Chapter 9; Reckless Anger
Not knowing what else to do, Simon took Houki with him to confront Chifuyu while he left Ichika behind with Maylin. He knew that it wasn't a good idea to talk with Maylin right now. She would want an explanation, and he wasn't yet in the right frame of mind to do that. Instead, he held onto his anger as he and Houki took an elevator up to the top floor. All the while she was shooting him looks that were part accusing and part pity. She clearly resented being kept in the dark, but she also couldn't imagine what it had done to Simon for all of these years. He had always been straight-forward and honest, and yet he had been told to keep this under wraps for so long.
When they finally arrived at the top floor, they went straight for Chifuyu's room. Rather than knock and wait for a reply, Simon brought his right arm up and said, "13, bypass the lock." "Wow, someone's in a foul mood today," the AI noted as it projected itself just above his wrist. "I am not in the mood for games, 13," he said, glaring at the hologram and ignoring Houki's look of surprise. Of course, he hadn't told her about communing with his core, but that would have to wait for another time. With a sigh, 13 waved her hand at the door, causing it to click and open slightly. Without breaking his stride, Simon pushed the door open and walked straight into the room. Apparently he had interrupted Chifuyu as she was grilling Tabane over this attack.
"I hope this is important, Felix," she said, turning to face them. "You and I are going to have a nice, long talk," he said, meeting her gaze and trying really hard not to flinch, "And you, Tabane, are going to explain to your sister exactly what it was we just got our assess kicked by." "I don't think that now's the bes-" Chifuyu began. "Your niece just went into a coma," he told her, "My wife is in the same boat, and one of my daughter's friends is in critical condition. Also, she just so happened to overhear my short explanation to Houki and Ichika, so I think the cat is long out of the bag." Chifuyu just glared at him as she tried to make a decision, and Simon just returned the glare with one of his own, relying heavily on his anger. And he nearly broke before she did.
Sighing, she turned to Tabane and said, "Go ahead. We'll talk later." The usually cheery woman nodded before leading her sister off to one side while looking a little apprehensive. In fact, Simon almost thought she looked scared. She had spent the last few years repairing her relationship with her little sister, and now she might be undoing all of that effort. Shaking his head to clear it, he followed Chifuyu into a side room. When she closed the door, she rounded on him with a cold fury. "Why the hell did you tell them?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "I told them because keeping quiet wasn't going to do me any good," he responded, "I'm not prepared to die just yet, and I can tell you that Houki would have seriously tried if I had refused." "So it was cowardice?" "It was guilt. I'm tired of lying to the people I care about," he said, relaxing his stance, "Frankly, I'm tired of keeping this a secret in general, and I'm sure that you are, too."
She wanted to dispute that point, but he was right, as frustrating as that was. "You realize what this could do if we told people?" she asked as she walked across the room and sat down, "What it would mean for the Academy?" "What Academy?" he asked, almost laughing, "It's a smoking crater. What more could possibly be done to us at this point?" "Questioning, imprisonment, the complete dissolution of the Academy overall," she listed off on her fingers. Listening to this, Simon finally grasped what she had grappled with over the years. This could spell the end of the IS Academy for good, not to mention what would happen to them individually. Thinking about it, Simon was sure he would face a recall to the US and a lengthy tribunal. At best, it would probably result in him being stripped of his title and IS.
As the full scale of the consequences dawned on him, he plopped down opposite Chifuyu. Looking at his boss, he saw a look of defeat that he was sure he shared. "That bitch is crafty, I'll give her that," he said, sighing. Chifuyu just nodded in agreement, knowing full well who he meant. She had been trying to get a handle on things the moment she had landed. It was exactly like the time these things had first appeared; she felt out of her depth and helpless, which was infuriating. They remained silent for a while as they each mulled this over. Finally, Chifuyu spoke up. "I'm sorry, Simon, but we can't," she said, "I know that's what their new leader is counting on, but we can't let this get out. We'd lose too much." As much as he hated to admit it, he agreed. They had made too many gains, sacrificed too much to risk it all now.
