7th Moon

“Now I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds.” –Bhagavad Gita

Hidariude was immediately overcome with anger. Standing before him was the man who was responsible for all the hardship in his life. This man was responsible for World War III, the death of his parents, and almost started World War IV. Without a moment’s hesitation he raised his sword and brought it down on Han Toromi’s head.

Hidariude’s sword was blocked by another blade. Han Toromi was holding his left arm up, a cyber-blade extended from his forearm. Desperately, Hidariude let go of the sword with his left hand, pulled back, extended the cyber blade and stabbed at Han’s stomach. Again, the blade was blocked; Han now had a cyber-blade from his right arm to deflect the blow.

“Do you like the improvements I made to myself?” Han said to Hidariude with an eerie calm while he held Hidariude’s blades away from his body. “It seemed like you were having so much fun with these I thought I’d get some myself. I know you’re thinking it’s going to take more than some cyber blades to be your equal. Well, these are only the most recent additions, I’ve also been undergoing some gene therapies over the years. After all, what’s the point of ordering all these experiments if I can’t benefit a little from them personally? Would you like a demonstration?”

Han released his hold on Hidariude and let him attack again. Again Han blocked both blades as they came from completely different angles than before. Hidariude tried to catch Han off guard with a sweep kick, but Han simply jumped and somersaulted over Hidariude. As he landed, he tried to strike at Hidariude again from behind, but Hidariude turned with the momentum of his sweep kick and raised his own blades to block Han. Han had his feet against the wall over Seichei and pushed off forcing Hidariude backward along with him. As he landed with his feet firmly upon the ground he turned one blade to hold both of Hidariude’s off while spinning his other blade around underneath to stab Hidariude in the stomach. Hidariude managed to free one blade to deflect this blow, leaving them in the reverse of the position they had started with.

“Very good use of your ESP.” Han observed coldly. “But what if I simply react to you without thinking of my own plans? Can you predict a battle plan that I haven’t even thought of yet?”

“Then all you can do is block until I get tired.” Hidariude answered.

“Very well then, a battle of endurance, first one to falter loses.” Han challenged Hidariude.

Hidariude raised the stakes. “First one to falter dies.”

“Then it’s a match.” Han laughed.

They broke away from each other and began to duel. Hidariude struck at Han from one angle and was blocked and then from another angle, blocked again. He switched around the angle of the blades in every way he could think of, but he could not get ahead of Han. “Did I forget to mention I also had a specially designed therapy just for dealing with you? I managed to get a sample of your brain matter from you cerebellum that retained your fighting skills. Over the years we did a number of tests on you to improve neural interface and among them we found that specific part of your brain that retained muscle memory. I made it into a prion and injected it into myself. Unfortunately I couldn’t test it on anyone else since it only works with one who has this specific type of cybernetics and I just didn’t feel like inviting anyone else into our club. So, in short I can fight as if I had trained alongside you my whole life.”

After a few rounds of fencing, it seemed that traditional fighting was all but futile. Hidariude got desperate, crossed his blades and unleashed a lightning blade attack against Han. To Hidariude’s surprise, Han simply blocked the attack with his left blade, absorbing it and then released it from his right blade. Hidariude narrowly dodged the reflected attack. “You see, I thought of everything! I came to this battle prepared!”

As Hidariude and Han continued their duel, Seichei started to recover enough to move, the bolts of electricity in the air waking him up. He considered helping Han, but as he pulled himself up, he realized his battle with Hidariude had weakened him too much, he would only get in the way now. Besides, it appeared Han had a good handle on the situation without him anyway. He pulled himself up and stumbled down the corridor toward the dock and away from the battle.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Seventh Moon, each of the other espers was picking up the bodies of their unconscious and defeated opponents. Hime was unconscious, and Baz and Aka had been adversely affected by the shockwave from Douji. Aka was completely immobilized, Baz was in somewhat better shape, still being able to use her arms, but she couldn’t move her legs. They would each be able to recover eventually, but right now they were at the mercy of their rivals. Douji, Keisei and Kichiku each understood their counterpart and pitied them. They had merely been pawns in this war, each forced to do something against their will. They simply had not had a strong enough will to oppose Han as the espers had, but perhaps now they could get chance to redeem themselves, if only they could save themselves from Seventh Moon now. They all headed to the dock, sensing the continuing battle between Han and Hidariude.

