Chapter 16: Attack on Nagazora I
Felix's [Codename: Nyx] POV
2 Days before the attack. Somewhere in a small hideout in the middle of nowhere.
Yawn-
…
The cat girl stretches her flexible body. "Hnngh." She looks just like a stretching cat waking up from their afternoon nap.
"Oi cat. Hurry and wake UP! We won't spare any dinner for you if you keep procrastinating any longer!" Said the grumpy light gray-haired boy, Cal [Codename: Asura]. He had just finished making their dinner for the day. The smell of his cooked meal permeates through the air. It has a unique effect of making anyone who smelled it even hungrier.
Even the former black-haired butler, Lucien [Codename: Grey Hound] is still affected by it despite his butler training. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" The cat girl replies from her room. Soon she arrived at the dinner table.
Lucien just finished arranging the table and like always it looks astonishing. It is as if they were dining in a fancy restaurant with how the former butler set their seats and plates.
"Oooh~ You always amazed me with how good everything looks whenever you set something up."
"Thank you for your compliment. Ms. Felix, it is simply a habit of mine." Lucien smiled.
"We've known each other for a while now. You don't need to be formal every time you know." Felix takes her seat as Cal serves their portion.
The boy glared at the cat girl who had already started eating her meal. "Cat. Mind your manners."
"Ugh fine. You both are so uptight~." Felix put down her spoon.
The cat girl pouts as she stares at her meal. Impatiently waiting until Cal finishes serving everyone their meal, he finally sits on his seat. After a brief moment of silence, the trio finally eats their meal.
A warm and calm atmosphere filled the room. These 3 were like a family despite their line of work. An unlikely family forged through their bonds with each other instead of blood. Each one of them came from a completely different background and yet here they are now stuck together.
"Hmm~ Master Cal always makes the best meal." Felix compliments
Cal huffs. "Hmph. Obviously. Why would anyone be satisfied with mediocrity when it comes to food? The taste determines the quality."
They continued with their meal until there was nothing left on the plate and only then would they start discussing their plans to steal WOTAN out of an AE base located near Nagazora. The only problem was of course the security of the place.
"This plan is suicide! Why do we have to do this? This cat was almost caught when she snuck into the most secured place in Ryoma's arsenal." Cal pointed his index towards Felix.
"Hey! The mission is still a success though."
"Shut up cat. That's not the issue. I don't want to die a pointless death raiding an AE base for some bullshit plan that an AE enforcer made. She could've easily sent us to a trap." Cal crossed his arms. He does have a point though So far Cocolia has been somewhat helpful by giving them blueprints of the base and backdoor access when Felix/Nyx was stealing some files off of Ryoma's personal computer on the top of ME corp's main HQ.
But who knows Cocolia might be planning to kill or capture all 3 of them at once in this current raid. Unfortunately backing down isn't an option for them.
"...You know, I need the money. You two could stay and I'll try to steal one." Felix replied. Felix still has her other orphan friends that need her. They're still too young to get a job and sustain their well-being.
So Felix took it upon herself as the eldest of the bunch to bring them the money they needed for their day-to-day lives. Either by stealing from the corrupt rich or mercenary missions like these.
Thankfully the world serpent does shelter them somewhere however if Felix fails or becomes disobedient, Jackal would've gotten permission to take one or more of them for Project Stigma or turn them into MANTIS soldiers like Felix herself and everyone knows that Jackal doesn't care if her test subjects died during the process.
"Nope. Not happening you're not going alone cat. I'm not taking care of those brats if you die. No matter how lucky you're, you ain't avoiding death."
"Ahem." Lucien coughs a little. "While I agree with Mr. Cal's opinion on how dangerous it is. We can't let you go in there alone as well. Despite your track record of breaking into highly secured places"
"You don't have a reason to go Lucien and Cal over here just wants vengeance against the Honkai or something. Maybe he has gotten soft now." Felix looks at the boy with a smug look on her face.
"Fuck off, Felix. If you're asking for a fight, ask them after this mission ends, and I'll gladly beat you to a pulp!" Cal glares at Felix.
"That's not true. Ms. Natasha has asked me to take care of you two. Therefore I will continue to help and keep you two safe." Lucien replied. So it is because of a promise. Though Felix has a sneaking suspicion that Lucian is still hiding something from them. Unfortunately as of now, she could just guess.
"I told that Raven woman, I can take care of myself. Why do I need a babysitter? Fine, I'm going but this snake better makes this operation worth my time."
