The Mistake is Revealed
CHANSON DU SOLITARE
XVIII.
The decision to assign Nachtkrieger as Crystal's bodyguard was what he'd later confirm to be the worst decision he'd ever madeâ�"as he was in LA, temptation defeated all virtue; she had an affair. The guilt was like a stone-cold needle in her heart, but she figured he'd never know. She expected him to be home a week later than he was. Thus, as the two Rukario were mating, he entered.
"Crystal, I'mâ�"wait a minute. What. The. Fuck," he said as he saw the two.
"Oh, my God...Yoshi, I...I...I'm sorry."
"I have nothing to say to you, Crystal," Takeru said calmly. "As for you, Nachtkrieger, are you aware of Decree 66?"
"Decree 66?"
"Of the sixty-second Senate."
"No, I'm not...what does it mean?" he asked nervously.
"It allows the King, that's me, to hand down automatic death sentences to soldiers on active assignments due to misconduct. Are you aware of why you're here?"
"Oh, shit," the Colonel said.
"Please, Takeru, don't!" Crystal yelled.
Takeru took out the G18, and pointed it at Colonel Nachtkrieger.
"Any last words, Colonel?"
"Are you really going to kill me? Right in front of your fiancée?"
"I have no fiancée," Takeru said coldly.
"Please, Takeru! Don't kill him!" Crystal pleaded, leaping in front of Nachtkrieger.
"I'll fire in five seconds," Takeru said, his eyes now glowing red.
"Don't!"
"One."
"Takeru, please!"
"Two."
Listol noticed the ordeal.
"Three."
Crystal's tears were no deterrent. The infidelity had unleashed the Demon.
"Four."
He looked at them.
"Very well. Goodbye...you filthy ingrates."
"NO!"
Listol, in a rapid movement, ran over and put an M9 to the back of Takeru's head.
"Drop it!" Listol snarled.
"Since when do you care about whores and disgraced officers?!"
"Drop it! NOW!"
"Or what? You'll seriously kill me?!"
"If I must!"
Listol looked into Takeru's eyes and saw that the Demon inhabited Takeru.
"Crystal! He's gone mad! Don't blame him, he's not in control! Both of you run! RUN!"
The two ran to the forest. Takeru was about to fire at them, but realized Listol's threat. After they were gone, Takeru looked at the Captain.
"You bastard!" he yelled. "I'll kill all three of you!"
"Takeru," Listol said calmly, "snap out of it!"
Takeru was snarling, now even foaming at the mouth. Listol then called out the source of the problem.
"Demon! Get out! Leave him!"
Suddenly, Takeru grabbed his head, screaming.
"GAH! Get...out of my head, damn you! GET OUT!"
Crystal looked on in horror at this. Takeru saw her, and the Demon, still controlling him, knocked Listol's M9 out of his hands and grabbed the G18.
"Kill her!" the Demon yelled. "KILL HER!"
"N-ngh...NO!"
Suddenly, in a show of force against the demon, he fired at the ground until the gun was empty; he then threw it to the ground. Suddenly, the Demon visibly tore itself out of Takeru, who then collapsed to the ground. She saw his eyes regain their brown color, and he then fainted. Nachtkrieger then ran over to check on him.
"Takeru! Takeru, are you alive?"
Suddenly, his eyes shot open. He glared menacingly at the Colonel.
"Get the fuck out of my sight or I'll kill you," he growled. "Now!"
Nachtkrieger fled. He then looked at Crystal, tears in his eyes.
"Traitor," he snarled, before he fainted again.
Although the Demon was no longer within Takeru, his anger was infinite. He swore vengeance on Nachtkrieger, specifically ordering the Harberian Army to search for the disgraced Colonel. He realized, though, that Crystal had also betrayed him. It was near impossible for him to come to terms with this. Listol kept watch over him in the hospital, and reported to Mateo that Takeru would mutter 'she isn't real...I don't want her to be real...', which caused Mateo to realize that Takeru needed to reconcile (and reunite) with Crystal, who was obviously shy. But Mateo's insistence led her to agree to this as long as heavy security was implemented. As Takeru saw her, he began to convulse out of pure anger.
