The true final chapter had been drawn up, as a blueprint, if you like (there is an outline and stacks of notes piled on my computer desk). It will take a while to rough-in and then polish. This chapter was going to just be the opening section of the final one; but, since it grew too large when my muse got drunk on power, it will now be a separate chapter in its own right.
You have my apology.
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THE LABORATORY
Beginnings.
Beginnings and endings.
Beginnings… endings… and in-betweens.
With all of the new people, new ideas, and new machinery, the two days had been filled with all three things, many times over. But, looking at the ring, Kaname knew that there was a true ending approaching, one which would make all of the amazing activity useless to her, if things didn't go in her favor.
So, when the two doctors… the most brilliant and most irritating, most exasperating, and most polarizing men she had ever met… had begun arguing again, she almost wanted to shout 'ENOUGH' and crawl deep into her shell, like an overheated hermit crab. Almost. Even in Sousuke's body, she was still Kaname Chidori.
"We just need to activate the Quantum Pipe," Dr. Hfuhruhurr said. "That will cause all of the particles to go the direction we want them to." He was flicking his fingers in the other scientist's face. "Why else did we add the damn thing?!"
"No… no… no!" Dr. Necessiter countered. "We need to generate a cloud of cesium atoms in the Chamber, crossed by multiple non-lethal laser beams. Why arrange for that possibility, if times runs out before we can try it?!"
The argument grew hotter and hotter. Both men were close to their limits, too. They were chasing Scientific Discovery down the Rabbit Hole. They were also very concerned for Sousuke and Kaname. They were still sore from Miss Uumellmahaye's last punishment. The words and concepts shot out of both men, like the heated thrust passing through a well-worn afterburner:
Molecular molasses. Alligator waveguides, with teeth that slowed down the speed of light. Photon strength variation. Preventing quantum pinball effect. Causing select atoms to absorb a single photon, unlike the usual situation where all atoms absorb the same photon. Like a rugby scrum, additional scientists, technicians, and engineers joined in.
Anne turned brighter and brighter red, moment by moment. It looked like she was about to explode again, but she had less than enough energy for the tiniest of explosions. This time, it was Kaname who reached over and squeezed her hand. Mollified, the older woman turned to a lead engineer and said: "Do the Quantum Pipe." She thought a moment more. "And do the Cesium injection." The dozens of other ideas would have to wait. Science had all of the time in the world, even if the two high school students did not.
"Doc-tors," the way that Reginald said that word, it almost sounded like the basest of insults. "The monkeys are waiting!" His fingers had that 'I want to push the button' itch about them again.
"Monkeys?" Anne looked like she was on the path to a meltdown again, one that would make Chernobyl look like a campfire. "Don't you mean Adam and Eve." Wrong religion again; but, the name that an engineer had suggested stuck. The two subjects looked so pitiful strapped in the Egg, their large wet eyes eliciting emotions in most of the onlookers.
"Hah hah hah hah hah!" Dr Hfuhruhurr enjoyed a good belly laugh. "What a numskull. A nincompoop. A nattering nabob." He wiped a tear from his eye, pointing at Reginald. "Monkey!"
"Fssst!" Dr. Necessiter fought back a loud laugh. "Calling a chimpanzee a monkey. What a halfwit… dunce… dolt… ignoramus… cretin… imbecile… dullard… dumbbell… bonehead… numbskull… pinhead…lamebrain…." He stopped to catch a breath. His eyes twinkled, as he watched a furious Reginald struggling to control his temper.
"I got you, brother." Dr Hfuhruhurr had his friends six. "Peabrain…dipstick… donkey… twit… plonker… prat… pillock… twerp…twonk… dumbass-" He stopped when Dr. Necessiter signaled he was good to go. He passed the figurative baton.
"Muppet," Dr. Necessiter said. "Schmuck…bozo… boob... turkey…chowderhead… goofball… dork… putz… schlemiel… sap… ding-dong… dingbat… dip… simp…yo-yo… dingleberry… asshat… clodpole…." He stopped and fought a sneeze. When he could speak again, he asked "Think that's enough?"
"Yeh," Dr. Hfuhruhurr replied. "We've about used up all of the synonyms on the Google dictionary page." He rubbed his chin. "But we did leave out some simple classics. You know, the type that everyone takes for granted."
"Jerk?" Sr. Necessiter asked, before answering his own query with a nod of his head.
"Right!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr agreed. "And clown. We can't leave that out!"
"We did say Bozo, though." Dr. Necessiter remarked. He was referring to the iconic Bozo the Clown, played by Pinto Colvig, an American vaudeville actor, voice actor, newspaper cartoonist and circus performer, whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. Colvig was also the original voice actor for the Disney characters Pluto and Goofy.
"True," Dr. Hfuhruhurr agreed. "Lets lose 'clown', and add wanker."
"Now that one's the dog's bollocks!" Dr. Necessiter said, embarrassed that he hadn't thought of that one first.
Kaname just stood their blinking, her mind on idle, trying to conserve energy until some conversation needed her participation, or actually needed intelligent thought to follow. But, there was a glowing warmth in the center of her being. It grew larger. It flared hotter. The magma began rising at a growing speed, approaching the top. Before she knew it, she wanted to erupt. She opened her mouth. She wanted to shout:
THIS IS NOT A JOKE. IT'S MY LIFE!
But, she didn't. She counted to ten. She pictured a clear summer day and a warm and wonderful beach. The rhythmic sounds of the waves were soothing. The cries of the circling seagulls sounded inviting. The smell of cooking squid had her salivating. She had a new bikini on, and Sousuke was ignoring it. She growled internally:
RrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrRrR
No.
Peace. Peace, Kaname. Peace.
She had to admit, her anger was somewhat cathartic. It kept her from brooding, from spinning out of control with anxiety, or folding in upon herself, depressed.
Wait!
Could it be?
Was that actually their 'evil' plan? Were those two wacky wisemen working hard to distract her? To keep eveyone's spirits churning about, not growing stagnant, and hardening like concrete? No. Probably not. Just as Sousuke Sagara was who he was, these two brilliant nut jobs were who they were. She would bet a year of cream buns on it!
Fortunately, Anne had stepped over to read the EEG and EKG strips from the two primates. She pictured them as astronauts, sitting in their capsule, ready to go where no chimp had gone before.
