With a shiver, Noel slipped a razor-thin bomb under a door, as slow as she could. I... I can't believe I'm doing this... I think I'll have Makoto press the detonator... oh, why do I have to do this? Explosive planted, she continued on her way through the darkened corridors, hoping she was heading the right way. Where is everyone, anyways? There were so many soldiers here a few minutes ago, but now there's no one... is this a trap? No, they shouldn't know we're here...
A voice rang out. "Noel! Is that you?"
"Makoto!" She dashed over to Makoto, joining her side in an instant. "I-I've been leaving the bombs around like you said... um... do I have to..."
"I'll explode 'em, don't worry. Honestly, I was kinda hoping I'd get to do that..." She shook her head. "Well, I got what I need. However, I think they know we're here. So, um...run. We'll deal with the security barrier when we need to."
Without waiting for a response, Makoto grabbed Noel's wrist and snatched her bag away. Noel whined as she was pulled after her friend. After a few minutes, the entrance came into view and Makoto stopped, crouching. She opened the bag and grabbed the lone remaining explosive. "Just one left, huh? Nice work. Okay, if I'm right about this being a trap, I guess the soldiers are waiting just outside. So what do you say we make our greeting a little... explosive?"
"Ooh, random violence! I've gotta say, Private Nanaya, I absolutely love the way you think!" Makoto jumped and Noel squeaked as a figure in black appeared from thin air in the archway. Hazama chuckled as he advanced, drawing knives. "And Kusanagi! Er, um, Noel. Still as pathetic as ever! I've gotta say... having ol' Rags act as a diversion? Not a bad plan... for a couple of mere tools."
"Ragna, there's no way we can win this." Tsubaki surveyed the hundreds of soldiers stationed around them. Even if we could take out the soldiers, the Shebalves are out of our range entirely. What do we do…? "Stop with the bravado."
Ragna turned to glare at her. "So, we just surrender and head off to our execution? I'm going down fighting, thank you."
"Of course not." Noting that soldiers had relaxed for the moment, she gripped his shoulder. "We need to think, not just charge blindly at an entire legion."
"Okay. We run back into the branch and get destroyed by that damn phantom, or I use the Azure and possibly end the god damn world. Because I don't see any other way."
"Leave it to me. I'm not gonna like it, but… stay close. And just trust me." She walked towards the waiting soldiers, who braced themselves again. This is not going to be pleasant… To Ragna's shock, she lifted her hands into the air in surrender. The action caught the soldiers off-guard, stunning them for a moment. That was all she needed to summon her book to hover over her head and open. Their surroundings darkened into abyssal black, all light sucked into Izayoi.
"The hell-" Ragna's surprise was cut off by Tsubaki grabbing his wrist and dragging him through the chaos. Or at least, he hoped it was Tsubaki. What the hell is going on? I can't see a damn… thing… "You didn't."
"I did."
"But… your sight…"
"I'd rather be blind than dead. We're almost through; the soldiers have no idea what's going on."
"…You coulda at least warned me you were gonna use Izayoi."
"And lost the element of surprise? I'm taking us into an alley; we need to stay out of the Air Corps' sight."
A few moments later, the blanket of darkness vanished as Ragna's sight returned. He almost wished it hadn't. Tsubaki crouched beside him, clutching her face and wearing the deepest wince Ragna had ever seen. He dropped to his knees, pulling her into an embrace. "Hey! You alright?"
"…I can still see. It's a bit blurry, but…" Putting the pain streaking through her eyes out of her mind as much as she could, Tsubaki took to her feet with a slight tremble. "We… we need to get out of here. Now."
Ragna nodded. "Follow me; I'll cut down anyone in our path."
"…Alright." Her sight focusing a bit, she followed Ragna through meandering alleys. No soldiers accosted them, but the ships streaking above told her that yes, they were searching by now. "Heading anywhere in particular?"
"Tch. Yeah right. I ain't got a damn idea what this city's like. I'm just trying to get to the outer gates so we can get outta here."
"…You do realize that they'll be watching for us to do that, right? If they really have called in soldiers from other cities, they can easily block off all exits."
Panting, Ragna slowed to a halt between white-walled houses. "So, what do we do, then? You are not using Izayoi like that again."
After placing a hand on his shoulder, Tsubaki lowered herself into a crouch, bringing Ragna with her. As a pair of Shebalves roared overhead, she pulled out the orb-shaped map Kokonoe had given her. "We head to a port and see if we can't fly to Wadatsumi. Of course, public transportation is probably shut down, so we'd need to hijack a vessel of some sort."
