Seras

Ran Yoko · March 23, 2007

THE BLOOD-SOAKED DESERT

-Sera’s Journey-

CHAPTER ONE

“Muerte”

Seras spent the night huddled under a blanket she had found, the cold night air blowing around the ruins. When morning came, she looked around the town, finally locating a well in what had once been the town square. She found the bucket lying by the side of the well, which had caved in slightly. She lowered the bucket into the well, and drew up a bucket of clean, cool water.

Along with some food she found, she made a meal. After she was done, she located a shovel with a broken handle, and walked to the edge of the town. She saw a post with a sign still swinging from it, the town’s name written on the sign.

“’The City of Muerte’,” she said. “So that’s the name of the town.”

Turning around, she walked several paces, then began to dig.

Three days later, Seras had dug graves and buried all of the people from the town. When she was finished, at least two acres of the east side of the town was a mass graveyard.

On the fourth day, she gathered a few things by the well. A coat and a pair of boots that were a little big, a switchblade knife, a couple jugs she filled with water, and some more food. She pulled on the boots and coat, put the knife and her watch into the coat pocket, and wrapped the food and water in the blanket. She tied the blanket into a bundle and lifted it over her shoulder.

She stood at the front of the graveyard and spoke. “I don’t remember who you people are, so I don’t know if you ever helped me. And I don’t know how to conduct a Last Ceremony, so I can’t say that you’ll be able to cross over without any problems. But. . . .rest in peace, ye innocents.”

Seras left the City of Muerte, leaving behind a ruined city, a huge graveyard, and a marker by the first of the graves. It read, “The citizens of Muerte. I wish for them to rest in peace.”

THREE MONTHS LATER

Monster Slayer Headquarters

Jecht walked into the main room of the building, hoping to be able to get a full meal before he fell asleep, whether he was in bed or not. He was in his twenties, with shaggy blonde hair, green eyes, his right arm was a gunarm (a metal arm able to turn into a gun), and was dressed in jeans, tank top and combat boots.

As he entered the main room, he spotted two other of the Monster Slayers coming from the kitchen, Renee and Esperanza.

Renee was in her twenties, but because she was so short, people often mistook her for a young teenager. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, her brown eyes sparkled with life, and she was a dagger-user, dressed in cargo pants, sandals and a T-shirt, her pockets filled with various small weapons.

Esperanza was a dark skinned beauty, with black hair pulled into a bun, and almond-shaped brown eyes. She was a martial artist, dressed in boots, a long sleeved shirt, and jeans.

“Hey, Jecht!” Renee said, waving her fork at him. “You better hurry, or there won’t be any of the corned beef left! Anna made it today, so it’s really good!”

“Where’s Viktor and Rune?” Jecht asked, scratching the two-day-old stubble growing on his chin.

“They went out to investigate a killing that happened on the outskirts of town,” Esperanza said in her soft voice.

The two people they were referring to were the leader and the second in command of the Monster Slayers. Viktor, the leader, was a Weapon Master, getting into his forties, with a salt-and-pepper moustache and beard, and an optimistic outlook on life, despite the bloody job he held. Rune was the second-in-command, always carrying a katana shoved through her belt, and with close-cropped dark hair and eyes.

Renee winced at the sound of lightning overheard. “Man, that storm is really going!”

“Howdy, folks,” another man said, walking into the room. His dark brown hair was pulled into a short ponytail, and he was dressed in jeans, boots, a T-shirt, a cowboy hat, and a leather vest with a fringe on the chest.

“Hey, Irving,” Jecht said. “How’s the weather look out there?”

“Well, it’s rainin’ pretty hard,” Irving drawled, pushing his hat back on his head with his thumb. “Radio says it’ll be over by mornin’.”

The front door slammed open and Viktor walked in followed by a young teenager. Her long silver hair fell around her face, which had blood splattered on it. Her half-lidded eyes were a pale blue and completely emotionless. She carried a bloody switchblade in her hand, and blood was splattered on her coat, boots and the off-white dress she wore.

Viktor smiled. “Everyone, this is Seras. She’ll be joining us as a Monster Slayer, starting today.”

That was the first time we met Seras. It wasn’t until much later that we learned that the killings at the outskirts of town had been her work. But we did know one thing when we looked at her eyes. Her eyes were like the eyes of a dead person.

THREE YEARS LATER. . .

A dark green jeep bounced along a dirt road, flanked on either side by fields. The occupants of the jeep rode in silence, focusing on the mission ahead. Renee rode in the back seat, admiring the scenery. Irving was in the passenger seat, looking at the map, while Seras drove the vehicle.

