Magical Lyrical G-Squad
Chapter 6: Pulling Strings
Xx~~*~~xX
Suzuka threw up all magic she had into a barrier enclosing the bomb and squinted her eyes shut, the latter more of a reflex action than with any knowledge that it would help. Inwardly, she knew there was no way she could contain such a blast, but maybe she could contain some of the damage. In the two seconds remaining to her, she made her peace, and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
[That's odd...] she pondered, cautiously cracking her right eye open. [Shouldn't I be dead now?]
She cracked an eye open just to confirm that, yes, the timer on the bomb now read 4:52. In the next second, it decreased to 4:51. And just to make sure she wasn't crazy, she had her device play back the last few moments on a holoscreen, watching in disbelief as the timer really did hit 00:01, and then reset to 5:00.
[What the...?] She dissolved the barrier and then began to run a few scans. [Maybe...]
“Is something wrong?' the South Korean security agent standing just outside the container asked.
Suzuka inwardly cursed, because from their respective positions, he might have seen the purple barrier she cast. “No just getting a read on it. Give me a few moments.”
And it took even less than that for her to figure out what was going on. [This is bad.... ingenious setup. Arisa's plan would never have worked.] She tapped her communicator, which would broadcast to both the
Ventek and to Arf, currently situated with another group. “We have a problem.”
Almost immediately, she got a response from Chrono. “What is it? We just heard from the group Arf is with. They have a problem, too.”
The unsettling feeling of dread in the pit of Suzuka's stomach grew; Chrono didn't have to say it, because she just knew what he was going to say.
He did anyway. “There is a second bomb.”
x~~*~~x
Arf gazed evenly at the device, barely visible through a crack in a large concrete block, highly concerned as it ticked down towards the 2 minute mark. “[There's not much time left on this one. Are you sure it will reset? Can we disarm it?]”
“[They are impossible to disarm without triggering them!]” Suzuka replied urgently, her words on the comm link being converted to telepathic messages in Arf's head. “[Any internal tinkering will set them off automatically, and we can't remove them for transport, either, as any attempt to do so will set them off as well. There are also protection spells on it, that I am guessing will also trigger it if I attempt to use magic to disarm it. But that's not the worst part.]”
“[That's NOT the worst part?!]” Arf questioned in disbelief, watching the South Korean agents cordon off the area. They had received instructions not to tamper with the bomb, as they were waiting for Suzuka's analysis, and their own bomb defusing squad to arrive.
“[I double-checked to be sure, but once they reach 1 second left, the device receives a signal that resets it to 5 minutes,]” Suzuka explained. “[I haven't been able to figure out the frequency yet, but it's at least partly magical in nature. However, that means our assumption that they would send a signal to detonate the devices was incorrect. It's just the opposite: they are sending a signal to
prevent them from detonating.]”
“[However, since they are getting a signal through their own jamming, there must be a path in the jamming field that allows their particular encryption to get through,]” Lucino interjected, bringing new hope to the conversation.. “[If I can find it, we might be able to duplicate it to keep them from blowing up, and then safely move the entire units far enough out of the interference to have the Ventek teleport them into space.]”
“[I'm not sure that will work,]” General Adams almost immediately added. “[The data we're receiving shows that the bombs have different countdowns. When one reaches 1 second left, the other has 2 minutes and 30 seconds left. And we have to assume we're being watched; if we start to move even one of them onto a truck, they could send a different signal to detonate them. And there is no way we can get both far enough out of the city in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. We also have no reason to believe how long they'll continue to send the reset signal, so we don't know how much time we have. I really don't see any other option here.]”
Arf narrowed her eyes, worriedly watching as the timer clicked to 1:25, growing more restless and annoyed. “[Man, Can't we just smash them or something?! One spell, and I can blow this one up...]”
“[No, the spells protecting the devices will cause it to explode the instant we do anything magical to them!]” Suzuka cautioned urgently, and then exhaled a long breath in frustration. “[They really thought of everything.]”
A random thought hit the guardian beast. “[Well, if we can't use trucks 'cuz they're too slow, then we'll simply use something else!]”
“[Arf, you have another idea?]” Chrono asked. “[We're open to suggestions.]”
