Chapter Six - End of The Line, and Breaking on Through
Minako listened to Hudson's briefing intently, she had the plan down perfectly, she knew exactly what was going to happen, the team was going to go to the compound the Greenlight Nukes were being reverse engineered at, and fight their way to the lab to destroy the nukes. They then will be extracted by Fulton STARS from the roof of the compound. It was simple, elegant, and the perfect option for this operation. However, something was bothering Minako, in the few weeks leading up to this briefing, she had been experiencing more nightmares, an old flame, beasts in the shadows, something coming out of her, it was all too much. She'd also begun to realize that her memories didn't add up. Hudson, Sims, Park, Adler, and Lazar had been talking about things she was certain never happened, or that couldn't have. She figured that the best people to talk about this were Frank, er, Woods, and Mason, they'd probably have an Idea of what was happening. Minako approached the two, who were sitting in the back of a van preparing their weapons.
"Hey Frank, Mason." Minako stated, realizing she said Woods' first name." "I mean, Woods. Can I talk about something?"
"Is it about your thing with Woods?" Mason teased. "You do keep calling him Frank."
"Shut up." Minako growled. "And no, it's not that. Does something seem off to you guys? About the others."
"They do seem like they got some conspiracy bulshit going, how come?" Woods asked.
"My memories aren't lining up with what they're saying." Minako sighed.
"How so? Give me an example." Mason stated. Minako sighed.
"Remember how I told you about my time in Vietnam in '68?" Minako asked. "Well, I would have been a child then. That was sixteen years ago, I'm twenty one."
"I was wondering about that." Woods stated. "Seems like something's going here with you, anything else?"
"I've been having nightmares, but they feel more like memories. Things like fighting monsters, having an old flame, things they're saying never happened." Minako stated.
"I'd agree with the monsters, but the rest of it, something's wrong." Mason mused. "Stay frosty Bell, something's telling me we're getting to the truth soon."
Minako approached the compound, checking the chamber of her L115 as she approached. The team, consisting of herself, Lazar, and Park, with Mason and Woods choosing to come along at the last minute.
"Ready to ice some of Castro's dogs?" Woods asked, tossing an FAL to Minako.
"You know it." Minako responded, ripping the rifle's charging handle back.
"Wonderful, let's see how well you dance, Lazar." Park added with a slight smirk on her face as she turned to face Lazar.
"I'll show you, then why don't we grab a drink and learn how we can fight together?" Lazar responded. Woah ho ho, looks like he was finally shooting his shot. Mason wasn't as happy.
"Get a room you two, jesus." Mason grumbled. The team pushed towards the compound, facing what could have been the entire Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. No matter though, Minako's precision shooting and the rest of the team's ferocity made their presence a moot point. Pushing through, the team twisted their way through the compound, gunning down enemy soldiers and tearing down walls as they made their way through. They came upon a courtyard leading to the lab. Lazar was about to step in, before Minako realized something.
"STOP, THERE'S CLAYMORES!" She shouted before Lazar stepped any further. "I'll go ahead, figure out the safest path. One at a time after me." The rest of the team nodded. Minako stepped into the minefield, slowly moving through so as not to set off any of the bombs. Once she made it across, she signaled the next person to come. Park followed, carefully ensuring her footing was exactly where Minako's was. She gave the next signal, but Woods audibly groaned.
"This is gonna take too fucking long!" Woods groaned, tossing a grenade into the courtyard. A massive explosion rang out, no more minefield. Well, that was one way to handle it. The team reunited, then kept pushing. Gunshots rang out from the facility, but not near them.
"What was that?" Mason asked.
"Shit, I think they might be executing the scientists." Park mused.
"Then we better hurry up." Lazar stated. The team silently agreed, rushing to the lab. Once they were there, a horrible sight awaited them. Scientists dead, one injured. The team ran over to the injured one.
"You're too late, it's hopeless." He groaned. "We already cracked the code, Perseus has the detonation codes. I'm sorry, he forced us, he would have had us extradited if we didn't."
"You're okay, just tell us what he's going to do, is he gonna nuke the US?" Mason stated, pulling out a first aid pouch. The scientist pushed it away.
"No, you're thinking too narrowly." the scientist winced. "He's nuking Europe. He's gonna set off the Greenlight Arsenal under major European cities, and I think one Japanese one, blame it on the US."