"Grey Serpent pays us pretty well. It's probably worth it. Besides, in the 3rd phase of the plan, we'd be kidnapping a Herrscher."
"The snake is untrustworthy. I only follow the sire because we have the same goal. I hate the way that Android talks or does stuff and what Herrscher are we even kidnapping? That is the most absurd line I've ever heard." Cal scoffs.
"Madam Cocolia said it is the Herrscher of the void," Lucien answered his question. This raises Cal's and Felix's eyebrows. After all, it is common knowledge that the 2nd Herrscher was dead after the 2nd eruption ended.
"Why didn't she tell us directly? Also that Herrscher is dead. Who in the right mind wants to revive a dead Herrscher? Did someone else take the core and become the 2nd Herrscher of the void?"
"I'm simply relaying her words. I, myself don't know if she was telling the truth or believed some false information. The overseer of Schicksal can be quite cunning when it comes to information management."
"Tsk, That blond guy. He and that Android are similar I tell you." Cal huffs.
"I agree." Lucien nods. Felix was a bit surprised to hear that, the butler rarely speaks about his opinions regarding his employer. Wonder what made him change? "We better prepare ourselves. Mr. Cal, Ms. Felix, I wish us good luck."
Strangely Cal simply stayed quiet and took a deep breath instead. "All of you better survive."The boy then walks back to his room to prepare for their upcoming suicide mission.
"Don't worry too much. Luck is on my side." Felix stated as she left the living room.
Under the darkness of the night. The thief makes her move. Felix pops her head out of a bush and takes a good look at the fence that separates her from her goal. "Nyx is in position, ready when you are," Felix said over in the radio comms.
"We copy, Good luck Miss Nyx. The attack team will launch their attack soon. Install the virus into the network. The virus will infect WOTAN and we'll be able to control that mech remotely after that get out as quickly as you can. AE reinforcements could come sooner than we expect them to be." Lucien replied.
"We're launching our attack. Get ready." As soon as Lucien said that a big explosion occurred at the entrance of the base. Felix could feel the ground beneath her shake as a result. The raid had officially started and many of the base's personnel were relocating to the front of the base to defend and create a defensive frontline.
Using the chaos to her advantage. Felix managed to slip past the security and entered through one of the vents where she would then crawl her way through the base to a nearby elevator.
As the elevator goes down into the basement. Felix couldn't hear much of what was going on outside. "...This is taking a while." She said as she waited and waited. Just how long does she have to wait until she reaches the "basement" of this place anyway? Can it even be called a basement now? Feels more like an underground lair to her.
After a while, the elevator door finally opens. Even deep underground the alarm blared reminding her of the attack that was going on outside. Hopefully, this base can handle some explosive battles. Being crushed there is the last thing she wants.
"The control room should be around here. Somewhere." Felix picked up her pace while also avoiding being seen by any guards or personnel along the way. Not that she couldn't fight any of them, but it would be a hassle if they decided to call for backup.
Fortunately, she found the control room in the first room she entered, unfortunately, she did immediately catch the attention of everyone inside that room as soon as the door opened. "...Uhm… Hi?" Felix awkwardly chuckles as the automatic door closes behind her.
The guards immediately draw their assault rifles as Felix ducks and lounges at one of them. Clawing their chest with her wolverine claw weapon. She used the corpse as a temporary cover before she slid under a desk beside her.
Felix patiently waits as bullets fly by. Waiting for that one moment before she could attack
Click
Bingo, Some of the guards had run out of ammo and she used that small window of time as the guards were reloading their weapons to launch her counterattack. Felix pounces and slashes the guards that are on her right.
She ducked and weaved through every shot, Her agility proved to be quite a challenge for the guards. Despite them showering the room with bullets, almost none hit her directly. The guards either shot each other by accident from Felix luring them to each other's line of sight or they grazed her with their shots.
Afterward, silence filled the room as the firefight ended in favor of the cat MANTIS.
Felix plugs in a Flash drive to one of the computers that weren't shot in the previous firefight and uploads a virus onto the system as Felix makes some makeshift bandages from the clothes of the fallen guards to patch herself up.
The MANTIS hissed as she tightened up the cloth on her arm. "This is why I prefer being stealthy, stupid automatic doors," Felix grumbles. "The virus is in," Felix said on her comms as she took a brief rest before heading out.
