The Ether Conflict
Chapter 20: The Great Escape Plan
Blackout Main Base
Central Courtyard
28th of May 2 Y.A.
Walking along the outskirts of the half-destroyed courtyard, Reiji and Tyler are chatting about the upcoming mission. Since they no longer have a tank, they have a lot more free time in their hands.
"Can't believe we lost the tank," Tyler frowns.
"Are you still angry about that," Reiji asks.
"Well, I'm not angry, more like annoyed. We gave an absurd amount of money for that turret Odysseus wanted to build so much and after what? Two weeks? The whole thing went up in flames!" Tyler throws his arms in the air. "So we can't even buy a new tank to continue working! What the hell will we do now? Farming?" he grumbles as he let's his hand to fall limply on his sides.
"About that, remember the tank Odysseus jump onto?"
"What about it?"
"Since she single-handedly killed all of its crew, the Director decided to give it to her," Reiji says, which causes Tyler to raise his head rather quickly.
"So, we now have a modern light tank. Is that why Annabelle and Odysseus are missing all day today?" he inquires.
"Odysseus told me she would take Annabelle to see how the tank works." Reiji stops in front of a vending machine to buy a drink. Inserting the money and pressing a few buttons, the machine dispenses two cans of soda. Tyler goes and sits on a nearby bench, waiting for Reiji to finish.
"Catch." Reiji throws one of the cans to Tyler, who deftly catches it with his right hand.
"Thanks. But will she be able to drive it? Her feet were all bandaged up last time we checked on her."
"She is too stubborn not too," Reiji laughs a bit, joining Tyler.
"If she wasn't, she couldn't manage Odysseus and her craziness. Though she should take care of herself a bit more."
Both boys open their cans and take a sip. "Nothing can beat the sweet flavor of grape," Tyler sighs in satisfaction.
"Have you heard of our next mission?" Reiji asks.
"Heard we are going to Tokyo. It hasn't been a day and we are already going for the final boss," he responds back, looking at the purple colored can he holds with his hands.
"At least things will be quieter after we are done with the Institute."
"With how things have been going for the past two weeks, I highly doubt that," Tyler snorts lightly. "So, when are we moving out?"
"The briefing is in about two hours, so I'd say by five in the evening," Reiji says, gazing at the destroyed part of the courtyard. "You know this battle might as well be our last, right?"
"With the commander we have, every battle might be our last. I still wonder why we let that lunatic command us," Tyler says, before sipping the rest of his soda.
"Because that lunatic saved our lives. If it wasn't for her, we would be bones in a field somewhere," Reiji answers, he too drinking the rest of his beverage.
"Can't deny that. I just hope she won't have us storm into the enemy's ranks again. Poor Annabelle almost had a heart attack in the battle against R.I.J.A.," Tyler chuckles a little, remembering how thanks to Odysseus their tank found itself in the middle of machine guns and anti tank guns.
"And how Odysseus ducked inside the Panther with a katana, saying she could call tank charges now," Reiji chuckles too.
"For all the ridiculous things she does most of the times, she is a really fun fellow to be with," Tyler says in genuine praise for his commander.
"Speaking of ridiculous things, what's your opinion about that?" Reiji points to the left. Following his finger, Tyler spots Odysseus in the distance dragging Saori by the hand, the latter trying to escape from the former's grip.
"I am taking back my praise," Tyler facepalms with his right hand, shaking his head slowly.
"I shall be going now," Reiji says, choosing a tactical retreat rather than getting dragged to Odysseus' plans. "If she asks where I am, tell her I am visiting my sister's grave."
"Wait a moment." Putting his right hand in one of his uniform pockets, he takes out a necklace. It has a simple silver chain from which a single sapphire stone hangs. "Finally managed to fix it, make sure she has it."
Reiji takes it and inspects it a little. "I'm sure she would be happy knowing you held it for so long," he says to Tyler. Pocketing the necklace, he smirks a little. "Good luck," he winks at him, before standing up and making his way towards the base's cemetery.
"Don't be like Odysseus man!" Tyler says at Reiji, his last remark reminding him of how his commander would act.
"Hey Tyler!" Odysseus waves at Tyler, still dragging Saori.
"So, what are you planning again in that empty head of yours?" Tyler looks at Odysseus with a very serious face.
"Oh come on, I only have the best of intentions Tyler," she says with puppy eyes.
"Hi Saori," Tyler greets Saori, ignoring Odysseus completely.
