As Caela waited for her allies to respond, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder. There she spotted her target, Francisco hobbling around his party. She would have thought him drunk with how clumsily he shuffled around. The man had tripped into one of his many waiters, who was thus blamed and dragged away by some guards. Guards who were equipped with exos, Caela quietly noted.
Eventually, she got word from her squad leader Michael Conrad, or rather Withered Barracuda. The middle-aged Brit grumbled quietly to himself before speaking.
"Almost," Barracuda replied, his English accent ever present in the codec, "Just waiting on Wildcat and Chameleon."
Unseen by Caela, Barracuda was in fact above her on the mansion's roof overlooking a skylight, with Sofia Holtz or Moth, and her other squadmate…unit's pet… military working dog… whatever the hell he was, Nix. The ex-SAS member was one of the MSF's original three hundred, and it showed. He was getting up there in age, his pale blond hair graying around the sideburns, and his face being rather wrinkled. Though he tried to be professional with a clean shave, Barracuda almost always had some small stubble on his face.
Moth, the squad's medic, meanwhile spotted shoulder-length brown hair, which had been tied up into a small bob to fit under her helmet. The American-Canadian had a somewhat rounded face with dimples and dark green eyes. That left Nix, an Africanis dog covered to the brim in medical and combat scars. They lined every part of his body, from the stomach to the legs even on his snout.
Nix had been the victim of illegal experimentation for some years, and when Caela's unit stumbled across his lab, they found the doctors had locked Nix into a solid titanium cage. It had confused everyone at first, they took him back to base, and Barracuda tried playing fetch with Nix. Because Nix, as he was, had a quirk. The dog could shift and mutate himself to have whatever mammal appendages it wanted. So when Barracuda threw him a ball, Nix turned into a chimera. Nix had the arms of a gorilla, a rhino's horn, a bat's wings, an elephant's legs, a hippo's body, and a lion's jaws.
All while being the size of a polar bear. Of course, the dog had an odd affinity with Barracuda, so Nix caught the ball with the lion's jaws while flying, and returned the ball. Even though Caela couldn't see it, she was sure the dog had his front paws turned into gorilla arms right now. For what reason? Because they were crossed impatiently, as the dog tapped its rear legs waiting for everyone to hurry up.
Caela would agree with Nix though, wondering what the rest of her squadmates were doing. The squad's sniper Marisa Rameriez, or Hummingbird, was likely in position, so that left Kyle Ho and Amil Abadi, or Chameleon and Wildcat. The two of them were supposed to be grabbing an escape vehicle. Wanting the operation to stay quiet their squad had been dropped in with little equipment and little in terms of extraction.
"Sorry sir," Chameleon soon piped up, earning another grumble from Barracuda, "Senior Tubby's got quite the collection down here-ooh! Lamborghini!"
"Focus," Wildcat commented, getting the man back on track.
"Right, right," Chameleon muttered, taking a few deep breaths before the radio heard him moving, "You take the red, I'll take blue."
Chameleon, as it were, was a Vietnamese man with black and red hair. Bits of his hair were stylized after playing cards, having a red heart or a black spade. It was all natural, mainly due to his quirk having something to do with luck. The rest of Chameleon was rather boring. He had a clean face, empty of any kind of scars, same with the rest of his body. The only thing different were his eyes, one of which was black, the other was red.
Wildcat meanwhile was Saudi Arabian with a leopard quirk. His entire body resembled that of a humanoid leopard, being almost more animal than man. Where one would find a leopard's tail though, would instead be a stub. It had been forcefully cut off by his ex-superiors in the Saudi Army. Though his quirk gifted him better strength Wildcat was rather lean in build. He was rather tall, at around six foot six. As the two seemingly grabbed some vehicles, Barracuda muttered over the codec.
"I should have sent Nix," Barracuda dryly stated, with Caela knowing the dog was nodding in agreement. With a sigh, Caela again looked around the ballroom and spotted Francisco busy gawking at a massive cake. Next to said cake was a rather starved-looking chef, his skin clinging to his bones.
"We still clear on the ground?" Barracuda asked, breaking Caela out of her thoughts. Taking a quick glance around, Caela took in everything. Guards hadn't changed patrols yet, Francisco was still here, and no one new had entered the room.
"Entrances are still open, no sign of Hector either," Caela replied tiredly, before glancing around the room. No sign of Francisco's head of military intelligence, Caela thought, a tad bit upsetting. Hector Santo had gotten word that FOXHOUND was in the area, but hadn't been able to verify reports. But then one of Caela's contacts had been found out and tortured for a week.
Now Hector was on his way with a small army for added security. Yet Caela wasn't worried, if anything she was bored. As much of a master spy as she was, Caela found it to be more of a secondary passion. Her primary passion had always been fighting. It was like a need for conflict had been coded into her genetics, solely by being an illegitimate daughter of the Tyrant. But so long as it meant she'd get to bust some heads, she'd keep going. She'd keep being the spy, as much as she wanted to punt Francisco through the wall.
"Hummingbird?" Barracuda soon asked, causing Caela to glance toward the window sneakily. Looking outside towards the surrounding impoverished city, she knew the squad's sniper was perched on some rooftop. The Venezuelan girl was carefully tending to her prototype anti-material railgun. Her skin was tanned with small scars lining her fingers, from working in the Cartel's fields. Her black hair was cut short, barely covering her ears.
