LXVIII
Entkommen
His hand reached out as commander Kanbe stepped forward towards Arakawa, he had uphold his part of the agreement, now it was going to be time for her to spill what she knew. "I have informed you, now it is your time. Answer me right now where the files with regards to the virus are being held on this island? Where is Lucy being held captive?"
She sighed in response, now it was time to see how much worth she really was to these people. "Well I guess you people are in luck, the vaccine is already fully developed and ready for mass production. I feared that I would be killed if they found out so I kept its existence a secret." She smiled as she mentioned it with pride though she kept her head hanging.
"WHAT!? WHERE IS IT!? WHERE IS IT BEING STORED!? WE MUST ACQUIRE IT AT ONCE!" Kanbe blurted as he looked at her, this was almost too good to be true, they had come for the virus and data on it, to be able to return with a completed vaccine would certainly allow him to rise within the ranks of Saseba.
"It lost it." She braced herself for his next outburst, it was not going to be pretty in any way. "I could no longer hold on to it, if I hadn't then it along with myself would have fallen down. The files and everything were in it… I already… don't know what to do."
"Commander." One of the crew got up from his station and approached Kanbe, standing so that his back was turned towards Arakawa. It seemed that he did not want her to hear what he had to say again the commander. "Aren't you disclosing too much information to her, things are going far too smoothly for us so far. For all we know this could be some kind of trap, besides that can be really trust someone who runs around in her panties?"
"I will go and look for the vaccine myself, tell me where I can find it." Any concerns the man might have had were simply waved away and dismissed by the commander.
"EH!?" Arakawa cried though from what she could tell the crewmember likely experienced the same reaction as she had. "IT FELL INTO THE CHASM! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY PERSON TO GET IT BACK! EVEN IF YOU COULD GO IN THERE AND LOCATE IT THERE WON'T BE ITME FOR IT, ALREADY THE ISLAND IS STARTING TO FALL APART! YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO GO SEARCH IT!" She nearly got herself hoarse after so much shouting this last hour.
"COMMANDER!" The cry from the crewmember caught the attention of them both. "According to the sonar there is a high presence of diclonius nearby!"
Commander Kanbe growled as he heard the man's report, surely he must realize how stupid it sounded given this was the DRI, off course a large presence of diclonius would be detected by the sonar no matter where they went on this island. "What are you saying? This island is already flooded with them, do not bother me with such senseless information."
"That not it sir! You see nearly all of them are massing at a single location, it seems to be near the chasm! Is it possible they are preparing for a mass assault?"
This was odd to her, how was it even possible for a machine to detect living organisms, somehow it did not seem to add up. Her curiosity getting the better of her she stepped forward and simply asked them. "How do you do this? How can you actually know where the diclonius are gathering?"
The commander laughed as he heard the question. "It is very simple, just like I told you this craft is in essence a large diclonius, like normal ones it can sense other diclonius."
It was only then did she began to have a hunch what could lead to so many of them gathering at a single place, surely it couldn't be, they could not be so fortunate but if it really was then this was a golden opportunity for her. "HERE!" She jabbed her finger forward pointing right at the right screen. "GET US TO THAT PLACE NOW!" The man next to her was startled.
"THERE ISN'T MUCH TIME BEFORE THIS ISLAND COLLAPSES! TAKE ME TO WHERE THEY ARE MASSING! WE NEED TO GO THERE RIGHT NOW!"
Kanbe growled at hearing her outburst. "Just what the hell are you thinking!? Do you want to die so eagerly and take us with you!?"
"WHAT!? WEREN'T YOU ALL GLOATING AND BOASTING EARLIER THAT THIS HORRIBLE THING WAS INVINCIBLE!? IF THAT WAS TRUE THEN THIS SHOULD BE ABLE TO BACK ME UP RIGHT!?" She couldn't believe the arrogance of that man, so boastful and now when a moment came to prove it they were starting to back off.
"… Ehm sir." The same crewman from before approached the commander again, visibly more nervous now. "I still believe that we are likely running into a trap, I would advise against that course of action sir." The man's concerns were well meant but here was also an opportunity.