"Don't you really think that's excessive," a custodian asked the people nearest to him. "I mean, all that baseless blathering is just a small tasteless salad, before we get to the main course." To him, the trial with the chimps was exciting. The drama! He was trembling with anticipation. This was better than slipping his Banana Republic PJs on and watching any of the 'Planet of the Apes movies… or 'King Kong'… 'Might Joe Young'… 'George of the Jungle'… 'Every Which Way But Loose'…'Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla'… or 'Bedtime for Bonzo!' He made a herculean effort to keep his inner ape in check. He had received a stern warning from the police after roughing up a man who called the Lugosi film a lame Martin & Lewis rip-off.
"Some people like salad." A vegan technician remarked in a droll manner. "Besides, a man who calls a chimp a monkey no longer has the right to push any buttons!" She shook her head.
"I agree," an engineer said. "While apes and monkeys are both primates, and are part of the same primate suborder, there are lots of differences between them. There are also lots of other sorts of primates."
"Right!" Kaname put in, brain switched back on full. Her class had learned about primates in Biology. "The distinction between different primate groups is based on physical characteristics and evolutionary ancestry."
"Exactly." That was another one of the janitors who had been given the unenviable task of cleaning up after the failed experiments. It seemed that everyone was more knowledgeable than good ole Reggie. "The order of primates is characterized by animals with forward-facing eyes and highly flexible arms, legs and fingers. This body structure evolved as an adaptation for life in the trees: Primates have flexible limbs and grasping hands so they can move from branch to branch. The forward-facing eyes are also an adaptation for life in that environment: They give primates excellent depth perception, allowing them to accurately judge the distance between trees."
"Almost ev-e-rybody knows that," Dr. Hfuhruhurr said snidely. "The two hundred and thirty five modern primate species are divided up into two suborders, the prosimians and the anthropoids. The prosimians… made up of lemurs and similar animals…. are the more primitive group. They exhibit lower intelligence… like Reg… and they more closely resemble other mammal groups… they typically have whiskers and extended snouts, for example."
"Again like Reggie," Dr. Necessiter quipped. "The prosimians split off from the evolutionary line leading to humans relatively early. Anthropoids… commonly called the higher primates… comprise the rest of the species in the primate order. Anthropoids vary considerably in size, geographical range and behavior, but they all have flat faces, small ears and… unlike someone I will not mention… *cough* Reggie *cough*…have relatively large, complex brains."
"Monkeys are much more like other mammals than apes and humans are," Anne said, joining the conversation, mammalian medical reports clutched in her well-manicured hand. "For example, most monkeys cannot swing from branch to branch, as apes and humans can, because their shoulder bones have a different structure. Instead, monkeys run along the tops of branches. Their skeletal structure is similar to a cat, dog or other four-footed animal, and they move in the same sort of way. On the evolutionary line leading to humans, monkeys and Reginald split off long before apes did." She felt dirty and sophomoric, but she just had to get that dig in.
"What's the easiest way to tell monkeys and apes apart?" A technician said, putting her lipstick away. For some reason, the red cosmetic was smeared on her hand.
"The easiest way to distinguish monkeys from the other anthropoids is to look for a tail," Dr. Hfuhruhurr replied, striking a pose. The technician was damned cute. "Most monkey species have tails, but no apes or hominids do." He added: "In traditional and non-scientific use, the term 'ape' excludes humans."
"I have an easier way," Dr. Necessiter said, puffing up. He tried hard not to stare at the young woman's ample chest. "Memorization!" He snapped his fingers. "It's simple. There are only a handful of ape species, while there are hundreds of species of monkeys. The apes are gibbon… chimpanzee… bonobo… orangutan… and gorilla."
The two scientists frowned. Immediately after hearing the answers, the woman had turned her attention to a handsome young security guard.
Typical!
"Gibbon… chimpanzee… bon bon… orangutan… gorilla…." Reginald repeated that a number of times under his breath." He would never make that mistake again. He just hoped that none of the administrators present would add it to his next Employee Evaluation. Then, straightening his lab coat, he said "The chimpanzees are ready. We will now-" It didn't matter if lesser beings mocked him. It was because they could not be him. The button awaited.
"There is no longer a 'we'," Toyotomi Mitsunari voiced. Then, to be politically correct he added "I thank you for your hard work up until now, Reginald. How about we let Miss Chidori push the button this time. I have a good feeling about that."
"But-" Reginald's eyes bulged. He swallowed hard. "The button-" He closed his eyes. He stood taller, tightening his shoulders. "By all means. Miss Chidori… the button is all yours…." That last word was strangled.
"Alright," Kaname said, feeling that there was only one answer that she could give, being painted into that corner. She looked over at the waiting primates, and offered a silent apology. The one chimp was picking at its nose. The other was flailing its hands, making short shrieking sounds. "After setting the containment field first, right?"
"By all means!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr and Necessiter answered at the same time that Anne did. "Get the lead out!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr was a long-time Led Zeppelin Fan. "Up the irons!" Dr. Necessiter was more partial to Iron Maiden. "World Peace!" Anne had been a fan of Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re since their first EP.
The curtain of light rose from the floor again. Technicians fired up different components and fine tuned the energies, while engineers crossed their fingers or said quick prayers. Everyone else just stood still, half expectant, and half predicting failure again.
"Here we go," Kaname said aloud. Then, after whispering 'Sousuke,' she moved to push the button. It was a solemn moment.
"Wait!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr shouted, causing Kaname to pull her hand back, wondering if she had missed some crucial step.
"Stop!" Dr. Necessiter said an instant later. "We are missing a golden opportunity!"
"That's right," Dr. Hfuhruhurrsaid. "We should put Reggie in with one of the chimps. If he gets smarter… we know the system works!"
"That-" Reginald clenched his hands into fists.
"What comes after enemas," a spent Anne asked herself aloud.
"I will help you figure that out-" Mr. Mitsunari said. "-After this run is finished. My apologies, Miss Chidori. Let's try that again."
Kaname stared at the two scientists, waiting to see if they were going to interject this time, too. They both tried their best to look angelic. Kaname closed Sousuke's eyes… pictured a day when she and Sousuke had shared a bento that she had made… and pushed the button.
