Chapter 1, here we go! Longest one yet!
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Little Wing It
Volume 3
In A Virtual Reality Without My VisiPhone!
Chapter 1
The Phantastic Four Plus One
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I
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The office's doors slid open as the three of us approached.
"Hm? Oh, hey, it's you guys."
Surprisingly enough, or perhaps not, Red was inside the room, hanging around by the boss's desk.
The boss himself, however, was noticeably absent.
"Red? Kraz called you too?"
"Unfortunately. Hey, who's this?"
The redhead lazily jerked her thumb towards Yut's direction.
Ah, right, they haven't met yet. One way or another the missions that included them never coincided with both of them appearing, which is odd but nothing major.
"This is Yut. He's a Kasch. He's been with us for a few missions."
Emilia helpfully answered, saving me the effort of doing it myself.
Yut only tilted his head slightly, seemingly pondering something before a big smile graced his face.
"Ah! I was confused at first, but I sense a warrior within you! For someone so young, that is very impressive!"
Oh boy.
Yut had nothing but good intentions. I'm sure of it.
"... what exactly do you mean by that, jungle boy?"
"Hm? I was just amazed. You must have worked really hard to be able join Little Wing despite your age. You cannot be older than twelve!"
"Prrft...!"
Twelve might be pushing it a lil' bit.
Red's eye twitched once. And then twice.
Emilia, it would be tremendously helpful if you didn't just stand there covering your mouth.
Any violence was halted, thankfully, when the doors to the CEO's office slid open, and out came Kraz and Ursula.
He must have noticed the dangerous aura from the shortstick but decided not to comment on it.
"Heya, boss. You called?"
Looks like Emilia managed to snap out of her not-laughing state, and greeted Kraz.
"Perfect timing. The news is just about to start."
News?
I didn't take Kraz for a news guy...
That said, Chelsea was also watching the news some time ago and it turned about to be about Sky Clad.
So it must be a pretty important matter if Kraz was tuning in.
And I was right.
As it happens, groups of people have been mysteriously disappearing throughout Gurhal. So many have been going missing that the authorities are having trouble keeping up.
And worse yet, the people who did got found have absolutely no memory of what happened. There doesn't seem to be a pattern among the ones that went missing as well.
As of now, the only suspect is the man that was rumored to have attacked the Kasch village weeks ago. With no clear motive behind the abductions, and the man's identity a giant question mark, everyone's hands are tied.
But we knew who attacked the Kasch. Or rather, we knew what he looked like.
A white haired man wearing black clothing. And is also presumably housing an Ancient. One who isn't as benevolent as Mika.
Besides the Kasch who got attacked, only me and Emilia are the ones who know of this info.
"Very informative. But what's that got to do with us?"
"Remember that little invader incident we had here?"
I remember. The day they had that fight.
It all feels like such a long time ago.
Emilia nodded in response. Kraz took it as an invitation to continue.
"Turns out all the people that attacked us were ones that went missing. And none 'o them remembered anything, afterwards."
If Wurley Kokov, the guy we had to track down before, had no memory of what he was doing after snapping out of the Ancient guy's mind control then it would make sense that those invaders would be in the same scenario.
If what Yut said about them being led by the same black wearing guy is true, of course.
Though the other point, the attackers being abducted people, was definitely news to me. And it's what caught most of my attention.
If that was the case, then these kidnapped people are being used to do the black clad man's dirty work, as was the case with Wurley Kokov and a few others.
Just like back in the Kasch village.
"Are you saying that they're somehow related to the people that attacked the Kasch?"
Kraz turned to look at me because of my inquiry, giving me a slight nod. By the looks of it, what he's implying was merely just speculation.
"Something's happening, that's for sure. But it gets even better. And more personal..."
If he wasn't serious earlier, then Kraz definitely was now, even dropping his normally lazy manner of talking.
"We sent some of our people to try and find these missing people. Well, they're not gonna be reporting anything any time soon 'cause now, they've all gone missing as well."
I've had a sneaking suspicion that that was the case but to actually hear it is a different matter, entirely.
It's like expecting a powerful impact and actually receiving the hit.
"It's possible that our personnel are being used to commit crimes. Whether they remember it or not, if someone from our firm is involved, our reputation could be ruined."
Ursula pointed out, looking concerned over the entire situation. With how business-minded she is, of course PR is one of the things she'd be worried about.
That's not to say I thought she wasn't concerned about the missing personnel, though. Loyalty is one of Little Wing's strong points, so the retrieval of the abductees is surely on top of the list.
Avoiding a PR disaster is just extra incentive to take care of this problem at the root.
"So you're sending us to find out what's going on. That right?"
Red suddenly spoke up. She hasn't said anything since the little chat with Yut, so excuse me if she caught me a bit off-guard with her directness. Thankfully she decided to let that incident go for the moment.
That said, now that Red pointed it out, it was obvious why all four of us were called in.
Emilia and I had a great track record with missions lately, after all, with Yut coming along with most of them.
And that Inhelt mission we did with Red was a great success too.
If there's a team that can handle such a case, then it would probably be us.
Of course, that is, if these three could avoid causing additional problems along the way.
