Chapter Twenty-Three: Sins of the Soul

It didn’t seem real at the moment, he felt like he was still stuck in some surrealistic nightmare. Adam continued to stare blankly at the aura of radiance that stood before him. Her slightly tanned skin and her innocent looking expression stared back at him smiling like nothing was wrong. This face that was now before him had constantly haunted his dreams every night for the past 2 years. And now she stood physically intact right before him as eloquent as ever. Confused Adam looked over to his brother hoping that he would have a logical or at least a rational explanation for her appearance. Stephen just shrugged his shoulders, he too was confused to say the very least. A chill swept through his body as her soft ghostly hand grazed the left side of his cheek.

“I’ve been searching for you and now I’ve finally found you….” She mumbled. Adam backed away from the phantom of Amy Caecus that now stood next to him.

“No…it’s not possible. I saw you die….”

“If I died would I be standing right here?”

“…”

“She’s got you there bro.” Mario interrupted. Adam turned fiercely towards his energetic friend. “You’re not helping.” He replied.

“Adam….you don’t believe me….”

“I….we, we saw that machine explode….there was no possible way you could have survived it…”

“I know the odds were against me….but my father, my father sacrificed himself so that I could live on….to carry out his ideals.” Amy replied as she once again began to caress

Adam’s shocked face. He knew it wasn’t right, to enjoy her presence, in a way he felt as if this would be his atonement for his sins. A second chance no matter how unlikely the situation might have been.

“I….”

“They never found my body correct?” Amy questioned glancing over at Stephen. It didn’t strike him until then, that the Government indeed did not find any of their remains after the exam. They determined that the explosion annihilated their bodies completely leaving no physical remains, so there was a loop hole in the supposed deaths of

Harold and Amy Caecus, but he still felt as if this wasn’t completely on the level.

“I didn’t think so; you have to admit that it is possible. Or do you not want me to be around?” Amy questioned her tone changing to a tearful one; she stared up at Adam, her eyes wide and innocent. Adam sighed; there were hundreds of thoughts running through his confused mind. On one end he had Amy, a girl who represented years of guilt pent up inside his soul while on the other hand he has Sharon, a girl who represented hope and love. This Amy made a convincing argument for a few seconds, he started to even believe that it was possible that she was alive but one thing bothered him, swelling up in the back of his mind. This Amy looked exactly like the Amy he knew, in fact too much like her; she still had the youthful look of a 16 year old.

“Amy….things have happened during your absence….I mean….”

“You met someone else….that’s expected and I understand.” She replied.

“Huh? Wait what? You understand?” Her sullen voice, calm and sweet put him into another state of shock. He didn’t expect her to just leave because he met someone else, not after she came all this way to Prosperity to find him.

“Yeah, you were obviously in a state of distress and just latched onto the first girl that gave you a shoulder to cry on. She can’t possibly mean more to you than I do…”
Mario began to chuckle trying to hold himself from completely bursting out in a spray of laughter.

“Oh wow….she did not just say that! Hahaha, yo Stephen did she just say that? Hahaha.”    

Adam once again turned to face his jester of a friend. “Seriously, shut up for a minute.”

“Oops, sorry bro.” Mario replied as he began to scratch the back of his head.

“Listen….Amy, Sharon means a lot to me….it is true that I had feelings for you 2 years ago, but to be completely honest I barely even knew you. I was a boy with a crush…”

Adam replied reluctantly. She just smiled like his comment didn’t even phase her soul in the least. She walked up to him and gently kissed him on the cheek and winked her right eye in his direction. Adam took a gulp of his saliva while he stared at Amy, not even trying to prevent her from embracing him. Her arms soon wrapped around his body as she hugged him tightly.

“You’re so silly. I know how you really feel about me. You’re just confused right now and that’s to be expected. I’ll tell you what, this is my cell, give me a call when you come to your senses.” She handed him a white business card with her number written on the back. She smiled one more time and began to walk out of the hanger leaving Adam staring at the card blankly.

