Decisive Blow

The car was speeding along, its tires on firm tarmac again. We were following it along the western bank of Odaiba, but we still didn't have a location in mind, and our options for a clear driving route were slim. Raphaelle clearly also had no qualms about using the pavement or driving through any of the pedestrian parks, considering that some of the roads had become strewn with abandoned vehicles, the news of the approaching Leviathan spreading further along the island.

From my view in the back, even I could tell that Raphaelle was panicking. Although, everyone could. She was being very vocal about it.

"Okay, guys, uh... WHAT DO WE DO?? I've never been here before! Nowhere here seems open enough to fight this thing."

Rinko was inspecting the gun holster that, based on my memory of it, had been leant to her by Berrak. She wore a concerned, almost dispirited expression.

"Uh... beats me. And I'm the only person in this car that's been here."

"That's not encouraging. At least say something to put me at ease!"

"In that case... nice... car?"

"...Thanks?"

Emil's voice rose from the panic.

"Daiba Park."

"Hm?"

He was still reading his book from earlier, not raising his head from the pages to address anyone in particular. The aura that radiated from his dull yet serene eyes was cool, and even as I observed him, he refused to let the outside world pull him away from his thoughts.

"Open, surrounded by water, minimal numbers of civilians. And... the disused gun battery. Going on Anya's intel, we need to hit its throat to deal a fatal blow."

Berrak pursed his lips in amusement.

"I catch your drift. So you wanna use the Captain's Pulse then, huh?"

Emil's irises were squeezed between his heavy eyelids. He flicked over to the next page.

"Supposing there's a gun available."

Raphaelle grit her teeth and clenched the steering wheel in her sweaty palms.

"Yeah guys this is all fine and dandy but if we want to lead it there we gotta go past Tokyoko Tunnel. And for the Leviathan, that means through it."

This reaction was wildly contrasted with the one that arose from Berrak, who was grinning softly and leaning forward in his seat.

"Takin' the chance, are we? I like it. Let's see if fortune really favours the bold."

"That was supposed to be me underlining just how crazy and dangerous this plan is but... ah what the hell."

Having been gazing out the window for some time, resting against the door panel, Rinko lifted her head as something caught her eye."

"Hey, uh... what's that in the mirror?"

Raphaelle took a casual glance in her driver-side mirror, spotting it as well.

"Oh, it looks like it's Saga."

"What!?"

"...Saga. Saga's on the roof. Saga's... on the roof!?"

Raphaelle wound the window down and peeked her head outside, but still facing forward to keep her focus on the road. Saga was, indeed, crouched on the roof of the car, holding onto trim of the windows to provide minimal grip. From her blank expression, you would have no idea that she was doing something so unnecessarily life-threatening. Raphaelle shouted out to her so that she could be heard over the rushing wind blowing past the window.

"Saga, just out of curiosity, what are you doing!?"

"I assured Beryl that I would protect her. It would be disingenuous of me to make such a claim and not follow up on it. She... allowed me to reunite with my handler again, after all."

I actually had very little to do with that...

"You do you, Saga. More importantly, how are you even stable up there?"

"It is rather simple. Maintaining a low centre of gravity and reducing my surface area to negate air resistance."

"Right... of course. Make sure you don't fall off, I don't want the image of Mimira Pancake in my mind..."

It was a miracle she hadn't already. We were hardly keeping to any sort of speed limit. Although, Raphaelle was at least keeping the speed consistent as to not completely lose the Leviathan we were supposed to be luring. Berrak would turn in his seat every so often and check through the back window to ensure it was still following. Ever since we started driving, it had returned to the water to allow for it to more easily pursue us.

"I could survive such a fall. All would be well as long as my head remains safe."

"I suppose we've pulled riskier stunts before..."

She wound the window up again.

-Some Moments Earlier-

The Leviathan stomped closer, step by step, toward Minamoto.

Maeve was awe-struck and she stood a distance away gawking up at it.

"This one... this one is the coolest so far! Let's get it!"

"Madam, I would not recommend-"

But Maeve was already sprinting toward it, her hand squeezed into a fist.

"Here it comes! Get ready for a full-force pelt from my Pulse, Clover Club!"

A roaring inferno twisted its way around Maeve's tiny knuckles, flaring in a satisfying cone-shaped spiral at the point of contact as she punched the Leviathan's ankle.

"How'd you like that?"

But the Leviathan gave no response. It continued marching onwards, without so much as stopping or realizing anything had happened.

