Pope suddenly tilted the gun away from Cole's head, then let it twirl around on his finger before holstering. "That was way too easy, mate. You should really work on that," he told Cole as he looked around the warehouse. As he wandered around a bit, he reached out and produced a pack of cigs, lighting one up.
"Those can kill you, you know," Cole said dryly, still trying to regain his composure after being scared by Pope.
"Lung cancer isn't such a bad way to go," Pope said, turning to face Cole. He sucked on the cig and blew out some smoke. "So, this is where yer' holding up these days?"
Cole shrugged, stepping over to Pope. "Katrina and I are hiding low a few days until Slasher thinks it's safe enough for us to meet back up with him."
"By jove, you got a lass in here?" Pope said, standing a little taller so he could see better. He spotted Katrina in the corner. "She's not the same one from the bar."
"No, she's not," Cole agreed. Pope let a little whistle, then chuckled. "It's not like that." Pope's eyes slid over to give Cole a look of disbelief. "Look, it's not. And why are you here?"
"I was watching the telly the other day when I saw your little act of stardom," Pope told him as he walked across the empty warehouse, closer to the sleeping Katrina. "Then I heard some ponce in a bar say that he knew where you were hiding out at. I figure him and his mates will be coming down here soon to pay you a little visit."
"Oh? When was this?" Cole asked, looking around the warehouse with a sense of urgency.
"Early afternoonish. I like ale for my tea time," Pope said, reaching Katrina. He leaned down, staring at her. "Pretty little lass. I've seen her somewhere before..."
"Early afternoon? Geeze, they could be here any minute. It's almost midnight," Cole exclaimed. "Shouldn't we get out of here?"
Pope shrugged, taking another drag from his cig. "Ah' suppose," he agreed lazily. "Unless you're looking for a rearing good asskicking to someone."
Cole shook his head. "No thank you. I'd rather avoid any fights for now."
"Suit yerself," Pope said, standing up. "Better wake 'er up." He walked over to the door, sliding it open to look outside.
Cole kneeled down beside Katrina, reaching out and shaking her shoulder gently. "Kat..." he whispered outloud. She stirred a little, but didn't wake up, so he shook her a little harder.
Finally, Katrina's eyes opened up to look up at Cole. "Cole? ... Is there something wrong?" she asked tiredly, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She glanced over at Pope standing at the door. "Who's that?"
Cole glanced over his shoulder at Pope, then back at Katrina. "That's Pope. Listen, he says there might be some men coming out here soon to look for us. We need to move to another location for a while."
Katrina nodded, getting to her feet. The two of them walked over to Pope, who was taking a final drag from his cig and dropping it ot the ground. As Pope crushed it underneath his heel, he looked at the two. "You two have company," he said.
Leaning past Pope to look over his shoulder, Cole saw a small mob of men, ranging from about 10-15, walking along the warehouses, obviously looking for which one they were hiding in. "Damn," he hissed.
"What is it?" Katrina asked from behind him.
Cole glanced at Pope, their eyes meeting briefly, passing the unsaid message: we have to hurry. He then turned to look at Kat. "It looks like they're already here. We need to go - now." Katrina nodded silently in response.
"Lets go," Pope said, moving outside from the warehouse. The full moon shown down on them brightly, lighting up the entire area. It was like a bad omen.
Waving his hand to the two of them, Pope led them around the side of the warehouse, avoiding a can on the ground. He took only a few steps forward when the terrible crunching sound came from behind him. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw that Cole's foot had totally annihilated the can into the ground. "You wanker," Pope muttered.
Cole winced. "I'm sorry," he muttered, turning his head to look at the group of men a few hundred yards away. Sure enough, the group of men had stopped from their activity of entering another warehouse and were turning around, their lights shining across the lot until it fell directly onto the three of them. Shouts could be heard from the mob as they spotted them and a stray plasma shot hit the side of the building.
"Move it, git," Pope said, breaking out into a run and moving along side the building, taking a turn to get the building between them and their not-so-friendly mob. Cole and Katrina followed him around the corner, where Pope began to slow down.
"What is it?" Cole asked after almost running into him.
