Bullet Kingdom

By Will Holloway

After being in seclusion for five years, Chaos decides to go on a quest to look for his sister, whos been missing for the five years. Along the journey, he runs into his old team members from his military days, but runs into a past that hes being trying to run away from. Chaos is one of the Thirteen Keys to the apocalypse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781477137154

Will Holloway

William McKennie was born on a cold aft ernoon in Jacksonville, FL in 1983. He is an arti st and writer, fi nding his passion aft er a great tragedy by turning it in to his greatest strength. Working on many other projects, the Bullet Kingdom trilogy project has been his baby his 2001. He’s currently working on fi nishing the trilogy and bringing more of his work to light.

Book preview

CHAPTER 0

Prologue

Five years ago . . .

War ravaged across the planet of Xanadré. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop the deaths of thousands upon thousands of people. We were told when we were young that the apocalypse will come in human form, a man wearing a large chain around his chest with thirteen links. These Thirteen Links will break and will lay the initial pathway for the apocalypse known as the Ragnarok.

With that said, we all grew up believe that this apocalypse will eventually happen. I never knew that I, along with my sister and my twelve friends, who I grew up with in the Crane Orphanage, will be the keys to triggering the end of the world.

The person in deep thought is an ebony-skinned man standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking at the large nearby city with his dark brown eyes taking in the beautiful sunset. With a deep breath, the man looks over his shoulder to see three, distinct moons rising. The first moon seen is the biggest of the three, displaying a slight blue hue to it. Next in line is the middle moon, slightly smaller than the first, displaying a slight yellow hue to it. Though just as noticeable, the second moon doesn’t shine as bright as its larger companion. The last in line is the smallest, yet almost brightest of the three. The little moon is about half the size of the second, but shines just as bright as the the first moon.

Thanks to the sun setting behind the man, a clear view of the low haircut with a hurricane-style etched onto the sides. The man has a slight muscular build and is wearing a grey, form-fitting, sleeveless shirt, which appears to have padding inside with a high neckline. His pants are charcoal black, and are quite loose fitting. On his hands, he wearing black, fingerless gloves that seem to have an open part on the back of the hand, he has two metal rings that completely encircle his wrists. Around his waist is a belt that has his dual gun holsters at the back. Finally, he’s wearing charcoal black combat boots with thick, fire orange soles.

He sighs; I still can’t believe it’s been five years since that day, the day where I casted myself into solitude to repent sort to speak for my actions working for the Kingdom of Hydra. I did all of this for my sister, who went missing on that fateful day and hasn’t been seen since. Coriander, the name has been running through my mind every day for the past five years. The only thing I remember is a large explosion after I fought the closest person I had to a brother and I chopped his right arm off with Cori’s sword.

Taking in the beautiful sight of the city one last time, the man began to walk away and heads down a well-worn path towards a small camp in a meadow by a forest. A soft, gentle wind blew and the trees rustled. The air carried a scent of fresh pine. He takes in a deep breath, and smelling the pine, Ah that smells nice. That’ll probably be one of the things I’ll miss from around here. Even though I’ve been debating this for a while, maybe it’s time to go looking for her again. However, that day in Hydra, I fought my hardest and still lost the battle. Since then, I made a promise to never lose my humanity again as I did while I was in Hydra. During my time there, I was known as the Sixth Link of the Apocalypse, Cerberus of the Battlefield not only of my three gun fighting style, but also because of the reputation me and my team got. Team Six; lead by me, Chaos, was one of the most feared Teams in Hydra’s history. Thanks to my scouting skills, I put together the best group seen. Everyone in my team was given a codename because everyone was on the level as a Link in terms of pure skill and power.

Even though some members were my friends I had from the orphanage, I did manage to get some new recruits thanks to my sister. After our first successful mission, Team Six became feared. We've been called Bone Collectors, Jinxes, the Mecha Destroyers, and the Walking Grim Reapers to name a few. Then, we were almost unstoppable until we were humbled and lost.

Chaos held out his hand and an image of fire appeared in front of him, External-type Magic: Fire, he calmly speaks as a small fireball shoots from his hand and hits a small pile of wood, making it burst to life with flames just as night was falling. Staring into the fire, Chaos gets lost into it.

As he stared into the blaze, he began hearing his name being called, Chaos! Chaos! We need you! he hears from a distance. Trying to pinpoint who was calling him, Chaos heard a series of noises as now he is completely surrounded by darkness. Frantically looking around, Chaos couldn’t see anything. He snaps out of whatever trance he was in and now appears on a battlefield. The smoke-filled red sky produces an ominous overcast as Chaos looks behind him to a great battle unfold. He begins to run to the battle but is cut off by a group of men in shiny black knight armor, Out of my way Deva Knights! he demands. One knight stepped forward, Chaos, you are to come with us! the knight commanded. Chaos reaches for his shoulder, but then remembers, Damn, I forgot the Phi was destroyed. He grins, Well then, I guess I have to rely on my faves then, he thought. Chaos then reaches behind him and pulls out two long-barrel handguns; one is black with red trim while the other is red with black trim. With a wave of his hands, he brings them close together to his chest with one gun facing upward and the other facing downward. The Deva Knights step back, The Alpha and Omega! one knight exclaims.