"Fronts all clear," Hummingbird replied, an almost unnoticeable accent lacing her words, "I've got a shot on Francisco, sir. Permission to take it?"
"Negative," Barracuda replied, though Caela could hear the annoyance in his voice, "Tempting as it may be, command wants the bastard alive."
Caela couldn't imagine why. Most of Francisco's time was spent lounging about in some luxurious mansion. But then again, it was known for the warlords to have meet-ups occasionally. Rumors said it happened less now that they'd splintered into infighting, but that wasn't to say it never happened. If they discovered the meeting place, the head of every major faction could be put on the chopping block.
A single debilitating strike, that could knock out enemy leadership in one go. It seemed like an impossibility, yet they at least had to try. It wouldn't end the war, someone would inevitably take their place, but it would help immensely.
"Vehicles secured, whenever you're ready," Wildcat soon piped up, causing Caela to slowly smile.
"Good, Pronghorn, Francisco's yours. Martha, ready the lights," Barracuda ordered, the squad's resident AI giggling in response. It was an oddly sinister thing to hear, though Caela knew it would be fine… usually. Martha was a rather immature AI and liked to prank people. Sometimes at the worst possible moment. This was thankfully not one of those moments. Quickly Caela began walking back out to rejoin the party.
Looking around, she took a deep breath. After a few steps, Caela had gotten close to Francisco yet again. The moment the dictator saw her, Caela began walking a bit more sultry-like. Swaying her hips with every step. The motion disgusted her to no end, trying to act sexily for this pig. But it worked, caught him hook line, and sinker.
"Back so soon?" Francisco inquired once Caela was close enough. A sly grin was plastered over his face, with a bit of meat unknowingly stuck between his two front teeth.
"I just couldn't stay away," Caela replied, while slowly and discreetly reaching for the M18 hidden under her dress. At that moment Francisco looked like he was ready to say something. But before he could, every light in the room shut off. Everything was plunged into pitch black, the only light being provided by the moon. Not even a second later Caela drew her side arm and grabbed Francisco.
Placing the gun on his temple, no one could hear him gasp, the rest of his guests still in abject pandemonium.
"Struggle and you die," Caela told him quietly, the man not moving an inch in response. Moments later the skylight above them shattered, and Barracuda, Nix, and Moth dropped in. This was unseen by the guards though, as they all fired up at the skylight. In a swift few seconds, Barracuda zip-tied Francisco's arms and legs, freeing up Caela's other hand. Moth then passed her a pair of night vision goggles, before Nix grabbed Francisco with his jaws.
The dog by this point had shifted to the size of a polar bear, with the body of a lion. Except for the head, which Nix had shifted into that of a hippo's. Francisco for his part laid absolutely still between the two jaws, not wanting to be killed in an instant.
"Let's go," Barracuda quickly ordered, with Caela holding up one finger in response.
"Wait," she told him, before grabbing and tearing up part of her dress. It earned her a sigh of relief to finally be free of the vial thing.
"Much better," Caela commented, taking a brief second to stretch her legs. They all took off running, though, booking it to the closest door. By now some of the guards had wisened up and noticed them moving through the dark.
"They're running towards the exits!" one of the guards shouted, the rest of them changing their focus. With an M7 in hand, Barracuda wasted no time opening fire. The first few rounds managed to kill two guards. Nearing the door, Nix rammed into the thing at full force, tearing what was a solid oak door off its hinges. With the door gone Caela couldn't help but laugh. Feeling the adrenaline rush she fired back at the guards with Barracuda, still running through the hall.
It took a few minutes, but Martha soon piped up over the comms.
"Goggles off!" the AI called out, and quickly everyone ripped their night vision off. A second later the light shot back on.
"They got to the backup generator faster than I thought," Martha muttered to herself, with Barracuda quickly waving her off.
"No matter, they have cams up again?" Barracuda inquired, the AI taking a second to check.
"They do," Martha replied, before calling out, "Got seven guys in the room next to you sir!"
Looking forward Caela spotted a door connecting to the room next to them. An ambush then, Caela reasoned, and she turned toward Barracuda. The man instantly knew what she was thinking, and shook his head no. Save her quirk for later than, Caela mentally grumbled. Instead, Barracuda turned toward Nix.
"Nix! Kool-aid man!" Barracuda ordered, and Caela could have sworn she saw a sparkle in the dog's eyes. In mere moments Nix's front legs had shifted into the arms of a gorilla. The left arm gave Barracuda a thumbs up, while the other raised slightly. Quickly Nix slammed into the wall, crushing through everything in his way. On the other side, Caela heard the terrorized screams of the guards on the other side.
Getting only a glance, Caela spotted Nix upper cutting one guard into the ceiling, before crashing into another wall to rejoin them. Running up next to Barracuda, a dog-like tongue flopped out of the hippo head's mouth, as Nix panted for a moment.
"Belly rubs later buddy," Barracuda told him, the dog soon whining, "Oh don't give me that look, I'll do it when we get to base… I'll throw in a new bed too."
That seemed to win the dog over, as Caela could have sworn she heard it snicker. She didn't dare question this though as they finally made it to the mansion's exit.
"Wildcat, Chameleon, you in position!" Barracuda asked over the comms, ducking as a round passed over his head. Their answer was the sound of two roaring engines. Again Nix slammed through the door, and Caela was left staring at two Chevrolet Camaros. One was red, the other was blue, and both had four seats. Both cars came to a stop right outside the door, and Barracuda loudly groaned.