The big, orange wolf gave a toothy grin. “[As a matter of fact, I do.]”
x~~*~~x
Miyuki cursed, not having heard him come in. Normally, her fairly keen hearing could pick up even the softest footsteps, thus making sure that no one could sneak up on her; how had this normal soldier done it? Carefully and slowly from her crouched position, while making sure her hand was hidden from his view by her leg, she began to reach for the small knife hidden in her boot.
“What are you doing here?” the soldier asked in perfect Korean, but there was something odd about his voice; he didn't sound too threatening.
“I was just getting changed-” she began to reply in the same language as best as she could. Her Korean wasn't too bad, but she wondered if it would pass muster, or if her bluff would even work.
“You don't look to be a North Korean soldier,” he stated, and Miyuki might have been mistaken, but... was that a hint of amusement in his voice? “Stand up and turn around.”
Obediently, she did so, taking care to keep her arm between the small knife and his vision. But as she turned and caught site of the rifle, she realized she'd have just one chance, regardless of the risk. If she got caught now, any chance of saving the hostages was gone; she couldn't be sure of what the Bureau was doing, or if Arisa was okay. She quickly calculated the angle from one of the ceiling lights, and then twisted her wrist to catch it with the flat of the knife blade, redirecting it to the man's eyes. It was a little difficult, due to the way his military cap was pulled down, casting a shadow over the upper half of his face, but this was a trick Miyuki had long practiced in her sword style.
As she expected, he shied his face away and move to shield his eyes, and in that instant she sprung, knocking the gun aside and aiming to grab his head. A simple headlock, while keeping pressure on his throat, would be enough to take him out of commission.
But he almost disappeared, dropping below her attempted grapple and rolling underneath her in a bit of a judo throw that tossed her off balance. And before she could recover, something smaller than a human slammed into her side. It couldn't have been him – the angle was wrong – but Miyuki had no time to think about it, as he was quickly on her again, grappling for her wrists.
“Stop struggling!” he ordered, but Miyuki was having none of it.
She fell backwards, pulling him with her while planting a heel in his stomach and tossing him halfway across the room. She quickly completed the backflip and leapt at him, almost completing the planned headlock, but she was interrupted. Her body sensed the danger and froze, fingers at his throat.
That's when she realized her knife was now in his hands, and against her own neck.
Miyuki was befuddled. [When did he...?] He was much better than what she would have figured for a typical North Korean soldier.
“Will you calm down now?” he inquired politely, not a trace of hostility in his voice. “I do find this little workout enjoyable, but I think it would be in your interest to talk first. Afterward, if you still feeling like continuing our little tussle, I might be inclined to oblige you.”
Miyuki stared at him.
x~~*~~x
“Vice, Otto, did you get all that?” Chrono inquired over the communications channel.
Vice glanced across the way at Otto, both golem pilots sitting atop the shoulders of their respective magical mecha. The latter had arrived not too long ago, managing to traverse the countryside without being spotted, and was now standing by while awaiting the order to go in for the rescue.
“Roger,” he replied when Otto gave her own assent, and the two promptly slid into their cockpits. He flicked switches to close the hatch while setting into the pilot's chair. “But you're really going to cut it close here. You're hoping Arf can use her golem to grab both containers, with the bombs inside, and carry them out of the city's jamming field in 2 minutes so you can teleport them into space.”
“Once we flood the area with our own signal jamming barrier to prevent them from remotely detonating the bombs in that period, yes,” Chrono added. “And once we confirm the safe disposal of the devices, you, Otto, and Arisa can start the rescue. It's risky, but I don't see another option here.”
“If we were to attack, they might very well kill the hostages,” Otto pointed out.
“You and Captain Bannings will go in on foot to ensure their safety,” Adams instructed, his deeper voice rumbling across the channel. “Once they have the hostages secured, Sergeant Gransenic can eliminate the outside threats, enabling them to board the president's plane and take off.”
“But I won't know when they've secured the hostages,” Vice pointed out, frowning.