"Even if it is one what would be wrong with that? This is a perfect opportunity to field test this vector craft and gain some actual hard test data, at the very least we will be able to push the diclonius closer to extinction. Helm move us to the right and charge up the vector generators."
"Yes sir!" Came the combined reply as each crewmember resumed their task, already Arakawa could feel the craft moving as it started its stride towards where she believed the vaccine was located, she just prayed that her hunch was correct.
"How is she doing onee-san?" Ryou said as she calmly entered the room, having excused herself from dinner she had wanted to know how her other kin sisters were doing. "Will she be alright, onee-chan told me what had happened?"
Saeko couldn't really pull herself away from the sleeping Barbara, at least it looked like she was sleeping but in reality it was much worse. "I-I don't know… I honestly don't know if she will be alright but I place my trust in my master. He has helped all of us and I am certain that her can do the same for her." It nearly made her blush thinking about it, she felt certain about it. The moment he would return she would go and ask him to help out this sister of her.
Ryou felt confused about it, she did understand who Saeko was referring to when she said master but to her it sounded a bit off that she was placing that much faith in a single person.
"Will your master come soon onee-san, she really looks like she can use the help?"
She fell hesitant for a moment, Dai had been the last person to have seen her master alive but he had been rather quiet on the subject. To make matters worse she wasn't able to contact the Nexus at all, Dogo did not seem to react to any of her calls and even the distress beacon she kept always with her hadn't yielded any response either from him or her master.
"I-I don't know… I-I can't contact him… I need my master right now… he can make everything right?" Saeko whimpered as she caressed the face of Barbara once more, why wasn't he here when she needed him the most.
Ryou kneeled down next to her and gave her heartfelt yet timid hug. "I will be already Saeko-onee-san, if you believe this strongly in him than you should keep believing. There isn't really all that much for our kind to hold on too."
"…Ryou-chan… do you really… mean that…?" She sobbed as tried to wipe away her tears. "… but why won't he answer me then… why won't he come when I need him…?
Now Ryou was starting to become quiet and hesitant, she had to admit that what Saeko was asking of her was something that she wasn't used to. It was all new to her having people around that showed affection and anything that could be thought of as a relation or bond was almost unknown to her, the only she knew and even that was rather new to her was the one she had with Kyou. "I can't answer that, you know him better than I do. He likely has his reason I suppose, but… ehm… I find this to be a bit… ahem… uncomfortable."
"Sorry." Saeko let go of her, guess for Ryou it was still a difficult thing to understand. "Has Hirano-san already returned with food?"
She nodded in response. "The others are eating as much as they can but I thought that given you preferred to be with her that you would not come at the table, I set some aside for you."
"Thank you Ryou-chan." She was about to lean forward again to give her another hug but Ryou was just quick enough to avoid it, still feeling unpleasant about the previous one she apologized and left.
Already they were coming into view, there must have been well over a hundred diclonii gathered at this one spot, nobody had ever laid their eyes upon such a huge gathering. It was a chilling experience that the crew was not likely going to forget for the rest of their lives.
"HEAVY PRESENCE OF DICLONIUS CONFIRMED ! NUMBERS UNACCOUNTED FOR! DAMN THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM! YOUR ORDERS SIR!?"
Even Arakawa had not seen so many of them gathered in the same place, the biggest group she had witnessed had been maybe just over a dozen but no more. Certainly nothing that could come even close to this mass. "FINISH THEM OFF! QUICKY!"
"Operator one and two, deploy your vectors for maximum spread. Start with the group situated to our left!" Kanbe was already giving out directions. "Take them out!"
As the nearest group was taken out swiftly Arakawa caught a glimpse of what she had been expecting, just lying there at their feet was the container that contained the vaccine.
"IT'S THERE! THE VACCINE! I CAN'T BELIEVE THE CONTAINER IS STILL INTACT! I'M GOING TO GET IT!" She cried with barely contained excitement and before even giving the commander or the crew a chance she was already hanging outside the hatch.
With just the loosest of grips on the railings it was a miracle she didn't fall down in her mad dash to get towards the container. "BACK ME UP QUICKLY! I WILL GET THE CONTAINER!" Huffing and puffing as she ran like she had never ran before in her life.