"Oh for fucks sake!" Barracuda yelled while Wildcat poked his head out of the red Camaro's window.
"You said you wanted something fast!" Wildcat replied, with Barracuda having to counter-argument come to mind. Instead, he said nothing, as Nix put Francisco down, and Caela quickly forced the man into the red Camaro's back seat. After shifting back to his normal shape Nix hopped in the back seat as well, while Caela took shotgun. Barracuda meanwhile jumped into the blue Camaro's passenger seat, while Moth sat in the back.
Without having to utter a word both Camaros took off leaving only a trail of dust behind them. And at first, Caela assumed they were in the clear. She couldn't have been more wrong, as an MI-28 flew above them.
"Shit!" she couldn't help but yell out. Before the helicopter could even fire its autocannon, a 12.7mm tungsten round punched through its tail rotor. Launched by Hummingbird's rail gun, the single shot tore the tail clean off.
"Hector's men arrived at the mansion sir," Hummingbird relayed over the comms, "They've got SUVs heading your way."
The comment brought a brief snort from Chameleon.
"Don't think they'll catch up to us," Chameleon commented, both cars soon taking a hard right at an intersection. He was made to eat his words mere moments later, as a Dodge Charger nearly rammed into his bumper.
"They've also notified local authorities," Hummingbird added over comms, as Caela spotted the city's local "law enforcement" join the chase after them. She said law enforcement, but it was more Hector's intelligence agents. Another three cars joined the Charger, two being basic SUVs, and the other being a NISSAN GTR. The odd choice of cars was then contrasted by two Hinds joining the pursuit.
These helicopters managed to fire their autocannons. A few rounds punched into the cars' trunks, before both Chameleon and Wildcat took a hard left, down another street. The abrupt move caused the helicopters to miss a few shots, but both kept up the pursuit.
"Martha, jam their comms! Hummingbird keep the skies clear!" Barracuda loudly ordered before the man started firing out the passenger seat window. At the same time, both cars took another hard left. The action caused Caela to begin laughing again, as she held onto the car for dear life.
"You seem to be enjoying this too much!" Wildcat commented, the man putting the car into a brief drift, "I've got something in the glove box that can make it better you know!"
The comment intrigued Caela, and she quickly popped the glove box up. In it, she found a SPAS-12 shotgun with a collapsable stock. A smile covered her face, as grabbed the gun.
"Ooh you know how to treat a girl!" she yelled out, quickly loading a few slugs into the gun. Once it was loaded she leaned out the window like Barracuda and fired the first slug into an SUV. It slammed into the vehicle's windscreen, nailing the driver in the chest. The driver fell forward dead, his body twisting the steering wheel to turn, and crashing the SUV into a nearby lamppost.
At the same time, one of the Hinds crumpled into itself, another tungsten round punching through its side. The vehicle was sent careening to the ground, crashing into another SUV and clogging up the road. That left only a few vehicles left, so Caela kept up the pressure. Back in the blue Camaro Barracuda began firing at the Charger behind them. Rounds punched through the windshield of the car, but the driver sat in it unflinched.
The sight made Barracuda mentally swear before he switched up tactics. Reloading his M7 quickly, Barracuda began targeting the Charger's engine instead. He held the trigger on his rifle down for seven full seconds, just shooting everything he had into the engine. Bullets slammed into the Charger's front, tearing apart its internal components. It ate through a whole magazine before the car seemed to begin sputtering out.
It didn't violently explode like in a movie, as much as Barracuda wanted to see it. Instead, the vehicle became uncontrollable for a moment, the engine, brakes, and even steering dying on the driver. Taking another hard turn, Barracuda watched as the car slammed into a wall. For another ten minutes, both Camaros continued to race through the streets. Caela pumped another slug through the GTR's driver, with Hummingbird doing the same with the last Hind.
After the Hind was gone, it appeared to be smooth sailing. They ran into the occasional enemy vehicle, but it did little to help. With Martha jamming comms, it became impossible for the enemy to coordinate. So while they were still being chased, no one knew where the FOXHOUND squad was. Half an hour would pass, as both Camaros exited the city and moved into the countryside. By then, the chase had ended, giving everyone a small breather.
It had been only a few days, and yet somehow things had gotten… weird. Why? Well, it was simple. The world hadn't fought a war in years. The majority of nations had no generals or troops with actual combat experience. They had few companies still making guns, and thousands of others who'd never even seen one. And all of this was still with the world viewing everything through a comic book lens.
So, when in a matter of weeks one suddenly diverts millions to possibly billions of dollars to kickstart new weapons programs, one tends to receive hundreds of batshit crazy ideas. For example, the latest infantry support weapon a Russian general proposed: was the CT-17 or Cryo Thrower. A weapon modeled after a flamethrower, only it spewed out liquid helium. Supposedly it would give enemy soldiers near-instant frostbite.
Or how about something even crazier? The American XAIM-28 Diamondback acidic missile… the name is self-explanatory. Not good enough? Then there's also the XM-13 Tornado Gun, the Mark 4 Sound Cannon, the X1 Mole Drill tank, the XGBU-85 Tsunami/Earthquake bomb, the XM901 Glue Grenade, the X5 Laser Tank, or the strangest one Soul had seen, the XM-23 Cigar Gun. Soul fully expected Snake to be interested in the last one.
