"What is the outlook? Will the contact succeed?"
Shigure overlooked at the restless Kagome. Though she was not struggling
to free herself from her bonds, she didn't seem the least bit
comfortable. Even though she was in the testing room, and Shigure was
watching her up on the observation floor, he could tell. No pane of
bulletproof glass could block that grimace of anxiety from Shigure's
sight.
The dominant man looked down from the window and to one of the four
scientists that were manning the computers on the observation floor.
They had everything running like clockwork. Though the AGIST was nestled
in the heart of Japan's weapons industry, their scientists had not
turned their backs on biology. And working with Kagome was like opening
Pandora's box but having control of the outcome. You could see it in the
look of glee that those men were sporting. Playing the games of God came
so easily to scientists of the 21st century.
"How easily," Shigure thought privately. "These men abandon morality for
discovery. They care not for what this test will lead to, only what it
means to them as scientists. But on a brighter side, they do give new
meaning to the term 'ambition'. It would be respectable if it wasn't so
pathetic."
He finally spoke again. "Answer me, Doctor. Will the contact succeed?
Queen Sagi has given us ultimate use of Kagome's life data. I trust you
will use it wisely."
"Do not be worried." The scientist replied. "Kagome is fine. Her heart
rate, blood pressure and brainwaves are all at their best. She is an
extraordinary sample. It is amazing how much of the queen's genetics she
shares."
Shigure scowled. "You needn't concern yourself with our queen. Just
make sure Kagome is ready for communication with Neganas. And for that
matter, how is Neganas proceeding?"
The mood of the scientist was downplayed. "That is... the reason this
test has taken so long to get underway. If you'll look over to his
holding cell, you shall see why."
Shigure looked over at it. The room in which Neganas was being held was
next to Kagome's. It was white and clear, just like Kagome's chamber,
but unlike hers, there was a glass cylinder in the centre of the room.
Inside that cylinder was Neganas. Shigure scowled at the thing. It was
monstrous, just a twisting, shapeless form, made up only of some
translucent blue and black substance. It constantly writhed and danced
in its cylinder, like it had only now learned the ability of movement.
Shigure found it hard to believe that Queen Sagi's prophecy was based on
that creature.
"It is unstable." The scientist told Shigure. "You can even see this in
the way it acts. The rest of my department can't even identify what form
of metal it is made from, it is like... dealing with a swarm of locusts.
We cannot contain it any longer. And I know this may put a dampening on
your plans, but I think we should postpone the-"
"Silence!" Shigure bellowed loudly. "I hope you may forgive my rudeness
but I did not ask for your opinion about this! And until I do ask you
for your opinion, I expect only to be told of the status of both test
subjects! No one will stand in the way of this, regardless of your
idiotic point of view. Now start the experiment!"
**********
"Yah!"
Tokyo Blossom thrust her fist in and out, back and forth, jabs and
uppercuts, hooks and a cross. All strikes were expertly timed and
brilliantly executed. As soon as Tokyo B decided that she was finished
with practicing her hand skills, she went to work on the legs. By
balancing on one leg, she aimed the other one like a rifle, shooting
into the air with powerful kicks. While Tokyo Blossom continued to train
and practice simple hand-to-hand combat, Ryoko watched her work from the
sidelines. Her long fingers tapped the keys of her laptop frantically,
to keep up with the other girl's every action.
Ryoko and Tokyo B came to this abandoned parking lot very often. Nobody
ever came here anymore; due to the damage it had taken during that quake
that had taken place a month ago. Now it was the perfect area for Tokyo
Blossom to train in the Mobile Shell and for Ryoko to assess her vital
statistics. Ryoko was struggling to monitor those stats at present. The
detached sensors at the base of her laptop computer did their jobs, but
Ryoko herself was not as capable as a machine. It took all she had to
track and calculate the data the computer's sensors were picking up from
Tokyo B before it was all usurped by a new wave of information. Ryoko
mused that the speed of the data given was due to the severity and
dedication that Tokyo Blossom was putting into her training. Ryoko
didn't need proof to back up her theory on this, because the evidence
was already there. Tokyo B's stats were way above their usual averages.
And it had been like this every day since the Asuka Group had taken
Kagome.
It was now one week after the failed attempt in securing the CFL chip.
The defeat that Tokyo B suffered at the hands of Omega, better known as
Shigure Kagami, was unbelievable, and it had left a print on her that
not even Ryoko could understand. What's more, Tokyo Blossom felt
responsible for the fate of Kagome. Now, they had no idea where she was
and there was nothing they could do to help her. The only good point to
all this was that Akari was recovering from her injuries. The ST-Link
with the Mobile Shell was a Godsend. Thanks to that miraculous
systematically reliable connection, wounds inflicted on the wearer of
the Mobile Shell healed mush faster and far better than a normal human
being would expect. It made things like hospitals unnecessary.
"That's good, Akari." Ryoko said. "Take a break, okay?"
Tokyo B thrust one final kick, paused for a moment, and then retracted
her leg. The Mobile Shell was a wondrous thing. It allowed things such
as kicks and elbows so easily, it was almost as if the wearer was
wearing nothing at all. The armoured girl's visor lifted upwards,
revealing a portion of her face, enough to see her eyes, nose and mouth.
"How's it look, Ryoko?" She asked directly.
Ryoko continued to type. "Like I said, all good. Your statistics are
much higher than normal. Muscle control, brainwaves, blood flow. And the
speed and power of the strikes were increasing as a result. One of those
punches had a force of 60 times the strength of a normal one."
Tokyo B adjusted her gauntlets. They felt a little loose during the
training session. "That's good. It means I'll have a better chance at
defeating Shigure and the Omega Mobile Shell when we next meet."
"Yes, but, your concentration was not as good. Though your brainwaves
were very focused, the computer tells me that your focus was aimed
elsewhere."
"Is it?"
Ryoko's voice lowered. "You were thinking about Kagome, weren't you?"
"Like I said," Tokyo Blossom began. "I am going to get her back, Ryoko.
I don't know how, or when, or even why, but I won't let it rest. It was
my mother who gave me this mission and I can't let her down. Not now."
"Akari..." Ryoko breathed tenderly. "You can't protect everyone, you do
know that, right? Some people are going to die through all this. Maybe
even me. But that doesn't mean you have to weigh yourself down with the
responsibility. I'm sure that's the last thing your mother would have
wanted."
Finally, Tokyo Blossom finished the adjustments to her gauntlets.
"Nobody is gonna die, Ryoko. I watched my mother die three years ago. I
can't let it happen to anyone else. Not you or Kagome. As long as I have
this Mobile Shell, I will protect you both."
**********
"Such a beautiful setting."
Sagi moaned gently as she settled into Asuka's embrace. The hills of
land surrounding Kyoto were just something else. Lightly trimmed blades
of grass settling around their ankles, a warm sun giving off its
cheerful heat, a soothing breeze, a delightfully clear summer day, it
all made this trip worthwhile. Hanging a lock of her long black hair
behind her ear, Sagi nuzzled her head back against Asuka's breast, her
sweet smile only increasing as Asuka's hug over her became tighter.