Great streaks of blue, red, and yellow lightning shot between buzzing towers. Flares and fountains of sparks crowned the Egg, as the dark interior suddenly pulsed with a swirling miasma of light. A cacophony of every sound imaginable was supplanted by deep throbbing sounds that were felt more than they were heard. Everyone in the crowded room smelled smells that they hadn't smelled since their youth. The air had flavor. The Egg stood dead still; but the rest of the tethered devices shook this way and that, some so violently that it looked like they might break free. Small spirals of smoke spun upward, like wispy pig tails.
"We will be heros!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr called out, jumping up and down. He meant that in a very specific way. Her was referring to Hero of Alexandria. Two thousand ago, the Thomas Edison of the ancient world lived in Alexandria, Egypt where he tinkered, built and wrote about some of the most amazing and whimsical machines the pre-industrial world had ever seen. While some of the devices may actually have been created earlier by Archimedes, Vitruvius, and Ctesibius, Hero was given credit for the first coin-operated vending machine… the first steam engine… the mechanical puppet theater… the fire engine… a primitive programmable robot… the syringe… among many others.
"And not Rube Goldberg!" Dr. Necessiter said, sounding quite certain. That is, before he looked at one of the towering machines. Someone had drawn two Rube Goldberg Cartoons on its side with some kind of red substance. One had the title 'How to Train Your Dog to Stop Chewing.' It depicted a dog chewing on one of three legs of a tall wooden stool. A large bowling ball sat on top of the stool, about to roll off and clobber the toothy pooch. The other drawing was of a man standing in his pajamas, a tube of toothpaste strapped to his forehead, and a gerbil wheel attached to his chest, the running rodent powering a toothbrush on a spring.
Kaname hugged 'herself' tight. She crossed Sousuke's fingers so hard, that they ached. "There's no place like home… there's no place like home." It would be so great to be with Sousuke, instead of being Sousuke. For some reason, she thought back to Hong Kong. Sousuke had just asked why she had been there, and she had almost blurted out her feelings. Instead, she had given some bullshit answer about being the Class Rep. If the two of them returned to normal, would she admit her feelings to herself without some doubt or distracting denouement? Would she share those feelings with Sousuke, even though she harbored some secret fear that he would disappear forever, if she ever let her heart be that vulnerable? Would those feelings still remain, if the work here was unsuccessful?
SCREEEK SCREEEK SCREEEK SCREEEK SCREEEK SCREEEK SCREEEK
A terrible sound pierced the onlooker's ears, causing everyone to clench their teeth. It was as if a thousand chimpanzees ran their fingernails along a thousand blackboards.
"We have slippage with the Quantum Pipe coupling!" An engineer called out a warning, before he and his fellows quickly moved to brace the structure in question. Dr. Necessiter gave Dr. Hfuhruhurr an 'Et tu, brute' look.
Flutter flutter flutter flutter flutterflutterflutterflutterflutflutflutflutfluflufluflflflflflfff
Ears drum were pulled in and pushed out by a waffling wave of air pressure. The witnesses felt as if they were being tickled by a myriad of monkeys. Phew! Monkeys with bad breath. A foul and malevolent odor wafted about the room. Everyone was quick to deny responsibility.
"The cesium cloud is breaking up!" One of the many technicians said, before he and his compatriots began adjusting the machinery. Dr. Necessiter turned away, when Dr. Hfuhruhurr tried to catch his eye.
"This wouldn't have happened if I had pushed the button," Reginald sounded self-righteous. Ironically, just as he said that, the whole group of machines began humming as one, everything aligned for the very first time.
The light within the New Magic Egg stopped pulsing. It was a soft red color now, one which seemed to caress and cajole the two simian occupants. The two chimps stopped struggling… closed their wearing eyes… and smiled, heads lifted. They held their arms out, finger tip of thumbs touching finger tips of pointer fingers, almost as if they were striking some kind of tantric pose. The light in the chamber went out. No one could see the interior.
"Illuminate the chamber!" Anne called out, as worried about the subjects as she was eager for any sign of success. "Hurry!"
A technician flicked a small switch. Soft white light filled the chamber. Both chimpanzees began hooting, before becoming silent again. One picked its nose. The other fluttered its hands. But, something was very different. Very significant. The one picking its nose now, was the one that had been fluttering its hands before the test, and vice versa.
"Look at that!" Mr. Mitsunari exclaimed.
"Yes," Dr. Necessiter said. "That chimp. Picking its nose. I'll christen it Reggie!"
"But-" Dr. Hfuhruhurr said, willing to play the straight man. "-It's a girl chimp."
"I know!" Dr. Necessiter slapped hands with the other scientist.
"Does that mean it worked?" Kaname felt a great surge of hope well up within her, so great that she almost felt as if she might drown from it. "I mean… their actions… they switched…."
"We have to watch a while," Anne said, tears coming to her eyes. She sniffled. "If those actions are not random… and if they persist… I would say we've had a success." She would have said more, but the room erupted with cheers, shouts, and vocalizations of every sort.
With things seemingly a success, a number of people began leaving the laboratory and the rooms adjacent to it, hoping to make it to the street before the other guests, so that they could catch one of the few cabs or buses available. That included a large number of lady scientists and women of various religious sects. For some reason, a whole swarm of them buzzed around Dr. Necessiter and Dr. Hfuhruhurr, handing them pieces of paper or tapping their cell phones against one of the doctor's hand held devices. But, there was still a group of die-hards. They held large folded placards. When opened up, they would read 'I heart Sousuke', 'Marry Me, Sgt.', and the like. One of the industrious storeroom boys had earned a Summer's worth of money selling materials to the lusty ladies.
The main phone in the room rang. But no one could hear it. Luckily, a technician noted the blinking green light on the communications console and picked up the receiver. He pushed a button that sounded a loud horn, which had everyone going silent. He listened a moment, and then held up the receiver. "Miss Chidori… it's for you… it's Sergeant Sagara."
["Miss Chidori… it's for you… it's Sergeant Sagara."]
["Miss Chidori… it's for you… it's Sergeant Sagara."]
["Miss Chidori… it's for you… it's Sergeant Sagara."]