“Lucino here,” came the voice of Chrono's navigation and computer officer. “The type of interference there and in Seoul are the same, and they are using a specific signal to cut through it. I'm close to discovering it, so that is what we will use. The enemy, being on the same frequency, will probably overhear, but they won't realize what it means until it's too late.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Vice agreed, nodding, and then realized what that niggling feeling in the back of his mind was trying to tell him. “Um, we may have one small issue...”
“What is it, Vice?” Chrono asked.
“Captain Bannings is currently, uh, out of communication range,” Vice reported, trying to phrase it delicately.
“Where in blazes is she?!” Adams demanded to know, then cut off any response before it could be uttered. “Wait, don't tell me, she went in already? Of all the dumb, idiotic moves, not to mention blatant disregard of orders-”
Chrono cut in. “Dumb it may be, General but we don't have time to worry about it. Otto will have to try and make contact with Arisa on her own.”
Vice flicked a few switches, beginning to bring Storm Raider into ready status. “You can count on us, sir!”
However, General Adams wasn't done. “And Otto, you can inform Captain Bannings that when she gets back, she can look forward to latrine duty for a few weeks.”
“Understood, sir,” Otto replied back her normal flat voice. “Shall I inform her before or after we save the hostages, sir?”
Vice blinked; did Otto just make a joke?
x~~*~~x
Lindy had to admit, this Hae-soon wasn't quite what she expected for their secret enemy. She seemed almost... pleasant. And the way Yong-ho and the other soldiers fearfully deferred to the woman, partially unnerved Lindy. It didn't feel like they were treating her as a superior in a normal command structure, or even a political leader. If she had to guess, it was almost like they were treating Hae-soon like some sort of goddess.
“My apologies for the treatment,” she offered graciously, and then reached out to whack Yong-ho on the head. Without a missing a beat, though, she began to pour her own cup of tea into the exquisite fine china cup that suddenly materialized in front of her. “It can be so hard to find good help sometimes. But I'm sure, as someone in command yourself, that you've experienced your own subordinates acting rather rashly at times.”
“I have run into it, once or twice,” Lindy admitted, sipping her tea while recalling the time Yuuno teleported Nanoha off the
Arthra to save Fate in the Jewel Seed incident. And then, of course, what Arisa must be up to now; they'd had a few words several days ago, when Arisa had expressed her apprehension about being left in the dark regarding Lindy's hiring of Kyoya and Miyuki.
Hae-soon smiled delightfully and clapped her hands together. “I was right; I thought we'd have much in common. I knew you'd be a lover of tea as well!”
“Then you should have contacted me sooner and more directly,” Lindy lightly chastised her host, although her lips had turned upwards into a polite smile. “And you should really try some milk and sugar in your tea; it's simply delightful!”
Lindy caught Hae-soon's very brief look of hesitation as she eyed the Admiral's own special concoction. “Regretfully, I'll have to pass on that, but I do want to apologize for the indirect act. Circumstances required a bit of subterfuge, you understand.”
Lindy appeared innocently bewildered. “No, I'm afraid I don't.”
Hae-soon paused to sip some of her tea, and then place it back down in it's small platter. When she looked back up, the friendliness and amusement was gone from her eyes. “Well then, allow me to get to the point: we would tell you to take your Bureau and leave the planet; withdraw your treaty offers with the countries of Earth.”
And there it was, Lindy realized. She had been expecting it to get to this point. “I'm afraid I cannot do that, unless you can somehow speak for the entire planet. However, I do not believe you do, given the many divisions between Earth's nations.”
The would-be goddess half-smiled. “I did not expect you to agree to those demands immediately, but do not think us so inflexible We are prepared to let you return occasionally, in secret, to combat dangerous lost logia, such as you did with the Book of Darkness and the Jewel Seeds. And you may continue to secretly recruit those with special abilities, if you so desire.” Her eyes turned piercing. “But you will leave Earth and her countries to us, and have no further official contact.”
Lindy was finding the mysterious woman very hard to read; there was obviously much being left unsaid, and thus she couldn't quite figure out Hae-soon's angle in all this. Lindy decided to push the point. “And if we refuse?”