Asuka ran her hand through the smaller girl's hair, eliciting a long
sigh of contentment from her.
"It is beautiful." Sagi said. "I am still not happy about coming here,
but at least I can be with you like this. Out in the open."
Asuka continued to stroke Sagi's hair. "I know you want to tell everyone
about us. I do too. But you know your father would not approve. Daigo
has been pretty frank about his feelings towards your love life."
Sagi scowled at the mention of her father's name, Daigo Izubata. "I hate
the way my father make my choices for me. He always thinks he has the
right to do that. Like I'm just another mechanism in his company."
"I'm sure he has your best interests in mind." Asuka supplied. "People
tend to be defensive when it comes to their children. I can't blame
them. If I had my choice, I'd be protective about my children. If I ever
have any."
Sagi resented that. They both wanted children, but it was the one thing
they couldn't give each other. At least not in the way they would have
liked. "We will have to adopt, won't we?"
"Yes."
"So..." Sagi began. "What names do you like?"
"Hmm. I'm hoping for a girl, but we'll probably never see the day. My
luck is silly like that."
Sagi giggled. "Come on, just humour me."
"Okay." Asuka said with a smile. "If we have a boy, I think we should
name him... Ryo. I like that name for a boy. If it's a girl we have, we
should name her Akari."
"Ryo, Akari." Sagi mimicked. "Those names are pretty cute."
Asuka smiled down at her love. "So, Sagi. You can't get off that easily.
What names do you think we should give to our children?"
"Hmm." Sagi tried to think about it. "I'm not much of a fan of boys
names, but I guess, if we adopt a boy, we could him Yukito. I really
like that name. If we have a girl, and I know that you hope we do, I
think we should call her Kagome."
"Yukito and Kagome, huh?" Asuka thought them over. "Nice. Very nice. I
can picture our lives with our little child now, you know."
"You do?" Sagi asked, lifting her head from Asuka's chest. "Tell me what
you see."
Asuka's smile grew wider. "I see... a beautiful home. Not one of those
western designs that have usurped Japan, but a traditional Japanese
home, one that we could have seen if we were born in the 19th century,
before all the commercialism and technology exploded in this country."
"It sounds nice." Sagi commented.
"It will be. Beautiful cheery blossom trees that never wilt, not even in
autumn or winter will surround the house. There should be a small pond
outside too, with some rare goldfish that we'll buy from Okinawa. We
will live on the edge of Osaka, you and I and our little child. Everyday
we'll be together, looking after our baby, then we'll watch the sun set
every night on the horizon."
Asuka seductively pulled Sagi's chin up with her hands, so much so that
their lips were separated only by a small space of air. "Then, I'll make
love to you under the glare of the moon and stars."
Sagi blushed. Their activities last night had not been forgotten.
"Asuka... do you really mean this? Would you really marry me?"
"Of course I will." Asuka said plainly. "Nothing will ever keep me from
you. By this time next year, Sagi Izubata, you will be my wife."
How she longed to be Asuka's wife. "Oh Asuka. I can't wait for that day.
I love you so much that I feel as though I'm going to burst. We'll live
together forever and start a family, just like we've always wanted. Just
you, our child and me. Forever."
Asuka repeated the point just before she claimed a kiss from Sagi.
"Forever, my love. Forever."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Queen Sagi struggled to hold back her tears upon memory of that day.
That was the last day before she and Asuka were enhanced as test
subjects for the Mobile Shell project, the last day when she and Asuka
were just a normal couple with childish dreams of the future. Both Queen
Sagi and Asuka were 17 at that time in their lives, but they knew full
well that their destinies were intertwined. Even though they were still
young at the time, they knew that wanted to live and grow old with each
other, to exist in the other's company for the rest of their lives.
Queen Sagi shut her eyes; the wetness could not be held back. Even after
these long three years since Asuka's death, the love Sagi felt in her
heart was still unchanged.
"Asuka..." She whispered slowly, with emotion. "I love you so much. What
happened to us? We were supposed to be together forever... I was
supposed to be your wife..."
The double doors at the other side of Queen Sagi's chamber opened,
revealing a young soldier, one of Queen Sagi's personal guards. "My
queen! We have a problem!"
"What is it?" The leader replied harshly. "I have warned you time and
time again not to come into this room without introducing yourself."
The soldier bowed his head. "I am sorry, Queen Sagi, but this is
urgent!"
"What is it?"
"Well, it's about Test Sample 000: Kagome and Neganas! They-"
The soldier knew he needed to say nothing more. Queen Sagi's face
contorted and frowned. Though her dreaming of Asuka clouded her mind,
she could now see what was going on in the lower levels of the AGIST,
her hair and brainwaves still connected to the computer system of the
building, which included all of its security cameras.
"Neganas...!" Queen Sagi started urgently. "It is breaking free..."
**********
"Commander Kagami!" One of the scientists yelled desperately. "The test
sample Neganas is breaking free of its restraints!"
Shigure watched in awe, as the creature below broke free. It smashed
through the glass of the cylinder it was being held in, shattering the
material formally considered bullet proof. The Neganas sample had
actually take a physically solid form! Neganas slithered out of its
holding jar, ignoring the electronically charged probes that were
motioning it towards Kagome's room adjacent it its own. But soon it
could stand to be shocked by those probes no longer, and attacked.
Neganas drove itself against the probes and destroyed them all
subsequently, creating a huge wave of electromagnets to pass through the
room's atmosphere. Though it appeared to be in pain from that sudden
jolt, the scientists above watched as the Neganas did something very
unusual.
It mutated.
The blob of jelly-like matter, coloured a see-though blue and black,
warped itself into such a way that its entire form began to change. It
grew, and grew, till it rose up to a height of six feet (from its
previous 0.5 feet) two arm-like tentacles burst out from its sides, and
the bottom half of its body spilt into two leg-shaped limbs. The rubbery
lump at its top began to alter itself also, becoming a head-like shape.
"Kami-sama!" The scientist cried inappropriately. "The sample has taken
on a humanoid form!"
Shigure blinked. "Why did it change itself like that?"
"Probably because of the wave of electricity stimulated it into morphing
by shocking its matter. It is possible that it assumed that form because
of the close location of Kagome, but..."
"But what?" Shigure asked.
The scientist gulped. "That would mean that it is partially aware of
itself. And that also means that it is probably aware of the fact that
it is being contained. This again means that... it has some form of
mind."
One of the other doctors scolded him for that. "That is too early a
conclusion to make!"
"Then how do you explain its ability to walk on two legs?!" He yelled
back.
All of the scientists and Shigure looked back down to the chamber, which
held Neganas. But when they saw it, they saw nothing but the broken jar
that the creature had been trapped inside. A hole had been burned
through the metre long wall of thick stone, and from that the people
upstairs realized that Neganas had escaped from their grasps.
"My god!" Shigure yelled. "That thing is loose?! Contact the security
division! Inform them that Neganas is free and tell them to arm
themselves to recapture it. Make sure they take marionettes with them if
they need it."
One of the science team turned around in his revolving chair. "Sir! You
cannot use weapons like that on this creature! Not until we have a
better chance to study it!"
