Verg was standing alone in a large dark room. The tremendous shark-man was naked except for an armored loincloth like garment he wore around his waist. There were two robotic humanoids flanking him, and he was on his knees with electrical shackles on his wrist. He was looking at a vast and barely visible computer screen, much like the one that was aboard the Phantom Ship. At the moment, it was blank. Verg was becoming impatient.
"What's going on here?!" he growled. "Why am I even here if nobody's going to say something? Who are you people? What are you people?"
Right on cue, the screen finally turned on. A tall, thin old man with a black-and-silver mask covering the lower half of his face was looking down at him.
"Welcome to Greenland, Admiral Verg." he said, with a rough and somewhat distorted voice. "I've been waiting for this moment for such a long time."
"What is this?!" Verg snarled, standing up. "Where are the rest of my crew?"
"Good." said the man. "So you can talk without the device. I was afraid I would have to go down there and build another one for you."
He was referring to the device that was inside of the metal brace he used to wear on his head prior to Zorndyke's death. But in the subsequent months, Verg had since overcome the need to wear it.
"But what about the Musuca? And my crew?"
"Your Musuca was destroyed, and the crew is either dead or in captivity. All are being processed and examined as we speak. I have not discovered how many have survived, since I am not currently in the building at this time."
"You better hope you never meet me face-to-face; I would tear your head from your shoulders." threatened Verg.
"You are hardly in any position to make threats, Verg." the man retorted. "You know not who you speak to."
"Whatever." said Verg. "Just give me your name."
"I am not at liberty to do that at this particular moment." said the man. "But you may call me Arkulus."
"So what do you want?" asked Verg.
"I would ask the same of you." said Arkulus.
"The poles and the ocean are rightfully ours." said Verg. "You have no business stopping us from building a refuge up here in the Arctic."
"The Arctic has become too dangerous for organic life." said Arkulus. "When Zorndyke melted the ice caps, he unleashed countless bacteria and viruses that have laid dormant for eons in the ice into the Northern Hemisphere's land and water. Several countries have been affected already; Iceland, Greenland, Russia, Norway, Canada. And it won't be long before the diseases spread to the south. If your kind builds a sanctuary here, you will contract the viruses and any traveling you choose to do will spread them through the rest of the oceans."
Arkulus coughed a little.
"But that's not all. Greenland is home to an abandoned military base that housed radioactive materials beneath the ice sheet. But since the ice sheet is gone, there is nothing concealing the toxic waste or preventing it from spreading across the landscape, or even into the surrounding ocean waters. You are fortunate to be down there in that complex. Only that which is mechanical may survive outside for long. Indeed, the people native to Greenland that chose to stay rather than be evacuated have either died or will die very soon unless something is done."
"I don't care what happens to the land-dwellers." said Verg.
"Neither do I, to tell you the truth." said Arkulus. "Organic life is obsolete. And you, Verg, are a reminder of how repulsive and chaotic it may become. Humanity is the ultimate lifeform on this planet, not you. But we are still subjected to the same weaknesses we see in lesser creatures. Aging, disease, fatigue, starvation. All of these things can kill a human as it would an insect or a whale."
He coughed harshly, clutching his chest for a brief moment. Once he stopped, he cleared his throat and put his arm behind his back.
"That's why..." rasped Arkulus. "I have begun perfecting the true successor to humanity. One that is free of the mortality that dooms all organic life."
He made a gesture at the robots guarding Verg, who scoffed loudly.
"Them?" he muttered in disbelief. "These stupid machines are going to inherit the world? The world papa promised my kind would live in when the surface people were gone? You have to be joking...and it's a very good joke!"
Verg laughed maniacally. Suddenly, a large, high-pressure jet of water gushed down on top of his head, soaking his body and knocking him down to his knees. But Verg stood up and kept laughing.
"Is a little water supposed to intimidate me?" asked Verg. "I live in this stuff. What kind of..."
Suddenly a strong current of electricity entered his body through the shackles, made even worse by the water that he had been smothered in. He howled in a combination of rage and anguish, but did not collapse. Then another current hit him, and he sank again to his knees. The electricity stopped, and he gasped for air.
