Volume III.5: Vermillion Blue
Chapter IV: And Now, We're In Jail… Yay…
Afternoon
Location: Interrogation Room, East District, Vier-Galla
It's been about three hours since the demonic androids fled in the sight of Galla military forces led by Crimson R. Kannon, leaving Noel, Lyrial, and Aguil in their protection… But only from them. The moment they disappeared, Noel attempted to thank the soldiers for rescuing them and ended up arrested alongside Lyrial and Aguil, being taken in for 'destruction of public property,' stated by Chiyome Yumi. The three were smart enough to not resist. Even if the soldiers don't know it, they are the innocent ones in this. Noel was the one the Demons were trying to kill, and they ended up in an unnecessary fight.
The three were taken by the soldiers to a prison hold in the east district of Vier-Galla, which is where Noel originally wanted to head to, but not the way she wanted. She found herself detained in a cell with Lyrial and Aguil for about an hour. In the meantime, the military was figuring out what they wanted to do with the trio, some of the soldiers having voiced their opinions that Noel and the others weren't the instigators in the incident. Their decision came down to an interrogation of the three. Being escorted out of their cells, they were brought together into the interrogation room. They were also wearing special handcuffs, cutting off any and every source they could use to summon their weapons.
"Now," one of their interrogators were Crimson and Yumi themselves, the redhead being the one speaking to them. "We still don't have all our facts straight from today's incident. But the only thing that's undeniable is that you three, and Demons were involved. Would you three care to shed any light on this?"
"If you'll allow us, we'll tell you all we can," Noel said. "I just hope that you won't find any of this unbelievable."
"Please tell me this will go by quick," Lyrial said, covering her nose. "Cause being in a small room smelling like this ain't pleasant…"
No one wanted to show it, but everyone there agreed with the pinkette. Some of the soldiers were covering their noses as well.
"As long as you don't start making things up to try and throw us off," Crimson stated, trying to not let the smell bother her. "However, I'll be the one who asks questions first. Answer truthfully."
"Yes, ma'am," all three replied.
"Good. Now then, keep in mind that you're not in for solely destruction of public property. Those of us who were there were assuming those beams of light that hit all across the west district was the work of those Demons. But there's nothing that can prevent that from possibly being your fault. Civilian casualties, damage to the west district, and I can assume you were connected to the Monochrome Tower incident yesterday, correct?"
"That's right," Aguil answered.
"I see. Two incidents that are this similar, happening back to back. And they both involved you three. There's no way that this was all just a coincidence. This is something that could have you three labeled as terrorists. You'd be lucky to survive if that's the case."
"We know," Noel replied. "But this isn't something that we're doing. We aren't trying to cause damage to this city or give you people any trouble. I'm afraid I couldn't tell you why, but those three you saw attacking us were after my life."
"What would a bunch of Demons want with a single human?"
"I wish I knew… And it's not like I have any way of finding out either. They attack me and anyone else around me on sight, and won't give a detailed reason as to why.
Crimson sighed, looking over at Yumi and the other soldiers. "What do you make of this?"
"Not lying," Yumi said.
"Why don't you just leave Vier-Galla?" one of the soldiers asked.
"I… can't just yet," Noel answered.
"Why's that?" Crimson questioned.
"Well… Can I ask you something? One of you should be able to answer. I'm looking for someone. I saw him with you guys yesterday when you boarded that train."
The soldiers all looked at each other, confused.
"This person you're looking for is one of our soldiers then," Crimson said. "It's not like we're going to just hand over information regarding Galla's military deployment, especially not to suspected terrorists. I'm afraid the information you want is classified."
"Please, I have to know if I'm right," Noel asked again. "If I can confirm that I am, then the three of us will leave immediately after!"
"We're not just gonna trust your bare words."
"Just answer the girl, will you?" Lyrial spoke up. "If you sit here and keep being strict on your policies, you're never going to get any proper answers." The pinkette looked away from the soldiers and muttered. "Dumbasses."
"Hey, we heard that!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.
"Lyrial, please don't antagonize them," Aguil said.
"We're getting grilled for no reason, you know," Lyrial replied. "I think I have the right to be a little ticked off at all of this."
Crimson slammed her fist on the desk, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, that's enough out of all of you!" The redhead looks at Noel. "I apologize, but information regarding military personnel and their locations is a non-disclosure topic. By law, we cannot freely talk about it. Therefore, I cannot answer your question. I know, it's a difficult protocol and inconvenient for you three. We can believe you all we want, but that doesn't change the fact that we have to follow the rules of the Kingdom of Galla."
"I understand but… I'm sorry, but I'm going to ask regardless of whether you'll answer. Is there a man named Jin Kisaragi anywhere in this city?"
