03/14/20
(Noun) A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.
Chapter Seventeen
Perspective
"...and then, with the mightiest heave I could muster-"
"And with me helping him!"
Kruse chuckled, nodding towards Harriet.
"With her helping me, I was finally able to pull my catch out of the water!"
Jaynix, lying in bed, wore a tired but amused smile.
"And what was it?"
Kruse shook his head.
"A boot. Not even kidding. A Coalition soldier's boot. The darn thing was so heavy!"
Harriet tapped her chin.
"It did seem to be covered in algae and a few branches when we pulled it out so it was probably caught on that stuff when you hooked it.
"I guess so."
There was laughter in the room from the rest of the Reapers, Alto striking Kruse's back.
"Boy, you really have piss poor luck when it comes to fishing."
Kruse could only sigh, Gwin stepping closer.
"No worries man, I'm no good at it myself."
"Gwin lacks any kind of patience with it. You're already leagues better than him in that regard."
Irina stated, bluntly.
"No need to put it like that."
Gwin sighed, drawing more laughter from the nearby Reapers.
"I appreciate the support but I'm pretty sure Constantine rigs our fishing trips...somehow."
Tai shook his head, a smirk appearing on his face.
"Sorry to say Kruse but I don't think fishing can be equated to a carnival game. I'd say all it takes is practice but…"
"Blue has been trying to improve his fishing game since the day I met him."
Jaynix said, quietly. The others all turned to her as she laughed.
"You'll get it one day."
"Gee thanks."
Kruse couldn't fight the smile off of his face. At the silence, Eren took the time to move closer to Jaynix and place a hand on her shoulder.
"I think it's time we let you rest Jaynix...you look like you're about to pass out."
She shook her head.
"I can hang on a bit more."
At that point, Harriet moved closer as well.
"We know how eager you are to see everyone who went to speak with Internal Affairs but...I'm sure they'll understand. You need to rest."
Jaynix sighed.
"I know. I know."
Sagis clapped his hands.
"We're not leaving the hospital, we'll all be within earshot! Rest easy Corporal."
Jaynix looked at each of her friends before nodding.
"Thank you. All of you."
Lying back down, Jaynix closed her eye. She listened as the many footsteps began to depart and finally, the door eased shut.
After a few minutes she opened her eye and took off her covers. With all her might she swung her legs over until they were hanging over the edge of the bed, resting against the floor.
Taking a deep breath she nodded and placed one of her feet firmly on the ground. It felt odd.
"I can do this…"
Putting all her weight onto it, she flinched.
"I can do this…"
She brought her other foot down and did the same. With another deep breath she attempted to stand. It didn't feel right at all and before she knew it, she collapsed back onto the bed.
Closing her eye she tried to ignore the tear forcing itself out. Clenching her hands into fists she struck the bed with whatever might she could muster.
In the dead of night, Kumon walked the streets of Noah's Cradle, a storm of emotions within. Elma had to depart to make a trip somewhere, it seemed very urgent so no one questioned her. Instead they all began heading for the hospital to see Jaynix.
As much as Kumon wanted to join them, there was something he had to deal with as well. He assured Lyla, Flame and Nagi that he would be alright on his own. Flame took the longest to convince.
A smile formed on his face as he recalled the concern she had for him. But Jaynix was more important and Jaynix needed her. He once more asked them to believe in him and finally they allowed him to go.
Kumon shared one last look with Nagi before heading off on his own. It wasn't much longer when the home he was heading to finally appeared in view.
The man inside was someone he desperately needed to confront. Words needed to be said. Actions had to be taken. Approaching the door he knocked but received no response.
Taking a deep breath, Kumon roared.
"Steven!"
He then slammed his fist into the Archer's door, calling for him once more. No matter how loud he was, no response came from the apartment.
Feeling the anger boiling within, Kumon took a step back before raising his leg and slamming it into the door. After one more hit, it buckled and finally, the third sent it crashing into the building.
Stepping inside Kumon called for the man again only to realize that the home was barren. Confused, Kumon began moving through every single room, quickly noticing that all of them had been cleared out. It was as if no one had ever lived here.
Steven had to have known that after telling Birtwhistle about the General's actions all those years ago, he'd come for him. Kumon believed they'd have one more argument but Steven wouldn't even allow him that.
Closing his eyes, he tried his best to calm the storm that raged within. It didn't matter where Steven went, Kumon would find him. He had to.
At the hospital, Flame, Lyla and Nagi stood outside of Jaynix's room. They could see her sleeping through the window. Christoph slowly approached them and began to tell them, to the best of his ability, what he understood of her situation.
"I wouldn't say it's bad news...or good news...there's a chance I didn't quite catch everything."
Nagi smiled.
"It's alright Christoph. Thank you. I think it's well past time for you to go home."
The man shook his head.
"That's what everyone thinks, you know Internal Affairs is just waiting for me to not be here."
Nagi looked through the window at Jaynix.
"I think they'll be satisfied with what we told them. At least for a few days. Go on. Your post will be here in the morning."
Christoph sighed.
"I am a little tired...just a bit. Besides, with all the other Reapers and even some of the Skelletons waiting in the next room, I'm sure Jaynix is well protected. At least for tonight."
"Thank you. Good night, Michael."
"Good night, Commander."
With a nod of his head, Christoph departed. Nagi now turned his attention to Lyla and Flame.
"What will the two of you do? Wait here?"
Lyla, who had her hand on the window, shook her head.
"I think I'll head home...make something to bring Jaynix tomorrow...I don't want to disturb her now."
Flame placed a hand on Lyla's shoulder.
"Yes you do. I can tell you want nothing more than to go in there and be with her."
Lyla nodded.
"I do...but I also want her to recover. She needs her sleep."
Nagi gestured towards the exit.
"I could take both of you home...unless you want to stay here, Flame?"
She took hold of Lyla's hand, the women shared a smile before addressing Nagi.
"I know how strong JayJay is. We'll be back in the morning, it won't be long."
Nagi nodded.
"Of course. Let's go."
Flame and Lyla walked past him towards the exit. The older man watched them go ahead of him before looking back to the room once more. Thinking about the investigation and what he told Birtwhistle.
"You'll be fine Jaynix. I know it."
The next morning, the sun came up on a very peaceful Noah's Cradle. To the civilians and working men and women across the megacity, all that remained from the Lawless operation were faint scars and memories. Over three months had passed since the battle went down, the people at large had switched their focus back to Project Exodus as it should be.
However, for the military, the soldiers of the Coalition and those employed with the ECP, the matter was not settled yet. While the streets were calm and traffic steady, there was still one thing left to be dealt with.
Within the ECP hospital, the Reapers, Gwin, Irina, Kruse and Harriet all sat in the mess hall as one of the head doctors working under Iris Falkan greeted them.
"When I came to see Jaynix's family...this is not at all what I expected."
Tai smiled.
"We're not even all of it."
"Of course. Well...for those who don't know me. My name is Arnold Bradbury. While Doctor Falkan busies herself with restructuring the ECP, she entrusted Doctor Eliza Jun and I with it's most pivotal patients, Jaynix of course is our number one priority right now."
Bradbury looked over his notes.
"I will say that doesn't excuse Lyla Copeland or Hideo Kumon from maintaining their regular medications. I trust they're still doing that, yes?"
Eren nodded.
"I'm on their asses about it. Every day."
Bradbury smiled.
"Good to know. Anyway...the most important thing is to look on the bright side. I know that doesn't sound like it does much but with an optimistic outlook, things do get better."
Alto sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. As if good feelings and a fresh perspective are going to realign Jaynix's spine."
There was a long silence as Bradbury tried to think of what to say. Sagis struck Alto's shoulder, the man looking around before apologizing.
"No need Mr. Moore...I can see how my words may have come off...not as I intended."
"We know what you meant. He's just on edge is all."
Irina stated.
"Of course. What I am actually trying to say is that with physical therapy and a regimented schedule, Jaynix should gain most of her lower body's synchronized motor functions back. We have our best therapist on the case so there is no need to worry."
Kruse looked to the Reapers.
"Is it worth the hassle? Aren't you all going to be placed into Mimeosomes at some point? Soon, most likely."
Tai nodded.
"We are...but not without Jaynix. I'm sure she'd want to walk into the Coalition HQ to go through the procedure herself as opposed to limping there or having us hold her up. We all know how stubborn she is and we all agreed to do it together. That's not going to change."
The rest of the Reapers nodded in agreement as Doctor Bradbury cleared his throat.
"There are a few things we should go over given the state Jaynix will be in, even in the best case with the physical therapy. No friendly slaps on the back. None."
Sagis and Alto looked to each other, Eren shaking her head at them.
"We got it doc."
"I trust that you do…"
With everyone's full attention, Bradbury continued his explanation.
In Jaynix's room, she sat picking at her food when the door opened. She had hoped to see one of Lyla, Flame, Elma, Kumon or Nagi, any one of them who she hadn't seen since they departed, instead a stranger entered the room. The woman was dressed in white and held a datapad which displayed holographic medical records. Nearing Jaynix, she bowed her head and spoke.
"Mrs. Copeland I presume?"
"Yeah...and you are?"
The woman pulled up a chair and sat down near Jaynix's bed.
"My name is Hope Alanzi. I've been asked to serve as your physical therapist."
Jaynix couldn't fight off a smile.
"A doctor named Hope? Something tells me your profession was decided for you the day you were born."
Hope chuckled.
"That's very possible…"
Jaynix laughed as the doctor continued.
"Mrs. Copeland. You are facing a very tough challenge, no two ways about it...however, I've had a look through your medical and professional history and one thing is abundantly clear. You are a remarkably stubborn individual. As such I have no doubt you can overcome this obstacle."
Hope watched pride form on Jaynix's face.
"To begin I'll need a baseline so let's see how your legs function."
Jaynix nodded her head.
"Of course."
The following hour or so was filled with Jaynix moving her legs about and telling Hope when she felt that they were listening to her versus when they should be. She watched Hope's brows furrow as she took notes on her device and it was during that time when Jaynix noticed.
"Your eyes."
Hope smiled.
"Yes. Heterochromia."
"It's fascinating."
The doctor laughed.
"I'd prefer it if you stayed on topic Mrs. Copeland."
Jaynix crossed her arms.
"Then maybe they should've gotten me a male doctor."
"You have Bradbury overseeing your general health. Everything is being handled with the utmost care."
Jaynix waited a few moments before sighing.
"You probably think this is foolish."
"Never."
"We have Mimeosomes. Instead of dedicating all these resources to me we should just...get it over with…"
Hope prepared to speak only for another voice to cut in.
"I don't think that was part of the deal you told me about, JayJay."
Looking up, Jaynix's eye widened as Flame waved at her.
"Sorry about the interruption Doctor Alanzi I-"
Hope closed all the holographic screens on her datapad and stood up.
"No need to worry. I think what Jaynix would benefit from right now is her family."
Flame smiled as Hope approached and whispered encouragement to her before departing.
"Hey sis…"
"Why are you looking at me like that JayJay?"
Jaynix smiled.
"Guess I was just a little worried. Y'know. You had to talk with Internal Affairs and all that...I doubt it was pleasant."
Flame moved closer and sat in the chair Hope had previously occupied.
"It wasn't pleasant. But I did it for you."
"Flame. I'm sorry...you-"
"Don't apologize."
Flame sighed.
"You've protected me for as long as I can remember. My whole life if I'm being honest...I wanted to do this. I wanted to be the one protecting you."
Jaynix smiled.
"If it's you, I've got nothing to worry about."
The sisters enjoyed the silence that stretched on until the door opened once more. Jaynix looked to see Kumon and Lyla enter the room.
Jaynix could only whisper their names as Kumon looked to Flame who shook her head.
"I haven't told her yet."
"Of course…"
Jaynix raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on? Did they dismiss me already? I haven't even gotten the chance to defend myself."
Kumon approached the pair, Lyla close behind.
"It's not that...it's just...it's something I should have told you a long time ago, Jaynix."
"About what?"
"About the 2041 Massacre...and you."
Jaynix fell silent as Kumon sat on her bed in front of her while Lyla got in to be right next to her. Jaynix looked to her wife who whispered.
"Hey you."
A faint smile formed on Jaynix's face as Lyla placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. Jaynix then looked to Flame once more who merely gave a supportive smile before turning her attention to Kumon once he began speaking.
He told her the truth of that night. Exactly as Steven had told him all those years ago while he was recovering as well as from what conclusions Kumon himself was able to draw from the state of Jaynix's blade.
The Corporal did nothing but listen as Kumon told her about her role in the lives that were taken that night. Jaynix thought back as best she could but everything was such a haze of blood, rage and despair it made it hard if not impossible to discern anything.
Jaynix vividly remembered the moment that Sonja was shot as well as seeing Kumon hold his hand out to her when it was all over. However, everything in between those two points was muddled.
It was a few minutes after Kumon fell silent when she finally spoke.
"I don't remember any of that...I…"
Flame took one of Jaynix's hands into her own.
"Is it...is it really true?"
Kumon could only nod as Jaynix looked to Flame.
"I...I don't know what to say...what to do…"
"JayJay."
Lyla ran a hand through Jaynix's hair, whispering to her as she slowly leaned back in her bed. Jaynix stared at nothing in particular as she continued to think.
"You covered for me…"
"I did. And I'd do it again."
Jaynix closed her eye.
"I don't know...what I'm supposed to feel…"
"That's why we're here."
Flame said, Lyla nodding her head.
"We're all going to help you with it. We love you, Jaynix."
Flame, Lyla and Kumon sat with Jaynix in silence until she could no longer hold it in. They let her cry, they let her wail, they let her say anything she wanted to, anything she needed to.
And they sat there, until it was done.
At the Cross, one man stood outside of the Koo R&D Facility. Placing a hand on his chin he looked down at the files his contact had given him.
"These are all projects currently being developed here?"
"Yes. All of them could be beneficial to your cause but one in particular is a necessity for what you personally seek."
Steven scrolled through the list of engineers and scientists until he reached the one that his contact had insisted upon.
"Hill? You sure this isn't a typo?"
"It's not. He is unrelated to the Strategist, it'd be a bad idea to seek their equipment as I'm sure you know. That aside this man's crowning achievement is being worked on in this lab here on the second floor."
Steven nodded as he read through the files, every sentence solidified his desire to get his hands on the project.
"And you say you can make this thing even stronger? How?"
"The details are unimportant. Beyond that I'm sure you know that breaking in is a bad idea. That said, for someone of your stature I'm sure they'll just let you right in."
Steven flipped to the next page of staff and security on sight. Looking through the names there were several which stood out to him as recognizable but very few that he had a personal connection with.
"Is this not where Flame Copeland is employed?"
"It is, but I'm not personally affiliated with her. I could count the times we've interacted on one hand."
"Does everyone else employed here know that?"
Steven remained silent as his contact continued.
"You are connected to Jaynix, you served and fought alongside her. Use that. Flame is not here. No one will seek verification from a second source. As far as they're aware, you're simply a man looking to get his Skell Certification. These people developed the Skells they-"
"You don't have to say anything else. I've got it."
"Meanwhile, I have everything set up over here. I will say, someone has been following my trail."
Steven rolled his eyes.
"Sounds like your problem."
"We share our problems."
"Then don't leave a trail and this problem goes away."
There was a long silence, his contact considering his options.
"I'll handle it. You do the same."
With that, the call ended. Steven shook his head as he placed the datapad inside his vest.
"Who's working for who…"
Putting his hands in his pockets, he began his approach to the facility knowing full well that there were two possible problems. Flame's comrades: Hector and Alexa. He knew what lab they worked out of so with any luck he could work to avoid them.
Before he could plan for possibly bumping into them, he heard a loud sound, an engine roaring to life and shooting off at a high speed. Looking up to the sky he noted a Skell flying up and away from the R&D Facility.
It's trajectory continued to change to the point that it seemed to be flying in circles above the building with no destination in mind. It didn't take him long after that to see that there was a man hanging onto the Skell and trying to yell something at someone.
A voice then came on through an intercom, it was a woman's voice and she was apologizing profusely.
Steven knew right away that those two had to be Flame's comrades and the timing was excellent. With them occupied he had to make the most of this golden opportunity. Picking up his pace, he entered the building and examined the reception area.
Spotting an employee he cleared his throat and approached.
A few days later, Jaynix was in the middle of practicing how to walk when there was a knock at the door. Hope insisted she continue her attempts before standing to let their guest in.
"Colonel Elma."