"H-Hello T-Tyler," Saori stutters, blushing quite hard.
So that's your plan, huh? Tyler thinks, having guessed already Odysseus' grand masterplan.
"Have you seen Reiji? I want to show him our new tank," Odysseus says, stepping in front of Tyler so as not to be ignored again.
"He has gone to visit his sister," he says quietly and Odysseus' cheery attitude vanishing, albeit for a few seconds.
"Oh, I see. Well, have fun you two!" she forces a smile, before making her way to the base's cemetery and leaving Tyler and Saori alone.
Both of them stay silent, Tyler waiting for Saori to say something and Saori trying to think of something to tell, her brain unable to think from the nervousness she feels.
"So, why did Odysseus dragged you here?" Tyler asks to break the awkwardness of the current situation.
"O-Oh, y-you see...she...ummm, w-well, I wa-wanted to ask you a question," she manages to say, her cheeks as red as Annabelle's hair.
"Really now? And what would you like to know?" he asks, deciding to play along for now.
"Y-Yes, ummm...what I w-wanted to ask is..." she trails off, as her mind once again tries to find something to say. "...h-how you m-met Reiji! That's it, h-how you met Reiji!" she says quickly. Why did I said something like that?! she yells at herself mentally.
Tyler sighs mentally, having already seen through Saori's paper thin acting, but once again he chooses to play along.
"Let's go for a walk," he says, standing up from the bench he is sitting. Saori reluctantly joins him, standing next to him as they start walking.
"Everything started one week after the earthquakes. I was at Hitachinaka when the whole Apocalypse happened and it actually wasn't that bad. You'd expect chaos to ensue after the earthquakes would stop, but the town was completely empty of people for some strange reason."
Hitachinaka town
One week after the earthquakes
"Just another day with no earthquakes. Now, if the map I have found is right, there should be a Costco warehouse at the right of the road I currently am."
On top of a pile of rubble stands a 16 year-old boy, lazily looking at an unfolded map of the town he currently is with his blue eyes.
"This is going to be one heck of a walk," he sighs, running the fingers of his right hand through his blond hair.
"Well, whatever, let's just get going," he mumbles, folding the map and putting it on a dark brown backpack he is carrying with him. Grabbing a makeshift spear he has made, which consists of a sharpened metal piece taped on a metal broomstick, he carefully descends the pile of rubble he is on. Reaching the asphalt road, he starts walking in the middle of it, making sure to avoid the cracks it has. Looking around, he can see half-destroyed buildings with big chunks of them lying on the road, along with abandoned and crushed vehicles. As he keeps walking on the road, his mind starts wondering on how empty the city is. You'd expect that the place would be filled with looters and bandits, but in reality it is devoid of anything living...except for the mangled bodies of the unfortunate few that got trapped and crushed by rubble or got killed in the ensuing chaos. Though this tranquility is charming in its own way.
Grrrr...
Hearing something growling, Tyler grabs his makeshift spear with both hands and brings it in front of his chest. At a distance of 20 meters stands a dog, one of the (un)fortunate few to still be alive. Keeping its head low, it growls at Tyler, its ears are flattened on the top of his head.
"Good doggy, I don't want any trouble. Just stay where you are and I will be on my way," Tyler says slowly, as he keeps eyeing the dog for any movement. As he starts walking, the dog growls some more and even barks once.
He must be hungry, Tyler guesses as he sees the sides of the dog, its ribcage clearly visible under the skin. The dog barks again and starts running towards Tyler and when it reaches him, it leaps on him and he barely manages to lift the spear horizontally and block the dog from ripping his throat. Falling down, Tyler presses the pole of his spear on the dog's throat, trying to hold it away from biting his neck. The dog tries to claw Tyler's arms, but his thick clothes prevent it from doing any serious damage.
"I'm not food you idiot!" Tyler shouts and knees the dog on its belly, throwing it sideways on the ground. Tyler stands up and thrusts his spear on the dog, stopping when its point touches its neck. The dog remains on the ground, growling and showing its teeth at Tyler, who is keeping his spear on its neck. After a few minutes, Tyler slowly retracts his spear and and the dog gets up and starts running away from Tyler as fast as it can.
"Desperation can cloud your thinking," Tyler mutters, looking down at his torn shirt and grazed arms. "Great, now I need a new shirt," he grumbles. Retrieving a roll of gauze from his backpack, he wraps it around his hands. "Anyway, time to go," he thinks aloud and starts walking towards the outskirts of the town. After about 20 minutes of walking and rubble climbing, he finally reaches his destination.