This wasn't even the tip of the weapons development iceberg. On Soul's desk was a set of documents over two feet tall, all covering some unconfirmed weapons program. Hell, he hadn't even covered the space weapons yet! It was like a damn floodgate had been opened! There were missile satellite concepts, laser satellites, kinetic weapon satellites, microwave satellites, a freeze ray satellite, a mind control satellite, and whatever else James Bondesque super weapon.
Overall Soul knew the vast majority of these weapons would never be implemented. Some were too expensive, complicated, impractical, or were war crimes to even use. However, as Soul looked at Hatsume's latest creation, he couldn't help but wonder what category it would fall into. Judging by the amount of maniacal laughing, he'd say war crime.
"Hatsume!" Power Loader yelled out, quickly halting the pink-haired girl's laughter. Turning around Soul could see the teen was covered head to toe in grease and oil from other projects. Behind her was her latest project, some large sledgehammer covered in bits of wires.
"What? Nothing blew up this time," Hatsume replied, causing Power Loader to facepalm.
"That isn't the point," the teacher said through gritted teeth, "Why… Do you have a metric ton of tungsten!?"
"Oooh, Akatani asked me to build a new baby! Don't know why you're freaking out though, this is rather tame for me," Hatsume replied somewhat cheerfully, as Soul just watched the display.
"I would like to agree, were it not for that," Power Loader commented, before motioning toward something next to her. It briefly confused Soul before he looked at the workbench next to Hatsume.
"Wait… those are the magnetic panels we put on the Battle Gears," Soul noted, looking over the powerful electromagnets.
"Yep!" Hatsume replied, before grabbing a panel and attaching it to the tungsten hammer, "Akatani said to make a gravity hammer, and this is the closest I can get."
"...I'm going to be getting several migraines in my future, aren't I?" Soul inquired dryly, with Power Loader nodding next to him.
"You are," Power Loader replied, causing Soul to groan.
"Another Tuesday then," Soul muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"...Young engineers?" Power Loader inquired.
"It's always them!" Soul exclaimed in response, before grabbing a set of notes Hatsume had left on a workbench next to him. They were thankfully written in English and from what the mad mechanic had written down, true artificial gravity tech was still decades if not centuries away. So this hammer would not be a tried and true gravity hammer. However, it was supposed to do something relatively similar. The electromagnets used on the battle gear had been modified slightly.
Now if the hammer ever hit something, the force would repel any metal object within at least five meters. Supposedly, with enough force to flip over cars. It could also pull objects to the hammer, and possibly even fling them back. Tiredly, Soul couldn't help but be impressed. Why did all the good engineers have to be crazy, Soul wondered. Before the universe could give him an answer, Soul felt a rush of heat and smoke fly by his face. His ears rang loudly for a moment, and the man turning to find the hammer Hatsume was tampering with had exploded.
"Hatsume!" Power Loader called out angrily, while Soul rubbed his still ringing ears. Looking toward the source, Soul saw the pink-haired teen now covered in soot, while still holding a smoking piece of metal. There wasn't even anything explosive nearby! How!? Power Loader had warned him Hatsume could blow up a blender by accident, and Soul originally thought he was joking.
Now Soul wondered if that had actually happened. Yet this thought was quickly stamped out, as Soul noticed something. Hatsume hadn't moved. The sight caught Power Loader off guard, as the man quickly halted his tirade of anger. Hatsume stared out at nothing for a solid minute, not moving at all. The metal in her hands clattered to the floor, and Soul heard Hatsume breathing deeply.
She seemed to snap back to reality, once the metal hit the floor. Instantly the girl looked back around the room, before looking down at the floor.
"Heh, whoops!" Hatsume commented, actively ignoring the soot now covering her, "Clumsy me."
To Soul's surprise, the girl instantly got back to work, grabbing the nearest set of tools. It left both him and Power Loader quiet for a second before Soul turned toward the other man. There he watched the teacher step forward a few steps, before putting a hand on Hatsume's shoulder.
"Hatsume, I think you're done for the day," Power Loader told her, it caused Hatsume to pause for a second. However, the girl stayed focused on the hammer, attaching the electromagnetic panels to the head.
"What do you mean?" Hatsume asked, trying to sound unaware.
"I mean you should take a break," Power Loader stated, with Hatsume waving his words off.
"Why? I don't feel tired," Hatsume replied, again sounding unaware. However, Soul slowly began looking closer at the teen. It was damn near unnoticeable, but her hands had started shaking. Not enough to affect her work, she'd had years' worth of practice keeping things steady, but enough that Soul could see it was more shaking than before.
"This isn't up for discussion," Power Loader stated, seemingly done with Hatsume's mock obliviousness, "You can come back to the lab after you've seen a therapist."
In a swift move, Power Loader swiped the tools from Hatsume's hands and placed them on the workbench. Before the student could even protest, Power Loader grabbed the back of Hatsume's overalls and began dragging the student toward the door.
"I'm fine!" Hatsume tried to protest, now struggling against Power Loader's grip, "All I need are my babies!"
Power Loader didn't listen though, and only let go of Hatsume once she was outside the classroom. There she turned toward Power Loader, looking up at the man downtrodden.
"I'm… I'm fine," Hatsume protested weakly, unknowingly shaking even more. It caused Power Loader to sigh.
"Since when have you ever frozen up at an explosion?" Power Loader inquired, and Hatsume thought it over. A few times the girl looked like she would answer, only to falter. Suddenly Hatsume's downtrodden face turned to one of desperation.