"Doctor Alanzi."
Hope smiled.
"Please. Hope is just fine."
"Of course."
Elma looked over to Jaynix who seemed to be focusing intensely on putting one foot in front of the other, such a simple task and yet the effort in Jaynix's face could not be denied.
It didn't take long for Jaynix to notice Elma, the intense concentration was gone, replaced by relief and joy.
"Where have you been, Elma?"
"Planning. As much as I hate to admit it, I've got a very important mission coming up and I can't be here as often as I would like to be."
Jaynix sighed.
"I figured it would be something like that. I'm at least glad you're here now...though I..."
Elma fell silent as Jaynix thought through her words.
"I'm just...it's really good to see you…"
Elma nodded as Jaynix focused once more on her feet and made her way towards Elma, the Colonel waited patiently until Jaynix was right in front of her before embracing the other woman.
Seperating from one another, Elma asked.
"No problems with Internal Affairs or any of Birtwhistle's attack dogs I imagine?"
Jaynix shook her head.
"Christoph and his people have been doing a great job keeping any who wander too close at bay. Though the majority seem to have given up...he complains a lot. I think he's bored now."
Elma chuckled as someone called out.
"Now hold on a minute! I never said that!"
The women turned as Michael appeared at the doorway.
"Did I wish more was going on? Sure! But I did not say I was bored!"
Jaynix and Elma laughed before Hope cleared her throat.
"I don't mean to interrupt. Really I don't."
Elma shook her head.
"It's fine Hope. You have work to do. So do I."
"You really can't stay, Elma?"
The Colonel looked to the other woman, conflict in her face.
"I don't...I don't mean to sound clingy or anything...it's just. After three months and…"
"No need to explain Jaynix. I know it's not exactly fair but what I have to do...I have to do now. It's vital to the Coalition, the EPC, the Exodus...and to you."
Confusion filled Jaynix's eyes.
"Me?"
Elma could only nod, leading Jaynix to believe that this had something to do with Internal Affairs. Though she couldn't quite connect the dots.
"I promise you, when it's done. I'll be here and I'll stay here until you get sick of me."
Jaynix laughed.
"That'll never happen."
Elma crossed her arms.
"Then it looks like I'll never leave this room."
The pair shared a smile, Jaynix approaching and embracing Elma once more.
"I'll see you around, Jaynix. I swear."
The Corporal nodded as Elma broke away from her and left the room. Taking a deep breath, Jaynix flashed Hope a smile.
"Alright! Let's pick up the pace!"
Hope laughed.
"One step at a time, Jaynix."
"I know, I know…"
Hope checked her watch.
"Your wife should be here in an hour with another freshly cooked meal from home. Let's make some progress and really impress her."
Jaynix smiled.
"I always do. Thank you, Hope."
"Don't mention it."
Out in the Lawless Sectors, amidst the faithless and those who have gone on past the point of caring, a solitary Professor continued her own investigation.
After questioning the right people and meeting with several LAST engineers hiding out in the Sectors among groups of faithless, Kriss was certain she'd found her biggest break yet.
"Empty facilities tell a story...but staffed ones are much more valuable."
Kriss stood outside of a massive ruined structure, her eyes moved to an old fire escape. While not the most reliable, she needed a way in so she ascended, watching her every step. After reaching the fourth floor she determined it was best to stop here and stepped inside.
As she moved through the building she came out to a grand staircase leading down to what must have been a ballroom but was now occupied by a dozen or so workers. Kriss kneeled down and pulled out her binoculars, studying what they were doing.
Based off their old equipment, they seemed to be rerouting signals. Curious.
Bringing out her datapad she saw several messages from the Colonel as well as a few reports from the Strategist. She maintained her anonymity during her exchanges of information with Ms. Hill. She needed someone to run her theories by and felt this was far more convenient than looking for a LAST engineer every time she needed aid on something specific.
Deciding on her best approach, Kriss stood up straight and cleared her throat. Placing a hand on the old railing of the staircase, she descended towards the workers.
She radiated confidence and ownership in how she walked and once the workers began noticing her, they gasped but did not flee. She heard several of them whisper her criminal alias of "The Black Merchant" before she reached the bottom of the steps.
One man approached her.
"We had no idea you'd be here."
"That's how I do business. I'm sure you're all aware."
"It's been so long since the Merchant has done any business. What brings you here?"
Kriss' eyes moved to their devices. Smirking, she returned her attention to the man before her.
"All of you. You code, encrypt and bounce messages around the Lawless Sectors. Don't you?"
The man nodded.
"...as well as through the Coalition and the ECP."
The man seemed nervous, nodding slowly. Kriss brought out her datapad and showed them an image.
"Does this look familiar to you?"
It was a datapad, specifically the one Jaynix had stolen from Benton before Nagi's people accidentally activated its purge failsafe.
The man nodded once more.
"That's a device of our own design."
Kriss tilted her head.
"Oh. Do tell."
The man gestured at the workers who one by one, returned to their jobs.
"We offer...privacy. Security. In exchange for some benefits. We have no desire to return to the walls of a megacity but living out here is hard. Establishing contracts allows us to do so in comfort."
"Of course."
"We were approached by a high ranking official...from what we could gather, he was employed by the ECP but we dared not ask more. He and some compatriots of his were seeking private methods of communication."
"How long ago was this?"
"Years."
Kriss tapped her chin as he continued.
"We developed a line of ten unique datapads that operate on a network within the Coalition network, almost undetectable and even then, untraceable. That's what we work to ensure."
Kriss decided not to comment on how her and LAST were able to detect and trace Benton's device and signals to him. It wasn't easy but they broke through. Best let these people maintain their own illusion.
"I take it you wouldn't sell out those who you've provided this service to...would you?"
The man shrugged.
"Depends on the price. Though I'd have to add that we would require protection from our contact's compatriots."
Kriss nodded.
"I'm certain I can offer you and yours far more than what they ever could."
"...if you could...what would you want from us?"
"The specs on your unique datapads as well as whatever information you have on the individuals you gave them to."
The man crossed his arms, thinking.
"No rush."
Kriss added before throwing in a wink. Based on his reaction, she knew he wouldn't deny her.
With a confident smirk, she turned and out of earshot before pulling out her own datapad once more and making a call.
"Colonel."
"Professor. It's good to hear from you. Did you need something?"
"No...on the contrary, I believe I have some information vital to your mission."
Kriss waited, no doubt Elma was seeking privacy as well.
"What do you have?"
"Remember Benton's datapad? I've found the people who gave it to him and according to them, there are nine others like it."
"...nine...are you certain?"
"Absolutely."
There was a longer silence than Kriss had expected. Raising an eyebrow she spoke the Colonel's name.
Outside of a Coalition meeting room, Elma stood with the paper Benton had given her. The names of his allies, the people who made deals with the Lawless. The list was nine names long.
If they were indeed the same, this was the hard evidence Elma had been waiting for.
"Kriss. Thank you."
Now it was the Professor's turn to fall silent.
"You're...welcome...Colonel."
March 14th, 2054
7:00AM
Kumon stood outside of the ECP, knowing Jaynix was either up already or getting up soon to continue strengthening her legs as she always did. He'd been told ahead of time by Doctor Alanzi and Nagi that she'd likely be released today as long as she remained committed to her recovery.
Taking a deep breath, Kumon focused on the still silence of the early morning hour before hearing footsteps approaching.
"General."
"Christoph."
The men smiled at one another, Kumon holding out a hand and Christoph giving him an eager shake.
"We'll never be able to thank you and your team enough."
"No need to ever think twice about it, General. I do what I'm paid to."
Kumon chuckled.
"Oh is that all?"
"And maybe I like you ladies and gentlemen. A little bit."
Kumon shook his head.
"And here I thought the only reason you took the job was to go toe to toe with Birtwhistle again."
"That pencil neck is old news...we've all got bigger things to worry about these days."
"That we do."
Both men nodded to each other before beginning their walk across the road.
"I've been meaning to bring this up with you General but I was never sure if you wanted to hear about it…"
"What is it?"
Christoph thought to himself a few more moments before speaking.
"Our big bald buddy. Boze. He told me not long ago that Harper dropped by seeking advice on taking the exams for Skell Certification."
Kumon came to a stop.
"Steven?"
Christoph nodded.
"Yeah. It wasn't long after Jaynix woke up...I think…"
"That was a few weeks ago at this point. You didn't think I'd want to hear about this?"
Christoph shrugged.
"That last time I saw you and Harper talking, you were at each other's throats. What was I supposed to think?"
There was a long silence before the men continued on their way, now entering the ECP building.
"I'm sorry Michael."
"No big deal, General."
"Skell Certification...Steven has always told me he had no interest in it. The man is retired. Why would he want to pilot a Skell now?"
Christoph could only shrug.
"Who knows? Maybe he's lookin' to get himself a spot on the White Whale."
"Too late for that...something isn't adding up."
Christoph laughed.
"You're telling me. You wouldn't believe it but Frye was up and gone before I even woke up. That never happens. No clue what the dumb boy is up to."
Kumo raised an eyebrow.
"Not a lot of trouble he can get himself in at 7am...or is there?"
"Frye will always find a way to get in trouble no matter the time…"
The men came to a halt at the entrance to the ECP Medical Wing.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Harper sooner."
"It's alright...not like this is going to help me find him."
"He's...missing?"
Kumon shook his head.
"I'd rather not drag you into it...I'll call Boze later, see if Steven told him anything of value. Thank you, Michael."
"Don't mention it, General."
8:00AM
In a large, well kept home, Elma followed a staff member through the building and towards an expansive dining room. The staff member bowed to her before departing.
Tapping her foot, Elma crossed her arms and waited. It wasn't long before the master of the home appeared. A smile on his face he stepped closer and bowed his head.
"Colonel Elma! An honor! What brings you here? This is quite the hour to come calling!"
"Councillor Ethos."
"Did you require something from the Committee Council?"
Elma nodded.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about something important for quite a while...but I had to wait. I had to be absolutely certain that I was right."
Ethos raised an eyebrow.
"I see...well, whatever you need, as a member of the Council I am happy to be of service."
Elma approached the table and pulled out her datapad. After taping a few commands she placed it down, the device now projecting a holographic rendering of the Dark Matter sample recovered from Nantucket.
There was a long silence before Ethos spoke.
"What is it?"
Unable to stop herself, Elma approached and grabbed the man by the collar. With ease she lifted him up as he began to yell and scream. Elma walked him over to a wall and slammed him into it, cracks splitting the fine wood from the force of the impact.
When he refused to talk, she slammed him into the wall again, yelling in fear, he held his hands up.
"Alright! Alright! Stop!"
"Talk. Now."
"Put me down?"
The look in Elma's eyes told him all he needed to know. Swallowing he gestured weakly at the image.
"Yes, I know what that is. Yes I had it moved to Nantucket for study. Yes the megacity was destroyed as a result of it. So what? I kept it all under wraps. No one knew about the xenoform technology, the lab...everyone believed it to be no more than an unfortunate accident."
Elma raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you still lying to me?"
"I'm not! I-"
"Lao knew! His family was killed in Nantucket and so he came looking for answers and found the ruins of your lab. Your actions which went directly against my orders caused the death of his wife, his child and the loss of his sanity. Everything Lao did in pursuit of vengeance was because of the path your actions set him on."
Ethos shook his head.
"I can't be held accountable for the actions of an insane man! That's ridiculous!"
Elma released Ethos who fell to the floor in a heap. Retrieving her device she opened a separate file and showed it to him.
"These are the other Coalition Council members and ECP Oversight Committee members that were involved correct? You needed each and every man and woman on this list to keep this little stunt out of my sight, right?"
Ethos remained still, looking at the names. He couldn't hide the recognition in his eyes.
"Yes I know about them. Verified from three sources. Now tell me one more time. This is them, correct?"
"Y-Yes. I needed them all to provide different parts of the plan. Vehicles. Staff. Redirecting security routes. Interrupting traffic. Everything had to look natural so no one would look too closely."
"Why? I told all of you explicitly that the Dark Matter was not to be touched!"
"Then why did you bring it here?"
Elma narrowed her eyes.
"Because we need it. The Ghosts are composed of it, if we can solve it we can defend ourselves against them...however the only people I knew capable of solving it, would not help us."
"...the Qlu?"
Elma let out a long breath, calming herself.
"I held onto it on the faith that someone else was out there, anyone else who could help us...the question now is, why? Why did you take it? Why did you risk blowing a hole through your planet?"
Ethos waited for a few moments, sighing.
"Because I wanted us, humanity, to take hold of our destiny once more."
Elma remained silent as the man slowly stood back up, still holding his hands up before leaning against the ruined wall.
"Ever since you and Aeon came to us thirty years ago and told us what was to come...many lost faith...it's easily forgotten that the Lawless Sectors are not just filled with brutes and savages who seek nothing but violence...there are entire communities of faithless and suicidal people who have given up on...everything. No matter what faith, what religion they devoted their lives to...some found the prospect too much and so they abandoned their homes and now wander until the day they drop dead."
Elma swallowed as Ethos continued.
"We humans have...nothing. We have no way of continuing to live our lives, our existence is moot. All we do now we do at the behest of you and Aeon. Visitors from a world far removed from our own...humanity has no grasp on its future anymore. We all desperately cling to you whether we know it or not...what comes for us next, is up to you and you alone, Elma."
"It's not just me…"
Ethos shook his head.
"We haven't received a report from Aeon in nearly four years. It's only you...either way I couldn't accept it. I wanted to wrest humanity's future back into our hands. I wanted to do something to remind myself that we, as a species, exist...so I took the Dark Matter on the belief that we could do something. Anything. That we could fight back. That we wouldn't have to leave our home to wander in the stars, fleeing from an invincible force."
Elma sighed.
"I was offered, many times, the position at the head of your government and I refused it every time."
"It doesn't matter what position you have Elma. You are it. You are the one."
Elma nodded, moving away from Ethos she picked her datapad back up. The man straightened his collar.
"...is...is that all? Colonel?"
Elma's silence didn't sit well with him.
"I apologize. Wholeheartedly. I-"
"You're still. Lying."
The following silence was deafening, Elma turned to face him once more. A quiet rage building in her eyes.
"You knew."
"I knew...what?"
"Nantucket. You knew every single person killed by the blast. Before the reports were redacted they had to go back up the chain and you...intercepted them."
Ethos remained silent as Elma continued.
"Your people told you that Lao came by and you learned that his family was killed in the destruction of Nantucket. You knew that he was aware of the Coalition's role in it. So you got in contact with him...this grieving, angry man who just lost everything...and you played your role in manipulating him. His anger. You painted the Coalition as his enemy."
Ethos shook his head.
"None of what you said is true."
"I'm well acquainted...Councillor. Like I told you, three sources verified the exact same information. One was President Reeve himself. The other? Benton. And finally, the woman that you and Benton wanted dead, who lead you all to your fatal mistakes. Kriss Fowler."
"...Kriss?"
"Did you think she was dead? No. She was under my protection at the ECP researching everything...and once she got all she could, she went out there to find the rest of the answers we needed. This…"
Elma held up a scrap of paper.
"Is a list of all of the Lawless' benefactors. Provided to me by Benton. These people armed and supplied the Lawless all in exchange for technology and power...all to help in search of one small piece of information. Where did I move the Dark Matter after it was back in my possession?"
Ethos shook his head.
"You can't prove any of that."
Elma smiled, reaching into the bag slung around her shoulder she pulled out another datapad, a larger one. Holding it out to Ethos she asked.
"Recognize this?"
The man's eyes widened.
"I thought so...you see, Benton had one just like it. Unfortunately in our rush to open it, all the relevant information was wiped out...thanks to Kriss however we were able to trace the device's construction. It was an unofficially licensed datapad crafted by a group out in the Lawless Sectors. They gave us the codes for nine more. Exactly as many names on Benton's list...and the list that the President provided me. Not only did you and your cohorts use your station to conduct illicit research, you all abused your powers and now wield it to silence all of your opposition. Kriss. Lao. And given Benton's failures I'm sure you would've turned on him as well. You wanted them all dead and now your latest focus seems to be Jaynix. My best friend. That was your last mistake."
"Security!"
Ethos yelled, but received no response. It was only then that he realized no one came when Elma first physically assaulted him.
"What did you do?"
Elma remained silent as he turned to run only to slam into someone and fall to the ground.
"Now, now...I don't think the Colonel was done talkin' with ya, Councillor."
Ethos watched as the man bent down to smile at him.