"I'm impressed, Verg." said Arkulus. "The concentration of amps and volts that you endured would have killed even the strongest human being."
"Bastard!" yelled Verg. "I'll rip your lungs out for this!"
"Save your breath, child." said Arkulus. "You are standing deep within the heart of one of my most impregnable strongholds, surrounded by miles of irradiated land. You will never escape and no help will come to you. Guards! Take this creature down to the eugenics labs with the others."
"Like hell you will!" Verg shouted.
Verg struggled to break free of his shackles, ignoring the retaliating electric currents. He shattered the chains, and struck down both of the robots guarding him. But even more machines appeared in the darkness around him. But Verg was not intimidated. He persisted in fighting his way to the nearest possible exit. He ripped apart several bots and drones when the lights in the room were turned on, revealing that flanking Arkulus' screen were two gigantic robotic behemoths. These machines both stood twenty feet high, stood on two thick metal legs, and had missile launchers and machine guns mounted on its arms and shoulders, all pointed directly at Verg.
"I am not a fool, as I anticipated that you would use brute strength to escape." sighed Arkulus. "How mindlessly predictable."
Dozens of laser sights were fixed on him now, covering his body with clusters of glowing red and green dots. Verg sank to his knees, and put his claws on his head.
In Blue-6's sickbay, more and more people were being brought in. The doctor was so busy tending to the patients that he paid no attention to Cyrus, Hayami, and Mutio. Hayami was sitting in a chair across from Cyrus' bed, while Mutio was massaging his shoulders, as she did in Hayami's room the night before.
"She sure seems to like you, Tetsu." said Cyrus.
"Yeah." said Hayami. "That she does. How are you feeling?"
"Fine." said Cyrus. "I have to stay in this bed, though. It'll be a while before I can move around the sub, even with a wheelchair or crutches."
"Yeah, I know how that feels." said Hayami. "I used to drive a motorcycle when I was in high school. One time, I crashed and shattered my left leg. I was going a hundred miles per hour on a five-lane highway during rush hour. I wasn't sure what would kill me first, the fall or the traffic. My dad was pissed. He spent seven thousand yen on the motorcycle, and threatened to break my other leg if I put so much as another dent in it."
Mutio frowned, and Cyrus noticed this.
"No parent should be like that, Tetsu." said Cyrus. "Parents should love and respect their children. And if they can't or won't, their children should be taken to people willing to raise them as their own without hurting them."
"I'm not a kid, though." said Hayami.
"I didn't say you were." said Cyrus. "But any sort of abuse is something I can't tolerate. It was one of the reasons why I became a police officer."
He looked at Mutio again. Then at Dr. Foxcourt, who was tending to an unconscious crewman's leg wounds. Then at Hayami. He beckoned Mutio over to him, and she crept up to him. He patted her on the head.
"You're a good girl, Mutio." Cyrus whispered to her, before turning to Hayami. "Don't tell Pete this, but I think I have become something of a second dad to Mutio. It wouldn't be the first time."
"What do you mean?" asked Hayami.
"You remember back at Mount Weather? When I told you how I shot that man that beat his wife and kids?"
"Yeah." said Hayami.
"Well, I'm gonna tell you..." said Cyrus. "After that happened, I was so ashamed of what I did, that I did everything I could to support the wife and her children, now that her husband was dead. Giving her money, buying them clothing and groceries. Taking her kids to see movies or visit theme parks."
He sighed.
"Eventually, she and I fell in love. And then we were married."
Mutio's eyes widened.
"Yeah, that's right." Cyrus told her. "That was Maria. Julie was my stepdaughter. Not that it mattered. Neither she nor her brother were that upset about their dad being dead. And Maria was happier with me than she even was with her first husband. I pretty much did them all a big favor. But it still didn't seem right killing him like that. So I left the force a while later to be with the family."
"So what happened to them?" asked Hayami.
"Julie and Maria died during the floods..."
"And your son?"
Cyrus' face contorted near the jaw.
"He didn't die, if that's what you're asking." said Cyrus. "But I'd rather not say anything else about him. It'll just open old wounds."
Mutio frowned.