Chaos’ expression becomes more demented as his eyes became beady and a sinister grin on his face. He looks around, I tried to spare you by telling you to move out my way, but now you can curse fate for bringing you to this. If you don’t let me pass, your final moments will be seeing why they call me the Cerberus of the Battlefield. It took a second for the Deva Knights to gather themselves after Chaos took out his guns and took his battle stance. As no one was responding, his eyes widen a bit with malice and glee, Tell me where you want to get shot. If you call it within five seconds, I’ll do requests. The Deva Knights backed up again until one stepped forward and began charging at him. Scoffing, Chaos disappears and reappears in front of a knight with his gun pointed at his head, Time’s up. He grins as he begins firing, first by planting a bullet in the head of the Deva Knight who was unfortunate to be in Chaos’ path. Staying place, Chaos fires in every direction without looking. He extends a leg and lowers himself to perform a spin while shooting. Chaos stops in a low stance with his arms outstretched, with the group of Deva Knights falling lifeless to the ground.

With a look of disappointment, he looks at the battle taking place by him. Chaos twirls his guns and ran towards it. He lets out a hot-blooded yell as he charges to the battle and fires he approaches. Cori, I’m coming for you! he yells.

After that, a series of events happened which cause me to disband Team Six. I now wonder how all of them are doing now. Since I’m pretty close to Romaslica, I know that Iris has a shop called the Bladed Weapon. She’s gotten big to the point where she’s known almost throughout the world thanks to her finely crafted weapons and insanely low prices.

Everyone else, I’ve heard rumors about them but nothing to concrete yet to confirm. I’ve been thinking about them since then because I’ve gained my humanity back and want to atone for what I’ve done. I don’t feel bad for my past, I feel bad for leading my friends down that dark road with me.

Another gentle breeze blows and Chaos closes his eyes, It’s a good wind, he quietly states. He looks up at the stars, seeing the many stars and many constellations in the sky. Chaos takes notice to the three full moons floating in the sky, The moons are in full view tonight. That might be a good sign, Chaos states. He notices a shooting star fly across the sky, Whoa, it’s been a while since I seen one of those. Almost… five years, he pauses for thought. Rubbing his chin, Maybe it might be time to reunite the gang. Have a family reunion sort to speak, he states. He lies on the ground and raises his hand to the sky. Chaos stretches until his hand he couldn’t reach no more and clenches his fist, Tomorrow, I’ll be off.

CHAPTER 1

The Beginning

Morning has come and the small birds are waking up with the sun rising. After tossing and turning, Chaos finally manages to roll from his sleeping cot and wakes up. Looking at the sunny sky with a slight smile to his face, Well, I guess it’s time for me to get going, he thinks. As he gets ready to stand, the ground begins to shake. He looks around and notices a line of trees in front of him being knocked down. The vibrations were getting more violent as the object gets closer revealing a huge silhouette, about thirty feet high. As the final tree fell to the ground, the light hit the silhouette revealing itself. Chaos looks up in amazement at first then shrugs it off as he stares at a thirty-foot tall mechanical tiger. The mecha tiger had a large rifle on his head, pointing at the male.

Halt! You’re in a restricted area! State your purpose here! the voice demands from a megaphone on its head. Chaos smiles, Sheesh, can a guy just wake up in peace around here? he replies in a sarcastic tone. Not wanting to hear the sarcasm coming from Chaos, the mecha tiger moves forward, Still, you’re in a restricted area! State your name! the voice demands. Sighing and looking away, Chaos crossed his arms, My name is of no importance, but if you insist, it’s Chaos. The man in the mecha tiger was shocked by that name. Chaos looks at the mecha tiger and sees a large rifle on the top of its head. After scanning the weapon, he notices that it’s the right size for him after a few small modifications, so he grins, That rifle is as good as mine! he says pointing at it. Reaching behind him and noticing the he doesn’t have his guns with him, Chaos spots the holster on his cot. With a quick bead on the mecha tiger, Chaos leans over, and grabs the gun holster. He throws it in the air and the two guns fall out right into Chaos’ hands. He cocks both guns and smiles, Alright, let’s do this, he says standing confidently.

The mecha tiger roars and begins firing at Chaos. He gracefully dodges the bullets as he makes his way forward. He makes a mad dash towards a tree and begins to run up it. The mecha tiger reveals two machine guns and begins firing at Chaos. The bullets miss him as he makes way up the tree to the highest branch. Chaos smiles as he sits on a branch calmly looking at the mechanoid as it up at him, C’mon, I thought you Glindé mechas are supposed to be the best. You’re way too slow to make this bout interesting, he says witha bit of disappointment. The sheer force of his fist hitting the button caused the terminal to be smashed sending sparks and little jolts of electricity from the exposed wires. Every single door that housed a weapon opened on the mecha and Chaos smiles with approval, Now, that’s more like it, he thought. The weapons ranged from machine guns to rocket launchers, FIRE! the man yells as the mecha fired everything it had at Chaos. As the payload approached him, Chaos twirled his guns and took aim, It’s been a while since I did this. Hope I still got it, he thinks.

Chaos began firing his guns and with amazing accuracy, he began deflecting all the bullets with his own. While firing, he almost forgot about the rockets and jumps up as the first one hit the tree behind him causing a massive explosion. Reeling from the shock of the explosion, Chaos looked at the others rockets coming toward him and narrows his eyes to focus. Time seemed to slow down as another rocket came closer to him, he steps on the rocket. He continues as he makes his way closer to the mecha using the rockets as steps.

With a few more well calculated steps, he makes it to the top of the tiger’s head. Chaos smiles as he begins firing into the mecha’s head. He sees sparks coming from the head and jumps off. The mecha explodes as he reaches the ground and he covers himself from the debris. Once the smoke cleared, Chaos stood up and surveyed the area. Looking to his left and spots the rifle. Sporting a long barrel, the rifle was about six feet long. He smiles with approval as he reaches for the rifle to pick it up. He struggles with at first, but eventually picks it up where it can rest on his shoulders, I thought this thing would be a little heavier, he thinks. I guess it’s time to visit my good old friend Iris in Romaslica, he says as he begins to walk out the forest.

