The Whisperer

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-Chapter 44-

'Shit, I can't believe this. I'm about to leave and then this…deja vu.' Kaname thought as she walked grumpily down the hall. A large unit of Arastols and guards had come after her by order of a certain silver-haired Testarossa. They were escaping when they ran into them. The Mithril soldiers did not have the force to fight back anymore. In payment for sparing the lives of everyone else, Kaname had to come with them. Hesitantly she agreed. Once again she would make Sousuke pay for leaving so soon. She was now being lead farther down into the facility a lot of guns poking her forward and human-like machines guarding her as they walked. She tried to escape one easily getting away from the guard but the Arastols picked her up easily. She glared at the particular machine that had carried her back. Now they were all making sure she had no opening to attempt anymore escapes. She made it quite obvious how unhappy she was about this, but only succeeded in annoying the soldiers not stopping them. "Ow!" Kaname turned and glared at the soldier that prodded her in the back to get her to move faster. He stared at her indifferently and prodded her again. When the gun pressed against her breast it was only a flash which no one caught but the man was on the floor. Kaname stood fist extended breathing angrily, clenching her teeth. One of the Arastols grabbed her and began carrying her. "Hey lemme go!" Kaname started banging and kicking the machine. She regretted it rubbing her hands; sore from the beating she had failed to distribute. Another one picked up the unconscious guard and the small group continued on their way.

"How long before we leave?" Leonard asked as he turned to Schneider. They were in one of four large hangars holding shuttles ready to launch. Schneider looked around at the progress they were having preparing everything. "We're leaving soon. Don't you want to wait for Miss Kaname?" "Yes, but I would like to be ready to leave. By the looks of it your men were not prepared for this attack." Leonard looked at his watch.

Schneider disregarded Leonard's comment. Instead he walked over to a guard who was supervising the loading. The preparations were almost complete. As he spoke a young woman walked up to him carrying a clipboard, and phone. He took the clipboard and began speaking to someone on the phone. Leonard could not hear what he was saying, the loud being made in the hangar not helping. Schneider was turned away so he could not read his lips either. Leonard stood patiently for about five minutes before Schneider returned. The expression on his face caused Leonard to worry a bit.

"We are leaving immediately." He said as he walked past Leonard, grabbing his sleeve. Leonard pulled back then fixed his sleeve. "Why what is wrong?" He stared seriously at Schneider whose look had become a glare. "We have to go I will explain to you on the plane."
"What about Kaname? She is not here yet." Leonard looked at his watch again. Schneider was becoming annoyed. "She will get on another vehicle. We must go for now. If you do not wish to come you will be forced." Leonard did not look pleased with the threat. As he was about to speak Schneider held up his hand to stop him. He pulled out a small device and put on a headset. He typed something in while waiting. Leonard heard a beep before Schneider began speaking.

"This is Schneider. All AS units abandon your current targets…" Schneider paused abruptly as if he was interrupted. "Do as I say! Abandon current course of action and head to Restricted Area-C015. All units go there with extreme prejudice. Destroy unknown variable on sight. Use any means necessary. This is a priority order, hurry!"

Leonard was actually able to hear the soldiers say 'yes sir!' coming from the device.

Schneider turned to Leonard. "Now come. We are leaving Kaname will be here shortly and she will be on another flight." Leonard nodded then followed Schneider onto a plane that already had quite a few people on it. It was peculiar inside. It had things you did not see on a normal plane. He saw suits and compartment that were not normal. As well as systems running through the inside which were different. He forgot about asking when Schneider led him towards the front. He did wonder what was so bad that they had to leave immediately.

"All ships prepare to launch. Hangar 4 and 3 will launch first. Followed by 2 then all but one ship in hangar 1 will launch. That will be number D6 you will wait behind for any stragglers. When Kaname Chidori is brought on board you may leave immediately even if some others remain in the base." Schneider turned to Leonard. A voice telling everyone to buckle up and prepare came over the speakers. Each ship titled up from the front. On the outside you could see the floor panels rising. "Ready to launch."