"Fool!" Shigure bellowed loudly. "I will not allow Queen Sagi's dream to
be demolished by your wishes! Recapture Neganas at once! Now, what is
the status of Kagome?"
The other scientist, the one who remained quiet, manned him computer
again, to get some form of readout about Kagome's condition. "She's
fine, commander. She has fainted due to the shock of the electromagnet
wave but aside from that she is doing well."
Shigure nodded. "Good. This test may have been a failure but we still
have Kagome in our hands. Retrieve her from the experimentation room and
take her back to her quarters. Make sure she is well protected until
Neganas is re-captured. I will go to the lower level and put a stop to
this."
"You're going to use the Omega Mobile Shell against Neganas?"
Shigure stopped walking over to the door when he was asked that, then
looked back briefly to reply to the scientist whom had asked the
question. "The Mobile Shells are the most powerful weapons we have next
to the one in Hidden Vault. And since I am the only one in the Asuka
Group using an active Mobile Shell, I have the best chance at defeating
and re-capturing it."
The man then ran through the automatic door that led out of that
laboratory, running out into the corridor. Shigure could not believe all
this was happening so suddenly. The whole reason behind the Asuka
Group's will to exist was dependant on the success of today's test. Now
it had all gone up in smoke. All that preparation, all that fuss it took
to reclaim Kagome after her brief one-day disappearance. All of it was
in vain, if they could not recapture Neganas. But even worse, would be
the damage caused it Neganas ever made it out into the world of the
public. Though Shigure had not been around in the days of Daigo Izubata,
he knew that the Neganas weapon was too dangerous to be unleashed. It
was only due to Queen Sagi's wishes that Neganas was not destroyed or
sealed up with the rest of the weapons in Hidden Vault.
Shigure ran down the pearly white hallway, and made a turn down the
staircase downwards, ignoring the lift. It would be faster to get to the
next floor this way. While running down each flight of stairs and
turning to run down the following one, Shigure pulled up his arms and
crossed them against his face. His body began glowing with bright gold
light, and soon this light made a barrier of itself.
Shigure growled like an animal. "GGRRROOOOAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
And as a result, that barrier burst open in a flash of searing light,
smashing the nearby windows and denting the railing leading down to the
next fight of stairs. He was now wrapped in the bright polish of his
Omega Mobile Shell, the dark green metal greatly contrasting the
whiteness of the surrounding stairwell. Omega's footsteps changed to the
sound of clanking but nimble metal, as he dashed down to the floor below
the observation room, the 28th floor of the AGIST. Queen Sagi was on the
30th floor, the highest floor in the building. Whatever happened, there
was no way he could allow Neganas to reach Queen Sagi.
Finally he reached the 28th floor of the stairwell. Omega smashed the
door down in his stride, not even waiting for its automatic release.
Soon as he passed through the door, Omega stopped running, then searched
this part of the floor with his scanners. The walls at the other side of
the corridor had been burned through.
"The handiwork of Neganas." Omega quipped correctly. "I must be quick."
Omega reached behind his back and withdrew a small rod. Holding it in
front of him, this small rod extended into a much larger one, releasing
a long sharpened blade at its tip. Now with this spear fully armed,
Omega continued his dash after Neganas. He ran down the corridor, past
the testing labs, then through the smoking holes that Neganas had
created. He continued to follow the trail, through each burned wall of
the 28th floor, While doing this, he realized that the path Neganas was
taking did not seem random. It was almost as if it knew where it was
going.
"This path..." Omega started thinking. "Doesn't it lead to... no!"
Omega just then realized the path Neganas was heading, and doubled his
speed. In time he made it through the burned up walls and eventually
made it to the place Neganas was heading. And it became apparent that
the creature had intended to get to this area right from the start.
Omega stopped running, then braced himself as he looked upon that
creature again. By now, in the short time it had escaped, the beast had
actually continued to evolve and mutate itself. It looked even more
humane than it had previously done. Its tentacle arms had shrunk, and by
now were much more humanly shaped, possessing abstractly designed
fingers. Its legs had grown feet, long and divided into five individual
toes. Its head had formed itself in even more detail, shaping eyes, ears
and a nose into its face. Though Omega doubted this creature had the
capacity to use its sense of smell and hearing just yet, its sight and
touch were apparent very active. Maybe the fact that it was deaf would
give Omega an advantage. Though Omega was right in believing this, the
Neganas was already aware that it had been followed, as it swerved
around to look at the Mobile Shelled man.
Omega did not attack, but instead looked around to see if he was right
on where Neganas was heading. And he was. The being had made it all the
way to this room, the room that stored the four unused Mobile Shells.
The room was very dark, almost impossible to see things without light,
but Omega could see perfectly with his Mobile Shell's sensors. All four
Mobile Shells stood in glass cylinders, all lined up against the wall of
the room, propped up on podiums so that the fortunate could marvel at
them in all their splendour.
"Come to admire the decoration, eh?" Omega joked angrily. "You filthy
creature. I don't know what you are or how you even exist, but if Queen
Sagi's wish requires your input, then you will submit yourself to her!"
Omega knew that Neganas could not hear or understand what he was saying,
but he shouted his piece anyway. His loyalty to Queen Sagi was unchanged
and would never be broken. Neganas turned its back to Omega, and then
looked over at one of the displayed Mobile Shells, the Chimaera.
Something told Omega that letting Neganas touch one of the Mobile Shells
was a bad idea, so he acted. The warrior pulled his spear-carrying arm
back, and branched out his free right arm, spreading out his palm. That
revealed the small shining orb in his large metal palm, gold in colour,
as opposed to the ruby-red colour of the White Orchid's. Barrages of
rapid firing blasts were released from Omega's palm, firing at Neganas'
gelatinous body. Omega gasped under his visor as the shots just passed
through Neganas' torso, creating small holes that simply filled
themselves back up in the following few seconds.
The creature continued to stare at the Chimaera Mobile Shell, ignoring
what Omega was doing.
Omega himself was stumped. "It feels no pain?"
For some reason, a minute after that surge of palm blasts, Neganas
turned around and faced Omega from his distance away. It gradually
pulled its arm up, revolving its palm and drawing its fingers back and
forth in a demanding motion.
Now Omega was confused. "Is it trying to provoke me?"
But whether it was or it wasn't, Omega's instinct was to attack the
thing anyway. Omega grappled the spear with both hands, and then ran in
Neganas' direction. Neganas itself remained calm, just calling forth
Omega in its backwards-waving way. The armoured man roared like a
beast, jumping into the air. He swung his spear around mid-flight, then
landed towards Neganas, slashing straight through the middle of its
jelly form. The slash ended as the spear hit the floor, and Omega jumped
away to see his work's result. Unfortunately, it was an ill-fated move.
The Neganas had been cut into two forms, and both splattered against
either side of the room's walls from the force of the swipe. But rather
than slowing this thing down, Neganas had been enhanced. It slopped down
from the walls, leaving behind sticky blue goo, arguably its blood or
slime, and then slithered back into the middle of the room. Both puddles
of matter began to reform, shaping into new figures.