Those words seemed to echo in Kaname's head, before swimming their way down to her heart. "Great timing!" She almost tripped, running so quickly to grab the receiver. "I can't wait to tell him." The room was filled with hushed comments, people excited by the turn of events. What a great coincidence: the young man was calling the young lady at just such a momentous moment. Kaname put the device to her ear and said "Sousuke… wait until I tell-" She was abruptly interrupted.
"Chidori." The way that Sosuuke said that cut through the moment like a knife. "I have something to report. You have a decision to make." The way he said those few words sent chills down Kaname's spine.
"S-S-Sousuke?" Kaname wondered what was wrong. He hadn't caused another catastrophic event, had he? Was it something related to his usual 'out of school' activities?
"Arbalest is about to land at the school," Sousuke reported. "I believe that Amalgam is sending an A.S. to the school to kidnap me… I mean you… and it could arrive at any moment. You're… I'm… the only one who can pilot it, and save the school. But, I do not have the rights to your body. Hopefully, I am only borrowing it."
"Yes," Kaname said, scared. She also felt a great pressure, as if the news of the day's experiment needed to burst out of her like a bullet from a gun. "The lab-"
"Hopefully Amalgam does not know about the lab or what you are doing," Sousuke said sharply. "I will not lead the enemy in your direction. But… Kaname… I need to know your decision… I need your permission…." He paused, the silence heavier than lead dipped in osmium. "The ring…." Not only would any action on his part put Kaname's body at risk, but the timing of any encounter would bring their chance at revival down close to zero.
"That-" Kaname looked down at the ring. A sense of injustice struck her, one that carried every indignity she suffered in her life with it. The ring was mostly black, with a few small islands of yellow showing. "The time-" She hung her head. The pendulum of emotions swung far back in the opposite direction. From such a high to such a low.
"Kaname?" Sousuke asked, unnerved by the silence, and the imaginary mission clock ticking away inside his mind.
"I know what you-" Kaname started. "We have to do. But-" She slapped both cheeks, shocked by how much it stung. "This time, it's like I'm part of Mithril. But I can't help but feel like I'm sending you… and me… off to die." She knew the stakes. She could do the math. If Amalgam was persistent, and Mithril was ever outmaneuvered, she might be gone and Sousuke might be dead someday anyway. The lives of her fellow students, along with everyone else at Jindai High, hung in the balance. "Do what you think is right. I trust you Sousuke. I really-" The mushy words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say them.
"Affirmative," Sousuke said. Things went silent. Kaname thought that he had ended the transmission.
"Sousuke." Kaname said. "Sousuke, are you there?"
"I will do my best, as usual," Sousuke said in that quiet and somber way of his. "Some day, I may come across someone who is a better pilot… or who has a better machine… but I will hope that today is not that day." There was a shorter pause. "But… should today be the day… my last thoughts will be of you." The line went dead.
"Sousuke." Kaname said.
["But… should today be the day… my last thoughts will be of you."]
["But… should today be the day… my last thoughts will be of you."]
["But… should today be the day… my last thoughts will be of you." ]
"What was that last bit?" Kaname asked no one in particular. Just what did those final words mean? They better not be his final words!
"Kaname," someone offered. It was Miss Uumellmahaye. "Are you alright? What did Sousuke have to say? Was he just checking up on our progress?"
"I'll be okay," Kaname said, unsure of the truth in that. "Something's come up. Something with Amalgam. At the school." She shivered. "Big time, I think. Or so Mithril believes."
"I'll run and get the big screen TV from the lounge," Dr. Necessiter said. "I had them put a cable jack in this room last month. I hope the shitheads didn't cover it up!" He immediately apologized when a number of engineers took affront.
"And I'll go pop some popcorn!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr ran out, too. They were not the most empathetic pair the world had ever seen.
"No!" Anne shouted and stamped her foot. "This is not some kind of sporting match!" She couldn't worry about the two loose cannons. The chimps needed to be removed from the Egg and given a thorough examination, time permitting. "Do you really think Kaname needs to see that?" If the rings could be considered good indicators, then time might be truly of an essence, now. They should get Kaname emotionally calm, settled in the chamber, and ready to go if Sousuke could make it back to the facility in time.
"I would like to see," Kaname said. "I was there his first time in Arbalest. He may need to call me again, for support. A the very least, I can feel like I'm there with him, if I watch." She knew that things could go very badly. But, whatever happened, she would not be able to hide from the truth. Chickens always come home to roost.
"We'll all be here with you," Mr. Mr. Mitsunari said. Numerous people called out their support, too. His cell phone rang. "Hello. Mitsunari here." He listened for a moment. "I see. I will take care of things." Immediately thereafter, he made a number of terse calls, mentioned code numbers in a number of them."
"What is it?" Anne looked concerned. It was the second time that day that he had seen the administrator look shaken.
"A number of unknown parties have launched small raids and attacks on various sites," Mr. Mitsunarisaid. "Some were military targets… others were research facilities." That last bit sounded ominous. Was it Amalgam? Did they somehow know that major scientific procedures were taking place at a neurological facilitiy. Were they trying to find out which facility at random? "I have called in our personal mercenary units, and have notified the armed forces. But, Mithril has no one to spare. Their teams have all been launched to reconnoiter the warzones, and to proceed with attacks if necessary." All of the other fighting sites could be diversions. Or, they could be jewels to be put in the crown of a royal pain in the ass, Amalgam. Or, someone who was part of that organization, but had previously set up a number of contingency plans.
"Sousuke will be on his own, then" Kaname said, more worried about him than herself, in a matter of speaking. She knew that the TDD-1 had cruise missiles. If they weren't all spoken for, maybe there could be someone on Sousuke's side.
"Telephone again, Miss Chidori." A technician waved to the scar-faced 'boy'. This time, it was Tessa, calling to offer emotional support. She pledged to do whatever she could, especially seeing that the Tokyo incursion would take place in a major population center. There would be collateral damage of course… maybe even some damage to the school that she had visited earlier that day… but to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs.
"Yes… I understand," Kaname said. Then, her eyes went wide. "You visited the School?" She had visited Sousuke! There was no other reason for her to go there. She bit 'her' lips. Calm down, girl. Take deep breaths. Sousuke was in her body. And, Teletha Testerrosa had no interest in Kaname Chidori. There was no reason to feel even the slightest twinge of jealousy, right?