"H-Hey, come on big guy..."

Uriel had already rushed over. Clasped between his fingers was a set of three daggers, and it appeared he had been primed to throw them for some time during his approach.

"Consider yourself extremely fortunate that your attack had no effect. Young mistress, never run from my sight again. If you were to die here... your mother and father would never forgive me. I would never forgive myself."

"But Uriel... I can take them..."

"Even if that were the case I would never allow it. Your life is that which I can never forfeit. I made a promise. Your life will always take priority over mine."

"...Alright. I'm sorry..."

"...Good. Leave this mission to Captain Minamoto and the others."

"Mhm... She can do anything, just like you said, right?"

"...Indeed. Have faith in her and you will not need to intervene."

---

We stepped out of the car and ran to strap the cannon to the roof. Raphaelle and Minamoto rushed to the cannon, with Minamoto carrying a set of ratchet straps.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"You doubt your Captain?"

"N-No, but... what if it doesn't?"

"It has to. Beryl, Saga, hold off the Lambda-class until we can ensure the straps are on. As soon as we're done, join us back here."

Saga nodded and I followed suit. But I was far from enthusiastic. With me lagging behind, we jogged over to the edge of the park where we could see the Leviathan rapidly approaching. She crouched down as before, focusing on the middle distance.

"According to what I can interpret, we have only a few minutes before it will start considering us a threat."

With each moment, the creature waded closer, until it reached the bank. Its plodding feet, furnished with thick, boney claws, pummeled the stone around the edge, cracking it as it reared itself onto the land. It looked more like a dragon than any fish I had seen, but its amphibious traits were visible in its enormous fins and the gills carved into its cheeks. It glared at us with sharp, inhuman eyes.

I heard Minamoto shout from somewhere behind us.

"Just a bit longer. Keep it away from the car until we can get moving again."

I didn't want to wait much longer. I was already uncomfortable standing as close as I was. Holding out my arm, and using my other hand to support it, I charged up another ball of plasma. I let it grow to the size of a basketball, crackling and sparking around my fingers, before launching it at my target.

The sphere ricocheted from its thick hide, sliding against its shoulder. Some of the bolts were able to crawl up and graze its face, but ultimately, nothing came of it. In retaliation, the Leviathan fired more of its spines down at the ground. Watching them descend toward me, my perception of the world slowed.

"Beryl!"

I felt a sharp dent on my sides, and I turned to see Saga's hands crumpling against me. At the same moment, she pushed me away and used the force to send herself backwards. It was too slow to avoid them fully, and one struck the ground immediately in front of me, the shaft scraping through the ground and slamming against my torso. I was flung against the ground.

Collapsed in a pile, my body stinging with adrenaline, I sat in confusion.

"Nothing...? All that and... it just shrugged it off?"

I leant up, but a sharp pain shot through my sides. Something was broken. I was too afraid to begin thinking what it might be. It was the first day in my life that the idea of breaking a bone had ever entered my mind. The most injured I had ever been before the day I was impaled was a sprained ankle.

"Maybe it really was a waste of time to try..."

Saga returned to me and scooped me up, her thin frame willing itself to lift me onto her shoulder.

"This is no time to stand around. Even if we are not aiming to defeat it, every second counts against a Lambda-class. Stay close to me. I will relay to you its next move and we can act accordingly."

"Relay to me...?"

"Yes. My Pulse, Reader, provides me with limited telepathic precognition of a single target. I will tell you its thoughts, and you will distract it using that information. Do you deem that a suitable enough plan?"

"I...I think so. It's the best we have. It's all we have."

"Two spines, arriving now. Dodge right."

"Two spines?"

I glanced up, the information just barely reaching me in time for me to make the move. The two monstrous spikes plunged into the ground where I was standing.

"As you attacked it, it may be focusing on you. We shall use that to our advantage. Shoot your projectiles to keep its attention."

I'm really not suited for these high-pace scenarios. My job rejection letters told me as much already...

Reluctantly following Saga's advice, I continued a barrage of intermittent plasma balls, much smaller than the one before, so that I wouldn't have to stand around as long to charge up each one. After I fired one, Saga would succinctly inform me of my next move.

"Dodge left."

A shimmering ripple of plasma glided past the Leviathan's eye. In the spot I was standing, a pair of spines plummeted into the ground.

"Dodge right."

