Disclaimer: I make no claims to the series, ideas, or characters of Full Metal Panic.
Author's Notes: Yep, another long delay it seems; however, some things can't be helped I suppose. Hopefully the quality of this chapter will make up for the amount of time it took.
I want to thank everyone who has been reading this story up until now, and I definitely appreciate everyone who's reviewed. Not only are the reviews encouraging, but by having others point out my pros and cons, I honestly believe it makes me a little bit of a better writer.
Huge special thanks goes out to my veteran beta, MJP, and my new-recruit, Araine. Both of these great authors have great stories as well. I'm truly fortunate to have two of the best. A thousand words of thanks to each of you; your help is greatly appreciated.
Anyway, without any further due, I humbly present to you…
Defining Normalcy
Chapter 20: Corresponding to Parallel
By Adam Lakewood
Teletha Testarossa was not pleased.
Every other face in the room could tell. It was definitely true, and Lieutenant Brook's monotone explanation of the 'situation at hand' was not helping her mood in the slightest. Sure, Intelligence screwed up a little bit of information every once in a while, but now it was starting to become a common occurrence, and Lieutenant Brook was simply trying to make excuses for their being inept.
The mechanical voice of Lieutenant Brook droned on with only half interest in what he was explaining. Everyone else in the room listened in with what was, at best, divided attention.
Tessa was actually keeping a cool head while Lieutenant Brook attempted to smooth things over with Intelligence. However, he did so with such cool of an attitude himself that everyone noticed. He didn't really have to try hard, nor did he have to be sincere. He and everyone else in the room knew that there was really nothing they could do about it even if it was Intelligence's mistake for providing faulty information. That was fine… until he dropped 'the line'. The line was the same that was used whenever someone in the military really couldn't explain or justify their mistakes. It was also the one that really pressed all of the wrong buttons in people, especially Teletha Testarossa.
"We are a military organization; casualties are to be expected."
That was all it took.
Tessa rose from her seat quickly and slammed her hand against the large table, causing everyone to turn their gaze toward her, though none were really surprised by her actions. After all, she had been blatantly lied to.
"So, you're saying that there is absolutely nothing we can do to help them? Is that it, Lieutenant Brook?" The tone and octave of her voice suggested that her words held much more malice than they actually said.
Lieutenant Brook shrugged in an almost nonchalant manner.
"Yes, it is."
"No!" she said, slamming her hand against the table once more. "There has to be something that can be done to help them!"
Though he didn't speak it, the look in Lieutenant Brook's eyes said that he was clearly annoyed.
"I'm glad, Captain. If you say it is so, then certainly it must be. I'm certain someone of your intellect, wisdom, and experience has probably put together several plans." The sarcasm was evident in his tone.
"I've entrusted my people to Captain Mathas; I really had no choice in the matter to begin with. If your captain believes that he can take responsibility in using my people like puppets, then the responsibility of getting them back safely should also be his."
"We are doing everything we can to get them back. We believe they are in no immediate harm for the time being."
"Have you forgotten what happened to Lieutenant Sagara? Do you call that 'no immediate harm?'"
"We call that 'unfortunate', Captain Testarossa. We all mourn the loss of such an excellent soldier, but casualties are to be-"
"Don't give me that!" she interrupted.
Lieutenant Brook's response was just as abrupt. "I'm sorry, Captain! But, I'm not here to tell you what you want to hear; I'm here to tell you the facts."
"I'm not entirely sure anymore exactly how reliable the 'facts' are from your branch. Are you able to tell us who the American group was that were trying to capture Private Lain and Ms. Chidori?"
"No, we are cannot tag them to a specific-"
"Your source: what does he say the numbers of the Old Republic soldiers are looking like? Do we have an exact number? I've heard nothing of a million-troop army suddenly rising in China."
"It seems as if the statistics on the numbers were miscalculated; their numbers seem as if they are no more than twenty-five thousand at most."
"What about the information that Mr. Kalinin reported to your division concerning the locators in Alaska?"
"We… none were found," said Lieutenant Brook, not entirely sure what to say when being pressured.
Tessa kept a stern gaze on Lieutenant Brook during her questioning. The questions kept coming in a formalized fashion from off the top of her head. During the questioning, everyone else in the room was starting to wonder exactly how deserving Intelligence really was of its name. The aforementioned certainly didn't seem to be shining through as brightly as it should have.