"Nyx seems like the plan has changed," Lucien said in their comms as Felix was about to leave through the door she just came in. Seriously of all times, it had to be when she's about to leave too. Felix can only sigh, hopefully, she doesn't have to come up there and help them. Cleaning the blood off her tail is very hard and she doesn't want to make it more dirty than it already is.
"What is it now?" Felix grumbles.
"The virus is successful in its job but unfortunately it can't do 1 important task. That is activating the WOTAN remotely." Some explosions and fighting can still be heard in the background, It is pretty heated too, Did they miscalculate something? Well, whatever it is, it seems like their fighting force couldn't push through AE defenses just as easily as they expected.
"So you want me to drive that thing? I don't even know much of the controls no one gave me a manual!"
"Do not worry Nyx, We don't need you to drive it. We just needed someone to start its engine and you're the closest agent there. I apologize for the sudden news Nyx but I suppose there are some variables that we couldn't foresee."
"Fine. I'll do it, at least clear the exit area." Felix rolled her eyes.
"Will do. Grey Hound out. I wish you good luck Nyx."
Well, the task is simple enough, at least she doesn't need to drive that thing. Though getting there isn't simple at all! There are a lot more guards guarding the WOTAN and some of them are in mechs!
Worse of all, this base is on lockdown because she attacked the control room meaning the WOTAN can't just fly out of here because the way to the surface is blocked. If she ordered the WOTAN to shoot up she would just bury herself and the mech under layers of rock, dirt, and concrete. Not sure if the WOTAN's cockpit would be durable enough to withstand that amount of pressure and she doesn't want to find out the hard way.
The only way for her to get it out is to leave through the emergency tunnel though that means all the guards would be chasing her. "I better get extra payment for this job. Maybe I should even buy them all steaks when it's over." She thought to herself. A big reward is always nice after a dangerous job like this one.
Felix took one last look at her goal and the obstacles that blocked her. Determining the most optimal route, the cat girl stepped onto the railing before she took a leap of faith. She jumped from the guard rail of the highest floor onto the torso of the mech as Felix barely grabbed hold of the big metal plating.
"Ne-never doing that again," Felix grumbles as she climbs onto the shoulder of the WOTAN. She was lucky that she managed to find her grip otherwise, she would've fallen a couple stories down. She'd probably survive with little injuries but still, she doesn't want to climb this damn thing from the bottommost part of the base. At least by doing this, no one seems to have noticed her getting into the WOTAN.
"Well here goes nothing." With her fingers crossed Felix activated the mech. The slumbering metal beast soon lights up as its engine roar grabs the attention of everyone in the vicinity. As the virus already infected its system, the beast was already given a set of commands and executed them immediately. Perhaps it executed them a little bit too well.
The virus overrides the WOTAN's AI system, making it think that the allies they're supposed to help, or in this case the AE soldiers and employees, an enemy they must destroy.
Metal plates on its shoulder shifted, exposing the rockets that lay beneath it. The WOTAN fires every missile it has in its arsenal into the base as its giant arms move in a sweeping motion destroying any scaffolding and metal platforms that block its path.
"Wait. Wait. No! STOP!" Felix frantically ordered the mech as she pushed random buttons on the console in front of her, not really knowing what any of them did. Luckily, she managed to make the WOTAN stop its attack and not accidentally make it self-destruct or something along those lines.
Command received. Scanning for building structural integrity. Building structural integrity is at 30% and declining. The WOTAN Ai stated
"Of course it is! You shot explosives inside an underground bunker!" Felix grumbles. "Now hurry and escape through the emergency tunnel before this entire bunker collapses."
Affirmative. The giant mech then started moving and picked up its pace as the metal giant started to run. They slammed through the door of the emergency exit tunnel
The tunnel continued to destabilize as the WOTAN ran across it. With each step, the WOTAN created a small quake which in turn damaged the building's already fragile infrastructure even further. However, things are starting to get worse for Felix as the guards quickly mobilize and chase after the WOTAN that she's in.
While she doesn't have to worry about the bullets penetrating the thick metal wall surrounding her cockpit. She'd still have to worry about the smaller mechs climbing onto the WOTAN itself and of course, the exit door that's currently blocking her only way out of this mess.
If she were to retaliate with explosives she'd risk getting herself squashed under several tons of rock before she could ever open or smash through the exit and if she tries to shoot at the exit door now she may end up blocking her only exit with tons of rubble. She couldn't retaliate with normal bullets either as most of the weaponry of the WOTAN is facing the front of the mech, not the back.