"Then we'd better make this worth it, damnit," he growled, getting up and moving to the door. They would need to talk with Houki, not to mention Ichika and Maylin. He was definitely not looking forward to that. But as they came back into the main room they noticed that Houki and Tabane were watching something on the news. It was the human IS again. They were attacking a city to the south, and the Japanese Self Defense Force wasn't fairing too well in trying to fend them off. Simon also noticed something disturbing; there were IS aiding in the defense, familiar IS. "Chifu-ni, we may have a problem," Tabane said as she turned around. "Don't tell me," she said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "They didn't…." Simon said as he looked at Houki. She just nodded, knowing full well what he felt right now.
After her farther had left, Maylin went to lie back down. While Ichika stayed with her for a while, he left after she told him that she would rather be alone right now. While he would have stayed to keep an eye on her, he was still in too much turmoil himself to think clearly. After a few minutes, Maylin heard a soft knock at the door. Thinking that it was her father returning, she braced herself as she opened the door. However, it was Joshka and Erin that stood on the other side, and that caught her by surprise. Joshka had changed clothes and wasn't covered in blood anymore, while Erin looked like he had been in the middle of a nap.
"Everything alright, May?" Erin asked, looking concerned, "We heard shouting and thought…" She just shook her head as she invited them in before returning to the bed. While Joshka remained standing, Erin sat down on the other bed as they both looked at her in concern. They had already suffered too much to bear the thought of more pain. "What happened?" Joshka asked. For a moment, she entertained the idea of lying. She had learned something that she never should have, and she knew that it wasn't her secret to share. But she couldn't bring herself to lie to her friends, not now. And so, against her better judgement, she told them what she had learned and watched their reactions. Erin looked like he had just shut down, which Maylin knew was what he did when he was thinking through a very complex problem. Joshka, meanwhile, looked absolutely appalled that someone would do something like this. Not just that someone would create such beings, but that Simon had kept it from his own daughter.
Maylin, meanwhile, looked like she felt incredibly guilty and was nearly on the verge of tears again. In a sudden burst of inspiration, Erin got up and sat down next to her before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. While he felt a little awkward about this kind of contact, he had learned enough from his sister to realize when someone needed comfort. While Anna had always been there to do it for him, she wasn't now, so it fell to him. Maylin smiled at him sadly and nodded in thanks. "So, what now?" Joshka asked, crossing his arms, "I can't see them keeping this a secret much longer. Not after what just happened."
Before either of them could answer, they heard someone clear their throat at the open door. Turning, they saw Ludzik leaning in the doorway and looking mildly annoyed. "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know," Joshka told him. "Not my fault you people are loud," Ludzik replied, "Though you might want to be careful who you tell that secret to, little girl. That's dangerous knowledge." "Did you just come here to give us a hard time?" Erin asked, standing up, "Cause if so, then…" "I just came to let you know that those things are only a few miles south of here," he said, "Thought you might enjoy some pay-back after earlier. I know that I'm going."
"What can you expect to do against them?" Maylin asked, "Not even my mother stood much chance against them, and she has a-" "I know what kind of IS she has," he replied, cutting her off, "But she's not me." Turning around, he walked back towards the elevator. He had already planned out what he would do when he got there. In short; roll in, smash them to pieces, and then leave the regulars to mop-up. "You're not going alone," Joshka said as he caught up with him. "You think I need your help?" Ludzik challenged without breaking his stride. "Nope, but I'm coming with you anyways," Joshka replied. He also had some frustration that he needed to work out of his system.
Back in the room, Maylin and Erin looked at each other in an unspoken question. Within moments they made their decision and hurried to catch up with the others at the elevator. "Are you sure about this?" Joshka asked, "If your dad finds out…" "I don't care," Maylin said abruptly. Her sorrow was gone, at least for now. Now she wanted to lash out, to strike back and hurt those that had done so much damage. It's time that they suffered she thought as they reached the ground floor. As they were leaving the building, however, someone caught them. "Just where do you think you're going, señor?" they heard from behind them. Turning around, Maylin saw that it was the girl Ludzik had teamed with during the tournament. Karen, if she remembered her name correctly.
