Muv Luv: Grim Alternative
Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv Alternative or the characters, only the OC. So let's get the show on the road!
'Thoughts.' Thoughts or Neon/Takeru mentally talking.
"Hey!" Takeru/Neon talking.
"HEY!" Samara talking.
Chapter 6: First big event
I grumpily walked into Professor Kouzuki's office after someone had interrupted my sleep, telling me that she wanted to see me. When I entered I glared at the annoying scientist who thought it was a good idea to interrupt my sleep.
"You wanted me for something?"
"Yes I do want you for something important."
"Important that you'd send someone to disturb my sleep just to get me here?"
"Yes. This has to do with past events Takeru experienced in the last loop?"
That got me to at least stay awake for a little longer. Same was said for Samara and Takeru.
"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked seriously.
"One of the important events Takeru mentioned, the HSST incident." Yuuko stated.
"You mean the one where some anti-Alternative IV guys sabotaged a HSST to dive bomb into this base but that was thwarted by Tamase Miki sniping it in her TSF?"
"Yes. I'm thinking about putting your skills to use "Grim Eagle" and when the time comes you'll be informed."
"Is that all? Is this basically you preparing for that event in advance?"
"Yes. I was thinking of making use of that event to make a big change in this world by letting that event happen but we respond to it differently."
"Preventive action like what you proposed is one way to do that. But would it actually make a difference?"
"It's just one of our options. I don't know how these events occurred or what caused them so I can't make any decisions yet until I gather necessary data."
"That makes sense." I folded my arms and nodded. "Better for us to find out the necessary information before we jump the gun."
"Exactly. I don't want to waste time or resources. The same for you."
"I understand Professor. Anyways when you need me to act, let me know."
…
Thursday November 8th 2001…
Takeru's POV
I had taken over Neon's body for now as I rushed towards Sensei's office. Reason the BETA invasion on the homeland. She needed to know this as it was one of the important events back in the last loop. Neon and Samara were not happy about me just suddenly taking control but I told them that it was important that she heard this from me.
"BETA from Sadogashima are going to invade the homeland!"
"Huh? That was sudden…" Sensei said in disbelief.
"I'm with her there." Samara said.
"Agreed. That was definitely unexpected." Neon added.
"Shirogene? It's you talking right?" Sensei asked.
"Yes it is Sensei! This is the incident that would have a huge impact on the world." I said.
"Oh that…so BETA from Sadogashima will invade mainland Japan?" Sensei asked.
"Yes, on November 11th. There'll be an emergency summons during lunch, and we'll all end up in the briefing room."
"The 11th…Sunday?"
"It could happen another day but that's when it happened back then and we all had a day off. Just like we do in this world."
"Alright…let's hear the details…"
I didn't remember much but I told her what I could remember. The Imperial Army engaged the BETA when they first surfaced but a few managed to break through and were temporarily lost. Then the scattered BETA regrouped and breached the Second Defense Line and moved south. The Imperial Army fought hard to keep them back but were in a disadvantage. Even with UN support units being deployed it wasn't enough. The BETA still broke through and nearly crossed the line with their target clear…Yokohama Base. But someway somehow the Imperial forces managed to defeat the BETA.
"Is that all?" Yuuko-sensei asked.
"Yes." I replied.
"So from Sadogashima huh? What do you want me to do about it?"
"You did say that you'd try to manipulate big events from last time."
"Which is why I'm asking you what to do?"
"Well the best option would be waiting at the shoreline to eliminate the BETA as soon as they show up."
Yuuko-sensei smirked at my answer. "That makes sense. You do know how hard it is to fight them on the ocean's surface right?"
"Yes, since the BETA move along the ocean floor." I replied.
"Definitely something to note." Neon stated.
"So we need to concentrate forces at the point where they surface…do you have an idea where that point is?" Yuuko-sensei asked.
"Somewhere in Niigata for sure. But that's all I can remember." I answered.
"That's too vague. They could appear at any ocean surface there." Samara said, "We need more than that kid."
I ignored her as I looked at sensei who went silent. I asked her about why she was still thinking when we needed to do something but then she spoke up, "Shirogene…just one question."
"Yes?!"
"Is there any proof that what you said will happen?"
That question got me off guard. I never thought about that.
"She's got you there. I also had the same thing in mind too."
"Same here. I was even expecting her to ask this."
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm still trying to find out how trustworthy your information is." Yuuko-sensei said, "And now that we're talking something big I need real proof before I make any moves."
