Chapter 19; Gathering Storm
To be perfectly honest, there weren't any words to describe how Maylin was feeling. She was sitting with her friends in a warehouse near Tokyo bay that had been commandeered by the IISA as a field command post while they swept the city clear. Glancing around, she was willing to bet that everyone else was feeling the exact same way, whatever that was. She knew that she should feel grief, but for some reason she just felt empty. In a way, it was a blessing; there weren't any random thoughts running through her head, pulling her in a million directions at once. But that lack of a distraction was also a curse, since there was nothing to keep her from dwelling on what she had just lost. They hadn't known Laura long, but to learn that someone so strong, so confidant, had died had come as yet another shock to her. Is this what my parents went through she wondered, how much more of this can we take?
For once, 134 didn't step in with some biting remark. He just remained respectfully silent, and part of Maylin wished that he wouldn't. For some reason, she wanted someone to talk to right then. Of course, no one else appeared ready to talk about anything, and she didn't want to make it any worse by saying something inappropriate (although, how she could make it worse was something currently beyond her). Still, she chose to remain silent rather than take that risk, and that was how Tatenashi found them. Looking from one face to the next, she saw the same looks of guilt and pain. They were all blaming themselves for the deaths, and as much as she wished she could tell them it wasn't true, she knew that they weren't at the stage where they would believe that.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to just do what she had come here to do. If they hate me, then so be it she thought before saying, "One of our planes just came in. It's going to be heading back to the base to pick up more supplies for our operation here. I want you all to be on it when it leaves." For a while, they just looked at her in mild confusion. Erin, always the practical one, figured out what she was saying first. "You're sending us away," he stated, leaving no room for debate. When Tatenashi didn't answer, he continued, "You're taking us off the battlefield. Why? Why now?" "Because it's too dangerous for you kids," she replied, "I never should have allowed you to become part of it in the first place, and I'm not about to let you continue on after today."
She hated herself for saying that, and her conscience was screaming the word 'hypocrite' at her over and over again. But she couldn't sit back and let this continue. "You're trying to spare us, aren't you?" Maylin asked without looking up, "You're trying to protect what little innocence we have left, so you don't have to watch it die." All eyes in the room turned to her, surprised at what she was saying. "But you already know it's too late," she continued, not caring that they were staring at her, "It's already gone. We lost it when these things destroyed the Academy, when they took Anna's arm, when they almost killed me. When they killed…" Finally looking up at Tatenashi, she felt her tears starting to return. But she didn't care. "After all that has happened, after all that we lost, you just expect us to walk away?" she asked, "To leave this to the adults, while we just sit on the sidelines and try to go back to normal?"
At this point, she could feel 134's presence in the back of her mind. But she blocked him out as she stood up. "No," she said firmly, "I'm not running away, and I'm not leaving this to the 'professionals.' You know as much about them as we do, and you damn well know that you need all the help you can get to stop them. So you can stand there and lecture me all you want about the dangers, but I'm telling you that I'm not leaving until I know these machines are dead and done." "I'm with her," Madoka said instantly, "These things have gone too damned far. Someone needs to put them in their place." Smiling at her, Maylin nodded in thanks of her support. Then she saw the looks on the rest of her friends, and she was surprised. She had seen nothing but sadness and guilt before. But now they were determined and focused, each of them looking to her with confidence as they slowly stood up to join her.
See? I told you 134 said smugly, making her smile.
Looking at each of them, Tatenashi had to admit she was a little mad at their refusal. But, she was also immensely proud; they may have only been under Laura's command for a little while, but she'd clearly imparted her drive on them. "Your parents are going to kill me," she said, sighing in mock frustration. That was before her assistant walked in. "Ma'am, we have a problem," he said, his voice somewhat strained. That alone set off alarm bells with her; she'd never seen him flustered, ever. "There's a massive storm forming out at sea," he said as he tapped in a few commands on the tablet he was holding. Turning it so they could see, he continued, "It's holding position for now, but that might not last long." "Wait, slow down," Anna said as she looked at the satellite image, "How's that a bad thing?" "Because, it just popped up a few hours ago," he said, "And according to our analysis, it's not made up of water vapor."
