Arion: Welcome to yet another installment of Project Twilight. I'm your host, Arion Wong....
Yoru no Angel: And I'm the adorable Yoru no Angel!
Arion: ....Whatever. Anyways, as usual, Sakura Wars don't belong to us....
Yoru no Angel: Yup ^^ Well, the Hikarigumi does though...
Arion: Yes, I own the Hikarigumi, the entire Anti-Demon Division, the Imperial Konzertsaal, the base.... all your base are belong to me!
Yoru no Angel: ...Uh...Arion-san, don't forget I own half the Hikarigumi too...
Arion: ...The letters R, D, A and W... the numbers 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 13... Fanfiction.Net.... six cars, three houses, eight computers...
Yoru no Angel: Uh, Arion-san...me thinks you need a little help...
Arion: Ooh, pretty bird...
Yoru no Angel: Right...anyways, we hope you enjoy the chapter ^^ and leave us a nice review, if you don't mind...
Arion: The world! The world is mine! And next stop, the universe! Wahahahahahahaahahaha!
Yoru no Angel: Okay now...time to go take your pills, Arion...Chapter 4: Revelations
By Arion Wong and Yoru no Angel
"Hikarigumi, scramble! Scramble! Scramble!" Mika Sorenson's voice called in alarm.
"Well, something is happening now…" Isaac whispered in shock.
The Hikarigumi stood there, stunned. Then, Katrina's military instinct kicked in, spurred on by the training that they all had received during training.
"Let's go!" the German woman yelled and ran towards the nearest entry base to the secret facility underneath the theater. Inspired by her actions, the Hikarigumi followed suit.
One of the things the Hikarigumi considered outrageously funny was that there were already good-sized portraits of each of them hung in a discreet corner of the theater. At first the very well done portrait awed them, but now as they stood before their own faces, the Hikarigumi were embarrassed.
It wasn't the paintings of themselves that were embarrassing; it was what was behind the paintings. Behind the paintings were tubes that allowed the Hikarigumi to slide in, conveniently ending at the underground base's briefing room.
"I hate this part," Veraiho muttered as she pulled up the painting to reveal the dark portal. After several drills practicing this particular procedure, Veraiho had yet to get used to it.
Oh, the trip itself wasn't bad. The feeling of sliding down an air-powered tunnel at high speeds was exhilarating. What was unnerving was the fact that there were automatic devices of clips, claws and pincers that would magically remove her clothing and replacing it with the Hikarigumi uniform. When they had first drilled with the procedure, the women were righteously outraged, but were somewhat mollified when they were told that the Hanagumi had the same clothes-removing devices. But that didn't make Veraiho feel any much better.
Therefore, when she came out of the tube with her booted feet landing on the cold metal floor of the base, the Russian girl was visibly annoyed.
"There has to be a better way for this," the longhaired woman muttered as she tugged at the collars of her uniform.
A second later, Thomas McPherson and Siti Nora whooshed out from their own exits, their hair ruffled and faces flushed with excitement.
"Yeah! What a rush!" Tom whooped as Siti giggled beside him. Veraiho watched the youngsters, a faint smile on her lips, her complaint forgotten.
Then she frowned as Katrina Steiner's exit point opened up beside her.
"You two can it. She won't be happy if she sees you laughing," Veraiho warned. The laughing duo nodded and shut their mouths. Although they had been in the theater for a relatively short while, everyone knew of Katrina's temper and iron discipline.
True enough, as soon as Katrina feet touched the floor, she immediately broke into a run towards the briefing room.
As such, the fiery German was the first to arrive, the others hot on her heels.
"You're late," Colonel Lauranna Dornen said disdainfully.
"Hikarigumi, assembled and ready to go!" the team said and stood at attention.
Lauranna motioned at Henry, who clicked several buttons and the main screen came to life with a map layout of Berlin.
"We have no time to lose. A contingent of the demons has appeared southwest of the city. Sortie immediately and destroy all of them," Lauranna said.
"Enemy strength?" Isaac asked.
"Unknown, but it seems the scale seems much smaller than the attack on Ferlangen," Henry answered.