"Greenland?"
"… None," he finally said after a pause.
"So, is the Burning Cold really a threat?"
"Sources tend to point out to us that the entire threat from the Burning Cold was probably nothing more than information that was put out to throw us off."
"So, the Burning Cold was never a threat?"
"No… it was not."
"I see. Knowing this, then Intelligence should definitely have been able to find out exactly what sorts of technology the Old Republic of China is capable of producing or has produced already, correct? Actually, it would be more accurate to assume that by now, your division has probably found the exact location of their OP base."
"No, not entirely, Captain. The amount of time we have been given has been-"
"Three weeks!" Tessa nearly shouted. "It has been nearly three weeks since the incident in Colorado, and you still have not found out anything! Lain, Chidori, and let's not forget the other two whispered: Cafferty and Oberlin. They're being held captive by the Old Republic as we speak. The longer we delay, the less their chance of survival decreases. I don't need to tell you, Lieutenant, my division cannot act before we find out more about our enemy. That, I don't believe I need to point out, is your job."
"You're right, Captain," Lieutenant Brook replied without looking at her. To do so would have been the same as battling logic head on… and he was ill-equipped to handle that sort of situation at that moment. "We don't need to be told our job, ma'am," he settled on, trying to keep thelittle bit of his pride left that hadn't been trampled through the young girl's simple questioning.
"Then, is it too much to expect you to do it?"
"No."
"Then, if it's not too much trouble, I'd take it as a personal favor if no further time was wasted."
"Yes, ma'am." The near-obvious mock salute that followed was in no way needed.
Tessa came close to smirking as she nodded her head thankfully and began stacking the papers in front of her. Following lead, everyone else in the room began situating their papers and the meeting was brought to an end without further words.
Tessa quietly voiced her thanks to everyone in the room before departing through the door behind her.
Darkness hugged the room tightly.
Silence was even more prevalent. Devoid of any sound or light, the room was a crypt. Nothing could be felt either, but she knew she was there. Whether this was reality or not, she was definitely there.
The voices told her so.
She couldn't see it. She couldn't hear it. But, she knew it was there as well: the same 'it' which haunted her dreams. It was something more dangerous than any weapon, and though it wasn't living, she somehow knew that its bloodlust could not be appeased. Whether she wanted to or not, she would help bring this thing into being.
The voices that instructed her to give it life also told what would happen once it was given life…
… In return, it would take hers.
Then, as quick as a fleeting memory, she saw it for what it was through the darkness.
Before her stood a dragon, as large as the legend itself.
Unmoving, unliving, yet promising a life that she knew she could not stop.
Black. Just as symbolic as its mere existence, the thing was completely shrouded in such a deep black that it stood out even in what she had thought was perfect darkness. Soulless red eyes pierced through the darkness like two red beacons that sent a chill down her spine. Glowing red claws, flickering and unsustained, presented themselves to her as a warning, and the thing's sleek skin, stretched tightly over muscles the size of small buildings, gave the appearance of glossy leather. All around the floor was a tail longer that it itself was tall. She couldn't see them, but she knew that behind it, probably enveloped by the darkness, there was a pair of wings made from the same dreaded, indestructible material as its skin.
Able to destroy anything and unable to be destroyed by anything, it was truly Armageddon incarnate.
Below the skin that was not skin at all, she had to constantly remind herself,was the heart of a machine: its true essence. But, despite it being a machine and having the heart of a machine, deep within those inner workings, she could not understand, but still knew for a fact that there was a soul.
That soul was Death.
Staring at the thing, unable to breath from the fear of simply being in its presence, the voices spoke louder, demanding the infernal thing be brought into the world. Soon enough, she wished she could tell them, "it will be so"; maybe then… they would leave her alone.
Opening her eyes to the sound of sobbing, Kaname found herself still in the darkness. But, this time the darkness was not complete. She noticed there was a slight amount of moonlight providing partial illumination to the otherwise pitched-black room. The strange feel of the room, the sounds of the sobbing, and the outlines of the unfamiliar objects in the room caused her to feel disoriented. It took her a moment to remember exactly where she was.
