Chapter 37: Monster's den

"If it was for researching purpose, ain't we overdoing it?"

That's the only cloud inside Isumi's head when she transported them back to Yokohama Base.

According to various war reports of both the Imperial Army and the UN recounting of that day, they mysteriously disappeared, completely vanished into thin air. Was it a modern day fairy tale? Anyone would love to believe if such miracle really existed. But, in reality, such miracle never existed.

How could people buy a nonsensical fact that an entire army of BETA of at least 800 in number of different sizes completely vanished into thin air without a trace like that?

But, that was what happened on November 11, 2001 during the invasion of the BETA from Sadogashima.

Modern day fairy tale really existed, but in a different form from what people expected. People could not entirely bring themselves to believe it no matter how much of muscle head that person is. But the inexplicable fact regarding the mysterious disappearance of at least 800 BETA was real. As the result, people forced themselves into believing it, swallowing it even it was completely indigestible to them.

But, what if everyone realized that the entire disappearance of that army of 800 worth of BETA was actually the work of a single unit?

Would they believe it?

Like hell anyone would buy that.

And what if people realized that the said unit didn't erase those monsters from the Earth surface without leaving a trace but instead captured all of them alive, would they buy that?

Like hell they would. Fighting those monsters head on was already an impossible task to some, much less capturing them with a single unit of TSF without leaving a trace.

But it was unmistakable a reality no matter how unlikely it was.

A TSF squadron belonged to the Yokohama UN Base somehow managed to do the impossible. It was as though the word impossible didn't exist inside their dictionary from the very beginning. For the secrecy and success of the Fourth Plan ALTERNATIVE IV, many miracles of that calibre were never revealed to public and they all soon became forgotten through the passage of time.

They sorted out in silence and returned in silence. Their achievement was never revealed to public or praised. Their identities were hidden from everyone with the exception of few individual. Their involvement with this said unit was hidden from everyone, including their loved ones. Even they died an honourable death, their achievement will not reach the ear of their love one. "An unfortunate accident"… was the only explanation regarding their valorous deed if they were to fulfil their responsibilities. Such was the fate of any member of A01- Kouzuki Yuuko's personal unit.

We do everything and anything for the success of ALTERNATIVE IV, to ensure the survival of mankind.

That was their mindset the same mindset that engraved deep inside each and every member.

Their names and unit's size at the moment was completely different to the past. Even so, the spirit and pride of being Kouzuki Yuuko's personal unit still lived on. 'Valkyries' was the name of those who inherited the pride, spirit and dream of those who laid down their lives for the success of the fourth plan.

The name of the Valkyries however was but a heat haze amidst desert. The tales of their valour could never been found in any official record but instead through bunches of rumours.

They're famous and yet their name, achievement and existence remained a mystery through the passage of time.

Accomplish the given missions as all cost without a single question.

That was how it always was for Isumi, the leader of the Valkyries. But, once in a while, she couldn't help but wonder the purpose behind those missions.

However, there wasn't a single moment that she doubted about the credibility of Yuuko's decision.

It's like the genius Yuuko could foresee anything. Yuuko was always right even if she's wrong. And for the success of ALTERNATIVE IV, Yuuko will stop at nothing even if it was to sacrifice her own humanity.

For that, Yuuko earned the greatest respect and loyalty from Isumi.

That's why even now, Yuuko must have her reason in doing something like this.

That's why even now, Isumi is still willing to dirty her own hands for Yuuko with her unwavering loyalty.

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"XO, we finally got a response from the Bravo Company"

A member of the CIC reported.

"Patch me through," Yuuko immediately ordered

"…their transmission is served…it's possible that their equipment was damaged. Only their location appeared on the map"

"Where are they?"

"D19, the position that they retrieved 2nd Lt. Shirogane"

"Are you sure that you didn't make a mistake?" Yuuko doubtfully asked as she furred her brows

"M'am, there's no mistaken in this. Bravo 01, Bravo 02 and Sergeant Jinguuji is still alive."

