Vampire Bund, Tokyo, Japan, 2010.
It had been hours since Mina was taken to the ER and Wolfgang, Vera, the Elite Eight, Spectre, and Angel had showed up to wait with us for any news about Mina's condition. Pretty soon, the head doctor escorted us to Mina's room and informed us what was going on.
"We're dealing with nanomachines. These tiny intruders are approximately the size of a single cell and they seem to use waste products within her Majesty's bloodstream as energy to replicate themselves. And as far as our tests are able to gather, her Majesty's entire system may be infected. If anything is causing her condition, these little buggers are surely responsible," the doctor notified us.
"How could our Majesty have contracted them?! When?!" Vera demanded in shock.
"Doctor, if I may...these nanomachines were designed to travel through the bloodstream and lodge themselves in the brain's frontal lobe. From there, they scan and transmit the person's subconscious," Angel explained.
"Jesus...and what the hell is our enemy hoping to gain by doing this?" I wondered while feeling guilty for not seeing this sooner.
"I suspect they are attempting to locate and reveal any secrets her Majesty may be hiding," Angel theorized.
"The Three Clans?" Wolfgang wondered, causing me to look at him.
"It could be them, or it could be Telomere looking for something," I pitched in.
"Currently, her Majesty's alpha brain wave patterns are dominant, suggesting that she is in a state similar to REM sleep," the doctor stated as she showed us the monitor.
"So, you're saying that she is dreaming?" Wolfgang inquired.
"It's likely. However, what concerns me is this random burst of static that occasionally appears on her EEG. I suspect that it's a sign of the nanomachines' scanning system," the doctor pointed out grimly.
"Doc...what happens now? She's going to wake up, right? She's not going to be stuck like this forever, is she?" Akira questioned.
"All I can say is that her Majesty's condition is very serious. So far, the nanomachines have thwarted all of our attempts to access them. What's even more worrying is the impact they are having on her Majesty's immune system. Normally, for a true-blooded vampire, any foreign materials that find their way into the bloodstream are immediately eradicated by their immune system. However, in this particular case, her Majesty's immune system...isn't responding at all," the doctor notified us.
"So, what'll happen then if we don't find a way to stop this?" I asked quietly.
"When a vampire's vital systems slow down to a certain point, it automatically triggers a shut down into the sleep of the dead to protect the rest of the body. But right now, her Majesty can't do that...the nanomachines are forcing her brain to remain active. The worst case scenario is brain damage...possibly so severe to the point of being unrecoverable," the doctor said, and Vera slumped to her knees which caused Akira to check on her.
"Vera-san! So, what can we do?! Anything?! There's gotta be something!" Akira cried in distress.
"Akira, calm down and breathe! There is one thing we do know...there are very, very faint electrical signals being emitted from her Majesty's brain. You know what that means, right? The nanomachines are transmitting their data to someone," Angel said.
"Who?" Akira inquired.
"Isn't it obvious? The one who's controlling them. The strength of the signal is so weak that it would only reach a short distance, likely no more than a two-kilometer radius from this room," Angel said.
"So, our enemy is somewhere inside the Bund...ready for your orders, Sir," I said to Wolfgang while my unit and I stood at attention.
"All active Beowulf and VGS personal, mobilize immediately! I want a comprehensive search of every single building within two-kilometers of this hospital!" Wolfgang ordered.
"Copy that! You heard him, Spectre! Move out and search the area!" I commanded as we all left the room to locate our prey.
After changing out of my school uniform and suiting up, my unit, Akira, Remus, and I went to see Seiji for assistance and now we were checking buildings that were near the hospital. My unit and I stacked up in front of the last building we were checking and I signaled to breach and clear. Takashi kicked open the door and I tossed a flashbang inside. I heard the grenade go off and we all moved inside to check corners and rooms.
"Clear!" I informed the others and contacted Remus, "This is Spectre unit. What's your status, Alpha Team?"
"This is Alpha Team. No sign of enemy contact on our end. Any sign of our enemy?" Remus asked.
"Negative...area's clear," I reported just as I heard a commotion outside and looked to see what appeared to be a riot breaking out.
"All units, I have eyes on civil unrest occurring outside. Need to secure the perimeter ASAP," I notified just as my unit and I left the building to see crowds of vampires panicking and attacking each other.
"Attention, you are causing a public disturbance! Vacate the area and return to your homes immediately!" I instructed as my unit and I moved forward to keep the crowd under control.
"Is it true?! Is it true that the Princess is dying?! We want answers, dammit!" a male vampire demanded.
"Shit! How the hell did that information get leaked?! We need to contain this situation before things get any uglier than they already are," I thought and said loudly, "I repeat! You are causing a public disturbance! Disperse immediately or you will be arrested for disturbing the peace!"
"Fuck you, asshole! We want answers and we're not going anywhere until we get some, so talk!" the vampire shouted as he took a few steps forward in a threatening manner, causing me and my unit to aim at him.
"Hey! Step back or you will be considered hostile! This is your last warning! Leave the area or you will be arrested!" I warned harshly as the crowd got closer, despite me warning them to stop.
"Shit. Any units in the area, we have civil unrest occurring and need backup at our location," I spoke into my radio just as trash and rocks were being chucked at us.
I kept ordering the angry crowd to stay back and one of the rioters went to attack Takashi, forcing the Lieutenant to hit him in the stomach with the butt of his MP5 and he fired two shots into the air. The crowd screamed and backed up in terror just as VGS soldiers pulled up in black humvees and started arresting members of the angry crowd.
"You and your unit okay, Captain?" a VGS Sergeant inquired in concern while some soldiers were chasing and tackling rioters to the ground.