"Please, I'm fine!" Hatsume pleaded, "Power Loader sir, I need to be here! I can handle myself! It was one time, it won't happen again!"
Power Loader again sighed, a tad bit of remorse clear on his face. Though it was difficult to see with his large helmet.
"Go, Hatsume," Power Loader ordered, "After you've talked to someone qualified to help, you can come back."
Slowly Power Loader pointed down the hall, and Hatsume saw there was no convincing him. Hesitantly the girl took a step back, before slowly walking down the hall. There Power Loader sighed and closed the door to the lab.
"What will I do with this girl?" Power Loader muttered to himself while walking away from the door. At the same time, Soul turned back to look at the rest of the lab. Bits of metal were still smoking, and he knew it would be a nightmare to clean.
"You said she was… determined," Soul stated, glancing toward Power Loader, "But I think you may have been underselling that."
"I'll say. As far as I can tell, inventing is pretty much Hatsume's life," Power Loader calmly replied, picking up a magnetic panel, "Pretty sure I'm gonna have to stay after class just to make sure she doesn't break in."
He set the piece aside and looked back toward the door.
"I don't like cutting her off, but well…" Power Loader commented, before trailing off. He didn't need to say more, as Soul understood the message well. Inventing was Hatsume's passion, a very explosive passion. To take it away from her was no easy choice. But considering the situation, the last thing they needed was her freezing up while working on some dangerous equipment.
"I'm sure she'll get over it," Soul told him, before spotting something in the corner of his eye. He hadn't noticed it before, but in a corner of the room was a stack of support gears. Quietly Soul walked toward the stack. It all varied in design and purpose widely. Some of the equipment was rather basic, a few grappling hooks, some body armor, or a kind of tranq gun. Other bits of equipment though were more unique in shape and function.
One was a super-heated knife, that never seemed to cool down somehow. Another was a large hand-held titanium drill, that was both a projectile weapon and a physical tool. Jet boots that could allow anyone to move around quickly. It was all the stuff Soul expected from support gear. A dozen odd, wacky, impractical ideas. But it was all shockingly high quality. To the point, everything somehow looped back into being practical. What stuck out to Soul though, was the kanji present on each one.
His Japanese wasn't the best, practically non-existent actually, but Soul could swear each one had "baby" written onto them with a number.
"These all hers?" Soul inquired, with Power Loader looking back at him.
"Some of them," the hero replied shrugging. That caused Soul to sigh, before carefully picking up the super-heated knife. All this dedication to the craft was impressive. And Soul couldn't help but pity Hatsume.
Eri didn't know what to think of Joy. When it came to everyone else in this complex, she knew what her opinion was. She was afraid of the smiling man, she was friendly to the skull people and wary of the man in chains. But for Joy? Eri didn't know. Whenever the woman showed up everything felt different. Everything felt warm, it felt… safe. She was kind like the skull people, but her kindness felt more natural.
Her smiles weren't fake, and Joy had always kept her promises. Over a few weeks, the woman had shown up a dozen more times. And over those few weeks, they did whatever Eri wanted to do. Though it took a bit of coaxing from Joy telling her it would be fine. Not knowing what to do, the first day was spent with Joy teaching Eri a few games they could play.
One of which was something called tic-tac-toe. Eri found it a tad bit difficult at first, but after a dozen games, she'd managed to win. When she did, Joy had cheered her on. The woman had picked her up and spun her around in celebration for a moment. And when it happened, Eri got an unexplainable feeling from it. But it felt nice. Of course, that brought everything to today.
As Eri sat on Joy's lap, overlooking a small book in front of her.
"Hun-gry… hun-gry, cat… cat…" Eri tried to read while feeling Joy run a hand through her hair. Struggling slightly, Eri slowly looked up at Joy. The woman gave her a small comforting smile.
"It's a hard word isn't it," Joy commented, gently running her hand through Eri's hair, "I struggle with words sometimes too."
That brought some small comfort to Eri's mind, knowing her struggle hadn't solely happened to her. Joy took her hand though and placed it right under the word Eri was reading.
"Remember what we did yesterday, what do these letters sound like?" Joy inquired, with Eri looking back at the page.
"...Er… cater…" Eri started, before stopping to look back at Joy for confirmation.
"Good, almost there," Joy told her, with Eri turning back to the page.
"Pill… pill… ar… pillar?" Eri said unsure, only to feel Joy move slightly, the woman quickly nodding.
"Yes, now put them together," Joy instructed, and Eri thought it over. She followed Joy's finger as it traced over the page.
"Cater-pillar," Eri read, with Joy giving her a small clap in celebration.
"Very good," Joy commented, "You learn fast."
The praise brought back that unknown feeling. Its warmth felt nice to Eri, and the girl couldn't help but instinctively snuggle closer to Joy. A question came to Eri's mind though, the girl looking over the book. Its pages were bright and colorful, with an odd creature covering its pages. It didn't look like anything she'd ever seen before, but that wasn't saying much. She still wasn't sure what a cat was.
Hesitantly Eri looked up at Joy again, always feeling nervous whenever she wanted to ask a question.
"What is a caterpillar?" Eri asked, with Joy looking down at her calmly.
"Well… it's a small animal, a bug," Joy explained, before holding out her index finger in front of Eri, "Some are as long as my finger."
"Oh," Eri commented, trying to picture it. Before she could though Joy continued talking.
