Chapter 63 - Crucible
By Cille
That fateful night at the GAR Street Bar when the patrons decided to rise up against Ozzal, Tom Taredan had a revelation.
It wasn't that the common man could do anything if he set his mind to it. It wasn't that the will of the people was bound to prevail. It wasn't that testosterone is the greatest fuel known to man.
It was that these rebels were idiots, and had no idea what they were up against.
Having reached the conclusion that the revolution was doomed, Taredan took a hard look at himself. What he saw was a haggard, miserable man with nothing left to live for. What was he supposed to do now, get drunk every night until he passed out and someone killed him in an alley? Well, that would certainly be the easy way out. And he could probably find more of those street thugs who still hated him for being part of Ozzal's crackdown force.
But the idea of taking the easy way out left a bad taste in his mouth, even worse than the foul moonshine he'd been pouring down his throat.
Really he just wanted things to go back to the way they were. When he was a soldier and he knew what that meant. When serving your leader also meant serving the people, or at least you could convince yourself that that's how it worked.
Why did everything have to get so jacked up? Because some moron commoners got their panties all in a bunch and decided to declare war on their own government? That's just not how it was supposed to work. He didn't like Ozzal's tyranny any more than anyone else, but at least he knew enough to grit his teeth and keep doing his job and not set the whole house on fire just to burn out a rat.
Of course that was easier when he had a job. He almost regretted ragequitting as Ozzal's Security Chief, because living without a purpose felt worse and worse the longer it stretched on. But what the hell was he supposed to do? He didn't want any part of Ozzal's farce, and he didn't want any part of this revolution farce. He just wanted to be a soldier, dammit.
Long after the testosterone-addled crowd cleared out of the bar, leaving Taredan and the bartender and a few other stragglers behind, he remained lost in his angsty thoughts. And when he finally stumbled out of the bar to go hole up in his hotel room for the rest of the night, the only thing he knew for certain was that he couldn't keep going on this way. Something needed to change.
It took a few more days of (mostly) more sober thinking before he decided how to change it. Maybe he couldn't make the world start making sense again, but maybe he could find a place in the world where it felt a little less insane.
So he contacted Dewey and begged for a simple unit commander appointment out in Rantonia. Fortunately Dewey was reasonably understanding, and arranged everything without making Taredan talk to Ozzal. He probably told her about it later, though, and Taredan imagined she'd have a good laugh at his expense. He didn't much care as long as he never had to see that old hag again.
Things went pretty well, for a few months. Taredan assembled a decent squad of soldiers who did what they were told and didn't give him any grief. The Rantonian conflict wasn't even that heated at that point, so they didn't have to work too hard as long as they kept up appearances for the sake of official reports.
And then out of the blue the entire army was recalled from Rantonia to play war games with the rebels, and Taredan once again found himself in the middle of the mess he'd just wanted to avoid. He managed to keep his unit away from the front lines of the fighting, and he was relieved when the Syndicate gave up after only a few days. But nothing was settled until one side or the other surrendered or was crushed for good. Maybe then, if they could find some way to end this, maybe then things could go back to the way they used to be.
**********
Kirara had been carried into the base and taken to an empty room in the medical quarters. She sat there in a daze as Tenma looked at her and tended to the wounds on her face, arms, and body. She had been beaten severely and had a large burn on her back, but her injuries seemed to be relatively superficial and not life-threatening.
Once she had been treated and dressed in dry clothes, Tenma opened the door and the Syndicate leaders gradually assembled around her. She was shivering uncontrollably despite the blanket wrapped around her and the cup of hot tea she held between her hands. She had barely sipped the drink before forgetting about it.
Solomon sat down next to her and tried to put a comforting arm around her shoulders, but she quickly leaned away from him.
"Please - don't," she murmured, and Solomon understood that she wanted some space right now. He remained by her side, watching her with a compassionate expression.
"Can... can you tell us what happened, Kirara?" Cille asked gently.
"Should we wait for everyone to get here?" Hikki asked, noticing that some of the council was still missing.
"I don't think we need everybody here," Cille answered. "Clarice is with Samson in his room. He said he wouldn't be able to sleep until he knew Anne was safe, so she's staying up with him. I think... it might be better if we let them be for now."
Hikki nodded grimly, and turned to Kirara, who looked even more distressed at the mention of Samson's name. "Kirara, I know zees must be very deefeecult for you. But we are here to support you. You're safe now and we'll do everyseeng we can to get Anne back safe too. But we need to know what happened out zere, eef you're able to talk about eet."
Kirara closed her eyes and seemed to be working up her inner resolve. Then she opened her eyes and nodded. "I'll tell you what I can. But... it all happened so fast. I'm not sure how much useful information I can even give you."
Hikki nodded sympathetically, and they all waited for her to continue.
She took a deep breath. "It was raining and we saw an old farmhouse in the distance so we decided to head toward it and check it out, maybe rest there for a little while if it was safe. But we got jumped out of nowhere before we even got there."
"Jumped? By whom?" Cille asked.
"I don't know. Military, most likely. They certainly weren't fooling around. They had me out of commission before I even knew it."
Kamina raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but... you're a vampire, aren't you? And you still weren't able to fight them off?"
Kirara looked even more pained. "One of them did something to me. He had some kind of energy... It was like sunlight. It didn't kill me, but after he touched me with it, it was like my strength was just gone. I couldn't even transform."
"That must be where that burn came from," Tenma remarked.
"Probably..." Kirara murmured. "It was all just a blur. I just saw them dragging her away... and they told me if I didn't do what they said, they'd... they'd kill her first..."
"What... deed zey ask you to do?" Hikki asked reluctantly.
Cille suddenly looked very worried. "Please tell me you didn't give them the passcode to the door..."
"No, I didn't," Kirara answered. "They didn't even ask for anything like that. They just told me to run back here and get Samson if he ever wants to see his little sister again. Then they dumped me off in the forest and left me."
"Samson? His little sister? Then they knew who you were?" Solomon asked.
"Apparently. I didn't even tell them anything that would have helped them figure it out. I mean it was an easy guess that we were Syndicate, but I never told them our names."
Cille rubbed her eyes. "Damn. Then we're dealing with someone who has some pretty serious intel on us. Anne shouldn't be in any of their files."
"Could you tell who they were? Who was in charge?" Solomon asked.
"I couldn't see," Kirara said glumly. "They shoved a pillowcase or something over my head. The man who did most of the talking - he sounded familiar, but for the life of me I haven't been able to think of where I've heard him before."
"How many of zem were zere?" Hikki asked.
"I... don't know that either. Maybe a dozen? Maybe more... who knows how many were hiding out there." Tears began coming to her eyes again. "They just sprang on us. I had no idea..."
Solomon patted her hand, not wanting her to get too worked up again. "I think that's enough to work with for now. You just rest and let Dr. Tenma take care of you and we'll handle the rest."
She nodded in acquiescence, and Solomon signaled to the others that it was time to leave. They all silently filed out of the room, leaving the doctor alone with their injured comrade.
"Let's go to the control room," Solomon suggested quietly, and they all followed him there.
Once they were behind closed doors again, there was a collective sigh of discouragement from the group.
"Well... that did not go just as planned, did it," Solomon said, folding his arms.
Cille sat heavily in her chair and started rubbing her eyes. "We should have waited... We should have scouted the whole route first..."
Kamina scowled. "I should have gone with them, is what we should have done."
Kittan raised a hand. "Look, guys, I know this situation is crappy and we'd all like to change what happened, but playing hindsight warriors isn't gonna help us right now. That little girl is out there somewhere, and sitting here dwelling on what we 'shoulda' done isn't gonna bring her back. We gotta focus on what we're going to do now."
Kittan's motivational speech seemed to be effective, and the others looked a little sheepish.
"You're right, bro," Kamina said apologetically. He looked around at the others. "So... what are we gonna do now?"
Hikki cleared his throat. "I seenk... zere ees one beeg question zat must be answered before we do anyseeng else."
"What's that?" Cille asked.
Hikki looked at her with an anxious expression. "Are we going to tell Samson?"
**********
Taredan paced impatiently around the great room of his base. His subordinates had for the most part disappeared upstairs to their bunks, aside from a few who were still tinkering with the equipment set up around the room. There wasn't much to do now but wait.
He went into the next room and looked at the black-haired girl lying on a cot with her back to him. He noted that the ropes binding her wrists behind her back were still securely tied. She had spent the last few hours weeping quietly into her blindfold, but it seemed that she had finally settled down into a fitful sleep.
He looked at his watch. Still early.
He took a deep breath and sighed, and started pacing again. It surprised him how agonizing it was to have nothing to do.
Finally an idea came to him, and he pulled out a cell phone and began dialing. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited through several rings, and then leaned over to speak confidentially into the phone after the recipient finally picked up.
"Hey."
"I know, but this is important. I have a little girl here whose big brother helps run the Syndicate. I'd put money down that they're going to want her back."
"Yeah, I already sent her escort back to them to share the news. Roughed her up pretty well so they know we mean business."
"No, I haven't done anything to the girl. There's no reason to hurt her yet."
He rolled his eyes. "No, we're not having tea parties."
"Look, just be on your toes. This could be what blows this whole thing wide open."
"Yeah."
"All right, fine."
"All right."
Taredan hung up and set the phone down on the table in front of him. He contemplated the girl, subconsciously pressing his thumb to his lips. Something was about to happen, he just knew it. After waiting so long, he would be ready for it.
*********
"Well... that is a good question," Solomon said, after about a minute of everyone just looking around at each other and no one wanting to be the one to have to answer the question.
"I mean... it is his sister..." Cille acknowledged.
"But you know how he's gonna react," Kittan said. "He's gonna flip right the hell out. Probably hurt himself in the process."
"Oui..." Hikki agreed worriedly. That was the first thought that had come into his head, and it wasn't something he wanted to see.
"Those soldiers who captured her... they said they wanted Samson, right?" Solomon clarified.
"That's what Kirara said," Cille answered. "Sounds like a hostage swap, or they just want to lure Samson out into the open. It'd be an easy bet that he'd go charging out there once he finds out his sister's been taken."
"But... they didn't mention Hikki?" Kamina asked. "He's the one they've been after this whole time, ever since that whole 'Anti-Citizen One' thing Ozzal came up with."
Hikki started groaning quietly, and Cille gave him a "don't start that again" look.