"Dear god…" Minako murmured. "Where? What cities?"
"I don't know, I heard a few, Paris, Munich, Rome, and I think Iwatodai." he grimaced. Oh no, that was where she lived, where her friends were, those nightmares, could she have been seeing the future of her hometown? "I'm sorry." The scientist pleaded. Air escaped his lungs, he was dead. There was no time to think about that, extraction was coming, they needed to escape. The team rushed out, warning Adler and Hudson about what was going to happen.
"Christ almighty, alright, get out of there, extract ETA five minutes." Adler responded. "We need to figure this out." The team arrived at the roof, holding off waves of Cuban forces as they waited for the plane to snag the Fulton balloon. Just before the plane arrived, an RPG hit near them, knocking them all out for a moment. Minako's ears rang as the team came to. Lazar, Woods, and Park were injured and disconnected from the safety line, with Minako and Mason attached.
"Mason, grab Park, I'll get Woods and Lazar." She managed to order. As Minako attached Woods' harness to the safety line, the plane rushed by, launching into the sky, leaving Lazar trapped on the roof, all alone. Minako could feel herself slipping away, she was injured, badly, most of her strength expended grabbing Woods.
"Bell? Bell you alright? Hang on, Minako!" she heard Woods yell as her vision faded.
"Adler, she's of no use to us now, quit wasting our valuable time!" Minako heard as she woke up. She was back at the safehouse, being wheeled in on a gurney, strapped to it so she couldn't move.
"There's still a chance, Hudson, we still have some of the meds." Adler told Hudson, slight venom in his tone. "Sims, get the dosages ready, all of them." Woods approached Minako.
"Woods? Izzat you?" Minako managed to say.
"Yeah, it's me. Mason too." Woods stated. "Listen, thank you for what you did back there. I really appreciate it. You're gonna do great things, Minako, I know it. Just push through this med shit, you're gonna be fine."
"You're one of us now, Minako." Mason added. "Trio's gonna be Mason, Woods and Arisato from now on." Minako weakly smiled before Adler wheeled her into a medical room.
"Mason, Woods, excellent timing, grab a script." Adler ordered. "No more half assing, we're going intracerebral this time."
"Injecting directly into the brain could induce seizures, or worse." Park murmured.
"Adler, this says MK Ultra, what the hell is going on!?" Mason demanded.
"I know you have objections, Mason, but this is necessary, Bell is the key to stopping Perseus." Adler stated, pushing a needle through Minako's eye.
"She always has been." Park added.
"What the hell is this shit?" Woods spat. "Scenarios, complications, is this mind altering shit?"
"You got this Bell, hang in there one last time." Sims affirmed. Minako felt the world go black for a moment.
.
Minako woke up in a helicopter hanging in the trees. A gunfight below her raged on. A voice suddenly beamed out to her, Adler's voice.
"We have a job to do. Bell, remember your time in Vietnam? When you came face to face with Perseus? According to the mission report, you woke up after your helicopter crashed. There was a firefight below, so you jumped out and joined the fight, grabbing an M16." Adler stated. Minako did as she remembered, or was she told? Minako ignored it, instead rushing into the fight. Picking up an M16 on the ground, Minako opened fire on the VC ahead of her, but something was off. This didn't feel right, like it didn't happen, as with the rest of her memories. The firefight went on, eventually ending as Minako rushed forward once more.
"Bell, there were two trails that split off, so you took the path to the right, to the cave." Adler informed her. Minako did as she was told, going through the path, entering a cave. There, she met up with her fellow soldiers, prepared to ambush several VC. Using her bow (wait, how'd she get that?)Minako silently took out the VC, one by one. Entering the cave, the VC dissipated, replaced by Soviet soldiers. Minako took them out regardless. At the end of the cave was a red metal door. Minako opened it, entering the bunker it led to. Except, it wasn't a bunker, it was a lab.
"A lab? No, it was a bunker, what are you doing in a lab?" Adler asked. Minako walked through the lab, seeing, well, something. It was a feminine figure in a hood, slouched over in a chair, slowly being surrounded by monitors. The lights shut off, then on again, revealing a chair, straps on its arms.
"EKG is spiking." Sims called out.