"Stefanie? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
Kaname threw the thick blanket off of her and sat up in the bed, propping herself up on one elbow as she reached out to turn on the bedside lamp when she heard another sob come from right beside her bed.
The light revealed the form of a little girl, curled into fettle position on the floor, back hunched against the bed, head buried between her knees, and toes digging into the plush carpet. She hugged her arms tightly around herself as if to hold herself together as she rocked back and forth.
Kaname shot up like a bullet. Her legs were out of the bed first, slinging all of the bed's covers into the floor along with them. In the blink of an eye, she was crouched beside the young girl, pulled against her chest, and patting her on the back as she let out another sob.
"What's wrong, honey? What's wrong? You can tell me," Kaname encouraged.
The little girl pulled away slightly and rubbed her eyes with the cuff of her green and white checkered pajamas. Kaname reached out and rubbed a lock of long, blonde hair out of her face. Brown eyes stared up into Kaname's own, showing traces of fear, but more than anything, they showed she was tired.
"They…" she said with another huffed sob. "They won't let me… go to sleep. They keep talking, and they talk really loud. And… and…"
Kaname was ready even before the little girl clung tightly to her once more, crying simply because she was so tired and knew she wouldn't be graced with any sleep just like the night before. Kaname patted and rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Oh, honey! It's alright," Kaname said, trying to sound as convincing as she could. "They'll be quiet eventually. They just want to talk to you a little bit; it'll all stop soon."
Kaname sighed slightly, hugging the little Whispered closer to her. She promised all of these things, but she knew that they would probably never stop. Sometimes the voices seemed almost as if they would drive her to the verge of insanity. She couldn't imagine how it must have been for an eight year old girl who heard them more often and louder than she did.
She didn't really like to lie. But if by lying, she could bring the little girl even just a moment's peace, she would gladly tell a thousand more.
"Where…" Stefanie started in a quiet voice, muffled by Kaname's shoulder. She didn't continue her question.
"What is it, Stefanie? Is there something I can do?" Kaname offered, not really knowing what to say.
"I… I… couldn't find…" She didn't have time to finish before she broke down into full out sobs and tears.
Kaname hugged her as close to her as she could without hurting her. She could relate so much to the little girl that she felt like her own mother or at least her older sister. When something was bothering Stefanie, it felt like it was tearing her apart as well if she knew she couldn't help. No family. No friends. Not even around her own people, Kaname knew all too well how she felt.
"What couldn't you find?"
"I… I couldn't find Shin!"
Kaname nearly shivered when she heard the urgent dependency in the child's voice. To think that the man who was a part of the faction that killed her family and brought her here was the person she had learned to trust and feel the most comfortable around over time was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. Stefanie pulled away from Kaname slightly, still bracing against her, and looked her in the eyes. She opened her mouth, took in a deep, shaky breath, and her questions came out franticly, all of the fear now evident in her voice.
"I've been looking for him for a long time, Kaname! I… I couldn't find him! He left me here! He left me, Kaname! He…"
Again, Kaname pulled the little girl to her tightly once more in hope of offering at least a small shred of comfort.
"No, never!"
She couldn't say for sure.
"Shin would never leave you by yourself!"
At least he seemed like he wouldn't, but she didn't really know him.
"What if he didn't leave! What if he's…" Stefanie couldn't bring herself to finish that thought.
"No, dear. Shin's not dead."
Though, despite how well he had treated her, she wished he was.
"He knows how much you love him. He wouldn't die unless he had your permission first," she said with a light laugh.
She wouldn't mention the fact that loved ones can die… usually when you don't expect it.
"He's probably just in a room on a different floor. You know how tough he is. He can't die, right?"
Sousuke was tough; she didn't think he could die either.
"He's here somewhere."
She hoped.
Kaname pulled away from Stefanie and stood up, pulling the smaller girl to her feet as well. She knelt down a bit to wipe some of the tears away from the little girl's eyes.
"Come on! Dry up a bit and we'll go find him. You don't want him to know you've been crying, now do you?"
Stefanie smiled and quickly wiped away at her eyes, obviously delighted with the idea of having someone else help her look for the man that was the single beam of support in her life.
"Un-uh!" she nearly chirped, suddenly completely satisfied.