"Who are you?"
"Me? Christoph. Frye Christoph. A good friend of the Colonel's and someone who can't really stand people like you."
Grabbing Ethos, Frye pulled him up to his feet.
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Nothing yet. We have eight other traitors to find first."
Elma gestured to the door, Frye nodded to her before he shoved Ethos along.
"C'mon Councillor. We got a long ride ahead of us."
Elma watched as Frye led Ethos out of his home. She heard the man complain about something as he was forced into the back of a truck and the door was slammed shut. Frye reentered the home, facing her.
"I appreciate your confidence, Frye. Truly."
"You'd never trust me with something this big unless you believed I was your only choice...Irina? Gwin? Boris? Danny?"
"I...don't want to bring them into it…"
Frye chuckled.
"I'm a fine sacrificial lamb if I do say so myself, Colonel."
"Nonsense Frye. You were my second choice."
"Oh yeah? Who was the first?"
Elma could only smile as she thought of him.
"Ah, right...shame that he decided not to join us on the Ark eh?"
"Nothing we could do about that…"
At the silence, Frye laughed.
"Yes Elma, I'll keep this from everyone. As much of a kickass story as this would make, I know how to keep my mouth shut when it matters. Personally, I would've asked Boze."
With that, Frye left the home as Elma looked down to the paper she received from Benton. Reaching into her pocket she pulled a pen out and crossed off Ethos' name.
9:00AM
Within the ECP, Jaynix left her room with Lyla at her side. Her legs were stubbornly refusing to cooperate smoothly but it was much better than those first few days she got out of bed.
"There is no need to rush or force your way through your therapy, Jaynix."
She nodded.
"I know Lyla...but I can't stand being here anymore. As lovely as Hope is and everything, there are still plenty of things to do."
Jaynix watched as that same concerned expression appeared on Lyla's face.
"I'm ready for whatever Birtwhistle throws at me. Trust me. The sooner I can get this done, the sooner we can all move on."
"Of course...it's just that even now I find it hard to believe that they continue to push this on us. On you. You did nothing wrong."
Jaynix smiled.
"I'm glad you think so, Lyla...but no one can speak for me but me. I'll tell Birtwhistle exactly what happened and why. After that...it's out of my hands."
Lyla ran a hand along Jaynix's back.
"When did you get so positive? I figured you'd want to bite his head off."
Jaynix laughed.
"Oh I will. After the interview is done and we're off the record. Hell I'll be doing Flame and H.B. a huge favor taking that prick off their backs."
"I think so too."
Entering the mess hall, Jaynix couldn't help but smile as the rest of the Reapers stood and cheered the moment they saw her. Lyla slowly released Jaynix so the woman could stand on her own. Smiling wide, the Corporal waved at the group.
"It's about time!"
Tai yelled as he approached first.
"Always good to see you Corporal."
Jaynix couldn't help but laugh. Tai merely shrugged.
"I missed the joke."
"Of course you did...it's good to see you too...Major."
Tai rolled his eyes.
"Really? Now? I kinda missed you calling me Captain Hook."
"No you didn't."
Jaynix raised her fist and struck the man's arm. He chuckled before stepping aside and addressing Lyla. Sagis and Alto charged forward, embracing Jaynix at the same time.
"The Corporal lives!"
"You guys were there when I woke up, what are you talking about?"
They laughed, Alto speaking.
"It's more dramatic this way, don't you think?."
Jaynix shook her head before looking out over the rest of the people gathered before her.
"As much as I appreciate this...I thought we all went through this song and dance when you visited me after I woke up. Why do it again?"
Sagis struck Jaynix's shoulder.
"Because now you're standing and ready to get back to work. How could we not be excited?"
"Let's hold off on that Blood Brothers, at least until after I've had my talk with the investigator."
Sagis rolled his eyes.
"Ah, that spineless man. Give him one of your patented glares and he'll fold immediately. We all know this."
Jaynix smiled as the Blood Brothers moved away, Eren now approaching the Corporal.
"Any dates while you had the time?"
"I never have the time."
"C'mon Eren."
The Strategist moved closer and embraced Jaynix.
"You really can't go five minutes without some stupid joke, can you?"
"No. Not really."
As they hugged, Tai brought a hand to his chin. Lyla was currently filling him in on what Bradbury and Hope told her before they left Jaynix's room, the state Jaynix's health following the first few weeks of physical therapy. He nodded along to the important points before looking at Lyla.
"Is Jaynix going to continue like this?"
"That's what I had asked her...she's split on it. Says she needs to talk to Elma."
There was realization in Tai's eyes.
"Then...it's time. How about that?"
Jaynix moved from Eren towards the General, who stood tall though his eyes betrayed his conflicted feelings.
"Sir."
"Jaynix…"
"We settled everything, General...I've accepted it. All of it."
Kumon could only nod as another person stepped through the doorway, hands on his hips.
"All this celebration and such for the gal, but nothing for the guy who was on 24/7 guard duty? Really?"
Christoph shook his head, Sagis and Alto laughing. Lyla moved next to the man and put a hand on his shoulder.
"We really do appreciate all the hard work you and your team put in, Michael."
The older man spared her a look before smirking.
"I am pretty good at my job, aren't I?"
"Not counting the time those guys shoved their way into the General's room...yeah. Pretty good, I say."
Christoph sighed before pointing at Tai.
"They say lacking a sense makes your others stronger. In your case it seems only your sass has improved, boy."
Tai shrugged.
"I'll take what I can get."
The man then turned towards Jaynix.
"So. What's first for you now that you've got the all clear to leave?"
Jaynix looked to the man.
"I'm going home. Flame is waiting for me. She agreed to hang around until I could walk on my own but now she really needs to get back to her work...once she's safely back at The Cross...I have to pay Birtwhistle a visit."
"Will you need any backup with that?"
Eren asked, hands on her hip. Jaynix chuckled.
"If I was going to fight him, I could definitely handle him on my own. No...I'd rather you all kept on top of our tasks. Gotta make up for all that time we lost after everything and also for all the time I lost while I was laid up."
Tai chuckled.
"You must have forgotten we were lacking Lyla for a few weeks and the General for two months. We were operating at about half our might."
Jaynix thought for a moment.
"Shit. You're right. How backed up are we with work? How have things been in the Lawless Sectors?"
The General gestured towards a table, the Reapers sat down around it as Kumon began.
"From what I've been told and been able to gather from the other teams patrolling the outside...things have been...quiet."
Jaynix tilted her head, the General continuing.
"With the very public destruction of the Lawless and the full might of the Coalition on display, many of the cells seem to have lost their nerve. Not many actions have been taken lately and several cells have actually moved away from Noah's Cradle. Things haven't been this peaceful for a long time."
Eren cleared her throat.
"However, that doesn't mean it's all good. There have been rumblings that someone is planning...something."
Jaynix raised an eyebrow.
"Rumblings from where?"
"Elma."
Tai cut in.
"She has a contact who has been out in the Lawless Sectors for quite a while searching for answers that we still need. Lao and Torrez may be dead, the Lawless may be wiped out...but questions still remain. Elma insists that her contact has it all covered."
Jaynix looked to Lyla, her wife mouthed the name. Kriss. With a nod, Jaynix returned her attention to the General.
"Not only is Elma's contact on the case but so is Elma. She's come into possession of something so vital...she can't share it with anyone. Even us. That information is why she isn't here right now."
"Busy as ever."
Jaynix whispered, a smile on her face.
"She personally asked me to run a bunch of traces and decode various documents, transcripts and old communications all over the Coalition. She also asked me not to look into what I decoded...all I know is this has the makings of something shady."
Eren commented before shaking her head.
"Regardless, until she can share the information with either Nagi, the Skelletons or us it's business as usual."
"I really do need to talk to her but I guess it can wait…"
Jaynix whispered as Lyla put a hand on her shoulder.
"Elma can wait but Flame can't. Let's get going."
"Right! Of course!"
A little too quickly, Jaynix swung her leg over the bench to stand, however it got caught on the underside instead. She could barely react as she fell to the ground, gasping at the impact.
Lyla was immediately at her side, the rest of the Reapers all standing shortly after.
"Jaynix!"
"I'm fine! I'm fine!"
Lyla gently placed her hands on Jaynix's back.
"Let me help you."
"No! I-"
Jaynix fell silent, everyone did. One could hear a pin drop within the mess hall. Shaking her head, Jaynix forced herself to look at Lyla, nothing but concern was evident in her eyes.
Looking back to the ground she nodded and allowed her wife to help her back to her feet. Lyla leaned in and whispered her name, Jaynix shook her head.
"It's fine...I'll get used to it…"
Lyla nodded.
"I know you will."
She kissed Jaynix's cheek, the woman allowing a small smile to form before looking to the rest of the Reapers. Anything she thought to say was cut off by the General.
"No need to say anything else...we'll see you when you get back, Jaynix."
The Corporal bowed her head to her family as Lyla helped her towards the exit. It was only a few feet later that Jaynix found the pace straining and tightened her hold on Lyla's shoulder in response.
Feeling that, the woman slowed down.
"I'm sorry, Lyla. I-"
"Don't apologize Jaynix. Never apologize."
As they left the room, Kumon watched the go, his eyes never leaving the doorway even as the other Reapers began to talk amongst themselves.
All that Jaynix went through and she still had more she had to suffer through because of a man with a grudge. Clenching his fists, the General closed his eyes.
"Major."
Hearing his title, Tai turned to him. The other Reapers looked at the General as he motioned for the blind man to join him. The pair moved aside, far enough from the group to not be heard.
"What is it General?"
"...you know…"
Ta waited a few moments before shaking his head.
"I tried my best but there is no trace of Harper anywhere. I don't know why he left or where he went, but he's a ghost. Why do you need to find him so badly?"
Kumon hesitated for a moment, Tai raising an eyebrow.
"I just have to…"
Kumon spared a quick glance at Tai, he had yet to tell the rest of the Reapers about the truth behind the night of the 2041 Massacre. He knew he had to, but with Steven still in the wind, he couldn't get comfortable with the idea.
Jaynix knowing was enough. At least until…
"Sir. I don't doubt the matter is private. We've been dealing with that a lot more lately...seems everything having to do with the Lawless and events surrounding is covered in shadows...it's of no loss to me given I can't see it but the mystery is clearly there."
Kumon remained silent as Tai crossed his arms.
"Regardless...what would you have us do, sir? We may not be able to find The Archer but we still have our jobs as protectors to consider."
Kumon nodded.
"Of course…"
The General brought a hand to his chin, thinking. He knew Elma was up to something, whatever it was it was so important she was not sharing any details with anyone. That left him wary of the possibility that everything surrounding the Lawless was not over yet.
"Keep everyone prepared. For anything."
"Yes, sir."
Placing a hand on Kumon's shoulder, Tai spoke.
"We're all here for you, sir. We always will be."
"...thank you, Major…"
10:00AM
Lyla brought the car to a stop, looking to Jaynix at her side, they shared a smile before stepping out of the vehicle. Closing the door behind them the pair now stood in front of Jaynix's childhood home. Closing her eye, Jaynix thought to those warmer, happier, better days spent with her parents and Flame.
With a wide smile, Jaynix stepped forward, holding her hand out to take Lyla's and entering the home. Taking a deep breath she called out.
"Flame! Big sis is here!"
Jaynix's eye found the sliding back door open and her sister was standing still and quiet in the backyard with her hand on the old tree from which a swing hung. The amount of times Jaynix had pushed Flame on that very swing were innumerable.
Jaynix and Lyla stepped into the backyard, Flame turning towards them with a smile.
"We don't visit home enough…"
"Too sad...but here we are."
Jaynix commented, Flame closing the distance.
"How are your legs?"
Jaynix opened her mouth only for Flame to cut her off.
"The truth."
Jaynix sighed.
"I doubt it'll ever be back to how it was…"
Flame nodded.
"Are you moving forward? Y'know...with the Mimeosome procedure?"
There was a long silence, Lyla placing her hand on Jaynix's shoulder and whispering to her. Jaynix gave Flame a look.
"I can't really do my job at its peak like this...we all know that if we're going to be on the Ark, we need our Mimeosomes...and I guess I've done everything I wanted to in my flesh and blood body. Lao's dead. The Lawless are gone. Our parents can rest easy…"
"Most important of all, you got married."
Flame added, Jaynix laughing before looking at Lyla.
"That I did…"
Lyla leaned against Jaynix, the pair sharing those love filled gazes as Flame giggled.
"Be sure to let me know when you all plan to go for the procedures and I'll make sure to be there…"
Flame looked about the backyard, Jaynix now focusing on her.
"...before I go back to the Cross...there is one more place we have to visit."
The younger sister's gaze moved to Lyla.
"It'd be great if you came too."
"Of course. Anything."
As the three women returned to the house proper, Jaynix watched Flame head for the dining room and noticed a large case on the table. Flame took hold of it and returned to their side.
Before Jaynix could ask, her sister held a finger up.
"It's a surprise."
Jaynix smiled and nodded as the three exited the home and returned to Lyla's car. Their next stop was the main park at the west end of Noah's Cradle. A wide stretch of grass, trees and serenity. It was here that a memorial stood in front of a small pond.
On it was a simple inscription: Here rests the defenders of humanity's last generation.
The three approached the marker, a calm silence filling the air. Jaynix gave Lyla a look, with a nod she approached and helped Jaynix to her knees.
All three now kneeling closed their eyes.
"Mom. Dad. It's me again...your little spark. I know it's been too long and I'm sorry...things got pretty wild. I just want both of you to know...you can rest easier. I took care of it. Of everything. It cost me...a lot...but knowing that Lyla. Flame. Hideo. Elma. That everyone made it through and they're all still here...it was worth it. All of it."
Jaynix slowly opened her eye, looking at the marker she reached out and touched the surface before whispering, so low neither Lyla or Flame could hear her.
"I gave Flame your message...she already knew...smart as ever. Mom. Dad. Thank you."
Time passed, the three women remained silent. Flame and Lyla offered their own silent thanks to Sonja and Maxwell before standing.
Both of them extended their hands to Jaynix to help her back to her feet. The three nodded to one another before Flame retrieved her case and asked for a moment alone.
Flame waited as the other two walked across the park towards the car before stepping closer to the marker and gesturing towards the case.
"With what's coming...it wasn't right leaving this in our home. I know exactly where you would want it, Mom. I'm pretty sure I have your blessing but I'm asking for it anyway."
There was silence before she continued.
"Dad. I'm going to use everything you taught me and everything I learned to change this into something beyond anything we've dreamed of...I hope you'll both continue watching me and JayJay."
Bowing her head, Flame thanked them once more before heading back to the car.
10:30AM
The drive continued in tense silence, Elma staring at the road before them while Frye cast her the occasional glance. He was never one to not know what to say, but he also understood the gravity of the situation he found himself in.
Regardless, the silence would drive him nuts at some point and Elma was clearly still concerned about something.
"Say Colonel. When this is over, how about we go grab a drink?"
Elma shook her head.
"I'm surprised you don't have a drink with you right now, Frye."
The man laughed.
"I'm the designated driver, can't really be knockin' em back, right?"
Elma raised an eyebrow as he continued to laugh.
"Regardless, this is a big job. I think you earned the right to drink the night away. Don't you? Take it easy! Rooting out corruption is a massive effort."
Elma smiled.
"I appreciate you saying that Frye...I've just never been much of a drinker."
The man shrugged.
"True. I don't think frothy beers and such are your thing. Whiskey? Nah...but maybe a tall glass of wine. How's that sound?"
The Colonel's smile grew wider.
"That sounds fine, Frye...though imagining you drinking wine is quite the image."
The pair shared a laugh as Frye's datapad beeped. Giving it a quick look he nodded and turned off the road into the driveway of another home.
"Looks like the old man and Phog have been wondering where I am."
"You didn't tell them anything?"
He shrugged.
"I wasn't sure what to tell them. Just said it was business. I'll tell em to leave me the hell alone. That should help."
Elma rolled her eyes as Frye quickly typed up a message before exiting the vehicle.
Looking at her paper, Elma's gaze focused itself on the third name. Slow and steady. Stepping out of the vehicle she brought up her datapad and made a call.
"Colonel."
"Professor."
"How are things going?"
Kriss laughed.
"Swimmingly. Thanks to the hacks we've run on all the information retrieved from the unlicensed datapads you've seized from Ethos and his cohorts I've been finding outpost after outpost, stashes of weaponry left over by the Lawless...or perhaps they're being stashed by the LAST engineer still working on his own."