"'Fraid so. We know where we lost contact but right now, you're the only ones we can send in after them. 'Course, I have to ask. Will you go?"
Kraz turned again to ask me, this time, on whether or not we would accept the mission. If he's giving us a choice then this really must be that dangerous.
I looked around at my party mates, and they were all awaiting my answer. Even Red, who liked doing her own thing, was uncharacteristically deferring to me, or at least I think she was.
I know I've said multiple times that I was the team leader but it felt more of a babysitter and problem children group before, a ragtag bunch.
But if this time they're all this eager then hey, what do you expect me to do?
"We'll go."
Kraz let out a relieved sigh. Seems like he really had his hands tied.
"I do wish there some other way. Feels bad giving you all our dirty work."
"Don't you worry, boss! We'll find 'em for ya!"
"Who put the zippity in your dooh dah? I was jus' starting to get used to yer whinin' about work!"
Kraz, who was flabbergasted by Emilia's attitude about work, immediately retorted, slipping back into his casual accent.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, I say. Who knows how long this change will last.
"Heh! That's the old me! With my trusty partner, things are looking up!"
"... trusty, huh?"
Emilia's unintentional disregard of our two other teammates aside, I can't help but feel a small sinking feeling deep inside from her words just now.
I really just hope she doesn't jinx it and return back to her unmotivated ways.
Kraz didn't seem to mind, though, instead looking pleasantly surprised by Emilia's eagerness. With how long this girl has been in his care, this must have been the first time she was this motivated for an extended period of time.
"Glad to hear it. Well then, I'm counting on you four. Just be careful out there."
"You got it!"
With the briefing over, the four of us got out of the office.
As soon as we did, though, Emilia's smile slowly morphed into a grimace, looking like she was lost in thought.
Was her bravado earlier just a front?
"Hey, you two go ahead to the ship."
"... why?"
Fair point, but I would appreciate it if you didn't question it.
"Got it! I'll show you the ship, Red! I'm sure you'll find it fascinating! I know I did!"
"Hey, stop treating me like a kid! I'm older than you, you moron! Hey! Come back here and listen to me..!"
An intervention, thank the Holy Light.
Well, it looks like they're hitting it off just fine.
As soon as the those two ran off far enough, I returned my attention back to my partner.
She was still deep in thought but she seemed to at least notice that the two went ahead.
"Alright, spill. What's on your mind?"
"Eh? Oh, um. I was just thinking about what we watched on the news..."
"The news? What about it?"
"You see... The attack on Yut's village, the attack here on Clad 6... I was thinking that the man in black was behind both incidents."
The man in black.
The mysterious Ancient host who cleaned the floor with me and Emilia in five or ten seconds tops.
It's certainly not a coincidence that he was behind the attack on the Kasch, and is now being suspected of being the cause of the disappearances.
And if Yut's senses were to be believed, he was also the one who orchestrated the attack here on the colony before.
In all cases, he needed to be close to maintain the mind control effect. So if we succeed in locating the missing Little Wing members...
It brings us to an unsettling realization.
"So what you're saying is, there's a good chance we encounter that guy again in this mission..."
"Yeah... knowing what he did before, it's... scary."
Emilia, who was so full of energy and enthusiasm earlier, was now pale as can be, cold sweat trailing down her face.
Since our battle, if you can call it that, with the man in black was so short, it's still a mystery what he can really do.
Even with Emilia's recent improvement, and the extra firepower we were bringing along in Yut and Red, it's still hard to feel confident about our chances if we really do encounter him.
"But if we just stand around here, more people will go missing! A-as scary as it is, we should at least try and rescue the ones who were kidnapped!"
I was snapped out of my thoughts when Emilia suddenly spoke, again sporting those eyes full of determination.
She's still obviously scared, but this kind of resolve isn't something I've seen from her more than a few times.
Heh. Maybe that birthday party really did turn things around for this troublesome girl.
"If that's what you want to do, then I'm with you all the way, Emilia."
Emilia spent a few seconds looking slightly surprised before turning my way with a wide grin.
"Heehee. Thanks, Kara. You really are my trusty partner, huh?"
"It's not like I had a choice but... yeah, sure."
She just stared blankly at me for a while before wordlessly going ahead on her own.
What? Was it something I said?
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II
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"Brr! I'm freezing! W-why couldn't those people disappear somewhere warmer?!"
Emilia complained out loud as the harsh cold air of the area assaulted us. She was shivering quite a bit.
As soon as me and her caught up to Yut and Red, we immediately departed for Moatoob. The region we were traveling to was a snowy area, so I gave a suggestion to dress warmer.
Since my coat was thick enough for the cold, I was fine with just some gloves to keep my hands steady. Red, meanwhile, changed into longer pants.
My idiot partner, though. She had the sense to swap out her outfit for a thick hoodie, but she still stuck with her skirt. So really, she's just reaping what she's sown.
And on the other hand, Yut...
"It's not that cold."
"Are you kidding me?! How can you be dressed like that and not be cold?!"
He was still rocking his light tribal gear. Besides the poncho thingie he was wearing, all he had was a sleeveless shirt and loose pants.
Makes you wonder what kind of shenanigans those Kasch get up to for them to be this cold resistant.