Felix had to make a decision now. The cat girl sighs and closes her eyes. She put all of her faith into her luck and instincts, She had to, and so Felix waited for the right timing before she would fire those rockets.
"..." Internally the cat girl had her doubts whether this would work or not. Felix waited and waited and waited and after 2 minutes had passed she commanded the WOTAN to fire its rockets to the blast door that was blocking the exit.
She hoped that it would at least do some damage to it so the WOTAN could easily smash through it without sustaining any major damage to its hull.
The rockets made contact with the door creating a large quake in the process. Structural Integrity is now 9%. Felix's heart raced, She could even feel them beating as if they were coming out of her chest due to how anxious she was.
The WOTAN ran into the smoke as the ceiling started crumbling around them. Felix let God take the wheel. She put all of her faith that a miracle from God would happen. She knows that eventually, her lucky streak will run out someday but she hoped that today isn't the time that it did.
Well luckily for her, her luck didn't run out as the WOTAN smashed through the metal doors and they both got out safely as the tunnel collapsed the moment the WOTAN set its giant metal foot onto the outside world.
Felix let out a big sigh of relief. The cat girl slumped back onto her chair smiling and laughing that she managed to survive this mission. This has got to be the closest moment she had ever been to her own demise.
"Hey. The WOTAN is out." Felix said over to her comms.
"Affirmative. We'll be pulling back now. Good work Nyx or Ms. Felix" Lucien instantly replied.
"Haaa, I'm charging them extra this time. 30K$ sounds nice." Felix muttered silently. She's just grateful that she's alive right now. She wonders if her sisters or friends from her orphanage are doing okay.
She always had her worries about Jackal doing something to them. She could see it in Jackal's eyes behind that dog mask she always wore. The eyes of a predator. Considering they were the survivors of a small Honkai catastrophe, Jackal would've loved to have them all as test subjects for Project Stigma or even as another MANTIS experiment.
"..." Maybe she should check on them when this is over. She has this bad feeling that Jackal might've broken her part of the deal.
"Still one more mission to go. No hard feelings Herrscher. This is just a part of my job. It'll also be safer for all of us if you're contained….Right?" Felix shakes her head. ' Just treat them as a shiny item Felix, Remember that you're doing this for them.'
Ding
A notification pops up on her phone. It is from Grey Serpent, telling her where to park the WOTAN with the coordinates and route attached. "Alright, big guy go to this location." Felix puts in the coordinates.
Affirmative. The AI responded and the WOTAN started walking to its destination using the route that Grey Serpent had sent her. While she waits for the WOTAN to get there. Felix decided to rest her eyes for a bit. Nothing would probably happen along the way right?
Present Day, Nagazora Central Mall
Sakuya's POV
Her seemingly peaceful day had now been ruined. Sakuya was somewhat curious about what Mei had planned for them. She wasn't that interested but didn't want to ruin her friend's expectations besides, Mei seemed happy that she got her to join.
Though they had a much bigger problem now. Sakuya is dragging Mei along by her wrist as the two ran for their lives from the Giant WOTAN behind them. "S-Sakuya, Wh- What about Yeonsheo Chan?" Mei looked back at the robot. A slight tremble in her voice could be heard. Inside Mei is panicking and Sakuya could see that even though the Heiress tried her best to keep herself calm.
"Don't think about it. She'll be fine! Focus on our survival first." Sakuya reassures her, It would be rather pathetic if a Schicksal Valkyrie died that way. Most likely she'll survive one way or another at least she should be strong enough to get herself out of that situation.
But why's the WOTAN even chasing them? Thankfully it doesn't use any of its weapons but from the way it moves, it's clear that it is moving towards them. But why? And who is its target?
Is it Sakuya herself or is it because she's with Mei? "Tsk" Sakuya grits her teeth at this predicament. If she shows her powers here what would Mei think? Would she think of her as a…. Freak? A Witch? A Monster? Valkyrie's abilities aren't well known to the public and Mei might view her as a threat instead. It is something that Sakuya doesn't want to ever happen.
After all the older "Kaslana" didn't want to lose a friend.
A memory of Safa played in her mind. A memory of when Sakuya caught a cold. It was during the time of their captivity and early experimentation.