Ragna stared at her. "…Who the hell are you and what have you done with Tsubaki? 'Cause there's no way in hell she'd go for that."
In spite of the situation, Tsubaki gave him a wry smirk. "Very funny. But it's like Tager said; this is essentially a war on the Library. As far as I'm concerned, anything that doesn't harm civilians is fair game."
"Damn. Didn't expect… be quiet." Hurried footsteps filled the silence and Ragna snarled. Well, shit. Better deal with this. Motioning for Tsubaki to stay where she was, he crept towards the turn in the alley, listening for the perfect time… As soon as the unfortunate soldier turned the corner, Blood-Scythe decapitated him. As Tsubaki stifled a shriek, four green-clad officers came around. Hovering. Ragna growled as he rose off the ground; all flying does for you bastards is make it easier for me to get you with Inferno Divider. His sword gashed one of the Air Corps soldiers; a flipping kick sent another to the ground. In the corner of his eye, he saw one of the survivors aim a crossbow at Tsubaki. A bolt launched a moment before Ragna could down him with a darkness-coated slash. Time seemed to stand still for Ragna as he tossed a worried glance over at Tsubaki. Her shield blocked the arrow, smoke rising from where the bolt lay on the ground. The final soldier hovered back the way he came, no doubt not wanting to become a red smear on the pavement. After finished the writhing soldier he'd kicked with a stab to the chest, Ragna raced over to Tsubaki. "We gotta go. Now. No doubt that shithead contacted whoever's in charge of the Shebalves. They'll be on our asses in a minute."
As she followed Ragna ever closer to the outer sectors of Kazamotsu, Tsubaki shook her head. "We're in a residential district. They're not about to fire on us."
"You willing to bet your life on that?"
"…No."
"Kay then." No sooner had he said that than one of the shiny green ships appeared over the alleys. It raced towards them like a mechanical hawk in hunt, and something streaked from its underside. With a shriek, Tsubaki hurled her shield forward as Ragna grabbed her around the waist and flung himself to the side. As they skittered along the rough street, an explosion deafened them. Smoke and dust billowed where the missile had exploded against the book and houses on either side of them collapsed into rubble. Ragna just managed to drag Tsubaki away before she could be crushed by debris. Panting as the Shebalve flew off, he lay in the street. Blood trickled from his forehead, brought forth by concrete shrapnel. "You alright, Tsu?"
No answer came, and he felt his heart clench as he sat up. Tsubaki sat catatonic, jacket scorched by the blaze and a great wound on the side of her face. Tears mingled with blood as she shook her head. "They… they actually…"
Ragna's arms came to rest around her waist, but she paid them no mind as she threw a punch at the ground. "That damn bastard! I swear, if I ever meet whoever did that-"
"You'll kill 'em, I got it." Ragna forced her up. "But we gotta get going; they ain't gonna stop their manhunt until they know we're either outta the city or dead."
Shaking with rage, she nodded. She ground her teeth as she wiped away blood with a handkerchief. They're willing to cause collateral damage and civilian deaths to get us. And to think I once thought of these people as protectors… it makes me sick to know I once served them. "We need to find a place to rest. I want to plan a route to the nearest port."
"We ain't got the time for that." Ragna glared up at the ships stalking the sky. "We gotta keep moving. Come on."
Litchi frowned at the blond man seated across from her as, for the nth time since they had departed for Yabiko, quiet giggles of insanity slipped from his lips. The Hero of Ikaruga, Jin Kisaragi, was totally insane as far as she was concerned. She hated that the Imperator and Hazama had decided she would work alongside this man. Although, truth be told, she hated following their orders in the first place. But, if it helped pave the way for Arakune's salvation, she would listen and obey without question. "So, Major Kisaragi. May I ask what's so funny?"
The sneer that answered her froze any further questions. "None of your business."
"…Very well, then." She shook her head. There is just no talking to this man; if he isn't murderous, he's contemptuous. Unfortunately, it's still another hour before we arrive in Yabiko. "Is there any chance that Captain Hazama told you the reason we're to shut down all communications in Yabiko?"
He scowled, but saw no reason not to answer. "We are to silence transmissions in an effort to root out suspected Sector Seven splinter cells. That is your task. Once that is complete, I am supposed to locate an actual cell and kill everyone except for the leader, whom I capture. Did Captain Hazama not tell you this?"
"…No. He didn't." Pursing her lips, Litchi rubbed her chin in thought. This… something's wrong about this… "Major Kisaragi. May I ask your thoughts on this mission?"
"Why do you care?"