“Whoa…what was that all about?” Mario asked.

“That….that was Amy Caecus….someone close to me who should have died in my first encounter with the Chimera.” Adam replied as he flipped over the small card. His eyes widened as he saw in bold letters forest green letters.

“So you actually believe that it’s really her? Please tell me you’re not that gullible.” Stephen replied.

“No…it’s not her. But I’ll say this much, I couldn’t be any happier that she showed up.” Adam replied as he handed the business card to his brother. As Stephen’s fingers close around the edges of the card he began to smirk.

“Genesis Department of Genetic Research…she pretty much just handed us our first clue…” Stephen mumbled.

“Wait I’m sorry but I’m not following.” Mario replied.

“Its simple….Genesis is developing their own artificially created humans. Clones if you will, saw them with my own eyes a month or so ago.” Adam replied.

“Clones? So you’re telling me that Genesis is going around cloning people? For what purpose? Sorry guys but that just sounds so far fetched.”

“Believe me or not, they’re still doing it. And I’m pretty sure that that Amy is one of them. Now the question is why would they clone her?” Adam mumbled as he began to look at his stained shirt.

“If they’ve cloned her it’s possible that they’re trying to manipulate you.” Stephen mentioned.

“Yeah…I kinda figured as much. Caleb told me something before Rebel killed him….he said that Luscious believes I’m the key…”

“Key? Key to what?” Mario asked.

“I’m not too sure…that’s what I need to find out. It’s possible that this entire tournament is just to get me within his grasp, hell all of the pilots who have no affiliation with either the TA or the EAP could just be artificially composed humans. If that’s the case then that would make us the minority and completely out numbered.” Adam replied.

“I see….what about Rebel358 then?” Mario continued to ask the questions while Stephen remained staring at the business card.

“Not sure how he fits into all of this, I’m not even sure what it is we’re all apart of right now. All I know is that Genesis is doing something behind the world’s back. And I firmly believe this tournament is apart of it.” Adam replied.

“Looks like we’re going to have to be careful then.”

“You could say that….Stephen what do you think?” Adam asked glancing over to his brother.

“Oh…I’m not entirely sure right now. I think our best bet would be to finish the tournament and take things from there. Also I think we should keep this Amy under surveillance. You never know what might happen.” Stephen replied.

“Agreed. Adam?”

“You guys figure it out. I have a match in a few minutes.” Adam replied.

“Oh yeah haha, I forgot. You’re facing off against that Gabriel guy right? The one whose been flirting with Sharon.” Mario replied.

“Yep…at least I’ll be able to enjoy myself for a little bit.”

“I see. Anyway I’ll tell Ashley to keep an eye on her.” Stephen replied.

“Ashley huh. So are you going to ever tell us what’s going on with you two?” Adam asked as he nudged Stephen’s rib cage.

“Nothing you two need to be aware of. Now get ready for your match we have some things to get done.” Stephen replied.

            Gabriel reclined in the cockpit of his mid weight bipedal MF, Necron. Two thin elongated horns extended outwards from the spherical shoulder units. Its thinly armored arm units held onto two energy rifles while two long sharp blades protruded out from the lower half of the arms. Gabriel considered himself a close range combatant and made sure his MF was equipped to reflect that trait. He figured he had no need for missiles or any type of cannon and left four energy sabers dangling from the back of his MF. His mind began to wander thinking of his own nightmares that have been disturbing his soul for the past few weeks. His body began to quiver at the sheer thought of his nightmares, they were disturbing enough to ruin his sleep he didn’t need them to ruin his mood now. He glanced to the side of his cockpit staring at a assortment of pictures. Most of the torn and withered images were of his parents, both were wearing long ivory lab coats. In every picture he was in the same room with his two parents, hundreds of cylindrical tubes making up the background along with dozens of dangling wires all hanging from a ceiling at that could not be seen by the human eye because of all the darkness that engulfed the room.

