Can you trust another's record if your memories are incomplete?
Devil Arms: ReturnerS
Amidst the eternal waves of time
From a ripple of change shall the storm rise
Out of the Abyss peer the eyes of a shadow
Behold the Devil, it's wings a black sheath
Chapter 8: Record of Memories
The man turned his head toward the three of them as they entered the room.
"Can you understand me?" Aoi asked and the man nodded. "You are not a prisoner here. We do not know who you are and have bound you because we do not know if you are going to attack us. If we release the binds, will you answer some questions?"
The man nodded again and Nathan walked over to release the binds, allowing the man to relax a bit before sighing again.
"Do you know who I am?" Aoi asked.
The man looked her over slowly his eyes being drawn to the insignia on her arm.
"The commander?" he asked.
Subaru felt a lump growing in her throat as Aoi frowned slightly.
"Do you know who she is?" Aoi asked, indicating Subaru. "Do you know her name?"
"No," the man replied simply.
Subaru's mouth suddenly felt very dry as she clenched her hands behind her back, but Aoi kept asking the man questions.
"What is your name?"
"Shiro."
"Shiro?" Nathan repeated. "As in the color 'white?'"
"It was a name given by my fellow warriors," the man explained. "I don't recall any other name before then."
"You have...amnesia?" Aoi asked.
"So I have been told."
Subaru was suddenly very glad Sakura wasn't in the room right now, but the others were still watching the questioning in the other room after all.
Aoi sighed as she pulled up a chair and sat down on it as Nathan and Subaru stood by her sides. Aoi pinched her brow before continuing.
"What can you tell me about those creatures. The ones you fought before you woke up here."
"We call them 'Guardeners,'" the man, Shiro, explained. "According to the scholars, they seek something called 'Mana.' It is the energy that exists in all living things, like people. They came from something that floats above my world and rained down like meteors."
"'Your world'..." Aoi repeated. "You realize you are on another planet?"
"My world is all but dead," Shiro answered stiffly. "There is only one settlement left that could support life and my comrades and I were defending it before I got caught on one of them and found myself here. We didn't understand what they were doing. They weren't attacking the settlement directly, they seemed to be just trying to force their way through it. When one of them finally got pass our defenses, it just disappeared. Vanished through some dark vortex. Some of us pushed a theory that they were no longer interested in our world and were seeking a way to travel to another planet. Our people were dying, we realized it. So we decided to make a stand, and slow them down as long as possible so the world they were going to would be able to make proper defense against them. By now they must be almost overrun..."
Shiro balled his fists as he raised them up to his face, shaking in frustration.
"You'd throw your lives down to help people you'll never see?" Subaru asked, in spite of herself. "People that would never know of your sacrifice?"
The man looked at her for a bit before speaking.
"The destruction the Guardeners can cause...it is far greater than any natural disaster. They're like a swarm of locusts, devouring everything from plants to steel to human flesh in search of mana. The destruction turned the world to nothing but sand and ash. There was no way out for us. We were simply living on borrowed time and in a decade our supplies would finally be exhausted. My comrades and I are warriors. We would rather lay down our lives defending some unknown star than die a slow death of starvation."
For some reason, Subaru's thoughts turned to the planet she was on with Yuuki and Null Enders. She had wondered whether or not some great civilization had been there before, and wondered if this was what brought them to ruin.
"Your blade," Nathan asked, pointing to the one still in its sheath. "What is it made off?"
"A metal called irodium," the man said. "There was an underground deposit below our settlement. It was the only source of metal we had so we used it in everything, including our weapons. We discovered that the Guardeners were repulsed by it to a point and that it was able to cut through them with amazing ease."
"I see...do you mind if I...?" Nathan asked pointing to the sword and the man shook his head.
Nathan picked up the sword and pulled it out.
"It's lighter than I thought it would be," he said. "Can you put up a quick barrier, Subaru?"
"Huh?" Subaru turned to him confused. "Why?"
"Humor me."
"Uh...okay?"
She extended her hand out and a blue barrier formed between them. Nathan slowly pushed the tip of the blade toward her, and their eyes widened as the blade effortlessly pierced through it like butter, without shattering the barrier at all.
"Do you mind if we examine this?" Aoi asked, taking the sword from Nathan.
"I'd rather not be apart from that," Shiro said. "It's the only one I have that can truly fight the Guardeners. I do not like being defenseless, but as long as you return it when the sun comes up..."