Pope pointed ahead. "Look. More of them," he said. As Cole looked up ahead, he sure enough saw more humans. And obviously they had been alerted to their position, because they were quickly heading in that direction. "Come on," Pope said, taking a left and running away from the warehouse all together and across an empty area of space toward another set of warehouses.
The three of them were half-way there when the second group of humans shined their light on them. While Pope didn't even stop to acknowledge it, Cole slowed down and turned his head to look in the general direction. Katrina was then forced to slow down next to him. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Go on with Pope," Cole ordered aiming his arm at the light. He brought out his mini-guns and opened fire into the light. Cries and shouts of alarm could be heard, then the light went out, obviously shot out. As soon as the light was out, Cole lowered his arm and saw Katrina was still there. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and running onward after their British friend.
By the time they caught up with him, Pope was pulling open a door to a warehouse. "Move it," he told them, waving them in. Cole slid in, bringing Katrina along with him. As soon as they were both in, Pope slid in and closed the door. "This will buy us a minute," he told them.
Cole squinted his eyes in the dark at Pope. "Why are you helping us?" he asked him.
"Nothin' on the telly," Pope said, moving past Cole to some boxes. He then begin to push against them, inching them to the door. Getting the idea, Cole bent down next to him and helped him. Together, the two of them blocked the door with some heavy boxes, then they stepped back.
"Now you've sealed us in," Cole said. Pope merely smiled, then walked across the warehouse to the other side, where another door was at. He opened it, stuck his head out to glance around, then waved them over. Cole shook his head, glancing at Katrina. "He's something." Katrina only gave him a half-smile as the two of them ran over to join Pope at the door.
"You two stay here for a moment. I'm going to provide a little distraction," Pope told them. He then slid out of the warehouse, glanced around a moment, then moved to the right, back in the general direction the mob would be coming from.
"Will he be alright?" Katrina asked Cole as the two of them stood there. The cold night air made her rub her arms to get some warmth back into them.
"I guess," Cole said. "I think he was in the Alternate Unit before the war." He glanced down at Katrina, then removed his bomber jacket, handing it to her. "Here. You look cold."
Smiling, Katrina took the jacket from him, sliding it on. "Thank you," she said. "I didn't think to bring anything warm."
"It's nothing," Cole assured her, leaning around the open door to look out into the night again. He then turned back to Katrina. "Do you think we could get back to Slasher's from here?" he asked.
Katrina paused to consider. "It's a long way across the city, Cole. We'd have a long way to go to make it."
Cole nodded, then sighed. "It was just a thought. But staying here seems like a bad idea." The two of them stood in silence for a while when they heard someone approaching. Cole tensed, getting his weapons ready.
Pope suddenly popped back up into view before the two of them, glancing at Cole. "Plan on using that, mate?" he asked sardonically as he moved inside.
"What's it like out there?" Cole asked.
"I provided the wankers with a little distraction, but they have the entire lot surrounded," Pope told him as he sat down on the warehouse floor.
"So we're just going to wait here?" Cole asked, confused.
"Relax," Pope said, closing his eyes. "I have everything under control."
He jumped off the shuttle onto the ground, standing up. His black cloak made him nearly invisible in the forest. It allowed him to creep about like the spectre of death, silent and unseen.
As Gravedigger walked away from the shuttle, he kept his eyes out for Wiendigo, who said he was going on ahead to see what was taking Slasher so long to meet with them. So far there had been no sign of them for the last ten minutes since he had left Grave the duty of hiding the shuttle.
Coming to a stop, Gravedigger listened quietly for any unnatural sounds in the forest. He tilted his head a little to the right, seeing nothing. Then, as he began to turn it again to the left, he felt the tip of a katana pressed against his nose. He looked straight ahead and saw the shape of his mentor standing there. "Ha ha," he said quietly.
The katar retracted into the darkness and Wiendigo stepped forward. "I trained you better than that, Grave," Wiendigo told him in a normal voice. He looked behind Grave at the covered shuttle, giving the slightest nod of praise.
"I knew you were there," Gravedigger said naturally, pulling back the hood of his cloak to look at Wiendigo in the darkness. Wiendigo glanced at him silently, then looked up at the treetops. "Relax. I'm sure he'll be here soon."
"Something's not right," Wiendigo replied.