Huh?! I thought that she was going to do whatever it took to change the situation. I argued this with her and she once more asked me for proof, which I can't say I really have apart from my memories.
"Well…there is one sure-fire way to prove your credibility." Yuuko-sensei said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Do nothing this time."
"Eh?!"
"What?!/What?"
"What you just told me has a lot of nice details that I can't write them off as delusions. So let's watch and find out whether it really happens or not."
"She's willing to put everyone's lives at risk to prove your credibility…"
"You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled out. How can she think of such a thing just to prove whether I am right?! Has sensei lost her mind?! I told her that this was no time for dark humor and got a hell of a reply from her.
"And I'm saying the exact thing! How long are you going to keep deluding yourself?"
That got me silent.
"I feel sorry for you, so I'll make this simple. You've yet to predict the future even once." Yuuko-sensei said.
What! "But the Alternative…"
"They're already underway. There's still the possibility you learned through espionage. Especially with your special condition now."
"So she's accusing me of spying huh? Pretty stupid of her."
"You know she doesn't mean it. She's just trying to make a point."
"And going about it the wrong way."
Sensei then lectured me about making sacrifices for the larger goal. Something that I understood but did not like at all. Of course she pointed out certain things that did not come to my mind earlier, like the number of Eishi pilots dying out there fighting off the BETA. It made me realize how short sighted I was. Suddenly Neon took control and tossed me in the back seat.
Neon's POV
Yuuko noticed my change of posture and knew that I was now back in control. I also blocked him off so that he wouldn't listen in on what I was going to say.
"You know that was not necessary to interrupt." She stated.
"Unlike the kid I already understand the importance of sacrifices for the greater goal." I replied, "Besides this will be a good chance for Takeru to digest what you've said. However I recommend that you at least take preventive action concerning this event he mentioned."
"Really? Do you believe him?"
"I can tell that he still has the conviction and drive, even if we both see him as naïve or short-sighted. Still, just take action and see for yourself. Evil only prevails when good people do nothing. If it turns out to be a dud then you can put us through hell for it."
Yuuko had a devious smile come on her face. "Oh I'll take your word for it Neon. In fact I'll do as Takeru suggested and do something about and see if he's telling the truth even if there's no evidence."
…
November 11 2011…
"…hey!"
"Yes, yes! I'm already awake Kasumi." I replied to the bunny looking girl as she tried to wake me up. She just stared at me and said, "Good morning." I returned her greeting and she left my room.
"Today's the 11th." Takeru spoke up.
'Yes we all know about that Takeru.'
"I know but still I wonder if things would change today."
"We'll know whether anything changed after the event takes place. No need to get anxious." Samara said.
"I can't help it! History could change for the better or worse today. So forgive me if I get too anxious."
'Relax Takeru! Whatever happens, happens alright!'
"Fine…"
…
PX…
"Oh good morning." Chizuru greeted me as I arrived.
"Yeah…good morning." I responded grumpily.
"Something wrong Cross-san? You seem to be in a foul mood." Chizuru inquired.
"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed." I lied. Then I noticed the absence of the others. "Alright…where is everyone?"
"I'm not sure. Mitsurugi's still in line though."
"I see." And there Meiya was in line.
"So what do you have planned for today?" I asked.
"Good question…I was thinking of reading a book. Why do you ask?" Chizuru answered.
"Just wondering. That's all."
"Right…"
"Good morning Neon." Meiya greeted as she came over to join me and Chizuru.
"Morning to you too." I replied.
"Is something wrong? Why haven't you picked up a tray? Are you not going to eat breakfast?" Meiya asked.
"Who said I wasn't?" I responded and grabbed a tray. "I was just talking with Chizuru here." I joined the line and got my breakfast in a few minutes. Not many people were around so it wasn't a surprise.
Like Takeru said if this event was going to happen today at all then the emergency summons would happen after 8:30. Takeru's being indecisive about this event while Samara and I couldn't give a shit about it. If it happens it happens it's that simple. Besides we're not even sure if the event would even take place, which is why I'm nonchalant about it all. But if it does happen then what's next?
"Hey." I said as I got to my seat with my breakfast.
"Good of you to join us." Meiya greeted back, "Speaking of which, have you seen Yoroi today?"
"No. Why?"
"Hm…well…we're bound to see her sooner or later…ah…"
"What?" I noticed Meiya and Chizuru's surprised expressions and then looked at the direction they were facing. It was Mikoto and she was looking around.
"Oh there she is. What's she looking for?" Chizuru asked.