As he finished speaking the door opened and Shou grabbed the sword before running back out the door with a smile similar to a child who just got a new toy.
"He's...not going to melt it down is he?" Subaru asked worriedly earning an incredulous look from Shiro.
"I'm sure Aizawa-san is well mannered enough not to destroy a guest's belongings," Aoi said, looking not too sure of herself at all. "I have one last question for you, Mister Shiro."
"And that is?"
"Are you Null Enders?"
Shiro blinked twice before answering.
"Who?"
"No, never mind."
Aoi rose from her seat as she beckoned Subaru and Nathan to follow her.
"Please relax in this room until your wounds heal. If you need anything, press the button on the side of your bed and Nathaniel here, will assist."
As the three of them exited, Aoi gave some quick instructions to Nathan before turning to Subaru as the man left.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"I'm just...a little shocked," Subaru replied honestly.
"He's not telling us the whole truth."
Subaru looked at the older woman questioningly before speaking again.
"What do you mean? Where was he lying?"
"When I asked him if he knew us. He answered right away that he didn't. You saw him take a moment when I asked if he was Null Enders. Amnesiacs often try to remember the people who know who they are so they would take a moment to search their memories before giving their answer. I don't know if he's actually lying or it's simply what he believes to be the truth, but we're not getting all our answers from him at the moment."
"So you think...he is Null Enders?"
"Who can say. But if he is, he doesn't remember. It may be hard, but don't hold it against him. The last thing we need is for him to remember just how much he hates the Bureau. We won't have the force to control him, so I ask that you do not aggravate him."
"Yes ma'am," Subaru replied as she gave her a salute.
"Good. Now get some rest. It's been a long day."
"Understood. Goodnight Aoi-san."
As Subaru headed back to her quarters, she heard someone's voice coming from one of the storage rooms. Leaning closer, she can hear Nathan talking to someone.
"You feeling better now?" he asked.
"Yes..." came Sakura's voice.
"You should head back to your room. I'll let the others know you are okay."
Judging from the silence, it seems that Sakura didn't move from wherever she was. She could hear Nathan sigh, some rustling and then a small thud. He probably decided to sit down beside her.
"All right, spit it out!" Nathan's voice suddenly became a bit sharper. Looks like Daniel is out and about again.
"Huh?"
"If nothing else, we're good listeners, but that guy has a problem with getting other people to start talking. So, I'll just sit here. Feel free to let off some steam. Just not in the face. I have work after all."
Again there was a long period of silence before Sakura spoke.
"I hate this..."
"So you've been saying."
"I had a feeling that he didn't remember me...but he doesn't even remember Okaa-san or Onee-chan either..."
"Huh? They didn't ask about you...oh right, he helped you restore the power."
"At first I thought it was because I grew up so he didn't recognize me anymore...but he really doesn't remember any of us..."
"Yeah, I'll bet that's painful, but think about it from his side."
"His side?"
"You wake up in the middle of nowhere and you have no idea how you got there or even who you are. You have no past and no one around you can help. Can you imagine how that feels? To have no one around you that you can truly trust?"
"You don't trust Amia-san?"
"Huh? Why you asking me that? I thought we're talking about that Shiro guy?" Daniel said quickly and defensively.
"But it sounds like you're speaking from experience..."
"I don't have amnesia. I remember my entire life as well as the next guy!"
"But all that stuff about not being able to trust anyone..."
There was a long silence as Daniel thought about what to say.
"Fine, but if I answer you have to answer one of my questions."
"Deal."
"It seems like whenever she comes up to talk to me she wants something from me. I don't think it's anything bad but I don't like people talking to me with ulterior motives."
Subaru almost lost her balance as she listened in. Despite being such an efficient assistant, it seems he really has no idea...
"Are you serious?" Sakura asked, exasperated at the assistant's words.
"Yes I am, I can see it in people. So now for my question."
"Huh? Oh right, what is it?"
"Why do you call Subaru, 'Onee-chan?' From what I understand, that means Older Sister in Japanese doesn't it? It also seems that younger children call older girls that are close to them that as well."
"Yes...and?"
"You've known Kasumi longer than you've known Subaru and yet you call her by her name. Is there any particular reason you only call Subaru by that?"
Subaru pressed her ear against the door, interested to know as well.