Yut grinned in response to Emilia's question/complaint, and puffed up his chest.
"I'm used to it!"
"This is beyond getting used to! I'm starting to sprout icicles, for crying out loud!"
"Geez, keep it down, will ya, bolthead? You'd think a rescue party would be quieter."
And you'd think Red was trying to settle things down but that mischievous grin she has isn't doing her any favors.
"Ugh, when are you ever gonna let that name go?!"
"When I feel like it. And stop complaining, you were the moron that thought a skirt would keep you warm."
"Mor...! A-at least my head doesn't look like a maple leaf!"
"Don't bring my hair into this. Are you asking for it, blondie?!"
"Emilia, it is not honorable to fight with with a child!"
"A child?! Don't you start, jungle boy!"
Children, please.
Well, in any case, it's best if we start moving now before Emilia freezes her legs off.
I started walking ahead of the group but before I could take more than three steps forward, Yut dropped his smile and held his arm out in front of me.
"Wait, someone's coming."
I was about to question his statement but sure enough, there were footsteps that were slowly but surely getting louder. Which means whoever's coming is approaching us.
Well, that'll teach me to ever doubt Yut's mystical magical sensor.
"...? Hmph. I was wondering who was causing such a commotion in a remote location. I might have guessed."
The now clearly feminine figure spoke in a familiar cool voice.
And as she approached further, I started recognizing her features.
Long brown hair, staff, Guardians uniform...
"Lumia, was it?"
She nodded to answer my question, inspecting our little group. Her gaze stopped on Red.
"Who's this?"
"Crimson Hunter Red, Little Wing's top mercenary. So you're with the Guardians?"
"Correct. Lumia Waber, Guardians Intelligence Division."
Hold on. Red's crazy talented, but top mercenary? Come on. Even Lumia didn't give any signs of believing that.
And now that I look at it, she didn't even react to that childish redundant name.
Well, at least she didn't think Red was some tagalong kid. That couldn't have ended well...
"Waber...? Interesting."
Red seemed to have an idea on what that name means. Well, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone on the system that doesn't.
"Wait, hold on a minute! What's a Guardian like you even doing here?"
Here comes the resident Anti-Guardian. Really, she could have asked that with less aggressiveness.
But that was still better than before when she was hurling out insults left and right. She must have remembered the little favor Lumia did for us.
"That is none of your concern."
"Of course it isn't. I probably can't even comprehend your shady, mysterious Guardians missions. Oooohhh."
Emilia started doing this weird thing with her hands while rolling her eyes. Clearly, she's a child.
I'm glad Lumia isn't biting on it. She's being the mature one in this. How delightful.
In any case, we don't have any time for this tomfoolery.
"That's enough, Emilia. We have missing people to find. Yut, Red."
I called out to my other teammates, and turned to Lumia.
"If you'll excuse us."
"Wait. Did you say missing people?"
She stopped us, a hint of surprise on her normally stoic face.
Is she here on her own rescue mission too? Before I could ask, though, Emilia beat me to the punch.
"Yeah, there's been a lot of that going around lately. Hey, if you see someone from Little Wing, let our office know. I'm sure they'd be glad to hear about it. Now, come on, come on, let's go!"
"Hey, quit pushing!"
I counter-pushed the now rushing Emilia, who was earlier content with just taunting the Guardian.
Lumia regarded our antics with an indifferent look. What a surprise.
"If you're quite done. It's not safe here. As a Guardian, I cannot permit you to go any further on your own. I will accompany you."
"You'll what now?"
We stared at Lumia's still stoic face, wondering if we heard right. She went from refusing to tell us why she's here to saying she'll accompany us.
And this change came from when I mentioned missing people.
How suspicious.
"It will be more efficient. Besides, I can't think of a reason why you should object."
"Not wanting you to butt in is reason enough! We don't need any help!"
"Need it or not, you have it. Did you really think I'd take no for an answer?"
Lumia, undeterred by my partner's objections, allowed herself a small smirk.
I don't know why she's being this pushy. This isn't typical Guardians protocol. Something's going on around here.
Emilia grit her teeth in frustration for a short while, before finally relenting.
"Sigh. A girl can dream, can't she? Fine... Come on, guys."
"Excellent. Let us be on our way."
"... why does it feel like things have gone from bad to worse..."
And she trudged along forward, with a dejected Emilia trailing behind. Yut followed shortly, keeping strangely quiet.
Odd. He knows who Lumia is, why's he so on guard?
"... So that's Lumia, huh? You didn't tell me she's the Hero's sister."
"It didn't seem important at the time."
"Sure, whatever."
Red threw up her hands in full agree-to-disagree fashion, walking slowly beside me.
"She's her own person, aside from the Hero's sister. Lumia's... difficult but she isn't as stuck-up as Emilia says."
"As if I'd believe a word from bolthead. But you have a point, I guess."
That little chat over with, Red went quiet for a short while, before starting up again, her trademark grin present.
"So, she's cute, huh?"
"Again with this. First it's Emilia, now it's you. What is it with you girls and cute?"
"Relax, I was just askin'. You seemed like the kind to like the mature type."
"I can't be bothered with this..."