Elma tilted her head.
"Are you so sure he's still dedicated to the cause?"
"I've met with a few LAST contacts while I've been out here. They see this work as driven, efficient...he may have been pulled in by the Lawless but something is keeping him working even though the Lawless are gone."
"Any clue what that is?"
Kriss waited a few moments.
"Not exactly...one theory involves the people you're arresting right now, one of them may be giving the orders to him and his people...another is that there is someone on the outside."
"In the Lawless Sectors?"
"Those are my best guesses...another one could be that there is another traitor but I doubt Benton would leave anything out…"
There was silence before Kriss spoke again.
"I still think we should have killed him...or rather, I should have killed him…"
"Kriss..."
"Say no more. I'm almost on site, we'll talk later, Colonel."
With that, the Professor hung up. Elma smiled before looking up to see Frye on a second floor balcony. He waved at her before entering the home.
Every single one of the men and women on Elma's paper were flight risks. Frye was necessary for cutting them off and also removing any staff from the scene.
His help was invaluable. Taking a deep breath she approached the front door and knocked.
11:00AM
Along the wall surrounding Noah's Cradles were several heavily manned outposts that kept the peace and were first responders to any threat. One such outpost belongs to the Reapers.
In his office, Kumon watched his datapad as it projected a holographic screen and a ringtone was heard several times before an image flashed on.
"General!"
"Boze."
The man smiled and extended his arms.
"Been too long since you stopped by and even now, just a call? To what do I owe this honor?"
"Hardly an honor Boze. Just looking for a friend."
Boze crossed his arms.
"Friend? Ah. You must mean Harper."
Kumon nodded.
"So...he was there…"
"Yeah, he was. A few weeks back."
Kumon sighed, he'd visited every single place he could think of Steven going to. The man has never once shown an interest in pursuing Skell certification, how could he ever know? No point in bringing that up again, Christoph had every reason to not tell Kumon about this.
"What was he there for?"
"We had a little chat about Skells. I told him it was better late than never when it came to Skell certification. He asked a lot of questions, showed a lot more interest than he usually does but that's all."
"Nothing else?"
"No, sir. If you don't mind me asking, is the matter urgent?"
Kumon thought his answer over before nodding.
"Yes. Very urgent...regardless I'll have to try somewhere else, thank you Boze."
"Don't mention it...General...I have to ask. Is it true that the higher ups are seeking to dismiss Corporal Copeland?"
Kumon sighed.
"It seems that way."
Boze shook his head.
"That poor girl. The thought of a lone warrior being betrayed by the very temple they dedicated themselves to defend is enough to drive anyone to anger...how is she taking it?"
"We haven't really spoken about it...she's more concerned with her sister and her wife than she is with her career. It seems that killing Lao has offered her some new perspective."
Boze sighed.
"Understandable. It'd be a shame if she just rolled over and let them do as they please."
Kumon chuckled.
"Jaynix rolls over for no one. Regardless of her feelings, she's going to fight this...she always does."
"That, we can count on her for, and the rest of your little band of warriors."
"Thank you, Boze. I'm sorry for not keeping in touch."
Boze shook his head.
"You safeguard the exterior of our temple...my people? The interior. Both are required to maintain our way of life. Not much to be done, sir."
The General nodded.
"In that way, we are successful...let's hope we're all as effective when it comes to protecting our temple in the stars."
11:30AM
High in the sky above D-064 the Cross, two Skells descended towards the Koo Facility. In the lead was Jaynix's Firebird, Flame inside it as well. Not far behind was Lyla and her own, Headshot.
"What's the access code again, Flame?"
"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you having this information, JayJay."
"I'm not gonna do anything bad with it I promise."
Flame laughed.
"Of course not. It's 920819."
Transmitting the code, Jaynix waited for the verification response before the panels below her began to move, now open to the skies above.
Carefully, both Skells descended into the research hangar, Jaynix couldn't help but smile upon seeing the two people waiting for them.
The three women exited their Skells as H.B. and Alexa approached, the latter shooting right for Flame and embracing her.
"I'm so glad you're back Flame! I missed you! H.B. was unbearable! Never leave him to take charge again please!"
Flame laughed before shooting a playful glare at H.B.
"Whatever she's planning on accusing me of, I guarantee you it's all blown far out of proportion."
Alexa moved from Flame to Lyla.
"Ah! Jaynix's better half, been too long since you came round these parts."
Lyla smiled, holding her arms open as Alexa went in for a hug.
"I know, I'm terrible. With everything settling down I should take some time and just...visit. We'd all benefit from that."
Jaynix walked over to H.B., the man's expression became serious as he spoke.
"Did you meet with my father yet?"
Jaynix shook her head.
"Not yet. I'll be going in after Flame gets settled back in here."
She then smiled.
"After all, my sister and my wife are far more important to me than Ivan."
H.B. chuckled.
"I don't doubt it...I still feel a need to apologize in his place."
Jaynix put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, really. I'll be able to handle him. I've faced a lot worse in my career as a soldier."
A small smile came to H.B.'s face as he adjusted his glasses.
"I don't doubt it."
"Now come on Mr. Superior, Flame expects a full report on what you and Alexa have been up to since she's been gone."
Alexa laughed at that.
"H.B. was sending reports to Flame the whole time, she's well in the know. You can't get this guy to stop contacting Flame, he needs to!"
"Alexa! Don't say anything out of turn, I swear!"
H.B. stated, his voice growing louder and even a bit panicked. Jaynix cast a quick look over to Flame who was covering her face, Lyla placed a hand on the younger sister's shoulder. The pair shared a few words as Alexa walked off to retrieve a datapad.
"Actually. I hate to do this to you guys...especially you Flame, since you just got back but there has been a little...issue."
Flame tilted her head, any embarrassment she was feeling before was gone immediately.
"What happened? Did one of our projects-"
"Nothing is wrong with ours, don't worry about that."
H.B. stated as he approached. Alexa tapped a few commands on the datapad, the device now showing a holographic image and a scientist's ID.
"Is that...Ulysses Hill?"
Alexa nodded.
"He came by not too long ago. H.B. and I helped him out on his latest project. Doing favors and all that y'know."
Flame crossed her arms as Alexa continued.
"Well...the project we were all collaborating on. He told us that it was nearly complete and he was going to go into a series of live tests when his creation was...stolen."
Flame closed her eyes.
"Hill is a real craftsman...he must have been devastated."
H.B. sighed.
"He was. We…"
"Ahem."
H.B. looked over at Alexa who shook her head.
"I...told him that we could find it. Alexa was against the idea because there was no evidence at the scene. Nothing pointing to...anyone. It shouldn't have been my call but I understand the bond that one feels with what he creates. We all do."
The three remained silent before Flame turned to Jaynix and Lyla.
"Sorry. We didn't mean to ignore the two of you."
Lyla chuckled.
"No offense taken. You've got your own things to deal with."
"Yeah...by the way, if you don't mind me asking. What was stolen?"
Jaynix asked, to which Alexa gestured at the holographic image.
"This cloak. It grants its wearer a high level of camouflage. Of all varieties. Tracking systems won't work, heat signatures are concealed...it makes you invisible but without making you invisible."
Lyla raised an eyebrow.
"No optic camouflage?"
H.B. shook his head.
"That was Hill's last step when the cloak was stolen."
Jaynix approached, looking at the image.
"The Phantom. Huh. Fitting name for it."
Jaynix continued reading the documents on the holographic display and let out a low whistle.
"It seems the material the cloak was made from is also highly resistant to firearms and edged weaponry. This Hill guy must be pretty talented to put this together."
Alexa put her hands on her hips and gave a wide smirk.
"It wasn't just him y'know! The more heads workin' at it, the better the final product!"
H.B. rolled his eyes while Lyla giggled.
"I can see that. It's certainly impressive. Unfortunate that someone went and stole it...how could there be no evidence?"
Alexa shrugged.
"The cameras leading to and from Hill's lab didn't catch anything and no sensors were tripped. Currently, the only theory we have is that whoever got in here had all the access codes and rights needed cause nothing they did was reported or came off as strange. No one knew anything happened till Hill came back to his work station and realized that the Phantom was gone."
Jaynix brought a hand to her chin, recalling what Kriss had told her about the Lawless infiltrating her facility and killing everyone. No one knew they were there because they had all the necessary rights.
"What are the odds…"
Lyla put a hand on her shoulder.
"Something wrong?"
"I'm not sure yet...we should give this a once over ourselves. Not exactly the welcome home party we all wanted but work never ends."
Flame smiled.
"I appreciate it JayJay, we all do but...you shouldn't keep Ivan waiting. After dropping me off you were going to go see him right? Clear everything up?"
Jaynix began to speak when H.B. cut in.
"As much as I think ignoring that man's existence is the more rewarding thing to do...the problems you face are dire. Regardless of what we all know and believe, my...father won't rest until his case is complete and you've been dismissed."
Jaynix sighed.
"Right as always...not to mention I need to talk to Elma, whenever she's free from her own very important work. I really don't have the time to hang around here."
There was silence before Lyla took Jaynix's hand into her own.
"I can hang back and see what I can find."
"Alone?"
Lyla laughed before gesturing to Flame, H.B. and Alexa.
"Hardly. Unless you mean to tell me you don't trust them to keep me safe."
Jaynix smiled.
"I trust you to keep them safe."
"Come on, I don't need a babysitter!"
Alexa called out, H.B. was quick to disagree. Flame gave them a look, the pair falling silent before she addressed Lyla.
"We appreciate the help."
Jaynix stepped forward once more to embrace her sister, warm smiles on both their faces.
"Till we meet again."
Flame nodded.
"Always."
Seperating, Jaynix moved to Alexa and H.B. bidding them farewell before kissing her wife. Nodding to one another, Jaynix returned to her Skell, waving to the four before taking off and heading back to Noah's Cradle.
Not long after, Lyla looked to the three Skell engineers.
"Alright then. I should talk to Hill first, hear what he has to say. Care to direct me to him?"
Flame nodded.
"Of course!"
With that, she led Lyla out of their workspace and into the halls of the facility.
12:30 PM
Out in the Lawless Sectors, Kriss continued on her way. Traversing the wilds never bothered her, however the farther she got from the walls of Noah's Cradle, the riskier her venture became. She took every precaution to remain either unseen or unimportant, blending in with those who cared for nothing, least of all a stranger joining their ranks.
Kriss found herself once again among a group of faithless, they were moving in the direction she needed so she fell into step with them. Words were few and the ones that were uttered were nonsensical.
Examining her datapad, Kriss studied the information on her surroundings gathered by the Coalition's forward operating teams. The most useful of which were the reports put together by the Reapers, or rather, by their Strategist, Eren Hills.
Kriss recalled meeting the woman briefly two years ago. She'd kept tabs on her since, not many people approached her out in the Sectors, the other woman was forward. Bold. Smart. All things Kriss could appreciate.
"I wonder what she would think if she knew I was one of her nameless contacts…"
The Reapers had an effective system in place for keeping tabs on all those active out in the Lawless Sectors. Several Coalition contacts were deployed into the wilderness undercover. Keeping their heads down and their ears open to whatever may be of import. It was contacts like these that directed the Reapers to the raided LAST facility that kicked off their struggle against the Lawless.
Thinking about that, Kriss came to halt. Eyes widening, she couldn't believe it. Was it really that simple?
Breaking away from the faithless travelers, Kriss headed in a new direction, whispering to herself.
"The LAST engineer would need state of the art equipment to craft many of the things that were deployed during the operation…"
She then recalled the reports Elma had brought her which she studied without end.
"After the fires were dealt with, the destroyed facility was searched to find all sorts of equipment for developing the various weapons...much of it was old and repurposed as is expected with terrorist cells...but the rest was much more recent."
Kriss laughed at herself.
"They stole the necessary equipment from LAST facilities. With the Lawless wiped out, their base destroyed and now host to countless Coalition patrols that leaves only one option for this wayward engineer...to move the entire operation back to where it started."
Bringing up her datapad, a holographic map of the surrounding area popped up with several markers pointing to nearby LAST facilities. With a smile, Kriss continued on her way.
2:00PM
Slamming the back door of the vehicle shut, Frye let out a long sigh before turning to the Colonel.
"That's all of em, yeah?"
Elma nodded.
"Yes indeed. I can't thank you enough for all of your help, Frye."
The man waved her off.
"More important than that...what now?"
Elma pulled out her datapad.
"I have my conversation with Ethos recorded but we're going to need more from them all to make a solid case."
Frye crossed his arms.
"You think your recording could get tossed?"
"Ethos could argue I intimidated him into a confession. However, once they see the evidence of what he and the others did, they'll have no choice but to come clean."
"Why's that?"
There was a brief silence, Frye shaking his head.
"Their families."
"Yes. Depending on how the Coalition and the ECP treats them...there is a chance this could risk their families' passage onto the arks."
Frye closed his eyes, thinking of his father and brother.
"They definitely wouldn't lie and risk that...not that it matters anymore."
Elma checked her datapad, seeing several messages from Jaynix and one from the President.
"I have to run all of this by Reeve before we go public. There's a safehouse not too far from here. Take them all there and get their statements. I'll be back when I'm done."
Frye bowed his head.
"Of course! See you soon, Colonel."
Entering the vehicle, Frye started it up and took off as Elma called her Ares. The Skell was there not long after. As she sat in place, she tapped Jaynix's contact info on her device.
"Hey Elma! Was hoping to get in touch with you!"
The Colonel smiled.
"As was I though I have to apologize for being so busy."
"No need!"
Directing her Skell towards the Coalition Headquarters, Elma eased her grips on the controls.
"What do you need, Jaynix?"
The flight continued in silence, Elma checked to make sure her call didn't drop or Jaynix hung up.
"You there?"
"Yeah, Elma. I am…"
With a sigh, Elma spoke.
"It's your legs...isn't it?"
"Yeah...I can't be held back by this. Regardless of what happens after my meeting with Ivan…"
Elma brought her Skell to a halt, now hovering in midair.
"Do you want me to come to you? Talk in person?"
"You're probably busy."
Elma shook her head.
"I'll put it off...for you."
There was laughter. It started low but gradually grew fiercer. Elma chuckled, waiting for Jaynix to calm herself.
"I missed flirting with you…"
"You never had to stop, Jaynix. I know I give you a hard time about it but I also know that's just who you are."
Jaynix sighed.
"Yeah...Elma, how soon can I go through the whole Mimeosome procedure? Whatever that entails."
Elma tapped her fingers along the Ares' controls.
"Realistically...we could do it tomorrow. If it's urgent. Otherwise, pick a date next week and we'll get it done. Are you sure?"
Elma waited for Jaynix's response once more.
"If I don't do it now I still have to do it before the Exodus...whenever that winds up being. I have to be at my best and while I'm sure I could recover to a state much like before I was shot...it'd take too much time. We can't afford it and with Lao dead, the Lawless gone…"
Taking a deep breath, Jaynix continued.
"...I want to do it."
"Alright. When?"
"...my birthday is coming up soon. After that."
"After that...very well."
Jaynix laughed.
"It's a date. Don't be late."
Elma smiled.
"Never."
The Colonel let her eyes stray, absorbing the city of Noah's Cradle below her. The calm atmosphere, the warmth it seemed to radiant now. Their struggle against the Lawless seemed so long ago.
"Elma."
"Yeah?"
"Talk to you again. Soon."
"Soon."
Ending the call, Elma let out a long sigh before continuing on her way to meet with the President.
2:30PM
Arriving at the Reapers' base along the exterior wall of Noah's Cradle, Jaynix exited her Skell and stretched. The flight back and forth from the Cross was one she'd done plenty of times before but something about today made it feel more taxing on her than ever.
She couldn't stop herself from bringing a hand to her leg and rubbing. Sighing she moved toward the base, once inside she called out for anyone and Tai appeared almost immediately.
"Jaynix? Weren't you heading to your meeting with the Detective?"
"I am...what? I can't stop by and see you guys?"
Tai chuckled
"Of course you can...I just don't think riling up Ivan by keeping him waiting is the best strategy."
Jaynix fell silent as she continued to rub her leg. Slowly Tai approached her and placed a hand on her arm before gesturing to a room. Inside, the pair sat down on the bed, Tai focused on the sound of Jaynix's hand moving up and down her leg.
"It bothers you that much?"
"I don't know how to describe it Tai...it just doesn't feel right. I try to ignore it but…"
The man placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a friendly pat.
"I understand. We all do."