As one after another diclonii fell to the might of the vector craft Arakawa was almost starting to feel invincible, nothing could touch her at the moment, most of these girls not even bothering to take note of her instead choosing to focus on the massive form of the vector craft.
Dashing to the side to avoid getting splattered on the ground she howled in joy as she was almost there. Halting to finally catch her breath she was surrounded by half torn and mutilated remains of the diclonii, as far as she could see there was nothing other than dead bodies.
To say she was amazed at the power of that the vector craft possessed would be an understatement, truly it had been impossible to retrieve the container with its backup. Dropping to her knees she grabbed the container and allowed a big sigh of relief. "… it's here… to think it is still intact… this has to be my lucky day." A lucky day it had been indeed for her, having not only completed the vaccine but also cheated death on more occasions than she could already count and now having regained the vaccine.
Gazing again at all of the dead diclonii she felt sorry that the recovery had been at their expense but without them they would have never found it in the first place. Likely just like Diana had they were attracted by it, knowing instinctively that it represented a threat to their existence and yet they did not possess the means or understood how to deal with it.
"With this, that woman at least did not die in vain. I would have preferred if she could have been here as well."
"ARE YOU FINALLY DONE OUT5SIDE THERE!? STOP HUGGING THAT DAMN BOX AND GET YOURSELF INSIDE THIS INSTANT!" Kanbe's voice bellowed through what had to be the craft external loudspeakers, it was a rather rude awakening for her.
Inside the confines of the vector craft commander Kanbe was most delighted. "Truly we have been blessed even in this kind of situation, when I first saw the island from a distance I truly felt like all was lost here. Almost like a forlorn situation. But we did not only get the research material we were after but also the vaccine and its creator, truly we are lucky."
Truly it had been a fortunate outcome and one the planners back at command would not have anticipated yet there was one objective they still had to fulfilled, then they could return to base.
Sadly his euphoric demeanor was not shared by all members of the crew. "That is true sir but if it keep on going at this rate something really bad is bound to happen, personally I would advise for us to depart while the odds are still in our favor." His concern clearly visible.
"Duly noted." Kanbe growled, the irritation clearly noticeable. "Now contact the ship and have them come in to pick us up, it is going to take them some moments before they get close enough. In the meantime keep monitoring all sensor input. I want to be informed immediately when Lucy appears, once we deal with here we can leave this godforsaken place."
"Yes sir!" They all replied in unison, all too willing to get away from this island
Barely had the resumed with the task at hand or the entire craft was flung to the side as the cliff underneath it sagged and then crumbled. "UWAAA!" Crewmembers shouted as alarms went off inside the bridge while the grabbed to anything for dear life. More warning signs signaled that something was going horrible wrong, everything was going to hell it seemed.
"COMMANDER WE HAVE A CODE RED! THE ISLAND IS STARTING TO FALL APART! WE NEED TO LEAVE HERE ASAP!" One of the crew informed him while another one took this opportunity to make his previous concern heard.
"I KNEW THAT SOMETHING BAD WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! COMMANDER WE NEED TO CONTACT THE SHIP NOW!
Kanbe grabbed the man by the collar of his uniform. "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER THIS INSTANT! Contact the ship and have them rendezvous with us at the double, this craft will sink for certain if it hits the ocean! Make the preparations for out withdraw!" Barking orders once more Kanbe was doing his best to remain levelheaded, if he were to panic as well the crew and this craft would be doomed for certain. He needed to take control of the situation.
"HEY! PANTY GIRL! GET INSIDE HERE AT ONCE!" He yelled as she still stood there frozen and staring at something. "JUST BECAUSE YOU CARRY THE VACCINE WON'T MEAN I WILL ALLOW ANY INSUBORDINATION FROM YOU!"
The craft groaned and shrieked as it protested against something unseen, inside it felt like it was going to tear itself apart. Warning claxons were sounded on the bridge as something vast appeared on the main monitor. "What in the name of god was that!?