They came to a crossroads, and Irving stared at the map. “Strange,” he muttered. “The town should be right around here.”

“Are you sure you aren’t reading it upside down?” Renee asked, looking at the map over his shoulder.

“Um, excuse me.”

The teenaged boy who had spoken suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of an automatic pistol, which Seras had drawn with lightning speed.

“Ease up, Seras,” Renee said, placing a hand on her friend’s arm. “He’s just a kid.”

Seras narrowed her eyes, but she holstered her gun.

“I don’t suppose you know where the town of Filria is,” Irving said, not looking up from the map.

“Yeah, I live there,” the boy said. “I can tell you where it is, but you’ll have to hurry to get there before dark.”

“Why do we need to get there before dark?” Renee asked.

“Because. . .” the boy hesitated. “After dark, the werewolves come out to kill!”

END CHAPTER ONE, “MUERTE”

March 24, 2007

i like this

a lot

the characters have got me already

*sits down to wait for more*

Patrick · March 24, 2007

Very interesting start.

I'm definitely looking forward to more.

Ran Yoko · May 31, 2007

to all of the readers: due to an oversight, the prologue was posted separate from the rest of the story, but under the same name. so, to read the prologue(and to be able to make sense of the rest of this), you’ll have to go back further into the archives of the Mighty Pen. many apologies for the inconvenience.

CHAPTER TWO

“Karma and Contract”

The three in the jeep stared at the boy for a minute, then Renee spoke.

“You mean that there are werewolves around here?”

The boy nodded vigorously. “The only reason they haven’t destroyed Filria is because we have a barrier erected around our village.”

“Well, at least we know that th’ rumors ain’t unfounded,” Irving said. “You want a ride back?”

The boy climbed into the back seat, and they started off down the right-hand road. The boy introduced himself as Yosef, and directed them towards the village. The sun started to sink in the western sky, then suddenly they heard howling.

“That’s them!!” Yosef yelped, sliding down between the back seat and Seras’ seat.

“Renee, take the wheel,” Seras ordered. As Renee managed to climb into the driver’s seat, Seras took Renee’s seat in the back, and pulled out her automatic pistol and another gun, a two-shooter(which shoots two bullets almost simultaneously).

“Here’s some silver bullets,” Irving said, handing several cartridges to Seras. He loaded his own sniper’s rifle with a cartridge, and rested the barrel on the jeep door.

“They’re coming!” Seras called, letting off two shots, and felling a werewolf, which did little to decrease their numbers.

“Hang on, people!” Renee yelled, shifting gears and slamming her feet down on the gas, and the jeep sped up.

“Hey, go easy on th’ engine!” Irving said. “If anythin’ happens to this jeep, Viktor’s gonna be mighty displeased!”

“How far are we from the village, Yosef!?” Renee shouted.

The teenager lifted his head and said, “Just a couple more miles!”

A werewolf suddenly landed on the front hood of the jeep, crunching the hood down into the engine and slowing the jeep. Renee, not wishing to waste her knives, grabbed a handful of screws from her pocket and threw them at the creature’s vital points. To her surprise, the werewolf turned to dust.

“How interesting,” Renee grinned. “Hey, Seras, just get out the big gun. These are puppets!”

Nodding, Seras holstered her guns and knelt on the seat, pulling several gun parts out from under the seat. She joined them together quickly into a large gun that had a word inscribed on the side: “KARMA”.

“Hurry it up, we’re almost at th’ village an’ they’re gettin’ ready to put th’ barrier up!!” Irving yelled.

Seras set the barrel of the gun on the back of the seat, pulled back a small lever on the top of the gun, and a light blue glow started to gather around it.

“Dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” she said, then pressed the trigger.

A huge blast of energy shot from the gun, decimating all of the werewolves. The force from the blast propelled the jeep forward, through the gates of Filria, and into the village square, the barrier coming up just a few seconds after them.

Renee slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel, finally managing to stop the jeep just inches from a house. She turned the ignition off, and slumped backwards in her seat.

“Okay,” she sighed mightily. “I think I’ll be able to do without that sort of experience for a while.”

“Are we still alive?” Yosef asked, slowly peeking over the side of the jeep.

“Yes,” Seras answered, disassembling KARMA. Curious and wary townspeople were starting to gather around, so Irving dug an envelope out of the glovebox. He hopped out and, with a winning smile to the nearest women, asked, “Could I speak to th’ mayor of this fine town?”