Hidariude had resumed dueling by the blade. His electric attack had proven ineffective, and it was more dangerous to him to use. Dueling may not have been much more effective, but at least he knew he could endure it. As they continued to clash blades, Hidariude tried to maneuver Han around Seventh Moon to try to find an area that would give him a strategic advantage. The ground seemed to be the only variable Han hadn’t totally prepared for. Hidariude attempted to strike Han with both blades simultaneously again, but Han just blocked and pushed back hard enough for Hidariude to be thrown down the corridor. Hidariude let himself be thrown so that he could turn a corner, run down the corridor and hide for a moment so he could surprise Han.

Han was on to Hidariude though, he went down the same corridor searching for Hidariude. “Come out come out where ever you are. Playing hide and seek, like when you were a child. An effective enough training technique I suppose. But remember, no matter how many times you played that game, no matter how many hiding places you found that you think nobody else knew about, I built this place!” Right then Han turned the corner, leading with his cyber blade, striking the wall where Hidariude stood. Hidariude dodged just in time and rolled with the momentum, trying to slash at Han’s legs as he went. Han blocked the first strike with his other arm. Hidariude used his other blade to try hitting Han again from his far side. Han ducked to avoid the attack. Hidariude pulled back preparing for another attack. Han knew instantly that Hidariude was taking a moment to plan, a moment he didn’t want his enemy to have, so he went in for the attack with both blades forward. Hidariude blocked, with both of his blades pushing Han’s blades apart and creating an opening to kick him in the stomach. Han curled up his body, but it was simply a countermeasure, guarding himself against another similar attack. Hidariude tried to run again to find better ground, but Han pursued relentlessly. They came to a stairway and Hidariude tried to get down as fast as possible. Han ran downstairs staying on Hidariude’s heels the whole way. Hidariude realized running wasn’t getting him anywhere so he threw himself over the railing and started dropping down the stairwell.

“You won’t get away that easily.” Han taunted as he threw himself over the railing too. They were both in free fall now planning to drop all the way down the stairs to the bottom, hoping to find something to break their fall near the bottom. Han decided not to wait for the bottom to make his move, as he fell he kicked off of a wall and forced himself down the hole even faster. He now fell upon Hidariude with both blades again, but Hidariude sensed him coming and turned around with his blades out to parry, counter and strike back. They ended up bouncing off of the stair railings and clashing the whole way down. Finally they landed at the bottom of the stairwell, each had managed to break momentum enough to land safely, and parried each other’s strikes enough to have avoided harm at each other’s hands.

“Well played cyber samurai.” Han taunted Hidariude. “Do you realize where we are now? We’re at the core of Seventh Moon. The entire station was built around an asteroid, mostly good soil for farming which forms the ground of the greenhouse area, but there was also a part which was made of radioactive elements. The radioactive material was sealed off and used to make the generator that powers this entire station. You see, that’s where we are now. Here is where the station gets its power; beyond the doors on this level are the generator and control panels for everything on Seventh Moon. You can end my entire operation from here. Of course, without power, you and your friends will not be able to escape and you will all die here too. Quite the dilemma then, defeat me once and for all or leave here alive. What will you do?”

“Shut up Han!” Hidariude screamed while coming at him with both blades. Hidariude hated Han’s attitude, he was so sure of himself. He had just pointed out a weakness that Hidariude could take advantage of and at the same time pointed out it would be a suicide mission to attempt anything.

“So you choose to live.” Han commented while parrying Hidariude’s attack. “You would rather continue to fight this futile battle than take the easy way out. Admirable, but foolish. A true hero would put more concern on the Earth and get me out of the way, even if it meant sacrificing himself.”

“What are you getting at Han?” Hidariude asked during a moment when their blades were locked.