"Eh? Ah...it's really nothing big..."
"Hey, I kept my end of the deal."
"It's...it's just that...Onii-chan and Onee-chan were going out and I thought..."
Sakura's voice dropped to a low mumble and Subaru couldn't hear anything.
"Hmm? Speak up."
"I...I thought they would get married someday!"
CRASH
Subaru's grip on the door slipped and she fell face first on the ground in a loud thud. She scrambled to her feet just as the door opened and Daniel's face popped out. He looked over to the right and saw nothing, but when he turned to look at the left, he saw Subaru, trying to flatten her entire body against the wall with her arms stretched up toward the ceiling.
She slowly turned to look at him, her face as red as a cherry as a smirk formed over his mouth.
"What happened?" Sakura asked.
"Nothing, looks like someone tripped down the hallway," Daniel replied, his grin growing as Subaru slowly made her way around the corner "Well if your feeling better now..."
"Yeah...thank you."
"No problem. Just don't tell anyone."
As Sakura trotted down the hall, Daniel walked around the corner and found Subaru just sitting there.
"Such a sweet girl, don't ya think?" Daniel asked, replacing his glasses. But Subaru didn't say anything as she continued to stare at her knees. "So what are you embarrassed about? The innocence of a thirteen year old girl, or the thought of marriage?"
"Yes," Subaru replied sheepishly.
"Which?"
"Yes."
"Humph," Nathan said as he patted her on the shoulder. "Well in any case, get some rest. I won't tell her you were eavesdropping. But I'm sure she'll tell you in time so you better be prepared, 'Onee-chan.' Don't forget to invite me to the wedding."
Subaru tried to punch his leg but he quickly jumped backwards with a small laugh as he headed to his quarters, leaving Subaru to her thoughts.
The man who called himself Shiro stared up at the ceiling of his room as he thought about the pseudo-interrogation that just took place.
"Who are they?" he asked to himself. "I don't recognize the green uniform."
He wanted to flip over onto his side, but the IV drip kept him in place.
"Damn it...this bed is too comfortable. I want to sleep on the floor, or at least the chair. If I could just flip myself onto the side, I'd feel a bit more..."
He stopped mumbling to himself as the door to his room opened and a man walked in, carrying a tray.
"I thought you might be hungry," he said as he walked a bit closer and a nice aroma filled Shiro's nose as he swallowed to keep himself from salivating. "Judging from your reaction I guess I was right. Here let me help you up."
The man pressed a button on the side of the bed so that it propped itself up as he set the tray on Shiro's lap.
"Who are you people?" Shiro asked, resisting the urge to start eating.
"Hmm? Oh. Apparently we're the 501st Autonomous Task Force, Shadow."
"Shadow?" Shiro repeated, raising his eyebrows. "What are your objectives?"
"I dunno, I'm just the Mess Sergeant," the man explained as he shrugged his shoulders. "You're going to ask the Captain about that. But for now, it seems we're going to focus our efforts on those things...those Guardeners you are talking about. Eat up before it gets cold, then just set the tray on the floor or the stand next to you and someone will pick it up later."
As the man left, Shiro narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the food in front of him.
"Shadow...these people are Shadow? Shadow exists...but it's completely different...everyone is...is this some sort of trick...?" Shiro thought to himself as his eyes darted around the room as if looking for someone spying on him. He then sighed as he looked down at his food again before picking up a sandwich and taking a bite out of it. "It's good...it's really...good..."
"ARRRGGH!"
Shou scratched his head furiously as he looked at the fiftieth scan result on the blade. He had been up all night attempting to get a better understanding of the blade but nothing was different than the preliminary scans he did when they first brought Shiro in.
"No matter how many times I try this, it just says its made of iron. iron doesn't just cut through barriers like it a hot knife through butter without some sort of magic enhancement. Is it the way the blade was forged? Is it the hilt? It can't be the person using the blade since Nathan was able to cut through the barrier when the blade was made for that guy."
The blade looked just like a regular broadsword except for its hilt which was made of something like gold and had two red gems embedded into it, with an empty socket that probably once held a third one.
"And these gems...they're not rubies...they don't even show up on the scans."
A loud knock at his door tore him away from his thoughts as he spun around in his chair.
"What is it?"
"It's Nathan," someone called out to him. "It's morning and our guest would like his blade back as the Captain promised."
"Damn it...time's up huh?"