"Maybe they figure Hikki'd come along with Samson," Kittan theorized. "I mean, that ain't a hard guess to make either, considerin'..." he trailed off awkwardly, glancing at Hikki.
"Well we already know that Samson can't go after her," Solomon stepped in. "He's in no condition to leave this base, even if he should want to. We can stop him easily enough if he gets the idea into his head. But that does leave us to decide what we're going to do in lieu of giving them the person they want, and whether Samson should be informed of the situation and be involved in the rescue plans at all."
The others thought this over some more.
"You know..." Cille began, "the more I think about this the more I can't see it ending well if we don't tell Samson. I mean he's already worried about her being out there, and he's not going to sleep until he hears something. And I know if..." Her voice broke a little. "If someone I cared about was out there and I didn't know what was happening... I'd just want to know."
The others looked at each other sympathetically, and Hikki put a hand on Cille's shoulder.
"We'll tell heem, zen," he said. "I seenk... you are right. We cannot keep zees from heem." He looked at Solomon. "We just have to be prepared to, uh, handle whatever he might throw at us."
"Agreed," Solomon said. "Why don't..." He glanced around the room. "...Hikki, Cille, and I go talk to him and Clarice. Kamina and Kittan, you guys head back down to the escape hatch just in case anybody else shows up. And we'll keep this all quiet otherwise for now."
"Roger that," Kamina said, and he and Kittan headed out as the other three bolstered their courage to deliver the bad news to Anne's brother.
They hesitated again outside Samson's room in the infirmary. They could hear him and Clarice speaking to each other in low voices. Solomon nodded to the other two and then knocked on the door.
"Come in," Clarice answered, and they reluctantly went in and shut the door behind them.
Samson brightened when he saw them. "Hey, do you have news? Is Kirara back already?"
"She is back," Solomon answered. "And we do have news. But first we need to ask you to stay calm."
Immediately Samson's expression changed. "Why? Did something happen?"
Solomon looked at Hikki, who cleared his throat nervously.
"Well, uh... yes, someseeng deed -" he began.
Samson sat bolt upright. "What did? What happened to Anne? Did she come back with Kirara?"
Solomon raised a hand. "Samson, you have to stay calm. This isn't easy news to deliver. And you're only going to make it harder on everyone if you can't control yourself."
Samson glared at Solomon. "Well how about you do less lecturing and more telling me what the hell is going on."
Solomon looked at Hikki again, but the Frenchman hesitated.
"Anne has been captured," Cille said candidly. "Probably by the military. Kirara made it back but she's in pretty bad shape. Dr. Tenma's taking care of her but she got beat up pretty badly and she feels terrible about letting them take Anne."
"She let them take Anne?" Samson repeated incredulously.
"She didn't have a choice," Cille replied firmly. "They overwhelmed her and threatened to kill Anne. She only made it back here because they wanted her to bring a hostage demand back to us."
Samson deflated and buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe it..."
"What do they want?" asked Clarice, who was doing her best to stay calm in her fiance's stead.
"Zey want... well, zey asked for you, Chu," Hikki said.
Samson wearily raised his head. "Me?"
"That was what they told Kirara," Cille said. She glanced uncertainly at Solomon. "I guess... we're not entirely sure what they expect you to do, but they want you in exchange for your sister."
Samson took a moment to absorb this, and then took a deep breath and pushed his blankets away. "Fine, get a wheelchair or something ready. Clarice, help me get some clothes -"
This time Hikki interrupted him. "No. Absolutely not. You are not going out zere, Chu."
Samson looked at him like he was daft. "Seriously? You're going to come in here and tell me that my sister might die if I don't go give myself up, and then tell me not to do it?"
"There might be another way," Solomon said.
"Yeah? Like what?" Samson challenged. "You gonna tell me you've got a whole big rescue operation planned?"
"Well, not yet..." Cille admitted.
Samson set his jaw. "Look, it's my fault she got captured. I shouldn't have forced her to go first when we didn't know if it was safe. If I have to sacrifice myself to make up for that mistake and bring her back, I'll do it. I'm useless around here anyway. It doesn't matter if I -"
Hikki strode over to him and slapped him across the face. "Zat ees enough of zat!"
Samson held his cheek and looked surprised to see Hikki actually angry at him.
"You are not useless and you are not going to go out zere and sacreefice yourself!" Hikki said indignantly. "We are all here to deescuss ze best way to get your seester back, but throwing you to ze wolves ees not an option!"
Samson looked taken aback, but still unsettled.
"Okay, so... what else can we do?" Clarice asked.
Hikki settled his ruffled feathers a bit. "I weel go."
"Wait, now you're going to sacrifice yourself?" Clarice responded.
"Well, no, zat ees - not exactly what I was seenking, but..." Hikki stammered, realizing that he didn't really know what he would do once he got out there. "Maybe I could... deestract zem while someone else goes and rescues Anne?"
"Do you know where she is?" Clarice asked.
"Kirara mentioned a farmhouse," Cille said. "It's probably along the escape route, or close to it. We could send somebody to look for it."
"And what if they get spotted too?" Solomon said. "They noticed Kirara and waylaid them before they even got close to the house. If that's some army unit's base, they've probably got that whole area monitored."
"Well... we must have somebody stealthy here who can do it, right?" Cille said. "I mean April's a scout, maybe he could dress up as a cow or something..."
Samson rubbed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling we're just asspulling stuff here..." he groaned.
"April's not exactly gonna storm a military base by himself," Clarice pointed out. "If you're talking about a whole unit, it's going to take some pretty heavy guns to go up against that many soldiers."
"So what about sending some heavy guns?" Samson asked. "We've got a whole bunker full of tough guys who would love to go beat some baddies up."
Cille couldn't help recalling the last time a group of tough guys tried barging outside. "You know there's also the possibility this whole thing is a trap. We could send a bunch of people out there and they could just be ambushed."
"Well they... they don't know where our new escape route is, right? I mean, they're not right outside waiting for us, are they?" Samson asked worriedly.
The others looked at each other uncertainly.
"Well, Kirara didn't say she'd been followed back..." Cille said.
"She might not have been in a state to notice someone tracking her, though," Solomon said.
"They didn't plant anything on her, did they?" Clarice asked.
Cille shook her head. "Dr. Tenma didn't find anything on her when he examined her."
Samson frowned. "Unless they planted it inside her or something. I mean they can inject things like that, right? And who knows what kind of magic tricks they might have up their sleeves..."
Solomon raised a hand. "Let's not get too carried away. Cille is right, there's a risk that whoever we send out there will be walking into a trap. But we're going to be playing into their hands anyway, as long as they have Anne. We'll just need to assess the situation as best we can before we do anything. We haven't heard anything from Kamina or Kittan yet, so odds are they haven't seen anybody lurking outside."
Clarice folded her arms. "Okay, so we're back to what happens when Hikki goes out there and tries to distract them."
"Um... yeah..." Hikki said, not sounding like he was super sold on that being the plan.
"Well you can't go alone," Cille said. "Even if they're willing to accept you as a hostage in exchange for Anne, we can't very well throw you to the wolves either."
"So we can't send a group because they might get ambushed, but we need to send somebody along with Hikki? Who the hell are we going to send then?" Samson asked.
"Just one or two people," Solomon said. "Someone who can handle themselves and protect Hikki if the need arises."
"So, bodyguards?" Clarice said. "That's the plan, then? See what they want, and if things get ugly, take them out?"
"What eef zere are more of zem zan zere are of us?" Hikki asked worriedly.
"Well, they wouldn't kill you right away," Cille mused. "Ozzal likes to make a spectacle of everything. She'll want to parade you through town in chains and gloat about catching you."
"Um... ees zat supposed to make me feel better about zees?" Hikki asked.
"Well it is better than being killed on sight," Clarice said.
Hikki didn't look terribly encouraged.
"If you don't think you can handle this, we can come up with something else," Solomon said. "But playing along with them for now might be the best way to get close enough to Anne to get her out of there. You'll just need to think on your feet and be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself."
"Okay, so... who are going to be my bodyguards?" Hikki asked.
The others thought for a moment.
"Do you have any preferences?" Solomon asked. "Who would you feel most comfortable with as backup?"
Hikki wrinkled his brow in thought. He couldn't bring Samson or Clarice, obviously, and Cougar wasn't an option either. His mind wandered back to those who had been with them the longest, those he could always count on in a tough fight.
"I seenk... I would like to have Elizabeth weez me. And... maybe Emiri?"
"Emiri?" Clarice said, surprised. "You really want a loose cannon like her along on something like this?"
"Well... eef eet comes down to eet, and we have to fight, we weel no longer need deeplomacy..." Hikki said. "And eef we have to fight a whole bunch of bad guys, I won't mind cowering behind her while she goes crazy on zem."
"Okay, if that's what you'd like to do, I can wake them up and prep them for the mission," Cille said. "The sun is probably coming up by now, so if you need to meet up with Ozzal's people out there somewhere, you can get an early start."
"Hmm, that's the next question, how to find them to turn yourselves in..." Solomon said.
A small speaker seemed to sprout out of the wall next to the door. "Um... hey Cille? You there?" said Kamina's voice.
Cille moved toward the speaker. "Yeah, I'm here. Did Elian spot something?"
"Yeah, I mean I wouldn't panic just yet, but..."
Cille looked apprehensively at Hikki. "But what?"
"We got company."
**********
Elizabeth and Emiri both seemed eager to join in on the rescue operation as soon as they were informed of the situation. Cille brought them to meet Hikki and Solomon at the entrance to the escape tunnel, and they discussed the plan (such as it was) on the way down the tunnel. Nobody felt very sure about what was about to happen, but Hikki was putting on a brave face and his two bodyguards were in high spirits getting themselves ready for whatever might go down.
"Hey, glad you made it," Kittan greeted them when they arrived at the end of the tunnel.
"Status report?" Cille inquired.
"Well you might as well see for yourself," Kamina said, gesturing to Elian and his surveillance monitor. "I'm not really sure what to make of it myself. We didn't pick up on them until it started getting light out and the sky cleared up a bit. But it looks like they've just been hanging out there waiting for us or something."
They approached the screen, and Elian did his best to make it larger so that they could all see. Hikki held his breath, expecting to see an entire platoon or a huge mech waiting to pounce on them.
