Vol 1. Chapter 5 – The Ogdoad Unleashed
"NELSON-SENSEI DID WHAT?!" Ayane's shriek echoed through all their ear pieces. Shiroko couldn't stop her ears from folding flat at the sudden noise. She noticed that Serika's cat ears did the same, while Hoshino and Nonomi merely flinched. She could faintly hear an echo throughout the quiet neighborhood around the reinforced house.
Serika shook her head and hissed, stomping her fate to emphasize her point, "She's trying to hold off the Helmet Gang by herself!"
"Can she even do that?" Ayane muttered, voice clearly in shock. "She doesn't even have a halo!"
"Nn," Shiroko shook her head. "She can. Sensei is tough."
The machine gun shrieked as I swept it from left to right, knocking a few of the Thugs down. I could see the barrel glowing lightly in the night as it struggled to keep up the fire. The heat of the metal through the shroud was starting to cause my hand to shake and affect my aim. It was almost the end for this gun.
I just had to hold for a bit longer. It had been slightly over half an hour. Serika should have made contact with the rest of Abydos and was on their way back. This was OK. This was fine. Just something to laugh about later, over how close things got to being bad.
Murphy must have been listening because the machine gun decided this was its moment to explode.
Serika looked like she wanted to say something to Ayane, but stopped at the last moment. After a moment of uncertain silence, the catgirl answered. "I… I don't know! She was really beat up the last time I saw her!"
"To think the situation was this bad..." Shiroko heard Hoshino mumble, "I was wondering why she would send me a DM from the Official Schale Instaberry account rather than her Momotalk..."
"We have to help her!" Nonomi declared, grabbing her minigun and rushing in the direction Serika came from, only to be stopped as Hoshino grabbed her by the arm.
"What we need to do is to act as a team." Hoshino said, voice cool and steeled. "If we rush in half-cocked, we might distract her instead of help her. Ayane, have your drones fly ahead and try to reach Sensei. Once we know how she's doing, we'll figure out what to do from there. Got it?"
Shiroko nodded, while the rest of Abydos answered with a range of acknowledgement. At that, Hoshino nodded and pointed in the direction Serika came from. "Abydos! Let's go save our Teacher!"
The machine gun was useless as a gun now. I didn't have a spare barrel on hand and, with the barrel shroud torn open, I wasn't even sure if I could rotate the receiver to access the barrel. But what it still was, however, was a particularly large and heavy chunk of metal and wood.
Something that the first thug coming from my port side became acquainted with as I swung the weapon like a club, grabbing it by the shroud with two hands. The heavy wood and steel stock met the side of her helmet and shattered it, sending her flying away. I ignored where she landed as the next thug backpedaled away to gain distance. Commendable.
It didn't help her at all when a hammer throw sent the machinegun sailing through the air and into her visor.
Shiroko heard Serika make an indignant angry noise as she ducked behind cover, the ping of rifle fire ricocheting off the car echoing into the night. A second later, her drone took to the air and unleashed a barrage of rockets into the Helmet Gang's rearguard. Several of the Thugs were sent flying while a few managed to weather the storm.
Not that it helped when Hoshino leapt over their cover, shotgun at the ready. A few rapid blasts dispatched them. It was brutal work, but they were on a timer. Any fights that could be forced through needed to be forced through.
"Ayane!" She heard Hoshino call as the four of them continued pushing forward. "Have you made contact with Sensei yet?"
"No!" Ayane's voice buzzed over their headset. "There's a lot of sand from the blasts and artillery covering the parking lot. I have to bring the drones closer to the ground to try to find her!"
"Come on!" Serika shouted as she ran ahead. "We have to keep going!"
With the machine gun now thoroughly gone, I brought a sword and pistol from my stores with a twist of my will. With my left-hand aching as bad as it did, I doubt I could do any precision shooting with a rifle. But I could still grip a handle, and I could still swing my arm.
The alarm came almost a moment too late. An artillery shell bursting nearby almost knocked me to my feet. Blue hexagons flaring to life around me protected me from the worst of the shrapnel, but the force of the detonation shifting the sands was enough to drop me to one knee.