“I’ll do it for you mom and dad….I’ll win the tournament and prove to be the best pilot ever!” Gabriel softly spoke while his hand began to shake as it held onto a image of himself holding the hand of a younger girl smiling. Her own light and dark brown hair flowing to her shoulders while his blonde hair followed the same route on his own body. The two appeared to be extremely happy; he smiled at the thought and hopes of reuniting with the girl from his past.

“Its time…” Gabriel mumbled under his breath as he saw the message on his display screen telling him that the match was about to start. He knew he couldn’t properly prepare for the obstacle that was now standing before him; he could only hope that he would be able to win. The golden boosters began to hum softly as the flickering flame of yellow energy began to burn brightly. His feet pivoted downwards onto the accelerator causing the MF to slowly move. The burning spirit that drove his eyes focused on the outer limits of space, this was everything had been waiting for.

“Necron….heading out.” And with a violent display of power the golden MF launched out of the hanger taking to the abyss of space. “I won’t lose…I can’t lose.”

            Adam too was thinking the same exact thought as Blue Dragon headed out towards the comfort of space. With the recent appearance of a female who bared a strong resemblance to Amy Caecus it would be difficult to say that he wasn’t affected; that his mind wasn’t wandering off on its own tangents of hope. Part of him hoped that she was in fact the real deal, and not some cloned human composed from Genesis’ labs hidden deep beneath the deceit of the world. He stared out towards the rotating Earth as it continued its path around the blazing sun. He smirked at the abrupt appearance of his opponent Gabriel. The golden MF quickly sped to the opposite end of the arena specified for the current match.

“I’m impressed you actually decided to show up.” Adam said breaking the monotony.

“Heh, don’t concern yourself with me. I’d worry about your own well being Azure Knight.” Gabriel pronounced. Adam chuckled at the sound of “Azure Knight” it was his military tag name; he didn’t find it appropriate to call himself by that name since this wasn’t a military event.

“Azure Knight…haha. I’m beginning to despise that name.” Adam replied.

“I see…then I’ll just call you Adam.”

“Adam’s fine, not that it matters much. Not in a battle for advancement!” Adam yelled back.

“That may be true. But I like to talk during my matches, I’ve noticed that it takes away the strain from intense battles” Gabriel replied.

“Heh, I’ll admit, you’re a weird one.” Adam said while looking at the descending numbers on the side of his display screen.

“Well then, it appears that it is about that time for us to engage in combat. I wish you luck….may the best pilot win.” Gabriel replied. He slid down the visor on his helmet and clutched the throttles at his side.

“Yeah…”Adam replied.

            Ready? GO!

To Adam’s surprise Gabriel wasn’t as calm and predictable as he thought. Necron quickly burst out of its starting position while firing both energy rifles at Blue Dragon. Adam smirked as he took hold of the throttles and began to jump into evasive maneuvers. Crimson beams of energy shot past the sides of Blue Dragon coming closer to contact with each round. Blue Dragon continued to dazzle audiences by flying on its sides while managing to avoid the attacks being fired. Gabriel could only smile at the agility of his opponent.

“Good, I was hoping this would be a challenge!” Gabriel screamed. The boosters flared violently as Necron exploded with speed never seen before in its earlier matches. The abrupt transition in speed even caught Adam by surprise. Within seconds Necron appeared next to the blue MF swinging its left leg. Adam cringed and quickly dodged the attack, as Blue Dragon swayed to the left both its own laser rifles fired rapidly. The cerulean energy beams shot towards Necron but Gabriel managed to fly on its right side avoiding the blasts. As Necron dashed to the side during its dodging maneuvers Blue Dragon sped towards the golden MF quickly ignited its energy sabers.