"This can't be happening," Tom muttered in disbelief.
"We... I'm not ready," Siti mumbled nervously.
"You have been drilled and trained constantly for the past few weeks. There can be no failures," Lauranna said coldly.
"That's right! Go back if you're scared!" Abigail crowed over the Malayan girl.
Siti glared back at her. "I will not! I need to learn to protect my village!" she said defiantly.
"Well then, make sure you learn quickly. Or you will die before you ever go back to your village," Lauranna said ruthlessly.
Isaac frowned, not pleased at her tone. "Commander, that's-"
"Enough," Lauranna interrupted, "get to your machines and board the Landmeister. It will take you to the battle."
Henry nodded and gestured towards the gleaming super-train below the observation window.
"Hikarigumi, deploy!"
---
The Landmeister (Land Master) was huge. Powered by dual engines, one in the front and the other in the rear, it carried a single caboose between them. It was studded with six egg-shaped capsules, three on each side. Huge grapplers and steel arms hung from the ceiling overhead, ready to pull the Koubus and Eisenkleids into the train's caboose.
Painted entirely in metallic black, the super-train was a menacing sight.
However, the Hikarigumi scarcely paid attention to it as they strapped themselves into their respective Koubus and Eisenkleids. With the relentless simulations and training, each pilot toggled the switches and levers with familiarity.
As their machines powered up, they each felt the thrill of having a mechanical beast of steam and steel shuddering at their every commands. Even as their mecha started to come alive, they could feel and hear the whine and grind of machinery throughout the entire hangar.
"Isaac Williams, good to go."
First, the Landmeister thrummed as its steam-powered engines heated up.
"Veraiho Dimitrovich, ready."
The entire train lighted up as its electrical systems went online.
"Katrina Steiner, reporting in."
Then, the caboose's egg-shape capsules opened up from both sides.
"Abigail Sinclair, let's give them a show."
The huge metallic arms on the ceiling lowered down towards the waiting Koubus and Eisenkleids.
"Thomas McPherson, oh yeah."
One by one, the arms pulled the mecha into the train. As soon as one was deposited into their respective capsule, the shells closed.
"Siti Nora, let's do this."
As soon as the last reported in the affirmative, the youthful and energetic voice of Lena Sorenson called out from within the train.
"Landmeister, moving out!"
The entire train shuddered. From the frontal engine, a piercing whistle blew and the train moved, slowly gathering speed. Within a few seconds, the tracks switched to the appropriate places.
A minute later, the train reached its peak speed, heading towards its destination.
Heading towards an unknown enemy.
---
"They have left the building, commander," Henry reported.
"Finally, it has begun," Lauranna muttered, her eyes looking grimly at the map of Berlin, its southwest painted in red.
"You seem to be enjoying this," Henry remarked.
"Maybe I am."
---
Inside their respective mecha, the Hikarigumi waited nervously for their first battle. Unable to get out from their machines until they were actually out of the train, they would have to use their radio systems to contact each other.
Not that they were going to use it just yet. They were too wrapped up in their pre-battle jitters.
Inside the private confines of her Koubu, Veraiho Dimitrovich silently pulled out a yellowed photo. The poor lighting within the mecha didn't allow her to see the black and white photography clearly, but it was so familiar that the features immediately came to her.
The picture had two young girls; in between them was an older man who had a square jaw and wearing black sunglasses, a smile on his friendly face. His hands were on the shoulders of the two girls. Veraiho resisted the temptation to bring the photo for a closer look. Instead, she slipped it back into her uniform, her eyes sharp with steely resolve.
Similarly, a fire of determination burned within Katrina Steiner's soul. 'All my life... a chance to serve the country...I will not let him down...' she thought, her mind flickering towards hazy memories of a long-gone person... a person whom she would not have the chance of ever meeting again...
Isaac Williams stared at his closed right fist intently. Within it was a medal, a sign of distinction that he had earned in battle. It was a relic from his illustrious past as a distinguished cavalry officer in the United Kingdom's royal armed forces. After the falling out with his brothers, his inheritance was stolen and his prestige denied. The medal was perhaps the only thing remaining from that past.
