This one took a while too. Well, here it is, the actual start of Volume 5.
ooo000ooo
Little Wing It
Volume 5
The Rising Of The Switch Beast
Chapter 1
Hope By Design
ooo000ooo
I
ooo000ooo
"Oh, I recognize you!"
The first thing I heard upon entering the office was a familiar voice claiming to recognize me.
Beside Kraz and Ursula stood a bespectacled brown-haired female Newman, wearing the official Guardians uniform.
"You're... Maya Shidow, right?"
"Got it in one! What perfect timing this is. We're in your debt for the other day. Thanks to you, we were able to rescue the missing Guardians."
On the mission to rescue Emilia, which was a few days ago, we were joined by two Guardians, Maya being one of them. The other one that helped us, Lou, didn't seem to have joined her in coming here to Little Wing.
I nodded a bit awkwardly in response to Maya's word of thanks. She was genuinely happy to see us, which made me feel a little guilty. The reason for that was when we first met, I was slightly suspicious of her.
Perhaps I was just on edge because of Emilia's precarious situation as a target, but when she learned my partner's name, she reacted with slight recognition towards it. I know, it's a shallow reason to distrust someone, but with Emilia's hatred of the Guardians, there was the possibility of them knowing each other, and not in a good way.
I don't believe I'm being overprotective towards Emilia, but she is my partner.
Ultimately though, Maya proved to be reliable throughout the mission, managing to keep up with us in dispatching numerous Seedforms despite her apparent lack of physical training. Also, she got us out of a bit of quite a bind in Rykros, and she gave Yut a nifty wand as well.
In the end, we never knew if she really was acquainted with Emilia, as Kraz had already taken her back to his ship by the time we met up. That question might be answered now, but for some reason, Emilia still hasn't caught up with us. Did she really not realize we've already landed?
As the doors closed and there still being no sign of the brainless wonder, Red, Yut, and I made our way over to Kraz's desk. Maya seemed slightly surprised that it was just the three of us, and after a quick rise of her eyebrow, addressed a question towards the boss.
"What about your employee? Emilia, was it? Is she alright?"
"Yeah, a little too all right, thanks. Yo, kiddo, where's she at, anyway?"
"Should show up some time soon. Probably."
"Probably, eh? Well, you heard 'im. Sorry 'bout that."
Kraz sighed in response to my answer, obviously having expected this behavior from his charge. Maya though, took that information in stride, waving off Kraz's apology for my partner's tardiness.
With Emilia being unavailable for the moment, Maya turned her attention back towards us
"So, Kara, Red, and... Yut, right? You know, I'm quite impressed by your abilities. Particularly yours, Yut."
"Huh? You mean me? I haven't done anything..."
The person in question tilted his head in confusion to Maya's words, who had an excited gleam in her eyes.
For what reason though, I didn't know. I don't think Yut did anything particularly notable back then. Well, he did take out a large number of Seeds, and he also showcased his photon energy control through that Mirage Blast he used, but one would think that as a Guardian, she'd be used to that kind of stuff. Yut's definitely skilled, but he's still got a long a long way to go, a fact which I'm sure he'd agree with.
Maybe it's because of his relatively young age? Yut's pretty tall so it wasn't overtly obvious, but he's the youngest in our team. I wasn't completely sure, but he should be under one or two years Emilia's age.
Seeing Yut's bafflement, Maya shook her head to refute his statement.
"It's not what you did, but what you felt. You knew where the missing people were. I'd love to know how!"
Oh, that's right. Yut did lead us towards the Inhelt Ruins, which was where we found Emilia and the missing Guardians.
So Maya was talking about his mystical nose. That made sense. I seem to remember Lou raising a bit of a fuss about it too, something about blindly following one's senses.
It's funny, we've grown so accustomed to that particular ability of his, that it totally slipped my mind that other people, especially someone from the Guardians' Research Division, would find it interesting.
And that interest manifested in a series of questions that the poor jungle boy had no idea how to answer in a scientific manner. Actually, he didn't know how to answer them at all, so he stuck to his usual explanation.
"The how? There isn't really any. You just relax and... see the line between you and what's around you."
"I'm not sure I understand, but is it true you can sense the life-force of things? Or is it their thoughts you hear?"
"Um, uh... I just smell their scent, I think."
"Fascinating!"
"Should we help him?"
"Hmm... nah, he's got this handled."
Yeah, I'm sure Yut can manage. Maya seemed to be accepting whatever explanation he could come up anyway.
It's interesting, though. Since she was a researcher, I figured Maya would be intrigued by Yut's spiritual capabilities, but I never got this vibe from her back in Parum. There was that one time she came up with the idea of heating and cooling the boulders, but she never really got as scientific as she was now.
Of course, there was that entire situation with the Seeds and Rykros, so maybe it was just because of the urgency of it all. Still, it's always refreshing to see someone cut loose like this. With the Inhelt situation developing rapidly, this may be one of the last chances for that in the immediate future.
As Maya bombarded a Yut who was slowly starting to panic, Kraz called out to gather our attention. It was a good thing he did, as Yut looked about ready to bolt had the opportunity presented itself.
"Hey hey hey, maybe we can save the navel-gazing for later, yeah? We've got some business to discuss first."