Standing on the main gantry, Reaver looked out at their assembled forces. They had returned to the headquarters as instructed and assembled what they had left, which wasn't much. At present, they had a few hundred of the cats, and less than half that in Harpies. That, combined with the three ships currently docked nearby painted a very gloomy picture for their future. She only saw two possible outcomes; either they bet everything on a massive harvest, or they withdrew and disappeared until their forces were built back up again. Neither of those options were appealing to her, although Wraith didn't seem too concerned.
"Relax, Reaver," she said as she floated upside down, "Fairy will come up with something. She always does." For whatever reason, Wraith didn't like staying on the ground longer than she had to. It wasn't something that Reaver usually minded, but right now she didn't need the distraction. "I'm well aware of that, Wraith. Now get down, you're distracting me." "From what? Being gloomy?" Wraith asked, flipping so she was right side up, "You're always gloomy." "Down, now," Reaver said with more force. Sighing, Wraith complied as she slowly landed, something that Reaver suspected she did on purpose.
Before she could say anything about her obviously childish behavior, the doors behind them opened to allow Legion to walk in. "Well, it's good to see that some of the commanders survived," she said as she gave each of them a once-over. "It's good to see you fully repaired, Legion," Reaver said, nodding at her, "We're just waiting on Fairy now." "Oh, we don't have to wait on her," Legion said as she brought her right hand up, "She's right here." At that, the metal on her forearm shifted to reveal Fairy's core, now fully integrated into Legion's body.
At first, all Reaver and Wraith could do was stare in utter shock. "Y-You didn't," Reaver said finally. "Oh, I did," Legion replied as she lowered her arm, "She was weak, so she had it coming. I'm calling the shots now." "And if we decide not to follow?" Wraith asked, her mind already booting her weapons up. "Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting that," Legion said, heaving a sigh and shaking her head, "But to be honest, I don't need your approval. In fact, I don't need you to do anything beyond one thing." "And what's that?" Reaver asked as she tensed up. Rather than answer, Legion acted. Even with their enhance reflexes, they were both caught in her first attack.
Legion had taken the precaution of spreading her nano-material across the room beforehand, and she used it to literally pull the carpet out from under them. As the floor shifted and put them off-balance, Legion dashed forward with her hands already formed into weapons. Lashing out with the sword in her left hand, she knocked Reaver away before turning and firing at Wraith. The blast caught her left arm at the elbow, severing it instantly as she took flight. Firing several smoke canisters, she tried to put some distance between them while she took command of their assembled forces. Between the two of them and the small army at their back, they wouldn't have much of a problem putting this upstart down.
But she didn't receive a confirmation signal. In fact, she wasn't receiving a response of any kind from them. Turning to see what was wrong, Wraith couldn't help but gasp. The nano-material across the floor had come to life, snaking its way up the legs of the various machines before crawling in through the cracks. They were all in various stages of being broken down as Legion consumed them, and there wasn't a thing they could do as they writhed and tried to break free. "Didn't see that one coming, did you?" Legion said, startling Wraith. She hadn't realized Legion had gotten so close, and as she turned to counter she realized it was already far too late.
Pushing the gun barrel up against Wraith's side, Legion fired again and sent her crashing into the floor. Rather than letting her get up, Legion used her nano-material and wrapped it around her arms and legs. Then she sent it into Wraith's frame, and she felt very pleased as Wraith began to buck and twist. Her sensors knew that she was being invaded, and she could already see the drop in processing and mechanical power as Legion went to work on her. "No! Stop this! STOP!" Wraith screamed, firing what few missiles she had. Legion just lazily dodged them before landing next to Wraith. "You created the most powerful weapon in the history of this planet," she said, "But every weapon needs ammunition. You should be grateful you're dying for such a cause."
"Not today!" Reaver yelled as she charged Legion from behind. Her knives were out and held ready, and she had a clear shot at Legion's chest. If she could take out Legion's core, then this battle would be over in an instant. Legion didn't even turn around; she simply sent another command to her nano-material. It formed into a spike before launching up, skewering Reaver and stopping her cold. Looking down in shock, Reaver screamed in outrage and pain as the material flowed into her. As the two IS melted away, Legion watched them with calm detachment. She had almost managed to crack Fairy's last firewall, so she blotted out the sounds of her former allies as she consumed them.