"Leave me...leave me, you ingrate!" he yelled angrily.
Mateo entered.
"You need her, and she needs you, Takeru," the Admiral said sternly.
"Gah! Lies, filthy lies!"
Listol slapped him.
"Just listen to her, dammit!" he yelled.
"I...I'm sorry, Yoshi," she began, tears running down her face. "I didn't mean for this to happen...it's just, I was so lonely!"
"I'm sorry, too," he said, smiling. "Want to know why?"
"Why?"
"BECAUSE I SAVED YOUR FUCKING LIFE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
She ran out, fearful of his rage.
Mateo ran after her. Listol turned to Takeru, slapping him again.
"Why won't you listen?! Why are you so set in stone?!"
"Do you know how betrayed I am?! DO YOU?! I saved her life! I gave her a son! I gave her...everything! I treated her like a Queen, and I was going to make her one! But no, that's not enough! That's not! She had to go whoring around with that damned Nachtkrieger!"
Listol sighed.
"I understand your rage, Takeru," he said. "But she really loves you. We want the best for you. She does too!"
Takeru looked down.
"Fuck this," he said, storming out.
"Where're you going?!" Listol yelled.
"Hell! See you there!"
And he stormed out of the hospital, swearing all the while. Listol then ran after him, grabbing him by the arm.
"Listen," the now furious Captain said, "you need to shut the fuck up and listen to people! Revenge...why? You're breaking her heart, damn it! Breaking it and spitting on the shattered pieces! You loved her. You still do, deep down!"
Takeru looked at Listol, seething with pure anger.
"Captain," he said calmly, taking a deep breath, "I am extremely pissed. Now, either you let me go so I can destroy a KPA submarine, or..." he said, taking out an M9 and pointing it at Listol's face, "I can blow your fucking brains out."
"You're talking mad, Takeru!" Listol yelled.
"Drop the gun!" Mateo yelled out, five other soldiers standing by him.
Takeru complied.
"Fine," Takeru said. He walked away, and spit at Listol.
"Where's he going?" one soldier asked.
"Never seen him so pissed," another said.
"I'll take the strongest shit you got," Takeru said to the bartender, handing him a 2,000 yen note. The man handed Takeru a bottle, and the Harberian began to drink heavily. Listol had followed him in there, and, from a distance, saw this. He walked over, ordered a shot, and began to speak.
"She really does love you," he said.
Takeru ignored him, and kept drinking.
"If you'd just give her another chance, I swear you won't regret it."
Silence.
Listol sighed heavily. He realized the ground he was getting; none.
"Listen, Takeru, when you're ready to stop being an ass, contact me."
And he began to walk away, when Takeru began crying.
"I...I...I can't face her now. Not anymore."
Listol heard this, and walked back over.
"Well, you're trying," he said gently. For a stone-cold fighter, he could be kind, and had become a sort of brother and father figure to Takeru. "You'll get the courage. You're...damn it, you're the man who led us to war. You're our savior, you know. And I can guarantee she needs you as much as we do right now."
Takeru sobered up, and looked at Listol.
"My nation comes first. Before I do this, we have one more target."
"What's the mark?"
The two walked outside.
"Very simple...we're trying to kill Santiago, but we need to fight off the Koreans and teach them to mind their own business. ChÅ?gunshin-1."
"What's that?"
"A massive North Korean submarine. It carries a single ICBM, and the only one they have, at that. They had another...which seems to have landed in Lilycove."
"What are you thinking?" Listol asked.
"We infiltrate ChÅ?gunshin-1. We hijack the ICBM. We land itâ�"in Pyongyang."
Listol looked at Takeru as if he'd lost his mind completely.
"N-n-nuclear missile?!" he asked.
"You heard me," Takeru said, chuckling.
"But...thousands...tens...hundreds of thousands! They would die!"
"Sometimes you need to set a fire big enough to burn the other arsonist," Takeru said.
"You're serious?" Listol asked.
"Yep."
"Holy fuck," Listol said. "You mean to tell me that you want me to help you butcher Pyongyang?!"