"Ah, right of course, my apologies. I'm easily distracted by these things."
With a slightly embarrassed adjustment of her glasses, Maya was back into business mode, her earlier enthusiasm about Yut gone in a flash.
"By business, you're referring, of course, to our investigation into Inhelt. I'm assuming you know about the joint announcement we and the AMF delivered to Inhelt the other day."
Being discovered to have been hiding away kidnapped people within one of their premises, Inhelt was currently in hot water. If the corporation does not provide any explanation about the situation, Little Wing, the Guardians, and the AMF would have full clearance to personally investigate the matter.
Which I'm sure was the case, seeing as Ursula earlier confirmed that the investigation was indeed a go.
"Well, Inhelt Corporation did not respond. Thus the current direct investigation."
"The CEO, Natsume Shu, did nothing."
Ursula noted, brining to light a rather curious case. As she said before, Natsume Shu would hold press conferences for the most trivial of issues, such as toilet malfunctions. For him to be absolutely silent now, it just makes it more and more likely that he's an accomplice of his possessed son.
With the situation of Inhelt debriefed, Maya them moved on to the next matter. Specifically, what our course of action was.
"Our advance team from the AMF is already on site, inside Inhelt's facilities. If they find anything out, I'll hear about it. We're to wait here, and prepare for the worst."
"Well, if the AMF's in there knocking heads together, something's bound to give soon."
I was inclined to agree with Kraz's statement. The AMF is rather famous for bashing things first then asking questions second. I would surmise that they'll get at least some answers soon enough.
"Sounds like the AMF, alright. Maybe we'll even find out why Shizuru Shu's after bolthead."
As the debriefing continued, Red said something that caught my attention.
Shizuru was targeting Emilia, but the only reason I could think of was Mika. Even then, what for? Just because she's an Ancient as well? Mika said he was collecting the keys to Maghara, could she be aware of their location?
Well, whatever the reason, it was a good thing we managed to retrieve Emilia from Parum relatively quickly. Her departure and the subsequent rescue mission lasted for roughly a day, and had Shizuru known about Emilia's reckless plan to investigate Inhelt herself, he probably would have gotten to her before us.
"Hey! Why'd you leave me behind, huh?!"
Speaking of Emilia, there she was, looking pretty miffed. Well, she sure took her time.
"Bout time you showed up."
"S-sorry I'm late, boss. What's up with Inhelt?"
"The investigation's started already. We're supposed to wait. Oh, and this is one of the Guardians that helped save you the other day. Ya might wanna, y'know, show some gratitude."
Kraz said as he pointed to Maya. Emilia looked ready to thank her, but the moment she saw who he was talking about she suddenly froze with widened eyes.
And so did Maya, for that matter, but she seemed to have retained her ability to speak.
"You...!"
"... Maya...?
"So it is you! When I heard the name Emilia, I did wonder..."
Well, that confirms it, they do know each other. How they did, and how it connects to Emilia's hatred of the Guardians though, I still had no clue.
Maya clearly recognized her, judging by her words, but Emilia on the other hand... looked off. No, she looked absolutely confused.
"You two know each other, Emilia?"
"I... can't remember? I don't know!"
Emilia responded with more puzzlement to my question, which definitely caused some alarm bells. She definitely said Maya's name earlier, but what's with this reaction?
Maya though, looked absolutely shocked that Emilia seemed to not know who she was at all.
"What are you talking about? Don't tell me you forgot about Rykros?"
Rykros? They didn't meet in Rykros...
Or maybe she was referring to before that? Did the Rykros that manifest in Parum really a product of Emilia's thoughts after all? This doesn't make any sense, why would Emilia be in Rykros three years ago?
"Everyone was so worried when you left the Guardians, saying you didn't want to go back to the lab! Don't you remember?"
"Rykros...? No, wait, I... Gh! I, N-no way!"
"Emilia!"
Everyone immediately rushed into action as Emilia clutched her head tightly, distraught written all over her face.
I managed to catch her from falling, but the agony in her expression didn't relent, tears leaking through her horrified eyes.
"Emilia, hey, what's wrong? Hey, it's all right, it's all right..."
"They used me, they... the Guardians! On Rykros... we were all on Rykros! I...!"
With no explanation whatsoever to what the hell was going on, Emilia then passed out in my arms.
ooo000ooo
II
ooo000ooo
I don't like this. I don't like this one bit.
I was currently at the infirmary, with an unconscious Emilia lying on the bed.
It all happened so fast that by the time my thoughts caught up with me, I was already here, sitting beside my slumbering partner.
Emilia's face contorted into pained expressions while feebly tossing and turning every now and then. Whenever this happened, she would reach out wildly and I would let her tightly grip my hand as if for dear life. This would usually calm her down, but the pain in her face never fully went away.
Nothing about this sit right with me.
Before Emilia lost consciousness, through her jumbled words, she mentioned Rykros, that they were on Rykros, and that the Guardians apparently used her.
Maya also said that Emilia left the Guardians, that she didn't want to go back to some lab.
All I could piece together from those bits of information was that Emilia possibly used to be a Guardian? If so, then what could have happened that made her hate them?
And why would she react this strongly to Maya, to the point that she'd collapse? There was so much that I didn't know. I would be incredibly pissed off if I wasn't so worried.