"I… don't trust anything that Hazama says. Honestly, I find it much more likely that they're isolating Yabiko in order to-"
"You believe this to be an act of war?" The grin that crept onto Jin's face left Litchi nauseous. "If it is, so be it. I'll just have to kill anyone who gets in my way. And if my brother shows up-"
"Of course. I should have known Ragna had something to do with how you've been acting. Sorry for thinking you could be reasonable." She turned her body away from him, deciding it wasn't worth talking to him. Unfortunately, once silence falls on Yabiko in two days, it'll be all him. What can I do…?
I hope my loyalty truly will help you in some way, Lotte…
"Tools, huh?" Makoto narrowed her eyes at Hazama as she juggled the bomb in one hand. Next to her, Noel didn't know if she should be more terrified by her former captain or the fact her friend was so casual with a high-grade explosive. "And what do you mean by that, Captain?"
"I thought that should be obvious." Hazama lowered the brim of his hat, hiding his feral eyes. "What else do you call garbage lives created to serve humanity? I, for one, can't see them as actual people. I hope you don't disagree, Private."
"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly disagree with my captain. But…" Makoto cocked her head in mock thought. "By your own definition, wouldn't that make you not a person? I mean, Colonel Relius did create your body, right, Terumi?"
"What are you talking about?" As much as he'd love to take amusement in Noel's utter confusion, Makoto's words stunned Hazama. How the hell can she know about…? "I think your information gathering may be… less than adequate, Private Nanaya. Hm, that's a bit of a problem for an Intelligence officer, isn't it?"
"Oh, it would be, but I don't think my information is wrong. In fact, considering some of the stuff I've dug up…" Makoto allowed herself a smirk. "What should I call you, anyways? Captain? Hazama? Terumi? Or, maybe… Kazuma?"
"…You know way too god damn much for your own good, you subhuman bitch." All amusement verbally tormenting his prey brought to Hazama had been erased. "I think any usefulness you may have had, meager though it was, has just vanished. Why don't we see if beastkins actually have souls? My money's on no, they do-"
"O-optic Barrel!" A long pistol appeared in Noel's hand and, in her panic, she did the first thing that came to mind. An explosion erupted in Hazama's face, blowing him back. Panting, Noel lowered her weapon as the second half of Bolverk materialized. "I… I…"
"What the hell? When did you get your little toys back?" Snarling, Hazama sat up. "Did the stupid vampire actually manage to salvage Bolverk? Gotta say, even she can impress me every once in a while. Unfortunately, you're just a pawn who's outlived her usefulness. Thank you for your services, now die."
He launched a chain at Noel's face; she felt her consciousness slip as Bolverk took over. She raised a gun to block Ouroboros and flipped towards him, explosions ripping out of her weapons. She moved as though she was dancing, a fluid series of melee strikes as guided by Bolverk. As she finished by pressing a gun against his Hazama's chest and pulling the trigger for another explosion, Makoto launched a sphere of energy. After sidestepping the shot, Hazama flipped around, kicking Noel into the air. Makoto ducked down and spun forward to sweep out his legs with her tail. However, her loose Intelligence uniform got tangled by the revolutions and she fell on her face. "Gah! Stupid coat thingy…"
Chuckling, Hazama clapped. "Bravo! Got any other tricks, or should we just move on to the grand fina—whoa there!"
Noel slid forward and blasted Hazama's legs, dropping him to the ground. She rose and delivered a series of shots before he could find his footing again. Once the barrage ended, a chain extended from Hazama's knife to pull him to the ceiling. Shaking her head, Makoto threw off her coat and slipped her bomb into her top. "Yeah, you could say I've still got a few tricks on hand."
Hazama smirked at her general lack of clothing as he dropped to the floor. "A license to strip? Nice show, but I don't have a tip for you. Sorry."
"Sh-shut up!" Noel launched another ranged blast in Hazama's face and raced after him. He jumped her low swipe of Bolverk, delivering a kick to her head as he did so. To his surprise, she launched into a flipping kick of her own that tossed him into the air. "Don't talk about Makoto like that!"
Before Hazama could take a jab at her for defending her friend, Makoto delivered an uppercut to his jaw before sending him to the floor with another punch. Shattered tiles flew as a crater formed from the impact. Rubbing his head, Hazama jumped to his feet just as Noel entered another flurry of Bolverk-led attacks. Smirking, he bobbed and weaved around her assault before grabbing the front of her uniform. "Question. How do you consider yourself a woman without having anything resembling a proper rack?"
