Chapter 11: Chapter Chapter Ten

“Another excuse to get more augs, right?” Sabine joked.

“Nah, nah. I think I’m going to keep the hole,” Wolf began to laugh, but then winced in pain. “You know, line it with silver, throw some neon in there. Sounds vintage, right?”

“Nina, what do you think?”

“I…don’t like it…” Nina quietly responded. Even though they were in the medical bay of Steiner Industries, Nina was lying beside Wolf, clinging to him.

“What am I supposed to do then? Get a silicone replacement, or just go all out borg?”

“Keep the hole if you want, but the neon might be a bit much.”

“What have you got against shit that glows?”

“It seems like overkill.”

“Uh huh,” Wolf smirked. “I think you’re just jealous you can’t deck yourself out in glowy bits.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sabine responded. “Make sure you rest well. Perhaps we can get a substitute for the finals.”

“No!” Wolf shouted and sat up, then immediately grabbed his side in pain. “If you’re going to keep me out of the finals, then just kill me right now.”

“Does it really mean that much to you?”

“Of course, Sabby! This is going to be the biggest moment of my life!”

“I see…” Sabine responded as she stood up to leave. “Wolf, I…thank you. You were ready to die for me…”

“You’d have done the same for me, Sab. Don’t think twice about it.”

Sabine had left Steiner Industries and was headed for her home when she spotted Sebille confronting someone. As she approached, she saw that it was a man about six feet tall. He had ragged raven hair that tumbled down to just below his neck. His emerald eyes pierced the darkness of the eternal night. His clothes looked old and musty, like they were from a different time. He reeked of death.

“Go ahead! Bite me, you creep!” Sebille shouted, baring her neck.

“Well, when you ask so nicely, how can I resist?” the man smiled, baring his razor fangs. He grabbed Sebille and sunk his teeth deep into her neck. His brow furrowed and he reeled back, spitting the blood onto the ground. “What a foul taste.”

“It’s poison, you filthy vampire! No longer will you terrorize the people of Asnea!” Sabine shouted. The man smacked her with the back of his hand so hard that she flew into the wall of Sabine’s hangar, leaving a bloody indent.

“You can’t poison a vampire. Does immortal mean nothing to you?” the man laughed. “Y’know, I didn’t really feel like killing anyone. I was just going to go get a bite to eat. Get it, a bite? Ha, I’m so funny. But alas, you’ve got me feeling some kind of way. I think I’m going to make the people of Asnea fear vampires again.”

The man turned around and walked away just as Sabine arrived. “Sebille! What was that?”

“I got that… filthy vamp…” Sebille struggled to speak between gasps. Every time she exhaled, she spat blood onto Sabine’s shirt.

“I’m taking you to Steiner!” Sabine cried out as she picked up Sebille’s limp body. The black streaks had spread and were now creeping up her neck. “Why would you confront a vampire?!”

“I’m a vampire… hunter…”

“She will die shortly,” Steiner stated bluntly.

“How can you-“

“I simply speak the truth.”

“Th-thank you…” Sabine wiped the tears from her eyes as she entered Sebille’s enclosure. She was hooked up to all kinds of machinery that filled the room with constant beeps and whirring noises.

“Why did you try to save me?” Sebille asked. The black poison had spread throughout her entire body and had even started to creep into her sclera.

“Because I…” Sabine hesitated. “I… I love you, Sebille.”

Sebille didn’t respond at first, she took a deep, raspy breath. “Finally, after all this time… All I had to do was lay on my deathbed. Was it really that hard?”

“Why does it matter?! You knew how I feel, why does it matter if I say it?”

“How do I truly know… if you don’t tell me…” Sebille’s voice was weak. “Do you want to know… how I feel?”

“Yes.”

“I… hate… you…” Sebille exhaled and her chest stopped moving. The machines let out a low, constant beep and the whirring stopped.

Sabine entered her flat. Ari was there to greet her, brushing his mane under her hands. She ignored him and walked straight to her room. Sabine collapsed on the bed, fully clothed with her shoes on. She rolled over and stared at the bland, grey ceiling. Ari put his head on the bed and began to lick her hand, but she just kept staring.

“Just us this time, eh?” Nyx stated.

“Yeah…” Sabine responded blankly. Her gaze was locked on Nyx, but it wasn’t as though she was staring at him, more like he just happened to be in her line of sight.

“You… alright? Cred for your thoughts?”

“No.”

“Are you… hungry? Thirsty? Anything?”

“No.”

“Why did you even come here?”

“I don’t know… We always come here before a match. I just… I felt like I had to,” Sabine’s voice was emotionless. A dull ringing began to radiate from below the table. It continued for about a minute, then stopped. A few seconds after it stopped, it started again.

“You uh… You going to get that?” Nyx asked.

“Huh?”

“You’re ringing.”

