Sadow and Keiyou were incognito as tourists in Langley, Virginia in front of the C.I.A. headquarters. They both removed their sunglasses and Sadow turned to Keiyou while smiling "Our syrum and our new recruit are in there. We must retrieve both swiftly before any other meddlers interfere. Got it?" She nods obediently "Just in case this is the last time we see each other I just wanted to express how much I-" He cut her off with a raised hand "This is neither the time nor the place for such sentiments. We must hurry. Now, move." They then get into action as practiced, maintaining a calm demeanor and looking around curiously like real tourists. They entered the C.I.A. headquarters and looked at the man behind the desk in the lobby with smiles on their faces. Sadow greets "Hello, good sir. Do you know where the bathroom is?"
A finely dress woman with purple hair stepped out from a nearby room, eying the new comers. She walked up to them and curtsied politely, "Hello gentlemen. I could not help but overhear your question. The bathroom is down the hall to the left." she said politely with a smile.
Sadow bowed politely in turn "Thank you madame." He joins hands with Keiyou "Let's hurry, dear. The movie will be on soon." He rushes to the men's restroom with her leaning against the wall outside. While in the restroom, Sadow looked around axniously and saw what he was hoping for. A ventilation shaft. He grabbed a small stairstepper and balanced himself on it, carefully removing the vent cover and climbing inside. Meanwhile, Keiyou snuck into the stairwell at the end of the hallway.
Surprisingly to Keiyou, a boy reminiscent of that had stopped their group a week earlier was waiting on the stairwell with a gun pointed at her. "Welcome...BEHEMOTH." he whispered.
She stood trembling, grasping the stairwell rail. She had not been on many missions for BEHEMOTH and all of the ones she had been on were not life-threatening. This was on a different level, and she began to fear for her life. She took a deep gulp and asked "W-Who are you?"
The boy narrowed his eyes, "I am RJ-101. You're death will be brought by my hands." he replied firing his pistol three times at her.
Just as his finger squeezed on the trigger she let out a fear-filled scream with her eyes glowing red. The bullets reppeled away from her and blasted into the stairs. One stray bullet grazed his leg and she ran down the stairs in fright. Sadow, hearing the scream, punched the vent cover under him and jumped down into an office, where a surprised and frightened agent hung up the phone he was on and jolted to the exit. Sadow quickly unsheathed his sword and impaled the figure and whispered into his ear "We are 'the Remedy'." He removed his sword and kicked down the door then bolted down the hallway at quick speeds to reach Keiyou.
The girl from earlier cut Sadow off, grabbing his forehead, "Now now, you didn't honestly think you could walk into the heart of our very base and not expect Ryan's description of you to pay off, now did you?" she said as she activated her own contract and sent a high voltage jolt of electricity through Sadow's body.
Sadow shakingly grabbed her arm tightly and looked down at her madly "What a nice grip you have. But I've been subject to electrocutions many times in my life and I'm used to whatever you have to offer. Now then, get out of my way little girl... or else I will break you." His eyes burned red as his hand lit up and grazed her arm with the heat of his flame. At this, he threw her against the wall by her arm and sprinted off toward the door.
This time he was stopped by a knife that whizzed right by his nose. Behind him, Ryan was swinging his leg already for his head, in a wheel kick.
Sadow barely managed to guard the assault and quickly grab him by the leg and flip him over and onto a desk. "I don't have time for these games!" he growled and then sped off, slamming the door and locking it behind him. He ran up the stairwell hoping Keiyou was headed for that direction as well.
It was too late to escape. Ryan flew through the stairwell door, by kicking it down. Seeing Sadow, he activated his contract, seizing Sadow's body and causing it to be held strongly against the ceiling, "Calm the hell down. I believe it's time we had a little chat." he said, telekinetically locking all exits.
Sadow could not look down at his apprehender due to his entire body being controlled. He even could not speak due to this fact. So he just lay up on the cieling, praying silently Ryan would have the decency to warn him before de-activating his Contract.