But all that appeared on the screen were two soldiers, a man and a woman, standing next to each other in at-ease positions.
"Only two of them?" Emiri said, similarly surprised.
"They look pretty tough," Cille observed, as Elian zoomed in on them.
The woman wore a wine-colored scarf over her uniform, and Hikki was struck both by the beauty of her Asian-looking features and by her stern expression. On one hip she had a holstered gun, and on the other hung a strange sword that looked more like a giant box cutter.
The man towered over her. He wasn't even wearing a military uniform, and his bulging muscles threatened to rip right through his dark blue wifebeater. Each of his arms sported a tattoo of the flag of the Land of the Stars and Stripes, and his blond hair was styled into a tall flattop haircut. He seemed even grimmer than his companion.
"Charming pair, aren't they," Elizabeth commented drily.
"Look around the area," Cille said to Elian. "Make sure there's no one else hiding out somewhere."
Elian's view scanned a wide swath around the entrance, but the only other thing it picked up was a dark green van parked near the soldiers. Upon closer inspection, they saw that it was empty.
"So they really only brought two soldiers to pick up their prize hostages," Elizabeth said. "Either they're not taking us seriously or these two are monsters."
"Either way you're not planning on fighting them, are you?" Cille asked. "Remember, you have to cooperate with them at least until they take you to Anne."
"Zat ees right," Hikki answered. "We can size zem up now, but we are not to engage zem unless we can get away weez Anne."
"Yeah, yeah, we know the plan," Emiri said. "But if they give me a reason to go at them, I'm not gonna hold back."
"Good, just... be careful out there," Cille said. "This is it."
"Right," Elizabeth said.
Cille took a deep breath. "Everybody ready?"
The others nodded (some more reluctantly than others).
"Okay," Cille said. "Give me a comm outside to them, Elian. Voice only."
Elian complied, and the soldiers reacted with mild surprise as a speaker materialized out of the ground in front of them.
Cille cleared her throat. "Hello there. I think I know why you're here, but I think we'd better have a little chat."
"Well then, it's about time," the man said gruffly. "I wondered if my legs were going to fall asleep out here."
The woman shushed him under her breath. "I take it you got the message we sent along with your vampire friend, then?"
"We did," Cille replied, trying not to betray any emotion she felt on Kirara's behalf. "It's our understanding that you have someone we'd like to get back. And we'd like to negotiate with you, as reasonably as possible."
"Reasonably, you say? Well that should be a nice change," the woman said. "Does that mean you're ready to comply with our request?"
"We should be able to work something out," Cille answered vaguely. "First, though, to whom are we speaking?"
"I am Lieutenant Mikasa Ackerman. My associate is Technical Sergeant Guile. We represent the 104th unit of the Army of Actonia."
Cille furrowed her brow, trying to remember all of the reading she'd done about Ozzal's forces. 104th unit... who was in charge of that one...
"We're here to escort your... representative to our base, where negotiations will be conducted," Mikasa continued. "I'm sure we can reach a mutually satisfactory resolution, pending your full cooperation of course."
Cille and Solomon exchanged mistrustful looks, and Solomon leaned toward their intercom.
"What assurances can you give us that your intentions are honorable?" he asked. "Why should we believe that you're not asking us to walk into a trap?"
"You can believe what you want," Mikasa answered. "But the fact that we've been waiting patiently for you out here and haven't ripped those pathetic vines out of the dirt and stormed your base already should be a pretty good clue."
Kamina made a face. He almost wished the insolent woman would try it just so she could see what the "vines" really were.
Cille and Solomon exchanged glances again, and then Cille turned back to the intercom. "Give us a moment to discuss your... proposal."
"Sure thing," Guile answered.
Cille gave Elian the "kill it" signal, and the speaker in front of the soldiers dissolved.
"So... are we still full speed ahead?" Elizabeth asked.
"They didn't really say anything unexpected..." Solomon said.
"It could still be a trap," Cille pointed out.
"Yeah, but she's right that if they just wanted to kill us, they could have done it at any point after they found our door," Kittan said. "No offense to you, bro, but these tentacles are a better disguise than they are an actual barrier."
Hikki took a deep breath. "Eezer way, we are commeeted to zees path. What else can we do now? For Anne, and for Sammie, we must seemply do ze best we can."
Cille looked at him, impressed by his unexpected burst of determination.
"Okay then, lemme at 'em," Emiri said.
"Okay, just... remember the plan, and don't do anything stupid," Cille reiterated.
"Yeah, yeah," Emiri grumbled.
Cille gestured to Elian to restore their comm outside, and the speaker reappeared.
"All right, we're going to send our representatives outside. We expect them to be treated fairly, and they shouldn't be underestimated," Cille said.
"Right, I'm sure they're entirely badass," Mikasa said, a little dismissively. "Just make sure they know not to cause any trouble for us, and we'll get along just fine."
Emiri let out a little snort, flexing her fingers in anticipation.
"Oh, and don't bother bringing any weapons. Anything we find on you will be confiscated," Mikasa said.
"We're like airport security," Guile added. "Leave it or lose it."
"Seriously?" Elizabeth muttered.
Apparently Mikasa caught the remark. "Yeah, seriously," she said. "You want to play our game, you play by our rules."
Emiri and Elizabeth exchanged irritated glances, and amongst much grumbling they set about going through their weapon stashes and handing things to Kamina and Kittan.
Once everyone signaled that they were ready, Cille had Elian cut the comm again and spoke quietly to the tentacles. "For health and beauty, take a cup of tea after a meal."
The tentacles obediently cleared the way to the outside world, and the rebels looked out apprehensively to see the two soldiers still standing motionless in their places.
Cille reached out and gave Hikki's shoulder a squeeze as he headed for the door. He looked at her with surprise, and she tried to give him an encouraging smile. He nodded at her, understanding that they were all counting on him to do his best.
Elizabeth and Emiri led the way through the opening, and Hikki mustered all of his courage to follow along.
Once they were outside, Cille moved uncomfortably closer to the tentacles and leaned over to whisper at them in the hopes that the soldiers wouldn't hear her. "One cup of Russian tea, not with jam, not with marmalade, but with honey."
Hikki turned when he heard the telltale slithering sounds of the tentacles coming together, and had a sinking feeling knowing that they were now totally on their own out here with the enemy.
"Come forward," Mikasa commanded. As the three rebels approached the soldiers, Elian's speaker materialized once again nearby so that Cille and the others could listen in.
Mikasa gave them an appraising look, identifying each of them in turn. "Hikki Follet. Emiri, formerly of the Echelon. Elizabeth Saurie St. Gaurdsmen."
"Somebody's done her homework," Emiri snarked.
Mikasa just gave her a smileyindifferent look. "Where is Samson Monroe?"
"He… weel not be joining us," Hikki answered. "I trust zat we three are suffeecient hostages for ze return of one leetle girl."
Mikasa and Guile exchanged looks, and Guile nodded at her.
"Very well," she said, taking a step back. "You, move over there," she instructed Hikki, pointing with her gun to one side. "And you, over there," she said to Elizabeth. Once the three hostages were spread out, she said, "All of you on the ground, face down, hands on your head."
Emiri and Elizabeth looked like they didn't like this idea too much, but Hikki nodded at them to just do it. The wet ground only added to their discomfort.
With the three hostages spread out and on the ground, Guile trained his two guns on Hikki and Emiri as Mikasa patted Elizabeth down. Pulling a pistol out of Elizabeth's boot, Mikasa gave Guile an unimpressed look and pocketed the weapon.
Guile just shook his head in disappointment. "Nobody ever takes airport security seriously."
Finding no other weapons on Elizabeth's body, Mikasa bound her hands behind her back. She also slapped a piece of duct tape over Elizabeth's mouth, prompting an annoyed growl from the hostage.
Mikasa moved to Emiri, who looked like she might get squirmy until Guile shifted his guns' focus to Hikki and Elizabeth and gave her a meaningful glare. Once again Mikasa discovered the weapon that Emiri had hidden away, and she held up the chainblade to give it a closer look.
"Don't you dare take that," Emiri snarled.
Mikasa looked down at her nonchalantly. "Fine," she said, tossing it away into some bushes. "Your friends can pick it up for you later."
The soldier ignored the rest of Emiri's angry muttering as she efficiently tied up her hands and then shut her up with a piece of duct tape.
Fortunately Hikki was much less trouble, and soon he was similarly bound and gagged.
"All right, all three of you on your feet," Mikasa ordered. She helped each of them stand up and then Guile led them toward the van. He opened the side door, and then guided each of them to their seats in the middle row.
"Hey, boss lady," Mikasa called back toward the speaker before following the others.
"Y-yes?" Cille answered, startled.
"I know what you're thinking. You wait for us to go and then send a big ol' unit after us to assault our base. But I really wouldn't do that. Not while there's a little girl there that you want to rescue. Remember that the only thing keeping that girl alive is your cooperation. You tail us or try to attack us, and she's the first one to die. If you don't want that to happen, you just sit tight and wait here. Got it?"
"Understood," Cille answered, trying to match the other woman's steely tone.
Mikasa nodded and headed for the van as Cille exchanged helpless looks with the others clustered around the monitor. As distressing as it might be, all they could really do now was trust in their friends and hope for the best.
Once the hostages were settled into the van, Mikasa climbed into the back seat as Guile went up front to take the wheel. Elizabeth glanced back to see that Mikasa had unsheathed her blade and was holding it horizontally behind them.
Kind of a strange weapon to be using inside a van... Elizabeth thought.
Mikasa apparently noticed her quizzical expression.
"If any of you try anything, this will slice cleanly through all three of your necks at once," she said coolly.
"I suggest you not try anything," her accomplice said, looking at them in the rearview mirror. Emiri really wanted to smack him in the back of the head, but decided that that would probably be a bad idea even if her hands weren't bound behind her.
"All right, Guile, let's go," Mikasa instructed.
"You got it," he said, shifting the van into gear. "GONNA BURN SOME MUSCLE."
"Would you stop saying that all the damn time..." Mikasa groaned under her breath.
Guile just grinned and clicked on the radio. A certain theme that goes with everything started blasting from the speakers as he hit the gas.
"For god's sake, turn that off," Mikasa snapped. "Do you want everybody to know we're here?"
"Fiiiiiiine," Guile grumbled, turning off the music. Instead he pulled out a phone and began dialing with his thumb.