"Nn... h-huh...?"
"Emilia?"
"... Kara? What... what happened?"
"You blacked out. Scared the living daylights out of us. You alright?"
"Sorry... I'm okay, I think."
It looked like Emilia was finally awake. She had a mild look on her face, all traces of the agony she was seemingly experiencing earlier apparently having disappeared.
She weakly looked around, but after seeing no one but me in the room with her, the question was already written on her face before she could form the words to ask them.
"Everyone's still in the office. They were concerned too, but the situation's pretty urgent, so they had to continue the meeting. They'll fill us in later."
"Everyone... Does that include...?"
"Maya, yeah, she's there too."
"I see..."
Emilia closed her eyes. I thought she went back to sleep, but she opened them again a few seconds later.
She gently squeezed my hand as she seemed to be struggling to find the words to speak whatever it was on her mind.
"What's up? Do you need something?"
"No, you're enough... I mean, no, um..."
"I told you, didn't I? I'm here as long as you need me."
"Heehee. You don't need to try so hard, you know... but, thank you."
Emilia looked a bit embarrassed, and frankly, I felt my ears slightly burn up too. I'm pretty sure if Red was here, she'd be laughing at me for saying something so corny.
But along with Emilia's rosy cheeks was a bright smile, and that kinda makes up for whatever embarrassment I was feeling.
Heh. And to think that I didn't want anything to do with this girl when we first met.
With a little effort, Emilia sat up as she focused on what she wanted to say.
"I... I remember. I know where everything began. Where I met Mika."
"Where everything began?"
"Yeah. Mika, are you there?"
Always, Emilia.
With a bright golden flash, Mika appeared on the other side of Emilia's bed. She looked as composed as ever, but there was a bit of apprehension visible on her caring eyes.
"You say you know everything, Emilia?"
"Yeah. And... I know why you didn't tell me. Thank you."
Emilia said with a smile, bringing a flash of relief to Mika's face.
"It was a hard time for you to endure. So much so that you subconsciously shut the memories away. I could not revisit such pain upon you, my child."
"But now I do remember. And I won't be able to forget or ignore it again."
I knew Emilia had a rough life before Little Wing, but I thought she never told us because she didn't feel comfortable talking about it. Not once did I think that what she went through was traumatic enough that her mind put a mental block on those memories.
I know now that it had something to do with the Guardians and Rykros, but beyond that, nothing. If I ask, I think she'd be willing to impart on me the things she's been through.
But, is that really what I want?
"Wouldn't it be better if you forget?"
"Kara?"
Don't get me wrong, I want to know. But Emilia pushed back those memories for a reason. She might not be able to forget them anymore, but she can ignore it. She can leave it all behind, whatever happened before.
She can just be Emilia Percival of Little Wing. She can be happy. Telling me her story now would be accepting them and living with them, something that would make her forfeit that relatively uncomplicated life she built up in the days we were partners.
Is that really what I want?
"You don't ever have to tell me, Emilia. Whatever happened before, I don't need to know. You don't need to accept it. All that matters is what we went through together, and what we'll do from now on."
"But if I don't accept my past, how can I be happy, knowing that I'm refusing to acknowledge a part of me?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll definitely make you happy."
"Wh-what did you just say?! Um...! I'm flattered but I-I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment!"
Emilia suddenly flinched and hurriedly released my hand, her eyes widening as her face burned red.
To he honest, I had no idea what I was saying, but I was absolutely lost on what she was saying about commitments and stuff.
All I meant was that we can continue on as we are now. We can do missions, get on each others' nerves, have fun, save the world, whatever was on the menu. I know it's irresponsible, acting like the past didn't happen, but if it saves her from the pain she displayed earlier, wouldn't that be for the best?
"Oh dear. I believe what Kara was trying to say is, if the present is where your happiness lies, that's what you should focus on, instead of your painful past."
"Oh, i-is that so, Kara?"
"Yeah, what did you think I meant?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself about! Geez, didn't I just tell you that you didn't need to try so hard?"
Well, excuse me for thinking about your well-being, you troublesome girl.
Thankfully, Mika was there to clear out the misunderstanding. Guess it pays to be a student of 'psycho-engineering', huh?
"You always do this, saying things that confuse me. Geez."
Contrary to her words of exasperation though, Emilia warmly smiled as she reprimanded me. Usually, I'd be commenting on the irony of the situation, but I couldn't muster a single word.
Emilia giggled as my face froze into a dumfounded expression, the simple act casually making my heart beat just a little bit faster.
With all the problems and headaches she regularly brings to the table, it easily slipped my mind that Emilia was really an attractive girl my age, a fact that I even commented on back when we first met.
Usually, the things she does and says cancel out that attractiveness, but here, in this peaceful moment with just us and Mika, the outside world forgotten to us, that simple but enchanting charm caught me completely off guard.
Of course, I couldn't let her know that.
"What do you mean? It's your own fault for misunderstanding me."
"And then you try to hide your embarrassment by acting cool. The jig's up, Kara, I know how you operate!"
"Do you, now?"
Emilia burst into a restrained laughter instead of a proper answer. What she said was definitely false, but all I felt was elation. I was glad that even after her traumatic past had come back to haunt her, she's still the same Emilia.