"I'd say us." I responded.
"There you are!" Looks like I was right as Mikoto called out to us.
"Speak of the devil. She has already targeted you." Meiya stated.
"What?!"
"Neon!" Mikoto shouted again.
"Not too loud!" I chided her, but she didn't listen as she ran towards us holding her hands up in an odd way. "May I know why she's holding her hands up like that and running?"
"You'll see soon enough." Meiya said.
"Neoooooon! AH!"
Mikoto in her excitement unfortunately tripped as she ran and fell down…spectacularly. Meiya and Chizuru were wide eyed while I was just blank.
"Owieeee! AAAH!"
"Something wrong Mikoto?"
"AH…AAH…AAAHH!"
"Okay what is the matter?"
"AAAAAAHHH!"
"Would you just say it already?!"
"My dancing butterfly fell apart! Now I won't be able to make that again!"
"What the heck?!" I was definitely confused by that. Dancing butterfly?! What the heck is she talking about?! Mikoto was moving about frantically before she turned to face me.
"I'm talking about cat's cradle. Ca-t's cr-a-dle! Nnaaaah I can't believe this!"
"Such a shame it was such a gorgeous shape…" Meiya said in pity.
I had a deadpanned expression on my face after hearing that. Really?! So because of cat's cradle you're crying like a brat over spilt milk?!
"Can you give me that string Mikoto?" I requested.
"Eh?" A dumbfounded reply came.
"Did I stutter? Can you give me the string?"
"Oh…Sure." Mikoto gave me the loose string while she kept moping. Cat's cradle huh? If I can recall it's like this huh? I began doing some weaving and whatever with my hands. I noticed Meiya and Chizuru looking at me attentively as I manipulated the string. Soon enough they were wide eyed as I finished with the cat's cradle.
"Hey Mikoto."
"Yes?"
"Quit moping and look at this."
The depressed girl stopped her crying and then had her eyes widened as she saw my handiwork. Her mood immediately did a 180.
"Ah! Neon-san? A Dancing butterfly?"
"If that's what it is called then yes."
"Amazing! You're very good with cat's cradle Neon!"
"Uh…thanks." Like that is something amazing.
"I'm impressed. I never knew you were that good with your hands for delicate things like that." Meiya commented.
"Indeed. I wonder who taught you that." Chizuru inquired.
"Honestly I can't remember where I learnt this or who taught it to me. It was just muscle memory." I responded.
"Muscle memory huh? Meaning you must have done it so many times that it's been ingrained into you." Meiya said.
"Seems so."
"Funny I had thought about showing the dancing butterfly to you but it seems that someone had already beaten me to the punch." Mikoto said, "And here I thought it was a gift from the gods."
"Like the gods would waste their time giving you mortals such crappy gifts." Samara commented.
"There Mikoto goes again saying random stuff out of the blue." Takeru added.
I ignored whatever Mikoto said about her inspiration to create the dancing butterfly earlier. Not worth the headache. Soon Chizuru was about to excuse herself and so was Meiya and myself. It was 8:30 now. Who knows what would happen next? Mikoto asked if I could play cat's cradle with her and I was about to say no when the alarms went off.
"Wh-?! What?!" Meiya exclaimed in surprise. Other people in the PX were already rushing out.
"Emergency summons?" I stated.
"Seems like it." Chizuru confirmed.
"What happened?!" Mikoto asked.
"We'll be finding out soon when we get moving." I said as I rushed past them. Soon they were following after me.
…
Emergency Summons…
"Squad has assembled!"
"Okay I'll explain the situation." Instructor Jinguuji began as a tactical map showed up, "At 6:20 this morning, a brigade-sized herd of BETA emerged from the Sadogashima Hive and began to move south along the ocean floor. Then at 6:27, the enemy penetrated the Ocean Defense Line held by the Imperial Navy's fleet in the Sea of Japan. They surfaced in Niigata. At 6:48, the Imperial Army's 12th Division encountered the enemy at the old national highway. And now they are currently engaging them in the Chuetsu and Kaetsu provinces of Niigata. The Imperial Army's 14th Division joined them, and the tide is turning in our favor. It looks like only a matter of time before the BETA are annihilated."
Takeru was surprised by this info. Looks like Yuuko actually listened to me after all.
"However, by analyzing the BETA's movement after they surfaced, it had been determined that they likely intended to reach us at Yokohama Base."
Not a surprise. Considering what I saw on the tactical map, it wasn't hard to deduce that.