"No," Takeru said. "This is a solo mission, Captain."
Listol then realized what Takeru was doing�"it was an utter suicide mission.
"Takeru," Listol said, shaking, now fearful for his friend's life, "you are going to die doing this. That thing is going to be well-guarded. Please," he said, on the verge of tearing up, "don't kill yourself!"
"It's no suicide mission!" Takeru roared with laughter. "It's a warrior's greatest dream!"
"Anyone who'd kill all those people is no warrior!" Listol yelled. "He's a coward!"
Takeru looked at Listol.
"5,000 KPA soldiers guard that thing. It's not a coward's job to sneak in and use it against his enemies!"
"It's a murderer's tool!"
"And there's the thing! I don't care about who dies! Listol, you have to know that people will die. This is war, my friend. I am going to kill Santiago and anyone in my way!"
"You're not well, boy," Listol said flatly.
"I'm going to steal that missile!" Takeru yelled.
Takeru flew himself to the submarine with a private fighter gained from the Katana. He didn't know, however, that Listol had requested a Harberian stealth commando named Ninja to help retrieve him before something stupid was done.
"Ninja," Listol said, flying near the base, "any sight of Crown 1?"
"No sign," he replied. "I guess he was bluffing."
"Nope," Listol said. "Takeru doesn't bluff."
"Then he's in for a ride," Ninja said. "These Koreans are pretty damned prepared to defend this thing tooth and nail."
"Well," Listol said, "I'm sure he's just late."
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a massive C4 explosion and several electrical currents.
"He's here," Listol yelled. "Let's give him some support fire!"
Listol flew the gunship over the base, which was on the eastern Korean boundary. He immediately saw the massive submarine, which was ten stories high at least. He then saw Takeru fighting off waves of Koreans. Without hesitation, he fired his machine guns at the waves of KPA forces, but they seemed endless. Immediately, Takeru looked up, and quickly switched on his comlink.
"Go. NOW!"
"This is Commander Eosin!" a man yelled. "Hands up, guns down. You have five seconds to comply!"
"Get help. Track me via the comlink. NOW, damn it!"
Listol hesitated.
"Five..." the Commander said.
"That's an order, soldier!" Takeru whispered.
The gunship jetted out, and Takeru surrendered.
Listol and Ninja did not hesitate to rally the Harberian army to come to Takeru's aid. It was, however, not the massive amount of soldiers that made the most difference. Rather, it proves the human spirit is not a thing specific to humans. As they were preparing for war, Nachtkrieger walked over to Listol.
"Yes?" Listol asked.
"I'm here to help, and if I have to beat Takeru like a punk in Angola State, then so be it!"
Listol laughed.
"Well, Colonel, I guess you could, although I swear he'll try and kill you the second he lays eyes on you. A vendetta is law to him."
"I doubt it," the Lucario said.
Then, Crystal walked up to the two.
"I'm here as well," she said.
"OK...bringing Crystal will ensure him killing you...I mean, really. You�""
"I'm not here because he wants me here. We weren't ever an 'item', Takeru just walked in at the wrong moment. Honestly, can you blame us?"
"Yes," Listol said flatly. "That's the whole reason he's in this mess."
"That's why I'm in it."
Thus, the operation was simple�"break into Camp 616, snatch Takeru, and get out. Of course, this plan would be deadly, but would have a sense of power against Korea.
The next day, ten thousand Harberian soldiers burst into the prison, guns blaring. Immediately, Takeru burst out of his cell, firing bolts of energy at the guards. Momentarily, he saw Listol.
"Oh, thank God! I thought the Nyonians were..."
He then saw Nachtkrieger. His eyes briefly flashed red, but Listol kept him from charging at the Lucario.
"Listen," Listol said. "He's a friend, not a foe."
"Bastard...I'll kill him!"
"No, you won't!"
"I must!"
In a move of pure bravery, Nachtkrieger spoke.
"I'll fight you, then, but on my terms!"
Takeru laughed.
"Name your terms!"
"No guns. No swords. No weapons of any sort. Deathmatch."
"Reasonable enough," Takeru said. "After we're out of this place."
