Silent Mobius Fan Fiction ❯ Requiem Knight ❯ Waiting ( Chapter 3 )

Note: <> enclose thoughts and telepathic messages

 

Ch3: Waiting

 

`It's been quiet the past few months, hasn't it? I can't think of a single incident involving a Lucifer Hawk since the day I saved that cop. Speaking of him, what's the status on the organs we ordered?' The silver-haired man asked the air as he drank his coffee in his room at the Hilton.

A woman's voice replied in his ear, `Almost all of them have finished growing, sir. However, it may take up to another two months to integrate all of them. The operation itself will be relatively short-the current estimate is ten hours at most, assuming no complications develop during surgery. After that, M. de Vice will need at least a month of rehab. However, the fact that he is officially dead in this world is a complicating factor.'

`I know.' Alex waved the AI's concerns aside, though she could not see the gesture. `I'll discuss it with him after he's back in one piece. I'm going to the Blue Flamingo tonight. The bartender told me that he'll be serving a special drink menu for Halloween.'

`Sir, if all you're going to do is hang around in bars, I strongly suggest that you do it on another world. There's something going on; certain data-financial transactions, movements of government officials, and some strange energy readings around the city-give me the impression that someone is about to make a major move of some kind. You may become involved in it if you remain here.'

`I can take care of myself, Alice,' Alex replied stiffly. He continued, `I've told you before: there's something I have to do here and someone I have to meet, and soon. I do not know when, but I must remain on this world until I have completed the task that called me here.'

`Very well, sir. Just don't get yourself killed.' The AI sighed, resigned to being ignored.

 

 

 

Alex left the hotel about an hour before midnight, making his way through dense costumed crowds. The night was overcast, but dry. Turning down a dark alley, Alex felt a strange pull on his body as he passed a leaking dumpster; looking down, he saw the pavement swirl like water as he slid into it. A moment later, he found himself standing on the roof of a long-abandoned skyscraper. A familiar cloak-wrapped figure stood on the far side. He seemed younger than when Alex had last met him.

`Good evening, Ganossa. I trust you've been well since our last meeting?' Alex bowed politely, giving no sign that his abduction had been anything extraordinary.

`You have become an inconvenience to my master. Of all the variables in our plan, you are the only one we cannot account for completely. You must be eliminated. Pyrus, spirit of fire, incinerate my foe! Boil his blood and sear his flesh!' Ganossa thrust his arm towards Alex. A river of fire burst from his hand towards the silver-haired man. Alex stood his ground and made no sign he even noticed the attack. The fire parted into two streams that flowed to either side of him.

`Not bad, but just a touch uncreative.' A globe of light blossomed between the older man's hands and flew at Ganossa. The purple-haired man spun to his right to avoid the attack, but the ball exploded beside him to form a hemispherical cage of lightning. He drew a sword from beneath his cloak and slashed at the cage to no avail.

`I stand in the darkness of night. Mighty Nox, deliver me from this prison!' The darkness gathered itself about Ganossa and pushed against the cage. It held for a few moments before shattering into hundreds of small lightning bolts that exploded against the roof and adjacent buildings. Ganossa shouted in rage, `Fool! I can return each of your pathetic attacks a thousand-fold! Lord of Nemesis, send forth thine might to purge this place of the unclean!'

A shaft of purple light poured forth from his hands. Alex made a curious motion as if wrapping something about himself. The attack threw him back into the shed at one end of the roof, severely denting the brick wall. Alex stood slowly, his jacket smoking. `Better, Ganossa. But power is not everything. Behold the Rainbow of Cthonis!'

Alex fired a salvo of fireballs, each a different colour. Almost all were absorbed or reflected by Ganossa's shield, but one blue fireball slid through and struck Ganossa in the chest, throwing him on his back.

`You forget the prophecy of Teles, Winter: No spell has the power to slay me.'

`Perhaps. But this is no spell.' Alex drew a small, blocky pistol from his coat and fired three bolts of burning plasma. Ganossa's shield absorbed them with no effect.

`No one shall oppose Nemesis and live! Await the AMP in Hell!' Ganossa rose into the air and launched a beam of light at Alex. The white-haired man teleported away just before it hit, and Ganossa immediately fired another beam. The two repeated this game for several minutes, with Alex's breath coming harder and harder with each round. Finally, Alex hid himself behind the shed and activated his link to Alice. <Alice, can you hear me?>

<Yes, sir.>

<When I give the order, open a portal behind the man I'm fighting.>

<I'm sorry, sir, but something seems to be distorting local space-time in a manner that prevents me from doing that. However, I did have Draco track your location. It's on the street below you.>

<Good.> Alex leapt over the small building and launched a spread of green fireballs at Ganossa. They detonated against his shield as Alex dove backwards over the edge of the roof. He fell into a padded leather seat, further cushioned by an antigravity field, as Ganossa fired blindly in all directions, several times missing Draco by mere inches. The car sped away under Alice's control as Alex slumped in the seat, breathing heavily.