"Therefore, until we've confirmed the destruction of all BETA, this base will move to DEFCON 2. During that time, you cadets will remain on standby. Return to your rooms and ready yourselves to respond to any eventuality. That is all."
…
"Okay what the heck is going on?! This did not happen the last time." Takeru stated. "Did Sensei suddenly change her mind?"
'Maybe she did. Maybe she decided to take a chance and see if what you actually told her was true.' I said.
"But she didn't seem to believe me so why did she change her mind?"
"Like he said maybe she had a change of heart." Samara said, "As farfetched as what you told her sounded she may have seen that there could be some credibility to it and decided to take a gamble."
"Or maybe you two convinced her to change her mind?" Takeru asked in suspicion.
'I don't know about that. Yuuko seems like the stubborn type and I do not like to waste my time trying to convince such people.' I lied.
"Oh…okay. So we wait until the situation changes huh?"
'More or less.'
"-ALL PERSONNEL. STANDING DOWN FROM DEFCON 2. REPEAT…"
…
Yuuko's Office…
Takeru in control of my body rushed into the office in a joyful mood.
"Pipe down. I can hear you." Yuuko responded to the boy's joyous yelling.
"Thank you for everything you did! I mean thank you!" Takeru said.
"No need to thank me. I just took a gamble out of curiosity."
"A gamble? What gamble?"
"I wouldn't have taken action at all if not for a certain super soldier convincing me otherwise."
'Really Neon?! Really?!'
"I didn't want to deal with your questioning then so I just pulled something out of my ass to shut you up."
"Whatever. That's enough for me! Is this enough to change history?" Takeru continued. Nice of him to leave it at that.
"You're really excited aren't you?" Yuuko said.
"I agree with the scientist on that. He's way too happy." Samara chimed in.
'Well I just created a possibility of avoiding that horrible future. Of course I'll be happy.'
"Don't get too comfortable Takeru. That's just one possibility you've created, there are other factors that can change it all dramatically." I advised.
'I know. I know but still this is a good thing.'
Yuuko then turned serious which was exactly what I saw coming. "You might be happy about this but…"
"Let me guess…it's not going as well as I think right?" Takeru responded.
"I'm busy so please leave."
Samara and I sweat dropped at that statement. Takeru however took it in stride.
"Understood."
With that over and done with we left the office. Takeru though decided to make a detour to see Kasumi. He basically just told her about what happened this morning and all that. However before we left Kasumi wanted to talk with me so I took control and put Takeru in the backseat.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"How are you handling the extra passengers in your body?"
"I'm handling it as well as anyone else would when in such a similar situation."
"It isn't troubling?"
"It can be a pain in the ass sometimes. With Samara it's a partnership that we've agreed to for undisclosed reasons. The addition of Takeru has only made it too rowdy for my liking."
"I see. Are you going to help Takeru with his goal?"
"I have to. So does Samara. This is one fine mess we've gotten into and fixing it is more or less our way out of here."
"What about finding your true self?"
"My true self? About that I want to know what you implied by that?"
Kasumi closed her eyes and sighed before opening them to stare at me.
"Are you sure you are really who you think you are?" she asked.
"I am sure. Why are you asking me this?" I responded.
"Because you are mysterious." Kasumi answered vaguely.
I gave her a deadpanned look. "Well thank you very much for saying something I've already heard from others." I then turned around and made my exit. "Thanks for the talk. Goodbye."
"…Bye-bye." I heard Kasumi say as the door closed behind me.
…
Squad training went on as usual ending with firearms training. Once again boring to me. Then things got interesting when Instructor Jinguuji called us to form up.
"You've all done well today. So I've prepared a reward for you all." The instructor told us.
"Oh really? That's nice." I said sarcastically.
Jinguuji glared at me for my sarcasm. Then a smile came on her face that was easily mischievous. "Starting tomorrow you'll be taking a southern island vacation."
"In other words the Comprehensive Combat Skill Evaluation is about to begin." Takeru said.
'I already know that. So it finally begins huh? I'm looking forward to this.'
"Hoping it'll be a challenge huh?" Samara chimed in.
'You know me Samara. I know that you share the same sentiment.'
"You know me too."
"Cross! The Evaluation is something you should take seriously." Jinguuji yelled getting my attention, "It's a whole different ball game and will determine you and the squad's future."
I noticed my squad mates all staring at me. I stared back at the Instructor and grinned at her. "Oh I am looking forward to it. I say BRING IT ON."
Chapter 6 End.