Bab 32: Episode Thirty One. (July 2nd, 2123. Division-A, South District.)
'Destruction is inevitable, isn't it? That's all I've seen, all I have ever seen. Is destruction going to save us? From what- from more destruction? Destroy what? Destroy the city, destroy the infrastructure… destroy society, destroy our moral?
We ran away from destruction… what was that again; a storm… no, war. Why can't I remember this? Why doesn't anybody else question what is happening to us? Division-A is a city built on destruction, a safe haven for humanity… and yet, we're plagued with it.
A system of secrets. I think I know, I think they trust me… and yet I'm still left in the dark. I know infinitely more than anyone else, and yet I'm also the most clueless. That map, why wasn't Division-A there? Was it a printing error? Why was it in that cave? That mountain was infested with Compactors, is that where they're coming from… or is that just where they hide? It doesn't matter now… they destroyed it.
The pills I used to take were embedded with a sleep schedule, 10pm to 6am. Didn't Makina tell me that? No, she didn't. How did I know, did I always know? It's common knowledge, the only thing I know that others don't is that they're used to keep people out of the streets at night… because of Compactors. Are the pills even necessary anymore? The Compactors have started coming out during the day, they're getting desperate for food. Is that really it?
There's something happening in this city, something none of us know about. I feel it. Makina, Matoi… none of them know. Hetsu is the one in control, she's been around since the beginning of this city… the beginning… the beginning… one hundred years ago. What? How old am I? I'm seventeen. That dream, that light, what are those? How old am I? How old are we? How long have we been around? That's it, Hetsu knows. She's been around, some how. She has the answers. I will get them.'
Shattered glass decorated the sidewalks as windows were bashed in. Crowds of angry rioters flooded the streets, blocking traffic on the highway as they raided the businesses around them. A weapons and artillery shop sat evacuated as people pushed through the glass doors, chanting.
"There's no way in hell I'm going to let these corrupt bastards kill me off without a fighting chance!" A rioter shouted as he pulled an assault rifle off the wall.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Aggressive armed civilians came strutting out of the broken glass doors, fully equipped with weapons of all sorts. They stopped in their tracks, surprised to see the police arrive to the scene so promptly. The police had their arms outstretched over the hood of the wrecked cars on the highway, pointing their guns at the crowd of rioters when a man walked up.
"I wasn't expecting you cops to come so soon! Why are you so good at your job all of a sudden?" The man antagonized, getting cheers from the crowd behind him.
"Drop your weapon and hands in the air," the officer responded.
"Like hell," the man refused. "I'll drop 'em whenever I can rely on your lazy asses to protect me! I'm not going to be a victim of your games, and neither will any of these people!"
The crowd cheered again, lifting their fists and guns in the air.
"There is no game, sir," the officer assured. "The police department are citizens just like you, doing our best to protect Division-A. Now put your weapons down!"
"All you cops are just Hetsu's mindless dogs, eating any of the bullshit she tells you!" The man continued to rant on. "This city has gone to hell, quit acting like it hasn't!"
"Put your gun down!"
"This… is a revolution!" The man declared as he aimed his rifle at the officer in front of him. Within seconds, there was gunfire.
Blocks down the road, a mother and her two twin boys were sneaking around the corner of a building, acting as anonymous as possible as they carefully made their way through the city. The children whined under their breath as the mom pulled them behind her, nervously checking behind her every few seconds.
Suddenly, a familiar green truck pulled up in front of them, blocking their line of sight. The mom stepped back, ushering her children behind her as the front passenger seat window lowered. A scruffy looking man peaked his head out, a disappointed and dreadful expression dawning his face.
"We found you, Omega," he groaned, mistaking her for the fabled government creature.
Three gunshots.
Amidst the chaos, a group of teens were crouched in the corner of a convenience store, laptops unfolded and balancing on their knees as they typed. They conversed with each other as people raided the store around them. A chubby boy with a beanie pressed enter on the keyboard, and the store television lit up with pictures of the decimated Mount Massive.