"Mutio, go on." Cyrus whispered to her, softly. "I know you wanna be with Tetsu..."
Mutio obeyed, and went over to Hayami. She continued massaging his shoulders, still frowning.
"Okay, Mutio." said Hayami. "I think my shoulders are fine now."
Mutio smiled, then placed her head on his lap. Hayami stroked her long hair with his finger.
Cyrus grinned.
"Those two would make a very nice couple..." he thought to himself.
Just then, there was a cry of pain outside, followed by footsteps headed towards the sickbay's entrance. Pete walked into the room, shuddering.
"Oh, Pete." groaned Cyrus. "What the hell do you want now...?"
Then he noticed that the sleeves of Pete's jacket were both drenched in blood, and he was shaking nervously. His annoyance was quickly subsided, and he noticed Pete had an expression of both terror and disgust on his face.
"Hey, doc?" Pete said, anxiously. "Think you...you could help me with this one guy? I don't know how to move him without making his arm bleed all over! Oh my god...it's just...uhhhh!"
"Of course." said Dr. Foxcourt. "Hayami, could you check on Mr. Maeda? Make sure he doesn't bleed to death before I get back."
"Sure..." said Hayami, with a sigh.
Hayami went to check on the patient, and Foxcourt and Pete left the room. Frustrated by this sudden interference, Mutio went over to Cyrus.
"You sure like him, don't you?"
Mutio nodded, staring at Hayami.
"But he doesn't seem to think the same way as you do..."
Mutio closed and re-opened her eyes slowly, and shook her head. She started typing into her device:
"He likes me. But he doesn't have time for me."
"Apparently not." said Cyrus. "But I guess that's what happens when you're in a military force. The job comes first."
Mutio solemnly nodded in agreement.
"But don't worry." said Cyrus. "I'm sure we can find some way to get you together with him without worrying about all that other crap."
Mutio grimaced a little, and typed into her device:
"You will help me?"
"Of course I will." said Cyrus. "I'd do anything to make you happy. I'm officially your wing-man on this."
He patted her on the shoulder, and Mutio hugged him in return.
The door opened, and a crewman entered.
"We need her right now." he told them, pointing to Mutio.
Mutio turned to look at him, wondering what they could possibly need her for. Her face expressed hesitation, but Cyrus gestured for her to leave.
"It's okay." said Cyrus. "I need to rest, anyway."
Mutio went outside with the crewman, and slowly shut the door. Hayami, equally concerned about Mutio, quickly went out after them. Shortly after he left, Cyrus closed his eyes.
"What a hell of a day..." he muttered, before gradually falling asleep.
As soon as Cyrus fell into a slumber, the door opened again. In came Trey, Matt, and Amonyushuu.
"Trey, I know you don't like her..." said Matt. "But I'd like to make sure she's okay."
"Whatever, bro." said Trey, fatigued. "I ain't arguin' with ya..."
Dr. Foxcourt came back in with Pete. They were both carrying a horribly injured crewman, whose leg and arm were stained dark red with blood.
"Get out of the way, this man is very badly injured!" said Dr. Foxcourt.
"Doctor, we also have an injured Chimeran...'
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time for her. Petty Officer Murata here needs my undivided attention. If I don't do something right now, he might become infected with gangrene."
"That's okay." said Amonyushuu. "I'm not hurt too badly. I don't want to get in the way."
"Might if I take care of her for ya, doc?" offered Matt.
"Go ahead." Foxcourt said, before turning to Trey. "Would you care to help me with the others?"
Matt and Amonyushuu went over to the far end of the sickbay, behind a divider so they wouldn't be spied on by anyone else in the room. More injured people were being brought in, and Trey was busy helping the doctor with the new arrivals. Since neither Matt nor Amonyushuu had received any serious injuries, there was no need for them to checked on by the doctor. This meant they would have plenty of time to talk to each other undisturbed. Matt stood as calmly as he could, while Amonyushuu's eyes were fixed on his direction.
"Are you feeling okay?" asked Matt.
"Yes, Matt." said Amonyushuu. "I'm quite all right now."
"That's good. So what happened to ya?"
