::Chapter Three::
Are you KIDDING?
Nanami was a tad bit incredulous at the suggestion Rune had just put forth, and understandably so.
I've put every lousy Roshtal I ever earned into that diner and you can't even imagine the time it takes to get the supply lines in order and hire decent help in this city not to mention the regulations I gotta put up with all in addition to trying to make a decent profit on a world that isn't even my own and the building permits for the new franchises in Dorusland that require their own set of tax exemption forms and oh, this isn't going to get me anywhere, is it? Her voice had turned from the usual Nanami temper-rant into something that sounded too much like begging for her tastes as she ran out of breath, but the few times a commoner had butted heads with either member of the royal duo they hadn't gotten very far with it.
I've already explained to you; the taxes on your chain' will be lifted as long as you're in the service of the royal family, Rune explained to her patiently, and that the permits in the rest of the Alliance territories will receive the official seal approval of the Kingdom upon your return. You have nothing to worry about.
Nanami was toying listlessly with her drink - provided compliments of the royal family's omnipresent army of servants - on a small garden table in the terrace garden outside the throne room. It was a particularly beautiful day in the capital city, since the dragonbirds had just hatched and their haunting cries drifted in with the winds from the surrounding forests. The sun shone brilliantly, the flowers were in full bloom, and all this splendor had only served to make Nanami's mood more sour. It wasn't right that everything else in the world should be having a wonderful day when she had been asked to contend with this
Actually, in truth she had been commanded to comply with the needs of the royal family, which entailed giving up her business and staying with the princesses full time until the Phantom Tribe was wiped out. For now, the two were staying together at all times, but Nanami was just as human as any other guard, which meant that she could only protect them most of the time. This made Londs extremely nervous, even though no one else in the Palace seemed to share his special sense of dread about the possibility of an assassination attempt.
The guard around the princesses had been tripled at all hours, and they hadn't left the palace grounds in the few days since Fatora had returned. The extra security had set everyone on edge, and until the great priestesses returned with news of the Trigger, all the nerves in the palace were razor sharp.
Oh, fine, Nanami said after a while, aware that her silence was adding to the tension, I guess it is the best thing for a while. Trilline can take care of the place allright, I just wish there was something else we could do.
There is something else we require of you, Londs said, and waited for Nanami to groan before continuing, I will take you personally to our Royal Guard's firing range. If an assassin does show up, you may be the only one who can see them well enough to kill them.
At this Nanami's eyes grew wide. She looked from Rune, to Fatora, to Alielle, seeking some confirmation that Londs wasn't serious. But then she came to look into his eyes, and the desperate struggle for control that was evident behind them broke her resolve.
You, you expect me, to use one of those? She pointed, unbelieving, at one of the forcepikes the guard that surrounded the small party was equipped with, and Londs shook his head.
No no, we expect you to use one of these. He pulled from a sling on his back one of the old hand rifles that had proven so totally ineffective against the Bugrom, but could still presumably be used against other humans, and proceeded to tell her all about it.
Since the first Great War we've modified their design to provide nearly twice the range of the old version, without sacrificing more than 5% of it's original power. The muzzle has been redesigned to...
Nanami buried her head in her forearm and nearly wept in exhaustion onto the table. Londs had developed a distinct enthusiasm for new weapons designs, and it was all she could do to keep from running away as he droned on and on about this wonderful new device that was just as likely to get her killed as it would any assassin worth his pay. Secretly, a tiny part of her inside wished that the Bugrom could just get it all over with, even as the image of her brother's gross visage planted itself in her head and her memory began to replay the past few years for her. She thought of him laughing maniacally when he first gained control of Ifurita. She thought of him laughing maniacally when he'd very nearly gotten her, Mr. Fujisawa, and the three Muldoon Priestesses killed during the final attack with his gigantic Super . She thought of him laughing maniacally when Kalia had shown her true colors and very nearly destroyed their entire universe, and worst of all, she thought of him laughing maniacally when he used the Trigger again, rebuilt by his Bugrom hordes, to destroy all of Roshtaria. The visions of destruction filled her head no matter how hard she fought them; there was Mr. and Mrs. Fujisawa's home being destroyed, the Royal Academy, the Palace, the Shinonome Diner...
The Diner! The one thing in this crazy world she felt she truly owned, and that last thought did it. She could no more bear to lose that than she could bear to lose Makoto, and her face hardened with a grim determination.
...and since the groove has been precisely machined and lined with...
ALL RIGHT ALREADY!! she exclaimed into Londs' dissertation. She whirled up out of her chair in a motion so quick that there was no visible transition between the two positions. Even the guards nearly dropped their pikes in surprise when she cried out, but then they all saw the grin on her face, and despite their training almost trembled in their boots.