The male officer indignantly replied as he understood why Yuuko doubted his word. It must be a computing mistake or something. Everone would undoubtedly think so unless they look at the data display on his screen. It's rather impossible that they who suddenly for an entire 17 minutes after encounter with the BETA straggler only suddenly reappear now, and at their original position. The male officer immediately patched the data toward Haruka, showing the proof that he didn't make a mistake.

"Sorry for doubting your word, 2nd Lieutenant. Suzumiya, request reinforcement from the Lagoon. No matter the cost, they are to retrieve 2nd Lt. Shirogane at all cost, whether dead or alive"

"Roger"

From the state of utter chaos, the CIC returned to being busied, so busied that none of them realized the disappearance of that mysterious red head girl with the uniform of ALTERNATIVE IV.

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"Should we really ignore them?"

Bravo 01 asked as he managed to catch A01's transmission on his headset.

"A01 has been always used their secret channel up until now. The way they're broadcasting their transmission with the regular armoured squad was their way of telling us that there is something going on. I believe that we should keep our status hidden until we could receive further notice or at least when we rendezvoused with A01" Marimo gave her reply.

"I agree with you sergeant. I don't know who to trust in this situation, not even HQ"

Bravo 06 agreed. "By the way, how's the boy's condition? We keep making detour. I'm afraid that he won't last at this rate"

"His condition is still the same, neither improving nor worsening. But he will need immediate treatment."

Emi replied through the company channel.

"It would take us at least another half an hour to walk from here to reach the filtering dam. You sure he would survive until then? I bet my entire fortune on his well being, you know?" Bravo 06 growled through the channel.

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"Are you sure that it wasn't a mistake?"

"The data seemed real enough"

"They must have the luck of devil then. I don't see how they survive that"

"But, doesn't that make us the luckier one? We can capture target A easily before those lousy greenhorns arrive."

"One problem remains. How do we pass through those things?"

"What? You are scare?"

"Who's scare?"

"Don't worry, they are busied following those greenhorns toward the filtering dam at the moment. We shouldn't have much trouble with some remained handful."

"But, don't you find that strange? It was like they're attracted to it the entire time. And now they just ignore it."

"Doesn't it prove that master's theory was right on mark? There's no way that it was human."

"No way, I mean it look nothing but human to me from up close…"

"Doesn't matter, we will know when we get our hand on it"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is it okay to leave her alone like that?"

Kazama asked with a worried voice.

"You are worried for the wrong person, Touko. This is Hayase that we are talking about"

"But she…"

"I'm telling that you are worried for the wrong person. Did you seriously have a good look at what she brought with her? I'm more worried for those blocking her path rather than her own safety" Munakata nonchalantly replied despite her own uneasiness. Then, she immediately resumed her usual tactic to ease her friend's uneasiness by changing the topic "What's of Haruka's instruction, Touko?"

"Nothing's new. We'll stick with the plan for now."

"Damn… I don't know what so attractive about that guy that they kept following him like ants toward sugar," Munakata looked at the data display on the HUD and worriedly shook her head.

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When is the best time to strike an enemy?

Students of the art of war, strategists and tacticians couldn't help but mulling themselves over this question at some time in their lives.

So, when is the best moment to strike an enemy?

The most agreeable answer would be 'when the enemy dropped his guard, when the enemy can't retaliate against you, and when the enemy in his weakest moment', to sum up, when an opportunity arose.

So how long do you have to wait until an opportunity arises and how do you able to distinguish which kind of an event is an opportunity for you to strike?

Only third rated schemers and the like would ponder themselves over these oh-so-straightforward questions. The first rated schemers would never waste their time over something like that. They would immediately realize which kind of event would be their opportunity the moment they knew of it. Otherwise, they will create an opportunity themselves. They would not leave the outcome to something unpredictable as the hand of fate. And it's only by accomplishing something like that, the genius Kouzuki Yuuko would known as a first rate schemer.