Once out of the forest, Chaos sees a long road that leads to a city skyline that looks to be about five miles away. He sighs with both disappointment and laziness as he looks down the road as if he doesn’t want to walk the path. Realizing that he really didn’t have a choice in the matter since reinforcements will soon be arriving, he adjusts the rifle on his shoulders and looked at Romaslica’s skyline Alright lets go get this thing custom fitted, he thought as he slowly begins to walk towards Romaslica. The sun beamed down on him without mercy as he slowly makes his way to the city and after two hours of walking, Chaos sees a sign saying, Romaslica, one mile. His enjoyment was instantly visible. He runs the remaining mile into city limits.

Romaslica, the Land of the Free, as it is known throughout the world. In this free-state, a person can achieve his or her dream in a matter of months. Being a bustling metropolis with the streets filled with people, the city skyline is amazing with buildings towering over everyone like great protectors, watching over them. Walking further into the city-state, Chaos notices the many changes throughout his former home. He looks around and spots a few new buildings in places that were once countryside only a few years ago. Business has grown quite as well. The well-placed shops Chaos seen has him thinking about buying some supplies for later, but he will have to save that thinking for later. He was looking for a special shop, the only one that can handle his needs at the moment. In this case, to custom fit this rifle to where he can use in a fight and much easier to carry.

He searches for another hour until he decides to take a break. Chaos sits on a nearby bench, drops the rifle on the grass behind him, and takes a deep sigh of relief, Man, I think I’ll never find this girl. Finding her now is like a needle in a haystack. Romaslica has changed so much since the last time I’ve been here, since the incident, he thinks.

Well, well, well. Look what we have here. It’s been a while, a female voice says from behind. Chaos leans his head back on the bench to see a beautiful young woman behind him. Chaos stands up, turns around, and smiles, Well, Iris, it’s been a while. Iris put her hands behind her head showing off her size D bust held firmly by her red, sleeveless baby tee showing her midriff, Yeah, five years. Upon closer inspection, Iris was very easy on the eyes. Her dark skin matches her shoulder-length raven black hair with red highlights. She’s wearing black, baggy combat pants with two belts wrapped around her waist with the pants covering her red combat-style boots. Her beautiful brown eyes seem like they can look into any man’s soul and can tell you what you are thinking. Chaos glances over her one more time, You’ve matured some, he says while walking around her once more. Iris giggles, Well, what do you expect. I was seventeen then.

Chaos smiles, Yeah, I remember. How are things going for you now? Iris looks away for a moment, As you may know now, that I own my weapon shop called the Bladed Weapon. Chaos rubs his chin as if he doesn’t know about Iris’ shop, The Bladed Weapon, huh? Yep, that sounds like you, he jokingly states. Iris puts her hands in her pockets, So what brings you here back to Romaslica? Chaos looks around and picks up the anti-mecha rifle that he lifted earlier from his little skirmish with the tiger mecha, Oh yeah, I wanted to know if you can outfit this for me so I can use it in battle, he says with a smile on his face. Iris’ eyes widen, You’re not… Chaos interrupts her, Yep, I’m continuing my search for sister and I want you to help me out on this journey. That means, if you’ll help me. Iris looks at Chaos smiling, Okay, I will, Iris nods in agreement, and they make onto the main street of Romaslica, Dog’s Alley. Dog’s Alley, the main street of Romaslica, this is the main shopping district of the entire city-state. If you need anything, weapons, armor, magic potions, this is the place to get it.

As Chaos and Iris walk down Dog’s Alley, the former looks at how Romaslica has changed over the years. He spots flying cars, street performers, huge electronic displays, holographic projections; the works. After a few more moments of walking and taking in the new sights, the two finally make it to the Bladed Weapon shop. They enter and Chaos was immediately impressed with the building. The two-story building held just about everything you need to go on a long journey; potions, medicine, rations, armor, and most importantly ammo.

Looking around, Chaos sees all the variations of weapons hanging on the walls. Everything a small army can use, Iris has it. Spotting everything from military grade weaponry with special ammunition, to custom made swords she created in her spare time, and finally accessories for the civilian mechanoids around the city. No wonder she made such a good living for herself in these five years. She has weapons for everybody, he thought. She always has been the weapon fanatic of the group though. Iris walks in the back into a room, Chaos, you can drop the rifle on the work table in the corner, she says. Chaos gently sets the rifle on the work table and he takes a seat in a nearby chair taking a deep breath. He sees something from the corner of his eye and looks to his right to see Iris’ clothes being thrown from the room. Chaos turns his head as if he didn’t see anything as now he begins to hear the water running.

A few moments later, Chaos hears a knock at the door. Can you answer that for me, Chaos? Iris asks while still the room. Reluctant to do it, Chaos gets up and slowly makes his way to the door. Chaos cautiously approaches the door, Who is it? he asks trying to change his voice. Pizza delivery, a voice says on the other side of the door. Chaos scratches his head, Pizza? We didn’t order any pizza. Then it hit him, he runs as fast as he can from the door as it’s blown off the hinges. Chaos dives behind the chair in the corner and draws his guns. Iris! Take cover back there! he yells. Chaos looks around as a pair of heavy-armored knights entered the room. Damn, the Deva Knights. How did they find me here? Chaos thinks.

He peaks his head outward, scanning the room one more time as he sees another table that was about ten feet away from him. Taking a few deep and quick breathes; Chaos makes a mad dash for the table and kicks it high in the air, catching the Deva Knights attention. He then fires a few rounds at the Knights as the table falls down to the ground. As the commotion with the table caught the two Deva Knights attention, a smoke bomb is thrown into the room and smoke fills it rather quickly. Chaos stayed crouched close to the floor, since smoke travels upwards. He slides behind another a nearby table and he looks around again to survey the area.. He heard the marching sounds of the Deva Knights approaching him, Chaos, you stand under arrest for destruction of military property, resisting arrest, evading police and the use of forbidden technology, a Knight said in a demanding tone trying to see through the smoke.