Gravedigger paused, trying to sense what Wiendigo could be talking about. There was nothing out of place in the forest. If there were, he would sense it coming or hear it. After spending years as Wiendigo's pupil, it was hard for anything to be out of place in his environment without him knowing it. Only Wiendigo could slide under his radar and avoid being detected, though that was not always the case lately.
"What do you mean?" Gravedigger asked. Wiendigo didn't answer, merely tuning him out as if he were in his own little world. Being used to such treatment, Gravedigger merely stood there, waiting and listening. Time passed like this for the longest time - silence between the two as they stood there in the forest.
Just as Gravedigger was hearing the slightest of noises and lifting his head upward to see what it was, Wiendigo was already turning around to face the sound. "You're late," he said outloud.
"You caught me," came the quirky reply from Slasher as he stepped into their view. Gravedigger noted that the cyborg had almost come up on him undetected, but his stealth skills weren't as good as his own. He came into view of the two, looking at them both. Neither Grave nor Wiendigo said anything. "Don't both of you rush to greet me at once," Slasher said, putting a hand to his chest in mock pain.
"You're late," Wiendigo repeated.
"It took me a while to secure a vehicle the military couldn't trace back to me," Slasher informed him. He then looked over at the big cluster of branches and leaves. "You missed a spot there," he told them, pointing at it.
Gravedigger shook his head. "You never change," he told him. "How are the Mavericks?" he asked.
Slasher shook his head. "About a week ago we had an incident where they were tracking Cole and hit the building we were in. We lost a lot of them in the attack. But since Cole left they've been good. Morale is a little low, though."
Wiendigo stood there, silent, as Gravedigger took over the talking for them both. "Do you know where Cole went?" he asked.
"He had a big incident where he killed the Vice President. Right now he's hiding, since the military wants to find him," Slasher said. "Not the brightest kid, but at least he has Katrina there with him."
Gravedigger nodded. "The scientist girl."
"That's my girl," Slasher said, nodding. "She managed to remove the chip and tracers from Cole."
"Good," Wiendigo cut in, glancing over at Slasher.
Slasher looked at him, then back at Gravedigger. "Despite being reformed, his people skills need some improving.
"You try telling him that," Gravedigger said.
Slasher shrugged. "I can't work miracles. How was your side of things?" he asked.
"We've been following the other Death Star for a while now. He's destroyed almost all the human bases and supply lines across the globe," Gravedigger said.
"I thought as much. He's making sure that Mega City will be the last line of human defense," Slasher murmured.
"Yes," Wiendigo agreed. "He's herding the humans here to be slaughtered. We need to find a way to bring down his support so we can move against him."
Slasher rubbed his chin. "Since he's brought them more victories than losses, he's in pretty good standing with his reploids."
"There is a way," Wiendigo said. "We should get back." He began to walk the exact path that Slasher took to get there.
Gravedigger and Slasher fell into a pace behind him. "He's crazy," Gravedigger began, looking at Slasher. "He tears the base and the soldiers at each base apart."
Slasher mused. "Has he taken over any land anywhere? Captured anyone? Killed anyone outside the bases?"
Gravedigger paused, then shook his head. "No. Just the bases," he said slowly, thinking. "You think he would take over some land for the reploids, now that I consider it."
"Exactly. So why hasn't he done that yet?" Slasher asked to no one in particular.
Wiendigo looked over his shoulder. "He said he would go to any extremes necessary to bring this war to an end for a reploid victory. And he has the Ragnorak."
"You're right, on both points," Slasher agreed. "Yet, I can't recall him attacking any human outside the soldiers. Plus, he's had the Ragnorak for more than a week and he still hasn't used it."
"You think maybe he doesn't have it configed to hit humans yet?" Gravedigger asked.
"Possibly. I'll need more time to look into everything he's done so far," Slasher said. "But there's something definitely odd to his pattern."
"He's moving everyone to one central spot," Wiendigo said slowly. "He obviously intends to fight his last battle here."
"Oh, I agree," Slasher said with a nod of his head. Wiendigo became very silent as he walked through the forest.
