Volume Eleven - Chase

== Chapter 121 - The Briefness of Peace ==
Jack was firing down rapidly moving target dummies, while dodging their own bullet fire. He knew he needed to get better to fight Karim, and he had to start by honing his gunfighting skills. The targets kept getting shot down, but kept appearing, and he didn't stop shooting, reloading his gun as fast as he could. The dummies continued to drop like flies, until they eventually stopped, and Jack looked on at the pile of fake corpses he had left from the dummy training, as he feels the bleeding cut left on his cheek from a bullet that had grazed there.
Jack and Andromeda walk together, holding hands, as they looked at the lamp posts. They illuminated the night sky, and the tree-filled park. The benches looked new, but they knew that they were rather old. This park itself was old. They sit down on one of the benches, as Andromeda rests her head against Jack's. "...Jack..." Andromeda whispered. "...I'm...scared...I'm scared that...I won't...see you again...every time I...lose you...I always...fear that...you were..." She begins to cry, as Jack holds her hand.
"...To be honest...I treat every mission...as my last...every mission...as the one I won't...come back from..." Jack replies. "...And...now...I feel like...that's justified...I don't want to die...but...I don't want to...leave everyone I care about unprotected. I have to fight. To stop Karim, and anyone else who threatens the world, and us." "...That's...one of the many reasons...that I love you..." Andromeda replies, as she and Jack hug. The sky darkened, meaning that there were probably clouds. Was that a soft drizzle? Jack wasn't really paying attention. He just wanted...peace.
"And yet you have not yet reproduced with him." A voice says, as they yelp and turn to see a man who seemed to be wearing a metal mask with a small smile on it, and glowing greenish yellow eyes. His skin seemed to be blue with those yellow-green lights shining through, his white cloak sporting a large hood and silver linings, his hands metal. "Wh..." Andromeda trails off, as the man tilts his head. "I see, you must think it would hurt him in some way. We're not a compassionate species, Andromeda, and you, the Queen, should know that."
"...Are you Cygnus?" Jack demands. "Oh, no. I am not that fool." The man replies. "I am a Shazarak Socqreath, Sechsgrad. I am here to bring Andromeda to a place where she can learn all that it means to be Socqreath--" Jack aims his gun and fires at Sechsgrad, the bullet freezing in mid-air. "Gh..." Jack exclaims, as he runs at Sechsgrad and swings a kick at him. "Jack, no!" Andromeda shouts, as Jack's leg stops moving. "No!" He shouts, as he is tossed into the air. Sechsgrad prepares to bisect him when Andromeda leaps into the air to catch him, before running away. "You're not escaping." He remarks.
== Chapter 122 - Run ==
Andromeda was panting a bit as she ran, hearing Sechsgrad flying behind her, from the way the air seemed to be moved. Flying? A Socqreath couldn't just straight up fly...right? Andromeda slams her Psychic Weapons into the ground to create a dust cloud, as she runs into a burrow and holds Jack close. "Wh-...who was that?" Jack whispers. "I don't know. I think he said he was Sechsgrad..." Andromeda replies, as the burrow is ripped apart and they see Sechsgrad standing over them. "Socqreath can sense the presence of other Socqreath." He says, as he forms a sword and swings it at them.
Andromeda leaps out of the way of the sword, carrying Jack away as Sechsgrad groans, and turns the sword into a ball of energy, before throwing it at them. Andromeda dodges as it hits a tree and explodes, blasting more trees towards them as Andromeda tries to stand her ground and cut the trees that nearly hit her and Jack in half. She then sees Sechsgrad flying above them as he fires down more swords. Andromeda dodges them as they explode, before she sets Jack down and slams her Psychic Weapons onto the ground to fly to where Sechsgrad is, and attack him.
Sechsgrad catches Andromeda's Psychic Weapon in his hand, and punches her. His metal fist's punch was excruciating, as Andromeda howls in agony, before Sechsgrad then prepares to take her away. Jack points his gun carefully, putting his hand around the muzzle to act somewhat like a silencer, even though he knew it wouldn't work, at best not very well. He then pulls the trigger, as the heat and air pressure of the bullet makes his hand hurt like Hell. He watches the bullet move through the air, and hit Sechsgrad in the arm. "Gh!" Sechsgrad growls, as he lets go of Andromeda.
Andromeda falls through the air, as Jack catches her before she can hit the ground. "Agh! Thanks, Jack." She says with a groan of pain, as they see Sechsgrad still flying over them. "You...are annoying." He remarks. "As is this body of mine...it's heavy." He then flies away, leaving Andromeda and Jack there.