"After a bit of time, a caterpillar will… make itself a house," Joy told her, believing it was the simplest explanation she could give her, "It'll stay there for a while to grow. And once it's done growing, it'll come out with these beautiful little wings and become a butterfly."
The mental image was odd, to say the least, but it sounded interesting.
"A… butterfly," Eri muttered, "Are they nice?"
"They're some of the nicest creatures," Joy replied, before pointing at one of the murals in Eri's room, "They always stay around large patches of flowers."
For a moment, Eri stared at the mural quietly. The art always felt unnatural to look at, even if it was supposed to be comforting. This time though, it made Eri curious. Joy said Eri would get to leave. Get to go somewhere safe. Did… did this place have butterflies?
"Will… will I see a butterfly?" Eri asked, Joy again running a hand through her hair.
"One day, you will," Joy answered, bringing back the familiar warmth. From there Eri looked back down at the book again, ready to keep reading. And for a few minutes, that's what they did. Joy traced the pages with her finger, as Eri followed along, trying her best to understand the words. After a while though, something stuck out to Eri. The room was getting colder. The feeling of emotional warmth Joy had was still there, but the physical room was genuinely getting colder.
Eri couldn't help but shiver before she heard a voice speak up.
"Beloved," a man stated, his voice sounding raspy and cold. It came from behind them, so Eri turned to see the source. Joy did the same, though the woman seemed to know who it was. There Eri spotted a man standing close by. He wore a large raincoat, with pale white hair, and a pair of glasses. Like Joy, he was almost see-through, which confused Eri slightly.
"Is it… surely not yet?" Joy inquired, confusing Eri even more.
"It is time," the man confirmed, as Eri tried to get a better look at the man. Though it was hard to see, there was something unmistakable in the man's eyes. A tear of blood dripped down from his face, and the man took care to quickly wipe it away. There was… sadness, Eri realized.
"Not yet," Joy protested, picking Eri up, as the woman stood up, "These forms won't last much longer. We'll do it later."
To further the point Joy held out her free hand, and Eri watched as it phased in and out of existence. The man looked like he wanted to agree with her, as he slowly took Joy's hand in his. Again Eri saw the sorrow in his eyes before hers widened in shock.
"There are talks of moving her again," the man stated, causing Joy to pause in shock. Carefully the man let go of Joy's hand, and the woman took a few steps around the room. Warily, Eri saw her look at the door to the room, while the man continued.
"If we do not act now, there might not be another chance," the man explained, "The others are in the necessary positions. All we need is your word."
Joy stared at the door quietly, a thousand thoughts seeming to run through her mind. Eri didn't know what she was thinking, but she begged that it was something good. The man's words rang through her mind loudly and brought back her ever-present fear. She'd be moved again, to another cold room, to another location yet again. Unintentionally Eri clung to Joy even more.
After what felt like an eternity, Joy sighed, and carefully set Eri down. Once Eri was on her feet, Joy crouched to the girl's level and turned Eri to face her.
"Eri," Joy began, with Eri looking at her quietly. The woman paused for a second, trying to gather her thoughts for a moment. At the same time, Eri saw her fade in and out of reality again, and Eri couldn't help but tear up.
"Are you going to leave again?" Eri quickly asked, with Joy rapidly shaking her head no.
"No, no, not yet," Joy replied, a hint of urgency in her tone, "But I need you to follow me."
Rather quickly Joy stood up and grabbed Eri's hand. The woman looked down at the girl for just a second, while Eri quietly nodded. Joy had been nice to her, if she needed Eri to follow her, then she would. Both walked toward the room's exit at a fast pace, while the man floated into the air and disappeared. Seconds later, Eri heard a loud click as the door unlocked.
"Thank you," Joy commented, seemingly to no one, before grabbing the door's handle. Opening the door, Joy took a quick peek outside and saw the coast was clear. Quickly she lead Eri through the door, and into a large sprawling area full of hallways. Looking around reminded her of one of Overhaul's compounds, with how they always sprawled out like a massive maze. It was full of random twists and turns.
After a few minutes of walking, Joy had them stop around a corner. Peeking around, the woman motioned for Eri to stay quiet. Silently Eri did the same as Joy, peeking around the corner and looking down a hall. Across from them were a few skull people walking through the halls. They were heading straight for them, and Eri quickly went pale. They had been nice to her for now, but what would they do the moment they saw her out of her room?
Not wanting to risk it, Eri ducked behind the wall again, while Joy kept looking. It instantly made Eri worry she would be seen, yet nothing happened. Even as the skull people got closer, they didn't seem to notice her.
"You see the dudes with the gas masks?" one of the skull people asked, the group getting close enough for Eri to hear.
"What, the Prophets?" another inquired, with the first one waving him off.
"Nah, these guys are new," the first guy explained, "Came in one day with the heretic. Not one of them has said a word."
"Oh… odd," the second guy replied unsure.
"That's not even the half of it. I'm not entirely sure, but they all look the same. I'm talking the same height, same build, probably same hair too," the first guy added, earning a whistle from a third man.
"Huh, weird," the second guy muttered.
"Think the gear we're transporting is for them?" the third guy inquired, with the sound of fabric shuffling following, as the first man shrugged.
"Maybe," the first man replied, before switching to some other subject. Eri didn't hear what it was, as her focus was brought back to Joy. The woman seemingly took a deep breath, before Eri heard a loud buzzing echo through the halls. It confused her at first before she saw something fly out of the vents above her. Crawling out of the grate above, was a single hornet. It was joined by another, then two more.