Crimson was about to say something, but hearing that name made her and the other soldiers halt and react. Though they didn't speak, Noel, Lyrial, and Aguil saw their facial expressions and were able to get their answer. They've heard that name before, and they know who Noel is asking about. None of them wanted to come out and say it, courtesy of their country's policies, and they all did their best to try and dismiss the question in their heads.
"Captain…?" All but one. Yumi, on the other hand, accidentally murdered a single word out loud, obviously related to Jin.
"Captain…?"
Noel remembered something upon hearing that word.
"If we're done idling, I suggest that we get a move on. I don't want to let this tip go to waste."
"The Captain's right."
"We can do that once we get inside. I'd like to get a move on, if you don't mind."
"Fair enough. Lead the way, Captain."
"That's right…" Noel said. "When I saw you guys back at the train station, I overheard you call somebody captain. I recognized his voice, and I thought he looked familiar, but I could never confirm it. But if you're saying that now then… Then it was Jin, wasn't it? Jin's here isn't-"
"That's enough!" Crimson exclaimed. "I'm not going to confirm nor deny your statements. You're free to think whatever you want, but you won't receive an answer from any of us."
Noel didn't say anything. She was aware that she was right, but she didn't want to cause anything to happen to her, or Lyrial and Aguil.
"Until we can sort some things out, the three of you will be staying here in this compound."
"You're detaining us?!" Lyrial spoke up.
"If that's how you wish to see it. We need our facts straight before we can… if we can let you walk out of here freely."
"That's understandable," Aguil said. "But, thank you for hearing Noel out. I apologize since Lyrial and I couldn't contribute much to this. We were only here to aid Noel."
"Hm." Crimson looks back at the other soldiers. "Escort them through the prison hold. And also…" The redhead covers her nose, finally unable to take the smell. "Get these three to a shower before the prison cells. They smell like gunpowder laced with a skunk's spray."
"Finally!" Lyrial shouted.
Location: Top of Monochrome Tower
Standing atop the damaged black and white attraction were the three demonic androids, all of them wearing their cloaks again while conducting self-repairs.
"So is this supposed to be our temporary base of operations or something?" S11-413 asked. "Cause this is the second time we've used this place as a hideout while we, more so Series 4 than us, begin self-repairing."
"There is logic behind our use of this tower," S11-096 answered. "The open area allows us to access it easily, and leave when needed. It is far enough from Vier-Galla that their military forces will be unable to easily spot or pursue us. Furthermore-"
"Yeah yeah. I get it. I'm not an idiot."
"Perhaps. However, your battle strategy ended in failure."
"Don't start stating the obvious, ninety-six. We already have Series 4 here to do that. I failed to take into account the small percentage, less than five, that the Galla military would be able to combat our cannons with a demonic weapon." The ginger android thought back to Crimson's cannon being able to put a stop to both hers and S11-096's energy blasts. "That weapon created a vortex that only absorbed our attacks. Humans could have never made such technology, so where the hell did she get a hold of that cannon?"
"The likely answer is that it was stolen."
"One hundred percent stolen if you ask me. Sure our realm is the leading seller and manufacturers when it comes to guns, but the Demon Realm wouldn't give humans high quality weapons like that for no price! And there's a zero percent chance that Man can produce that on their own." S11-413 turned to face S4-213. "Oi! What do you think? If you can even have an opinion that is."
The blunette didn't say anything. She was still conducting repairs, but that wasn't what had her attention. The demonic Android was staring down at a wilting lily, surprisingly with a sad look on her face.
"Dying…" she muttered.
"The hell's up with her?"
"I am unable to answer this," S11-096 said. "It is quite unusual for her to express any type of action outside of fulfilling a mission, as she lacks a personality component. All records state that this should be impossible for S4-213."
"This damn girl's nothing but a goddamn headache to deal with. And to think, we have to take orders from someone obsessing over a flower."
S11-413 bends over and looks at S4-213. The blunette didn't pay any attention to the android next to her and focused on the flower in her hand. Suddenly, the ginger android snatched the lily out of her hand, getting her attention.
"Hey, how about you stop staring at dead things that aren't related to Vermillion Blue already and finish your repairs?!" she shouted. "What the hell are you even doing?! You're just sitting here staring at a damn flower for no reason." the ginger clenched her fist, crushing the flower in her hand before the blunette's eyes. "What now, are you gonna cry because I completely destroyed it now? Why would you even be bothered with it, huh? You can't even answer that can you? You don't have a single clue as to why you've been sitting here staring at a dead plant for the past few minutes, do you?!"
"…Negative," S4-213 answered.
"Then quit wasting our time! Vermillion Blue's in the custody of the Galla military and we're standing on top of a building far away from our objective! I don't know why our commander has placed you in charge of this mission, but start acting logical, Series 4!"