Chaos sighs, Since when having a gun is considered forbidden technology? he asks. The Knight that seemed to be the leader stepped forward, Because any Bullet technology is only used by the Hydra and Glindé military, he replies. Chaos fires pop shots keeping the Knights at bay, So when did Hydra get so interested in me all of sudden? I’ve been gone for five years and more you guys decide to look for me. Is the king getting scared now that his plan won’t work now? The lead Knight scoffs at the question, Hmph, why should I answer anything like that. You’re a traitor to the country and need to be brought in.

Chaos, surprised by the confidence in the voice of the lead Knight, smiles as he appears from behind the table, Oh ho, which Team are you? he asks. The Deva Knight looked at him Why Team Fifty of course, he says in a confident manner. Chaos looks away in disappointment, Hmph, weaklings. This won’t be even entertaining. The Deva Knight looks shocked at Chaos’ response, What you mean by that, calling us ‘weaklings’? Chaos walks from the behind the table and stops about ten feet in front of the Deva Knights, Team Fifty? You’re weak compared to my Team while I was in Hydra. If you were one of the Link teams, then I woulda been worried, but most of them like to fight alone.

The lead Deva Knight sighs, Very well then. With a simple of his fingers, the Deva Knights drew their swords as a swarm of men, dressed as modern-day ninjas stormed into the room. Becoming surrounded within a matter of seconds, Chaos smiles as he begins firing in every direction, taking out anyone who was foolish enough to rush in at him. A Deva Knight then rushed up to him, swinging his sword downward. Chaos blocks the sword with the black gun without looking and fires the red gun at the Deva Knight’s face. The knight fell lifeless as Chaos became surrounded with the remaining knights. Out of nowhere, a ninja is seen flying out of the shop. Chaos turns around to see Iris wearing nothing but a bath towel, appearing with very distinct and long swords drawn.

Both swords are nearly identical as they both were about five feet long, but the only difference is that one sword has a fire red color scheme at the hilt and the other has an ice blue color scheme for the hilt. The swords consist of a four-foot blade and the one-foot long handle that has a hand guard to protect the user’s hands in combat. On the end, there is a square hilt with a single circular knob that’s protruding out on the top part and a hole of the same size on the bottom, indicating that the swords may be able to interlock. Iris performs a series of back flips over a small group of ninjas and Deva Knights to land behind Chaos. Iris stands with her arms crosses in an x formation as she see looks around, Are you alright? she asks. Chaos stands with his guns pointing to each side of him, I see you haven’t lost your touch with a blade. Iris looks around, So, how many? Chaos does a quick scan, About twenty, he says. I get ten, you get ten. That’s okay with you, Iris? he asks. Iris smiles, Yeah, fine by me.

The two jump away from each other to commenced attacking the ninjas. Chaos kicks a ninja in the air and jumps after it. Appearing above it, Chaos performs a forward flip kick sending the ninja down to the ground, creating a small crater.

Iris ran very fast towards her group of ninjas and began slashing anything that moves. Her attackers jumped at her, Iris closes her eyes and turns away from her opponents. The ninjas slashed at her and Iris does a tornado slash attack at them. With a great burst of wind and a tornado that has formed around her, the ninjas are sent flying away from her as she looks at them, Prepare for the wrath of the Nittoh-Ougi (Two-Sword Style) swordplay, she says as she has deadly look on her face. Iris puts the swords in an X-formation in front of her and slashes forward as a beam of energy in the shape of an X travels forwards, "X-Slash! she yells as it hits about three ninjas. Iris stands and looks at the remaining ninja, Five down, five to go," she says with enjoyment on her face. Meanwhile, Chaos kicks another ninja in the face, sending the enemy away from him. Chaos jumps in the air again, firing his guns, providing cover fire for Iris, and he lands on the ninja he recently kicked away from him. Using the ninja as a wakeboard, Chaos begins sliding across the room, and firing in every direction until he reaches the door. Jumpping off the ninja with a gracious back flip, Chaos begins firing as it flies through the air outside the shop, killing it before it lands on the ground.

The lead Deva Knight stood in shock looking at Chaos and Iris fight. Is this the power of the rumored Team Six? he asks himself looking in fear as he saw Chaos stagger a moment and look of joy spread across his face, He’s getting weaker, he thinks. Chaos smiles and yells "Burst Fire! as he fires in every direction and does a stylish pose afterwards as the bodies of his remaining ninjas fall onto the floor, leaving the lead Deva Knight unharmed. Chaos looks up and focuses on the Deva Knight as Iris is surrounded by her remaining ninjas. Holding out her swords in front of her, Iris’ face grows a gleeful smile. The ninjas began to backup as she begins to spin yelling, Chaos Ring!" as a shockwave of energy is released from her two swords knocking her group of ninjas out of the shop, and she looks at the Deva Knight.

The lead Deva Knight tried not to shake in fear, but it was too late for that now. The fearful knight unsheathed his sword and pointed at Chaos, I’m taking you in, Chaos of Team Six, he says in a demanding tone. Chaos smirks and looks around away for a moment, That part of my life is gone, now I’m just a lonely adventurer. The Deva Knight begins to walk forward, trying not to show any fear, Don’t play coy with me. You haven’t lost your touch with a gun. Chaos twirls his guns and points them at the Deva Knight, Shut up and fight! he demands as he rushes forward the Deva Knight.

