A/N: Usually I don't put an A/N before a chapter, but I figured I should probably apologize for taking so long with this one. That said, I think I like how this one turned out, and I hope you'll agree. Anyways, enjoy chapter 20! (BTW, even if it takes a while between chapters, you can rest assured that this story will be finished).
Y/N P.O.V.
"Ok, let's make sure we have this straight. Honnoji Academy is armed to the teeth with super-soldiers, all of whom are getting ready to pilot walking nuke-shooters that are as big as the airbase they were built in, and... it's up to me to kill them all." Y/N said.
"Actually, I'm not sure if they shoot nukes," Zandatsu pointed out.
"Oh gimme a break." Y/N spat. "Not like I read the freakin' blueprints."
"Whatever man." Zandatsu replied. "Shouldn't be too difficult anyways. I just did a quick scan, and-"
"How, exactly?" Y/N asked.
"Using your goggles, obviously." Zandatsu replied. "Point is, they're still prepping the mechs. All you've gotta do is storm the building before they finish. Should be pretty easy, considering how much stronger you are."
"Storm the building?" Y/N asked.
"Uh, yeah!" Zandatsu asked. "Storm in there and eliminate all threats."
"Hmmm..." Y/N muttered.
"Something wrong?" Zandatsu asked.
"No, just... maybe." Y/N muttered. "I was just thinking about what Mistral said. I'm doing the right thing, even when I'm killing bastards like Ragyo & my dad, but... what if these are just soldiers following orders?"
"Y/N!" Zandatsu warned.
"I'm just saying, what if they're not all bad?" Y/N asked.
"Y/N, don't go getting all sentimental on me." Zandatsu said. "You saw what Sundowner was like. Plus, your dad's dead; they could leave if they want, but they're following Ragyo."
"I... I guess that's true," Y/N admitted.
"Yeah, what are their lives against the world?" Zandatsu asked. "Listen, Y/N. When you win a fight, don't you feel at least a little bit of satisfaction?"
"I mean yeah, but-"
"Just focus on that." Zandatsu commanded. "Just focus on the thrill that you get from killing them. It'll make it easier."
"I... maybe." Y/N said. "I'll give them 1 chance to surrender, and if they refuse, I'll eliminate them."
"Fine. Let's move in," Zandatsu instructed. Y/N's goggles moved in front of his eyes as they prepared to land.
Y/N flew towards one of the windows and smashed through into a classroom. The soldiers all jumped to their feet. "Hands where I can see 'em!" a soldier yelled. Y/N brandished his sword.
"You all know what Ragyo's plan is, right?" Y/N asked. "I'll just give it to you straight: You can either throw down your weapons and help us save the world from the life fibers, or you can stay with Ragyo and die. I don't think it's a difficult decision."
"We've got a contract, and we'll see it through to the end. How else are we supposed to get paid?" one of the soldiers retorted. They all grabbed their HF blades.
"Oh? Does everyone here have that sentiment?" Y/N asked. They brandished their weapons. "Forget it. Don't say I didn't warn you..."
The soldiers charged at Y/N, who quickly dropped his sword to his heel-grip and swept towards their legs. 4 of them fell, but one of them parried his strike and followed up with a side strike. Y/N dodged under and sliced up across his face, then stabbed him and threw him into one of the other soldiers. Another soldier got up and sliced towards Y/N's legs, but Y/N leaped over his head and sliced him in half. As the soldier fell apart, life fibers began to emerge from his body. Y/N quickly grabbed them and absorbed them.
'Huh, that's a hell of a thing,' Y/N thought. The life fiber made him feel a little more energized. As the 3 other guards rushed at him, Y/N jumped in a spiral towards them and sliced all around him, killing 2 of them. The 3rd one jumped out of the way at the last second, but he suffered the loss of his arm. He quickly ran to the door and reached for the door knob with his hand, but Y/N threw his sword and pinned his arm to the wall. Y/N grabbed one of the HF blades with his heel-grip and jumped at the soldier, decapitating him.
"You all made your choices," Y/N muttered, pulling the Murasama out of the door. He rushed to take out the soldiers before they could arm the mechs. As he ran down the hallway, he heard heavy footsteps behind him. "Zandatsu!"
"On it!" Zandatsu responded. The pursuers camouflage wore off.
"Well hell, you look impressive," Y/N remarked. The man standing before him was a lot taller and bulkier than the other soldiers, wielding a large hammer instead of a blade. He immediately charged at Y/N, swinging with an overhead strike. Y/N vaulted sideways and swung towards the soldier's torso.
"My armor's too strong for your flimsy sword to penetrate!" the solder yelled. Sure enough, sparks flew as the Murasama made contact, but the blade didn't cut into the armor.
"Please." Y/N deadpanned. "You couldn't fathom the strength of some of the things I've penetrated."