== Chapter 123 - New Alliances ==
"That was odd...but interesting. Has she really grown that much?" Sechsgrad wonders. "You fought Jack and Andromeda, didn't you?" Karim's voice says, as he appears from the shadows, the Wicked Prodigy landing beside him. "...Ah, so you are here." Sechsgrad remarks. "I assume you want to form an alliance with me?" "I think you know the terms, you seem like a smart guy." Karim replies. "Yes...you can have her mate." Sechsgrad says. "And I want to bring her to my own facility, to train." "There had better be training involved." Karim replies.
"Otherwise they die."
== Chapter 124 - Mysteries Unfolding ==
Jack and Andromeda had made it back to Kasper's mansion, as Candice welcomed them back with a happy hug. They then spoke of what happened. "A Socqreath Shazarak...?" Kasper asks. "Yep. He said his name was Sechsgrad." Jack answers. "We...barely got away from him." "Of course there's someone else to attack us...it's like the universe can't let us have peace." Shunsuke remarks. "I think we can have peace, we just need to take out all the bad guys first, right?" Candice asks. "Hopefully that's all we need to do..." Andromeda replies.
At that moment, the screen changes, Kasper continuously trying to override whatever is hacking it, but is unable to.
== Chapter 125 - The Invitation ==
"Hello to all of you." Karim says on the screen. "Gh..." Jack exclaims, as Andromeda holds him close. "I understand that you are hunting after me, so I'll make it easy for you." He says, as coordinates appear on-screen. "Go here, and you'll find me. Bring every weapon you can, and don't hold back." The screen then changes back to normal, as they look on. "This isn't good..." Jack remarks. "Maybe it is...we need to stop Karim before he goes through with whatever he's planning. He is a terrorist, after all."
== Chapter 126 - The Factory ==
Andromeda, Jack, Shunsuke, the three of them walked into where the coordinates led them, an abandoned industrial plant. They walked through the eerie silence, until they reached a fork. "Uh...eenie meenie--" Jack is cut off when Shunsuke walks into one of the forks. "We'll split up. We're only dealing with one man after all." He says. "If any one of us is in trouble, we use these flares." He then tosses Jack and Andromeda two flares, one for each of them.
== Chapter 127 - The Beast of Machine ==
Shunsuke continues to walk through his part of the industrial plant, until he notices someone standing there, and walks closer. "Hello, Shunsuke Vaquero." Sechsgrad's voice says, as he turns around and throws multiple metal rods at Shunsuke, who dodges them, grabbing one with his hand and thrusting it towards Sechsgrad, but being halted in the air! "Gh! Are you Sechsgrad?" Shunsuke demands, as Sechsgrad nods. "Indeed I am, Shunsuke..." He replies.
== Chapter 128 - Wicked ==
Andromeda continued to walk around the industrial plant, as lights turned on, one row at a time, away from her and behind her, as they ended up illuminating a silhouette. She then saw that the silhouette was...the Wicked Prodigy. "Wh-what...?" Andromeda demands, as she takes out her flare, a knife going through it. She glares at the Prodigy, who floats in the air, blending in with the night sky. Andromeda, sweating, begins to run away from the Prodigy.
"Ring around the rosie..."
"Pocket full of posie..."
"Ashes, ashes..."
"We all fall..."
"DOWN!"
The Prodigy appears directly behind Andromeda, as she whirls around, attempting to attack him with her Psychic Weapons, but they are reflected away as a knife cuts one of her horns off. The Prodigy kicks her in the stomach before kicking her in the neck, sending her crashing through a wall. Andromeda tries to get back up, but the Prodigy appears in front of her, and kicks her in the face, making everything fade to black.
== Chapter 129 - Rematch in Flame ==
Jack walks around the industrial plant, concerned that he had not yet heard from Andromeda or Shunsuke. He then looks up at the large factory in front of him, and walks inside. It was dark and cold, as there seemed to be buckets, chains, cables and machinery everywhere. He noticed a stairway, and walks up it, to see that where was railing up here, and that below there was also railing, keeping out of a pit. Jack walks along the plant, becoming increasingly scared, but trying not to show it. He walked up the next staircase, and the next, until he reached the top floor, where Karim stood.
"Hello, Jack." Karim says, as he turns around to show Jack's face, Jack seeing his red eyes first, before the factory turns on, molten metal flowing as buckets poured and machinery clanged, sparks flying and smoke rising. "I grew up with this kind of stuff, although I don't know what kind of stuff this factory made." Karim says, as Jack sweats, both from the heat, but also from the fear. "I've come to take you out, Karim." He says, as Karim smirks. "Really?" He asks. "Then come on, show me exactly how much you've grown since we last met."
