Once their bodies turned into blue fragments of light, Shiro stood up with his normal vibe again.
"Kuroneko."
"...Yes?"
"Let's go."
They soon left in the exit right just behind them. The former left in a daze, while the latter felt more refreshed after dealing with something annoying.
*****
New York.
Once a bustling city, it is now filled with nothing but ruins. Broken rubbles are all over the place while the flames set ablaze due to "their" high temperature energy attacks.
One man stood underneath this destroyed city. While it is full of tears and burnt marks, it couldn't erase the former splendor of his admiral uniform. It is a pity that these medals mean nothing now.
"Alright, two more times. They must've left this place by then."
Inside this former command room, he repeated the radio announcement once more.
{December, Yokohama. January, Sydney. April, Shanghai...}
Notices of the places that might be attacked got listed out one by one. There's one mistake in this, however. This December, it's actually New York's turn. It is unexpected, yet the majority managed to evacuate while she planned to behind.
Thud-!
The man slammed the control panel due to his frustration. It made a dent in this very sturdy material.
"Those bastards... Sacrificing others while they remain safe in their turtle shells..!"
The higher-ups already deduced that this will happen since this is where the communication signals of the alerts had originated, but they gave zero fucks to it - simply because it benefited them.
Why bother stop her when she gave out free crucial information while risking her life? Not only that, but she broadcasts her findings to the whole world, just so that they can escape in time when "they" attack.
However, they soon learned that she's the one behind all of this, thus they sent enough manpower to decimate New York City.
"If someone didn't tell me of her stupidity, I wouldn't come here..."
While the citizens of NY City are escaping, she decided to be left behind to act as a diversion. Of course, he caught on to this and replaced her instead.
She, Dr. Anzeel, is the one that these invaders are aiming for. Though, it is not a surprise that they aimed for her. KANSEN (Shipgirls), Wisdom Cubes, Cognitive Awakening, Attack Predictions...
She spat out those god-like findings one by one, which is the major reason as to why humanity can resist against "them", the Steel Leviathans that brought nothing but destruction.
Creek-!
Bzzzt-!
Static noises came out from his earpiece, making him sigh. Communications are jammed whenever Leviathans arrive, but there are some individuals that could bypass this.
The man wondered if he shouldn't answer this call, but he knew that he should.
Beep-!
"You took some time before answering... Is there some trouble in your side?"
A cool voice came from his speaker.
"Trouble? No." He said with his normal calm tone.
Beep-! Beep-!
{Warning! Several Hostile Lifeforms are heading in this coordinate.}
{Danger Rating... Impossible to calculate. Evacuation protocols activated.}
The sound of alarms filled this underground base. Dim red lights filled the entire command room as a result of it.
Even so, the man remained calm, hoping that the one from the other side wouldn't notice but alas, she did.
"Alarms? The outpost is under attack?!"
"Wait, calm down. This must be a mistake, we're almost done dealing with them already."
"Right..."
The voice from the other side got cut off, making him sigh out of relief.
'Tsk. They're coming already.'
In the large screen, he saw five huge red circles headed at this direction. They all came from the south-east direction. With the KANSEN here, they could've mounted a counterattack, but five Leviathans are simply impossible to defeat without their main force - whom is busy fighting on the front lines, the ocean.
"No... This can't be..."
A muffled voice spoke, disbelief evident in her tone.
"You..!"
Hearing this, he knew that it couldn't be hidden any longer. After some period of silence, he said, "Remember what I told you before? That death is inevitable for me."
"..."
"It's simply my time now. They pushed harder there for a couple of months now. I don't believe this isn't part of their plan."
Ever since they arrived, there's only three people whom the Leviathans treated with extreme caution: Anzeel, Aoste, and he, the Commandant.
Aoste never reappeared in the face of the earth for a long time now, thus their attention is shifted on Anzeel and him. It's only a matter of time before they aim for them. He realized this too late. Though, he managed to take Anzeel's place and cause the diversion instead.
That's also why he resolutely traded his life for Anzeel's as she's more important than him, or so he believes.
"So I'm going to lose you too, huh."
"I'm sorry."
A brief silence occurred between them.
"If I'm only strong enough..."
"Stop right there." His tone suddenly went serious and continued, "Don't kill yourself. Please."
"I can use it-"
"No!"
Seemingly stunned by his vehement disapproval, she went silent.
"For my sake... Live. Fuck humanity, it's time for you girls to live for yourselves. Don't you ever sacrifice yourselves for these remaining humans... rather, filth. Humanity's over when the old man died."
Many thoughts passed through his mind as his chest tightened, prompting him to compress everything into a few sentences.
"Trust in Anzeel, she'll help you out. With both of you, another way might be found. I might be the "Key" in your eyes, but I believe that an alternative solution exists within the vast and infinite realities we are in."