"If I remember right, we're supposed to remain here," she continued, walking up to them. "We have some business in the next city over," Ludzik replied as he turned to leave. "And what's to stop me from ratting you out?" she asked smugly, stopping him cold, "So, what are you four doing?" Knowing that someone had to answer her, Maylin stepped forward. "We're going to help stop these things from killing anyone else," she said, trying to project confidence. Karen just looked at them for a moment before sighing. "Then we're of the same mind," she said, walking over and putting a hand on Maylin's shoulder, "Think you have room for one more?" Taken back, Maylin didn't know what to say for a moment. "Welcome aboard, then," Erin said as he turned to leave, "Now, we should probably get going before someone notices we're not in our rooms."
They quickly made their way to the outskirts of the city before summoning their IS. Thankfully, they hadn't taken any serious damage previously. It also helped that because of Japan's geography in this particular region the few cities were relatively close together, and as such they made it to the battle after only 15 minutes. When they arrived, they all took a moment to take in the scale of the damage being wrought. Destroying the Academy was one thing, but the city before them was burning in most places. There was even evidence that several buildings had collapsed. While the SDF was fighting valiantly to hold them off, because they used IS technology it was a one-sided ass kicking.
Gritting his teeth, Ludzik broke from the formation first and charged at the first group of Harpies he could find. Bringing his sword back, he poured energy into it as the blade split down the middle. The two halves separated, leaving an two inch-wide gap down the center. It was quickly filled by an energy blade that extended well past the blade's length, quickly growing to over two meters in length. Swinging this new sword, he took three of the Harpies down in one strike, causing the others to scatter before returning fire. "Ludzik, how could you!" Maylin said as she moved up next to him while firing at the Harpies to keep them moving. "How could I not?" he retorted as he powered down the energy blade, "They're the enemy, Maylin. And they will kill us. Grow up." And with that he moved to engage another group of them, leaving Maylin to her own internal struggle. He didn't have time to coddle a child, after all.
Looking around, she noticed that she was the only one having this moral dilemma. Erin was quickly sniping several of the cat-looking creatures on the ground. He had probably decided that it was the merciful thing to kill them quickly. Meanwhile, Joshka and Karen were working together to disperse a rather large group of Harpies. She would fire a volley of missiles to scatter them while he would move in and open fire with his rifle. Despite looking like a simple lever-action, it had clearly been modified with some serious ammo since it was blowing them apart on impact. But, they're people Maylin thought, squeezing her eyes shut; we can't kill people, that's wrong.
She was broken from this turmoil when a wire wrapped around her ankle and dragged her down onto the roof of a nearby skyscraper. Landing hard, she was stunned for a moment before she remembered to breathe again. As she picked herself up, she saw that it was a different IS then the three she had seen previously, but still clearly an enemy. "Well, well, what have we here?" it said, walking forward, "Did someone run away from home?" Aiming at it, Maylin almost pulled the trigger out of reflex before she remembered what it was. This caused her to freeze up as it continued to advance. "What's wrong?" it asked, tilting its head, "Let's have some fun!" With that, it leaped into the air before landing a kick, sending Maylin through the roof and into the building. At this point, her reflexes took over and she was up and moving, although she still couldn't bring herself to shoot.
Ducking under another of the wires, she continued to evade the machine as it chased her through the building. Spotting a window on the far wall, Maylin made a dash for it, trying to get back outside. She was stopped when a pair of wires wrapped around her, one around her left arm and another around her stomach. With a sharp yank, she was pulled back towards the IS before receiving a vicious kick in the back, sending her through a wall and into what looked like a storeroom. Turning around, she fired blindly through the hole with her rifle on full auto, trying to keep the IS away from her. It was at this point that she noticed a blinking icon in the lower right of her HUD. Activating it, she was startled when a chibi version of Tabane filled the entire screen, complete with real rabbit ears, saying, "Yay! Thank you for activating me, May-chan!"
