Fan Fiction ❯ Sixth ❯ Chapter 6

“Hello ‘Mother’”

“EEXGSW006PS, you have returned” A feminine voice echoed through the darkened room.

“No not really, I’m just in need of some data and its Sixth” Came the boys reply, he stood alone surrounded by the darkness, the only light was that coming from the overhead spot-lighting that was illuminating the area immediately around him. //How ironic, I’m stained by sin and yet the light does not run from me//.

There was silence for what seemed like an eternity before either made a move to speak. Sixth raised his head so that his face was directly in the light, after taking a deep breath he lowered him head so that he was facing the darkness once again.
“Ok ‘Mother’ cut the crap, show yourself I have a curfew to keep”

“‘Those who hid themselves from the darkness, shall rise from the darkness to devour our sins’ ” The feminine voice recited through the darkness.

“What? You can at least acknowledge that I’m here,” The now aggravated redhead screamed.

“I am well aware of your presence…Sixth, however this takes priority it’s not everyday that one deciphers a Prophecy that has taken over a century to understand that basics of its written language. This prophecy foretells the devastation that was the Rupture and the promise of those who will deliver us from our sins. Do you still think that you are more important than hope?” ‘Mother’ asked arrogance present in her tone.

“Do you think you’re infallible? The answer to that one is no, you should remember that time, a time where one enemy annihilated forty-one of the forty-two E series units. No matter how far ahead you planned, you couldn’t predict that could you? So yes I do believe I’m more important than hope, since I didn’t die, now show you”
The room was immediately lit, cold steel plating surrounded the walls all the way to the ceiling that extended over a hundred metres into the air. A tall machine that covered the back wall of the room and extended all the way to the ceiling, sat there humming away, above the large display at the base of the machine, was a metal plaque with the words “Mother 9th Structure sub-system,” engraved into it. A hologram appeared in the form of an ethereal woman, dressed in a long flowing gown, a delicate smile placed across her features.

“Is this more to your liking?” The holographic representation of ‘Mother’ questioned.

“Don’t try and play games with me, you know what I’m capable of after all” He replied in disinterest as he approached the panel in front of the display.

“No data was gathered from your assault on Corra, a shockwave of unknown origin disabled the surveillance systems” She replied as she turned to follow the boy.

“I’m not talking about today; I’m talking about the day when the third Structure was lost. Don‘t tell me you‘ve forgotten” He responded as he began to access the system. The light flickered for a moment, and the gentle humming of the machine increased momentarily. “See you do remember”

“That incident was classified as NH, meaning it never happened, the E series was lost due to genetic instabilities. Now what data do you require and for what purpose?” The image asked as she stopped along side the boy.

//So it never happened? If only that were true//.
“I need data on a demon named Shiran; he also refereed to himself as ‘The First High Lord of Darkness’. We made acquaintances recently and so I need to know what I’m up against so I can defend against it and hopefully defeat it should the need arise” He responded as he began to enter line after line of security overrides.

“Cross-referencing, data compiled, transfer now in progress” She responded in a robotic tone.

The words ‘security protocols disabled’ flashed across the screen, two windows opened and thousands of lines of data were transferred from one window to the next. Once the transfer was complete, Sixth loaded a data core into the core socket, and began transferring the data to the portable medium.

“All data has been transferred, I will now inform Arcana of your return to the fold”

“I’m not returning, if you try to force me you’ll have to kill me and I’m too valuable to lose right? I’m more useful to Arcana alive, free and AWOL than dead, captured and being dissected. In the time between my betrayal and today I’ve did more damage to the enemy than any military organisation has in the one hundred-sixteen years since the day of Fate. Now I need you to help me with one other thing, I need to know about a shadow.”

“A shadow you say. Specify, inconclusive results were generated on the basis of the term Shadow” She replied, a puzzled expression clear on her face, she was now casually leaning against the machine that she represented.

“A demon that takes the form of a shadow, it is capable of exerting control over its host, places seals on its host’s body and it is able to enter the hosts mind in an attempt to gain control…..Is that specific enough?” He questioned as he subconsciously held onto his injured arm, the seal marks already pulsating as the shadows power began to flow through them again.

“That is adequate, data will not be specific to the shadow in question, however it may contain enough data to help rid you off your possession” She responded her icy eyes focused on the red-heads left arm. “Transfer in progress…...Transfer complete”

Once again, the data was transferred onto the data core, after the process was completed; the boy removed the core and placed it back in his pocket. After staring at the hologram for a moment, he turned and headed for the door.