"Alright. So he hasn't attacked civilians, but he proclaims he's going to wipe out all the humans on the planet. He's attacked all the major bases across the planet, but left Mega City. And he's not taken over any size of territory," Gravedigger recapped slowly.
"That's right," Slasher told him.
"What do you think he's doing?" asked Gravedigger.
"I'm not sure ... yet," Slasher said confidentally. "But I'm sure he's up to something."
The three of them emerged from the forest where they found a little car parked. Slasher walked over to the driver door and climbed inside, with Gravedigger getting into the side seat and Wiendigo into the back.
"This car is a little small," Gravedigger remarked, eyeing how much room the three of them took up in it. Wiendigo scowled, having to sit hunched up in the back seat since the small room in the vehicle didn't give him leg room.
"It's my stealth car," Slasher told them. He turned it on, then switched the radio to the news. Gravedigger shook his head, looking out the window as they began to drive back towards Mega City.
As the drove in silence, the radio began to discuss the attack on the hospital earlier this evening. Wiendigo leaned forward. "Someone attacked the hospital."
Slasher nodded, reaching over to turn up the volume. "This isn't good..." he said. The three of the listened to the report of some reploid attack on the hospital that was somehow repelled after some damage was inflicted on the hospital.
"It's him," Wiendigo said darkly.
Slasher looked over his shoulder at Wiendigo. "But I thought you guys said his people were still working on the last few supply bases."
"They are. He must have come back before they did," Gravedigger said sourly. "Probably to attack the real Death Star."
"We need to go there now," Wiendigo said.
"It'll be under heavy guard," Slasher noted.
"I don't care," Wiendigo told him flatly.
"Me neither," Slasher said, driving into the city.
The police had just left after questioning them for hours about their attacker. Wind had given them the standard answer about it being some random reploid attack, that it probably didn't mean anything more than a crazy reploid, then sent him on their way. If they had used the hospital cameras to see his attacker, they would probably have already noticed they looked like identical twins. However, the police wisely didn't bring it up around Wind at this point and time. It just meant that they would be watching Wind carefully at this point.
"We need to find Slasher," Wind said finally, looking over at Ariel. "He's the only one that can do what needs to be done at this point."
"You said that before. But how do you plan to find him?" asked Ariel, looking over at him.
Wind merely smiled. "I think he'll come to us," he said mysteriously. Ariel gave him a look that indicated she wondered how he knew that, but knew better than to bet against him.
They were wrong.
Approaching them came a figure from the darkness, a black hood over their head and cloak trailing behind them. The figure came to a stop about a hundred yards away, where it stood until the guards noticed him.
"What the hell is that?" asked one of the military people to one of the police officers.
"I have no idea..." the officer replied, stepping forward. He shined a light on the cloaked figure. "Who are you?" he shouted out loud.
The silent figure didn't respond. He merely reached under the black cloak and pulled out a sai, holding it in his hand. The guards immediately went on the defensive, pulling out their weapons and aiming it at the figure.
"DROP THE WEAPON!" one of them shouted at him. The figure totally ignored them, causing a sense of uncertainity among them. One of them began to radio the officers upstairs to get down there and help them out.
Then the figure raised the sai into the air. "REPLOIDS!" the figure shouted out, then waved the sai in the air. The guards immediately felt the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end and they opened fire on the figure.
The cloaked reploid tilted it's body to the side, letting the shots fly past, then began to walk backwards, waving it's sai in the air. It then turned and ran toward the parking lot. The guards immediately ran after it, giving chase and leaving their posts behind.
Standing high above all of them on one of the hospital ledges, a black trench coat could be made out blowing slightly in the wind. Wiendigo turned to look at Slasher. "He'll keep them busy for a while."
"Of course. My decoy plan is flawless," Slasher said. Wiendigo merely glanced at him, then back down at Gravedigger giving the guards a run for their money.
Ariel glanced at him. "Slasher?" she asked. Wind gave her a bigger smile. "I'm not going to ask how you knew," she said lightly. "I wouldn't give you the pleasure."
Wind laughed and rolled his chair over to the door to their room. "I'm guessing he's somehow causing a ruckus downstairs so that he can meet with us up here."
"You're right," came a voice. Wind jerked in his chair, turning it around to see Wiendigo standing there before him. He hadn't even heard him approach.