I'll do it! Anything I can possibly do to ruin the plans of my evil brother, I'll make sure I'm the best darn shot with that thing the Palace has ever seen! Don't worry, your highnesses, you couldn't have picked a better person for the job! Then she began to laugh, and everyone around her involuntarily took two steps backwards. The pitch might have been off, and it didn't have that stilted quality that distinguished Katsuhiko's laughter so well, but the same near-hysteria infused it, and that was the most worrying thing to happen yet.
****
We should be there by now. Afura, are you sure we're going the right way?
Afura sighed with the exaggerated patience she reserved in such great quantities for dealing with her maddeningly unprofessional fellow priestess.
Honestly, Shayla, that's the fifth time you've asked. Yes, I'm certain that this is the path to the hidden mountain that we took the last time. Don't you recognize it at all?
Shayla grunted and crossed her arms. Well, it sure doesn't look familiar, she pouted, but then something in the distance caught her eye, and she grabbed Qawoor's arm.
Hey Qawoor, did you see that? she asked, and the water priestess looked up from the book she was reading, then set it down gently and stood to look out over the deck of their tiny skimmer.
Afura really had insisted that they take the smallest, most inoffensive craft they could find, and that had meant they would be living off a ship just big enough for the engines, a sail, and a small storage bay for their foodstuffs. Qawoor was just as grateful for the unrestricted view this gave them of the surrounding countryside, because just on the edge of the horizon she could indeed pick out the entrance to a large, craggy canyon with mountainous rocks jutting up from the bottom like hideous teeth. Some were sharp edged, and some were rounded off. But there was one that almost looked like a pillar, sticking straight up into the sky, and perfectly flat on top.
Yup, that's it allright, said Shayla, hey Affy, we found it! Dead ahead!
The skimmer came to a halt well before they reached the fictitious mountain cliffside, and the three priestesses looked around the canyon floor numbly, as though they were moving through some horrible nightmare.
Afura departed into the skies almost immediately, and Shayla began running around the base of the mountain in a mad rush. Poor Qawoor had been briefed on what they might expect to find, but she was obviously confused about the significance of this place.
She scanned the bleak landscape, searching for a trace of some great machine or ancient power, but all she could see were a few scorch marks in the cliffside, and lots and lots of dust. Shayla and Afura returned after each had exhausted themselves with the search, but neither of them had been able to find so much as a spare screw or panel from the Trigger.
Jinnai had taken the entire gigantic creation, with all it's deadly potential, and left nothing but a cold sense of dread in his wake. Afura shivered as the situation fully registered with her brain, then paused as some distant sound caught her ear. She perked her head up, could she have been imagining it?
Afura held her hands out to silence Qawoor and Shayla, and the two other priestesses stared at her as she commanded the winds of the canyon to bring her every sound that was made around them. A white smoky haze began to circle her, and she closed her eyes as the symphony of noises made itself heard. There were birds chirping, a lizard darting behind a rock, the trickle of a tiny spring flowing over an ancient rock bed, and above them...
Voices.
What are they doing now?
Did you plant the device?
Should we attack them yet?
Afura's eyes snapped open with the initial surprise, but then she calmed herself, and walked over to the other priestesses.
We're being watched, she said plainly, and for once Shayla's first reaction wasn't to look around and demand their stalker come out into the open. Is it possible that she's actually learned something? Afura asked herself, but she banished the thought quickly lest it turn into a glimmer of hope.
How many of them are there? Qawoor asked.
Afura furrowed her brow in concentration for a second, then said, two, maybe three, I can't be sure. Don't do anything out of the ordinary for now, but I think they may have already rigged the skimmer.
Oh great, muttered Shayla, how are we supposed to get out of here now?
I think we may actually have to do it your way, Shayla, replied Afura reluctantly. Do you at least remember how we planned to deal with this ahead of time?
Shayla shot her an annoyed glance, then stuck her nose up in the air. Of course I remember! It was my idea, after all, since I knew you were going to get us into trouble out here.
Afura bit back a retort, and simply walked in between the other two and raised her hands again. Shayla did likewise, and a circular wall of wind and fire erupted from the ground around them. It started so close to the three that Qawoor almost felt her hair singeing, and then moved outward in a terrible flash of destruction. The wall was massive; it reached up and over the lip of the canyon with ease, and as the fires fanned out from them, driven by the unnatural strength of Afura's winds they turned the dusty ground beneath them black. Every nook and cranny was scorched so that nothing living could have survived the firestorm, and when the wall reached the skimmer it was picked up as casually as a child might lift a doll, and torn apart just as easily.