He returned the blade to its holder as Nathan entered the room.
"Here," he said as he tossed the blade over to the assistant. "That thing has more secrets than the entire TSAB."
"Were you able to find anything?" Nathan asked.
"What did I just say?"
"Hahaha, I see..."
"I might have better luck if I melted the thing do-"
"No."
A third voice interrupted them and the two men turned to see Aoi walk in as well.
"Okay, okay. I get it," Shou said throwing his hands up in defeat.
"What's the status of the patient?" Aoi asked.
"Would you believe me if I said fully recovered?" Shou asked, earning a skeptical look from the two of them. "All his bones have mended within the last seven hours and all internal injures seem to have just vanished."
"That's...troublesome..." Aoi muttered.
"Troublesome...ma'am?" Nathan asked.
"The faster he recovers, the more likely he might try something."
"Well," Shou said as he brought the security image up onto the main monitor. "Besides being a little paranoid, he seems content with just lying there, eating whenever food is brought up. Though he might also be a little bored. Think we can get a TV in there or perhaps a bookcase?"
"I suppose making him more comfortable would lower the chances of him breaking out," Nathan added his two cents to their captain who simply sighed before being interrupted by a blue haired girl panting in the doorway.
"Subaru?" Aoi asked, before realizing what was happening.
"Again..." Subaru said. "It's gonna happen again."
Subaru had awoke from her dreams, one that involved an unfortunate training exercise where someone was sent to the medical bay clutching his lower region in tears, with a familiar pain in her right eye.
She staggered out of bed but the man was nowhere to be seen so she exited her room and looked down the hallway and saw him, ever motionless, staring back at her as he delivered another cryptic warning.
"Day after tomorrow. 2000 hours. Stronger but less than before. Once again at the park. Do not let him participate."
The hallway lights then flickered once and the man was gone again. Subaru didn't waste anytime searching for Aoi, having ran up to her office only to see that she wasn't there then ran straight to the Shou's office instead where she recounted the man's words exactly.
"He knows we have Shiro, and yet he doesn't want us to use him in this fight?" Aoi asked to no one in particular as she sat down on the chair Shou drew up for her. "Is there a possibility of a leak, Nathaniel?"
"No ma'am," Nathan replied. "The only people that have access to all information on this base are you, myself, Commander Aizawa, and Miss Ayumi...whether we wish for her to or not. And all of our personnel have been picked from the Navy and Ground forces, both who have seen the skill of your command as well as those that would follow you. These are the lives you indirectly save. Many here...dare I say...would probably die for you."
Subaru knew this was not a gross exaggeration. Many of the soldiers on the base were constantly gossiping of how efficient Aoi's leadership have been. Two contacts with an unknown and deadly enemy and not a single fatality, almost as if she knew they were coming before hand. Then there was her command of the TSAB fleet during the Neo-Belkan War where she managed to organize an attack strong enough to actually break through the encirclement.
"Do you think the Board will be willing to play ball this time?" Shou asked.
"After everything that has happened it is in their best interest to," Nathan replied. "Of course, not everyone is intelligent enough to realize just what exactly IS in their best interests."
"Just as well, I didn't plan on asking him to fight with us anyway," Aoi said. "I have no doubt that he seeks to destroy these 'Guardeners' but we can't have him escaping."
"But it's not like he's a prisoner, right?" Subaru asked.
"He's not. He's a civilian, and we don't have civilians along during operations."
"I guess...that makes sense..."
"But nevertheless, we can't go into a battle knowing that even stronger enemies are going to appear with only four mages. As much as I hate it, we're going to have to ask the Admirals to transfer a few high ranking mages."
"I'll make the preparations," Nathan said as he headed out the door. "Please feel free to spend your time as you wish. Your daughter could use someone to talk to."
With that, he gave a quick bow, and exited, with the sword in his hand to return it to its owner before making arrangements with the Admirals.
"Is he a butler or an assistant?" Shou asked with a grin on his face.
"Well, I do agree that he takes his job just a bit too seriously," Aoi said as she got up as well. "Either way, I'm going to go spend some time with the family. You look like you could use some more sleep, Subaru."
As Aoi left, Subaru took a look at a wall mirror. Her eyes were blood shot with bags under them. She really did look horrible, having only just fallen asleep after spending nearly the entire night thinking about what Sakura had said.