“Oh please, let's not be so cliché,” Hae-soon implored halfheartedly while rolling her eyes. “You're smart enough to figure it out. But if you need me to state it...” She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table, her expression of a mix of devilish delight. “We'll completely eradicate your little diplomatic expedition, even if we have to wipe Japan off the map.”
x~~*~~x
Arisa peeked out from the crack in the doorway of the cleaning closet, the only sound consisting of her heartbeat. She exhaled lightly in relief, as the footsteps had finally faded, but that was too close. She almost didn't duck into this side closet in time.
However, stepping back out into the hallway, she realized that she didn't have quite the clue of where she was going yet. She was tempted to grab a solider and squeeze info out of him, but doing so would only alert them to her presence; she needed to find the Admiral and the other hostages first. But how?
She crept up to a corner, and heard some voices farther down around the bend. Curiosity piqued, she listened in.
“More?” an exasperated male voice could be heard saying.
“Yes, more tea,” another, younger, male voice replied. “And more chocolate as well.”
[Couldn't be...] Arisa told herself, biting her lip.
“Why does the General let her get away with this?” the older voice wondered aloud.
“The hostage?” the younger questioned. “Or that other woman?”
“Both,” came the answer. “Bah, it's not for us to question. Here you go. I'll prepare more for when you get back.”
“Thanks,” the younger offered. “See you later!”
A slow smile spread across Arisa's face. [I wonder...]
That's when a hand slapped itself over her mouth from behind, preventing her from making a sound, while a strong arm encircled her waist and pinned her own arms to her side.
x~~*~~x
Arf knew what she must look like to the civilians below, as they beheld a mechanical lupine beast hopping from rooftop to rooftop. The police had done a fair job of clearing the streets, but occasionally she needed to take her golem, Fenrir, to a higher level to bypass a traffic jam. Working the foot levers, she increased her speed, shifting to humanoid mode as she landed in the construction site, glad that she had just barely made the time limit.
It had taken almost twenty minutes to unite with her golem, despite having it sent on auto-pilot to her location. At any time during that, the bombs could have gone off, but so far Suzuka had reported that both were continuing to reset themselves.
“Ready for the first one!” she announced over the channel.
“Remember, once we start our own jamming, we'll lose the ability to communicate,” Chrono reminded her. “We'll have to block every form of communication to make sure they can't remotely trigger the devices.”
“Course laid in, I'm ready,” she replied back, bringing up a map and a pair of countdowns on some secondary screens.
Suzuka's voice's sounded through her cockpit next. “This one is going to reset 3... 2... 1... Go!”
Arf wasted no time and thrust Fenrir's clawed hand into the concrete block that held the bomb her own group had found earlier. Almost half her golem's size, she poured her own magic into enhancing her golem's strength, lifting it easily. She took a step back to regain equilibrium, and bent her knees and leapt to a rooftop with the assistance of her thrusters, damaging the top of the building a bit with her landing, before taking another leap.
She was against the clock now; with the Ventek's jamming in full effect, there was no chance they could be remotely detonated. However, she only had a little over 2 minutes to get the second bomb and then take both outside the city for teleportation. While her golem could fly, it wasn't well-suited for it and her cargo increased her weight greatly, reducing her to a mostly ground-based trek.
She spared a glance at the secondary monitors, making sure she was still following the right route, taking a chance to fire her thrusters again to speed along a mostly empty street. The red digital numbers on her screen continued their lethal countdown. [Come on, come on, come on!]
With a thud, she landed in the second construction site, feeling some elation that she had shaved two seconds off the estimated trip time. Suzuka had already opened a large hole to the building's basement, allowing Arf to simply reach down and grab the large, cylindrical furnace and tuck it under her Fenrir's left arm. Apparently, Suzuka had also shaved off some of the excess material, making it a bit lighter and easier to carry, for which Arf was grateful. As she took off, she also happened to notice Suzuka jumping up and down and waving her arms from one of her holographic screens, but was unsure what it meant. Which all communications jammed, even telepathy, there was no way to know, and she was on the clock. But as she landed on the street and took off on her run, Fenrir notified her what the problem was:
Both digital clock timers now read the same; 48 seconds.
Arf's eyes widened. [No way! I should have at least a minute and a half left!]
Was that what Suzuka was trying to tell her? Arf had no idea what had changed, other than perhaps there was some built-in safety to detect when they were being moved and shorten the timers automatically. But the estimations before left her with 20 seconds upon reaching the teleportation site; she'd never make it there now!