Red snickered, the little troll.
I was being honest on what I said about Lumia, but still, she's getting my suspicions up.
What's a single Guardian doing here in such a far-off area? And why the sudden "offer" to accompany us?
I have a feeling we were going to find out soon.
"Hey, what's with you, Yut? You've been staring up ahead this whole time."
"... Be careful, I sense danger ahead... It feels like what happened three years ago... No, this is different."
Three years ago?
No, that can't be right. Three years ago was the SEED invasion.
There's no way that's what he's sensing, but what's with this sinking feeling in my gut?
"Everything you say always turns out spot on, so maybe you could just spare us the bad stuff."
"I can't, Emilia. I can only sense the danger, not what is causing the danger. Stay alert."
"Sheesh, you have a way with words, don't you? Well, whatever. I just hope they show up quickly so we can get this over with."
What irresponsible thinking.
Still, it would be wise to follow Yut's suggestion. Emilia's right in that Yut has a great track record in sensing threats.
The trip was quiet, for a change. Emilia cut down on the complaints, so I'm okay with this.
"Quite a narrow pathway, though..."
"This was a former base, so these pathways are by tactical choice. Keep alert for traps."
"Traps? Uh, hey, think it's too late to turn back?"
Emilia sheepishly, and I hope jokingly, suggested in response to Lumia's answer. Thankfully, the Guardian elected to ignore her.
Still, traps? Knowing my luck, we're bound to activate some sooner or later, I just know it.
"Watch out!"
Yut suddenly shouted out, brandishing his spear to block and throw away a lunging monster.
Well, no time like the present.
"Hey, what kind of..."
Red started as she summoned her double saber, but trailed off in surprise. Her face was painted with shock.
What, what's with the monster? Lumia had the same look on her face, while Emilia looked just about ready to panic.
"I-impossible!"
"SEED?!"
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"The SEED?! How is this possible?!"
Lumia shouted out in shock as the insect-like, clawed monsters slowly approached the one Yut threw away.
I have no idea how these things got here but right now, we have more important matters than finding out!
I held out my arms and summoned my new weapon, feeling the weight of it's conjured form immediately.
Take aim, and fire!
The charged shot blazed through the air and hit one of the SEED dead on, knocking it away a fair distance.
This caused the others to start attacking.
"Hey, is that a rifle? When did you get that? [Rafoie]!"
Emilia asked in wonder as she fired off an explosion at the charging monsters, scattering their little group formation.
Since I gave my old gun to Emilia, I went to get a replacement, but this baby caught my eye as I was browsing the weapons shop.
As evidenced by our battles against the Reol Badia and Alrerazgohg, I didn't have enough firepower for myself.
Emilia can do some damage with her Technics, Yut is crazy strong physically, and Red is straight-up deadly with her speed.
So I figured I should get some extra oomph.
"Chatter can wait. We must eliminate the Seed immediately! [Grants]!"
"Hey, relax, ice lady! We got this covered!"
Red flew in and quickly took out two Seed-Forms with a quick spinning combo, leaping away before the monsters even fell down.
I fired off a quick round at an approaching monster, stunning it long enough to receive a face full of freight train Yut.
"Emilia, 9 o' clock!"
"Huh, what?"
"[Diga]!"
The snowy slab of rock conjured from Lumia's tech hit the lunging Seed-Form, throwing it away from my partner.
I took aim and fired a shot at the dazed Seed, the photon bullet piercing the clawed monster's head.
"A-ah, thanks, guys..."
"Pay better attention! You could have been seriously injured!"
"Geez, I was just thanking her, what's gotten her all riled up...? Whatever, [Razonde]!"
The bolt of lightning stuck true, obliterating an unfortunate Seed-Form who happened to be in its path.
The remaining ones turned to attack the source, but a speartip suddenly burst out from one of the monsters' chest, instantly ending its life.
And then a red figure dropped down and sliced the last SEEDS to oblivion.
"Well, that's the last of 'em!"
Red dusted her hands off as she dismissed her favorite weapon, looking quite satisfied with her work.
Everyone was quiet for a while as the momentary high from the battle wore off.
That certainly took a bit out of us. What the hell were the SEED doing in a place like this?
The SEED were successfully sealed three years ago. There were absolutely no confirmed sightings of them during that time.
Until now.
"Something isn't right. The SEED are disappearing!"
Yut exclaimed, staring at a spot that I could have sworn had a dead SEED lying on it a moment ago.
Sure enough, I turned towards the other corpses and they were quickly fading away, leaving absolutely no traces behind.
What in the world?
"Yut, are they really gone? Can you sense what happened? Anything?"
"No, nothing. It's like they just stopped existing. It's puzzling..."
Well if Yut's sorcery can't explain this, then nothing can. If they were warped away, then there would be photon residues that I have no doubt Yut can detect.
But they, in his words, stopped existing altogether. What does that? And why?
A troubled Lumia squatted down, inspecting the snowy grounds that were earlier filled with SEED corpses.
"This is troubling. The SEED don't do this when they die... Something's going on around here."
"You're telling me! Nobody ever said anything about fighting SEED-forms!"
