Brittle Bullet [Completed]

[Andillexe]

Nice. I haven't read this in so long, I forgot who some of the characters were for a second.

And Kibo and Cancer are related? Sorry if you already put that in one of your other chapters. I can't remember if you did or not.

Anyway, looking forward to more. :3

[tdc456]

The curved knife threw the grenade back at Cancer. Kibo waited impatiently for the explosion, but it never came. He looked over the desk and saw her holding the grenade in her hand.

Brittle Bullet
Chapter 16: The Pinch and Snap

"Next time," she smiled stupidly. "Make sure the pin is pulled dumbass."

Fuck!! Kibo dove across the room rolling behind an overturned file cabinet. Not good. What the hell am I supposed to do? She can make any ammunition she wants with those claws. What now? He stared at his reflection in the nearby glass on the floor. He saw his glowing red eye.

The scope seemed to extend endlessly into his head. Beyond even the boundaries of his skull. His expression turned from confusion to comtemplation. His strategy came together in an instant.

Cancer replaced the grenade in her pocket. Her claws extended yet again. She placed them directly next to each other. They began to melt into each other forming one giant claw.

"Say goodnight Big Bro!" She raised her claw straight to where he was hiding. "I bet you can guess what is about to happen. I really don't care if it kills me, too. As long as it does the intended job."

Kibo stood and faced her in the open. She seemed totally shocked at what he just did. Suddenly he rushed her. Lunging with a knife in his hand he slashed out and up. When he was just past her he stopped and turned to face her once again.

Cancer let her arms drop and her claws returned to normal. Blood shot across her torso. A long deep gash was covering her from her right hip to her left shoulder. She was losing blood fast. Kibo laughed a little at the sight before him. His little sister was about to bleed to death because of him.

"You think this will get rid of me?" she asked. "Please." She gave a quick cough of laughter at which a small spurt of blood dribbled down her chin.

"Is that not enough for you?" Kibo stared in amazement. The width and length of the cut should have killed her a lot faster but she was still standing.

"Nope." In a split second bullets and grenades were flying from her claws, tearing the room apart. Kibo was jumping and rolling. He could barely stay out of her reach.

The barrage stopped for just long enough. He sat for no more than four seconds. Never tried this but here goes. The sound of firing started again. Then followed by Cancer's angry screams. Kibo closed his left eye tight. His right eye began glowing an even deeper blood red. His skin went slightly pale.

_ _ _ _ _Cancer had her left arm twisted awkwardly behind her back and her right arm lay on the floor next to her. Kibo was holding a knife to her throat and holding her left arm back.

"What the fuc-" Blood shot from Cancer's mouth as she spoke.
"Oh, didn't know about that little power?" Kibo taunted her angrily. "Comes with the eye. But seeing as how I've had mine for years, you wouldn't know."
"What did you do asshole?"
"Is that any way to talk to your brother?"

Cancer cringed in pain as the feeling of losing an arm finally hit in full force. She screamed in agony at the sight of her mangled self reflected in the window before her.

"This eye of mine can see the future. Not only that..." he relished this moment, almost savoring her pain. "It can get me there faster than you. In other words, it stops time temporarly for everyone around me."

Cancer's eyes opened wide in fear. The reflection terrified her.
"Why are we here at this window?" she asked him.
"Because..."

She felt her own blood begin to pour from her neck as he slid the knife across.
"I want you to see the moment you lose it all."

The feeling was smooth as it dripped down her chest. Then came the snap of her neck and then...

...black.
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To be continued in
B.B. Chapter 17

[Andillexe]

That almost makes me feel sorry for Cancer.

Great chapter. Looking forward to more. :)

[tdc456]

I like having seemingly kind and strong characters slowly becoming more vicious as they are forced to reveal more about themselves.
It helps me make characters a little more 3-dimensional.
The next few chapters will push other main chracters to their limits in a prelude to the end of the story. Which may be coming sooner than you think.
But there is a story within a story. A plot that is being forced out into the open.
Thats all I can say for now.

[Andillexe]

Good deal. I like it when characters change progressively, instead of BAM! And when there isn't a whole lot of attention drawn to it. It just seems more realistic.

