Chapter 9: It's Complicated
It wasn't easy to startle Lenalee when it came to her brother. From the time of their reunion when she was ten to the present, her life at the main headquarters had become something of a carnival. Traveling between jobs, eating and sleeping, training, and the occasional haywire robot. Maybe carnivals didn't have the latter, but she was confident at least something of a similar note could go wrong. Like an elephant escaping its enclosure and stampeding into the snack vendors. Or a lion freeing itself and nibbling on a spectator. Whatever…
The fact still stood that when she woke up to the sound of destruction and screaming, she was not at all surprised. As for why she didn't immediately think it was another akuma attack, the sound of one of her brother's robots bellowing its purpose like a broken record set her mind at ease. Lenalee sighed and pulled her forearm away from her eyes, blinking wearily at the sunlight streaming into her room. She had so been wanting to sleep in today.
"I AM KOMLIN. I WILL DESTROY."
Lenalee yawned, half-heartedly hoping the problem would go away on its own as she sat up. She took a moment to stretch her arms over her head, then stood and went to the door, the rings of her crystalline Innocence circling about her bare feet. She contemplated exchanging her nightgown for something more practical, then decided on the more petulant train of thought that if her brother saw her in her sleepwear, then maybe he'd put two and two together about disturbing his little sister's precious rest.
So she flung open her bedroom door, glaring down each end of the hall in search of where that racket was coming from. The East Wing, she quickly determined and set off to the right, a long, slow sigh escaping her. She had to give her brother credit though. It had been over three months since the move to the new headquarters, and only now was an incident like this occurring. Maybe, despite their current grim circumstances, things were regaining some semblance of normality. Perhaps their new home could use a little destruction. Home was always a little more welcoming with robot-inflicted gouges in the wall and rubble across the floor. Lenalee yawned a second time as she quitted the corridor and entered the exorcists' communal parlor. A tremor shook the Order then, and several strands of dust began to fall from the ceiling.
"I AM KOMLIN. I WILL FOLLOW MY ORDERS AND DESTROY."
Destroy what exactly? What had her brother ordered the robot to do? Had he overheard someone talking about her the wrong way? Had Central gone too far with one of their projects? Or was it possible Komui had permanently flipped his omelet? I hope insanity doesn't run in the family. Lenalee thought dismally, passing quickly under a swinging light fixture and making her way for the East Wing hallway, only to nearly collide with Johnny.
"Lenalee!" The little scientist gasped, doubling over and bracing himself against his bent knees. "Y…Your brother…he's…"
Lenalee crossed her arms in the best impression of Cloud Nyne or Renée Epstein she could muster. "Never mind, just tell me where he is."
"We're not sure, Lenalee." Johnny looked so ashamed of himself Lenalee felt bad and immediately dropped the angry demeanor. It wasn't her. "The robot appeared just now…and your brother seems to be piloting it via remote control from an unknown location."
That was a new one. Usually he was standing on the damn thing's head and shouting orders like a crazed warlord. She sighed again. "Who's the lucky victim this time?"
"Regory Peck." The scientist swallowed, seeming to have an easier time breathing now. Lenalee bent to his level and patted his shoulder. "From the Central Agency Science Division."
Isn't he the one who got after Reever because I was serving coffee? But why would my brother…never mind, I'll confront him after I deal with the robot. "Where's the Komlin, then?"
"Passing by the archives. The Head Librarian was fighting it off with a mop and dictionary last I saw."
"Thank you." Having a specific destination now, Lenalee took off running, the little scientist in tow. She ran all the way to the end of the corridor, reaching the main hall. From her place on the second floor tier, she could see a number of scientists, finders, and a medic or two running out onto the first floor's tiled surface, most likely eager to get away from the chaos in the East Wing. Spotting Reever among them, Lenalee leapt over the bannister and hurried toward him. "Reever!"
"Lenalee! Good, Johnny found you!"
"Is the Komlin still by the library?"
