Phase 23.10
The world immediately outside the Da'ath facility was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Entire shantytowns occupied the underground side of whatever city we were in, populated by the local poor and homeless. Of course they were intrigued and worried by the explosion that broke us free, and as they gathered around to investigate Inori and I quickly discovered that we couldn't communicate with the people: they only spoke Chinese. Through gestures and the rough commonalities in our languages we got across that we wanted to go up to the city, and they showed us the way to an abandoned subway station whose stairs still led right up into the open. Though the tall buildings and crowded streets were reminiscent of the place I called home, it was certainly no city I personally recognized.
"Shu? Is all this in Chinese?" Inori pointed at the many signs around us.
"A-ah...sure looks that way."
We wandered through the strange city—at least it felt that way to us—unsure of what to do. Every unusual noise on the street startled us. It felt vulnerable just to be out in the sun.
"We're being watched..."
After some time we finally came across a map along the side of the street.
"Shang...hai," I read slowly. "Shanghai? So...they have been hiding in underground China this whole time?"
"It's smart, really. They do their work in Japan and come here. Our country can't find them, and this country doesn't have any reason to. Not that they know of, at least."
"Right. They're as much a threat to China as to Japan and everywhere else. 'Apocalypse' doesn't just mean one country."
Inori nodded in agreement. As her head dipped down, I noticed someone standing a short distance behind her, looking over at us.
"Come on, Inori."
I set the pace a bit briskly as we resumed walking.
"Where are we going?"
"I thought we might—er—stop in...here?"
I took Inori's hand and pulled her around a corner into a different direction, trying to act nonchalant.
"This is just an alley. Shu? Is everything alright?"
"Shh! Just keep moving."
Once we'd made it a ways into the alley, I reached up with my false hand as if to scratch an itch on my head. But secretly I was using the metal surface as a mirror to scan the area behind me. Sure enough, the same man as before was following us from a safe distance.
"Run, Inori!"
At my command we broke away together, still holding hands.
"Over there!" the man behind us shouted. "That's them!"
From the alley we came back into a busy street filled with people walking, biking, and running market stands. On the one hand they provided us with some cover, but on the other they slowed us down tremendously. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that the one man had been joined by three or four others.
"Excuse me! Pardon me!"
Inori and I shoved through as fast as we could without drawing more attention than necessary.
"Shu!" rang a voice in my head.
"What is it?" I asked Inori.
"Huh!?"
"Well, did you say something?"
"No!"
"Shu! This way!"
"Mana..."
"Left, Shu!"
"Left, Inori!"
Together we veered off into another alley and made it through just before a large truck pulled in to unload some cargo into the back of a shop, effectively blocking the path behind us.
"Right, Shu! Left! Forwards!"
I wasn't sure why I should trust Mana's instructions, especially since she wasn't even supposed to be able to communicate with me outside of my dreams, but it paid off for the time being. We stopped inside a department store to catch our breath.
"Did we...lose them?" Inori panted.
"We'll find out soon enough, I suppose. Come on—let's find somewhere we can make a communication. I'll call Haruka—if anyone traces us, it will look more innocent for me to call my step-mother than it would to call somebody in the government. She can make the other connections to get us a flight back home."
Inori smiled and squeezed my arm.
"What?" I was slightly confused.
"You know, you've really changed since we first met. In a good way. I can't imagine the old Shu being so brave and calm all the time. I like the new you."
"Hmm. You've done a bit of changing, yourself. I can't imagine the old Inori talking to me like that. The running away from Da—er, them hasn't changed much, though, has it?"
"Experience doesn't count. That's different."
