The Three Kingdoms Concepts - Chapter 1 - The Shooter Connection (Chapter)

The Shooter Connection
[Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, The United Kingdom, 8:00am 22nd December 2013]

Black had walked down these corridors countless times before and had memorised the colourful and vibrant paint drawings on the walls. Designed for children, the cute characters, flowers and clouds attempted to produce a calm atmosphere. But the atmosphere was anything but calm as Black sprinted down the corridor for the first time.

The lone sound of footsteps echoing through the halls was unnerving. The Hospital had no staff or patients and had not for The First Year. Yamaha had taken healthcare into their own hands, easily mass producing any medicine needed in their own facilities. The native nursing and medicine industry had been shut down and moved into information technology. All hospitals and surgeries in The Yamaha Kingdom had been changed to offices, server buildings or storage. Except for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Great Ormond Street Hospital had been converted into a prison to hold those most vulnerable in the Kingdom.

Black could see the heavy duty door, similar to those found in The War Factory. The teal metal door, positioned at the end of the hallway, looked very out of place in the simple but bright building. A green light in the middle of the door indicated the Sonic Barrier that usually covered the door was gone. Black just hoped Miku had left the door unlocked.

But she knew Miku had more important things to do. Miku was more than happy to see the back of The Yamaha Kingdom but she and the rest of the administration had uprooted the vast majority of native systems such as healthcare but had completely removed all native politics. Doctor Doom had made an admirable start in restarting governments. Yamaha had to step in to complete his debatable act of good will.

Reimu, who knew nothing about politics, was avoiding to do the same for former Gensokyo territory, instead opting to visit her creator ZUN.

Haruhi on the other hand had left North High's governments intact so she did not have to bother. Which was just as well. She and Sasaki were currently suffering from shock from the events at Moncton Hospital a few hours back. No doubt Naluri was too.

Black stumbled a little as she reached the door, her legs feeling awfully exhausted from the last twenty-four hours. She took hold of a bar-handle on the door when someone else put their hand on hers.

"Let me do it," requested White Rock Shooter, "Get your breath back."

Black obliged, breathing heavily. White held the handle, turned it ninety degrees and pushed it inwards, the door's motors revving into action. The door slid out the way to reveal a single ward of the hospital, with white bed evenly spaced out along the wall. Black stepped in and turned her head to the left towards where the prisoners usually stayed.

The only person standing there was a young black haired girl, stood over a hospital bed, back to Black. The girl spun round to face Black, "Black! Why are y-" she caught sight of White who walked behind Black.

"Kuroi Mato," recognised White, "White Rock Shooter," she introduced herself.

"Is everyone okay?" spoke up Black, making her way to Mato.

"What happened today?" Mato inquired rather urgently, "Everyone was in so much pain." Black stood by her and the beds in the corner. Takanashi Yomi, Koutari Yuu, Izuriha Kagari and Irino Saya were in bed. With the exception of Yuu, who had her eyes open, they were all unconscious.

"A lot happened. Dead Master, Gold, Chariot and Strength are seeking medical attention. They're all in a stable condition."

"And what about you? You were suffering pretty badly yourself."

"Mato fainted first," Yuu explained, her voice weaker than usual, "That's when things began to get worse."

"Err, that might be my fault," admitted White, scratching her cheek nervously, "I knocked Black out in Crypton Studios, In my defence, it was for Black's safety."

"Thank you very much for taking care of her," bowed Mato. She noticed Black was out of breath, covered in burn marks, "Black?" Are you okay? How come I feel okay?"

Black stood up straight before answering," I'm sorry, Mato. I gave away our connection..."

Mato was surprised but not at all angry, "To who?"

"Sora Muziku, an android with a heart. I had to pass our connection to her. I was getting into dangerous fights and I couldn't risk something happening to you, I hope you understand."

"Are you going to get it back?"

Silence fell for a moment. "...Do you want me to get it back?"

Mato shuffled awkwardly, "Well... I was just curious..."

"In all honesty," began Black, "I think it'd be better if Sora kept the connection. She's a durable android and is no political threat to anyone. Also, she now has deep ties with Yamaha, Gensokyo and North High. If anything happens to her, all three will act to protect her."

"All three? I thought we were at war?"

Black smiled, "That's today's good news. The conflict is over. The three of us are allies and better than friends." A tear rolled down Black's cheek, "... You're free to go."

Yuu sat up, "We're free?"

"We can go home?" Mato added.

Black nodded, struggling to hold her smile. The tears flowed stronger, leading to another awkward silence.

White put a hand on Black's shoulder, "Let it out, Black."

Black was unable to hold it in any longer, sobbing out in anguish, falling to her knees and futilely attempted to wipe the tears off her face. "I would never have felt these feelings in my world," she cried, "We thought destroying everyone else protected ourselves and it was a lifestyle that suited us. But all it did was create suffering and pain. Doomsday opened my eyes. I realised I now had people I wanted to protect, that I had to protect but could not on my own. After Doomsday happened, I met Kagamine Rin in Moscow. I was confused. She clearly was not. Through her actions, she demonstrated that in this new world, a group was far better than the individual. The Vocaloids had already established worldwide communication and surveillance. Their knowledge was unmatched. So I made an unorthodox request." She took a moment to sigh, "I could feel you were getting weaker so I asked them to find you, Mato. And they found you, lost in the Gobi desert."

Mato groaned, "That was a horrible experience..."