"I think I found them!"
I sucked in a breath and forced the pain down. I avoided a direct hit, but the pain of being jostled about was getting a bit much. However, that last barrage gave me the final bit of information Arona needed to triangulate where their Flak 41s were shooting me from. Now I just needed a way to reach them.
I forced myself back onto two feet. I still had duties left to fulfill, and I would not be found lacking. Another pair of thugs crested a hill. They froze as my gaze focused on them. Another obstacle. With a wordless growl I forced my feet forward and pushed towards them.
"What… is this?" Shiroko heard Ayane say, the shock bleeding through unfiltered.
Nonomi had a worried frown now when she asked "Did you find Sensei?!"
"No." Ayane answered. "But I know where she should be heading."
"What's the situation, Ayane?" Hoshino snapped; voice tight.
There was a long pause, before the elven Secretary finally answered. "There's a line of destruction, moving straight away from where Serika last saw her."
The thug behind the leading automatic rifle carrying girl fell as I emptied the entire magazine into her. The lead panicked and started to scramble away, only to stumble and trip over the comatose form of her partner. Good. She who dares, wins.
Without letting up, I pushed up the dune and smashed the butt of my pistol into the top of her helmet as she tried to stand up. The protective wear shattered, splinters peppering the ground around us. The halo blinked out and the thug fell to the floor unconscious. For a second I stood there, taking in long pained breaths as I tried to plan my next move.
A gasp caught my attention and I looked down the dune and found myself face to face with a whole squad of thugs. Their helmets kept their faces hidden from me but their trembling arms and legs were on full display. For a second, they and I simply stared at each other.
Then one of them tried to shoot me.
The rifle round caught me in the stomach but I forced the pain away. With a snarl I charged down the dune. I was amongst them within seconds. With every swing of my arm and shot fired, I remembered my promises.
I told Rin I would help Kivotos.
My blade catches a thug under the arm. It visibly dislocates but the Halo remains. A kick to the stomach solves that problem.
I told Abydos that I would help save their school.
The sword's enclosed handguard shatters another visor. The girl stumbles back and gives me enough space to empty my pistol through the open helmet slit.
I told Serika I would still be here when she got back.
A shotgun blast catches me in the shoulder. I let the momentum carry me into a spinning slash that catches the thug in the side of the helmet. The impact does not bisect the helm so much as rupture it and the girl was sent flying.
My Crew's Memories rushed to the fore and I witnessed every moment of their defiance and fury. It would be unbecoming to not match their expectations.
Failure here was not acceptable.
Falling here was not acceptable.
I would not allow defeat here, nor ever.
Arona's cry of "Watch out!" gives me enough time to jump for cover before another artillery shell burst catches me in the open.
As the ringing and pain subsides, I force myself up again. For a second, all was quiet. Then, a buzzing noise off to my starboard sees me whip around to bring my sword down on it. I managed to pull myself back at the last second as I recognized a familiar drone.
"Okusora?"
"What are you doing here?" Ayane heard Nelson as she looked over the Teacher on the screen. She looked bad. Cuts and burns dominated large portions of the Adult's uniform. Several sections were outright missing. She could spot several bruises and cuts covering the Adult. Worst of all, there was a large dark stain running down the Teacher's right side down to the top of her heels.
"Sensei!" Ayane shouted as she slammed the 'speaker' button on her drone controls. "You're hurt! Hold still for a second!" She had her drone drop the medkit it was carrying and watch as the red box dispensed the painkiller mist. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do much judging by how much Nelson still winced.
"You best save that for the others." Nelson said, a frown on her face. "The healing effects of Kivotos have a diminished effect on me. Where are the others?"
"Everyone's coming to back you up!" Ayane glanced at the live map on another screen. "They should be there in a few minutes!"
"No."
The answer stunned her. "What?"
Nelson's voice was calm and even, a sharp contrast to her state. "The heavy artillery the Helmet Gang is using is still shelling my position. I suspect they intend to lure the Foreclosure Task Force with myself as the bait, then wipe everyone out with a heavy bombardment."