Jaynix thanked him before letting out a heavy sigh.
"With everything that happened last year...I feel like I haven't gotten the time to really appreciate the things I have…"
"What do you mean?"
Jaynix shrugged.
"Lao. The Lawless. I've had tunnel vision since they reappeared...I don't feel like I've done enough to...I don't know...I just feel like I pushed you all to the wayside. I didn't spend enough time with you even though you guys are my family."
Tai smiled.
"We didn't feel that way Jaynix. We all knew how much this whole thing would affect you but we all maintained that you'd push through it all. I don't know if you know this Jaynix, but you're pretty strong."
The woman laughed, Tai's smile growing wider.
"It's true you didn't spend a lot of time here while we were putting together our plans for dealing with the Lawless...but we all had you in our thoughts. Sagis, Alto, Eren, the General and of course Lyla goes without saying. For as hectic as it must have been for you, I say you handled it well."
Jaynix brought her hands together, holding them tightly.
"What do you think about the investigation? About my possible dismissal?"
"It won't happen...unless you want it to. Do you want it to?"
Jaynix closed her eye, thinking.
"You better answer that with a no."
The pair looked up to see Eren standing at the doorway.
"I'm not gonna mince words, Jaynix. We need you. We want you here. Birtwhistle can say whatever the hell he wants and pass whatever judgement he thinks is right but we all know the truth. We know you Jaynix."
"Eren."
"I know you remember, Jaynix. This whole endeavor, the Reapers. It all began in 2044 when the General brought you, me and Tai together. Ten years we've been going strong. It takes more than a few months of silence and distractions to break our bonds."
Jaynix nodded.
"You're right."
"Of course I am. I'm the smartest one in the room, always have been. Always will."
Eren moved forward, sitting on the bed as well, on the opposite side of Jaynix.
"Also this is my room you two decided to step into."
Tai chuckled.
"Sorry about that."
"It is what it is, Captain Hook."
Tai rolled his eyes before addressing Jaynix.
"No more doubts. I think it's time you got back on that road. Or are you done making your name one worthy of remembering?"
Jaynix shook her head.
"Never."
"That's more like it!"
Eren stated. Jaynix observed her most stalwart allies. Thinking about it from a new point of view, ten years she fought alongside them. She'd long since lost track of the time, simply accepting that Eren and Tai would always be with her. The same can be said for the General. For Lyla. And even for the Blood Brothers.
"I really don't know what I'd do without any of you."
The three fell into a comfortable silence before Jaynix sighed.
"There is also another reason I came by...not just to see you guys."
Eren raised an eyebrow.
"What's up?"
"...Kumon...he told me something...the truth about the Massacre and my part in it…"
Tai crossed his arms.
"Your part in it?"
Eren brought a hand to his chin.
"The General has looked pretty...conflicted…"
"Yeah, boss man hasn't really been the optimistic sort we've grown to love."
The three looked up to see Sagis and Alto at the doorway, Sagis waving at them while Alto cleared his throat.
"Just like Sagis says...we've all noticed. As a family we don't really keep a lot of secrets but whatever has been on the General's mind has been weighing him down...if he told you then I guess we can hope that he feels better about it."
Jaynix nodded.
"I hope so too...is he here?"
Eren thought for a moment.
"He should be. Last I heard, he was in his office making a bunch of calls trying to find someone. He's been pretty hush about it…"
Slowly, Jaynix stood up.
"Let's go see him. Before I talk with Birtwhistle, you all deserve his truth too...as my family."
The rest of the Reapers looked to one another before standing and following Jaynix out of the room.
3:00PM
"President Reeve. The Colonel is here to speak with you."
"Of course. Let her through…"
Eleonora departed, Elma walking into view not long after. She noticed that the President's table had a sole, empty glass and that he sat on his chair which was turned away from the table, looking out over Noah's Cradle.
"They're under arrest. Everyone involved."
"...and what did they tell you?"
Elma approached.
"Ethos told me everything I needed to know. Those who masterminded the Dark Matter experiments are the exact same people who worked with the Lawless. It's how they gained access to all the LAST facilities, how they were able to breach Coalition security and assault my home."
The President nodded.
"I feared that may have been the answer…"
Elma waited a few moments before asking.
"Among their effects I found several archived conversations detailing their plans, their reasons. All of it was so...miniscule in the grand scale of things. Petty. Yet for everything I found that infuriated me...there was one thing that I could not understand."
Elma watched the President tap his fingers along his chair.
"And that was?"
"Your involvement in all of this."
"Alright ya bastards, into the back room with all of ya!"
Frye clapped his hands and rushed the traitors as they entered the safehouse.
"The windows are fortified so don't even think of trying to break out and the back door is locked by a code of my own choosing. You lot best keep quiet while I prep the main room to take your confessions."
Ethos came to a stop, turning to address Frye.
"What can I offer you to look the other way?"
Frye smiled.
"There is nothing you can grant me that would ever drive me to betray the Colonel. None of you understand the true depths of loyalty, camaraderie and friendship."
Ethos crossed his arms.
"What if I could secure one more spot on the White Whale for your family? You, your brother and your father...together."
Ethos watched the expression in Frye's face change. He couldn't help but smirk. It wasn't long before anger began to burn within Frye. Taking a hold of Ethos' collar, Frye dragged him through the home and threw him into the back room, slamming the door shut.
Clenching his teeth, Frye turned away. Moving towards the table and chairs, the man sat down and let out a long breath. Counting backwards from three and easing his breathing was all he could do to keep his anger from boiling over.
"What a snake…"
Frye looked to the binders Elma had left him, filled with all the necessary questions and information the traitors would need to provide for a full and undeniable confession.
Opening the first binder, he began to read through everything Elma had written out for him. This was not his type of job but with everything going on, he had to make an exception.
While the forms stated Ethos would be the one to start with, Frye didn't feel like speaking with that man right now.
"I'll just save him for last...what harm could it do?"
Whispering words of encouragement to himself, Frye stood up. He read and reread the first few questions before looking at the list of traitors.
"Eenie meenie minie mo never hurt anyone."
Putting his finger on the second name, avoiding Ethos, Frye began to recite to himself. Before he could finish he heard a knock at the door.
Everything fell silent.
There was no way Elma was back already.
Standing, Frye moved towards the wall and grabbed his blade. Whoever was outside just made a huge mistake.
Bending his knees, he drew the blade and held it at the ready before calling out.
"I'm giving you five seconds to back away."
Frye couldn't help but think.
"How could someone be here? This is a top secret safehouse. Very few people know it exists and only Elma and I even know it's in use."
Frye's eyes moved to the security monitors. No alarms had been triggered by whoever had approached. Not a single one of the sensors that lined the perimeter were tripped, nothing had gone off. That somehow made even less sense.
"Time's up! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Frye then heard a thump, something had hit the front door. Before he could question it, there was an explosion, the door was blown into the room, Frye rolled away from the crash as something else shot into the room.
The man could only curse and dive away once more as another explosion tore through the room.
The Reapers all sat in Kumon's office, the General at his desk nursed a drink in his hand that never seemed to reach his lips.
The room was silent, everyone now well aware of what happened that night back in 2041. Looking up at the Reapers, he searched all of their expressions.
Tai's face betrayed no emotion, the man was clearly lost in his own thoughts while Eren was shocked into silence. Unsure of what to say. Sagis and Alto seemed troubled yet they also looked to have accepted it already.
Kumon finally put his glass down, well aware that he would not be taking a single drink from it for the rest of the day.
After a long silence, Tai finally spoke.
"She wouldn't have been able to serve if anyone knew...and Harper...he didn't agree."
Kumon shook his head.
"No. Steven was against it but…"
Eren looked over to Jaynix, shame still evident on the Corporal's face.
"It's a tough thing no doubt…"
Alto whispered.
"Ya'll know Sagis and I were originally paramilitary...by our current definition, we were the enemy."
Sagis crossed his arms, nodding to his partner.
"We've done plenty of bad things before we joined up with this squad. Every day is one more thing we can tell ourselves we've atoned for even though we know that a clean ledger will never be a reality."
Alto stood up, looking over to Jaynix he thought for a moment.
"You're strong, Corporal. We all know that. No matter the trial, you can overcome it…"
Jaynix looked down at the ground.
"I'm still not sure if I should...Birtwhistle has all this information as well...it doesn't matter what I say to him. If there is to be order…"
"Jaynix."
Eren said in a low whisper.
"Everything surrounding the Massacre, the Lawless...it's not something we can just write off as morally right or wrong. Decisions had to be made...and several were made for us...for you…"
"There is one other person who must accept everything."
The Reapers looked to Tai.
"Jaynix isn't running from this truth, she's facing it no matter how horrible it may be...but Steven…"
Kumon nodded.
"I'd like to get him to meet with Jaynix...he has this image of her in his head...but it's not who she is...if he can't see her for who she is now, he'll never be able to move on…"
Jaynix sighed, thinking about the other man who once tried to help her with her grief. It was only for a moment but he desperately tried to stop the rampage before she lost control. In return, she crippled him.
"I've been looking for Steven but to no success...since you all know now I'd like you to help me, Eren."
"Yeah. Of course."
"Are you all...fine with this?"
Jaynix asked, the other Reapers turning to her. Sagis and Alto gave each other a quick glance, Sagis speaking.
"It's not an easy truth...but you lost your mother, right in front of your eyes...in that moment you would either curl up and die alongside her...or fight back. Rage. 30 years old or 20, we all know there was only ever one option for you."
Tai closed his eyes.
"You killed innocents. Unintentional. Accidental. I'm sure we can find the proper person to defend you if you want to fight this."
Jaynix shrugged.
"I don't know…"
"It's not the revelation I was expecting to hear, I'll be honest."
Eren stated.
"It's horrible, it's painful...but seeing how you react to it now. That's all we need. From this point on, it's up to you."
Kumon stood up from his chair, eyes focused on the Corporal.
"I've seen your strength firsthand Jaynix. For over a decade I watched you and Flame pick up the pieces and grow. You both accepted the loss of your parents, those memories...you've pushed ahead. You made names for yourself. You showed the world who you really are and the world has granted you both the title of heroes. You said that because of your time with me you felt more human...that empty shell that you claimed to be when you came to live with me is a thing of the past. You'll always carry the feelings. The sadness. The pain. That all consuming rage. Yet...for all of it, you'll never stop. You'll never quit. That is your greatest strength Jaynix. Everyone knows it."
Jaynix began rubbing her legs. Closing her eye she thought back to the Massacre one more time.
"I shouldn't have kept it a secret from you for this long. You've been capable of accepting it for years but out of fear of...I just couldn't…"
"Flame and I didn't just lose our parents that day. You lost your best friends...I understand, sir."
Kumon nodded before stepping around the table towards Jaynix and reaching out with one hand. He waited until Jaynix did the same, the pair now holding one another's hand as tightly as they could.
Elma stood in front of the President, his eyes not on her but rather lost in deep thought. Elma recalled what he told her in regards to not knowing about the depths of the corruption. His words were honest, she could tell...but there was something she needed to hear.
Reeve finally looked up at Elma.
"You know...I had three sons…"
Elma remained silent as he continued.
"My eldest, John. He was our pride and joy. My wife and I remember every moment of his growth...his dreams. He took hold of his life with both hands. He wanted to be Commander of the Coalition forces. A position I'm sure you know Nagi has now. Through the years we never thought we'd need to replace Nagi but if he continued...he would reach that point. We believed it. He attended Minos Academy and upon graduating he formally joined the military. He was infallible...or so we all believed…"
"I know the story, sir...you don't have to-"
Reeve smiled.
"I do...during an operation he was wounded. It wasn't serious, people have recovered from worse conditions. Corporal Copeland comes to mind…"
The President turned away from Elma and coughed into his hands, the Colonel waiting until he calmed down.
"...there was a foreign contaminant on the weapon...it wasn't long before he fell deathly ill and we just couldn't solve it fast enough...he passed not long after. We've been...we never recovered."
"What did Ethos promise you, sir?"
Reeve chuckled.
"The one thing any parent could want...their child…"
"Sir...it-"
"Ethos ran some preliminary experimentation with the Dark Matter while it was still in the hold...it was capable of reconstructing destroyed objects not unlike how a lizard grows back its tail...so I thought...maybe there was some sense to what he said...I wanted there to be some sense to it…"
Elma knew for a fact that Ghosts could indeed rebuild their bodies from the smallest fragments as long as their core was undamaged.
"There's a difference between destroyed material and a flesh and blood body…"
"I know...I just...I had to believe so I looked the other way, Ethos took the Dark Matter...and Nantucket was destroyed."
The President brought a hand to his chest.
"In wanting to save my son I killed the family of another man...what I inflicted on Lao I understood more than anyone...that's why I agreed with the council and put my vote in to bring him back alive."
"You wanted to apologize."
Reeve shrugged.
"I wanted to look him in the eyes…"
"Your other sons?"
Reeve shook his head.
"The universe wanted to punish me for what I did...when Lao attacked Rhadamanthus, my third son, Mark was killed in the explosion at the Academy. Leaving my wife and I with one boy…"
Elma remained silent as the President rubbed at his eyes.
"It doesn't justify my mistake...Ethos presented his idea to me in such a way that...what else could I say? Whether it was likely or not I wanted to take the slim chance even knowing what you told me...that was my role in everything. All of it."
The President closed his eyes.
"...the time to pay for it has come…"
On his feet once more, Frye held his blade at the ready as voices called out.
"Shut up you lot! The room is secure, no one is getting in there without me saying so!"
Frye took a step forward.
"Show yourself coward!"
The voices finally fell silent, footsteps now approaching from outside.. Frye narrowed his eyes as a dark figure entered the room, the stranger wore a long hooded cloak obscuring their features.
Before Frye could say anything they drew a blade and charged him. Roaring, the man brought his own blade up, both weapons clashing.
"You aren't my target."
"Doesn't matter! Colonel's orders, you're under arrest!"
The pair's blades broke away from one another, Frye spinning about in time to see the hooded figure run towards the secure door.
Charging at them, he swung his blade as they flipped away and held one of their arms out. The sleeve on the assailant's arm lifted enough that Frye could see a device on their wrist as it fired.
A projectile shot out, Frye narrowly avoiding it and rolling across the floor as the stranger brought his blade back up and charged in again.
Frye exchanged blows with his opponent over and over, blades striking, sparks flying and men shouting. The voices from the other room picked up once more, Frye ignored them as he ducked under his opponent's strike.
He watched as they turned away but made no move to defend themselves. Roaring, Frye swung his blade, the attack made contact with the cloak but there was no visible damage. The blade simply slid uselessly across the surface of the cloak. Frye could say nothing as the man turned and delivered a savage kick to Frye's stomach, throwing him several feet away.
The stranger looked at the robe he wore as if impressed before returning to the door.
Coughing Frye rolled over and crawled to his discarded assault rifle. Arming the weapon he turned and fired off a grenade. The stranger ducked quickly as the round slammed against them, another explosion filling the room.
Frye watched the smoke clear to reveal the figure still ducking and seemingly unharmed.
"What the shit…"
Standing, the stranger held both arms out, bolts flying from their wrist mounted weapons. Frye cursed and rolled to his feet, evading them as best he could.
Drawing his blade, the stranger cut Frye off and swung. Holding his gun up, Frye threw himself away from the attack as the blade sliced clean through his weapon.
Standing firm, Frye spat on the ground before raising his fists.
The stranger tilted his head, amused before charging in. Frye avoided the first swing of the blade and reached out to grab his opponent's arm and hold the blade at a distance. Clenching his other hand into a fist he reeled back and punched the man in the chest.
He heard a grunt, Frye couldn't help but grin knowing that his impact was felt. As his opponent stumbled away Frye roared and leapt into the air, delivering a fierce kick to the stranger's chest and throwing them to the ground.
Quickly the stranger tapped one of his wrists and raised his arm, a sonic wave fired out and threw Frye across the room and into a wall.
Cursing, Frye got to his feet once more.
"Stay down. My fight isn't with you."
"Not gonna happen tall, dark and cowardly."
Frye raised his fists again.
"The Colonel and I spent hours rounding these assholes up, I'm not about to let you take them."
"Take them?"
Frye charged forward, the stranger leapt away from him and threw his blade at Frye. Avoiding the weapon, Frye continued to close in before leaping forward and tackling the man to the ground.
Raising his fists, Frye began beating down on the stranger's head. Cursing, the stranger fired off a sonic wave at close range. The force blasting Frye into the ceiling.