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A loud thunderous noise was heard throughout the facility and underground tunnels. Vibrations were felt throughout everything. The Mithril soldiers took up stance preparing for the enemies to attack. They were surprised when the enemy AS began moving away. Some took advantage and tried to attack the Mithril arm-slaves but after a brief struggle were defeated. "Hey, hey they're all running." Kurz said tossing aside one of the enemies arm-slaves as he watched them escape. "Why, and what the hell shook this place up." Mao said as she looked around wondering if any enemies were planning anything. "I don't know what just happened but plant the charges, and prepare to evacuate." Clouzot ordered as he walked forward to see if any enemies were coming back. "I wonder why they're leaving. Maybe they know they were gonna lose. I mean look at this." Lillian's AS looked over at the large piles of destroyed AS parts, and pieces everywhere. There was enough to limit mobility like a person walking through a deep swamp. "Let's hurry and get this finished. When we're done we can destroy any remaining enemies."

"Yes finish your mission. The vibration was the hangar was the effect of ships launching. The metal covered openings we are now sure were hangar doors. Planes and ships have been taking off from there. What is really strange is that they continue flying upward. As if they are heading for space. Also try to recollect Kaname Chidori if she has not been evacuated by the enemy yet. We will continue observation; you complete the mission." Tessa informed them. "Roger." Clouzot responded then gave the orders to the rest of the unit.

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A strange door stood in front of him. It was a very large door which he could not find a panel to. He could no even find the crevice between both doors. A strange circle of light was in the middle. The light inside moved about as if it was held energy. Sousuke looked around once more for anything that could open the door but he found nothing. Slowly he placed his hand in the center between the doors. More light rose form the spot going to the circle. The energy within it flashed before becoming solid. He stood patiently as the door opened, the hiss of air being released coming from around it. He did not wait for it to finish opening before entering.

The room was dark except for the lines of light running throughout the room. The light would move from a strange circle in the middle of the floor and over something at the back wall then over the ceiling and wall back to the circle. Sousuke could not make out anything except the lights. His usually exceptional eye-sight even in darkness was not able to make out anything beyond the light. The darkness stayed dark. He noticed the vibrations had ceased. Looking around he walked into the room. He had a familiar feeling walking through here. He kept his eyes focused on what he could not see. He continued walking towards it; a feeling as if he was being drawn in provoking him. When he stepped onto the circle of light that was situated in the floor it began to pulsate as he walked across it. Stronger waves of energy pressed against the protective materials wear his feet made contact. The room turned brighter and he could see what was hidden to him before. He could see what seemed like a chest and head. The rest of the body looked to be bound within something. He lost himself staring into its eyes. He felt something, like it was staring back at him. "This is an…arm slave?" He continued to approach it. He lifted his foot and stepped onto what seemed like mid-air. He could feel the energy beneath his feet. A set of steps made of energy coming from some machine probably followed him as he stepped up them towards the face of the strange AS. He recognized it somehow. He knew he had seen it before. He looked into the eyes; still feeling as if they were staring at him. The next step did not rise. Instead a pathway toward the chest body area lit up. He walked across finding himself staring up into the machine's eyes at the end.

"How do I open it?" He asked himself not seeing anyway to release it from its captivity. He looked continued to look but found no release lever or keyholes. He stared back up at the eyes. He was surprised to find the machine had moved its head to look at him while he was below it. He felt a strange tingling in his spine and lost sight fort a moment. He saw something else flash before him but only for a moment. He placed his hand on the item that bound the machine. The light moved around starting at where his palm was pressed against the contraption. The chest whole body from chest to abdomen was revealed to him. He jumped up and climbed to the back to find an opening lever but could not find one. He could not find it for the front either.

"How do I get in?" He scratched his head just as he felt another vibration. This was different though. As if something was coming. He turned back to the AS his distress evident on his features. "Open." He punched the body only to still be denied. He was starting to feel anxious. The strange flow of memories, and thoughts, and things he could not identify could be felt grating against his mind.

'Let me in!' He screamed in his head. He heard a strange noise. Suddenly light ripped out from the machine and surrounded him. He was enveloped and then it all disappeared.

Complete darkness again. That was all he could see now. Yet he felt familiar and comfortable with it. Slowly figures began to appear at a distance. They looked strange. Bodies too thin, some with sharp hands and legs. Some were more recognizable, then a crashing sound. He could see ripples of light appearing everywhere. He blinked and everything became visible. It was strange where he was. He felt something as if his body bared another's weight.

"Welcome. Please state name." A human like voice spoke. IT sounded human but held no emotion just like a machine.

"What is this?" He asked instead of answering. A screen appeared in front out of nowhere. He could see no machine making it just a square of light with an image. "This is an arm-slave. No information on the name is available. No previous pilots. This is the first activation of this arm-slave. Information regarding this AS is limited." The machine answered swiftly.