One morphed into its previous form, then changed itself again. Its body
began far more toned and clamorous, its arms and legs now appeared
muscular. The head it had now grew a cavernously deep mouth, and its
previous facial features were now further developed. The contours of its
body were begin to show through, so much so that this thing would be
indistinguishable from an actual human if not for the colour of its base
material. The exact same thing happened to the other puddle of Neganas'
matter, but different to that was the outcome. Whereas the other Neganas
looked more masculine in its shape, this one was clearly feminine. Its
arms and legs were slighter shorter, more lithe and curvy, even growing
breast-like proportions at its chest.
Omega was now completely dumbstruck. "T-They... are growing more humane
with each blow they take from metal and electricity. And they seem to be
learning more about human form simply by existing! What is this
monstrosity?"
Femme-Neganas and Male-Neganas appeared to be sneering at Omega. Then he
realized that he had been baited into attacking them. Those humanoid
jells had actually tricked him. Now he realized that he couldn't handle
either of them. If energy had no effect, and if metal/electricity only
hastened their evolution, then there was little the Omega Mobile Shell
could do to stop it. He still had a few more weapons on the roster,
namely the Barrier Surge and the Hyper Blast, but none of them were
suited to this kind of fight. If he used the Hyper Blast for example, he
would win, but also destroy the Neganas themselves, which was not
acceptable now. His mission was to re-secure Neganas, not to eliminate
it.
"Damn." Omega cursed. "What can I do to contain them now?"
Femme-Neganas and Male-Neganas both grinned at Omega but said nothing,
both had grown to such an advanced level that their mouths had developed
teeth and tongues. They both moved away from each other, one towards the
Chimaera Mobile Shell and the other toward the Black Orchid Mobile
Shell. Omega was powerless to stop them from what they were doing.
Hitting them with energy would not work and cutting them with his spear
would probably do more harm than good by creating a triple. So the
undeterred Neganas creatures broke the glass surrounding the Mobile
Shells they had their eyes on. They then morphed themselves into their
puddle forms and slipped up the podiums, slithering inside the suits
through the minimal gaps between the waist and leg armour. Omega stepped
back in his worry. The Mobile Shells, Chimaera and Black Orchid, both
came to life as the Neganas reformed their humanoid figures inside the
suits.
Chimaera jumped up from the position on the podium and landed on the
solid floor with a loud clang, withdrawing the metal quarterstaff from
the shards of the shattered glass. Black Orchid took more time in
testing its body, moving about its arms and legs, probably to see if it
could get a hang of wielding the suit before going on the attack. But
like Chimaera, Black Orchid got the gist pretty easily, and grabbed its
weapon, a more curvy alternation to the sword that the White Orchid
carried.
"They've possessed those Mobile Shells?" Omega said urgently. "Is this
good or bad? They have Mobile Shells, so I can hit them, but will the
effect be anything different if I cut below that armour? I can't take
that risk... but I have to bring Queen Sagi's ambitions to reality. I
must figure out a solution."
Chimaera (possessed by Male-Neganas) and Black Orchid (possessed by
Femme-Neganas) both advanced on Omega, their weapons at the ready. This
was a bad situation for the Asuka Group fighter. Even though he couldn't
attack those two, they could easily attack him. And if they started
learning about the MS full functions, there would be hell to pay.
At that moment, soldiers for the Asuka Group's security guard came
through the burned wall at the other side of the room. All were armed
with laser cannons, and their numbers reached to around ten. The
soldiers advanced to Omega, five protecting him from attack while the
other five stood ready to assault Chimaera and Black Orchid.
"Sorry we took so long, commander." One of the soldiers said. "We had to
arm ourselves and follow the trail left behind by the Neganas beast."
Omega watched as the two Mobile Shells continued on. "Stop! The Neganas
has split itself and occupied those two Mobile Shells! We need to be
careful on how we attack it!"
One of the other soldiers looked back at Omega. "What do you mean
commander Kagami?"
"YYAAAAGAH!"
The soldiers and Omega too, turned their attention as Chimaera and Black
Orchid reached the first line of soldiers. It seemed that they knew that
these men were sent to stop them, so instantly began the path forward by
attacking. The first off the bat was Black Orchid, who lifted its sword
and violently sliced off the arm of one of the soldiers, eliciting a
ferocious scream from the young man. Black Orchid followed the action by
knocking the disarmed soldier into the wall with its free fist, his head
smashing against the harsh strength of the stone foundation. Chimaera
spun its staff and attacked as well, the spinning metal hacking through
the lower waists of three of the front soldiers. They all went down in a
chorus of screams and shrieks, horrifying the other soldiers that were
watching this scene take place. The remaining soldier brought up his gun
yelling 'open fire!' All soldiers, including the one at front, opened
fire on the Mobile Shells.
Soon the sounds of blasters hitting home was the only sound in the room.
For at least three minutes, the soldiers all unleashed their firepower,
shooting down at the creatures that had destroyed their friends and
compatriots. The rain of gunfire continued, the laser blasts creating a
large cloud of smoke. The gunfire ended shortly, each of the soldiers
lowering their blasters, one after the other. The only thing left was a
pile of smoke, and when no motion was seen, they believed both suits had
been destroyed.
"Yahoo!" One of the men cried. "We shot those monsters to hell!"
"Weren't we supposed to just capture them?"
"Who cares?" The soldier replied to his ally. "We stopped them in their
tracks. That is all we really need to know after all."
Omega knew better than his soldiers. "Stay alert, you buffoons! They are
both alive and well!"
But it was too late for them. Chimaera's quarterstaff whizzed through
the cloud of smoke and went straight through the neck of the remaining
front soldier, his wound and his mouth guzzling blood like it was purest
water. The man died in that instant, collapsing onto the ground in a
humped position. The smoke then began to fade and it revealed the Mobile
Shells, both in tact and both ready to roll. They stood in a
five-centimetre deep and metre long crater, their bodies unharmed. Not
even the Mobile Shell's polished sheen had been removed. All the
soldiers gasped and backed up in fear. And after all that firepower, and
they hadn't made a scratch on that Kowa-steel finish. Chimaera and Black
Orchid did not wait for the soldiers to respond to their action, and
charged them. The Black Orchid was the first to strike. It instantly
sliced through the first soldier of the second line, chopping his body
in two. It then moved to the second man, who tried in vain to shoot the
Mobile Shell down. Black Orchid simply smacked the gun from his hand
then proceeded to cut him apart, unaware of (or ignoring) the painful
death he suffered as a result. Chimaera set itself on one of the
remaining three support soldiers, and grabbed her by the throat. The
young soldier screamed as she was lifted off her feet effortlessly, and
accidentally dropped her blaster to the floor. Chimaera drew back its
right fist and thrust it forward accordingly, breaking through the
ribcage of the girl and reappearing at her back. Chimaera ripped its
hand out of the girl's corpse, letting it slump to the ground, now
accessorized with a gaping hole through its body. The Chimaera turned to
the man it had killed by throwing its quarterstaff through his neck and
removed its weapon. It then joined Black Orchid in the slaughter of the
remaining soldiers, tearing them apart like wild animals, creating a
wafting stink of blood and metal.
Omega watched in horror as his soldiers were all butchered like pigs.