"Is she good for another round?" Adler asked.
"Yes, do it." Park responded.
"What the hell is happening?" Woods demanded as Minako found herself in a chopper in the treeline.
"We have a job to do. Bell, you woke up in the helicopter, separated from your unit, and it was dark out. You jumped out and readied your bow to silently take out the VC ahead." Adler explained. Minako ignored him this time, using her knife to stab through the VC. She came upon the fork again, being told to go towards the caves again. Bell ignored this, taking the path to the left.
"Okay, fine, you heard a gunfight up ahead and wanted to assist. You readied your M40 and gave sniper support from the ridgeline, eventually calling a napalm strike." Minako had no choice but to do this. So, doing as Adler said, she took shots at the VC, until it was time to call for napalm. For a brief moment, she could have sworn she saw Minato standing in the line of fire, but it was a brief moment, fleeting away as quickly as it came. Minako found herself standing at the red door again. Opening it, she was thrust into what seemed to be a memory.
Shinjiro walked over to me and stopped me. He had a serious look on his face, like that of a parent about to ask their child if they're being bullied, but this was more serious.
"Minako, why are you doing this?" Shinjiro asked.
"Because I hate her. She killed Minato, she could have helped, she could have kept him alive. I don't want to see her or anything she stands for again!" I spat. Capitalism, the root of all that was wrong, that's what I was betraying.
"I can't stop you, and I won't report you either. But you have to know, this will be the last time we see each other." Shinjiro stated.
"I know." I told him. I walked out of the dorms and executed my plan. That truly was the last I saw of Shinjiro Aragaki, the man I loved.
"Get another dose ready, this is a waste of time." Adler stated. Minako felt a jolt to her brain, she couldn't think.
"Jesus christ Adler, you gave her a fucking seizure!" Mason spat.
"Stand back, Mason, let the doc and Park handle this." Sims responded. Minako could think again, she was in the helicopter once more.
"God damnit, we've been through this before, just get to the fucking bunker!" Adler spat. Minako felt herself almost fly through the air, straight into the forest where the path split. Parts of hallways strewn about like an abstract piece of art, alongside heads of people from her life.
"The bunker was right there, in the temple, get inside now!" Adler spat. Massive pillars of stone fell to the sides of Minako, forcing her through the red door into the bunker. Inside was a black void, a long table sitting in it. Standing at the end of the table was Perseus, offering Minako a seat. She took it, everything flooding back to her.
Minako took her seat at the head of the table, the rest of Perseus sat at the table as well. The leader of the network stood up at his end. He cleared his throat and began his speech.
"My comrades… The United States and its allies slowly consume that which is dear to us. Our leaders continue to weaken under this threat. It is the moral duty of Perseus to act when they will not. Soon, we will have an American nuclear bomb. The key to unlocking their entire Greenlight Arsenal. Once we control the Greenlight Arsenal, we will detonate them all from the safety of Solovetsky. Now, let us begin." he powerfully stated. The network stood up, preparing to leave. The leader, who went by the callsign of Perseus for security, stopped Minako.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Perseus asked. "You shot up through the ranks, showed skill in smaller scale operations, even planned your own defection, but do you have what it takes for larger operations? This will realize the true goal of Perseus, I don't want you to bite off more than you can chew."
"I can do this, Perseus, I won't let you down." Minako stated. She most certainly would not, she would never let him down.
"Once we secure the weapons we will fly to Duga and unload them. From there, we fly to Solovetsky and watch the fireworks. This you know." Arash told me. He finally decided to tell me what the rest of the plan was, should have already, chain of command and such. "What you don't realize is that the mercenaries will not be leaving Duga, they will be killed when we get there." The car came to a stop, Arash got out, locking the doors. "Thing is, neither will you. Perseus thinks too highly of you, I don't want the competition." gunshots, four of them. Two for her, two for the driver. At least half an hour passed of Minako bleeding out in the car before someone came by, pulling her out, clearly happy he found her. The rest, it was like she didn't exist for it.
Minako came to, her breathing heavy, almost labored. What in god's name just happened? Who was she? Was any of it real? She looked around, trying to get a hold of herself. Sims was holding Mason and Woods back, Park was intently watching Minako, and Adler was stomping towards Minako, rage hidden behind his glasses.