"I don't know any more than you! The SEED were contained three years ago, this makes no sense whatsoever!"
"Hmph. Looks like somebody botched the containment job."
Emilia scoffed while inspecting a nearby wall, looking completely focused but still somehow managing to antagonize the Guardian.
"My brother... My brother would not make such a mistake!"
I was taken out of my musings by Lumia's sudden outburst, looking utterly indignant.
There it is again, mention of her brother set her off.
But I can somewhat understand. It's unlikely the Great Hero Ethan Waber would mess that kind of job up.
"Knock it off, Emilia. That'll do us no good. Let's move forward."
"Fine, whatever. I'm more worried about this wall than her brother, anyway."
The wall? Did this idiot finally snap?
"Why the wall? Are you right in the head, blondie?"
"Don't call me names, you midget! Just come see for yourself! Doesn't something about it look off to you?"
Red looked thoroughly confused, and to be honest, I was too. But it wasn't just Emilia who found the wall captivating, I noticed. Yut was also staring at that particular wall.
"I don't get it. It looks normal enough."
"Don't you feel it? Its... different."
"Yut's right! Look! They did a good job camouflaging it, but it's just a holographic projection!"
Say what now?
It looks like a damn snowy wall, how did she come to that conclusion?
"... How can you tell?"
Lumia cautiously asked, looking as disbelieving as me and Red. But Yut isn't denying it. Could this lazy kid actually be right?
"Look closer! The shift in the color pattern's just too regular to be natural. With a holograph like this, complex breaks in the feed aren't exactly a surprise. Folks, I say we found our missing people!"
Emilia's explanation was met with complete silence. She just stood there looking proud of herself but started being awkward as nobody spoke.
"Um, is it something I said?"
"N-no, carry on."
She shrugged and started poking around the projection, with Yut assisting her, leaving me, Red, and Lumia gawking.
"Hey, hey, Kara. What just happened? I didn't know bolthead knew all those words."
"It's like talking to a different person. Who is that girl?"
"Someone very demented."
"While I don't doubt that... That hardly explains the analytical prowess she just displayed. It's outstanding."
I don't know any more than you. I met that problem child several weeks ago.
But that makes it, what, the third time now? That she just rambles on and leaves us all speechless with some kind of intellectual rant?
Seriously, who is Emilia?
"Ahem! If you three are done gossiping, we've got some investigating to do! Me and Yut are going with, or without you! Honestly... Huh?"
A clicking sound echoed throughout the empty mountains, filling me with a dark sense of foreboding.
What was that Lumia was saying about traps, again?
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to ask Emilia about what in Gurhal she just did, as the ground started shaking, and a distant rumbling began serenading our ears.
"Uh-oh, earthquakes and snowy mountains are a bad mix! Err, I mean, oops. Um, Tee-hee?"
"You idiot...!"
That was all we were able to say before a massive wave of hard lumped snow began falling down from the top of the mountain.
"R-run!"
I feel like that did not have a need to be said.
We immediately took off in whichever direction we could go, in this case, backwards.
"W-waahh, I am so done with this stupid mission and this stupid mountain!"
"Stop whining and just run! Damn it, this is Inhelt all over again!"
"Hey, Red was the one who triggered the trap last time!"
"Well, congratulations! Here have an award! The get flattened by an avalanche award!"
"Okay, okay, I get it! I'm sorryyyy!"
"Haha! Playing in the snow is a blast!"
Thankfully, Emilia managed to keep ahead this time. Yut kept pace with her easily, sounding like he's having the time of his life.
Damn that coldproof jungle boy.
"A blast, right. I can't believe these people..."
Lumia trailed them a short distance away, looking mildly irritated. And Red on the other hand...
"I thought you'd be faster than that, Crimson Hunter...!"
"Sh-shut up! Are you really doing this now?!"
You bet I am. Now that Emilia reminded me about that Inhelt fiasco from before, I'm going to milk this situation for all I can.
We're going to die anyway.
"It's gaining on us! Carry me and do that flying thing again!"
"Hey, stop! I don't know how I did that before so cut it out! Gerroff!"
"That's irrelevant! If you don't, we're gonna be buried in snow!"
"What an ironic end for the Crimson Hunter..."
"You fu-!"
Before Red could complete her unsophisticated response, however, the ground beneath my feet suddenly gave way, and before I knew it, me and Red were falling.
The last scene I saw were the running backs of my team and Lumia.
And the last thing I heard?
"Kyaaa?!"
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Damn, that smarts. What the hell happened?
I pushed myself up from the soft, firm snow, which must have cushioned my fall, with a soft grumble.
"Oh, you're up. Good morning to you, sleeping beauty."
Someone said from beside me, sounding absolutely bored with a bit of a shiver in their voice.
Ah, right. I almost forgot that Red was with me when the ground suddenly fell apart. The little troll must have fallen as well.
"Well, excuse me, princess."
"Don't make me regret keeping you from freezing, you ass."
Keeping me from freezing? I don't see a fire anywhere, or anything she can use to start one, for that matter.
Red must have seen the confusion on my face. She smirked a little and summoned a small metallic sphere with tiny glowing wings.