Diplomatic immunity, those were the status of each and every RnD group that were presented in Yokohama Base at the current moment. That convenient status would ensure that everything that related to their unpublished research would be kept in secret, as well as the personal involved in those projects. The UN guard can't perform extensive security check on these RnD groups regarding the identity of the people involved in the project or the state of art equipments that they brought along with them to the Yokohama UN Base.

And that what made it's extremely hard for Yuuko to distinguish her enemies among those guests that Shirogane Takeru invited.

Whereas Shirogane Takeru focused his entire attention to deal with Yuuko, to ensure he get whichever his personal goal is accomplished, Yuuko had to deal more than just the threat of her plan foiled by her right hand man. The threat of invisible enemies was just as dreadful, if not worse.

Why?

They are getting desperate, the con-ALTERNATIVE IV. No, the most fitting description would be 'cornered'.

Ever since the coup d'état, the tide has shifted toward Yuuko faction from those that against her plan.

Originally, time was against Yuuko since she couldn't produce a result that supports her original claim. Those con-ALTERNATIVE IV factions have used that excuse to corner her and rally their forces. But from the moment Yuuko announced her success in the construction of the 00 unit, the goddess of war has favoured Yuuko's side. In addition, with the future knowledge of Shirogane Takeru, Yuuko easily defanged her opponents during the coup d'état without revealing her identity to them.

The largest opponent of Yuuko's ALTERNATIVE IV which is the Fifth plan was publicly stripped of their power after the coup d'état incident. Since the disk acquired from the 00 unit's astounding hacking ability put more than just a simple empty threat against the US's CIA regarding their involvement within the 12/5 coup d'état, the fifth plan became cannon fodder and scapegoat for both the US's army and CIA. Ever since, it has been a perpetual check for those who belong to the fifth plan faction.

Worst, Shirogane Takeru put a serious threat against those who disapprove of Yuuko's research by his continuos triumphs through out the XM3 trial tests. They, those against Yuuko must have realized that this chess board would be soon concluded. And nothing would stop Yuuko and Shirogane gained more popularity and support around the world with the success of the XM3 as well the contracts regarding the fate of the XM3.

Thus, if they were seeking for an opportunity to strike, undoubtedly they will act now when the entire Yokohama UN Base was thrown into disarray. And by allowing this messed up incident to happen, it is a 'killing four birds with one stone' strategy for Yuuko.

By proving the XM3 worth through out this battle against the BETA, it would be publicly approved as the next generation OS for every army whether people intended to disapprove of it or not. This is the first 'bird'.

The second 'bird' would be establishing bonds and contracts with as many factions as possible through out the success over the XM3 OS after this incident. In doing this, Yuuko not only increase the number of her supporters but also reduce the number of her potential opposers.

The third 'bird' would be fishing out the big fish. Whoever hiding in shadow, actively involved in the sabotage related to the HSST, the coup d'état as well as many other incident would surely make their move during this event created by Yuuko. They wouldn't want to miss out their part in this event getting their hand on the fruit of Yuuko's research. And Yuuko wouldn't want to miss out this opportunity to learn their identity and then blackmail them with the evidence of their involvement in this event.

The fourth 'bird' would be the battle mentality of the Yokohama Base. It wasn't anywhere nearly enough no matter which angle Yuuko looked at it. The army's mentality regarding their role in Yuuko's plan is way too lax. If the BETA wanted to invade this place, they must at least breach through the first and the second line of defence. Every soldier in this base can't help but get rid themselves of that mindset. And nothing is worse than a solider whose mindset wasn't ready for a potential threat at any moment.

It's by allowing this invasion of the BETA to happen, creating an opportunity for her enemies to act and at the same time using this opportunity against them that make Yuuko herself a first rated schemer whereas Shirogane Takeru is at best a second rated schemer.

It's not an exaggeration that Yuuko has already had 90% of her plan went according to plan. The remained 10% that she couldn't fathom was what made Yuuko a human being like anyone else and what make Shirogane Takeru an extremely scary existence for anyone trying to oppose him. And just like Yuuko has expected, it wasn't easy as all, bringing the last 10% of the entire situation under her control.

