Rising Defiance

We each arrived at the park, and despite the urgency expressed in the message, nobody except maybe Morpho seemed to be in much of a rush. Hoshizuna was even raring to strike up some more casual conversation.

"Hey Raph, when did you get that?"

The girl with the bandana had a box cradled in her arms, and her face was gleefully stuffed full of food as she spoke. She was also a handler, her choker just visible above the collar of her black turtleneck sweater, which was layered under a set of dungarees.

"Mff, the takoyaki museum. Octopus. Mmm.."

Eager to assemble everyone properly, Minamoto took control of the atmosphere.

"This is no time to be snacking. We have confirmation on a Leviathan approaching from the west, hence I summoned you all here again. According to Anya, we can gauge it at Gamma-class, and it's currently heading along the western waterway, which we are all stood beside. We will have to enter the harbour in order to engage it, so keep a steady footing around the shipping containers and cranes. This should prove simple. I trust everyone to act accordingly. Defeat it before it can cause any damage."

Anya chirped up from her usual position on the high ground.

"It's just passed the oceanfront tunnel."

"No damage?"

"None yet, it's swimming right under it."

"Hm... It's now or never then. Onwards, everyone. From this point on we suspend our observation and prepare for battle. Our battleground is the container wharf, and our opponent has shown its face."

We set out toward the wharf, and I absorbed what I could from the fleeting lush verdure of the park, as our surroundings became increasingly rigid and lifeless, dwarfed by stacks of corrugated steel boxes and the lurching carcasses of cranes. Anya remained atop the containers, hopping from one to the other with her eyes fixed on the horizon.

Maeve waddled up beside me with Uriel in tow. She was wearing her uniform this time, a sight that confused me for a moment. The idea that such a small, young girl would be standing beside us in battle...

It made me wonder if I really was still dreaming.

"Hey, hey, can we get a better look at it? Piggyback me, pleaseee!"

"I am afraid I must refrain from that, Madam Sharpe."

"Aw... but I wanna see the big fish."

"Leviathans are not endearing creatures. I would recommend seeing as little of it as possible."

"But they're so cool. Look at those spiky fins and giant scales. I used to think sharks were cool, but they're so lame compared to a Leviathan."

"It is best we not become attached to them."

"Attached? Pssh, I won't let them get close. If they try and attack us, I'll do this, see?"

She started to punch and kick at the air.

"Ha-tah! Take that! And this! And here comes.... a knuckle sandwich! Whoa!"

One of her performed punches nearly caused her to fall, resulting in Uriel having to grab her by the arm. But, I did notice something strange about it. A flicker of flame sparked out from her knuckle.

"Save the theatrics for later."

The Leviathan was now visible to the naked eye as it slinked ever closer, half-submerged in the water, visible by its jagged, jutting triangular spines and vicious fins that purged the path ahead of it clear, never stopping.

"Hey, there it is!"

Minamoto had also taken notice of this and looked to Anya again for updated intel.

"At its current approach speed and distance, I would recommend that we prepare to engage here."

"Then here we shall engage. But first... Saga."

"Yes, what would you like, Captain?"

"I think it's worth giving it a try again."

Upon hearing those words, Saga gracefully clambered up the shipping containers to join Anya. Crouching down on the balls of her feet, she pressed her index finger to the part of her forehead between her eyes, and in the same motion, closed them.

"Reader."

Everything went silent for a second.

"Anything to report?"

"No, nothing abnormal. Its thoughts amount to nothing more than a constantly repeating message: 'Pursue'. 'Pursue'."

"Still no new information... But regardless, your Pulse will still be useful if it comes down to it. Gammas are predictable but we need every advantage we can get if things go out of hand."

"Of course, my pleasure."

Scaling her way back down, Saga joined us again. She landed next to me.

"Beryl... this is technically your first outing as an official member, correct?"

"I... suppose so. I wasn't wearing my uniform last time."

"With that being the case, I will do my utmost to protect you. You have much left to achieve. Also, I doubt anyone else will teach you proper recycling etiquette otherwise."

Nice to know that's the biggest concern if I die.

"Wasted potential, much like waste in general, is shameful to see. To recycle is to realise that what we have used can be repurposed and be reborn as something new. Nothing is ever truly without purpose, so long as we are willing to enlighten ourselves to other possibilities."

Other possibilities...? New potential? The philosophical implications or garbage were... a lot wider than I first thought.

"Anyway, fresh conflict awaits. I will be waiting to see just what your Pulse will be capable of."

What else was my Pulse capable of, exactly? It worked well as a glorified stun gun. And that was how I was going to continue to use it, as far as I was concerned. With Saga stepping softly ahead, I returned to being indistinct among everyone as we all awaited the arrival of the beast.

We all waited with our breaths held but there was a calm in the air. To the other members, this was a regular affair, a return to work. This was no harder than filing paperwork or doing taxes. They gazed out as the slimy shadow of the Leviathan grew larger and larger, not out of fear, but a sort of itchy anticipation, a desire to overcome another unchallenging obstacle so they could go home. If you could call it home.

