CHAPTER 38

REJECTION, BETRAYAL AND COMPROMISED

Hilda sat alone outside at the back garden table, the darkening clouds turning the sky a gloomy grey as the wind began to pick up. Still Hilda waited patiently, not caring how chilly she was getting. She had endured far worse, so this was nothing. "I've grown so much, it's no wonder she can't recognize me." Hilda mused, still unsure of what to do. Mama wasn't in her right state of mind, thinking Hilda would be coming home as if she had never been taken. Hopefully once she talked with Mama then she could help her to notice she had returned. 'Don't worry Mama. I'll help you remember me, and we'll be a family again.'

"Sorry for keeping you waiting dear." Hilda looked up as Mama came out of the house with a tray on which she carried a pot of tea and a piping hot apple pie that smelled as wonderful as Hilda remembered. "It's hot out the oven, so be careful. I hope you enjoy."

"Sure." Hilda beamed. Mama's failure to recognize her aside, everything was exactly how she envisioned. It was too good to be true. Hilda was about to take a bite of the apple pie she had longed for, but it didn't feel right sitting right here next to Mama who still did not recognize her daughter was finally home.

"Is everything okay dear?" Mama asked noticing Hilda's troubled expression. Hilda's heart hammered against her ribs, and she took a deep breath for courage.

"There's something I have to tell you…"

"Hilda is that you?" Mama suddenly called. In that split second Hilda's heart swelled to twice its size only for the elation to fade as she realized Mama wasn't looking at her but at the garden where a little girl with chin length crimson red hair and violet eyes was standing. Hilda couldn't believe it. The little girl looked just like her.

"Hi Mom." The girl said brightly.

"Welcome home. Did school finish early today, Hilda?"

"Happy birthday, Mom." The little girl sang as she ran up and brandished a single red rose from behind her back.

"Oh it's lovely!" Mama beamed as she hugged the girl in a loving embrace and Hilda felt a horrible sinking feeling in her chest.

"Oh Apple pie! Can I have some?" The girl said excitedly.

"Wash your hands first. Your friend's going to enjoy it with you." Mama said.

"Okay." The girl said when she finally noticed the older girl sitting at the table. "Hey, Mom. Who's she?"

"Isn't she one of your friends?" Mama wondered, looking back confusingly at Hilda. There a was an intense silence until Hilda stood up from the table.

"Why?" She whispered. "Why... Why are you calling that girl Hilda? I'm Hilda. Don't you remember? I'm your daughter! Hildegard Schlievogt. They took me away from you. Why? Why does she have my name?" Mama's eyes filled with shock and the little girl dropped her birthday gift as both her and Mama stared too transfixed to say anything.

"You're…alive!" Mama gasped breathlessly. "Why…why are you here?"

"Wh…Why?" Hilda couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Because I missed you, Mama. I wanted to see you again." Mama's eyes widened in shock and horror and reflexively tightened around the little girl.

"Leave. Leave, now! Don't ever come back!"

"Mama…" The words lodged in Hilda's throat.

"I'm not your Mama. This is my only child!" Mama's voice trembled.

"Is she really your daughter?" The replacement Hilda mumbled. "You mean, she's, my sister?"

"No. She's not! She's a monster!" Hilda felt as if her heart had been stabbed, how could Mama say such horrible things?

"Mama!" Hilda pleaded as she reached for them.

"Get away from us?!" The girl cried forming a Mana barrier that she pushed towards Hilda.

"No wait!" Hilda pleaded, too late to move away in time to keep the barrier from shattering against her on contact.

"My Mana…She's…A NORMA!" The girl screamed before fainting in Mama's arms.

"Hilda. Hilda!" Mama cried out in worry, laying her daughter gently on the porch with her back to Hilda.

"Mama…" Hilda said as she tried to approach.