S4-213 stood up, her face returning to her blank stare. "Acknowledged… There was no logic in my previous actions, and have been deemed unnecessary. Recommended actions; Begin planning a new tactic to apprehend Vermillion Blue. Several obstacles have been observed. Galla Military and a soldier in possession of a demonic weapon. Two guardians protecting Vermillion Blue at all times. Otherworlder 'Glacial Order' was earlier confirmed to be in the vicinity of the Galla military. There is a high probability that they've met. These factors are to be taken into account when planning our next action."
"Finally, you're back on track with our mission."
"Recommended plans;" S11-096 spoke up. "A full powered assault on their military compound."
"Probably of success; seventy-six percent," S4-213 stated. "Probability of decreasing is exceeding the probability of increasing. Strategy not heavily recommended. Suggestion; switch to observation and observe Vermillion Blue's movements from a distance."
"Please, that leaves us with the chance she'll escape while guarded by the military," S11-413 replied. "There's over a ninety percent chance she'll meet with Glacial Order as well. I'd rather not deal with another otherworlder whose abilities we haven't had the time to observe. I vote to eradicate Vier-Galla as a whole. A single blast from ninety-six's Destroyer should handle that. We'll kill two targets with one attack."
"We've already determined that the Galla Military has the means to counter my Destroyer," S11-096 argued. "Chances of success are below ten percent, as it may not be limited to one cannon. The best course of action is to launch a full scale assault."
The demonic androids continued to debate over what course of action they should take next to deal with Noel. It appeared that neither of them would reach a conclusion anytime soon.
"I'm gonna need you three to put a pin in your planning for a moment."
They were suddenly alarmed and cut short when someone else arrived on the top of the tower.
Location: Shower Room, Prison Complex in East Vier-Galla
In the meantime, Noel, and the Persuant siblings were given the chance to finally freshen up. Considering they're in a prison, it was of course a public shower. They were as well on a time limit on how much time they have, as they'd need to be finished by the time the showers were given for official prisoners to use. While Lyrial and Noel were already in the showers, Aguil stood right outside of the shower room since there wasn't much privacy, the two girls having to be within eyesight of each other.
"Aguil, are you sure you want to wait out there?" Noel asked. "They're not giving us a lot of time here, and there's no telling how long you'll have. We don't need you to rush."
"No, it's fine," Aguil replied. "There's no need for me to join you."
"If you're standing outside to guard, there's no need, you know. They told us that a huge portion of the building is made of the same material as those handcuffs. So it's not like we can use our weapons even if we had a reason to."
"I know, but that's not it."
"Then what?" Lyrial asked. "There's no need to wait. We take showers together all the time, so what's one more person?"
"L-Lyrial, don't say things like that so casually!"
"If you're already used to showering with others, there's no reason why you have to wait out there," Noel said. "Just come on and get it over with if it bothers you."
Aguil covered his face. "I-I can't do that! I'm not going to invade your privacy if I have the choice!"
Noel didn't bother pressing him but she was still surprised at his embarrassment, still under the belief that Aguil's a girl.
"Wow, she really is shy about this kind of thing…" Noel said. "After all you two have done for me, I didn't think this would be an issue."
"Aguil's too nice for her own good sometimes," Lyrial replied. "She'll probably come in when we're done. Speaking of when we're done, what the hell do we do next?"
"I think that lady with the red hair made it clear that we're gonna have to stay here for a while. The only thing I can hope for is that we get to meet Jin while I'm here. But, I doubt they'd just tell him that I'm here."
"Yeah they didn't seem like they'd be that cooperative. I'm just hoping that we don't have to stay here for long. I don't wanna have to talk with a bunch of prisoners. Or worse. Have to hear what goes on inside a prison at night."
"I understand your concern. I don't wanna be here any longer than I have to either."
"Hey, Noel…?" Aguil asked. Judging by the sound of his voice, he was right outside the shower curtain as if he was coming in. "A thought occurred to me so I… changed my mind because I have to ask you something."
"Sure. We already told you to come on in."
"Right…"
Lyrial gestured for Noel to turn around. "Hey, respect the girl's privacy too," she said.
"Oh right."
Since Lyrial had a point, Noel turned her head as Aguil walked in wanting to respect the "girl's" privacy in return. Aguil stepped into the shower, covering himself as he embarrassedly made his way in and turned around so that he wasn't facing the girls.
"So, what did you want to ask me?" Noel questioned.
"Well…" Aguil took a moment to calm himself down before asking. "Do you… Do you think that those demonic androids could be after Jin as well?"
That was something Noel hadn't thought much about, and was surprised to hear. She had been busy trying to keep herself, Lyrial, and Aguil save that the thought never crossed her mind. Those three androids may also be after Jin as well. She recalled how one of them stated they were targeting otherworlders. While Lyrial and Aguil may be excused, she and Jin are from the same place. It would make sense that Jin is most likely one of their eventual targets as well. Whether or not the androids were aware that he was here is still a mystery to the blonde.
