"Pull out!" Aoi ordered. He and Batou disappeared. I scrambled to get away from the Kuze-thing, tripping over junk and trying desperately to focus on getting back to the surface.
Kuze-woman snatched up a silver candlestick and glided toward me, through boxes and furniture, like a ghost in a horror movie. I turned around and half-ran, half-fell down the stairs. Behind me I heard an angry hiss just before a blow to the back of my head knocked me out.
It was just for a brief moment, but when my eyes fluttered open again I couldn't remember what had just happened. A massive pain in my chest drove me to my knees. I instinctively put my hand to my chest and felt hot wetness. I drew my hand away and noticed with dull horror that it was covered with blood. I raised my head to see the shattered, spiky glass in the window of the Sunflower Society, a gunman still firing rounds after his lost quarry.
I realized where I was and wondered if I were dreaming. The pain was too real. I could feel my life ebbing away through the double hole in my chest, one in front and one in back. Beginning to panic, I leaned against a wall of the alley, stumbling slowly toward a busy street ahead of me. As I reached it, a shaft of pain lanced through my whole body like lightning and I fell to the ground. People scattered, fearing that the attacker must be close by.
Though it was night, the street around me began to grow bright, an indication I was about to faint. I needed to contact somebody soon or I would die…
/Togusa,/ I heard Batou's voice inside my head. /Can you hear me?/
/I've been shot,/ I told him. /Can you call the Major for…/
/Do not attempt to contact Kusanagi or Aramaki/, Aoi's voice pierced through my mind. /If you do, it will open a channel for the Kuze Virus that is attempting to hack into your mind./
/Wait for us,/ Batou ordered. /Can you hang on for a minute or two? We're going to get you out of there./
I struggled to remain conscious. /I think I'm going to black out anyway…/
/The Kuze Virus will take any opportunity to control your mind,/ Aoi said sharply. /If you fall unconscious you will be vulnerable and it will take over. It will also have a chance to track us down!/
/Don't you dare screw up on me, kid,/ Batou snarled.
Blood ran down from the corner of my mouth and began to drip onto the pavement. /Guys…I'm dying here…can you pick up the pace a little…/
Tachikoma cut in with a few words of encouragement. /Hang on, Mr. Togusa!/
/Your injuries are not real,/ Aoi informed me. /The scout virus seized upon this memory in searching for a vulnerable point./
Little bubbles formed in my mouth as I struggled to breathe. They sure seem real…. I felt a strange sensation, like tiny needles teasing the folds of my brain. Some little parasite was trying to wiggle its way in. I shook my head like a horse shedding flies, and then felt another, familiar presence.
/I found him!/ Tachikoma announced excitedly. /Sending coordinates!/
Just before I blacked out, I felt strong hands lifting me up on either side. Batou's voice floated through the darkness. "Thanks for hanging in there, kid."
-&-
I awoke to see the ceiling straight above me, with the faces of Batou and Aoi looking intently into my own. Batou let out a sigh of relief. "That was cutting it just a little too close."
Aoi nodded. "At least you seemed to gather some important information, for when we do this again."
I sat up, still wet, but this time with sweat instead of blood. "What do you mean, again?"
"We only found the memory that triggered the virus' invasion," he explained calmly as both Batou and I glared at him. "We need to enter her mind again to find the virus and exterminate it."
Batou scratched his head. "So, what, does this memory serve as a kind of antibody or something?"
Aoi permitted himself a thin smile. "Something like that. Could you explain the memory to me?"
"I think that kid the Major knew when she was first transferred to her cyborg body…I think that was Kuze," I told him. "If the two of them were together in the same ward for as long as the hospital records indicate, then it's likely that they got to know each other quite well."
Batou grunted. "And the crazy old hag's words about forgotten love…she was infatuated with the guy, even though she didn't want to admit it." He scowled so deeply I thought his face would break. "When I found her there, with him…her foot was trapped under a beam, but that would have been nothing for her. She could have killed him…but she didn't."
Aoi nodded. "She probably did not consciously realize the depth of the hold he had on her. By now, the real Kusanagi is probably hidden, embedded deeply somewhere in a corner of her mind. Over a long period, the virus slowly took over."
"How do we find her and get her out?" I could tell Batou was trying very hard not to show how upset he was. "If we dig around in her mind too long, the virus'll find us."
"We use the memory. Kuze used it to unlock her mind when he hacked her brain…now we will use it to follow his trail. If we can catch him unawares, we have a good chance at freeing Kusanagi from his grip."
The shaking in my limbs had just barely subsided, and now it started up again. "How are we going to fight him, if we come across him? It's not like we can shoot him."
"Leave Kuze to me," Aoi assured us. "I can match his hacking ability and, more importantly, his mind games. My mind is closed to him. It was always closed to Kusanagi, and to you. While I keep him distracted, you will need to find Kusanagi." He frowned. "I'm not sure what condition you'll find her in. She may be itching to leave; or she may be so deeply infected that she will want to stay. In that case, you will need to convince her to leave; forcing her out will create too much stress on her mind, and it will collapse."
"What about the others in Section 9?" Batou demanded. "She's connected to them, isn't she? What if they realize what's going on and gang up on us?"
"Kusanagi's mind is a one-way street. She issues orders, and while she compiles information that they give her, she does not allow them entry. Unless there is some severe outward sign of our presence – if she collapses, for instance – the rest of Section 9 will never know that we are there."
Aoi stiffened like a wolf hearing an enemy's howl. He turned to us. "Are you ready to dive back in?"
"Already? I'm still recovering from the last dive!" I shouted, leaning hard on the box where I sat.
I suddenly got a vision of a news report, courtesy of Aoi. A news helicopter's shaky image filled my mind, centered on a huge group of people sitting in a park, perfectly lined up and all facing the same direction. Chills ran down my spine as I recognized the pattern.
"I estimate that we have maybe three hours," he explained. "There's more. This is only a test run. If we fail, this scenario will repeat itself all over the world." Batou and I exchanged glances. We'd faced apocalyptic scenarios before, but always with the rest of Section 9 at our backs. Now our second family was the ones trying to kill us.
Turning to Tachikoma, Aoi said, "We needed to keep our minds somewhat exposed in order to find the memory exploited by the scout virus. However, this time we know where we're going and we will need some protection…I am sure the Kuze Virus is aware of our attempt. Tachikoma, I need you to put up a firewall around us and maintain it until we find Kusanagi."
Batou frowned. "I know the Tachikomas are good at firewalls, but even I can hack through them. How does this help us?"
Aoi smiled in his cryptic way. "The Kuze Virus is not Kuze, Batou. It is merely a complex program with a specific mission. Oh, we can't underestimate its dangers, but the fact remains that we can count on it to act in some ways, though other actions may be unpredictable. We can count on the Kuze Virus to attack human minds, and leave AI minds alone, because the AI is immune to the cult leader's siren song. Are you ready, Tachikoma?"
"Ready and willing!" it assured us with a little salute.
"All right." Aoi hooked himself up to his machine and motioned for us to do the same. "We can't waste any more time. Let's go!"