Another struck its nose, warranting nothing more than a twitch of discomfort. Spines struck the ground at an awkward angle, tossing dirt into the air.

"Step back, then diagonal forward."

"Left foot forward, right foot back."

What is this, DDR?

After a minute or so of this, the Leviathan became irritated, and started to move forward, now unphased by my attacks.

"It seems it has either wisened to our plan, or grown bored."

Fortunately, it was then we heard another shout from Minamoto.

"The cannon's on! Beryl, get back to the car. Saga, since the Leviathan doesn't seem bothered by you, take the bike and ride back to the others."

I took no time in going to the car. On my way past, Saga waved to me.

"Until our next meeting, Beryl. Goodnight."

Goodnight? It's still the daytime...

She hopped onto the bike and started the engine, leaving ahead of us. Not wanting to waste another second, I swung myself into the back seat, allowing Raphaelle to return to driving. Rinko returned to the passenger seat, dumping what sounded like a pair of heavy items into the footwell with her. Finally, Minamoto clambered onto the roof alongside the cannon, now affixed to the roof by its rear end.

"Are you alright on the roof, Captain?"

"If this plan is to go as we want it to, we can't afford to be picky about safety. Drive!"

Raphaelle's foot slammed on the pedal again, and we sped away out of the park along the coastal road, with the Leviathan looming behind us. With her knees on either side of the cannon, Minamoto thrust her hand against it, gritting her teeth.

"Slumbering husks of metal, I command thee!

Become my Armament!

Subject yourself to my will!"

Dark red glowing wires cover the surface of the cannon, emitting from Minamoto's palms. Being held by tubes extruding from its body, the cannon moves.

"Pass me a cannonball!"

Rinko tries to hand a cannonball carefully over from the passenger window, but despite Minamoto's attempts to pick it up, her hand couldn't cup around it without dropping it.

"I can't reach it. You'll have to climb out onto the roof with me."

"Climb out...? What do you mean climb out? Of a moving car?"

"Climb out of the car with the cannonball. Rinko, that's an order."

"But I can't..."

She glanced down at the gun holster once again. A solemn shadow was cast by her eyelashes.

"You have to."

Gripping her hair in her hands against her temples, she then slaps her cheeks to give herself confidence. With it wound down, she squeezes herself out the window, cradling the cannonball between her arm and chest. Teetering back, she peeks at the asphalt speeding past below her.

"Oh geez, what the hell am I doing?"

Mashing her eyelids closed to erase the image, she pulls her way up onto the roof with one arm, straining hard. Eventually, she collapses on the window, but with the cannonball still held firm.

Minamoto prises the ball from Rinko and loads it into the front of the cannon.

"Keep driving, Raphaelle. I need a clear shot on its weak point."

Minamoto scanned the Leviathan's body, but now it was out of the water, the weak point at its throat was too high for the cannon to hit.

"This angle isn't right..."

Raphaelle's voice becomes quieter from the car below her.

"We're running out of road here... and with all this extra weight, it's catching up. Guys..."

The desperation was hitting Rinko as well, her head drooped, unable to face the cannon nor the Leviathan it was aimed at. But she looked around and realised that she was the only person there. The only person near enough to the cannon to do anything about it.

She peeled her yellow sunglasses from her head, giving her a clear view.

"It better work out this time... Yuki..."

Still laying down on the roof, Rinko crammed her shoulder underneath the front of the cannon, lifting it up and slamming her hands over her ears.

"This better hit!"

Tying herself to the cannon's weight with her Pulse, Minamoto stood tall, pinching the brim of her cap. As promised, she aimed a dead, blazing stare at the Leviathan, muttering something under her breath before she uttered her final command.

"Burn in hell."

"Fire!"

Despite not being lit by anything, the cannon fires at maximum power, unleashing a thundering boom and launching the cannonball flying toward the Leviathan. The ball strikes its throat, breaking through the soft flesh at such a speed that it pierced through to the other side, causing it to shriek out in pain.

Minamoto grabbed her naginata by the handle jutting from her shoulder.

"No mistakes this time. The final blow will be mine."

She peered down the barrel of the hollow hilt, and unleashed the beam of energy into the creature's open mouth. With one final screech, it collapsed to the ground, sending out a wild shockwave that shook across the car.

---

Returning to the docks to reunite with the others, everyone in the car was worse for wear, but it showed most on the fatigue-stricken face of Rinko.

"Next time... let's try something a little less insane..."