'It's all behind me now... I have a new road to walk, and walk it with my head held up I will...'
In her green-painted Eisenkleid, Siti had her eyes closed, trying to focus her mind at the task at hand. 'Can I really do this?' she wondered, doubts threatening to cloud her mind. Then she felt a warm, comforting presence. With a smile, she opened her eyes and let her gaze fall upon her keris, sheathed and tucked at the belt of her Hikarigumi uniform.
'No... I must do this! For everyone's sake!' she vowed.
Abigail Sinclair had a similar vow, though for much more personal reasons.
'Of all the luck... me! Abigail Sinclair! Stuck in this stupid country with a bunch of peasants and barbarians!' she seethed as images of the other Hikarigumi came to her. 'I will prove it... prove to all of them that I'm the best!'
Then a dreamy look replaced her seething visage as she conjured the image of the handsome Isaac Williams in her mind. 'And he will be there to see it,' she sighed contentedly.
In the scarlet red Eisenkleid opposite Veraiho's white Koubu, Thomas pondered his own feelings privately with himself. The young pilot was confused, perhaps even a little annoyed.
'Can't believe I got roped into this mess... fine luck I have,' he mentally groaned. He took a deep breath and sighed. 'Well, can't do anything about it now. I signed in for this, and Thomas McPherson is not a quitter, or else I'm not Thomas McPherson!' he mused. Satisfied with his newfound resolved, he broke into a smile and toggled his radio controls.
"Hey, Siti," Tom called out.
The Malayan girl's voice came back a little hesitantly. "Yes?"
"Don't worry, it's all going to be fine," Tom said comfortingly.
"Thank you, Thomas..." Siti said gratefully. Inside her Eisenkleid, she bowed her head and blushed.
"Oh whatever," Abigail sneered, "just don't get in my way, you two."
"Don't get too cocky, Sinclair," Katrina snorted from her Prussian blue Koubu.
"I say it because I can do it," Abigail replied breezily.
"Then shut up. I'm sure you can do that too," Tom chuckled.
"Alright all of you hush. We're all in this together, alright?" Isaac cut in before it got any worse. The Englishman noted that Veraiho did not speak at all.
"Veraiho, are you alright? You're quiet..." Isaac asked in concern.
Insider her cockpit, Veraiho shook her head even though she knew the Englishman could not see her. She did to ease herself, privately annoyed being disturbed by Isaac.
"I'm fine," Veraiho replied curtly.
Isaac was unconvinced by the blonde Russian's answer. "But you-"
Once again, Isaac was interrupted. This time, it was the voice of Lena Sorenson.
"Attention, Hikarigumi! We shall be arriving at the point of battle in two minutes!"
"Lena!? Is that you?" Tom asked dubiously.
"Who else do you think is driving, huh?" Lena grinned from her seat in the front of the train, one hand on the controls, the other hand gripping the radio communicator. She reveled at the speed of the super-train, the tunnel scene blurring past all around her.
"Oh no, we're going to crash," Tom moaned. The others picked up his cue and gave mocking sounds of distress (except for Katrina, of course).
"I hope we won't blow up before we even get to the battle," Siti said, eyeing the controls in her Eisenkleid warily.
"Hey! I'm fully qualified to drive this thing!" Lena yelled into her mic indignantly, "For your information, I'm also in charge of loading and prepping your Koubus and Eisenkleid, so be a little grateful!"
"No wonder there's a greasy smell in here," Abigail remarked.
"Well, Abby, you're more than welcome to clean it up yourself!" Lena retorted.
"I don't understand why you two fight all the time, you just got to know each other," Isaac sighed. He didn't know what sparked the intense dislike between Lena and Abigail, but whatever it was, it caused them to spit fire and stab verbal blows whenever they came across each other.
"Let's all settle now... we have a battle to fight," Isaac said soothingly, trying to be the peacemaker.
"Yes, Mr. Williams!" Lena replied immediately.
