THE ESCAPE |
"Puttubayh...!" Iria said softly. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up to the gunman, Kross Tsutomegi. "How could you?! Hell, he's your boss!" "...'Was'..." Kross responded with a grin, lowering the aim of his pistol. "He 'was' the boss. Besides," he chuckled and motioned towards Kazon, "from the looks of it, this valiant one was about to do my job for me. I just couldn't let him take my piece of the pie, now could I?" Kazon was gripping his stomach and breathing in deeply from were the bullet passed through the former President and into his own body. He teeth clinched together as his eyes narrowed...but his legs were growing weak under him. Yet, he could still muster enough strength to remain standing. Kross slowly stalked his way closer to the wounded Hunter, his single-shouldered cape bellowing behind him. That same grin across his lips. "Sorry for that one, my friend. Leave it to Puttubayh to be so frail and scrawny...Tisk, tisk...went right through him. You have my sincerest apologizes..." Kazon staggered back a little as he started growing way too weak to hold himself together much longer. He lifted his gloved hand from the wound to see what damage lie beneath. He glanced down to see a small hole ripped through his trench coat, and his black bodysuit was torn and coved in blood. He moved his gaze to his gloved hand to see that it too was stained with his own blood. "...S-hit..." He said as he finally gave in and couldn't help but to drop to a knee, letting out a pained gasp as it hit the ground. This also prompted Kross to stop moving closer, stopping a few feet from him. "Kaz!" Iria rushed to his side immediately, on her knees and supported him with her arms. She had a very fearful look in her eyes, something she never thought she would have for this 'jerk'. But even so, this stone cold young man taken down with one blow? The emotion he was showing, the pain in his eyes...Kazon was human after all, not the 'personality crisis' she made him out to be. She sneered as she looked back to the devilish Kross, who was standing with on hand on his hip and gun down to his side. "You bastard! You don't mean a damn word of that!" Kross didn't seem to be paying much attention to her, he was too preoccupied in basking in the light of the large Zeiramoid containers that surrounded him. That grin, yep, was still there, if not intensified. "Are you even listening to me!?" Iria yelled out again, but got nothing in response. "Hey!" "The old man was right about one thing..." Kross said with a chuckle, ignoring Iria, "...they are indeed works of art." He looked to Iria with an evil smirk. "It's like a painting, you know? Only with the proper artist's unique touches can the painting truly come to life...." "What's that supposed to mean...?!" Iria shouted angrily. "Puttubayh began the Zeiram Project once again in order to have the most powerful army known to the universe, a Zeiramoid army...but that's all he wanted. I want something more, and that's the universe itself!" Kross went on, arrogantly enjoying every minute of this so-called 'victory', even going as far holding his arm out to simulate the word 'universe'. "So you kill Puttubayh so you could be in charge and run things your way?" Iria asked through her grinding teeth. "Now that he's gone you can do whatever you please..?!" "...'Et tu Brute' indeed." Kross said with a nod and a smile. "If you will remember, Puttubayh was pronounced dead after the Karma incident anyway. Word leaked out that he was still alive and well in Myce City, but still, no one really cared the old fart. Puttubayh was a weak leader and lacked the support of the people. So, in a way, his 'name' was promoted to president of the company rather than the man himself. So his death means nothing to anyone....except me," he couldn't help but to laugh softly. "Besides, he was just the figurehead while I did all the work, setting the people and the company back on the right foot in the midst of all the corporate scandal..." Iria thought to herself for a moment. Kross did have a point, since Puttubayh was claimed to be 'dead', she knew he was alive, but she hadn't heard from him or seen him at all since the day she recovered Bob's AI. Not on the TV, news reports...it all came from the Kross, not Puttubayh. He was promoted to president...but was it just so that Kross could be brought in? "Is there a higher power in all of this?" Iria thought... "You manipulated him..." Iria said, coming to a realization, then her voice grew louder. "You used him for this...! Zeiramoids!? And why are you telling us this?! You must be pretty confident that we won't talk...!" Kross shrugged. "You're right, I don't see you two talking at all. I also don't see you two walking out of here alive," he said with a smirk. "Wha--?!" He grinned to himself a little. "...you see, just these Zeiramoids...they're not enough to satisfy my hunger for power. In fact, they're worthless to me without the 'big prize'," he started to make his way over to a console that was attached to the railing that surrounded the large, squared hole in the floor. He pushed a few buttons as continued on with his speech "...so by taking Puttubayh out of the picture, the 'painting' can be completed as it should, and that's with 'my' final touches." He laughed softly and sinisterly as he glanced over to Iria and Kazon from the corner of his eye. "The unkillable butcher is now...mine..." "Zeiram?!" Kazon yelled loudly, still with that pained, yet fearful, hint in his voice. Iria gasped as Touka's word ran through