Silent Mobius Fan Fiction ❯ Requiem Knight ❯ Memory ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

`Ladies and gentlemen, the Prime Minister.' The newscast cut to a heavyset balding man in an impeccable suit behind a podium. He adjusted his glasses and bowed to the camera before beginning his speech.

 

`Thank you. People of Japan, I have grave news today. The devastation of Tokyo last week was caused by a Lucifer Hawk, a being from a world we call Nemesis. For many years, the government of Japan has been at war with these creatures. This war has been carried on in secret in order to prevent mass panic. However, secrecy is no longer possible.

 

`An organization known as the Attacked Mystification Police has been in the forefront of this battle for the last six years (4). Based in Police Station 00, this unit is the only force capable of standing against the Lucifer Hawk. Composed solely of women, the AMP has courageously defended this nation and suffered greatly in last week's disaster.'

 

`Our research efforts have yielded new weapons effective against the Lucifer Hawks. Armed with these weapons, the Mobile Police will be attached to the AMP to aid them in ending this war. In addition, the city of Tokyo will be evacuated within a month. Detailed instructions will be issued shortly. Please remain calm and leave the city in an orderly fashion. The government will do everything in its power to ensure the swift and triumphant conclusion of this conflict.'

 

The Prime Minister left the podium and a severely dressed, green-haired woman took his place. The new speaker shouted down the reporters' questions and began a prepared statement. `I am Mana Isozaki, commander of the AMP. Last week, our headquarters was destroyed in an unprecedented Lucifer Hawk attack. Almost all of our members were injured in the attack, including the founder and Director of the AMP, Rally Cheyenne.' A portrait of a woman with silver hair and green eyes popped up beside Mana.

 

`No…it can't be…' Alex gaped at the screen.

 

`What are you talking about?' Roy looked at him curiously.

 

`Nothing…I've had some strange dreams lately. That picture brought them back to me, that's all.' Alex shook his head and fell silent as Mana continued her speech. The rest of the crowd staring at the giant screen suspended above the square took no notice of the episode.

*************************************

`Do you really think that sending Mobile Police against the Lucifer Hawk is such a good idea, Rally?' Mana asked as she entered the limo. Rally had watched the speeches on the vehicle's TV.

 

`We have no choice,' the older woman replied. `Mages are rare and we don't have time to search for them. Besides, the people know them. Their presence will calm the city, let them know we're dealing with the problem.' Unfortunately, deploying armoured policemen against the Lucifer Hawks was a stopgap measure at best: magic could only be met with magic.

 

`The hospital has informed me that Lebia, Lum Cheng, and Nami will be released within a week. The AMP will be at full strength soon,' the green-haired woman reported. She was holding something back, some fact she would not say. Rally said it for her.

 

`If Katsumi and Yuki come back, you mean?' The older woman rubbed her temples. She continued, `We cannot win the coming battle without Katsumi's power or Yuki's foresight, but I can't force either of them to come back. We can only hope that they can bring themselves to face the darkness one last time.'

 

`And if they cannot?'

 

`Then we must go into battle without them. We have our own powers, after all.' But Katsumi's are so much greater….

*****************

`It's been thirty years since I lost you. I swore to avenge you before your body was cold. Thirty years I've searched, and for what? All I've found is loneliness and cold.' The corpse gave no reply; the dead rarely said much. She lay on a low marble bier carved with leaves and stars. Long chestnut locks framed a peaceful face that seemed merely asleep. A delicate nose with well-arched nostrils and full coral lips seemed almost to breath in the dim tomb. Long-fingered hands clasped the hilt of the crystal sword resting between her breasts. Its point divided her feet.

 

The silver-haired man standing over her continued after a long silence, `This is the right world; I can feel it. I go now to face my last battle…by the dawn, either you will have been avenged or I shall have joined you.' He bowed low to the woman on the bier, fist to heart, and walked out of the mausoleum onto a broad lawn lit by the silver moon. A grove of cherry trees, already budding though it would be months before they flowered, stood to his right. The Jaddo mansion reflected the moonlight from its myriad windows. It was built in the style of a French nobleman's chateau, combining beauty with defensibility.

 

Alex laid one hand on a marble column beside the door as though bidding his home farewell and translocated himself into the armoury. Scorpio awaited its master at the far side. Alex donned the massive cuirass, rendered weightless by the antigrav generators built into the suit, then strapped on the limbs. The helm retracted into a thick collar, blue gems glowing faintly at his throat. The armour sealed itself, nano-machines knitting together at the seams.

 

`Alice, if Roy asks where I am, tell him that I'm just out for a little fresh air.'