"Mmmm..." Hikki intoned through his duct tape, wanting to point out that it's not safe to use a cell phone while driving, but he gave up when Mikasa cleared her throat behind him.
"Hey, it's me," Guile said into the phone, giving Hikki a look in the mirror but otherwise ignoring him. "Yeah, I know. We're finally on our way back. We've got three of them. No, no trouble at all. Maybe thirty minutes, maybe less now that I can see where I'm going. No, it's deserted out here. Yeah, it is."
Hikki wished he could hear the other end of the conversation, or at least know who was on the other end.
Guile listened for a while before speaking again. "Understood. Keep an eye out. I assume you'll be ready for us. You got it." He hung up and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
The van jostled along through the undeveloped wilderness, and the hostages found themselves wishing the vehicle had better shocks. Thankfully, Mikasa kept a steady grip on her sword - and a sufficiently safe distance between the blade and their necks. Elizabeth kept watch out the window, looking for landmarks that would help her track their path. Emiri instinctively watched their captors, hoping for some weakness to become apparent. And Hikki just hoped that the ordeal would soon be over and tried to think about how he would manage the inevitable confrontation when they finally found Anne.
**********
"Well well, Hikki Follet, I presume. This is quite a surprise. I wasn't expecting Anti-Citizen One himself to grace me with his presence."
Hikki's eyes widened as he realized who was addressing him. Next to him Emiri was barely suppressing a growl and Elizabeth was stunned as the military commander's identity hit them too.
"They claimed that Monroe was unavailable," Mikasa informed her superior. "But we ought to be able to do something with these three."
"I should say so," Major Taredan answered. The wheels were already turning in his mind. "I think we can make this work nicely. Bring them in."
Three other soldiers came forward to each take hold of one of the captives, and they pushed them through the farmhouse door. Guile had parked the van in a nearby grove of trees, and he was joined by a few other soldiers as they set up defensive positions around the house.
"Line them up against the east wall there," Taredan instructed as he followed the group inside.
As the solders shoved the hostages into sitting positions on the floor, Hikki began trying to speak through the duct tape over his mouth, wanting to ask about the negotiations.
"Stay quiet," his captor warned him. "If you know what's good for you."
Hikki tried to turn his head to look at the soldier guarding him, but all he saw was a tuft of feathers attached to a triangle-patterned headband on a head of unruly blond hair.
"What's happening?" said a frightened female voice.
Hikki turned to see Anne sitting in a wooden chair in the center of the room. She was blindfolded and bound hand and foot, and he couldn't see her face with the chair angled toward the rear of the room. He tried to call out to her, but his captor elbowed him in the back and hissed, "Quiet!"
Emiri and Elizabeth had also started getting fidgety when they caught sight of Anne.
"All of you, just sit there and behave yourselves," Mikasa commanded. She was standing on the opposite side of the room, and there was something about her bearing that was tenser than it had been before.
Taredan stood aloofly absorbed in thought, with his thumb pressed to his lower lip.
Mikasa looked at him expectantly. "Major Taredan?"
The major looked up at her abruptly and then sighed heavily. "Right. It's time to start the show. Get Her Highness on the line."
He began pacing as Mikasa looked to a bespectacled young officer who was leaning through an interior doorway. "Let's go, Fuery."
"I'm on it." The man disappeared into the next room, pulling on the headset that had been hanging loose around his neck. Mikasa nodded to the other soldiers standing around the great room. They all nodded back to her, and a few of them followed after her and Fuery, leaving a small contingent in the room along with Taredan and the rebels.
Taredan came to rest standing behind Anne's chair. He spent another moment looking introspective, and then abruptly straightened himself and turned toward the rear wall of the room. The rebels followed his gaze and noticed a large screen on the wall, with a video camera mounted just above it.
The screen was dark for another minute or two, but just as Hikki began wondering if anything was going to happen, the picture snapped to life. And it was not a picture he wanted to see at that moment: Ozzal's giant leering face. She looked unimpressed at first, as if she had also been waiting for something to happen, and then her face broadened in delight.
"Why Tarry, it is you!" she gushed. "I almost couldn't believe it when your replacement said you were calling me up. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Nice to see you too, madam," Taredan replied, betraying only a hint of irritation at her mocking tone.
Behind Ozzal's chair they could see the lower two-thirds of a female soldier, resting her hand on the hilt of a sheathed sword.
"Well it's about time I get some quality entertainment around here," Ozzal said, leaning back and crossing her arms. "You won't believe how boring it is just sitting around."
"I think I can sympathize, madam," Taredan replied. "And I do expect this... presentation to be quite to your liking."
Ozzal leaned closer again, as if trying to get a better look at something. "Is that... what I think it is tied to that chair? Tarry, you never told me about your fetishes."
"It's... not..." he began, working hard to maintain his composure. "This girl is the younger sister of Samson Monroe. We apprehended her as she was trying to flee the area and used her as bait in a trap."
"A trap, you say?" Ozzal said, sounding intrigued.
"Yes. And as you will see, our plan worked flawlessly. We have the Syndicate's leader in custody now."
Ozzal raised her eyebrows, but as the view on her screen panned out and she caught sight of Hikki and the others at the edge of the room, her skepticism gave way to a growing sense of pleasure.
"Well well, you've done what the entire rest of my army couldn't do. I knew when you came crawling back to me that you'd make yourself useful."
Taredan's eyebrow twitched. "No need to bring up past indignities, madam."
"So, what do those losers have to say for themselves? I'll be sad if I've missed out on all of their crying and begging for mercy."
"They haven't said anything. We've kept them all gagged. We thought you'd want to interrogate them yourself."
"All right, well ungag them then. It's about time I get to hear Anti-Citizen One groveling at my feet."
Taredan nodded to the soldiers holding the rebels down. They unceremoniously ripped the duct tape from the hostages' mouths, drawing a pained yelp from Hikki.
"Sammie? Is it you?" Anne asked hopefully.
Hikki hesitated, not sure if he was allowed to speak. He looked at Taredan, who nodded back at him.
"Eet's... Eet's Hikki, Anne," Hikki began. "And Emiri and Elizabeth are here weez me. Sammie... your brozzer was not able to come."
"Oh..." Anne replied, seeming disappointed. "Well... thank you for coming for me. I was worried."
"Aww, isn't that sweet," Ozzal mocked from the screen. "She thinks you were coming to rescue her. Too bad her own brother couldn't even be bothered to come for her."
"He would have if he weren't laid up in bed," Emiri shot back. "He almost got killed by one of your mech pilots."
"Emiri!" Hikki warned, knowing she wasn't thinking about what she was saying - and who she was saying it to. But it was too late.
"Oh, did he?" Ozzal chuckled. "Well that's just too bad. I'll have my men bring a get-well bouquet when they storm your bunker."
Emiri glared back at the screen.
"All right, Ozzal," Hikki said strongly. "We have complied weez your demand. Now let zees girl go free and return safely to our friends."
"Oh, is that what the deal was?" Ozzal asked, feigning surprise. "Funny, I don't remember making any deal. I'm not even really sure what you're talking about."
Hikki and Elizabeth exchanged sharp glances. Just as they had expected, Ozzal wasn't planning to hold up her end of the bargain.
"Then what do you want done with them, Head Governor?" Taredan asked the screen. "Shall we have them transferred to the Orly police for questioning and indictment?"
"Oh Tarry, you're so cute with your 'legal proceedings' and your 'due process.'" Ozzal patronized. "No, I've got something much more exciting in mind for them."
They all waited to hear what that would be, but Ozzal just smiled smugly and Dramatic Pause'd.
"I want you to kill them all," she said. "...Starting with the girl."
"The girl?" Taredan started. "But I thought we were going to let her go in exchange for this lot."
"Pffffft," Ozzal retorted. "She's done her job as bait, we don't need to care what happens to her now. It'll be better for her friends to have to watch her die. In fact..." Her lips curled into an evil smile. "...Burn her nice and slow. Make her suffer for her friends."
Hikki and the others were stunned. He looked frantically from the screen to Taredan, hoping that the soldier would resist the command or show some sign of mercy. But the major simply took a deep breath and raised his hand toward the girl.
The rebels started struggling against their captors, trying to run to Anne's aid, but the soldiers held them fast.
"You cannot do zees! Please! Keel me eenstead!" Hikki pleaded.
"Stop it! She's only a little girl!" Emiri cried.
"You bastard! Don't you even think about it!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Hikki... help me..." Anne murmured, trembling.
"Shut up, all of you!" Taredan commanded. His voice and his face were both stern and steely. It was as if he were locking out any trace of emotion or compassion.
Taredan raised his eyes from the back of the girl's head to the camera staring both of them down. As if addressing Ozzal, as well as the rebels, he said, "I will do what I must. To return order to this country."
Ozzal smiled approvingly and smugly back at him, anticipating the cruel spectacle to come.
Taredan's gaze returned to the girl sitting in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and paused for a moment, but he knew what he had to do. His steely eyes began glowing bloody red. And then, ignoring the rebels' agonized screams and pleas for mercy, he unleashed a torrent of flame toward the girl.
Chapter 63 Author's Notes:
Recurring Characters:
Michelle Ozzal - Mike Lazzo
Major Tom Taredan - Metatronda
Kirara Amour - kiraralove
Lucille "Cille" Compton - Cille
Hikki Follet - Kohikki
Clarice Rowe - QueenoftheDorks
Samson Monroe - MasterSamson
Anne Monroe - herself
*April - LirpaYamEnujYluj
Elizabeth Saurie St. Gaurdsmen - EdSpikeSesshyGirl
Emiri - _Boxers_
Dewey Novak - Eureka seven
Kenzou Tenma - Monster
Solomon Goldsmith - Blood+
Kamina - Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
Kittan - Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
*Straight Cougar - s-CRY-ed
Elian - s-CRY-ed
Major Makina - Deadman Wonderland
New Characters:
Lieutenant Mikasa Ackerman - Attack on Titan
Technical Sergeant Guile - Street Fighter II V
Kain Fuery - Fullmetal Alchemist
* Characters marked with an asterisk are mentioned but do not take an active part in the story.
References:
104th unit - 104th Training Corps (Attack on Titan)
"GONNA BURN SOME MUSCLE." - Street Fighter II V
Theme that goes with everything - Guile's Theme (Street Fighter)
That fateful night at the GAR Street Bar when the patrons decided to rise up against Ozzal, Tom Taredan had a revelation.