"Wh-what is this?" she asked right before the IS she had been fighting came through the wall behind her. Just barely ducking under its swipe, she dashed back through the hole as the image continued to talk. "This is the Command Link, a system designed by the fabulous Tabane Shinonono herself!" it continued, "With it, any IS within your broadcast range will be available for a direct link, allowing for the instant transfer of data and energy. Isn't that wonderful?" It took Maylin almost a full minute to fully understand what it was saying, but when she did an idea came to her. "What about hostile IS?" she asked. "Sorry, but the link can't be forced," it replied, a small tear running down its cheek, "That would be rude, after all. Would you like to activate it?" So, I can't use it to talk them down she thought, huffing in annoyance.
Before she could dwell on it further, the wire IS surprised her again, tackling her and sending them both through a window and back outside. Kicking it to get clear, Maylin shouted, "Fine, whatever! Activate it!" With a "yay!" the program executed, and Maylin felt her IS grow slightly warmer. Across the city, Erin noticed a request for a direct link from Maylin. He was instantly curious, since he had never heard of such a thing. Dodging a near miss from a Harpy, he approved the request and noticed that his weapon and shield energy spiked immediately. Doing some quick math in his head, he realized that he had just gained access to Maylin's power reserves. "Maylin, what did you just do?" he asked, confused. "I don't know," she replied, sounding like she was in trouble, "It's something from Tabane, but my shields just doubled."
Suddenly seeing the opportunity before them, he opened a link to the others. "Everyone, accept that link request," he said, "We can share our power." "Why would I ever do that?" Ludzik asked, sounding offended, "I don't need your help!" "Wouldn't you like to be able to hit harder?" Karen asked, knowing full well how to manipulate the boy. He was so easy to see through, after all. After a moment of consideration, he accepted the link and noticed his energy go through the roof. The others followed suit, and soon they were dishing out more punishment then they had ever thought possible.
Back at Maylin's fight, she noticed her IS was running some kind of update, although the code was flashing across the screen too fast to track. Also, the IS she was fighting wasn't giving her any time to focus on the screen. It continued to try to ensnare her, all the while humming to itself as if it enjoyed this. Gritting her teeth, Maylin continued to fire as they weaved across the sky. However, she still couldn't bring herself to try and kill it. It's still a person she kept telling herself, I just…can't.
Stop hesitating, woman, and shoot it.
Maylin froze for a second there. Who was that? She had no idea where that voice came from. It was as if someone was talking directly into her head, and it was confusing as hell. Dodging another of the wires, Maylin deployed her bits. Rather than separate them she kept them joined and alternated their fire. This forced the IS to move behind one of the buildings for cover, giving Maylin time to figure out what the hell was going on. Closing her external communications, she said, "Who are you?"
I am not your main concern right now. It's coming again, from behind and to the left.
Whirling around, Maylin just barely dodged a swipe at her head. Swinging her rifle around, she forced it back right before shooting it in its stomach. While her beam didn't penetrate the armor, she flinched as she realized she had almost killed someone out of reflex. Using her bits to gain some distance, Maylin fell back as the IS fired several wires at her. She dodged them easily, but she knew that they both weren't taking this fight seriously. It was still just toying with her, while Maylin was still trying to figure out where this voice was coming from. Glancing at one of the screens to the side, she saw that whatever update to her IS had finished running. Right when it hit 100%, she heard it speak again.
Fine, if you won't fight back, I will.
Suddenly, Maylin felt everything grow cold. She couldn't feel her limbs anymore, and her vision was quickly blurring. Shaking her head, she tried to stay awake. But it was no use as she continued to slip into oblivion. The last thing she saw was the IS charging her again. Then, all she knew was darkness.
Erin noticed a sudden change rather quickly. He had been monitoring everyone's vitals through the link Maylin had established, and he noticed that hers had spiked briefly before returning to a calm state, which made absolutely no sense. In combat, you have almost a constant stream of adrenaline in your system. However, from what he saw it looked like she was completely calm, possibly asleep. Taking a quick shot at the Harpy he had been fighting, Erin blew its chest out before turning around and rocketing back to where he had seen her last. When he got there, he saw Maylin battling with one of the enemy IS, and that she was using her sword to do it. She was holding her rifle by the barrel in her left hand as she continued to push the IS back, her strikes almost too fast to follow.
