Truth?
'What is this...?' A breeze flows through the quiet tent, the laughter of the others can be heard in the distance as they continue to fight. Ryua grits her teeth, staring at the papers with a never-ending gaze. "T-this..." she exhales and glares at the old man. "This is fake. Experiments? What a load of crap. We're not stupid; we would know if we're lab rats," she says, her voice calm despite the tremble in her hands.
"Hmhmhahahahaha!" The old man laughs, spitting out blood. "Tell me, how many times did they give you medicine? Do you think they would perform tests on you if you were sane?" He smirks, forcing himself up. His blue beard is completely covered in blood. "You're all monsters." He breathes heavily, standing in front of her. "Since you were children, they drugged you and slowly morphed your minds to follow them, to listen to their orders. Do you think it's hard to seal away memories?" He grits his teeth, forcing his trembling hand up to point at his brain. "Your brains were trained and conditioned to listen, yet they still couldn't control you, so they sent you all here to die."
Nia sighs and stands up. "You keep saying that, yet everyone here is relatively weak. The only advantage you all have is in numbers." Holding her hand over the files, she scratches her head. "Team leader, no need to listen to him. This is an obvious attempt to slow us down. Wouldn't we know if they were messing with our bodies?"
"STOP IT! Innocent people will die. I know you heartless monsters could care less, but if you claim you're not experiments, don't do it for the sake of the children. Think about—"
Pop!
Ryua exhales calmly, letting go of the man's neck. His lifeless body falls with a thump. Turning to Nia, she nods. Within a minute, all the files are teleported back to the campsite. "Let's go, there are more troops than expected. This is a quick mission, so we won't be clearing the camp out." Ryua mumbles, clenching her sword.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go of me, you damn shorty!" Palam yells, struggling as Rio drags her by her curly hazel hair around the area. "I said sorry already! I only took a bite!" She tries to twist her body and pin him down, but within a flash, Rio slams her face into the ground. "You ate my chocolate. You know that's my favorite." Rio grunts, slamming her head into a nearby water reserve.
"Hahahahaha," Zoey laughs lightly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Okay, okay, that's enough playing around, Rio." Tapping her cheek, a bolt of crimson-red lightning shoots through the ground, reaching them in an instant. The lightning shoots up right next to them and grows larger, forming into a hand that grabs Rio from the back and carries him to Zoey. "Here, I brought some just in case." She smiles, her green-blue eyes shining under the light as she hands Rio a chocolate bar.
"Thank you," he mumbles with an angry face. Unbothered by the lightning holding him, he eats the chocolate then and there.
Gasping for air, Palam stands up. "Y-you!" she pushes her soaked hair back. "Y-you mean bastard!" She yells before running at him.
"That's enough," Nio sighs, scratching the back of his head. Before Palam can reach Rio, the ground shifts, grabbing onto her foot and making her trip, slamming her face into the dirt.
"Ugh..." Palam groans, sitting up. "This is unfair treatment!" She rubs her head before smirking as she sees Ryua. She jumps up, runs straight to her, and flips mid-air, landing behind Ryua and hugging her. "Baby~ Can you punish them for bullying me, pleaseee?" she pleads with exaggerated puppy eyes.
Pushing Palam aside, Ryua taps her earpiece. "Dammit, Oda's connection is lost," she exhales, gripping the folder. "Let's go find Oda," she states with authoritative determination.
"Hmm?" Suki's ears twitch. "Oh... What is that?" he asks, standing next to Ryua with a curious smirk.
Gritting her teeth, Ryua takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "Nothing," she mumbles, putting the folder in her uniform.
"Oh, come on~ Tell me~ Please~"
"Everyone, let's get moving. We need to find Oda and get out of here," Ryua commands, trying to maintain a calm demeanor. She stops in her tracks as she receives a call. Hovering her hand over her ear, her fingers twitch. "..." Forcing herself to smile, she finally speaks, "General. How rare of you to call."
"The general!?" Palam asks, smiling.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Oh, that old man finally called? I thought he was dead," Zoey exhales with a small smile.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Come to think of it, he promised he would visit," Nio mumbles.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
But Ryua can't hear them over the sound of her own heartbeat. She stands there, staring blankly at them.
"Hmhmhmhm," a husky laugh comes from the other end. "Can't this old man call the kids he raised?"
"Sorry, now's not a good time. We're in the middle of a mission. Can you—"
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"I know. That's why I sent you a gift. It should be arriving right now."
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
The massive earth dome Nio created shakes, and dirt starts to fall as cracks begin to spread until a massive hole appears, and a figure walks through it. Sunlight streams in, casting the figure's shadow dramatically.
"Why..." Ryua mumbles under her breath.
"There's a visual transmitter on your uniform. I have to say, I'm surprised at how well you're handling it," the husky voice on the other end says with a mighty laugh.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
The figure jumps down into the dome, wearing tight black jeans and a short black top that reveals her waist, showcasing a perfectly sculpted figure with dark purple hair cascading to her shoulders and dark green eyes. "Yo, what's up, little monsters?" she asks, exhaling smoke and dropping her cigar.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Who the hell are you?" Palam asks, scratching the back of her head.
"I'm Nero, you weird fucks," she smirks, approaching.
"Stay back," Zoey states, extending her hand. Her green-blue eyes crackle with crimson lightning that starts spreading all over her body.
