A/N: Chapter 7 of Crimson Wing. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 7: Monster Crow
Air base...
"Whoa..." Ibara gasped as she spotted an old aircraft parked in the lawn, abandoned and had vines growing all around it and on it. She and Kaige left to scout out the area in search for Granny Ayame while the rest of us stayed behind. "They're not quite like I remember from school..."
"It doesn't look like anyone is here." Kaige said as she tip-toed out into the open.
"Sorry to intrude." Ibara spoke before following after her. At some point, she shed off her jacket and tied it around her waist so that it wouldn't hinder her movement.
"You old hag!" A mysterious man snapped through his helmet, "Come quietly!" He wrestled another person to the hanger of the bomb fighter jet with much resistance. "Get on board!"
"No! I won't! Somebody, save me!" The old lady screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm being kidnapped!"
"You hear that?" Kaige asked and Ibara nodded. The two of them hurried to where the screaming was coming from; they spotted a dark aircraft parked at the base and a couple of people interacting with each other.
"You've seen us, so there's no other way!" The shouting seemed to intensify as they crept closer to the wired fence. "You have to come with us!"
"No! Somebody!" The hostage cried.
"Is it Granny Ayame?!" Ibara said as they watched.
"It would seem so." Kaige replied with a nod. "What's the plan Chief?"
"Hmm...since there's no other choice. Frontal Assault!" Ibara ordered and charged at the jet with her gun drawn, Kaige not too far behind.
"Hurry up, you idiot!" Another voice spoke from within the jet which indicated another person. "If you keep messing around, we'll run out of daylight!"
"In that case, shut up and give me a hand!" The guard yelled as he tried to pull a struggling hostage in.
"Don't move!" Both guards looked in surprise as Ibara ordered, holding her gun up. "Drop your weapons and raise your hands!"
"If you don't comply to her instructions, you will be in for a lot of pain." Kaige added.
"What are they?! They aren't wearing protective clothing!" The person with the number 2 on the helmet yelled at his companion.
"They're monsters!" The other one, a man with the number 1 on the helmet, yelled as he pulled out a gun from one of the compartments and aimed at them. "Fire!"
"Who the hell are you calling a monster, moron!?" Ibara snapped as she dodged the bullets and returned fire with only one hand.
"Shit!" The second one yelped as he and the first one took cover from the returned fire. "I wasn't told there would be such shady people here!"
"That's my line!" Ibara countered as she hid behind the jet's wheel, shoving a new magazine of bullets into her gun.
"Shit...Hello, is this the boss?!" The first men asked as he spoke through a radio. "Yeah, I understand! We've taken care of the goods, we're about ready to head back now."
"The goods?!" Ibara wondered.
"Of course!" The man continued speaking. "We weren't seen by anyone!" There was a pause. "Roger! We're cutting out of here soon!"
"Whoops!" Ibara grunted as she somersaulted out of the way as bullets rained down on her.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" The men turned their heads quickly to see the other girl standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, a pissed off expression on her face. "Oh my! How rude of you, you did forget about me didn't you?! Paying a lot more attention to the Chief than me...I'll make you pay." She held out her right hand and conquered a fire ball.
"Holy shit! She spontaneously combusted!" The second soldier yelped as Kaige strode towards him, her body oozing out hot magma which started to burn holes in the ground, fireball still in hand. "She's...She's not human!"
"Enough of this nonsense!" The first soldier quickly aimed his gun at the survivor. "We can't let the old hag live. Die!"
"Eeek!" Granny Ayame squealed when she saw the barrel pointing at her head. "Save me!"
"Taste my fire, scumbag!" Kaige snapped as she threw the fireball at him and he slunk away as the ball exploded in his face, withdrawing the gun before the heat could melt the metal.
"Kaige! Forget about them!" Ibara yelled as she fired her gun, the sound of the jet's engine reached her ears. Abandoning his post, one of the soldiers quickly reached over to get the aircraft running. "Get Granny Ayame out of there!"
"But then I'll miss the fun!"
"Do it now!"
"Okay okay." Turning on her heels, she reached Granny Ayame and hoisted her over her back. "Wrap your arms around me and hang on tight! Hurry!"
"O-Okay!" The old lady said and did as she was told.
"We've wasted enough time here!" The first soldier snapped as he quickly jumped into his seat of the aircraft, the second soldier already buckling up. "Hurry up and launch!"
"Like I'd let you!" Ibara snapped as she darted out from her place by the wheel, firing more bullets.
"Chief! Don't waste your energy!" Kaige roared over the sound of the engine, stopping to look back.
"Shit! The hatch!" Ibara cursed as the opening closed up and the jet started to rise off the ground. "Oh no! Hit the deck!"
"Watch out!" Kaige roared as she placed Ayame on the ground and shielded her with her own body as the heat from the engine was enough to knock them off their feet and the smoke covered the area.