"Well, that robot shot a cable at me." recounted Amonyushuu. "I felt something pinch my arm as it wrapped around me, and an intense jolt began coursing through me."
She touched her left arm, scratching at a spot above her elbow. There appeared to be a pair of minuscule blisters right where the brown fur on her arm met the white.
"And then I blacked out." she continued. "I didn't come to until you had already saved me."
"Sounds like you got zapped pretty bad." said Matt. "Well, 'least it didn't kill ya."
"I'm glad you didn't let it kill me." said Amonyushuu. "I can hardly imagine what horrible things would have happened to me if you weren't there. I think I owe you my life."
Amonyushuu tilted her head to the side while still gazing at Matt, and slowly batted her almond-shaped eyes. Matt blushed, and shifted a little in place.
"Well...yeah." he said to her, half-mumbling. "I'm glad...yeah, glad I could help ya."
"I'm going to write about it in my journal for Verg." she said to him. "Perhaps he might warm up to humans more if he knew how one put his life on the line to save me."
"Uh-huh." grunted Matt.
Amonyushuu put her hand on his jacket, which was tied around his waist due to being wet, patting the spot where Knox's revolver was concealed.
"Matt, was that the first time you ever fired a gun?" asked Amonyushuu, curiously.
"Pretty much." nodded Matt.
"How did it feel?"
"Oh, it was awesome." Matt smiled. "Actually got a couple good shots in, too. It's a badass gun. I remember my daddy sayin' that Colt Pythons are the best revolvers ever made. Think I'm lucky to have one-'specially since they stopped makin' 'em like forever ago-and I couldn't let 'em take the gun from me; I'd never get it back. That's why I kept it hidden."
"So the first time you ever shot something..." said Amonyushuu, her eyes widening. "...was to save me?"
"Promise you won't tell the others, okay?" said Matt. "I wanna keep it a surprise."
"Of course." said Amonyushuu. "You have my word. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to show you my gratitude for rescuing me."
"Is this really the time to do that, though?" Matt raised his eyebrow. "There's a lot of people hurt or dying on the other side of that wall thing."
"I don't mean right now, Matt." said Amonyushuu. "When everything is under control again, and the doctor's finished helping everyone. It's a shame that so many good people were hurt..."
She lowered her head, clasped her hands together in front of her lap, and then tapped her heels together nervously. Deciding to cheer her up, Matt placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Uh..." said Matt, who started breathing heavily. "Well, I guess we could find something to do together once the sub's secure...and there ain't too much damage."
"Like what?"
Matt shifted nervously.
"I...I dunno."
He decided to change the subject.
"So, I noticed that you're all wet." he said.
Amonyushuu inspected herself; she was still soaked to the bone from the seawater that came through the ruptured hull. Then she looked at Matt, and examined his body.
"So are you." she pointed out.
"Yeah, well." said Matt. "I ain't got a problem with that. I should probably change my clothes soon...but you're a cat, ain't ya?"
Amonyushuu nodded.
"Doesn't that stuff bother ya? I mean, I always thought cats hated water."
Amonyushuu shook her head.
"If I didn't like water, I think I would have a difficult time living in it." she told him. "I'm not as good a swimmer as Mutio or her sisters, but I can hold my breath for hours if I wanted to. I was engineered by papa to breathe underwater. I could talk underwater, too; I once recited a poem from the Manyoshu while I was walking on the surface of the Antarctic Ocean."
"Well, that's cool." said Matt. "So how much like a cat are ya, anyway? Do you...meow, for example?"
Matt made a mewling noise three times. Amonyushuu's lips twitched after the second one, and Matt couldn't tell if she was fighting the urge to laugh or join in.
"Well, do you?" Matt asked again.
"Why would I when I can talk?" she said to him.
"Okay, good point." said Matt. "D'ya eat mice or birds?"
"I can't say I've tried it." said Amonyushuu. "I mostly eat fish, fruit, and vegetables."
"Do you have claws?"
Amonyushuu lifted her hands, and showed him her fingernails. They were long, sharp, and much narrower than the fingernails of a human.
"Do these count?"
"Do you have nine lives?"
Amonyushuu looked down at Matt's jacket, and frowned. She put her hands down, and clenched them.