 

`Yes, sir.' Alex tapped a command into the console set into the wall. A golden portal shimmered into existence, opening into the skies above Tokyo. He stepped through the portal and fell several feet before Scorpio's antigravs arrested his fall. The crimson moon dyed his hair a deep blood-red as he drifted north, following an unexplainable pull. After a quarter hour or so, neon-lit skyscrapers gave way to rubble and shattered roads. A little later, Alex found himself over an open area surrounded by fallen buildings and felled trees. Waving grass obscured the remains of sidewalks and benches. This…it's a park. Can it be that park?

 

Alex landed gently in the grass and wandered bemused through the park. Fallen trees lay in the long grass, waiting to trip unsuspecting travelers. Following a track of broken concrete, he came to a fountain: three marble lions supported a phoenix above a deep basin. Water had once poured from the lions' mouths and jetted from the phoenix's beak. Now bare marble gleamed red beneath the moon. A sudden cold wind stirred the leaves that had collected in the basin and whipped Alex's hair about his face. He stretched out one gauntleted hand to stroke the cold stone. A tear rolled down his cheek, sparkling in the light. This fountain…I've been here before. This is the world I've been seeking for so long. Only one thing is missing. His face set into a stony mask.

 

A globe of black fire appeared on the other side of the fountain, consuming a patch of grass about two yards across. A tall grey and blue Lucifer Hawk stepped from the heart of the blaze. The creature stood a head taller than Alex and it was a full four feet through the shoulders.

 

Alex strode warily around the fountain and greeted the Lucifer Hawk coldly. `We meet again at last, demon. Only one of us will leave this place alive tonight.'

 

Scarlet eyes with cruciform pupils turned to regard him curiously. `Who are you, human, that you would address me so? I am Kylos Mandragoran, a lord among the Lucifer Hawk. Many years have passed since I was last here. You are too young to remember me.'

 

`Does this help?' Alex spread his hands and the gems at his throat blazed with a cold blue flame.

 

A silver spark floated between them and expanded into a sunlit image of the park. The grass was mowed, the trees still stood green and tall, and the fountain danced in the sun. A young couple sat on a bench, watching the wind and sun play among the leaves. The man resembled Alex, though his hair was black and short, and his face not so worn by travel and battle. The woman had long chestnut hair and sparkling blue eyes. Another couple walked down the path by the fountain. Suddenly, Kylos materialized in a globe of black fire. One clawed arm shot out and seized the walking woman. The woman beside Alex drew a gleaming sword of azure crystal from the air and severed the arm with a single stroke. The younger Alex drew a small, blocky silver pistol from his jacket and fired a bolt of blazing red plasma into the Lucifer Hawk's side as it raised its remaining arm to smite the woman crouched before it. The shot exploded against alien flesh, forcing the creature back momentarily. The woman regained her feet and shook off her husband's attempt to restrain her. She charged with her sword held out to one side. A slender spiked tentacle shot out from the Hawk's arm and pierced her heart. A second plasma bolt cut the fleshy thread and the woman fell to ground. A shot aimed at the Hawk itself exploded harmlessly against an invisible barrier. The man retreated through a golden portal as the Hawk regenerated its missing arm.

 

`That happened on this very spot thirty years ago, demon. Do you deny that you were there?' The broadsword-topped staff blossomed in Alex's hand and he leveled it at the Hawk.

 

`So you were that stripling?' The creature convulsed with laughter. `You were less than an insect then, and you're no more than an insect now!'

 

`I am Alex de Winter, and your time of reckoning has come.' Blue flames danced on the blade's edge as he assumed a new stance.

****************

 

`Director! We've detected a Category One Lucifer Hawk in the abandoned districts north of the city!' The intercom on Rally's desk crackled to life, jolting her out of a light sleep.

 

`I'll meet you in the Simurgh hanger in five minutes, Kiddy.' Rally yawned. Only two weeks since Station 00 was destroyed and another one shows up. She turned on the intercom again and ordered, `Don't bother informing the Mobile officers. They're no match for a Category One.' The armoured officers wore the silver suits they'd worn during the disastrous attempt to retake Station 00; that episode had demonstrated just how ineffective armour was against Lucifer Hawks. I wish Katsumi had decided to come back…I'm not sure we can face something like this in our condition.

 

The Simurgh sat waiting in its hanger as mechanics swarmed over its aft portion. The starboard engine refused to start; the crew chief said it would be fixed in a matter of minutes. Four women half-filled the great silver ship's cabin: Rally; Lebia Maverick, the blonde pilot; Kiddy Phenil, a muscular brunette whose hair appeared a deep red in the cabin lights; and Lum Cheng, the young Chinese elementalist.

******************

Alex thrust his weapon into the air. `Mjolnir, smite! (5)' Seven bolts of lightning sprang from the blade and converged on Kylos. The Hawk's shield easily deflected the attack. The damp grass failed to ignite, but a few patches smouldered sullenly.