As usual, looking forward to more. =3

[tdc456]

Here it is. I like to consider this the end of the first arc of the story. The chapters aren't going to stop. This is just the end to the first major section of the story itself.
After this chapter is when the end gets really close for everyone.
Enjoy the next installment.
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Enka walked around the parking lot of the Guild headquarters. He paced impatiently and kept darting his eyes towards the entrance doors. The sun was setting very low. The minutes seemed like days. No one was being aloud to enter after the explosion went off. Just as it almost seemed that the worst had occurred, the doors opened. Kibo came limping from the doors with his face ripping with blood.

Brittle Bullet
Chapter 17: The Ashes Fell Like Snow

Kibo came forward slowly. No one approached him. The air was too tense to try moving. He stumbled slightly and Enka appeared right at his side. He helped Kibo to a nearby folding chair that someone had set up a few minutes before. Once Enka handed him safely into the seat, paramedics looked at his wounds. Enka looked on nervously and finally broke the silence.

"What the hell happened in there?" His eyes watered slightly at the thought of... "You could have been killed. Why did you try to do so much on your own?" Kibo raised his head.

His scope eye was cracked slightly. Blood trickled from the crack creating a small stream running down his cheek. Kibo's head wounds had washed the blue from his bangs.

"It was my fight. My burden." Kibo looked into Enka's eyes as if he said something mentally. "She was a troublemaker from the start. You of all people should know that. The Zodiac is taking its final steps and now they are going to be sending in the craziest members they have."

"Wait, it was..." Enka contemplated several possibilities. "Cancer attacked us? DIRECTLY?" Kibo only nodded in response. "You mean to tell me that if I walk into that building, I would find your little sister's dead body on the floor?" Kibo nodded a second time.

Enka ran his hand through his hair in a stressed anger. He turned and walked to a nearby parking spot and sat down on the cement bar at the end. He put his head into his hands and closed his eyes.

Everyone outside began to enter the building slowly. They returned to their offices to examine their belongings and make sure everything was still in order. Several minutes later, Kibo and Enka still sat outside not saying a single word to anyone. Then they brought out the body bag on a stretcher.

Kibo rose to his feet. "Hold it. Just one minute, please." He walked over to the stretcher. Unzipping it ever-so-slightly just so he could see her face.

"Look what we've done," he frowned at his sister. "This is what it's come to. I'm just sorry that I couldn't be the one you could depend on. You needed a real brother. All I showed you was hate and resentment for what the Zodiac wanted to do. I'm so sorry... Kani."

*****

Chris and Isaac walked quickly. Just around the corner was their headquarters. Upon turning the corner and entering the parking lot, a terrible sight fell onto their eyes. They broke into a sprint.

*****

Enka looked up at Kibo. He was so surprised by his words. Just as he went to him, Chris and Isaac ran up to him.

"Fill us in on whatever the fuck has been going on while we were gone," was all Chris could say when he reached Enka.

After a brief but thorough conversation, Chris, Isaac, Kibo, and Enka sat for a minute not speaking. Isaac was first to speak.

"So basically no one died over the past week except for Zodiac members," he said repeating what had just been established. "I need a pen and paper. Now!" Just a minute later he was scribbling away on the pad he had been handed. Occasionally he would pause to think. He showed it to everyone else once he had finished.

9. Capricorn
8. Cancer (deceased)
7. Aquarius
6. Scorpio (deceased)
5. Aries (deceased)
4. Gemini (deceased)
3. Taurus (deceased)
2. Virgo
1. Leo

"Now there are only four left. One for each of us," said Chris confidently. "We have all killed at least one already so it should be no problem. Right?"

"NO PROBLEM?!" A voice echoed from the other end of the parking lot. The four boys looked in the direction of the voice. Standing at the end of the parking lot were four figures. A spotlight from a nearby guard vehicle lit up the silhouettes.

"Oh shit," said Kibo quietly. Enka made a very loud, nervous gulping sound. "Those are all four of them right there."