The escape was simple enough...and it was fast.
XVIII.
The decision to assign Nachtkrieger as Crystal's bodyguard was what he'd later confirm to be the worst decision he'd ever madeâ�"as he was in LA, temptation defeated all virtue; she had an affair. The guilt was like a stone-cold needle in her heart, but she figured he'd never know. She expected him to be home a week later than he was. Thus, as the two Rukario were mating, he entered.
"Crystal, I'mâ�"wait a minute. What. The. Fuck," he said as he saw the two.
"Oh, my God...Yoshi, I...I...I'm sorry."
"I have nothing to say to you, Crystal," Takeru said calmly. "As for you, Nachtkrieger, are you aware of Decree 66?"
"Decree 66?"
"Of the sixty-second Senate."
"No, I'm not...what does it mean?" he asked nervously.
"It allows the King, that's me, to hand down automatic death sentences to soldiers on active assignments due to misconduct. Are you aware of why you're here?"
"Oh, shit," the Colonel said.
"Please, Takeru, don't!" Crystal yelled.
Takeru took out the G18, and pointed it at Colonel Nachtkrieger.
"Any last words, Colonel?"
"Are you really going to kill me? Right in front of your fiancée?"
"I have no fiancée," Takeru said coldly.
"Please, Takeru! Don't kill him!" Crystal pleaded, leaping in front of Nachtkrieger.
"I'll fire in five seconds," Takeru said, his eyes now glowing red.
"Don't!"
"One."
"Takeru, please!"
"Two."
Listol noticed the ordeal.
"Three."
Crystal's tears were no deterrent. The infidelity had unleashed the Demon.
"Four."
He looked at them.
"Very well. Goodbye...you filthy ingrates."
"NO!"
Listol, in a rapid movement, ran over and put an M9 to the back of Takeru's head.
"Drop it!" Listol snarled.
"Since when do you care about whores and disgraced officers?!"
"Drop it! NOW!"
"Or what? You'll seriously kill me?!"
"If I must!"
Listol looked into Takeru's eyes and saw that the Demon inhabited Takeru.
"Crystal! He's gone mad! Don't blame him, he's not in control! Both of you run! RUN!"
The two ran to the forest. Takeru was about to fire at them, but realized Listol's threat. After they were gone, Takeru looked at the Captain.
"You bastard!" he yelled. "I'll kill all three of you!"
"Takeru," Listol said calmly, "snap out of it!"
Takeru was snarling, now even foaming at the mouth. Listol then called out the source of the problem.
"Demon! Get out! Leave him!"
Suddenly, Takeru grabbed his head, screaming.
"GAH! Get...out of my head, damn you! GET OUT!"
Crystal looked on in horror at this. Takeru saw her, and the Demon, still controlling him, knocked Listol's M9 out of his hands and grabbed the G18.
"Kill her!" the Demon yelled. "KILL HER!"
"N-ngh...NO!"
Suddenly, in a show of force against the demon, he fired at the ground until the gun was empty; he then threw it to the ground. Suddenly, the Demon visibly tore itself out of Takeru, who then collapsed to the ground. She saw his eyes regain their brown color, and he then fainted. Nachtkrieger then ran over to check on him.
"Takeru! Takeru, are you alive?"
Suddenly, his eyes shot open. He glared menacingly at the Colonel.
"Get the fuck out of my sight or I'll kill you," he growled. "Now!"
Nachtkrieger fled. He then looked at Crystal, tears in his eyes.
"Traitor," he snarled, before he fainted again.
Although the Demon was no longer within Takeru, his anger was infinite. He swore vengeance on Nachtkrieger, specifically ordering the Harberian Army to search for the disgraced Colonel. He realized, though, that Crystal had also betrayed him. It was near impossible for him to come to terms with this. Listol kept watch over him in the hospital, and reported to Mateo that Takeru would mutter 'she isn't real...I don't want her to be real...', which caused Mateo to realize that Takeru needed to reconcile (and reunite) with Crystal, who was obviously shy. But Mateo's insistence led her to agree to this as long as heavy security was implemented. As Takeru saw her, he began to convulse out of pure anger.