A Tech-Mag, I realized. Tiny robots that can be used to channel photon energy, though on a lower magnitude as opposed to wands and rods. It's a convenient tool for mercenaries that have a low aptitude for Technics.
"I cast Shifta on us with this little fella. He's expecting a thank you."
"... I didn't know you could use Technics."
"Yeah? Well that's about half of the techs I can use."
I wonder what the other one is.
In any case, Shifta is a fire elemental tech that raises the user's attack power. It can also extend to a nearby ally.
To use it as a heat source is actually pretty creative. I've never seen Red cast it before, though.
Well, that's not important right now.
"Did you contact the others already?"
"No, my comms aren't working. Must have been damaged from the fall."
So, Emilia and the others still doesn't know what happened to us. I should probably check if they were able to escape the avalanche.
I tapped my earpiece, and static assaulted my ears. It cleared out after a while, but seems like the signal here, wherever here is, is pretty weak.
"Emilia? Emilia, do you hear me?"
"... ra? Kara?! Is that you?! You're alive?! Yut, c'mere, it's Kara!"
"Aha! I told you, Emilia! True warriors don't die that easily!"
"Can it, Yut! I didn't think for a second that he died!"
"You looked like you were about to cry when you were digging through the snow!"
"Don't listen to him, Kara, I did nothing of the sort!"
Well, that's just about what I expected. I guess they were worried about me. I could feel a smile tugging at the corner of my lips, the thought giving me some sort of warm feeling inside. Strange.
"Wow, so what am I, chopped liver?"
"Huh? Is that Red? Oh, good, she's okay too. Didn't need that sorta thing in my conscience, that's for sure!"
"Tsk tsk tsk. Is that how you speak to someone who saved your boyfriend's sorry ass?"
Hey.
"Hey! I told you he's not! My! Boyfriend!"
"Huh? Kara isn't your friend? And he isn't a boy?"
What.
"Snrk?! Dude, you never told me you weren't a boy..."
"Wait, what the heck, Yut?! Of course, he's a friend! And of course he's a boy!"
"But you said he wasn't your boyfriend..."
"He isn't! He's a boy and he's a friend, but he's not my boyfriend!"
"I... wuh?"
"Ahahaha, oh man! You're alright, jungle boy."
Oh great they've started again. At this point, what did I even expect?
But to be fair, the other things aside, Red did save me from being a popsicle so I'm thankful for that.
In any case, it's best we try to regroup.
"Emilia, where are you now? And where's Lumia?"
"Eh? Oh! Um, we're in this mine-looking place that was behind that holographed wall. There's pipes and metal everywhere. Lumia went to scout ahead."
"A mine? Doesn't sound like something the Moatoob Trade Alliance would put there."
"Hmmm..."
Emilia seemed like she's into something. I urged her to continue.
"The logic pattern in that holograph's photon feed... It's just like the ones in Inhelt's lab. You think this installation might have something to do with Inhelt?"
"Inhelt? I don't like accusing paying clients but... we can't rule it out."
"Yeah. It's hard to imagine logic patterns matching up like this by coincidence. It's really suspicious. Hey, Lumia's back. Find anything?"
"No. There's nothing indicating who might have built this place. No sign of the missing people, either. We'll have to keep looking further in."
"Why is it that what we're looking for always further in? Sigh, on we go, I guess."
"Hmm? Is that your teammates on the other line?"
"Kara, here. Yeah it's me. Red's with me too."
"It's good to know you're safe then. Keep your comms online. Regrouping should be a priority."
"Understood."
Lumia sounded a little relieved. She still sounded stoic about the whole matter but at least she acknowledged our safety.
I turned off the comms and took a look around. Nothing but snow and ice covering everything. But there are a few metal pipes peeking out of the frozen areas.
Which must mean we may be close to the area the others were currently at.
"You two are really close, huh?"
I was brought out of my musings by Red, who walked past me before before I noticed her talking.
"What?"
"You and Emilia, I mean."
Me and Emilia?
On one hand, this must be the first time I heard her refer to Emilia without a nickname of any sort.
And for the other, that was completely out of left field.
"What are you talking about?"
"... nothing, forget about it. Let's just get out of this frozen dump."
Red didn't stop walking, so I had to quickly move. Getting separated further won't do us any favors. And Red's comms were damaged, so I didn't want to risk losing her.
I'm sure she can handle herself just fine. She'd been going solo for a long time, after all. Call my concern a form of professional courtesy.
The caves were quite bigger than I thought, but the metal areas were becoming more frequent as we went on so hopefully, we were on the right track.
Red kept up the Shifta throughout the entire trek. Even as we encountered some hostiles. Thankfully, there weren't any more SEED.
"Red, Naval, 9 o' clock."
Red immediately turned left to swat away the attacking quadruped, flinging it all the way to the opposite wall.
I raised my shield to block an attack from another Naval, and finished it off with a saber slash.
Navals weren't very strong individually, but they always attack in groups.
Red finished off the remaining ones on her side, letting out a huff of air that instantly condensed.
"[Shifta]."
The newly re-summoned Tech Mag hummed in response to Red's casting, and the now-familiar sensation of heat enveloped our bodies once more, with the earlier one starting to fade.