Why?

The situation has gone completely different to her plan. Shirogane Takeru himself was already a big headache the moment he made himself a BETA bait with the top secret G material. Including the black out that he imposed upon the base by deactivate the base's reactor, the entire monitoring system of the base must run on back up energy, completely vulnerable to both internal threat and external threat at the same time. But still, these two factors remained in the grey area, didn't poise much of a threat toward the welfare of the fourth plan. Because Yuuko understood just how much of a naiveté idiot that Shirogane Takeru is, she knew that he would not do anything that brought harm upon the success of the fourth plan.

However, it wasn't the same to the enemies that hidden under the protection of their 'diplomatic immunity' status. The black out and the invasion of the BETA was a golden opportunity that they couldn't possibly miss.

How?

First the blackout will affect the military operation of the entire Yokohama Base as a whole. Before the base could recover their main power source, they could only operate on the secondary power backup. And during this time span, some operations will be frozen to prioritise the sorting out of TSF's squadrons and the communication from HQ. As the result, various security systems can be bypassed unnoticed by taking advantage of the inoperative systems.

Secondly, with the sudden invasion of the BETA, nobody would have a spare of their attention toward internal threat. They couldn't think that there would be someone among themselves that could possibly commit such outrage when everyone's lives were on the line.

Thus, there couldn't be a better opportunity to strike, to search, to destroy and to rob Yuuko of her fruit of research. But if only they knew what it took to go against the genius Kouzuki Yuuko, they would think twice before planning for a desperate attack of this calibre, for Yuuko would not hesitate to sacrifice anything, as long as her goal can be realized.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bulk of mass of at least 400kg was flung like a child, rocketing toward the sewer ceiling and then heavily plummeted on the ground with a lifeless thud.

Thick mud and chemical waste residue splattered with the addition of the cold liquid than composed of the creature's mass. After that, the dark cavern was filled with the hissing sound of hydraulic motor.

"Ew, that's totally disgusting"

Despite the girly complain, a savage smile spread across Hayase's face. Completely intoxicated by the brutality of real combat and the sensation when every careless mistake could lead to her demise, the girl who bore the both the call sign and the title of the strongest Valkyries couldn't help but smile in concordant to her boiling blood.

Alone she was, but Hayase was more or less appreciated that she alone was assigned for this cumbersome task.

The heat indicator flashed through Hayase's retinal display, recounting the remaining enemies in front of her, 7 Venators and 5 Barris Narrus. Normal people wouldn't think of fighting those monsters alone, much less pitting against them in hand to hand combat like Hayase.

Flesh and blood mortal could never win against them. That should be the normal, unchanged ugly truth that people have come to accepted. But, it's not how it was at the moment.

Through Hayase's retinal display, the bulky Venator that she previously threw into the air was struggling to stand up with its broken spine, wriggling and crawling on the mud toward her yet again.

Monster

Hayase thought. She immediately stepped forward, raising her right leg and stomped on the head of the white monster. Flesh smashed and bone gave, crumbled underneath Hayase's foot. The white bulk of 400 kg jerked and instantly limped on the cold floor.

Yet, even at such frightening sight, her opponents showed no hint of fear or wavering. The nearest Warrior class BETA leaped at Hayase with their panther like speed and the rest of their companions followed their lead immediately.

The two nearest warrior classes pounced at Hayase with their blinding speed. Their speed alone was already a difficult task for people's reflex to catch up, with the dim light under the sewer, people would find it's hard to follow them with their eyes, but not Hayase.

Reacting with a seemingly inhuman speed, Hayase grasped the trunk of the nearest Barrus narris, span and then smashed it into the other airborne warrior class like a club. Sickening sounds immediately echoed through out the cavern. Not even Hayase can recognize the original identity of her makeshift baseball bat or the thing that she hit, for a chunk of minced meat and bone was what they look like at the moment.

