Chapter Text
Somewhere on Earth.
The girl with long white hair drifts toward the window.
"What's all that noise?" she mutters as she looks outside.
Below, hundreds of Corrupted are gathering in the streets. More and more emerge from the ruins of old stores. Some are still intact and able to walk, while others crawl or limp along. But they all share the same goal. To wipe out or infect all life on Earth.
"Be careful, Sister. Someone must have stirred them up." Alpha rises from her seat and walks over to the window. After a moment, she points down at the street. A small group stands not far from the growing horde of Corrupted.
"I knew it. They're from Babylonia."
"You know them?"
"That's Team Gray Raven. I've fought them before. The three of them are Constructs, and the human with them is their Commandant. Do you want me to take care of them, Luna?"
Luna watches the scene below for a few seconds longer before turning to her sister. "Don't bother, Sister. Our friends will take care of them. Let's enjoy the show from here."
......
"There are too many enemies ahead, but we have no choice. There's no way around them." Lucia shakes her head in frustration.
"What do we do now, Shikkikan?" Liv asks quietly.
The Gray Ravens all look at me, waiting for an answer.
I glance toward the intersections on either side of us, but both paths are buried beneath debris. There's no time to turn back and search for another route. A knot of worry forms in my stomach, but I trust my team.
I draw my pistol. "We're fighting our way through. Gray Raven, attack!"
The moment the order leaves my mouth, Lucia sprints forward.
The Corrupted notice her immediately. Red eyes flare in the gathering twilight as they emerge from cover. Some open fire, while others charge at her with blades and claws raised.
Lucia weaves through the incoming shots and draws her crimson sword. The Corrupted don't stand a chance against her speed. Lee rushes in as well, both pistols firing in rapid succession.
Only Liv remains by my side. As the team's Commandant, I'm the most vulnerable member of Gray Raven. Liv usually stays close to protect and support me.
Corrupted fall one after another. Dozens. Then hundreds. Yet for every machine that goes down, it feels like two more take its place.
"There's no end to them!" Lucia gasps. Her sword glows brightly as she cuts through another enemy. A glance at her vitals tells me her frame is nearing its overheating threshold.
The others don't look much better. We've all taken our share of damage during the fight. We can't keep this up for much longer. Retreat isn't an option either. By now, countless Corrupted have blocked the path behind us.
"Liv, get the Commandant out of here!" Lucia calls. "Climb over the debris. Maybe there are fewer Corrupted on the other side."
"Lucia, no. I'm not leaving you here."
"Commander, we're Constructs. We'll be fine." Liv takes my hand. "If we get damaged, we'll be repaired. But if something happens to you..." She sighs and gently guides me toward the massive pile of rubble.
"I'm sorry, Shikkikan, but Lucia is right. Good luck," Lee adds over the comms. "And don't worry about us. If things get bad, we'll just use Recall."
Reluctantly, I nod. Together, Liv and I start climbing. It's harder than it looks. Loose chunks of debris break away beneath my feet, and more than once I nearly lose my balance.
We're almost at the top.
"Wait here, Shikkikan. I'll check the other side first." Liv climbs over the edge. A second later, I hear a scream. Then the sound of falling rubble.
"Liv!" I scramble up the remaining distance as fast as I can. My heart drops. Liv is sliding down the steep slope on the other side. She must have lost her footing. That alone wouldn't be so bad. The problem is the raging river waiting below.
"Liv! I'm coming! Grab onto something!" I start climbing down after her as quickly as I dare. Every step threatens to send part of the slope collapsing beneath me.
At the last second, Liv manages to grab hold of a metal beam. She's already slipped so far that her feet are nearly touching the rushing water. She looks up at me desperately and shouts something, but her words are swallowed by the roar of the river.
Finally, I get close enough. I grab her hand and pull. For a moment, it works. Then everything goes wrong. In my rush to reach her, I never made sure I had secure footing. I manage to pull Liv back onto stable ground. At the same time, my own footing gives way. Instinctively, I let go of her hand before I can drag her down with me.
"Shikkikan!" Liv lunges toward me.
