Guilty Gear Transmigration: Light of Madness

"How many times did we hit it? How often had we punched the grizzly, regenerating each time mine and Frederick's fist collapsed from the recoil?" Daubeny could no longer remember the exact count.

Daubeny and Frederick grabbed the grizzly bear by the neck and threw it bluntly to the ground. The only thing Daubeny was sure of was that he wanted the bear dead.

"What a goddamn pain…." 

Frederick growled. The grizzly's slovenly tongue stretched out, its lifeless eyes flashing white. Daubeny and Frederick, whose wounds had stopped regenerating, still had what looked like steam rising from their bodies. The impulse swirling in Frederick's body had not subsided even after the fierce battle. His mind, body, and even his tone of voice were still wild and hoarse. While Daubeny contained a little more control over himself than his friend. Although not by much, and that's when Frederick started to practically look around the room. Then, locking eyes with Daubeny said.

"Ah? Where the hell is that son of a bitch, Serge?"

After the battle with the grizzly, both the large capsule and the stationary terminal were in shambles. The view of Special Laboratory 6 was now apparent. However, looking around, the next target, Serge, was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he escape?"

"Wait, that's it! The escape boats!"

"You're right, but where the hell could it-."

At that moment, a driving sound like an engine began to echo from the other side of the wall. An airlock door by the wall stared back at them. The impulse abruptly receded, and calmness returned to Frederick's thoughts.

"The escape boat... It's there!" Daubeny motioned Frederick to follow him with his hand swiftly and pointed towards the presumed escape boat.

"Perhaps Serge escaped there, too. If so, we should still be able to catch him."

"We can pry open the boarding ramp. Let's go!"

Saying this, Frederick and Daubeny ran to the airlock. Suddenly, the lab became much brighter. Looking around to see what was going on, they saw many screens embedded in the walls here and there, all of which had turned on at once. What was on the screen, though, was another story. 

"Hey. Things have changed a lot, Daubeny and Frederick."

"Asuka…?!"

Both Gears said in anger and disbelief. It was the familiar face of their best friend. Behind Asuka stood Serge. The video was a communication within the inside of the escape boat. Asuka R. Kreutz was there with an air of pride. There was no hint of him being a hostage. It was as if he was a collaborator.

"What are you doing in a place like that?" Just as Frederick said this, he noticed. In the background of the video, a cryosleep capsule was placed behind Asuka and Serge. From the small window in front of the capsule, it was possible to see…

"Huh?! Aria!" Frederick could see his partner's face. 

"Asuka, stop the boat. Let Frederick and me board." Daubeny pleaded.

"It's all for the future of the Gear Project."

"The future? Do you understand? Do you realize that Gear cells are being weaponized by the military?"

"Yes, that's true…. But for the sake of research progress, the military's cooperation is inevitable."

"Are you saying you…approve of this?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

Thats when Frederick's face contracted in rage. "No WAY! You wanted to avoid this kind of diversion of the research!"

"It was impossible that this was the kind of military intervention that Asuka approved of. Then why... why did you not listen to me.

"Tell me what you really think, Asuka! The truth, too!" Daubeny yelled.

"It was a long time ago, Frederick, Daubeny. People change. Sometimes, we have to do what we have to do to achieve our goals."

"You're saying you've changed your mind?"

"I don't care how you take it. Whether you agree with it or not, it doesn't matter to me anymore."

" "Doesn't matter"? You've got to be kidding! Asuka, why?! Why are you doing this?! Explain!"

Daubeny shouted while Frederick's memory of the past month was still mostly missing. Because of that, there were so many things he didn't understand, so many things he wanted to ask Daubeny and Asuka. But Asuka slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but you don't have the right to know." Frederick's best friend smiled with an unbelievably twisted face. "It's about to come crashing down. I'm sorry, but the men, Frederick Bulsara and Daubeny Hale will die here today. It's for the best."

Asuka was not a man who would make a face like that or say such a thing. Frederick and Daubeny didn't want to believe it, nor did they want to admit it. They were both so taken aback by their friend's air of being a different person that Frederick punched the wall.

"You've got to be kidding me! You've been using Gear cells for weapons, and you even twisted Aria's will to put her into cryosleep." Frederick said, looking betrayed.

"She agreed to it."

"Don't tell me that Aria would agree to 'this'! She would never have agreed to it! She NEVER wanted to become a lab experiment! Damn you, Asuka!" Daubeny shouted with rage.

"You're both such fools. I can't leave her in either of your hands. I will take care of the rest. Aria is an indispensable asset for the future of my research, and she is very supportive. But I'm leaving both of you here."

In the video, Asuka stands up from his seat and says, "Goodbye, Daubeny and Frederick."

"Wait, Asuka! We're not done talking…!"

Before either Frederick could finish, the image was cut off with a brief discharge of static. At the same time, a nearby engine sound, which might be from the escape boat, increased in pitch. But the escape boat with Asuka and Aria on board should still be in the dock.

"Damn it, I can't believe this!"

"I know, but we can't let Asuka leave with Aria!"

Frederick and Daubeny immediately put their hands on the airlock. With ferociously monstrous strength, they forcefully pried open the thick door. 

At the end of the path they opened, they found the escape tunnel everyone had been looking for. The small oval-shaped submarine floated in a space resembling a ship's dock, its engines roaring. However, the cross-mesh bridge that would have led to the airlock on the side of the escape boat was out of alignment with the boat. The escape boat was already moving forward.

"Tch! Just in time!"

They ran as fast as they could on the bridge and jumped to the escaping boat that was moving away from them. As soon as they kicked out together, both heard the bridge breaking. Thanks to the strength of such a monster's legs, Frederick's and Daubeny's hands just barely reached the side of the escape boat.

"UOOOOOOOOOOGH!!"

When they grabbed the escape boat to stop their bodies from slipping down, Frederick's deformed claws clamped the armor and became an instant handhold. While Daubeny's own small claws somehow clamped onto the armor. They managed to hang on to the escape boat. 

Daubeny was beginning to lose his grip on the metal. "Frederick, I don't know if we will be swept off if the boat's speed increases."

"Yeah... but we could get on top of the escape boat or hold on tighter and continue to follow it."

"I don't know about you, but my claws won't be able to hold on for long. Frederick, if this is this end, you have to know."

"Enough! Don't talk like that; I can pry open the airlock and we can climb in."

Frederick reached for the airlock of the escape boat.

"Eh?"

The airlock of the escape boat opened from the inside. The thick door opened vertically, and the open part was like a small floorboard stuck out from the side. Serge appeared at that spot, holding a pistol in his left hand.

"You monsters! Get off!"

"G..uh?!"

Several shots rang out in rapid succession. One of them hit Frederick in the side. The other bullets bounced off Daubeny and Frederick's bodies rather than going through it, but the impact of it still hurt. Daubeny put all his strength into his right hand, which was the only reason he remained on the boat. 

And then….

"Huh? Hey doc, sit down!" Serge said to the inside of the escape boat.

"It's going to be hard to aim with that hand. I'll do it. Switch places with me."

"What…?"

"I have to clear my name. It's what you want, isn't it?"

The familiar voice made it easy to recognize who was speaking. Soon after, Serge pulled back, and this time, Asuka emerged from the airlock. In his hand, however, was the pistol he received from Serge.

"Hey! Asuka!"

"Frederick, Daubeny, you're not going to like me if you persist too much…."

The wind fluttered Asuka's white lab coat as he stood at the platform in front of the door.

"There is no seat for you on this side of the airlock." Asuka sighed ruefully and pointed the muzzle of his gun at Frederick and Daubeny.

"Oh, come on, Asuka. You're kidding, right?"

"It's a lie, isn't it? Hey, Asuka! Tell me it's not true!"

They were still hoping, somewhere in the back of their minds, that as long as they talked properly, Daubeny, Asuka, Frederick, and Aria would be best friends again. They could return to those days they had missed so much. They had spent so many years together, and no matter how many words of rejection he received, he believed that it was not Asuka's true feelings, that there must be a reason for his betrayal. And yet…

"Gugh?!" 

Instead of a reply, the reality confronted was a merciless shot at Daubeny. The bullet, released without warning, hit Daubeny's forehead. Even his forehead was as durable as metal. The bullet bounced off and disappeared into the distance, but Asuka, his best friend, fired at him, trying to kill him. That fact weighed heavily on Daubeny's mind.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm not lying to either of you. It's just the way it is." Once again, the sound of a gunshot rang out. This time, the bullet struck Daubeny and Frederick in the chest. This triggered a flood of words from Frederick's mouth.

"Why are you doing this, Asuka…? Why are you complicit in the diversion of research to weapons? Why do you need to take Aria with you? Why…. You did this to Daubeny and me! How long have you been betraying us?"