Fill with disgust, Hayase promptly threw away the bloody mess in her grasp, clenching her fist and smashed into the skull of a Venator in her left. Joints snapped and bones were crushed like broken glasses under the unworldly fist. The ill fated Venator lifelessly buckled with its head turned 345 degree from its original position, completely deformed and smashed.

Droplets of red splattered on Hayase's armour as she shrugged away the corpse that sticking at the end of her fist.

No sane man or animal would dare to wander near Hayase after witnessing such brutality that she displayed, unless they had a death wish. Yet, the remained 8 BETA still undauntedly ran toward Hayase.

Hydraulic motors hissed yet again as Hayase knocked her knuckle against each other, anticipating the incoming enemies.

Under the faint light of chemiluminescence, Hayase once again flashed a smile at her enemies. It wouldn't be a metaphor if anyone was to describe her as an unparalleled beauty if they were to witness Hayase's smile behind the facial protector, for it was a reality. The Hayase who was innocently smiling, carefully observing her enemies was undoubtedly very beautiful. If people were to witness this, their mind would be blew away, unable to avert their eyes away from her and then carved this memory into their heart for the rest of their lives. Her beauty was like that of a wild feline animal, innocent, mischievous, proud yet deathly. Her beauty was like that of a carnivorous flower, more exotic and colourful than any flower, more aromatic than any flower and also more deadly than any predator. Her beauty was like that of a warrior maiden of Odin, more majestic and exquisite than any mortal, yet only those who lost their lives in maddened combats could earn the right to witness and appreciate her beauty. That's the kind of beauty that shone even when was hidden behind the bulky armoured of the Type-89 Feedback Protector.

Even with a Cinderella-like-dress, originally designed not for combat but for the survival of the Eishi, to run away from the BETA, the strongest Valkyrie waltzed yet the best waltz of her life in the symphony of war. It was however by accomplishing this monumental level of feat that she was acknowledged as the strongest of the war maidens and earned the absolute trust of her kin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Completely melt into the darkness of the sewer, the trio swiftly moved around.

"Any luck?"

"Nothing's here."

"Viper, check the line again. Maybe it got served."

"No, I swear. It still functions properly"

"That's impossible. Where could they possibly be? Wait, could it…"

Three buzzing sound interrupted before Viper could finish. Her back burned and a phantom scorching pain invaded her body. Similarly, her companion stumbled as if they were shot, groaning in pain.

"The thing that you are looking for is not here"

Loud and clear, a voice that totally doesn't belong to the trio echoed in the dark cavern.

Viper reached out to the safety cock of her own rifle, preparing to defence herself. Though, her effort was entirely in vain. Her body was solidly paralysed the moment she turned back, looking for the unknown attackers. Sank into the cold muddy floor, Viper couldn't do anything but listen to the approaching footsteps.

At the edge of her vision, Viper spotted a redhead Eishi escorted by member of the Lagoon.

"This is Valkyries 01 Valkyries Mum, targets secured. I repeat, target secured"

"So this is a trap…"

Viper regrettably gritted her teeth as she endured the sharp stinging pain of an injection into her neck. Though, a malicious smirk flashed across her face as her consciousness grew faint.

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The girl couldn't help but shook her head at the image that transferred into her mind.

Did we seriously attempt to win against someone like this?

The colour of her mind was complex and like nothing that she has ever seen, not the genius Kasumi nor her prodigious childhood friend and definitely not anybody that she has met.

It wasn't the red of anger, or of doubt, of fear, of detest.

Amuse, interested and expectation was mixed all together. Such was the reading that both Sumika and Kasumi obtained from reading into the mind of the genius Kouzuki Yuuko.

She's the child of the fourth plan, the 00 unit and Kagami Sumika. She's the miracle created from Kouzuki Yuuko's research and Shirogane Takeru's endless endeavour.