"Stay away!" Mama barked before adopting a more somber tone. "I finally forgot about that nightmare. I was finally happy. Don't take that away from me, please?" Mama finally turned to face Hilda and her eyes were welling up with tears. "There are some things in this world that just can't be helped. I couldn't help giving birth to a Norma. And you couldn't help being one. So just leave. Please? I won't tell anyone you were here. I promise." She pleaded on her hands and knees, just like the night Hilda was taken away. Hilda had become so numb with horror and shock she didn't even notice the rain that began to fall on her as she fell to her knees.

"Mama…you…you're so mean." She choked out between sobs.

"I told you to leave!" Mama yelled. "Filthy Norma! I wish I had never given birth to a beast like you!" Each word cut Hilda's heart like a knife as her entire world began collapsing around her. "Get away from us! Get out and leave us alone!" Mama hurled the slice of apple pie at Hilda, the pastry staining her blouse as it slid off her chest. Overcome with shock and despair, Hilda felt her legs lift her up as she turned and ran, hot tears still streaming down her face mixed with the rain. She had never felt so empty or heart broken in her life. How many years had it been since the humans had taken her away screaming to Arzenal? How many nights had she laid in bed enduring her role as Zola's playmate? How many times had she come close to death fighting DRAGONS? All that time, the only thing that had kept her alive and moving was the hope that someday she would escape and find her way back to Mama. She had risked everything coming home, abandoning her squad mates. And even Cal. And now she had nothing. It was the worst nightmare she could have ever imagined. Oblivious to the rain that now soaked her, Hilda stood in the road and screamed.

In the end it was all for nothing.


Over in the neighboring Nation of Misurugi, the night sky was clear but silent. In the shadow of the massive Dawn Pillar from which radiated the Light of Mana, the Misurugi Imperial palace seemed dark and empty. Across the palace gardens, Ange and Momoka crept stealthily along the bushes that framed the reflecting pool. The Iaria sled they had left behind at the exit of the tunnel they had used to escape their pursuers.

"I never knew that tunnel even existed." Momoka whispered to Ange.

"I used it to sneak out at night every so often to hang out with the Iaria team." Ange winked back.

"I never knew that." Momoka pouted, much to Ange's amusement. "How could you have gone out without me?" An old oak tree loomed before them and Ange allowed herself to wonder if the broken doll she had Momoka bury at its base was still there. Finally, they came within spitting distance of the palace rear and atop the outer verandah, a blue light shone through the darkness. Ange raised her rifle and realized with a jolt of relief that it was a Mana hover chair. And sitting inside was the one she had risked life and limb to rescue.

"Sylvia!" Ange called out in joy and relief at seeing her younger sister safe and unhurt.

"Who…Who's there?" Sylvia meekly answered. Ange stepped into the open, her eyes and rifle fanning in all directions in case any guards came to investigate. Thankfully, it seemed no one was around.

"Sylvia it's Angelise! Hurry up and get down here!"

"You…you really came for me, dear sister." Sylvia's chair moved forward and Ange hurried to greet her.

"Of course I did. You're my sister." Ange smiled. Ange wanted nothing more than to hold her little sister tightly but that could wait until after they were safely away. "Thank goodness you're okay. Now let's get out of here."

"My dear sister Angelise!" The cold mocking voice snapped Ange to attention as the once quiet gardens erupted to life. Behind Sylvia, a dazzling beam of light shined onto Ange and Momoka's face. Blinded and disoriented, Ange was unable to regain her balance before a ring of guards surrounded them and a sudden searing pain flared across her left arm. Dropping her gun, Ange clutched her bleeding bicep as she looked down to see Sylvia's face twisted in fury and disdain, the knife she had used to cut Ange pointed right at her.

"Lady Angelise!" Momoka cried as she ran to her side.

"Sylvia…" Ange whispered as she half collapsed into Momoka's arms from the shock.

"How dare you speak my name!" Sylvia growled fiercely. "You're no sister of mine. You're nothing but a monster! Why? Why were you ever born?" Angry tears welled up in Sylvia's eyes as her face grew more enraged. "If only you were never born. Mother, Father, my dear Brother and I would all have been happy. If only you never existed, I would have been able to walk. Mother would have never died. Father wouldn't have had to be executed! You took it all. You destroyed everything! Bring back my mother! You monster! I hate you! I wish you were dead!"