She's been casting that tech non-stop now. And although it's a low cost one, continuous use can't be good, especially if she has low aptitude.
"... How are you holding up?"
"Fine? Why?"
"You've been keeping Shifta active since we fell."
Red raised an eyebrow at first, before raising her palms up with a smirk.
"What, were you worried for me? Aw, that's sweet of you."
"Quite frankly? Yes."
"Eh?"
I'm not sure if Red didn't expect such an answer or was simply not used to it but I can at least tell she was caught off guard.
She blinked a few times, examining my face closely. I stayed neutral.
"Oh. You're serious."
"Yeah."
"... pfft! Hahaha, good one."
Wha? This kid!
Seeing my annoyed, irritated, and possibly hostile expression, Red threw up her hands in surrender.
"Woah, woah, chill, man! I get it. It's a bit tiring, but I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Red went on again.
"C'mon. Blondie's probably hysterical by now. Seriously, this is the first time I've seen you without her around."
Come to think of it, she's actually right. Huh. I guess it's true that you wouldn't notice how much time you've been spending with someone until someone points it out to you.
We've been partners for so long, I might be starting to get used to it. I'm still on the fence on whether or not that's a good thing.
"Hey. Hey! One mention of bolthead and you're already daydreaming?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry."
"Seriously... You two idiots are perfect for each other."
"Just drop it, shortie."
"...! Ah, whatever. You're actually older than me anyway."
I was about to retort but then I remembered that I actually was older than her. At this point, I'm not even surprised that I'm mixing stuff up anymore.
"Hey, there's a ladder here."
Red pointed to the ladder that lead to a well-lit metal passage. There didn't seem to be any obstructions in the way, so a warm draft was emanating from it.
Well, that's infinitely better than this frozen death trap.
"Well, what are you waiting for? You go first!"
"Why don't you?"
"What, and give you a free view of my ass? Tsk, men."
"If you think I'd get excited over a kid's ass then you're way off base."
"I told you. I'm seventeen!"
"Which is one year younger than the legal age."
"Not in Neudaiz, it isn't. And besides, doesn't that make you more excited?"
What kind of degenerate do you think I am?
I felt my face resting on my hand before I even realized I was groaning. If asking her if she was fine is what set off this hurricane of trolling then I regret everything.
I think I'm losing hair dealing with this girl. Of all the people to get stuck with...
"Fine, I'll go first. Just don't accidentally grope me, or I'm telling bolthead."
It just had to be Red.
ooo000ooo
V
ooo000ooo
Upon ascending through the ladder, we found ourselves in a lab-like place that was by far nowhere near the area Emilia had described.
In fact, the area looked eerily similar to the labs of Inhelt. The one we had to clear of Astarks.
I really don't like being suspicious of a former or current client but...
"Say, this place looks familiar."
Red wondered aloud, looking over the place.
We didn't get to do anything further after that. Several security robots started charging towards us, clearly on not peaceful terms.
As we got ready to intercept, the spiderbots, reminiscent of the ones we fought back in the Inhelt mission, started blasting us with fire projectiles.
I quickly summoned my shield to block, while Red just leapt out of the way, and immediately dived towards the machines, double saber in hand.
I dismissed my trusty shield, replacing them with my twin sabers, and followed Red's lead.
The robots, despite their destructive potential, weren't very tough against an all-out physical assault. They were decimated in no time.
Of course. As customary with these types of robots, they're equipped with the ever annoying self-destruct feature, lighting everything around them on fire. That was fun.
"Sheesh. What the heck are they guarding back there? That was a total blast."
"You're into puns now?"
"Don't be a hater, I'm on fire right now!"
"Stop. You're this close to making me do what those bots want and just turn back."
Red snickered aloud and went on her merry way, picking apart any additional enemies that crawled out of the works.
Well, she's certainly spirited. Guess those continuous Shiftas really did take a toll on her.
I followed her closely, using my rifle to snipe some bots that weren't interested in a melee with the mentally unstable but admittedly skilled redhead.
It's just a little bit worrying, though. These security robots aren't doing so hot on the security part of the job. The only thing they've accomplished is being a dead giveaway that there's something to find here.
The best way to hide something is to not hide it all.
Of course, it was also possible that I've spoken too soon.
Red and I simultaneously jumped away from our previous location, which was instantly bombarded by a pair of missiles. The ground remained a charred black from the explosion.
"Woah, was that a missile? That's... pretty cool, actually."
"Why are you complimenting the enemy... they're robots."
With a this, two big humanoid synths with large feet and rocket launchers for arms landed in our path. They looked like those mecha things those Neudaizians were obsessed to.
Whatever. Looks like we got our work cut out for us.
Wasting no time, Red took the headstart and ran towards one, deflecting the synths' bullets by spinning her double saber, a very impressive feat.
"[Shifta]!"
Red's Tech Mag appeared, glowed fiery crimson, and vanished in a flash.
One of the synths attempted to stomp at her, which, predictably did not work. Red leapt up with a rising slash from her rarely seen twin sabers, dodging an awkward grab attempt and stepping on the synth's head, flipping down to the back.
A maneuver which managed to draw one of the synths to chase her, effectively changing this into two 1v1 fights, which is highly favorable for us.