The clearly harried man shook his head, dislodging bits of debris from his hair. "No, it's climbed up to the second floor. A group of finders have tried to contain with some talismans Jiji and Cash quickly threw together, but so far all they seem to be doing is slowing it down."
"Okay, then I should—"
"Hey, Lenalee!" Hearing her name, Lenalee calmly turned to find Allen sprinting towards her with Link following close behind. And from the look of Allen's attire, a clean, white hospital gown, Lenalee half expected the Head Nurse to appear chasing after them in a rage. No one left the infirmary without her say so, no matter how desperate the crisis was. Though, to Lenalee's relief, Allen looked just fine. A little silly and a little bandaged up but relatively okay all thing's considered. He skidded to a halt beside her and Reever, smiling his usual smile. "So did Komui get off his leash again?"
"I AM KOMLIN. I MUST DESTROY MY TARGET."
Lenalee lowered her eyes and let out a dejected sigh as Allen pulled her into a quick hug, patting her back.
Only Link seemed to be out of the loop, for he kept glancing between the panicking scientists in confusion and the apparent blasé reaction of the exorcists and Section Leader Reever. "Is this another attack, Miss Lee?"
"No, it's…" She trailed off, suddenly embarrassed to explain her brother's…hobby? Antics? Obsession? Psychotic meltdown? Uncontrollable rage whenever he so much as heard a whisper connecting a man and his baby sister? All of the above? As much as she loved Komui, she didn't want to explain this robot insanity to anyone, least of all Link. "It's Sir Komlin VII."
"The seventh?" Allen pulled away and looked at her in confusion. "What happened to five and six?"
"Zokalo happened to five. Remember Kom-Ex? And six…" She raised her eyes to the ceiling in thought. "That one failed miserably and self-destructed in shame."
"Robots can feel shame?"
"Allen, you tried seducing Kom-Ex during that Komuvitan D fiasco and it worked."
"Oh, yeah. Ahh…" Allen frowned. "Any idea how to stop it? Where is it anyway?"
"Somewhere on the second floor, but there's not much the exorcists can do anyways. There's a protective field around it that blocks Innocence attacks." Reever explained grimly. "We already had Miranda try to hold it off with her Time Out, but…well, the damn thing was not amused. Miranda's fine though."
Lenalee nodded in relief. "Okay, so me kicking it or Allen slicing it to shreds won't work. Wait, why did you come and find me? And how did he develop an Innocence-blocking shield?"
"I'm given to understand he studied the binding techniques of Crow sorcery." Johnny spoke up, gesturing to Link, who looked somewhat scandalized the sacred practices of CROW were being exploited for this of all things. "As for why I came to get you, we were hoping that if we found your brother, you might be able to talk some sense into him."
Reever nodded in agreement. "Right, the robot's immune to your attacks, but he's not."
"Got it."
"Okay, so do we have a Plan B?" Allen yawned.
Johnny pushed his glasses further up his nose and declared, "Well, the best course of action would be for Lau Jimin or Marie's razor wires to hold it in place while one of us scientists clambers up there and dismantles it or you destroy it. The same could be done if Timothy possesses it and holds it still."
"Sounds good, where are Marie, Timothy, and the General?" Lenalee wondered as a loud crash and tremor shook the Order then, sending them all wobbling unsteadily as a new chorus of shouts resounded from the presumed direction of Komlin VII, along with a very loud, "You want a piece of me?" from Jiji.
"Yeah…" Reever awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Thing is, Cloud Nyne's on a stint through eastern Europe and Russia and she brought Timothy with her. Marie was conveniently sent on assignment to Italy this morning."
A doomed silence reigned over their five-man circle as the implications set in. Lenalee looked back and forth between the two scientists and her two comrades, taking in the former's uncomfortable faces and the latter's exasperated ones. Allen dropped his head into his palm and turned away, kicking a pebble across the floor.
"Dr. Wenham," Link said in a voice that was nothing short of pure annoyance. "I apologize for the impertinent question, but why were you considering those angles at all if they were impossible solutions?"