Some of them he had even known from training sessions. His friends and
co-workers, teammates and allies, killed and then tossed aside like a
dog's faeces on a shoe. And it drove him mad. He knew full well that he
had the power to kill those two, but Neganas was still needed. In the
end he was bound to his loyalty to Queen Sagi, even if it meant watching
his soldiers perish.
Blood flowed from nine dead corpses like floodwater. There was only one
living soldier left, the one who's arm had been cut off by Black Orchid.
He was still whimpering in the corner, grasping at the bloody hump that
had previously been his arm. But neither Mobile Shell bothered with him.
It seemed like they knew somehow knew that he wasn't a threat to them
anymore. But Omega was.
The horrified and outraged Omega knew full well that he was the focal
point for this little encounter. Both the Chimaera and the Black Orchid
eyed him silently, their bright armour stained by the blood of the
soldiers they had killed, scraps of shattered bone, hair and entrails
were dirtying their weapons. And there was one last thing they had to
take care of.
"Bastards." Omega seethed. "You may have taken human forms, but you'll
never be humans! Cleaving your enemies with without honour nor reason,
you are nothing but animals!"
They said nothing. Whether this was by choice or restriction was
unknown, but there was something that Omega was sure of, and that was
that he could not let himself be killed. As the two Mobile Shells leapt
at him in the bloody darkness of that room, Omega brought his spear into
a fighting position. Though he had made a promise to Queen Sagi, to
bring about her ambitions, there was no way he could allow himself to be
killed. If he died, then who would be there to protect Queen Sagi
herself? Omega cried a magnificent war cry, and then hurled himself into
battle with the possessed Mobile Shells.
**********
"Tell me again, Ryoko! You said there's a disturbance at the AGIST?"
Tokyo Blossom ran up to the edge of the tall Shinjuku building and
jumped, leaping across the great divide and all the car traffic below,
landing with a forward roll on the neighbouring building. The moment she
landed she started running again and began the process all over, hopping
across the rooftops of each building, until she reached her destination,
the gigantic skyscraper glowing with aura, the imposing Asuka Group
Industrial Skyscraper Tower, the AGIST.
While running and jumping, Ryoko spoke to her through the COM link.
"Yeah! It's a pretty big one I hear too. None of people in my department
are allowed up above level 10 of the tower, so I can't be sure of what's
going on, but I think you should check it out."
"You think that's wise?" Tokyo B asked, jumping over to another
building. "I'll be a sitting duck around there in my suit and all, even
if there is a disturbance."
"There are always five guards at the top of the tower." Ryoko started.
"Knock them out, then steal one of the uniforms and ID badges. If you
need to, you can always transform inside. Just remember, this is an
investigative mission. Don't get all crazy and blow place to heaven."
Tokyo B sniggered. "Hell, more like. Nah, you don't have to worry, so
just chill, Ryoko. I'll handle it. By the way, where are you? I thought
you had work right now."
"I do." Ryoko responded. "I'm in one of the toilet stalls, so I thought
I'd call you and tell you about it. I can't stay here for long, since
somebody might get suspicious. So good luck and be careful. Who knows
what's going on in here."
"Gotcha. Thanks, Ryoko." Tokyo B tapped her COM Link's button, switching
the transmission off. This would be the first time she had ever entered
the AGIST for a mission. She had been there before to pick up Ryoko, but
only on the ground floor, the public level that everyone was allowed to
enter. Levels above 3 were banned to the public, and levels above 10
were banned to minor employees and staff, like Ryoko. This was the first
time Tokyo Blossom would enter the AGIST as *Tokyo Blossom* not as Akari
Minako. Though she felt a little nervous, sneaking into the HQ of her
ultimate foes, Tokyo Blossom was also excited. She believed strongly
that if Kagome were in Tokyo, under the custody of the Asuka Group, then
she would most likely be inside the towering walls of the AGIST.
It wasn't going to be too hard reaching the roof though. The AGIST was
nestled close to two taller buildings, which served as the Asuka Group's
main office blocks. Most of the administrative business was taken care
of in those two buildings, while the research and hardcore hanky-panky
took place inside the AGIST.
In time, Tokyo B made it to one of those buildings. She stood on the
empty roof of it, looking down on the slightly lower roof of the AGIST.
Though they were close to each other geographically speaking, the AGIST
and Administration Building 2 were a good fifteen metres apart,
separated by a busy main road that was approximately 875 metres straight
down. If Tokyo B missed this jump she'd end up flatter than a pancake.
But, she had the White Orchid Mobile Shell, and thusly, she had nothing
to worry about. The metal-covered girl backed up for a second, pacing
herself for the jump, and then ran. She flung herself off the edge of
Administrative Building 2, and landed on the roof of the AGIST seconds
later, effortless crossing the gap between both skyscrapers. The sound
of her landing made quite a bit of noise, though thankfully she had not
been heard. Tokyo Blossom studied her surroundings. The roof of the
AGIST was about 50 metres long, but 40+ metres wide. She was hidden
behind some crates, so could see this all through her scanners. Like
Ryoko said, there were five troops stationed at the roof, guarding both
doors that led inside the building. But what bothered Tokyo B was the
fact that they were armed. Why would they need to arm themselves out in
the open? This was the roof, and it was very unlikely that anyone could
see armed soldiers whether they wanted to or not, but it was still a
risk. Either they were already onto the fact that Tokyo B was on the
premises (which was impossible since she had just reached it) or they
had beefed up security due to an infiltration. That sounded about right.
But who had snuck in before Tokyo Blossom?
"This'll make it harder to get around." Tokyo Blossom whispered to
herself.
Regardless, Ryoko believed that something serious was going down, so
Tokyo B had to see to it. Tokyo B looked over at the five men patrolling
the roof. None of their weapons had the power to break through her
armour. But they did have radios. She had to knock one of them out
before they alerted anyone else to Tokyo B's presence on the roof.
The armoured girl steeled herself, then ran around the crates and headed
for the armed guard closest to her. Flashing past him, she knocked the
guy senseless with a quick strike to the head, holding a hand over his
mouth to muffle his yelp of surprise and his fading sigh. Tokyo Blossom
checked to see if she had been spotted yet, she hadn't, so she dragged
the man behind a second stack of crates, which she now realized
contained laser cannons for the soldiers stationed here. Tokyo Blossom
rested the soldier against the crates, and then stood upright. She was
about to disassemble her armour via the ST-Link, but halted when she
heard two other guards talking to each other, from the other side of the
roof. Tokyo B thanked whoever needed to be thanked for the advanced
hearing of the Mobile Shells.
"They say that there was an incident in the research department!" One of
them said.
The other guy grunted in agreement. "Uh huh. I think that's why we've
been put on patrol up here. Keep some control conditions on the
situation. But at least the girl is secure."
"Yeah. The Attack Corp nearly screwed up when they lost her. Thank god
that commander Kagami was there to take care of everything."