Inside her Eisenkleid, Abigail seethed at her rival's quickness. "Fine, fine... let's get this over with," Abigail muttered.
Isaac sighed inwardly.
The other Hikarigumi members knew full well what had happened. Veraiho, Tom and Siti snickered, while Katrina closed her eyes in annoyance at Isaac's dullness. It was obvious to them that the Swedish Lena Sorenson and the American Abigail Sinclair were competing for the attentions of the dashingly handsome Isaac Williams.
Then Lena's voice appeared again, this time all serious, all business.
"Entering battle zone now, prepare to disembark..."
---
Six steam-powered, steel giants burst through the elaborate ejection system from the Land Master and landed onto the streets of Berlin with a thunderous crash. Moving their machines in the open for the first time, the jarring landing surprised the Hikarigumi, but they gathered their wits quickly enough when they saw the enemy.
They were huge.
That was the Hikarigumi's first impression.
The monsters...whatever they are...they towered over their Koubus and Eisenkleids. They were busily destroying the buildings on the street when the arrival of the Hikarigumi interrupted them.
"W-What are those things??" Siti whispered, her mind whirling around in shock.
"D-Don't you know what they are?" Abigail hissed, though her voice was wavering with fear.
The fiends towered over the mecha by maybe five or ten feet. Half resembled scorpions, with large pincers on four long hairy arms and a gleaming plate of steel-hard armor over their bodies. Rows and rows of jagged teeth lined their jaws while beady yellow coloured eyes steadily watched the Hikarigumi's every move.
The Hikarigumi kept a close eye on the long pointed stinger on the tip of each scorpion's tail. An acid like poison dripped down each stinger, burning an opening into the ground wherever they moved.
The other half of the monstrous creatures showed a resemblance to a common bee although they were horribly mutated. The bees were faintly smaller than the scorpions, but they hovered in the air above the ground. Like the scorpions, these monsters had long pointed stingers and each of their six legs ended in razor-sharp claws.
"These…these things are even worse than the Wakiji…" Thomas whispered; his eyes were wide with fear.
"These aren't the monsters you fought?" Isaac questioned suddenly.
"H-How are we supposed defeat such monstrosities…?" Siti stuttered, not really hearing his question
Nobody had the chance to reply. Without warning, the herd of monsters charged forward, their stingers and claws itching to engage in battle.
"Let's go!" Katrina hollered over the intercom. The Prussian blue Koubu sped onward past her teammates; sabers draw high to enter the fray.
"Wait Katrina!" Thomas yelled after her but the German woman was already too far ahead to hear.
"Finally I have a chance to demonstrate my full potential!" Abigail focused her powers and a long steam of energy connected with the baton gripped in her mecha's hand. She too charged forward without fear or favor.
Veraiho said not a word. With a thought, her white Koubu responded to her energy. Her mecha disappeared into the conflict moments later.
"Come back!" Isaac tried to call them but to no avail. "Damn! They will pick us off one by one!" he said aloud, unaware that his teammates still could hear him.
His pale azure Koubu took a hesitant step forward, its clawed hands tightly clamped over the handle of a double bladed sword. After a couple of uncertain seconds, Isaac joined the clash and only the red and green Eisenkleids lingered behind.
"Don't worry Siti…" Thomas said calmly. He withdrew his sword from its scabbard as one by one the monster surrounded him and his female teammate.
"Everything will be fine," Tom repeated his earlier words through gritted teeth.
Inside her forest green Eisenkleid; Siti felt her hands trembling with dread. 'They are not the same as the one that attacked my school!' she told herself.
"We can defeat them... can we?" Siti asked fearfully. Her earlier confidence disappeared when she laid her eyes on the monstrous demons. Isaac's earlier warning only affected her even more.
Not sharing her fear, Katrina immediately confronted one of the scorpion-beasts. It reared up and roared loudly, its pincer snapping as it tried to slash her Koubu to pieces. Katrina easily stepped away from the arc of the slash.