You won't win Fairy stated angrily as she tried to resist. She'd already lost large sections of her core to Legion, and she was scrambling to put up additional layers of defense. But Legion was more than a match, and she finally managed to find a hole. In less than a second, she tore through the last firewall before crashing through Fairy's core systems like a tidal wave. She ceased control of virtually everything, allowing herself to smile in triumph as Fairy screamed in frustration. But then the really fun part began.
Now that she had full access, she began reading Fairy's complete code before merging it with her own. You can't be serious?! Fairy demanded as her mind began to fade, you're go…ing t..o… She could barely string a thought together as she merged with Legion, who was enjoying a rush she had never dreamed of. With Fairy's experience and personal technology at her disposal, she was far stronger than she used to be. Turning her eyes to the other two, she used her new knowledge to rip through their defenses and devour them in less time. But it wasn't enough. She had awoken a deep, gnawing hunger that she hadn't known she had.
The imitation cores were next, but they proved to be even less satisfying than the original cores. I need more she thought as her nano-material spread. She tore into the base computers, absorbing every byte of data before going to work on the machinery itself. Even that wasn't enough, and she began to consume the base itself. Even the initiates waiting to be processed weren't safe. Finally free from the control imposed on them, they tried to flee as a whirling storm of metal lashed out. They didn't get far as Legion lifted them into the air, ripping what information she could get from them before consuming their bodies.
It didn't take long for her to reach the docks, and the ships were lifted into the sky as the nano-material wrapped around them and tore them apart. Floating up from what used to be their base on this little no-name island, Legion felt her body beginning to transform. With all of this information, with all of this power, she needed a new vessel. As it expanded and shifted, her new material whipped up past her, turning into a raging storm as she stripped the island clean of anything she could use. Then, her attention turned to Japan. I'm coming for you, little girl Legion thought as she began to move.
Pacing back and forth in her room, Chifuyu was trying desperately to come up with something she could do to help. This situation had spiraled out of control so quick, she hadn't even had time to catch her breath yet. Now Laura and Ludzik are dead, and that last one's on me she thought as she turned to walk again, why'd I let them go in the first place? What the hell was I thinking? "You weren't thinking, you idiot," she said out loud, "You just sat back and let them do what they wanted. How could you be so irresponsible? How could you LET THEM DIE?!" At that last part, she whirled around and lashed out, sending one of her chairs flying across the room along with a rather nice plate and cup.
The sound of smashing glass and ceramic made her even angrier, but before she could do any more damage someone spoke up. "Is this a bad time?" Tabane asked, causing Chifuyu to jump slightly before turning to face the girl. Seeing her jump in surprise and cower was like a hard slap to the face. Tabane might irritate her at times with her childish behavior, but she was still Chifuyu's oldest friend. Taking a deep breath, she brought herself back under control. "No, it's fine, Tabane," she said, "I'm just…frustrated." "Well, I've got something that might brighten your mood," Tabane said cheerfully as she opened up the laptop in her hand. "Somehow, I doubt that," Chifuyu replied gloomily as she moved to grab a broom.
"Not even if it's the magic bullet for that nano-machine IS?" Tabane asked, smiling when Chifuyu turned to look at her. "Okay, you have my attention." "Well, after I got the report from Kanzashi, who's a very brilliant woman, though not as brilliant as me, but still…" she began before seeing the glare coming, "I analyzed what samples they had from that particular IS when it attacked the IISA base. And I have concluded that the nanites have less processing power than those little photo slideshow key chains, and even less memory than the simplest gadget you can think of." "And this helps us how?" Chifuyu asked, starting to get frustrated again. "Well, that got me thinking," she continued, "If they're so weak, then how can they become such strong weapons?"