"Honestly, to give the impression we gave the matter some thought and weren't complete nincompoops." Another loud 'crash resounded from the second floor, followed by more screaming and possible war cries from the scientists.
Link was silent for a long time, not breaking eye contact, so Lenalee could clearly see the conflicted thoughts running behind his red eyes before he nodded, "Fair enough. So what is our course of action?"
Lenalee suppressed a smile over his use of the word 'our', then turned to Reever. "Who do we have to work with aside from Allen and myself?"
"Miranda's here, but after the incident from earlier, she's a little…on edge. But Lavi, Chaoji, Kanda, and Krory have all been conveniently—so conveniently it's suspicious—been sent on assignments this week."
"Wait…" Allen rejoined the pack as that thought sank into all their heads. "Do you mean…Komui remained calm enough to think out a premeditated plan?"
"Looks like." Reever shrugged. "I mean, it's a pretty solid plan. You two and Miranda are the only exorcists in residence right now. But that's fine. For our counter measure, I was hoping Allen's Clown Belt would do the trick to keep Seven still and we scientists would handle the rest. And should we need a little more force in that tactic, I'd like to ask for your help, Inspector."
Link raised his head in surprise.
"The Binding Wings from your Crow sorcery should be able to hold their own against a robot, right?"
Everyone was again silent as they turned to face the Inspector, who's countenance had clouded over in thought. "I've honestly never attempted such a…ridiculous feat." He finally said. "But if the protective field is based on Crow techniques, wouldn't the two spells cancel each other out?"
"Is that how it works?"
Link nodded. "It depends on the spell, but with a Binding or Shielding Wing, yes. So you may not even need Walker to hold it at all, though it certainly wouldn't hurt."
Lenalee turned to Reever. "And once that's done, what then? Will you try dismantling it? I assume you guys would have an easier time salvaging parts if it was dismantled rather than torn apart by me."
Before the man could answer, another louder than ever crash resounded from the second floor, setting them all on edge. Lenalee personally was eager to set the plan into action before any ore damage could be done. And, in a rather Allen-like fashion, she was eager for this to be over so she could get some breakfast. Actually, no…it had to be almost noon at this point. So she could eat lunch.
"Well, there's always the third and easiest option." Johnny mumbled.
"What's that?" Allen cocked his head to the side.
"We just let Komui be and hope things run their course." The little scientist shrugged. "Peck is kind of a lech."
"True." Reever nodded.
"Regory Peck?" Allen blinked. "You mean that one scientist who's been bothering everyone? I guess I'm okay with it as long as Komlin doesn't hurt him."
Lenalee couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We are not letting my brother run wild throughout the Order! What's gotten into you?"
"I must agree." Link said coldly, glaring at Allen like a disapproving parent. "I expect better from an apostle. Whatever could Dr. Peck have done to deserve a…robot assault."
"It's like Johnny says, the guy's a lech." Reever explained, glancing worriedly in the presumed direction of Sir Komlin VII. It had grown disturbingly quiet over there. "He doesn't work well with others, always takes a condescending tone with everyone unless he's kissing up to them, not to mention, some of my female underlings have been complaining about some minor harassment issues."
Stubbornly crossing her arms, Lenalee shook her head. "All the same—"
"This'll teach him some humility." Reever insisted, seeming as though the idea was rapidly growing on him. "Komui won't hurt him permanently, and…well, Peck's been scoping you out since he got here, Lenalee."
"Yeah, and so has Director Bak Chan!" Lenalee shouted back, much to the horror of the men around her. "That's right, I know about those photographs, but it doesn't mean I'm going to throw him under a Komlin. Does the director of the Asian Branch 'need humbling' as well? By all means, let's unleash Sir Komlin VII into Central and let's see what happens!"
"You know about the photos?" Allen ventured, sounding almost timid.
"You're right, Lenalee, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." Reever shook himself, delivering a well-deserve slap to his own face. "But you know, I'm just as serious about this as I am when I threaten to strangle your brother in his sleep. We'll help Peck. It's only right."