"Uh... was that supposed to sound-"
"Goku Uniforms, my dad's nanomachines," Y/N continued.
"Ryuko," Zandatsu muttered.
"Exactly!" Y/N yelled. The soldier sighed in annoyance.
"Y'know, I've got a lot of questions. Shame you'll be to dead to answer 'em," the soldier said, hefting his hammer. The soldier swing his hammer around him in a tornado strike, but Y/N jumped away from him. He followed up with an overhead hammer strike that Y/N slightly parried out of the way, then another strike that Y/N parried upwards at the cost of his balance.
'Shit, I can't block that next strike,' Y/N realized. As the soldier swung with a 3rd overhead strike, Y/N dove around him and started attacking his torso again.
"With all the things you've cut, his armor shouldn't be too difficult," Zandatsu pointed out.
"Exactly. All I've gotta do is swing hard enough." Y/N replied. He dropped the Murasama to his heel-grip and sliced at him with a lightning quick combo of slices. As the soldier turned around, Y/N sheathed his sword, then pulled the trigger and sliced the soldier in half. The soldier crumpled and fell to the floor. "Tougher than the average soldier... still not much of a threat." (Cut the music)
Y/N's goggles suddenly started glitching. "The hell?! What's going on?!" Y/N yelled.
"Argh! Something's patching through to your communicator that's causing my artificial enhancements to back up!" Zandatsu explained.
"Well, isn't this a surprise?" A voice said calmly. Y/N froze up. The voice sounded familiar.
"W-what? Who are you?" Y/N asked. "Who's speaking!?"
"Oh come now, don't tell me you don't remember me." the voice asked. "I thought I was really influential in your childhood."
'My childhood?' Y/N wondered. "Apparently not influential enough." The voice chuckled.
"You have no idea how wrong you are..." the voice trailed off. "What I'm about to show you will reveal the truth of your childhood, but before that, I wish to make sure we're clear on everything. You are aware of the artificial enhancements that are given to our soldiers, yes?"
"I dunno, it's been a while," Y/N said.
"Regardless, an important part of our soldiers' enhancements is that we monitor their thoughts, as to make sure there are no potential traitors among our ranks." the voice explained. "Their thoughts belong to us from the moment they receive their enhancements to the moment they die."
"Huh, now I'm really glad I got out when I did," Y/N muttered.
"Usually their recordings are quite boring, but their thoughts right before deaths are always interesting." the voice hissed. "Care for a listen?"
"Alright, who are you, and what the hell's going on here?" Y/N asked.
"Just listen..." the voice trailed off.
"Oh god, somebody help me! He's killing us!" voices echoed through Y/N's communicator. "What the hell's the point?! He's just ripping through us! They're just setting us up as human shields! What did I do to deserve this?" The echoing screams and sobbing sent a shiver down Y/N's spine.
"They... they had a choice..." Y/N muttered.
"Did they?" the voice asked. "I mean, what happened to you when you tried to leave the program?" Y/N ripped the communicator off of his ear and crushed it. He collapsed against a wall, panting heavily.
"I... they d-didn't... no... there's no..." Y/N muttered. 'They didn't have a choice... I murdered them, and they didn't have a choice.' The voice suddenly started speaking over the intercom.
"Feeling a little guilty now? Huh, I'd have thought it would take more than that." the voice taunted. "I haven't even told you that most of those soldiers only took the job because they were desperate, and had no idea what they were getting into." More screams of terror echoed over the intercom. Y/N covered his ears.
"Stop! Turn it off!" Y/N yelled, swinging his sword around furiously.
"Why? There's no denying the truth," the voice said.
"Who are you?!" Y/N yelled.
"Come to the courtyard, then we'll talk," the voice responded. Y/N sighed and sprinted down the hallway towards the courtyard. He ran out onto the courtyard, but there was no one there.
"Damn it, where are you?!" Y/N growled.
"Up here." the voice responded. Y/N looked up towards the tower and saw a man standing at the top. "My name is Monsoon." Y/N pointed his sword towards the figure.
"Start talking," Y/N demanded. Monsoon smirked and leaped off the tower. Y/N's eyes widened as Monsoon's body separated into several pieces connected by pink energy, and slowly floated towards the ground. As his feet landed, the rest of his body began to connect. He had the general red and black pattern of L/N PMC, with long white hair and a sai in each hand.
"How easily you take life when it suits your convenience," Monsoon smirked. "You say it's to save the world, so tell me: who saves people from the boy who saves the world?" Y/N spat at him.
"You're the ones keeping them in the program! Of course they get hurt when you set them up as your human shield!" Y/N yelled.
"It's kill or be killed, Y/N," Monsoon said.
"For the last time, who are you?" Y/N demanded. Monsoon chuckled.
"I already told you my name." Monsoon taunted. "I was your father's prized soldier: a final task for you and Sam to face to prove yourselves worthy."
