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talesofzero · 7 years

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Soldiers of Fate - Ch. 6

Leijiverse Crossover; Chapter 6 - Hollow Men

I got a couple comments asking me to continue this fic, and I was like “Sure.” So for those of you who don’t remember this one, it’s the one with all the Harlocks trying to kill each other. Good times.

~3k words

“A” had gotten the better end of this deal.

I wasn’t sure why I agreed to search the jungle rather than the forest. I’d started in the forest, wandered around the place for ages. I’d seen more footprints than people, but I’d gotten to know the layout somewhat.

I knew nothing of the jungle except that it was far too quiet. Jungles were supposed to be a cacophony of animals and insects. The only sound in this fake world were the rustle of branches in the wind and the slosh of my boots after it started to rain. Few drops reached through the thick layer of leaves overhead, but that didn’t stop the ground from becoming thick with mud. Every step threatened to rip my boots off my feet.

I wondered if “B” was faring any better. We’d split off from each other as soon as we reached the jungle area. Even in the dense trees, he slipped away like a ghost. As soon as he was out of site, he was out of earshot as well. But there was no way he could keep up a trick like that with all the damn mud.

A thunderstorm would have been more helpful than just a downpour. Lightning would have provided some sight. Between the overcast skies and the overcast canopy, I couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead. The trees were all shadows that I used for stability as I bumbled along through the endless black void that was the rest of my surroundings.

Not too far into my search, I thought the storm may have picked up, as I heard a clap of thunder roll in from the distance. But I never saw any lightning.

When one of the gems shattered apart in a clear, ringing note a minute later, my stomach turned over in my gut. As I squinted at the wristband in the low light to find one of the crescent-branded gems gone, another one cracked and fell away. “Damn,” I whispered as I turned my wrist over to find the second star gem broken like the first. I didn’t even know which group was gone. I had to hope their world wasn’t already destroyed. Maybe there was still a chance we could bring them back.

Before I could continue on, that damning sound pierced my ears again. Pointless as it was, I checked to see one of the gems marked with an X gone. I needed to hurry.

About the time I started to wonder how I was supposed to know when the sun rose or set, a familiar voice chimed in. “Wow, maybe white pants weren’t the best choice, huh?”

My steps ground to a halt, allowing the mud to steadily digest more of my feet as I turned to see Tochiro sitting on some low-hanging vines like a hammock. He wasn’t my Tochiro, but in the dark, I couldn’t spot a single difference.

“Yes,” I answered, knowing my pants were ruined. “But I don’t usually wander around in the wilderness for hours on end, and I didn’t really plan on this expedition, so the pants tend to work out fine.”

The brim of his hat bounced with his nodding. “So where are you headed?”

“I was looking for others.”

“You aiming to win?” He didn’t look too concerned with the idea. His staff lay across his lap, and I was certain I could have drawn faster than he could pull the hidden blade - another thing he had in common with my Tochiro.

“No, I want to have everyone regroup,” I said. “I’m working with some of the other men who look like me.”

He cracked a smile. “Well, they are you.”

“Not exactly,” I said with a shrug. “We’re all different in some way. I haven’t lost my right eye for one thing.”

His smile widened to a grin. “Yet.”

Judging by all the older versions of me, losing my eye was part of some odd destiny in my life, but then again, we were all on different paths. I couldn’t help but feel my chest burn with rebellion at the idea that I could break some part of my destiny and keep my eye. Still, the eyepatch did look cool.

“Regardless, would you be willing to come with me?” I asked. “I’m going to search for a while longer, and then we’ll return to the lake in the forest area with everyone we’ve found.”

Tochiro looked down at the mud, frowning. “I’d prefer not to die drowning in mud,” he said.

I couldn’t blame him for that. Yanking my boots free once again, I walked over to him. “I’ll carry you,” I said.

“Oof, my pride,” he said with a laugh.

I knelt in front of him to offer him my back. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to carry him. At least, I’d carried my Tochiro. The cowboy version of me may have done the same. “I’ll let you down once it dries,” I said. “Come on. I need an extra pair of eyes.”

“I won’t be much help there, but alright.” He climbed onto my back with a quiet grumble of, “Don’t tell Harlock about this, alright? Not you, the other Harlock. I mean- Franklin.”

“Franklin?” I asked as I righted myself. “That’s my middle name.”

“Oh? Franklin’s his first name. Weird demon thing did say y’all were different people though.” The brim of his hat would have kept the rain off my head if not for the holes. As things were, the brim tapped against the top of my head with each step.

“We’re certainly from different times,” I said, “but it’s probably best not to get into that. I don’t want to confuse you.”