Nelson paused as she spun about to fire several rounds at something behind her. She heard a sharp cry of pain before Nelson turned back to the drone to finish her instructions. "The Task Force must destroy the artillery before helping me. There is a parkette 10 kilometers to my north. The fire is coming from there."
Ayane was silent. What Nelson was telling her made sense. It was the strategically sound thing to do. If the Helmet Gang had more than a few of these guns, most of the Foreclosure Task Force could be seriously hurt or worse by a sustained bombardment. Destroying the artillery first was the smart thing to do.
But what that meant for Nelson was unthinkable. The detour would add another fifteen minutes of travel time alone, never mind the time needed to fight. "Sensei... Are you sure?"
"Certain." Nelson answered, voice firm. Then she smiled, bright and confident. "Believe in your Teacher, Ms. Okusora. I will be fine. Your friend's safety comes first."
"You're our friend as well!" Ayane shouted. She wanted to say something else. Anything to convince the Teacher to accept their help. But that was the only thing that she could think of, at that moment.
Nelson stared at Ayane, gaze piercing through the digital relay. The Teacher opened her mouth to say something. Before she could, a series of detonations tore through the audio input and the video cut out.
"Sensei!" Ayane shouted, hoping for an answer even as the feedback announced her drone's destruction. She reached to switch the channel back to the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force, to urge her friends forward to help Nelson, when her hand halted. Nelson's assessments echoed in her mind. More than that, it was a simple question. Did she trust in the Adult to do as she said?
It was a few moments of hesitation before she made up her mind. She flipped the channel to speak to everyone else.
Renai moved her group of three forward over the dunes as the sand settled from the most recent barrage. They listened to her, but everyone was on edge. She couldn't fault them; she was on edge too. She didn't even have her usual squad with her. It was just anyone brave enough to try to get the reward for defeating the Adult.
From an objective perspective, this was absurd. 150 meters long, 30 meters wide. That's how large a space a single person, an Adult without a halo, was trying to hold. There were at least seventy-five members of the Helmet Gang present around the vicinity of the parking lot at the start of this entire shitshow. Another forty-six off sitting out of sight manning the artillery and tanks in reserve.
Renai wasn't book smart, having dropped out and all, but common sense said this should have been easy against everyone but the strongest of students. Monsters like Gehenna's Head Prefect. But here they were, almost an hour into this fight, and down to just eighteen members still in fighting shape. The artillery crew were down to their last few rounds. The tankers were getting nervous that they might have to go in before all of Abydos showed up. All because of one person. One haloless Adult.
Rabu had called every favour, cashed every debt, and rallied every member they had to prepare for this ambush. There wasn't anything left in reserve for a second try.
They couldn't afford for it to fail because of one Adult.
They couldn't let Rabu's efforts go to waste because of one Adult.
They had to succeed here, no matter what.
If they couldn't capture Serika then they could knock out this Adult and use her as bait. The rest of Abydos had to be running here right now to help this Adult, to rescue her. Abydos would never leave one of their allies behind. The Helmet Gang might not have the bodies to attack them en-masse anymore, but they still had artillery and they still had tanks. They could knock out enough of Abydos for the Helmet Gang to capture the school.
Renai believed it with all her heart. She had to believe it. The other possibilities and what it meant for them weren't something she could even consider.
"There!" One of the thugs with her shouted, pointing at a spot amongst the dune. She looked closely and spotted the Adult laying in the sand, face down. The uniform was in tatters and the only thing that seemed fine was the backpack, even if it was missing a strap.
The thug that spotted the Adult slowly approached the still body and nudged their side with their foot. Nothing. A prod from the shotgun barrel. Nothing. The thug turned to give Renai a thumbs up. "I think we got h-"
It was too fast for her to notice. One second the Adult was lying down, still. The next second, she had grabbed the girl by the ankle and thrown her to the side. The thug screamed as she sailed away, stopping only when she slammed into a building.
Renai and the rest of the thugs with her stared in horror as the Adult pushed themselves up, the sand pouring off their body like rivers of water. An unnatural chill set over the area, something that settled deep in her bones beyond the cold desert night. A half-broken cutlass, glinting silver in the moonlight, was still gripped in their hand. As the Adult looked up, Renai could see electric-blue eyes glowing in the moonlight from behind the veil of long blonde hair. The eyes scanned side to side slowly, looking for them.