It doubled by the second before the hall was overcome by buzzing, as hundreds of thousands of hornets flew into the wall. Acting quickly, Joy pushed Eri down slightly, having the girl crouch down to avoid the bugs. The skull people weren't so lucky, as Eri heard them quickly begin to shout. Quietly Joy led Eri through the swarm of bugs, a few landing on her arms and legs. Yet none of them ever stung or attacked.
After moving for a bit more Eri was clear of the swarm, the buzzing now dying away. Instead, she was brought a new set of noises. Screaming echoed throughout the base, for reasons Eri didn't know. She could smell the faint scent of smoke coming from one hall, and some sickly sweet smell coming from another. Then there was the laughter echoing from a third hall. Eri thought it best to avoid that one, as Joy continued leading her ahead.
For a long while they moved through the complex's twisting halls. All the while the screams followed them, wrecking Eri's nerves. Soon they came across an unmarked door. It clicked loudly, as the raspy man unlocked it unseen by Eri. Quickly Joy pushed it open, and they both rushed inside. Shutting the door, Eri watched as Joy let go of her, and began searching the room for something.
The room itself caused Eri to freeze, as she saw all the lab equipment present. Blood-stained parts of the walls, and the makeshift hospital bed. Eri's eyes lingered on the needles lining the walls, and she instinctively stepped back. When Joy looked back at Eri, she looked like she wanted to comfort the girl. But there wasn't enough time and instead doubled down on her search. She ripped open drawers and cabinets, tearing through them before the raspy man spoke up.
"The floor, far right corner," the man stated, with Joy quickly rushing to the corner.
"Right, thank you, beloved," Joy replied, a small smile on her face as she came to a stop. She tapped on a few spots on the floor before the floor panel began to shift and move. Inside was a small set of machines, revealing a hidden compartment. Quickly Joy reached into the floor and pulled out a small box. The same box the smiling man had wrenched from the van all those weeks ago. Carefully, Joy walked towards Eri with the box in hand.
She held it out for the girl to grab, while Eri saw Joy begin fading again.
"Take this," Joy instructed, placing the box in Eri's hands. At the same time, the screws in a nearby vent above them began unscrewing themselves. One by one they fell out, with the grate soon joining them. They never hit the floor though, and instead floated off to the side. With the grate off, Joy picked up Eri for a final time and carried her to the vent.
"Go, hide in here," Joy ordered, and Eri quietly clambered inside. The girl turned and looked back down then, seeing Joy continue to fade away.
"Someone will come get you soon, ok?" Joy told her, while the grate flew back up to the vent. The screws joined it, as Eri looked down at Joy. She felt tears well up in her eyes again. The woman had always left before, but this felt different somehow.
"Will… I see you again?" Eri asked, the screws putting the vent back into place.
"...Yes… we'll see each other again soon," Joy replied, still fading away. She gave Eri a final small smile, and a wave before finally disappearing. The cold of the raspy man stayed for a few seconds longer, making Eri confused why for a moment. That was until the dust and grim lining of the vent was suddenly flung back and away, leaving the area relatively clean. Then the cold too, began to leave, and Eri was now in silence.
It was seemingly becoming a pattern for Snake, that he, Miller, Ocelot, and UA's staff would assemble into the conference room. Considering their more… increased trust, Snake believed it viable to include them in the planned raid. It's why they all sat huddled around a large series of maps, marking off locations in quick succession. The plan was going simple in theory, but difficult to implement in practice, horribly so.
As it stood, there were roughly fifty different museums placed all across the country. Each one had likely hundreds if not thousands of rifles, at the bare minimum. Accounting for heavy armor, helicopters, and logistics vehicles, on top of dealing with local security, they'd be working all night. So, in a very unpopular move back in Outer Heaven, Snake had called in every FOXHOUND operative he could.
They infiltrate the museums in the dead of night, along with the best of their regular forces. With their best men moving across the country, they'd simultaneously move in and Fulton everything they could get their hands on. All while supporting aircraft and AI-jammed radio communications. Once the equipment was secure, they'd dump all of it into the bottom of the ocean.
There was only one problem with this plan. How do they keep everything secret? So long as one apartment had its lights on, someone would spot the hundreds of soldiers moving in a museum. Or the hundred-plus balloons flying away from them. This had a rather easy solution, though… Snake wouldn't exactly call it a good one. They'd send a few AIs to shut down power plants in the target cities, as well as a few extras to keep Night Owl off the trail.
This was… bad to put it lightly. It was a move out of desperation and one that Snake believed would have terrible consequences. Knocking out power so easily would create widespread panic, right off the heels of the massacre. It was a terroristic act, even if it had good intentions. But it was seemingly their best bet. In the aftermath, the public, and hopefully Night Owl, would blame someone else. Though UA's staff opposed it for good reason.
"It's unacceptable is what it is!" Midnight cried out, with her coworkers nodding next to her. Ocelot simply groaned in response, while Aizawa chugged another cup of coffee.
"We've run through this a dozen times! If we want to keep the public unaware, then we need the lights off!" Ocelot countered loudly.
"We'll be creating pandemonium! It'll be chaos in the streets all over again!" Midnight protested, "If this is to work we'll need a different distraction!"
"Such as!?" Ocelot retorted, with Midnight struggling to come up with an idea.