Ryan pulled out a revolver and pointed it at Sadow's head, and relinquished his control on Sadow's vocal chords only, "Now you can speak. But don't try to move, I've got you under my control. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" Ryan said coldly.
Sadow grimaced "What if I were to make a deal? After all, peaceful negotiation is better than destructive warfare in my opinion."
Ryan kept his plain face on and didn't show a sign of budging, "I don't trust you. Answer my questions and that may change. Why are you here and what are your goals? You seem to love coming after me."
Sadow chuckled slightly "Are you implying that I am aiming after you, Ryan? Not for now. I'm here to see if Damien wants to buddy-up and see if he can play catch-the-globe with BEHEMOTH. Plus we're after our chemistry set." He smiled innocently at the stairs, unnable to look at Ryan due to the movement impairment.
Ryan gritted his teeth, "I'm not in the mood for your games Sadow. You've had an interest in me since you approached me that night, now what is it?!"
Sadow sighed "You still haven't figured out the big picture, have you little Ryan? But don't worry, everything will be understood eventually. But allow me to grant you this much to intellect to quench your thirst for knowledge: You were a member of BEHEMOTH without even knowing it." At this, the alarm sounded and the sprinklers for killing flames sprayed the two. Sadow was directly under one, thus he gained the full forced of it under his head. The water made his hair cover his face, though he clearly wore a grimace of displeasure of the situation.
Ryan's face became fixed in obvious anger, showing exactly how stressing the situation was for a Contractor to show his emotional side, "I told you I refuse!" he snarled, his growing anger causing his power to strengthen, thus causing cracks to appear in the ceiling as Sadow was pushed farther and farther into his holding place.
The back of Sadow's skull was pressing against the sprinkler jet. "Agh! Easy! I already took a shower this morning, I don't need one again!"
Ryan's lips then curled into a sadistic grin, "Tanseki...you can do it now." he said calmly, all hints of anger gone. From the top of the stairs, the woman that Sadow had defeated earlier came walking down. She lifted up her hand and allowed as stream of water that was running off of Sadow's head to run off of it. She also gave a sadistic smile as her contract activated, shocking Sadow with double the strength due to the water.
His head was covered in smoke as his body went limp and his eyes faded, going unconcious.
When Sadow awoke, he was tied to a chair in what appeared to be a warehouse. Ryan was behind him, having just completed his contract's payment, "Now that that's through I have some unrelated questions to ask you that I cannot ask you back at headquarters. Forgive my earlier harshness, I'm not usually like that." he began, untying Sadow and handing him a glass of tea, "What do you know about Hell's Gate?" he asked, almost randomly.
Sadow sighed "I know nothing other than that it's in Japan and it supplies the Contractors and the Dolls with their powers. If it goes like the Heaven's gate then we all die. That's about it. But what happened to sadistic Ryan? I rather preferred him. He proved he was just as much a monster as I am."
Ryan punched Sadow in the face, "Do you live to mock me?!" he snarled, and slowly calmed down. "Despite my initial appearance, I'm not loyal to any organization. I'm using the CIA to learn more about my powers, and I'm using you as a guinea pig at the moment. When I first became a Contractor seven years ago, I had a tragic event happen to me in which my family is slaughtered by members of a gang...or at least that's what the CIA wants me to think. My memory has been tampered with in order to make me think my past was merely a tragedy that just happened so that I would have no reason to suspect that something is amiss. I'm far smarter than that. You may be wondering why I'm telling you this, and here is your answer: Hell's Gate showed up following a meteor shower seven years ago. One of those meteors still exists. I was hoping with your intelligence you may be able to tell me where it is. That meteor has the power to show a Contractor the past, and I need it."
Sadow smiles while rising and rubbing his bruised cheek "It seems we have an opportunity here. You need the meteor fragment, we need some fresh-fighters. Interested?"
Ryan's eyes narrowed, "You're still naive. The moment I get that fragment I will leave you, but in the meantime, I have no choice. I'll join you, but I will need to retrieve my doll, Neko, before I can. So wait until tonight." he replied walking towards the exit, "Oh, and I will add this. If at any moment I feel that you may betray me..." he turns his eyes to face Sadow menacingly, "..I will kill you all."
