Chapter 8: Anarchy
*Present Day, Psi-Corp Tokyo Laboratory*
"Yes. Yes, I understand." Naomi talked to someone over the phone. "I'll inform her now."
"There's…no need for that…" Kanako said, catching her breath. She was still weak from the infusions and mental attacks but capable of rudimentary mental and physical tasks. Ling had ordered her removed from the torture platform a half hour ago, to give the drugs and alterations time to seep into the roots of the telepathic powers. "She's…already…picked up…your thoughts…"
[She is correct, Naomi.] Ling's answer came in loud and clear. The transmission, for lack of a better word, was thrice the power of a normal telepathic message and since it was focused solely on Naomi, it made her fall to her knees in pain. [You have failed to acquire the original target.]
"Ling…you're lying…" Kanako muttered, her hair rapidly shifting from black to white. "I don't know how, I don't know why, but I can read you like an open book. You're afraid of me for some reason. I've analyzed every telepath, Psi-Corp or rogue, in Naomi's mind and yours and compared to even Naomi, my telepathy is relatively weak…you've got no reason to be afraid of me but you are…"
[Don't flatter yourself, child.] Ling answered with the same force upon Kanako, which knocked the girl back several feet. [I fear no one.]
"Is that so? If you don't…why not do what you want to now? And why hide the truth from your fellow telepaths, even from your beloved Alexei?" Kanako asked with a grin that could only mean that she knew something that was supposed to be a deep secret. "You know as well as I do that telekinesis is not the final stage of telepathic powers…it is a derivative. There is a reason as to why a telepath cannot use telekinesis while communicating telepathically…"
"What is she talking about, Commander?" Naomi asked, at the moment her feelings divided. On one hand, there was The Corp, the group that clothed her, fed her, raised her, taught her and trained her. She owed everything to them. On the other was this girl, which she had a somewhat maternal bond with. "What does she mean by that?!"
[It's none of your business!] Ling's eyes, glaring with pure power, sent Naomi flying to the wall, several feet away. She then turned her attention to Kanako, who was still grinning. [So, you think you know the truth do you?]
"I know enough of it." Kanako stood up, removing the dust from her clothes and looking Ling in the eyes. She knew Ling was scanning her, she knew she had no control over what Ling would pick up but she knew that it was useless. Ling was too afraid of her to let whatever powers lay beneath that mental deadlock be released. "I know just how far your powers extend. They're not limited to telekinesis, are they? No, that's just the tip of the iceberg. And the KGB, they aren't the threat you'd like Psi-Corp to think they are."
[How could you possibly…]
"How can I know that, even with rudimentary powers like mine? It's really simple, Ling. In the end, I don't need telepathy to read your mind, to know your thoughts." Kanako smiled malevolently. She was bluffing but she didn't even know it, so Ling didn't either. "All I really need it one good look at you and a few basic details and I can tell what you're thinking."
[I see.] Ling smiled as well; she hadn't had a purely mental duel like this in a while. [Perhaps you are more of a threat than I thought.]
"You have no idea…" Kanako answered with a small grin. "The KGB, they're just a front aren't they? From Naomi's memories, they only appeared when some telepaths separated from Psi-Corp. In fact, they completely ignored Psi-Corp during the first few years and focused strictly on hunting rogues. You…made the KGB, didn't you? To strike fear in those who would rebel against you and the White Council. But then, they began to slip out of your control, they became their own group, working on the elaborate façade you set up for them, down to the last detail, including the lies of how they operated after the Cold War."
[To rule by fear is to rule absolutely.] Ling answered as she mentally unlocked Kanako's cell. [If those fools saw that Psi-Corp was their only chance at survival, they would not leave us. True, many died but they were necessary sacrifices. This is a War, sacrifices must be made. Surely, someone who has read Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, such as you, can understand that?]
"Actually, I can. And if I were in your place, I confess I would employ the same strategy." Kanako stepped out of the cage with unmatched grace and an aura of supreme confidence. With one single step, she immediately owned the attention of everyone watching the room. "As for the White Council, they're nothing more than a front, aren't they? They have no actual power; you make all the decisions, disregarding any other opinion. In fact, I am inclined to believe you are mind controlling the whole lot of them."
[It seems like you have all of my secrets figured out already.] Ling levitated herself and began to circle around Kanako. Whether or not Kanako's knowledge of Ling's true plans would change Ling's decision seemed unimportant at the moment. [I'm impressed. Almost impressed enough to let you live.]
"There's another thing that I managed to figure out. Obviously, if two telepaths produce a child, that child's power will, with training, eventually reach a level of power equal to the combined level of the parents, producing a superior telepath." Kanako stood still, watching as Ling circled her. She laughed inwardly as she saw Ling break a nervous sweat. "So clearly, any child you bear with a telepath father will be more powerful than you are now."
[You have finally made a mistake. I am barren, infertile. I cannot have a child.] Ling answered with arrogance and confidence that surpassed Kanako's. Then, she noticed Kanako laughing. [What's so funny?]