"What a huge building," he says, looking at the huge warehouse-like building. Rounding the building, he finds its entrance, which is in a really bad shape, as a truck has crashed through it. Passing through the destroyed entrance, he gazes in the rows upon rows of empty or fallen shelves, with different kind of products lying on the ground.
So, it is already looted, he thinks as he passes from the counters. Though there is no electricity, a part of the roof has caved in, allowing for light to come through the roof and provide some necessary lighting to the place. For the next hour, Tyler goes through the rows of shelves, searching for anything that seems useful.
"So, I found three large bottles of water and six small, a couple cans of food, a bigger backpack and some clothes. Now I need to find some bandages and I should be fine," he says aloud, counting his newly acquired loot. Walking through some fallen shelves, Tyler spots a shelve with some bandages, so he makes his way towards it. Grabbing as many as he can, he puts them inside his newly acquired backpack, that has a red and white polka-dot pattern.
Now that I have everything I want, it's time to get out of here. While making his way towards the entrance of the building, he turns around the corner of some shelves and comes face to face with two people, a boy around his age and a younger girl. The boy has short brown hair and hazel eyes, wears a black T-shirt and brown pants and carries a backpack, while the girl has long brown hair and brown eyes, and wears a pink one-piece dress that goes till her knees, its sides cut till the sides of her thighs, so she'll be able to run. She also wears a necklace that consists of a silver chain and a sapphire stone. All three stare at each other, not knowing what to do. While Tyler has his makeshift spear, the boy and girl don't seem to have any weapon. Both of them eye the spear and Tyler for any sudden movements, so Tyler slowly lowers his spear and leaves it on the ground to show he has no ill intentions.
"My name is Davis Tyler, I have no hostile intentions against you," he says slowly in Japanese. Thank God for mother and her insistence I learn Japanese, he thanks in his mind.
Seeing he has laid his weapon down, both the boy and the girl relax a bit, though the girl goes and hides behind the boy.
"My name is Akaza Reiji," the boy responds, still eyeing Tyler with suspicion.
"M-My n-name is M-Mizuki," the girl stutters, but more of shyness than fear.
"That's a beautiful name," Tyler smiles, which causes the girl to smile and blush a little.
Suddenly, the whole place starts shaking, slowly at first, then faster and faster. "Earthquake!" Tyler yells and the three start running towards the entrance of the building, with shelves falling over and even some of the lights that hang from the ceiling plunging down on the ground. I forgot my weapon! Tyler shouts mentally.
"Arghh!" Mizuki cries as she falls to the ground, having tripped on her own feet.
"Come on Mizuki!" Reiji says loudly as he picks up his sister.
"Wait, Mother's necklace has fallen off!" Mizuki says, seeing the necklace she wore down on the floor.
"I got it, just keep running!" Tyler shouts. Seeing where the necklace has fallen, he slides next to it, grabs it and then resumes running, all in one fluid motion. Massive cracks start forming on the building's roof, which starts to collapse.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, we are going to die!" he yells, seeing the collapsing roof that rapidly approaches him. As both Reiji and Mizuki run out of the building, Tyler dives out of it like the main protagonist of an action movie, barely avoiding a really gruesome death. Rolling a few meters on the ground, he grinds against the asphalt of the parking lot for a bit. The ground stops shaking, as the dust from the collapsed building sweeps over him and slowly settles down on the ground.
"This needs to become a movie," he grunts a little as he sits up on the ground.
"Are you OK?" Reiji asks, standing in front of Tyler and extending his arm to help him stand up.
"Could be better," Tyler answers back as he takes Reiji's hand and stands up. "Here," he hands Reiji Mizuki's necklace.
"Th-Thank you very much," Mizuki says, again hiding behind her brother.
"No worries. So, how about we stick together from now on?"
"And that's how I met Reiji and his sister," Tyler finishes narrating his meeting with Reiji. By now, Tyler and Saori have walked all the way to the second and smaller courtyard that resides behind the Administrative building. It's like the main courtyard, only that it has different kinds of flowers instead of cherry trees. Because it is behind the Administrative building, which is the second biggest building in the base, the courtyard is most of the time empty, save for the gardeners that come to take care of the flowers.
"So Reiji has a sister? Is she working here in Blackout?" Saori asks curiously, having got over her initial nervousness and shyness.
"She is dead, Tyler says grimly."A word of advise, don't bring it up whenever around Odysseus," he warns, deathly serious.