“Oh,” Sabine reached into her pockets and retrieved a small flat device. She gave it a gentle flick and put it up to her ear. “Nina…?”

“He’s gone!” Nina cried out.

“Who? What?”

“Wolf’s gone! I left for half a minute and he disappeared!”

“I’m on my way!”

“Something wrong?” Nyx asked as Sabine leapt up from the table.

“Wolf is missing.”

“I see, I’ll ask around here, see if anyone might know anything.”

“Thanks Nyx.”

Sabine arrived at the medical bay to find Nina crying at the entrance. Steiner was talking to the receptionist.

“I left for a minute to go to the bathroom and when I got back the bed was empty!” Nina frantically explained as Sabine wrapped her arms around her.

“He didn’t say anything? Leave a note, nothing?”

“No… He’s been sleeping most of the time. He wanted to be as rested as he could for the match.”

“Speaking of the match…” Steiner interrupted. “We should head to my office to strategize.”

“What?!” Sabine shouted. “Wolf is missing! How are we supposed to-“

“The match is starting soon. We can not afford to forfeit this match. Once we win, I will do everything in my power to locate Wolfgang.”

“I-“

“You do not have a choice,” Steiner stated as she left the lobby. Sabine and Nina reluctantly followed.

“No info from the Valkyrie,” Nyx stated as the group entered Steiner’s office. He was already sitting on the couch.

“Why would there be any information there?” Steiner asked.

“He goes there a lot, right?”

“He has been missing for thirty minutes.”

“I’m just trying to help, okay?”

“You will be facing a crash lead by one named Frost. They have a similar composition to your own. Two recon, one of which is modified for combat, and a frontline. I do not know what their final mugen will be, as one of their members was terminated in the last match.”

“Combat recon, huh…” Nyx rubbed his chin. “I’ll have to stay cloaked until it’s dealt with. As soon as I fire, he’ll take me out. Same goes for him, though. Just one big game of chicken…”

“Who will be our fourth member…?” Nina asked between sniffles.

“I will join you,” Steiner sternly stated.

“You? Is that even legal? It your tournament, after all,” Nyx pointed out.

“I am putting my life in danger. No one can argue with that.”

“You sure you won’t just hold us back?”

“If I was not certain of my abilities, I would have found a suitable replacement,” Steiner’s brow furrowed. “Do you have any more useless questions?”

“No.”

“Good. I will eliminate Frost. Nina, you must find the combat recon unit so Nyx can eliminate it. Sabine, you will be responsible for the remaining mugen,” Steiner instructed, then turned her attention to Nyx. “I will pay triple your fee for every shot fired. Do not hold back.”

“I wish I could go in blasting, but… I think I’m going to have to be conservative on this one,” Nyx responded. “I’m not really looking to get shot at.”

“That is all. You may leave,” Steiner gestured to the door. “Do not fail me.”

“Can’t imagine you’d prick yourself. You using a bloodbag?” Nyx asked as they waited for the match to start.

“Of course, my blood is far too valuable to waste on something so trivial.”

“I should have expected you to say something like that.”

The arena began to fizzle into existence. It was a frozen wasteland with ice and snow flowing in the wind. Steiner’s mugen was a massive bipedal monstrosity with massive wings. The cockpit was at the top of the mech, more like a viewing platform, and had two twisted horns jutting out the top. Steiner stood with her arms crossed as the hulking mass of metal lurched forward. Nina sent out drones and Nyx activated his cloaking mechanism, then went to search for the highest point he could find, which happened to be a glacier. Sabine followed behind Steiner.

Seeming like an easy target, the opposing crash targeted Steiner. The wings on her mugen unfurled and surrounded her, creating a spherical shield that deflected all of the incoming missiles. She continued her advance until she had reached the frontline, at which point she curled back the wings and lunged at the frontmost mugen. A swipe of the talon-like arms tore open the cockpit. The hull of Steiner’s mugen opened up like a mouth and descended upon the gaping hole. The wings then surrounded the two mechs creating an impenetrable barrier.

“You must be Frost,” Steiner smiled as she casually stepped into the hostile cockpit.

“You…” Frost replied slowly. He got up from his seat and stretched out his hand. Cold mist shot out from his extended fingers, which made contact with Steiner’s arm, causing a thick layer of ice to form around it. “I wasn’t expecting the big boss herself.”

“Technological advancements are often mistaken for magic,” Steiner spoke as she lifted her arm with ease, shattering the ice in the process. She reached out and touched his fingertips. “Would you like to see some real magic?”

Frost tried to pull away, but his fingers were frozen to Steiner’s. His arm became stiff and rigid as it began to radiate cold mist. Steiner pulled her fingers away, then flicked his hand, shattering his arm up to the shoulder. Frost reeled back in pain, grabbing his stump as he cowered in his seat. “Wh-what the fuck are you?!”