"EH?" Battle spirit stunned for a moment, Noel froze up. Hazama smirked as he lunged to rip out her throat…
"Don't think so, sicko!" Makoto dropped from above, separating Hazama from his prey. "Somehow, I don't think you really have time to comment on her boobs."
"Pretty sure those are closer to, ah, indentations."
"…Shut up and die."
Makoto threw a straight punch at his face. Even though he blocked the blow with his knife and sliced open her hand, he still slid back a foot. From behind Makoto, Noel charged forward and whipped with a pistol, catching Hazama off-guard. Bolverk twisted into a mini-gun larger than herself and she thrust it against Hazama's abdomen. "It…"
Bullets ripped from the mammoth weapon, blowing Hazama up against a wall and drilling him into it. Bolverk shifted into a missile launcher. Hazama was only able to stare as Noel released the rocket. "IT DOESN'T MATTER!"
As an explosion enveloped the madman, Makoto rolled her eyes. "Are you still on about what he said?"
Sniffling, Noel hung her head as her guns turned back to normal. "…it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter…"
"It does matter and you suck because of your bust size." Noel didn't have time to gasp as Hazama hurled Ouroboros down at her, catching her shoulder. "Now die, you insipid little bitch!"
The chain pulled him down towards her as he prepared a knife. Makoto would have none of it; she threw an uppercut out of her crouch to send him up against the ceiling. Before he had even begun to fall, she jumped into the air. "This is for being a perverted, evil jackass! Big Bang Smash!"
A nebulous turquoise fist, roughly the size of a truck, accompanied her punch and slammed Hazama against the wall. Choking, he glanced up at the charging beastkin. "And this is for being mere imitations of life."
He spun around and kicked, angling it so that instead of tossing Makoto against the ceiling, she flew right into Noel. Both careened back, a trail of broken tiles marking their path. While Noel lay panting, Makoto got right up. Um. Ow. Kay, not winning this. "Imitation of life, huh?"
"…Yeah, that sounds about right."
"So because my kind exists because of humans screwing around, that makes me an imitation in your book." As Noel, woozy, stumbled to her feet, Makoto chuckled. "Fine with me. It's not like I can really take a ghost seriously when it comes to this kinda stuff."
"Hm… I suppose you might have a point." Hazama cackled. "Oh, why am I even bothering discussing this shit with you? You're both gonna see what it's like to be a ghost in a minute, anyways! Then none of us will have the right to judge what a stupid concept life is!"
"…Yeah, you may be right." Pulling out her bomb, Makoto juggled it again. "Do you have any idea what this is? I'll give you a hint; if I press a button, all three of us will be kinda dead. Oh, and there's two dozen of them spread around this place. Wanna go on?"
Hazama snarled as he took a step back. "You stupid…! You'd die; I'd just have to get a new body! What the hell would you accomplish?"
With a snicker, Makoto pressed a button on the device's end. "Just as I thought. You're terrified. Destroying Kazuma would be a serious hindrance to you, wouldn't it?"
For the first time in recent history, Terumi found himself truly terrified. This little bitch…she couldn't even begin to stand against me in a fight, yet she's managed to force a goddamn stalemate with her bomb? Shit… I'm gonna kill her! "You underhanded bitch… you wouldn't."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure I would. I wish Noel wasn't here, but…"
Though shocked by Makoto's actions and feeling as though she had a migraine, Noel stepped beside her friend. "Leave now, Terumi."
"Yes, because I'm gonna listen to something I helped create. How 'bout you put the bomb away and we can settle this like rational-"
Makoto darted forward and hurled the bomb, tossing it like a discus. In his shock, Hazama lost track of the tiny object as it clattered somewhere near the entrance. Blowing up the security barrier? Shit, I gotta… "Well, um, bye."
As Hazama vanished into darkness, Makoto grabbed Noel's wrist and dragged her deeper into the building. Noel tried to tug her arm free to no avail. "Makoto! What are you doing?"
"I set that bomb to go off in thirty seconds. We gotta get away!"
"Wha?" In light of such knowledge, she stopped trying to resist. Seconds later, a sound akin to a meteor crashing to the earth shook the building and smoke filled the hallway they were in. In spite of the choking fog, Makoto said, "Noel… you can use… that machine gun thingy…again, right?"
"Y-yes. Why?"
Instead of answering, Makoto kneeled down. "Climb onto my… shoulders. We're gonna bust… through whatever trap they've got set outside."
Paling, Noel complied. As soon as Noel was positioned, Makoto took hold of her calves and stood up. "Ready?"