"Jesus, Wiendigo, I guess the visit in my head wasn't a coma induced illusion," Wind said dryly. Shortly after he had been sent into the hospital, Wiendigo had made a jump inside his mind to learn how to defeat the other Death Star, figuring that it would take one to know one. While Wind had been unable to provide any solid method for beating the other Death Star, it still had helped Wind mentally, he felt, to talk with Wiendigo.
"No, it wasn't," Wiendigo agreed, looking down at Wind. "I see you're rolling about now."
"Was that a joke?" Wind asked dryly. "Aren't you afraid of being caught on candid camera?" he asked, pointing at one of the camera in the hallway.
"Slasher is disabling them as we speak. Did the other Death Star attack you?" Wiendigo asked.
"Yes. Bright, cheerful, and insane," Wind noted. "But at the same time, there's something I can't quite put my finger on."
"Explain," Wiendigo said.
"Despite being totally out of his mind and attacking us, I can't really say. I keep trying to think like he would, but there's obviously something I'm not seeing," Wind told him.
Wiendigo looked around the hallway. "The same as we were thinking." By that time, Slasher had arrived behind Wiendigo. "You're late," Wiendigo said.
Slasher eyed him, then looked at Wind. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Ariel managed to run him off," Wind said.
"That explains the hole in the wall," Slasher noted, glancing back at the end of the hallway.
"Look, Slasher - I need you and Wiendigo to get me and Ariel out with you guys. I think I might have an idea to help bring this war to an end, but I need to talk to you about it in more private accomodations," Wind told them.
Wiendigo glanced at Wind. "You have a plan?" he asked.
"Yes. And it'll involve Slasher getting it off the ground," Wind added. Wiendigo glanced at Slasher quietly, but said nothing.
"Alright, you have my interest," Slasher said.
"If we're going to get DS out of here, we'll need to move now," Wiendigo said. "I'll take him. You grab the chair." He then bent down and lifted Wind out of his chair. As Slasher grabbed the handles of his chair, he smiled at Ariel, who had come to join them.
"You're looking pretty as ever," Slasher told her. Ariel gave him a look indicating she didn't believe that after her fierce battle a few hours ago.
Wiendigo stepped up to the hole in the wall, looking down at the parking lot. He let out a sharp whistle and down in the darkness, a hooded figure could be seen coming out of the shadows. He turned to look at Slasher. "Throw him the chair."
"Wouldn't that hurt?" Slasher asked, peeking over the edge.
"Do it," Wiendigo said. Slasher shrugged and tossed the chair out the window toward Gravedigger. As he stood there, Grave raised his hand to catch the object, only to see the chair. He made a face as it smashed into him, turning him into a goo pile briefly before he reformed holding the chair, as if nothing happened.
Wiendigo then vanished into the shadows, appearing beside Gravedigger, still holding Wind in his arms. "That was cute, Wien," Gravedigger commented. Wiendigo ignored him, walking over to the small car and putting Wind in the back.
By that time, Slasher and Ariel had worked their way down to the bottom with a rope that Slasher had set up. Ariel moved and got into the back seat beside Wind, despite the cramped room.
Wiendigo looked at Grave. "The guards?" he asked.
"They're busy elsewhere. They're not too bright," Gravedigger said, moving over to the passenger side and getting in.
Wiendigo then looked at Slasher. "There's not enough room for me. I'll follow behind you guys in the shadows."
Slasher nodded. "Gotcha." He got into the car, then drove off. Wiendigo stood there a moment, then vanished into the shadows.
She was so busy studying the people below that her that she didn't hear the person approaching behind her. And she didn't notice a person stopping just a few feet behind her, either. In fact, she didn't even notice until the person spoke in a dry whisper that seemed to take it's inspiration from leaves rustling across a sidewalk.
"You're under arrest."
Lunar Girl whipped around to see Silouette standing there on the roofstop with her. Sil didn't have any weapons out and she seemed to be standing there calmly, as if waiting in line for some event.
"What do you mean?" Lunar Girl asked. "I'm a superhero."
Sil looked over at her with her dark eyes, as if they could peer through a person's soul. Then, almost at a deliberately slow pace, the eyes shifted to her bedsheet cape that was flapping somewhat less than dramatically in the wind. "You stole those bedsheets."