He then takes out his gun and begins firing, as Jack dodges the bullets and fires at Karim, who doesn't seem to be phased. Jack then fires at Karim's gun to knock it out of his grip, putting his own gun away and rushing at Karim.
Jack throws a punch at Karim's face, as he lets it hit, not even budging, nor grunting. "Wh--" Jack begins to exclaim, before Karim grabs his arm and tosses him away, nearly making him fall off the edge as the impact bends the railing. Jack takes out a few knives and rushes to slash at Karim, who dodges the knifes a few times and grabs Jack's arm, before slamming into the wall. Jack yells out in pain as Karim then punches him in the gut, making him kneel over in pain.
Jack slowly begins to get back up, and tries to kick Karim, who catches his leg and throws him at the railing, making him fall off the current floor and onto a lower one, dangerously close to the lava, as Karim leaps down to be beside him.
Jack sees Karim standing over him, as Karim Kicks Jack to make him be laying on his back, before preparing to stomp on his chest. Jack tries to catch it with both hands, the ordeal being painful and difficult. Karim just stops as he grabs Jack by the face and throws him through the wall. Jack nearly falls out of the building but manages to grab a cable and stay where he is. He runs at Karim to punch him, but Karim ducks beneath it and appears behind Jack, before jabbing him in the side.
"Gah!" Jack roars in pain, as Karim kicks him in the back with what felt like would be spinebreaking force if just a bit more force was applied. Jack stumbles forwards and falls on his knees. As he tries to shoot Karim, who grabs his gun, ignoring the bullet going through his hand, and rips it out of Jack's hand. Karim then grabs Jack's wrist and crushes it, also snapping Jack's arm back and dislocating his shoulder. "GRAAAAH!!!!!!!!" Jack screams, as Karim kicks him in the stomach, letting go of his arm. Jack rolls away, unable to stand, as Karim walks towards him, illuminated by the firelight.
"Funny...you actually managed to put up a fight." Karim remarks, as he stands over Jack, his eyes seeming to glow in this light. He picks Jack up by the head and drags him over to the railing, before grabbing said railing and tearing a piece of it off. He holds Jack over the edge as Jack just flops limply, knowing he couldn't do anything here. "You put yourself in danger because you wanted revenge, and here you are now." Karim says, as Jack feels the heat through his clothing. "But...you did manage to get this far." He then turns around and throws Jack onto the ground, as Jack loses consciousness.
== Chapter 130 - Captured ==
Jack slowly begins to wake up. The first thing he noticed was that every part of his body ached, and he didn't dare try to move, knowing he probably had many broken bones. Then, he looked around the dark room. When his eyes adjusted, he could make out silhouettes of chairs, a screen and a control panel, the latter being on a raised portion of the room. Then, he notices the door opening, as Karim walks through it. He closes the door, and turns the screen on, illuminating him as if he were a silhouette.
"Awake, are we?" He asks, as Jack glared at him. Karim smiles and looks down at Jack, intimidating him into ceasing his glare. "I'm sure you have many questions, so where do we get started?" "...How?" Jack asks. "H-...h-how are you this strong...? You feel...stronger than Romuald..." Karim takes out his gun and eyes it, as he takes out the magazine and begins to fidget with it, smiling still. "I was engineered that way." Karim answers. "I am...a superhuman, and I am older than Rosenstock."
"Wh-what?!" Jack demands, before wincing from the pain in his chest. Karim begins to walk down the stairs, still looking at Jack. "Long ago, there was an old program. Project Minotaur. I and my brother were among the first to be enlisted. We were already trained soldiers, and we expected this to be SEAL training. I was excited. You see, I was much earlier diagnosed as a masochist. Back when I could feel pain, it only made me stronger." Jack then resumes his glare, as he began sweating.
"But what we went through was, to my exhilaration...much more rough and dangerous. Until I was enhanced by the Superhuman Drug they had at the time. I dropped out after that, because the training was over, and stole some of the drug to give to my brother. Of course, it wasn't enough to do any more than slow his aging, but for me, it made my body stop aging, constantly heal, and be unable to feel pain or fatigue. My life became extremely boring after that. No one could challenge me, to the point where I wanted a Socqreath to fight. Because I thought that would be interesting."
"...Who is...your brother?" Jack asks slowly, but he already knew who it had to be. The name, the resemblance... "Kasiya." Karim answers. "We weren't too close, but when I heard you killed him, I decided that you were my target. But I could never have a fulfilling revenge if you have the fighting skills of garbage. That's why, so far, I've let you live, that, and dumb luck on your part." Jack bows his head down. Kasiya was...evil. He had to be killed to free Straykua. Of course he didn't say as much here. He was talking to a bioterrorist who probably didn't know the first thing about morality.