her mind. He spoke of the possibility of a new Zeiram Unit being partially completed, however he didn't know how far along the operation was. The way Kross was talking, it was as if it was done.... "Puttubayh had the right idea years ago. To control the Zeiram Unit is to control the world. Unparalleled strength andseemingly endless stamina. Zeiram, the perfect weapon! The weapon to end all weapons! The good president wanted this....but he lacked the fundamental skills to control it properly on the Karma, thus prompting the Zeiram incident one year ago." Kross said running a hand coyly through his hair. "I, however, have this ability to control it...I've proved this to be true once before and I plan on doing it again...." "'Proved it...to be true'...?" Kazon said in a very low voice between his deep breaths. "Yes, my friend..." He tapped a few more buttons. "It is indeed a long story...but you'll know soon enough...." and with that, Kross pressed one last button and the whole room began to shake violently. Kross grabbed the railing with both hands to stabilize himself, but he still had that maddening look, grinning as he watched on. A million things were happening around Iria as she and Kazon looked around at the tubes of the incomplete Zeiramoids who were stirring around in their tubes, agitated by all the shaking. Portions of the walls began to buckle and shatter, sending pieces falling to the floor. Iria grabbed on to the railing and pulled both her and the wounded Kazon up to their feet. ***** Outside, Kei and Fujikuro both looked on from their hiding place as smoke began to emit from the building. Kei's eyes widened slightly as she began to hear the rumbling sounds. "That better not be them..." Fujikuro said softly with a stern. "Do you think that their in a battle...?" Kei asked. "How should I know?!" he said in an aggitated voice. "But if they're not, I bet they're in for one. I gotta really bad feelin' about all this..." "Me too..." ***** The security room of the Bachnia Center was in an even bigger panic than before. The violent rumbling forced the guards to all brace themselves on to something. Finally, one soldier called out to one of the ensigns... "What the hell is going on...?!" The ensign slowly typed a few things into his computer, making sure he hit the right keys in the midst of all the shaking. "....what the--!! Captain! Someone's activated the lift in one of the Zeiramoid chambers on Level B-3!!" "Which chamber on B-3?!?!" The Captain yelled back. "Chamber 4...the one with--!!" the young ensign stopped himself before finished his sentence. "No...This can't be...!! Who could be doing this...!?" the Captain thought...then his voice rose again. "Seal off all the basement floors and be sure all the single-man Transit Gates are down on each level! Don't let anyone in or out of those floors!!" ***** Iria looked over to Kross as she held on to the railing and yelled over the rumbling. "What did you do!?" But she got no answer.... Kazon, still holding his stomach where he had been shot, saw that Kross looking down into the opening in the floor with that maddening look, so he glanced down into it too. Upon seeing what was happening, he let out a loud and painful gasp and his eyes widened greatly. "It's...moving...!!" "Huh...?" Iria turned her attention away from Kross and look down into the hole as well. A surprised look came over her face as well when she saw that what she thought was the ground floor below slowly creep upwards towards them. Then she saw that same unusual greenish glow emitting from something in the center of the lift. "What the--?! Is that--?!" Sure enough, as the lift finally made it way up and as the rumbling became more subtle, another tube, extremely larger than the other tubes in the huge room, came into view. Iria and Kaz could only watch on with terrified looks as the tube made its way into view, revealing something...more. Inch-by-horrorfying-inch, a black head shaped almost like a disk sporting a small, doll-like face right in the middle of it. The eyes of this angelic face we closed, and that red 'beam' that were the monster's 'eyes' was not shining at all, seeming as if it was in a docile state. Iria knew this unusual visage all too well, and as it's dark, bare, and massive body came into view, the look on Kazon's face quickly changed from horrified to a look of extreme and painful anger. It was back, and 'it' was Zeiram.... The lift stopped with a loud bang as it reached their 'floor', and the two Hunters didn't say a word in the eerie silence that followed. The rumbling had finally stopped and all was still. Kross looked on with a devilish grin, then jumped over the railing with ease. "What did I do...? What did I do, you ask?!" Kross asked turning around to face Iria laughing manically, however still making his way to the tube in a backwards fashion. "I've just kicked-started a brand new era in universal history! The grand opening of a new world order with Yours Truely and the new 'BETA-Zeiram" at the helm!" "'BETA'...?" Iria asked softly. "Dr. Touka was right then..." Kross turned around to view the monster with a wicked smile. "BETA ... it's code name. One year ago, we searched for months trying to find the body of the original Zeiram, coded as 'ALPHA', until a fortunate combat team stumbled on it in the Stardust Desert. They brought it here and now..." he laughed evilly. "...now, I can finally claim my prize! All the thoughts and powers of the original ALPHA fused and refined into BETA! This is what I've been wanting....and now it's all