The weak light emitted from the computer that Sumika was working on fluctuated at great speed. Computer was what this machine was to her, not anyone else. They could only perceive this thing as monitoring screen at best, or perhaps some strange machine. It has no controllable keyboard nor mouse nor sensory cord to connect to data feedback port. Yet, Sumika found no difficulty in using this strange computer. In fact, she found herself at ease working with this odd computer rather than the normal one that people use.

Hacking is what she's doing, except that she has no idea how she could easily do this or the theory related to this task or at least the prerequisite knowledge of hacking. Rather than instinct, the kind of gift that make Shirogane Takeru a formidable Eishi even when people crossed out his TSF base acrobatics manoeuvring, the kind of gift that she possessed would known as innate. However, it was a little different from the kind of 'innate' that everyone had. Whereas it was the same in the sense that she could not explain how she did it since she could do it natural as breathing, it wasn't her brain that accomplish that. In fact, the 15 billion semi conductor chip that ingrained into her cerebrum did that.

But what's more incredible than Sumika's hacking ability was the fact that she was doing a job that would take at least an entire team of technician specialists. Analysing data sent from the Lagoon Company and of Isumi at real time, hacking into the system of the base, faking data feedback system and constantly change it according to Yuuko's instruction, the amount of work load on Sumika's shoulders was colossal. Even so, Sumika was doing her jobs with ease, without breaking a sweat. In fact, what she did was connecting her white-buff device on her palm into the Base system, concentrating her mind and act according to Yuuko's instruction via her connecting with Kasumi.

The moment Yuuko switched off both of Sumika's limiter and that of Kasumi in the CIC room, Yuuko's plan was already in the motion despite the fact that she has never told either of them before. The White buff limiter that put a limit on both Kasumi and Sumika could not be lifted by anyone else other than Yuuko herself. The moment the decorated ribbon on Sumika's uniform and the rabbit ears like accessories on Kasumi's head were fixed, they both returned to who they actually were, the world most ridiculous espers.

Shirogane is in danger. If you want to save him, work with me.

That's all it need for both Kasumi and Sumika to work for the mad scientist, even when Yuuko didn't spell it aloud.

In split second, Sumika herself knew exactly what she should do. The amount of information that was constantly transferred to her mind by Kasumi informed her the exact course of action that she should take.

Haruka switched connection with the Valkyries to a private channel. Yuuko devised plan. Kasumi searched for spies within the compound and instruct Sumika through her telepathy.

To deceive your enemy, first you must deceive your allies.

Without wasting a second, fake feedback was created, assuming the location of the Bravo rescue Company at the most desirable location for Yuuko to capture those fiends that interfered with the rescuing task.

Then, running a simulation of all possible escape routes of the Bravo Company base on the last location before the contact with them was served. Sumika would then proceed to pick the most viable escape route that the Bravo Company has most likely taken. The rest of the rescue work will be on the hand of the Valkyries.

Did we seriously intend to fight someone like that?

Sumika couldn't help but tremble, thinking about the mad scientist Kouzuki Yuuko.

There shouldn't be anyone who could possibly hold their ground against the combination strength of Takeru, Kasumi and Sumika, there shouldn't be.

If this is a game, the present of either one of them would affect the balance of the game badly. And by combine their individual strength together, it can be considered as cheating.

Yet, the three of them were defeated by a just a normal woman, normal as in the sense that she wasn't an artificial esper like that of Kasumi or she had an insane innate ability like that Sumika or she was an absurd quantum oddity such as Takeru.

But if only, Yuuko was but a normal woman, thing would turn out differently.

After all, she was the mastermind of the fourth plan and the true brain of the entire ALTERNATIVE IV faction, Kouzuki Yuuko.

If Sumika's innate capability was insane, what's of Yuuko ability when she was the one who revived Sumika from her brain like state, giving Sumika this body and these inhuman abilities? Which one between the two of them is the more awesome one?

It's scary.

Sumika thought as a leakage of Yuuko's memories when she discovered Takeru's black-out plan crossed her mind. The process of predicting Takeru's course of action was surprisingly quick.