"We're good, so thanks for the assistance because the situation was getting really ugly there for a second," I said in calm gratitude just as Wolfgang spoke on my radio.
"All units return to the medical center at once," Wolfgang ordered.
"Copy that, Sir. Form up and move out Spectre!" I commanded as we went to our humvee and drove back to the hospital.
We eventually pulled up to the hospital and got out of the truck, heading inside the building and meeting up with the others.
"David!" Yuki cried in relief as she went to approach me.
"Yuki? What are you doing here?" I questioned in confusion.
"Someone came and brought me here. Hime-sama's gonna be alright, isn't she? She's gonna get through this, right? Tell me she's going to be okay!" Yuki exclaimed in distress just as Akira and the others gestured me to follow as they hurried down the hallway.
"Yuki...if there's anyone who can make it through this, it's her. Now, wait here while I find a way to stop this. A Beowulf operative will stay with you until I come back," I instructed while I placed a hand on her left cheek and stroked my thumb on it affectionately.
Yuki held my hand for a second and let me go, the two of us nodding to each other before I turned around and rushed after the others.
"That signal was just a red herring!" Angel stated as we moved through the building.
"It was?" Remus asked in confusion.
"Yes. Remember how the Doctor said that there were strange bursts of static on her Majesty's EEG? That was the true signal. Our enemy has been disguising his signal as brainwaves, and has been streaming data through the Medical Center's LAN this whole time! Now come on! Hurry!" Angel said urgently as we went through the courtyard.
"You heard him! Fan out and secure the area! Watch your sectors and keep your heads on a swivel! Our enemy may not be alone and might be armed!" I ordered as my unit separated to cover more ground.
As Akira, a couple of members of the Elite Eight, and I moved throughout the building, Vera contacted us.
"Found him! Level B5! The security cameras in the medical records storage room have had their footage tampered with! They've been running on a loop for hours!" Vera notified us urgently.
"Copy that! Moving to the location immediately! Spectre, regroup to Level B5!" I spoke on my radio as we headed to the nearby stairwell.
After a while, we made it to our destination to see two VGS soldiers trying to open the door to the storage room.
"Shit! The door's electronic lock has been changed! We can't get it open!" the corporal informed us as we approached.
"Step back! We're going to break the door down!" I warned just as Remus, Heinrich, and I shifted into our were-forms.
We sent the door crashing into the storage room with our combined strength and Akira moved in with the VGS soldiers to find only a laptop on the floor that was plugged into the wall.
"Shit...nobody is here, but this laptop could help us find out who's responsible for this," Akira muttered in frustration as I shifted back to my human form.
"Roger that. Let's bring this laptop back to Commander Wolfgang so that we can trace where the intel is being sent to," I instructed as one of the VGS soldiers unplugged the laptop and we left the room.
"So, all that was left was this laptop?" Wolfgang inquired.
"Yes...putting a stop to these nanomachines has just gotten that much harder. We'll start mining the partitions for anything we can find, but for how long it could take is, well..." Angel trailed off.
"Commander, permission to take leave?" I asked Wolfgang.
"Permission granted," Wolfgang said.
I left the room and went to see Yuki in the waiting room.
"David...any news?" Yuki asked.
"There's nothing we can do at this point...all we can do is pray that the Princess comes back on her own free will. Fucking hell..." I trailed off, sitting down on one of the seats and clenching the armrests after I took my helmet and mask off.
"Oh Kami. Are you okay, David?" Yuki inquired as she sat down next to me.
"It's my mission to keep her safe and then this happens under my watch? I failed her...I failed a mission for the first time in my life," I muttered while I held my head.
"It wasn't your fault, David. You didn't know this was going to happen," Yuki reassured as she rested a hand on my arm.
"But still, this shouldn't have happened...I had a mission and I failed it," I growled under my breath.
As I brooded, I heard footsteps and looked up to see many VGS and Beowulf soldiers approaching us.
"Yuki Saegusa? We're sorry to have to do this in front of your future mate, but I'm afraid you are placed under arrest as the prime suspect of what had happened to her Majesty," the Beowulf soldier stated, causing me to stand us and move Yuki behind me as I growled.
"What the hell is this shit? You better be joking, Private," I demanded with a hard glare.
"Captain Temple, please step back and let us do our jobs," the soldier warned, and everyone tensed when shadowy vapors started coming off me while my eyes glowed red.
"Fall in line, soldier...I won't let any of you take her from me so just keep testing me, Piggies" I snarled demonically, my wolf urging me to tear them apart for trying to take my mate away from me.
I felt a hand rest on my right shoulder, and I looked behind me to see Yuki shaking her head.
"It's okay David...you don't need to protect me, so I'm going with them willingly," Yuki assured.
"Yuki...I don't want to lose you," I whimpered just as I changed back to normal.
"You'll figure this out. I have faith in you, David," Yuki told me before we kissed.
"I swear to God I'll figure out who's really behind this," I vowed as we held each other and we reluctantly separated, despite never wanting to let go.
Yuki walked over to the nearest soldier and her arms were put behind her back, handcuffs closing around her wrists as she was escorted out of the room. I was alone and stared at the exit, suddenly roaring in fury and despair as I turned to punch a hole into the wall next to me. It was one thing going after the Princess, but when you go after my future mate, heads would most certainly roll. I swore to myself that I would find the bastard who framed Yuki, and I would make them pay in blood when I did find them.
A/N Just when you think David's night couldn't get any worse. So, how did you like the chapter? Whoever is responsible for framing Yuki better flee for their life, because the Grim Reaper is on the hunt and he won't stop until death claims his prey. Well, stay tuned.