"Betrayal. I'll take that word in stride. That's what I do. But I told you. You have no right to know. I can't tell you anything."

"Damn. I always thought I could trust you and that you were my…best friend!"

"You were the only one who thought so."Asuka's gunfire intensified.

"Frederick and Daubeny, die. You have to die for the future. You die here and now!"

"No! No, Asuka!" Daubeny cried as his grip continued to loosen.

"Die! Die! Drop! Fall, both of you!"

"I can't hold on! Aghhhh!!!" Daubeny screamed as he lost his grip on the escape boat and fell downwards.

"Daubeny, NO! Asuka…Asuka! Wake up! This isn't who you are!" Frederick shrieked.

Asuka's firing continued, perhaps seeing the futility of trying to hit him in the head and body; he now began to focus on Frederick's right hand.

Even now, he barely held on to the advancing escape craft. And if he were to get a bullet impact on his barely clinging hand, he would be in a lot of trouble. 

"The…me you know is not all there is to me." Asuka re-adjusted his pistol with both hands and aimed at Frederick's right hand.

"I will continue my research, Frederick, even to your and Daubeny's deaths." And then the gun fired. Frederick's right hand was shot, and the impact caused the claw to detach from the armored ship.

"This time, it's goodbye."

A floating sensation enveloped Frederick as he lost his support and fell to the ground. At that moment, the speed of the escape boat increased, and the distance between the vessel and Frederick's body rapidly grew. Asuka, who was moving away, was still looking down at him, but he could not read his expression, partly because of the hair covering his eyes. And then he fell. Frederick's body bounced on the floor of the tunnel. Frederick quickly got up, but the escape boat was far away and out of sight by then. Quickly looking around, spotting Daubeny crying on his knees.

"Why… why…?"

Daubeny punched the floor as hard as he could. Once more, once more. Again. and again, Daubeny continued to lash out at the floor, fighting against a reality that was hard to accept. From behind him came the loudest explosion he had ever heard. The impact caused large cracks to appear in the walls of the tunnel.

"Why? Asuka!!" Daubeny shouted. The ceiling of the tunnel came crashing down with a roar as Frederick reached his friend. Attempting to guard him from the rubble.

-

Twilight set in, and the light of a fading sunset illuminated the pile of wrecked tiles and debris that once comprised the Next Generation Medical Research Institute. Despite the underground commotion, this secluded suburban area in the mountains had been standing as if nothing had happened until a few hours ago. But now, it has completely lost shape due to the massive collapse of the vast underground space. In the corner of this pile of rubble, something unusual happened.

A deformed hand sprang up from the ground. Frederick, who had turned into an inhuman monstrosity, crawled out of the ground after pushing aside the destroyed tiles and debris. Daubeny soon exited after the rubble cleared, who had been shielded by Frederick. Two white feathered wings sprouted out of his back.

Frederick and Daubeny were buried alive in a tunnel deep underground. Still, they were able to reach the surface with Daubeny's assistance, eliminating all the obstacles in their way by force, including the roof tiles, the earth, and even the concrete.

Taking off one of his shoes, Daubeny patted the stone from his ruined shoe. "It's a little bit crazy not to die from being buried alive."

"I didn't expect to survive today either, but here we are."

Frederick sat down on a corner of the rocky debris and exhaled heavily. Across from him, Daubeny rested his back down against the rubble.

The reflection in a piece of shattered glass was the first time Frederick had ever seen his entire body transformed. He was gradually beginning to laugh at its strangeness.

"Haha, I'm a complete monster, aren't I?" Although he had calmed down, a strong urge swirled in his body. His golden eyes were filled with murderous intent as they stared into the setting sun.

"You're not a monster," Daubeny admitted sheepishly, looking away. Okay, you look like a monster. Then he hit his heart gently. "But it's what's in here that counts." Daubeny sat up and walked to Frederick, patting his shoulder.

Frederick still didn't say anything, but he appreciated Daubeny's words. Then, forming a creepy smile that was supposed to look like a thankful smile, he said, "Thanks, Daubeny. Just my head's still spinning about what just happened." Frederick smiled sadly, saying this, but looked into the distance where Asuka fled. "You've gone to such lengths to continue your research, huh? You're a great traitor, Asuka R. Kreutz." Frederick spoke with resentment toward his former best friend. 

Why Asuka turned Frederick and Daubeny into such monsters was completely in the dark due to the separation between them now. It was no longer possible to confirm the truth. However, they had enough time to think about it before they crawled to the surface.