"Oh...I-I see," Saori says, lowering her head to gaze on the ground, feeling bad for asking such a question.
"Anyway, I want to ask you a question."
"What is it?"
"Why did Odysseus dragged you all the way to where I was? I have known her for more than a year and she won't drag people around like that, unless she is given a really good reason to," Tyler asks, taking a step closer to Saori.
"Ah, y-you see...uum,th-the reason is..." Saori stutters as blood starts rushing in her cheeks, which redden considerably.
"Yes?" Tyler says, taking another step closer to Saori. Due to the height difference, Saori has to raise her head to look at Tyler, making him look more intimidating.
"W-Well...th-the truth is..." she trails off, as her cheeks redden so much, it's like looking at Annabelle's hair.
"You like me," Tyler says calmly, causing Saori's face to become as red as hot iron from embarrassment.
"H-How-" she blurts out, her brain barely able to function from all the embarrassment, shock and surprise she feels.
"I knew? I've four older sisters and my whole life I've been surrounded by girls. After a while you start to understand what a girl is thinking based on her actions and speech. The only exception on this is Odysseus, not even a psychologist knows what she is thinking," Reiji frowns a little at the fact he can't discern what that blonde idiot is thinking most of the time.
"S-So, all this time...you knew?" she whispers, barely audible for Tyler to hear her.
"Yes. By the way, the love letter you have behind your back won't be needed," he points at Saori's hands that are behind her back that hold a small envelope, something she probably took out from one of her uniform's pockets while Tyler was telling her how he met Reiji. Saori can feel her heart sinking, her face becoming pale. Her hands start trembling, slightly crinkling the envelope she is holding. Right now she wants to scream but at the same time, to vanish from the face of the Earth. She feels as if the world around her has become dull, the colors of it having faded. After managing to find the courage to write this letter and making the not-so-great choice of asking Odysseus to give the envelope to Tyler, with Odysseus instead dragging her by hand on Tyler, after being the first time she had genuine feelings about someone, will she get rejected?
"S-So, I-I..." she says in a quivering voice, not wanting to finish the sentence, because if she does, her heart will just shatter in a million pieces. She just gazes down on the ground, wishing that all these are just a bad dream.
"Before you fall into complete depression, can you look at me?" Tyler asks, seeing Saori is on the verge of tears and probably depression by jumping onto conclusions too fast.
Raising her head to look at Tyler, she feels a pair of lips pressing softly against hers and her whole world explodes in bright colors. Her heart starts beating faster and faster, a warm feeling covering her chest. Widening her eyes in surprise, she just stands there, her body unable to move. The softness of the lips, the sweetness of the kiss, they have paralyzed her, but she doesn't care, her mind going blank. Parting from their kiss, Tyler smiles a little upon seeing Saori's dumbfounded expression.
"If we manage to survive our next mission, I'll take you somewhere nice," he says, before walking away. "Have a nice day," he waves at Saori.
"Y-Yeah," Saori whispers, touching her lips with a finger, her brain still processing what has just happened.
Unbeknownst to both Tyler and Saori, a figure observes them from afar with a smile, her brown eyes glistening in the midday sun. Saying nothing, the figure resumes her business, humming the Panzerlied tune.
"President, shouldn't we be thinking of a way to free the rest of the Senshadou club?"
"We have been holed up in this air vent for 2 hours now, the base is on full alert because we are missing and the President's clothes are torn. What else could go wrong?"
"Momo-chan, keep your voice down or they'll hear us."
"Don't call me Momo-chan!"
Inside an air duct are hiding the three members of Ooarai's Student Council, Anzu, Yuzu and Momo. Thanks to Anzu's escape from the interrogation room, that was almost over as soon as it began, the base has been on full alert for the past 24 hours. Normally, the lockdown of the lab would have been lifted by now, if Anzu, after freeing Yuzu and Momo, hadn't walked straight on a patrol. Despite dealing quickly with them, the alarm was sounded and so they have been hiding in the ventilation system since then, occasionally exiting it to grab food or go in the toilet, since both the kitchen and bathrooms don't have any cameras.
"Relax, we'll be fine here. All we have to do is come up with a plan to free our friends and get out of here," Anzu calmly replies, lying lazily on the air duct and chewing on some dried sweet potatoes.
"President, you should take it more seriously!" Momo says hotly, annoyed by her president's lax attitude at such a crucial time.
"Momo-chan, please keep your voice down," Yuzu smiles awkwardly at Momo once again.