"Lady Sylvia…" Momoka gasped as Ange's legs finally gave way. "Lady Angelise!" She called to an unresponsive Ange whose ruby eyes had turned dead and empty.

Clutching her wound as blood poured down her arm, Ange felt as if her heart had been torn from her chest. She had lost both her parents and endured two months of hell. Mere seconds ago she felt as if maybe a portion of her former life had returned in seeing Sylvia. And now it was snatched away. A sudden bang and two capture nets were fired over her and Momoka but Ange barely registered it.

"What a touching reunion, how pathetic." A cold, buttery voice said. Someone clapped and Ange looked up to see who else but her elder brother Julio swaggering towards her with a smug grin. "A rather fitting end to a fallen princess."

"Julio…" Ange muttered weakly, her brother sniggering in cruel delight.

"Yes, that's the dumbfounded look I was begging to see. It makes all the trouble I planned to lure you back all the more worth it." Ange couldn't believe her ears. Sylvia's distress call was all a ruse to get her to come back to Misurugi. "Now shall we begin condemnation dear sister? Angelise…you're under arrest for…being you." Julio's sadistic mocking laugh followed them as Ange and Momoka were yanked to their feet and roughly dragged away.

'This world.' Ange thought. 'It's all so wrong.'


Bursting through the mansion front doors, Cal stuffed the two files that belonged to his mother and Subject Beta inside his inner jacket pocket. His heart was racing as he tore across the front lawn, almost slipping on the sodden grass. The sky was a dark grey as the rain lashed down heavily until he was soaked through to the skin. But Cal didn't slow, putting as much distance between the manor and the dead body of Dr Trager far behind him. "Tusk! Come in Tusk! Are you there!?" Cal called frantically into his tablet device but there was no response. Stuffing it back into his jacket pocket, Cal kept on running, not caring how much his lungs burned in protest to stop. It was only when he came to the bottom of Terrance Street that he skidded to a halt as two Mana police cruisers sped past him. From their direction, it looked like they were heading towards where…

"Hilda!" Cal gasped. No doubt about it. They were definitely heading in the same direction as the bike's beacon. Cal turned and bolted back up the road to where he had hidden the skyhook. Across the two pathways humans that got caught in the rain were using their Mana to form a barrier above their heads to shield themselves from the deluge as they dashed back to their homes. Looking back, Cal's eyes vividly followed the red and blue blinking lights of the police sirens before they disappeared behind a bunch of hills overlooking rows of apple ochards when he suddenly crashed into something. There was a faint shattering noise like breaking glass and Cal's eyes burst open to see shards of green transparent energy floating in mid-air before they vanished. Cal lifted himself up and looked down in stunned realization as the man he had crashed into stared up at him in shock.

"Wha…what the bloody hell?" the man gasped as all around, others stopped to stare in confusion that quickly turned to shock and terror.

"What happened?" Another witness gasped.

"Did you see that?"

"He broke the Mana!"

"He…he's a male Norma!"

"Help! Somebody help me!" The man panicked as he began to scramble away. Cal began to panic. His cover was blown and he was surrounded by over a dozen people.

"Get back!" he yelled as he pulled out his knife. "Touch me and you'll regret it." The crowd wisely pulled back, knowing their Mana wouldn't keep him at bay.

"Someone call the police!" Someone yelled. Adrenaline took over and Cal charged for the human nearest to him. Grabbing ahold of the man's coat, Cal lunged and shoved him back, using the man as both a shield and a battering ram to force his way out of the mob. Once he was clear, Cal spun and tossed him back towards the crowd and managed to knock three of them down. With the lot of them either paralyzed with fear or tangled up in a pile, Cal turned and ran. The Tablet device he was carrying came loose and slid out of his jacket pocket and smashed onto the floor.