"Damn it Bell, where is he, WHERE IS PERSEUS!" Adler yelled, grabbing Minako's shirt collar.
"Wha-what happened to me?" Minako asked. "Am I even real?"
"Yes, you are real, Bell, the CIA reinvented you." Adler explained. "We replaced your memories, made you someone else. Made you into Bell. Hudson was reluctant, but he went through with it."
"The CIA's MK-Ultra program had seen significant success with memory replacement, all we had to do was find some to replace yours with." Park added. "And, of course, an activation phrase for them."
"We have a job to do." Adler stated. Pain shot through Minako's head as her own memories and her new ones struggled against one another.
"Jesus fucking christ…" Woods muttered.
"You didn't think to tell me you did this?!" Mason spat.
"I did, and I knew you wouldn't like it. I read your file, Mason, I'm not an idiot." Adler responded.
"The CIA gave you a second chance, Bell. I'm giving you my own." Adler stated. "Where is Perseus detonating the arsenal from?" Minako thought for a moment. These people, they took away who she was, what she believed in, everything. But at the same time, she saw firsthand the failures of her country, her beliefs. But most importantly, she found people she wanted to be with. Wood and Mason, they put their jobs on the line, wanting Adler to answer for this. Maybe, just maybe, she could put her trust in Capitalism.
"Solovetsky. The detonation codes are being broadcasted from a monastery in Solovetsky." Minako stated. "That's where you'll find him."
"You made the right choice, Bell." Adler stated. "Let's go, there's still time."
The ride to Solovetsky was surprisingly long. It was at least two hours, thank god Perseus had an ego and wanted the CIA to see it happen. Minako sat in the locker room, alone as she changed into her old clothes. Adler gave them to her, no point in keeping things from her anymore. She put her red leather jacket and black shirt on, the familiar material clinging to her, though lighter than before since it had two bullets in it. Her old jeans still loosely hung from her legs despite wear and tear from field operations. Her shoes scuffed up from a lack of shining, the tips looking like they had been brushed through with sandpaper. Minako took a seat just outside the locker room and took a deep breath, pulling her few remaining mementos from her jacket pocket. There were two of them, a small silver zippo lighter, with the logo of Gekkoukan High engraved on its sides, with the year 1980 engraved on the top. It was supposed to be a lighter she would use after graduation as a memento of her time at the school, that never happened. The second was much more personal to her. It was a leather watch with a rather large face, it had stopped moving long ago, right after it took a bullet. The watch was once the pocket watch belonging to Shinjiro Aragaki, the one that saved his life. He lost the watch on October Second, Minako returned it to him on October third, the same day she confessed her feelings for him, and it saved his life on the fourth. The watch, while not completely stopping the bullet, absorbed just enough energy for the bullet to stop moving before it could damage any organs. However, the combination of the shock from being shot and the Persona Suppressors he had been taking caused him to fall into a coma, awakening only a few days before the battle with Nyx.
"I'm home." a voice called. I looked up from my textbook to see who it was. I was shocked to see Shinji standing there, as if he wasn't shot at all. His beanie was firmly grasped in his left hand, a small blue box. Tears began to roll down my face. I rushed over to him, holding him tightly in a hug.
"Welcome home." I sobbed, refusing to let go.
"I had this made for you, as a thank you for saving me." Shinjiro stated, handing me the box. I opened it, revealing a watch inside of it. It was rather sizable, very solid, with a thick leather strap holding it in place. A bullet hole inside it told me exactly what it was.
"It's beautiful, thank you." I sobbed. Shinjiro smiled.
"Like you, Minako. I love you." he responded. No matter what happened, today would always be the best day of my life.
And it was. Minako looked back on that day to keep her going. She may never see him again, and that was okay. He may move on and marry someone else, maybe even Mitsuru, and that was okay. All that mattered to her was that he was happy that day, and that was enough. Minako began fiddling with her lighter as she stepped onto the aircraft deck. Woods and Mason followed soon.
"Got a light, Minako?" Woods asked. Minako nodded, igniting the lighter so Woods and Mason could light a cigarette, being given her own by Woods.
"You're going to the big leagues, Kid." Mason said, letting the smoke exit his lungs.
"I really am." Minako stated. "Tell me, guys, what keeps you going?"
