Chapter 20:

Chapter 20

Hanabi of the Steel Curtain


 Hanabi kept her gun tight in CQC, it was foolish to extend her arm out all the way where it could be knocked away or grabbed. The last enemy fell as Hanabi’s bullet pierced its brain.

Naomi’s foot smashed into a fallen enemy, ending its miserable existence.

The two Gatekeepers exchanged a look, and then took stock of the battlefield. A sea of corpses lay beneath them, blood mixing with stone. Their bodies felt heavy, and their ammo was low. If they could feel tired, they’d probably be exhausted.

“All hostiles defeated,” announced Hanabi, placing her gun back in its compartment after reloading.

“Good.” Naomi groaned and fell to her knees, arms hanging limply at her side, “I’m done with this.”

“Eh? Aren’t there still enemies- woah!”

Naomi’s body was literally expelling smoke, just being within her vicinity felt like being next to an open oven. “No, I’m done. I’m going to take a nap for a bit.”

“What, seriously, right here?” This space was hardly secure, and she was likely to be attacked if she recovered here. “Can you at least move into the building?”

“Don’t wanna…”

“Naomi, please, it’s just a few steps then you can rest, okay?”

“.......” She opened one eye. “Promise?”

“Yes, promise. Now hurry up, let’s get out of the open.”

Naomi, begrudgingly, got to her feet and trudged into the open store, where Oryn was hiding under a table. He seemed almost relieved to see them. Naomi slumped down by the back wall, and shut her eyes. “I just need a little bit of time to rest, then I’ll deal with the rest… of… the enemy.” A whirring sound came from Naomi’s body, and she stopped moving.

At first, Hanabi was worried she might’ve died, but the rise and fall of her chest told her that she was indeed still alive. That was good. She’d hoped that if someone did try to attack Naomi, that her self-defense protocols would kick in.

She moved to close the door behind them but then a small black orb sped into the room. Hanabi almost shot it before it shouted out with panic in its voice, “DON’T SHOOT, IT’S ME, IRENE!”

Irene, you look-”

“Okay, look, I already did this bit a few times now, so can we just skip it? I’m Irene, I’m controlling the drones, that’s it. Where’s Naomi?”

“Uh…” she pointed to the sleeping form of Naomi.

“Are you… are you kidding me, right now?! Ugh, ya know what, I literally do not have time for this, I’ll just maneuver another drone to deal with this. In the meantime, HK-”

“Actually, it’s Hanabi now.”

“What?”

“My name, I went with Hanabi?”

“Hanabi? Kind of a weird name.”

“I like it, sounds kinda cute.”

“Whatever. Look, we’ve got orders. I need you to find the mist-maker and the spawner and double-tap them, got it?” She seemed in a rush, frazzled even.

“Sure, but are you okay?”

“Am I okay? No! I’m simultaneously controlling dozens of drones through this fog, it’s running some serious interference on me. If I wasn’t specifically built for this task, I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. It’s sort like trying to drink coffee while someone is shaking your whole arm.”

“What’s a coffee?”

“I don’t know, some hot drink from long ago that we don’t have anymore. It’s just the first reference that came to mind, just forget it, we have shit to do. Follow this drone, and I’ll guide you to the first house. Ready?”

“Sure, actually one more thing…” She turned to Oryn. “Once Naomi wakes up, get that alert system set up. Another drone will be by soon, so it should be easier to navigate this place. Also, don’t let anything bad happen to her, or I’ll shoot you in the face, okay?”

He nodded quickly.

“Or I’ll shoot you in the face.” That was an odd statement from Hanabi, was something changing in her? All because she had a name now? Hard to say, questions for later.

Hanabi followed after the drone as it floated through the fog.