"Long time no see, Sagittarius, Pisces," said Leo. He stood proud next to his Second-in-command, Virgo. Her blonde hair flapped in the wind. Next to her was a boy who was about the same height as Kibo. His hair was extremely short but they could tell it was silver like Isaac's hair but with golden tips. Then next to him was another girl with blue hair and blue eyes.

"THOSE AREN"T OUR NAMES ANYMORE!!!!" yelled Enka furious with Leo for calling him that.

"In my eyes, you will always be little Pisces and Sagittarius. I have with me Virgo, Capricorn, and Aquarius. They would like to say hello to you all," Leo uttered condescendingly. "Give them a nice hello for me, Capricorn."

The boy pulled out a small trigger-looking device from his left front pocket. Without a word he pressed the small button at the top. In a flash of light, the Guild headquarters erupted in several massive explosions. The building was ripped to shreds in less than a minute.

When the four came to their senses again, the Zodiac members were gone. Their headquarters was in pieces before them.

"Well..." said Chris. "What do we do now?" Isaac looked around them at the destruction. His visible eye filled with tears then fell down his cheek. No tears seemed to fall from his eye that was still hidden underneath his shining silver hair.

"We just rest and get ourselves back into fighting condition," replied Isaac sounding completely unsure of his own plan. "Then we take those bastards down once and for all."

All around them, the ashes of their home fell like snow.
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To be continued in
B.B. Chapter 18

[Andillexe]

That was depressing. I feel sorry for Kibo and Kani (which is a much better name than Cancer). Those four should take down the Zodiac. Hard.

Looking forward to the next chapters.

[madammina]

Why are the Zodiac evil? What is there motive?

Other then that, it's good!

[tdc456]

Originally Posted by madammina

Why are the Zodiac evil? What is there motive?

That actually hasn't been revealed yet. There is a reason for it.
Don't worry though. It'll come in time.

Just remember that the initial creation of the Zodiac was to fight global terrorism. But it was disbanded because of their work on altering humans genetically. It continued to exist in secret.

[madammina]

maybe you should drop some hints earlier...

but I can't wait for the rest.

[Andillexe]

Madammina! It's been awhile.

[tdc456]

I'm leaving for a trip tomorrow. So the next chapter after this one will be coming in two weeks.
Hopefully you can wait until then.
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The sidewalks were crowded with people. Either they were going to work or just in a hurry for no good reason. A quaint cafe rested on the corner of the busy interesction. Many of the tables outside were filled with people. There was only one table where a person sat by themselves. The man at the table was a high ranking official in the United States government.

Brittle Bullet
Chapter 18: The Impatient Stars

He sat sipping his coffee with newspaper in hand. With every turn of each thin page, his disbelief grew and grew. Since when did they start filling these newspapers with such bullshit?, he thought. The coffee mug once again rose to his lips silently and he took a big gulp of his black, no sugar, refreshment. Nearby a security guard watched.

The man's guard was disguised as a normal citizen at the cafe. Except he sat with a small group of people so as not to attract attention. He glanced at his watch only to see that they still had an hour before they must return to the office. The bodyguard casually continued his obviously fake conversation with the people at his table.

Page after page of the newspaper seemed to begin angering the man slightly. He closed and folded it to place it on the table next to his cell phone and sunglasses. His coffee steamed upwards in quick wisps. Without warning, his phone began to vibrate gently. He picked it up and looked at the external screen. There was no number, it simply said 'Unknown Caller.'

The man opened the phone and put the speaker to his ear.
"Hello?" For a few seconds there was silence. Then a man spoke back to him.

"Hello, sir," replied the man on the other end of the line. "How is the weather? Pleasant I presume."
"Who is this?" asked the government official.
"The funny thing is you already know," said the voice. Then it's tone changed. "I have serious business I wanted to speak with you about."
"Well then, you can speak with me in person when I return to my office."
"I'm afraid that's out of the question, seeing as how I'm not in the country at the present."

The government official was worried.
"What is this? Another terrorist attack? Like we haven't had enough of those already." A laugh was audible on the other end of the line.
"Terrorists? Hehe, initially we were the opposite of that. Fine, this is Leo."
The official muffled a gasp of surprise. If his guard suspected anything was wrong, nothing good would come of it.