The Phantom Tribe scouts had realized too late what was happening, and even as they turned to run the wall enveloped them as well, but their screams were barely audible over the roar of the pure elemental fury that had taken them.
Then it died as suddenly as it had appeared, and Afura and Shayla collapsed to their knees in exhaustion.
That should take care of anyone who was following us, Shayla said between panting, Qawoor, get us out of here, quick!
Qawoor nodded, then raised her own hand and surrounded the three of them in a globe of water, then pointed forewords. A torrent sprung up beneath them and rushed along the canyon floor, turning it into a dark ashy mudpit, then they reached the small tributary to the River of God that they'd been following their way out, and turned back up river to head towards Floristica.
****
Are you absolutely certain there was nothing left? Makoto asked with just a hint of desperation.
I'm sorry, Makoto, but none of us could see anything there. Shayla and Afura searched all over the mountain, and we finished just in time for Afura to discover the Phantom Tribe watchers. Qawoor was tired from their journey, but it seemed as though the feat she had pulled off to get them here safely hadn't drained her strength the way it had the other two priestesses. In the past few years as she grew accustomed to her job as the Priestess of Water she'd only gotten stronger, to the point where her abilities were rivaled now only in legend. While it was true that the current generation of Priestesses had proven unusually adept at controlling their chosen elements, Qawoor stood out even among them, which had infused Miz - not to mention the rest of the Seminary and the Circle of Water - with a sense of great pride that she was not afraid to show off. But that pride was barely evident behind a severe look of concern as she, Mr. Fujisawa, Makoto and Dr. Stalubaugh listened to Qawoor's recounting of their journey.
But if that is true, then he must have discovered a way to reactivate it, said Dr. Stalubaugh, for it would make no sense to recover the entire weapon without knowing what it could be used for.
said Mr. Fujisawa, clearly perturbed by the whole incident.
Makoto looked to Shayla. You said you searched all around the mountain; were there any tracks or paths that might show where they took all the pieces?
Shayla shook her head angrily. Are you suggesting that I didn't know what to look for? she asked him.
Makoto closed his eyes and sighed. No Shayla, I wasn't suggesting that at all. I just can't imagine that the Bugrom would be able to do anything with the wreckage from an ancient El Hazard weapon. I haven't been able to figure out how to control the Eye of God, and I've got access to all the literature in the kingdom about it.
Ah, but you forget that the Bugrom are now allied with the Phantom Tribe, Dr. Stalubaugh countered, and their science is advanced decades beyond our own. They were nearly able to control the Eye without any outside assistance, so it is conceivable that they will discover similar means to controlling the Trigger of Destruction.
But Jinnai's not the type to destroy the universe; he'd want to conquer it, not obliterate it, Afura pointed out.
Dr. Stalubaugh made a noise like a disgruntled goat, then said, there may be other systems or technologies that he could use against us, without activating the final mechanism. But this speculation is pointless. We must turn all of our efforts to discovering where he has hidden it, and then- his face turned deadly serious -we must destroy it.
****
Jinnai ignored the presence of the Phantom Tribe scientist who had paused mid-gait to bow to him, then continue in the opposite direction down the hallway. From the very beginning he'd done everything he could to make it clear that he was the master of this domain, without question. The Council had listened to his list of demands very patiently, and had argued here and there about some of his more ridiculous points, but by and large they'd accepted his terms without any real objections.
This worried him. He'd gotten virtually everything he wanted from them; their skills had made his first attack possible well before he would have had the necessary numbers without them, and the work on the Trigger was progressing almost as fast as he'd hoped for. But there was something about their manner around him which indicated that there was far more to their presence than they'd let on. It was almost as if they were placating to him too much, despite his overwhelming need to be treated like the God he truly was upon this world. No, there was definitely something they weren't telling him, but he tried to put it out of his mind as he rounded the final corner and came to the gigantic hatchway that constituted the only entrance or exit to the cavern where the Trigger of Destruction was being rebuilt.
The small ten meter-long hallway that led up to the hatch was lined with Bugrom guards, and they all bowed to their knees as Jinnai approached. He stood still for a second in front of it, and then it began to slide into the rock slowly. As soon as it finished he walked through it, his two permanent Groucho-bug guards in tow, and paused to admire his worker's accomplishments.
The cavern was humongous, reaching father up and back than the lights at the entrance could have illuminated. All about him worker bugs and Phantom Tribe scientists were bustling around the gigantic hull of the ancient warship that was finally taking shape. Less than half of the Trigger had been reassembled, but it no longer looked like the random collection of parts that the Bugrom had gathered from the site of the wreckage.