Wiping the tears that formed because of her laughing, Emilia smiled at me and took my hand once more.
"Thank you, Kara. You really do make me happy. ...but, I want you to hear my past. Please."
"... is that your final answer?"
"Yeah. You need to know. About me, the Guardians, Rykros, and how I met Mika."
How she met Mika? Emilia's been Mika's host since three years ago?
That aside though, looks like she's made up her mind to tell me. In the end, it was never my decision. I was worried that by accepting her past, she wouldn't be the person I knew anymore.
But our little misunderstanding and subsequent banter convinced me of one thing. That no matter what happened in the past, Emilia will always be Emilia. I guess it was a little silly for me to worry about it being otherwise, isn't it?
With my agreement, Emilia started telling her story, and it would be safe to say that I was absolutely unprepared for the things she would say.
"I'm... I'm the same as you. I died. On Rykros."
ooo000ooo
III
ooo000ooo
Emilia's story turned out to be quite a tale to behold.
Not long after she was born, she tragically lost both of her parents. Without any family left to take her in, she was raised in a Guardians orphanage. From what I knew of it, orphaned children would have grown up there and later be taken in by foster parents.
But Emilia was not like most children.
Emilia had a certain hidden talent to her, which I personally had been witness to on a number of occasions. Computational ability. Analytical ability. All off the charts. The Guardians' researchers were all blown away.
But because of that, they wouldn't let her go.
In a display of one of humanity's ugliest tendencies, that ability of hers became the cause of much infighting amongst the Guardians' top scientists. She couldn't have been anything but a child then. An exceptional genius, yes, but still just a child.
In the end, it was decided that she would be used as the living computational core of a biocomputer system. They never told Emilia what their plans were. They only said that what she was doing would be for the benefit of the entire system.
Thus began Project Tenma.
Because they told her that she was doing something good, she believed what they told her. She went along with their plans.
Six years later after Project Tenma began, the researchers became impatient with the lack of results. Some blamed Emilia, saying she had failed. Not once did they think about just what they were asking of a child who didn't know any better.
But Emilia was strong. Incredibly so, and I knew that from experience. Under the hope of being able to help everyone, she persevered.
Until she was thirteen years old.
Three years ago, when the Seed were driven back, Emilia went to Rykros as a Guardians researcher. There, she suffered the same fate I did in the relic site.
In that cursed place, they were attacked by Seedforms. Her bodyguards and companions fell, one after the other. The ones that did survive all ran to save their own skins without looking back.
Emilia tried to run, but she'd always done everything in her head, not with her feet. Soon enough, her body failed her, and she fell down to the ground.
With that, her fate was sealed. Almost immediately after, the Seedforms were on her, and no one helped. She screamed, but nobody came. She wasn't worth saving to them. She was just a part of a computer that didn't even do what it was supposed to.
"I don't blame them, really. Everyone was panicking, trying to save themselves. It was understandable. But my eyes had been opened. They didn't need me. No one needed me."
It was a conclusion that no one, least of all, a child, should ever come to. They just wanted her 'power'. And when that didn't work, they were all too willing to just leave her to her demise.
"The next thing I remember, everything was getting cold, and dark... I knew, in my head, what death was. But all I felt was fear, and loneliness."
I can only imagine what that must have been like. When I died back in the relic site, even though I didn't fully register what was happening then, I knew that I was saving someone. That should I meet my end there, it all wouldn't have been for nothing.
But Emilia died alone and helpless. Everyone abandoned her and left her to die, and even though she said she didn't blame her companions for saving themselves, she died feeling like her life was meaningless. Nobody needed her, and everything she did was all for nothing.
"Then, I thought I heard a voice."
Emilia said, and I immediately had my guess as to who it belonged to. Sure enough, Mika spoke next.
"My body taken to serve as the vessel for humanity, I had transferred my mind to Rykros. It had been an act of desperation. I never intended to take another's body. But, when I saw her there, weeping and wounded, I could not leave her to die alone."
Mika spoke with a hint of remorse in her voice.
Like she did with me, Mika repaired Emilia's body using her power. But in order for her to do so, she needed a medium from which her power would flow. With no other option available, she entered Emilia's body and healed her, bringing her back from the edge.
"I knew that made me no better than the other Ancients who plan to take humans for their own... but I could not let her succumb to such a lonely fate. I am sorry."
"No, don't be sorry! You saved my life, Mika!"
I agree. It was because of her intervention that Emilia breathes to this day. In fact, I think that act of inherent kindness put her far above the Ancients that were on board with Project Renaissance.
After a furious shake of her head, Emilia addressed Mika with a sad smile on her face.
"It's me who should apologize. How long were you there, calling to me? And I never heard you..."
"Do not let that concern you, Emilia. The past is past. And we still have much to do in the now."
"No time for regrets, is there? Then don't worry about what you did too, Mika. I'm infinitely grateful to you, and that will never change."
Mika said nothing, did nothing, except form an overjoyed loving smile in response to Emilia turning back her words against her.
With her past now firmly in my knowledge, Emilia turned back to me with a sharp and determined glimmer in her eye.
"Shizuru must have been involved in the recreation of Rykros. We just need to find out why. If we gather enough data about the planet's reappearance and analyze it, I'm sure we'll find some clue... that's my forte, after all."