The commotion in Odaiba had yet to settle, but the Captain was seemingly unconcerned by this, striding over to the remaining members.

"The target was successfully eliminated. I'd go as far as to say mission complete."

A sigh of relief washed over everyone.

"I trust everything here was quiet?"

A number of them nodded, but Anya instead fished her phone from her lab coat pocket.

"In fact, Captain, I have something to report."

"Something to report? What would that be?"

"While we were absent from Port Tatsumi, a routine check of the island perimeter found this."

Anya rotated her phone to landscape and presented it to Minamoto. A few of the others who had been in the car also leaned in to take a peek. It was the mangled corpse of what appeared to be a humanoid robot of some sort, drenched in seawater, its wires torn and poking out from its arm sockets.

"A robot?"

"That's right. And if you look here, they made no attempt to hide its manufacturer."

Anya pointed to the logo, name and serial number inscribed on the robot's chest. Involuntarily, I read it aloud in the same moment as recalling it from my recent memory.

"Unahara Robotics..."

This garnered an instant response from Minamoto.

"Unahara...?"

Anya turned to look up at her.

"Does that mean anything to you, Captain?"

"N..No, it's not important. What it means to us now is that someone is interfering with our business, and perhaps more threateningly, is aware of Anahata and what we do."

A silence hung in the air, but it was broken by Tsubaki, who had been waiting to see if anyone else would mention anything.

"I can't say for certain if it's the same person, but I know an Unahara. The bastard was acquainted with my father... during his time in the yakuza."

Despite withholding himself, there was a present glare coming from Tsubaki in the general direction of Hoshizuna, who was holding her arm. Sadamune's comment broke the tension.

"You mean Chiren Unahara?"

"That rings a bell, yes."

"Ohoh, well, if it's him..."

The Captain was eager to open this information up to everyone.

"Tell us what you know, Sadamune."

"Before I came on my extended vacation on Port Cybernetics, I was a member of the Magokoro-kai Yakuza syndicate. I even had to give up my old family name, it was proper Ninkyo stuff. We had dealings with Unahara, and he was the boss of his own gang. Much like Tsubaki's dad Kondou-san, and myself, he weaselled his way out of... quietly left the Yakuza."

Tsubaki's animosity crawled on Sadamune's shoulder, causing him to pick his words carefully. Ignoring this, Minamoto continued her questioning.

"Do you know why?"

"Nope. I was already out and on the run at that point, they were only rumours I heard from the few members who were kind enough to shelter me and not immediately kill me."

Minamoto crossed her legs and folded her arms together, weighing up the words she was hearing.

"Rumours are still valuable. Share."

"Never thought I'd be ratting but... I guess there's no loyalty among thieves."

Eri spoke while fiddling with her shirt collar.

"Sada, I don't think you've got any right to talk about that."

"Right, loyalty is cheap nowadays. Turns out the currency of the world is, to nobody's surprise, currency."

"That's how the Yakuza operates."

"Too right. Anyway, about Unahara. I heard he quit because of his daughter. Used his connections and wealth to set himself up a company to support her. But as you can probably tell, his subordinates weren't happy bunnies about having to lose their jobs because of his personal interests. So those that didn't follow him to the company made his life as much of a hell as they could on his way out. If he's still knocking about, let alone running the company well enough to show up in a proper museum like the Miraikan, I'd say he's either incredibly confident or incredibly tenacious. In fact, considering what I went through to get out, I'd say he's damn near unbreakable to have made it this far after pulling a stunt like that."

Minamoto's head dropped, and for the first time, I saw her eyelashes dipped in a sullen dye. But beyond that, I could see invisible cogs whirring underneath her cap.

"Captain?"

"Uh, ahem, we appreciate the intel, Sadamune. Whatever it means, Unahara is a dangerous individual, or at least was. Whatever his curiosity is regarding the island, and based on the fact that he has knowledge of Anahata and perhaps even RepliCors, this is a matter we cannot afford to leave alone.

We must consider him a threat, and, at minimum, investigate him. The fact that he was present in Odaiba during the Leviathan attacks also can't be ignored. For now, we will return to Port Tatsumi, but I will call you all together again to discuss Unahara once we have more intel to work with."

Eri peeped from her seat beside Sadamune. It was uncharacteristically subdued.

"Um, Captain..."

"Yes, Eri, I know. You have permission. It's the one exception I'll allow.

Visit her grave and be back here before we depart."

(Note: WIP)