"I could give you something to help you sleep," Shou offered. "It's bad for a soldier to lose sleep after all. You might pass out in the middle of a fight.
"No, it's okay," Subaru declined. "I was just up all night thinking about a few things."
Shou shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Subaru raised an eyebrow.
"Um...Shou-san?"
"Yes?"
"Were you perhaps...thinking of something incredibly rude?"
"...No?"
"...You're mean..."
"I'm sorry..."
It was around 3pm by the time Subaru entered the cafeteria. The lunch rush was over so there weren't many people there at this time. She saw Aoi, Sakura, and Shichiro sitting at a table in the middle, talking animatedly. Sakura was looking happier than she had all week.
"Good afternoon," came a voice to her side. Subaru turned and saw Alex sitting on the ground next to the doorway with a canned drink in his hand. "Sleep well?"
"Well enough," Subaru replied. "How come you're sitting down here?"
"I didn't want to interrupt the family's time together," Alex explained, gesturing the Kimuras with the can. "And this part of the room has a good view of them."
Subaru nodded as she went over to the counter and came back a few minutes later with a plate of pasta in her hands as she sat down next to Alex.
"What have they been talking about?" Subaru asked as she started
"Well, it seems that Shichiro-san manage to work out a way where he can do his supervisory work from here so he doesn't have to leave any time soon," Alex said taking a sip of his drink.
"I see, good for Sakura-chan. Hey, that's not alcohol is it?"
"Of course not. I'm underage. Though all the recent happenings have made me consider it...that or seek a therapist. I'm about 50-50 right now."
"You've really loosened up over the past three years, you know that?" Subaru asked as she twirled some of the pasta around her fork.
"It may have to do with the fact that my family isn't pushing me as hard and I'm no longer stressed out by Enforcer work," Alex said with a shrug. "They seemed to be satisfied now that I'm working under Aoi-san."
"Maybe you should be the squad leader...you've managed to hold your own against those humanoid Guardeners way better than anyone else on the squad."
"No, Aoi-san picked you for a reason so you should trust her judgment if you can't trust your own abilities. Just remember that the rest of us believe in you as well."
"I see...sorry...I'll try harder to live up to everyone's expectations!" Subaru said feeling pumped up. "Speaking of which, where's Marika?"
"I think she went to call Amia."
"Do you think we can ask Aoi-san to let her join?"
"I think Marika's been trying to do that since Day 1, but the CIC is already filled up. Maybe when we get The Spirit of Terra in the air there will be an opening on the bridge."
"I hope so, those girls are practically sisters. Even their initials would make it seem like they were family."
"You don't have to worry about that."
The two of them looked over at the doorway and saw Nathan standing there.
"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.
"I just finished sending the transfer requests," he answered as he sat down beside them. "With any luck, Amia, and the rest of the transfers will be joining us sometime this week."
"Who else did you request?" Alex asked.
"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, so you'll just have to wait and see."
"Aren't you working a little too hard?" Subaru asked. "You should relax a little bit."
"I am relaxing aren't I?" he said, putting his hands behind his head before leaning against the wall and stretching his legs out. "Besides, I enjoy my work and my duties are no where near as taxing as the Commander's. He has to balance base duties, his medical ones, and his engineering ones after all."
"Yeah, but he has subordinates that he dumps his duties off to doesn't he?" Alex countered.
"I guess that's true," Nathan said as his data pad began to flash. He looked at it and nodded his head. "Speak of the devil. Let's see here...ah...that's a good idea."
"What is?" Subaru asked, her mouth full of pasta.
"It seems the Commander wanted to do a few upgrades to Marika's and Sakura's devices. The way they are now, they won't be too effective against the Guardeners, especially Marika's, since she relies on magic based shots. So that means my break is over. Gonna have to bring the girls to his office. At least I know where they are."
As Nathan got up to go talk to Sakura, Subaru went to put away her dishes and left the cafeteria with Alex.
"I've been meaning to ask," Alex began as the two of them walked down the hallway. "What do you make of that Shiro person?"
"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.
"Do you think he's actually Yuu-san?"
"I...I'm not sure. Do you?"
"No, I don't," Alex replied bluntly. "I just think he's a man who just happened to look a lot like him. It wouldn't be the first time after all. King Ixpellia and Sakura look a lot alike as well. So there's a possibility that he could be a completely unrelated person as well. One that just happened to be suffering from amnesia."