`Are you alright, sir?' the AI inquired in a concerned voice.

`I'm fine; just tired and a little bruised. My magic takes a lot out of me, especially without Scorpio's power cells or the gems.' Alex absently rubbed his fingers where he usually wore his rings as he chewed on a wafer of sweet bread.

 

 

 

Tokyo remained quiet for almost two months after that incident, except for occasional rioting. The tabloids gave up even inventing Third Attraction stories and reverted to celebrity gossip and conspiracy theories. Alex continued his barhopping life, waiting for some sign that his waiting was at an end. The day after Christmas, a notice went up in the Labyrinth window: `Closed indefinitely.' A rumour quickly spread through the clientele stating that Yuki had been hospitalized. Alex sent flowers after her landlord, Toru Washio, confirmed the news a few days later.

`The Cheyenne Corporation has acquired full control of Tokyo's police department,' Alice reported one morning shortly after the New Year. `This is a very odd move since it is notoriously unprofitable and Cheyenne appears to be no more than a front. I can't find anything more than an email address and the name of the CEO, Rally Cheyenne. She is also the sole owner of the corporation, which has extensive holdings in various fields of industry and finances. The tabloids have linked her to the AMP, but I have no credible data.'

`I see. If the AMP is mainly dedicated to fighting the Lucifer Hawks, the past few months must have been hard on it. With the Hawks gone or hiding, they might have a hard time getting funding. Do you have anything else on this Rally Cheyenne?'

`Not much, sir. She is the commander of Precinct 00, but data relating to that precinct is too heavily guarded for me to acquire it discretely.' Alex considered this silently for a moment before changing the subject.

`How much longer will we have to wait before Ardonis Memorial is ready to perform the operation on Sgt. De Vice?'

`Early February at the latest, according to Dr. Zymanic. There is almost no precedent for such an operation. Transplanting cloned organs and limbs is almost routine now, and transplanting a brain into a cloned body is becoming accepted, but cloning a segment of the torso has never been attempted before. The doctors have had a difficult time integrating all the organs, muscles, and other necessary tissues. The fact that fragments of several organs are still present further complicates the procedure. There should be almost no chance of rejection, but they are concerned about subtle differences between the existing body and the cloned parts. The spinal cord is an especially big concern. According to the team's neurologist, Dr. Zaitan, there is a small chance that Sgt. De Vice may never walk again under his own power.'

`Is there anything else happening in Tokyo now?' asked Alex.

`The energy readings I mentioned in October have intensified, and they're definitely artificial in origin. However, I have been unable to discover just what is producing them.' A map of Tokyo appeared in the air above the table where Alex was eating breakfast. A ring of dots represented the anomalies.

`If I didn't know better, I'd say it resembled a large-scale particle accelerator. But those things generally don't give off that much radiation. Perhaps it's some sort of reactor...but why would anyone secretly build a giant reactor underground? This must have taken a lot of time and money…and construction would've been almost impossible to hide….' Alex's voice trailed off as he considered the possibilities.

`Do you wish me to investigate further, sir? I can deploy a team of tunneling robots in one of the abandoned districts.'

`No, I don't think that whoever is behind this would appreciate company. Those robots are technically the property of House Jaddo; I don't need to get on Lord Jaddo's bad side.'

 

Two weeks later, Alex drove around downtown Tokyo searching for a decent club. The operation to rebuild Robert de Vice had begun that morning and he felt like celebrating. Unfortunately, the Blue Flamingo's bartender had gotten busted for something or other and the new guy just wasn't any good; the Black Cat's DJ was on vacation and the fill-in had no taste; and the Phoenix was just too crowded for private drinking. The red moon was riding full and high when Alice contacted him around midnight. `Sir, Draco's sensors have detected what appears to be a Lucifer Hawk about a mile from you.' A red dot appeared on the dashboard map display.

`Good. I need some action tonight.'

`Good hunting.' Scorpio's plates emerged from various compartments in the cabin and fitted themselves around their master. Alex got out in a dim alley and Draco cloaked to await his return. The silver-clad knight floated silently over the pavement, following the faint trail of exotic chemicals the Hawks exuded. Several turns later, he found himself in a narrow cul-de-sac with a fire escape twisting up the building on his right. A narrow grey spindle about the height of a man hung from the fire escape five stories up. As Alex approached, it unfolded to reveal an eyeless humanoid face attached to a pale, slender body. A pair of scythe-like claws hung folded at its side under the broad membranous wings. It screamed as it dove: a high, grating sound that spoke of shredded flesh, wounded pride, and thwarted dreams.