When it was clear we'd lost Da'ath—at least for a while—we found a place in the store we could make a communication back home. Haruka was shocked to hear from us, as she'd heard that Camp Makishi was burned to the ground by terrorists—three days ago. There weren't any known survivors besides the two of us, which first responders concluded only by the absence of our bodies. We were suspected to have been captured, but nobody knew for sure. All this she explained in as unspecific of terms as possible, just to be safe, and in kind we asked for her help. A few hours later Arugo and another member of Shibungi's guard located us and saw us safely home on a plane booked by the president himself. From the airport in Tokyo they escorted us straight to the Special Intelligence Division headquarters where we were given the rest of the day to recover.
That is, if a sleepless night could be considered 'recovery'. Inori and I were both restless after all we'd been through, and the one time I finally fell asleep Mana promptly interrupted my rest. She still appeared to me on the same beach as before, but the landscape was different. The yellow sand had turned almost ashen gray, and the ocean had receded a significant distance from the shore. One of the mountains in the area had grown taller and opened at the top, like a volcano waiting to rupture. And most frighteningly of all, Mana herself no longer looked like a child. She seemed to have grown almost back to the state Inori was in three years ago. She still wore the same pink blouse, though.
"You're back," Mana exclaimed with a tilt of her head and a smile wholly unfitting for the scenario.
I stood up to face her, breaking from the norm in my nightmares. I didn't like sitting down when she was my equal in height, standing up.
"Thanks to you, I suppose."
"No problem!"
Mana's cheery, childlike attitude betrayed both her appearance and the true self within.
"How were you able to tell me where to go?"
"That's easy! I wanted it reeeaaally hard, and it just happened."
"Why'd you do that?"
"That question makes me angry, Otouto-chan."
"Oops."
"I tell you every night that I love you! Why don't you ever believe me, Shu?"
Mana's false innocence melted away in an instant, unveiling pure rage on her face.
"You can reject me all you want, and it won't change anything! Anything! It's what they said over and over: you will do it, you know, whether you want to or not!"
"Do what?"
"Shut up! I don't have to answer anything to you! You'll go back on your own after all, won't you? Of course you will, you're 'King Ouma Shu'! You'll go back to fight them, all strong and proud. Then you'll understand, and it will be too late to do anything about it!"
While Mana spoke she inched closer and closer to me until our noses were nearly touching. As she finished she clenched my arm until her fingernails cut into the skin and I started bleeding. Of course being a dream it didn't hurt like a real cut, but I could feel it just the same. Mana forced my arm out in front of me and wiped off the blood with two fingers from her other hand, and then wiped it from them onto her lips.
"Oh, Otouto-chan...you really can be dense, can't you?"
I woke up again with enough of a start that I disturbed Inori, too.
"Are you alright, Shu?" she yawned.
"It was just another nightmare. Of...Mana," I confessed for the first time.
She hugged me closely in our bed and caressed my face.
"Don't be scared," she whispered in my ear. "No matter what happens in your dreams, I'll always be right here by your side."
I deeply regretted keeping the nightmares a secret from Inori for so long. Small as it was, her support and awareness of the problem was tremendously freeing and comforting. Furthermore, I should have known that would be the case. Inori had always supported me, ever since she convinced me to participate in Funeral Parlor's Leukocyte mission all those years ago. Even now she never said a word questioning my previous decision to not tell her about Mana and the nightmares—never mind expressing fear or anxiety over them. Just thinking about the level of trust and compassion that required made my heart speed up a bit for the girl in my arms.
The next morning crawled into existence until it was finally time for us to get up and make our report before Shibungi and the Rooks. It was a bit intimidating standing up in front of everyone in the briefing room and revealing my secrets to them, but Mana and her crystal power were important pieces to our story of being kidnapped by Da'ath and then escaping, so I left nothing hidden. I even performed a live demonstration of my crystal ability to prove the truth of my story.
"As Shibungi-daitouryou already knows," I drew the report to a close, "when we came up from the facility we found ourselves in Shanghai, China. Although we didn't see the entirety of their operation there, judging by the number of Endlaves, prison cells, and sheer scale of the facility, it seems likely that we finally know where Da'ath has been coming from these past several years."