"Leave me...leave me, you ingrate!" he yelled angrily.
Mateo entered.
"You need her, and she needs you, Takeru," the Admiral said sternly.
"Gah! Lies, filthy lies!"
Listol slapped him.
"Just listen to her, dammit!" he yelled.
"I...I'm sorry, Yoshi," she began, tears running down her face. "I didn't mean for this to happen...it's just, I was so lonely!"
"I'm sorry, too," he said, smiling. "Want to know why?"
"Why?"
"BECAUSE I SAVED YOUR FUCKING LIFE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
She ran out, fearful of his rage.
Mateo ran after her. Listol turned to Takeru, slapping him again.
"Why won't you listen?! Why are you so set in stone?!"
"Do you know how betrayed I am?! DO YOU?! I saved her life! I gave her a son! I gave her...everything! I treated her like a Queen, and I was going to make her one! But no, that's not enough! That's not! She had to go whoring around with that damned Nachtkrieger!"
Listol sighed.
"I understand your rage, Takeru," he said. "But she really loves you. We want the best for you. She does too!"
Takeru looked down.
"Fuck this," he said, storming out.
"Where're you going?!" Listol yelled.
"Hell! See you there!"
And he stormed out of the hospital, swearing all the while. Listol then ran after him, grabbing him by the arm.
"Listen," the now furious Captain said, "you need to shut the fuck up and listen to people! Revenge...why? You're breaking her heart, damn it! Breaking it and spitting on the shattered pieces! You loved her. You still do, deep down!"
Takeru looked at Listol, seething with pure anger.
"Captain," he said calmly, taking a deep breath, "I am extremely pissed. Now, either you let me go so I can destroy a KPA submarine, or..." he said, taking out an M9 and pointing it at Listol's face, "I can blow your fucking brains out."
"You're talking mad, Takeru!" Listol yelled.
"Drop the gun!" Mateo yelled out, five other soldiers standing by him.
Takeru complied.
"Fine," Takeru said. He walked away, and spit at Listol.
"Where's he going?" one soldier asked.
"Never seen him so pissed," another said.
"I'll take the strongest shit you got," Takeru said to the bartender, handing him a 2,000 yen note. The man handed Takeru a bottle, and the Harberian began to drink heavily. Listol had followed him in there, and, from a distance, saw this. He walked over, ordered a shot, and began to speak.
"She really does love you," he said.
Takeru ignored him, and kept drinking.
"If you'd just give her another chance, I swear you won't regret it."
Silence.
Listol sighed heavily. He realized the ground he was getting; none.
"Listen, Takeru, when you're ready to stop being an ass, contact me."
And he began to walk away, when Takeru began crying.
"I...I...I can't face her now. Not anymore."
Listol heard this, and walked back over.
"Well, you're trying," he said gently. For a stone-cold fighter, he could be kind, and had become a sort of brother and father figure to Takeru. "You'll get the courage. You're...damn it, you're the man who led us to war. You're our savior, you know. And I can guarantee she needs you as much as we do right now."
Takeru sobered up, and looked at Listol.
"My nation comes first. Before I do this, we have one more target."
"What's the mark?"
The two walked outside.
"Very simple...we're trying to kill Santiago, but we need to fight off the Koreans and teach them to mind their own business. ChÅ?gunshin-1."
"What's that?"
"A massive North Korean submarine. It carries a single ICBM, and the only one they have, at that. They had another...which seems to have landed in Lilycove."
"What are you thinking?" Listol asked.
"We infiltrate ChÅ?gunshin-1. We hijack the ICBM. We land itâ�"in Pyongyang."
Listol looked at Takeru as if he'd lost his mind completely.
"N-n-nuclear missile?!" he asked.
"You heard me," Takeru said, chuckling.
"But...thousands...tens...hundreds of thousands! They would die!"
"Sometimes you need to set a fire big enough to burn the other arsonist," Takeru said.
"You're serious?" Listol asked.
"Yep."
"Holy fuck," Listol said. "You mean to tell me that you want me to help you butcher Pyongyang?!"
"No," Takeru said. "This is a solo mission, Captain."