"And so I was grateful. But then Yamaha annexed Canada and my confusion flared up once more. By this time, I had accompanied Rin to the Moscow Kremlin. I asked to talk with Miku who was more than happy to talk with me. She clarified things but it made me feel uncomfortable. I learnt I couldn't keep my quiet attitude for much longer. I needed to speak up to get my voice heard as well as speak for others who could not speak for themselves."

"I watched Rin annex Russia," Black continued, "As we moved into Eastern Europe, I made another unorthodox request," Black looked up into Mato's own blue eyes, "I asked them to keep you prisoner. If they could keep you safe, I would join them. And they did so. I swore my allegiance to Yamaha and, eventually, I was the one who annexed The United Kingdom." Black bowed her head down.

The sound of footsteps entered the ward as Strength walked in, "Yamaha went out of their way for us," she continued for Black, "They tracked down all of you. And all of us. While most of us originally opposed working together, we ultimately agreed that our survival rate was better with Yamaha."

"Not to spark a fire or anything," White began, "But the way I saw it back then was that Yamaha was essentially holding you to ransom, forcing The Black Squad to work for them."

"We had no interest in politics," admitted Strength, "But they saved us a lot of work that would have found impossible." She looked over at Yuu, "They could keep the five of you safe and keep an eye on any of our human counterparts that no one else knew about. While we thought Yamaha's enforcement on its citizens was harsh, no one died under Yamaha's rule, something neither Gensokyo nor North High can boast." Strength ejected her stone fists, pulling her hands out of the weapons before hurrying to Yuu's side, "Yuu, are you okay?"

"As long as you are, of course," Yuu smiled.

"So how does the connection between a human and their 'other self' work?" asked White, hopping onto a nearby bed, "I don't think I fully understood it when I was monitoring you guys for The Anti-Humour Society."

"We are personifications of the spirits of our counterparts," explained Strength, "Our power and stability are directly connected to their determination and will. If their resolve falters, we will falter too. If we are injured, they will be driven into depression and denial. Unlike other systems of connections, we get stronger the more our counterparts are hurt since they just happen to be incredibly stubborn." Strength stroked Yuu's hair, "We call this The Shooter Connection."

"So what happens if, say..." continued White a little quietly, "A counterpart died?"

"If a-"

"Can we trust White?" interrupted Dead Master she and Chariot walked into the ward. Yomi and Kagari had their eyes open but no one had noticed.

"White did not join us on Doomsday," reminded Chariot, who made her way to Kagari.

Black stood up, "White saved Kirisame Marisa and instead of fleeing the helicarrier we were on, she opted to die by my side. I think that's enough reason to trust her."

Dead Master passed Black to get to Yomi, "I think you have some explaining to do."

"All in due time," Black replied. White smirked at the unintentional pun. "How's Gold doing?"

"Not well," Dead Master answered, "Gold's more powerful than you, Black. Anti-Humour came at her full force, not taking any chances with her plasmids either. It might be some before she recovers."

"I see..."

"White," carried out Strength, "If a counterpart died, what would happen to their spirit?"

"Die?" White answered. Strength nodded. "Then what if an 'other self' died?"

"The counterpart would lose their spirit and most likely turn insane. However, it is possible for them to regain spirit though it is rare and can take a lot of effort and luck. Ironically, it is made somewhat easier if us 'other selves' work together.

"This ideology was why I wanted to form The Black Squad," continued Black, "Where we could watch each others' backs. Out petty battles with each other were over." For the first time, we had to work together."

There was pause, "Mato," Black looked over at her former counterpart, "I'm sorry for taking away a year of your life. I swear I'll make it up to you somehow."

"I want to see the new world," Mato began, clearly with something in mind, "I want to see the blessing you gave the planet. And I want to show you that you are better at making decisions than you think you are." Mato smiled. "But Most of all, I want you to smile. You guys opened your hearts to us over the past year, visited us whenever you could and told us what you were able. And you looked happy. It would be great to be around each other to see more of it."

Black couldn't help smiling back at Mato, "Of course, something can be arranged. White and I have a meeting with the administrations. There are still things to manage, things to fix, things to say. We should be back soon and we'll explain everything." Black walked out of the room, closely followed by White.

Sora stumbled over onto her hands and knees.

"Oy, Sora," called the other female present, who took Sora by the arm to help her back up, "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," Sora stuttered from shock, "Thanks, R-Rulia."

"Call me, Aru," Rulia Aru Altaire introduced, "I can see you're uncomfortable with my name."

"Not at all," recovered Sora, standing by the table, "I just-"

"I know the Rulia you're thinking of," interrupted Aru, sitting back down on the restaurant seat, "Before you start worrying, Sora, I'm not the same Rulia. Doomsday would have definitely brought her through. Look, take a seat, you look like a nervous wreck." She pulled Sora's arm to sit at the table opposite her. "Are you alright? You're an android, right? You're not made to be clumsy, are you?"

"No..." answered Sora, "It was so sudden. I just felt... homesick and lonely..."

There was a short silence. "Well, we all miss our real homes," noted Aru.

"... I guess," Sora mumbled, looking out the first floor window. The fast food restaurant looked over the street below. It was bustling full of people, probably trying to get home or visit others or showing other people around. Malaysia had seen a vast number of newcomer immigrants in the past few hours after the downing of the Barriers, allowing newcomers in Yamaha and Gensokyo to reach the country. While not as many were leaving, it was still a considerable number as people left Kuala Lumpur's District 8 for their new homes, the Arks continuing to dominate the skyline.

Sora, even though this was not her homeworld, recognised this as her home city. The house she would recognise as her home was not far away. But she wanted a little time to think.

Statistics
Count
 * Words: 1383
 * Characters: 6500