"I can't speak now," Tessa said. Commander Mardukas had make a stern comment in the background. "But… before I go… I will tell you the topic in Biology class." The other Whispered girl just couldn't help herself. She said 'Sex Ed. 'And, just before cutting transmission, she added: "Sousuke kept passing me notes. That randy rascal."
"You!" Kaname said to dead air. "Grrrrr-rrrr-rrr-rr-r." She pinched 'herself.' There was no reason to get upset, right? "Sousuke could never view a commanding officer in a romantic light…." Just the way that he could never fall in love with his charge? She shook that thought out of 'her' head. Instead, she grinned evilly, picturing Tessa strapped to a cruise missile in flight. Buck naked, wearing just a hair-tie on her fluttering ponytail. She also updated her mental Palm Pilot. Her list of questions for Sousuke Sagara had just grown a good bit longer.
"Miss Chidori," Mr. Mitsunari said in a soft voice. "The veterinarians will continue to watch Adam and Eve carefully. It won't be long before the Egg is swabbed down… before the machine is charged up again… and before we're ready to go. We might tweak some parameters a little; but, it makes little sense to mess with success."
"Yes," Kaname said. "As long as I don't end up the one picking my nose," She tried to smile. "Or picking something worse." Her joke fell flat. Flatter than it would be if someone had dropped it from the top of the Empire State Building.
"Of course," the administrator said. His eyes went very serious, and his voice solemn. He spoke as if he stood in the middle of Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. "Everyone here appreciates Sergeant Sagara's service." He squeezed Kaname's arm in a fatherly fashion. "And your sacrifice."
"Sacrifice," Kaname whispered. She held back a sudden sob. Every day, Sousuke Sagara was a walking sacrifice. He had sacrificed a childhood, by no choice of his own. He didn't even have the chance to be a true high school student like his peers. None of them had picked up anything more deadly than a steak knife or a pair of pruning shears. Who among them had defended anything more than their spot in a cramped club room or their place in the food line? If he died, all record of him would disappear, like he had never been born at all. Maybe Mithril would hold a ceremony. More likely, Weber and Mao would hoist some glasses, clink them together, and drink the contents, and then write 'on patrol' next to Sousuke's name on the mission board.
"If he dies…." Kaname shook off her sadness, only because it was time to view things clearly in her own light. If Sousuke did die… or was called away again for some reason… who would protect her? Him. Whatever. When would Mithril's altruism evaporate, or somehow prove itself to be false, a con job of sorts?
"The only things that can possibly survive a nuclear war-" a kindly old man began. "Are cockroaches… ants… scorpions… ginkos-" Nick-named the Tree of Life, Ginkgo biloba is one of the very few forms of life to survive the detonation of the American atomic bomb over Hiroshima. A ginkgo tree survived despite being less than a mile from the epicenter of the nuclear blast on August 6, 1945. "-And Sergeant Sousuke Sagara… Urzu-7…."
"Who are you," Kaname said. "And how do you…." She left her question hanging.
"How soon they forget," the 'man' said, unbuttoning the top few buttons on 'his' Engineer's uniform. She then worked her fingers underneath a prosthetic mask, and tore if off, much the way that Tom Cruise does in 'Mission Impossible' movies.
"You!" Kaname blinked rapidly. She recognized the woman, a North Korean by birth, and now a member of the Mithril Intelligence Division. "How long have you been here?" She wrinkled Sousuke's forehead. "And why are you breaking cover?"
It was Wraith.
"I'm not sure," the spy said, in reply to the last question. She was not about to say that it was because she felt a liking for the other woman, almost as if she wished that she could have at least one friend. "But, not to worry. I have scoured every square inch of this place… I doubt that there are any hidden recording devices. And… it would take an exceptional traitor to hide from me. A less than exceptional covert operative would be resting with fish heads, under the newspapers in the dumpster behind the fish market."
"Right." Kaname first felt very tense, with the master of disguise being there. That spoke to how much danger she was in, no matter what body she might be wearing. "Has there been anyone following me lately?" She immediately knew that was a stupid question. She doubted that the older woman would answer. And, if she did, she didn't want to share the blood on the agent's hands. "Never mind! Forget that I asked!"
"Hmmmm-mmm-mm-m." Wraith watched as Dr. Necessiter struggled to carry a large flat-screen television into the lab. A few steps behind him, Dr. Hfuhruhurr was pushing a popcorn cart that once graced a famous carnival. Nothing was too good for the doctors and researchers at the Tokyo Neurological Cednter. "Is there anyone that you want to disappear? I can make things look like accidents. Or, I could finger him or her as enemy infiltrators." It was hard to tell if she was speaking in jest.
"Nooo-oo-o…." Kaname stiffened. For just a millisecond, she had a very unkind thought. That wasn't like her! Well, not when she had time to think things through. The silly men may have been a major thorn in her side… and a whole thorn bush in Anne's ass… but they truly seemed fond of her… and they had done her cause an enormous service. She smiled briefly. "Could I have a rain check?"
"Sure." Wraith surprised Kaname by chuckling, and pushing her bang out from in front of her eyes. "Here… take this… my card…." She ripped a page off of a notebook within arm's reach, and handed it to Kaname, bowing as she did so. Naturally, the paper was blank.
"I'll treasure it always," Kaname said. She then became serious again. "Thank you. I mean that. For whatever it is that you do."
"Are you speaking to yourself, Miss Chidori." Wraith somehow slid from view, stepping between two milling and meandering men outside of the room. Her voice came faintly. "I was never here." She no doubt would don another disguise, after reporting the most recent events to her handler.
"I wonder how many people she's been today," Kaname asked herself. Wool-gathering, she found herself moving, but not under her own power.
"Come on… come on…." Dr. Hfuhruhurr had looped one of his arms around one of hers.
"Hurryhurryhurry. It could start any time-" Dr. Necessiter said, hooking Kaname's other arm. "-If any of the news services films it and shows it live." The two couldn't even be certain that anything was going to happen. Mithril had been tactically and strategically wrong on more than one occasion.
"Hey, let them stay!" Dr. Hfuhruhurr shouted over to a pair of animal trainers, who were leading the chimpanzees away, holding their hands. "They could use a break. Rough day at the office, you know. We have beer." He looked over at a food cart. "And bananas." He walked over to an ice bucket, hoping someone had brought down something strongly alcoholic that he could chug down. His enormous brainpower was no longer needed.