Sadow smiles as behind him was lit up with light, a large truck smashing it's way through the back of the warehouse. It's headlights were blazing and left Sadow's face slightly silhouetted "Good to have you on our time at last, brother. We'll see to it that you are accomodated nicely. Until we meet again..." Sadow throws a rose into the air and jumps onto the truck's platform, where he is carried into the passenger's seat next to Sink. Keiyou inclines her head in from the back seat "So, how did it go?" Sadow smiled "Our family is growing. Our little Ryan has finally accepted us has his family, somewhat. But we will grow on him eventually. For now, let's go home." At this, Sink backed up the truck and drove off into the night.
Sadow slightly silhouetted by the headlights
Ryan walked down the cold night streets, holding a small picture in his hand. On it was a picture of him and his childhood best friend and him as children; both also happened to be family. "I know you're out there...Somehow, I know the memory of your death...isn't real..I see your star twinkling in the sky." he thought to himself. From a nearby alley, Neko emerged and grabbed his hand, "It's time to go..." she said in an absolutely feelingless voice that was akin to dolls. Ryan looked at her blankly and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you..for staying with me." he whispered. She said nothing, as expected, and then pulling her by her hand as if leading her on a leash, he headed for BEHEMOTH.
Sadow allowed the steel door to go unguarded this time. He awaited patiently on a crate-made throne while sipping tea. Keiyou notes "He hasn't taken his eyes off that door. Sadow... your attachment to other Contractors worries me. Not all of them will be faithful to you. Like me..." She closed her eyes, silently waiting for the newcomer to arrive. Sink looked out the window to the waters, as the warehouse is on a harbor. He was rather displeased when he found out Ryan was joining, as even though the bullets were removed, he can still feel pain he will feel until the day he dies. He was going to make that punk pay when he got the chance. But unlike Kiryu, who would gain vengeance on Takeshi through any means necessary, he was going to defeat Ryan fairly. He was going to crush him, with Ryan fully able to defend himself.
Ryan walked through the steel door with Neko right behind him, walking right past Sink without so much as a glance and stood before Sadow, "I'm here as arranged." he muttered softly.
Sadow stood with a gleeful smile on his face "Ryan! I'm so glad your here! And you've brought a lovely lady with you! What would be your name, miss?"
She stared at him blankly, but surprisingly to even Ryan, managed a small smile, "Neko." she replied softly. Ryan looked at her as if worried and relieved at the same time, "I've heard that some Dolls can show emotion. This is the first time I've seen it." he thought silently.
Sadow kissed her hand politely, stirring Keiyou slightly. Sadow smiled up at her "Charmed. Sink, where are your manners? Say hi to our new members!" Sink, not looking at them, simply stated "Yo." Sadow grimaced and thought "Heart warming, asshole." Passing through the hallway with a tooth brush in his mouth, Shinji waved slightly then went into the kitchen. Sadow waved around the Greek-decored room "Welcome to the headquarters of BEHEMOTH. I know it's not much, but I've managed to attain some form of culture in this rather gloomy place." From the other room Shinji alerted sarcastically "They're statues of naked people. Wow, how amazing." Sadow frowned "And he's off with the naked people rant again..."
Neko kept her stare at the concrete floor, and yet reached over and grabbed Ryan's hand once more, "You are safe here for the time being." she said to him without looking. This startled Ryan once more, but he managed to huff his content at hearing her ease at the situation. Ryan looked around, "How nice." he said, commenting on the art. "I suppose someone has to bring a little bit of brightness into the dreary life of a Contractor."
Sadow smiles at his agreement "My thoughts exactly. I already know we're going to get along fine." Sink thought "Speak for yourself." Keiyou nervously said while looking to the side "Umm... It's, err... nice to meet you." This was especially awkward for her since he had just threated to kill her.