Tokyo B was surprised. Now she had quite a bit of information. Not only
did she know that the disturbance was in the research department, but
she also knew that Kagome *was* here. Though she was happy for that,
Tokyo Blossom hoped that Kagome had not gotten caught up in the middle
of all the fuss that was taking place. The woman wasted no more time,
and concentrated for a split second. The armour around her body
separated from itself, moving through space and time to position it back
at the chosen destination, Ryoko's garage, till it was needed again. Now
that she was just Akari, the young woman began to undress from her
clothes, stripping down to her bra and panties.
Akari shivered as she tried to get the job done. "God, this is so
embarrassing. And it's freezing cold, too."
As soon as she slipped her mini skirt off, Akari tossed one look around
to make sure she was not being watched by some overzealous pervert, and
then began undressing the unconscious guard she had knocked out. Soon,
she stripped him of his clothing. First came the shirt, which she put on
her body, then the trousers that she slipped into without effort. Next
was that hat, which she slapped onto her head and tucked all of her hair
under it. Then finally she grabbed the blaster the guard had strapped at
his waist. Though she hated to do it, Akari tossed her clothes under the
crates. There couldn't be any evidence that she was here. The
white-haired girl tried to get used to the clothes she was wearing. They
were a bit baggy. Though the guard wasn't extremely tall, he was still
bigger than Akari on most accounts. They stank a bit too, but hey, Akari
wasn't choosy. The young girl then looked over at the two doors to
debate which one to use. On closer inspection, it was revealed that one
was a door and the other was a lift. If those two men were right and
control conditions were in order, then the lift couldn't get her
anywhere. The door was her best shot.
Akari swung her gun into both hands at her waist, then ran over to the
door, to make it seem like she was in a hurry. The two guys at the door
stared at her with curious glares of confusion, believing this to be the
soldier she had previously clonked on the head.
"What is the matter?" One of them said.
Akari lowered her face. Thankfully it was dark, about 10.00 at night,
and she had the hat so it was harder to tell people from others. Before
responding, Akari tried to make her voice sound more masculine by
deepening it. Now she was a very-feminine girl so it didn't come easily,
but Akari gave it a shot.
"Uh... commander Kagami wanted some back up to support him through these
troubles." She said in her fake, mannish voice. "He radioed me and a few
others to come off patrol and help him out."
The soldier just shrugged. "Sure. Go on inside."
The other man opened the door for Akari. She grinned in triumph when she
passed them by, but halted in her tracks when the second guy called out
again. "Hey, Mochizuki."
Akari assumed that was the name of the guard she was pretending to be.
"Um... yeah?"
"Are you okay? Your voice sounds a little weaker."
Akari scratched her head awkwardly. "Uh... I think I must be getting a
cold or something. No worries, 'cause a tough mannish man's man like me
don't get worried 'bout no pansy sniffle."
"I guess so. Good luck."
Akari nodded to them, then shut the door behind her as she entered the
stairwell that led to the lower floors. She couldn't believe how much of
an idiot she sounded like. No matter, Kagome was the issue at the
moment. The young woman descended the stairwell, her gun back in her
hands, running down at a minimal pace. She had never seen the upper
levels of the building, so she had no idea were she was really going.
Five minutes later, Akari was on the 30th level. She didn't stay there
long, because it was mostly empty, aside from one gigantic room that was
blocked off completely. Though she had no idea what was really going on
in that level, she knew something was important was in that room. For
now she just ignored that feeling, and continued down the stairwell,
reaching deeper into the confines of the AGIST. Now that she thought
about it though, this part of the building looked very militaristic. The
walls of the stairwell were grey, pallid and seemingly simplistic. The
bottom floor looked fairly normal, just like any other business
building. Not that it mattered much.
Akari descended all the way to level 29, which, unlike 30, was not
closed off. She walked inside the man hallway of this floor, and studied
the place. It didn't look very much like a place that Kagome would be
held at. There were a few white coats moving quickly from room to room,
and definitely looked more of testing facility. But since all seemed
normal up here, she wondered if it was the same one that was
experiencing this disturbance.
Rather than waste time, Akari strode up to one of the scientists walking
from room to room, holding clipboards. "Excuse me, sir."
"What is it, Private? Can't you see this is not a good time?"
Akari rolled her eyes. "I am sorry, doctor. But I am new to this
position and I have forgotten certain details. Could you please tell me
where the holding cells are? I have been asked to join the troops in
defending the girl that commander Kagami secured a week ago."
The scientist shook his head in disapproval. "You need to pull your act
together, Private. We of the Asuka Group cannot have our soldiers
misinformed or lacking in information. This time around I will let you
off the hook. But I expect to see an improvement in your outlook to this
job. The girl is being held on floor 27, in wing B."
Akari grinned. "Thank you, sir!"
The young woman dashed away, running back into the stairwell. As Akari
left, the scientist shook his head again. "These new recruits. So
moronic it is unimaginable."
Akari paced down the steps of the stairwell. Now she knew were Kagome
was. Hopefully too many soldiers in that area weren't guarding her. The
young woman made the fifteen-minute run down those long flights of
stairs, until she reached floor 27. She had no idea what was going on up
in floor 28, when she passed it the door had been broken open. She was
surprised that nobody had taken care of that. But Akari didn't waste
time thinking about that either, and ran down the stairs, reaching 27.
There were guards stationed at the door leading into that level, so
Akari tried her best to sound more official as she passed them by. The
two men watched Akari keenly as she descended down the rest of the
stairs and face them.
Akari saluted the two of them. "Private... Mochizuki, reporting for
duty, sir. Commander Kagami asked me to come down here to reinforce the
guards for the girl, Kagome."
One of them frowned. "Really? The commander hasn't given me any report
of sending fresh troops to reinforce the guard. In fact we haven't
received any other orders from him besides the command to bring the test
sample down here."
"Well..." Akari giggled nervously. These guys weren't as stupid as the
moron on the roof. "Imagine that. But I was given the order, sir."
That same soldier shook his head. "Maybe so, but we can't let you in
until we get some form of notification of your supposed stationing
here."
Akari sighed. She really did not want to have to this here, but it
looked like she had to do this the hard way. The cunning young woman
wrapped her hands around one of the guard's necks.
"Please let me through..." She said seductively, fluttering her
eyelashes. "This is my first day on the job and I really wanna make the
commander happy... you can see how excited I am about this... and if you
let me through, I can repay you some other way later on..."
The guard Akari was pushing up on blushed. "Uh... well... I dunno..."
"Let her go through." Said the other guard. "What harm could one woman
do? Besides you could use a bit of action, Tanaka."
Akari disentangled her arms from the soldier's neck. "Oh, thank you so
much, guys! And thank you, Tanaka..."
The soldier called Tanaka opened the door for a cheerful Akari, smiling
as she zipped into the holding chambers, while the two other men grinned
at him. As soon as the door swung closed, Akari burst into quiet
laughter. Lucky for her, guys were always so predictable. Akari ran down
the hallway searching past all the cells that were there in the hopes of
finding Kagome. No such luck. She kept going, turning one of the
corners, and stopped when she saw five men stationed at the door
furthest down the hallway.
That had to be the cell.
No matter what her feminine charm was like, and no matter what disguise
she was wearing, there was no way she could get by those men without
force. The woman dropped the gun around her waist, and stepped back from
that pathway. Drawing both arms over her face, Akari began glowing with
bright light.
