Oh man, does this feel weird. Typing after so long feels good. But guys, you won't believe the trouble I had trying to write this chapter. Here's the story; I broke the screen of the netbook I wrote on, got a replacement laptop, managed to break that screen too and then had to deal with University starting. A real string of bad luck. Now that was months ago. After that, I suffered in Uni and my depression worsened. Now only after the New Year with a lot of help from my amazing girlfriend can I even think of picking this story up again finally. But I am back! And damn, I just have to say. Thank you to you reviewers. Just, thank you. Also, this story has hit 20,000 views. Damn.
No Review responses because I want to get right to writing. Also, I've noticed all the fan art links on my profile are not there. Sorry guys, I'll find a way to fix that… On a related note, my girlfriend has said she wants to do some ToV2 fan art so I'll be directing you guys to check that out when it's out. I think that's all I need to say… Welcome back guys! Please forgive my writing though, I am very out of practice.
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Chapter 34: AREA MC-WTL
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Yuri completed his preparations and called the group together. Most of them too were ready. They all approached the giant door and Yuri pulled out the key said to unlock the door. He could feel the unease of the group behind him and decided that he wouldn't let them wait. With a small twist and strong push, the door groaned open. Behind them, there lay a large set of metal steps, leading downwards. Obviously unhappy with the slow progress, Dayren pushed past Yuri and led trotted down the steps. The boy received many dirty looks but Yuri could tell the boy refused to be affected by them. He led the rest of the group down after the Duke.
Y-Y-Y-YY-Y-Y-Y
"Hey! You moron! What's the big idea charging into the enemy's base!?" Rita scolded the second she saw the Duke.
"Please Rita, make more noise, I don't think half the base heard you." Dayren sneered, eyes fixated on the large black letters printed on the wall.
"Dayren! Be more considerate! We're supposed to be working together!" Estelle pleaded.
"You guys weren't supposed to be here at all actually. But very well, Estellise, I'll be cooperative." Dayren seemed to shrink ever so slightly. Yuri turned around to a small squadron of Knights approach, led by Sodia.
"Yuri, I'm posting some Knights here at the entrance that you can get items from or go to for healing, should we run into trouble." Flynn informed him.
"Also, Sodia will be leading a separate group to investigate. Should we ever run into them, we go in opposite directions." Yuri nodded and glanced at Sodia.
"We shall leave first. Good luck, Commandant." She said bowing slightly.
"Your Grace. Yuri Lowell…" She bowed to each one, sending Yuri a look. Then she started to move.
"Good luck, Sodia." Dayren said as she passed him and she nodded slightly. Once they were out of sight Raven approached the Duke.
"Whatcha lookin' at there, kid?" He said and noted the large black letters.
AREA MC-WTL
The others all gathered and stared at the seemingly random assortment of letters. Everyone drew a blank.
"It's an anagram?" Rita asked. Dayren nodded.
"Of what though?" Karol asks.
"Not sure, swabbie, best leave this to our smarter crew members!" Patty chirped, looking at Yuri and Rita. She refused to look at Dayren. Yuri shrugged and Rita growled.
"Who even cares right now? Let's find out from whoever's running this place!" The red mage said.
"I like Rita's idea. I vote we do that." Judith chipped in helpfully.
"That seems to be the only thing we can do. Alright, everyone follow behind me" Flynn said, taking charge. Dayren was forcibly made to follow after by Rita dragging him, intending to scold him on the way. The rest followed after them. The last to move was Yuri and Estelle. The Princess took the other's arm and smiled.
"We won't figure it out but glaring at it, Yuri." The swordsman could help smirking.
"Yeah, I know." And they walked, Estelle still holding his arm.
Skit: MC-WTL?
Karol: Yuri? Can I ask something?
Yuri: Fire away, Captain.
Karol: Those weird letters… The 'MC' thing. Do you think it's the name of this base?
Rita: Codes or anagrams like that are common ways of distinguishing bases owned by military factions. Am I right, Flynn?
Flynn: That's classified.
Rita: See?
Karol: But just what could it mean?
Raven: It could mean anythin', kiddo…
Karol: I doubt it means… Mighty Cutlass With Two Legs!
Yuri: Mighty Cutlass…?
Rita: What idiot would name a base that!?
Raven: I take back what I said.
Skit: But… MC-WTL
Karol: Guys! What could it mean?
Raven: Kid, didn't we say ta not worry about it?
Karol: But it's killing me to not know!
Rita: For goodness sake! Drop it. We'll find out soon!
Karol: But what if it's all a trap! What if it's a riddle we need to solve?!
Yuri: Hey, what's all the noise?
Rita: He won't drop the stupid anagram thing!
Yuri: Captain…
Karol: Sorry Yuri… I'm worried the letters mean this place is very dangerous…
Yuri: I know. But we know this place is dangerous already. Being distracted will put in more danger.