The Deva Knight does a few quick slashes of his sword and Chaos dodges the strikes gracefully. Iris runs forward and jumps on Chaos’ shoulders, using him as a springboard, launching herself in the air. She lands doing a series of slashes at the knight. The Deva Knight goes on the defensive since Iris’ attacks was so fast that he can barely see all of them, piercing through his armor, and gets cut in several areas of his body. Iris turns around and does a thrusting slash at the Deva Knight, which he barely dodges, severely damaging his armor. Iris grins as she turns the blade of her sword around where the blunt side is facing outward. Now feeling a bit more confident seeing that his opponent flipped her blade inward, the Deva Knight smiles, What are you going to do? Club me to death? he says. The Deva Knights charges at Iris as she sheathes her Dynasty sword, she places the Legacy sword near her side, and kneeled down closing her eyes. Seeing the moment of opportunity, the Deva Knight slashes downward at her. You’re open, she says as she swings her sword at the Deva Knight with his sword missing her. The blunt end of the Legacy hits the Deva Knight square on the chest, cracking the armor.

Chaos smiles, seizing the opportunity, dashes forward with both guns pointing at the Deva Knight. Punching the Deva Knight with the Alpha, the helmet flies off where Chaos can see the scared expression on his face. The Omega was pushed in the crack in the armor, driving him to the ground. Pushing him to the ground, Chaos hops on top of him, further cracking his armor with his feet. He cocks both barrels back, Now, tell me what I want to know and I won’t kill you. Got it? Chaos demands. The Deva Knight shakes his head yes with blood coming from his mouth and Chaos smiles, Now, that’s better. Chaos opens eyes widely, Why the hell Hydra is still after me and my friends?! he yells.

The Deva Knight was beginning to shake at the power of Chaos’ booming voice, I don’t know why. They only told me about you was using forbidden technology and you destroyed a mecha of Glindé. Chaos sighs, Well, I’ll let you go this time. Tell your dear king, that he cannot stop me from doing what I want to do anymore. Chaos stands up and backs away from the Deva Knight. Chaos motions with his guns to go away. When he gets to the door, Chaos stops him, I told you I’ll let you go, but not in one piece. Chaos points and fires his gun, completely blowing the Deva Knight’s right arm off. The Deva Knight’s screams of pain that can be heard for a good distance away. With his right arm missing, The Deva Knight runs off while he still can.

When the Deva Knight is out of sight, both Chaos and Iris let out a sigh of relief. They give each other a high-five and a little hip bump. They chuckle a little, It’s been a while since we did that, Iris says. Chaos smiles, Yeah that felt so good doing that after five years. That’s when Chaos notices Iris in her bath towel and he looks at her up and down, Wow, you’ve been working out, he says with a smile on his face. Iris finally notices and begins to cover herself up, Oh crap. I forgot about this, she says in embarrassment. Chaos begins to laugh, I bet you’re not wearing anything under there either. That is when Iris points her sword at Chaos’ throat and he stops laughing, Sheesh, I was just kidding. I’m trying to make an awkward situation into a funny one. Iris lowers her sword and walks back into the back to finish her shower, At least he finally notices me this time around, she thinks.

Chaos sits outside in the main room, waiting patiently tapping his foot. The place now looks like a war zone, This is not going to look good when she gets her repair bill, he thinks. Finally, Iris comes out of the shower wearing her trademark outfit. She grabs her swords and sheaths them on her lower back. She sighs, Ready to go? she asks. Looking back, Chaos looks at his friend with a puzzled expression, Go? Aren’t you supposed to fix this gun for me? Iris walks closer to Chaos, I’m not, but I have someone at my second store that can. She looks at the damage caused by the battle, This place is destroyed thanks to the Deva Knights, a total loss. I’m actually glad that this was covered by my insurance. She walks past Chaos and out the door, Oh, okay, Chaos says confused. He grabs rifle, slinging it on his shoulders, and walks out the door. The moment he closes the door, the shop caves in, followed by a huge dust cloud. Chaos and Iris both turn around to see what happened. She looks at Chaos with disappointment, Now, I think finally figured out where you got Chaos from. She continues walking and Chaos follows behind her, Wait, Iris. I’m sorry about your place. When we find my sister, I promise that I’ll build you an improved Bladed Weapon store. That, I promise. Iris nods with the gentle smile, giving Chaos a sense of relief. As they reach the border, they both look back at Romaslica for a final glance. Chaos sighs, I only just got back to see my hometown only to leave it once again for I don’t know how long. Iris looks away, Well, I know one thing; it’ll still be here when we get back. Both turn and walk away into the forest where Chaos fought the tiger mecha on their way to Arcadia.

While in the forest, Chaos stops and looks at the spot where he fought the tiger mecha while pondering something. Iris notices Chaos’ lack of movement and turns to him, You okay? she asks in a concerned tone. Chaos snaps back to reality and looks at Iris, Yeah, I’m fine, just had a little lapse in memory. He turns and looks the spot once again, Just about eight hours ago, I stood toe-to-toe with a thirty-foot tall robot and somehow survived without a single scratch. Maybe a knock on the head, not a single marking on me. That just had me wondering for a moment, that’s all. Iris looks at Chaos, Well, you are unique. You remember what happened five years ago more than anyone. Chaos sighs, Yeah, I guess you’re right. Chaos lifts the rifle to a comfortable position on his shoulders, Let’s go to Arcadia.

