Aurum the Blaze

Chapter One: Negotiation of Terms

AT LAST! MY TRIUMPHANT RETURN!

Anyhow, there are a number of reasons I've been busy lately, including school, videogames, and more goddamn school. But hey, on the bright side – GO AMERICA! Osama Bin Ladin is dead; the families of those who died in 9/11 are finally going to get some closure, ne?

Last time, on Aurum the Blaze…

"I'm sorry, but between a Tsviet asking to join the WRO and you bringing my sister back to me, I can't really think straight at the moment. Maybe we should talk in the morning? Shelke's clearly tired, so am I, somewhat, and if you've gone through as much as you said in the last few days, then you could use some rest too."

[Aurum] looked as if he were about to protest, but after thinking it over for a few seconds, acquiesced. "That's fair enough. Better that everyone have a clear head."

And now, the continuation…

The next day…

Aurum, as had often been the case while in Deepground, was the first to awaken. For an instant, he couldn't remember where he was, before the previous night's events came back to him.

As the Blaze made a mental note to avoid sleeping on the couch again, considering how uncomfortable it was, he did a few light stretches, all the while observing Shalua Rui's humble abode.

Thus far, he'd only seen the living room, but even so, he could make a few deductions. To begin with, he noted that everything had been cleaned recently, within the last three days if he could accurately judge the buildup of dust. Anything and everything was organized in one way or another. It was a moderately large room, which had a couch, a reclining chair, along with a "study desk", as he called it, which had upon it a military-grade computer in addition to a printer. The desk had three drawers on the left side, along with a shelf on the top which was covered with data disks.

On the opposite side of the room was a television set, about 46". On the wall to his left, opposite the door, was a bookcase with eight shelves on it, each of them completely filled. Having finished his morning stretches, Aurum wondered if there was anything he might read while waiting for the girls to awaken.

The top four shelves were entirely taken up with research materials, with the two shelves under that buried with journals and the like – or so they appeared to be at a glance. In stark contrast to the above six, however, the final two shelves were filled with graphic novels and manga, such as Watchmen.

He heard soft footsteps on the semi-thick carpet an instant before Shalua asked, "Looking for something in particular?"

Aurum shook his head before turning to the elder scientist/soldier and replying, "Just something to do while I wait for you and your sister to wake up, that's all."

A few seconds later, he heard the younger Rui sister arise, and then walk into the living room.

Shalua asked, "Well then, now that we're all up, let's get some breakfast, and then we'll talk. Do either of you want something specific?"

After glancing at the clock, the Blaze noted that he had roughly four hours remaining before anything became critical, said, "Not really, but – and I say this on matter of principle – something that's made quickly and easily would be preferable. I'm not trying to be rude, but there are things that must be done, and quickly. The sooner we can begin, the better."

Shelke nodded in agreement, and Shalua inwardly sighed. Well, at least they don't want anything extravagant.

The one-eyed, one-armed scientist wasn't feeling too excellent anyway, so she simply made cereal for the three of them, and gave each of her guests a bowl. The short breakfast was silent and awkward, and in an attempt to get the ball rolling, Aurum said, "Now before you start asking questions, we need a mako tank, and quickly – not to mention a decent supply of mako energy itself. Where's the closest means to fulfill this requirement?"

Shalua caught off guard by the request/demand, asked, "What do you need it for?"

While she could certainly obtain the mako without too much trouble, she'd be damned before she did so without knowing what it would be used for. To her surprise, though, it was Shelke who answered: "Without regular mako treatments, this body would deteriorate rapidly – it would wither into nothingness in sixty hours. My last treatment was fifty-four hours ago."

Shalua cried out, "Wait a minute, you're telling me that you've only got six hours to live?" Then, she turned to Aurum and shouted, "Why the hell didn't you bring this up sooner?"

In an instant, the Blaze had Shalua against the wall, hand over her mouth, with his eyes glowing that same smoldering golden-red as the night before. After a second or two, however, his eyes resumed their normal azure color, and he stared at his hand for a moment, before gently removing it and stepping back about ten feet. "I… I apologize. I acted purely on reflex, before I could think about what I was doing."

While the WRO scientist wouldn't normally have believed someone saying something like that – not even for a second, Aurum actually sounded as though alarmed at himself. Shalua coughed a little and rose to her feet, and she caught him staring at his hand, as though it had genuinely done something without the consent of its master. Aurum shook himself out of it after a moment, however, at which point he resumed, "In answer to your query, Shelke requested that I wait until morning to bring it up, so that we'd all be awake."

Then, with a sardonic chuckle, he added, "And I daresay that, at this point, we are all most certainly wide awake."

Shalua refrained from commenting at his attempt to lighten the mood again, before picking up her phone from the table, and dialing a borderline over-called number.

"Reeve? It's Shalua Rui. I've got some… interesting news to tell you later, but first, I need you to get a Mako tank ready for use in less than six hours – I'll tell you why on my way up….. Let's just say that I finally found my reason to live."