Another teen stood atop a fallen shelf, canned foods busted open on the floor. He pulled a microphone to his mouth, speaking as strangers continued robbing the store. "These are pictures my friends and I have collected that show proof of these monsters' existence! We call them the 'Secret Demons' and they've killed countless of your dearest friends and family! Let's rebel against the Koboshi administration and take over the Grand Hall!"
Meanwhile, scared families were locked in their house, hugging one another as the screaming from the outside haunted the districts. They prayed and called law enforcement, asking for assistance as rioters crept closer to their neighborhoods.
The pillars bordering the massive stain glass windows of Hetsu's office loomed over her as they curved into a glass dome, shedding sunlight onto the Royal Ambassador herself. Chatter filled the halls outside her room, polluting Hetsu's brain as she stared, frustrated, at her laptop. She massaged her forehead, sighing as her tired eyes roamed around the desk cluttered with work.
Hideyo pushed through the doors with her hips, her gloved hands busy cradling a hefty stack of folders and paperwork. She bickered with someone in the hallway, her head turned away from them as she kicked the door closed, silencing him. Hideyo stumbled over to Hetsu's desk and dropped the stack of documents, adding to the pile.
"I'll never understand why they don't digitize this stuff," Hideyo groaned.
"They do," Hetsu stated through her hands, "I just get it this way…"
Stroking her pigtails, Hideyo gawked out the window. She shifted her weight from side to side, debating a conversation in her head before blurting it out loud. "Have you watched the news?" She paused, getting no response from her superior. "It's absolutely insane out there. We thought it was bad before… but. Federal buildings are being vandalized, riots and protests are at every block in the city, photos are going viral, conspiracies are spreading, our own officials are starting to question us. Not only that, but we had seven civilian on civilian deaths yesterday."
"I know," Hetsu mumbled. "That's what I'm figuring out…"
"What do you want me to do?" Hideyo asked, worried. "Restricting media coverage could help diffuse the commotion. I could private all social media accounts and defund broadcasting corporations."
"That wouldn't help. The people aren't that dumb, they wouldn't fall for something like that… it'd only make it worse," she responded, pointing out the flaws in Hideyo's proposition.
"I'm stuck. I need to do something but I don't know what. I have already put Omegas under a protection program and stocked federal buildings with troops. Damn it all, its as if the Compactors are purposely being bombastic with their actions, like they know how to destroy us from within. Yes, what I need to address is…"
"…The Compactors," Hideyo finished. "They already know about them, or at least know that there's a threat to be afraid of. They won't believe in that fake terrorist group any more, especially after a handful of people have already seen them in person and online."
Hetsu leaned back, pushing her chair further from her desk as she dropped her head and sighed from exhaust. She glanced behind Hideyo, noticing the Division-A flags lining the office doors. "The Compactors and Omegas is all I will mention. I'll say nothing regarding the outside."
"Of course not," Hideyo agreed. "Whatever you decide to do, it needs to be soon. We can't wait, master."
"I'm aware. Schedule a briefing tomorrow with the Board of Directors. I want a wide scale exposition at the South Colosseum by the end of the week. I want all television channels and social media platforms broadcasting it."
The television aired a live news broadcast, taunting Sakagami's attention span as she stared into the options displayed in the vending machine offered by the many empty Grand Hall guest lobbies. She ran her eyes over the snacks and drinks, wondering which would satisfy her the most as she waited for the sleeping Akino in the infirmary across the building. Her ears twitched, teased by the low-quality audio coming from overhead. She reluctantly chimed in, looking up to watch the news.
"Riots continue to overpower Division-A after the evacuation of the North East District and destruction of Mount Massive. Civilians are resulting to violence and vandalism as a way to express to the Royal Ambassador their anguish and despair after falling victim to an unknown danger, of which is rumored to be an inhuman anomaly. As of now, wide-spread acts of destruction are being minimized by authorities and it looks like the riots are growing more scarce by the hour. However, it is important to stay inside with loved ones and try to remove yourself from the commotion until it is completely safe to resume normal activities."