Noel nodded, preparing Bolverk for the transformation. "Y-yeah."
"Good. Don't fire until you actually see someone, 'kay?"
By all logic, there was no way Makoto should have been able to run as fast as she did. Between the girl with the giant gun serving as a shoulder-mounted cannon and the smoke choking them, she should have been slowed to a virtual crawl. Instead, she burned past the rubble, her keen eyes making out the exit, still intact enough for her to slip through. Once Makoto had jumped the broken concrete in her way, Noel prepared to fire on the armies of the NOL. She froze when she realized that many of the soldiers were already treating those wounded by the blast and thus were no threat. By the time they had soldiers on their tail, Makoto had pulled a detonator from somewhere. "And… click."
The Wadatsumi Librarium headquarters erupted into flames.
Tsubaki shrieked as a missile exploded mere meters away, destroying what looked like an apartment complex. Shielding herself from the debris with an arm, she pulled Ragna to the side. "They're just blasting random areas now. They don't… I'm gonna… never mind."
"Whatever it is, I'm with you." He eyed a nearby building, adorned with the green crest of the Air Corps. "There's the port. We gotta get there… somehow… you know, without the two dozen Shebalves swarming around blowing it to hell."
"…You know, just from watching them, I think only a few Shebalves are actually doing the bombings. Considering that most soldiers of the Library really do have good intentions…"
"Doesn't mean you can trust them. Let's move." Taking her wrist, he took off past the destroyed buildings, making sure to stay out of the ground force's sight. She whined as she stumbled behind him, but decided she may as well go with it. Another rocket exploded a good distance away, and the culprit towards the port. Ragna smirked. "Guess he's gotta refuel. What do you say we exact some revenge on the trigger-happy son of a bitch?"
Tsubaki's eyes glowed like azure wildfires as she nodded. "Gladly."
"Awesome. You can do the honors, if you want." They barreled towards the port, but came to a stop well before it. Several dozen soldiers patrolled the entrance, leaving Ragna to clench a fist. "God damn it. Shoulda known it wouldn't be that easy. Got any ideas?"
Tsubaki nodded, stepping forward as her book hovered over her head. "Yes, I-"
"No, you are not pulling that shit again!" The ferocity of his words shocked her, and she turned a fearful gaze his way. He caressed her cheek to calm her. "There's gotta be another way besides you risking your damn life. I can't lose you."
She held her gaze for a moment longer before nodding, lowering her head as she sunk against him. The ache in her eyes ended any further thoughts of using Izayoi. "Fine. Have any better ideas?"
"…Not really." He sighed. "Shit, this is bad… the moment they see us, we'll have an entire squadron of Shebalves on our asses. We can't just barge through…"
Tsubaki turned back to examine the port. The only soldiers were stationed at its entrance. "Is there any way we could enter from the side?"
"That would involve dashing across a wide-open space where we'd be spotted in a second; we need to stay near cover. But if we could get to the side with them seeing us? Maybe."
"Use your concealment Ars."
"Huh?"
"Like you did when we were traveling. If we get close, they'll probably notice us, but for just running out in the open…"
Ragna blinked before gripping her in a rough hug and chuckling. "You're a freaking genius, and I'm a damned idiot."
She returned his smirk. "Funny how we overlook the most obvious solutions. And no, I wouldn't say you're an idiot."
"…You sure?"
"You just don't use this…" She gave him a playful rap on the head. "Often enough."
"Don't need to; not with you around, at least." Taking her hand in his left one, Ragna raised his right fist, muttering. The Azure Grimoire gave off its glow and a crimson seal appeared in the air. Without any hesitation, he bolted through it, pulling Tsubaki with him. Though surprised, she caught her wits and matched his pace. Guess he didn't want anyone seeing the glow of his Ars. They raced across the empty expanse of pavement to the side of the green dome. Ahead of them, a two-man patrol disappeared around the corner. Dispelling his Ars, Ragna peered at a door… and proceeded to smash it down with Blood-Scythe. Before Tsubaki could hope to object, he dragged her inside. "Okay, we're in."
"And anyone can follow us." She shook her head. Would you please think things through every once in a while? "But, yes. I suppose we are. Come on, that pilot is probably nearly ready to take off again."
Unlike Ragna, Tsubaki did not feel a need to grab her partner before scurrying off through angular white corridors. It did not take long for them to reach an expansive hangar. A lone Shebalve awaited them. Crouching to avoid being seen, Tsubaki fought down the temptation to jump over the steel rail and ambush the pilot. Three other Air Corps officers paced around; it took one to blow their escape to hell. Ragna observed them, smirking. "These guys are way too close together. We're gonna jump down, take out two of them with one stroke, then you're gonna kill the pilot while I deal with the last bastard. Sound good?"