After another few seconds, Shalua hung up the phone, before grabbing a set of keys and heading for the door. When neither of the ex-Tsviets made to follow, the scientist turned around and asked, "Well move it! Didn't you say we only had six hours?"

Aurum confirmed, "Closer to five and a half by now, but yes."

Quickly securing his cloak, sword, and a handgun Shalua hadn't noticed the night before, the Blaze fell into rapid step behind the Rui sisters, his military instincts beginning to manifest.

Within moments, the trio had entered the back of an armor-reinforced Jeep with the roof and doors removed, and a gatling gun in the back. There was room for a driver, a passenger, and a gunner. Aurum, expending no effort at all, hopped up to the gun and began making certain that everything worked properly, and since Shalua had to drive, that meant Shelke was riding shotgun.

Shalua used this opportunity to catch up with Shelke, asking about everything she could think of, trying to find out who her long-lost sister had become in the ten years they'd been separated.

More than a few times, Aurum had a question or two to ask, but kept silent, recognizing that the women in the front of the auto needed time to re-bond. This was their moment of semi-happy reunion, and he wasn't the kind of person to spoil it with something that could wait until later.

However, he got his chance soon enough, since it wasn't more than about ten minutes from Shalua's house to her job. Shalua then led the Transparent and the Blaze into the well-fortified building. It was still fairly early, so the building was empty except for the graveyard shift, who were too tired at that time to ask what one of their highest-ranking scientists was doing with two of the enemy's most powerful soldiers.

As Shalua brought the two former Tsviets into her underground lab, she quickly prepped the Mako tank for Shelke, who then entered it and began to sleep once again, having only had four hours the previous night.

At this point, Reeve Tuesti, head of the WRO, entered the room with some questions about why Shalua had needed the mako ready so quickly and what she'd meant, when he saw Aurum the Blaze. Under normal circumstances, he'd have instantly gone for his sidearm, but didn't, seeing as it would be futile. Tsviets were in the same league as SOLDIER, First Class – and Reeve was a mere human. Internally, he lamented that he hadn't sent an android duplicate instead. 'But then again, Shalua brought him in here without a fight, so there's more to this than meets the eye.'

The Tsviet and the director of the WRO merely stared at each other, wondering who would make the first move. Whereas Aurum was nonchalant and seemed unconcerned, Reeve was as wary as they came.

Shalua would've said something, but her sister was of somewhat higher priority at the moment.

After another few minutes, Aurum turned away from Reeve and found a chair, before commenting, "If we're going to have a civil conversation, Reeve Tuesti, then I suggest we sit down. Go on, make yourself comfortable; rest assured, I'm not going to attack you. I have something you want, and I'm willing to negotiate with you about it."

As he finished the brief monologue, the Blaze spun his chair around a bit and sat down, leaning against the wall, feet crossed. Reeve, uncertain of what the Deepground soldier was going on about, but playing along for the moment, sat on a bench, though he didn't let his guard down for an instant. Taking a few seconds to marshal his thoughts, he finally asked, "You say you've got something I want. What do you mean by that?"

The collar of Aurum's coat hiding his expression, the Blaze replied, "I'm one of the most powerful warriors in Deepground, with whom you're at war. And despite your dedication and effort, your team is losing. Your opponent basically has you outnumbered, outgunned, has superior training, and will stop at nothing until they've destroyed everything. They've got you beaten in terms of numbers, weaponry, training, and killer instinct. But Shelke and I are among the Tsviets. We've pretty much abandoned Deepground, and can turn the tides of war in your favor."

Aurum leaned forward, focusing entirely on Reeve, and began tapping his temple with his right index finger as he continued, "Right here, I've got intelligence about Deepground's offensive and defensive capabilities as of about three or four days ago. I can tell you how to counter their strengths, and how to exploit their weaknesses. There's data in here that can cripple your enemy if used under the right circumstances. With mine and Shelke's help, you can bring this conflict to a conclusion much faster than without it, and with far fewer innocent casualties. In short, I'm offering you a means to restore peace with less bloodshed."

Reeve was careful not to jump at the chance, though he was certainly hooked on the bait. "It sounds too good to be true. What do you want in exchange?"

Aurum closed his eyes in thought for a few minutes before he said, "I have a number of things that I'll specify later. But in general, I want guaranteed amnesty for myself and for those who serve under me, provide that they also join your cause. Do we have a deal?"

After a few moments of consideration, Reeve agreed. The Blaze then smiled and began to impart a bit of intel. "Let's begin then, shall we? Deepground soldiers are basically in five divisions, each under the command of a Tsviet – although Shelke, due to her lack of killing power, does not command a division. Each division is named for a type of gem that shares the same color as the C.O.'s epithet, and a soldier can be identified as to their division via the color of an armband just under the right shoulder. Also, each division has a different specialty. I'm the commanding officer of Amber Division. The other divisions specialize in one thing or another, whether it be espionage, assassination, or even just charging headlong into enemy lines and causing as much carnage as possible before getting killed. But my Ambers are a bit different. We don't have any one specialty; we're jacks-of-all-trades. We might be the least strict of the five divisions, but we can handle any mission assigned to us, and we're the only division that actually treats its members like people rather than tools. We've even got a motto, as a matter of fact: 'We tend not to fuck around.'"