“Heh…” Gabriel mumbled. Just as Blue Dragon began to swing its arms Necron side stepped away causing Adam to speed past leaving the back of his MF open to attack. A quick tingling sensation shot through Gabriel’s mind, his hands moved the throttles to his side with grace and little struggle forcing Necron to slash with its own energy sabers. The searing beam of crimson energy began to descend towards Blue Dragon’s wings and it appeared as if it was going to connect. Adam smirked as the eight azure wings quickly dispersed from the torso, the resulting energy that now flowed out from the back of Blue Dragon’s torso exploded in the face of Necron causing it to stumble backwards a bit. Adam then quickly turned his MF around and slashed at the core of Necron sending it flying away from him at tremendous velocity. Blue Dragon began to fly towards Necron as the wings reattached themselves to the back of the torso.
Gabriel began to laugh with tears of joy. He had never experienced such a rush as he was at this moment.

“Excellent! This is exactly what I was expecting it to be and more!” Gabriel screamed as he managed to stabilize Necron’s movements. The energy saber began to float in the space as the golden MF equipped the dual energy rifles and began to fire them one after another. With each round that was fired the arms jerked backwards from the heavy recoil. Adam smiled as he headed straight towards the torrent of energy beams. Blue Dragon flew gracefully around a few of the beams and then began to slash the others with the energy sabers sending them back towards Necron. Gabriel’s eyes widened in shock but managed to avoid the oncoming beams. Just then Blue Dragon tackled into Necron forcefully. As the two MFs struggled through the depths of space every man, woman and child stood in suspense.

“I’m impressed Adam, this you’re much stronger than I had originally anticipated.” Gabriel spoke.

“Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself.”

“It is a pity though that this will not be enough…”Gabriel began to somberly say.

“What? Heh, still think you have a shot huh?” Adam questioned. Blue Dragon quickly responded to his commands as it slashed upwards with the left handed energy saber now creating a massive gash on the front torso of Necron in the form of an “x”. Gabriel was thrown forward into his display screen, as his body was tossed the materials composing the restraints began to snap. As the restraints broke Gabriel’s entire body was flung forward, his dull yellow helmet crashed into the LCD screen sending an uproar of plastic shards flying in his cockpit. His visor cracked from the brunt of the collision, Gabriel shook it off and then took off his helmet. It was no good to him now in its condition, it would only hinder his sight.

“Maybe you are the key to humanity’s survival.” Gabriel muttered

“What?!” Adam leaned out of his seat in confusion; he had heard the word “key” before specifically coming out of Caleb’s mouth. As Adam stared in confusion Necron attacked. The right arm swung down with the energy saber, the beam of fused compacted energy slowly approached Blue Dragon, but Adam swayed to the right to avoid the attack. Just as the blue MF avoided the blow it was struck by the metallic blade attached to Necron’s left arm. The glistening blade tore through the outer layer of armor that was compacted onto Blue Dragon’s right shoulder. Adam quickly pulled the throttles inward in order to move away before the blade did any more damage. As Blue Dragon pulled away the two thigh cannons lifted upwards and fired at point blank range. The two beams of energy collided onto the core of Necron, the ferocity of the blast knocked Necron away.

“You are indeed strong, but strength alone will not save humanity from its sins!” Gabriel screamed.

“What? Its sins? Who the hell are you to judge humanity!” Adam screamed back.

“I….I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO JUDGE! I AM A PRODUCT OF THEIR SINS!” Gabriel screamed back at Adam while swinging both of Necron’s arms. Blue Dragon avoided the attacks and swung its own arms but missed when Necron boosted upwards. Adam cringed as he glanced above him but it was too late, Necron’s boosters pulsated intensely and as the gold MF side kicked Blue Dragon’s head unit. The blue MF fumbled over spinning around after the blow.

“What are you saying?!”

“I was created by man, a man trying to take the place of God! I am the product of sin!” Gabriel screamed. As his emotions flared his performance skills increased.

“You….you’re a clone?....” Adam mumbled as his eyes widened, Necron was speeding towards him.