"Hmm. Your forte, you say..."
"What is it? Something wrong?"
"You know, I think I prefer you when you're an idiot."
Emilia blinked her eyes in confusion in response to my rather out of nowhere statement. I didn't know where it came from too, it's just that hearing Emilia say all those words...
It didn't feel right.
Just as my face started turning into a dissatisfied grimace, Emilia finished processing what I just said.
"Hey! I'll have you know it's still me in here, you know! Just with my brain on overdrive!"
"Hehe, I know, I know. Genius or not, you're still my troublesome partner, right?"
"Of course I am! And don't call me troublesome!"
I don't know, I haven't found a better word to describe you yet.
That said though, Emilia's past turned out to be far more than I thought it would be. To think that we both died and then saved by Mika. I guess she really ties the two of us together, in more ways than one.
Well, as I've said before, Emilia may be an actual genius, but nothing has really changed. Even after all the trauma and pain that have come back to the surface, I can still see the bright and strong spirit reflected in her eyes.
What was I even worried about? Sure, it's true that I prefer the Emilia that's lazy, unreliable, and problematic yet kind, determined, and cheerful. But the Emilia that's smart and analytical is still the same person.
I couldn't help chuckling, and although Emilia seemed confused at first, she devolved to laughing as well. Mika didn't let herself get left out, giggling serenely at the two of us.
As the three of us shared a laugh over the matter, my comms suddenly started beeping loudly while flashing red, signifying an incoming emergency transmission from the boss.
"Hey, kid, how's Emilia?"
"She's fine. She just woke up a while ago."
"Good. Alright, if you're good to go, I need you both back here quick-like. We've got a bit of a situation on our hands."
And as fast as Kraz's call came through, the line was dead. Well, things are picking up, it seems.
Although why an emergency transmission? Couldn't he have just called normally or even sent someone to check on us? And come to think of it, he seemed to have a bit of an urgent tone in his voice as well.
Could something have happened to the AMF on Inhelt? I can't think of anything else that would necessitate an emergency transmission. Maybe they found something particularly pressing?
Well, we wouldn't get answers wondering about it here. I prepared to stand from my seat but before I was able to do so, Emilia started getting up from the infirmary bed, clearly intent on returning to the office with me.
"You sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine. I feel great, actually."
"Yeah, but Maya's still there. Think you can talk to her without passing out again?"
"I... think I'll be okay. Besides, I have you, right?"
"Don't make me keep saying it, troublesome girl."
"Heehee!"
ooo000ooo
IV
ooo000ooo
Emilia and I made our way back to the office, and everyone was right where we left them. Or I suppose I should say where I last saw them, as I pretty much rushed out of the place with an unconscious Emilia in tow.
The moment we stepped back into the meeting, Maya's attention immediately turned to Emilia, with a guilty look on her face.
"I'm glad you're okay, Emilia. I'm sorry for earlier. I shouldn't have brought up the past."
For a few seconds, Emilia had an unreadable expression on her face. It didn't have any hatred or anything, which lead me to believe that Maya isn't one of the people that took advantage of her 'power'.
Looks like she's not a bad person after all. I know her actions back in Rykros already confirmed that for me, but if Emilia's alright with her then it's the same on my side.
After all, Emilia may hate the Guardians, but that doesn't she mean she possesses disdain for each and every one of their members. Lumia was a good example of that. And although she antagonized the strict girl before, they ultimately became friends and perhaps even rivals, but that may just be from Emilia's side.
"It's all right. What were you saying about a situation, boss?"
Kraz didnt waste any time in answering.
"We lost an AMF squad on their way to an Inhelt facility."
A whole squad? They didn't even make it to Inhelt?
I don't know if I should have expected this or not. Shizuru's managed to kidnap Guardians and Little Wingers before, but the AMF would definitely open fire at anything remotely suspicious before asking any questions. If they were abducted, then it's as sure as day that Shizuru caught them completely by surprise.
But for them to not even make it to their destination... I suppose It hasn't been long since the investigation started, but Shizuru definitely isn't taking any chances.
"An entire squad's gone missing?"
"Yeah. I'm guessin' this is a repeat performance of whatever's been happening."
"But, soldiers of the AMF!"
Maya interrupted my and the boss's discussion, clearly perturbed by the recent turn of events.
I can understand her disbelief, if there was a group that was the least likely to be compromised, it would be the AMF.
As the meeting continued, Emilia suddenly called for our attention after a minute of focused pondering.
"What's their last known location?"
"And what're you gonna do if I tell ya?"
"Find them! Isn't that why you called us?"
Kraz asked with a strict tone, and Emilia answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The boss might have given the OK for Emilia to do missions, but I had no idea if he'd allow whatever Emilia's thinking, and I have a pretty good guess what it would be.
Emilia determinedly stared back at Kraz's sharp look, without even backing down at the slightest. It was such a sharp contrast to the Emilia I first knew that I had to blink twice.
After a few more moments of tense silence, Kraz suddenly reared back and laughed.
"Yup, yer a genius all right! Har!"
Wait, a genius? That was the last thing I'd have expected Kraz to call Emilia. Unless...
"Glasses already filled us in about bolthead."
"I hope it was alright with you. I know I didn't really ask for your permission..."