"GYAAAH!!"
The floor, walls and ceiling all smashed from the pressure as a barrier
surrounded Akari's body. The light vanished without a trace, leaving
behind only the shining white and blue armour of the White Orchid. Tokyo
Blossom speedily dashed around the corner and charged down the hall
before the soldiers waiting there could even react. They tried attack
with their guns, but they were not fast enough. The last thing any of
them remembered was a flash of white and blue, right before seeing
black. Tokyo B sighed, dragging all those unconscious men into a pile on
one side of the hall. Though it seemed sort of unnecessary, Tokyo
Blossom disassembled her armour again. There were still security cameras
around after all. Chances are, nobody had noticed that little scuffle,
but they would catch on quick if Akari kept wearing her armour. The
young woman looked over at the door, locked obviously. It was a small,
more or less insignificant keycard lock, probably a temporary thing.
Akari went through the pockets of each of the downed guards until she
found a keycard, then strode up to the door and slid it through the
necessary line. The door clicked open, and Akari stepped inside, feeling
her heart tie up in knots from seeing the one inside.
Kagome.
Though they had been separated for only a week, Akari felt as though it
had been so much longer. And even though they still hardly knew each
other; Akari was so overjoyed to see this woman in the flesh. The young
Kagome did not know that the soldier standing in the doorway was Akari,
mostly because she was not willing to look at any more soldiers.
"Please leave me alone." Is all she said.
"Hey!" Akari yelled playfully. "I just broke into a military
conglomerate's headquarters, dressed up as a guy, brilliantly flirted
with some guard and knocked out a bunch of soldiers to rescue you and
this is the thanks I get?"
Kagome's eyes bugged out, her head swinging to look up at the doorway.
"Akari?" Kagome said disbelievingly. "Akari!"
The brunette scrambled off the bed she was sitting on and rushed over to
the white-haired girl. Akari laughed frantically as Kagome threw herself
into her arms, securing our heroine in a very tight and loving hug.
"Oh, Akari!" Kagome said, tears in her emerald eyes. "I was so worried,
I thought that you were hurt or something! But you're okay, and you're
really here. You're really real!"
Akari began stroking Kagome's hair soothingly as the other girl burst
into tears. "Hey, hey. It's okay. I was worried about you as well. But
I'm here now. I'll get you out of this place as soon as I can."
Kagome snivelled a little bit. "A-Akari? I have something... I need to
say to you..."
"Later." Akari declared, her face becoming serious. "We have got to find
a way to get you out of here before someone finds out that I'm freeing
you. It's gonna be hard getting you out the way I came, but it's the
best way."
Kagome was still bamboozled. "I can't believe you came all this way just
to rescue me."
Akari stared outside of the cell door, to check for some alternate exit.
"Did you really think I was just going to let them run off with you? I
had to come get you, Kagome. I know we just met, but... I knew I had to
save you."
Kagome cast an unreadable look at Akari. It was an odd combination of
realization and struggle, but Akari didn't put too much worry about
that. The main issue was the escape, and how they were actually going to
make it. She could just dress Kagome up in a soldier costume, but if she
left with someone in plain sight, those guards (the two that Akari had
flirted with) would probably get suspicious and with good reason. Then
there was the option of just transforming and fighting off as many
troops as the Asuka Group could send. With Shigure 'occupied' that would
appear to be the best option, but unfortunately, she couldn't do that
with Kagome with her. Alone, Akari could handle it. But with Kagome in
tow, there was always the risk that she could get hurt or even
recaptured.
Akari eventually made a decision. "Kagome, listen to me."
"Yes?" The girl said, her face now slightly resolute.
"I have a plan." Akari added. "There are two guards at the front of the
room. I'm gonna knock them out. While I do that, I want you to get
dressed in the uniforms of one of the soldiers that are out cold in
front of this cell. Do you understand?"
Kagome nodded. "Yes. I understand, Akari."
"Great. As soon as you're dressed, we'll sneak back up to the roof. It
might be a little scary for you but I'm going to have to jump off this
building."
"What?"
Akari shook her head. "It isn't extreme like that. The White Orchid, my
Mobile Shell can make the jump easily, even if I'm carrying you. The
hard part is going to be getting up to the roof without anyone noticing
you. What's more, I'll have to take out the guys on the roof as well."
This all sounded so radical and abrupt, but, "Okay, I trust you,
Akari."
Akari smiled warmly at Kagome. Still so beautiful, even with tears
staining her eyes. Though she had known since Kagome's capture that she
wanted to protect her, Akari never realized how important Kagome's
safety really was to her. She had to do all she could to make sure that
no harm came to Kagome ever again. Giving Kagome one last look of
caring, she ran down the corridor and planned to run around the corner
back to the front doors of the holding area. But before she could even
turn the corner...
"Akari, look out!"
Akari heard Kagome yell and moved backwards, and then looked up. The
foundations of the ceiling gave way in a huge downpour of mortar, bricks
and metal. The destroyed ceiling came crashing down with a gigantic
crash, smashing into the ground and creating a two metre wide hole in
the ceiling. Akari gasped as two hulking figures leapt down from the
upper floor, both of them glared at Akari, and the girl in turn realized
what they were. Mobile Shells.
"...Mobile Shells..." Akari said. "Two of them."
Akari had no idea that any of the remaining Mobile Shells had been
activated. One of them, the one of the left, was rather imposing. Its
design was a lot more spiky and rough than the other models, its base
colour being a very dark orange-gold. The weapon it was carrying was a
quarterstaff, which was covered in what seemed to be, dried up blood.
The second was almost identical to the White Orchid, except for the fact
that it was black and gold, and its weapon was more of a scimitar shape,
which was equally stained with drying blood. The two Mobile Shells
smashed a second hole into the wall, breaking it open with their weapons
in only a few blows, then flew out into the night air, in clear view of
the public.
A third Mobile Shell dropped down from the upper level, this one was in
dark green metal armour, carrying a long spear. Unlike the others, Akari
knew exactly who this was. And she had not forgotten the defeat she
suffered at his hand.
Akari whispered his name. "Omega..."
"D-Dammit... they got away..." But unlike the way he was before, Omega
was worn out this time. Clearly his armour was damaged, his hand was
shaking, and his visor had been cracked. Omega turned to look at Akari,
standing a few metres away, still wearing Asuka Group soldier uniform.
"Y-You... there." Omega said in tiredness, looking at the downed
soldiers and Kagome behind them. "What has happened here... Private...?"
Akari was expecting Omega to attack her when she realized that she was
in uniform. Not to mention the fact that Omega had never seen her face
before, just her Mobile Shell. But still, how was she going to explain
this? If she transformed that would reveal her identity.
"Uh..." Akari struggled.
Omega became irate. "This is... how you guard... the girl? I thought...
I told you troops to... watch after the girl... to make sure... she came
to no harm... what happened to the rest of your group, soldier?"
'...Shigure...'
Akari, Kagome and Omega all blinked as that voice came into the speaker
system of that part of the building. Only Omega knew whom that voice
belonged to.
"Queen Sagi?"