"Final task?" Y/N asked.
"Your father designed me to be unbeatable. Every time he found a fault in my technique, he saw to it that I was swiftly corrected. Every time he saw a physical limitation, he saw to it that I was enhanced. That was his covenant with me to make me the perfect fighter." Monsoon explained. soldiers walked out of the school and surrounded the pair. "Afterwards, I was sent on my own missions and bred into a killer like you."
"The perfect fighter, huh?" Y/N spat.
"Yes, you aren't the only one to grow up on the killing fields." Monsoon continued. "War is a cruel parent, but an effective teacher. Its final lesson is carved deep in my psyche: That this world and all its people are diseased. Free will is a myth, religion is a joke. We're all pawns, controlled by something greater: Memes. The DNA of the soul."
"I'm sorry, I must've misheard you." Y/N said, trying to contain laughter. "Memes?"
"They shape our will. They are the culture -- they are everything we pass along." Monsoon continued. "Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier. Envy, greed, despair... All passed along."
"How about 'full of shit?' that a meme?" Y/N asked.
"You can't fight nature, killer." Monsoon replied. "Wind blows, rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak."
"What the hell does this have to do with anything?" Y/N asked, annoyed.
"I'm getting to it." Monsoon replied. "You've been using this excuse of saving the world as a means to justify your deeds; to absolve you of guilt when you enjoyed killing. I'm telling you that you needn't feel ashamed. You were always meant to be a killer. The death that surrounds you is only nature running its course. You have no choices to make; nothing to answer for." More screams suddenly started to play over Y/N's communicator. Y/N fell to the ground, grabbing his head and dropping the Murasama. "So how about it, Y/N? If you understand now that the strong prey on the weak, surely the only thing left for you to do is join us."
"So that's why you fight for Ragyo? To prey on the weak?" Y/N asked calmly. He chuckled. "Probably should've expected that. You're right though." Monsoon smirked.
"Good, I'm glad-"
"About me, I mean." Y/N interrupted. "I knew something was off. I thought that after I left, after all this shit was over, I could walk away with Ryuko and live a normal life, and yet here I am, unable to escape my past." Y/N felt emotions welling up inside. "I told myself that I was only killing to protect people, but I was wrong."
"Then you admit it?" Monsoon chuckled.
"I learned young that killing your enemies felt good; real good." Y/N said, emotions welling up even more. "Isshin Matoi, Ryuko, my friends at Honnoji, they helped me forget who I was. But who am I kidding? I was born to kill!" Y/N punched the ground, cracking some of the courtyard. "The excuses? The opportunities to surrender that I knew they'd never accept? I guess I just needed something to keep my inner-killer in check when I was knee-deep in bodies."
"Interesting..." Monsoon trailed off.
"But you... all this is a wake-up call to what I really was- no, what I really am," Y/N continued.
"What are you saying?" Monsoon asked.
"Y/N, now might be a good time to mention that your father included some functions in me that could only be activated with a killer's instinct." Zandatsu explained. "So if you've got your killer's instinct back, these functions are pretty lethal." Y/N chuckled maniacally, raising his head to meet Monsoon's eyes.
"I'm saying, I really am a killer after all. How would ya like to be proof of that?" Y/N asked. Y/N rose to his feet.
"Kill him!" Monsoon yelled. A soldier ran up to Y/N and stabbed him in the stomach, but Y/N continued to laugh maniacally.
"Zandatsu! Turn on those functions." Y/N commanded. As Y/N pulled the sword out of his stomach, he felt Zandatsu pump life fibers into his blood, making him feel stronger and stronger. The life fibers in his blood caused red lines to run all along his skin. "This is my normal; my nature."
"You've lost your mind..." Monsoon trailed off. He nodded at the soldiers around him. The first soldier at his left charged towards the Murasama, but used his new speed to quickly drop his current sword to his foot and impale the soldier's hand to the ground in front of the Murasama. As he heard another soldier run up behind him, he used his other foot to grab the Murasama and kick it back, impaling the soldier on it. As 2 more ran up behind him, he stepped back and pulled out the Murasama, then used it to cut both incoming soldiers in half. As the soldier on the ground started to pull the sword out of his hand, Y/N stomped on the sword again, cut off the soldier's pinned arm, then cut the soldier in half as he rose to his feet.
"Who's next?" Y/N asked, pointing to the remaining soldiers. They all backed away in fear, but Monsoon slowly approached.
"I misjudged you. You are like us after all." Monsoon taunted.
"Now you're just being nasty." Y/N shot back, laughing. "Now... let's see just how much of a killer I really am!" Y/N said, readying his sword for combat. Monsoon closed his visor and readied his sais.