"It's okay, Maya! Maybe now my teammates wouldn't make fun of me as much!"
"Hardly, Wonder."
"Ugh."
Red helpfully supplied. By 'filled us in', I assume she meant Emilia's life with the Guardians. Of course, that was probably only up until she went to Rykros. There was no reason Maya would know about Mika's existence and saving of Emilia, after all.
It doesn't seem like Emilia has a problem with that information being revealed to the others though, so I guess it's safe to move the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"So you'll tell us where the AMF disappeared, then?"
"Not like I have a choice. The place is the Habirao Forbidden District on Neudaiz."
Neudaiz again, huh?
You know, come to think of it, both times we've encountered Shizuru, it was in Moatoob. First was in Crodog, then in Mt. Elbars.
We've met his father, Natsume Shu, in the Inhelt labs in Parum, but to my knowledge, Shizuru wasn't present there. Should we run into the man in black, this would be the first time we encounter him on a planet other than Moatoob.
Not that that fact makes any difference whatsoever, it's just a little thing I've noticed. However, what is important though, is the fact that it's almost certain that we do encounter him, and we'd be bringing him exactly what he's targeting.
"There's a pretty good chance we'll encounter Shizuru, y'know?"
"Yeah, and we all know what he'll be after: Emilia. That's why I'll be coming with you."
"... say that again?"
"Ya deaf, kid? I said I'll be coming with you lot."
Kraz is tagging along? Well, that's a surprise and a half. I know he trusts me with Emilia, he said so himself, but he's really that worried, isn't he?
Of course, it's not that I'm complaining. In fact, I'm actually quite glad he's joining us. I've seen him fight in the ruins, albeit briefly, and with him in the party, we might actually be able to at least keep Shizuru at bay.
Forgive the pessimism but I have no idea what Kraz's full capabilities are, and Shizuru is... well, frankly, he's a bad joke that's not even remotely funny.
As everybody mostly reacted with surprise to Kraz's announcement, Yut piped up, sporting a fiery look in his eyes.
"I'm coming too! I gotta get the Land-Mother back from him!"
Guess the sting of bitter defeat's still fresh in his mind. I approve of the resolve to reclaim his tribe's Codex, but I have a little worry in me that he might go wild again.
We haven't had an issue for a while now, but encountering Shizuru again may cause his recklessness and zero self-preservation to flare up. Hopefully, he wasn't lying when he said he'll listen to us and we can keep him in check.
With Yut on the ride, there was only person left, and to be honest, I probably didn't need to ask.
"And what about you, shortstuff?"
"Heh. I do owe that edgelord some payback from last time."
"Alright, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to save you again so..."
"Likewise, Bandit. You might not be One-Armed anymore, but someone still needs to keep you from being a self-sacrificing idiot!"
What I managed to take in from that conversation was that I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thinks the man in black was emo. We'd be doing Shizuru a favor by kicking out that edgelord Ancient from his body.
That aside, with the party composition over with, I returned my attention back to Kraz.
"There you have it, boss. We're all in."
"Fine, fine. So it's the Trouble Quartet and me, then."
"Excuse me? In my opinion, it'd be more apt to call it the Trouble Trio and their babysitter."
While Kraz lightly chuckled from my best attempt at a displeased face, Emilia approached Maya with a slightly apprehensive expression.
"Um, Maya? Do you think you could get us some more data on the missing soldiers? I'd also like to see any materials on Rykros and the subspace generator project you can find..."
"I'm sure I could get all that from the Guardians' database... but what do you need it for?"
"If I can analyze the data, I might be able to spot any pattern that will help us predict where they are now."
Predict? I get analyzing the data but predicting patterns?
I didn't think that when she said computational and analytical ability, she meant this. It's just a little bit surreal. This might be the first time I'm witnessing Emilia's genius while she's not being absent-minded.
While I could keep my reaction on the inside though, the same could not be said for a certain redhead.
"Woah, woah, woah. Predict? Patterns?"
"That's right. I'm sure a simple mind like yours can't comprehend things like that so keep it down, okay?"
"Watch it, bolthead. Or should I say, brainless wonder?"
"You just learned I'm a genius and you're still calling me brainless?!"
Well, I dont think being an idiot and being a genius are mutually exclusive, but that's just my opinion.
As the little back and forth between Emilia and Red entered a lull of sorts, Maya called for my partner's attention with a worried expression.
"Are you sure you want to do this? You'd be revealing yourself..."
Emilia's face turned into an unsure look after hearing Maya's concerns, but it quickly morphed back into a somber but determined smile.
"No, I don't really want to do it. And I'm sure you're right, it will attract unwanted attention. But... I feel safe as part of Little Wing."
As Maya smiled warmly after hearing that admission, Emilia then turned her attention towards me, a slightly mischievous yet joyful grin on her face.
A strange thing that's been happening more frequently recently is that whenever Emilia smiles at me like that, I get the urge to say or do something that'll annoy her. Call it a defense mechanism or whatever, but it's fun to see her expression change in the blink of an eye.
"And there's always you to protect me if things get rough, right?"
"You know, now that I think about it, I'm not so sure I can."
"Whaa-?! Y-you're not supposed to be honest in times like these, trust me!"
There it is. That flustered, off-guard, annoyed, surprised face she makes when I say something that she doesn't expect or is completely contrary to what she thought she would hear.