"Don't call me Mo-mmhhmhm!" Momo tries to yell and Yuzu silences her by putting her right hand on top of her mouth.
"Prez, do you have any idea on how we will free the rest of the girls?" Yuzu asks Anzu, still keeping her hand on Momo's mouth.
"It's simple, really," Anzu grins, holding in her hands six ID cards. "We pass one in each team and when the time is right, they use them and get away. We meet at the lab's elevator, go to the garage, steal some tanks and bust out of here.
"So you had a plan already, but how will they use the cards to get out, though?" Yuzu asks with a confused expression.
"The cells that are confined inside are essentially storage rooms. No cameras, only one entrance and the air duct that connects them. If they use those IDs on the doors, they should be able to escape," Momo explains, lowering Yuzu's hand.
"So, get three cards each and go give them to the girls," Anzu says lazily, waving the cards lightly in the air.
"President, you must help too!" Momo whispers furiously, remembering not to raise her voice.
"Too bored right now," she waves her hand dismissively.
"Just let it go Momo," Yuzu says, taking the cards from Anzu and handing three of them to Momo.
Groaning in annoyance, Momo goes forward from where they are currently in. Taking a left and continuing forwards for about twenty meters, she finds herself on top of the storage room where the Mallard team is kept confined. Lifting the cover of the air duct and setting it aside, she lowers her head a little inside the room.
"Hey, Mallard team!" she says quickly, in case someone decides to enter the room to check on the girls. Hearing their team name, three girls that could pass as triplets turn to gaze at the ceiling and Momo. Realizing who she is, they quickly go under the air duct and salute Momo. Two of them have short black hair and eyes, while one of them has medium black hair and black eyes. They all wear white uniforms with blue tron-like lines all over them, a small label with their names etched on the top right. By sheer coincidence, all three girls have the same height, being 145 cm tall.
"Miss Momo, we are glad to see you again and in full health," the girl on the right says.
"Sodoko, Gomoyo, and Pazomi, we don't have much time so listen carefully. Take this ID card and when the time is right, use them to escape to the lab's elevator, where we will all meet" Momo says quickly, throwing hem one of the ID cards. "Make sure no one finds it."
"Understood! Umm, how will we know that is time to use it?" Sodoko asks.
"I don't know, probably you'll hear explosions and gunfire," Momo says hesitantly, not knowing herself when the right time will be, since Anzu didn't say anything about when to use the ID card.
"And if we come across any enemies?"
"Try to knock them unconscious, but if the need arises, kill them," Momo says with a very serious expression and all three girls shiver.
"U-Understood!" all three girls stutter, still having nightmares of the day they had to defend the carrier. Since they had been attacked by armed forces, they were forced to kill some of the attackers, though in the end they got overwhelmed and captured.
Saying nothing more, Momo puts the cover of the air duct back in its place and continues towards the next team. After about 20 meters, she reaches the next storage room and she can hear clanking noises and even something that resembles a blowtorch, so she assumes she is at Leopon's confinement room. Removing the cover of the air duct, she once again lowers her head inside the room.
"Leopon team!" she yells so as to be heard over the noises that are coming from the room. All four members are working on repairing a tank's engine, something the girls requested to pass their time. One of the girls that has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes with a height of about 146 cm, stops using the blowtorch on the engine and raises the goggles she is wearing and looks at Momo.
"Oh, Miss Momo, glad to see you are alright!" she shouts, waving at her. "We were really worried when we heard the lab's alarm.
"Tell the others to stop for a moment, I need to inform you of something!" Momo shouts back.
"Hoshino, Suzuki, Tsuchiya, come here for a second!" the girl shouts and everyone stops whatever they are doing. Three girls come to the girl that shouted, all wielding a tool. All of them wear white uniforms with green tron-like lines. In all uniforms there is each girl's name on the top right of it.
"What is it Satoko?" a girl with short red brown hair and a pair of blue eyes asks, wielding a wrench. She is quite tall at 168 cm, her skin color being darker than the rest of her friends. In her uniform the name Suzuki is etched with black letters.
"Miss Momo is here to tell us something." Satoko says back.
"How is the President and Miss Yuzu?" a girl with medium black hair and green eyes asks, holding a screwdriver in her right hand. In her uniform, the name Hoshino is etched. She is a bit shorter than Suzuki, at 160 cm.
"They are fine," Momo answers back.