“Please,” he snorted. “I’m so confused already. Not much you could do to make it worse. Ya’know we’re kind of vulnerable like this. If one of us gets shot, we both do.”

“I’m hoping to avoid conflict,” I said as I ducked away from some low-hanging brambles. “It’s for the best if I look less threatening.”

“Unless someone wants to pick us off.”

“I’m hoping everyone can be reasoned with.”

He said nothing in response. I had a feeling he was thinking about all the shattered gems around his wrist just as I was. Maybe those who were killing were just doing it out of fear like A said. Maybe they could be talked down.

But I would use my saber if necessary. I would not let myself die at their hands.

“Do you hear that?” Tochiro asked as the rain began to let up. “I think I hear someone.”

I halted my steps and inclined my head to hear better. Somewhere ahead of us, someone was yelling. They were too far and too faint to make out, but where there was yelling, there may have been a flight.

Tochiro yelped as I broke into a run, admittedly difficult while carrying him. To keep the wind or branches from ripping away his hat, he pulled the brim down and held it. The trees and mud made navigation difficult. I struggled not to lose my footing as everything tried to rip it out from under me.

As we neared the source of the noise, I was able to make out some of what was being said.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t kill anyone!”

“You wouldn’t run if you weren’t guilty!”

“I ran because that guy was trying to kill me! You won’t gain anything from this!”

“Put your gun down!”

“Not unless you do!”

Tochiro whined like a nervous dog. “I think it’s the kids,” he said.

I wasn’t sure if I needed to yell. It could startle them out of their standoff, but it could just as easily startle them into firing. But with their voices trilling, I could sense the tension would end with a snap at any moment. My body responded for me.

“Wait!” I screamed.

Too late.

The first blast was the distinct sound of a cosmo dragoon, a flurry of power that sucked the wind from the air. Another shot responded from a standard blaster. One of the gems burst with a gentle chime.

“No!” Tochiro cried as my heart seemed to rip from my chest. I was so close. So damn close.

I couldn’t chance anything, so I dropped Tochiro to pull my saber. “Hang on!” he yelled at my back as I rushed ahead to a clearing.

They were both there, one on his knees with his hand across his face. “No, no, no,” he whispered to himself endlessly. A shot had eaten through his right shoulder.

Across from him lay the other boy. Frays of his hair had fallen across his still face, but I knew him. Blond - he was A’s kid. He’d taken a direct hit through the chest, but he must have seen his death coming. He’d fallen with his hand clutched over the wound.

Tochiro appeared behind me, whispering, “Damn, poor kid.”

The other one didn’t seem to be a threat, so i walked over to the kid’s body. He had the cosmo dragoon, fallen at his side. He’d fired first, damn stupid kid. I closed his unseeing eyes and wiped the mud from his cheek. Poor kid had mud up past his knees. Must have been a struggle for him to get through the jungle.

Looking back at the other guy, I found him staring at me, his eyes hollow. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to… I tried to…”

He looked close to my age. If I remembered right, he’d been the one with the tall version of me. I couldn’t find much sympathy in myself for him.

“We’re all grouping back up at the lake,” I said. He didn’t flinch as I stood and strode toward him. As much as I wanted to leave then and get away from the body, the wound in his shoulder needed attention. Oddly, there had clearly been another blast that hit a tree not far from the guy. I’d definitely only heard two shots.

Taking my saber, I cut the tail from my jacket. “We’ll wrap your shoulder and then go,” I said before biting the corner of the fabric and slicing off what had become soaked in mud. I tossed that aside.

The guy kept rambling. “He thought I killed those people back at the forest, but I didn’t kill anyone. I…”

He must have wanted something from me, some comfort perhaps. I had none for him. “Tell me what happened,” I said as I ripped the fabric to pieces for his shoulder. The blood had soaked down his arm, helped along by the rain. He wouldn’t die, but the damage looked ugly. The arm hung limp at his side.

“I-I was in the forest,” he began, his eye locked on the ground, likely to avoid looking at the boy. “There was a blast, an explosion. It sounded bad, so I went to check. The blast site was horrible. The trees were all warped. There were a couple kids there, but only one of them had any scratches. God, he looked terrible. His back was all ripped up, but I think he was shot in the head. There may have been a shot through his temple. I don’t know. I tried not to look. The other one was shot in the stomach. I checked to see if he was still alive, but he was gone.

“There was another guy- one of you. God, I thought he was dead. He was covered in blood. He had a hole in his gut. Both him and the second kid had guns near them. I don’t know who shot who. I don’t know…”

He heaved a sigh as I knelt beside him to wrap his shoulder. I should have urged him to continue or stayed quiet. Tochiro ambled over to sit beside him, opposite me. I don’t know who it was for, but there was pity in Tochiro’s eyes.

