The Whisperer

--

-Chapter 52-

"Anon…" Sousuke turned around to face the source of the voice. It was the AS from before, Borghild.
"Al I thought we lost this AS."
"I assumed we did because it did not follow us. It must have entered and we did not pick it up because of the large amounts of energy everywhere. It must be a battle based AI. It will continue on one goal until its mission is complete."The Borghild flipped position then flew directly towards him. He slashed his blade just as the machine was about to crash into him. I brief greenish light flashed at the strike point then Anon was hit full-on crashing against a part of the core structure.
"Sir apparently a regular attack will not work against it."
"How then?"
"We will need to figure out a way. Hatches on the east side opening. Incoming more enemies."
"Roger." Turning he saw the Leopard units heading towards him. He dodged just as the Borghild attacked him with one of its diamonds. Flipping back he kicked it a good distance away. He slashed one of the Leopards in half as it approached.
"Borghild is preparing an attack." Al said. Sousuke looked over seeing it take up the position to ram him again. He continued fighting the small group of Leopards.
"Sir, use something solid to help in defending against the Borghild's attack. She should be vulnerable afterwards." Sousuke immediately did as Al suggested. Grabbing one of the Leopards and surrounding his front with an iridescent light the Borghild crashed into it then slammed the Leopard and destroyed it but with a different result. The machine fell back and was taking time to catch itself. Kicking a Leopard aside he rushed forward and brought his blade down as the AS began to move again. He caught the AS in the right thigh before it pulled off and took distance again.
"I missed." Sousuke said lowly preparing for any more attacks.
"We damaged the right thigh. Maneuverability at close range had been lowered. "
The Borghild attacked with the diamonds again crossing them trying to confuse him for the hit. Distracted by the Leopard he was not able to catch the movement and was hit with a combo until a final punch slammed him away. Leopard came at him again. Anon grabbed one and slammed it against the others then brought up his defense as Borghild slammed at him. It once again fell back. Taking advantage he rushed forward stabbed his blade through it going until they impacted a wall. Its hand grabbed his arm and removed the blade.
"Sir we still are not ready."
"But we…"
"Unknown flux occurring. Be careful."
Looking at the large amount of energy in the core he noticed it beginning to move and flow differently.
"Sir this is…" Suddenly the large core of energy burst open and swallowed them up. Looking around everything was different. It was the same but different. Looking down Borghild was about to hit him but was stopped right in front of him. The edge of the explosion was still crawling onto her. He moved away as Borghild was swallowed up as well moving again. All the Leopards on the outside could not move.
Is this what he plans on doing? Sousuke thought as another attack came towards him. Grabbing another Leopard from just beyond the edge of the ever growing explosion he lost control of his arm when it exited. Pulling back he regained control of his arm. Looking around he dodged just as Borghild was about to crash into him.

"Al we have to stop this."
"Yes…sir…"
Al's response was strange but Sousuke disregarded it as he flew down towards the center of the wave. He noticed small lines of smoke and pieces trailing him as he became closer to the core. Moving to the side he dodged just as Borghild attacked again. Grabbing an oncoming Leopard he threw it into her causing her to fall back anyway.
"I…recommend the…lambda…driver."
"Roger, activate."
He rushed forward crashing into the Leopard and Borghild. He spotted something near the floor. Something he recognized. Forcing the two enemies away he flew down and placed his hand out at the device. A small transfer of energy similar to before occurred again. Jumping away Al detected a disturbance in the flow of the core. Looking he saw arm-slaves slammed against it and it was disrupting.
"Now would be a good time to escape sir." Sousuke noticed AL talking normally again and the difference in the environment was gone. Nodding Sousuke turned and headed towards the open hatches. They felt a vibration as they headed for the exit.
"Sir, explosions are occurring within this structure."
Sousuke did not answer as he continued his escape. Seeing the hatches on the east side were still open he hurried through it. He traveled quickly through the tunnels and pathways. Escaping he noticed people gathered around it or moving away. Looking back he noticed changes on the outside of the structure as well. But those were withdrawing. The explosions did not occur on the outside. Smoke and pressured air poured from the structure but that was all. He wondered what exactly those were for. He wondered why anyone hadn't removed it yet…or maybe they couldn't. Disappearing into the sky he moved to crouch atop a near-by building.
"What now?" He asked himself staring down at the structure.
"Sir we have a new program. We have a function to move more freely. We should be able to leave now."
"…"
"Does that not please you?"
"I'm thinking."
"Roger."
Al stayed quiet as Sousuke stayed seated, thinking.
"I guess we have to go now."
"Roger."
Anon took off into sky. He pressed past the layers of the sky. Eventually he escaped the lock of the earth. Looking around he saw the blackness of space stretched before him. Below him was the mostly deep blue planet he had lived on.
"Sir a large structure is located nearby. It is much larger than a satellite. In fact its size is about the size is larger than the moon's."
"How was it, not noticed before by the people on earth? Surely something that big had to be located even with EIS."
"How do you know it is using EIS?"
"It's obvious, since we cannot see it."
"Well I have detected it. I will place the location on a map."
Staring at the screen a large marker on the map appeared along with markers indicating the earth, satellites, the moon and anything else in the area near the earth. The large structure Al detected was a considerable distance away. Not saying anymore they headed in that direction.