They continue their walk through the night until they reach Arcadia. The Kingdom of Arcadia is the sister kingdom to Romaslica and is a relative quick walk to reach it. The kingdom is now for their growing population of pirates. Chaos and Iris walk through the kingdom until they reach Iris’ second Bladed Weapon shop. They walk in and a young male with a sword is running at them with his eyes closed at full speed yelling at the top of his lungs, You damned pirates! Stay away from here! Out of reflex, Chaos drops the anti-mech rifle, grabs his gun, aims at the man, but Iris steps in front of Chaos, and stands ready with her Legacy in her left hand, still sheathed ready to be pulled at a moment’s notice. Chaos, I got this one, Iris says as the young man slashes his sword at her. She lowers herself and disappears before the man has time to react. She then reappeared with her sword unsheathed in her right hand. Iris twirls the sword as if it’s nothing and slowly sheathes it. With the final click, signaling that the sword is sheathed, the male’s pants fall down and his sword is cut in half. Iris stands up and looks at the man, Still naïve eh, Cashel?

Cashel, a young man still believed to be in his late teens. His short haircut with a two-foot long braid was a sign of his youth. His brown eyes looked upon Iris and Chaos with fatigue. Cashel was wearing traditional military fatigues; baggy cargo pants, long-sleeved shirt, and combat boots. He has training under Iris for maybe about three years and never once beaten her in combat. His blade never came within six inches of touching her. The style of swordplay the young man has chosen is the way of samurai or Bushido. Cashel has been looking after the shop since Iris went back to Romaslica about six months ago. Pirates have been attacking the kingdom and Cashel has volunteered to be the Captain of the anti-pirate squad. Cashel has done a successful job of defending Arcadia, but the stress has finally gotten to him. He was on the verge of cracking because of the randomness of the attacks. He looks at Iris, Lady Iris, I’m so glad to see you again, he says as he bows. Chaos holsters his gun and looks at Cashel, Um, Cashel was it? Before you bow to us and all, I think it would be a good idea if you pull up your pants first. Cashel realized it and pulled up his pants fast with an embarrassed look on his face.

Iris drops her things on the counter nearby and lounges on the couch in the lobby, Ah this feels good to sit down after all that walking. Chaos leans on the wall with his arms crossed and looks at Cashel, Man, you look tired. Cashel drops what was left of his sword and plops down on the sofa near Iris, I am. Over the past two months or so, pirates have been attacking Arcadia. I’ve volunteered to lead the anti-pirate squad, but they’re attacking more at random now, so I haven’t gotten much sleep lately. Chaos sighs, In this day and age, I wonder what happened to the Code of the 275?

Cashel looks at Iris, Lady Iris, what brings you here? Iris sits up, Well, I came here because my other shop was completely demolished. She looks at Chaos and he looks away whistling. She continues, Anyway, I have a favor to ask. Cashel looks at Iris, Anything Lady Iris, he says with delight. Chaos put the anti-mech rifle on the counter, which because of the weight; the counter began to crack, but stabilized before any serious damage was done. Cashel’s eyes opened, WOW! An Anti-mecha rifle, model number XGHYR-3847421. The latest on all Class B mechas mainly used on animal style mechas though. He looks at Chaos and Iris, Where did you get this? Chaos smiles, I didn’t know there was another gun buff out there like me. Iris lowers her head, He’s almost a bigger gun buff than you. Chaos looks at Cashel, I destroyed a tiger mecha to get. Cashel’s eyes opened widely and look at Chaos, You did what?! he yells. You take on a mecha with only two guns, and won? That’s amazing! he says in complete excitement. Chaos smiles and shakes his head, It was nothing. Now, I was wondering if you outfit this for me so I can use it in battle. Cashel smiles in excitement, Yes, I can, but it’ll take some time though, you know with all the reconfiguring. Could you leave a schematic of your guns as well? I want to have this as close to the original two as possible. Chaos smiles, Sure. He turns to Iris, I love this guy, so ambitious.

All of a sudden, a loud scream is heard from a distance. Chaos and Iris turn to figure out which direction the scream was coming from. Chaos grabs his guns and Iris unsheathes her swords. Cashel tried to move, but he was too tired. Iris turned to him, Cashel, you stay here and work on that gun; me and Chaos will take care of this. Cashel was powerless and stood there while Chaos and Iris rushed out the door.

The two began to run down the main street that is called Efort. As they ran, people were starting to get panicky as they all heard the scream. People were shutting their shutters, nailing their doors shut, and grabbing their weapons to prepare for any intruders that dare to come to their doorstep. Chaos and Iris ran to a back street where they saw a gang of pirates, around fifty or sixty, all gathered around one girl. The pirates had a Jolly Roger that looked like a shark. Iris narrowed her eyes, The Shark Pirate Gang, she mumbles. Chaos smiles in delight, Alright, some competition. The pirates turned to see Chaos and Iris stand there. The pirates began to smile when they saw Iris, Heh, heh, heh. A fresh face, one pirate says. She’s hot. I want to do her so badly now, another pirate says. Chaos smiles and twirls his guns, Well, fellas, you have to get through me first to even dream about it. Iris stands ready as the pirates smile with excitement. Well, then. Maybe we have to kill you to get to her, a pirate says as they begin to charge. Iris clenches her swords, You’re not even going to get to me! she yells as she charges forward dragging her swords on the ground, creating sparks. Chaos shrugs and follows suit.

Chaos jumps in the air and lands sliding on the ground, firing his gun at the pirates. Four fall as Chaos kicks them towards a group of twenty pirates. Iris quickly moves towards the group of pirates with swords in hand. With energy flowing from the swords, she stops and lowers her head, crossing the swords into an X formation. She unleashes her X-Slash attack cutting everyone one in the group of pirates in half. Twenty-four down, forty-six more to go.

Chaos smiles as a group of thirty pirates surround him. Chaos began to sway and rock from side to side, as he smiles devilishly. "Burst Fire!" erupts from him as he fires in every direction but down, taking out the group that surrounded him. When he finishes, he put the guns in an X formation as he kneels on the ground, the pirates soon fall after that. Fifty-four down, twenty-six to go.

