Chapter Six
Dyson
It has been five weeks since the attempted coup in the Ebottian Capital, the rebel forces have once again been pushed back into the mountains surrounding it. However, rebel forces continued to mount raids on smaller cities. With few resources, the Ebottian Government began to send technology with Gensokyo, in exchange, requested the assignment of a group of Gensokyians to assist in silencing the rebellion.
In a dimly lit room, a group of soldiers prepared their gear for the upcoming mission, their commander entering the room. The soldiers stood up, saluting him as the man stopped at a podium. "Greetings men, as you know, the remnants of Zero's rebel group have once again emerged. Much like last month, they've retreated into the mountain region surrounding the capital state, this has become a trend among their ranks. Because of this, you will be assigned with clearing out a major sector in their defense. However, due to lack of resources, we will be enlisting the help of our new neighbors, the Gensokyians…" The commander said as the door opened. Reisen alongside Aya Shameimaru entered, both looking slightly shy. The soldiers looked at them with equal uncertainty, the two standing off in the corner. "Our target is the O-19 communications network, a series of interconnected communication towers along the mountain region. O-19 is the center of the rebel communication network, if we are successful in neutralizing the towers, then we will be able to intercept their future plans, your newly promoted commanding officer will take over from here…" The commander said, leaving the room, the team's officer taking his place. "J-Jean!? Y-Your the medic, how did you get promoted to squad leader?" One of the soldiers asked, "Guess I just did my job right… I thought the commander told you already…" Jean said.
"These two go by the name of Aya and Reisen, they will be our assistants supporting us today, they're foreigners so you better treat them with respect." Jean said, pulling up a picture of the mountain range, "We will fly two helicopters under the cover of darkness, one attack, one transport. Given the time we have, we will only have a few hours to complete the operation. We have two main objectives, first, we need to locate and take control of the main O-19 communication tower. Second, we need to secure the area surrounding it, making sure the rebels don't retake or interfere with our operation." Jean said, "Reisen and Aya will be our pathfinders, both of them have prior experience with rugged terrain and navigation, we need to ensure we remain undetected." Jean said, "We've already sent out a drone to scout the area, though we didn't get too close out of fear of it being detected. So far, it seems the tower is not that defended, with only a dozen defenders tops… Any questions?" Jean asked, "Alright then, get your stuff together and let's make this quick, remember we only have a few hours before sunrise!"
After a while, the group of ten soldiers made their way to the transport helicopter, Reisen and Aya being given guns, if not only for a more professional look. Jean got on first, the soldiers after, as they climbed in, Jean handed the Youkai a set of pins. "Put these on, for now at least. Make them think you're just some of our own monsters, if they find out you guys are involved… They may seek to attack you next…" Jean said, Reisen smiled, "I thank you for your concern, but I think we'll be just fine," Reisen said, smiling at Aya. They put on the small insignia's, the attack helicopter taking off first. "So, first time in combat? I guess that's a dumb question—" A soldier asked, "I was… Not Aya, a long time ago, I was in a war," Reisen said. The Ebotians looked at her in surprise, "Really, you guys had a war?" A veteran asked, "Small one, that was years ago… But yes, we did. I guess you could call me a veteran then right?" Reisen asked, "Depends, you killed anyone…?" The veteran asked, Reisen gazed to the side, "Yeah, I killed people, won't say how many though…" Reisen said. "Thirty six, I killed thirty six men in my time. Huckebein, that was my name back then, it kinda stuck after that…" Huckebein said, Huckebein had short brown hair with some gray hairs growing in, he wore a bandana over his head and was covered in equipment and war trophies. "Huckebein, that's a code name correct? In Gensokyo we don't go by those, if anything we just refer by numbers, my number was R.01, since I am technically the 'second' Reisen, my… Replacement, being referred to as R.02, or Reisen II, if you will." Reisen said, "Replacement? You got discharged? Why do you have a replacement?" Huckebein said, "It's a long story… But truth be told I was still considered one of the most decorated soldiers after the war, most of my medals are in my master's house," Reisen said.
"What about her?" Huckebein asked, pointing towards Aya, Aya shook her head. "While I may not be a valiant veteran, I am highly regarded as the single fastest of my kind, not just that, but I have been extensively trained in mountain climbing. So this kinda thing is a specialty of mine…" Aya said, "Well it's good we've got you on our side, these mountains can be pretty unstable at times…" Jean said as the helicopter took off. "What do you mean unstable…?" Reisen asked, "It's really nothing much, just sometimes, the mountains here tend to… Break off," Jean said. "This wasn't in the briefing, how bad is it?" Aya asked, Jean shrugged, "Shouldn't be too bad around this time… But if you feel a certain place may be unstable, then I'd avoid it…" Jean said. The sky was still coated in a night black, making navigation slightly difficult.