Renai's had to force herself to breath as she froze in place. She knew fear. This wasn't it. It was something primal and old; the terror of prey in the face of a predator.
One of the girls panicked and took a step back. As she stumbled back, she slipped on the loose sand and fell backwards with a clatter. The noise echoed out over the empty lot. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the Adult's head turned slowly like a turret in their direction. Everyone was dead silent as the blue eyes locked onto them, hoping they had escaped notice. Then panic was truly felt when the Adult took a step towards them. Then another. And another. Renai wasn't sure if it was just her mind but she swore the sand jumped with every step.
She wasn't going to be here to find out though. As everyone with her broke and ran, she grabbed her radio and shouted into it. "Tanks! SEND IN THE TANKS!"
"No."
Everyone looked at her as Serika gave her answer.
"Why?" Ayane asked, confusion clear in her voice. "Nelson-sensei was right. We need to destroy the artillery first or else we might all get hurt."
Serika growled in annoyance. "Because I told her I would be coming back for her after finding you guys! I found you, so I'm going back!"
There were a lot of emotions bubbling in Serika's heart. She couldn't name all of them, so she focused on the one that came the most easily to her. Anger. Anger that her day had gone so disastrously wrong. Anger that she had left Nelson behind. Anger that she was being told to turn on her word. It wasn't the best choice, but it was the choice that would keep her going.
"But-" Ayane began, only for Hoshino to cut off their elvish operator with a sharp "Wait.".
As silence filled the intersection, Hoshino looked at her with a hard stare. "You'd run off even if we got you to agree, wouldn't you?"
"What do you think?" Serika snapped back, ears twitching as she matched the tiny president's stare with her own.
The two continued their stare down for a few moments, before Hoshino sighed and looked away. "We'll split up."
"Wait?!" "Are you sure?" "Nn." Ayane, Nonomi, and Shiroko all cried in surprise even as Serika gaped at the pinkette.
"Yeah." Hoshino scratched the back of her head as she looked around. "If Serika's going to run off by herself anyways, then we might as well split up. Shiroko?"
"Yes?"
"Make sure Sensei and Serika stay safe."
"OK."
"Alright, Ayane," Hoshino drawled as she rested her shotgun against her shoulder. "Nonomi and I will take care of those artillery guns, while Serika and Shiroko go help Nelson-Sensei. Try to keep an eye on both of us and drop off what supplies you can."
"You're really making this hard for me, you know!" Ayane said, exasperated but not rejecting the idea.
With that, the two pairs dashed in different directions. Serika hoped that they would make it in time.
It took ten minutes for Shiroko and Serika to get to the edge of the parking lot. At first, they encountered some more Helmet Gang thugs that were raring for a fight. For a moment, it seemed like they would have to struggle through the final cordon. But if that's what they would have to do, then that's what they would have to do.
Then, as they got closer, the demeanour of the thugs changed. At first they seemed jumpier than normal. Then the walking wounded showed up, panicking and running away at the sight of both of them. Then, as they got to within a block or two of the parking lot, it was a full-on rout. The thugs didn't even seem to acknowledge the two of them, busy running away or dragging as many of their friends with them as possible.
For a moment, Shiroko worried what this meant for their errant Teacher. Whatever happened was horrifying and terrible enough to spook this many people. The list of things that could cause such panic was small and she didn't want to bet on which one it was.
What Serika and her saw though, as they entered the edge of the parking lot though, was beyond her wildest imaginations. She heard Serika mutter a "What the hell?" in shock as they took in the scene.
The parking lot, to put it simply, was no longer there. It was a ruined scar of sand and asphalt, ripped into the earth of Abydos. Unconscious Helmet Gang thugs were everywhere they looked; lying in the sand, draped over fences, thrown through windows, and draped over each other. Craters from artillery shell barrages tore gouges into the sand and dirt. What they didn't see, or hear, was fighting. Aside from the crackle of flames and the distant sound of gunfire, it was dead silent.