"Sakuya, come here and let your big sister comfort you." Safa brought her into her embrace. The older girl could feel the heat radiating off Sakuya's skin as she embraced her. " Here take my share. Sakuya," Safa gave her a portion that was supposed to be her meal to the little girl in her arms. Even though Sakuya had eaten already she gladly took the cold broth that Safa gave her.
"Are you still cold?" Safa looked around and grabbed a nearby blanket to envelop them in. "Nee-san. Thanks." Sakuya weakly replied.
"Mhm. Don't mention it and rest up." Safa's hand slowly and gently pats the little girl's head. Bringing a sense of comfort and warmth despite the situation they're in. The older girl smiled warmly as she tended to her needs.
"I'll always be with you, Sakuya," Safa said with a warm smile.
"Always."
Why's she remembering her old friend in this situation? Perhaps it is due to her own heart yearning to relive those moments with her old friend again. A moment that is forever stuck in her past due to some unfortunate circumstances.
"..."
No, Not again. It won't happen a 2nd Time!
This time it'll be different. This time she could do something about it. This time she could save her friend. Save MEI from those damn World Serpent CULTISTS!
"Protect Mei. This time I'm not a hopeless weakling." Sakuya muttered.
Sakuya slowed down a bit and swept Mei by the ankle as the older "Kaslana" proceeded to princess carry her friend before she picked up her pace and sprinted faster. "Don't squirm too much and hold on.
Mei was caught off guard by this. But She quickly nodded and wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulder and hugged her for dear life to not fall and cause them both to trip.
Any man would fantasize about being in this situation and they would most likely be jealous if they saw it but I don't think any normal high school student would want to be in the situation they're in right now.
Her mind scrambles for ideas. She couldn't go faster than this or else Mei could get suspicious. Sakuya needs to think of something.
With each step the WOTAN takes the people that are inside can feel the ground tremble as it sets its foot onto the mall floor instantly breaking every tile and cracking the nearby support. The mall would soon collapse if they didn't get out soon. But even on the streets, there is no guarantee that it won't continue to chase after them.
Sakuya needs to find a vehicle they could use. Preferably a Motorcycle since Sakuya predicted that the streets would be filled with traffic with people panicking.
As she ran the girl noticed a motorbike being displayed in one of the shops. Most likely the sports bike doesn't have much fuel but it'll do. Sakuya put Mei down beside the bike as she tried to hot-wire and turn it on as they didn't have much time to find the key.
"Sakuya chan. Isn't this illegal?"
"We can think about that later when we're in a safer location," Sakuya replied. The girl grunts as her attempts fail multiple times. In the end, she used her HoT powers to jumpstart the engine. Hopefully, Mei didn't notice it. Thankfully the Heiress didn't know any better. "Hop on," Sakuya ordered her friend.
The two girls hopped on the sports bike and Sakuya immediately pulled the throttle fully causing the bike to fly forward, crashing through the glass pane in front of them as they finally got out of the mall.
"Sa-SAKUYA! Do you even know how to ride a bike?" Mei asked, she was feeling more uneasy after that little stunt Sakuya did. However, her anxiety isn't soothed as Sakuya simply shakes her head.
"I've rode a bicycle before. Anyway, hold on tight!" Sakuya immediately went full throttle again. The heiress screamed while tightly holding onto her friend for her dear life. Sakuya relied on her instincts to keep the bike steady, thankfully her fast reaction time made it easy for them to navigate some tight spaces in between the cars as the WOTAN burst out of the mall itself and began to chase them by running.
Now Sakuya definitely knows that it is trying to get them. She wondered why they were the target though. Is it because of Mei's status as the Heiress of ME Corp or was it because of her? Nothing comes to mind but all she knows is that they somehow have to escape this thing.
Her concern is the limited fuel the bike has. If it runs out they're doomed. She can't create fuel using HoR as that would be rather complicated and very taxing to do. So using HoD's ability to split her mind into multiple parts. She made each of her parallel minds do different tasks.
1 to gather information using her senses and process that information. 1 to control her body and the last one to use HoR's powers to fully analyze the bike. From its components to how everything functions.
Sakuya now understood how the engine functions. It uses gasoline as a combustion source to push the piston down and then later another valve opens to let the hot air out cooling the chamber and the piston is moved up into its original position. She can probably recreate that by mimicking HoF's abilities to create the combustion and HoIce to cool the chamber down.
Mei had completely gone silent and put all of her faith into her friend to get them somewhere safe. Sakuya looked down at the fuel gauge, It was nearly empty. Soon the bike will lose its power. Sakuya activated her powers and put her plans into motion as she pulled the throttle even more.