mine..!!" Just then the sound of a gun cocking was heard and Iria snapped to attention. Iria watched in shock as she saw Kaz with his pistol drawn and aimed directly at Tsutomegi's back, with a livid expression on his face and his blood dripping from his trechcoat onto the smooth floor beneath him. "Kaz...?" she said softly. Kross looked over his shoulder to Kaz. He flashed him a grin. "You're a persistent case....such a rare breed you Hunters are." Kazon said nothing, his teeth were just grinding together in anger. It was like he wasn't feeling anything at all from the wound anymore...like he was possessed by something and running on pure adrenaline. "Iria..." Bob's voice softly cut in, gaining the Hunter's attention. "You two need to get out of there now..." "What about the mission?" Iria responded in a whisper. "We don't even know where those Zeiram beacons are..." Kross heard the two talking and he looked over to Iria with a grin. "You're support, I take it? I didn't foil you're plans did I...?" Iria sneered in Kross' direction. She didn't want to just run from a mission before it was completed, Gren tought her better than that, but on the other hand she also wanted to make it out of there alive. Bob continued. "Forget the mission, Iria, and get out of there now. From the looks of it, beacons are the last of your worries, and I don't think you'll be able to make it back to Kei with Kazon in his condition. Security has blocked off all the exits anyway. So we'll have to find another way. I may be able to hack into the Transembler systems and open the one on your level..." "Do what you have to do, Bob...but as for Kaz...?" Iria glanced over to the poised and ready-to-fire Kazon and lowered her voice a little. "I don't think this is the best of times..." "He's bleeding Iria, he needs help--" Kazon cut him off in a snarling, angered tone. "I'm fine...!" "Kaz..." Bob said quietly, transfering onto Kazon's mini-com. "Please listen, you're in no condition to fight and you need help now." Kross kept his back turned toward them. "Listen to him, my friend...all you have to do is run away." His chuckled softly, "it's what you're good at right...?" Kazon growled. "'BETA', 'ALPHA'...?! It doesn't matter! Zeiram is Zeiram, and you're a fool to think you can actually control him!" Kazon yelled, his finger tightening on the trigger, preparing to undoubtedly fire. "And I'm not going to leave here until both you and that monster are dead!" "Kaz!" Iria shouted and made a lunge towards him, but Kazon had pulled the trigger and sent a single bullet that cut through the air. In a split second, Kross grinned and jumped out of the bullet's path, landing in a crouched position to the left of the tube holding BETA-Zeiram. But the bullet then smashed through the glass of the tube and right into the stomach region of the beast. There was another chilling silence afterwards...the only thing that could be hear was the sound of the greenish liquid inside of the tube slowly draining through the small hole made by the bullet. After a few more moments, Kross began to laugh softly. "...you fool...!" Kaz glanced over to Kross with a furious look on his face, but then something else caught his eye and drew a gasp from Iria. Kazon's jaw dropped as the red beam across the face of Zeiram slowly began to glow, getting brighter and brighter by the second. " "Did I...?!" Kazon thought himself, but whatever his question was, it was soon answered as the eyes on the small face opened, revealing those chilling, blood-red eyes and flashed it's long and sharp fangs. The Zeiram unit's arms began to slowly move inside it's tube and it's fingers balled into fists. "This can't be...!!" Iria shouted. "It's completed?!" Kazon watched the monster closely as visions of what happened four years ago replayed in his head. Zeiram was back, and Kazon wasn't going to let it happen again. His eyes narrowed and he re-aimed his pistol right at the head. "He's still 'fresh'..." Kazon thought. "Assuming this is the first time it's awoken, it should be somewhat weakened...maybe..." Then he began firing at the creature and moving in closer at the same time. Shot by shot, bullets zoomed through the glass and into Zeiram, each causing the monster to cry out in pain. Kross stood up straight and folded his arms casually across his chest, grinning from ear to ear as he stepped back into the shadows and out of view. Iria watched as Kaz stopped his attack for a moment to jump the railing as Kross did earlier, but when he landed, a sharp pain took over his body and Kaz immediately grasped the wound on his stomach. "Kaz!" Iria shouted. "Forget about Zeiram and let's get out of here!" Once again, Kaz gave no response and just forced himself back into a standing position. Kazon re-aimed his gun and began firing again. Iria's eyes narrowed as she continued to scream at him, trying her best to get through to him. "There will be another time! Stop it and let's go!" Zeiram shook off a few of the bullets, sending them ricocheting into the surrounding capsules of the Zeiramoids. Then finally, a few feet away from the tube, Kazon stopped and shot a barrage at the creature, giving it all he had and not letting up one bit. He gave out a long and chilling scream as he poured on the fire like a maniac, it was clear now that it truly as if he was a man possessed... After taking all that the 'young' Zeiram could handle, it let out a anguishing screech of his own and it's massive body lunged out of the tube, the glass exploding and sent into all different directions. The monster