"No, I ... I didn't. These are..." Lunar Girl began, stumbling over her words as she tried to find a way to defend herself without giving away her identity.
Sil stood there, giving her a stoic gaze. One would think she was stoned out of her mind, but the same people who thought that usually found their asses kicked a few seconds later.
Lunar Girl stopped babbling. "I'm merely borrowing these sheets in order to help fight crime."
Sil continued to stare. "Stealing is wrong," she said flatly.
"But I'm doing it for a good cause!" Lunar Girl protested.
" .... So stealing is justified if a person says it's for a good cause?" Sil asked in a slow, deliberately calm voice.
"Yes! I mean, no... but ... It's a good cause," Lunar Girl repeated.
"Says who?" Sil asked slowly.
"I ... do..."
Sil shook her head. "And who are you to decide?" she asked slowly. The two of them stared at each other for a while, then Sil removed some handcuffs and tossed them to the ground.
"Wh-What are these for?" Lunar Girl asked, glancing down at them.
" ... for you to put on. You're under arrest," Sil said slowly, as if it were obvious already.
Lunar Girl backed away slowly, but realized she couldn't go any further off the edge. She looked back at Sil again. "I'm afraid I can't let you detain me!"
Sil looked at her boredly. "Oh?"
Lunar Girl then transformed into a flying cat and soared away. Silouette continued to stand there, wondering silently how her clothes shrunk with her.
As the flying cat flew down a few blocks, she transformed back into her human girl shape on a roof. Panting, Lunar Girl readjusted her mask, glancing around. Good, she thought to herself after seeing no signs of the creepy police officer. Now I can get back to business. She turned and began to walk forward when she ran into something. Falling back onto the roof, she glanced up to look at Sil.
Sil stood there, looking down at her. "Running from the police only makes things worse," Sil said flatly.
Lunar Girl sighed and stood up. "I have cri--" she began when there was a shout of surprise. Both women turned to look over the roof two men running away from an old lady. They seemed to have taken her purse.
Lunar Girl jumped off the roof and landed in front of the men. "Halt, evil-doers!" she said dramatically. Both of the men paused momentarily, then snickered and ran on past her. Frowning, Lunar Girl turned to look at them and mentally tripped them up, causing them to fall face first onto the pavement. She walked over to them, took the purse, and handed it back to the old lady. "Here you go."
The old woman gushed over her. "Oh, thank you so much, young lady. Thank you so much."
Lunar Girl smiled, then looked back up at the roof. Standing there was Sil, who had watched the entire thing with a passive expression. She held up a hand and wiggled her finger for Lunar Girl to come back up there and join her on the roof.
Finally, he leaned forward. "Pope. I think the coast is clear," he said finally. Pope stopped in the middle of his joke with Katrina, turning to look over at Cole.
"Stick your head out the door, then," Pope told him. Cole made a face and leaned back against the wall. "Roight, were was I?" he asked Katrina.
"You were telling me about what happened after you found the women's clothes in your hotel room," Katrina answered.
Pope nodded. "Roight. Okay, so I was---" he began when there was a sound outside which seemed to be a bunch of cans rattling together. He tensed up suddenly, getting to his feet as he moved over to the back door.
"What is it?" Cole asked, getting to his feet.
Pope waved his hand at Cole to be silent, then opened the back door. He glanced outside, then slid out silently. Cole glanced over at Katrina, who shrugged quietly. As he slid toward the back door after Pope, there came a sound from the front side of the warehouse where the boxes had been stacked.
Pausing, Cole turned to look back at the front of the warehouse. It seemed someone was trying to open the doors. After a moment of silence, there came more shaking from the door. It sounded like a lot of people were trying to get inside now. As he turned back around, he almost ran into Pope who had come back inside.
"Well, mates, it's time to go," Pope told them. He helped Katrina to her feet, then stepped back outside. Glancing around, he led the two of them away from the warehouse. As they moved, he lit up another cig.
Cole made a face. "They'll see it," he warned.