Shirogane knew about the BETA attack.

A person as foolhardy and soft-hearted as him would not simply stand and watch even knowing these sacrifices will be a stepping stone to save even millions of lives in the future. He hinted it himself, not allowing me to throw away my own humanity.

But, he wouldn't prevent the attack either. He understood that public approving of XM3 was incredibly important. There wouldn't be a better chance than this. As the result, there are only two course of action that he can take in this situation to reduce casualty to minimum like he wished.

The first was to control the human factor, to prevent people from contacting with the BETA force. That's explained the reason behind his deliberation in causing the blackout.

The second was to control the BETA. Though, this course of action was hardly possible. But it's still manageable.

Can it be done?

The possibility is not entirely zero. After all, more than anybody, he is the person who has the best understanding of the BETA's characteristic, the person who actually still alive after descending to the lowest level of the Original Hive.

…

Shirogane, you left to many hints…

"The XG needs to be more agile."

Back then, I thought it was strange, hearing such thing from you. Now, it's all clear. You have already planned for this during that time. After all, there is no way a TSF otaku like you could possibly make a mistake like that.

The XG has absolutely no need to be any faster and more manoeuvrable than its current state.

People that accompanied and worked with the XG would understand that fact even if their brain made of muscle.

Unlike TSF that has the need for evasion and manoeuvrability to compensate for their lack of defence, the XG have no need to dodge or evade projectiles and hostile targets coming for it. After all, it is a machine that has both mankind's strongest shield and strongest spear mounted on it.

If the XG was lacking, it would be its firepower and defensive power that was lacking, not its agility.

That should be the one and only train of thought of any person who witnessing the might of the XG, much less a person that accompanied it.

Then… Shirogane, when you told me to go and meet my sister, it must be another feint.

You feared for the well being of the 00 unit. That's one reason. The other reason is that you need to approach the XG to get something from it without letting me know it.

…

The answer is clear then. Shirogane chose the third option, controlling both the human factor and the BETA.

Then, he must already plan for this at even before our first meeting.

…

Sumika couldn't help but shuddered after stealing a glimpse at Yuuko's memory.

Without much effort, Yuuko has already predicted everything that Takeru intended to do just by deducting from the hints that she's collected thus far.

But, what made Sumika trembled like a lamb was Yuuko's coldness, not her ingenuity.

Up until this point, there has not a decision that Yuuko has made without a reason.

Like when she separated Takeru and Kasumi back then during the trial matches shortly after the match against the Infinities. Like when she demanded Sumika to practice day and night on the XG simulation instead of assisting Takeru during his trial test.

She did that not as causing a mere hindrance toward Takeru's plan. It was to bring out his full potential. A diamond shone the brightest when they were isolated from other diamond. Regarding the result of the match against the Infinities, Yuuko more or less had a different perspective about it. Takeru was more relying on his cheating method to win the match rather than his wild piloting skill and the edge of the XM3. Perhaps, Yuuko was the only one who view the result as such since even the members of A01 too, got themselves dragged into the match and too overwhelmed to realize that.

The fact that people gave Takeru more credit and attention than what he should was already a part of Yuuko's scheme.

The speech of Takeru on the opening day was that of a naïve and foolhardy kid who was completely untainted by malice, despair or power. But it was that kind of personality of his that move people. It was because he was that kind of a fool that people lent him their support. Otherwise, other parties just viewed him as a potential target to be used for their scheme, considering his straightforward foolhardy personality. That's why compare to the rest of the member of the fourth plan, he looked completely different to the eyes of public. After all, he was meant to be someone like that in Yuuko's original plan, to shoulder the hope and the light.

And by making Takeru look like a big gun of the fourth plan faction, Yuuko laid out the best bait she could possibly offer during this BETA invasion.

But it wasn't the most devilish part of Yuuko's scheme yet. It was to divert public attention away from the existence of Sumika, the bona fide 00 unit.