Karol: Oh.
Raven: That's right, kid. It's smarter ta stay alert in these places. We got yer back.
Karol: Okay!
Dayren: (Quietly) Damn it… What does it mean…?
The group moved with cautious haste. Spending too long in the enemy's base would lead to disastrous consequences. They were on the enemy's 'turf' now. They had the advantage. Dayren had settled down now, not wanting to get them massacred with his disobedience. Clattering around the corner put everyone on alert. Weapon drawn Yuri was the first to peek around the corner. Sure enough, a Mecha patrol unit was approaching. Yuri signalled everyone to be silent.
"We need to keep a low profile around here. Any enemies we're spotted by have to be taken down. Got it?" He said. No objections. The patrol unit passed and the group slipped away.
They came into contact with a few more patrols, only being discovered by one. They mercilessly put them down and only continued after confirming no alarm had been raised. Eventually, they happened upon a room emitting a slight glow. Yuri listened and heard metal sounds inside. Very carefully, he peeked around the corner.
"Oh hey." He said suddenly, to the group's confusion. He casually walked in and looked around. Flynn was the second one in and sighed in relief.
"Sodia." Sure enough, the other group were in there. The party entered and several gasped. Around the room were screens all detailing intricate blueprints. The Knights seemed particularly interested in the one on the largest screen.
"What tha' blazes is that?" Raven was the first to ask. The blueprint displayed a large column like object. As it rotated, details about parts of the object were presented.
"Is it a mast?" Patty asked.
"It looks more like a column." Judith pitched in.
"It's too complicated to be just a column…" Karol said.
"With the power it needs to operate, whatever it is, and the notes that keep appearing around it… It might be…" The young mage said, pausing for a second.
"A weapon." Dayren and Rita said at the same time. All eyes turned to them.
"A weapon?" Estelle asked.
"What kind of weapon?" Flynn asked. Both geniuses shrugged.
"But it's impossible to use." Rita said and Dayren nodded. The group again were lost and waited for the explanation.
"The energy cost is too high. It would take weeks to charge that much." Rita said.
"Then why design it?" Estelle asked.
"I'm more worried about why it was designed." Yuri said, looking back at the 'weapon'. The group hadn't considered this and suddenly looked bothered. Dayren took this chance to look around the room at the other screens. None of it made sense. He gritted his teeth and huffed. Nothing was going as planned, in fact, the opposite of what he planned was happening. The reason all he'd worked for was ruined was his foolish decision to mix himself up with this group. He shook his head. No, that isn't right. They are his allies, his friends. No, they're not… He gripped his head.
Raven watched the young boy with worry. What was this darn boy thinking about? He placed a hand on Dayren's shoulder and pulled him aside.
"Hey kid, what's wrong with ya?" He asked. Dayren stared at the floor.
"I'm fine, it's just stuffy… Uh, this place just gives me a headache…" The boy fumbled for words. Raven patiently waited.
"I don't know, Schwann… I just have a headache." The old man nodded and ruffled the boy's hair. Dayren looked up at him with eyes that were tired and lost. Raven could tell this was Dayren's most honest feelings. For once, there were no words to obstruct the truth.
"Kid, I don't know how deep ya are in this mess… and I know I'm just a dumb ol' man… but you're still my kid, kid. I may be way off here but maybe you could try relyin' on the kids in that room. Try talkin' to them honestly instead of just coverin' ya ass all the time. You've ticked a good few of 'em off and hurt all tha' rest." Raven paused to sigh. Dayren watched, wide-eyed.
"Kid, it hurts ta see the way yer actin' these days. So please, kid, pull yourself up. I know the Dayrellan I knew is in that thick skull of yours somewhere. You better find him soon cos I'm not likin' the person ya becomin'."
"But… Dayrellan is…"
"I don't care about that, kid. Who are you really? Who's the kid in there!?" Raven jabbed the boy's chest.
"Who… I am?" Dayren seemed to struggle with the concept. The room was silent, the people inside listening.
"Figure that out for yerself. Even this ol' man managed it." Raven looked into the room and smiled softly. Without another word, he went back in. Dayren slumped against the wall.
Yuri turned to Raven as approached and nodded slightly. Raven just gave a weak thumbs up in response. The silence was slowly broken by everyone continuing their previous conversations. Rita studied the blueprints carefully, making notes on the important things she discerned. Flynn soon decided that the group had stayed long enough and called a meeting to decide what to do next.
"Firstly, we need to get our current findings to the outside and to Witcher." Flynn said.
"Sodia, allocate half of your group to this." Sodia saluted.
"As for the rest of us… Who has any ideas?" Flynn opened this to the group.
"We need to know more about those weapons and this place. I say we keep researching." Rita said.
"Oh please, no more notes and science…" Karol complained. He was swiftly punched.