They zoomed across the streets of Nagazora, barely avoiding the traffic that had been built up. Her plan works though she underestimates how quickly and precise she needs to be in handling her powers in order to keep traveling at this speed.
"Tsk just how long are you going to chase us?" Sakuya muttered, She could feel fatigue seeping in already. Even though it was almost 30 minutes since they left the mall, She never had to be this precise with her powers before or had to worry about someone else's survival.
She could feel the nausea building up. Her brain feels like it is slowly turning into mush. Blood has slowly dripped down from one of her nostrils. But she can't lose her concentration now. If she hit something at this speed both of them would paint the road red. While she could probably survive that accident. Mei who is a normal human wouldn't be as fortunate.
Soon the ground started to shake less and less and eventually, the small quakes stopped completely. The WOTAN had stopped completely in its tracks before it did a complete 180. Sakuya didn't fully understand why but at least for now she could breathe out a sigh of relief. She slowed the bike down and cruised along as they navigated their way back to Mei's mansion.
"Ojou sama!" Her headmaid quickly rushed over to check on her young mistress. She is accompanied by none other than Raiden Ryoma, the head of the Raiden family. He became extremely worried the moment he saw the news.
AE forces were already spread thin as they were chasing the other WS members that were trying to escape so they couldn't arrive on time to quell the rampaging Wotan that was in the middle of the city. "Mei? Are you okay?" Ryoma asks as his daughter slowly gets off the bike with the help of Sakuya.
Mei's entire body is shaking, she's in a state of panic. His daughter was glued to her friend who seemed oddly calm after experiencing such a horrifying event. "Don't worry she's not hurt. Ryoma sama. I've made sure of it." Sakuya stated as she wiped some blood off her nose.
"Thank you, I can't express how much that means to me. Thank you, Sakuya san." Ryoma replied. The man stood in front of his daughter. "It's okay Mei. You're safe." Ryoma said while gently stroking his daughter's head.
"You did well. You did well Mei, not many people could contain their fear just as you do." The man pulls his daughter into a hug "I don't know what I would do if I lost you too. So thank you for coming back safely, Mei." The man shed some tears from his eyes before wiping them and regaining his composure.
Mei nods as the Heiress hugs her father back. "I- I'm So-Sorry for making Otou san worried."
"Shh. It's fine. It isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for an unexpected event that occurred. What matters to me is that you're safe." Ryoma brushes his daughter's hair.
Sakuya silently stood there, watching the entire thing unfold. The older "Kaslana" smiled a little seeing their wholesome reunion though deep down she felt sad and she couldn't understand why. Her heart aches as she observes the two.
It was as if she was yearning for something. She has Siegfried but she doesn't think that is it. Maybe deep down Sakuya is still yearning to be embraced by her real parents once more. But why did they leave her? Is she really an unwanted child? Is that why Mr. Boris never contacted her again after he put her in that orphanage?
No that can't be it. Her heart refused to believe it no matter how many times her mind thought about that. After all "Okaa sama loved me." Sakuya muttered under her breath. Unsure of why she said that. But she believed that her heart wasn't wrong about that. She just needs to find out the truth.
"...Kyuushou….!" The older "Kaslana" realized something and quickly grabbed her phone. She was too preoccupied with getting Mei somewhere safe that she had forgotten about her cousin and the twins. "Pick up the phone…... Answer it dammit don't ignore me." Sakuya walks around in circles as she dials in Kyuushou's, Kiana's, and Sirin's number.
Ring, Ring, Ring
"Dammit, Pick up you idiots." Unfortunately, the call doesn't connect. WS must've cut off the public's communication line. "Tsk." Sakuya then used AE's communication line to try and call Kiana, Sirin, or even Leon. Her patience is running short, truthfully she's already imagining the worst-case scenario.
Siegfried entrusted them to her, but now that he's gone she has to uphold her promises at the very least. 'World Serpent. Just how much more are you going to take from me?' Sakuya thought as she stared at her phone's screen.
Though fortunately, someone picked up. It was Leon, and only him. Kiana and Sirin aren't picking up theirs. "Leon! Where are they? Kiana and Sirin?" Sakuya immediately asked for confirmation. She hoped that the worst-case scenario didn't happen to them.
"... At least you're safe Sakuya." He defected it, Sakuya knew he was hiding something.