'Yes, Shigure. I am proud of you for valiantly defending my interests.
But there will be no more fighting for now. Please bring Kagome and the
young 'soldier' up to my quarters. I think there are some things the
three of you need to be... aware of.'
**********
Akari gasped. And although Kagome had seen Queen Sagi before, she was
awestruck by the techno-goddess herself. Shigure had now dissolved his
armour and had escorted Akari and Kagome up to Queen Sagi's room. It was
obvious that Akari felt some bad blood towards Shigure at the moment,
but for now she kept those feelings bottled up. This was for two reasons
mostly. One, Akari was more concerned with meeting Queen Sagi. Two, and
probably most important, was that Shigure was not in fighting condition.
Akari couldn't stand the guy, but, he had the opportunity to kill her
and he showed mercy. The least Akari could do was show him the same.
While Akari and Kagome stood in Queen Sagi's room, marvelling at its
ruler, Shigure quickly bowed and left to discover how much damage
Neganas had done. Had he known that Akari was really Tokyo Blossom he
would not have left his queen alone with her, but for now, this
information was hidden to him.
Akari was the first to speak between the three of them. "You are...
Queen Sagi?"
"Correct." The woman in question nodded slowly. "My birth name is Sagi
Izubata. But all my subordinates refer to me by that name. I think it
gives them a sense of dutiful servitude by calling me that. No matter
what anyone may claim, people like to think of themselves as belonging
to something much greater than themselves. Like a sheep lost in the
herd. But not her... Asuka was such a free spirit. I can see that in you
as well, Akari."
"You knew my mom?" Akari asked curiously.
Queen Sagi nodded. "I knew her. But I did not just 'know' her in a
simple sense. I once loved your mother. I still love her, even now."
"...You're the woman my mom told me about, aren't you? The girl she
loved before she quit the Izubata Company and started fighting your
group."
"Yes." The virtual deity answered. "Asuka and I were lovers once. We
made so many plans, we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together
and rear our children in our childish ways. Still, it is always the most
innocent and rash of ideals that are the purest. That was our love, pure
and untainted, until its eventual corruption. The MS Project."
"Wait a minute." Akari was slightly confused. "You were in a
relationship with my mom *before* the MS project? But my mom said that
project was held nearly twenty years ago. You don't look any older than
Kagome and me."
Sagi smiled at Akari's perception. "Though I carry the physical
development of a seventeen-year-old girl, I am actually thirty-six years
of age. The reason behind this, I will explain, but first I have to
explain other issues that will lead you to that answer. First of all,
have you ever heard of something called the Second Cold War?"
"Yeah." Akari replied. "The government says it's a myth but all my
resources on the web say it's true."
"Your sources are right." Queen Sagi confirmed. "The Second Cold War is
very much a reality. 51 years ago, in the year 2006, my father, Daigo
Izubata, and his conglomerate, the Izubata Company, developed a
prototype for a very destructive weapon. This weapon has come to be
known as the marionette unit. Though information on this new weapon was
considered top secret, data of the marionettes were soon leaked to
America. We believe that they tried to re-create the new marionette
systems and failed, and due to this, they revealed the information to
the world. Because of the outrage, Japan and America fell out of each
other's good graces and struggled to perfect this new weapon. Like
Russia and America had done before in the 1900's, Japan and America have
been on the edge of war in this icy period. When USA finally surpassed
Japan in number of marionette units created, in 2038, the Japanese
government made a bargain with a Korean company that was making
significant progress in nano-technology. If the Japanese parliament
assassinated the Korean dictator, Minh Kou, that company would pass on
its newest nano-technological weapon in private. This assassination
ended in failure, and that Korean company denied the government the
nano-weapon. Though they lost the opportunity, the government could not
afford to lose something that may have helped them out with America. So
in 2047, when Minh Kou unleashed his missile testing program outside the
Korean straits, it was the perfect opportunity for-"
Akari filled in the blanks. "The government to send troops into Korea
and steal the nano-technology from them. The Korean-Japanese war... was
just an excuse to invade and rob Korea of their own rightful
technology?"
"Yes."
Akari couldn't believe it. Thousands of people died in that war.
"Bastards."
Queen Sagi continued on. "The government gained the wanted information
and defeated Minh Kou, killing two birds with one stone. When scientists
tested and worked with this nano-technological weapon that the
government seized, they were terrified and intrigued by it. This
seemingly gelatinous tool was composed of nanomachines no larger than
1/250,500th of a normal human blood cell. Due to the extremely small
size of the nano-machines and their incredible ability to form and
re-form, the weapon appeared to be organic even though it clearly
wasn't. The government's research team named this abnormal product,
Neganas."
Kagome let the name linger on her tongue. "Neganas."
"What does any of that have to do with you and my mom?" Akari asked.
"I will explain that." She answered. "You see, during the MS project of
2038, your mother, myself and four others were subject to a series of
tests for an experimental suit of electro-muscular armour called the
Mobile Shells. All of us were enhanced, but Asuka was the only one
capable of piloting the suit. Whereas she was given that power, I
changed very differently. My biological development ceased, and I was
not only given the ability to interface with almost any computer system
in the world, I was also given the ability to see far into the future
and make prophecies about the outcome of Japan and the rapidly
militaristic world surrounding it. This is how I know all that I know.
On the third day after my change, I made a prediction. That a demonic
machine would rise up and bring misery to Japan. It wasn't until a year
before your mother's death that I realized my prophecy was of Neganas.
After my father died, and this company was passed to me, I decided that
I would do everything in my power to stop the threat that was coming to
this country. When I discovered that the government held the Neganas, I
commissioned my group to manufacture wave after wave of marionettes and
sell them to the world."
"What?" Akari yelled. "If you wanted to stop destruction from happening,
why did you flood the world with marionettes?"
"The marionette units are the most powerful weapon a normal human being
can use. Being machines, they can be replaced and repaired, making them
the perfect force to fight Neganas. I had to be sure that if the
creature ever left Japan, there would be something that the world could
rely on do defeat it. However, I greatly underestimated the strength of
nano-technology."
"Why didn't you tell my mom this?" Akari asked. "She might have thought
differently if she knew what you were really trying to do..."
"Asuka and I disagreed on the subject. She wanted to inform the world
about Neganas and destroy it outright, I wanted to keep it a secret and
make more research. In the end she left the Izubata Company and chose to
fight me with the White Orchid. We both forsook our love for each other
because we disagreed on what was best for the world. Besides... I had
another reason behind my desire to conquer Neganas, something Asuka did
not approve of."
Akari raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"
"My enhancement had its drawbacks." Queen Sagi looked over in Kagome's
direction. "Though my improvement gave me an almost prophet-like status,
I lost something on that day. A part of my womanhood that still feels me
with grief to this day. I lost the ability to carry children. To my
great luck, an egg was extracted from my body before the tests, and
frozen for a year, before we fertilized it by the sperm of a close
friend of my family. The child that egg grew up to be... was you,
Kagome."
Kagome was stunned senseless. "You mean... I am your..."
"Yes." Queen Sagi nodded with a warm smile. "You are my daughter, Kagome
Izubata."
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