Kaname smiled in relief as she reached out a hand and ruffled the little girl's hair.
"Come on, let's go find him."
Tessa opened the door and walked out into the hallway. The small amount of light in the meeting room and the large amount of sunlight coming from the large windows in the hallway were definitely stark contrasts of each other.
"I assume the meeting went well, Captain?"
Andrey Kalinin turned away from the window to greet his captain when she emerged from the room.
"As well as it could have, I suppose."
"I see," was his only response. "Shall we go?"
"Yes," was her only reply.
Lieutenant Kalinin waited for Captain Testarossa to take the first step to his side and willed his longer legs to match pace with her. He involuntarily rotatedhis shoulder slightly, feeling oddly restricted by the gray uniform. Everything was familiar about it: the patches, brass, insignias, pockets, folds, creases… everything. He knew the suit well, and he knew he should be completely used to it considering how long it had been a part of him. His time away from it should have just felt like a vacation to him.
However, he couldn't help but feel that he would be much more fitted to it if he were a little shorter, younger, and had brown hair instead of gray. With those characteristics, he would be more suited for the job, he felt. He could do with or without the scar on his cheek.
"Is something wrong?" called the voice of his captain.
He shifted his gaze slightly down and to the left at her. She had always been good at knowing her men; perhaps too good. All along, he thought he had been doing a pretty good job at masking his worry and fear. Perhaps he hadn't.
"No, everything is well, Captain."
He knew that she didn't buy into that for a second, but it would have to suffice.
"How about you, Captain?"
"I'm fine."
It seemed that two could play that game. That was fine by him too. He knew what he had done, and he really didn't want to dwell on it.
… Nor did he have time.
The speakers in the hallway crackled to life. The sound of a blaring siren could be heard in the background of the panting breath.
Captain Testarossa and Lieutenant Kalinin only found time enough to be mildly surprised before the speakers that usually delivered formal messages at the most opportune times of the day yelled a panicked demand.
"AS approaching! Everyone in the sector get down, RIGHT NOW!"
Tessa looked around, obviously not expecting the sudden announcement.
"How could it get this cl-" She didn't have time to finish her question before Kalinin reacted and tackled her to the ground.
From her position on the ground, she could see perfectly through the skylight, and what she saw terrified her. She saw an AS which looked a lot like the older M9 model, but it didn't really look much like the latest M11. Its only major difference was it seemed to be slightly smaller than she remembered them being, and despite the sun beaming brightly, the dull, gray metal didn't reflect the least bit of sun. She had no further time to think about it, for she saw where it was headed.
It was going to land on the building.
She screamed once again in agonizing pain as the electrical current surged through her body, but this time it did not stop quickly like it usually did. After a few seconds which seemed more like minutes, the pain grew worse and the voltage increased. Her prolonged scream reached a higher pitch thananyone would have thought possible. After a few long seconds more, the pain stopped immediately when the current stopped.
Jin Lain fell to her knees, naked on the cold, stone floor of the completely empty room that seemed to stretch on forever in every direction. Her kneeling position didn't sustain for very long as her leg twitched violently in reaction to the after-current still coursing through her veins. She fell to the ground hard and immediately curled into a protective ball, hoping in vain that it would make the pain go away.
She opened her eyes to look around, though she knew it would do no good; there was absolutely no end to the gray room. There were no windows, no light, no walls, and no doors: only a cold, stone floor and gray. But, this time, there was another person in the room with her, and he was yelling her name.
"Jin! Jin! Are you alright!"
She immediately recognized Sousuke's voice. She slowly shifted her eyes around a bit, afraid that if she moved them too much, the pain might start again. In the distance, running toward her out of the infinite gray, she saw Sousuke.
At first, she knew she couldn't trust her eyes. Then, hope finally conquered over her. Tears immediately began streaming down her face, and her breathing became wracked with sobs.
She knew he couldn't have been dead, no matter what they told her! He was here! Sousuke was here, and everything was going to be alright now!
She slowly reached a weak arm out to Sousuke. It still shook, and her hand and fingers twitched violently from the electrical current they had become accustomed to. She didn't care. Sousuke would make everything alright. He would…
In a bright flash of light, Sousuke was gone, and a horrible feeling of dread washed over her stronger than it ever had before.