The large structure he assumed to be the enemy base was still a good distance away. He was barely able to detect it but it was there. He didn't pick up stray signals or anything that would give them away.
"Sir approaching security measures." Sousuke became alert as Al said this. The enemy despite the distance, and overall security they had out here still had a defense system set-up. He looked at the screen. It showed he was a very small margin of a distance from being detected. Even then the defense reached a good distance. Estimated distance from the actual outside of the base was still a good 10.63 miles away. Looking around he wondered if there was someway he could get through it without getting caught.
"Sir there does not seem…" A brief noise was heard before Al spoke again. "We have instructions on how to get through." Sousuke raised his eyebrows. How would they have gained instructions unless it was given to them?
"Can you trace where we received it from?"
"Negative."
Sousuke silently took in the answer and opened the information. On it was a set of lines and markers in different colors.
"Sir the white line is the path we must follow to proceed safely. The red markers are defense measures. The range is not determined but if we stay on the path we should be safe." Sousuke nodded deciding not to waste anytime trying to wonder why. He chose to more or less blindly accept the information and follow the path. He traveled precisely as he was instructed.
"Stop here."Anon stopped at another point instructed. "Turn left." Sousuke turned the AS as instructed. "Left. A little more." He slowly turned in place. "Correct. Go forward." The path continued like this most of the way, sometimes he would turn too much and have to turn a little more in the opposite direction. Other times it was a repetition of left or right a little more until he inched his way until he was facing the right way exactly. Finally he came to a spot marked on the map that led him between four poles. When he entered a laser screen closed him in. Looking around enemies appeared before him.
"Un-manned arm-slaves have appeared. "Three raptors appeared, followed by two Leopards. "Please try not to get surrounded."
Dodging the first raptor his blade tore into it destroying it easily. The rest of the group took up a more specific formation. The raptors approached first making a shield. When he went to strike them he was attacked by the Leopards. Grabbing one he used it to slam into the other. The Raptors now attacked him freely. He sliced but the thin body maneuvered and easily dodged. He rolled to the side as a Leopard came from behind. The attack canceled before it hit an ally. Locking onto every enemy he released a series of lasers similar to when he did it that day at the beach. He damaged the Leopards and destroyed one of the raptors. Firing his pistol he destroyed another. The last two opponents stood no chance as he easily destroyed them. "No enemies detected." The light screens cleared allowing him escape.
"Right." Sousuke sighed as he continued to follow the annoying instructions. Once again he came across an automatic defense he could not avoid. Bringing up a shield function he located looking through the systems earlier he made his way through a mine field as the mines purposely impacted the shield. Even though his vision was being disrupted by the explosions he pushed forward not changing his path. "Stop. Turn Left."
Sousuke turned in place again until instructed to stop. He moved forward along the predetermined path. He continued with stops, lefts, and rights until he reached another in escapable trap. The lasers closed in on him again and once again enemies appeared before him.
"Sir new-type enemies have appeared." Al said as a machine with a large shield like object surrounding it appeared. Another one had a large top shaped like a curved spinning top. The ends reached farther out and it resembled a mushroom top mixed with a stingray but larger. The hands were tube like, and the body resembled the body of the Javelin type. "Sir, three pharaohs, two Javelin, and two Gots have appeared. Pharaohs are a shield type AS attacking with a powerful controlled beam with a limited range. The Got is a grab type AS. The large head helps to increase damage as well as protect. The hands release and energy suction which can pull us in and grip us until we break-free or they decide to attack. Avoid being grabbed as the enemy can then attack in unison dealing massive damage or destroying us." Sousuke silently accepted the information. He dodged as an enemy Javelin launched a light Javelin at him.
"Al aren't they un-manned? I thought they could only use that with the lambda driver."
"Correct they are un-manned. As I told you they are using technology enabling them similar features without the actual system." Anon span to the side as energy spears kept coming at him. He was hit by a powerful force and sent flying into the screen. Looking up he noticed the powerful beam being released by a Pharaoh.
"They can only hold it up for a short amount of time. After that it takes a few seconds to prepare the attack again that is when you should strike."
"Yes but that will be difficult with so many enemies."
He continued moving around the enclosed space dodging what he could. Pulling his pistol he fired at the Pharaohs. The shield completely protected them. Turning he aimed for a Javelin. The pistol did enough damage to be effective. He fired rapidly but it eventually brought up a barrier. Dropping down he barely dodged the release of a pharaoh's attack. He didn't catch as he was hit by another powerful force. Looking up he saw they could turn with the beam released and even move. Wanting to end this he dashed towards a Got which had yet to actually reach him to do any attacks. Flipping up he dodged the grapple technique it was about to use. He kicked the Got towards a Javelin. Both of them collided losing balance for a moment. He instantly turned and rushed towards them. He slammed his blade through one then pulled it out placing his gun against it he fired before the clip released. The Got exploded also damaging the Javelin further. He dodged to the side as a laser from the Pharaoh was released. The beam reached far enough to destroy the injured javelin with ease. Dropping down he avoided the continued attacks. Turning he found a Javelin had moved in for close-range combat. His blade and its weapon like arms clashed continuously before he took an opening and slashed the machine. It flinched enabling him to completely destroy it. Turning he was faced with one Got and two Pharaohs. The Got rushed forward which was still a seemingly slow pace. Reaching out to grab it Anon was grabbed instead. Struggling to break free the AS turned to face him to its allies. Struggling he broke free as the beams fired. The Got was unaffected moving back. Seeing the Pharaohs unwillingly retreat their lasers he lunged forward and with a barrage of slashes only partially injured the shield. He dodged as the other tried to hit him. He moved towards the Got again and went behind it grabbing it before it could turn. A small amount of energy released from the hand holding the machine paralyzed for a few moments. Spinning, he span until he was almost a blur. Releasing the Got it slammed right into the undamaged pharaoh's shield breaking it instantly. He rushed forward and destroyed the unprotected AS body instantly. The next target was the Got. With the damage it had taken he decided to finish it off. Moving before it could fully recover he grabbed it again. Dodging the final enemy's beam he beat the shield with the body of the AS that was larger than it. Eventually the shield and the Got were destroyed. He once again destroyed the almost defenseless AS before it could retaliate.
"All enemies destroyed. Turn right."
Sousuke sighed as he followed the annoying instructions once again. He was getting tired of hearing Al's voice. After about six more turns he was free to move in. The large base was very…interesting was a good word. It was like a satellite at least in at one point, at one point a dome, another point a ship, and others a place suitable for civilization to live. That was a little of it, as he looked at as much of it as he could from where he was. From where he was the place looked much bigger than the moon and the radar had only scanned a small portion of it that was already bigger than the moon. Some of it even had an atmosphere, obviously artificially created. It was most likely a section for the workers to be when off work. He turned around to look at the earth. The moon and the earth were a considerable distance. In fact they were very far now. He wondered how fast and long he must have been moving.
"Sir enemy units have exited the base. Activating EIS."
Standing completely still he vanished into space. Not moving made EIS more effective. The machine passed by very quickly as if launched he could not see them at all as he was informed that they had passed. They had to be launched to earth by something, a catapult or cannon but whatever it was it was powerful. He hoped it wasn't dangerous because he had no time to go back.
"This is a difficult situation. We will need to find a proper place of entry." Sousuke looked across his screen at the vast expanse that was supposedly a base.
"Roger. I will see what I can find." Al silently went about his own work.
"We could move across looking but we may be detected then…that's if those security measures haven't let them know we're here."
"I doubt that. We should choose the most strategic entrance point because it does not seem they are sending out enemies yet."
"Where are most of the defenses or energy generators located? If we can weaken defense and confuse them this mission could be easier."
"I cannot check so easily."
"I figured as much. This is not a normal mission either. The outcome of this mission is critical." Not waiting anymore he decided to head for the part that resembled a ship. Remaining in EIS he approached it as carefully as he could. He had his AI set to pick-up security measures, enemies, anything that changed from the current situation.
--