"If you don't mind me asking… What exactly… Are you two? You look pretty human, but the animal parts…" Huckebein said, "Trust me, we're not humans, we're Youkai! Very different, but we do indeed look like one of you," Aya said. "This is Ajax Two I've got contacts heading towards the O-19 tower, several pickup trucks, possible for supply." The attack helicopter said, "This is Ajax One, copy, do not engage until our arrival, keep a close eye on them and stay out of engagement range!" The transport pilot responded, "Looks like they may be reinforcing the position," Jean said, "Good, more for us… Third coups the charm huh…" Huckebein said. "This is Ajax Two, identification complete, there are five pickup trucks, two armed with anti-air guns, three carrying fuel, I can see fuel tanks on their back!" The attack pilot said, "Copy, come in low, we're about to fly above you, once we land you coat that whole area in rockets!" The transport pilot said, the transport flying over the attacker, thankfully, the noises of the trucks drowned out the sound of the approaching helicopters, making the transport's approach unharmed.
The helicopter quickly swerved over the tower, its rotors just missing it, just then, a barrage of rockets could be seen barreling towards the trucks. Small arms fire pelted the transport, the tower's guards hearing the helicopter. The unguided rockets slammed into the convoy, the flammable gas erupting into a ball of flame. The tower was located on a small area of flat land, the mountain side surrounding its left right side, making the helicopter wedged between the mountain face and the tower. "Let's go!" Jean shouted, jumping out of the helicopter, his squad doing the same, Reisen and Aya being the last to jump. Immediately the squad was pinned down by a volley of fire, muzzle flashes and tracers illuminating the night. They had jumped off at the base of the tower, a building below it. The rebels were firing at them from outside the building, mostly coming from a large forest around the mountain face. Reisen and Aya were caught out in the open, having jumped a little late, missing the roof of the building.
Despite her leg being a bit sore from the fall, Reisen was fine, Aya clinging onto a tree with her quick, Tengu reaction. Reisen ran into the building, the squad above providing support. Reisen bursted down the door, surprising a rebel who was watching television. "What the hell!?" The rebel shouted, Reisen shooting near him, forcing him to surrender, the rebel putting his hands in the air. Aya followed Reisen, drawing a pistol Jean gave her, the two surrounding him. "S-Step away from the radio or we'll shoot!" Aya commanded, Jean coming down the stairway, "Hands up! United Ebottian Security Forces! Surrender this communications tower at once!" Jean shouted, the battle still in full swing, the rebel stepped away from the radio and the TV, Reisen taking him into custody. "This is Ajax Two, out of ammo, requesting to leave the battle!" The attack pilot asked, "This is Argon request granted, re-arm and return quickly, the enemy knows where to attack now!" Jean said, "Since I'm already in some deep mud, if I tell you information, will my sentence be reduced?" The rebel asked, "Sure, tell us, if it's good enough then I'll see what I can do," Jean said. "You might know this already, but there's a second tower not too far from this one. Behind that vent is a tunnel, which will lead to the second tower… We already anticipated an attack here, so we built a back up tower just in case. We've been stockpiling supplies there, and a lot of it…" The rebel said, "What's your name?" Jean asked, "Kagami… My name is Kagami…" Kagami said, "Kagami? Where are you from?" Jean asked, "Same as you, Kagami just sounded like a cool name…" Kagami said.
Kagami wore the average rebel attire, old camo fatigues, ammo vest, face mask, your stereotypical terrorist. Jean removed his mask, Kagami having short gray hair and green eyes. "Reisen, Aya, care to take Sir Kagami over to those vents over there, I have an idea." Jean said, Reisen nodding, forcing Kagami to open the vent, "I must admit, you're not like the rest of the rebels, you're oddly well disciplined," Jean said. "Why thank you, that's a lot coming from a boot licking traitor like you… But I digress," Jean said, "Man, this'll make a story once I get home!" Aya said, "You are your 'stories', I swear, we'll never hear the end of this one. I can already see it," Reisen said as Kagami opened the vent, "Keep Kagami in front, when he enters the second building, make him trick the guards in that one, got it?" Jean asked, "Right, alright buddy advance!" Aya commanded Kagami leading the two down a thin tunnel, in the dreary tunnel, the lights flickered as the three advanced, a firefight above them. The tunnel winded and inclined, the soggy concrete floor spotted with puddles, the sound of their footsteps echoing down its hall. The sound of a muffled helicopter could be heard, the three reaching the opposite vent, "Kagami, now…" Reisen whispered, "H-Hey guys, can you let me in… Uh…" Kagami said, "Kagami! Why are you here? Your paycheck isn't until next week!" A guard shouted, "It's not that… Where uh… Under attack," Kagami replied, "There taking me hostage!" Kagami shouted, Aya kicking Kagami out of the vent in an instant, Reisen bolting out, Reisen shot the two guards in quick succession, the third tripping over himself, "This is the second tower, we're under att—!" The remaining guard shouted before Reisen shot him.