“That would be me,” an elderly man said, stepping forward. “Mayor Phelps.”

“Ah, good,” Irving said. “We’re here from the Monster Slayers. Here’s our proof.” He handed the envelope to the mayor, and Phelps withdrew a sheet of paper. The paper was standard Monster Slayer certificate, with Viktor filling in the blanks for the names with his scribbles.

This ensures that the following people:

Irving Battlik, Renee Helraser, Seras

have been given the task of destroying the monsters currently attacking the village of Filria. When the job has been finished, the payment will be delivered to the Monster Slayer Headquarters, and the amount will depend on how many monsters are killed.

Viktor Grenrick

Leader of the Monster Slayers

Rune Hollathe

Second in command

“Well, it looks like it’s in order,” Phelps said, handing the document back to Irving. “You’re welcome here. Though I’d suggest waiting until tomorrow to set out, considering we can’t take down the barrier down until then.”

“Sounds good to me,” Renee said, stretching after she had climbed out of the jeep. “Where can we get something to eat?”

“More importantly, where can we stay the night?” Seras asked.

“I run an inn,” a woman volunteered. Her eyes were dark blue, and her hair was dark with a few gray hairs. “My name is Halla Somen. You saved my son, and also came to help us, so I’ll throw in a free breakfast and supper.”

“Your son?” Renee said. “You mean Yosef is your son?”

“Yup,” Yosef said. “This is my mom. If you’ll stay with us at our inn, I’ll be glad to help you with anything you need!”

“Sounds like a deal t’ me,” Irving grinned. But Seras stood in the background, her eyes narrowed as she gazed at Yosef.

About an hour before dawn, Seras woke in the bed she was sharing with Renee. Rising quietly without waking Renee, she dressed. Jeans, a brown T-shirt, half gloves, and the belt that had two holsters for her guns. Lacing her combat boots, she looked back on the past three years. Three years hadn’t changed her appearance much, except for gaining a few inches in height. She had learned the weaknesses of monsters, how to kill them effectively, and other techniques. But, for some reason, she felt as if she already knew how to wield the guns they had given her.

She stood up, pulling on her coat. She picked up her guns and left the room, going through the inn like a wraith, not making a sound. She settled down on the front steps of the inn, and started cleaning her guns. She worked methodically and quickly, taking them apart, cleaning the chambers, and reassembling them together after making sure they were clean.

Dawn’s first light rose over the horizon, glancing off the water of the stream that ran through the village. A skylark began its first song, and dew dripped off of the leaves of trees. But the beauties of the morning were lost on Seras. She stood up and holstered her guns, then started to practice her quick-draw.

“Miss Seras?”

Seras drew her gun and spun in the same instant, and Yosef found himself once again looking down the barrel of her automatic pistol. Sweat ran down Yosef’s face, as they stood like that for about two whole minutes, then Seras finally lowered her gun.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Seras said shortly, then holstered her gun.

“S-sorry.” Yosef sighed nervously, sitting down on the steps. “What are you doing?”

“Practicing my quick-draw,” Seras answered, resuming practice.

“Does it come in handy?”

“Sometimes the difference between life and death is how quick you can draw your gun.”

“Oh, by the way. I noticed yesterday that your big gun had KARMA written on the side. Was that its name?”

“Yes.”

“Do all of your guns have names?”

Seras turned her gun toward Yosef and flicked a small lever with her thumb. A red dot appeared on the boy’s leg, and he realized that it was coming from a small hole near the top of the gun’s barrel.

“It’s a hunting laser,” Seras explained, her expression never changing. “This one is called ‘HUNTER’. My two-shooter is ‘HOLLY’.”

“Oh, I see,” Yosef said, somewhat nervous by the fact she was turning her guns toward him without any hesitation.

“Since you’ve been asking all these questions, it’s my turn,” Seras said, starting to practice with HOLLY. “Halla Somen, she isn’t your real mother, is she?”

Yosef flinched visibly, then said, “What makes you say that?”

“You look similar, and your personalities are very much alike, but something about you is almost screaming ‘She’s not my real mother!’” Seras said bluntly. “It’s obvious that you love her, but you’re distancing yourself from her for some reason. Is it because you have something in your past that you’re afraid of? That might hurt her. . .?”

“Is it any business of yours?!” Yosef exclaimed, jumping to his feet. A look of fear was on his face. “Is it any business of yours what our family is like!?”

“So you do have something to be afraid of,” Seras said, smiling mysteriously.