"Andromeda." Karim suddenly starts, startling Jack out of his thoughts. "What is your honest opinion on her?" "...I...I...I love her." Jack replies, feeling embarrassed and scared at the same time. "Why do you love her?" Karim asks, as Jack felt uncomfortable. "We...we've been there for each other...since we were kids. We...grew to love each other." He answers. "And?" Karim demands. "And what?" Jack demands back. "Are you saying you aren't a fan of the way she looks?" He asks, as Jack felt even more uncomfortable, hoping the screen light hid his blushing.
"Wh-what does that have to do with anything?!" He shouts, wincing from the pain again, as Karim's smile somewhat fades. "She is a Socqreath, Jack." He says. "Socqreath are perfectly engineered by nature to be physically attractive." "That's not why I love her!" Jack shouts. "Do you love her despite it?" Karim asks. "I don't care that she's a Socqreath! The only Socqreath I've seen who's evil is evil even by their standards!" Karim looks on, and smiles again, before replying with...
"No, he is not."
"Wh...what...?" Jack breathes, as Karim chuckles. "Cygnus would only be considered evil because he serial kills other Socqreath. Everything else he does is considered completely acceptable by their species." He says. "Think about how Andromeda still holds animosity towards humans. She keeps saying she'll change, even to herself, but does she?" Karim then stands directly in front of Jack, looking down at him as his eyes seemed to glow. "It is in the nature of advanced alien species to look down on more primitive species."
"Do you want to know my opinion on racism?" Karim asks, as Jack tenses up further, Karim just looks on at this. "What we view as racism is nothing more than an excuse." "What?" Jack asks, as Karim begins to walk around him. "When the first 'whites' who came to Africa saw people of my race. Do you think they seriously believed that we weren't human beings solely because of skin color? I don't, I think that those who were tyrants, in power, wanted, not needed, wanted people to work for them, and saw the golden opportunity to use skin color as an excuse to say 'you are slaves'."
Jack doesn't say anything, as Karim continues. "All this animosity, all these ideas of being superior or inferior based on how much Melanin you have, it's all born from a simple excuse that flew wildly out of control. I am glad that such an excuse is on its last breaths these days, because those who believe it aren't even 'evil', if a universal evil exists. They are simply...idiots, idiots who actually believe that an excuse as stupid as 'darker skin equals completely different species' is any more credible than the statements that the Earth is flat or, a personal gripe of mine, that evolution doesn't exist."
"Do you want my view, Jack?" Karim then asks, as Jack slowly, shakily, nods, Karim smiling at this. "My idea of racism is based on evolution, Darwinism. And on that scale, it is you who would be 'inferior', but don't get me wrong, I mean that solely on the level of physicality. I'm not dumb enough to see you as not a human being." Jack still doesn't speak, as Karim continues still. "My kind evolved to be able to work in the sun harder, to fight in the sun longer. You take in Vitamin D, that's it. And yet, you'd consider those minor, right? I do, but I still consider them when going after a target."
"After all, I need to know everything about my opponent, don't I? Socqreath? Physically weak, with powerful, invisible weapons. Qhaikra? Physically strong but usually a bit dimwitted, and too reliant on their armor. Now you can see, all living things are included in my view of racism. From the tiny ant to the mighty dragon. No matter how tiny a difference is, knowing it can make a kill as efficient as possible. And as I am an Angel of Death...I need my kills to be perfect." He then places his gun at Jack's head. "I'm sure you already have experience with that."
Suddenly, they hear police sirens, as Karim turns towards the doorway. He grabs the binds and tears them out of the chair, freeing Jack, who begins to stumble away, crawling so as to not walk on his broken leg. "As for Andromeda...always remember that she isn't even human. Take everything into account, if you want to live. You don't have the cheats that I do." Karim finishes, as he begins firing at the police officers. Jack continues to crawl away until he finds an exit, but passes out before he can leave the building.
== Chapter 131 - Secrets Unknown ==
Andromeda slowly begins to wake up, as she notices that chains were binding her to a pillar. She tries to cut the chains, and the pillar, but they didn't give, only barely scratched. "Gh..." Andromeda growls, as she notices Sechsgrad sitting on a chair and staring at her, whatever expression was behind that mask being unknowable. Then again...this was a Shazarak, the mask probably was his actual face. Andromeda just glares back at him, as he chuckles.