It wasn't that the common man could do anything if he set his mind to it. It wasn't that the will of the people was bound to prevail. It wasn't that testosterone is the greatest fuel known to man.
It was that these rebels were idiots, and had no idea what they were up against.
Having reached the conclusion that the revolution was doomed, Taredan took a hard look at himself. What he saw was a haggard, miserable man with nothing left to live for. What was he supposed to do now, get drunk every night until he passed out and someone killed him in an alley? Well, that would certainly be the easy way out. And he could probably find more of those street thugs who still hated him for being part of Ozzal's crackdown force.
But the idea of taking the easy way out left a bad taste in his mouth, even worse than the foul moonshine he'd been pouring down his throat.
Really he just wanted things to go back to the way they were. When he was a soldier and he knew what that meant. When serving your leader also meant serving the people, or at least you could convince yourself that that's how it worked.
Why did everything have to get so jacked up? Because some moron commoners got their panties all in a bunch and decided to declare war on their own government? That's just not how it was supposed to work. He didn't like Ozzal's tyranny any more than anyone else, but at least he knew enough to grit his teeth and keep doing his job and not set the whole house on fire just to burn out a rat.
Of course that was easier when he had a job. He almost regretted ragequitting as Ozzal's Security Chief, because living without a purpose felt worse and worse the longer it stretched on. But what the hell was he supposed to do? He didn't want any part of Ozzal's farce, and he didn't want any part of this revolution farce. He just wanted to be a soldier, dammit.
Long after the testosterone-addled crowd cleared out of the bar, leaving Taredan and the bartender and a few other stragglers behind, he remained lost in his angsty thoughts. And when he finally stumbled out of the bar to go hole up in his hotel room for the rest of the night, the only thing he knew for certain was that he couldn't keep going on this way. Something needed to change.
It took a few more days of (mostly) more sober thinking before he decided how to change it. Maybe he couldn't make the world start making sense again, but maybe he could find a place in the world where it felt a little less insane.
So he contacted Dewey and begged for a simple unit commander appointment out in Rantonia. Fortunately Dewey was reasonably understanding, and arranged everything without making Taredan talk to Ozzal. He probably told her about it later, though, and Taredan imagined she'd have a good laugh at his expense. He didn't much care as long as he never had to see that old hag again.
Things went pretty well, for a few months. Taredan assembled a decent squad of soldiers who did what they were told and didn't give him any grief. The Rantonian conflict wasn't even that heated at that point, so they didn't have to work too hard as long as they kept up appearances for the sake of official reports.
And then out of the blue the entire army was recalled from Rantonia to play war games with the rebels, and Taredan once again found himself in the middle of the mess he'd just wanted to avoid. He managed to keep his unit away from the front lines of the fighting, and he was relieved when the Syndicate gave up after only a few days. But nothing was settled until one side or the other surrendered or was crushed for good. Maybe then, if they could find some way to end this, maybe then things could go back to the way they used to be.
**********
Kirara had been carried into the base and taken to an empty room in the medical quarters. She sat there in a daze as Tenma looked at her and tended to the wounds on her face, arms, and body. She had been beaten severely and had a large burn on her back, but her injuries seemed to be relatively superficial and not life-threatening.
Once she had been treated and dressed in dry clothes, Tenma opened the door and the Syndicate leaders gradually assembled around her. She was shivering uncontrollably despite the blanket wrapped around her and the cup of hot tea she held between her hands. She had barely sipped the drink before forgetting about it.
Solomon sat down next to her and tried to put a comforting arm around her shoulders, but she quickly leaned away from him.
"Please - don't," she murmured, and Solomon understood that she wanted some space right now. He remained by her side, watching her with a compassionate expression.
"Can... can you tell us what happened, Kirara?" Cille asked gently.
"Should we wait for everyone to get here?" Hikki asked, noticing that some of the council was still missing.
"I don't think we need everybody here," Cille answered. "Clarice is with Samson in his room. He said he wouldn't be able to sleep until he knew Anne was safe, so she's staying up with him. I think... it might be better if we let them be for now."
Hikki nodded grimly, and turned to Kirara, who looked even more distressed at the mention of Samson's name. "Kirara, I know zees must be very deefeecult for you. But we are here to support you. You're safe now and we'll do everyseeng we can to get Anne back safe too. But we need to know what happened out zere, eef you're able to talk about eet."
Kirara closed her eyes and seemed to be working up her inner resolve. Then she opened her eyes and nodded. "I'll tell you what I can. But... it all happened so fast. I'm not sure how much useful information I can even give you."
Hikki nodded sympathetically, and they all waited for her to continue.
She took a deep breath. "It was raining and we saw an old farmhouse in the distance so we decided to head toward it and check it out, maybe rest there for a little while if it was safe. But we got jumped out of nowhere before we even got there."
"Jumped? By whom?" Cille asked.
"I don't know. Military, most likely. They certainly weren't fooling around. They had me out of commission before I even knew it."
Kamina raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but... you're a vampire, aren't you? And you still weren't able to fight them off?"
Kirara looked even more pained. "One of them did something to me. He had some kind of energy... It was like sunlight. It didn't kill me, but after he touched me with it, it was like my strength was just gone. I couldn't even transform."
"That must be where that burn came from," Tenma remarked.
"Probably..." Kirara murmured. "It was all just a blur. I just saw them dragging her away... and they told me if I didn't do what they said, they'd... they'd kill her first..."
"What... deed zey ask you to do?" Hikki asked reluctantly.
Cille suddenly looked very worried. "Please tell me you didn't give them the passcode to the door..."
"No, I didn't," Kirara answered. "They didn't even ask for anything like that. They just told me to run back here and get Samson if he ever wants to see his little sister again. Then they dumped me off in the forest and left me."
"Samson? His little sister? Then they knew who you were?" Solomon asked.
"Apparently. I didn't even tell them anything that would have helped them figure it out. I mean it was an easy guess that we were Syndicate, but I never told them our names."
Cille rubbed her eyes. "Damn. Then we're dealing with someone who has some pretty serious intel on us. Anne shouldn't be in any of their files."
"Could you tell who they were? Who was in charge?" Solomon asked.
"I couldn't see," Kirara said glumly. "They shoved a pillowcase or something over my head. The man who did most of the talking - he sounded familiar, but for the life of me I haven't been able to think of where I've heard him before."
"How many of zem were zere?" Hikki asked.
"I... don't know that either. Maybe a dozen? Maybe more... who knows how many were hiding out there." Tears began coming to her eyes again. "They just sprang on us. I had no idea..."
Solomon patted her hand, not wanting her to get too worked up again. "I think that's enough to work with for now. You just rest and let Dr. Tenma take care of you and we'll handle the rest."
She nodded in acquiescence, and Solomon signaled to the others that it was time to leave. They all silently filed out of the room, leaving the doctor alone with their injured comrade.
"Let's go to the control room," Solomon suggested quietly, and they all followed him there.
Once they were behind closed doors again, there was a collective sigh of discouragement from the group.
"Well... that did not go just as planned, did it," Solomon said, folding his arms.
Cille sat heavily in her chair and started rubbing her eyes. "We should have waited... We should have scouted the whole route first..."
Kamina scowled. "I should have gone with them, is what we should have done."
Kittan raised a hand. "Look, guys, I know this situation is crappy and we'd all like to change what happened, but playing hindsight warriors isn't gonna help us right now. That little girl is out there somewhere, and sitting here dwelling on what we 'shoulda' done isn't gonna bring her back. We gotta focus on what we're going to do now."
Kittan's motivational speech seemed to be effective, and the others looked a little sheepish.
"You're right, bro," Kamina said apologetically. He looked around at the others. "So... what are we gonna do now?"
Hikki cleared his throat. "I seenk... zere ees one beeg question zat must be answered before we do anyseeng else."
"What's that?" Cille asked.
Hikki looked at her with an anxious expression. "Are we going to tell Samson?"
**********
Taredan paced impatiently around the great room of his base. His subordinates had for the most part disappeared upstairs to their bunks, aside from a few who were still tinkering with the equipment set up around the room. There wasn't much to do now but wait.
He went into the next room and looked at the black-haired girl lying on a cot with her back to him. He noted that the ropes binding her wrists behind her back were still securely tied. She had spent the last few hours weeping quietly into her blindfold, but it seemed that she had finally settled down into a fitful sleep.
He looked at his watch. Still early.
He took a deep breath and sighed, and started pacing again. It surprised him how agonizing it was to have nothing to do.
Finally an idea came to him, and he pulled out a cell phone and began dialing. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited through several rings, and then leaned over to speak confidentially into the phone after the recipient finally picked up.
"Hey."
"I know, but this is important. I have a little girl here whose big brother helps run the Syndicate. I'd put money down that they're going to want her back."
"Yeah, I already sent her escort back to them to share the news. Roughed her up pretty well so they know we mean business."
"No, I haven't done anything to the girl. There's no reason to hurt her yet."
He rolled his eyes. "No, we're not having tea parties."
"Look, just be on your toes. This could be what blows this whole thing wide open."
"Yeah."
"All right, fine."
"All right."
Taredan hung up and set the phone down on the table in front of him. He contemplated the girl, subconsciously pressing his thumb to his lips. Something was about to happen, he just knew it. After waiting so long, he would be ready for it.
*********
"Well... that is a good question," Solomon said, after about a minute of everyone just looking around at each other and no one wanting to be the one to have to answer the question.
"I mean... it is his sister..." Cille acknowledged.
"But you know how he's gonna react," Kittan said. "He's gonna flip right the hell out. Probably hurt himself in the process."
"Oui..." Hikki agreed worriedly. That was the first thought that had come into his head, and it wasn't something he wanted to see.
"Those soldiers who captured her... they said they wanted Samson, right?" Solomon clarified.
"That's what Kirara said," Cille answered. "Sounds like a hostage swap, or they just want to lure Samson out into the open. It'd be an easy bet that he'd go charging out there once he finds out his sister's been taken."
"But... they didn't mention Hikki?" Kamina asked. "He's the one they've been after this whole time, ever since that whole 'Anti-Citizen One' thing Ozzal came up with."
Hikki started groaning quietly, and Cille gave him a "don't start that again" look.