"No matter. If that's the case, we'll die as you wish Asuka."

"What you are talking about, Frederick, the fact that we've become monsters?"

Frederick coughed as he looked out at the red sky. "Yes, from this day on, we're nobodies. We're just two more monsters, your… enemies."

"Looks to be the only to move forward." Streching his hand towards Frederick.

With that, Frederick stood up, taking his best friend's hand, and Daubeny looked around the Next Generation Medical Research Institute site where he had worked for so long. The whole place was a wreck of rubble. There could be no other survivors. The faint sirens echoing in the distance were the sounds of emergency services, who had finally learned of the situation and were rushing to the scene. There were numerous of them, but they were still far away.

"We should be leaving before they show up, and could we stop by our apartments quickly?"

"You're right. If a monster like me is found, it's not going to be good…. I can't say the same about you. But it's best not to take any chances, so let's head there now." Frederick said as both of them 

They made their way to Frederick's apartment first. It was a small, modest space, but it was filled with memories that Frederick wanted to keep. He quickly gathered his belongings, taking with him only the essentials. However, right at the end of his gathering, his fist crashed against the table.

"Damn it, it's not here!"

"What's not?" Daubeny asked while looking at Frederick's bag to see what was missing.

"Aria's Halloween mask!"

Raising his eyebrows in acknowledgment, Daubeny said. Okay

Frederick thought for a moment before his eyes lit up. "If it's not here, then... Asuka took it." 

He took the bag in hand and walked outside in silence as they both made their way to Daubeny's apartment. It was a more prominent space filled with mementos from his past. As he entered the apartment, a pang of sadness and nostalgia washed over him. He went through each room, carefully selecting the items he wanted to keep. 

The last object he picked was a picture of him, Aria, Frederick, and Asuka wearing sweaters during Christmas. It was a happy memory, and Daubeny wanted to hold onto it. He took one last look as he left the apartment, taking in the familiar sights and sounds. He knew that he would never see this place again.

"Let's go," Frederick said, breaking the silence. Daubeny nodded, clutching the picture tightly in his hand. Together, they slowly walked away from the apartment. The setting sun was shining on their backs, which one's was no longer human anymore.

-

Six months had passed since that day, and on the outskirts of a small town, an abandoned shack appeared rundown to anyone who looked at it. The tin used for the ceiling and walls was not only rusted everywhere but also had holes in it as if eaten by insects. It was an eerie sight that one would not expect to find someone living inside.

A radio show was blaring inside the shack, and it was as if the mere presence of the shack made other people feel distant from it.

"It has been six months today since the massive explosion at the Next Generation Medical Research Institute that killed many people. The U.S. government has finally announced that it is scaling back the Gear program."

"Some sources say this is unreasonable, as it is effectively a freeze on the project…." The commentators responded to the program host's opening statement.

"Who's saying that? There were rumors that the military was behind it."

"Isn't the military thing a hoax? In fact, there were concerns about the dangers of the Gear cells even before the accident, so I think the decision to freeze the project was rather late."

"Well, the accident killed all the main researchers in the project. Even if they wanted to continue the project, they couldn't, I think."

"Was it really an accident in the first place? There is strong speculation among the public that it was a terrorist attack aimed at the misuse of the Gear cells."

"Could it be that exploitative research is continuing without our knowledge?"

"If that's the case, it is a little scary, isn't it? Of course, there is no way that the government is unaware of this, so I'm sure it's not true."

At that moment, the radio's sound was drowned out by a high-pitched noise. It was a beeping alarm of some kind. In the center of the shack, a table was filled with a plethora of out-of-place machinery. One of its parts rose up as if to say it was finished. 

An unpainted rectangular piece of headgear.

A deformed, inhuman hand with sharp claws takes it up. With a click of the clasp, the deformed hand finishes attaching the headgear. Immediately after that, the monstrous hand begins to change its appearance. The claws gradually shorten to a normal human level. A figure then stands in front of the cracked mirror, and its reflection is that of a man. His hair has grown unusually long, but it is indeed a human being.

"The suppression of the Gear cells has finally taken shape."

The man laughed through his nose and stood in front of a wall. Then, all of a sudden, Daubeny walked beside the newly transformed man.

"About time. It wasn't easy finding all those parts."

"But it was worth it, thank you, because now..."

On such a wall, there was a large map, marked here and there with studs and photographs, but all of them were marked with a large "X."

"Asuka…. Where are you now?"