Reeve's eyebrow began twitching, and he interjected, "I'd prefer to hear cold, objective data, rather than you bragging about your troops."

Aurum's expression instantly grew cold and he fell silent. Closing his eyes for a few minutes, the Tsviet eventually replied, and when he did, his voice had lost any pretense of warmth it held previously. "You want me to be objective, yes? You want me to provide you with nothing but the bare basics, right? You desire only the knowledge required to kill my former comrades. You want to keep thinking of them as the enemy, without giving the focus of your hatred a face. You're afraid of letting yourself begin to believe that your opponents are people, just like you. I would be the same way, but there are some things that cannot be spoken about objectively. The screams of a helpless enemy, powerless before you, screaming like an infant for mercy that doesn't exist. The peculiar feeling as you grip your nemesis by their face, still living, and squeeze until you crush their skull like an eggshell, as their hot blood and brains begin to flow across your hands and arm. The texture of a knife in your hand as you stab someone through the stomach and slowly watch the life fades from their eyes, and as you do all of this, you do all of these terrible, monstrous things, you laugh. The anguished screams of the enemy forces are music to your ears, and you revel as you massacre the meaningless insects before you, painting the ground and surrounding buildings with the blood and gore of the slain. You don't think of it as an abomination, you see it as a carnival. That is what it means to be a Deepground soldier. That is what it means to be a Tsviet. Now tell me something, can you speak of such things objectively?"

Reeve was unable to reply for a few minutes, utterly shocked at Aurum's outburst, even as calmly as it was delivered. "No, I cannot. In the end, Aurum… I suppose you are right. It would seem that, perhaps, I am not so different from you and your former comrades."

Shalua, despite having seen more combat on the front lines than her superior had, was chilled nearly as much as Reeve. However, she recovered first and was about to assure Reeve that that supposition was untrue – though unexpectedly to all, her little sister beat her to it.

Though distorted through the mako, Shelke's words were still clearly distinguishable. "Your self-assessment is incorrect, Reeve Tuesti. The Tsviets consider themselves to be equivalent to gods, and have no regard for life whatsoever. They would rather commit suicide than allow the enemy the satisfaction of killing them. Deepground would annihilate the entire planet with themselves still on it, if given the chance. Deepground is the personification of War. With the exception of myself, Aurum, and Amber Division, battle is the only thing they love, the only thing they understand. And they do not care to learn any alternative way. You are a known pacifist, Reeve Tuesti. You do not enjoy the thought of killing other people, though you are willing to do so in the interests of peace. You are nothing like the Tsviets. You are nothing like… us."

Aurum, not missing a beat, continued from there. "She's right, you know. You are not at all like the Tsviets. You want to keep things impersonal so that ordering the deaths of your enemy becomes easier, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. Every death you're responsible weighs you down, correct? Tsviets – myself and, to a degree, Shelke included – can hear someone's entire life story, get to know them as well as that person knows himself or herself… then cut them down in cold blood without a second thought. You don't get the big picture, not yet. I can kill people and not care, but what's worse than that? I can kill somebody and forget that it even happened. That's how little human life matters to the Tsviets…"

Frowning, Shalua asked, "Then why are you helping us, if life is so irrelevant to you?"

Naruto grimaced, before trying to explain. "Please understand me when I say that I am both the same and the opposite as the other Tsviets. I, like Shelke, was forced into the program involuntarily. She and I had different coping mechanisms – we each adapted to the situation as best as we could. Shelke closed off her emotions, so that she wouldn't feel pain or fear. She was like a doll for a long time…"

Opening his eyes again, Aurum continued, "But I didn't close off my emotions. Instead, I suppose you could say I split my consciousness in two. There's the normal me, which is what you're speaking to right now. But then there's also a complete psychopath version of myself, which I created and sometimes became in order to survive Deepground. Now before we progress any further, I want you to understand something, Reeve. The men and women of Amber Division are loyal to me, not Weiss. And because they're my soldiers, and they're good people – relative to the rest of Deepground, at any rate – I'd ask that you take them alive whenever possible. While they appreciate a good brawl, my troops don't actively thirst for blood like the other divisions do. We also aren't as blinded by loyalty to Weiss as the remainder of Deepground is. The Ambers aren't complete monsters, and neither am I. So whenever possible, I want Amber Division troops taken alive. Anyone else… hell, I can kill them for you myself."

I'm going to make Naruto's girlfriend Shalua, since pretty much everyone has voted for her thus far. It's going to take a few chapters to develop, so be patient. Granted, five(-ish) votes out of five isn't really a whole lot, but that's about when I closed my similar poll for "Harvester of Sorrow".

Anyhow, as always, review.