"Maybe they figure Hikki'd come along with Samson," Kittan theorized. "I mean, that ain't a hard guess to make either, considerin'..." he trailed off awkwardly, glancing at Hikki.
"Well we already know that Samson can't go after her," Solomon stepped in. "He's in no condition to leave this base, even if he should want to. We can stop him easily enough if he gets the idea into his head. But that does leave us to decide what we're going to do in lieu of giving them the person they want, and whether Samson should be informed of the situation and be involved in the rescue plans at all."
The others thought this over some more.
"You know..." Cille began, "the more I think about this the more I can't see it ending well if we don't tell Samson. I mean he's already worried about her being out there, and he's not going to sleep until he hears something. And I know if..." Her voice broke a little. "If someone I cared about was out there and I didn't know what was happening... I'd just want to know."
The others looked at each other sympathetically, and Hikki put a hand on Cille's shoulder.
"We'll tell heem, zen," he said. "I seenk... you are right. We cannot keep zees from heem." He looked at Solomon. "We just have to be prepared to, uh, handle whatever he might throw at us."
"Agreed," Solomon said. "Why don't..." He glanced around the room. "...Hikki, Cille, and I go talk to him and Clarice. Kamina and Kittan, you guys head back down to the escape hatch just in case anybody else shows up. And we'll keep this all quiet otherwise for now."
"Roger that," Kamina said, and he and Kittan headed out as the other three bolstered their courage to deliver the bad news to Anne's brother.
They hesitated again outside Samson's room in the infirmary. They could hear him and Clarice speaking to each other in low voices. Solomon nodded to the other two and then knocked on the door.
"Come in," Clarice answered, and they reluctantly went in and shut the door behind them.
Samson brightened when he saw them. "Hey, do you have news? Is Kirara back already?"
"She is back," Solomon answered. "And we do have news. But first we need to ask you to stay calm."
Immediately Samson's expression changed. "Why? Did something happen?"
Solomon looked at Hikki, who cleared his throat nervously.
"Well, uh... yes, someseeng deed -" he began.
Samson sat bolt upright. "What did? What happened to Anne? Did she come back with Kirara?"
Solomon raised a hand. "Samson, you have to stay calm. This isn't easy news to deliver. And you're only going to make it harder on everyone if you can't control yourself."
Samson glared at Solomon. "Well how about you do less lecturing and more telling me what the hell is going on."
Solomon looked at Hikki again, but the Frenchman hesitated.
"Anne has been captured," Cille said candidly. "Probably by the military. Kirara made it back but she's in pretty bad shape. Dr. Tenma's taking care of her but she got beat up pretty badly and she feels terrible about letting them take Anne."
"She let them take Anne?" Samson repeated incredulously.
"She didn't have a choice," Cille replied firmly. "They overwhelmed her and threatened to kill Anne. She only made it back here because they wanted her to bring a hostage demand back to us."
Samson deflated and buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe it..."
"What do they want?" asked Clarice, who was doing her best to stay calm in her fiance's stead.
"Zey want... well, zey asked for you, Chu," Hikki said.
Samson wearily raised his head. "Me?"
"That was what they told Kirara," Cille said. She glanced uncertainly at Solomon. "I guess... we're not entirely sure what they expect you to do, but they want you in exchange for your sister."
Samson took a moment to absorb this, and then took a deep breath and pushed his blankets away. "Fine, get a wheelchair or something ready. Clarice, help me get some clothes -"
This time Hikki interrupted him. "No. Absolutely not. You are not going out zere, Chu."
Samson looked at him like he was daft. "Seriously? You're going to come in here and tell me that my sister might die if I don't go give myself up, and then tell me not to do it?"
"There might be another way," Solomon said.
"Yeah? Like what?" Samson challenged. "You gonna tell me you've got a whole big rescue operation planned?"
"Well, not yet..." Cille admitted.
Samson set his jaw. "Look, it's my fault she got captured. I shouldn't have forced her to go first when we didn't know if it was safe. If I have to sacrifice myself to make up for that mistake and bring her back, I'll do it. I'm useless around here anyway. It doesn't matter if I -"
Hikki strode over to him and slapped him across the face. "Zat ees enough of zat!"
Samson held his cheek and looked surprised to see Hikki actually angry at him.
"You are not useless and you are not going to go out zere and sacreefice yourself!" Hikki said indignantly. "We are all here to deescuss ze best way to get your seester back, but throwing you to ze wolves ees not an option!"
Samson looked taken aback, but still unsettled.
"Okay, so... what else can we do?" Clarice asked.
Hikki settled his ruffled feathers a bit. "I weel go."
"Wait, now you're going to sacrifice yourself?" Clarice responded.
"Well, no, zat ees - not exactly what I was seenking, but..." Hikki stammered, realizing that he didn't really know what he would do once he got out there. "Maybe I could... deestract zem while someone else goes and rescues Anne?"
"Do you know where she is?" Clarice asked.
"Kirara mentioned a farmhouse," Cille said. "It's probably along the escape route, or close to it. We could send somebody to look for it."
"And what if they get spotted too?" Solomon said. "They noticed Kirara and waylaid them before they even got close to the house. If that's some army unit's base, they've probably got that whole area monitored."
"Well... we must have somebody stealthy here who can do it, right?" Cille said. "I mean April's a scout, maybe he could dress up as a cow or something..."
Samson rubbed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling we're just asspulling stuff here..." he groaned.
"April's not exactly gonna storm a military base by himself," Clarice pointed out. "If you're talking about a whole unit, it's going to take some pretty heavy guns to go up against that many soldiers."
"So what about sending some heavy guns?" Samson asked. "We've got a whole bunker full of tough guys who would love to go beat some baddies up."
Cille couldn't help recalling the last time a group of tough guys tried barging outside. "You know there's also the possibility this whole thing is a trap. We could send a bunch of people out there and they could just be ambushed."
"Well they... they don't know where our new escape route is, right? I mean, they're not right outside waiting for us, are they?" Samson asked worriedly.
The others looked at each other uncertainly.
"Well, Kirara didn't say she'd been followed back..." Cille said.
"She might not have been in a state to notice someone tracking her, though," Solomon said.
"They didn't plant anything on her, did they?" Clarice asked.
Cille shook her head. "Dr. Tenma didn't find anything on her when he examined her."
Samson frowned. "Unless they planted it inside her or something. I mean they can inject things like that, right? And who knows what kind of magic tricks they might have up their sleeves..."
Solomon raised a hand. "Let's not get too carried away. Cille is right, there's a risk that whoever we send out there will be walking into a trap. But we're going to be playing into their hands anyway, as long as they have Anne. We'll just need to assess the situation as best we can before we do anything. We haven't heard anything from Kamina or Kittan yet, so odds are they haven't seen anybody lurking outside."
Clarice folded her arms. "Okay, so we're back to what happens when Hikki goes out there and tries to distract them."
"Um... yeah..." Hikki said, not sounding like he was super sold on that being the plan.
"Well you can't go alone," Cille said. "Even if they're willing to accept you as a hostage in exchange for Anne, we can't very well throw you to the wolves either."
"So we can't send a group because they might get ambushed, but we need to send somebody along with Hikki? Who the hell are we going to send then?" Samson asked.
"Just one or two people," Solomon said. "Someone who can handle themselves and protect Hikki if the need arises."
"So, bodyguards?" Clarice said. "That's the plan, then? See what they want, and if things get ugly, take them out?"
"What eef zere are more of zem zan zere are of us?" Hikki asked worriedly.
"Well, they wouldn't kill you right away," Cille mused. "Ozzal likes to make a spectacle of everything. She'll want to parade you through town in chains and gloat about catching you."
"Um... ees zat supposed to make me feel better about zees?" Hikki asked.
"Well it is better than being killed on sight," Clarice said.
Hikki didn't look terribly encouraged.
"If you don't think you can handle this, we can come up with something else," Solomon said. "But playing along with them for now might be the best way to get close enough to Anne to get her out of there. You'll just need to think on your feet and be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself."
"Okay, so... who are going to be my bodyguards?" Hikki asked.
The others thought for a moment.
"Do you have any preferences?" Solomon asked. "Who would you feel most comfortable with as backup?"
Hikki wrinkled his brow in thought. He couldn't bring Samson or Clarice, obviously, and Cougar wasn't an option either. His mind wandered back to those who had been with them the longest, those he could always count on in a tough fight.
"I seenk... I would like to have Elizabeth weez me. And... maybe Emiri?"
"Emiri?" Clarice said, surprised. "You really want a loose cannon like her along on something like this?"
"Well... eef eet comes down to eet, and we have to fight, we weel no longer need deeplomacy..." Hikki said. "And eef we have to fight a whole bunch of bad guys, I won't mind cowering behind her while she goes crazy on zem."
"Okay, if that's what you'd like to do, I can wake them up and prep them for the mission," Cille said. "The sun is probably coming up by now, so if you need to meet up with Ozzal's people out there somewhere, you can get an early start."
"Hmm, that's the next question, how to find them to turn yourselves in..." Solomon said.
A small speaker seemed to sprout out of the wall next to the door. "Um... hey Cille? You there?" said Kamina's voice.
Cille moved toward the speaker. "Yeah, I'm here. Did Elian spot something?"
"Yeah, I mean I wouldn't panic just yet, but..."
Cille looked apprehensively at Hikki. "But what?"
"We got company."
**********
Elizabeth and Emiri both seemed eager to join in on the rescue operation as soon as they were informed of the situation. Cille brought them to meet Hikki and Solomon at the entrance to the escape tunnel, and they discussed the plan (such as it was) on the way down the tunnel. Nobody felt very sure about what was about to happen, but Hikki was putting on a brave face and his two bodyguards were in high spirits getting themselves ready for whatever might go down.
"Hey, glad you made it," Kittan greeted them when they arrived at the end of the tunnel.
"Status report?" Cille inquired.
"Well you might as well see for yourself," Kamina said, gesturing to Elian and his surveillance monitor. "I'm not really sure what to make of it myself. We didn't pick up on them until it started getting light out and the sky cleared up a bit. But it looks like they've just been hanging out there waiting for us or something."
They approached the screen, and Elian did his best to make it larger so that they could all see. Hikki held his breath, expecting to see an entire platoon or a huge mech waiting to pounce on them.