"Who are you?" Sousuke asked. "I am the AI of this arm-slave. My main function is to support the pilot in all non-combat activities. More importantly to make sure the pilot stays rational." It once again answered in its lifeless tone.

"Run this and assimilate." Instinctively he reached to his left and pressed a button hat seemed to form out of nowhere. He looked down and a keyboard appeared on a panel.

"This file is unknown. The contents may be unsafe. I cannot run this for safety of this arm-slave."

"Run it now. You are to listen to the pilot." Sousuke looked at it sternly.

"No." The second it answered he pressed a button on the keyboard. Everything seemed to turn off at that moment. Once again he was enveloped in darkness. Slowly he could see ripples in front of him as well as figures in the distance. He tried to move but couldn't

He looked down at his body to see if anything was wrong but even though it was dark he felt nothing, just the weight. Then he heard voices. Contacting each other trying to destroy something. He pulled his arm up trying to release himself from whatever held him.

Outside the enemy arm-slaves were attacking. A strange force blocked the AS.

"What the hell is he using lambda driver?" One of the enemy's cried out as another slammed into it with his lambda driver. He did not break it but was not thrown back or injured himself. They were surprised when it moved. The machine was trying to force its arm free. It began struggling as if to release itself. "Quick kill it!" All the As were busting through walls and coming form the entrance trying to do as much damage as possible. But nothing was working. The strange looking AS continued to struggle almost freeing its left hand. "Alright its weakening!" The pilots began to notice as the protective force softened up and began to bend under their assault. The strange arm-slave was now reaching forward trying to drag itself out it seemed. The contraption holding it vibrated and seemed to struggle against it. While some watched in awe the other pilots continued trying to stop it before it became successful in escaping.

Inside Sousuke felt as if he was burning. Along with the feeling of something trying to hold him he could feel strange painful sensations. He was starting to lose focus but he knew whatever was happening was a danger to him. He continued straining trying to release himself form his invisible bonds. He could feel as it weakened while he pulled himself out. The ripples he was seeing were becoming ecstatic and unfocused. Whatever was outside was trying to get to him.

The machine continued to rip its way out. Losing pieces of its armor as it struggled. Slowly the lines of light were working their way up form its feet very slowly rising up. Currently they were only up to the ankle of the AS. "Finally we got it!" The shield exploded in a wave of blinding light. Sousuke felt the sensations cease. While all were blinded the sound of breaking metal could be heard. Screams over AS links startled the other pilots. "What's going on?" One of the leaders asked but received no answer, or a bunch of 'I don't know'. When they could see the contraption that held the arm-slave was destroyed. They turned in time to see an ally ripped in half by the machine's bear hand. They finally had a clear view of the machine. The head looked as if it wore a helmet, three points one from the forehead and two from the side all going back. The robotic eyes covered by a mouth-guard like a ninja used to cover their faces. The helmet reached into the cheeks of the face as if gripping it. The shoulders were a single connection making up part of the upper arm as well. The shoulders them self had an edge that stuck out to a triangular point but it was all in a curved fashion. The arms were smooth on the bottom while the rest was covered in different colored thin layer of the armor. The hand itself had sharper fingers than most arm-slaves. The body was armored sticking out the front slightly and surrounding the whole upper body and attaching to the waist. Two medium-sized objects protruded from the upper back of the armor. The sides of the abdomen and lower back were left open the black material covering the mechanic organs inside. The waist and crotch area were the back of the waist had three strange parts sticking out form the back and near the ends of the back of the waist. The crotch had a layer of the protective armor in a regular shape. The legs looked simple just flat perfectly smoother thighs attaching to what looked like more armored shin areas, and feet. Two circular objects held onto the front of the knees. In all it was mixed of red, black, a dark green, and blue. The tips of the shoulders were white. Along with that the arm-slave had a strange look to it. Whatever it was made of was looked different form metal with a paint job. They had their brief look as the machine lunged quickly at another. It punched through the chest of the Raziel and pulled it back throwing it into a raptor; it then exploded and took out both machines.