"Perfect." She peered over the rail. It looked to be a twenty foot drop onto hard pavement. Of course, with Izayoi… "On three?"
"Too long, we're going now."
Ragna flung himself over the wall, diving down at his soldier of choice. A moment later, Tsubaki followed. As she fell, watching Ragna impale his target, her book opened and a ball of light floated down, slowing her descent and stunning the soldier. Upon landing, she delivered a stab straight through his chest and dashed towards the Shebalve. Her eyes widened as a crossbow bolt flew at her, the pilot reacting faster than she had expected. Her shield failed to intercept it, and it plunged into her left shoulder, digging down to the bone. Its fiery aura served to increase the resultant agony as it blackened and cracked the skin around her shoulder. Behind her, Ragna roared; whether it was him delivering a death blow or a reaction to her wound, she couldn't tell. A few inches to the side, and I'd be dead. Snarling, she drew upon light for a moment… "Aequum!"
She darted, too fast for the pilot to track, and found herself right before the Shebalve's open cockpit. Wincing in pain as blood streamed down her arm, she launched almost straight up and knocked the pilot's weapon away. After landing at the edge of the cockpit, she grabbed him and threw him against the ship's control panel. "You monster… killing civilians in an attempt to take our lives…are you not supposed to be a defender of the people?"
"I…" The man pressed himself away from her; the fire in her eyes told him he had no hope. "I was following the local general's orders. Destroy the Grim Reaper at any cost."
"At any cost being... never mind. Even if you were ordered to fire on the city, it does not absolve you of your crimes." Tsubaki pressed her sword against his neck. "I have judged your sins and found them punishable by death. I pray you are ready for justice to be rendered."
Her blade passed through his throat and he crumpled. With a grunt, she grabbed and tossed him out of the Shebalve. Her vengeance delivered, she stared at the metal floor, panting. Hatred burned inside her, incinerating the last vestiges of hope for the Library that remained. They prioritize manhunts over the safety of the public. This isn't just Terumi and the Imperator anymore; it's the upper echelons of the military, too. To think I once considered them...
She dropped to her knees, tears welling up. Tears and revulsion at what the Library had become. Or, maybe, what she had been too blind to see. No, that's not it... they never did anything like this before...
A pair of hands wrapped around her waist and she looked back. Ragna crouched down to embrace her from behind, wide worried eyes studying the scope of her wounds. A crossbow bolt in her shoulder, cuts lining her face, scorch marks all over... it was all he could do to choke back tears. "Are... you alright, Tsu?"
"...I'll be fine." She wanted to turn around and bury her face against his chest, to let him hold her until her grief and rage passed. But no; they were far from safety. Should just one officer enter the hangar, all could be lost. "We need to go."
Ragna nodded and stood as much as he could; his head bumped against the too-short roof. After lounging back in the lone seat, he pulled Tsubaki onto his lap. "Right. Um... do you even know how to fly one of these?"
"I don't. But as a former Wing of Justice, I'm supposed to know how to start up any Ars Magus vessel, in case of emergencies. From there, I can just put it on autopilot until we reach Wadatsumi. Landing… might be an issue."
"...Kay. Should I-"
Before he could even ask, she leaned forward and flipped several switches. Power surged through the ship. "I've got it."
"...You sure? You ask me, you should be sleeping right now. Or at least taking care of that arrow. Want me to pull it out?"
Now pressing buttons and eying a screen before her, Tsubaki shook her head. "I'll have Kokonoe deal with it. You might break it if you try, and we can't risk going to a hospital."
The Shebalve gave a lurch as it rose off the ground. A second later, Tsubaki gasped in pain as a surge shot through her eyes. On instinct, Ragna's arms pulled her close and he rested his chin on her good shoulder. "Okay. Tsu, you gotta rest. It's killing me to see you like this."
The wave of agony passed and she leaned back against him, her head hung. "A-alright. I... think I'll try to sleep. Wake me up when Wadatsumi comes into view. Or if someone tails us."
"Of course." His hands enclosed one of hers. "Anything you need me to do for you?"
"Just... hold me."
"Why wouldn't I?" He did as she bade, watching her drift off to sleep. I swear, I ain't gonna let this crap happen to her again. And... she needs a new weapon. That damned Izayoi's gonna kill her.
He looked out the clear glass at the green mountainside below. Well... at least we're safe for now.
"And what, pray tell, is this?"