"That's a lot of coincidences..."
"With hindsight, one can see that life is filled with them."
"Haha...you sure you don't want to be the squad leader?" Subaru asked again with a smile.
"No thanks," he replied with a smile as well. "I'm going this way. I'll see you later ma'am."
He then turned down a corner leaving her to her own devices. Subaru wasn't quite sure how to spend the rest of the day as she didn't have any paperwork to do. She thought about training for a bit, but there really wasn't anything she felt she needed to work on.
By now she had walked quite a distance so she decided to stop and take a look around at her surroundings. She was standing in the medical wing, specifically, down the hall from Shiro's room, or at least the room he was relocated to after his injuries had properly healed.
"We weren't given orders not to see him," Subaru muttered quietly to herself. "Even if he doesn't remember...it might be good to at least try talking to him."
She turned down the hallway and walked toward Shiro's room.
Despite Aoi's fears of him possibly being Null Enders, there was only one guard at the door and he let Subaru in with no question. Though the fact that he was one of the mages in the hanger when they were attacked may have been the main reason he let her through.
When she entered the room, her eyes immediately went toward Shiro, who was staring absentmindedly out the window.
"Excuse me," Subaru said, catching the man's attention as he turned to face her.
"Yes?" he asked. "Oh, you were in here last night weren't you? Did you need something else?"
"No," Subaru said quickly, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry. "I just...wanted to talk."
"So another questioning?"
"No, nothing like that. I just...wanted to know if everything was okay."
The man raised an eyebrow at this as he shifted on the bed.
"If you don't mind me saying Miss..." Shiro began, but cut himself off when he realized he didn't know her name.
"It's Subaru..." she replied slowly, her throat feeling even drier. "Subaru Nakajima."
"Then if you don't mind me saying, Miss Subaru, it looks like you're the one that has something bothering them."
She grimaced at his sharp intuition and chose to sit down at a chair next to the bed.
"It's about the Guardeners," she said. It wasn't the main reason she was bothered, but it was still a reason. "We don't have any practical weaponry like your sword and it's only a matter of time before they manage to kill someone."
Shiro's eyebrows shot up behind his bangs at the news.
"You managed to keep them from killing anyone?" he asked, sounding both surprised and impressed. "That's an impressive feat."
"Not really...we've only fought them three times. The first time, there was only one and it was stuck in a dead end. The second time there were only three and there were six of us. And the time where you came in was the third and you took care of all of them."
"But it's not like I came at the beginning right?" Shiro asked. "If I am understanding it right, you managed to contain them with only four people."
"Even then, you were the one to defeat them. Are there any combat tips you can share?"
Shiro closed his eyes in thought for a moment before speaking.
"Which types have you fought so far?"
"The wolf one and its humanoid form."
"So the Wolfshund," he said with a nod. "They're the basic Guardener, often showing up in mass. They prefer pack based tactics and prefer to surround their targets and defeat them with numbers rather than strength. They usually gravitate towards a single member, a pack leader, for orders. These leaders often change into the humanoid forms. We call these ones König Wolfshund, or King Wolfhounds. There's no telling when they'll change but it seems to be based on the amount of mana they manage to consume. Some can even change in the middle of a battlefield."
"Yes, I saw that myself," Subaru said, nodding her head. There wasn't much new info, but nevertheless she listened intently.
"For the basic Wolfshund, their tactics usually involve one rushing straight at the target while the others flank and strike from the side or rear. The one in front will normally attack with its claws rather than its fangs since it is merely a distraction. The best way to handle them is to fight in a group or to make sure you can see where they are. They're weak points are located back behind their hind legs and the inside of their bodies. Some of my comrades often killed them by thrusting their blade at the same time as one lunged at them and their blades pierced through their flesh and out their skull with little difficulty. Of course, it was simply for them, men and women who were already prepared to die."
"As for the König, those are a bit tougher," Shiro admitted. "They're faster and their lance offers them a good amount of power and range. But because their entire arm is the weapon it means they are slightly off balance and it can easily be exploited. Breaking off a deadlock can sometimes cause them to stumble and the left side of their body can act as a sort of blind spot from their lance."
"This information would certainly come in handy when the attack comes," Subaru thought. Then she remembered the thing that forced Shiro to the planet in the first place. The thing that was twice as large as the Wolfshund.