"It's too dangerous to stay, we should really get out of here soon!" Estelle, who was clearly worried, suggested.
"Or we could shut this place down for good." Yuri chipped in.
"I like Yuri's idea." Judith chirped.
"If we destroy this place, we'll lose valuable data on the enemy!" Rita snapped.
"Yuri and Rita have good ideas… Should we vote on which one?" Flynn said.
"No, we do… both." A new voice said from the outskirts of the group. Everyone turned to Dayren, looking away to his side.
"What do you mean, Dayren?" Estelle asked.
"Each um… base has a… person in charge of it. If we catch them, we can do both…" He explained, his voice was noticeably softer than before.
"Two birds with one stone, eh? Seems good ta me." Raven voiced his support.
"I guess so." Yuri said, guarded.
"I really do think we should leave…" Estelle sighed, giving up.
"Research is research. If we get it quicker with the idiot's plan, so be it." Rita grumbled.
"But where the heck is person in charge anyway!? We have no way of knowing how big this base is!" Karol said.
"Ahoy! Found me a map! Lucky!" Patty cheered from the other side of the room. The pirate had gotten bored and went exploring very early into the meeting.
"Seriously?" Karol said. However, true to her word, Patty had activated a holographic map. The base itself was a mess of hallways and numerous rooms. It seemed split into sections, conveniently colour-coded. That was where the convenience ended, as there wasn't a single annotation or key.
"Ugh… I hate mazes. I refuse to wonder around this death trap with no direction." Rita grumbled. As if answering, a single annotation appeared over a room at the back of the facility.
COME HERE YURI LOWELL! COME AND DIE!
"Okay, I've changed my mind, I vote we leave." Yuri said.
"Sorry Yuri, we can't leave now. It seems they know we're here." Flynn said.
"Ugh, I really don't want to meet that guy again…" Yuri sighed.
"They'll probably try to stop us leaving… Sodia!" Flynn called his second in command over.
"Sir!"
"Sodia, the situation has changed, take all of your men and get that data to the surface. Expect resistance." Flynn ordered.
"Yes, Commandant!" Sodia saluted and walked back.
"Guess we have a direction, huh?" Raven said, looking concerned.
"Can't we try and leave?" Yuri tried again, looking to Estelle for support.
"If you had agreed with me earlier we could have. But it's too late now! Humph!" Estelle crossed her arms and led the group out. Yuri was left looking flabbergasted. Everyone else was rather amused.
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The group wished Sodia good luck before making their way deeper into the labyrinth-like base. Dayren noted their route took them past the largest room in the complex. The whole base gave him the chills as it was, but that room had a particular feeling of foreboding about it. He wondered whether he should mention it to someone but he was hesitant. However, Raven's words came back to him and he reluctantly walked closer to Rita.
"…Hey." He said. Good start.
"The hell you want?" She snapped back and Dayren visibly recoiled.
"I uh… There was something I wanted to get your opinion on… An important something." Dayren bravely managed to get out.
"…Okay, what?" Rita said, softening slightly.
"Our route, did you notice it uh… took us past the largest room in the facility?" Dayren said, noticing everyone was also listening.
"No? Does it matter?" Rita asked.
"Well normally… No. But this room was notably much larger than the others… and there was one entrance to it from within the base." Dayren explained. Rita cupped her chin.
"Okay, I admit that seems a little weird. But is that the only reason you're bothered by it?"
"No… The main reason is… I uh… I get a… bad feeling from it." Dayren bashfully said. He thought he sounded ridiculous.
"A bad feeling? That's the main reason you're bringing this up?" Rita questioned, looking quite surprised. Dayren slumped, cursing himself for speaking up. Rita noticed his body change and smiled softly.
"I guess we should be careful around it then. I mean, if you're feeling uneasy about it then maybe something is up with it." She said, lightly punching his shoulder. Dayren's face lit up as an embarrassed smile appeared on it.
"But don't think that you're off the hook! You've still been an insufferable prick for a while now." Rita scolded. Dayren chuckled slightly.
"I guess I gotta work hard on making up for that then." He tilted his head to the side slightly. The young mage nodded and turned away, smiling to herself.
'Adda boy, Dayren. Ya did it, kid. And who knows, maybe this'll lift Rita's spirits too?' Raven thought to himself, feeling a lot of pride in the boy. But the mood quickly went sour with the sudden horrific noises coming from ahead. It soon became apparent where the noises were coming from. Large doors waited ahead, leading to the largest room in the base.
To be continued…
I did it! Oh my, I really did it. Thank you anyone who read this chapter. A special thank you to anyone who has stuck around waiting for this damn chapter. I hope it's up to the high standards I set for this story.
Oh, and remember kids; don't watch Naruto unless you want massive feels (I've not finished Shippuden yet and it's already destroyed me…) and avoid harmful things to your health, like drugs, alcohol and League of Legends. See you all next chapter!