Kaname walked briskly down the sidewalk. Her and Kyouko were in the () shopping district. They were enjoying themselves as if they hadn't a care in the world. They had gone ice-skating, and to a small fair. They had played games and done some girl talk. Overall the day was so far a successful day for relaxing. Sousuke was gone and this time not sneaking around as her bodyguard. The city was on alert and things were different but overall it was a day to forget their problems.
"So Kana-chan what do you want to do now?" Kyouko asked as they walked down the sidewalk of the bustling district. Kaname pressed her finger to her chin and looked up.
"I don't know. We haven't shopped yet. After that I guess we could head to the beach or something. Maybe the park."
Kaname tossed out ideas as what they could do. It was definitely a day they needed. At Sousuke's apartment sat the opened envelope, and the letter sitting on the table.
--
Staring out at space he was inside the large base he would have to completely infiltrate and most likely destroy. He had entered through the bottom of the large craft where ships seemed to come. He had moved to a more secure location where no one was around. The only things in this point would be people in suits or AS. He had already destroyed a few once entering. He moved quietly through the large square rooms. He guessed it was some cargo area but it only had large containers on walls. He stepped forward when suddenly more enemies appeared but this time he saw something. Some ball of energy where they came from.
"Sir that reactor is where the enemies are appearing."
"Roger." Not taking time to find out exactly why or how he destroyed the enemies that had appeared then attacked the 'reactor'. His blade passed through it and did nothing. About to try something else more enemies appeared. He dodged as a Pharaoh tried to beam him. He jumped up flipping backwards so he landed behind the Got that had tried to grab him. He kicked it hard denting the head area. Jumping off it he leapt towards the Pharaoh. Spinning while falling downward he pierced right through the shield and destroyed the AS. Turning on the Javelin, and Raptor he destroyed them both them grabbed the confused Got, and threw it into the 'reactor'.
"Sir, the 'reactor' is slightly disrupted but still functioning."
"Observe."
A stream of light tore into the 'reactor' causing it to disperse.
"Reactor destroyed." Al said as Sousuke moved the AS to continue walking forwards. Hovering again it moved towards the exit that was definitely meant for machine that could move like through the air. As he was about to leave the door slammed shut.
"Anon…"
Not again. Sousuke thought turning to face an opponent he was getting annoyed to see. He had assumed she was destroyed at the beacon but had doubted it and proved to be right.
"Sir we are still…"
"I know."
"Here I come." She said after chuckling and immediately taking up the speedy launch attack she had used before. He was barely able to dodge. Deciding the ground would be better he stopped hovering and settles on the metal floor. He knew coming down would be slower with the limited gravity but he had ways around that. He dodged as it rammed again. His plan for it to impact the floor was unsuccessful it seemed to fall into a slide on it then levitate again.
"Hahaha, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"
Sousuke cringed feeling the taunting smile of the battle AI. A transmission appeared don his screen. An image appeared showing the enemy cock-pit. He was surprised. The battle AI was a built in robot body that resembled a humans shape and even robotic hair but that was all. Its eyes were a plane gold color.
"Hello Sagara…"
Sousuke remained silent as the robotic pilot began to speak to him.
"Oh so cold…Well you are in the way. I have to dispose of you and this time there is not escape."
Sousuke clicked a button ending the transmission. He smirked slightly hearing the unpleased groan of the enemy.
"We can't win Al but we can stop her, at least momentarily."
"Correct but she may have learned better by now."
Al was right. Weapons clanged and clashed against each other but he could not push her for the opening from before. Also he really had no objects to use.