But all that appeared on the screen were two soldiers, a man and a woman, standing next to each other in at-ease positions.
"Only two of them?" Emiri said, similarly surprised.
"They look pretty tough," Cille observed, as Elian zoomed in on them.
The woman wore a wine-colored scarf over her uniform, and Hikki was struck both by the beauty of her Asian-looking features and by her stern expression. On one hip she had a holstered gun, and on the other hung a strange sword that looked more like a giant box cutter.
The man towered over her. He wasn't even wearing a military uniform, and his bulging muscles threatened to rip right through his dark blue wifebeater. Each of his arms sported a tattoo of the flag of the Land of the Stars and Stripes, and his blond hair was styled into a tall flattop haircut. He seemed even grimmer than his companion.
"Charming pair, aren't they," Elizabeth commented drily.
"Look around the area," Cille said to Elian. "Make sure there's no one else hiding out somewhere."
Elian's view scanned a wide swath around the entrance, but the only other thing it picked up was a dark green van parked near the soldiers. Upon closer inspection, they saw that it was empty.
"So they really only brought two soldiers to pick up their prize hostages," Elizabeth said. "Either they're not taking us seriously or these two are monsters."
"Either way you're not planning on fighting them, are you?" Cille asked. "Remember, you have to cooperate with them at least until they take you to Anne."
"Zat ees right," Hikki answered. "We can size zem up now, but we are not to engage zem unless we can get away weez Anne."
"Yeah, yeah, we know the plan," Emiri said. "But if they give me a reason to go at them, I'm not gonna hold back."
"Good, just... be careful out there," Cille said. "This is it."
"Right," Elizabeth said.
Cille took a deep breath. "Everybody ready?"
The others nodded (some more reluctantly than others).
"Okay," Cille said. "Give me a comm outside to them, Elian. Voice only."
Elian complied, and the soldiers reacted with mild surprise as a speaker materialized out of the ground in front of them.
Cille cleared her throat. "Hello there. I think I know why you're here, but I think we'd better have a little chat."
"Well then, it's about time," the man said gruffly. "I wondered if my legs were going to fall asleep out here."
The woman shushed him under her breath. "I take it you got the message we sent along with your vampire friend, then?"
"We did," Cille replied, trying not to betray any emotion she felt on Kirara's behalf. "It's our understanding that you have someone we'd like to get back. And we'd like to negotiate with you, as reasonably as possible."
"Reasonably, you say? Well that should be a nice change," the woman said. "Does that mean you're ready to comply with our request?"
"We should be able to work something out," Cille answered vaguely. "First, though, to whom are we speaking?"
"I am Lieutenant Mikasa Ackerman. My associate is Technical Sergeant Guile. We represent the 104th unit of the Army of Actonia."
Cille furrowed her brow, trying to remember all of the reading she'd done about Ozzal's forces. 104th unit... who was in charge of that one...
"We're here to escort your... representative to our base, where negotiations will be conducted," Mikasa continued. "I'm sure we can reach a mutually satisfactory resolution, pending your full cooperation of course."
Cille and Solomon exchanged mistrustful looks, and Solomon leaned toward their intercom.
"What assurances can you give us that your intentions are honorable?" he asked. "Why should we believe that you're not asking us to walk into a trap?"
"You can believe what you want," Mikasa answered. "But the fact that we've been waiting patiently for you out here and haven't ripped those pathetic vines out of the dirt and stormed your base already should be a pretty good clue."
Kamina made a face. He almost wished the insolent woman would try it just so she could see what the "vines" really were.
Cille and Solomon exchanged glances again, and then Cille turned back to the intercom. "Give us a moment to discuss your... proposal."
"Sure thing," Guile answered.
Cille gave Elian the "kill it" signal, and the speaker in front of the soldiers dissolved.
"So... are we still full speed ahead?" Elizabeth asked.
"They didn't really say anything unexpected..." Solomon said.
"It could still be a trap," Cille pointed out.
"Yeah, but she's right that if they just wanted to kill us, they could have done it at any point after they found our door," Kittan said. "No offense to you, bro, but these tentacles are a better disguise than they are an actual barrier."
Hikki took a deep breath. "Eezer way, we are commeeted to zees path. What else can we do now? For Anne, and for Sammie, we must seemply do ze best we can."
Cille looked at him, impressed by his unexpected burst of determination.
"Okay then, lemme at 'em," Emiri said.
"Okay, just... remember the plan, and don't do anything stupid," Cille reiterated.
"Yeah, yeah," Emiri grumbled.
Cille gestured to Elian to restore their comm outside, and the speaker reappeared.
"All right, we're going to send our representatives outside. We expect them to be treated fairly, and they shouldn't be underestimated," Cille said.
"Right, I'm sure they're entirely badass," Mikasa said, a little dismissively. "Just make sure they know not to cause any trouble for us, and we'll get along just fine."
Emiri let out a little snort, flexing her fingers in anticipation.
"Oh, and don't bother bringing any weapons. Anything we find on you will be confiscated," Mikasa said.
"We're like airport security," Guile added. "Leave it or lose it."
"Seriously?" Elizabeth muttered.
Apparently Mikasa caught the remark. "Yeah, seriously," she said. "You want to play our game, you play by our rules."
Emiri and Elizabeth exchanged irritated glances, and amongst much grumbling they set about going through their weapon stashes and handing things to Kamina and Kittan.
Once everyone signaled that they were ready, Cille had Elian cut the comm again and spoke quietly to the tentacles. "For health and beauty, take a cup of tea after a meal."
The tentacles obediently cleared the way to the outside world, and the rebels looked out apprehensively to see the two soldiers still standing motionless in their places.
Cille reached out and gave Hikki's shoulder a squeeze as he headed for the door. He looked at her with surprise, and she tried to give him an encouraging smile. He nodded at her, understanding that they were all counting on him to do his best.
Elizabeth and Emiri led the way through the opening, and Hikki mustered all of his courage to follow along.
Once they were outside, Cille moved uncomfortably closer to the tentacles and leaned over to whisper at them in the hopes that the soldiers wouldn't hear her. "One cup of Russian tea, not with jam, not with marmalade, but with honey."
Hikki turned when he heard the telltale slithering sounds of the tentacles coming together, and had a sinking feeling knowing that they were now totally on their own out here with the enemy.
"Come forward," Mikasa commanded. As the three rebels approached the soldiers, Elian's speaker materialized once again nearby so that Cille and the others could listen in.
Mikasa gave them an appraising look, identifying each of them in turn. "Hikki Follet. Emiri, formerly of the Echelon. Elizabeth Saurie St. Gaurdsmen."
"Somebody's done her homework," Emiri snarked.
Mikasa just gave her a smileyindifferent look. "Where is Samson Monroe?"
"He… weel not be joining us," Hikki answered. "I trust zat we three are suffeecient hostages for ze return of one leetle girl."
Mikasa and Guile exchanged looks, and Guile nodded at her.
"Very well," she said, taking a step back. "You, move over there," she instructed Hikki, pointing with her gun to one side. "And you, over there," she said to Elizabeth. Once the three hostages were spread out, she said, "All of you on the ground, face down, hands on your head."
Emiri and Elizabeth looked like they didn't like this idea too much, but Hikki nodded at them to just do it. The wet ground only added to their discomfort.
With the three hostages spread out and on the ground, Guile trained his two guns on Hikki and Emiri as Mikasa patted Elizabeth down. Pulling a pistol out of Elizabeth's boot, Mikasa gave Guile an unimpressed look and pocketed the weapon.
Guile just shook his head in disappointment. "Nobody ever takes airport security seriously."
Finding no other weapons on Elizabeth's body, Mikasa bound her hands behind her back. She also slapped a piece of duct tape over Elizabeth's mouth, prompting an annoyed growl from the hostage.
Mikasa moved to Emiri, who looked like she might get squirmy until Guile shifted his guns' focus to Hikki and Elizabeth and gave her a meaningful glare. Once again Mikasa discovered the weapon that Emiri had hidden away, and she held up the chainblade to give it a closer look.
"Don't you dare take that," Emiri snarled.
Mikasa looked down at her nonchalantly. "Fine," she said, tossing it away into some bushes. "Your friends can pick it up for you later."
The soldier ignored the rest of Emiri's angry muttering as she efficiently tied up her hands and then shut her up with a piece of duct tape.
Fortunately Hikki was much less trouble, and soon he was similarly bound and gagged.
"All right, all three of you on your feet," Mikasa ordered. She helped each of them stand up and then Guile led them toward the van. He opened the side door, and then guided each of them to their seats in the middle row.
"Hey, boss lady," Mikasa called back toward the speaker before following the others.
"Y-yes?" Cille answered, startled.
"I know what you're thinking. You wait for us to go and then send a big ol' unit after us to assault our base. But I really wouldn't do that. Not while there's a little girl there that you want to rescue. Remember that the only thing keeping that girl alive is your cooperation. You tail us or try to attack us, and she's the first one to die. If you don't want that to happen, you just sit tight and wait here. Got it?"
"Understood," Cille answered, trying to match the other woman's steely tone.
Mikasa nodded and headed for the van as Cille exchanged helpless looks with the others clustered around the monitor. As distressing as it might be, all they could really do now was trust in their friends and hope for the best.
Once the hostages were settled into the van, Mikasa climbed into the back seat as Guile went up front to take the wheel. Elizabeth glanced back to see that Mikasa had unsheathed her blade and was holding it horizontally behind them.
Kind of a strange weapon to be using inside a van... Elizabeth thought.
Mikasa apparently noticed her quizzical expression.
"If any of you try anything, this will slice cleanly through all three of your necks at once," she said coolly.
"I suggest you not try anything," her accomplice said, looking at them in the rearview mirror. Emiri really wanted to smack him in the back of the head, but decided that that would probably be a bad idea even if her hands weren't bound behind her.
"All right, Guile, let's go," Mikasa instructed.
"You got it," he said, shifting the van into gear. "GONNA BURN SOME MUSCLE."
"Would you stop saying that all the damn time..." Mikasa groaned under her breath.
Guile just grinned and clicked on the radio. A certain theme that goes with everything started blasting from the speakers as he hit the gas.
"For god's sake, turn that off," Mikasa snapped. "Do you want everybody to know we're here?"
"Fiiiiiiine," Guile grumbled, turning off the music. Instead he pulled out a phone and began dialing with his thumb.