"COMMANDER! NEW READING APPEARING ON THE SONAR! OH MY GOD! IT IS MASSIVE! UNKNOWN SIGNATURE CONFIRMED TO BE DICLONIUS BUT THE READINGS ARE OFF THE SCALE! HEADING STARIGHT TOWARDS US!"
Another tremor ran across the length of the bridge. I-Is… the vector…craft falling?"
"No!" Kanbe remarked as he surveyed the monitors, they were still on solid ground for the moment. "The vector craft is trembling but what on earth could make a machine tremble, unless it is not the actual machine but rather the organic components causing this…?"
"COMMANDER! YOU WANT TO HAVE A LOOK AT THIS!" The nearest crew called him over, it seemed that whatever it was that was approaching them was coming into visual range. Steeling himself for what kind of abomination they were going to face this time he swallowed before looking at the monitor. Any second now it would launch an attack on them.
His eyes gazing at the monitor it's form was obscured, the smoke ahead parted momentarily and his breath got caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of something obscene moving through the haze, surely it could not be… but what if it was.
"Did either of you see that!?" He turned his attention quickly to the two member sitting in front of him surely they have seen it themselves as well.
"See what commander?" One of them asked when he looked back at him in confusion.
"I saw nothing through the smoke." Affirmed the other. "What was it that you saw sir?"
"I'm not sure but for a second it looked like-." The words died in his throat as the wind lifted the concealing smoke and they could all see what beyond their reaching was watching them.
Kanbe laughed at the opportunity being given to him. "TRULY LUCK IN ON MY SIDE TODAY! NOW PREPARE FOR YOUR DESTRUCTION! LUCY!"
From where she was standing Kaede could easily see them, this strange craft was unknown to her but even then she had already been fully aware of its presence even before it first set foot on the island. During her long journey through the now dark DRI she had already felt it.
Back then she had dismissed it for the most part as she needed to focus her attention on where she was going, with the lights out it had taken an altogether rather sinister look.
"So much death and destruction and even now when this island is about to be utterly destroyed people still seek to confront me, you should turn around and think about your lives first…" She could understand why they wanted to fight but right now this was going to be a senseless slaughter.
Already she had seen more than enough of that during her way out, the corridors and rooms were littered with the torn and shredded remains of both humans and diclonius. The walls and floors were stained with blood of both races. "Too much has already happened. I cannot allow this to continue, I need to set things right and see Kouta one last time…"
A part of her was mourning over the death of so many of her kin and yet she was also relieved to see that so many of them would no longer pose a threat to others, it saddened her to see that this was the most likely fate for her kind unless something were to change. So much misery had been inflicted by each other unto each other so the few rays of hope were quickly consumed by the shadows.
"… How much I had wanted to see… that the life a few of my kin… could become true for all of you… you have all suffered so much… never gotten a chance to see what the world has to offer you… and the fault for it all… lies solely with me…" Not all but much of the blame did lie with her, perhaps if she had been strong enough to resists her inner voice that so much pain and suffering could have been avoided but it was foolish to think that way. There was no magic way for her turn back time and she would have to bear the responsibility of her actions sooner or later.
"I will face it… I won't run away from what is awaiting me… life or death I will accept it… just as long as I get to speak… to Kouta… one more time…" It was all that she asked for, just a little bit more time to say the few things that she hadn't gotten the chance for at all since the last time they spoke, one thing was that she wanted for him to say her name. How she longed for him to speak her name, it almost made her cry with anxiety.
But there was one thing she needed to do first, one thing that stood between her and that little wish. It was that horrible abomination that humans had created that was staring her in the face, even when she could not have seen it she had already felt that something was off and now that she had laid her eyes on this eyesore she fully understood why.
Underneath it's metal hide she could actually feel what lied beneath, it angered her to no extent to even contemplate that humans could sink this low. To simply use diclonius like cattle to have their organs harvest and turned into something like this. It's very presence was an insult to her and everything that humanity claimed it was.
"This thing… will not be allowed… to exist… I will destroy it… and rid the world… of this legacy…"
"LUCY!? CHARGE UP THE GENERATORS! PREPARE FOR A FULL SCALE ASSAULT ON HER!" Kanbe was issuing orders like there was no tomorrow, even under these circumstances he was not willing to let go of their true quarry. Even so their current situation was less than optimal and it was a race against time.