"You moron!" Cal cursed himself. Why did he have to go to that house in the first place? All of Gramp's lessons, protection and sacrifices were undone because of him. Now the whole stupid world would now know he was a Male Norma. His mind pictured every future catastrophic scenario. Libertus would be lost because of him. Arzenal would be destroyed. And his friends would all be killed. "No!" He told himself forcefully. He couldn't think like that. Hilda was in trouble and he would have to deal with the consequences when they came no matter how bad they were. And if any human got in his way or threatened his comrades, he'd take them down just like he did with Trager. Or how he should have done to those who came for him the night Gramps' died.

Finally reaching the edge of the forest, he jumped onto the skyhook and sped off across the fields towards where he had seen the patrol cars vanish. He could only hope he would reach Hilda before the police did. 'Just hold on Hilda, I'm coming.'


In the quiet of his office, Dutch impatiently tapped on his desktop, waiting for any reports back from the search teams looking for the escaped Norma. Imagine his surprise when after being informed of the situation from Inspector Emma Bronson, one of them was the former Princess of Misurugi. Not only that but when he had informed Master Embryo, his master seemed rather pleased on the matter. 'This works even better than I thought.' Dutch recalled Embryo's answer. 'We can use this to our advantage. Once your team captures the two girls and the maid, bring them to me. If Alektra plans to use this Ange against us, then we can play that game to.'

'What could Master Embryo possibly want with those two?' Dutch wondered. 'Especially the former Princess.' Dutch knew the Norma would be needed to pilot the Ragna-mail but what made the ex-princess so special? In the end he supposed it didn't matter. So long as Master Embryo retained Dutch as his chief Enforcer, whatever purpose the Norma served they'd be discarded like the trash they were once the new world was born. And so would that slithery little worm Blackadder.

But Dutch had other matters on his mind. Specifically what Trager had told him about Norma #66 being from royal blood. That Subject Alpha's successful birth was due to the fact his mother was of royal blood brought more questions than answers. Especially since aside from the Misurugi Princess, Ms. Yung-si still hadn't found any solid proof or documentation regarding any Norma born into the royal families. Even Jadis's interrogation and torture of the captured Norma #49 had turned up a dead end.

A sudden urgent call broke his train of thought and Dutch pulled up a Mana screen to be greeted by a hulking man who he recognized as Sargent Brawl, one of his lead soldiers during the annihilation of the terrorists' hideouts. "Apologies to contact you so sudden Commander, but we have a dire situation on our hands."

"What's going on Sargent?" Dutch demanded, noting the uneasy look on Brawl's face.

"One of our passing patrols has called us to Limerick Road outside the village of Surry in the Endurant Union. Someone was assaulted by what witnesses say was a male Norma." Brawl explained anxiously. "One of the witnesses managed to capture the incident."

"What!" Dutch snapped. "Show me the footage!" As Sargent Brawl transferred the video, Dutch opened a second Mana screen and watched a young man with spikey black hair waving a knife at a crowd before grabbing one of the bystanders and using him to bulldoze his way out of the mob. Dutch felt as if his insides had been filled with lead. "It couldn't be." He whispered. He zoomed in on the face and immediately recognized the face from Arzenal's records. "Subject Alpha!"

"Sir?" Sargent Brawl asked.

"Never mind!" Dutch snapped. "What's the status?"

"Commander, we have the entire street locked down and the witnesses under custody." Brawl saluted. "But we have yet to locate the Male Norma."

"Never mind that." Dutch ordered, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the Sargent Brawl. "I'll send in a team of specialists to handle him. For now, just keep this contained. Cut off all Mana communications in that area and keep the witnesses quiet until I say otherwise. We don't want this to get out. Understand!?" Cutting the line, Dutch threw on his coat and made another call to the one person he would trust for such an important mission.

"Hello. Dutch." A woman's harsh raspy voice answered.

"Jadis, gather your best men. And bring along that mutt of yours over to this location ASAP. Subject Alpha has slipped his leash." Dutch smirked in triumph as he hurried out the door. If he handled this quickly, Master Embryo wouldn't even know of it.

'You won't slip through my fingers this time Subject Alpha!'