Kagami rose to his feet, groaning, "That's what you get! I suppose you're finished with your deceitful ways now?" Aya asked, "...Sure… What are you…?" Kagami asked, "Who's there!?" A guard asked, opening the door to the second tower. Aya kicked him in the face, throwing him into the air before shooting him. Just then, a grenade was thrown into the room, Aya picking it up before flying into the sky, leaving black feathers. Aya kicked the grenade back as if a sports ball, the pack of guards surrounding the tower being blown up. Just then, Aya was greeted by a hail of autocannon fire, an attack helicopter blowing holes into her wings. Despite being a Youkai, some parts of her body were still susceptible to conventional forms of combat. Aya fell to the ground, being close enough to latch onto the tower itself, Reisen letting go of her assault rifle. "What are you doing!?" Kagami asked, the helicopter aiming at Reisen, in an instant, her eyes glowed a deep red, forming her finger into a gun, a beam of magic shooting out of her fingertip. The red beam burned through the helicopter's fuselage, ripping off its stabilizer, the helicopter swerving from the damage. Reisen ran as the helicopter fired rockets at her, Aya losing her grip and falling into the concrete, injured. Reisen fired another beam, this time hitting the cockpit, as the helicopter careened into the ground, the pilot ejected into the air, a man impacting the ground. In the dark, a blade made of red energy emerged, the man rising from the burning wreck of the helicopter. The man had black swept over hair, covering one of his eyes, a red beret over his head. "As expected… I knew something was up once we lost contact with the first tower… Now I know who's at fault." The man said, Reisen fired another beam, the man blocking it with his energy blade. Oddly, the man was not wearing a military uniform, instead wearing a regal suit, a masquerade mask covering his face. The man charged, Reisen firing at his leg, the man jumping before Reisen dodged. The blade burned into the ground, causing the grass to catch fire, the man swung again, the blade cutting off a small piece of Reisen's left ear, so small that it would only cause slight discomfort.
Despite her calm demeanor, Reisen scowled at the man, finally meeting a match for her race. "Who are you?!" Reisen shouted, the man chuckled, revealing a small emblem on his beret, "The family hired me… To them, you're all furniture, and I'll make that a reality…" The man said.
Couch: The Foreign Mercenary
"The family… Reisen, this guy's bad news…" Kagami muttered, running off into the building, "Wha—" Just then, Couch charged forward, causing Reisen to shoot his leg, this time it went through, the man collapsing before flying into the air. With this momentum he aimed himself like a missile, slamming into the ground, creating a small crater. Aya finally came down,challenging Couch, aiming her pistol at his head. Couch smiled, running as if no damage was done to begin with, Aya fired, the rounds being blocked, he swung, Aya's hand being cut off. Aya gritted her teeth, jabbing his heck with her nails, the scene had turned into a brutal melee, blood now pooling onto the ground. Reisen fired into Couch's back, the danmaku burning a hole into his body. Just then, a group of butterflies covered his wound, regenerating the whole, "I see, so you're gonna be like that huh?" Aya asked, nodding to Reisen. Couch turned to meet Reisen, Reisen pointing two fingers at him, the sky was then filled with danmaku, despite his reflexes, Couch was unable to block all of the danmaku. The beams burned into his body, too many for the golden butterflies to regenerate in time. Aya picked up the grenades from a group of dead soldiers, placing one in each finger, Coach recoiled from all the damage, the butterflies doing what they could to regenerate his wounds. Aya then pulled the pins of all the grenades in quick motion, counting to five in her head, which was the average time that grenades took to explode. Coach howeled, throwing his energy blade, Aya running up from behind him, in a split second, she had shoved all the bombs into his suit, the other second, the man that was once Couch, went up. Sparks of magic and energy engulfed the area, Aya flying Reisen out of the blast, landing on the ground.