Y/N charged at Monsoon with his new speed. 'Damn, I was fast before, but this is something else!' Y/N thought. 'If my running is this fast, I should be able to slice faster than he can even see.' As Monsoon charged, his visor began to glow pink. Y/N sliced at Monsoon with several rapid strikes, but Monsoon's body separated and moved to dodged his every slice. The pink energy that connected his body formed it back together after each strike. Monsoon kicked the dull edge of Y/N's blade and sliced several times across his chest with the sai, then kicked him in the face and sent him flying across the courtyard.
"Too easy!" Monsoon shouted. Y/N quickly rose to his feet as his wounds healed, then charged once more. 'Maybe if I slice through the entirety of the area he occupies, I'll hit him' Y/N thought. Y/N quickly dropped the sword to his feet and did a sliding slice at Monsoon's feet, then rolled forward with an overhead slice, then kicked rapidly at Monsoon with a myriad of slices that should have hit something. Despite the speed, Monsoon's separate parts moved to avoid his attacks. Monsoon tossed a canister at his feet and leaped away. The canister exploded into a smoke cloud.
"Agh! What the hell?!" Y/N yelled, unable to see anything.
"Red phosphorus, Y/N!" Monsoon yelled, jumping out of nowhere to attack him. Just as Y/N parried Monsoon's strike, he disappeared. He jumped out of nowhere again, catching Y/N off guard and leaving a few slices on his back before disappearing again. As Y/N winced from the strikes, he heard Monsoon coming up behind him. He sliced behind him and saw Monsoon jump back and disappear. As he heard Monsoon preparing for another jump, Y/N made use of his breakdance-slice to slice all around him. As Monsoon jumped into the flurry of blades, his parts seperated and all safely avoided the slices. The smoke started to clear.
"Finally," Y/N sighed. He looked around and Monsoon was nowhere to be found.
"Magnetic force, Y/N! Nature's force!" Monsoon yelled, standing on top of the tower. Y/N looked and saw a large collection of debris floating above Monsoon, suspended by pink energy.
"That's a hell of a thing," Y/N muttered. As Monsoon hurled the giant pile of debris, Y/N activated blade mode and realized that his reaction time was slowed down even further. The debris was practically suspended right in front of him. Y/N made quick work of it, slicing it into several pieces and walking away from it. As it landed, Monsoon picked up 3 more pieces of debris and 4 large mechs.
"Welcome to my utopia of death!" Monsoon yelled, hurling them all at Y/N. Y/N stood his ground and activated blade mode, then cut each and every one of them to pieces. Monsoon jumped down from the tower and extended his arms with the pink energy, trying to fight Y/N from a distance. Y/N deflected the sai slices with his new speed, then charged at Monsoon again. Monsoon's entire body split apart and started firing themselves at him. Y/N tried to slice the hand fragment, then another, then another, but they all changed course and hit him. Y/N tried another flurry slice kick, so the pieces of Monsoon surrounded him and attacked him from all sides. Y/N winced, being bombarded by the various pieces. He dropped to the ground and did another breakdance-slice. He felt his blade make contact with something, and the pieces suddenly all retreated.
"How's it feel?!" Y/N asked.
"Damn! You're good!" Monsoon yelled. Y/N noticed a large crack on Monsoon's visor, which was no longer glowing pink. Monsoon jumped back onto the tower. Monsoon picked up a large disk of debris this time and launched it at the courtyard. As it rolled towards Y/N, he dodged to the side and tried to run towards the tower. Another disk hit the courtyard, barely giving Y/N enough time to dodge it.
"I have won this!" Monsoon yelled, jumping back down. Monsoon charged at Y/N. Y/N sliced at Monsoon with several strong strikes, and this time Monsoon was dodging them. He jumped over Y/N's various attacks and sliced at his torso various times, then went for the neck, cutting from both sides.
"Shit!" Y/N yelled, jumping back as fast as he could.
"Oh? So that's how I kill you?" Monsoon asked. They charged at each other Y/N sent another flurry kick at him, so Monsoon dodged to the side and went for the neck again. Y/N anticipated this and suddenly cut sideways back towards Monsoon. Monsoon saw it coming and jumped back, but the blade cut into his side. Monsoon jumped onto one of the walls of the courtyard and picked up the tower with his energy, pointing it at Y/N.
"I'll put you under, weakling!" Monsoon yelled, spinning the tower and hurling it at Y/N. "Now what will you do, killer?" Y/N jumped and ran up the side of it. Monsoon jumped at him. "You're dead!" Monsoon yelled. Y/N jumped forward and smashed Monsoon into the wall. Y/N drilled him into the wall with a few kicks, then activated blade mode and cut Monsoon into pieces. (Cut the music).
"Don't be ashamed, it's only nature running it's course," Y/N spat, cleaning the blood from his sword.
A/N: Whew, sorry that took so long. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to have the next one out soon. Feel free to comment, and as always, thanks for reading!