Yosef ran into the house, almost bumping into Irving, who was coming out.

“What’s eatin’ him?” Irving said to himself. “Howdy, Seras. Beautiful mornin’, ain’t it?”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Seras said, her face back to it’s impassive mask.

“Morning, guys!” Renee said cheerfully, coming out of the inn. “Are you ready to go hunt some werewolves?”

“I want breakfast first,” Irving complained. “Supper was really good last night, so breakfast oughta be spectacular!”

“Fine,” Seras said. “We’ll leave right after breakfast.”

END CHAPTER TWO, “KARMA AND CONTRACT”

Ran Yoko · June 21, 2007

CHAPTER THREE

“Caverns”

After a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, muffins, sausage, and hashbrowns, the three set out. Leaving the jeep, they set out on foot towards the west of the village, where the werewolves had disappeared to before dawn.

Seras knelt in the dirt. “They were here,” she said, pointing to several prints in the dirt.

“A-yuh,” Irving said. “Looks t’ me like they went this a-way.”

“Well, let’s get going!” Renee said, starting out at a jog.

They jogged for about half an hour, following the prints, until they decided to call a rest. Renee and Irving sank to the ground, panting heavily, while Seras simply leaned up against a tree, breathing lightly.

“What is it with you?” Renee gasped, trying to catch her breath as she glared up at Seras. “You aren’t even breathing heavily!”

Seras shrugged. “I’ll check up ahead, while you guys rest.”

She walked off into the trees, leaving Irving and Renee there.

“Have you noticed that something about her just isn’t normal?” Renee asked, leaning back against a tree stump.

“In th’ past three years she’s been with us, ya ain’t noticed it till now?” Irving answered, a sarcastic tone in his voice.

Renee stuck her tongue out at him.

Seras pushed a branch out of her way, and continued walking. She suddenly came to a cliff, and her eyes widened slightly.

In front of her was a large canyon, where there seemed to be a sort of mining operation going on. There were both people and monsters using machines to bring boulders down from the sides of the canyon and break them into manageable sized chunks of rock, others were breaking those rocks into smaller pieces, and yet others were pushing carts filled with crushed rock towards a large, rough wooden building that had lots of smoke billowing out of it. They all seemed to be moving awkwardly, as if they were being controlled. Seras remembered suddenly what Viktor had told them before they had left headquarters.

“According to reports, people have been vanishing from surrounding towns. Filria is the only one who hasn’t had any people vanishing. But, werewolves have been attacking Filria every day at sundown, and vanishing right before sunrise. I don’t know what’s happening, but be careful. There’s something about that situation that I don’t like at all.”

Seras suddenly started to whirl around, only to be shoved from the cliff by Yosef. She tried frantically to grab anything to stop her descent, but to no avail. Her head hit something, and her world went black.

Yosef stood on top of the cliff, his face blank, his eyes completely emotionless. A figure in a black cloak stood behind him, their hands on the boy’s shoulders.

“Yes, my boy. You will receive the wish you want. Your adopted mother will be spared, but the others may not fare so well.”

“Seras sure is taking a long time,” Renee said. “I’m gonna go find her.”

“Me too,” Irving said. The two of them headed off in the direction that Seras had gone, only to find a cliff, and an empty canyon below it.

“She’s not here,” Irving said.

Renee simply looked at him. “Have I ever told you that you have a knack for stating the obvious?”

Irving ignored her. “Maybe she went back t’ town?”

“What for?”

“She mighta wanted t’ check somethin’. She probably would do that without tellin’ us.”

“That’s true. C’mon, let’s go look around. If Seras went back, we’ll see her back there.”

Keavy sighed, leaning back against the cool stone wall. She figured it had been about a month since she had been captured and brought here. It was hard to tell for sure, as she had seen no sunlight, except in the brief moments when she was brought from the mine to the cell. A candle lit the room, hanging from the ceiling, just out of their reach. Four cots were in the cell, three of which were occupied by her, Toshiko and Jesse.

The door to the cell opened suddenly, and a young woman was roughly thrown in. She lay on the floor, unmoving, as the door was slammed closed.

Toshiko got up off of his cot and slowly knelt down by her. “Miss, are you okay?”

Keavy got up and walked over. The unconscious girl looked to be about 17 years old, with long silvery-gray hair. She noticed that the girl’s hands were chained behind her, and then realized that her leg was lying at an odd angle, and was bleeding heavily.

“Oh, boy,” Ke

Ran Yoko · June 21, 2007