Her body shot out as straight as a board upon the floor as the electrical charge came to her again, this time much stronger and morepainful than it had ever been. Her eyes squeezed shut against their own volition, her back arched into an impossible angle, her head flew back, and her toes seemed as if they were going to curl completely under.
She let out one of the loudest, most pained screams possible before it suddenly broke and rendered her voice box useless. But, this time, screaming would do her no good anyway.
This time, the pain would not stop.
Slowly, the opening door revealed the darkness within. Piercing through the dark room like javelins of light, the light of the hallway coming from the slowly opening door illuminated certain parts of the room. Inside, the loud growling of the beast could be heard before it could even be seen.
"What was that!" Stefanie said, exclaiming her question in a whisper.
For the first time in weeks, Kaname was about to laugh and actually had to stop herself for fear of getting the attention of the beast within.
"That's Shin. I think he's snoring."
Just to validate her assumption, a nasal-congested, rumbling growl desecrated the sound waves once again and maliciously assaulted their eardrums.
Kaname opened the door up a little bit further for the penetrating light to reveal a foot hanging over the end of the bed. A bit further and it revealed another leg and an arm hanging over the side. Opening the door further revealed the back of Shin's head lying face-down in the quilts that were strewn all over the bed, floor… room, and everywhere else except on him. The pillow, she then noticed, seemed to be trying to make its way into the connecting bathroom. Seeing him lying face-down amused her once more with what it implied: his earth-shaking snores had been muffled.
When she turned her attention back to Stefanie to see if she was satisfied with knowing that her 'guardian' was still there, she saw that the little girl had hesitantly made her way closer to the bed.
"Shi-"
Stefanie was cut off by another tremendously loud, yet muffled roar of sleep-induced nasal-music. Realizing that she hadn't been heard, Stefanie reached out and touched his back as she spoke once more.
"Shin?"
Almost instantly, Kaname heard a thud as Shin and floor became acquainted, neither refusing the meeting. When they both looked down in surprise, all they saw was a shoulder rolling underneath the bed into perfect darkness once again. In the next second, he reappeared on the opposite side of the bed with an umbrella shouldered, aimed at them, and staring down the sights at the targets.
"State your name, allegiance, and-"
"It's me, Shin!" Stefanie called out, clearly annoyed by the behavior of the one she currently saw as her 'parental-figure'.
The look on Shin's face was completely tragic when he realized who exactly was in the room with him. He looked at the shouldered, aimed, and ready-to-fire umbrella and immediately dropped it on the floor. Kaname couldn't see him very well in the dark, but even then, she could have sworn she saw him blush.
Kaname covered her mouth to stifle a laugh that she could no longer contain. She now believed in reincarnation, for right before her stood the reincarnation of Sousuke Sagara. She had to stifle another laugh, realizing that that was exactly like something Sousuke would have done.
She stopped immediately.
Though laughing made her feel better for a moment by remembering Sousuke, she felt deep regret as well. She had involuntarily compared the one she loved with all of her heart to the one that was his enemy. She gritted her teeth together and clinched her hands into fists. She felt that by laughing at Shin, she was betraying Sousuke. She knew that Sousuke would have forgiven her… actually… he probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. However, it bothered her more than it should have, even though she felt that it didn't bother her enough.
"Is something wrong, Stef? Did Quon hu-" Shin started before he was interrupted.
"I couldn't find you. I thought you left."
With that, Shin walked his way quickly back around the bed and took the little girl in his arms, seeing that she was about ready to cry.
"No, no. I would never leave you! You know that!"
"Yeah, I know. I… I just… couldn't find you."
Shin gave her a light hug and gently sat her down on his bed. He kneeled down and looked her directly in the eyes.
"I'm right here, and I promise I'll always be here. Alright?"
Stefanie smiled and nodded her head. Kaname could tell that the girl was feeling a lot more at ease now, and that made her feel better as well.
"Did you have another bad dream?" he asked as he checked what looked like a bruise on her arm.
"No. The voices were just being real loud."
"Well, let's see if we can do something to make them quiet down a bit so you can sleep," he said, taking a small, metal suitcase out from under his bed. "We'll take you back to your room, and-"
"I don't want to go back to my room. Can I stay with you tonight?"