Kokonoe sighed as she glared at Rachel. The vampire observed an unconscious man lying on a medical bed, everything except his scarred and burned face covered by a white sheet. Of course, she reacts to Voivod with boredom. Does anything besides Ragna interest her? "That's just my latest little pet project. Just seeing how many weapons I can load up in a halfway-normal human. Turns out, it ain't that much."
Behind her, Tager groaned. "That's awfully inhumane of you, Kokonoe."
She shrugged. "Eh. Stop bitching about already, rusty. I told you I needed a sandbox, especially since you won't let me experiment on you anymore."
"For obvious reasons."
Rachel continued to stare down at Kokonoe's 'project'. "I would hardly call this 'human' anymore, if one were to judge by its face. Shall I assume his entire body is marred by such burns?"
Kokonoe nodded, sticking a lollipop into her mouth. "Yeah, me and Tager found him after he wrecked whatever he was flying. Burns all over his body and shit; I figure if I didn't do this, he'd have died. Skeleton's pretty much totally bionic now, though. So... maybe not too human anymore"
"Boring." Makoto, lounging on a couch, forced a loud yawn to draw attention to her. "Can we stop talking about the half-dead guy already? I kinda got some important information for the mad scientist."
Kokonoe scowled but shrugged. "Meh. Hate to say it, but we can't actually discuss much until Ragna gets here. So says the vampire."
"Hmph." Taking a seat on Nago's chair-shaped form, Rachel crossed her arms. "You are certain you do not have tea here?"
"How many times do I gotta tell you? That stuff tastes like piss. Summon Valkenhayn if you want some."
"…Loathe though I am to admit it, that would be a misuse of his abilities. I suppose I shall have to suffer due to your neglect, professor."
"You're blaming me." Kokonoe chuckled. "You decide to drop in unannounced, and you blame me for not being able to accommodate you. You are such a-"
Makoto's ears perked up. "They're here."
And sure enough, a couple of seconds later, the door opened to reveal Noel, Tsubaki and Ragna. The latter glanced around the laboratory, unimpressed. "Nice shithole, professor."
"Go to hell."
Before Ragna could make a retort, Makoto was right up in his face. "Hey! Why didn't you mention that you need to take an elevator to get to a Cauldron? That was kinda important, you know."
He blinked. "Well, nobody asked me."
Next to him, Tsubaki groaned. "Ragna…"
"What? Okay, fine, I didn't think of it. That better?" He glowered at Rachel. "And what the hell is the bunny-leech doing here?"
"I am most pleased to see you too, Ragna. It is delightful knowing your manners are as charming as ever."
"Go screw yourself, rabbit."
"I shall do nothing of the sort. And before you ask, no, your neglect did not fully ruin the haphazard attempt at destroying the Wadatsumi branch. Although the Cauldron proved inaccessible to the pathetic child behind you, she and the beastkin did succeed in destroying much of the branch. I dare say Kokonoe's lab is relatively safe from the NOL at the moment."
As Makoto grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to the couch, eying her myriad of wounds with concern, Tsubaki smiled. "Well… that's good, I suppose. At least you achieved one objective."
"The more important one in my books, too." Kokonoe removed the sucker from her mouth and pointed it at Ragna. "You. Report. How'd your mission go?"
"First off, I ain't part of Sector Seven, so I technically don't have to listen to your orders." He glanced over at where Tsubaki sat with Makoto. Go figure. Couch only seats two. God damn you, squirrel. Nevertheless, he sat on the floor beside Tsubaki. "Second, fucking terrible."
Kokonoe's candy dropped from her hand. "Explain, because last time I checked, you were supposed to be the expert at blowing up these things, Grim Reaper."
Tsubaki said, "They knew we were coming and had Nine… I mean, Phantom waiting for us."
After a moment of absolute silence, Rachel yawned. "Somewhat problematic, I'd imagine."
Ragna snorted. "That thing kicked your ass, rabbit. We had to flee, and Tsu didn't exactly get outta there in good shape. Mostly because we spent the next three hours running from Shebalves."
Resisting an urge to kick something, Kokonoe said, "Well, technically, all you were supposed to do was draw away forces here so Noel and Makoto could do their thing, so…"
"What the hell is that thing?" Ragna stared over at Kokonoe's 'pet project'. "Looks dead."
"Voivod. Pet project. Stuffing weapons into him. I've explained this shit three times already, I'm not doing it again. You want details, ask Makoto."
"Enough distractions." Rachel rose, forcing Gii to fly out of her way. "Makoto. Please inform us of what you have learned."