"We can see if Eve likes to watch sports shows and porno channels," an animal handler remarked. "And if Adam goes straight for QVC, or one of those mascara infomercials."
"In any case, we can't let them go like that." That was Anne, who was carrying a large fabric bag. When the bag moved, there was a sound of metal clanking against metal. "It looks like Reggie Junior's diaper is full. She needs to have her diaper changed before she heads back to the zoo." She felt a bit uneasy about the primates leaving. She hoped that no one in the scientific community would send them for vivisection.
"Crikey," Dr. Necessiter said, doing his best Steve Irwin impression. "What a ripper." It did indeed look like the one set of Pampers was ready to tear. "Poor Sheila. She can't go walkabout like that."
"I think that Reggie should be the one to change it," Dr. Hfuhruhurr opined. "Since he was the one who imprinted on all of the animals. The lab will pay for his services. Spare no expense!" He wondered who might catch that reference.
"I agree," Mr. Mitsunari said, catching wind of the conversation. There were no grounds to sanction Reginald for his less than gentile behaviour today. But, sometimes people can give kharma a helping hand. "With great power comes great responsibility." He watched as the two scientists laughed and clapped their hands. "Speaking of which… Miss Uumellmahaye … if you are ready, I will call Security, and they will have the room cleared."
"I truly should begin the rites," Anne said. "The Sergeant isn't here. But we have Kaname, and we have the machinery. I won't be able to finish if we wait for Sousuke to come back before I start the proceedings." She didn't mention the ring. She didn't have to. "Like before, you have nothing to worry about. The rites are harmless." That was said to Kaname. "This first one will smooth the way for the ones that follow."
"Sure," Dr. Necessiter said. "Until someone that knows Sousuke or Kaname shows up. Again. Just like before the last ritual. Just you wait."
"Not this time," Anne said. She made a motion with her hand, one like a show-master might make in the olden days, to have a bad performer hooked and pulled off of the stage. "That's why before I get to the mental clarity spells and blessings, I will Call Down the Moon. That will be a strong deterrent to any bad happenings."
"Uh huh," Dr Hfuhruhurr said, thinking any ritual to be little more than a mealy mouthful of mumbo jumbo. "Did you know that after the Americans went to the Moon, the Soviet leader announced that they would be sending a man to the Sun. The engineers objected. 'If you send a man to the Sun, he will burn up!' 'What do you think I am, stupid?' the leader replied. 'We'll send him at night!'" That bit of nonsense almost began a chain reaction. Anne began making the hooking motion again, more fervently this time.
"What's the difference between Kim Kardashian and the moon?" A courier asked, after handing over a package of patent forms that an eager and departing group of administrators signed for. He waited a few moments, and then said: "You actually have to put in some effort to see the moon's backside."
"ENOUGH!" That was Mr. Mr. Mitsunari. He saw the way that weary technicians and engineers seemed to suddenly perk up, thinking of moon jokes. He didn't want things to turn into some kind of a joke fest. Who would want one of those?!
The arriving Security personnel made certain that everyone except Anne and Kaname left the room. They were polite to most of the people in the exodus, and most of the visitors left in a swift and orderly fashion. The guards carried two masks, both of which were exact replicas of the one put on Hannibal Lecter in 'Silence of the Lambs'. The two head scientists had a good idea who those masks were meant for.
Kaname herself almost followed the crowd, thinking it might be best to empty Sousuke's bladder before things got started. Her mind flashed back to her first foray into the Men's Room, and she quickly decided that she could wait.
"I'm used to doing this," Anne admitted. "But those idiots would turn the place into some kind of a strip club, I'm sure of it." It would be even worse if she added the usual sexual elements to the ceremony. She opened her purse and took out a few items, and began arranging them on one of the few clear areas left on a desk top, pushing a stack of mechanical calculations and a half dozen empty and half-full styrofoam coffee cups out of the way. Next to a private note from Glen, she placed the fox pin that the Fox Witch had been wearing… a hirogata bearing a handwritten note of encouragement, given to her by the visiting omnyoji… a half-eaten bag of hazelnuts handed to her by the Okinawan yuta… and a small polished stone that she always kept with her, one that she had found during her fist spiritual walk along the Asuza River.
She began unbuttoning her blouse.
"Let me repeat, there's nothing for you to worry about." Anne said. "And… as you will soon see… I perform this ritual skyclad… Wiccan speak for 'nude.' Clothing can interfere with my spiritual workings." She was soon down to her undergarments. As Kaname politely looked away, she removed the remainder, which were folded and placed in a neat pile on the floor. "Wiccan Magick is very much like Christian Prayers. We ask the Divine for something that we want to happen in our lives. First, I will have to do my centering… grounding… and shielding. In many traditions, it's crucial that you learn to do these things before you begin working magic. Centering is essentially the foundation of energy work, and subsequently magic itself. Grounding is a way of eliminating excess energy that you may have stored up during a ritual or a working. Shielding is a way to protect yourself from psychic, mental, or magical attack." She went through her usual procedures, as Kaname watched silently, so happy that the suffocating number of people had been cleared away.
"MEOWWWWW-WWW-WW-W-GORK GABBA GABBA GRIBBLE"
One of the spiked, colorful and misconfigured tabby cats had escaped and run back into the room, intending to use the Egg as a litter box. It coughed up a throbbing and glowing hairball. Scampering just behind it came Dr. Hfuhruhurr, intending to catch the kaleidoscopic kittie before being caught himself. He slid to a halt, and then stared at Anne in surprise. "Hubba hubba," he said.
"Take them both out, please." Anne said, irritated at being interrupted and gawked at. "Put the one in a strong cage with an even stronger lock." She didn't say whether the cat or the scientist should be the one that was imprisoned. Kaname knew which one she would choose.
A bald, bearded, and burly security guard tucked the doctor under his arm, and grabbed the nightmare cat by it's tail. Both captives immediately began fussing and batting at one another.
Kaname pictured a small black cat with Sousuke's head. Wouldn't it be nice if he was that portable, whenever he got into trouble? A cat, she wouldn't carry by the tail. That would be cruel and inhumane. Sousuke? That was a different story. She suddenly wiped away the image with a mental eraser. She had imagined Sousuke, feeling her hand on his tail, and mistakenly asking if that was some kind of sexual invitation. She felt her cheeks growing warm.