Shin was about to decline, but one look at her pleading gaze made him change his mind. He knew very well what it was like to lose someone close, and he also knew that the feeling she had was definitely something he didn't want her to have. Like her father, she had thought he had left her too.
"Yeah. No problem."
The little girl smiled at his non-hesitant response, crawled into the middle of the bed, and laid down with a pleased smile on her face.
"Wait a minute, now! You can't sleep in the middle when you have the entire left side to sleep on!"
"No. I'll sleep here." She patted the spot of the bed on which she was lying. "You'll sleep there," she said, motioning to the right side of the bed. "And Kaname can sleep over here beside of me!"
"No!" Shin rejected that idea immediately.
"Please?" Stefanie made her best pouting face.
"I don't think Kaname would be comfortable with that idea."
"But me and her sleep together all the time!"
"That's not the point. Men and women usually don't sleep in the same bed."
"I'm a woman."
"No, you're a girl. That's different."
"My mommy and daddy used to sleep in the same bed."
"That's different too. Your mom and dad loved each other, so they-"
"You don't like Kaname?"
"No, that's not it. It's different when-"
"But you said that-"
"Stop twisting my words around, you little-"
"It's fine," Kaname said, finally stepping in.
"Ha! See, I told you that… what!"
"Yay!"
"But…"
"I need to talk to you anyway, Shin," Kaname said in a tone that suggested she was rather unpleased.
"I think Kaname's mad at you about something," Stefanie added in helpfully with a hint of dark, prophetic tone in her voice.
"I hope not; Kaname scares me when she's mad."
After hours of the most intense pain she had ever felt in her life, the pain suddenly ended, and her body immediately relaxed. Every muscle in her body felt as if it was on fire. She immediately curled back into a protective ball, hugged her knees tightly to her, and placed her head against them.
She knew that there was nothing she could do. Her knight would not be coming to her rescue like he had those few years ago. She was alone: only her, the gray room, and the pain. This must have been Hell, for she knew that there was no hope for her. If pain like that didn't kill her, then she knew she would not die in here. Also, she knew that the pain would come back again very soon, except unimaginably worse than it had been last time.
The room was so cold, and being without clothes and lying on a stone floor made the feeling of cold even worse. More than anything, she wanted a blanket: something to cover her and keep her warm. Then, the pain would be a bit more bearable if she knew that she would afterwards be able to relax into something warm rather than being completely exposed, vulnerable, and cold.
But, that wouldn't happen either. This had to have been her punishment… but she didn't know what she had done to deserve it.
Not knowing or being able to do anything else, she began to cry. She wanted to be strong… for herself and for Sousuke. But, she knew that it would do no good to be strong since she would never again have a reason to be strong.
She couldn't even hear her own crying; her voice box was spent. Loud cries of pain and sorrow came out as gasps of breath and quiet hisses with the occasional clicking sounds.
In her moment of resignation, she heard footsteps in the room. She dared not to look up, for that would be showing hope. The pain could sense hope, and it didn't like it very much. She had learned that there was no hope anymore, and any that presented itself to her was just a temptation by the pain in order to further crush what little spirit she had left.
She felt something soft and warm cover her body, and she instantly felt much more relief than she had ever felt in her life. She opened her eyes slightly to see that a yellow and green quilt had been draped over her body. She saw a calloused hand lift her up with ease and the other wrapped the quilt underneath her before lifting her up into a pair of strong arms.
She opened her eyes more and stared into the face of a middle-aged Chinese man. The man had deep burn scars on the right side of his face, and sported a few age wrinkles under his eyes. Examining the strange man further, she saw that he was dressed oddly out of place in casual clothing. A strong look of seriousness and determinism was displayed across his face, yet he seemed to have a very warm look inside of his green eyes.
"Who…" she finally managed to get out in a hoarse whisper.
"Don't try to talk, child. You will be fine now," he replied instantly.
His voice sounded harsh, but she knew immediately that everything was going to be alright now.
"It's not really as important as to whom I am, as much as the importance lies in what I'm about." There was a long silence before he looked down into her eyes and rubbed his hand gently across her cheek. "Sleep, child, and let me tell you your importance to this world."