"Right." Rather than standing up for her presentation, Makoto's slouch seemed to deepen. "Okay, basically, some top leader people of the Library are meeting in Yabiko in two days. Duodecim heads, generals, things like that."
After a moment of silence, Kokonoe asked, "Is that it?"
"In a nutshell? Yeah, pretty much."
"…Wonderful. So not only do no Cauldrons get destroyed, but the oh-so-important information is crap."
Tsubaki pursed her lips. She hated what she was about to say, but… "Actually, I imagine that if we ambushed such a council, we could strike quite a blow to the Library. By taking out military leaders and… and the heads of the Duodecim, we could theoretically cripple the Library with one stroke."
"Ts-Tsubaki?" Noel's quavering voice reminded all that she was indeed present, even if she stood in a corner away from everyone else. "You, um, do realize that your father would probably be there, right?"
With a sigh, she closed her eyes. "Yes, of course I do. However, familial relations must take a backseat to what needs to be done."
"I disagree that this is something that needs to be done," Tager said. "This strikes me as a trap. It makes no sense for such a meeting to occur outside of Ookoto; in fact, I don't believe the Duodecim has ever met outside of the NOL headquarters. This is too great a risk should Terumi be there."
Ragna scoffed, leaning his head against Tsubaki's thigh. "Yeah, because they totally knew Makoto was gonna steal that exact bit of information, right? They think their little conference is secret. I say we blow them to hell."
"It would not come as a surprise to me if Terumi planned for this." Rachel looked to be deep in thought. Even worried. "Terumi is capable of weaving a web so fine, not I even would notice it until I was snared. The calamity with Kusanagi is ample proof of that. Yes, I believe this may be a trap, one way or another."
Kokonoe smirked. "Sorry, lovebirds, but this strike at the Library? Ain't gonna happen. Don't get me wrong; I'd love nothing more than to see the Library burn down tomorrow. But we can't just risk everything like that."
Noel nodded. "Um… it really doesn't sound like the best plan. Sorry, Tsubaki."
Kokonoe grinned. "Okay, there we go. The majority has-"
"My apologies. Did I say I was against such an action?" Rachel's eyes snapped open. "Just because something is a trap does not mean avoiding it is the wisest option."
It took several moments for Kokonoe to find her voice. "You're kidding. You, of all people, wanna spring a possible trap set by Terumi? Who the hell are you and what have you done with Rachel?"
"How humorous. But I assure you, I am not joking in the slightest. Terumi is a master at manipulating events to earn a victory no matter what attempts are made to stop him. However, we cannot allow ourselves to become too paralyzed by fear to act. Should we avoid everything that may be a trap, Terumi shall almost certainly emerge victorious. I believe the potential rewards of such a strike are worth the risks. However, does it really matter what my decision is? Are we choosing our course of action in a truly democratic manner, or…" Rachel glanced over at the professor. "Shall our benevolent dictator make the decision for us?"
"I sure as hell don't like it, but…" Kokonoe rolled her eyes. "You have just as much say in these plans as I do. If you're for it, guess that leaves Makoto to decide. God help us all."
The grin on Makoto's face, straight from a psychopath, told them all what her decision was. So glad they believed me. "Hell yeah, we're gonna destroy those guys!"
"Well, it's settled then." Kokonoe glared at all who had opposed her in turn. "We spring the trap and hope we don't get screwed by Terumi. Rest and heal tomorrow; we leave the morning after. Rachel, bring some reinforcements."
The vampire nodded. "Of course. At the very least, Valkenhayn shall join us. And if we are fortunate, I may be able to recruit the aid of Mr. Hero and Jubei. Good day."
With that, she summoned a portal and stepped through, vanishing. Kokonoe nodded once at Tager. "Okay, clear out. You lot aren't staying near delicate experiments; especially not Makoto and Ragna. Tager, take 'em to the guest… place… thingy. Tsubaki, you're coming with me. Those wounds need to be treated right now."
Ragna nodded. "Good. You got a kitchen up there?"
"Why the hell wouldn't I? What, you hungry or something?"
"Geez, I dunno, haven't eaten since this morning." He stepped over and grabbed Noel's wrist. "Alright, dumbass, it's time."
Noel shriveled away from him, trembling. "T-time f-for what, R-Ragna?"
"Time for you to learn how to cook without producing a bomb."
A/N: I'm just going to mention that pretty much everything in this chapter related to the Air Corps/Shebalves are total shots in the dark.
For those wondering just how long this is going to be, these first four chapters aren't even 1/10th of the story.