"What about that larger Guardener?" she asked out loud.
"Hmm? Oh, the Tragen?" Shiro asked as Subaru nodded. "Those things are even more dangerous than the Wolfshund. They're like a living fortress, both in terms of defense and offense. They can dig underground with the drill-like appendages on their heads and their long and powerful spiked arms. It doesn't help that their favorite method of attack is to skewer their targets when launching themselves out of the dirt. One hit and you're lucky to die instantly. It's not a pretty sight or feeling...having someone's body utterly shattered..."
He moved his hand and rubbed his side uncomfortably.
"So that's the reason Shou-san referred to him as a dead man walking..." Subaru thought before asking out loud, "Is there a weakness?"
"Of course," Shiro replied. "For all that power, it traded in its speed. Even our youngest solders could run circles around it. That's why they rely on sneak attacks and the Wolfshund to distract the targets. Needless to say, those things are a priority. Of course, my initiative left me separated from my men along with a broken body."
"But how were you still able to move like that?"
"Rage is a hell of an anesthetic and I didn't like being hit by a mountain," Shiro said dismissively, indicating that he had no desire to continue answering the question.
Subaru wasn't sure there was anything left to ask so she stood up from her seat.
"Thank you," she said with a short bow. "Your information will help us greatly."
"Wait a minute," he called out to her just before she opened the door to leave.
"Yes?"
Subaru turned back around and saw Shiro leaning forward with his hand outstretched. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before he let his hand drop and rested his back against the bed again.
"...Actually...never mind. It's nothing..."
The dark haired man returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window, not turning back to look at her. Subaru simply nodded her head and exited the room, leaving the man to his thoughts.
"Damn it...what the hell am I doing?" he asked himself, bring a hand to his eyes.
Just outside the room, similar emotions were running high as well.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" the guard ask, unsure whether or not it was okay for him to place a comforting hand on Subaru's shoulder.
"No...no it's okay..." she replied, brushing a hand over her eyes. "I have to go make my report...please keep up your good work..."
"Y-yes ma'am..." the guard said as he backed away from her. He then poked his head into the room where the man was just lying there, his arm covering his eyes and both hands clenched into fists so tightly that he was drawing a little bit of blood.
"Soooo...what do we make of that?" Shou asked as he swirled around in his chair to look at the people behind him.
Aoi, Nathan, Sakura, and Marika were there, the latter two having been asked to come, the second having delivered them, and the first had followed them because she wanted to know the plans for her soldier's upgrades. None of them had been expecting Shou to be listening in on the conversation between Subaru and Shiro.
"Depends on what you are asking about," Nathan said, pulling his glasses off for a second to wipe the dust off of them. "The information about the Guardeners...or the little outburst our amnesiac friend had just before Subaru left."
"Does...does that mean he remembers her?" Sakura asked, looking at Nathan hopefully.
"He probably remembers...something...you saw the look in his eyes when she was about to leave. He's probably trying to sort things out. Perhaps seeing her leave triggered something?"
"I feel bad about this," Marika said, her hands on her lap. "We shouldn't have spied on them."
"We were going to find out the information about the monsters anyway," Shou said, shrugging his shoulders. "The last bit was just an unexpected accident. So, what do you think, Captain?"
Aoi had been silent the entire time as she listened to the two on the camera talk and after it was over she had simply closed her eyes and lost herself in her thoughts.
"I'm returning to my office," the captain said as she stood up.
"Okaa-san?"
"Subaru's going to be delivering a report soon and with the new information, I'll be able to augment my strategies. Nathaniel, make sure the reinforcements arrive on Day 0 no matter what."
"Yes ma'am. I'll find a way to expedite the procedures."
"Legally, I hope," Shou chimed in as he spun his chair back around to his desk.
The assistant merely gave them a cryptic smile as he left the room with the captain.
"Well, now that that matter is finished..." Shou said as he brought up a screen showing schematics of a gun and one of a glove and skates. "Let's talk magic. Here's what I have planned for the two of you, and if I hurry and work through the night, I'll get this up just before they arrive."
Author's Note:
Does he remember? Is he lying? What's he going to do? The hell I know...
Anyway, more information about the monsters have been revealed and none of it pleasant, but nevertheless it's useful information. Decided to just go ahead and put Vivio, Einhart, Corona, and Rio into the story a bit further down the line. Time to reread ViVid for some research. Please Review!