[Think, Arf!] she ordered herself while pushing her joysticks forward and thumbing the booster jets mounted along her golem's lower back, sending Fenrir into a kind of leaping gallop. [There has to be a way!] She glanced at the map, following the red line that was her pre-programmed route, looking for any other option.
And then her eyes trailed over a particular portion of the map, and it hit her. “That's it!”
She yanked the control sticks hard and went off her route, leaping over cars jammed up in the side street, heading for a different part of town. Fenrir confirmed she might just have enough time, and was already making the calculations for the planned spell.
As the timers hit 20 seconds, she arrived at her target: Mount Namsan in the middle of Seoul, which was also home to Namsan tower. Together, the hill and tower made it was the highest point above sea level, and Arf wasted no time in leaping for the top while her two main cannons swung into position along her golem's hips.
Pouring half of her remaining battery power into her thrusters, she rebounded off the top of the tower and soared into the sky. As she reached the apex of her leap, she placed the containers against her gun barrels and thumbed the trigger, emptying most of the rest the magic in her golem's battery into her prepared shots. Her normal attack spells were electricity-based, due to her training and position as Fate's familiar early on. But Fenrir had converted the magic to pure push-beam power, and thethe furnace and concrete block rode the twin beams high up into the sky... and above the jamming field. As her golem began its fall, Arf prayed that Lucino was paying attention and could teleport them in time.
And that's when the sky was set on fire.
x~~*~~x
The guards didn't stand much of a chance. With long-practiced ease and incredible agility, Miyuki flew between the North Korean soldiers and took them out almost before they could move. To her eyes, they may as well have been made of molasses, moving in slow motion while reaching for their guns. It was almost anti-climatic, and in a few moments, the area was clear and she was unlocking the cell doors.
“Is everyone okay?” she asked the slowly rousing hostages, who were just beginning to process what happened.
“We're fine,” one of the men informed her, getting over his surprise. Miyuki thought he looked like one of the pilots of the South Korean president's plane. “You came to save us?”
“Well, me and-” Miyuki started to say, then glanced around and noticed her mystery man had disappeared. He was the one who had brought her here; where did he go? Miyuki shook her head. “Well, just me for now. Where's Admiral Harlaown and the South Korean president?”
“They took both of them away awhile ago,” the same man answered.
Miyuki bit her lip and briefly considered the situation. [Lindy is a fairly powerful mage; she should be able to take care of herself until I can find her. And odds are they took they South Korean president to the same place, so she should be able to protect him. I should get these people to safety first.]
So decided, she handed guns to those that could use them and took point, still wondering where that strange soldier had gone; had he betrayed her? Why? He was the one who had led her here to where the hostages were held. He had been secretive about his true intentions, merely saying that assisting her would help with his own mission. If he had planned to betray her, anytime before now would have done it.
Miyuki forced it from her mind for the moment, concentrating on getting the hostages out of here, but she was immediately distracted by burn marks scorching a circle on the wall. She readied her knife as the oval-shaped section toppled to the ground, and then lowered the weapon in relief as Otto stepped through.
“Am I glad to see you!” Miyuki stated. “How did you find us?”
The cyborg displayed her dog tag device, Andro. “I hacked into a computer terminal and downloaded the map schematics. I'll take rear and help you escort them out; Sergeant Major Granscenic will provide the necessary distraction.”
“We're still missing the Admiral and the South Korean president,” Miyuki informed her.
“Arisa will see to them,” Otto answered furtively.
Miyuki felt relief, as it meant Arisa was okay, but then quickly took up point and began to lead the hostages out.
x~~*~~x
“Go!” came Otto's single word over the channel, and with that, Vice's tense waiting period was over.
Rising from the tree line on foot-mounted magical jets, he let loose half-a-dozen emerald beams that tore up previously selected targets; a mix of gun emplacements, tanks, and communication antennae. Landing on the other side of the chain-link fence, Storm Raider identified a new round of targets and locked onto them, and Vice quickly destroyed them in rapid succession. His priorities were the hanger entrances, containing both vehicles and aircraft that would quickly be mobilized against him, but a number of tanks and armored attack trucks remained, and were slowly coming to life and swinging their weaponry in his direction.