Iris looks at the remaining pirates with disgust as they look at her with lust on their minds. Iris points one of her swords at the remaining pirates, With this sword, The Legacy, I shall take down the remaining of you for your crimes against that woman and this kingdom. Iris pulls out the other sword and crosses it in front of her, The Legacy and the Dynasty shall be the last thing you see. The blades began to emit an aura as Iris takes a fighting stance. She jumps high in the air and lands in the middle of the remaining pirates. "Chaos Ring!" she yells as she spins, unleashing and powerful energy wave knocking back all of the enemies. The energy wave was so powerful that it almost knocked Chaos off his feet. A cold wind blew as the remaining pirates fell lifeless.

Chaos heard a noise to his right and shot toward that direction without looking. He seemed to have hit something because of the loud scream that was heard. Chaos jumps and lands in the direction from where he heard the noise coming from with his guns drawn. He drags the body out and it turns out to be a pirate spy, still alive though. Chaos lifts him up with one hand up to his level, Tell your captain to never to attack this kingdom again, or he’ll have to deal with us. Tell him what we did to his crew and don’t come here again or he’ll suffer the same outcome. Chaos threw the pirate spy back to the docks where he landed in the water and that was about a mile away. Both Iris and Chaos looked surprised. Chaos began rubbing the back of his head, Heh, heh. I guess I don’t know my own strength, he says nervously.

Well, I guess we should get going. The sun is getting ready to rise, Chaos says while looking at the horizon. Iris looks puzzled, Where? she asks. Chaos looks at her, To find my sister. She’s somewhere in the west, near Libitall and the Pirate Islands. As the sun is rising, they began walking toward the sunrise, Coriander, here I come, Chaos thinks with a smile.

To be continued…

CHAPTER 2

Enter the Ninja

On Xanadré, an epic poem also serves as the main prophecy that details the end of the world where the human embodiment of the apocalypse, called the Ragnarok, comes down, and passes judgment on humanity. Wrapped with a huge chain of thirteen links, he servers the links and sends them down to be the messengers of his arrival. This is the prophecy of the Chain of the Ragnarok.

The Chain of the Ragnarok

Pulling everyone to their inevitable fate.

Among this chain, thirteen links are connected to the core.

Fortune smiles among its best followers.

For those with fortune, Luck will shine down on them.

Then the Spirit, reaching out to everyone, preparing for the end.

The Prophecy tells of the end of things to come.

Arcana, magical beings, come down to gather the strong.

Chaos ensues, causing panic as the Cerberus appears to destroy the weak.

The Blade shall cut down all who stand against him.

Destiny is written.

Fate is determined.

The Penalty of whoever stands against him shall be grave.

The Fang will indeed bite the earth, tearing it open.

The cross of Croix will bear down on the land.

With Genesis, all shall be new once again.

When all 13 Links have descended, Ragnarok will once again appear.

Taking the form of a man, Ragnarok will shine a new light upon the land.

The final hour is at hand.

The world will be wiped clean.

Once again, to begin anew, Ragnarok stands tall in His new paradise.

That was the legend that has been told to everyone in the kingdom of Katall. This place raised the secret guardians of the world. Quietly, they keep the balance of powers in check. Assassinate important people, steal secrets, blackmail; you name it, they probably done it. The Mikado governs the kingdom of Katall. Until recently, Katall has stayed neutral in the war between the kingdoms; but the Kingdom of Hydra has them worried. Some dreadful experiments has been conducted in that kingdom and Mikado has sent his best ninja into the Kingdom of Hydra to find out what the kingdom has been doing and to begin her search for the legendary ones.

Dusk falls on the mountains surrounding Hydra, a young woman of Oriental descent is standing on a cliff as a cold wind blows. The three moons of Xanadré lights the woman’s raven black hair that is tied into a ponytail at the top of her head. The woman’s bangs partially covers her hazel eyes. She is wearing a skintight off-white sleeveless spandex outfit with mesh covering the full length of her arms. The setting sun shines on the metal bracers on both arms, shoulders, and on her shins. The woman also has an opening that goes down from her hips to her thighs to just above the knees with mess covering the opening. She has a V-opening in her chest area, covered with mesh that reveals a bit of cleavage. Her small D size breasts are good eye candy for men as she kills them in lust. With the katana sword strapped on her back, she stands ready looking at Hydra in the distance. As the sun begins to set, she grins and jumps off the cliff. She lands on the side of the cliff and slides for about twenty feet until she gains her balance. She begins to run down the cliff, leaving behind a trail of dust and smoke as she makes her decent.

The young ninja jumped off the mountain landing near a wall on the far outskirts of the Kingdom of Hydra’s capital city, Aion, and she saw three guards standing there. The guards were wearing the same garb of a regular knight with four-foot tall lances. The woman thought, Okay, I know I can’t take all of them at one time. So I guess it’s time for…, she pauses and takes a heavy sigh, Plan B, she thinks. She stood there and waiting for one of the guards to leave the post and head her way. Once the guard was out of the other guard’s line of sight, the girl stood out in front of the guard, slowly zipping down her bodysuit revealing more of her ample cleavage. The guard’s eyes widen in excitement thinking, I’m getting some tonight! The guard followed the girl around the corner where he made an advance at her. He was going in for a kiss and the girl wrapped her arms around him. Just as their lips was about to touch, she slowly pulls out a needle from her left arm brace as her arms rest on his shoulder. She moves her hands to the base of his neck and stabs him, causing instant death. The guard died with a shocked expression on his face as the needle pierced his spinal cord. She moves out of the way, as his lifeless body fell to the ground.