“Who were they?” I asked against my better judgement.

The man winced as though I’d slapped him. “The other Harlock was the one in blue. The boy I checked on had a reddish-brown jacket and dirty blond hair.” I could remember the other version of me, but the boy was difficult to recall. “The other boy… He had a green vest and reddish hair.”

He sucked in a breath as I pulled the bandage tight enough to cut off blood flow. As soon as I realized what I’d done, I gave some slack.

Nazca had been killed. Nazca had died in pain. Someone had hurt him.

“I-I’m sorry,” the man attempted. “Was he-?”

“Continue,” I spat. It didn’t matter if he was lying. It didn’t matter if he’d been the one to kill Nazca. It didn’t matter because we had to stick together. We couldn’t be part of the game. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter.

The guy swallowed his nerves before returning to his story, his voice shaking more than before. “The other Harlock was still alive somehow, just barely. He had something over his eyes, so he couldn’t see… Actually, his face looked pretty scratched up. The explosion may have hurt his eyes. I’m not sure, but he heard me, I guess. Called me over.”

The guy took a deep, shuddering breath. “He asked me to finish him off. He must have been in a lot of pain, and his wounds would have killed him sooner or later. He was in such bad shape. There was no saving him, so I did as he asked. Shot him point blank in the head. If I’d thought there was any other way, I wouldn’t have, but...” He shook the thought away, his eyes clenched shut.

“Then I heard someone yelling. Called me a bastard. Started shooting at me. It was another Harlock, I think. He must have thought I’d killed them. I was able to dodge most of his shots because of the trees, but he got me in the shoulder.”

That explained the extra shot to the tree nearby. The kid hadn’t been the one to hit him.

“I was able to get away, made it all the way here, but then that kid ran across me. He was suspicious because of all the deaths.” He nodded toward the wristband on his limp arm. “Pulled his gun on me. I tried to explain, but that made him more suspicious. He was really freaked. Mentioned something about finding a corpse already.” His left hand returned to cover his face. “Things got so heated. I didn’t want to shoot him. I shouldn’t have… God, he was so young. I’ve never killed a kid. I would never...”

I finished tying off the bandages and released the tension that had been building in my jaw. “There’s still a chance we can bring everyone back,” I said to myself as much as him. He didn’t complain when I grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to his feet. “Come on. It’s probably about time to go back.”

“If we’re going back to the forest and that other Harlock sees me, he might try to kill me again,” he said.

“I’ll try to reason with him.”

“Maybe I should be the one to do that,” Tochiro piped in. “And you don’t have to drag the guy back, Harlock.” I hadn’t realized I’d maintained my crushing grip on his arm. I let my hand relax and fall back to my side. Reaching up, Tochiro patted the man’s uninjured arm. “Hey, you never said your name.”

“I’m Yama.”

Tochiro offered a shadow of his usual smile. “Nice to meet you, Yama. My name’s Tochiro Oyama. That’s Harlock, but not Franklin Harlock.”

Confusion broke through Yama’s daze. “Yes, I know Harlock,” he said. “Have either of you seen my captain? He’s tall and has gold armor plating.”

I had a hard time believing Yama was a pirate. He was too weak, too uncontrolled. I never would have let him be part of my crew, but then again, I’d let Nazca join. That kid was always a short circuit away from a blown fuse. Uncontrollable, but certainly not weak. I had to fight back the rage swelling up inside me at the idea that someone hurt and killed a member of my crew. It was a captain’s job to protect his crew, and Nazca was far too young to die.

“I haven’t seen him,” I said as I tried to fight back the anger curling my hand into a fist.

Tochiro shook his head. “Haven’t really seen anyone. Too hard to see around here. The forest sounds nicer, especially if there’s a lake. I’d like to get some of this mud off my feet, and we ought to clean your wound. Also, are either of you hungry? I’m not, haven’t been this whole time. It’s so weird because I was starving back home.”

He went on like that, trying to diffuse the situation. As we headed back toward the forest, I caught one last glance of the dead boy. He shouldn’t have taken that shot, but he was just a kid, a scared kid. He had no place here. Nazca was the same, not the type for bloodshed, no matter how much he tried to pretend otherwise. If I won, I could get him back.

No, I couldn’t think like that. It was what that thing wanted from us. There was still a chance we could best it. If it sent us all back, Nazca would be there. Surely…

But if it came down to war, I would not go out easily. I would fight to survive.

If I was honest with myself, I couldn’t fault Yama for shooting back when shot at. I would have done the same.

Living: 10 Dead: 6

#Captain Harlock #Harlock fic #Yama fic #Daiba fic #Tochiro fic #SSM fic

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