Listol then realized what Takeru was doing�"it was an utter suicide mission.
"Takeru," Listol said, shaking, now fearful for his friend's life, "you are going to die doing this. That thing is going to be well-guarded. Please," he said, on the verge of tearing up, "don't kill yourself!"
"It's no suicide mission!" Takeru roared with laughter. "It's a warrior's greatest dream!"
"Anyone who'd kill all those people is no warrior!" Listol yelled. "He's a coward!"
Takeru looked at Listol.
"5,000 KPA soldiers guard that thing. It's not a coward's job to sneak in and use it against his enemies!"
"It's a murderer's tool!"
"And there's the thing! I don't care about who dies! Listol, you have to know that people will die. This is war, my friend. I am going to kill Santiago and anyone in my way!"
"You're not well, boy," Listol said flatly.
"I'm going to steal that missile!" Takeru yelled.
Takeru flew himself to the submarine with a private fighter gained from the Katana. He didn't know, however, that Listol had requested a Harberian stealth commando named Ninja to help retrieve him before something stupid was done.
"Ninja," Listol said, flying near the base, "any sight of Crown 1?"
"No sign," he replied. "I guess he was bluffing."
"Nope," Listol said. "Takeru doesn't bluff."
"Then he's in for a ride," Ninja said. "These Koreans are pretty damned prepared to defend this thing tooth and nail."
"Well," Listol said, "I'm sure he's just late."
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a massive C4 explosion and several electrical currents.
"He's here," Listol yelled. "Let's give him some support fire!"
Listol flew the gunship over the base, which was on the eastern Korean boundary. He immediately saw the massive submarine, which was ten stories high at least. He then saw Takeru fighting off waves of Koreans. Without hesitation, he fired his machine guns at the waves of KPA forces, but they seemed endless. Immediately, Takeru looked up, and quickly switched on his comlink.
"Go. NOW!"
"This is Commander Eosin!" a man yelled. "Hands up, guns down. You have five seconds to comply!"
"Get help. Track me via the comlink. NOW, damn it!"
Listol hesitated.
"Five..." the Commander said.
"That's an order, soldier!" Takeru whispered.
The gunship jetted out, and Takeru surrendered.
Listol and Ninja did not hesitate to rally the Harberian army to come to Takeru's aid. It was, however, not the massive amount of soldiers that made the most difference. Rather, it proves the human spirit is not a thing specific to humans. As they were preparing for war, Nachtkrieger walked over to Listol.
"Yes?" Listol asked.
"I'm here to help, and if I have to beat Takeru like a punk in Angola State, then so be it!"
Listol laughed.
"Well, Colonel, I guess you could, although I swear he'll try and kill you the second he lays eyes on you. A vendetta is law to him."
"I doubt it," the Lucario said.
Then, Crystal walked up to the two.
"I'm here as well," she said.
"OK...bringing Crystal will ensure him killing you...I mean, really. You�""
"I'm not here because he wants me here. We weren't ever an 'item', Takeru just walked in at the wrong moment. Honestly, can you blame us?"
"Yes," Listol said flatly. "That's the whole reason he's in this mess."
"That's why I'm in it."
Thus, the operation was simple�"break into Camp 616, snatch Takeru, and get out. Of course, this plan would be deadly, but would have a sense of power against Korea.
The next day, ten thousand Harberian soldiers burst into the prison, guns blaring. Immediately, Takeru burst out of his cell, firing bolts of energy at the guards. Momentarily, he saw Listol.
"Oh, thank God! I thought the Nyonians were..."
He then saw Nachtkrieger. His eyes briefly flashed red, but Listol kept him from charging at the Lucario.
"Listen," Listol said. "He's a friend, not a foe."
"Bastard...I'll kill him!"
"No, you won't!"
"I must!"
In a move of pure bravery, Nachtkrieger spoke.
"I'll fight you, then, but on my terms!"
Takeru laughed.
"Name your terms!"
"No guns. No swords. No weapons of any sort. Deathmatch."
"Reasonable enough," Takeru said. "After we're out of this place."
The escape was simple enough...and it was fast.