Through the long stretch of fields, Cal continued to speed on searching desperately for any sign of Hilda. He had managed to locate the bike she had stolen, but Hilda was long gone. His ears pricked up for any sound of police sirens, but all he could hear was the rain. 'Come on Hilda, where are you?' Cal thought desperately. Did he take a wrong turn or was Hilda already captured? He pulled a pair of binoculars from the skyhook's cargo pod and began sweeping the countryside but still found nothing. Just as he was about to move on, he spotted a lone slender figure through his binoculars roughly 800 yards away. Cal wiped the lenses and zoomed in and recognized those red twin tails a mile away. But what surprised him was the dead expression on her face like the spirit had been driven out of her. Turning his view as the sound of the sirens became louder, he saw the two police cruisers speed down the road and pass Hilda, only to stop before four policemen leapt out and ran back towards her.

"Shit!" Cal spat, slamming the skyhook into gear and speeding off across the muddy fields. As the police cruisers came closer into view, Cal could just make out the outline of the four cops kicking and stomping on Hilda. In that moment, flashes of THAT nightmarish night plagued Cal's vision. Memories of him slammed headfirst against the cave wall as large men dressed in black rained kicks and strikes down upon him. The blood inside Cal's very veins burned white hot as deep within there rose within him a hate so powerful that once he got within a few yards from them, he leapt from the skyhook and charged at them and gave an almighty monstrous roar. "FILTHY BASTARDS!"

In the hammering rain and wet mud filled ground, the four policemen stared down at Hilda now broken and battered. The beaten they had given her was so brutal that one of her eyes had swollen shut, her shoes were knocked off, her hair came loose, and even through her numb emotional agony of being rejected by Mama, her ribs felt like they had been crushed. Even through the pain she could still smell the remnants of apple pie on her blouse as Hilda looked up to the dark sky and mustered an empty smile. In a way it was almost funny. Why shouldn't she now be beaten down after the day she had just had.

"Ange." She wheezed, barely able to breathe. "I hope you found your sister." Hilda's eyes shut and accepted her fate. Death, torture, return to Arzenal, what did it matter? It was all the same.

Sargent Morgan breathed a sigh of relief seeing the escaped Norma now subdued. All four policemen looked down smirking how they had taken down the vicious Norma fugitive. For some reason though, she smiled back which made Morgan feel uneasy. Though his three constables seemed amused.

"Why is it talking to itself? I wouldn't be able to laugh after that beating." Jerry chortled through his panting breaths.

"What do you expect from a Norma? It's a freak. It's already robbed a store and kidnapped the Rosenblum Princess." sneered Adam.

"It's a good thing we found it when we did. It's caused enough trouble as it is." said Vic

"Come on let's get it off the road. We don't want to leave trash just lying around, do we?" Sargent Morgan ordered. If it weren't for the fact that he was ordered by the NMB to bring her in alive he would have happily put her out of the world's misery. Adam and Jerry roughly seized the Norma up by the arms and began dragging her across the mud to their vehicle when a strange noise caught their attention. Across the fields, a strange black shape was coming towards them at tremendous speed. As it came closer, Morgan thought it looked like a giant black hornet but no insect alive was the size of a Mana bike and no model he knew looked anything like that. Finally, the strange vehicle stopped just a few yards away when a young man with spikey black hair leapt off and charged them like an angry bull, his face full of savage fury that put Sargent Morgan on high alert.

"Sir, stay back. What do you…" Jerry however didn't get to finish when the young man screamed in rage.

"FILTHY BASTARDS!"