"I-IT'S IMPOSSIBLE SIR! SHE IS TOO FAR AWAY FOR US TO EMPLOY THE VECTORS! NEW SIGNAL INCOMING! WE HAVE A CONFIRMED VECTOR SIGNAL EMITTING FROM LUCY! OH GOD VECTORS ARE INCOMING!"
To think that she could actually have the power to outrange the ones produced by the vector craft was unheard off but with no way for the them to retaliate they would be at her mercy, there was only one option remaining. "ACTIVATE THE VECTOR CANCELLER!"
It was going to take precious seconds for it to be charged and he prayed that it was going to be fast enough. Arc of coruscating energy flashed as the vector canceller was brought up just in the nick of time, her vectors colliding against it the men inside could actually feel the feedback from the blow. Even then they were still much to their joy and delight alive.
"THE VECTOR CANCELLER IS WORKING! OH GOD IT ACTUALLY WORKED! ALL SYSTEMS STILL RUNNING AT OPTIMAL LEVELS! CANCELLER GENERATOR ABLE TO MAINTAIN INTEGRITY!"
It was a relief to see that even under such ferocious combat conditions the unit functioned as it should be, had it failed then it would have been the end of them then and there. Commander Kanbe was feeling excited at the prospect of being able to exact his revenge on Lucy.
"EXCELLENT! NOW BRING US AROUND AND GET READY TO LAUNCH A COUNTER-ATTACK! DO NOT LET HER HAVE ANY CHANCE TO ESCAPE!
Working fervently to bring the other systems up to speed the craft lurched sideways as another group of vectors slammed into it.
Picking herself up from the ground Arakawa watched with disbelief at the sheer range Lucy must have possessed to have even made such an attack, surely something must have happened as she had read the reports and where before she only should have had an effective range of just a mere two meters to contrary was staring her in the face now, this had been well over thirty meters.
"LUCY!? She screamed in an attempt to get her attention, even now her throat was starting to hurt again. "WHAT HAPPENED TO CHIEF KAKUZAWA!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?" Even from this distance she noticed it the moment Lucy's attention fell upon her, there was a chilling cold in those eyes of her. "You are kidding… you couldn't have…?"
Seeing that smile on her face already told her enough, how had this been even possible? Even then it meant that there was no longer anybody in charge of the DRI, curious how she actually felt rather depressed now that she was free from his grasp.
Inside the craft commander Kanbe was issuing orders to get this assault back into pace. "ATTACK LUCY THIS INSTANT! GET THIS CRAFT WITHIN RANGE NOW!
The crew tried but it was hopeless. "WE CAN'T SIR! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE VECTOR CRAFT TO MOVE CLOSER DUE TO THE STATE OF THE ISLAND! IT IS STARTING TO FALL APART! YOU MUST ORDER AN IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWL SIR! THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION!"
Biting down on his tongue he was not going to hear any more of this, this response from the crew was bordering on insubordination. He would not stand for this at all, this was their only chance to take down Lucy. "DON'T BE A FOOL! THIS IS OUR ONLY CHANCE! IF SHE ESCAPES US THIS TIME THEN GOD KNOWS WHERE SHE WILL APPEAR NEXT!" It was a fear that gripped most of those upon hearing that the DRI had managed to recapture Lucy, if she were to escape another time then she would be lost to them, they could not allow her to go on another rampage and placing guards all across the shore was not a feasible option. "THAT IS AN ORDER! GO AND GET THIS THING MOVING!"
"BUT SIR WE…" The man never got to finish what he was about to say and this time the entire vector craft lost it footing and nearly toppled off the cliff as it sagged underneath. "UWAAA…! The artificial vectors struggling to gain a hold on anything to arrest it's fall the crew offered a quick prayer to god. "SIR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOW! PLEASE ORDER A WITHDRAWL TOWARDS THE SHIP! THIS CRAFT CANT TAKE ANOTHER HIT LIKE THAT OR IT WILL BREAK! NO MATTER WHAT SHE MIGHT ATTEMPT LUCY HAS NO WAY TO ESCAPE! SHE WILL GO DOWN ALONG WITH THE ISLAND EVEN IF WE LEAVE HER! COMMANDER!?"