It was impressive, but also incredibly disturbing. Maylin had never shown much promise with swordplay, and now she was moving faster than most people Erin knew. As he got closer, he also noticed that her face was almost completely blank. Almost, because her eyes had a look like she was paying attention to every little detail. "Maylin, what happened?" he asked as he fired at the other IS, giving her some more space to maneuver. Instead of responding, she pressed her advantage and cut the tip off one of its wings. With a growl, the IS deployed all of its wires at once, forcing the two of them back. It then deployed several smoke grenades from hidden compartments before disappearing in the ensuing cloud.
Rather than pursue it, Maylin powered her sword down and returned it to its dock. Without a word, she brought her rifle back into her right hand and deployed her bits. She proceeded to blow away every enemy machine she could spot, and she was doing it with no hesitation. "Maylin, what's wrong? What the hell happened to you?" Erin asked, moving up to face her. She glanced at him and for a second he thought she was about to shoot him. Then she seemed to remember who he was and just moved around him before continuing with her attack. While this was all confusing as hell, he had to admit that she was getting very good results. Instead of pressing the issue, Erin moved up alongside her. Between the two of them, and their friends elsewhere in the city, they managed to break the enemy's back. Almost an hour after their arrival, the remaining machines retreated, seeming to just vanish into the rubble.
They all landed on the roof of one taller buildings and Erin breathed easier when he saw that everyone else was relatively unharmed. They all had various cuts and bruises, but it wasn't much worse than a tough day of training or a particularly difficult match. However, not five seconds after they landed, Maylin suddenly fainted and collapsed, her IS destructing in a flash of light and taking the link with it. Joshka was the first to her side and he quickly propped her up. "Maylin? Maylin, can you hear me?" he asked, checking her neck for a pulse, "Answer me, are you okay? Hey!" She just remained unresponsive, although he could tell that she was still alive. She also wasn't seriously hurt, although there could be internal trauma.
"We need to get her back," Erin said, putting a hand on Joshka's shoulder. Privately, they both shuddered at the prospect. Her father knew them both, and he would definitely not be pleased with them returning like this. But they couldn't just stay here. Wrapping one arm under her legs, Joshka gently lifted her up as they all took flight. A quick glance showed that everyone seemed concerned, even the usually indifferent Ludzik was glancing at her every now and then.
The flight back was strangely quiet, and it gave Erin time to dwell on what he had just done. He had just killed people. Granted, it could be argued that they weren't human anymore, but the fact that they were created from humans still left him feeling slightly ill. What will happen to us now he wondered as the hotel they were staying at came into sight. He saw that there were several people waiting for them on the roof top, and he recognized two of them as his teachers; Simon and Houki. When they landed, they all tried hard not to look guilty at their blatant disregard of Chifuyu's instructions. Simon was almost about to explode on them, but then he saw Maylin unconscious in Joshka's arms and he quickly ran over to her as he landed. Without a word, Joshka handed her over to her father before destructing his IS.
"What happened?" Simon asked as he kneeled down, trying to wake Maylin up. "I don't know," Joshka replied. "She activated some new system," Erin told him, walking up to them, "She linked our IS together, then she seemed to change." "Change how?" "She fought with her sword, better than I've ever seen," he said, "She also never said a word to anyone. She only fainted when the battle was over." Realizing what system he meant, Simon looked over at Tabane. Without a word, she came over and quickly unclipped Maylin's stand-by from her neck. "I'll get to the bottom of this, Si-kun," she said, "I promise." Simon just nodded as he looked back at his daughter. I don't know if you're there or not, but please, God, not her too he thought as he brushed some hair out of her eyes. Not her, too.
The human IS continue their attack against humanity, making it clear that they intend for full-scale war. What is the true nature of the Command Link? What was the voice that spoke to Maylin? And will she recover from what has happened? Till the next chapter.
Having a life sucks! IT SUCKS, I TELL YOU! Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Between my finals, driving back home for the break, getting my work schedule for the break, and a few other, personal, things I haven't been left with much time to write. Thankfully, this shouldn't become the norm, and I hope to have another chapter out MUCH sooner than this one.