"Good for them," Pope replied, tossing the lit cig backwards into a puddle. Cole took a quick sniff and realized it was gas. He grabbed Katrina and hurried forward as the cig landed on the puddle and lit it on fire. The fire then began to spread around the warehouse, as if someone had poured gas all around it. Within seconds, the flames began to dance up the sides of the warehouse.
Katrina stared in awe as they hurried off the lot. "Wow, I didn't even know you did that..." she said in shock.
Pope grinned. "Talent, lass. Talent."
He paused. "Of course, sir. Since the President has been captured and the Vice President is dead, your orders stand now as the highest ranking officer during martial law." Another pause. "I will implement your plan right now."
He hung up the phone, then dialed another number. "Yes, Lieutenant. I want every available military officer in the city to hunt down and destroy Colephantus now. Since the reploids are driving us into extinction, we need to show them we can still hit hard."
Clicking the phone closed, he turned to the mob of men. "How would you men like to help your government by hunting and killing whatever reploids and their human traitors you can find?" The men looked at each other, then at the officer. They nodded and smiled.
Slasher nodded over to the corner, where Wind was talking to someone on a comm. link. "He said he had to talk to someone before he began. He's been on the comm. since we left the hospital."
Wind flipped the comm. off, then rolled his chair back over to the others. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Slasher rubbed his hands together like a little child getting ready to open a present. "Alright, tell me about this plan where I'm needed to help solve it."
Wind smiled, leaning back in his wheelchair. "This is an age long question that everyone has always asked themselves. And that no one has ever been able to solve."
Slasher nodded, waving his hand. "I'm liking it so far."
"Do you believe reploids have souls?" Wind asked everyone present. Slasher stopped waving his hand to look at Wind. Ariel stood next to Cheryl, both of them talking quietly, but having paused now to listen.
"Souls?" Wiendigo repeated before Slasher could speak. "Your plan to end the war revolves around if we have souls?"
"In a way," Wind said. "Do you believe?"
Slasher cut in at this moment. "You'd have to go back to the aspect, 'what is a soul', then. I mean, most people would say living things are the only beings capable of having souls. Others would say it would be living, thinking beings."
"I agree. What is a soul?" Wind asked. "I don't know personally. But humans are considered to have souls the moment they are born. What about their birth - the birth of any life - that contains a soul?"
Gravedigger leaned against his shovel. "Don't get me wrong, Star, but what makes you think reploids have souls?"
"Last year, we took a fight to heaven and hell itself, Gravedigger, where we saw that souls do, in fact, exist," Wind told him.
Slasher nodded. "During the Motenk War."
"Right. During that war, we saw evidence that reploids have souls," Wind said.
"You did?" asked Wiendigo.
Slasher nodded slowly. "He's right. I recall seeing Slash on the other side," Slasher recalled. "Which meant he would have to have a soul."
"Right. Slash died decades ago, but when the gate to hell opened up, a bunch of our friend's souls gathered together to close the gate. One of the souls present was Slash. And Slash was a reploid," Wind explained.
"Okay. So, if we go by that, what am I suppose to prove?" Slasher asked.
"The age long mystery no man has ever figured out before. Not Cain. Not any reploid scientist or creator on this planet. How did Dr. Light create a machine that not only could think and act on it's own will, but has a soul?" Wind asked.
Drop dead
A bullet to my head
Your words are like a gun in hand
You can't change the state of the nation
We just need some motivation
These eyes
Have seen no conviction
Just lies and more contradiction
So tell me what would you say
I'd say it's time too late....
[Chorus:]
So am I still waiting
For this world to stop hating
Can't find a good reason
Can't find hope to believe in
Ignorance
And understanding
We're the first ones to jump in line
Out of step for what we believe in
But who's left to stop the bleeding
How far
Will we take this
It's not hard to see through the fakeness
So tell me what would you say
I'd say it's time too late
[Chorus]
This can't last forever
Time won't make things better
I feel so alone
Can't help myself
And no one knows
If this is worthless, tell me so
What have we done
with a war that can't be won
This can't be real
Cause I don't know what to feel
[Chorus:]
So am I still waiting
For this world to stop hating
Can't find a good reason
Can't find hope to believe
So am I still waiting
For this world to stop hating
Can't find a good reason
For this world to BELIEVE