The other synth fired another missile at me, which I countered with a charged rifle shot, exploding it prematurely.
Using the smoke as cover, I dismissed the rifle and rolled away from a blind spray of bullets.
I summoned a saber on one hand, and on the other, one of my new weapons.
A machine gun. See, I'm branching out.
I quickly unloaded a round on the synth, the bullets not very strong individually, but the firing rate and the spread of the bullets allowed me to bombard one area of its tough armor. Specifically, the arm with the rocket launcher.
The synth flew up and charged towards me, opting to close the distance for better accuracy, I would guess.
This time, the synth fired off the missile while still in mid-air. Fortunately, it was so predictable and slow that I was already out of the projectile's path by the time it fired.
I rolled sideways and leapt towards the synth, slashing thrice at the damaged arm, severing it.
The synth, obviously not happy, raised its remaining arm for a heavy but choreographed melee strike. I quickly swapped my machinegun for my shield, blocking the blow but making me slide backwards.
Which was actually beneficial for me. I re-summoned my machinegun and unleashed another round at it's other arm, damaging it. I rolled out of the way of a stomp attack, holding the trigger on my gun, and capitalized.
In short order, the other arm was hacked off. I leapt away and fired off three charged shots from my machinegun.
The first one hit the chest, denting and charring it. The second hit the same spot, blowing apart the armor covering it. The third tore a hole in its center.
With a loud crash, the synth fell over.
Whew. Synths aren't very hard to deal with, but those tough armors are troublesome. They're also generally slow but if you do get hit, it's gonna hurt.
"Hey! You done with yours?"
"Yeah, just finished up."
"Nice. That was some fast switching there. I'm impressed. Got a way with guns, eh?"
"You could say that. Cool blades you got there."
I pointed to Red's twin sabers, which were made of metal instead of photon energy blades. A rarity. One was dark while one was light, and they had a pretty intricate design.
"Oh, these? I don't use them much, but they're pretty neat, huh? Supposedly, they used to belong to an archer of some sort."
"Why would an archer need twin sabers?"
"Hell if I know. I think they're called... Kan- something."
Red shrugged, not really caring about the origins of her weapons. To be fair, I probably wouldn't too as long as they serve their purpose.
Just as we were catching our breath, my comms started pinging, indicating an incoming transmission.
"Emilia speaking. Hey, Kara, you read?"
"Loud and clear. We're just finishing up here with some synths."
"You too, huh? First the SEED, now synths. What the heck's going on here?"
Emilia sounded exasperated, and a little bit exhausted. I guess they ran into some synths of their own.
Well, I can't blame her. Those bots, especially those giant mecha synths, were a royal pain.
"They're obviously running security in this place. Speaking of, are you by chance in a lab area unsettlingly identical to Inhelt's?"
"Correct. The structure of this place is a close match to the Inhelt Corporation's research facilities."
"Hey, don't butt in, I'm talking to my partner over here!"
I don't know why Lumia felt the need to interrupt. All she did was repeat what I said but in a more formal manner.
In any case, Emilia was largely ignored by the stoic Guardian.
"Someone is trying very hard to keep us from finding whatever's here. This is where we lost contact with the team. There might be clues up ahead. They must be close."
"Hold up. Lost contact with the team? You mean Guardians? Are you missing some people too?"
I immediately asked as soon as I heard the words from Lumia. She only sighed in response, confirming my guess.
Well, this has certainly turned into a surprising situation. It seems like even the Guardians were taken by that man in black with his brainwashing.
"Oh? So Little Wing isn't the only one with missing agents? Can't say I blame the Guardians for not announcing the fact that they have people missing. How embarrassing~!"
I could practically feel the shit-eating grin of my partner, wherever they are, as she sing-songed her amusement.
I don't know where Emilia is getting all this bravado. In case you've forgotten, you darn troublemaker, we've been witholding the news that we have missing people too.
"Enough. I had no intentions of hiding it from you. There simply wasn't an immediate point or logical reasoning to me doing telling uou. So if you're quite done, can we keep moving, please? Kara and Red, we'll try and meet up with you somewhere. Again, keep your comms online."
Oof, looks like Emilia got her mad.
Lumia cut off her channel, leaving me with a snickering Emilia, who was all too proud of herself.
"Well done, bolthead! You actually managed to piss off the robot girl! I approve!"
"Don't encourage her, Red."
I didn't know when the little troll was gonna suddenly pipe in but now was as good a time as any, I suppose.
"Emilia, aren't you supposed to be catching up to Lumia right about now?"
"Oh, you're right! Come on, Yut! Later, Kara!"
And with that, she cut off the transmission.
So, the Guardians were missing people too, huh? Well, that explains why Lumia was overly insistent on joining our little merry band.
Regardless, she could have just told us instead of being pushy. Emilia would have still teased her like she just did earlier but she'd still help out, the little softie.
See, there's this thing called professional trust when it comes to working together. I'll understand if it was confidential, but if it was, then I doubt she'd just slip up like that.
Well, anyhow, it's not my place to preach about trust. And right now, there's not much point in trying to figure out Lumia's motives.
For now, we've got missing people to find.