However, as the Gamma-class rose from the water, it started to flounder and scream, and as it did, it was tossed to the side, crashing into the water. What appeared below it was another, more enormous mass. The body of the first Leviathan was washed aside as it surfaced from the waves. A second beast revealed its grotesque countenance and bared its fangs, not exaggeratively, but subtly, and bowed its head low to demonstrate its crown brimming with smoke-hued spikes. On its snout was a triangle as blue as the sky, and the region around its neck was ribbed as if it were being strangled by an invisible noose. All of this was plastered on a breadth of body that seemed to be bathed in white.

Anya stood motionless for a moment, before refocusing herself and sending out her Pulse's receptors.

"That's... a Lamdba-class. A Lambda-class was... hiding underneath? I've never seen anything like this before..."

Almost everyone nearby snapped into a tense stance. They were thrust into an unexpected situation that had slapped them across their faces and left them bewildered.

The Gamma-class was still enraged, and in a fit of jealous anger, rolled back over and propelled itself toward land first. Witnessing our target approach at rapid velocity, Minamoto gripped her naginata and spoke without hesitation.

"We need to split, now. Berrak, Hoshizuna, Morpho, engage the Gamma-class and defeat it. I will commandeer a vehicle. Beryl, Maeve, Eri, Saga, maintain distance. Flee if necessary, inland, toward my direction. Do not underestimate a Lambda-class. If it approaches before I return, you must not engage without my express permission."

Using the Captain's words like a rope to pull themselves back into the reality of the situation, everyone nodded. In particular, the girl with the bandana jogged over to her.

"Captain."

"Yes, Raphaelle?"

"Could I accompany you? If you need a vehicle, you'll need someone who can get it for you."

"Typically I can't permit this, since it's separation from your partner, but we don't have the time to be arguing over the rules. Considering you'll be with me, I'll allow it this once. Let's go."

The two of them sprinted inland, leaving me still stuck with a mix of confusion and dread. With Eri's bat resting on her shoulder in an ironically restless way, and Maeve's now fully flaming fist only being held back by the gentle restraint of Uriel, I watched on as Hoshizuna, Berrak and Morpho rushed into action against the Gamma-class with their handlers in tow.

---

Tsubaki maintained distance from Hoshizuna, and circled around to the side, making wild, deep cuts with his sword. 

"The fact that I have to risk my life for you is unthinkable..."

Not able to listen to Tsubaki's words, Hoshizuna slashed at the tough hide of the Leviathan, drawing a slick splatter of blood. Morpho's much lighter and faster jabs caught her eye not far away. She distracted herself by directing her attention to Morpho instead.

"You're still not using your Pulse? It really isn't the time to be adhering to personal moral codes, not when there's a giant eldritch fish breathing down our necks."

"We may be in battle against an inhuman foe, but I have a code. I have to uphold that code to prove myself to the community at large. If I cannot defeat a Leviathan without the help of a Pulse then I cannot have faith in the RepliCor's potential future as a publically available commodity. That kind of future is the one I believe in, and I'll fight with that conviction no matter where we are."

"It's your funeral if you overestimate yourself."

"Don't worry Hoshizuna, I've got his back."

Rinko watches Berrak fire rounds at the oncoming Leviathan and, attempting to copy him, tries to yank her gun from its holster, but can't get it loose. After some jerking around, it comes free, but the force of her pull almost knocks her over.

"Got it! Let's see..."

She aims as practised, peering down the sights with one eye, her posture taut and her breathing steady.

Click

"Huh?"

"You... left the safety on."

Morpho slipped the gun from her hands, switching the safety off. 

"...I knew that."

Then she whispered.

"Thanks..."

He leapt away again, jumping from one container to the next, maintaining a distance from the Leviathan that allowed him to lands a few strikes, relocate, and strike again. His method was refined, and he showed no sign of wasted energy or a loss of focus. His spear was well-polished and sharp, and a flag-like strip fluttered from part of the shaft below the spearhead.

I was inspecting each of them out of interest. The person that saved me had to have been a member of Anahata, despite nobody here claiming to have known them. I wondered if they shared the combat skill and fearlessness that I saw before me. In fact, I didn't doubt it. They demonstrated that much to me. Morpho's personal strength was impressive, but those that relied on their Pulse were no less strong.

I confirmed this by watching Berrak. While doing so, his gun revealed itself as being more than a regular gun for the first time. Attached to the back was a strange, reinforced plastic container on either side of the rear sight, each with a six-sided die inside, one with red pips on the left and the other with blue on the right.

"Time to take a gamble. Bullet Bite!"

The dice started to jostled around like crazy, but then came to a stop, revealing the numbers they had landed on. The first was a four, and the second was a three.

"Not my best roll but... I'll take what I can get. Seven's lucky enough."

Berrak's left eye glowed red, and his iris split into four parts. His right eye soon did the same, then splitting into three.

"Natural. Let's see if the shooter's been bet on this time."