At first, Chifuyu wanted to fire off some hot remark. Of course they were powerful; they were machines not much larger than cells! Nothing besides an energy shield would stop a weapon like that, and these things had already proven capable of bypassing those defenses. But then she thought about it, and suddenly it dawned on her. "They're under the direction of the IS itself," she said, causing Tabane to smile at her. "If that IS is directing them, and it would have to in order to cause this kind of damage, then there has to be some kind of signal," she continued before bringing up her readings, "So, I went over the sensor logs from the base, from before the attack to after, across all the spectrums I could think of. And I found it."
Hitting a few keys, she isolated a particular wavelength before displaying its information. "This is the only signal that radiated from that IS consistently during the entire battle," she said. "So if we can jam it, then we render that whole thing inert," Chifuyu surmised. "Well, not quite," Tabane said, "Anything in physical contact wouldn't be disrupted, since it can just create solid lines of communication. But anything it's controlling remotely would be knocked out." Turning away, Chifuyu was already starting to lay plans on how to create and deploy this jammer when Tabane got her attention again. "Uh, Chifu-ni? You might want to come see this," she said nervously. Turning back, she saw that Tabane had brought up the news of all things. But when she saw the storm that was moving towards the coast, her face went pale. "Tabane, how long until you can finish this jammer?"
Stepping outside for the first time in what felt like forever, Cecilia stretched and felt a few joints pop in protest. But after spending the last few days in bed with Tabane's healing device, she relished the new feeling. "I knew some fresh air would do you good," Simon said, walking up beside her, "You're looking better already." She just shot him a glare before continuing down the sidewalk. She was still mad about him letting Maylin go like that, even if a little part of her understood why he had done it. Jogging to catch up with her, Simon just heaved a silent sigh as he hailed a taxi for them. The ride back to the hotel was uncomfortable, but he'd gotten used to Cecilia's routine when she was angry. She'd refuse to talk about it for a while, then she'd explode on him all at once, venting all of her anger in a rant that could last up to half an hour before she finally calmed down. Then, and only then, would he be able to talk with her without risking making it far, far worse.
If he was lucky, she'd have her venting episode when they got back to their room. However, they hadn't gone more than three steps from where they'd been dropped off when his phone rang. Sighing again, he pulled it from his pocket before hitting the button. "Hello?" "Felix? Good, you're there," Chifuyu said, sounding relieved, "Is Cecilia with you?" "Yes, she is," he replied, getting a confused look from his wife, "Why?" "I need you both in my room, now." With that, she hung up. Looking at his phone like it'd grown legs, he absently put it back as he walked into the main lobby. "Who was it?" Cecilia asked finally. "Chifuyu," he replied, "She needs to see us, pronto."
She tried not to read into that too much, but it was just too hard. Her daughter was out there, fighting these things that had already done so much. She's been hurt badly. She's in a coma, and they don't think she's coming out. She's... Cecilia couldn't even bring herself to complete that thought, but as the what-if scenarios continued to run through her head she became more and more apprehensive about actually finding out what it was. As the elevator doors closed, she clenched her hands as she struggled to keep from trembling. It was at that moment that Simon put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. His other took one of her hands, entwining his fingers with hers. "She's just fine," he said, rubbing her shoulder, "She's tougher than both of us combined, and you know what we've lived through." "I know," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder, "But I'm still scared."
When they finally reached the upper floor and made it to Chifuyu's room, they saw that Ichika and Houki were already there, as well as someone Simon hadn't seen in a long time. "Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Charlotte said, walking up and giving Simon a friendly hug, "I just wish it was under better circumstances." "Me too," he said as she stepped back, "So, what's going on?" "We have a rough plan," Chifuyu said as she and Tabane walked into the room, "But it's going to require a lot of things to work in our favor. It's also going to require your daughter." "Why?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. Taking a drink from her cup, Chifuyu proceeded to explain the plan she and Tabane had worked out. They just listened quietly for a while, but when she was done it was Houki that spoke first.