"Holy shit, that's cool," Nero smirks wide. "Never seen red lightning before. No, wait, I have seen a demon use something similar."
"Leave, or I'll burn you to shreds," Nia says in a cold tone, her body covered in pink flames.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"What the fuck, I thought they were exaggerating. Fucking pink fire? What? How does that even work?" Nero scratches her head, lighting a new cigar.
The earth starts moving, and the broken dome above gathers together until there's a floating ball of earth. Nio glares at the figure. "You're dangerous," he mumbles, and the earth quickly reshapes into a huge sword.
"Holy fuck, no magic circle? No attribute? That's fuc—"
BOOM!
The sword crashes down on Nero, sending a shockwave that pushes everything off the ground and sends it flying. The ground cracks and breaks, creating a massive crater.
"Shiiit," Nero smirks as the dust settles. She stands there, holding the earth blade with one hand, her other hand still holding her cigar. "You're all some fucked up experiments."
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Why is someone as strong as you here?" Rio asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Hmm?" Nero turns to Ryua. "Pfffhahahaha!" She laughs, throwing the sword aside. "Oi oi oi, don't tell me you haven't told them. I thought you were their squad leader or something like that." Everyone turns to Ryua, but she stands there, staring at Nero with a cold face.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Ugh..." Nero scratches the back of her head. "Since weird eyes over here doesn't want to speak up, I'll tell you." Flicking the cigar aside, she smiles. "Your general sent me here to kill you all. You're all failed experiments, blah blah blah, you couldn't be controlled, so here I am, killing the monsters they made." She shrugs.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"What the hell are you talking about?" Palam shakes her head in confusion, turning to Ryua. "What is she talking about?"
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
Nia's eyes widen, and she falls to her knees, vomiting. "It's true... I-I thought it was fake..." she stutters as tears drip down her face. "E-Everything... Everything we've done is a fucking lie!" she grits her teeth, slamming her hand into the ground.
"Nia! Calm down, what's going on?" Suki asks, kneeling next to her and holding her hand.
Zoey and Palam run up to Nia and hold her up. "W-What did you two find?" Zoey asks, slightly afraid.
"We're... we're," Nia grits her teeth. "We're fucking experiments for a terrorist organization! All this time we've been killing innocent people!"
"Bingo," Nero snaps her fingers with a nod. "You're all failed projects, killer dogs with no leash."
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"What load of bullshit is that!" Palam rolls her eyes, turning back to Nia and cupping her cheek. "Listen, Nia, I don't know what's going on, but we'll get through this, just like we got through our training."
Nia grits her teeth. "N-no no no no," she grips her head as tears stream down. "T-there was no training, those are fake memories!" She digs her fingers into her scalp. "W-We weren't trained! We were put in a damn jar and injected with shit!"
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
Zoey's hands tremble, her eyes getting foggy. She touches her cheek, feeling the tears fall. "I-I thought... I-I" she falls to her knees and vomits. "I-I thought they were nightmares..." she sobs. "I-I thought all those painful times I found myself awake in a tube of water were nightmares... S-So many times..."
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Huh?" Nero raises an eyebrow. "I read none of you were aware of your tests. Are you saying you were awake and thought they were dreams? Oh shit, that's foul." She puffs out smoke. "Fuck, now I feel bad. You know I hate fucking groups like this but, oh well," she shrugs.
"W-Why?" Ryua asks with a low, cracked voice.
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Come on, you read the file," the husky voice sighs. "You're all monsters. If you weren't so strong, we might have kept you kids, but if you're this strong at your age, I can only imagine how strong you'll become in the future."
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"E-everything is a lie... We're not part of a private military. None of you ever treated us like soldiers. I never had a family; it was fake. You set it up to manipulate me. The fucked-up part is that none of you ever saw us as humans from the beginning. You fucked with our bodies and brains, turned us into what we are, and you call us monsters? M-monsters?" Tears stream down her face. She starts hyperventilating and reaches her hand up to her uniform medals, ripping them off and tearing off the visual transmitter. "A-All those times you took care of us, you laughed with us, you celebrated with us—were they all fake?" She clenches her hand until she starts bleeding. "I SAW YOU AS A FATHER FIGURE, YOU BASTARD!"
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
"Hmhmhmhmhm," the voice laughs calmly. "I'm glad you did. It means I did my job right. You know, I had hope for your group. So much potential, so much. Yet as time passed, our methods of manipulating and controlling you all failed one after another. I wasted so many years nurturing you, so many resources improving you, improving all of you. The genetic makeup you all hold is superior to other beings. I turned you all into the perfect soldiers, yet you all refused to be controlled. No matter what method I tried, you all resisted! Ryua, don't get it wrong. The files say you're all failed experiments, but you're not. You're all my children. I perfected you all; I turned you into the perfect killing machines. But the council decided you're all too dangerous to be kept alive. They're not wrong. You're all monsters. If I placed a baby in front of you and asked you to torture it, you would. Now, how can we let monsters like you roam free? I never considered humanity when creating you. I'm sorry. That's my fault."
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒 / 𝖙𝖚-𝖙𝖚𝖒𝖕
Ryua grips her head. "FUCK!" She stomps her foot. "IS THAT ALL YOU VIEW US AS!? EXPERIMENTS!? FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She yells before reaching up and shattering the earpiece before falling to her knees.