"So, what do you want to tell us Miss Momo?" a girl with short brown hair and black eyes asks Momo, the name Tsuchiya etched on her uniform. She is holding a french key and is barely taller than Satoko, at 150 cm.
"Here," Momo says and throws Satoko an ID card, who catches it with her right hand. "Use it to escape when the time is right...probably when you hear explosions or gunfire. We will meet at the lab's elevator."
"And if we encounter enemies?" Tsuchiya asks.
"Knock them unconscious. Kill them if there is no other option."
"It's been some time since I bashed some heads," Suzuki grins, putting her wrench over her left shoulder.
"Now, now, no need to be violent Suzuki," Satoko chuckles nervously.
Leaving the girls to their own devices, Momo puts the cover of the air duct back on its place and continues till the end of the air duct, where the Duck team is. Opening the cover of the air duct she hears someone yelling "Guts!", before a volleyball hits her square in the face.
"Miss Momo? What are you doing here?" a short girl with short dark brown hair and a pair of dark brown eyes says, grabbing the falling volleyball. She is the shortest of everyone inside the room, being 143 cm tall.
"Watch it Noriko!" Momo shouts, fixing her eyeglass that was knocked down.
"Maybe she is here to play volleyball with us!" a tall and well endowed girl with a medium pink-ish brown hair and a pair of brown eyes says. She also wears a red bandana on her head and is 167 cm tall.
"I don't think Miss Momo is here to play with us Taeko," a tall and slender girl with short brown hair, tied in a small ponytail using a red hair tie, and a pair of brown eyes says. She is by far the tallest girl in the room, being 170 cm tall.
"Why not Shinobu?" a tall and well endowed girl with blonde hair tied in a single long ponytail and a pair of light yellow brown eyes asks. She wears a white hairband and she is also the second taller girl in the room, being 165 cm tall. The girls all wear white uniforms with orange tron-like lines all over them. From left to right, the names Isobe Noriko, Kondou Taeko, Kawanishi Shinobu and Sasaki Akebi are etched on each girl's uniform. Though in the cases of Taeko and Akebi, it seems the uniform is a bit tight on the chest area.
"Isobe, catch," Momo says, throwing her the last ID card Momo has with her. Noriko throws the volleyball to Akebi, catching the ID card in the nick of time.
"Use it to escape when the time comes, probably when you hear explosions or gunfire. If you come across enemies, knock them out. As a last resort, kill them. We will meet at the lab's elevator."
"Don't worry, we shall escape to freedom all together!" Noriko shouts, pumping her first in the air.
"Yeah!" everyone cheers. As the Duck team continues their volleyball match, Momo closes the cover of the air duct and then makes her way back to where Anzu is.
Meanwhile, Yuzu only now reaches one of the remaining teams. Opening the cover of the air duct, she peeks inside the room and spots all four members of the Hippo team sitting around a shogi board.
"The Wermacht shall not lose Caesar!" a girl with short blonde hair and a pair of brown eyes says. She wears a German Field Marshal's Cap modeled on that of Erwin Rommel. Her hairstyle resembles the ears of the fennec fox, also known as the "Desert fox" and her height is about 158 cm tall.
"Your Wermacht shall be crushed under the might of my legions Erwin!" a girl with short dark brown hair and dark brown eyes declares. She is wearing a long red cloth, that resembles a Roman Focale. She is a bit taller than Erwin, at 165 cm.
"Caesar wins," a girl with long red brown hair and a pair of dark brown eyes declares. She's wearing a headband with six circles and she is barely shorter than Erwin, measuring 156 cm tall. She also keeps her left eye closed, like she is aiming a bow or a gun.
"The match had been decided by the first move," girl with mid-length unruly black hair and a pair of midnight blue eyes says. She wears red eyeglasses and is by far the shortest of everyone in the room, being only 149 cm tall.
"Come on Oryou, you could at least say that it was a close match," Erwin says, though a cocky smile that brims with confidence is etched on her face.
"But it was a close one," the girl that keeps her left eye closed says.
"Thanks Saemonza," Erwin thanks Saemonza.
"Hey girls!" Yuzu waves at them, so as to draw their attention.
"Ah, Miss Yuzu," Erwin says and all the members of the Hippo team stand up to go closer to the air duct. All of the girls wear white uniforms with gray tron-like lines all over them. In Erin's uniform, the name Matsumoto Riko is etched, in Caesar's the name Suzuki Takako, in Saemonza's the name Sugiyama Kiyomi and in Oryou's the name Nogami Takeko.
