Notes: Hope I didn't scare anyone too bad with last chapter's ending. As I've said before, I don't kill characters unless the death serves a purpose. With that in mind, um…please don't hate me?
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Chapter 6
"Do you think he did it?" Kizzie asked quietly.
"I'm afraid so," Kizna murmured. "But…maybe he has a plan."
"Well…It hasn't said anything for a while. Maybe it's busy. Or sleeping."
"Or dead?" Kizna suggested hopefully.
"No. Then we could get out. I guess it's busy."
"Yeah. But maybe we can come up with something while It's distracted."
"I don't think it would matter." Kizzie glanced uneasily at Kizna. "Um. Thanks."
"For what?"
"You know. Trying to save me before. I don't think I ever thanked you."
Kizna smiled slightly. "You're welcome, Kizzie." She reached over and squeezed the girl's hand.
"If…something happens to Zero? Is there…anyone else who could help us?" Kizzie whispered.
Kizna couldn't help being touched; Kizzie was obviously trying to spare her feelings. "Well, that depends. Zero's the only one who really knows that It is in our head. I don't think he would tell anyone…"
"Yeah. It would sound pretty weird. 'Hey, there's a monster in my girlfriend's head, but just pretend it's not there for now, okay?'"
Kizna blushed. "He's…um…not my boyfriend," she said.
"Oh. Really?" Kizzie blinked in surprise. "Then why does he get to kiss you?"
"Long story. But, since we won't be going anywhere right away, you might want to sit down…"
* * * * *
The Victim shared a very hazardous trait with humans: they feared what they did not understand.
They were not exactly stupid, and some certainly had their moments of cleverness. But in the end, they all ran on herd logic. Follow the leader, react to loud noises, and be suspicious of everything.
This did, of course, present its share of problems.
To the average Victim, life was war and little else. Humanity was the opposition, but in the form of Pro-Ings (on the rare occasions when they were needed in actual battles) and the more formidable Ingrids. They recognized that all the Ingrids had different strengths. But as the Victim themselves operated under pack rule, they could easily spot the leader in a group.
Ernn Laties had been the main threat from day one, and any Victim with sense did everything in its power to remove "The White One" from battle. Outright defeating it was out of the question, because somewhere along the line, Ernn Laties stopped being an enemy soldier and became something much more imposing.
A goddess, ironically enough.
Yet, she obeyed humans, and that was the key. Ernn Laties had to be controlled by a Pilot to be effective. As far as Victim knew, there was no requirement that the Pilot be human. With the power of Ernn Laties, they felt the war would end abruptly, and in their favor.
But as much as the Victim did know about Ernn Laties, there was so much more they could not even begin to comprehend. Which ultimately meant that while the theory was sound, putting it into practice wouldn't be child's play. Now that Ernn Laties had been abandoned, she was theirs for the taking.
However, none of the Victim knew just how to control her, nor did they feel even remotely comfortable approaching her. Far too many of them had been lost just by being near Ernn Laties, and even when she was so close to being their greatest weapon, none dared to touch her.
* * * * *
Erts was doing his best to stay calm. None of the others seemed to be in any immediate danger, and there wasn't much he could do to help. There was still the nagging fact that no one could seem to find Zero or Ernn Laties, but other that that…
"This is crazy," he said suddenly. "We can't just…ignore that they…something's happened, it had to…"
~He comes,~ Emily announced without warning.
Before Erts could ask what she meant, he spotted a tiny light within the ice field. At first, he thought it was just a star, but then he realized that it was moving closer and closer.
"Erts-san," came Kazuhi's voice through the radio.
"Yes, Kazuhi-san?"
"I thought you would want to know. Rei-san has ejected."
"He…he WHAT?!" Erts shouted, even as the light before him suddenly winked out.
Upon later reflection, Erts would never know if he had done it, or if Emily had merely reacted for him. Whatever the cause, Reneighd Klein lurched forward without warning, clipping a rather large chunk of ice in the process. But neither Erts nor Emily felt any pain, only an overriding sense of urgency.
In seconds, Erts found himself staring at a hovering, lifeless body in an all too familiar white uniform. Amazingly, his first instinct was to curse. Instead, he found his fingers inputting complicated commands he knew nothing about.
Reneighd Klein extended her arms until her hands were on either side of the body. A glowing, bright green sphere of energy appeared around the boy, sealing and instantly filling with oxygen.
Erts was not certain, but he could swear the sight was strikingly familiar to him, for some reason.
~"Is he…alive, Emily?"~
~Must go home now,~ was Emily's swift reply, even as Reneighd Klein turned to do just that.
"But…the others! What about-"
"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice. "Move your butt, Erts! It's raining Victim!"
"Gareas?" Erts asked in surprise, looking up to see Eeva Leena bearing down on him.
"What are you waiting for?!" Gareas snapped. "Call Yu & Roose so we can all get outta here alive!"