"Sir this is not working…"
"No its not."
He dodged again this time slamming against the wall. Turning he prepared for her next attack. Suddenly something floated past him. He looked at the broken piece of metal then turned around. He remembered he had to use something solid but what if he didn't use a shield. Looking around the room he noticed a collection of support beams lined along the walls.
"Al we can use those."
"The probability it will work is high."
Hearing the cold laughter of the Borghild he turned towards his enemy. "What's the matter? Scared!"
Grabbing a beam he rushed towards the Borghild. She took up the launch position again and speared towards him. He flipped up dodging the attack; he threw the beam into her back. He felt a little better when he saw the attack worked as it slammed into her back throwing her slightly. She turned around and came at him. Releasing her diamonds she attacked him. Her attacks slammed against an invisible wall flashing with each hit.
"Sir she is not giving us any space and a regular attack won't work against her."
"I know Al!" They were being pressed against the wall as she laughed and slammed him with her strange weapons. Keeping up the shield he opened a menu showing systems in his AS. Scrolling down he saw a word that seemed useful. Touching the screen information opened.

'Charge' as the name suggests, this function lets you gather energy for a more powerful attack. This technique leaves the AS vulnerable for a mere second after use due to the extra output of energy that needs to be recharged. This can be used in a long or short ranged form.