“Thanks ‘Mother’, it was nice to see you again” He called over his shoulder as he headed out of the doors.

“Indeed it was, pity you cannot hide from me any more,” She said in a mournful voice before she faded out of sight.

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“Where to young man?” The cheery ticket seller asked, in a friendly but slightly hyperactive tone.

“Halcyon please” Sixth replied, trying not to smack the hyperactive girl in the face.

“Ok Halcyon City it is, which station?”

“The Central on please”

“Ok Halcyon Central station it is” She added as she began to print out the ticket. “So arm… do you live near the station?” She asked whilst trying not seem nosey.

“Yeah it’s about a thirty minute walk, but it’s the closet station to my place”

“So you must live in one of those expensive houses. I bet your gonna be quite the catch when you finish school” She added cheerily. “Oh I almost forgot, you might wanna take cab home, since a cute kid like you will be the target of all sorts of perverts, I know if I saw you walking home alone I’d snatch you and have my wicked way with you” She chuckled as she handed him his ticket.

“Thanks I’ll take note of that, Bye” Sixth the headed for his platform and boarded the shuttle train that ran underground, through reinforced tunnels beneath the wastelands that lie between all the major settlements.

//This is going to be one long ride, but at least I got what I came for// He thought as he settled into his seat and let sleep take him.

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“Don’t go” A younger Sixth cried as he chased after the two figures that were walking away from him. Both figures neither turned to face him nor stopped to allow him to catch up. “Why won’t you wait? Don’t go, don’t leave me, I don’t want to be alone” His younger self cried as he fell to his knees, sobbing and shaking.

“Your not alone, you’ve got us, we’ll be back so you keep out of trouble till then ok?” The taller of the two said as he turned an honest smile on his face.

“He’s right you know whatever this thing is we’ll beat it, there’s no way it can take on two of us and win”. The second figure added as she approached and knelt beside him, taking him into her arms she whispered “After all we have a reason to come home don’t we?, Young Sixth nodded in agreement and the girl released him and joined her counterpart, before walking away and out of sight for the final time.

“But they never came back, you promised and you still didn’t”
A familiar shadow crept across his dreams, coating everything in darkness, “That is because they were weak, like you only you have a strength they didn’t. If you give me your strength I’ll return them to you.”

“Can you do that?”

“Of course foolish child, there is nothing that I cannot do”

“Who exactly are you?”

“The ancients called me Deyanira, but in recent times I’m known as the perpetual darkness, so child what is your answer?”

“My answer…..is NO, it would have been so easy to accept that, my freedom for their lives, but I can’t my sins they would only mount, and the pain and suffering I cause will increase. So NO, I won’t give myself to you, no matter what you offer me, and for using them as a means to your own ends I’ll never forgive you…..now….GET BACK!” The shadow began to retreat hesitantly, out of the darkness images of the five other appeared, and then the shadow was gone.

“I’ll live for you guys too, after all we’re ‘family’, and family stick together, so I’ll live my life on your behalf…and please…Forgive me.”

/-/The shuttle train from Corra to Halcyon has arrived at central station, all passengers please depart /-/.A the sound of the announcement the boy woke up got off the train, and out of the station. He decided to walk home, walking always-helped clear his mind.

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He arrived home with just two minutes to go before the curfew, after a verbal beating from Shane, he retreated to his room to analyse the data.
// So we’re are the product of over a hundred years of research, designed to have physical strength superior to a type three, regenerative abilities superior to a type forty-nine and…the power to match…what’s a Rishon Ephah?. The primary goal of the project was the assassination of the Seven High Lords of Darkness, Shiran, Gugnir, Kraken, Valz, Veras, Carnik, Sallamorn, the secondary goal was the extraction of the Subani artefact, and the destruction of it, the Tertiary goal was to crush the Kiotain Empire. Talk about a tall order. Now to see what Arcana knows about Shiran” After typing in a command the data files connected to Shiran opened, and the now enthralled boy began to commit the data to memory.

//Rule one, never give your identity to your opponents, Shiran you’re a fool//
TBC…

AN: The Shiran situation will take to the back burner for a while, since this arc isn’t finished yet.

Nita-sama: Of course I’m gonna upload defiance, but for gods sake give me a chance to get the next few chaps of Sixth up