landed with a giant thud as his feet hit the floor. Kazon gasped as he was caught off guard and one piece of the glass snagged him under his left eye, around the cheek bone area. One gloved hand clasped onto the cut, but before he could do any thing else, he saw a black fist come in from the side and bash him right in the side of the head. The impact was so great, and because Zeiram was such a powerhouse, Kazon was knocked off his feet and sent flying backwards, all the way into the wall next to the door they had entered. He hit hard and fell to the ground in a heap; his gun flew out of his hand upon impact and slid across the smooth floor before coming to a stop a few feet away. "NO! Kaz!" Iria ran to his side and shook him. "Kaz..!?" Nothing...he was breathing still, but he was out of it and the blood began to flow from the cut under his eye. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke between her teeth, "Kaz, you stubborn bastard..." She threw one of his arms over her shoulder and lifted him up with all her strength, then she drug his body to the door. She glanced back to a roaring Zeiram one last time before she and Kazon quickly went through the opening, it closing behind them. Zeiram's growling subsided for a moment remaining perfectly still. It let out a low, sustained growl as it's eyes remained on the door, the small face also shrieking softly at the same time. Kross suddenly emerged from hiding and approached the beast. He stopped beside Zeiram and his arms were still crossed casually over his chest before one moved upward to run it's gloved hand through his dirty-blonde hair. His arms dropped down to his sides and then finally spoke in a soft voice. "BETA.......kill them." ***** Iria drug the battered Kazon down the darkened hallway as fast as she could. "Bob! Have you opened that Transit Gate yet?!" "...Working on it. Just keep going down that hall until you reach the end, then hang a right," Bob said as Zeiram crashed through the door they had just came through. Iria screamed as she looked over her shoulder to see those red eyes on that white face staring the two of them down. She quickened her pace as it stalked its way closer behind them. Iria pushed the button on the silver plate that was attached to her crimson cloak, releasing the buckle on her rifle that was strapped to her back. While still holding the dazed Kazon up, she skillfully swung the rifle around using only her hips and a shrug of her shoulders and caught it in one hand. Iria blindly pointed it backwards and fired a few shots in an attempt to slow Zeiram down while she drug Kazon down the hall. "Alright, the Transit Gate is up. Remember, it can only Transit one of you at a time. Send Kazon first then it's your turn." Bob said again. "I've already told Kei to pilot the Kreeper to the Transit Station 2 to pick you up. Hurry though, I don't know how much longer I can keep it open..." "That's easier said than done, Bob!" Snapping off a few more shots as she finally got to the end of the hallway and turned right as she was instructed. "Now, where to?!" "It's the 3rd door on you're right. Hurry up!!" She looked up and saw that the doors were very far apart, plenty of room for Zeiram to catch up with them if she slipped up now. "Damnit...! This is a heck of a job you're giving me here, Bob!" As Zeiram turned the corner, she flung her rifle back over her shoulder and reattached it to the armored plate. She then pulled out a small cylinder-like tube with a button on one end from he cloak. Bob couldn't help but to chuckle softly as she quoted his old friend. "Whaddya know? ...Like brother, like sister..." "Yeah, yeah... 'How'd that happen?'...just keep that gate open...!" Iria said as she pushed down on the button with her thumb before tossing it back towards Zeiram. As the beast crept forward, that white face still snarling, the capsule landed in front of it and rolled between it's feet. It then exploded in a fiery fury, so much that it took the butcher down along with a portion of the ceiling above which came down on it. But Zeiram was up to it's feet quickly and began to move slightly faster to make up for lost ground between the two. Iria, too, quickened the pace even more. "Come on...!!" Iria thought to herself. Just then, Kazon groaned softly as his body began to stir. Iria gasped softly. "Kaz...!" "Zeiram...?! ...Ouspi?!!" Kazon said softly and in a painful tone, his eyes closed tight. "Ouspi..?" she said softly. Finally, she made it to the door Bob had talked about, pulling out another one of those grenade-like capsules. Bob bypassed the security mechanism and the door slid open. Iria looked inside to see that the Transit Gate was already glowing and ready to transport. "Sorry about this, Kaz, but--" She shoved Kazon inside the room and he stumbled and fell into the Transit Zone. A green colored aura wrapped around his body and then he vanished into thin air. Still outside the room, Iria pressed in the button once again and hurled it right at Zeiram. As it exploded, she ran into the room, dodging part of the smoke that engulfed the corridor. She let out a relived sigh as the green aura surrounded her...but she could still hear the shrill shrieking of the Zeiram Unit as she was transported away. They had escaped for now... ...but the harsh reality still remained. Kazon was hurt physically...but both Hunters were scarred emotionally. Zeiram was back in both their lives and under the control of a madman. The terror was reborn, and the conspiracy lives on... *************** Author's Notes: NEXT TIME!!: |