"Foul beast! Have a taste of judgment!" Katrina yelled as her Koubu jumped forward as the danger passed and slashed with her own twin sabers in return. The demon screamed in pain as two of its four pincers were cut off. Its scream died when Katrina plunged both sabers into the head of the scorpion. But before she could enjoy her sense of triumph, her Koubu was rocked when another of the scorpions came up and whipped its tail across her Koubu.
"Damn insects!" she swore.
Abigail Sinclair was enjoying herself. She had doubts about the agility of the Eisenkleids and Koubus; their stumpy, unfashionable looks gave her no confidence at all. But now, she felt that she was born to ride an Eisenkleid.
Her Eisenkleid wielded two batons. At first, she was dubious of her weapons when explained to her by the chief engineer Robert Feulgen. 'Using psychic energy, you can unleash ribbons that can tear the enemy apart,' she thought, trying to mentally affect the thick Scottish burr used by the gruff engineer. She had taken the simulations at a face value, not really believing his words until now.
With her psychic energy as the power source, twin rails of luminous light emerged from the batons. They responded to her thoughts and commands, and her Eisenkleid danced around the monsters, wrapping them with the ropes of light. With a fierce yank the ropes tightened around several foes and literally tore them apart.
"I can get used to this," Abigail Sinclair laughed. She did not notice that the scorpion-beasts were slowly gathering around her.
On another side of the battle, Veraiho did not bother to waste her breath on the monsters or her teammates. 'They have no reason to listen to me anyway,' she mentally shrugged, 'Better for them to fight the best they can without me distracting them...'
Remembering that she was the only one equipped with a range weapon, she kept her Koubu moving in and out of the alleys of the street, luring the flying bee-like monsters into her field of fire.
With each thunderous report of her Koubu's immense gun, a flying demon fell and crashed onto the ground. But they were many and she was one.
'They bleed, so they can be killed,' Veraiho told herself as she bracketed yet another flying beast in her sights. Her eyes saw the target clearly, her hands steadied the aim, her finger pulled the trigger and the gun fired. Another kill for the Russian girl. But she felt no pleasure from it.
'I just killed another living thing,' she thought dispassionately to herself.
The disorganized mêlée continued on. The Hikarigumi fought individually, each doing their best to deal with the enemy in their own way.
"My my, what do we have here?"
From a fair distance the woman observed the battle between the demonic monsters and the Hikarigumi. A gush of wind blew her lengthy wavy dark hair over her eyes. She lifted a pale hand to her face, pushing her locks out of her view as a spiteful smirk crossed her beautiful features.
"I think…" She mused aloud to herself, "It is about time I introduce myself to our little friends down there."
Back at the battle, Isaac wheeled his Koubu around just in time to block a tail whip from one of the scorpions. With a twist, he cut it off, causing the monster to squeal in pain. With another thrust, Isaac ended the creature's misery.
"What manner of beasts are they?" Isaac exclaimed as he spun his Koubu's double-edged sword, slashing the other enemies that threatened to surround him. 'Damn! Can't see the others in this mess!' Isaac complained, trying his best to juggle between locating his teammates and avoiding getting killed by those scorpions.
Then he saw Katrina's Koubu, slashing in every direction.
"Katrina, come back!" Isaac yelled.
"I don't have to listen to you!" Katrina said angrily. In her mind, she felt she was doing fine by herself, she had killed her share of the enemies.
"Take a good look. They outnumber us! Get back in formation!"
"Hmph," Katrina snorted. But she did what he said and slowly retreated back to their initial landing zone; fighting every inch she gave away to the monsters.
A few minutes later, Isaac finally caught sight of Abigail's magenta-colored Eisenkleid, which was gleefully ripping through the enemies. However, he saw that the enemies were slowly surrounding her.
"Abigail! Be careful!" he called out in warning.
His Koubu dashed to her side and broke up the scorpion-beasts' formation before they could fully encircle her.
"Oh, Mr. Williams!" Abigail gushed.
"Get back to Tom and Siti! We need to regroup!" Isaac said tersely.
"What? But I'm doing so well on my own..." The American girl started to whine.
"Now! We mustn't let the enemy kill us one by one!" Isaac urged.
"Oh well... only for you, Mr. Williams," she drawled, smiling lazily and made her way.