"Thank you, Ouma Shu, Ouma Inori," Shibungi dismissed us from our report, standing up in our place while we took seats beside Ayase and Tsugumi. "Clearly this confirms what information we learned from Yan Daryl...before he escaped."
"Escaped!?" Ayase shouted.
The room filled with murmurs.
"As of this very morning, in fact," Shibungi confirmed. "We don't know precisely when, because our security footage has no story to tell. We suspect it was doctored to mask his exit—which means Da'ath's reach extends even here. Naturally this—among many things—worries me. Ouma Shu, Ouma Inori: I do not mean to discredit your bravery and skill in escaping from Da'ath unharmed, however do you not find it odd that no alarm was sounded to call upon the legions of genetically modified infantry they almost certainly have at their disposal?"
I looked at Inori, and she at me.
"Did you hear any alarm? I didn't," our expressions seemed to communicate.
"What's more," Shibungi continued, "I find it intriguing that this 'Izanagi', if he is not indeed Tsutsugami Gai, made no appearance during your escape. Apparently he was more than capable of defeating you in combat on his own, and you yourself confirmed his presence at the Shanghai facility."
My heart sank.
"The loss of Yan Daryl only further suggests the same conclusion: somehow, Da'ath intends to set us up. They are finally acting out in the open, yet we must not be fooled into believing that is to the exclusion of their previous modus operandi. Furthermore, they are willingly giving us information about themselves, but this does not necessarily grant us an advantage. They could well be baiting us, even if that is merely to draw our attention to one tactic so that they may distract us as they execute another and catch us off-guard."
Put that way, it sounded hopeless to fight Da'ath—like they already figured out all the possible outcomes of every move either of us could make and calculated the right response to bring about their desired end. How could we defeat such an enemy? Everyone else in the room looked like they were wondering the exact same thing.
"Nevertheless, I intend for us to move forward," Shibungi continued confidently. "Of course, Shanghai is well outside our jurisdiction. I will seek cooperation with China immediately—I suspect they will be pleased to rid a Japanese terrorist organization from their shores. Camp Makishi should serve as an excellent demonstration of what Da'ath is capable of, to help us win their support. The combined military forces of two nations should at least buy us some time with Da'ath, but I have no intention of sacrificing lives unnecessarily. Contrived or not, we have been handed the next turn in the game, and thus not all is beyond our control. Should we lead Da'ath to believe we are falling for whatever trap they have set then we too can change tactics and finally gain the upper hand, turning their bait into an asset. Ouma Shu: with your cooperation, I will intend to utilize your crystal ability heavily in our strategy. It is likely that Da'ath knows far more about it than we do, but perhaps it is yet enough of an unknown variable to turn the tides in our favor."
"Yes, sir."
"The rest of you: we have our target. Focus your efforts on this Shanghai facility. Even the tiniest of details could be crucial in the final effort to shut down Da'ath. Learn anything and everything you can about it. I will assemble with you again after receiving an answer from China regarding these matters. Dismissed."
The various ranks of Rooks slowly rose from their benches as the room filled with discussions. Tsugumi popped up from her seat and stretched.
"China, huh? Doubt anyone would've thought of that," she said.
"We only ever saw or heard of Da'ath inside Japan, so that's all we searched," Ayase thought aloud. "Now that I think about it, we probably should have figured it out sooner."
"Yeah, and underground Shanghai would've been the first place we looked," Tsugumi replied sarcastically.
"She's right," Inori joined in. "Da'ath had to reveal themselves to us. That's the only way we could ever find them."
An uncertain silence fell over our group for a while as the room slowly emptied out.
"Say, Shu?" Ayase asked. "How long have you had your new...ability?"
"Oh...well, three years, I suppose. It just took a while for me to discover how to use it. That was several months ago now, back when I rescued Inori."
"So you've had time to learn how to control it?"
"Umm, yeah, I suppose. Why do you ask?"