Rolling away, the stranger shook his head as Frye fell back to the ground.
"You...bastard…"
"I apologize, Christoph. Once again, my fight isn't with you."
Frye coughed as the stranger once more neared the door. It didn't take long for him to hack through the access code and step inside. Once he did, Frye began to laugh.
The stranger exited the room as Frye spoke up.
"I transmitted an emergency code to the back door...those assholes are gone."
"You let them leave?"
"Better that than let you have them. We need them alive."
The stranger nodded.
"I know you do."
Frye stood up pulling out a knife and spinning it in his fingers.
"I can't let them speak, Christoph."
Frye narrowed his eyes.
"So...your fight is with the Corporal. With Jaynix."
The figure remained still.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Because, revealing the depths of the conspiracy around Nantucket and Lao would also reveal that the internal investigation around Jaynix is being spearheaded by the guys who started everything in the first place. Classic case of a snake eating its own tail. The only person who gets screwed by their deaths is Jaynix."
Frye spat.
"Do you even understand what you could screw up by killing them? The Coalition had rot growing all over it and so we're taking care of it! The Colonel and I are restoring the people's faith in everything."
The stranger shook his head.
"I'm not concerned with any of that. Faith. Purpose. Life. Death. My fight is with Jaynix."
Frye smiled.
"Then Mr. Harper. Do away with the robe and tell me face to face. Man to man."
The stranger chuckled, reaching up and pulling off their hood.
"I'm not surprised the Colonel told you anything."
"She trusts me. Looks like we all made a mistake trusting you."
"You made a mistake believing I didn't plan for this."
Quickly, Harper reached into his robe and pulled out his bow, prepping an arrow as Frye spun his knife and threw it.
Harper grunted as the knife found its way into his torso. Frye cursed as the arrow hit its mark, embedding itself into his shoulder.
Harper tore the knife out and dropped it.
"Consider me impressed...but it's too late."
Harper fired an arrow at the ground which burst into a thick smoke. Once it cleared up, Frye found himself alone.
Pulling the arrow out of his arm, he dropped it to the ground and searched the ruined room for his datapad.
"The time to pay? I'm not here to kill you, Mr. President. I just-"
"I know…"
There was a pause before Reeve began coughing once more, Elma stepping closer.
"Mr. President?"
Slowly, Reeve turned to face her, blood on his lips he smiled.
"My wife and I have no place on the Ark...our only wish is to secure a future for our last son...I ask that you ensure his safety for the future ahead."
Elma looked back at the President's table and his empty glass.
"Sir. What did you do?"
Looking away from her, he continued to stare out over Noah's Cradle before closing his eyes.
"The Coalition rests with you now Elma. You'd never take the position...I'm sorry for forcing it onto you...but we need you. We all know that. Even Ethos."
Elma stood in silence as the man thanked her one last time. She remained at his side until his arm fell limp, now hanging off the side of his chair.
Elma made a move to touch him when a voice called out.
"Stop!"
Turning quickly, Elma found herself facing his secretary, Eleonora.
"I didn't-"
"I know you didn't. The last thing we'd need is any evidence of you on him."
Elma raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"The President told me everything he planned to do today. I'll take care of this. I suggest you depart before I make the necessary calls."
Elma shook her head.
"But-"
At that moment, her datapad began to beep. Pulling it out, Elma noted Frye's information. Looking to Eleonora once more she spoke.
"I'm not leading the Coalition. That's not-"
"We can figure that out later. I need you to leave, Colonel."
The women stared at one another for a few more moments before Elma walked away, opening the call with Frye.
"We've got a problem, Colonel!"
4:30PM
Out in the Lawless Sectors, Kriss stood with a proud smirk on her face. She had found exactly what she needed. A LAST facility that her people had cleared out as part of their vanishing protocol. However, this one was clearly still operating. That lone engineer and whoever else was in his employ had to be here.
Approaching the site, she found all her codes still worked. While she was initially amused at the idea, something told her it was because whoever was behind this wanted her here.
"Then let's talk…"
Hands in her pockets, Kriss entered the facility. The familiar sounds of research and development filling the halls. She glanced into every room she passed by to see researchers and scientists as well as armed guards keeping their eyes on everything.
Tapping her glasses, she recorded everything and sent it to Elma, something else she was clearly being allowed to do.
As she entered the center room, she glanced at the screens on display showing every single room in the facility and all of the development when a voice came on over the intercom.
"Professor."
She smiled.
"Hello. Hope you weren't waiting too long for me to show up."
"Not at all. I expected you every single day."
"What for?"
A door opened behind her. Raising an eyebrow she approached. She thought of the voice, it was clearly robotic. What was the point behind bringing her here and acknowledging everything yet disguising your voice?
"How I've longed for this day Professor."
"Are you fueled by a need for revenge too?"
"It's amazing how one could slight another so, yet not seem to care."
Kriss chuckled.
"Clearly you don't know me."
Entering the main office, she found it to be completely barren, no one sat behind the desk.
"What was the point of bringing me here if you weren't going to be here?"
Hearing something switch on she turned to see a large screen above the door. On it, she saw the upper body of a stranger, the man was clapping for her though it was clearly sarcastic.
As she expected, she didn't recognize him well at all though what immediately caught her eye was a device around his neck that was clearly going into his throat. It wasn't some aesthetic choice. Given the scarring, he seemed incapable of speaking.
"Who are you?"
The man shook his head
"Of course you wouldn't recognize me. You never paid any attention or respect to your peers. Lording your intelligence over everyone was all we were good for."
Kriss shrugged.
"At least I never betrayed my peers. That is what you're doing here yes? Holding these other engineers be they LAST or other unfortunate fools and forcing them to develop weapons for an entity that doesn't exist."
"If that's what you believe, I'll allow you to believe it. More important than that I wish to ask once more. Do you truly not recognize me?"
Kriss shook her head. The screen then flashed, he was no longer on it, instead some old recorded footage was being played. Kriss watched it, instantly recognizing the area being shown was another LAST facility, specifically the one that was raided by the Lawless.
The footage was from the point of view of a Lawless soldier, no doubt recorded from his helmet. She remained silent as she continued to watch, it was less than a minute later when she saw her past self running by in the background being closely followed by two other scientists.
The soldier fired off a grenade which embedded itself in the wall in front of Kriss.
The Professor watched as her past self grabbed one of the scientists running with her and pushed them in front to take the brunt of the explosion.
Once the blast had cleared, Kriss was gone, having run through one of the emergency escape tunnels. The Lawless soldier began running after her only to notice something else.
She watched the man turn and look down to see the other scientist that was attempting to flee with Kriss. The man was holding a gruesome injury along his throat and a hand out towards the soldier when the video ended.
"Remember me now?"
Elma and Frye stood in a vast field, the safehouse not far behind them. She had arrived as soon as she could and the pair began their search for the traitors.
Tracking them didn't take long. Frye kneeled down, within the tall grass was a body, an arrow buried in the back of their skull.
Frye looked to Elma who began walking, searching the field for the rest of them.
"Colonel. I'm sorry I-"
"No need to apologize, Frye...I made the mistake of underestimating Harper…"
Elma clenched her fists. She didn't expect him to make a move like this, he wanted to corner Jaynix and if he could kill anyone who knew anything about the truth, there would be no viable evidence to aid Jaynix with.
"What do we do now, Colonel?"
Elma brought out her datapad once more, seeing the information that Kriss had sent her way. Flipping through the images and videos she turned back to Frye.
"There is a facility constructing the same weapons that the Lawless had used to fight against us last year. We have to go there."
Frye nodded, the pair leaving the field. Elma headed straight for her Ares while Frye made his way to the truck.
"What do you think we'll find there, Colonel?"
"Proof. I hope."
5:00PM
Stepping outside of Firebird, Jaynix looked to the Coalition headquarters behind her. Taking a deep breath, she entered the building and worked her way to Internal Affairs.
She didn't have to say a word to anyone, they all recognized her and guided her along until she reached that same hallway that Lyla and the rest had come to for their part of the Investigation.
Entering the closest room, Jaynix sat down and waited. It didn't take long for Birtwhistle to appear, he sat across from her in silence. The pair stared at one another before he finally spoke.
"I've heard so much about you Jaynix."
"That's Corporal Copeland to you, Detective."
He smiled.
"Of course...I've been looking forward to this."
"You've been chomping at the bit to have me dismissed?"
Birtwhistle shook his head.
"I phrased that incorrectly. No. I've just been interested in meeting you, Corporal."
Jaynix looked around the room.
"Just us? Did your boyfriend dump you?"
"...is that really the way you want to start this?"
Jaynix shrugged as Birtwhistle prepared to transcribe the discussion on his own. Clearing his throat, he began.
"When did you first meet Lao Huang?"
"That doesn't matter."
Birtwhistle raised an eyebrow.
"Lao? Really? We both know you don't care about that. You want to hear about the 2041 Massacre. About the people I killed. My actions. You want me to tell you why I did what I did. Why I shot Lao. Why I acted with no one else in mind but myself. That's what you want to know. So ask me."
Birtwhistle remained silent as Jaynix shrugged.
"You've been waiting for this correct? Cut the bullshit. Ask me."
Nodding, Birtwhistle took his hands away from the holographic keyboard.
"...why did you kill Lao Huang?"
Jaynix leaned in.
"Because that's what he deserved and honestly? That's what he wanted."
Birtwhistle fell silent once more.
"Lao Huang was once a hero. Pain changed him, just like it changed me that night in 2041. However...I had people close to me, dear to me. They saw that pain and helped me through it...as much as it hurt...as much as it broke my heart to remember the day that I lost my mother and my father, I couldn't shy away from the truth. I had to move on. I had to grow. For them."
Jaynix sighed.
"Lao didn't have any of that. He chose to internalize his pain, he let it fester deep within. He let it grow and become something volatile...something with which he used to inflict his pain on others including myself. He didn't have the support system I had. He spiraled out of control and became a monster…"
Jaynix's eye searched Birtwhistle's face, the man made no move to speak.
"When we fought. Every time he struck me, stabbed me or shot me...I saw that pain in his eyes. I saw that same rage and fury that made itself known every time I looked in the mirror. I saw that satisfaction, that jubilation...and when the fight was over and he was defeated...he knew it…"
Jaynix took a deep breath.
"Did Elma tell you? Did you read it in the after action reports? His last words?"
Birtwhistle nodded.
"No matter how the fight went. No matter what happened that day. He knew death would find him...he expected it to be Elma...but it had to be me."
Jaynix leaned back in her seat.
"I killed Lao Huang because I wanted to. Because for over a decade I had nightmares of the Massacre and dreamt only for the day when I could rip his life away. I had that chance last year...so I seized it...Lao's dead and the world is better off for it."
Falling silent, Jaynix waited as Birtwhistle leaned back in his own chair and closed his eyes.
Kriss stood with her arms crossed, staring at the screen, at the man on display.
"Yes. I remember you. Slightly."
"You never change Fowler. Not even shaken."
"I'll admit, I'm impressed by your drive...I take it because I caused the death of that other man and left you for dead, you willingly joined with the Lawless and provided them with their arms."
Kriss nodded to herself as all the pieces fell into place.
"The safehouses...the missing LAST engineers. You reached out to them, brought them here to aid you in your construction of this second arsenal."
"I did."
"Why? Lao Huang and Rueben Torrez are dead, the Lawless have been wiped out! Who is going to fight this fight for you?"
The man shook his head.
"No one is going to fight this fight for me. They're going to fight for themselves. Once you entered this building I sent out a message to all within the Lawless Sectors."
Kriss raised an eyebrow.
"In it I told them all about the Lawless' final attempt to bring their namesake unto the world of order. I also gave everyone a map of the Sectors pinpointing all the arsenals I've deployed across the wasteland. From there I asked them what role they wanted to play and left that up to them."
Kriss brought a hand to her chin.
"You're having all the cells join together to assault Noah's Cradle. To follow the Lawless' example...why?"
"We needed a distraction."
Kriss looked up to the man, confused. The engineer looked to his wrist, noting the time and smiled.
"This is the part where I bid you farewell, Fowler. He promised me that I would have my revenge if I could allow him to have his…"
"You're plan won't work. The Coalition ripped through the Lawless and they were professionally trained. Your gangs of thugs and traitors won't amount to anything before the forces of the Coalition."
The man nodded.
"That's why I created more of our last assignment granted to us by Benton."
Kriss searched her memory, eyes widening.
"Dark Mirror…"
The screen shut off, red lights flooded the room. He had enacted the self destruct protocol. Cursing Kriss turned and ran, quickly she sent several files to Elma before entering a secret room.
It wasn't long after that, when a series of explosions ripped through the facility, reducing it to waste.
5:30PM
Elma was in her Ares high in the sky looking out over the Lawless Sectors when Frye, in his own Skell, joined her. The pair barely exchanged words when a massive explosion in the Sectors drew their attention.
Elma immediately knew that Kriss had to be in danger. Quickly she ordered Frye to follow and the pair shot towards the destruction only for a series of explosions nearby to go off. The pair turned quickly as the powerful blasts ripped through a large section of the perimeter wall.
One of the guard outposts erupted in flames as the wall fell to rubble.
Voices called out from the destruction, engines roared, Elma and Frye's attention then moved back to the Sectors as countless enemy combatants emerged. Armed with all sorts of equipment and flanked by heavy armor.
Massive artillery followed behind them and fired on the ruined wall, widening the gap. Several shots arced through the destroyed wall and exploded within Noah's Cradle itself.
Elma's eyes widened in shock, Frye calling something out to her before he shot towards the horde of enemies on his own.
Remembering the files from the Lawless Operation, Elma called back out to him quickly as anti-skell artillery fired on him. Frye narrowly avoided the blasts and retreated, cursing all the while.
Elma opened a call with Nagi immediately, before he could speak, she found herself shouting.
"The wall has been breached! Emergency Code Extinction! Deploy all forces!"
The call ended, Elma looking down on the destruction as the forward forces stationed at the other outposts began to deploy.
At the Cross, Lyla stood with Flame, H.B. and Alexa, the three engineers were working on the security footage of Hill's lab. They were convinced that the footage had been intercepted and replaced with a looped feed from a different day or even a small loop of earlier that day while Hill was away. Regardless, they parsed back and forth, searching for an answer and they'd been at it for hours on end.
Lyla had searched herself and all she found was proper access codes, yet no names given. The staff of the Koo Facility was confused as well.
Lyla's last resort was to ask for a list of visitors. Maybe one would stand out to them. Lyla prepared to ask for a status update when the lights in the facility flashed red and a voice came on.
"Noah's Cradle command has sent out Emergency Code Extinction. All of those able to fight are to arm themselves and report to battle. Deployment time is ASAP."
Flame, H.B. and Alexa looked to each other in shock before turning to Lyla who pulled up her datapad just as the General contacted her.
"Sir what-"
"We need you back here Agent. Immediately. We're going out to fight, Jaynix is meeting with Birtwhistle."
"Yes, sir!"
Ending the call she turned to leave.
"Wait!"
"Flame I can't-"
"No, trust me! Alexa, H.B. keep this up, I'll be back soon!"
The pair departed, leaving the two to continue searching the footage.
"You killed your fellow academy officers in a haze of fury, Corporal. I wish for you to explain that to me...as best as you can."
Jaynix shook her head.
"What else can I say, Detective? In my pain, I lost myself. No two ways about it."
Birtwhistle nodded.
"...is that all, Corporal? You don't care to elaborate?"
Jaynix shook her head.
"How can I? I don't even remember committing the acts."
The Detective sighed, closing his eyes once more he thought over everything he'd been told by Elma, Nagi, Kumon, Lyla, Flame and Steven. He thought about everything he himself knew and what Jaynix had just told him. While his chat with her wasn't as long as he thought it'd be...she told him the only things that truly mattered.
"Corporal…"
The room was then flooded with red lights. Jaynix standing immediately as a voice came on.
"Emergency Code Extinction has been enacted. All of those able to fight are to arm themselves and report to the perimeter wall. Deployment time is ASAP."
Jaynix immediately made her way towards the door.
"Corporal!"
"Do your job, Detective! Just let me do mine."
With that she opened the door and ran out, she cursed as she nearly tripped over her own feet but forced herself to stay upright.
6:00PM
Elma continued to relay orders to the countless Skells flying in from all over the Cradle outposts and facilities. Sending them all the vital information on the anti-Skell artillery and positioning them to safeguard the breach in the wall first and foremost.