"He had no weapons. Stop him!" A machine leapt at him a wall for light forming in front of it. The strange arm-slave's hand swung around slicing it in half as if the lambda driver didn't exist. The machines continued to attack. The fight continued throughout the facility as more and more walls were broken through. Sousuke was having trouble defeating the Raziels them being the most advanced of the three types of arm-slaves attacking him. Actually at that moment he was not completely in control of himself. He felt the weight and strange feeling as things rushed into and through his mind. He was not completely aware as he tore through his enemies. He knew that was his goal, but he was not completely in control as he progressed to achieve it. The lights on his AS had reached half of the AS's body now. While trying to destroy the Raziels he was at least taking out a good amount of Javelins and Raptors. He kept fighting the enemies being depleted to mostly Raziel type arm-slaves. Three of them lunged at once an aura of light in front of them. They were stopped by a similar force coming form the enemy that had not engaged his lambda driver so far. The light form the strange AS tore through the others after a brief clash, destroying the three attackers. The lights on the body of Sousuke's AS was finally up to the neck and almost on the head.

Sousuke's turned to look at his enemies. The AS did the same action. Instead of attacking he took off. The enemies quickly followed after him. One of them made it in front of him and attempted to stab him with its halberd.

"Damn it!" He jumped to the side and grabbed the halberd swinging it then tossing the enemy with it. The Raziel recovered as they all resumed their chase. Inside the cockpit a small grin crossed his lips.

"Sagara is that you?" Tessa's voice came through loud and clear. Sousuke looked up surprised but saw nothing. "Captain is that you?" He asked as he continued avoiding his enemies' assaults.

"Yes. We heard you curse." She let that sink in; apparently he contacted them. "We have bad news. Kaname was captured by the enemy. They are currently heading to a hangar. Since we have the frequency of whatever AS your using we're going to send you a map with the location marked." In a few moments as said a map appeared on his screen with a large room marked. He was a good distance from it. "The Urzu unit is already on their way top try to rescue her but we have limited time. The enemy is taking off in shuttles of some kind. They resemble advanced planes but they have gone into space. We do not know why but caught some video on the satellite as they escaped earth."

Sousuke blinked confused. The confusion was also in Tessa's voice as well as worry. He lost focus ion the conversation when he felt the heavy force of an enemy attack.

"Captain this will have to wait." His AS turned to look at the group of gathered enemies.

The grin appeared on his face once again. He pointed towards an enemy then made the signal for him to attack. The enemy took the taunt as offensive as planned and lashed out first. Sousuke AS rushed out immediately almost unseen as it brought its arm in a swipe in front of the enemy. The Raziel's upper half flew off before exploding the legs falling to the ground. It turned toward the reaming AS. The menacing glow from its eyes making it seem demonic. The light just now reached the tip of the AS head and became solid before disappearing.

"Program has been run. Program has assimilated." The voice sounded like the AI from before it turned more recognizable. "Hello Sousuke. AI Al has been transferred into this arm-slave. While complete take over was not possible due to certain restrictions, and priorities of this arm-slave's structure, both I have assimilated with this AI to understand and be able to further aid you. Now what took you so long?" Al's question was unexpected. Sousuke let his guard down for a moment letting one of the enemies make a move. "I apologize we can speak later."

Sousuke nodded as hew prepared for the enemy. The force of the lambda driver's crashed into each other and struggled. He was able to push it back. Once again he stared at the large group of enemies standing before him. Once again he grinned. "This time don't interrupt me." The first Raziel came at him. With a swift motion it was destroyed and he moved onto the next. He began destroying the large group with much more ease than before. He suspicious as to the way he was feeling. He should be getting entertained. He played with one of the Raziels, tearing off its limbs then placing the body on the floor. Three more jumped towards him at once. They all glowed at the joints as well as the one on floor. He was mistaken in his assumption of the attack but he realized it late as they all self-destructed at once. The other enemies who made sure to run a great distance stood patiently waiting for the area to clear. A humongous crater had been planted in to the area reaching far enough to hit ground level and reach the bottom. When the smoke cleared they could see the sunlight that poured in from above and the sound of water coming up. They were displeased to find the Sousuke's AS standing there unharmed. In test even a lambda driver was supposed to have a problem with the force of the self-destruct system. Four should have been worse but he looked as if nothing happened. A light lashed out piercing one of the Raziels remaining. The light returned dragging the weapon of the Raziel back. He aimed the handgun and fired destroying another unprepared enemy. The others blocked his attack and rushed at him. Similar to before they clashed briefly before he overcame them and destroyed them. One of them leapt forward alone. This one proved to be more formidable as it pushed him back slightly. When they separated he studied the machine. This Raziel was different form the others.