She knew that his words were strange, but she couldn't help but feel that if there really was a God in the world, she was talking to him right now. She closed her eyes, and almost instantly, for the first time in days, drifted off into perfectly relaxed sleep. All of his words were clear, even in her sleep. However, what he said before she was completely overcome by sleep was what she remembered most. It influenced her the most, and after hearing those words, she knew what she wanted to do.
"I am the man who will bring about a new world order. With these same calloused hands that I hold you with now, I will create this magnificent order. My name is Chan Do Huang."
Kaname gently placed the band-aid over the small, forming bruise on the little girl's arm, careful not to wake her from her deep sleep. She reached out and smoothed a few loose strands of gold away from her face before pulling the covers around her. She gave her a smile and rubbed her hand across her forehead again before getting off of the bed.
"I'm glad she's finally able to get some sleep. Poor thing must be exhausted."
"Yeah, me too."
Shin detached the needle from the syringe, wrapped it tightly in a cloth and put it and the syringe in a sandwich bag. He leaned past Kaname and dropped it in the trashcan beside the bed.
"Did you want to talk about something?" he asked while stretching.
Kaname turned around to look at him so she could speak her mind to him eye-to-eye, but now that she was paying attention, she really started to take notice of his appearance. From her side view of him, the muscles of his chest and back seemed to be perfectly toned and chiseled. However, it wasn't really that which caught her attention. From the top of his chest and back down to the top of his sweatpants and even further, she assumed, he had several scars engraved into his skin. His tan complexion once again brought back memories of Sousuke. She didn't know if he really did look a lot like Sousuke, or if it was just because he was the main thing that had been on her mind during the past three weeks.
"I…" she started, feeling shameful that she couldn't take her eyes away from him. The similarities were too extreme for her to be able to simply ignore.
She was snapped out of her mild trance when awhite button-up shirt obstructed her view. She looked up at Shin who had pulled on a shirt and was adjusting his collar. He pulled the shirt together a bit, but didn't bother to button it.
"I know. They're not really all that nice to look at."
"It doesn't bother me; I was just thinking a bit."
She was thankful that he didn't question any further before moving on.
He sat down in one of the two seats at the room's window-side table. He motioned for Kaname to have a seat in the other as he turned his attention to the silver case on the table.
"What did you want to ask me about? Please, ask me anything and I'll answer what I can."
Kaname actually noticed that there was quite a bit of remorse in his voice that also seemed to mix with guilt.
Shin put the vial containing the substance that he had just injected into Stefanie back into the case and swapped it with another vial and syringe.
"Where is Jin?" Kaname demanded more than she asked.
"I don't know." Shin had pierced the top of the vial and was drawing the liquid into the syringe. "I just know that she was taken away by instructions from my lord." He squirted some of the liquid out of the syringe in order to get all of the air out. "But I can assure you that…" He paused for a moment long enough to stick the needle in his arm and inject the substance. He gritted his teeth and let out a slight hiss of pain before continuing. "… she is safe. I promise that much."
Kaname withheld her questions about Shin's injection. She assumed it was heroin.
"By your lord, I assume by now that you mean Huang?"
"Yes," he said, returning the vial to the case and properly disposing of the syringe.
"I thought he was supposed to be here earlier this week."
"He was; I'd guess there were a few hang-ups, though. He'll be here though," Shin said as he took a small bottle of pills out of the silver case.
"What if he doesn't come, though?"
Shin merely held the bottle of pills and looked at them, not reading. Kaname noticed that he began to nervously pick at the cap of the pill-bottle. He remained quiet for a few seconds before Kaname tried to get his attention.
"What if he doesn't come, Shin?"
"He'll come. He knows that he has to meet me in person soon. I refuse to take any orders from anyone besides him, and those orders have to come directly. I will not continue serving the Old Republic unless I see him again."
Shin gripped the pill-bottle tightly and unscrewed the cap. He poured three blue and white pills into the palm of his hand and downed them immediately. He then put the pill bottle back in the case, closed it, and slid it across the carpeted floor and under the bed.
"Why are we still here?"
"Because I haven't received any word from him to let you go."
"But, the AS has been completely constructed! Why do you still need us!" Kaname questioned, clearly fed up with being held captive.
"I don't know."
"When will I get to see Jin again?"
"I don't know."
"Will you be letting us go anytime soon?"