“I am the Ice Queen, and you are nothing but an autumn breeze!” Steiner shouted as she closed the distance between the two of them. “You have stolen something from me. Now you must pay the price.”

“Get fucked,” Frost shouted as he kicked her into the wall of the cockpit. He grabbed a knife from his belt with his remaining hand and shoved it into Steiner’s chest, piercing her heart. “Imagine thinking a frail woman like you can fight me in my own damned mugen!”

Steiner grabbed the handle of the knife and slowly removed it from her chest. The wound sealed behind it and no blood poured forth from the incision. When she had fully removed the knife, a single droplet of blood rested on the precipice of the blade. “My blood is too valuable for me to bleed freely.”

“Wh- what the-“

“Do you know what happens to a human when they come into contact with a dragon’s blood?”

“Dragon’s d- don’t exist…”

“If the blood is simply introduced into your body through a vein or artery, you will become my thrall.” Steiner’s lips parted, revealing her fangs as she approached Frost, who was pressed up against the wall of the cockpit. She tilted the knife upwards so the drop of blood coated the length of the blade.

“You-”

“Do not interrupt me! Now, if the blood makes direct contact with your heart,” Steiner plunged the knife into Frost’s chest and sank her fangs into his neck. She began to drink his blood and drain him of his essence until he was nothing more than a shriveled husk. She pulled herself back and carefully wiped the blood from her lips. “Your heart will explode, making your blood oh, so sweet.”

Steiner greedily licked the crimson nectar from her fingers as she returned to her mugen. “Oh, it has been so long since I have had fresh blood.”

“Have you found them yet,” Nyx asked Nina.

“No, the drone isn’t picking up the recon unit.”

Nyx let out a deep sigh. “I really want to make some money.”

“I’m approaching the hostile mugen,” Sabine informed her teammates. “It’s…an Uragiru…”

The hostile mugen sprinted towards Bastien and launched itself into the air using its hand cannons, spiraling forward. Its fingers folded backwards and a purple plasma blade projected from its wrist, which it used to slash at Bastien. Sabine responded by using her own plasma blade to parry and push away the Uragiru. Sabine made a swift jab with Bastien’s free arm, knocking Uragiru off balance. She followed up with a thrust from her plasma blade, but Uragiru used his hand cannons to reposition behind her. Sabine blasted the vents on Bastien’s back, propelling her forward and narrowly avoiding Uragiru’s assault. By the time she turned to face him, he was already behind her again. He made a quick slash, severing Bastien’s left leg. Uragiru pressed the attack, shoving Bastien to the ground and pushing his plasma blade towards Bastien’s cockpit. Sabine blocked it with her plasma blade, but struggled to hold it back. Sabine could feel the heat inside her cockpit.

“Nyx, I need some help, now!”

“That recon unit is still out there, besides, I can’t get a clean shot. I’ll hit you, too.”

“I don’t care! We don’t really have any other options.”

Nyx let out a quick sigh. “I’m not responsible for any collateral damage.”

“Just take the fucking shot!” Sabine screamed as the purple plasma began to penetrate her cockpit.

Nyx began to charge up his rifle, taking aim at the Uragiru. The second he fired, he released his anchor on the glacier, causing him to plummet earthbound. A massive hole appeared where he had been previously located as he reloaded his rifle and anchored himself again.

“Heh, I know where you are now,” He charged his rifle and fired at the hostile recon unit, then reloaded and took out the final mugen.

Sabine blinked and the front of both mugen were gone. Nyx’s rifle had torn through both cockpits, narrowly missing both pilots. She grabbed the revolver from under her seat and leapt across the gap, pressing the barrel of her gun to the other pilot’s head. She went to squeeze the trigger, but stopped.

“Wolf?” Sabine asked hesitantly. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Yeah, who the fuck are you?” Wolf asked angrily with his hands in the air.

“It’s me, Sabine! What do you mean who am I?!” Tears were flowing down Sabine’s cheeks. “What… Why are you doing this?”

“Huh…” Wolf chuckled. “You think you know me.”

“What do you mean?! We grew up together! You’re like a brother to me! I love you, Wolf. I don’t… This doesn’t make sense!”

“Look, I’ve never met you before in my life, but I’m not about to die here. This tournament’s mine.”

“Wolf, we can-“ Sabine was interrupted by three quick pops. She felt a searing pain in her gut. She reached down to put pressure on the pain and felt her blood spilling through her fingers. She pulled the trigger, painting what remained of the cockpit in brains, blood, and bits of metal. She collapsed onto Wolf’s chest, gasping and panting in pain and sadness, her tears mixing with Wolf’s ichor. She sobbed quietly as her vision began to fade.

“Life support system enabled. No pulse detected. No brain function detected. Unfortunately, the patient is deceased. No further treatment possible. Now playing last recorded message.”

“Augments, baby!”