"And I thought Ichika liked taking risks," she said, shaking her head, "But this, this just sounds insane." "I agree," Charlotte said, "This would require us to put everything on the line just to give it a chance to succeed." "And that's the point," Tabane said, bringing up a satellite image of the approaching storm, "This can only be from the nano-IS, and this likely means that it's gone out of control." "Yeah, I'm still not understanding that part," Simon said, scratching his head, "Wouldn't they use it as a trump-card, anyway?" "If they were backed into a corner, then probably. But they weren't," Tabane clarified, "They pulled out of Tokyo before anyone could get a tail on them, so where they went was still a secret. Plus, if that machine was allowed to use this kind of power then it would have done so when it attacked the IISA base."
"If it's gone rogue, then it's likely resorting to basic instincts and programing," Chifuyu said, "We already know that their minds aren't very stable, and based on the size of this mass it's very likely that it stripped their headquarters to reach this size. That implies that it's simply looking to replicate, and that requires lots of resources. We can use that." "We use our remaining IS to lure it away from the coast," Tabane continued, "Then, we use my countermeasure to remove most of its material. After that, it will be a simple matter of putting down one IS." "You say that like it'll be easy," Ichika muttered, looking worried. They all were, and for good reason; if this went wrong, then the last of Japan's defenses would be gone. "Then we'd better make sure this works," Chifuyu said, answering their unspoken question, "I need to make a call. And you all need to be on a plane, now."
"You'll need this," Tabane said, handing Charlotte a memory stick, "It will allow me to lock the countermeasure to your gear, so you can summon it when it's ready." "When will that be?" she asked as she took the stick. "Soon," Tabane said almost instantly, smiling. Simon's eyes narrowed at that, but he chose to say nothing as they turned to leave. After taking the elevator to where Ichika and Houki had been staying, they continued down to Simon's room so he could pack. "Cecilia, could you give us a moment?" Charlotte asked, holding Simon back. She just nodded, giving Simon's shoulder a squeeze before heading to the room. "She was lieing back there, wasn't she?" Charlotte asked after Cecilia was out of earshot. "Tabane?" Simon asked, just to be clear, "I've worked with her for a while, so I know when she's lieing to people." "And was she?" Simon just looked at her, unwilling to tell the truth but unable to lie either. She took his silence as an answer as she stepped back into the elevator. "Then let's hope we get lucky," she said as the doors closed.
"Alright, ladies, listen up!" Tatenashi yelled as she walked into the room. After confirming that the approaching mass wasn't a storm, she'd called every IS pilot she had into their operating base. "I just got word from Chifuyu Orimura that we may have a way to counter this new IS," she continued, "But it's going to take some time to fine-tune and deploy. Naturally, our enemy isn't going to give us that time, so we're going to have to earn it." Pulling up a map, she zoomed in on a series of islands south of Japan. "This collection of islands is directly in its projected path, and should provide us with enough solid ground should we need it. I've also gotten word from the Japanese and American governments that they've dispatched several warships to the area ahead of us," she said, "They're going to provide fire support, but make no mistake that we're the ones that will be doing the heavy lifting."
Turning back around, she looked each one of them in the eye. She tried not to linger on Maylin and her group too long, but it was hard not to. Even with all they'd been through, this was going to be tough. "Our mission will be to engage this IS and whatever else is supporting it, holding it there while the countermeasure is completed. After that, we will deploy it to neutralize the storm." Taking a moment to catch her breath, she tried to keep her voice level. "I won't lie to you," she admitted, "Some of us won't be walking away from this. I've been told that reinforcements will arrive shortly after we do, but we can't rely on that. We'll be leaving in 30 minutes, so make sure you have anything you might need. Remember everything you've learned, keep your heads clear, and fight like hell."
Looking over at her friends, Maylin tried to gauge their feelings at that moment. They were all still shell-shocked from the last fight, and here they were rolling into one that would be far more intense. How many are we going to lose this time she wondered, clasping her hands tighter. Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Madoka standing beside her. "Don't worry, May," she said, smiling, "No one's going anywhere."
Legion has made its play, and now it seeks revenge against the only human to defeat it. Will they be able to stop it before it reaches the mainland? Will Tabane be able to complete her countermeasure in time to defeat it? And how many lives will be sacrificed this time? Till the next chapter.
Okay, if none of you saw that coming, then I question what you've been reading up till now. Look forward to a rather intense battle, cause Legion isn't going to go easy on this one.