"Leon answer my Question. Where. Are. They?"
"... They're fine but…." Leon sighed. "Alright guess I can't keep anything away from you, can I? They're moving somewhere. The Herrscher tracker that we put on Sirin went offline but fortunately, she has another one. My tracker for the prototype gun I lent her for testing purposes, That's all I know. I'm coming after them and is Mei safe?" Leon replied over the phone, Sakuya could barely hear it in the background but it did sound like he was running somewhere.
"She is and Leon stays back at home this is dangerous."
"What? No! They're not answering my calls either. I'm not staying back." The boy persisted.
"Dammit Leon. just listen-"
"Sakuya I'm not the weak boy you once knew. Have some faith please, Mr. Siegfried trained me too I can handle myself, When I find them I'll let you know how about that?"
"Argh of all times why do you have to be stubborn now? Le-" The boy immediately disconnects the call from his end. This is exactly why she didn't tell any of them about Siegfried's disappearance or else this would happen. Their first instinct is to save others, What's good about saving others when you're sacrificing yourself in the process?
However, Leon was right about one thing. He isn't a fragile kid anymore. "You better come back alive Leon," Sakuya muttered, She looked back at the Raiden family for a moment.
"Mei, Ryoma sama. I'll get going now. Sorry, but I need to find my sisters." Sakuya said before she started running.
"Wa-wait Sakuya chan!" Sakuya ignored her friend's pleas and kept running until she was out of their line of sight. Sakuya ran into an empty alleyway and created a portal to another location, Kyuushou's apartment room.
"Mei!" Ryoma reacted quickly and grabbed his daughter's wrist to prevent her from running off.
"O-Otou san why did you stop me? Sakuya Chan could get hurt!" Mei asked her father. He doesn't want her daughter to get hurt nor does he want her daughter's true friend to be hurt as well but no matter what he does Sakuya won't listen to them.
"I'm not letting you go to wherever she's going when you have just returned into my arms! Mei, you need to rest." Ryoma replied.
Ryoma could see it from the girl's eyes. She is already determined to do what she says and there's no stopping her from achieving that goal. The head of the Raiden family could only hope that Siegfried had trained Sakuya well enough. "And you wouldn't accomplish much if you follow her. Sakuya wouldn't listen. But have faith in your friend Mei. She's a strong girl. Let's just hope she can find what she's looking for."
"But... I understand Otou san." Mei nodded and frowned. She stared in the direction in which Sakuya disappeared. Praying that her friend would be alright. But at the same time, she felt useless that she couldn't return the favor. Maybe next time. Yeah, next time she'll definitely return the favor somehow.
If she couldn't help her now. Maybe she can help her in other ways. "...I wonder what Sakuya Chan needs or wants." Mei ponders as the Raiden family heads inside the safety of their estate.
A void portal opened inside Kyuushou's apartment which unfortunately had seen better days and as soon as Sakuya stepped foot inside the living she could see the damage. Furniture was scattered about, shards of glass littered the floor, Walls were torn, A bit of blood splattered onto the floor, and a big giant hole was seen on the other side of the room where the balcony was located.
Someone had come here with a bang and kidnapped all 3 of them. Leaving behind all the valuables including Kyuushou's laptop which was quite damaged from the aftermath of the explosion. Sakuya stores her cousin's laptop in her void portal and pulls out her phone as she makes another call.
Those WS bastards will pay and it will be done by her own hands. But finding those 3 would be a challenge as Leon forgot to share his tracker information with her and he hasn't answered any of her recent messages yet. Perhaps he got into a fight, who knows.
"Nathara. I need a favor." Sakuya immediately said as soon as her call was connected.
"Things got bad in Nagazora didn't they? Seems like AE got themselves into a pickle with recent attacks that happened. Though if you could call me then you're probably okay." The scientist hums. Guess news travels quite fast. "Though If you want something It'll come at a cost, Sakuya," Nathara added, and she seemed a little displeased about something.
"So will you help me or not?"
"I never say I wouldn't help you, but not everything is free you know. If you want a favor from me then It's simply fair for me to ask something in return no?" Nathara smiles.
Of course, everything had a price. Sakuya knows it all too well. But for them, for her newfound family and her only connection to her past who's coincidentally also her only cousin. She'll do it. She'll sacrifice anything for them. Even if it meant that she had to sell her soul in exchange for their safety and a better life.
"Fine. It's a deal."