"Bullshit. The Zodiac has been dead for at least 3 years."
"That's the bullshit, sir. We've always been around. Lurking in public areas. Let me give you an example. Look across the street. Do you see the newspaper dispensers?" The official let his gaze wander past the crowds.
"Yes, I see them."
"Do you also see the kid with the silver and black hair standing next to them?"
"Yes."
"Say hello to Capricorn."
"What the fuck is this? Some kind of sick joke?"
"How could it be when the Zodiac was such a well kept government secret?"

The young man across the street noticed the official looking at him and gave a menacing smile. He uncrossed his arms and put his hands into his pockets. Then he casually strolled around the corner and disappeared around the corner.

"What do you want?"
"We want to show the governments of the world the error of their ways. If it takes destroying them one by one, then that is what we shall do."
"You think that's possible? No one, not even the Zodiac could take on all the governments of the world."
"Then I guess we'll have to finish the job here first. I assume you've heard about the assassinations across the country."
"That was you?"
"Well, not me in particular. Hahaha. Goodbye, sir. And have a nice trip to hell." A click was all the man had time to hear.

As soon as his phone was shut, almost on cue, a bullet went soaring into his skull and bursted from the back of his head. He died instantly. Crowds around the initial area went into a frenzy.

*****

On a rooftop in the city, a person sat in a concealed corner. Her job was done here so it was time to go. But why not take this opprotunity to relax?

Her blonde hair fell back off her shoulders as she leaned against the wall on the rooftop. Her sniper rifle leaned against the wall just at her right hand.

Aquarius lit up a cigarette and breathed in the lung killing tobacco like it was oxygen. She blew a heavy cloud into the air just above herself. She followed it with a sigh of relief.

*****

A wooden desk sat covered with clutter. The chair behind the desk was filled. The person in it sat fiddling with his cell phone.

At the other end of the room, a door opened. A folder was slammed onto the desk and the door shut again. The chair spun around. A hand reached out and opened the folder.

"Another assassination?" The person rose from their chair.

Although the hair could fool anyone at this point, but everything else seemed about the same. His eyes were bright orange. Now he was about an inch taller. His clothes had changed, too. The shirt was a dark green and form-fitting with long sleeves. He now wore dark gray colored jeans and black Converse All-Stars. Although his hair was no longer red and blue, it had grown and turned into a slightly darker shade of blonde.

Enka picked up his phone and began dialing. Its been two months, I hope everyone is still alright.

"Yes, hello. Isaac?" A smile crossed his face.

"It's time."
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To be continued in
B.B. Chapter 19

[Andillexe]

Way to leave it off at a cliffhanger.

Have fun on your trip. Looking forward to more.

[tdc456]

I'm back. Got home from Georgia yesterday.
I've returned and my sig and avi combo is prettier than ever thanks to Lancelot over at Dragoons Hub Graphics Shop.
The next chapter should be up within a day or two.

[tdc456]

I know it's been a while. I put a bit of work into the story over the past few days.
Now here is the next chapter. Some more may come earlier than a week away.
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The city echoed with sounds of cars, peole, and other things to be heard within the crazy confines of a city as large as this one. Footsteps along huge sidewalks. Business people in their tight tweed jackets and suede shoes. One person didn't seem to match the rest of the crowd. He had medium length blonde hair and bright orange eyes. His form-fitting long sleeve forest green shirt and dark gray jeans made him stick out like a sore thumb. Plus his Converse All-Stars seemed to almost mock the suede loafers aroud him. He stopped and turned to face a building that was much shorter than the sky scrapers surrounding. Traversing the small staircase, the young man's face became level with a small call box. He dialed in the number "73" and a familiar voice to him popped out of the speaker.

"Hello?"
"Gravity must not be defied."
"Damn, you got here early. Come on up."

Brittle Bullet
Chapter 19: The Months of Work

Enka strolled quickly down the tight hallway. His orange eyes met the metallic gold "73" on the door. He gave two quick knocks followed by three drawn out knocks. Components of locks could be heard moving inside the door.