Berrak swung out his arm, snapping it into a straight position, before unleashing a shot blazed with purple smoke from his gun barrel. It travelled without deviation to its target, piercing the Leviathan through the eye. His jacket, an item unique to his uniform, fluttered from his movements.

The creature squealed and roared with a sickening, undulating baritone. Angered by its injury, it thrust its head downward, straight toward Rinko, gaping its mouth wide and baring its two rows of abundant, blackened fangs.

Despite Morpho's attempts to redirect himself, even he couldn't stop the weight of the beast's charging attack.

Its mouth snapped shut, enclosing around Rinko with a slam.

"Ogawa-san!"

Preparing to jump in for another series of attacks in his battle of attrition, Hoshizuna instead stepped out ahead of Morpho.

"I've had enough of this Gamma-class thinking he's any threat to us. Aquarius!"

Hoshizuna leapt up from beneath the Leviathan's head, stepping on the air and leaving a splash each time, propelling herself further upward. They reminded me of the ripples from a stone hitting the surface of a pond. Using this momentum, she met the beast, face to face. But she wasn't there for a fair duel.

Without a moment's hesitation, she decapitated it. Her sword rent its flesh, splitting its head from its neck, and its mouth fell open, sending Rinko tumbling toward the ground. With one more splash in the air, she redirected toward Rinko, catching her to prevent her from hitting the ground. The head tumbled to the ground with a thud, and Rinko scraped gunky saliva from her legs.

"Gross... I'm never doing that again."

Morpho leapt down from one of the containers to check on the state of his handler.

"If that was anything worse than a Gamma-class, you wouldn't even have the opportunity to."

"A 'glad you're alive' would be nice. What's next?"

Hoshizuna wiped the beastly blood from her weapon.

"We don't stand much of a chance against the Lamdba-class as we are now. We don't even know its weak point."

Noticing its weaker counterpart was defeated, the larger Leviathan began to wade toward us.

"Yahontov-san, would it be possible to have an analysis?"

"I'm working on it, Morpho... Besides, based on what Minamoto said earlier and how she is, she has something more in mind for it, beyond us all charging at it."

"A plan?"

"Something of the like. As soon as she's got that vehicle she wants, I imagine she'll do us the courtesy of telling us. If she feels so inclined, of course."

Hoshizuna started to shrink compared to the hulking body of the oncoming Leviathan.

"We're going to need it soon."

"I couldn't agree more. We're away from the wolf, but now we've run into the bear."

The Lambda-class Leviathan rose from the water's edge. It loomed high, cascading water on the bank. Its faded white exterior was scarred and ashen, and the colour from its poison-like purple appendages almost seemed to bleed onto the main body. In the distance, many of the people in the area had already long caught on to its arrival, their cacophony in the background now reaching us as they fled in all directions and contributed to the rising chaos. Its hefty scaled foot landed on the collapsed corpse of the Gamma-class Leviathan, crushing its neck under the weight. Craning its chin toward the heavens, it devoured gallons of air and released a sky-tearing scream.

My feet were glued to the ground. At that moment, I fully accepted the fact that I was nothing more than prey. The Leviathan we had seen before was an infant in comparison. Unable to be stunned for long, it tilted its neck and launched some of its spikes at us, forcing those of us in its range to dodge to the side. Each spike was nearly as tall as one of us, and they dug deep into the concrete where they had landed. I wondered if my scientific party trick of a Pulse would even have an effect.

But there was a rumbling in my chest. Was it my RepliCor? No... it was reverberating through the air, and as it came closer, through the ground.

"Is that a..."

A car was thundering down the gaps between the shipping containers behind us. It came to a flourishing halt, drifting sideways. Raphaelle stepped out of the driver's door, unable to hide the excitement plastered on her face.

"1985 Toyota Celica XX 2000GT. Or as I knew it, the Supra. The Captain asked for something fast, four-seater, and easy to break into-

Minamoto shuffled me, Rinko, Emil, and Berrak into the vehicle. In terms of seating, I was crammed together in the back alongside the latter two.

You call these things in the back seats? My knees are practically part of the car...

As Raphaelle was being squeezed into the driver's seat, she continued her spiel.

"-Twin cam 24, 1,988 cc DOHC engine developing 158 horsepower... when it was new, of course. But this old girl should do the trick."

Minamoto's stern gaze spoke for itself.

"Ahem, yeah, I'll be off."

"As I told you on the way here, lead it to somewhere open and surrounded by water. Damage is unavoidable now but casualties need to be kept to a minimum."

The Lambda-class Leviathan fired another series of spikes at us, colliding with the ground and tearing up the earth.

"Go, now!"

Raphaelle fired up the engine and shifted into gear. With her foot pressed on the accelerator, a screeching round of wheel spin accompanied our rapid escape.

With us clear of the Leviathan, Minamoto disappeared into the jungle of harbour machinery once again, returning with a motorcycle.

"I'll be joining you in a moment. I won't let this thing die without looking me in the eye first."

Ignoring the others that were insects around its feet, the Lambda-class plodded toward Minamoto.