"######!"
He looked up at the ceiling - at the enemies that he'd been waiting to arrive. Walls cannot impede his vision due to his state, though he knows that he would definitely die after being consumed by those light pillars.
Giving him not enough time, light pillars fell to this underground base. Composite metal couldn't even stop it for a second before disintegrating.
It soon headed at him, but he has enough time.
"I love you, Enty."
Soon, his everything was swallowed by the light.
*****
"Nn..?"
The first thing that Shiro noticed is the nice smell that his nose caught. The second thing that he noticed is that he actually napped. He doesn't know why, but he suddenly felt sleepy. This is an abnormal phenomenon, but he decided to investigate this later.
He used his armor's sleeve to wipe off his drool first before sensing his surroundings.
"You're finally awake, Shiro."
"Ah? Kuroneko?"
Turns out, he actually dozed off in Kuroneko's shoulder! With Shiro being Shiro, he didn't get embarrassed and only said, "Thanks for letting me nap in your shoulder."
"No problem. It's not a big deal anyways..." She replied while looking away from him, a faint blush present on her face.
If Shiro is paying attention, he might've teased her, but his mind is on something else.
'What was that..? A city, command room, and a pillar of light?'
For some reasons, the memories of his dream are very hazy. It's not like something is preventing him from remembering it, but it felt distant to him.
Like a memory of a few hundred million years ago.
At the thought of it, a pang of pain appeared in his heart; as if he regretted not doing something, or a promise that isn't fulfilled.
'I recall hearing 'key', 'Anzeel', and...' He struggled recalling the final bits of information that he retained. Thankfully, he did.
'Right, KANSEN.'
He doesn't know what it stands for, but it didn't prevent him from asking others about it.
'The Memory Card might give me more answers...'
Shiro unknowingly fell into a deep thought, in which Kuroneko noticed it. She chose not to snap him from that when she saw new emotions in his dark orange eyes.
*****
A/N: Things get confusing and interesting, right? I hope so... Anyways, here's the final not-so fun fact of the day~!
Fact #30: In Terra, the infected are severely discriminated to the point that people exile and even euthanize (suicide with dignity) them in other countries (Laterano & Leithania). Then there's Kazimiers that made an entire city sector just so that the infected can get willingly segregated. That's why an organization like Rhodes Island is seen as unique due to them accepting infected freely.
Once their bodies turned into blue fragments of light, Shiro stood up with his normal vibe again.
"Kuroneko."
"...Yes?"
"Let's go."
They soon left in the exit right just behind them. The former left in a daze, while the latter felt more refreshed after dealing with something annoying.
*****
New York.
Once a bustling city, it is now filled with nothing but ruins. Broken rubbles are all over the place while the flames set ablaze due to "their" high temperature energy attacks.
One man stood underneath this destroyed city. While it is full of tears and burnt marks, it couldn't erase the former splendor of his admiral uniform. It is a pity that these medals mean nothing now.
"Alright, two more times. They must've left this place by then."
Inside this former command room, he repeated the radio announcement once more.
{December, Yokohama. January, Sydney. April, Shanghai...}
Notices of the places that might be attacked got listed out one by one. There's one mistake in this, however. This December, it's actually New York's turn. It is unexpected, yet the majority managed to evacuate while she planned to behind.
Thud-!
The man slammed the control panel due to his frustration. It made a dent in this very sturdy material.
"Those bastards... Sacrificing others while they remain safe in their turtle shells..!"
The higher-ups already deduced that this will happen since this is where the communication signals of the alerts had originated, but they gave zero fucks to it - simply because it benefited them.
Why bother stop her when she gave out free crucial information while risking her life? Not only that, but she broadcasts her findings to the whole world, just so that they can escape in time when "they" attack.
However, they soon learned that she's the one behind all of this, thus they sent enough manpower to decimate New York City.
"If someone didn't tell me of her stupidity, I wouldn't come here..."
While the citizens of NY City are escaping, she decided to be left behind to act as a diversion. Of course, he caught on to this and replaced her instead.
She, Dr. Anzeel, is the one that these invaders are aiming for. Though, it is not a surprise that they aimed for her. KANSEN (Shipgirls), Wisdom Cubes, Cognitive Awakening, Attack Predictions...
She spat out those god-like findings one by one, which is the major reason as to why humanity can resist against "them", the Steel Leviathans that brought nothing but destruction.
Creek-!
Bzzzt-!
Static noises came out from his earpiece, making him sigh. Communications are jammed whenever Leviathans arrive, but there are some individuals that could bypass this.
The man wondered if he shouldn't answer this call, but he knew that he should.
Beep-!
"You took some time before answering... Is there some trouble in your side?"
A cool voice came from his speaker.
