the genius was, it was impossible to beat the time that was sorely needed to make the final product.

As they say, haste makes waste.

However, something nagged and itched at the back of my head. After overlooking the blueprint once more I still couldn't pinpoint this rather bothersome feeling.

Was it the incompleteness?

After all, whatever was inside my body seemed like it was an amalgamation of traits from the Nine themselves. So would that in turn want me to turn this incomplete blueprint into another 'masterpiece'?

But… that didn't seem right.

It was more so that a component was missing, something that would help this incomplete blueprint worthy of the moniker of as a masterpiece.

I recalled everything.

This 'body', one so talented that it had many physical traits that many would kill for. Though, due to how illogical and strange this world was, no doubt that there were artificial ways of getting these 'talents', Technician being a prime example.

My memory of my past life was slowly fading unlike the memories I've created inside this body. I made theories, but my so-called 'reincarnation' is still a mystery that can't be explained by science.

'...Wait'

Pausing my influx of memories, I came across a metal, one experimental but still highly dangerous.

Among the Nijibana Rainbow Flowers was a man, he was a serial killer and one that I didn't hope to meet during my escape.

If he had appeared I would have had no hopes to escape due to his abilities.

His body was composed of a special experimental metal called Kokuinseki (Black Shadow Stone). It was an organic metal that allowed him to freely manipulate his entire body like a weaponized human.

…

If this labyrinth had any amount of Kokuinseki, this could be a much harder mission than it already was.

It was in essence, the perfect weapon. It would form and shape to your will making a weapon suitable for any situation.

Of course it would only be for cold weapons, but if the person was proficient in Aiki, a ball or even a slingshot would be enough with the propulsion Aiki gives.

My hands moved almost unconsciously, drawing lines and descriptions off to the side and with small notes to complement it as well. Slowly completing the blueprint from a hollow shell into something only a mad man would create.

"This… is problematic."

The pieces fit together, the blueprint could now be one of the most dangerous places in the world.

The moving walls could now be replaced with Kokuinseki, moving to the creator's will. Turrets could be deployed at a moment's notice as soon as an intruder was detected.

This was Daedalus' Labyrinth, the ever changing, highly fortified base.

Now the question changed from 'how much of this is possible?' to 'where could a person find enough Kokuinseki for their needs?'

Kokuinseki was stolen technology that Makoto used in order to completely change Kurosawa's body from flesh and bones to pure organic metal. But such a metal was hard to come across, it was made synthetically meaning it could be man-made however, where would these people find the means to do so?

'...Kokuinseki or the Black Shadow Stone came from a middle-eastern country trying to become a military powerhouse.'

Before my thoughts could fester further, the grandfather clock rang its bell signifying the current time.

'It's that late…?'

My surroundings have already long grown dark and my chair creaked as I got up and stretched. Compared to the bustling afternoon, the city had gotten much quieter, almost eerily so.

I lethargically made my way to the kitchen, the wooden floors under my feet creaked along the way.

The long, winding hallways gave for an illusion that they were far longer than they actually were.

Soon I was in the kitchen where I opened the refrigerator and took out a packet resembling a blood packet.

Crack!

After opening the plastic sealed cap, an unexplainable smell drifted into my nose. 

Ignoring the familiar smell, I quickly squeezed the fluid into my mouth drinking it in rapid succession.

In order to save more time, I walked back into my room and opened my laptop and sent a message into the British data banks as usual.

The climax of this war was here.

My brows furrowed.

I could almost see the death to come in this 'final act'.

~~~~

This is the final 'small' arc, only going to be about five chapters.

Then the next arc will begin.

During my free time I actually finished the next arc so there will be no need for another prolonged break.

For those concerned about how Kurosawa was controlling the Kokuinseki with the electrical signals from his brain, this will be addressed in the next chapter.

The plotholes are insane, I need to fix them but procrastination!