It swung open quickly to reveal a even more familiar face. Chris stood in the doorway to greet Enka. His eyes were still their bright and inviting shade of blue. His hair had been cut shorter and now one half had been bleached so it was split down the middle. It almost reminded Enka of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Chris was wearing a white tee shirt with a huge and confusing design on the front. It fit him tighter and it appeared that he had gained quite a bit of muscle since they had last seen each other. He also now wore dark blue jeans and a pair of slip-on Vans.

"Enka!" They shared a quick hug and smiled at each other in a long-time-friend kind of way. "How have you been man?"
"Probably same as you. Tired off my ass from so much training. That is what you have been doing right?"
"Of course. Come inside. Everyone else is already here."

Chris showed Enka into their new headquarters. It was supposed to be a room full of cubicles and seperate offices, but they had managed to make it look like a very nice hotel room. With a whole shit load of room.

Sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the 72" flat screen television was Kibo. He kept grunting every time he pressed "CH+" on the remote.

"There isn't a damn thing on," he grumbled to himself. "Hey Chris, who was at the door?"
"Look for yourself," answered Chris as he came back into the living room. Kibo turned off the tv and turned around to look over the back of the couch.

"Well what do ya' know? Enka," he got up and walked over to him. Their hands met in an extremely hard handshake. Then they pulled each other into a huge hug. "How are you?"
"I'm great," Enka laughed. "I like the new look."

Kibo had changed more then Enka had expected. His bangs were gone and now his hair was simply cut very short and straight black. His eyes appeared simply green and perfectly normal. He was wearing a gray zip-up hoodie and a red shirt underneath. His jeans were black and his shoes were a pair of red and black skating shoes.
"Thanks man. Same to you. Thank god you got rid of that ridiculous color. Longer hair suits you. But wait until you get a load of Isaac."

A door opened down the hallway and footsteps were heard approaching the living room.
"Get all of your hellos out of the way?"

Isaac was a shock to even those who had seen him before. He was wearing a black tanktop, which made him look extremely muscular for his body type, straight jeans, and a pair of low cut black Converse. His now muscular arms were now covered in tattoos. Or so it seemed, it was actually one tattoo that connected across his back and linked both upper arms together. His silver hair was now cut short and styled into a fauxhawk. But his right eye which had been covered by his hair was covered by a pair of heavily tinted, heavily polarized sunglasses.

"This is serious fucking business now," Isaac forced into their ears the severity of his words. "No time for dick-dangling around ok? Let's get down to why we've finally come back together."

Everyone grabbed a chair and took a seat in the living room. Isaac paced back and forth for a few minutes. The tension rose slowly in the room. Just as the boiling point seemed near, he finally spoke.

"Kibo, state?"
"I'd say around an 8 to 9.5 at most."
"Good. And Enka?"
"Easily 8.5 to 9.5, but you know me, Isaac."

Chris suddenly felt something he hadn't felt for a while arund these three. That feeling of being left out of the loop. Then Isaac replied in whatever language they were speaking.
"9.4, no more and no less."
"Hey!" Chris caught them all off guard.

"What the hell are we talking about here?" He looked into Isaac's eyes. Or at least he thought Isaac was looking back, but who could tell with those sunglasses.

"Our state, or power level." Isaac seemed to think that Chris knew sooner. "Well I should let you all know that Chris here is exactly 9.7 right now."

"Damn!" Enka leaned back. "Good on ya' man. I always expected that from you."
"Very impressive, Chris," was all Kibo had to say on the subject.
"Although," cut-in Isaac. "There was a moment where he got angry and lost control of it..."

Enka and Kibo seemed to sense an excited tone in Isaac's voice.
"...and it was a 15 or maybe even higher."

"H-holy shit," Enka stood up and stared at Isaac. "So does that mean we are moving in for the last time or what?"
"Yes, but who knows if we'll be ready. No one that has entered the Zodiac was below a 9."

Chris stared at his right hand. I may have perfect control over it now... but he doesn't know what was on my mind at that moment when I lost control. How can I explain it to them?

The sun shone in through the window. It's light swallowed the room and bathed it in warmth. All at once they looked out the window together. Then Isaac spoke again. Saying something that none of them expected to hear so soon.

"The best part is, we know exactly where those bastards are."
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To be continued in
B.B. Chapter 20

Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.