Lenalee nodded in satisfaction and, with as much dignity as a young woman in a white nightgown could manage, turned to Allen and Link. "All right, move out."
"Right!" Allen grinned and broke into a sprint toward the other end of the hall, activating his Innocence and using Clown Belt to swing himself onto the second floor via the bannister above their heads. Lenalee followed close behind, her Dark Boots allowing her to leap upward, then turned to see if Link needed assistance. The Inspector had no trouble, merely scaling the wall with no more difficulty than a spider and landing next to her and Allen on the second tier.
"You guys go, we'll catch up!" Reever shouted after the and promptly turned to climb the stairs at the other end of the main hall.
Finding Komlin was the easy part, not to say restraining it wasn't a challenge. Indeed, Reever's plan worked like a charm, with the addition of Allen also displaying spider qualities by weaving Clown Belt into a web to trap the massive robot. And that failed to keep entirely still, Link stepped in with the finishing strike. Lenalee watched and waited, preparing to strike if the Binding Wings failed to keep it down. However, against his predictions, Link's spell work and Komlin's shield did not cancel each other out, leaving the robot well and truly stuck.
"This is not what I was assigned to do." Link muttered aloud, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "I'm just an inspector, Miss Lee."
"Maybe so." Lenalee crossed her arms as a group of scientists began to cautiously approach the trapped robot. "But you might as well put yourself to use. Wouldn't want your skills to get rusty, right?"
"Correct. That's why I train and meditate in my free time."
"Right, and how much free time have you had since you began tailing Allen day and night." Lenalee elbowed the man in the ribs, making him jump and shift focus for a fraction of a second. "What's a harmless robot chase or two?"
Link was silent for several moments, simultaneously searching for a retort and holding Sir Komlin VII. "You have quite an impudent mouth for a lady. But I suspect your upbringing and nonchalance regarding your brother's penchant for robots may have played a key role in that."
His words were not harsh; in fact, he seemed almost bemused as he spoke. Yet Lenalee flinched at the inherent disapproval all the same. "I'm sorry about my brother."
"Why? I'm not related to him."
"I"m sure you're thinking this behavior doesn't befit a Black Order supervisor."
"To be fair, I was harboring those thoughts during the aforementioned Komuvitan D debacle."
Again, Lenalee groaned, tilting her head back so she was facing the ceiling. The sooner she put that out of her mind, the better. She was still having nightmares of undead comrades chasing her. Granted that incident hadn't really been her brother's fault, and that was one of the ultimate deciding factors in him retaining his position in the Order. Another had been the fact that several Central officers, including Leverrier, had fallen victim to the zombie scourge and, in the name of wounded dignity, had chosen to sweep the incident under the rug.
"But you know," Link continued, startling her. "I recall the way he handled the assault on the former headquarters. Weighing all the options, considering the risks, and making swift and decisive decisions. Admittedly, he and Director Leverrier didn't see entirely eye to eye, but the way your brother handled the situation was exemplary. In fact, had we a suitable replacement for the main headquarters, I'd have recommended a staffing reassignment to Central."
Lenalee turned to the man beside her. "You were that impressed?"
"Very much so." He took a moment to almost smile at her, then turned to her brother's mad creation. "I see Dr. Gill has managed to climb up there now."
Lenalee raised her eyes and found Johnny prying up the hatch on Sir Komlin's head…but before he could apply his screwdriver to the robot's main frame, a loud 'click' resounded throughout the hall. "Uh-oh."
Lenalee groaned. Tell me that's not what I think it was. But as usual when it came to her brother, her instincts proved correct as Komlin VII suddenly began to disassemble before her eyes, seeming to unfold and crumble in a systematic manner. Allen deactivated his Innocence with a look of dread on his face.
Link's spell strips fell away shortly after and he lowered his arms. "Miss Lee…"
"Not this again." She took a step back, watching the fallen pieces of Sir Komlin arrange themselves in straight, organized columns, until a couple hundred or so tiny Komlins covered the floor like roaches, each one staring their gleaming red eyes at them. No one said a word and everyone was too afraid to move, wary the tiny army would take it for a sign of aggression and attack. Tension ran like taut cords across the ruined hall, fueled by the silence and encouraged by the uneasy breaths on everyone's lips. Lenalee gulped. Then one single robot, this one the only one crowned with a tiny copy of Komui's beret, leapt atop Johnny's head and released a shrill mechanical scream.