“Call me whatever you wish! I don’t have much longer to live! I need to atone for the sins that I was born with!” Gabriel screamed.

“….” Adam couldn’t speak; there wasn’t much for him to say. He was face to face with one of Genesis’ clones. Necron began to pound fiercely onto Blue Dragon, with each hit pieces of azure armor flung outwards into space singed from burning sparks of electrical torrents.

            “ADAM!” Sharon screamed as she motioned towards him. Her arms flung out into the air trying to grab hold of him even though she knew it wasn’t possible. Stephen grabbed onto her holding her back but she continued to struggle.

“There’s nothing you can do….” Stephen mumbled. Sharon quickly jerked her head around glaring at Stephen with tears budding out from her eyes. She hated to see Adam suffer especially when she knew there was nothing she could do to help him.

“You can’t just expect me to stay here and watch this!” Sharon screamed.

“You have too…if you trust him then you know he’ll pull through.” Stephen replied. Trust was something she did have with Adam; she knew that Stephen was right. All she could do now was wait out the match.

            Adam’s eyes widened, he could have sworn hearing Sharon’s voice trying to lift his spirits.

“I apologize Adam but I can not let you stand in my way….I have to win. It is my destiny, my purpose in life to erase the sin from humanity. It is all I can offer after being born due to sinful desires.” Gabriel muttered. Both of Necron’s arms crossed over each other with both metallic blades protruding downwards. As Necron’s arms quickly began to fall towards Blue Dragon the eight wings quickly launched ferociously. Gabriel’s eyes instinctively began to follow the orbital wings’ movements. Blue Dragon’s right leg quickly swept through Necron’s legs causing the MF to flip sideways. While Necron struggled to regain its stability each wing began to pound onto the MF with a barrage of energy beams. Necron then continued to be flung violently around from each blast. Smoke began to emanate off of the singed armor but Necron remained active. Adam realizing Blue Dragon’s energy bar was closing in on the critical point quickly called back the wings. The azure wings docked back onto the torso of Blue Dragon while Necron managed to recover.

“I WON’T LOSE! I CAN’T LOSE!” Gabriel screamed. It appeared that this would be Necron’s final attack. 

“Neither can I….you’ve managed to get the best of me while my Angel System has been engaged….heh, I guess I have no choice….” Adam said to himself softly as he flipped the switch to his side. Instantly the gravitational forces that are usually strenuous from the Angel System increased dramatically.

Angel System....EX mode engaged….

Adam smirked, he wasn’t yet used to this strain but he knew that this battle was as good a time as any to try it out. Adam quickly flung the throttle to his side while stepping hard onto the accelerator. There was no response time due to the EX system, Blue Dragon responded with every movement and action that Adam commanded. Both MFs jousted towards one another Blue Dragon quickly spun around on its side just as it passed Necron. Just then Gabriel passed by Blue Dragon only for both of its golden arms to exploded into flames quickly. Blue Dragon stopped its movement as Adam quickly disengaged the Angel System and began to breathe heavily. Gabriel too was exhausted and now clutching onto his chest.  He knew it was over even though he didn’t want to admit it; his Necron was useless without its arms.

“*Cough*…the sins of the soul are dangerous to the existence of humans…*cough*… please remember that…”

“Gabriel….”

“*cough* I am pleased though….*cough*….I believe that you will be able to correct the sins of humanity….*cough* there are those who feel that all of human existence needs to be extinguished in order to for sin to be erased…..*cough*…that isn’t the correct path either….not if it creates…*cough* sinful creatures such…*cough*….such as myse…..” Gabriel coughed one final time with his head jerking outwards towards the shattered LCD screen, his crimson blood spurt out of his quivering frigid lips while his eye lids slowly shut encasing him in the shadows of his own existence.

Adam just stared out into space at the golden MF that was now not moving at all. His communications radio was now only picking up static. He knew instantly what had happened.