The kunoichi looked at the dead body as she begins to think about her next move. She knows about the other two guards and many more on the way. With her bodysuit still unzipped, she moves from behind the wall and begins to move towards the other two guards. Putting on her most sensual and seductive walk, she slowly approaches the two men, Oh boys, she says in a sensual way. Your comrade didn’t do it for me. I need two strong men like you to feed my hunger, she continues. The guards looked at each other with smiles as the kunoichi stood there blushing. With a smile and smooch of her lips, the guards were ready to follow the kunoichi anywhere she wanted to go. While the two guards were all smiles, the kunoichi placed her hands behind her back and pulled out daggers from her braces. With a sigh, she lowers her head as she stabs the guards in the stomach. She releases the daggers with a push before any blood got on her hands. The guards fell to the ground, taking their last breathes. The kunoichi looks forward as she begins to walk past them. One of the guards grabs one of her legs as she walks past. He looks at her as he’s drawing his last breathe fixated on the kunoichi. Wiggling her leg free from the grip of the dead man, she continues on her mission. She closes her eyes to shake off the recent image of the man’s death on her mind. She opens her eyes and disappears like a gust a wind as she continues along the outskirts of Aion’s wall.

As she moves along the wall, she spots four guards in the distance. The young ninja threw four shurikens at the guards on patrol, hitting them in the neck. They fall behind her as she quickly runs past them. She sees a ladder that could get her over the wall. She quickly climbs it and she reaches the top, she sees a guard patroling the walkway. The young woman lowers herself as the guard passes by her, not looking down at the ladder. As he passes her by, the ninja quickly climbs the ladder and sidestep to her left, behind a stone column. The guard stopped as he heard something. He turns to see where the noise was coming from, but didn’t see anything. He shrugs it off and continues his route. From her brace, she pulls out a dagger. She takes a quick look around the corner to the guard about sixty feet in front of her. Tensing her hand around the dagger, she makes a quick dash from behind the pillar and stabs the guard in the lower back. Before he can yell, the kunoichi puts her free hand around his mouth to muffle the noise of pain he was making. As the guard falls lifeless, she drags the body to the side behind a nearby column. She pulls the dagger out and wipes the blood off the deceased guard’s clothes. Knowing she has a long way to go, the kunoichi looks over to the side of the wall where Aion laid and noticed that is was quite a distance down. Nice, now I gotta find a way down, she thinks. Looking around, she notices a stairwell that leads down. Seeing the staircase was about four hundred feet in front of her, the kunoichi takes running at full speed.

The kunoichi appears as a white blur as she runs along the walkway. She soon spots two enemies in the distance on top a metal platform across from the stairwell. Grabbing two kunai, she throws them as she gets close to the metal platform, hitting them in the neck. Before they slump to the floor of the platform, the kunoichi already took out a lone guard at the end of the walkway. With that, she stops at the top of the stairwell catching her breath. Looking back, she looks at the dead guards that was in her path. She checks to see how many kunai and shurikens she has left. Well, from here on out, I’ll be in Hydra. I got eight kunai and a sizable amount of shurikens left, so I might have to engage in close quarters combat if need be, she thinks. So, I just gotta get in to find out what they’ve been up to, easier said than done. When I get back, I’m having a nice long talk with my father, she continues as she prepares herself to go down the staircase.

With that thought in mind, she makes her trek down the stairs and runs into two guards that were having a smoke at the halfway point of the stairs. Before the guards can react, the kunoichi throws two kunai, but the guards’ guns deflected them. Shocked that her kunai have been block for the first time, she quickly shrugs it off and draws her sword. The guards stand ready with guns pointed at the kunoichi. She jumps off the stairs at the guards as they begin firing. Amazingly, she began deflecting the bullets with her sword as she makes her way down. She lands in front of one of the guards and kicks him in the stomach, causing him to fall down a flight of stairs, leaving the one guard to deal with. Instantly blocking with her sword as the guard begins to come down with his gun, the kunoichi struggles to get her footing at the guard begins pushing her back. She attempts to knee him in the stomach, but he blocks it. With her free hand, she opens her hand and a kunai slides down from her a brace. Gripping it tightly, she pushes herself away from the guard and slashes at him. She cuts his neck at the vein, resulting in blood spewing out. Before she had a moment to breathe, the other guard comes running up at the kunoichi. He knocks her sword out her hand to the level below. The guard grabs her wrist that has the kunai in it and squeezing hard, as if he’s trying to shatter her wrist. Writhing in pain, the kunoichi falls to one knee as the guard now has the upper hand. The pain is evident as the kunoichi as yells for a few seconds as the guard has a sinister smile on his face.

Thinking, the kunoichi began having flashbacks of situations like this back in Katall when she was faced with a larger enemy. She opens her eyes and beginning to fight the pain coursing through her. She makes her move to begin to stand. This was surprising the guard as his death-like grip loosened. Seeing this opportunity, the kunoichi kicked the guard in the crotch. Immediately, the guard lets go of the kunoichi and grabs his lower extremities in pain. She takes a deep breath as she makes a ninjutsu hand seal of the ram and the kunoichi disappears in a puff of smoke. She appears one level above the guard, coming at him with a flying sidekick. "Kagero Kick!" she yells as she makes contact, sending the guard off the staircase. She lands as she sees the guard fall to his death about fifty feet below. The kunoichi grabs her sword as she continues to run down the rest of the stairs until she reaches the bottom to the streets of Aion.

Looking around, all seem quiet compared what she just been through getting into Aion. The streets are dimly lit by the streetlights and now instead of guards, now Deva Knights are patrolling the streets. The kunoichi quickly hides behind a nearby car and spots a nice shady spot in an alleyway. She waits until the Deva Knights passes her by and runs into the alley. The long, dark corridor is perfect for hiding