……….
*Present Day, KGB Japan Branch Laboratory*
All of Hinata Sou's residents, with the exception of Naru and Mutsumi were bound in chains in individual cells. Aside from Keitaro, Shinobu and Motoko, they were all still asleep, unaware of what was going on. Eric stood there, several feet from the cages, shaking his head and wondering what he was doing there. Naru and Mutsumi were hooked up to some sort of transmission device, by Keitaro's reckoning, but he couldn't tell just what it was supposed to transmit. Gustave was there as well, sitting on his command chair, waiting the moment when Naru and Mutsumi would awaken from their sleep. He needed the two of them awake for this experiment, this…weapon test.
"What are you going to do to Mutsumi-san and Naru-senpai?" Motoko asked.
"Answer them for me Eric." Gustave ordered with his usual arrogance. He refused to learn any language from outside of Europe, Russia or the Americas. To know them, in his opinion, was degrading. "I have no time to waste on these Asian idiots."
"Do you know of the concept of telepathy? That girl, Otohime, is a telepath though her powers have yet to be fully manifested." Eric told them in perfect Japanese. "As for the other one, Narusegawa, she is not a telepath but is just as useful. You see, her mind is one of a few minds that are capable of not only redirecting telepathic signals but magnifying them as well."
"What for?" Keitaro asked.
"We, the KGB, have made it our sworn mission to hunt down every last telepath on the planet. With Narusegawa's magnification abilities and Otohime's telepathic energy, we will be able to locate each and every last one of them." Eric answered with more than just a tinge of regret in his voice. "Though, sometimes, I wonder, is this what we are supposed to be doing?"
Slowly, Naru and Mutsumi's bodies began to stir. Gustave grinned and pressed a few buttons. Immediately, the electricity and who knows what else began to run through their entire bodies and resonate in both their minds. Both their pain-filled screams filled the space of the room and it was almost deafening. Their bodies seemed like they were being torn apart, slowly, as if a rusty saw was being used to cut them to pieces. Yet, they could not become unconscious as the pain was too much for that. It wasn't merely physical, the pain was also neural and psychological, it was destroying Mutsumi and Naru's minds as Gustave looked at several blue lights on his screen. It was a map of the world and the lights were telepaths.
"Damn it!" Gustave slammed his fist into the control panel as the lights began to fade. "She's not powerful enough! Increase the transmission! I will have the location of every telepath on the planet, even if it kills them!"
"Stop it! You're killing them!" Keitaro shouted.
"Silence, you little monkey…" Gustave rose from his seat, temporarily shutting down the machine. He pointed his gun at Keitaro's head, preparing to shoot. "Or I'll shut that mouth for you."
"This is dishonorable, Gustave." Eric grabbed him by the arm.
"Honor and fair play is for those who are foolish enough to believe in the existence of a fair fight."
"Kei-kun!" Mutsumi shouted at the top of her voice as she saw the gun. "No!"
Gustave suddenly clutched his head in pain. Mutsumi was doing it, unconsciously; she was concentrating her powers on Gustave's nervous system, slowly attacking the butcher's body, system by system. By telling his mind that he was feeling pain, his body followed suit. It was however, obviously taxing for Mutsumi, even more so when the device began to function again. Mutsumi held on as much as she could, perhaps even to the point of using Naru to magnify her powers but she couldn't maintain concentration. Still, by the time it ended, Gustave was a wreck, barely able to lift himself from the ground. If that didn't make Mutsumi aware of her powers, nothing would. As Gustave struggled to get up, there was an explosion.
"I believe the expression is 'The cavalry's come to the rescue'." Sakura said, blasting her way in.
"Comrade! We have confirmation! Ling Xiao Yin is in Japan!" one of the operatives in the lab shouted before another telepath, Tyler, threw a grenade his way.
"Eric, come on. We may not have a chance to find every telepath but at least we have a chance to cripple the Psi-Corp chain of command." Gustave called to his ally as he approached the escape hatch. "We have a chance to kill the bitch that started it all."
"No. I have had enough of your butchery, your barbarism. I have must atone for my sins. May the souls of the telepaths I helped slaughter forgive me for them, God knows I won't." Eric then pointed and shot his side arm to his head.
"Damned fool, you are Eric!" Gustave shouted as he escaped while the squadron of armed rogue telepaths stormed the lab. "Never mind him. What's important is that I kill Ling…"
"Get those two away from that machine!" Chris barked out the order to the squad as he stepped in. "Open those cages! Check the computers, they could have important data!"
"Hush, Naru-san. We're here to get you out of here." Sakura said as she released Naru. "Come on."
To Be Continued…
Kanako: I would like to take this time to say that despite our better judgment, Kana and I are going to allow the upper echelons of the Church to sign up for their own accounts on this site. This would generally mean a whole lot of people are going to be attacking any author or authoress who they believe is even the least bit offensive to myself or to Kana. I am now saying that they are independent in their actions and I am, by no means, directing them.