"There are many different ways to draw down the moon," Anne told Kaname, who tried to focus on the person speaking, but couldn't help but sneak quick glances at the television set. No news of any strange activity near her school, yet. "For today's version, I will begin by standing at the altar I brought in." She walked over to a different ornate faux stone altar that was draped in ivy leaves, and which sported a small chalice, a dagger, and a number of different odoriferous herbs. She crossed her arms over her chest, and brought her feet together. She faced in the direction that the full moon would rise that night and prepared to speak.
"Pony?"
Another interloper!
Costume fully on, the Pony man had returned. He had left his favorite hair brush behind, and had come back to retrieve it. He would have been there sooner; but, he had left the Pony head in a Taxi, and had to track down that cab… retrieve his head… and then frighten a bunch of old women and a couple of toddlers as he rode public transportation to the lab site.
"SECURITY!"
This time it was Kaname who hailed the team. "Him too!" She watched as a pair of hospital personnel chased after the Pony Man, who was trotting off on his own. "It's okay now," Kaname said to Anne, who nodded her head and resumed:
"Goddess of the Moon, You have been known by many names in many lands in many times. You are universal and constant. In the dark of night, You shine down upon us and bathe us in Your light and love. I ask You, O Divine One, to honor me by joining with me, and allowing me to feel Your presence within my heart.
Miss Uumellmahaye moved her feet apart to about shoulder width, and raised her arms up and out to welcome the Goddess into her. She chanted spontaneously from the heart, eschewing the memorized parts that she used on most occasions. Feeling a slight tingle, she continued:
"I am the Mother of all life, the One who watches over all. I am the wind in the sky, the spark in the fire, the seedling in the earth, the water in the river."
Kaname didn't know if there really was a Divine One. She wondered if the Whispered were some kind of divine joke. Just the same, if Anne could make anything beneficial happen, she was all for it. She would take help from anyone. If a boy in a turban ran in with a magic lamp or a djinn in a bottle, she would welcome him with open arms. She watched as Anne said:
"I am the vessel from which All Things spring forth. Honor Me from within your heart! Remember that acts of love and pleasure are My rituals, and that there is beauty in all things. Honor Me on this day of the full moon! I have been with you since the moment you were created, and shall remain with you always. Let there be beauty and strength, wisdom and honor, humility and courage within you. If you need Me, call upon Me and I shall come to you, for I am everywhere, always."
Kaname felt her eyelids grow heavy as the words droned on. She almost dozed off. Her thoughts drifted to past events. Khanka, again. The place that the fake UN rescuers had tried to convince everyone was Siberia.
*Beating her hands on the inside of a glass cylinder* *Trying to escape in her underwear, only to be shot at by a lady researcher* *Being held down, as a drip of an experimental drug fell from the tip of a syringe needle ready to be plunged in* *Sousuke showing up out of the blue, taser in hand, only to push her down when he had rendered her attackers unconscious* *'Get off me you molester pervert!'* *'Mithril sent a soldier to guard you 24/7, and that soldier is me'* *Sousuke climbing into an RK-92. 'I'm not an amateur. In fact, I'm a Specialist!'* *Climbing onto the lowered hand of a Savage* *Defeating the enemy and making a run for it, only to be defeated by a silver Arm Slave.*
"Experimental drugs," Kaname whispered, feeling a shiver. She remembered the A21 instance again. That boy, under the influence of the drug. What would Sousuke be like, if Mithril drugged him, so he could use the Lambda Driver better? Now was no time to fantasize about what ifs! She watched as Anne continued her endeavor:
"Honor Me as you seek knowledge! I am the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone, and I live within you."
Anne beamed, eyes shining, and perfect white teeth exposed in a dreamy smile. She could feel the power of the Goddess within her.
Kaname purposely tried to dive back in time in her mind. There was a wealth of memories there, if only she could unlock the mental jewel box:
*'This is a nice surprise, Kashim. I've got this new job where I have to play around in the young girl's brain. It's like a treasure hunt* *Kurz to the rescue. Yes, that Kurz. The lost kittie Kurz.* *Just missing the C17s as they took off with the rest of the class.* *A wounded Sousuke. Rain. A picture of Sousuke and his late comrades.* *'Stay away!'* *Can you trust me, Kaname.'* *A wounded Kurz in a wheelbarrow.* *Refusing to leave when Sousuke ordered her to go off on her own* *A lot of 'Uhhhs.'* *It's better for you to die here, then to be turned into one of the living dead'.*
What would have happened, had they caught one of the two Globemasters? Sousuke never would have used Arbalest. He wouldn't be chained to that Arm Slaves ankle now, a slave to his bond with that machine. What would have happened if she had gone off to the beach on her own, and Sousuke and Kurz did the western movie thing without her?
Robert Leroy Parker , born in April 13, 1866, better known as Butch Cassidy, was a U.S. train robber and bank robber, and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the 'Wild Bunch' in the U.S. Old West. Pressured by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, he fled the country with his accomplice Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, known as the 'Sundance Kid', and Longabaugh's girlfriend, Etta Place. The trio traveled first to Argentina and then to Bolivia, where Parker and Longabaugh are believed to have been killed in a shootout with police in November 1908. In 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', a 1969 American Western film in which Paul Newman played Butch and Robert Redford played the Kid, the two outlaws charged out of their hiding place with guns blazing at the end of the movie, directly into a virtual firing squad, as the image freezes to the sound of dozens of muskets firing repeatedly.
Anne's voice rose in its volume, and in its vibrancy. The way she moved would have transfixed any man, the way that the namesake dancer did in Volbeat's 'Lola Montez,' if any men had been allowed in the room. As it was, Kaname was truly moved. How could anyone move so slowly, but make the movement seem so profound? And, the way that she spoke:
"I look down upon the sands of the desert, I crash the tides upon the shore, I shine on the mighty trees of the forests, and watch with joy as Life continues every cycle."