"You could be right…" Noel answered. "If I'm in danger, then there is a chance that they'll go after Jin as well. I don't know if they're aware that he's here or not, but it's a possibility."
"Ah that's just all the more reason we need to get out of here and try to find him ourselves!" Lyrial exclaimed.
"Calm down, Lyrial. We need to find Jin, but making an enemy of a military force won't help with that. Right now, the only thing we can do is hope. If Jin's allied with them, then he must have some means of keeping himself safe."
"And if they can't?"
"Don't think like that," Aguil said. "I'm sure Noel's brother can take care of himself just fine."
"If he's anything like his sister I doubt that. She'd be a goner if we weren't around."
"That's mean…" Noel said.
"Demonic Androids are programmed to kill whatever is in their way, along with their targets, right? Who's to say the soldiers could stop them if they went on a killing spree? Or if they tried to use that giant beam attack again?"
"You do have a point," Aguil said. "The woman with the red hair was lucky to show up at the right time."
"Lyrial's right," Noel stated. "We can't rely solely on luck. But on the other hand, we can't just leave on our own free will right now. Starting trouble with a military force won't benefit any of us. We don't have a choice but to remain put and hope for the best."
"They'll let us go eventually, I'm sure of it. After all, we haven't done anything wrong and we did our best to try and keep the damage we caused to a minimum."
"Let's just hope this optimism does end up rewarding us in the end," Lyrial sighed, folding her arms. "If it doesn't, I'm gonna be really pissed."
"I want to make sure Jin is alright more than either of you," Noel said, holding her left arm. "But there's nothing I can do now."
"I sincerely hope that the wheel of fate will be turning in our favor," Aguil said. "There's no reason either of you should have to suffer losing one another. Not here, not now, and especially not to a group of robotic assassins. The moment we get the chance, I'll do whatever is in my power to assure that you don't lose your brother."
"Aguil…" Noel could tell that when it came to siblings and family, Aguil felt very strongly about them sticking together and staying alive. She could feel his desire for nothing to happen to her and Jin, almost as if he was seeing himself and his own sister in their place. Noel smiled. "You're far too kind sometimes, you know that?"
Aguil laughed. "I get that a lot. Really, I'm not even that nice."
The trio laughed as they were finishing up in the showers, nearing the end of their time. However, they were unaware of the fact that somebody was listening in on their conversation.
"The Captain's… in danger…?"
Later In The Afternoon
Location: Military Facility, East Vier-Galla
In the same district, there was a military facility where the other remaining important soldiers had been stationed. The facility was two buildings, connected by an intersection that was high up, and led to a balcony area. On the left balcony was where the First Major, Maya, was standing, being contacted by another messenger from the prison. A few hours have passed since the end of Noel and the others' interrogation. After everything, Crimson wanted to make sure that she informed her superiors of what she learned, especially after who Noel mentioned.
"This woman… mentioned him specifically, you say?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am!" the messenger answered. "She was very adamant in talking about the Captain. But we cannot legally give her an answer. What should we do?"
"Logically, we should let him decide what to do with this. If needed, I'll do something about it. But this is obviously his problem. Oi! Captain! There's a little lady-"
"I heard everything. And right now, it's not my problem." Standing against the side of the balcony was the Captain in question, Jin Kisaragi, Noel's older brother and another otherworlder. It's obvious he's been in Riverbrandt much longer, and has made a name for himself within Galla. However, his reasons for his actions are unknown. The man was standing around with his arms folded, resting while listening in on the messenger's report.
"How so?" Maya asked.
"If I were to take any more unnecessary time," he explained. "Then I may as well conclude my search. We plan on leaving this city after the sun sets, you know. If I were to go see her, then we'd miss that deadline."
"Aren't you worried about the little lady? She seems to know you after all. Don't you know her as well?"
"I do. That woman is my little sister."
"Your sister? You're quite the shabby brother if you're not even concerned for her well-being. Those attacks from earlier apparently involved her. She wasn't the perpetrator, but she was involved."
"The safest place for Noel would be to stay here, under military protection. Crimson and Yumi both know this. Once they're aware of who she is, they'll make sure that she remains under protection given the circumstances."
"But leaving the poor lass to rot in a jail cell is a little cruel, don't you think? She's not a criminal, according to their report."
"That will be their call. As long as Noel's here, I can confirm her safety. Right now… I'm focused on a person whose whereabouts I can't determine."
"Well… I can't really argue with that."
Jin turned to the messenger. "Send a message back to the Second Lieutenant. Tell her to keep an eye on my sister, Noel Vermillion."
"Yes sir!" The messenger saluted before leaving.
As the messenger left, Jin started to walk off as well, Maya following after him. He had his sights elsewhere, believing Noel would be safe where she was.