"Dang it!" Ibara growled as she watched the jet soar off into the sky. "They got away..."
"Ibara-senpai!" She turned as soon as her name was called. The screeching of tires caught their attention and Taeko was yelling from the front seat. "We got this '73 jeep moving!"
"Quick, get in!" Aoi added.
"Kaige!" I yelled.
"Ooh! Way to go, Taeko!" Ibara exclaimed.
"Granny Ayame!" The doctor and Kamata yelled simultaneously as I jumped out and tackled Kaige into a hug, nuzzling my face against her chest. "Are you okay!?"
"You bastard!" Ayame shrieked at Shiba. "You're late, delivery man! What the hell have you been doing?!"
"I apologize, it's all my fault." The doctor quickly replied.
"If I could get by on apologies, I wouldn't need Fuchu prison!" Ayame scoffed.
"Well, at least this is settled." Kamata said. "All we've got left to do is wait for the rescue helicopter, Doctor!"
"Kamata-kun...take care of Granny Ayame." Shiba told him before turning to face us. "It's time for us to lend a hand. So...let's go catch that runaway crow."
"They were going to kill a good-nature, delicate old lady like me!" Ayame crowed with anger. "That's definitely proof that they're up to no good!"
"But who on earth would be using such expensive aircraft...?" Taeko asked.
"Or rather, where are they from?" Aoi followed suit.
"We'll just have to ask them ourselves..." Shiba nodded his head in agreement as he hopped into the driver's seat. "...what business they have with this City of Death..."
"But, our opponents are in the air...though Kaziah could also give one of us a lift..." Ibara stated as she looked at the sky. "If we don't have a powerful gun..."
"Ibara-sempai! If this is okay, we brought it from the warehouse..." Aoi spoke up as she held up a heavy looking weapon...actually it looked more like a launcher.
"Oooh! Surface-to-air self-guided missiles!" Ibara's eyes gleamed with happiness. "Perfect! Well done Aoi!"
"Are you ready?" Shiba asked as he kicked the jeep into gear.
"Let's go!" Ibara yelled as she shouldered the giant weapon, Kaige and I quickly jumped into the back seat just as the jeep was pulling out of the parking lot, leaving Kamata and Granny Ayame behind. "Coppelion, mobilize! Let's chase down the monster crow!"
In the city...
"They're headed directly south!" Taeko announced as she followed the aircraft with her heightened eyesight. We were right on the monster crow's tail as it flew over the city. "They're going to go over the Tama River!"
"The guidance system's busted up!" Ibara said after she gave the weapon a once over, checking every little nook and cranny. "Get as close as you can!"
"Do you know how to use that!?" Shiba asked her.
"Yeah I learned all about it in gym class." She replied, holding it over her shoulder with confidence.
"Let's go catch 'em!" Shiba floored the gas petal and the jeep gave a quick jerk before increasing its speed, zooming after the giant aircraft.
"Senpai!" Aoi said quickly, pointing towards the sky. "It did a u-turn!"
"Oh no! Get down!" Ibara yelled and Shiba jerked the steering wheel hard left, causing the jeep to swerve sharply as an explosion occurred behind the car. "Shit! They're circling to shoot us from behind!"
"Eeeek! I hate this! Stop it!" Aoi shrieked as Shiba swerved left and right to avoid the rain of bullets.
"Seems they have the favorable positions..." Shiba growled as he glanced behind at the aircraft. "What should we do!?"
"Turn somewhere!" Ibara shouted. "I bet they'll come after us!"
"Alright...then I'll turn left!" Shiba jerked the steering wheel hard, causing the tires to screech in protest. I felt Kaige's arm around me as she gripped the back of Shiba's seat with the other so that we wouldn't fall out.
"Aah! It's true...they're following right after us!" Aoid said as she spotted the craft closing in.
"What's going on!?" Taeko exclaimed as she also looked behind her seat. "Why are they trying so hard to chase us?"
"It's only natural!" Ibara replied. "They have some 'goods' that they don't want anyone to see ...somewhere in these ruins!"
"God damn it!" Kaige growled as more bullets rained down upon them. "Taste my fireball!" Conjuring up a mid-size ball with her hands she chucked it towards the craft but it fell short and exploded in the street instead. "Shit! They're too high up! Kaz, why couldn't you learn how to breathe fire?!"
"Eeek!" Aoi shrieked as more bullets were fired in retaliation. "Hurry up and do something, Ibara-sempai!"
"Yeah..." Ibara spoke as she took aim with the weapon. "I guess it's all or nothing!" She pulled the trigger and the force knocked her onto her back. "Hit 'em!"
"Hey...that's a missile!" One of the soldiers in the craft spoke as the computer warned them of the approaching object.
"Hmph!" His companion huffed with annoyance. "Such an antique!" Pressing a button on the control stick, the aircraft dropped its own rocket and the two of objects hit each other, causing a huge explosion in the sky.