As the smoke cleared, Jean emerged from the building supported by Kagami, "You guys alright!?" Kagami asked, "We're fine! Just a few flesh wounds, ha…" Aya said, making the two recoil at the sight of her missing hand. "Y-Your hand! Lady Aya, are you alright?!" Jean asked, "Like I said, just a flesh wound…" Aya said, "Your wings too, who was that guy? He moved like a devil…" Kagami asked, "No idea, but he's gone now… Kagami, you don't know?" Reisen asked, Kagami lowered his head in thought, "That guy didn't make a spark, but what he said did… He said something about the family, and those golden butterflies aren't that strange…" Kagami, "Also the emblem he showed, there's some boxes here we got from overseas that have the same emblem as he did!" Kagami said, going behind the building before dragging out a long wooden box. "In here are a bunch of rocket launchers, so it's pretty heavy… But look at this emblem, same right?" Kagami asked, the four investigating, sure enough, on the wooden box was a small symbol… A golden wing… Like the one of Couch's beret, "Where did you get these from?" Jean asked, Kagami shrugged, "Dunno, that's where my knowledge ends, all I know is that we sometimes buy from an overseas company, don't recall the name. But according to him, there's a family running the thing," Kagami said. Jean looked closer, "Most likely a Mafia group, we have a few around our waters from time to time… But why now? Most of the mafia's existed during the civil war, nowadays you barely hear a peep from them," Jean said.
Kagami sighed, "Whatever the case is, seems like our mission here is done. I'll have you two be evacuated out of here, I'll send these boxes to evidence, perhaps big brother can tell us who's at fault. They'll get one really angry message, that's for sure…" Jean said. "As for you Kagami, you're coming with me… If you cooperate, perhaps we can come to a deal, despite a few setbacks… You seem trustworthy enough to be a tool at the least." Jean, "Come on!" Jean ordered, Kagami following him, "You do that Jean! We'll stay here for the time being!" Aya shouted, as the two left, Reisen motioned for Aya to use her hidden radio, "This is Aya, Yukari, we've got something…" Aya said. Just then, Yukari emerged from a gap, appearing before them, "Yes? What is it?" Yukari asked, "Lady Yukari," Reisen said, the two bowing to her, "There seems to be some suspicious boxes here… Thought you might look at them…" Reisen said. Yukari looked confused, "Boxes…? Boxes? Alright…" Yukari said, examining the box. In a second, her eyes went wide, noticing the golden wing emblem. "I see…. I see, thank you for reporting this Aya, I see…" Yukari said, showing a tinge of frustration. "We also came into contact with someone supposedly affiliated with these people, claiming that they were fighting for the 'family' and that everyone was beneath them…" Reisen said, "Figures, apparently years of death were not enough, so they laid their sights on someone else, honorless swine!" Yukari remarked, "By the way, how did Chen's birthday go?" Reisen asked, "Oh it went great, thankfully the battle had calmed down once I left, that was weeks ago Reisen! You really need to brush up on current events," Yukari said, "So what about the box?" Aya asked, "Indeed this is very worrisome, if the family had indeed been doing business with this rebel group, then it means the rebels will soon have access to their magic… Swaying our popularity below them!" Yukari said, "We need to ensure we are the number one buyer, but also to ensure that the family does not perform any more actions here, is that clear?" Yuakri asked, "Affirm, do I need to brief lady Kaguya and Eirin?" Reisen asked, "No need, I will brief them myself, the next course of action is simple, to spy on their movements and disrupt their exchanges as much as possible…" Yukari said, taking the box with her through the gap.
As she did so, Jean emerged from the building, "Where's the box?!" Jean asked, the two turned to him, "Lady Yukari took it…" Aya said, "I-I see… Well the helicopter's ready…" Jean said, "Right, let's go Aya," Reisen said, Aya nodding, the sun rising above the mountain.
By now Frisk had mostly recovered from they're wounds, thankfully the bullet had not damaged they're stomach further than it did. However, being forced to stay in the hospital for around a month was really starting to get boring, but thankfully Toriel and Sans would stop by on the regular. Today Frisk was going to get discharged, they're stomach finally healed. "From the X-Ray it looks just fine, so if there are no more requests, you're free to go!" The doctor said, "No, thank you doc," Sans said, "No problem, oh, by the way, keep the bandage on for one more week, after that return here alright, we need to be sure the skin fully recuperated," the doctor said. "Got it, come on Frisk, let's go home…" Sans said before they left the hospital and were off to Toriel's house.