Commander Kanbe was struggling now, what the man has just said was true. With no way to possibly even escape her death was as good as assured but even so he needed to be absolute certain of that. "VERY WELL! WITHDRAW! WITHDRAW BACK TO THE SHIP!"
They were leaving, they had what they had come for anyway. Staying any longer was only going to result in further unnecessary deaths even if his desire for revenge was not satisfied.
"PANTY GIRL! GET YOUR ASS INSIDE THIS INSTANT! WE ARE LEAVING!"
Shocked by what she has seen and somewhat surprised she nevertheless didn't need for him to say that twice, already she was up on the ladder as she could not get inside fast enough. This was her ticket off this island and she wasn't planning on passing up on this. As she dared to risk one final glance at Lucy she was once more surprised to see a sorrow expression on her face, somehow she seemed to be regretting the recent course of events.
If she had to honest she felt the same way, what had happened this night was going to scar both sides for a long time. Blinking away a small tear she was wondering why she was feeling sorry for her as well this time.
It was with mixed feelings that Kaede watched them leave, for the most part she was relieved that this fight was already over as she had more important worries to deal with now. She could have taken them on and come out victories but that was not going to help her.
Alone and stranded on what remained of the DRI she could feel the island starting to crumble as more sections of it broke off and crashed into the sea below. This place would soon be gone, swallowed by the ocean, those that would remain here were certain to die.
"… I can't stay here any longer, this island has nothing more to offer than death… I can't allow myself to get killed here…" She nearly lost her own grip as the building she was standing on started to crumble as well, in the not so far distance she could hear large explosions going off ripping apart what remained of the structures.
Maybe it had been fuel to power the island's generators or perhaps for the helicopters or some other kind of flammable material but it could interest her in the least, she more interested in learning of a way to escape and go back to the people that considered her family.
She needed to see them, to face them one more time and set everything right. Most of all she desired above everything else to have one last chance to see Kouta
"Wait a moment… didn't that other girl… I think it was Nana that she called herself that she came here in a…" Her thoughts trailed off as the island cracked and split in half, water gushed in through the vast chasm and started to pour to wherever it could reach. Sweeping those that had managed to survive this long along with it towards their doom as it plummeted into the vast abyss that lay there in the center. "Too many needless deaths… still it is for the best if this place were erased forever… there is too much evil in this place… yet this cancer can never be entirely removed…"
As the section collapsed she allowed herself to fall to the ground, the smoke and flames swallowing her. "So this is how it is going to end for me… such a shame… Kouta… don't forget… about me… I… love… you… Kouta…"
Watching how it all unfolded from the constant moving deck of the cruiser, Arakawa watched with mixed feelings and a knot in her stomach as the island vanished behind a huge cloud of steam and smoke. She wasn't certain if the island was gone for good or that a part of it would remain but in any case she vowed never ever to set foot on its accursed soil ever again.
"Somehow it all feels like a bad dream, the chief's plan is starting to fall apart. The vaccine and I are both returning to the mainland, I don't know if Lucy is still alive but if she is…?" Changing her stance in order to better deal with the weight of the container that still hung from her shoulder she was taking no chances with it this time. It would not be more than a couple of inches from her until she was certain that it would be safe.
Standing outside on the deck it felt cold even with the cape that was wrapped again around her shoulders, maybe it was because of the weather or maybe because finally the exhaustion of the ordeal she had been through was finally starting to sink in.
"Humans and the surviving diclonius may yet clash with each other… the final massacre may have yet to begin… would this have happened had Lucy never been born… would it been different if the Kakuzawa's did not possess that mutation of theirs… the island and the DRI are gone… along with centuries of unresolved grudges and hatred…" Looking down upon the steel deck she noticed the splatters of rain, no not rain but rather her own tears. How sentimental did she have to be to shed a tear for those that had died. "You foolish old man."