He sent Storm Raider into a rapid sideways lurch, taking cover behind a building as gunfire began to seek him out, pockmarking the asphalt that he had been occupying a split second ago, with blossoming smoke. Rather than emerge from the either side, he hit his foot pedals and rose above the hanger building on twin green jets, letting loose another volley of shots. Apparently, at least a few of the defenders had anticipated his maneuver, as bullets from light cannons pinged off his shielded armor.
His barrier, which mostly consisted of layer just barely above the golem's skin, could easily absorb more powerful impacts, but each shot would drain his already half-empty battery. Thus, avoidance was key to his longevity.
He only hoped he could last long enough until Otto returned with the hostages.
x~~*~~x
Lindy's smile had long since disappeared, and she eyed the other woman, now calmly sipping tea as if nothing had happened. The Admiral looked for any sign the woman was bluffing, but if she was, Hae-soon gave no visible sign.
“You'd destroy an entire country just to get at us?” Lindy questioned, raising an eyebrow. She studied the other woman intently, eyes meeting, trying to analyze the opaque motives therein. “Why? Are you so afraid of us? What do you intend for this planet?”
Hae-soon didn't answer right away, but just continued with her slightly-amused mysterious expression. In the silence of the pseudo-staring contest, a knock sounded from the door and a single soldier was admitted. Lindy almost wasn't cognizant of the tray of tea and sweets that was placed on the table, but something in the back of her mind niggled at her.
“Let's just say that we prefer this planet to remain isolated in the universe,” Hae-soon finally divulged arcanely, her motives still incomprehensible.
There was something more here, Lindy was certain of it; this Hae-soon was far too intelligent to be satisfied with simple planetary domination. But further thought and interrogation was put on hold when the room shook in response to a loud-yet-muted sound from far outside, dislodging small pieces of plaster from the ceiling while the overhead light swung and flickered. The ever so slight narrowing of Hae-soon's eyes, told Lindy that the other woman had also been caught by surprise at this.
“Find out what is going on out there,” Hae-soon snapped, steely ice in her otherwise even tone.
Yong-ho snapped to attention. “Yes, Mistress, at on-oof!”
That's when Lindy finally took notice of that soldier, who had just delivered a powerful kick to Yong-Ho's stomach, slamming him into a wall. Immediately afterward, the soldier blurred into a Flash move, only to reappear with a knife at the now-standing Hae-soon's neck. In the process, the soldier's cap had fallen off, revealing locks of short, blonde hair.
“You are under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping a Bureau official,” Arisa declared as she switched into her barrier jacket, her bind spell locking dull yellow rings around Hae-soon's arms and legs.
x~~*~~x
Vice kept moving, twisting to snap off a pair of shots in rapid succession, striking the tanks approaching from the south. The emerald beams easily sliced through the main gun barrels and penetrated the turret armor, leaving them broken and twisted. He wasn't too concerned about the occupants inside, as these particular magical shots were designed to damage inanimate matter only, and leave organic matter untouched. So he ignored the three or four men who quickly climbed out of each vehicle, letting them escape while turning his attention to more pressing threats.
He yanked his control sticks to the side, twisting out of the way of landing cannon shells while rotating his golem's upper torso around to the gun emplacements higher up on the mountain. As soon as his crosshairs locked on, he depressed the trigger and sent another beam from his golem's main rifle that carved up the cannon barrels. Then he was moving again, as the rest of the complex became more active and turned its hatred on him, lighting up the night sky with tracer rounds and cannon fire.
[Come on, guys!] he urgently thought to himself, sweating a little under the pressure as he glanced at his rapidly diminishing battery. [I can't keep this up forever!]
x~~*~~x
As the room shook again, both Bureau personnel were a bit concerned that Hae-soon had never lost her “I still know more than you and I am still in complete control” smile. Her next words also echoed that stance.
“Amusing,” she stated, her general attitude supporting that assessment. “I presume you've dealt with the bombs in Seoul. But you've made a grave mistake.”