"Damn it," Serika swore as she slung her rifle behind her and ran into the parking lot. "She's got to still be here! Come on, help me look for her!"
Shiroko nodded and followed the catgirl into the parking lot. As they climbed over a dune, she could spot the wrecks of two Crusader tanks sitting in the sand. The closer one, perched halfway up a dune, was missing its turret and had fire still licking out of the vehicle's hatches. With the unconscious crew lying around it with burned uniforms, it told the story of an ammo detonation. Who knew where the turret was now.
As Serika moved to check the area around the closer tank, Shiroko moved to the further one. She could only see the rear during their approach, but the torn off wheel spoke of something particularly violent occurring. As she got closer, she could see what happened. She thought she had been approaching the back of the turret. Now that she was next to it, she realized she was looking at the destroyed front of the turret.
She wasn't sure how but Nelson had cut open the turret face and ripped the cannon, along with the mantlet, right out of the tank. Then, if the impact marks told the story right, she used it to smash in the roof of the turret and engine. What happened to the cannon after, she didn't know. The crew were nowhere to be found as well, and she guessed they ran away.
"Shiroko," Serika's voice crackled on her ear piece. "Do you see her anywhere?!"
She decided against pointing out the panic in the catgirl's voice. Serika probably felt horrible enough as is. She was about to answer when the clouds blew past, and moonlight fell upon the parking lot again. In the distance, not too far from her, was a glint of silver.
She ignored the cries from Serika as she ran across the sand, climbed up a large dune, and looked down at the expanse before her. There, sitting on the hood of an abandoned half buried car, was Nelson. The Adult was in bad shape. What was left of the uniform was stained with gunpowder, blood, and sand. The backpack the Adult wore everywhere was barely hanging on with one strap missing.
The silver glint caught Shiroko's eye again and she followed it to the sword in Nelson's hand. There was barely a quarter left, and it was still held in her left hand and left to rest on her shoulder where it caught the moonlight. It was like using a signal mirror, Shiroko realized. A last-ditch effort for anyone to notice her.
She part ran, part slid, down the dune towards the Teacher as quickly as she could. Clearing the last bit of even sand, she came to a stop next to Nelson. Shiroko couldn't quite see if she was breathing or not, so she reached out to check her pulse. As soon as her hand brushed against the Adult's shoulder though, Nelson suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Slowly, the Adult turned her head to look at her. Shiroko swore she heard metal grinding against metal from the slow and unyielding action. But it was when the Teacher's eyes fell on her that she felt her breath catch in her throat. Nelson's eyes faintly glowed almost electric blue in the light of the moon, and there was not a hint of recognition behind them. Rather there was something that hungered in them. The cold touch of the hand around her wrist felt magnified by the uncaring stare looking into her eyes. Then the clouds blew back in and the Adult blinked.
When Nelson opened her eyes again, they were back to their normal blue-grey and a note of confusion and concern could be seen in them. "Shiroko what…" Nelson's voice was a discordant rumble, like two mistimed and off-tune audio tracks. The Adult paused, taking a breath to continue speaking. "What are you…" Shiroko's ear twitched as a raking cough passed through Nelson, her body shuddering from the effort. She couldn't quite pin it, but something about that quality just changed and aligned.
"What are you doing here?" The strange quality was gone, but Nelson's voice still sounded awful. It was hoarse and whisper quiet. "Where is everyone else?"
"Serika," Shiroko said, switching her headset's channel to the one shared by all of Abydos. "I found Sensei. She's… alive."
Nelson chuckled dryly at that assessment. She started to talk, only for a bout of coughing to interrupt her. Finally she managed to croak out a quiet, "A fair description."
The sound of Serika scrambling over the dune interrupted any further conversation. The catgirl spotted the two of them and she part slid, part ran down the dune, before coming to a stop in front of Nelson. As the catgirl looked at the Adult, her expression flipped between anger, guilt, and horror.
Shiroko wasn't sure whether Nelson noticed as well, but it certainly didn't stop the adult from beaming at the girl. "I gave my word that I would still be here, did I not?"