"Knowing what I'm fighting to keep in the world." Woods stated. "Good burgers, music, that ad with the folks at the beach, that kinda thing."
"I got a son back home, I fight to make sure he grows up free." Mason stated, pulling a picture out of his cover. "That's him, the little guy says he hates me already, I'm sure it's just a rebellious phase. I know he loves me, because I love him, he just doesn't know it."
"Tough love parenting, huh?" Minako asked, taking a drag of the cigarette.
"What about you, what pushes you forward?" Mason asked.
"All of my friends." Minako answered, solemnly. "I hate Mitsuru, but she still pushes me on. Junpei's a great guy. I hope he and Chidori are happy. Yukari is a bit stuck up, but she's always there when you need her. Akihiko's a clueless idiot, but I do miss him a bit. Aigis is very interesting. I hope she's doing okay without Minato. Ken and Koromaru were cute. Wonder what Ken's gonna do with his life. Shinjiro, well, he…"
"He was your sweetheart, wasn't he?" Woods asked. Minako nodded.
"Yeah, we were amazing together." Minako reminisced. "We didn't have much time together, but we were still amazing." Minako wiped her tears from her face. "Sorry, caught up in the moment. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my bonds keep me going. Bonds strengthen us, help us through the struggles, and so much more."
"Good answer." Mason said with a nod.
"How'd you become a Red anyway? Where'd it begin?" Woods asked.
"It started after my parents died." Minako explained, taking a slower drag on the cigarette. "Minato, he was my brother, was separated from me. I was put in a foster home in Tokyo, with a pair of Socialists."
"So they indoctrinated you?" Mason asked. "Did they convince you that companies caused your parents to die?"
"No, they actually tried to get me to stop blaming them." Minako responded, waving her hand forward. "Their ideas interested me though, so I started attending meetings in middle school. Eventually, socialism became a flawed view to me, I moved up a step, then another, then another. By my first year of high school, I considered myself a communist."
"So when did you defect?" Woods asked.
"It was after my brother died." Minako solemnly explained. "I was blinded by grief, I blamed The Kirijo Group for his death. They created what killed him, they could have helped him, according to myself, but they didn't. At that moment, I decided I no longer wanted to live somewhere stained by capitalism. I told Mitsuru she could just die, and made my preparations. Eventually, I sold stolen info to Perseus and left the country."
"Would you ever want to go back to Japan?" Woods asked. Minako shook her head before tossing the butt of her cigarette into the sea.
"No, I don't have a place left there anymore." Minako sighed. "If I do return though, I have one thing I want to do."
"What's that?" Mason asked.
"Find Minato's grave." Minako stated. "I haven't made an offering for him. So if I return, I'm leaving black tulips at his grave."
"Why black tulips?" Mason asked, tossing his own cigarette.
"Two reasons." Minako sighed. "One, the Soviet plane that transports corpses from warzones is called the Black Tulip. But two, they represent strength, and I want to give some of the strength he gave me."
"That's quite lovely." Woods stated, his voice cracking slightly. "Listen, Adler said this was with your stuff. He figured it was some kind good luck thing or whatever since it can't fire. He wanted you to have it." Woods pulled something from his belt, a silver handgun. Minako picked it up. It was light, the only components likely being the trigger mechanism. A viewing port showed off a light blue glow, the word "SEES" written directly to the side of it. Her Evoker, it was like she never separated from it.
"Thank you." Minako said with a smile. "Now then, we're gonna be at Solovetsky soon. We should go get ready." Woods smacked her on the shoulder.
"Hell yeah. Let's show Perseus what Minako Arisato is fucking capable of." Woods laughed. Minako nodded. Moving with her new team, her new bonds, Minako knew she could do this. She had one last job to do.
A/N: Not only did I manage to get two in a row done, but I got a long chapter out too. I am feeling great, everyone. A quick note on why this chapter is longer than usual. I felt like End of The Line was too short, and I really was struggling to find a way to start Break on Through as it's own chapter, so I decided to combine the two, which I feel very satisfied with. We're in the endgame now. Just one more chapter and an epilogue to go, and maybe an alternate ending, I'm not sure yet. If anyone has any ideas for an alternate ending, feel free to throw them my way. As usual, hope you enjoy and have a great day!