“How so-” Arisa started to say, and then as the lights flickered, her words were cut off as Hae-soon whirled with blinding speed, snapping the binds as if they weren't even there, and thrust an open palm into Arisa's gut.
The blond-haired girl went flying backwards, but recovered as the lights went out for good, and rebounded off the wall with a sweeping kick aimed to take Hae-soon's head off. Or it would have, had the woman not grabbed the leg and forcefully tossed Arisa through the door. The Bureau martial artist/mage landed roughly, pain lancing up through her shoulder, before she recovered and came back to her feet. And just in time; Hae-soon had sprung through the now-open doorway and was upon her.
Arisa planted her palms flat on the ground and did a hand stand, swinging her legs up and around to smack her opponent, but the woman gracefully ducked under them and once more thrust out her palm, releasing a magical energy blast that sent Arisa flying once more. The martial artist mage was partially ready for it, though, managing a quick barrier that shielded her from the worst of it, while prepping her own spell. Upon landing, she slammed her fist into ground.
“Earth Rage!” her device announced, as her magic sent a wave of spikes shooting up from the floor in a line towards her opponent.
Hae-soon leapt above it, but Arisa had raised a particularly large slab behind her own body, and used it as a springboard to rebound into the air, glowing gloved right fist extended. She missed as Hae-soon casually leaned out of the way, and after a short exchange of mid-air punches and kicks, Arisa couldn't help but notice the ease at which her adversary deflected her attacks. Hae-soon's expression in particular concerned her; it was one of sheer boredom. Arisa suddenly realized she had let that facial mannerism distract her, as in that split instant, Hae-soon whirled with a kick that sent the Bureau mage slamming into the ground.
Arisa recovered just in time to see a wave of magical energy heading straight for her, and she reflexively shielded her eyes. But when she felt no impact, she looked back up to see a barrier shielding her. And just a few meters away, Lindy was walking towards the pair, glowing hand outstretched, fairy wings extended.
“That's quite enough of that,” the Bureau Admiral announced as the large hanger shook again. In the background, for the first time, Arisa noted the various soldiers running back and forth, presumably trying to deal with whatever was causing the commotion from outside.
“I concur,” Hae-soon agreed, floating down to lightly land upon the ground. “I was beginning to grow a bit bored at that disheartening martial arts display. But then again, what can one expect from a novice against a master?”
Arisa stood up, wiping blood from her lip. “Novice or not, you're coming with us.”
Hae-soon smiled, showcasing genuine mirth, as a black pentagram magic symbol formed under her feet. “Oh, I'm afraid not. You can have the hostages, as they are no longer of any use to me. I have delivered the message. Pray that we don't meet again.”
“She's teleporting!” Arisa shouted her warning, surging forward into a sprint.
“Arisa!” Lindy's single word, called out with a raised voice, froze the Bureau Captain in her tracks.
“Misstress Hae-soon, don't leave me!” Young-ho clamored, appearing from out of nowhere and glomping onto his goddess just before she disappeared, phasing them both out of existence.
Arisa turned on the Admiral. “Why did you stop me? She got away!”
“It would have taken too much time to try and subdue her, and there are more important things,” Lindy admonished her subordinate. “What about the hostages? Where is the South Korean President? I presume that mental message I heard was from Otto.”
“Yes, I met up with her just before coming here,” Arisa stated, breaking into a sprint towards towards another side room with Lindy just behind, as several girders dislodged themselves from the hanger ceiling and came crashing to the ground. She didn't mention that the cyborg scared the crap out f her by grabbing her from behind like that. “He's in here. I took care of the guards and put a barrier around him. Otto headed to another area to get the rest of the hostages. That was her signal to start the rescue operation.”
“I apologize for the rough treatment, Mr. Myung-bak,” Lindy offered to the confused South Korean President while Arisa dissolved her Protection Barrier over him. ”But shall we depart now?”
Even though it was directed at the president, Arisa couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.
x~~*~~x
“Twelve airborne hostile targets incoming from five o'clock,” Storm Raider informed him, placing the info up on a side screen.
Vice grit his teeth as barely dodged missiles exploded near his feet, showering his golem with cement debris. He couldn't take to the sky to deal with them, since Otto wasn't back with the hostages yet.