Ryan looked over at her and showed a rare smile, "The pleasure is all mine. Forgive my actions earlier. I do not usually act like that, but it was necessary in order to get Sadow's attention." he said, scratching the back of his head.
Takeshi's Point of View[]
Takeshi walked along the street towards Sadow's hideout, he had information that he needed to share with not only Ryan, but BEHEMOTH as well. He didn't see a need to call them enemies anymore. People had called him an enigma for such acts before, and that was true, but in the end he simply preferred to go with the lesser of two evils.
People also said he didn't act rationally, like a contractor should, but this was also an assumption. He rarely felt guilty about his actions, as long as he came out on top. In the end his original personality was cold already.
He had finally found a lead after dead ends for so long. Now the plan was coming together nicely, as long as his possible allies didn't get blown up before he warned them. And of course, as long as what he searched for didn't kill them in the end as well.
Ryan's Point of View[]
Sadow turned around "Well now that greetings are out of the way, it's time for our next mission briefing."
Ryan sat with his hands in his lap, and Neko sat beside him, "We're all ears." he said.
Sadow turned to them "We're heading back to Virginia tommorow to get what we originally came for; supplies to make a syrum to cure Obiesance, and to save and recruit Damien."
Neko had fixed her stare on Sadow, "A cure for Obeisance is impossible. If a a Contractor is 'cured' of their payment before they pay it completely off, they'll...die very painfully." she said softly. Ryan turned to agree with her, noticing a paper in her hand. After reading it, he too spoke up, "Looks like we have other issues."
Sadow narrowed his gaze down at the piece of paper in Ryan's hands "Like what?"
"See for yourself." he replied, tossing the paper to Sadow, "It's from that mystery Contractor. It reads 'My vendetta... has begun...'"
Sadow raised a brow in confusion "What?"
Takeshi walked into the room, his look of cold calm still found in his dark eyes. "How slow Ryan, I had hoped you would find the note earlier, oh well. Yes my vendetta has begun, and all of you have become part of this plot's chains."
He leaned against a wall, sipping from the casket Ryan has seen with him during their first meeting. "In the end, the past is simply a lesson, not something to ever truly be used as an excuse or otherwise. Why then do you, a contractor of a high rationality, care about your lost memories? And what would you do if I told you I know where the Meteor Fragment is?"
Sadow laughs boastingly while Sink keeps his hand at his Revolver, waiting for the signal to shoot. Sadow boasts "You know where the meteor fragment is? And yet you'd creep all the way into our base, alerting us to this? Either your really brave, brother, or your really stupid. But come now, we're all Contractors here. There's no need for a fight. Just join up with us. We'll gladly take you in with open arms, newcomer."
Takeshi looked at him, "Nah, I'm checking out your security system; you know the one that's supposed to electricute people on their way in? Yeah, it failed, sorry about that wasted money... I'm guessing it amounted to about $10,000 right?"
He took another swig from his casket before continuing, "And I'm also interested in what you'd do when I told you Neko is the one that kindly unlocked the door, allowing me to get in and tamper with your security system in the first place."
Sadow frowned "I do not want to hurt you, you know, but if pushed far enough I'm afraid things might get... out of hand." Sink, noticing Sadow's change of tone, placed his hand on his Revolver to quickly unsheathe but held it there, anxious for the signal. Keiyou's heart quickened, feeling uneasy by the changing mood.
Takeshi smiled, "I bet they will." With the precise aim of his revolver he had hidden behind his casket, he fire off a shot at Sink, who slumped to the ground as he was hit in the chest. Takeshi yawned as Keiyou dashed to Sink's side, "Don't worry, I didn't hit a vital spot."
He shrugged at Sadow and Ryan's shocked expressions, "I don't like having things pointed at me; one of my many quirks." He took another sip from his casket, and as Ryan got up, drawing his own revolver, Neko grabbed the end of his shirt and held him back.