"Yes. When I receive orders to."
"Why can't you let us go now? You said you would let us all go after BDC2 was built!" Kaname thrust her finger out toward Stefanie who was sleeping perfectly soundly on the bed. "You know that that little girl hasn't deserved to have to stay here any longer than she has to!"
"I know that!" Shin responded, raising his voice slightly. "But I can't do anything until I receive orders. That is my-"
"Duty?" Kaname predicted his statement for him.
Shin merely looked at her dumbfounded. That was the exact word he was going to use, and he did not know how she was able to predict him like that. Looking into her eyes as she stared solemnly at the floor, he could see a look in her eyes that told him that she knew him. He did not know how, but sometimes he felt as if she could understand him better than anyone else there.
"Yes," he said, equally solemn. "It's my duty."
"I knew someone who used to be just like you."
"Yeah?" Shin questioned with a bit of a smirk. "I suppose now you're going to scare me and try to tell me that something bad happened to him, right?" He continued, clearly annoyed.
Kaname wiped a tear out of her eye that had begun to pool up. She turned around to face him, and couldn't bring herself to not give him a smile of pity.
"He changed."
Tessa squeezed her eyes together, preparing for the worst when she saw the gray AS descending down upon the building from the sky.
How had the AS made it past radar and sensors without being detected previously? It was almost like the only way it had been spotted was visually. She had never expected that a single enemy AS would ever be able to make it directly into the heart of a Mithril headquarters. Was it on a suicide run? Was it only meant to get in and do as much damage as possible? Whatever it had been sent for, it was certainly going to accomplish the mission.
Tessa gasped when she heard a light thump on the roof. She then realized that even if the AS hadn't broken completely through the building, which would have been impossible, it definitely should have made a lot louder sound and done at least some damage. However, it sounded like a person jumping on the roof, and there was absolutely no vibration from the thing's impact.
She opened her eyes to look through the skylight to see the gray AS perched right on top of the building. She only had enough time to catch a slight glimpse of it before it leapt again. This time, it had leapt straight up and was completely out of her sight in less than a second.
After a few more seconds, Lieutenant Kalinin moved off of her, got up, and helped her to her feet.
"Are you alright, Captain?"
"Yes… I'm fine. Thank you," Tessa responded, quickly having to find her composure once more. "Did you see that?"
"I only caught a glimpse of it. A gray AS, correct?"
"Yes, that is what I saw as well. Where do you think it went?"
Before Kalinin even had time to respond, the hallway grew dark as something completely blocked the sun. They both looked outside to see the AS standing outside the building.
Being able to examine it closer this time, she saw that not a single piece on it looked like it was metal. She did not even know the material. It didn't move like an AS, and it didn't sound like an AS. But that was the only think she knew to call it. She looked for sensor visors on it but saw none. It had a completely blank face. The rest of it was also solid gray, and every piece of it seemed to be one piece, just like the skin of a person. She looked for weapons on it, but she didn't see any of those either. For as long as she had looked at it, the machine had not moved from its spot, so she was pretty sure it was not an enemy or else it would have evoked its surprise attack.
People were now gathering at the windows to look at it, and soldiers were running out side with their guns aimed at it. She heard people shouting orders from all inside the building as well. She continued to look at it for a long time, and the Whispered voices began to tell her things that even she had no idea of what they were. They were naming off different substances and stuff about 'self-sustained generation', but she could make no sense of any of it.
Then, she heard a sound that she could not describe. She watched, expecting the pilot to come out, but saw no place for that to occur. She saw a hole suddenly appear in the thing's chest. Soon after, a blue ray of light that resembled a bridge shot from the bottom of the hole. Within a few seconds, the light instantly turned into the same substance that the rest of the machine was made of, thus making a bridge coming down from the thing. She squinted, for she thought she saw something move in the darkness of the thing's chest.
On each side of the hole, two hands grabbed hold in order for the pilot to present himself. The pilot came out of the hole and onto the materialized bridge. He put his hands into the air when a soldier outside commanded him to stop. Tessa's mouth almost hit the floor when she tried to get a better look at the pilot. He was rather far off, so she couldn't make out hardly any details.
The one thing that she did notice was a long, brown ponytail waving in the strong wind.
To Be Continued