But there was no need. Before Erts could recover from the shock, Tellia Kallisto & Megami Senshi burst from the ice field at incredible speeds.
"Don't slow down, you two!" Gareas barked. "We're in full retreat!"
"But…Ernn Laties!" Erts cried in protest. "We can't leave her!"
"Dammit, Erts! Don't make me pull rank! I may not be Top, but I'm damn sure second-in-command around here!" There was an audible snort before Gareas finished with: "It's not like the kid's in any condition to give orders…which, I would think, would make you even more eager to get him back to GIS!"
Erts barely had to think about that: Gareas was absolutely right. Zero didn't need oxygen, he needed the best medical attention there was. Without any further hesitation, he directed Reneighd Klein after the other three Ingrids in silence.
It would take him years to realize that Gareas had just sacrificed Ernn Laties in order to save Zero's life. Even then, Erts would never be able to figure out exactly why.
* * * * *
Ihkny honestly didn't know where she was going. The shuttle pilot had told her to go straight down the long corridor, always passing any doors to the side she saw. Eventually, she would have to come to the end, and what then? What would be waiting for her?
Her question was answered soon enough, though not in the way she'd expected.
At the end of the corridor, the path split in two. One hall was lit only by an occasional dim overhead light, while the other was completely dark.
Ihkny was quite startled when someone slightly taller than her emerged from the dark hall. She managed to avoid screaming, but could not help putting a hand over her heart.
"Forgive me, Ms. Alecto," he apologized at once. "I didn't mean to startle you."
She was about to ask how he knew her name, but suddenly realized that she also knew his. "CLAY?!"
He smiled, and his glasses flashed in the dim light. "I'm pleased you haven't forgotten me, Ihkny."
She suppressed the somewhat awkward urge to hug him, thinking of how Saki might react if she knew. "What are you DOING here? I thought you were…you had…"
"I know. I was a bit surprised myself. Welcome of the Office of the Observer." He paused, looking uncertain. "Not the actual office, of course. More like the Department. But I'm rambling. Right this way, please."
He led her down the lit hallway, walking faster than she'd remembered.
"Are…you the one who sent me the letter?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Yes. I realized there was a position here you'd be perfect for. But didn't want my identity to be obvious, in case you showed the letter to Saki…"
Ihkny blushed; Saki was the nearest (and therefore first) person she'd shown the letter to. "Why didn't you write her? She misses you."
He paused. "I know. I…am merely awaiting our paths to cross again."
* * * * *
Saki had, on a number of occasions, heard Hiead be described as demon-possessed. Which one of them was actually being possessed was always unclear. And until now, she had always considered such discussions nothing more than exaggeration gone wild.
But that was before Hiead started glowing red.
Truthfully, there wasn't very much red. Just a thin but visible line that totally surrounded him and pulsed every few seconds, matching what Saki supposed was Hiead's heartbeat.
It was still very odd, and made her quite nervous.
She was almost certain that even though Hiead was asleep, he was perfectly aware of the red, and how much it was bothering. In fact, that may have been his whole reason for doing it in the first place.
Finally, it got to the point where Saki couldn't look at him without her skin crawling. Taking a deep breath, she reached over to shake him awake.
Hiead's eyes snapped open just before she could touch him. "What."
"You…do know you're glowing?" she asked hesitantly.
He raised an eyebrow.
"You know, like you're a radioactive being or something?"
Thankfully, he did at least look at his hand before replying. "And?"
"I…thought you'd want to know."
"I did."
"Oh. Well…" Saki stared at him uncertainly. "Is that…normal for you?"
"What do you think?"
"…I think you're not going to tell me."
Hiead smirked. "Smart girl."
"I just…wanted to be sure you weren't going to explode."
"If I was going to explode," Hiead said calmly, "I wouldn't be so obvious about it. A bomb is never as effective when someone knows it's a bomb."
"…see, normal people don't think about things like that," Saki explained.
"They wouldn't. It's why so many of them die sooner."
Saki rolled her eyes. "Why do all our conversations have to end up morbid?"
"Because then they come to an end," he replied with a wicked smile.
"If you don't want to talk to me, just say so and I won't talk."
"But then I would have to, and it's not worth the effort."
"Is that a twisted way of saying you DO want me to talk?"
"That's my way of saying if I found you annoying, I would've snatched the silent one instead."
"And you think Tukasa would've been more cooperative?"
"Not really. But she wouldn't have asked any questions, either." He grinned. "And it would've drove Yamagi mad."
Saki couldn't help giggling a little. "Hey, if you're trying to corrupt me so I'll be like you, it won't work."
Hiead looked into her eyes. "If I was corrupting you, you definitely wouldn't be smiling right now. I have a feeling you'd be screaming, if you still could."
"…I'll be quiet now," she offered, looking away quickly.
He chuckled softly, even as the red pulsed a bit more rapidly.
* * * * *