Down below the ground battle had already begun, the forces closest to the wall were rushing in, lasers firing off and searing through all forms of cover, forcing the Coalition defenders back.
Enemy rocket launchers and explosive projectiles kept everything at bay save for the heavy armor. Coalition walkers and tanks fired on the enemy foot soldiers. Several of which grouped together to engage their massive energy shields, surviving the heavy armor assault and continuing their advance. Skells that got too close were hit by the anti-Skell weapons and grounded.
Elma ordered a team led by Frye and Boze to circle around behind the enemy forces while another team led by Michael spearheaded the Coalition wall defenses.
She let out a long sigh of relief as Kumon and Nagi's voices reached her, the Reapers in their Skells joined the rest high up in the sky as Nagi's central forces opened one of the main gates of Noah's Cradle and spilled out into the Lawless Sectors, attacking the enemy forces from the side.
With their attention beginning to split, Elma gave out the order, Frye and Boze ran interference, keeping the anti-Skell weapons on them while the rest of the Coalition forces descended on the battle.
Anger flaring up, Elma shot straight down, the Ares slamming into the earth with immense force, crushing several terrorists beneath.
Spotting Elma's Skell, the surrounding enemy combatants engaged their energy shields to defend themselves. Hand morphing into a blade, Elma roared and the Ares swung, the weapon sliced through the shields and human bodies with incredible ease, painting the battleworn ground with blood.
The Blood Brothers shot over head as Eren and Tai landed near her and began engaging the ground forces. Hearing more voices, Elma looked up to see the rest of the Skelletons led by Irina join the battle.
Switching to her Ares' guns, Elma began firing all around her, the rounds tearing up the earth and ripping the enemy soldiers to bits.
The battle raged on, bodies dropping and heavy armor exploding, the anti-Skell weapon were armed with the same heavy shields that prevented everything except Ares' based attacks from piercing.
Another voice rang out, Elma turned to see a familiar Skell, Headshot shoot across the sky at an insane speed.
"Agent! How did you get back from the Cross so fast?"
Lyla crashed into the ground, Elma noting a heavy attachment on the back of the Skell which Lyla released, allowing it to fall to the ground.
"Something Flame whipped up is all, where do you need me?"
Elma shot up into the sky and flew towards the artillery in the back which all turned their focus on her.
"Provide the Colonel with her cover you useless son of mine!"
Michael yelled as his Skell flew in next to Elma. Frye joined them not long after.
"Whatever you say pops!"
Michael laughed.
"Alright you sons of bitches, witness the power of the Christophs!"
Roaring he charged ahead, Frye following suit, giving Elma the time to charge her Ares' cannons and focus her aim on the artillery.
Many of the combatants couldn't help but watch in awe as a massive brilliant twin laser fired from the Ares and decimated the artillery, two of the heavy weapons reduced to scrap in an instant.
More voices called out as another series of explosions filled the air from all over. Elma could not tell where her attention was needed first when red lights flashed and Nagi came on.
"Another contingent of enemy forces has breached Noah's Cradle from the east end! Forces are scrambling but the majority are here in the west!"
Elma shook her head.
"How did they sneak by us?"
Kumon flew over next to her.
"Let us handle this. It's what we do best."
Elma nodded.
"I trust you, General."
Shouting commands, Kumon took off, the rest of the Reapers falling in line behind him. As Elma looked out over the carnage she finally noted another series of messages from Kriss.
Now was not the time, but then she knew she couldn't leave the Professor hanging. Tapping several commands, she let a strange robotic voice fill the air as she continued to dodge and weave around enemy fire, shooting down at the ground and bisecting enemy walkers with relentless fury.
As Elma continued to listen to this stranger explain his plans to Kriss, she couldn't help but think about Jaynix. No doubt the woman left the Coalition when the alarm came down...so where was she?
"Distraction? For what?"
Elma then heard a massive explosion before the recording cut off. That had to have been the first explosion right before the terrorist assault on the wall.
Which means she had to get to Kriss, immediately.
Inside Firebird, Jaynix shot off into the sky, heading for the perimeter wall when an explosion to the south caught her attention.
"Everyone is defending the west...I'll see to this issue first, I know I can trust them all…"
Redirecting her Skell she shot towards the blast as another series of explosions erupted from the east.
"What the hell?"
Jaynix opened comms in time to hear Kumon order the Reapers to fall in line with him and head to the disturbance in the east.
That's where she'd go once this matter was settled. As she approached the wall, something struck her Skell. Before she could question it, a power surge was detected and her Skell's systems were knocked out.
Firebird fell from the sky, right over the wall and crash landed outside of the city. Cursing, Jaynix looked around as best she could. The debris of explosions and craters surrounded her but there were no enemy contacts or defenders.
Just then, her datapad beeped.
"Jaynix!"
"Flame? I'm kind of busy I-"
"I know! Listen. You remember the Phantom?"
Jaynix nodded.
"Yeah, super important project stolen by someone. What of it?"
"Before Lyla left to go to Noah's Cradle she asked for a list of visitors, searching for strange people who don't usually come to the Koo facility."
Jaynix remained silent as Flame continued.
"One man was unaccounted for. He said he was a friend of the Copeland's. Once we were given his physical description, there was no doubt. Harper was here."
Jaynix looked about as her Skell's systems came to life again.
"He had to have-"
The call was then cut off. Quickly bringing up Firebird's scanners, Jaynix searched but found nothing. No one.
Keeping quiet she turned Firebird around until she saw a figure approaching. A solitary individual in a robe.
Jaynix narrowed her eyes.
"Steven Harper…"
The figure stretched his arms out.
"Jaynix Copeland."
He came to a stop at a comfortable distance from Firebird, the pair stared each other down.
"What do you want, Steven?"
"You. I went through all this trouble, worked with that deluded LAST engineer and put this entire attack together...to get some one on one time with you."
"Why?"
Steven shook his head.
"Why? So I can kill you. I figured that'd be obvious."
Holding his arms out, Steven fired two bolts from his wrist mounted crossbows, the projectiles exploded near Jaynix, covering the area in a massive smoke cloud.
Turning on her various targeting systems, Jaynix found they were not picking up anything.
"The Phantom...shit-"
She attempted to engage Firebird's thrusters but found them offline. Flying was disabled, it had to be that first arrow that knocked her systems out.
There was then an impact behind her, Firebird spun around as something exploded against the back and threw her down to the ground.
Feeling that anger boiling within, Jaynix drew her Skell's massive chain blade and swung, cutting through the smoke as best as she could, searching for the Archer.
She could barely make out something moving among the dispersing smoke and so she swung again but her blade did not find its mark.
Arrow after arrow struck her Skell and exploded. Cursing again, she swung about and slammed her blade into the ground. Drawing the two smaller blades from Firebird's legs she charged forward, leaving the cloud of smoke and spinning about. Seeing a figure moving she engaged the shoulder mounted cannons and fired, explosions riddle the ground around the figure, fire and ash once more obscuring Jaynix's view.
"Coward!"
Once the smoke cleared, Jaynix noted the figure still standing among the destruction. Recalling the specs of the Phantom she couldn't help but want to strangle Hill.
"There is no way that piece of cloth could protect you from my Skell."
Steven drew his bow and arrow.
"I've lived with the pain you inflicted on me for over a decade. This is nothing."
Firing off another shot, Jaynix dove aside, the arrow flying past her before exploding. Jaynix then noticed that her Skell's targeting systems began functioning once more. Against her orders, the Skell swung about and began firing on small objects left behind by the arrow.
Drawing his blade, Harper seized the opportunity and leapt on the back of Firebird, his blade began slashing through the Skell's armor while Jaynix struggled with the controls.
Thinking quickly, Jaynix entered a few commands, the Skell threw itself over, crashing onto its back. The last of the distracting projectiles destroyed, control was returned to Jaynix allowing her to roll the Skell over and stand.
Harper was nowhere to be found once more.
Keeping her Skell's blades up and cannons primed, Jaynix continued to examine her surroundings. It didn't take long for her to smile and engage an anti-personnel defensive option. An electric charge ran through her Skell, a man's pained voice came from above.
As Harper leapt off her Skell, she swung, the mighty fist of her Skell's hand connecting with the man and throwing him across the ground, his body skipping across the wasteland before slamming into a boulder.
Seizing the opportunity, Jaynix opened fire on the fallen Archer, the ground was torn up by her furious assault before she charged in, her blades striking the ground as Harper dove aside, another cloud of smoke covering his retreat.
Not waiting for him to make his move, Jaynix continued to fire her shoulder cannons in every direction. With any luck, she'd land a hit. That's all she needed.
7:00PM
Kriss slowly opened her eyes, the safe room held up from most of the destruction, but that man had done his best to ensure it wouldn't matter. Eventually the room collapsed.
Kriss found herself pinned under rubble, a small gap nearby allowing her to see the charred waste of the facility.
He killed everyone here and destroyed everything just to do away with her. If not for the searing pain flooding her body, she'd be rather impressed.
Swallowing her pride, Kriss called for help as loudly as she could. She felt a fool for stepping into the facility, for all the people that have shown distaste for her, none have ever fired on her
Lao caught her by surprise and despite that, she allowed herself to be outmaneuvered by this coward. He didn't even have a name. At least not one she wanted to know.
Kriss closed her eyes, thinking of everything she sent Elma. With any luck the Colonel could pull everyone together and stop what was coming.
Shaking her head, Kriss knew she couldn't give up. The man had Dark Mirror, only Kriss knew how to prepare an antidote. She and Eren were immune but everyone else was at risk. Whenever he released the weapon, it'd be catastrophic.
Taking as deep a breath as she could muster, Kriss called for help once more.
Hearing footsteps, Kriss fell silent, a faint hope filling her as a light flooded the room. The footsteps continued to draw closer until she heard it, a man's voice.
"You must be the Professor…"
"...who are you?"
There was a short pause.
"Lao shot you...doesn't seem like it took...I'll finish the job for him."
A Lawless survivor. Of course. There was a gunshot, Kriss looking up to see the body slump over and a female voice call out.
"Professor!"
"Colonel!"
Elma kneeled down in front of the gap, seeing Kriss beneath the rubble.
"We don't have much time, Colonel-"
"I'll get out of there, then we'll talk."
"Colonel! It's more important that-"
"I'm here to save your life Kriss! Let me."
With that, Kriss fell silent as the light of Overdrive covered Elma's body. Stepping forward and taking hold of the debris, Elma heaved, lifting the waste up and away from Kriss, allowing the woman to crawl free.
Once she was safely away, Elma placed the wreckage back down and turned to the Professor.
"My guardian angel…"
"Professor...why is it that every woman I know seems to be so absurdly stubborn?"
Kriss chuckled.
"That's something no science can answer."
Elma kneeled down and held her hand out to Kriss who shook her head.
"You don't have time."
"Kriss-"
"Listen! The one behind this is going to unleash Dark Mirror on the allied forces. They'll be wiped out in moments without the cure."
Elma recalled Dark Mirror from several years back, the files she read and the images she saw of its aftereffects were gruesome.
"What can we do?"
Kriss asked for Elma's datapad before typing up several things.
"I of course know how deadly Dark Mirror is...and even a simple accident could be catastrophic...I developed the cure for it on my own and stashed away a supply beneath one of my facilities. Only I know where it is…"
Kriss handed the datapad back.
"I've also provided you with the formula to develop more of the cure if you need it…"
Elma nodded.
"Isn't that classified?"
"Not anymore…"
"Who's behind this?"
Kriss sighed before uttering one simple word.
"Karma."
While all out war raged to the east and west of Noah's Cradle, Jaynix continued her own battle against Steven. Firebird spinning about, unloading its arsenal onto her surroundings. A figure shot across the wastes, arrows, crossbow bolts and various projectiles striking the Corporal's Skell.
Jaynix did her best to direct all her attacks, finding that without any sort of targeting systems, delayed responses as well as her inability to fly, keeping up with the man was difficult.
She continued to think about the Phantom, the cloak was built to withstand most standard weaponry, but there was absolutely no reason for it to seemingly deflect damage from her Skell.
Firebird lunged forward, short swords swinging back and forth as Steven leapt up and onto the Skell before jumping past her and towards the perimeter wall. Jaynix turned to see that he had launched several arrows which landed at various points along the wall allowing him to scale it, far too high for her Skell to jump.
Retrieving her massive blade, she unlocked the chain and swung. Steven turned and leapt away from the wall as the Skell's blade tore through the wall, chunks of debris falling to the ground along with Steven who fired several more arrows at her Skell.
Impact after impact was followed with explosions, Firebird stumbling back. Lunging forward again, Jaynix seized one of the pieces of the wall that had fallen and threw it towards the retreating Archer.
The debris shattered upon striking the ground, the pieces scattering all over Steven who covered himself in his robe as larger chunks struck him and threw him to the ground.
Engaging her Skell's shoulder cannons once more, Jaynix riddled her opponent with as many shots as she could make.
Steven leapt out of the smoke and fire. Jaynix noted a faint glow covering the robe he wore, something she couldn't recall from the files she read.
In midair he prepared a different, larger and glowing arrow. Drawing back on his bow he fired, Jaynix engaged evasive maneuvers as the projectile sliced through the air before piercing clean through her Skell.
Jaynix noted the damage on the displays before her, shocked at this development for only a moment before charging forward once more, closing the distance between her and the Archer.
The only answer to her question had to be the most obvious. Someone else had enhanced the Phantom as well as Steven's gear. How someone could prepare such a material to withstand her Skell's power should be impossible.
Jaynix's massive blade swung and slammed into the earth where Steven once was. As the man leapt into the air again she fired on him as best she could, the blasts exploded in midair, not hitting him directly but the force threw him off balance and sent him tumbling to the ground.
Jaynix looked back down at her systems once more before realizing something. Tapping several commands she looked back up to see Steven standing once more.
"This doesn't make sense…"
Flipping through several screens, she found the problem. Her Skell was operating at half of its firepower. Part of her had thought the force behind her blows wasn't enough but she'd never hold back against an enemy.
"How did-"
Realization came to Jaynix as Steven prepared another armor piercing arrow. The first strike. It didn't just knock out Firebird's thrusters and flight protocols, it also drained half of her Skell's energy surplus. Her vehicle itself dropped its output to compensate for it.
Leaping away, Firebird's systems gave her another warning, this time the arrow had pierced one of the Skell's legs. Hitting the ground, Jaynix opened fire once more and swapped back to her smaller blades before shooting forward while keeping the barrage up.
At the same time she glanced once more at the Skell's displays, the first arrow that Steven had hit her with was still embedded in the back of her Skell, no doubt it had been sapping her energy since the battle began.
Cursing she called out once more.
"You're a coward! An incompetent coward!"
Leaping into the air, Firebird slammed into the earth near Steven with as much force as it still had, the ground tearing up beneath it as both blades swung out. Steven turned himself over in midair, the Phantom covering him as Jaynix's blades landed clean hits.
The strikes refused to pierce the robe, but the combined blows sent Steven flying further away and slamming into the earth with immense force.
Not waiting, Jaynix once more unloaded a barrage of cannon fire on the fallen man.
She then noted her Skell's systems going on red alert, they were detecting an immense power surge. Before Jaynix could question it, she saw that the source of the warning was the very arrow in her Skell's back. The arrow released all the stolen energy, a massive, crackling explosion tore through the back of Firebird, the electrical surge lanced through her Skell, tendrils of electricity covering the body as it fell to its knees.
Standing once more Steven turned to her and spat.
"An incompetent coward who's winning...what does that make you?"
Jaynix quickly rerouted power through her various remaining systems to get Firebird back on its feet. She hated this but Steven had crippled her precious Skell before the fight even started.
Her communications were disabled, as was her flight and she was now operating at under a quarter of her available power.
Zooming in on her display, she got a closer look at Steven, the man's face was dirty and bloodied. Fresh blood stained the clothes and heavily cracked armor that the Phantom covered. While she couldn't pierce the experimental robe, his body was still feeling the impacts.
"Isn't it time you got out of that Skell? Or are you going to continue to make me work for what I want?"
"You're a traitor Steven! The only thing you're going to get is a painful and violent death! I'll make sure of it."
Jaynix prepared to move forward once more as Steven held his arms out, crossbow bolts fired from his sleeves, each striking Firebird's shoulders and releasing an energy pulse.
The cannons were now disabled as evident by Jaynix's commands no longer going through. Cursing she rerouted their systems to the mobility and got Firebird moving once more. The Skell closed the distance faster than Steven was prepared for after all the damage it sustained.