“What I’m getting at is that you seem to be fighting with this noble ambition that you’re better than me, but how many did you kill to get here? I know you killed my soldiers in Japan, I know you used skills you have learned as a warrior, and powers that I gave you as a former New Wave Elite. You are a killer, changing your reasons doesn’t make you any better than any of my other soldiers. You’re simply defective, that’s why I had to replace you.”

They broke their hold and prepared to duel again. They continued to trade blows, blade against blade over and over again. Han just laughed through it all. Hidariude could sense that Han was becoming particularly sadistic. In the past Han was egotistical and a megalomaniac, but now he had gone from being selfish and neglectful of others to actually enjoying actively bringing pain to others. Hidariude then realized what the reason must be. “You are the one hundred and eighth demon aren’t you?”

“You can call me Akuma, the demon king. I remember once being told a legend that when the demon generals known as the Nine Claws of Kyutsume called the demons from around Japan, there were four that were too powerful for them to manage. They were particularly nasty obake, shape shifting demons; a rabbit, a dragon, and an oni who had sacrificed his muscles to become the fastest of his kind. They were each the equal of the one who had claimed to be the leader of the ayakashi, but when they boasted of their supremacy, Akuma came to challenge them. Indeed, he was stronger than the four, as he was the true king of demons, and he took his rightful place as the leader of the ayakashi, allowing the other four to be his generals, demoting the other eight generals to be lieutenants of their leader. Of course I don’t really believe in all of that mythical metaphysical mumbo jumbo, but it has been said that the devil’s greatest success is getting people to believe he doesn’t exist.”

As Han spoke, Hidariude could finally see Han for what he truly was. Beneath that human façade, Han was in fact the king of demons. “When you genetically altered yourself, you opened yourself for demonic possession. You gave up your soul to become a demon.”

Hidariude saw an opening for just a second. Hidariude had blocked one of Han’s blades with his sword and Han tried to stab at him with the other. Hidariude feinted and allowed the blade to pass him and strike the wall so he could use his own cyber blade to pierce Han’s heart.

Han stumbled back. Hidariude drew back his blade. “It ends here Han. Your reign of terror is over.”

Han touched the wound with his hand. He started to laugh, that sick sadistic laugh again. He tore at his shirt and pulled it back to show the wound. Right before Hidariude’s eyes, the wound was healing itself. “I thought of everything, including regeneration. A little bit of starfish DNA, a little bit of sea sponge, and viola, I’m immortal. If I did trade my soul for this, I’d say it was a good trade. How are you going to defeat someone who is immortal? You never stood a chance!” Seventh Moon shuddered beneath their feet and then they felt lighter. Their hair began to float in the air. Han laughed again. “It seems when I hit the wall a moment ago I cut some power lines involved in the gravity emulator. I guess we’ll be going back up the stairs the way we came.”

As they drifted back up the stairwell, Han attacked Hidariude and they replayed their battle from before jumping off the stairs, clashing at every flight, effortlessly jumping back up the stairs with no gravity to hold them down. Hidariude quickly adapted to the new environment, but unfortunately Han seemed to be adapting just as quickly. “It’s not so hard to fight when you know you can’t die. But then you wouldn’t really know that since you’re still mortal. I suppose you still want to fight to defend your life since I can still kill you, but it just doesn’t seem to matter much to me anymore. You are going to die, no matter how much you fight it. On the other hand, it really is amusing to watch you squirm, so go on, entertain me. Dance for me my little puppet, dance!” Han laughed again even more maniacally as he continued to clash with Hidariude.

Keisei, Kichiku, Douji and Seichei all met the dock with Baz, Aka and Hime in tow. The espers looked suspiciously on Seichei for a moment. Seichei waved a hand signifying surrender. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to fight you. Three healthy espers against one damaged android, I’m done for. I’m aborting all of my combat protocols and defaulting to simply protecting my team mates. All I can do now is get them safely away from here and back to Earth. I deduce that since you brought them this far you’d settle for getting them on board a jet so we can return to Earth.”