Morgan hadn't even had time to react when in an instant, the stranger whipped out from the back of his jeans a pistol followed by four faint pops. Morgan and Vic managed to raise their Mana shields just in time but Jerry and Adam who were still holding the Norma up by the arms weren't so lucky and dropped the Norma as they fell lifelessly to the ground. Morgan on reflex reached for his sidearm as did Vic, but the attacker had now closed the distance. He leapt up to the hood of their vehicle and jump kicked at Vic, his foot colliding with Vic's Mana shield as it shattered into pieces. The blow struck Vic in the face, his nose exploding in a burst of red as he hit the ground and the attacker slashed a knife across Vic's throat. Morgan meanwhile watched transfixed in shocked horror and disbelief. It couldn't be possible. A male Norma? The monster looked up towards him and the murderous intent in his eyes triggered Morgan's adrenaline to snap him back to reality. He opened fire but the rain in his eyes affected his aim and the Norma dodged and dived around the police cruiser.

"Drop your weapons now!" Morgan bellowed. No response so Morgan quietly inched his way along to the rear of the car. Three good men, his fellow officers, had been killed and Morgan wasn't about to let the little freak get away. A small patch of blood streaked the rear fender and Morgan felt empowered knowing he had scored a hit even if by luck. If the Norma was wounded, then Morgan could finish him off with the next shot. Steeling his nerve, he leapt around to the other side of the cruiser only to find nothing. Something splashed on the ground behind him and he turned but wasn't fast enough to avoid the pistol whip to his temple. Down on the ground and disorientated, Morgan saw through blurred vision the male Norma standing over him, his foot firmly placed on the wrist of Morgan's gun hand. "What are you?" Morgan whispered.

"Don't waste your breath." The male Norma growled, his livid sky-blue eyes burning like sapphire flames.

"Please, don't kill me." He begged. "I…I have a family."

"So did I. So did she. And so did everyone else like us. Until people like you took it away!" The Male Norma seethed as he raised his foot high up over Morgan's chest.


The cop's sternum shattered with a sickening crack from the impact of Cal's foot and he died instantly. Still shaking with rage, Cal closed his eyes and took in slow deep breaths, the fury that flared with in him beginning to ease as the rain splashed onto his face. A sudden wheeze made Cal open his eyes and he ran straight to Hilda's side. Seeing the damage they had done to her Cal, felt no guilt or remorse for what he did. In fact, it felt good to finally give back some of the same pain to the humans they had inflicted on the Norma.

"Hilda! Hey! Speak to me." Cal shook her lightly, but she was unresponsive. She needed medical aid and the closest safe place was Enderant Harbor. "Just hang on Hilda, I'm getting you away from here." Cal slid his hands underneath and picked her up, holding her close to his chest as he felt a sudden burning pain across his side just beneath his left arm pit. He had not noticed with his adrenaline running that he had been grazed by a bullet when that cop had shot at him. Cal carefully carried Hilda back to his Skyhook, stepping around the bodies of the four men he had just killed. "Rot in hell the lot of you." Cal sneered. He placed Hilda at the front of the seat and removed his jeans belt to secure her to himself and wedged Hilda between his arms. Cal checked the skyhook's navcom and reset the coordinates to the Enderant Harbor's location. The safest route was a 200-mile drive but with his cover blown earlier he'd just have to bear it as he had no means of contacting Tusk because the tablet device was now gone. "Don't worry Hilda. I won't let anything else happen to you." Cal promised as he held her tightly to him.


Hours had passed since her talk with the Commander of Arzenal and Major General Malta's mood had yet to improve. In the Major's office, Lucia and her brother waited patiently alongside her for any intel from Tusk on the two escaped Norma. Apparently, the Male Norma known as Cal was going after the other escapee called Hilda, but they heard no word from either of them. Lucia's eyes snapped to her brother who ever since they had gotten word seemed more on edge than usual.

"Major, we should move out." Lucas suddenly demanded. "Tusk has been quiet for too long and we still haven't heard from the Male Norma. Something has definitely gone wrong."

"I don't like it either Lucas." Malta said quietly, her hands knitted in front of her. "But Jacob had his orders to let Tusk and this…Cal, handle the mission in retrieving the two escapees. Once they all arrive here, we'll deal with the Male Norma and see if we can trust him and this Ange."

"I think we're jumping the gun too early." Lucia spoke up. "Jacob and Hosea seem to trust Cal and I think we should to. The Commander of Arzenal chose him for a reason so we should put some faith in them both."