It's... it's...
Fine, I admit, it's cute.
To her credit, Emilia shook off that surprise rather quickly and smiled at me once more.
"I'm counting on you, Kara!"
"I don't even get a choice in the matter?"
"Gahaha! Comes with the job, kid! Better get used to it!"
What job? The only job I ever remember signing up for was as a Little Wing mercenary. I don't know what Kraz was talking about, but it can't be any good.
As the displeased expression returned to my face, everybody then started to laugh at my expense. What? What'd I say? Damn it, how did this backfire on me?
Still, it's nice to see everyone in high spirits, especially with the upcoming conflict.
"Right. You want me to send the data directly to your terminal?"
"Yes, please. Oh, and I'd also like to do a random scale Turing prediction while I'm at it. Still have that program I made way back when?"
"We use it every day. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me!"
"Sorry' bout that."
Kraz apologized, no doubt for the numerous things Emilia requested from the bespectacled Guardian. Strangely though, Maya's words sounded like a complaint, but she had a wide smile on her face instead.
"No, no. Emilia taught me the meaning of happiness, and that's reasons enough for me to help you."
The meaning of happiness? Does this mean the two were actually close back then? I'd ask, but I can always do so later, when things have calmed down.
Whatever she meant by Emilia teaching her the meaning of happiness though, all I can say to that was...
Same.
"Thanks, Maya."
"My pleasure. Now, get going~!"
ooo000ooo
V
ooo000ooo
As the journey to Neudaiz progressed, a thought came to me.
Kraz is a Beast, like me. Which meant that he, at the very least, possessed the ability to Nanoblast.
As much as Mirage Blasts are limited to Humans and Newmans, and SUV weapons are only usable by CASTs, Nanoblasts are the Beasts' race-exclusive ability. By Nanoblasting, Beasts can temporarily transform into a more animalistic and beastial form, improving their abilities in combat. This transformation is possible because of the extensive genetic modification that the very first Beasts underwent in their creation.
Nanoblasts consume a large quantity of energy, so the ability to control that consumption to the best of one's ability is vital. Multiple different types of this ability have been recorded, and each is ingrained in our race's DNA. The use of blast badges, a photon-infused mark tattooed on the arm, allows a Beast to use the different abilities as necessary.
I have no idea if Kraz has a blast badge, mostly because I never asked and I've never seen him Nanoblast, but if he can, then that may help us tremendously in a hypothetical skirmish with the man in black.
As for myself, I've never performed a Nanoblast in my life. Reason being was that I never really saw the need for it. Sure, my previous job as a Freelance Mercenary was full of occupational hazards, but I've always managed to get by perfectly fine. Until now, that is.
Emilia, Yut, Lumia, and even Red have their own Mirage Blasts. Oh, and Maya as well. All of them have their big guns.
Which leaves me as the odd one out, despite being team leader. Although that position may be a little unclear with Kraz coming along.
Normally, I wouldn't be bothered by being the different one, but this disparity has reflected in our enemy takedown record.
In Crodog, while I engaged the Bag Degga head on, Emilia was the one who blasted it off the cliff. In the Parum Inhelt labs, Emilia was once again the one who finished off the Reol Badia. Subspace labs in Neudaiz, Lumia dealt the finishing blow to the Alterazgohg.
In Mt. Elbars, the Seed-Argine was defeated by a combo Mirage Blast from Lumia and Yut. And recently, in the Inhelt Ruins, and although I had an excuse with my injured arm, it was Yut and Red who dispatched the big Seedforms
In fact, the only opponents I managed to defeat was the Svaltia back in the relic site, and even then, it turned out to still be functional and Mika must have been the one to ultimately get rid of it while she was reviving me.
The point is, I lack the power to beat a strong enemy myself. While I'm not a glory-hog who wants to always get the kill, it's a problem that I don't have a 'big gun' of my own. What if it somehow falls on me to defeat a certain opponent? The scenario is definitely possible.
Which leads me into thinking that perhaps it was time for me to try using a Nanoblast of my own. Better late than never after all, and while it was probably too late now, maybe I can get Kraz to help me get sorted out once we get back to Clad 6.
After a while, we eventually managed to reach our destination. Unlike our earlier trip to Neudaiz while searching for Emilia, we had access to our own ship so we landed exactly where we needed to go.
The Habirao Forbidden District, or Habirao F.D., even H.F.D. if you like abbreviations, was a pretty strange place.
While at first glance, it looked similar to the jungle-covered Crodog, it doesn't take more than a second look to realize that the trees weren't actually trees. Rather, the entire area was filled with gigantic mushrooms that reach very high up.
Other than that, smaller mushrooms cover the mossy and misty area, with some glowing plants dotting the landscape. It definitely looks the part of a forbidden district.
As we disembarked from the ship, Kraz surveyed the area.
"So this is where they were last seen? Hrmph. And the native fauna are going buck-wild. Sound familiar?"
Wildlife in a frenzy meant subspace experiments, so at least the AMF were on the right track before they unfortunately got abducted.
While we were finishing up preparations for the mission, Emilia's comms started beeping, which she answered without missing a beat.
"Emilia, do you read me?"
"Hundred percent, Maya. What is it?"