Jaynix roared in fury as her Skell's leg swung out and connected with the Archer. The man felt the pain shoot through his entire body as he sailed through the air, slamming into the ruins of an old building farther out in the Lawless Sectors.
Jaynix watched his body fall to the ground and continued to reroute power through her Skell before moving forward once more.
Steven slowly got to his feet, coughing blood and moving a hand to his side to feel the internal damage growing more and more serious. Looking up at the approaching Skell, he could only smirk.
Death would claim them both and at the very least he knew he'd die satisfied. Firebird took hold of the massive blade once more, the attack was far slower than usual allowing Steven to retreat into the ruined buildings.
The chain link blade swung out, tearing through several of the old structures, the buildings collapsing and falling on top of one another.
At the eastern breach, the Reapers continued to make quick work of the enemy forces. They had far less allies but the enemy was far less daunting in turn.
Despite their numbers, their skill was immediately evident, Skells shooting across the battlefield and leaving nothing but charred waste and death in their wake.
Lyla remained high in the sky, unloading powerful rounds from her Skell's railgun into the earth below, vehicles were torn to bits by the attacks and enemy soldiers were flung far away, dying on impact.
Lyla's datapad then began to beep, quickly she tapped a few commands rerouting its speakers to her cockpit.
"Lyla!"
"Flame? I'm a little busy-"
"It's Jaynix!"
"What's wrong?"
"I can't reach her! I told her the Phantom was stolen by Steven Harper and I lost contact. Is she with you?"
Lyla quickly opened up communications and relayed the question to the Reapers. No one knew where she was.
"I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Don't worry Flame, I'll find her."
Just then, anti-Skell artillery rolled over a distant hill and began firing on their forces.
Engaging evasive maneuvers, Kumon relayed a new series of orders for dealing with them, the ground contingent maintaining their control of the enemy foot soldiers as the Reapers shot towards the heavy artillery.
7:30PM
In his secure room deep within the Lawless Sectors, the LAST engineer watched the battles between the Coalition and the allied terrorist cells. He didn't care which side won the battle, Kriss was all that mattered to him.
However, he couldn't deny that destroying everything was incredibly appealing to him. His world was torn apart by so many things including the Lawless. He only worked with them and he only worked with Steven for Kriss. He hated them all.
"The time for all of you to make your exit has come."
Entering several commands onto his holographic display, he hit the final button and sat back, a smile on his face.
Outside of the old LAST safehouse, was an artillery of his own design. It was loaded with a canister of Dark Mirror. Moments later, the weapon fired, he couldn't hide his excitement as the canister shot through the air towards the battle.
He watched it on the display before him as it traveled, closer and closer before reaching the optimal dispersal range and exploding, releasing the powerful nerve agent onto the battle below.
Nagi's forces as well as the Skelletons continued their fight against the horde of allied terrorists and heavy armor, most of which was automated just like their battle against the Lawless.
While Nagi continued to give commands from the heavily armed lead vehicle that sat in the gap of the perimeter wall, he maintained constant scans of the air around them, searching for any signs of that which Elma had warned him about not long ago.
She had left the battle to rescue her contact, Fowler and in doing so received alarming information. Nagi relayed her warning to all teams and from there it became a tense waiting game of seeing if the man's threat was true.
Nagi wanted to order everyone to pull back the moment they received Elma's warning but if they did, the enemy would swarm into Noah's Cradle and its possible the biological attack would be carried out within Noah's Cradle and Nagi could never allow that.
Before he could consider any more options he received several warnings on his display of the battle. Quickly the information began flooding in, a foreign detonation was detected in the skies above the battle and an unfamiliar agent was now beginning to douse the area.
"So quickly...this doesn't match the specs we have for Dark Mirror it...all forces! Begin the retreat! Immediately!"
"Commander if we retreat-"
"I'm well aware what will happen Christoph! But that's an order! All forces draw back now! The enemy has launched their biological attack! Retreat!"
One by one, the various squad and division leaders echoed his orders to the allied forces.
"Commander Nagi!"
Looking at the transmission log, Nagi found himself confused. The identification number was-
"Solomon? Is that you?"
"Yes, Commander. Reinforcements from the Cross will arrive in ten, where do you need us?"
"The area outside of the breach is compromised. I'm sending you the map data immediately. Steer clear from that area and hit the enemy hard and fast from behind."
"Understood. Relaying this information to all divisions now. We can do this Commander."
"I'm well aware! Thank you, Solomon!"
Nagi felt some small relief as he moved his attention to the reports from the battle across Noah's Cradle. The Reapers were making quick work of that enemy faction.
The only thing they needed now was for Elma to deliver the cure.
8:00PM
Stepping over the rubble, Firebird continued scanning the surroundings. Jaynix had nothing to trust but her eyes and with darkness flooding the battlefield which now comprised of old world ruined buildings, spotting Steven amongst them was harder than ever.
The disabled cannons limited her ability to control the area and the dwindling energy reserves limited her offensive and evasive capabilities.
Slowly, Jaynix reached down and rubbed one of her legs. She couldn't stay inside her Skell anymore. However, she had one last desperate strategy. All she needed was to see Steven and she could end this fight.
Just then something flashed, she turned as quickly as she could as several arrows struck the area around Firebird, exploding with bright flashes. Jaynix's display was now covered in static.
The way his various tactics were easily able to control, manipulate, damage and disable every single one of her Skell's systems and all of this coming from a man who showed no interest in Skells since their introduction. He had to have been planning this the whole time she was laid up.
"A single minded desire for revenge...despite everything, Steven. I understand that…"
Turning on her outward speakers she called out.
"I understand why you want me dead, Steven! Believe me. I'm sure what you're feeling is what drove me to kill Lao."
Jaynix continued searching her surroundings.
"The difference here...is I didn't mean to do what I did to you. Surely you understand that?"
As Firebird continued to examine the area, there was another flash, turning away from it, Jaynix saw something move among the shadows.
"Steven!"
Several more flashes flooded the area around her with light, Steven leapt into the air, another one of his Skell piercing arrows set on his bow.
"This is it."
Jaynix tilted Firebird slightly, Steven's arrow would pierce the cockpit and cut through her, which meant her aim was exactly where she needed it to be.
Roaring in rage, Jaynix activated the ejector. Her cockpit sprang open, all the remaining energy was transferred to the ejection system. As such, the maneuver shot Jaynix out of her Skell like a round being fired from a cannon.
Steven's eyes widened in shock as she sliced through the air straight for him.
Both soldiers collided in midair, Jaynix's arms securing themselves around Steven as the pair slammed into the earth and rolled across the ground.
Pinning Steven to the ground below her, Jaynix screamed as she balled her hands into fists and slammed them into the man's head. She continued to scream in rage as her fists made quick work of his face, her goal now was simply to bash his skull in.
The man roared back at her in pain, gripping his arrow in one hand he reached over and buried it in her leg.
Jaynix screamed in shock and pain, Steven taking that chance to deliver a savage blow to her face. The pair rolled over on the ground once more, Steven now on top, raising a fist high and slamming it into Jaynix's face before securing his arms around her throat.
Man and woman could do nothing more than scream at each other in rage, though Jaynix's grew weaker by the moment.
Bringing one of her hands up, she held her fingers out and together, tightly. Clenching her teeth she struck at Steven's side where her blade had cut through him all those years ago. The man groaned in pain as she continued to slam his old wound over and over.
Noting his grip on her throat lost force, she quickly reached out with her other hand and grabbed his face, pushing one of her fingers into his eyes. The man screamed in pain and rage before pulling himself away from her.
Standing, Jaynix drew her blade and surged forward, Steven held his bow up as Jaynix cut it clean in half. Reaching down to his side, he drew his own blade and stepped forward. Blades clashing, man and woman screamed at each other in rage once more.
Amidst the rubble their rage could be heard for miles, weapons clashing, sparks filling the night with a furious light.
8:30PM
Elma inside of her Ares shot across the sky. After rescuing Kriss she wanted to return the woman to the EPC hospital for treatment but she insisted there was not enough time for that. Elma did what she could do and pulled rank on the Professor, leaving her at the ECP and taking off on her own to retrieve the cache of Dark Mirror antidote that Kriss had stored away.
The cache was now in the cockpit with Elma, however she received word from Nagi that the attack was launched and there was no telling who was bathed in the vile substance and who wasn't. Casualties on both sides were mounting and the cloud of the gas was spreading.
Kriss quickly filled her in on the biological weapon's ability to transform the air around it into more of the substance. If it wasn't brought under control, all of Noah's Cradle could be subject to this crisis.
However, seeing how the Dark Mirror was dispersed meant the same method could be used to disperse the cure.
"Elma...while he was talking to me...I traced his signal…"
"I should've expected as much."
"I just sent it to you...do what you have to…"
Elma nodded as the Ares closed in on the target. She found a small building far out in the Lawless Sectors on top of an old mountain with what looked like some form of artillery outside.
The Ares hit the ground hard, Elma leaping out immediately and remembering what Kriss had told her. She needed to copy the dispersal method exactly, which meant finding the computer that ran the calculations.
Blasting several holes in the front door with her guns, Elma kicked the ruined structure in and entered the building. It wasn't long until she reached a small office.
There was a man behind the desk, recognition in his eyes.
Before Elma could speak he pulled out a gun from his desk, immediately, Elma raised her arms and fired.
Round after round pierced the man's body and he fell out of his chair and to the ground, dead.
Moving forward, Elma began interacting with the holographic display, reaching into her gear she pulled out a pair of damaged glasses. Kriss' glasses.
Putting them on she tapped a button.
"Alright Kriss. Walk me through this. Quickly."
"Yes, Colonel."
9:00PM
Jaynix and Steven's blades continued to clash, however, Steven quickly realized that Jaynix's mastery of the blade far surpassed his own as he continued to get pushed back.
Cursing he pulled an arrow from the satchel along his back and ignited it, there was a flash that covered both of them, the brilliant light caused them to break away from one another.
Sheathing his blade, Steven raised his arms, crossbow bolts shooting across the clearing at Jaynix who began to run only for her legs to refuse to cooperate.
She stumbled and fell, quickly pulling herself along the ground behind cover. She couldn't stop herself from striking her legs in rage before standing up once more.
In any other situation she knew she could beat him. But now? Crippled? She had to even the playing field.
Closing her eye, she breathed in deeply.
Roaring she emerged from cover and ran right at Steven. The man was surprised but fired on her quickly regardless. Two bolts buried into her body, despite the pain she continued her charge and tackled the man to the ground. Grabbing the satchel of arrows she ripped them off his person and threw them across the clearing.
Steven raised an arm, Jaynix moving out of the way as he tried to fire on her once more. Drawing her blade she swung as he rolled over on the ground and to his feet.
Jaynix closed the distance and took his sword right out from its sheath, now holding them both she stepped forward and with two powerful thrusts, her blades pierced his body armor and pushed him back.
Off balance, she sheathed one blade and advanced, her hand shot into his sleeve and tore out one of the wrist mounted crossbows, throwing it aside as well.
Cursing he aimed the other at the ground between them and fired, the bolt exploded, throwing both of them back and away from each other, Jaynix losing grip on one of her blades as it fell to the ground far from her.
Drawing Steven's blade, she stood slowly as he struggled to do the same.
Moving forward, the hilt was shot out of her grip by another bolt, ignoring it, she closed the distance once more and struck Steven in the face several times before kicking him back down to the ground.
Raising her foot she slammed it down on his wrist several times, the mechanism for the crossbow, breaking under the pressure. As she tried to kick him again, her legs refused once more and she stumbled back.
Steven got to his feet, allowing the crossbow to fall from his hand and to the ground.
No weapons, man and woman stared at one another before raising their fists. Bloodied, beaten, bruised and breathing heavily they roared at one another and charged.
Jaynix's fist struck Steven's face first, the powerful blow causing the man to stumble back, blood flying from his mouth.
Turning to Jaynix, he screamed once more before his fist made contact with her face, Jaynix spat blood onto the floor as well.
Clenching her fist tightly she swung back, striking Steven again before following up with a blow to his chest.
Steven returned the favor with another blow to her face before kicking her in the chest. Legs locking up she fell to the ground.
Spitting blood onto the ground, he pointed at her.
"You know...what you are to me? Copeland?"
Jaynix struggled to get back on her feet.
"In your story...Lao was the monster that took everything from you."
Standing once more, she spat on the ground before looking at Steven.
"But from my point of view? The things that I had to go through? You are a feral beast. You took everything from me!"
Jaynix raised her fists as Steven asked.
"Has Lao filled your nightmares since the Massacre?"
"Everything about the Massacred has been on my mind for over a decade. My mother. My father. People screaming. Blood. So much death. I've learned to live with that pain. It's always there."
The Archer nodded.
"That is me...with you. Jaynix. You occupy my nightmares. I roll out of bed ready to defend myself from a monster that wears your face…"
Steven raised his arms.
"It's all a matter of-"
Jaynix screamed and stepped forward, her fist striking Steven's face, his nose breaking and blood spraying.
Steven roared once more and struck Jaynix in the face.
Man and woman continued to fill the night with pained and rage filled cries. Strike after strike, both refused to yield.
The pair then heard a foreign explosion and turned to see a bright green light flood the sky to the west of Noah's Cradle, the spot where the battle began.
Jaynix and Steven faced each other once more.
"It's over Steven…"
"No...not until you're dead."
"I was thinking the same thing!"
Jaynix moved in, her fist slamming into Steven's face once more. However in that moment she felt something pierce her and looked down to see Steven holding a shard of his armor, now buried in her body.
Pulling herself away from her she stumbled back and fell to the ground once more.
Steven watched her, satisfied. Turning away he retrieved his wrist mounted crossbow.
"I'd rather do this with my bow and arrow...but you saw to that…"
Turning to face her, he saw that same hate in her eyes and pointed once more at her.
"That. That is why I'm doing this...you're an animal. The only thing that will come of your life is the deaths of all those around you...you can't be controlled…"
Jaynix pulled the shard of armor out of her and began to stand as Steven aimed at her.
"Jaynix!"
The pair turned to see Lyla.
Having won the battle at the east, Lyla had come looking for her using her last known location. As she feared, Steven was here too and from the looks of both of them, their battle had raged just as long as everyone else's.
Steven watched as Lyla's eyes moved to him, he saw that she was armed. Rifle on her back, handgun at her side.
He couldn't let her stop him.
Not now.
He was so close.
And so he turned his weapon on her, he wouldn't give this woman the chance to protect Jaynix. He couldn't afford it.
Seeing this, Jaynix screamed in fury as he fired.
Jaynix's hand gripped Steven's throat, enraged she carried him across the battlefield and slammed him into the wall of a building.
Looking down at her burning eye, he smiled.
"That's it...kill me...prove to the world that you...aren't human."
"Jaynix."
The Corporal's grip on Steven's throat tightened as she turned to see the General. His blade was drawn and Lyla was standing behind him.
He got in the way, and slashed through Steven's bolt.
"Jaynix…"
He shook his head.
"Steven isn't worth it…"
"Don't bother, General...she's...an animal!"
Jaynix tightened her grip once more as Kumon approached, Lyla not far behind.
"Is that what you are, Jaynix?"
She kept her eyes on the General as Lyla whispered.
"Only you know who you are, Jaynix."
The Corporal looked to Steven, the man who thought her a monster. She thought back to her state after the Massacre. Then she looked once more to Kumon and Lyla. The man who took her and her sister in and raised them like they were his daughters and the woman that loved her enough to marry her.
Lyla wore a small smile.
"Who are you?"
Steven watched as Jaynix's gaze returned to him, the satisfaction on his face vanished as he saw an eye filled with pain. Hurt. Pity.
The grip on his throat weakened until she released him, the man fell to the ground in a heap.
Looking up at her, he shook his head and mouthed a silent question. There was a pleading look in his eyes, a desire to see this through just as he imagined it only to watch his plans and his desires crumble away just as those hateful emotions faded from Jaynix's eye.
She could do nothing but look down on the man in pity before examining her hands. She thought about what she wanted to do, so badly. Clenching her hands into fists, she made a decision.
With a heavy sigh she turned away from Steven, the man falling to the ground in despair. A faint expression of satisfaction on her face, Jaynix kept her gaze on Kumon and Lyla. The people who truly mattered.
The emotions on their faces, their expressions. They told Jaynix all she needed to know as she spoke the words.
"Jaynix...that's who I am...Jaynix Copeland."