 

`You'll need more than parlour tricks to defeat me, human.' Alex translocated away from Kylos's brutal slash and struck from behind with his heavy blade. Green ichor splattered his armour as Kylos fell, missing a leg.

 

`You have much to learn of our kind if you believe that such a wound will hinder me.' The creature raised itself up on its arms. Alien flesh rippled, remolding itself to form two additional arms and a new leg. The severed limb melted and flowed back to its owner. Kylos sprang away from another blow of Alex's lance. Four golden balls of light gathered in its hands. Alex assumed a defensive stance, lance lowered against a charge.

 

Four bolts of golden lightning leapt from Kylos' arms and joined into a larger blast. An actinic barrier flared before Alex's outstretched hand. The Hawk's lightning struck the barrier in a silent flash. When Kylos' vision cleared, he was surrounded by a dozen identical men in bulky silver armour. `A transparent illusion, human. I know there is only one of you.'

 

The twelve smiled in unison and raised their weapons, chanting softly, `Fire flows through my veins, thunder shrouds my ears. The light of sun and moon are bound to my blade. By these powers, I command thee: Salamander, strike!'

 

As one, the men struck the ground with the butts of their staves. Twelve waves of crimson fire blended with gold and silver light converged on Kylos. The Hawk responded with a single blast of sapphire light that pierced the wall of flame and exploded against one man's armour. The man flew several feet and slid to a halt against a fallen tree, blood trickling through his silver hair. The others faded like mist in the sun; the fire died instantly.

****************

`Antigravs have failed! Brace yourselves!' The slender silver ship lurched and fell several stories before Lebia stabilized the craft. Fortunately, Simurgh was in the deserted districts, clear of Tokyo's skyscrapers.

 

`Lebia, what happened?' Rally demanded.

 

`I don't know, Director. I'm running back the sensor logs now. There was a complex wave of electromagnetic radiation and exotic particles just before I lost control. My guess is that it neutralized our antigrav system somehow.'

 

`Could it have been an attack?'

 

`I don't think so…not at this range.' The ship was still two kilometers from the battle. Its sensors also detected an unknown power source in the same area, along with occasional surges of energy. `It looks like someone's fighting the Category One. We may have been hit by some sort of shockwave from one of their attacks.'

 

`Find a place to land, Lebia, and send out a probe. I need to know what we're dealing with here.'

******************

`Four ways, five stars, six days, seven scars… (6)' Kylos clasped his arms to his chest and chanted in a low voice. Alex pulled himself to his feet and peered intently at the Hawk. He's casting something…it seems to be an imprisoning spell of some sort.

 

`Fire, water, earth, air. Atee Amaruto Be Jeblar Be Dedular Lu Orlam Amen.' The Hawk finished his spell and a column of light sprang from the ground surrounding Alex. He hung in midair from an invisible cross. I need someway to distract him while I break this spell. He suddenly lurched forward, nodding his head in Kylos' direction. `Quiet, demon. The neighbors are trying to sleep.'

 

A Steinway grand piano dropped from the sky above Kylos' head. The Hawk staggered under the impact of a half-ton of steel, wood, and wire. Alex took advantage of his foe's momentary confusion to cut through his magical bonds and retrieve his lance. Kylos cast off the wreckage and roared, `Die, human!' as he unleashed a massive blast of crackling energy.

 

Alex leapt over the attack and dove at the Hawk spear first. Again, four bolts of lightning formed in the creature's hands and joined into one. Alex rolled to his right; but the bolt caught his left shoulder, sending him spinning into a dead tree. The trunk snapped under his armour and splinters tore at his scalp. Green gel oozed from the shattered shoulder, though Alex's arm was unharmed and Scorpio's arm still functioned. Alex cursed softly as Scorpio warned him that its power reserves were down to 50%. A second bolt struck as he tried to stand, but he managed to raise a barrier in time. I can't hold this for long. Kylos poured more power into the attack, pushing Alex through the remains of the tree.

 

The Hawk roared in pain and shock. A gleaming spear of ice had thrust from the ground to impale the creature several feet in the air.

********************

`Grrrrrrrrrrr! That's the third probe we've lost without getting anything back!' Lebia growled in frustration. Every probe she'd sent out had had its circuits fried by some sort of energy surge within a hundred yards of Simurgh. The ship itself was only lightly armed for its size and no match for a Category One (7).

 

`You tried, Lebia. That's all anyone can do. Kiddy, Lum Cheng, and I will be going in on foot from here.' Rally laid one hand on the blonde's shoulder and motioned for the other two to precede her down the ramp.

 

`Yes, ma'am.'

 

`Do you really think we'll be able to take on a Category One, Director?' Kiddy hefted her oversized Graviton and looked around for any sign of other Lucifer Hawks.

 

`There's only one way to find out. What do you think, Lum Cheng?'

 

`Katsumi was strong enough to defeat a Category One. I…I don't know if we are. I don't feel any other Lucifer Hawks around, though.'