"It's amusing how easily you can hate someone." Sechsgrad says. "I was never exactly taught that acting otherwise kept you alive." Andromeda retorts, as Sechsgrad shakes his head. "Diplomacy isn't useless, but I see your point. This is a dog-eat-dog universe. But...making enemies with everyone is a bit foolish, especially since the Socqreath are meant to make friends, to conquer worlds peacefully. Our society was based around conquering worlds peacefully, or used to be, before your father became King."
"My...Father?" Andromeda demands, as Sechsgrad shakes his head. "Wait, no...the husband of your mother, that's it. Your biological father was human, Andromeda." "Wha...what...?" Andromeda breathes, as Sechsgrad looks on, likely amused. "Kazuyuki killed him to keep you from finding that out. Better to think you have no connections to humans if anarchy is desired." He answers. "Who even are you?" Andromeda demands, as Sechsgrad looked as if he might be smiling, but his mask...face, always smiled, so it was hard to tell.
"Let's save that for later." He replies. "Just know me as Sechsgrad for now. I am a Socqreath Shazarak, much like Bellatrix. I'm sure you remember her." Andromeda continues to glare at Sechsgrad, remembering when Bellatrix had attacked her and Jack. "Why did you bring me here?" Andromeda demands. "Where is here?" "Our home planet." Sechsgrad replies, as Andromeda finally notices the ruined buildings, the destroyed machinery, the Socqreath corpses. "You see...I helped the Shazarak destroy our own species, because I want to...reset our race."
"...Wh...wha...wh-what...?" Andromeda breathes, as Sechsgrad stands up. "I'm sure you're thinking of a way to escape, don't. I have a Shazarak who is a monster even to other Shazarak with me. Meet...Cet-Us." Andromeda then sees a truly massive creature rise out of the water. Its torso had four insectoid arms, its actual torso was skeletal, its head crocodilian, its eyes robotic, its hair like seaweed, its legs a 'mermaid' tail...what...was this thing? It was an...abomination. Cet-Us roars loud enough to shake the area, as Sechsgrad looks on. "Let's call it...three days you stay here, and learn." He says.
== Chapter 132 - Daring Rescue ==
"Rise and shine, Andromeda." Sechsgrad's voice says, as Andromeda opens her eyes to glare viciously at him. He wasn't like other Socqreath, his body wasn't twisted to unbelievable degrees. Yet...that eternally smiling face unnerved her more than that of any other Socqreath. Especially compared to Cet-Us. He places his finger on Andromeda's forehead, leaving a burn mark there, as he chuckles. "You are a girl who has much to learn, and you're running out of time." He says. "You'll reach full maturity soon."
Andromeda continues to glare at him, as he looks at an imaginary watch. "Ah, the three days have almost passed. One more hour, and you'll be set." He remarks, as they hear something enter the atmosphere.
They both turn to see a human space pod land on the ground, burning, as Kiyomasu walks out of it, dusting himself off. "Oh, this will be problematic..." Sechsgrad remarks, as Kiyomasu waves at them. "Hello, there!" He shouts. "Let's skip the chit chat." Sechsgrad replies. "Eat him." He orders Cet-Us, who roars and rushes at Kiyomasu.
Kiyomasu first starts running away, screaming in fear, before turning around, with a dead serious look on his face, and aiming his cane at Cet-Us, firing a laser at it, before moving it down at Sechsgrad, who had moved out of the way. Cet-Us roars and slams one of its four fists on the ground, shaking it and sending debris at Kiyomasu, who dodges or destroys the debris as he closes his eyes to avoid dust getting in them. He then holds his cane out, as it opens up, firing rockets at Cet-Us.
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cet-Us bellows, as it breathes what looked like burning acid at Kiyomasu. Anything the acid touched exploded, as the explosion subsides, and Kiyomasu had protected himself in a cracking barrier. He then flies around Cet-Us using hover shoes, as he creates glowing electric nets around the creature. Cet-Us begins to be electrocuted by the net, roaring in anger and agony as it claws everywhere. Eventually, it collapses to the ground, and the net dissipates.
"Best to let her go, now." Kiyomasu says, as he aims his cane at Sechsgrad. "Abr--gah!" He had been whacked by Cet-Us' tail, and sent flying into ruins, as Cet-Us groans weakly, before collapsing again. Sechsgrad turns back to look at Andromeda, looking as though he'd sweat if he could. "...You know what? Very well, let's get you free. I don't want to deal with Kiyomasu." He says, as he snaps his fingers, freeing Andromeda. "I'll even call in a ship for you."
"..." Andromeda was glad she could escape, but she knew...she had to pay Sechsgrad back for his cruelty one day.