“Sergeant, the hostages are being loaded into the plane now,” Otto's voice materialized over the line, as if responding to his inner worry. “I have a barrier around it, and can protect it until it takes off.”
[Finally!] Vice inwardly sighed, relieved. “Roger that, I'll clear the skies. Storm Raider?”
“Alright, mode change,” his device replied, the golem rising on twin foot jets. It promptly switched into fighter mode and rocketed into the sky.
Vice glanced at the incoming data on the enemy fighters and began picking out targets, thumbing the trigger once a lock was achieved. “Let's wrap this up and get home!”
x~~*~~x
Arisa nearly collapsed into a nearby chair the moment after exited the shuttle, not bothering to stifle a yawn. “Boy, am I glad to be back in Japan.”
“Arisa-chan, let's at least get back to the dorms first,” Suzuka prodded her, but tiredly sank down in the chair next to her old friend anyway.
Vice shook his head at the pair in mock disappointment, but his grin was amused. “You two have a lot to learn if that's all it takes.”
Arisa glared at him, but any response was forestalled when she noticed Lindy's concerned face. Arisa followed her gaze, only then noticing the woman waiting in the hanger for them.
“What is it, Serena?” the Admiral asked, catching the serious look from the Bureau expedtion's Public Relations director.
“While you were gone, there has been familiar theme playing out on a lot of the networks,” Serena said while opening an array of holographic screens. “I wanted to wait until you got back to let you know.”
They appeared to be a variety of TV newscasts, and while all were muted, various texts were readable at the bottom:
Space Bureau: Friend or Foe?
South Korean President Captured and Freed by Aliens?
Space Administration Spokesperson Mum on Alien Involvement
Was the South Korean President Replaced by Aliens?
Serena tapped a key and un-muted one of the channels.
“And there is still no word on how the North Korean's were able to kidnap the president of South Korea so easily,” the female newscaster on the screen was saying. “Some are speculating that these space Bureau aliens were responsible. Experts are currently confounded as to how this could have happened any other way.”
“That's bullshit!” Arisa snapped indignantly. “We SAVED them! The South Korean president and hostages can back that up!”
Lindy shook her head. “While outwardly he was grateful for our help, I did sense some mistrust on his part. His security was compromised easily, and he didn't see what we did with Hae-soon. And how do we explain that a powerful magical being was responsible?”
Arisa had no answer for that, and Serena took that moment to switch channels. “But this is what I really wanted you to see.”
It was one of those pundit radio talk shows, and the older man was deep into giving his spiel. “...and isn't it interesting how this all works out for these space aliens? They get to be seen as heroes. They saved the day, and proved how much we need them. But no one is really talking about the important thing here: what kind of deal did they make with North Korea? This heroic rescue seems to deflect us from considering that important point. It's a neat package: make a deal with a desperate regime, while simultaneously making it look like we, the rest of the world, need them. It's cute, the way they are pitting us against each other.”
Arisa scoffed. “I've heard about him. Douche Rimbaugh. He's a blowhard.”
Serena opened a few more screens showcasing poll questions and results. “Be that as it may, a lot of people seem to listen to him. And these polls show that various populaces are roughly evenly divided as to whether we are good guys or bad guys. We have our work cut out for us.”
“That was her plan all along... “ Suzuka realized aloud. “If we had agreed to her wishes and left Earth, she would have won. But even if we didn't, we end up looking bad. She had everything planned out from the start.”
“Yes, we played right into their hand,” Lindy agreed, nodding slowly. “But we know more than we did before; we have some idea of what we're up against. We'll just have to be more careful from here on out.”
Arf glanced back at Miyuki, who was the last person to leave the shuttle. “Are you okay?”
The swordswoman, who appeared deep in thought, gave a friendly smile to ward off the concern. “Yes, I'm fine.”
But inwardly, she found her thoughts traveling back to that mystery soldier, wondering who he was, what his game was, and if she'd run into him again. Her gut instinct told her the latter was practically a certainty.
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
This mini-arc is done, but the consequences will haunt our heroes. Stay tuned for the next chapter, wherein Arisa discovers a surprising secret, and Lindy appears on a talk show!