"Trouble? No." He said with his normal calm tone.
Beep-! Beep-!
{Warning! Several Hostile Lifeforms are heading in this coordinate.}
{Danger Rating... Impossible to calculate. Evacuation protocols activated.}
The sound of alarms filled this underground base. Dim red lights filled the entire command room as a result of it.
Even so, the man remained calm, hoping that the one from the other side wouldn't notice but alas, she did.
"Alarms? The outpost is under attack?!"
"Wait, calm down. This must be a mistake, we're almost done dealing with them already."
"Right..."
The voice from the other side got cut off, making him sigh out of relief.
'Tsk. They're coming already.'
In the large screen, he saw five huge red circles headed at this direction. They all came from the south-east direction. With the KANSEN here, they could've mounted a counterattack, but five Leviathans are simply impossible to defeat without their main force - whom is busy fighting on the front lines, the ocean.
"No... This can't be..."
A muffled voice spoke, disbelief evident in her tone.
"You..!"
Hearing this, he knew that it couldn't be hidden any longer. After some period of silence, he said, "Remember what I told you before? That death is inevitable for me."
"..."
"It's simply my time now. They pushed harder there for a couple of months now. I don't believe this isn't part of their plan."
Ever since they arrived, there's only three people whom the Leviathans treated with extreme caution: Anzeel, Aoste, and he, the Commandant.
Aoste never reappeared in the face of the earth for a long time now, thus their attention is shifted on Anzeel and him. It's only a matter of time before they aim for them. He realized this too late. Though, he managed to take Anzeel's place and cause the diversion instead.
That's also why he resolutely traded his life for Anzeel's as she's more important than him, or so he believes.
"So I'm going to lose you too, huh."
"I'm sorry."
A brief silence occurred between them.
"If I'm only strong enough..."
"Stop right there." His tone suddenly went serious and continued, "Don't kill yourself. Please."
"I can use it-"
"No!"
Seemingly stunned by his vehement disapproval, she went silent.
"For my sake... Live. Fuck humanity, it's time for you girls to live for yourselves. Don't you ever sacrifice yourselves for these remaining humans... rather, filth. Humanity's over when the old man died."
Many thoughts passed through his mind as his chest tightened, prompting him to compress everything into a few sentences.
"Trust in Anzeel, she'll help you out. With both of you, another way might be found. I might be the "Key" in your eyes, but I believe that an alternative solution exists within the vast and infinite realities we are in."
"######!"
He looked up at the ceiling - at the enemies that he'd been waiting to arrive. Walls cannot impede his vision due to his state, though he knows that he would definitely die after being consumed by those light pillars.
Giving him not enough time, light pillars fell to this underground base. Composite metal couldn't even stop it for a second before disintegrating.
It soon headed at him, but he has enough time.
"I love you, Enty."
Soon, his everything was swallowed by the light.
*****
"Nn..?"
The first thing that Shiro noticed is the nice smell that his nose caught. The second thing that he noticed is that he actually napped. He doesn't know why, but he suddenly felt sleepy. This is an abnormal phenomenon, but he decided to investigate this later.
He used his armor's sleeve to wipe off his drool first before sensing his surroundings.
"You're finally awake, Shiro."
"Ah? Kuroneko?"
Turns out, he actually dozed off in Kuroneko's shoulder! With Shiro being Shiro, he didn't get embarrassed and only said, "Thanks for letting me nap in your shoulder."
"No problem. It's not a big deal anyways..." She replied while looking away from him, a faint blush present on her face.
If Shiro is paying attention, he might've teased her, but his mind is on something else.
'What was that..? A city, command room, and a pillar of light?'
For some reasons, the memories of his dream are very hazy. It's not like something is preventing him from remembering it, but it felt distant to him.
Like a memory of a few hundred million years ago.
At the thought of it, a pang of pain appeared in his heart; as if he regretted not doing something, or a promise that isn't fulfilled.
'I recall hearing 'key', 'Anzeel', and...' He struggled recalling the final bits of information that he retained. Thankfully, he did.
'Right, KANSEN.'
He doesn't know what it stands for, but it didn't prevent him from asking others about it.
'The Memory Card might give me more answers...'
Shiro unknowingly fell into a deep thought, in which Kuroneko noticed it. She chose not to snap him from that when she saw new emotions in his dark orange eyes.
*****
A/N: Things get confusing and interesting, right? I hope so... Anyways, here's the final not-so fun fact of the day~!
Fact #30: In Terra, the infected are severely discriminated to the point that people exile and even euthanize (suicide with dignity) them in other countries (Laterano & Leithania). Then there's Kazimiers that made an entire city sector just so that the infected can get willingly segregated. That's why an organization like Rhodes Island is seen as unique due to them accepting infected freely.