"I've just sent the data to your terminal. There's too much to send all at once, so I've set it to automatically push it to you in batches."
"Right. I'll adjust the buffer to avoid any conflicts and we should be good."
"Thanks for that. Alright, I'm signing off."
I've said it before, but it was really strange to watch Emilia be all smart and stuff. While she doesn't feel like a different person, it's still a big difference to her normal behavior.
Kraz seemed to have the same idea as me, grunting discontentedly as Emilia fiddled with an electronic pad which I assume to the terminal that Maya mentioned.
"Okay, I'm going to be running some parallel computations while we're going, so keep an eye out for me!"
"Yeah."
"Hrn."
"... what's with that sour face, you two? Especially you, boss, you look even crankier than usual."
Emilia asked, a little bothered by our lackadaisical responses. I hadn't even realized I was making a face. Shows how much I'm used to her doing computations and whatnot.
Thankfully, Kraz answered for me by way of a scratch of his head and a sharp outtake of air.
"It just doesn't sit right with me... hearing you use big words and all."
"Hey! This is serious! It's really hard to compute high-level virtual space structures and walk at the same time!"
"High level wha?"
Emilia simply shook her head to that. To be fair, what she's saying was probably complicated and complex. We just have no clue what they meant.
As we started on our trek through the mushroom-laden lands, a good and valid question was asked by Yut.
"I'm a little confused. So Emilia was actually smart this whole time?"
"You could at least pretend you didn't used to think I was an idiot, you know."
No can do. When it comes to Yut, you're getting the complete truth slapped into your face whether you like it or not. And he's not even doing it to be mean, which was the best part about it.
Unluckily for Emilia, Yut wasn't done with his inquiries, further distracting Emilia from her level 100 space statues or whatever.
"Alright, Emilia-who's-not-an-idiot, I got a question for you."
"Oooh, that's a good one, pudding boy! Hey, Emilia-who's-definitely-not-brainless, he says he's got a question!"
Please, don't encourage him. Or is it the other way around? Actually, I'm not sure who's encouraging who here. Send help.
Emilia-who's-not-a-moron reacted with an irritated grumble, clearly not a fan of the two being magnificent distractions.
"Can you just not?! What now?! Out with it!"
"Can you tell me what my brother's words meant? What does it mean to grow stronger by touching death?"
To Emilia's credit, once she realized that Yut actually had a legitimate question and wasn't just bothering her for laughs, she gave it a bit of thought. But she ultimately arrived to the same answer she had before.
"Ah, well, I don't know. Sorry, but I'm not too sure about that one."
Yut though, didn't seem to take this too well. He didn't look angry, but he definitely wasn't happy that he still had no explanation for his late brother's words.
"Huh? But I thought you were smart! You gotta understand!"
"Well, psychology is outside my field of expertise, okay? Why don't you ask the boss?"
"Feh? Hey, leave me outta this!"
Kraz initially reacted with dismissal, but the thought had succeeded in entering his mind. Sure enough, after a few moments of thinking and head-scratching, he seemed to have an answer in his mind.
"Now that I think about it, maybe I do kinda understand what yer brother was talking about."
"Huh? What? Tell me!"
"What it means is that you can't be strong like you are now. Not yet."
Unfortunately for Yut, Kraz didn't seem interested in giving him a straight answer. He didn't seem to be answering in riddles just for the sake of it, though. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say he believes it would be a better lesson if Yut comes up with the answer himself.
Of course, I couldn't deny that I was also curious. As Emilia and Yut noted before, I've already 'touched death'. In fact, I've actually died before, as ridiculousness it still is for me to say. And yet, I have no concrete idea of what 'touching death' meant.
"But I am strong! I'm not afraid to fight. I'm not afraid to die. He who isn't afraid of anything is strong!"
"Yeah, you just go thinking that and I guarantee you'll never figure out what your brother meant."
Not afraid to fight. Not afraid to die. He who isn't afraid of anything is strong. Not a bad set of words to live by.
Except, there's no one who isn't afraid of anything. A fearless person doesn't exist. There will always be something you will be afraid of. Spiders, darkness, ghosts, emo Ancients...
Failure, death, losing someone important.
There will always, always be something you dread. And perhaps that was what true strength was. Accepting that you're afraid, and that you aren't strong at all. In the grand scheme of things, we are all weak and at the mercy of fate.
But moving past that, despite the fear that threatens to eat you whole, continuing to push forward and persevere. If you're afraid of failure, do your best. If you're afraid of losing someone, protect them with all you have. Maybe that's what it means to be strong.
I didn't mean to be philosophical all of a sudden, but perhaps that was what Yut's brother wanted him to realize. That by growing strong through touching death, he wasn't unafraid of death. Rather, he was afraid of death, and that's precisely what made him strong.
As I pondered over this matter, through the corner of my eye, I saw Kraz shoot me a small grin, clearly seeing me have a Think about what he told Yut.
It didn't last though, with him calling us to attention as we encountered our first group of hostile creatures. As usual, no rest for the wicked.
"Alright, enough chit-chat, we need Emilia to focus on analyzing that data. That means we need to protect her. Hear me?"
Everyone gave their OK's and assumed battle formations, with Emilia taking the rear to continue on her calculations.
Alright then, let's get this show on the road.