"Come off it Lucia." Lucas grumbled. "Don't you think it's a slap in the face she didn't entrust us to get the two escapees ourselves instead of using the Male Norma. He's only one soldier. And an inexperienced one at that."

"I know Lucas." Lucia sighed. "But try to see it from her view. Alektra had no idea we survived Libertus' failure and didn't contact her until just now. You can't really blame her for harboring some resentment."

"But it's not like Jacob, Hosea and the rest of us ancient folk are total strangers to Alektra. Our father, Istvan, and all our people died fighting with her and the Norma." Lucas argued. "Or maybe she forgot that when the Male Norma arrived." Lucia gave her brother a worried look. Though she knew his heart was coming from a good place in wanting to protect their people, she worried that the loss of Apex and Harper only fueled his desire to be the pilot of Siegfried. She only hoped there would be no tension between him and the Male Norma when he finally arrived. Lucia looked back to Major Malta and her eyes were wide as she was staring at the console on her desk.

"Shit!" She growled.

"What's wrong Major?" Lucas asked.

"It's Tusk! The pilot of Villkiss and her maid…they've been snatched by that little worm she calls a brother and his royal guards."

"Her brother Emperor Julio!" Lucia cried. "This is bad. Who knows what they'll do to her."

"If we lose the Princess then Libertus is as good as dead." said Lucas seriously.

"That's not all." Major said. "Tusk can't seem to get ahold of Cal, he says he's gone completely silent." There was an intense silence until two of the Harbor's base security came rushing in.

"Major, we just got intel from the Tripartite Pack. Apparently, there's a rumor regarding a sighting of the Male Norma in the Enderant Union. Plus, a police squad seems to have found the second escaped Norma. But they've gone silent as well." Malta grimaced as she rubbed her eyes before standing up.

"Get our guest in here now!" Malta ordered. A few minutes later, a dark-skinned young man wearing square glasses walked in. "Dolton we're going to need your assistance in finding the Male Norma. From what our informant told us, he's using Gaz's old skyhook."

"Yes Ma'am!" Dolton saluted. "Just give me a moment and I should be able to zero in on its locater beacon."

"Good. Lucas, Lucia; once Dolton locates Hilda and the Male Norma, take a squad and get them here ASAP before the NMB finds them first."

"I'll come with you." Dolton volunteered. "I'll be able to use my skills with cloaked Mana scanners to boost our scanner maps for large areas in the mountain. We'll find them much faster."

"Do it." Malta nodded. "Be quick. We have to get him and the other Norma here at all costs."


Travelling through the forest did very little to shield both Cal and Hilda from the storm but he counted himself lucky that no one walked this deep within these mountains. Hours had passed and evening was setting in and he was still at least halfway to Enderant Harbor. It was becoming a big problem because both him and Hilda were drenched, and she had been shivering violently against him for minutes now.

"Crap she must be running a high fever or worse she might have pneumonia." Cal worried. He had to get her somewhere warm but there was no abandoned hut or run-down cabin anywhere. Then, to Cal's luck, he spotted 80 yards away between the trees and beneath a small cliff a cave. After parking the skyhook behind a large fallen tree, Cal unbuckled Hilda from him and carried her inside the makeshift shelter. It was cramped and dank, the walls and roof pocked with exposed tree roots, but at least it was dry. Cal gingerly placed Hilda on the dirt floor and returned to the skyhook to retrieve a medical kit and his crossbow. "Okay, you can do this." Cal told himself once he got back to the cave. "Just like how Gramps showed me." Cal stripped out of his clothes, into semi dry boxers, cleaned up his wound and wrapped his side under his armpit with a few strips of gauze. Though the wound was stinging and burning it wasn't too deep. Hilda though was in much worse shape than him and he realized what he had to do with her.