Too late. The river swallows me whole. The current drags me under and pulls me deeper. I try to hold my breath. At first, I manage. Then my lungs begin to burn. My body forces me to inhale. I fight the urge for as long as I can. But there is no air. Only water. My vision blurs. For a brief moment, I catch sight of someone looking down at me from a window.
Liv? No. The figure looks different somehow. White hair floats weightlessly arround her.
Then darkness closes in around me.
"Luna, where are you going?" Alpha asks.
"I want to see what happens to the human," Luna replies and drifts toward the exit.
Her sister follows her, but a simple hand gesture from Luna makes her stop immediately. "Sister, stay here and keep watching the Constructs. I want to see how far they can get without their human Commandant."
Alpha looks at her in confusion, but eventually returns to her spot by the window. She knows Luna hates humans. What is she planning this time?
…….
A while later...
"Hey. Say something. Are you dead?" A muffled voice reaches me through the darkness.
Someone taps my shoulder. Is it time to get up already? Then everything comes rushing back. The river. Liv. The fall.
My eyes snap open. Bright light immediately blinds me. As I try to sit up, a wave of nausea hits me. I double over, coughing up water. It takes several minutes before I recover enough to look around.
A woman is standing in front of me. Her white hair is braided into twin tails, with two large black rings floating behind her head. Her clothes are spotless white. Only a few streaks of mud stain her hands. She wipes them away with a look of obvious disgust.
"So you're not dead after all?" she says. "Good. I didn't pull you out of the river just to get my hands dirty for nothing."
My head is still spinning from nearly drowning, but something about her immediately catches my attention. Is she floating? She's definitely not human. A Construct? She isn't wearing any Babylonia markings. Could she belong to one of the surviving human groups on Earth? On of Watanabes fighers, maybe? Or worse...
An Ascendant.
I jump to my feet and reach for my holster. My hand closes around empty air. Right. The river. My pistol is gone.
The young woman folds her arms and glares at me. "Is that how you thank someone for saving your life? If I wanted you dead, I would've left you in the river."
"Sorry." The apology slips out before I can stop it. Maybe she has a point. That doesn't mean I can trust her. "But maybe you had a reason for pulling me out." I study her for a moment. "How am I supposed to know?"
My gaze drifts to the black rings floating beside her head. Then back to her face.
"You have to admit this looks suspicious. I wake up in the middle of nowhere and find a Construct I've never seen before standing over me. Who are you? What organization do you belong to?"
She doesn't answer immediately. For a few seconds, all I hear is the distant rush of the river.
"My name is Luna. Remember it well." Her expression softens slightly. "I'm from Babylonia, but that's classified. I'm on a secret mission, and your presence complicates things. If my superior finds out I've been in contact with you, I'll be in trouble." She shrugs. "But it's too late now."
I frown. The story sounds questionable. Then again, there are plenty of operations on Babylonia that never reach my clearance level. It's not impossible.
"Nice to meet you, Luna. I'm—" She raises a finger.
"Don't bother. You don't need to introduce yourself." A grin spreads across her face. "You're Gray Raven's Commandant. Everyone knows who you are."
I let out a quiet laugh. "Fair enough."
Maybe I should feel relieved. Instead, another question immediately comes to mind. "Then answer something for me." I glance around the empty shoreline. "Where's your Commandant?"
Luna frowns. "Uh... she's remotely connected to me." She taps one of the floating black rings beside her head. An Inver-Device. At least that part makes sense. "But don't worry, Gray Raven Commandant. She doesn't interfere with my personal affairs."
I nod slowly. "All right. I believe you."
Then another thought hits me. "But what do we do now? I lost my comm unit in the river. Can you have a shuttle sent for me? We need to find my team too. I've lost contact with them, and they might need help."
Luna's expression immediately darkens. "Were you even listening to me?" she hisses. "No one can know about this meeting. Neither my Commandant nor I are going to tell Babylonia that we rescued you, and you're not going to tell anyone about me." She folds her arms. "We could both end up in serious trouble." For a moment, she looks away. "But I can't exactly leave you here either."
Her gaze returns to mine. "We'll look for your team together. After that, we'll go our separate ways. And no one will ever know we met."