Unfortunately, majority of those who understood the importance of the 00 unit to Yuuko's plan was her enemies. It was a given fact that the people of the fifth plan and the top brass of the UN army knew what the actual research of Yuuko was all about, creating a supercomputer that could control the XG to collect necessary information of the BETA. Thus, by flaunting around Takeru's superb ability in controlling TSF, including those exaggerated rumour of his prodigy, Yuuko could deflect those hungry hounds into thinking that it was Takeru the organic supercomputer of 15 billion conduits instead of Sumika. And the more superhuman Takeru's piloting ability was, the more those people would assume that he was not human. There was no way that people could believe in an absurdity that a human manual control could possibly exceeding the tracking ability of a TSF's reticule. That's also including the fact that his profile was all made up, a total load of bullshit. If people were to trace back his history, the real Shirogane Takeru was listed as dead a long time ago.

Then, combining with the knowledge that the BETA prioritised machinery and computer units more than anything else through out the war, the fact that Takeru attracted their undivided attention during the sudden invasion strengthen the assumption that he was actually a supercomputer in human clothing.

Incidentally, before Yuuko could take advantage of the situation to use Takeru as her bait to fish out those spies that lurk around, Shirogane Takeru has already become an actual bait himself. Whereas she had totally never expected this turn of result, Yuuko turned a blind eyes, releasing the rest of the BETA's remnants from her secret lab in a gamble. She did account the fact that Takeru could be lost forever. But, she was willing to go as far as risking it, including her own personal unit the Valkyries to capture all the big fishes in one go.

Is it really necessary to go that far?

Yuuko only lingered on that question for a second. The answer was yes. Yes, it was necessary. It was for Yuuko's own sake and those who died for her without raising a question on the nature of their death. If she couldn't make this kind of choice, Yuuko wouldn't be here. She was completely different from Shirogane Takeru from the beginning. She will continue to make as many sacrifices as she must until the goal is reached, so that the lives that were lost would not be for nothing.

Is it really worth it, trading the boy's life over those spies?

The answer is no. If Takeru's life was only worth as those spies, it wouldn't be so difficult for Yuuko to make her final decision.

Yuuko has realized that Takeru's existence was needed for the tuning of Sumika as well as Kasumi. Moreover, he had yet to spill any noteworthy information regarding the BETA, considering the fact that he made all the way down to the bottom of the Original Hive and destroy the Primary unit.

That's why it was a gamble for Yuuko when she made her final decision. She could only trust that Takeru would somehow miraculously survive despite the odds that he went against.

So the fundamental question for Yuuko was not whether that capturing those spies at the cost of Takeru's life was really fair, it was whether this gamble of her was worth it.

Yes, it was.

Firstly, Yuuko could use Takeru's life as a thread to make Sumika and Kasumi to work for her, instead of supporting Takeru's original plan. Secondly, if considering the likeability of Takeru being killed during in this kind of incident, he should have been dead a long time ago, unable to reach to the bottom of the Original Hive, much less survived it and told Yuuko his story. And lastly, while Shirogane Takeru is a naïve and foolhardy person, but he wasn't an idiot. Therefore, if he has planned to take on such a huge risk on his shoulder, fighting against all those BETAs on his own, he must have a backup plan, just in case he failed. That's why even if the worst thing was to happen, Yuuko believed that ALTERNATIVE IV will not be failed. Even if Takeru was lost to Yuuko for real, her plan wouldn't be affected too much.

Such was the cold logic that allowed Yuuko to make ultimate decision to make the gamble, to wager her remained source of light for the success of fourth plan. The desperate rescuing effort of Takeru was but a guise, a smart camouflage for a web of deceit.

Author note: Confusing? Yes, that how this boat sailed. I'm not quite sure if I was able to fully express what I intended to. But, I guess that how it will be in the next several chapters. Well, put the blame on Yuuko that cerebral assassin of a woman, if you please. :D. I, too, found my brain fried on several occasions, trying to put myself in her shoes.

Once again, readers, thanks for reading, supporting and giving me a piece of your mind thus far.