"Well, well so you are Sagara?" A woman's voice spoke. "I'm Alexia. I'm Mac's sister." Sousuke did not respond staring silently at his enemy. "Shy eh? Well don't worry you want have to talk for long." Her AS raised her arm then dropped it forward. The last of the Raziels went forward except for hers. A brief contact with them eventually resulted in their demise. He turned to find she had taken advantage and attacked. He was able to block just in time her blade on her custom small-sword slicing the back of the hand. She did not wait to strike again. This time he dodged it and kicked her back. She rebounded and lunged at him again. He stepped back continuously dodging her slashes. He actually became amused. She was no where near as good as his other sword-wielding opponent. His recent battle replayed din his mind. He easily grabbed her blade this time with the hand of his AS. He did not hesitate to snap the blade then throw it back at her. She blocked it with the hilt and leapt back tossing the now useless weapon.

"You're good…" She smiled as she said this. She was surprised when he ended up behind. He used the technique to move quickly Gauron had used back in the first fight with the Arbalest. She had hardly time to turn when he placed his hand on her arm-slave's shoulder. The machine blew up instantly.

"Chidori!" He finally remembered his most important goal right now. He looked at the map and began heading in that direction. Minutes later he felt another vibration. When he finally made it to the specified hangar the Mithril unit was there and waiting. The instantly prepared themselves to battle him.

"Calm down. I am Sagara Sousuke." He raised one hand to show he was not a hostile.

"Hey buddy where have you been? While you were off getting your toy Kaname went bye-bye again." Kurz said as he did a two finger hello salute.

"Chidori is in that?" He asked as his machine locked in and zoomed onto the flying vehicle.

"Yeah and we didn't get here soon enough!" Mao said obviously disappointed.

"Forgive us Sagara. But we have to complete the mission now." Clouzot said solemnly.

"It's not a problem." Sousuke answered. He looked around a moment.

"Sir this AS has…"

"I know." Sousuke interrupted AL. In a second the AS took off flying into the air.

"What the fuck?" Kurz and Mao each shouted as it took off. It made not shockwave or extra sound. It just flew into the air like nothing.

"We're not fast enough." Al informed Sousuke.

"Understood." He had no control panel so he could not determine exactly how fast he could go and how to do it, but suddenly he moved faster. He could not feel the pressure of the speed he was moving at. At least not as much as he would have in a lesser machine.

"Something coming fast!" The one to the co-pilots informed the others. They were about thirty seconds from exiting the atmosphere. "What!" As soon as he asked the question a figure appeared in front of the flying craft. "What the hell is that?" They thought they were going to crash but were firmly stopped on a dime as the AS gripped them. Kaname grew angrier with the force she felt suddenly. She was being guarded and told she was going into space. She did not expect it to be this unpleasant. She was once again surprised by the force pulling them up. Actually they were going down but were being forced up against their seatbelts. Once again it stopped everything as random as a fair ride. Suddenly the ship tore in half. Kaname as well as all the other passengers shouted as they were thrown into the air. The two pieces of the ship tossed and blew up. Even as she was following she felt the brief heat. When she could see she saw the figure that had done the act. A strange looking machine stood floating in the air. She looked around as the Arastols were destroyed in their descent but the other falling members screamed as they fell with no parachutes. 'Great so I'm going to die like this. Just my luck.' She sighed as she thought this. She was surprised when her descent slowed. She opened her eyes to find the strange looking AS floating right by her. Suddenly it was tossed aside throwing her a bit. "Sir we have an enemy!" Al technically shouted.

Sousuke turned another screen popping up to show him. The AS also looked strange like a muscular man. His other screen focused on Chidori. They ignored it and once again pursued Chidori. The AS watch as he flew down. She wasn't screaming anymore at least her shriek after they had been hit was very loud and annoying.

"Al can we open the cockpit?"

"Negative there is no such method."

Sousuke sighed not wanting to have he in the open. He noticed it just in time. He blocked an attack fired by the newly approached enemy. He reached out and once again Chidori slowly descended until she was in the AS hands. She gripped to one of the fingers tightly as she caught her breath. She wasted when she screamed as they were tossed again another attack from the enemy stronger than the last striking them.

He didn't know what to do. He was miles up in the air; he had a strong opponent before him, and Kaname. It looked like running wasn't going to be easy and fighting with Kaname hand would be dangerous. "I need to get her in here somehow."

The enemy clenched its fist then pointed at Sousuke.

"Hey kiddo."

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