"I trust you, Shu, but that doesn't mean I trust something you can do—not when it looks like the Apocalypse Virus. If Shibungi's relying on it for part of his plan, well...I just wanted to hear you say you can control it."
My mind flashed back to before the Fourth Lost Christmas, seeing Inori run to me, blood stains on her face, fighting Mana's control for all she was worth—and not always succeeding, despite her best efforts. So far I hadn't suffered the same torment, but after the past day with Mana, Ayase's doubt worried me.
"So how do you suppose Daryl got away?" Tsugumi changed the subject, seeing the conversation had taken an awkward turn.
"Well, we've seen the agent Yuu and Gai—er, 'Izanagi' teleport, somehow," I suggested. "Yuu claimed it was genetic modification, I think."
"You don't think Daryl has their abilities now, do you?" Ayase asked.
"I was thinking more that maybe someone who does broke him out."
"Someone...like Gai," she whispered distantly, as if to herself. "Is it...is it really you?"
"Yoo-hoo! Aya-nee!" Tsugumi waved her hand in front of Ayase.
"Stop it, Tsugumi! I was just wondering," she excused, face turning red.
"I'm curious, too," said Inori seriously. "Da'ath revived him once, but that time was different. Shu told me he crystallized and shattered the second time. Sorry...Ayase."
"A-ah, that's right," I confirmed. "I don't know how it would be possible for Da'ath to bring him back again."
"But there is still a lot about Da'ath we don't know. They want an apocalypse and they're strong enough to create one, but so much about it is a mystery to us."
"Don't remind me, Inoreen," Tsugumi groaned. "Aya and I are the ones that have to spend all day figuring that stuff out.
"Are things not going so well?" I asked.
"I wouldn't say that," Ayase replied. "Just...not well enough. Da'ath is huge. There's just too much for us to learn in such a short amount of time. We are learning, but things are happening so fast now I wonder if we'll be able to keep up."
"I wonder if we'll even be able to take them down at all," Tsugumi candidly stated what no one else dared to. "We can chip away at 'em until they die of bug bites, maybe, but like Aya-nee said, we don't have time for that. Can we really put an end to them, just like that?"
"I...I think we can," Inori asserted meekly. "That's something I learned from you, Shu. There will always be bad in the world, and maybe it even outnumbers the good, but when one small, good thing comes along, it has the power to outshine the darkness all around it. It's a beautiful thing. There is beauty in the world, even a world so broken and needy as ours."
I took Inori's real hand in mine and gave it a squeeze, noticing our rings with renewed attention in the context of her words. Two small things that meant so much, that represented a tremendous binding power between Inori and me—something which could never be taken from us, even if we were ever taken from each other. Could something like that really make the difference? Could love, friendship, patriotism, and justice stand in the way of Da'ath with all its science, 'natural selection', and lust for power?
"I don't know what will happen," I looked into Inori's eyes, "but no matter what we face, I just want to face it together. So long as we're together...everything is alright."
"Shu..."
Tsugumi cleared her throat.
"Hey, we're still here, you know!"
"It's alright, Tsugumi," Ayase tried to calm her down. "And actually, we shouldn't be. I'm sure we'll be extra busy today plugging holes now that Daryl's escaped."
"Aww, that guy's a pain even when he's not here!"
"Well, if you'd like to go back to being a second-year, I'm sure Shibungi could work something out."
"E-eh!? I didn't say that! Fine, I'm coming! See you later, lovebirds!"
Inori and I watched as Ayase wheeled off with Tsugumi in tow. I couldn't help but smile at the pair.
"Some of us haven't changed a whole lot."
GC
The next day afforded no time for rest and recovery. Things were finally in motion, opportunities were arising, and a renewed energy permeated Rook headquarters. Shibungi gathered us all in for our most important meeting yet as soon as he could.
"Ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues: I bring good news," he began. "China is sympathetic to our losses suffered at the hand of Da'ath, and has given us their full support in eliminating the Shanghai facility. Fortunately I was able to persuade them of both Da'ath's strength and the usefulness of Ouma Shu's crystal ability, and Japan has been granted permission to join in the assault under its own commander-in-chief rather than rely on Chinese leadership exclusively. We were encouraged, of course, to minimize Chinese losses, but they understand the global threat Da'ath poses and are prepared to make necessary sacrifices."
The Rooks sat up a bit straighter at the news. This was truly great progress.
"Furthermore, the UN would like to protect their investment in this country. In fact, they are partly to thank for the smooth negotiations with China. They also have prior experience with Da'ath, especially as far as GHQ was concerned, and would like to prevent a similar debacle from arising as cost so many lives only a few years ago. To that end the UN has committed additional military support of their own to the cause and will act as a coordinator between Japan's and China's militaries. Though the details are still under discussion, all three parties have agreed that we must march on Da'ath immediately. I know it is short notice for asking so many of you to leave the country and engage in armed combat, but these are desperate times. To allow Da'ath to develop further could well prove fatal. We are yet young, but now is our chance to prove ourselves as a nation. Da'ath has spoken, and we will answer their call."
A collection of firm nods and fist pumps went around the room. From the looks of things, these people were only too ready to take the offensive for a change.
"The three armies involved in the mission will approach the facility from three different directions, fully encompassing it to prevent any Da'ath resources or personnel from going in or out. Any poor and homeless occupying the area will be evacuated to safety. However, based on information uncovered by all of you we have learned that there are a number of underground exits and entrances inside the facility itself, and thus simply surrounding the outside will not be sufficient. Therefore our first goal is to infiltrate the facility and collapse these routes. Multiple infiltration teams will be sent in, each consisting of strike troops, hackers, and demolition specialists. Each team will be responsible to locate and eliminate escape routes as well as relay the locations of additional routes to the other teams as they are discovered.
"Phase two of the assault will begin when Da'ath is successfully pinned down. Ouma Shu, this is when your ability will come into play. I want you as part of a sweep team that will move through the main areas of the facility and eliminate all hostiles. We don't know what we're up against in there, and your crystal power poses the greatest threat to Da'ath's human experiments. As near as we can tell, the facility is shaped like a giant funnel, leading deep into the ground. Logic would suggest that the deeper into the facility we push, the greater the secrets we will uncover. For phase three, specialist teams will follow up behind the main sweep team to search secondary areas, eliminate hostiles, and recover useful data to be relayed back to the surface. We must always be adaptable and able to alter our plans based on what we learn as we go. Da'ath's leadership structure, for example, is essentially unknown. It is possible this 'Izanagi' is a higher-ranking member of the organization, and we should anticipate confronting him and many others like him, if not many that are even more powerful. As high-ranking, high-threat personnel is encountered the sweep team will call in the necessary reinforcements to eliminate them—everyone will be on-call.
Our ultimate goal is total annihilation of Da'ath's assets. It will be a long, arduous process, but one we must endure and complete to its greatest end. We are treading on unfamiliar territory, ladies and gentlemen. Strategies and tactics and orders will not ultimately win the day, but the spur-of-the-moment decisions made by everyone on the battlefield. The ability to adapt, to make fast, wise judgments is paramount for our success. For this reason, however, I am unspeakably grateful to be placing such great responsibility in your hands. I can think of no group more ably suited for this task than that which is before me. Regardless of the outcome, I know I shall not be disappointed by your efforts. Prepare for departure, everyone: we leave for Shanghai the instant preparations are ready. At last, it is time we brought the fight back to Da'ath. Dismissed."
Author's notes: Well, this is my second take of Phase 23.10, and I definitely feel better for having added in the new sections and edited out a few things here and there. Big thanks to GuiltyKingOumaShu for suggesting one of the changes. I hope this second edit was more enjoyable to all of you who read the first, and just an enjoyable continuation for those who missed it (well, you weren't really missing out). Thanks for reading, as always!