"Mmmm..." Hikki intoned through his duct tape, wanting to point out that it's not safe to use a cell phone while driving, but he gave up when Mikasa cleared her throat behind him.
"Hey, it's me," Guile said into the phone, giving Hikki a look in the mirror but otherwise ignoring him. "Yeah, I know. We're finally on our way back. We've got three of them. No, no trouble at all. Maybe thirty minutes, maybe less now that I can see where I'm going. No, it's deserted out here. Yeah, it is."
Hikki wished he could hear the other end of the conversation, or at least know who was on the other end.
Guile listened for a while before speaking again. "Understood. Keep an eye out. I assume you'll be ready for us. You got it." He hung up and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
The van jostled along through the undeveloped wilderness, and the hostages found themselves wishing the vehicle had better shocks. Thankfully, Mikasa kept a steady grip on her sword - and a sufficiently safe distance between the blade and their necks. Elizabeth kept watch out the window, looking for landmarks that would help her track their path. Emiri instinctively watched their captors, hoping for some weakness to become apparent. And Hikki just hoped that the ordeal would soon be over and tried to think about how he would manage the inevitable confrontation when they finally found Anne.
**********
"Well well, Hikki Follet, I presume. This is quite a surprise. I wasn't expecting Anti-Citizen One himself to grace me with his presence."
Hikki's eyes widened as he realized who was addressing him. Next to him Emiri was barely suppressing a growl and Elizabeth was stunned as the military commander's identity hit them too.
"They claimed that Monroe was unavailable," Mikasa informed her superior. "But we ought to be able to do something with these three."
"I should say so," Major Taredan answered. The wheels were already turning in his mind. "I think we can make this work nicely. Bring them in."
Three other soldiers came forward to each take hold of one of the captives, and they pushed them through the farmhouse door. Guile had parked the van in a nearby grove of trees, and he was joined by a few other soldiers as they set up defensive positions around the house.
"Line them up against the east wall there," Taredan instructed as he followed the group inside.
As the solders shoved the hostages into sitting positions on the floor, Hikki began trying to speak through the duct tape over his mouth, wanting to ask about the negotiations.
"Stay quiet," his captor warned him. "If you know what's good for you."
Hikki tried to turn his head to look at the soldier guarding him, but all he saw was a tuft of feathers attached to a triangle-patterned headband on a head of unruly blond hair.
"What's happening?" said a frightened female voice.
Hikki turned to see Anne sitting in a wooden chair in the center of the room. She was blindfolded and bound hand and foot, and he couldn't see her face with the chair angled toward the rear of the room. He tried to call out to her, but his captor elbowed him in the back and hissed, "Quiet!"
Emiri and Elizabeth had also started getting fidgety when they caught sight of Anne.
"All of you, just sit there and behave yourselves," Mikasa commanded. She was standing on the opposite side of the room, and there was something about her bearing that was tenser than it had been before.
Taredan stood aloofly absorbed in thought, with his thumb pressed to his lower lip.
Mikasa looked at him expectantly. "Major Taredan?"
The major looked up at her abruptly and then sighed heavily. "Right. It's time to start the show. Get Her Highness on the line."
He began pacing as Mikasa looked to a bespectacled young officer who was leaning through an interior doorway. "Let's go, Fuery."
"I'm on it." The man disappeared into the next room, pulling on the headset that had been hanging loose around his neck. Mikasa nodded to the other soldiers standing around the great room. They all nodded back to her, and a few of them followed after her and Fuery, leaving a small contingent in the room along with Taredan and the rebels.
Taredan came to rest standing behind Anne's chair. He spent another moment looking introspective, and then abruptly straightened himself and turned toward the rear wall of the room. The rebels followed his gaze and noticed a large screen on the wall, with a video camera mounted just above it.
The screen was dark for another minute or two, but just as Hikki began wondering if anything was going to happen, the picture snapped to life. And it was not a picture he wanted to see at that moment: Ozzal's giant leering face. She looked unimpressed at first, as if she had also been waiting for something to happen, and then her face broadened in delight.
"Why Tarry, it is you!" she gushed. "I almost couldn't believe it when your replacement said you were calling me up. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Nice to see you too, madam," Taredan replied, betraying only a hint of irritation at her mocking tone.
Behind Ozzal's chair they could see the lower two-thirds of a female soldier, resting her hand on the hilt of a sheathed sword.
"Well it's about time I get some quality entertainment around here," Ozzal said, leaning back and crossing her arms. "You won't believe how boring it is just sitting around."
"I think I can sympathize, madam," Taredan replied. "And I do expect this... presentation to be quite to your liking."
Ozzal leaned closer again, as if trying to get a better look at something. "Is that... what I think it is tied to that chair? Tarry, you never told me about your fetishes."
"It's... not..." he began, working hard to maintain his composure. "This girl is the younger sister of Samson Monroe. We apprehended her as she was trying to flee the area and used her as bait in a trap."
"A trap, you say?" Ozzal said, sounding intrigued.
"Yes. And as you will see, our plan worked flawlessly. We have the Syndicate's leader in custody now."
Ozzal raised her eyebrows, but as the view on her screen panned out and she caught sight of Hikki and the others at the edge of the room, her skepticism gave way to a growing sense of pleasure.
"Well well, you've done what the entire rest of my army couldn't do. I knew when you came crawling back to me that you'd make yourself useful."
Taredan's eyebrow twitched. "No need to bring up past indignities, madam."
"So, what do those losers have to say for themselves? I'll be sad if I've missed out on all of their crying and begging for mercy."
"They haven't said anything. We've kept them all gagged. We thought you'd want to interrogate them yourself."
"All right, well ungag them then. It's about time I get to hear Anti-Citizen One groveling at my feet."
Taredan nodded to the soldiers holding the rebels down. They unceremoniously ripped the duct tape from the hostages' mouths, drawing a pained yelp from Hikki.
"Sammie? Is it you?" Anne asked hopefully.
Hikki hesitated, not sure if he was allowed to speak. He looked at Taredan, who nodded back at him.
"Eet's... Eet's Hikki, Anne," Hikki began. "And Emiri and Elizabeth are here weez me. Sammie... your brozzer was not able to come."
"Oh..." Anne replied, seeming disappointed. "Well... thank you for coming for me. I was worried."
"Aww, isn't that sweet," Ozzal mocked from the screen. "She thinks you were coming to rescue her. Too bad her own brother couldn't even be bothered to come for her."
"He would have if he weren't laid up in bed," Emiri shot back. "He almost got killed by one of your mech pilots."
"Emiri!" Hikki warned, knowing she wasn't thinking about what she was saying - and who she was saying it to. But it was too late.
"Oh, did he?" Ozzal chuckled. "Well that's just too bad. I'll have my men bring a get-well bouquet when they storm your bunker."
Emiri glared back at the screen.
"All right, Ozzal," Hikki said strongly. "We have complied weez your demand. Now let zees girl go free and return safely to our friends."
"Oh, is that what the deal was?" Ozzal asked, feigning surprise. "Funny, I don't remember making any deal. I'm not even really sure what you're talking about."
Hikki and Elizabeth exchanged sharp glances. Just as they had expected, Ozzal wasn't planning to hold up her end of the bargain.
"Then what do you want done with them, Head Governor?" Taredan asked the screen. "Shall we have them transferred to the Orly police for questioning and indictment?"
"Oh Tarry, you're so cute with your 'legal proceedings' and your 'due process.'" Ozzal patronized. "No, I've got something much more exciting in mind for them."
They all waited to hear what that would be, but Ozzal just smiled smugly and Dramatic Pause'd.
"I want you to kill them all," she said. "...Starting with the girl."
"The girl?" Taredan started. "But I thought we were going to let her go in exchange for this lot."
"Pffffft," Ozzal retorted. "She's done her job as bait, we don't need to care what happens to her now. It'll be better for her friends to have to watch her die. In fact..." Her lips curled into an evil smile. "...Burn her nice and slow. Make her suffer for her friends."
Hikki and the others were stunned. He looked frantically from the screen to Taredan, hoping that the soldier would resist the command or show some sign of mercy. But the major simply took a deep breath and raised his hand toward the girl.
The rebels started struggling against their captors, trying to run to Anne's aid, but the soldiers held them fast.
"You cannot do zees! Please! Keel me eenstead!" Hikki pleaded.
"Stop it! She's only a little girl!" Emiri cried.
"You bastard! Don't you even think about it!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Hikki... help me..." Anne murmured, trembling.
"Shut up, all of you!" Taredan commanded. His voice and his face were both stern and steely. It was as if he were locking out any trace of emotion or compassion.
Taredan raised his eyes from the back of the girl's head to the camera staring both of them down. As if addressing Ozzal, as well as the rebels, he said, "I will do what I must. To return order to this country."
Ozzal smiled approvingly and smugly back at him, anticipating the cruel spectacle to come.
Taredan's gaze returned to the girl sitting in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and paused for a moment, but he knew what he had to do. His steely eyes began glowing bloody red. And then, ignoring the rebels' agonized screams and pleas for mercy, he unleashed a torrent of flame toward the girl.
Chapter 63 Author's Notes:
Recurring Characters:
Michelle Ozzal - Mike Lazzo
Major Tom Taredan - Metatronda
Kirara Amour - kiraralove
Lucille "Cille" Compton - Cille
Hikki Follet - Kohikki
Clarice Rowe - QueenoftheDorks
Samson Monroe - MasterSamson
Anne Monroe - herself
*April - LirpaYamEnujYluj
Elizabeth Saurie St. Gaurdsmen - EdSpikeSesshyGirl
Emiri - _Boxers_
Dewey Novak - Eureka seven
Kenzou Tenma - Monster
Solomon Goldsmith - Blood+
Kamina - Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
Kittan - Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
*Straight Cougar - s-CRY-ed
Elian - s-CRY-ed
Major Makina - Deadman Wonderland
New Characters:
Lieutenant Mikasa Ackerman - Attack on Titan
Technical Sergeant Guile - Street Fighter II V
Kain Fuery - Fullmetal Alchemist
* Characters marked with an asterisk are mentioned but do not take an active part in the story.
References:
104th unit - 104th Training Corps (Attack on Titan)
"GONNA BURN SOME MUSCLE." - Street Fighter II V
Theme that goes with everything - Guile's Theme (Street Fighter)