"I would not rather test that one."
"Do you always land on your feet?"
"Actually, I don't think I could." said Amonyushuu. "I don't think my body structure would allow it. My body is too large and too humanoid. It lacks the backbone that most cats have, my bones are heavier, and I was raised like a human instead of an animal. I probably don't have the same instincts that an actual cat would have. And furthermore..."
She went on for a whole minute about the various differences between animal and Chimeran genetic structure, even if it had become completely irrelevant to the question she had been asked, before Matt muttered under his breath:
"Wow, you really are a nerd."
Amonyushuu's ears twitched, and her eyes blinked.
"Matt, what does that word mean?" she asked, confused.
"You mean 'nerd'?"
"Yes."
"Well..." Matt fumbled. "It's a guy or girl that spends all their time learnin' everything there's to know about somethin', and loves showin' off how much they know about it to everyone."
"And is that a bad thing?" asked Amonyushuu. "I'm...I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"
She was frowning again, and her ears were folding themselves downwards.
"Well...not really." said Matt. "I mean, it just depends."
"Depends on what?"
"Well, it depends on if the person you're talking to wants to hear it. If they do, that's cool. But if they don't, you might wanna...you know, tone it down a little. Otherwise, they'll probably get annoyed and yell at you."
Amonyushuu sighed.
"That sounds...just like Verg." she said solemnly. "Verg never really paid attention to anything I had to say before papa died. In fact, he seemed to be irritated whenever I tried reading poems to him. Papa loved the poems, but not Verg."
"Aw, man." said Matt. "That's just like me. My brother never really cared about me when I was growing up. He was obsessed with hero-worshipping dad."
"Just like Verg." said Amonyushuu.
Then she gasped.
"Matt, we really aren't that different. Are we?"
"Guess not."
They both exchanged warm smiles. Amonyushuu rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. Then her ears twitched, and she raised her head again. She made a small gasp.
"I hear something!" she whispered. "I think it's..."
But other than the sounds of injured personnel on the other side of the divider, there was nothing else that Matt could hear. Amonyushuu stood up so fast that it startled Matt. She peered around the divider just in time for the door to open and something to come in.
"Andrei, how are things?" asked Dr. Foxcourt.
"Where is Amonyushuu?" asked a familiar voice. "The captain needs her."
"She's at the back with Matt, behind there." said Trey.
"Thank you." said Andrei. "I've been looking all over for her. We would've called for her, but the intercom was damaged during the fighting."
Amonyushuu stepped back so that she was next to Matt, who just stood up to follow her. There were footsteps and a large silhouette appeared behind the divider. A large man with short brown hair and a beard came around the corner.
"Hello again, kid." said a voice. "I was sent to find the...what are you two doing?"
Matt turned to face the man. It was the engineer from earlier.
"Uh, I was just...checking on her." said Matt, nervously. "Makin' sure she wasn't hurt."
Andrei studied Matt's eyes and body language, then Amonyushuu's. Amonyushuu was leaning against Matt, with her hand on his shoulder and her eyes on him. He could immediately tell that something was going on between those two. But he knew it was none of his business.
"Very well." Andrei said to him. "Anyway, I was sent to take your cat-friend to the captain. And have you seen my wrench anywhere?"
"Yeah." said Matt, taking the tool out of his pocket and giving it to the man. "Here you go."
"Thank you, my young friend." said Andrei the engineer, before turning to face Amonyushuu. "Now let's head over to the captain, da? We have met up with some of Verg's fleet. They're expecting to hear from all of the Musuca survivors, including her."
Amonyushuu broke her gaze on Matt, and looked at the large man.
"I knew it!" she said to him. "That's so good to hear! Let's go meet them."
"Can I come, too?" asked Matt.
"Nyet." said Andrei. "The captain asked specifically for the Chimerans. It seems we've come across some more of them. Their Musucas are circling us right now. They want to make sure the survivors are all safe."
"Oh, that's wonderful to hear." said Amonyushuu. "Let's go now."
Amonyushuu followed Andrei. She looked back at Matt to exchange an awkward glance with him before turning to leave the sickbay.