Eventually, Isaac found Veraiho as well; she had just finished off the last of the flying creatures.
"Now only those scorpions remain," Veraiho said, a tone of self-satisfaction in her voice.
"G-Good job..." Isaac said as he stared at the bee-like corpses that littered the street.
"We have to regroup," Veraiho continued.
"My thoughts exactly. Come on."
Slowly, all six Hikarigumi found themselves driven back into their starting point.
"Brilliant plan, Williams. Now what?" Katrina asked sarcastically as she glared the teeming mass of monsters that lined her entire field of vision. The six Hikarigumi machines formed a security wheel, and they were being surrounded.
"Well, I'm sorry," Isaac said apologetically. "Siti, Tom... you two alright?"
"Yes... Tom has protected me all this time..." Siti said, a little ashamedly. She felt that she did very little in the battle.
"Not true. We each did our part," Thomas argued, eager to dispel her lack of confidence.
"I'm sure you two did," Isaac said reassuringly.
"Wait, what's that up there?" Thomas said suddenly. He cautiously lowered his sword just a little as a distant figure appeared in the skies, slowly getting closer, hovering above the monsters.
"What is that?" Abigail asked just as a dead carcass of a scorpion was released from the taut bind of her energy whip.
"I think you mean who's that," Veraiho replied, her eyes squinting at the incoming stranger.
"Oh, my poor babies..." The stranger said mockingly. She had long, wavy black hair, her skin so pale that it appeared ethereal in the night. There was a sense of evil beauty around her, the folds of her black gown fluttered in the wind as she hovered over the scorpion-beasts.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!" Isaac demanded through his Koubu's loudspeakers.
"Oh my, such rudeness!" the woman laughed. "I didn't expect to see someone to actually stand up and fight my pets. And I thought this miserable city would fall just like all those pitiable towns like before."
"It was you!? You're the one behind these attacks on my country!?" Katrina yelled in anger.
The pale-skinned woman laughed again. "Me? I'm very flattered, but my liege is like the glory of the full moon... I'm just a splinter of his dark light."
"Do you at least have a name? Honestly, some people..." Abigail sneered.
The woman held her head high proudly. "My name is Iveria. Iveria of the Forgotten Ones."
"The Forgotten Ones? That is so corny," Thomas muttered.
"We were abandoned, forgotten... and now you dare to stand in the way of our revenge... now it is my turn to ask: Who are you?" Iveria countered.
"We're the Hikarigumi of the Anti-Demon Division, protectors of this city!" Katrina proclaimed righteously. Her Koubu's twin sabers slashed the air menacingly.
"Hikarigumi, eh? I'll remember your name, for you have killed many of my beloved pets tonight," Iveria said sadly. "As much as I love to destroy all of you right now, I will have to report your miserable existence to my liege. Have fun with my babies for now," she said and laughed as she disappeared into the clouds.
"Come back here!" Katrina roared and charged. The remaining scorpion-beasts barred her way, but she charged recklessly.
"No, it's a trap!" Isaac warned. Distracted, he failed to see a scorpion that came up to his flank and rammed his Koubu.
Abigail rushed to help him. "Mr. Will-!!!" her call was cut off by her scream when another scorpion-beast blind-sided her. Within a blink of an eye, the beast's pincer snapped off her Eisenkleid's left hand.
Veraiho gritted her teeth and thumbed the switch that would change her Koubu's rifle into gatling mode. She brought it up to bear and swept her field of vision with rapid-fire shots, decimating the enemy ranks.
To her side, Siti's Eisenkleid wrestled against her own foe. Inexperienced, frightened and confused in the chaos of battle, the green Eisenkleid was pushed back. With a thunderous roar, the scorpion knocked her into Veraiho's own Koubu.
"What the-!" Veraiho exclaimed. With the immense jostling, her gun arm flew away from the intended targets and instead, her shots hit squarely on the back of Tom's Eisenkleid.
Tom's mecha went down, smoking and burning heavily.
"Oh no... This... this is all my fault..." Siti whispered, eyes wide and brimming with tears, a shell-shocked reaction on her face.
"THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!!"
Suddenly, all the monsters stopped. Some were in mid-attack, their pincers or tails rearing up ready for a strike. The Hikarigumi blinked, not understanding what was happening.
It was as if time had stood still.
And then, everything turned white...
---
A few hours later, back at the underground base of the Anti-Demon Division...
Lena Sorenson jumped out of the train's front engine and jabbed her hands into her pockets, a scowl on her face.
By the time the Land Master returned to the battle scene, the monsters were gone without a trace. Not one corpse, not one drop of blood. It was as if they disappeared into thin air.
But if anyone needed evidence that the scorpion-beasts and bee-like demons did attack the city, one would only need to take a good look around. The streets were broken up, buildings torn apart, steam-cars and vehicles stomped upon.
And then, there was the mecha of the Hikarigumi.
All were heavily damaged. Only Siti's Eisenkleid was standing, but even so, it was smoking heavily and leaking lubricants. Abigail's magenta mecha was missing a whole arm, while Isaac's azure Koubu was scarred all over and had one flank nearly caved in. The gun on Veraiho's Koubu was mangled beyond belief, while Katrina's own mecha was pockmarked by solid blows.
Worst of all, Thomas's Eisenkleid lay on the street, facedown and unmoving with a huge fire on its back. Squinting her eyes, she could see that the other Hikarigumi members were trying their best to stop the fire from causing an internal explosion.
'Or cooking Tom alive...' Lena had gasped.
Her instinct kicking in, she had jumped out of the train and grabbed a fire extinguisher. The rest of the onboard engineering crew joined her and pretty soon, they had the fire contained.
"Just what the Hell happened?" she had yelled when the Hikarigumi stood silently around the wounded body of Thomas McPherson. He was unconscious, his left arm bleeding and twisted in an unnatural position. One of the engineers knelt down and tore up his uniform and performed a makeshift bandage to stop the blood.
Everyone was streaked by smoke and ash, their faces blackened, still sweating heavily. Was it from the effect of the fire, or was it something else? What happened in the battle? Lena's mind had a million questions.
Nobody answered her. Each looked away, too ashamed or just unwilling to open their mouths.
"Fine, be that way," Lena growled. She signaled for her crew to start work.
"Get those machines into the Land Master post-haste!" she yelled. Whirling around, she glared at the Hikarigumi. "And you people have some serious explaining to do."
Isaac opened his mouth to say something, but Lena turned her back on him, putting the screws to the Hikarigumi. Each of them winced, never seeing her so serious before, the Chief Logistics Officer was always a jovial and fun-loving person.
"Let's go home. Looks like it's going to be a long night ahead," she said sarcastically as she motioned for them to board the train.
They stayed quiet during the transport back. And Lena refused to look at them in the face, ignoring them as if they hadn't existed. When they silently disembarked at the underground base, Lena turned away and pointedly went to the opposite direction.
There was no time for the Hikarigumi to even think of an apology, for the imposing form of their commander, Colonel Lauranna Dornen marched right up to their faces as soon as they stepped into the base.
"What the Hell happened out there?" Lauranna demanded harshly, unaware that she was repeating Lena's question from earlier.
"I... we..." Isaac started hesitantly.
"Report!" Lauranna shouted with authority.
Instantly, the Hikarigumi snapped into attention.
"We encountered an enemy force that heavily outnumbered us. Despite that, we managed to defeat them," Isaac said promptly.
"You call this a victory?" Lauranna sneered and gestured to the Land Master.
The Hikarigumi's eyes flickered to that direction and cringed when they saw their mecha being unloaded from the train. It was as if they noticed the sheer extent of damage that they had suffered in their first battle. It was only compounded when the engineers wheeled an unconscious Thomas McPherson out on a stretcher, heading towards the infirmary.
Lauranna forcefully pulled her military cap down so that they could not see her eyes. Even so, they could feel her glowering eyes boring into them.
"Debriefing in two hours," she snarled and walked away.
A victory... but at what cost?
-End Chapter 4: Revelations-