"Come on get a grip, you've seen her naked hundreds of times." Cal told himself sternly as he knelt beside Hilda. "Please don't wake up and kick me in the face." He prayed as he unbuttoned Hilda's blouse. A few minutes later, after stripping her completely naked and patting her dry, he began to examine her wounds and his blood once more boiled in anger. A shoe shaped bruise had formed beneath her left breast and one of her eyes was swollen shut. But she didn't seem to have any trouble breathing so he guessed she wasn't bleeding internally. "I guess this is what I must have looked like to her when I first arrived at Arzenal." He mused, remembering Hilda's concerned expression that day in the locker room all those months ago when the entire squad saw what the soldiers had done to him. He applied a generous portion of salve to the bruises followed by a winding strip of gauze to hold down the swelling before cracking an icepack which he fixed to her eye with some gauze. Though Hilda's wounds were treated she was still shivering. He couldn't start a fire with everything outside wet. And even if he could the smoke would attract unwanted attention. There was only one thing left to do.

Cal took the two files out his inner jacket pocket that were still dry and hid them behind two small rocks at the back of the small cave. Gathering her into his arms, Cal set her across his lap, her head resting on his shoulder as he laid the jacket, which was somewhat dry on the inside, over them. One arm held onto Hilda while the other held his crossbow, both the weapon and his eyes aimed at the cave entrance. He could feel Hilda's heartbeat sync with his own as their bodies began to warm each other. Slowly, Hilda's shivering died down and through her shallow breaths he heard her whimper.

"Mama." Tears slid from her cheeks and roll onto his shoulder. "Mama...please…don't leave me."

"Mama, what is she talking about?" Cal wondered and before he realized it, he hugged her more tightly, being careful not to hurt her. Just feeling the embrace of another person was all Hilda needed as her tears dried, and she fell into a deep sleep. "I don't know what happened to you, or why you left but you're not alone. I'm here for you Hilda. I won't leave you I promise." Cal looked back at the cave, the rain still falling and he knew it was going to be a long night. "Don't worry Hilda, I'll protect you." He vowed still aiming his crossbow at the entrance. "I'll kill anyone who dare tries to harm us."


As night fell, the storm only seemed to get worse. Travelling to the village of Surry, Dutch kept an eye on his young protégé Jeffry who was dressed in the Norma Management Boards black tactical gear and staring intently out the car streamed window. "Don't fret boy. Your father will soon be avenged." Dutch promised. "Be patient, we'll find Subject Alpha soon."

"This isn't right commander." Jeffry said resentfully. "It's an outrage against nature. It's nothing more than a monster." Dutch smirked at his young protégé.

"There's a monster inside all of us, but we are the ones who decide what to do with those monsters." Finally, they arrived at their destination and Dutch stepped out into the pouring rain. Four Mana vans blocked the road ahead and on the field eight of his men like Jeffry were dressed in tactical black gear with the letters N.M.B printed in white on the shoulder pads. They circled around a crowd of 15 civilians; 7 men, 5 women, and 3 children. They were all huddled together beneath a makeshift tent shelter and sipping coffee and hot chocolate.

"Sargent Brawl what's the situation?" Dutch inquired as he approached with Jeffry at his side.

"Commander, we've detained everyone who witnessed the incident, and no one has left or used their Mana." Brawl told him. "We sent out a voluntary unit of cops to search for the escaped Norma. A few hours ago they reported spotting her, but we've heard nothing back from them since. We suspect that she or the Male Norma has taken them out."

"Most likely?" Dutch supposed.

"What do you wish to be done with the witnesses who saw the Male Norma?" Brawl asked

"Have your team transport them to base as well. Once you do come back to my location." Dutch put a hand on Brawl's shoulder but did not look at him. "I'll handle them from here Sargent." Once the witnesses were loaded up into the vans and the area was cleared, Dutch got another call from one of his lead staff in Mana communications. "We've located the missing police squadron. They're all dead. Dashcam from one of the cruisers show they were attacked by the Male Norma."

"Send a clean-up team down there and inform Lieutenant Jadis and her men of the details. They should be arriving soon." Dutch ordered then beckoned to Jeffry. "Let's get going, Subject Alpha is closer than we thought."

TO BE CONTINUED…