"Is something wrong?" Saemonza asks, still keeping her left eye closed.
"Take this." Yuzu lets one of the ID cards to fall from the ceiling where the air duct is, to the floor. "Use it to escape from here when the time is right," she informs them.
"When the time is right? Maybe by an artillery barrage?" Erwin suggests.
"Or when friendly forces lay a siege on this lab," Caesar says
"Or when a samurai charge happens," Saemonza proposes.
"Maybe when explosions and gunfire occurs," Oryou tells.
"That's it!" every member of the Hippo team says at the same time.
"What about enemies?" Erwin asks Yuzu.
"Well...try to incapacitate them. Worst case, you have to kill them," she says slowly.
"Understood Miss Yuzu! We shall fight to the best of our abilities!" Erwin, along with the rest of her team, salutes.
"We'll all regroup at the elevator that leads to the garage depot. Have you memorized the layout of this floor?"
"Yes!" they all respond.
"Then that is all for now."
Saying nothing more, Yuzu closes the cover of the air duct and continues forwards, towards the next team. After 30 meters, she finds herself above another one of the 'confinement' rooms. Opening the cover of the air duct and peeking inside the room, she spots three girls sitting in one of the corners of the room, playing games on handheld consoles. Despite the spacious room that has two bunk beds, an office desk and enough space for a car to be parked, the girls are all in a corner, something Yuzu finds quite peculiar.
"Girls, can you hear me?" Yuzu says.
"Mhm? Did you hear a voice, nyaa?" a tall and very thin girl raises her head from her console, with long blonde hair that seems somewhat lank. She also wears a huge pair of swirly glasses and a pair of cat ears.
"I didn't here anything Nekonya, piyo," a girl with grey hair, which are tied into a ponytail, and pair of gray eyes and freckles says. She is as tall as Nekonya, at 168 cm tall.
"Girls, over here," Yuzu says again, waving one of her hands out of the air duct.
"Nekonya, Piyotan, over there, momo!" a girl with a short pinkish brown hair and a pair of red brown eyes points at the air duct. She's wearing a peach shaped eyepatch on her right eye and is the shortest of the girls, at a height of 155cm.
"Hello Miss Yuzu!" Nekonya waves at her.
"What are you doing in the air duct?" Piyotan asks.
"Are you hiding from someone?" the girl with the peach shaped eyepatch says.
"Yes, Momoga. Didn't you hear the alarms yesterday?"
"Umm, we were too absorbed in our gaming session to notice," Momoga admits, scratching the back of her head and all three girls laugh awkwardly.
"Oh, I see..." Yuzu says with an awkward smile. "Anyway, take this card." Yuzu let's the card fall to the ground, though the strap this card has gets tangled in the air duct's opened cover, leaving it hanging in mid-air. Before Yuzu can untangle the strap though, Momoga boosts Nekonya in the air with her hands and Nekonya grabs the ID card in the air and when she lands, she rolls forward to soften her landing.
"Bravo!" both Momoga and Piyotan exclaim, clapping at Nekonya's movie-like grab, who is blushing a little. All three girls wear white uniforms with purple tron-like lines all over them. In each girl's uniform is their names etched, though in Nekonya's case the name Nekota is etched.
"Use the ID card to escape from here when the time is right," Yuzu says to them.
"How will we know when the right time is?" Momoga asks.
"Maybe it is like a timed quest?" Piyotan suggests.
"Maybe it has some secret requirements for it to activate," Nekonya says.
"What if we come against enemy patrols?" Momoga asks Yuzu.
"Incapacitate them. Worst case, you'll have to eliminate them."
"Always wanted to try an FPS in real life!" Momoga says excitedly.
"One last thing. We'll all regroup at the lab's elevator that leads to the garage."
"Okay!" the three girls say, before going back to their handheld consoles.
And with that, Yuzu closes the cover of the air duct and continues towards the last of the teams. Reaching a certain point, the air duct goes down about one meter. Getting down, Yuzu finds herself in front of a narrow part of the air duct, where to continue forward, she has to crawl the rest of the way. Reaching the end, she notices that the air duct is connected to the wall of the room, instead of the ceiling. Also, the cover of it is bolted at the end, so giving the girls the ID card might be tricky, though she could slip it between the openings the cover has.
Looking through the openings, she spots all the members of Rabbit team in a line, one of the lab's soldiers in front of them, raising his hand to grab one of the girls.