"As much as I want to disagree, it's the only logical solution," Aizawa commented tiredly, the coffee doing nothing to help his mood, "We'll clean up the streets once it's over."
"We've already lost the public's trust, Sho, we can't afford to lose any more of it," Present Mic pointed, out causing everyone in the room to pause. The country was already in a desperate situation, yet they were going to throw it into an even more desperate one. No one said anything else, so Snake looked at each person present.
"So, that's it?" Snake inquired, waiting to see if anyone had a new idea. Already Night Owl was removing weapons from his museums. The longer they waited, the more weapons they risked losing. No one stepped forward though, no one, except All Might. The skeleton man leaned forward slightly, coughing into his handkerchief.
"Wait…" All Might stated, earning everyone's attention, "I'll give my speech, the same night as the raid."
It left Snake a bit surprised by the action. All Might still had yet to address the public and had been putting it off for a while. Mostly because the hero didn't know when the time was right. The entire thing was a very personal affair for him, so Snake didn't blame him for it. Ocelot looked a tad bit skeptical at the proclamation.
"Not sure a speech will keep everyone distracted for long enough," Ocelot commented, only for Present Mic to wave him off.
"Please, this is All Might we're talking about," Present Mic pointed out, "He could star in a seven-hour movie of paint drying and people would watch it."
Ocelot looked ready to retort, only for Snake to cut him off.
"He's right," Snake agreed, the idea coming to fruition, "You show up on the news, and everybody tunes in."
Sure he may look different, but this was still the Symbol of Peace they were talking about. If any other person was giving a speech, then Ocelot would be right.
"It could provide us with some time, maybe not a lot…" Snake muttered, with Nezu calmly humming nearby.
"That depends," Nezu stated, the rodent seeming to run the math through his head, "He could announce the speech, say it'll happen at eight pm, hold off reporters for a few hours with delays, show up on TV by at least ten or eleven, then hold their attention for a few extra hours, and likely end at three of four."
"Would need one long speech," Miller pointed out, with Snake nodding in agreement. But that was an easy thing to fix. They could add a few rambling paragraphs, stretch out a few words, a couple of pauses for effects, and possibly an interview section to keep things going.
"But it might work," Snake muttered, to himself. From there, it was decided. All Might would give his speech to the public. They'd tune in and hopefully remain unaware of the MSF's actions. With the decision, the meeting was finished. One by one everyone filtered out of the meeting room. All except for Snake. For a calm minute, the man sat back in a chair and took a deep breath.
Everything felt like it was coming down to the wire. By tomorrow night the raid would occur. Subconsciously he pulled a cigar from his pocket and moved to light it up. Once it was lit, he took a few puffs to try and calm his nerves. The raid had to go perfectly, Snake thought, one slip-up and everything was over. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, simply smoking his cigar, Snake stood up from his seat.
It wasn't wise to act without some sleep, so he calmly began heading for the door. Yet as he walked, Snake felt an odd chill fill the room. Snake stopped in his tracks for a second, the chill bugging him slightly. It was… familiar. Glancing over his shoulder, Snake could have sworn he saw something in his peripherals. Yet nothing was there. Rationalizing it to just be the AC kicking in, Snake began walking again-
"Jack," a voice called out, and Snake froze in place. It sounded like… it couldn't have been though. Snake's eye looked over the room quickly, the man instinctively reaching for his gun. The voice sounded so familiar, yet so alien. It couldn't have been her.
"Jack," the voice called out again, clearer than before. And Snake stopped reaching for his weapon. It… it was her! It sounded unmistakably like her!
"Boss?" Snake asked confused, still looking around the area. He thought he was going crazy at first until he remembered the chill in the room. He remembered why it was so familiar to him. It was present, the first time he encountered the Sorrow. Was this his doing, Snake questioned. If so, how was he here? How was she here? Yet there didn't seem to be time for answers.
"Jack," the Boss called out again, only this time it came from the table. Her tone was more desperate than before as if trying to rush Snake forward. It confused him to no end, but he quietly followed the voice. Stopping toward the map, Snake looked around the room again.
"Boss?" Snake asked, his eye still searching around the room. Again the Boss spoke, only this time she said something else.
"Map," the Boss told him, and Snake looked down. He looked at the maps on the table for a minute but didn't see anything out of place. As it stood there were a few dozen maps present, all disclosing their target city. Fifty museums, in thirty-eight cities. Some were so large they had two museums present instead of one.
"What am I looking for?" Snake asked, hoping to get some kind of a clue. Yet he got no answer. The chill in the room slowly disappeared, and the Boss didn't speak up again.
"Boss?" Snake called out, waiting for some kind of reply, just to be sure. Again, he got no answer. Maybe this was all in his head, Snake slowly tried to rationalize. The assumption felt wrong though. He'd dealt with the Sorrow before, and Snake didn't fully know how he operated. There was no ghost science he could refer to. Maybe this was a time-limited deal, like with All Might.
So with that thought, Snake looked over the maps again. For an hour he scoured every inch of paper in front of him. And soon Snake felt he would give up. Until he picked up the map of Tokyo. On the map was a random building circled in white. No one else had circled it during the meeting, as most of the edits had been made in red Sharpie. As Snake touched the circle it felt more like chalk.
There… there was something here. What it was, Snake wasn't sure. But if the Boss was telling him to go there, then he would. If her urgency was anything to go by, then there was little time. A change in plans would be needed, as Snake looked over the map.