Neko stepped forward, keeping her stare, "If you think I helped you to further your goals you're wrong." she whispered. This shocked Ryan greatly, "An..an evolving d-doll?!" he thought. Neko continued, "You like to keep calm, and freak your enemies out with being a step ahead of them, but this time you've failed. That man has not disappeared like you would've liked. He's the one who sent me to this man."
Sadow looked around impatiently "What's going on?" Shinji entered with his tooth brush still in his mouth. He saw Takeshi and wetn wide-eyed. He scrambled into his room for the silver sash but Sadow yelled "Don't, Shinji. Now's not the time."
Takeshi looked at Neko for a moment before sighing, "I hate being surprised really, but I guess if I'm not resigned to being so every once and a while, I'll die early." He finished off the contents of his casket before placing it into his jacket's pocket.
He then holstered his weapon and continued, "In the end, I came here to tell you that there's a bigger evil than BEHEMOTH out there right now so I don't plan on attacking your guys unless I need to..."
Neko continued to rant, "Contractors are all in danger. Especially if...the Black Reaper appears...right?" she asked Takeshi, almost sarcastically. Ryan quivered as he witnessed the doll act out of programing, "What is wrong with her..?! Black Reaper?! He's dead!"
Takeshi's eyes suddenly focused into understanding, "...I don't think Hei is responsible for this Neko, but yes they seek what I seek, but for very different reasons. With a Gate under their control, the Contractors will fall."
Neko's attitude returned to normal, "You know what I meant." she said. Ryan regained himself and activated his contract, pinning Takeshi to the ceiling, "Now it's my turn. Where is the meteor?"
Takeshi sighed, looking at his position and deciding he could probably do something if things got out of hand, "Where do you think? It's within the Heaven's Gate. And before you say anything, it has reappeared in a new location and I plan on finding it before it is used to exterminate the contractors. Now, unless you plan on killing me, and not gaining a giant lead into find the Gate, I suggest you let me down."
His contract faded and he fell, hard, to the ground. "There, that good enough?" he mumbled walking away with his hands in his pocket.
Takeshi landed on his feet and sighed, "Sorry about this abrupt appearance, but I needed to test something." He pulled out of his pocket an unopen box of pain pills, and handed them to Ryan, "Take one of them if you'd like." He looked out the window for a moment before adding, "For now I'll tell you Ryan that your mind has been tampered with by a form of electrokinesis... do you know anyone with that ability?"
"Two, but the second I haven't seen in years." he said quietly.
Takeshi thought for a moment, "Well, it seems to have only happened a few years ago, so I don't think its your second option."
Ryan gave a small, warm, smile, "No...No I don't think he's responsible either, but it happened farther back than you think. In any case, no ordinary electrokinesis is gonna cure it. I need the particles from the Gate combine with the meteor to restore these memories. I'm not stupid enough to hunt down Option B, and that's saying a lot considering how dangerous it's gonna be getting to the Gate."
Takeshi shrugged, "Just realize that I haven't found it yet, I just know what area to look in: it's somewhere in the USA, most likely a Western State." He looked at the sun before turning around, "Alright, I think we can figure out where it is, we'll head to California to start, and find out the latest news until we come up with some leads. BEHEMOTH is well funded I assume so it can pay for this for now. Does that work for you?"
Sadow turned around and took consideration into this. He felt like BEHEMOTH wasn't getting enough out of the deal, but then again, extinction of all of the Contractors would defeat the purpose of all BEHEMOTH stands for. He turned around "Very well. We'll help." Keiyou put on a serious expression "But if you cheat us..." Sadow looked sternly at Takeshi, Ryan, and Neko "We'll tear your souls apart..." At this, the discussion was dismissed. The sun began to rise as a new unification was born.
Takeshi left after telling them, "There are some things I need to take care of before we go so I'll go over details tomorrow, say around 7PM, and we'll leave at 12PM the next day ... later."
Sadow turned to Ryan and Neko "Well the beds have been made thanks to Keiyou's fantastic skill at... bed-making." Keiyou blushes "Well, it's nothing really."
Ryan nodded, "Very well, thank you." he said, as if in a daze.