Lenalee shrieked as a literal wave of robots raced towards her, weaving their way passed her feet as they spilled down the hall, through open doorways, scuttling down the stairs like a horde of angry spiders. One of the little beasts tried scrambling its way up Reever's pants leg only for the man to dislodge it with a kick and send it flying back among its brethren. Johnny seemed to shut down altogether, his lips moving in prayer as the robot battalion made its way past and around him. Allen took refuge atop what was left of the stairway railing, and Link, poor long-suffering Link, simply stood in the midst of everything, possibly looking more annoyed and exasperated than ever before. They were silent for several long moments after the last of the robots disappeared from view, listening to the alarmed screams and curses resounding throughout the Order. Lenalee winced as she imagined those little demons finding their way into the mess hall, the library, the infirmary, the Gates—oh, god, not the Gates—leading to other branches or, god forbid, Central.
"WE ARE KOMLIN. WE SHALL DESTROY." Echoed back to them.
"Okay…" Reever began. "Who's up for letting the problem work itself out now?"
A collection of uneasy laughs and groans rose up from the scientists as Johnny bowed his head in shame, "I'm sorry, Section Leader. I should've been more careful."
The senior scientist just let out a sigh and patted his friend on the back, then turned to his colleagues. "What are the odds we can round them all up before dinner?"
"How many were there?" Cash asked.
"Well, considering Komlin the VII's estimated size, I'd say we're dealing with at least a couple thousand." Johnny shrugged. "I'd know for sure if we had the blueprints, but I'll bet my T-shirt collection Komui has that on lockdown in his private lab. Probably in that 'secret' drawer under his desk and the key's in the potted plant by the door."
"Not true." Jiji spoke up. "He keeps it sewn into the lining of his hat now."
"All right, I think it's safe to say we ought to know how many we're dealing with before we start capturing them all." Reever asserted himself as leader once again and nodded to Jiji's group. "I'll lead my team in getting a head start on those robots. You take your team and locate those blueprints. I don't care if the 'secret' drawer is locked, take apart the whole desk if you have to."
"Dismantle the desk?" Link spoke up. "I'm surprised, Dr. Wenham, that you aren't considering you'll end up with a thousand tiny desks should you attempt that approach."
"Inspector!" Lenalee cried, a grin crossing her face. "Are you making a funny?"
"Indeed I am and please do not grow accustomed to it, Madam Exorcist."
Lenalee laughed and stepped toward him, ignoring how his postured stiffened ever so slightly. Without a word or warning, the girl stood on her toes, leaned up, and planted a light kiss on his cheek. "You did well." Then to make it fair, she turned and did the same to Allen, who smiled and thanked her. Hard to embarrass a boy who'd been kissed full on the mouth by a Noah girl, I suppose. She thought as she stepped away and turned back to Reever. "Do you want me with your team or Jiji's?"
"Neither." The man turned to her. "I'd like you to track down that brother of yours. See if he has on off switch for these little bastards."
"Or a self-destruct button." Allen added as he swung himself off the railing and made his way in the direction the robots had gone. "If we don't finish this soon, then I'm going to start missing meals."
"Well, we can't have that." Link sighed as he followed him.
Lenalee grinned as he passed her, but he avoided her eyes. The young woman turned her head in astonishment. Was he…?
"All right, let's get going." Reever's voice interrupted her thoughts. "We'll see you in a bit, Lenalee. Good luck."
"Same to you." She murmured as she watched Allen and the Inspector disappear down another corridor before turning away and stalking barefoot through the wreckage. Now where could my brother be hiding?
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Author's Notes: And then a robot ate them. Also, longest chapter so far.
D. Gray Man is owned by Katsura Hoshino.