"I can't believe you made me worried about you!" Serika cried, before punching the Teacher in the arm. There wasn't really any force behind it, but both her and Serika flinched when Nelson grimaced from the impact.
"Speaking of-" Nelson said, as she looked around. "Is everyone here?"
Shiroko shook her head in response. "Hoshino and Nonomi are dealing with the artillery guns."
"What you mean to say," Hoshino said over her headset, "is that we already dealt with the artillery! Nonomi and I are heading over to where you guys are now!"
One of Ayane's drones descended from the sky, zooming to get a closer look at the Adult. Shiroko could hear Ayane choke on her headset before speaking. "Shiroko, Serika! You two need to get Sensei out of there now! She needs medical attention!"
Ayane hadn't even finished speaking before Serika growled and grabbed Nelson's free hand. "We have to get you to a doctor or a hospital or something!"
Serika slipped herself under Nelson's arm and tried to pull the adult into a standing position. She visibly strained at the effort, before the Adult sighed and forced herself onto her feet. "Please, Ms. Kuromi. I assure you and everyone that I can get back on my own power."
Nelson took two swaying steps. And then, she stopped. Slowly, the Adult tipped over and then, with a solemn finality, she slammed face first into the sand.
Ayane was silent. Shiroko was silent. Serika was silent, but only for a second. Then she scrambled over to where the Adult had fallen.
"Sensei!" Serika's cry echoed out into the night.
A shadowed robotic Adult, sitting in the executive office of a high-rise, looked over the city beneath him through the windows. As was proper, he was above the rabble here. Even if a certain thug had forced him to wait for a well overdue report. As he pondered the reliability of youth, his phone rang. He let it ring once, twice, and then he picked up.
"Well? Did you do your job?" he demanded before the person on the other end could speak; his even baritone voice betraying no hint of thought or emotion.
A young girl's voice on the other end stuttered. "Boss, we… we couldn't."
"You failed, even with all the equipment we so graciously provided?"
The girl let out a startled "eep" at the summary. "We tried, OK! But they have some monster on their side!"
He scoffed. "I thought you were above childish fantasies, Komakaze."
"It's real!" The girl shouted, a rare moment of defiance. "It was some Adult! She took on almost the entire gang by herself and destroyed two tanks with a SWORD! An actual LITERAL sword!"
He scoffed, the sharp noise echoing in his empty office. "Next you'll tell me they can shoot lasers from their eyes and fire artillery cannons one handed."
"Don't try to make excuses for your failure." He continued with a sharp tut. "You and your gang should have been more than enough for just a group of students even if they had an Adult with them."
Silence was his answer. It stretched for a moment before the girl responded. "There is no gang. Not anymore. The Helmet Gang's done. We're not recovering from tonight. Everyone's either left or going to leave. We signed up to beat up a school, not whatever the fuck tonight was."
"I fail to see how that's my problem." He said, and hung up. He sighed, as he rubbed his temple in frustration. This is what he got for hiring children to do proper work.
"You'd think a gang of students would be able to handle some other students." He muttered to himself, plotting his next plan of action. "If this is the situation, I'll simply have to enlist the services of more skilled professionals."
He pulled up the contacts on his burner phone, and scrolled over to a certain contact. The phone rang once, twice, and then someone picked up.
"Hello," A girl's voice answered, cooler and more composed. "Problem Solver 68. We'll do the crime if you've got the dime."
He chuckled at the inflated greeting, but answered them as proper. "I have two jobs for you, my dear fixers. A clean-up, and a shakedown."
AN: Did you know machine gun barrels will typically get so hot that they set the furniture around them on fire before they explosively fail? As far as I can tell, your average air cooled machine gun only actually can fire about a thousand rounds in rapid succession before the barrel or bolt locking mechanisms experience structural failure. So half an hour of extended fighting with the same barrel will definitely do it.
This chapter may have some answers. It may have some questions. We'll see where things go.
Thanks to my friend for beta reading!
Edit (Aug-21-2024): An additional few bits of narration was added to the Helmet Gang PoV section to give a deeper look into the Helmet Gang's reasoning for their actions.