Alex spiraled away from the diving Hawk, pulling a soda-can-sized cylinder from his waist. A shake expanded it into a tall staff topped with a heavy, curved broadsword. The Hawk recovered from its dive, somehow hovering with its wings curled around itself in the narrow space. It screeched again, lower this time, causing Alex's view of the world to ripple. <Damn it! I hate sonic attacks: they always leave me with a headache the next morning.>

He charged the creature, holding his weapon like a lance as he flew. The Hawk shot straight up to dodge, but Alex spun onto his back and brought the lance around in a broad arc. Viscous green blood and shreds of pale flesh spewed into the night. Alex pulled himself into a standing position as the Hawk landed with a sickening splat. Golden flames flowed from his hands, consuming the corpse. The world rippled again as the last sliver of alien plasm shriveled in the blaze. <The hell?>

Alice's concerned voice sounded in his head. <Sir? What happened? Your comm signal disappeared for two hours!>

<What?! Damn. That Hawk must've had the ability to warp time. What's going on?>

<You will be able to see for yourself if you climb over the buildings around you.> Alex took the AI's advice and slowly floated upwards. The sky glowed with a flickering orange light, unusual for late hour. Above the rooftops, Alex saw that much of Tokyo was in flames; the air above a shattered stadium shimmered with the heat of the lava now within. <A new volcano? But there hasn't been any seismic activity for months.>

An alarm shrieked in his ear, interrupting his thoughts and causing him to instinctively drop below the rooftops. A crackling bar of red energy blasted through the air where he'd stood. A skyscraper exploded a mile away. Examining the scene more closely, Alex noted that the Hilton still stood, though its neighbors were shattered flaming hulks. As he watched, a second bar of light shot from the east to demolish the top floors of the Hilton. Fortunately, Alex hadn't been keeping anything important or valuable in his room.

To the east, an enormous Lucifer Hawk was fused to a building; in fact, it seemed to be growing from the very concrete. A slick, wormlike head swayed above a powerful body whose broad wings dwarfed the structure. The map overlay on Scorpio's helmet screens marked it as Police Station 00. A small silver dart shot away from the Hawk just before a lance of golden fire struck from heaven. When Alex's eyes recovered from the glare, the Hawk was still standing. A woman had appeared on a shattered rooftop some blocks away.

Brilliant golden light surrounded her, making it difficult to make out the colour of her hair or details of her face. A voluminous black cape billowed around her, occasionally revealing the outfit she wore beneath it. A collection of leather straps and knee-high boots, it appeared to provide little protection against the biting wind.

<Those female mages always do like to show off their bodies. This one's not bad-looking, though.> thought Alex as he watched her. The woman raised her hands and a long, slim object flew to her. It resembled a small dragon, though a very stiff-bodied and emaciated dragon. She leveled it at the Hawk as though it were a personal cannon. Alex could tell that she was chanting a spell of some kind, but the distance, the Hawk's roars, and the wind prevented him from catching any of it. The Hawk gathered itself with great effort and launched a bolt of crackling energy at the woman as she finished the spell. A spear of argent light, resembling the moon that once shone on this world, shot from the her staff, driving through the Hawk's attack and piercing its body. The light spread over the Hawk's body like a stain absorbed by cloth. It glowed silver for a few seconds and then dispersed as a radiant mist. The woman collapsed where she stood, drained by the spell and the night's events. Alex prepared to fly to her when he spotted the AMP's silver cruiser moving in. He discretely opened a portal to his own home and left.

It was the first night in a long time that he did not dream of the maze and silver-haired woman.

 

Notes: (spoilers ahead)

Alright, I'll confess: I'm using a strange timeline of my own creation that is marginally related to the manga line, but which also incorporates a bit of the anime's storyline (e.g., the timing of Lum Cheng's arrival). I set Roy's `death' and Katsumi's disappearance in June, 2029, as per vol.7 of the manga. Katsumi returns at Christmas 2029, with the destruction of Station 00 (basically the last few episodes of the anime and vol. 9-11 of the manga) taking place around the end of January. I'm using Lum Cheng's anime personality…and the hair colours for the cast also come from there (if you don't understand why I specify this, don't worry about it). Oh, and Toru survives in the manga storyline for those who care. From here on out, it's almost all me.

I may be taking down the later chapters after I complete the next one. My new version has a few things that aren't quite consistent with the first version. I apologise for any inconvenience.

If you want to use Alex in your own writing for some reason, please email me about it before you start writing. There's an address in my profile for that purpose. I don't expect much more than just acknowledgement that I created him…and a statement that I had nothing to do with the fic you wrote.