The espers nodded. “We have to wait for Hidariude.” Keisei added.

“I don’t know if that is a practical condition considering the current situation, but since we are at your mercy, I don’t really have a choice. I must get us back to Earth. For now let’s load them into the emergency medical bay.”

In the back of the jet was a grouping of beds for anyone who had been injured during a mission. They strapped Baz into a bed on one side and Aka into the one on the opposite side of the jet, with Hime set to rest along the back. Seichei prepared to take the helm since he had the best interface with the system. Kichiku and Douji strapped themselves into the back row of seats with Keisei sitting in front of them with an empty seat to her left reserved for Hidariude when he got back.

Then they felt the shudder, their hair began to float and the only thing holding them in place were their seat belts. “We lost gravity.” Seichei explained. “I don’t know what they are doing down there, but they seem to be damaging the vital systems supporting Seventh Moon. I’ll try to wait for Hidariude, but there’s no guarantee that the station will hold up until he gets back.”

The espers closed their eyes and entered a deep trance trying to focus their senses on Hidariude, praying for his victory.

Hidariude could feel his friends praying for him. It gave him strength to keep fighting against Han, even more than before. “You just don’t understand Han, you fight for yourself. You think making your body indestructible makes you immortal as the gods. But my strength does not come merely from within me, it comes from my friends, my family, from all those who count on me. Yes, I killed, but I killed to protect the ones I love, and I felt remorse for the loss of those lives. You gave me blades to destroy, but these are holy blades, meant to defend the innocent from those who would do them harm. I kill only as a last resort to end the reign of destruction that another creates, and when all other destroyers have been stopped, then my blade can rest again.”

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Deep inside Hidariude’s mind he felt the warm glow of something familiar. For a brief moment he saw Kichiku, Keisei, Douji, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ryu. Those who were still alive longed for him to join them, those who were dead smiled upon him with the hope he would not join them too soon. Ryu stepped forward from the ephemera, taking Hidariude by the hand. “Let me take it from here.”

Hidariude’s cyber blade retracted as time began to move again. Ryu’s spirit now had control of Hidariude’s body. He gripped both hands around Shinryuu Masamune and opened his eyes. He looked at Han Toromi with deep focus, and readied his weapon to strike with full force.

Han laughed. “Well, haven’t we suddenly gotten confident taking me on with just one blade.” Ryu came in and started with a flurry of blows. Han tried to block and parry but it seemed that his opponent’s speed had doubled and he could barely keep up. “What is this power?”

“Don’t you recognize it? Or has it been that long since you have seen me?”

“Who are you?” Han asked, suddenly showing fear for the first time since the battle began.

“I am Masamune Ryu.”

“How is that possible? You died! I killed you!”

“This is true immortality, the everlasting soul. To live on in people’s memories, of those you love, to make a positive influence on the world worth remembering. Those who fear death enough to cheat it are those who know they will be forgotten and lost to time. Now, Akuma, I send you back from whence you came.”

“And just how do you intend to do that?”

“With a technique I was never able to teach Hidariude, because it is only for those who have entered the spirit world. I call for Shinryuu!”

The kami began to manifest as Ryu performed a brilliant sword dance that bewildered Han Toromi. During the dance he maneuvered around Han’s blades and cut his arms severing the blades. Finally he finished stabbing Han through the heart, but it wasn’t just the blade this time. The golden dragon followed the blade through the wound, taking the demon soul with it. A glorious light filled Han, pouring out from his mouth, nose, ears, eyes and every other orifice. His body was disintegrated from within. Ryu placed the sword back in its sheath and closed his eyes.

Hidariude opened his eyes, once again in control of his body. As Ryu’s spirit left him he felt the call of his family and ran to the dock. He felt the presence of his family on the jet, along with their rivals. He also understood the situation and climbed aboard. As soon as the hatch was sealed and the cabin pressurized, Seichei started the launch. Hidariude buckled in next to Keisei and grabbed a hold of her hand as they took off into space back toward Earth.

“It’s finally over.”