Instead, there was a skeletal basis for a warship in what was essentially Jinnai's own private hangar, even though the Phantom Tribe was officially that it would every be fully operational again. The smug bastards were probably keeping the most important parts for themselves, but that was just fine so long as they delivered on their first promise, which was to get the secondary weaponry - similar in many respects to what the Eye of God had used to defend itself from attack - working and mobile.
As soon as they could determine how exactly the Trigger worked, Jinnai would have a weapons platform with extraordinary range and power that the blasted Roshtarians could never hope to match, and the Phantom Tribe to hide it until the proper time for a, demonstration, came. The very thought of watching the towers of the Royal Palace being destroyed as a prelude to their conquest was enough to set Jinnai shivering with anticipation, but he was here for a reason, and that reason was hunched over some sort of diagnostic readout, incomprehensible letters and number flashing over his face as reflected from the screen.
Welir was distinguishable from the other Phantom scientists only by his laser-red eyes and shimmering white hair, otherwise he wore the same robes as everyone else. Jinnai walked up to him and stopped a meter from the readout, but Welir made no move to recognize his presence.
MmmmmuurrrrrrAGH! Hey, what the hell are you doing that's so important you can't be bothered to pay respects to your new master!? Jinnai fumed loudly. Every bug within earshot stopped dead and turned to stare at the scene unfolding.
Welir wasn't fazed in the least. Instead, he looked up at Jinnai as though he were examining just another specimen, then straightened up casually and bowed.
My apologies, sir, I was just examining the results of our initial tests of the power circuitry. There was some collateral damage from the descent when the ship broke apart,' as you put it, but I believe that we will be able to use the basic distribution matrix as it is. His voice was cool and without inflection, and it seemed to have a calming effect on Jinnai.
he replied testily, does that mean that you'll be able to get the entire thing working soon?
Welir shook his head. Unfortunately, we still do not understand the command and control systems properly. The ship is at least partially, perhaps totally organic in nature, which may indicate that only an organically-based control device will interface with it properly. Until we can discover how that device must operate, we will have no control over its systems.
Jinnai waited, his arms folded, glancing pointedly at Welir in an attempt to get the enigmatic scientist to proceed on his own, but after a few moments it became clear that he was simply awaiting further instructions, and Jinnai let out a long breath.
AND? How long will that take?
Welir paused, consulted a small data tablet in his hand, then said at best, we may have a rudimentary understanding of the technologies at work here within three months, but that figure could be altered drastically in the face of unexpected developments.
Jinnai's left eyebrow crooked upward dangerously at that last remark, and his face had just begun to turn red when Welir seemed to realize that he was seriously in danger of breaking Nahato's first rule of dealing with their mad taskmaster; pander to his ego before he gets angry with you. So he added hastily, Which may include unpredictable patterns in enemy troop movements, or the discovery of an alternate power source. The timetable for something this delicate can be easily disrupted, but if things go according to plan we will have the first rough outline within the month.
This seemed to calm Jinnai's temper again. In truth he hadn't expected them to make promises about accomplishing anything within the year, let alone a bare four weeks from now.
he barked, as long as you make good on your promises, shadow, you'll get your reward, when the time comes for me to crush that insignificant bastard Makoto into the ground once and for all! WAAAAHH HA HA HA HA HA, UHA, UHA, UHA HA HA!
****
Are you certain you can reach her?
We are Wraiths. We never fail to eliminate our target.
Ah, but this girl is the sole exception, is she not?
Kariya acted independently of the Council. She moved as an individual, as one. We are stronger than that.
Don't be foolish. The security around the Palace is tighter than ever, the royal family protected by the powers of the off-worlders. We do not know what this boy from Earth is capable of; he could ruin our plans in an instant.
He will not be present when we strike. He is at the heretic Temple, and the Priestesses of Muldoon are occupied in a vain attempt to find the Trigger. There will be no one to stop us this time.
Except the girl.
She is no threat. By herself she is helpless, and the guards from the palace are of no consequence themselves.
Ah. So you seek the permission of the Council to engage in this foolishness? Why should they give it? You must know that our safeguards against the madman are not yet ready. If we were to reveal our plans too early, our hand would be weakened, perhaps fatally.
You assume that we will fail.
You assume that you will succeed.
Let us try. You agree that the girl must die to ensure our continued safety, at least?
Of course I do, but now is not the time to deal with her.
There will never be a better time! The Kingdom is still in shock after our first attack; if we wait, they may regain their senses. We should strike now while this opportunity is still at hand!
I will not be rushed in such a matter. I will consider your proposal-
-While the final preparations for the second attack are being made. There is still too much to be done, and we require your skills in this matter to ensure our success. Do not fail me, and I will select you to kill Nanami when the council has decided it is time.
Thank you, Lord Nahato.