"Joy," Kaname whispered. "The trees of the forest." She closed her eyes, mind surfing again: *Tall trees towering over them.* *Soul-gazing. 'Sousuke'… 'Kaname'… 'Sousuke.'* *Spy satellites and long shots.* *'I promise that I'll be back'* *Mumbling about ECS weak points and A.S. parts.* *Kurz eyes wandering to her partially exposed chest and paying the price.* *'If we make it back, what do you think you'll do?' "I'll probably start on my next mission.' 'Does that mean you're not coming back?' "I'll simply disappear, just as my training dictates.'*
"Movies should have a happy ending," Kaname said. This whole body-switch ordeal seemed like a bad B-movie or a crazy anime. It should have a happy ending. The last thing she needed was for that moody military maniac to fight to the death in some cool ending scene! "And the only one I want staring at my breasts is Sousuke!" Talk about your Freudian slip! "I mean… you know… in the mirror… while he's still me…." She hurried to change the subject clumsily. "It… I… we…." She coughed. "I helped him in Khanka. I helped him in Hong Kong. Is there something I can do to help him this time, too?"
The truth of the matter was, she had done a yeoman's job here at the lab, ensuring that the two of them got their body's back. But, nothing that she could do here would help Jindai High, or give aid to the people who were on school grounds. And, the enemy was at the school because of her. Because of what she was. Yes. her being Whispered was the gift that kept on giving. She couldn't run from that, right? But, she still had a choice. She could call Sousuke back, laying claim to her body. The two of them could survive, at the cost of many lives, many friends. She had once tried to take her life when she returned to Japan, things had been so bad back then. What was worse, that, or doing whatever was necessary to remain whole, with others doing the dying?
"No," Kaname said pithily. "That's not who I am." After Khanka, Melissa had told her that she might be the strongest of them all. She needed to live up to that. "Ouch." She had to twist her leg just so, to keep a sudden unexpected leg cramp from taking hold. When she looked back up, she saw that Anne was still at it, now covered in a thin layer of sweat that reflected the light from the huge overhead banks of halogen bulbs. It almost felt as if the woman's voice was vibrating, like her tongue was a tuning fork:
"Be true to Me, honoring that which I have created, and I shall be true to you in return. With harm to none, so it shall be."
Kaname struck a pose, one much like Anne's. Help was a not always what one can do… it was often something that one had already done. The importance doesn't necessarily fade away with time. Sometimes it can grow stronger. Yes, Sousuke was bound to the ARX-7. But that was not only a curse. Sometimes it was a blessing. The young soldier was a true whiz in a rickety old Soviet junk heap. He was closer to being a god in Arbalest. She had been the one who helped him learn how to use the Lambda Driver. There was no way that anyone could ever beat him, now. She yawned, and slowly closed her eyes.
*The missile flew overhead, and then came apart in flight, dropping the white Arm Slave.* *Sousuke ran to board the machine for the first time, defeating multiple Savages soon thereafter.* *Facing the silver A.S. again.* *'Magic, huh. I'm afraid it's not that. That guy is not using magic. He's using Technology.*' *Gauron using the Lambda Driver.* *'Sousuke is going to lose, if it keeps going this way.' 'Somehow I understand.' 'A clue. I'll give him a clue' 'This time I'm doing the saving'.* *'The device simply responded to your mind.' 'The images in your mind take real physical shape.' 'Focus your hope to beat your opponent. Put your whole spirit into it!' 'If you lose, the bad guys will pull off all of my clothes, play around with my body, and kill me when they're done. Imagine that happening to me. You can't let him do that, can you?'* *'Nooo-oo-o.'* *'Then point your gun at him. Close your eyes. Trust me. In a few seconds you will strike. Hold the image. AND NOW!'*
Magic?
Kaname looked at Anne, who was nearing the end of her rite. Was what she was doing really Magic? She almost wished that she was a magical girl. Almost. The world doesn't need overpowered heroines… or heroes for that matter. It's the common everyday folks that need to get things done. And, as for someone playing around with her body, things would be different if they couldn't switch back. That is, if Gauron was truly dead this time. Rumor had it that the amoral mercenary had a horrendously huge hankering for a choice piece of Sousuke's anatomy.
"-" Kaname didn't want to think about Gauron. Instead, she toyed with another thought. Khanka was Sousuke Sagara's first day piloting the ARX-7. Today would be Kaname Chidori's first time, right? "Well… in a way…." Kaname felt stupid, thinking that. It would still be Sousuke, only he would be in her body. "It will still be a first." She smirked, wondering what the A.I. would say.
"It's almost done," Anne said, somehow sounding exhausted and invigorated at the same time. "Now… I'll just take a few moments to stand and bask in Her glow… and to meditate upon everything that I just experienced." Once the emotional energy surge had subsided, the Wiccan lowered her arms.
"Here." Kaname kindly handed the other woman a cold can of soda, still dripping water and shedding a small number of clinging ice cubes.
"Thanks," Anne said, holding the can to her forehead. She smiled. Feeling dehydrated, she popped open the beverage and drank the whole can without stopping. "Brrr-rr-r-aaaaa-aaaa-aaa-aa-ap! Oh! Excuse me. I'm such a pig." She wiped her mouth, and then barely caught a drip of soda that tried to escape her chin. "I'll soon be ready to perform the simpler rites." She looked over at her large bag, which held numerous items large and small, all needed for the ceremonies that she would perform.
"Catch your breath first," Kaname said. Those words were the epitome of irony, as she soon found herself holding her breath.
"We have word of a missile entering Tokyo airspace," a female commentator was saying on the air. She was impeccably dressed, seated in a helicopter, flying over the city.
"Witnesses calling in to the station claim to have seen a large cannister descending from the sky by parachute," a well-groomed and eerily calm male announcer said on a competing TV channel."
"It's probably like 'War of the Worlds'!" The small hyperactive co-anchor expounded.
"No," Kaname said, shaking her head. "It's Arbalest."
It was, wasn't it? What if it was the enemy? If the bad A.S. landed first, it meant that the Amalgam pilot would have the advantage!
Kaname was never one to chew on her fingers, especially if she was in an environment that made hand washing and anti-bacterial soaps a must.
She began chewing on one of Sousuke's thumbnails.
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Eventually the rest of the story will follow. Sousuke's first actions back at Jindai. Mr. Magnesium's actions when he arrives at the school. A battle away from the school. Action far above the city. And a return to the lab.
It remains to be seen how long a nap my muse might want.