"Shit! It's not good attacking from the front." Ibara growled. "It just falls prey to the anti-missile system!"
"We also have only one missile left!" Aoi told us as she held up the item.
"Then why don't you try to hit it where it can't detect the missile?" I asked. "Of course maybe Kaige and I could try and knock it off course..."
"That's dangerous!" Kaige lightly hit me across the head with her hand. "I won't allow it!"
"No...that's brilliant..." Ibara said as she looked at me thoughtfully.
"Oi did you hit your head Chief?" Kaige looked at her in shock. "There's no way in hell that I'll-"
"No not the last part." Ibara corrected herself. "I remember...in class when we studied about these aircrafts...they do have a blind spot and we're gonna use it to our advantage!"
"I'm turning!" Shiba announced when an explosion happened in front of the jeep, causing us in the back to ht the seats in front of us. The doctor drove through one of the abandoned clothing stores, plowing through dummies and other clothing accessories which flew into our faces as we got out on the other end. "What a mess!"
"Here they come!" Kaige announced when the roar of the engine reached our ears. "What a persistent bunch of shit heads!"
"Watch out!" Ibara quickly pushed Aoi to the jeep's floor, covering her head as the sound of bullets came at us.
"I will not allow the same thing to happen again! Magma Shield!"
"Kaige!" I screamed as she jumped off the back, slamming her fist into the ground. Magma erupted from below and shielded us from the bullets, melting the objects immediately upon contact.
"Keep going!" She shouted at us as the aircraft just flew over her and continued its pursuit. "Don't look back!"
"No!" I watched as she got smaller and smaller. "We have to go back! I can't leave her behind!"
"We can't do that! She'll catch up on her own so don't worry! Doctor!" Ibara called to Shiba as she loaded the last missile into the launcher. "I'm going to count to three, then I want you to hit the brakes as hard as you can!"
"O-Okay!" He replied shakily as the craft cranked up the power of its engines, closing the distance between us.
"1..." We all braced ourselves as Ibara started counting. "2...3!"
"AAAH!" Everyone, minus Ibara and Kaige, screamed as Shiba slammed his foot on the brakes and the jeep jerked to a halt, almost pitching us forward.
"Right here!" Ibara took aim and fired.
"Make it!" We roared as the missile flew straight and true to the mark, taking out part of the aircraft's wing.
"You did it!" Aoi cheered. "Sempai, you're awesome!"
"The radar's blind spot is directly underneath the aircraft." Ibara said as she watched the aircraft limped through the sky with black smoke trailing behind it. "I learned that from taking my classes seriously...also Kaziah, nice plan."
"Thanks!" I replied.
"Pant...pant...Nice shot...Chief..." We turned to see Kaige running up to us. She gripped the jeep, catching her breath. "Oh jeez...I'm tired. I should get back...into shape..."
"You...Idiot!" She looked up in surprise as I jumped at her, wrapping my arms around her neck. "Don't do that again! If you do...I'll hit you."
"Hmph." She scoffed but smiled no less. "Sorry about that. I promise I won't do it again." I nodded and helped her back into the jeep where she leaned against the wall with a sigh.
"Huh?" Taeko took of her glasses with concern. "Ibara-sempai! They're still running away!"
"It's okay!" Ibara replied with a snap of her fingers. "In their shape, they'll have to land on the Tama river..." Then her voice faltered when something in that direction caught her eye. "What's that...huge smoke stacks!?"
"Oh no! It's the Tama river boat racing grounds!" Shiba exclaimed with worry. "There's a lot of rain water collected there! If they dive in to put out the fire, they can escape intact!"
"Hurry!" Ibara urged him. "Go after them." He complied, kicking the vehicle in high gear and hurried after the damaged aircraft.
"The counter..." Aoi spoke, holding up the machine when its beeping occurred.
"It's no use, stop the jeep." Ibara said and the tires came to a halt. We all looked to see heavy, dense smoke that shielded the danger zone, the cause of the meter to go bonkers.
"Blast...does that mean we'll have to walk on our two feet?" Kaige quipped with a groan, running a hand through her hair. "Shoot...just when I wanted to rest a little longer..."
"The radiation is spreading..." Ibara spoke softly as she gazed out into the heavy smoke. " We don't do anything about it, Tokyo will really become a city of death...No matter how many decades or centuries pass, it will be a forbidden land where people can't tread..."
"Why?" Aoi asked, looking down with a whimper. "Why haven't we made anything any better?"
"That's not true..." Shiba sad, looking at them with a soft smile behind his mask. "You girls are still here. You've really given me courage. Now then, go catch that monster crow. You girls can go through what's ahead."
"Alright...We don't have time to waver..." Ibara announced as Shiba got out so that she could take over the driver's seat. "Let's move forward!"