"Al do you think with the increased power output this will work?"
"Possibly. Her shield seems to protect against energy based attacks, and weak physical attacks. It's possible to maybe slightly damage her with a powered up close-range attack. However, we cannot have a shield up at that moment."
"Then I'll use the lambda driver to protect us. How long is the charge?"
"I don't know."
Not saying anymore he concentrated focusing on an image. He released the regular AS shield and began the charge. Energy seemed to attract itself to the AS. It took a mere second two seconds for the charge to fill. Changing the image in his head and waiting for the opening he unleashed a single spin slash knocking the Borghild back.
"Sir we did no damage."
"No problem." Anon grabbed another support beam and flung it at her. Recovering from the surprise she was hit again before she realized it was coming. Regaining balance when she looked again Anon was right in front of her another support beam in hand he slammed it across her knocking her into the wall again.
"Damn you!" The robotic female voice of Borghild shouted as she rammed again in the speeded thrust. Anon tried to block with another support beam but it was not a strong enough defense and it was snapped in half and even with the energy shield she broke through and slammed him into the wall. Sousuke grunted as he felt the force of the impact of the attack and then the one slamming him into the wall. Reaching behind him he grabbed another beam. The Borghild lowered to his height while keeping her distance.
"For shame…thinking you could beat me." The AI laughed again the machine imitating a laughing motion. She released both diamonds and rushed forward. Pulling the beam he flung it as hard as he could into the Borghild. The AI grunted as her AS flew backwards the beam pinning her to the wall. The Borghild went limp as it hung against the wall. Sousuke breathed deeply staring at the unconscious body.
"We still can kill her. Even with the beams we do minimal damage. All the beams in the room would not do nearly enough damage. We should go while she is inactive."
"Roger." He turned to leave the room through the door the Borghild had stopped him from leaving. Suddenly he felt a strange fluctuation. A sharp pain tore through his body causing his iris to shrink incredibly. Gripping his head Anon followed his actions. Lights streamed over his body and on the outside at a rapid rate. It felt like unbearable amounts of electricity was surging through his body. When it was finally over he breathed deeply.
"Al…"
Sousuke waited for a response from his AI but received none. Looking at his screen he noticed it flickering every now and then. Looking around, his eyes were not doing much better. Everything seemed fuzzy and would flicker as well as it seeming like there was a disturbance like on a TV. He wondered what was happening. Regaining his composure he moved through the door. It was another room that was identical to all the others. He moved forward cautiously being forced to walk rather than the flying he had become used to. He felt the sharp pain but not nearly as bad. Looking up he noticed a quick disturbance in the air before a figure appeared. A black AS appeared. It resembled his but had distinctly different characteristics. The body was more armored on the chest but only slightly. The waist area was less protected and the legs seemed smoother, but were like two different parts. The helmet reached farther forward and had what seemed like horns protruding from the sides though they faced forward. It had two protrusions form it lower back that had three objects floating on each side. It may have been wings. The machine floated before him arms crossed.
"Sousuke…"
"Schneider!"
Anon instantly took up a defensive position.
"This should be fun. I'm surprised you came up here by yourself but oh well." Schneider chuckled lightly.
"So that is the AS we couldn't get. It doesn't matter anymore. What I had then is nothing compared to what I have now. I'm sure you fought un-manned AS that fought perfectly. As well as the battle AI for Borghild. She is an interesting piece of work, very advanced. Too complicated to easily mass produce but the AI for the more basic AS are easy to make. This makes the technology on earth look like nothing. This is what happens when Whispered choose to embrace their gift and work together. You I still find interesting but are too dangerous. I'm sorry but I must eliminate you."
Sousuke waited angrily. His AS was malfunctioning and he could not figure out why.
"I see you're still too weak. Currently you are rendered almost useless due to our resonance."
Sousuke was taken back by what he said. He couldn't possible mean what he said.
"Yes Sousuke 'Resonance' except this is between our AS and us. A special bond formed between these two. You are too weak and therefore your AS is useless. You can't use any functions either. I was hoping for a better match but unfortunately it does not seem I will get one."
"…" Sousuke could not think of what to do. Currently he really had no chance of victory. If he couldn't defeat the Borghild with his power earlier there was no way he could defeat this opponent in this state. He could try though.
"The name...of...that arm-slave…is Osiris" Al finally spoke again but with difficulty.
"Al what's wrong?"
"Whatever he was talking about, it is affecting my systems."
Sousuke stared back at Osiris. If Al was back that means he was doing better. His AS began to lift off the floor again. His vision and screens stabilized, and returned to a normal state.
"Sir all functions are working again."
"Excellent."
Osiris un-crossed its arms. "Ready now?"
"Prepare for combat." Al said as Sousuke prepared to move.
"Roger."
Rushing forward Osiris's figure seemed to disorientate before disappearing. Anon stopped in surprised. Suddenly he appeared behind Anon.

--