 

`I don't either. Let's go.' As Rally gave the order, the ground shook beneath them and a powerful shockwave threw them off their feet.

******************

Damn. If I don't end this soon, the power cells will fail and then I won't be able to move. I'm too tired to do much magic on my own. The suit weighed over a ton and no wearer could move it without servos and antigravs. Alex's magic had drained the power supplies to 30%; storage gel was still leaking from the hole in the left shoulder plate. Alex closed with Kylos to engage the Hawk with his lance. A heavy overhanded blow severed the two right arms; black fire consumed the fallen limbs. Kylos countered with the claws on his left arms. Green gel spurted from holes in Scorpio's cuirass. `Curious. I thought humans bled red,' the Hawk commented.

 

`What does it matter? Whatever the colour of my blood, I will still kill you!' Alex raised his lance over his head and struck the ground. A rainbow of flames blossomed below his feet, twisting into an intricately woven whirlwind around the two combatants. Alex thrust his spear into the Hawk's throat with a wild cry. The whirlwind's top collapsed inwards into a fiery lance. It fell through Kylos and consumed his flesh. The fire exploded against the ground, casting shards of phantom flame into the grass. The blast threw Alex several feet through the air. He slid to a halt below the dry fountain.

 

A moment later, Alex rose to his feet with the aid of his lance. The weapon was unscathed by the fiery maelstrom. He whispered, `It is finished,' and sank to the ground beneath the phoenix's wings.

*****************

`What?!' Lum Cheng shouted. `That Category One just disappeared! Could someone have defeated it?'

 

`If he's still around, I think we should take him in and ask him a few questions,' Kiddy suggested.

 

`Let's get back aboard the Simurgh. It'll be faster, and we shouldn't have any more trouble with the antigravs if the Lucifer Hawk is gone,' Rally ordered. The ship landed in the park minutes later. A silver-haired man in silver armour lay unconscious below a marble fountain. The armour's outrageously bulky shoulder and chest plates almost completely swallowed the man inside. Most of the left shoulder was missing and the breastplate was pierced in several places. Green gel oozed slowly from the wounds. Red blood stained the hair.

 

`Do you think he's human? I've never met anyone who bled green before,' Kiddy grabbed the man under the arms to drag him aboard.

 

`He's human. The blood on his scalp is red, at least,' Lebia pointed out. `That green gel looks a little like the stuff they use in the new flexible batteries.'

 

`Kiddy, get him into the medical bay. Lebia, try to identify him,' Rally ordered. `If he isn't in the police or immigration databases, I'll question him when he wakes up'

 

Alex stirred as Kiddy threw him into the medical bay's narrow cot. He muttered a few words and his armour whirred slightly, but the officer took no notice. Lebia gently pulled one eye open for a retinal scan.

 

`Director, I have a match.' The blonde handed her superior a short printout. `Alex de Winter. Our records show he entered Tokyo about a year ago on a Taipei passport. I can't find anything earlier than that, though.'

 

`Taipei,' Rally mused as she stared at the man lying in the medical bay. `It's said that anything can be obtained for the right price in that city Any number of fugitives have tried to adopt new identities with Taipei passports. Still, this man may be on our side.' De Winter…that's a good name. If he really did defeat that Category One, we'll need him on our side when the real battle starts.

 

Is that the only reason you want him around? asked the voice in the back of her head.

 

 

 

Notes:

About Alex's accent…the specific accent I have in mind is Jason Carter's. He played the Ranger Marcus on Babylon 5. If you don't know what he sounds like, just substitute Q from the Bond films.

 

Translocate=teleport; it comes from a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings.

 

Connexion=Connection; it is a peculiar spelling, but I like it.

 

According to the manga, the AMP was founded in 2023…I think that their insignia says the same thing (that shield that appears before each episode). The manga lists 1999 as the date of Project Gaia.

 

Mjolnir is the hammer of Thor, the Norse thunder god. The handle is a bit short due to Loki's interference during the forging (long story…he had a rather large bet riding on a smithing contest between two dwarves), but it always returns to his hand after he throws it.

 

Kylos' spell comes from vol. 7 of the manga; it's the one Ganossa cast on Katsumi to capture her. The font is not easy to read, but the words should be pretty close to the original. The effects are related to the one Ganossa used on Katsumi in the anime…but it's been a while since I saw that episode.

 

On page 27 of vol. 11 of the manga, the Simurgh is shown firing about a dozen laser cannon (or something similar) mounted on its dorsal surface. As that is a rather inconvenient location for mounting weapons, that may be little more than a plot device.

 

 

Please overlook anything in the next few chapters that seems to be inconsistent with this one. I'm rewriting this fic (again) and I changed a couple things around. By the time I finish (probably around December 2005), anything of that nature should be resolved.