Not giving it a second thought, she somehow manages to place her feet on the bolted cover and with one good kick, the cover gets blown out of his place, enabling Yuzu to exit the air duct and drop onto the floor. Hearing a loud bang, both the girls and the soldier look at the direction of the air duct, only to see Yuzu landing on the floor. Before anyone can react, Yuzu bolts forwards and tackles the soldier on the ground. The soldier, still holding his rifle, tries to aim it at Yuzu, who barely manages to knock him unconscious with a punch in his metal helmet.
"Ouch!" she remarks, shaking her hand a bit, due to the pain she is feeling.
"Miss Yuzu!" all the girls, except for one, yell, gathering around Yuzu, who is getting up from the ground.
"Are you girls alright?" Yuzu asks quickly and with urgency mixed in her voice.
"Azusa is okay!" a girl with short dark brown hair and a pair of dark brown eyes says. She is a bit shorter then Yuzu, being 151 cm tall.
"Ayumi is fine!" a girl with long dark blue hair and a pair of dark blue eyes says. She is a bit taller than Yuzu, being 160 cm tall.
"Aya is fine!" a girl with long twin ponytail blonde hair and a pair of brown eyes says. She's also wearing wide eyeglasses and is marginally shorter than Azusa, being 150 cm tall.
"Yuuki is fine," a rather short girl, with short black hair and dark grey eyes says. She's shorter than Azusa, being 145 cm tall.
"Karina is fine!" a girl with a short light brown hair and a pair of dark blue eyes says excitedly, raising her right hand in the air. She has the same height as Yuuki.
"Good to see you are all fine. Umm, is Saki alright?" Yuzu asks, pointing at a girl with short grayish brown hair and brown eyes, who has the same height as Aya. She seems to be staring into one of the walls of the room they are in. All of the girls wear white uniforms with pink tron-like lines all over them. Their full names are etched on the top right of their uniforms.
"Yes, she just observes a white butterfly that sits on the wall!" Karina says excitedly.
"Okay...so, this guy didn't try to take advantage of you, did he?" Yuzu asks.
"No, he was just checking on us. You know, if we have anything illegal on us," Ayumi answers.
"Oh...anyway, I am here to give you something important," Yuzu says quickly, handing Azusa the last ID card. "Use this card to escape from here when the time is right."
"What does that mean?" Azusa asks, confused by Yuzu's last words.
"Hey, do you hear voices coming from inside?" a heavily synthesized voice says from outside the room.
"I think I heard something. Now that you mention it, Soldier 422 is still inside. Maybe something happened?" another heavily synthesized voice says.
"We don't have much time, so I'll be short. When you escape, you go to the rendezvous point at the lab's elevator. If you see any enemies during your escape, either incapacitate them or kill them," Yuzu says as quickly as humanly possible, running towards the open air duct and with a jump, she grabs the edge of the opened air duct and climbs in. Ayumi grabs the cover of the air duct that is on the floor and puts it in its place mere moments before the door to the room opens and two soldiers enter inside.
"What happened here?" one of them demands, seeing the unconscious soldier.
"He tried to molest us!" Karina says impulsively, her mouth uttering the first lie that crosses her mind, pointing at the passed out soldier.
"Seriously, has he gone rogue?" one of the soldier says in disbelief.
"Let's get him for a protocol check," the other soldier suggests, dragging the unconscious man out of the room.
"Okay. And you girls, don't try anything funny," the soldier that had entered first warns them. Exiting the room and closing the door, the girls sigh in relief, thankfull the men didn't notice that Azusa was hiding something behind her back and the dent the cover of the air duct had. By now, Yuzu is already on her way back to Anzu and Momo, not wanting to get spotted and put the girls into a troublesome situation.
"Will we have to kill people again?" Yuuki asks with a slightly quivering voice.
"I-I don't want that!" Karina cries, not wanting to repeat the actions they had to take during their carrier's defense. The other girls also start whimpering, with the exception of Saki, who is still observing the white butterfly that is on the wall of the room.
"Girls, stay calm! I'm sure that we won't have to...kill someone, everything's going to be fine," Azusa says with a comforting tone, greatly calming the girls. At least that's what I hope for.
A/N: Here we have the next chapter of our story! Things are getting in motion and the next few chapters are going to be very interesting, to say the least. Anyway, as always, suggestions, questions, corrections, reviews or PMs are greatly appreciated. Also, English isn't my native tongue, so expect some grammatical errors here and there. If you found the story interesting and had a great time, favorite and follow. Have a nice day/night and until the next chapter, stay safe!