Sakagami sighed, bringing her attention back to the vending machine. She pressed B7 and a bottle of lemonade dropped into her hands. She gripped it hard, thinking deeply to herself about the scene unfolding outside. She slowly walked out of the lobby and down the frantic hallways, squeezing her way to the infirmary where she saw Akino's empty bed. She dropped her bottle on the blankets and darted into the hallway, looking for her missing son.
Akino pulled the sleeves of his jacket down, the cold breeze of the air conditioning sending chills through his body. He walked past the fleeting people running back and forth beside him. His eyes were lifted up, reading the signs directing his way around the Grand Hall. He turned the corner and walked down a wide spiral staircase leading to the Omegas Respite Care Room. He walked through the doors, noticing Makina among a few others sprawled out on couches and chairs.
Makina, who was curled in a futon removed from the others, had a book over combat spread over her face, disguising her assumed sleeping state when she noticed Akino's shadow coming closer. Speaking through the pages unfolded over her face, she asked, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting." Without a reply, Makina lifted up the book and made eye contact with the boy, noticing the pent up eagerness in his expression. "What?"
Akino gulped, struggling to put words to the things racing through his head. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."
Makina raised her eyebrows and pushed her head further into he armrest behind her, confused. "Huh?"
"When we first met, I resented you for not giving me the answers to my questions," he confessed, "but now I know that you were being honest, you didn't know them."
Makina reached for the opened book on her chest and pulled it back over her face. "I'm too tired to deal with your dreaming bull crap right now. Let me sleep."
"You don't understand," he claimed. "Hetsu is hiding things from us."
"The only people Hetsu is hiding things from is the normies outside. That explosion in the cave cracked your skull good, didn't it?" Makina said.
Akino glared at her through the book cover above her face. He arched his shoulders, getting defensive. "That piece of paper that I was trying so hard to get to a few days ago was a map… a map of the Pacific Ocean. But, Division-A was completely missing and it was printed just fifty years ago."
"You're thinking too deeply into a piece of trash you found in a cave," Makina shrugged off, her voice muffled behind the book.
"Quit acting so complacent, Makina." Akino stated. Makina tilted her head, glaring at him menacingly through the pages. "I know you want answers just as much as I do. You know that things aren't connecting as they should. Those Compactors are a complete mystery to us, don't you feel like you deserve to know after what happened to your family?"
Makina sat up, closing the book and putting it to the side, her red eyes glued to Akino in an offended manner. "What makes you think that Hetsu knows anymore than we do?"
"Think about it," he began, "we've been taught that the Koboshi family has been involved with the construction of this city since the start, including Hetsu herself. Division-A has been around for a century, does that mean Hetsu is over one hundred years old?! On top of that, I think that my dreams take place before Division-A was built. The voice, the destroyed metropolis, I think that's all from before! If that's the case, then why do I remember it?"
"The Hetsu I know is only in her seventies, what you're saying is a conspiracy as popular as the rest," Makina interrupted.
"Then why was it taught in school?!"
"You imagined it!"
Akino's eyes became dull and the eagerness in his expressions faded. He slumped his shoulders and sighed. "You're scared to know the truth, aren't you? You're afraid that you'll be stuck in this life forever, afraid that things will only keep getting worse. You're afraid that if we do find something, that it would destroy us."
"Ignorance is the best anyone could ask for. I'm tired of this shit," Makina mumbled, breaking eye contact. "Besides, what the hell do you know?"
"I know that deep down, you're still motivated to avenge your family," Akino claimed, catching Makina off guard. "I know that you hate Hetsu for forcing you into this lifestyle. Yet, all you have is this. That's how I know that you're going to help me dismantle these lies and keep us safe."
Makina felt butterflies flutter in her stomach, her breathing paused for a second or two as she collected her thoughts. She dropped her head, running her hands through the purple locks of hair on her head before glancing at him. "What are you going to do about it?" She asked, curious.
"That starts with you. I want to start from the very beginning by digging around in your organs," he said bluntly.
"What?!" Makina exclaimed, her eye twitching in disgust.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone