Bab 36: Episode Thirty Five. (July 31st, 2123. Division-A, South District.)
Makina, Hideyo, Asuka, and Kiku walked Yukino, Miki, and Sakagami up the stairs into the outside world. Rays of sunlight peaked out from the thick gray clouds that painted the dull sky that drizzled light showers onto the survivors. The shell of the skyscrapers that used to stand hummed with the wind as they rocked from side to side. The seven pulled each other up one of the many tall mounds of rubble. The elevation provided a small refreshing breeze amongst the carnage, flowing through their hair and drying their cuts.
Asuka knelt down and unzipped the duffle-bag she carried with her. She dug through it and pulled out three Omega jetpacks. They were quite large and square with straps that hooked onto their shoulders like a backpack. It was indented like the shoulder pads they wore, exposing the shutters on the inside that expelled the gas that allowed them to fly.
Kiku turned each person around one at a time, hooking the tool onto their backs. She wrapped the straps around their waists and over their shoulders like a harness, knowing that they'd have to compromise since the jetpacks usually attached magnetically to the uniforms.
Miki lifted his shoulders up and down and arched his back, grunting. "They're heavier than I thought they'd be…"
"The jetpacks are fueled by the temperature of your blood," Makina stated, wasting no time.
As the others glanced at her, star-struck by the technology they're being equipped with, Kiku pushed a button on the side of the machine. That action prompted a row of tiny needles to stick into the user's back and drain their blood. They winced in pain, but the sensation went away shortly after.
"The more you move, the more you sweat, the more adrenaline in your system, the hotter your blood will get," Makina explained, "and that's how you'll fly. The jetpacks convert the heat into steam and catapult you in whatever direction you wanna go."
"There's no controls…," Sakagami worried as she looked over her shoulder. "How are we supposed to control them?"
"The needles in your back are equipped with sensors. Whenever you tense your muscles, the jetpack will be activated," Makina continued, stiffening her body as an example for the others, even though she wasn't wearing anything but her normal attire.
Yukino balanced herself, hesitant to try out the machine. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tightened her body. Her jetpack immediately lit up and steam coughed up through the neon shudder. She giggled and spun around, trying to see the machine for itself like a dog chasing its tail. The others, amazed, did the same and powered on their jetpacks.
"To control the direction, shift your weight to one side of your body. That is the side your jetpack will fly you to. To go straight, just balance your weight to the center of your body. That's all there is to it," Makina finished.
Sakagami leaned to the left, balancing on her left foot. A few curious seconds went by before a burst exploded from her back and pushed her to the other side of the mound of rubble. She squealed, taken by shock by the sudden force of the machine.
"To get in the air, just jump."
Miki turned around slowly, gathering all the courage he had left in his body. Yukino and Sakagami watched him closely, captivated. He looked down at the soil a few meters beneath him and sighed before taking a leap of faith. Miki felt a stinging in his back as blood was extracted from him, and then he was flying. Destroyed buildings
and clouds of smoke flied past him as he screamed manically, unable to control the direction he was going. Before he knew it, he was turned back around and flying into the pile of rubble he once stood upon.
Sakagami winced as the dust from the concrete clouded around her. Miki groaned, climbing up to the peak where the rest of them watched. Yukino picked him up, careful not to active her own jetpack. She used her wrist to wipe the dust from his face.
"I-Is there any way to slow it down some?" Miki asked, already drained of energy and out of breath. Makina shook her head no.
"It's too soon to have them fly," Hideyo proposed. She walked closer to the trio and forced a smile. "Don't feel bad, most Omegas don't get the hang of it on the first try either." She paused, glancing at the Omegas. "Why don't we teach them like how we taught you guys back when you were cadets?"
"Does it look like we have a week to spare?" Makina asked, annoyed. "We don't have the time to train them like that. Division-A is in shambles and the enemy is doing who the hell knows what?"
"I agree with Makina here," Sakagami said. "I don't have time to be coddled."
"Is it possible… to learn this by the end of the day?" Yukino questioned, lifting her hands to her chest anxiously.
Hideyo sighed and narrowed her eyes in disappointment. "If you're willing to give it your all for twelve hours straight, then you might be able to get around. I'm not guaranteeing that, though." She turned her head back to the red-eyed Omega. "Makina, are you sure-"
"Akino's life depends on them being able to fend for themselves," she blatantly pointed out.
Sakagami stepped away and stared out to the expansive stretch of crumbled highway ahead of her. She pushed her shoulder blades back and the jetpack thrusted forward. Sakagami skidded across the rubble and immediately crashed into the side of a building. The others gasped, but Sakagami climbed back up anyway and tensed her muscles.
"I'm going to do this," Sakagami grunted. "It can't be that hard."
Yukino climbed down and jogged up to Sakagami. Makina watched, skeptical, as the two talked to each other. The girls nodded and lined up, getting in running position. Then suddenly the girls started running down the highway, hyping each other up.
"What are they doing?" Kiku asked, tilting her head.
Several meters into their jog, the girls pushed their shoulder blades back and launched themselves into the sky. They managed about five seconds of steady flight before they plummeted back to the ground.
"Have you ever flown with a jetpack, Hideyo?" Kiku questioned, lifting an eyebrow.
"Of course," she said as she watched the girls continue, "It's been a while, though."
As Miki, Sakagami, and Yukino continued flying past each other and crashing into walls, Asuka slid down the mound of rubble and headed inside a building, holding her head. Kiku took her attention off of the humans and followed the ginger into the destroyed parking garage. Asuka slowed her pace and stopped in the middle, sighing.
"What's the matter?" Kiku kept her distance, knowing that her sister prefers her personal space in distressing times such as these.
Asuka lifted her head back and ran her hands through her hair, staring up at the cracked ceiling. She massaged her nape in thought, taking a moment to respond. "Is it wrong for me to miss him?"
"Who- Akino?" Kiku stepped closer, pulling her coat closer to her as the cold breeze swirled around her.
Asuka didn't turn to face Kiku, instead looking blankly ahead as she let her emotions flood her heart. "I haven't talked to him that much. He and I only met a few times. But… this is all just reminding me of the time Akino came to me asking for me to teach him how to defend himself… all so he could stand a chance beside Makina and," her voice cracked, "…Matoi."
Kiku shook her head, closing the distance between the two of them. "It isn't wrong, we all want him back." The blonde struggled to find her words, not knowing how to comfort her.
"It's selfish of me to have these feelings," Asuka confessed. "If I only met him that many times and feel like this, I can't imagine what the other feel like." She looked down at her feet, shuffling around as she slowly turned towards Kiku. "I'm sorry, I'm talking nonsense. It's just that so much has happened and… sorry to put this all on you, Kiku."
She shook her head again, wrapping her arms around Asuka's waist. "No, it's okay for you to feel these things." The corners of her mouth uplifted in a tender smile. "I feel the same way, we all are, so don't be embarrassed." She giggled.
Asuka smiled back, patting the younger one's head. She stopped, looking out to see the trio struggling to control their flight. "We need to do our best for them. If Akino is alive out there, then we can't have him return with none of his friends or family."
Letting go, Kiku turned her head and focused on Sakagami. "Especially his mom… she needs to be strong for us."
Sakagami spun around in midair, shouting angry words at herself as she failed at controlling the machine. She turned her body in the opposite direction towards the ground in an attempt to land, but she slammed herself into the dirt instead. She groaned, pulling herself back up. Yukino ran up to her, cheering her on even though she was exhausted herself.
"You got this, Ms. Sakagami!" Yukino chanted, throwing her fist in the air. "Don't give up!"
Sakagami forced a smile, lifting her fist up with her. "You, also, Ms. Shota! You too, Miki."
Miki exhaled, trying to catch his breath. He punched the side of his jetpack, forcing it to power on the unintended way. He cursed to himself and got in position, running down the street and jumping into the sky.
Hideyo and Makina remained atop the pile of rubbish, observing the others quietly. Tension was inevitable between the two, and awkward silence replaced the distance between them. Makina's eyes were half-lidded in looming guilt, unable to face her superior directly. Hideyo itched her neck, tugging at the 'A' choker wrapped tightly around it.
"I wasn't able to save Hetsu," Makina stated. Her body broke out in a cold sweat, the reality of their situation setting in again as she reminded herself of the passing of humanity's leader. "Matoi held my attention the whole time, I was too distracted."
"It's your duty to protect humanity," Hideyo mumbled, biting her lip. "It was my duty to protect master." She clenched her fists and exhaled, her breath shaky. "There's nothing we could have done but…," her voice turned to desperate whimpers, "…Makina, I don't know what to do."
Makina looked at her, noticing Hideyo's face was scrunched together. Her eyebrows were pushed close and her mouth was arched high as a tear ran down her cheek.
"How am I supposed to know what to do with myself now?" Hideyo covered her eye and wiped the tear with her wrist. "Master… Ms. Koboshi… always told me what the best thing for me to do was… but now I don't even know what to do with myself." She stretched her neck, looking out in the far distance towards the Grand Hall, who's 'A' flag was still flying.
"You're our leader now, Hiroko," Makina stated. "You need to pull yourself together."
"Who? Who is there left to lead? Everyone is… everyone is dead," she cried. "I'm in no position to govern a city… if you can call this a city." She bent down and picked up a rusted and mangled soda can. She gritted her teeth and chucked it down the street. "This isn't a city, this is hell!"
Makina kept her eyes locked on the tossed can, noting how Hideyo picked it up and threw it. If that soda can could rely on others to progress forward, then Makina could too. She bent over and picked up a piece of concrete. Hideyo silenced herself, puzzled by Makina's similar actions.
"This…," Makina said, juggling the piece of concrete, "…this is for our future." Makina stretched her arm back and sent the rock flying, smashing against the side of a wall. However, something blocked the view of the impact.
A bright streak of white flew across the sky. Makina and Hideyo watched, gasping, as Miki flew down the street. He wobbled a few times and exclaimed colorful language before he managed to maintain his balance. A smile, an expression that hadn't graced his face in a while, pushed his cheeks up as he looked down at Yukino, proud.
Yukino pushed her fist up in the air again, jumping up and down. "You got this! You got this!"
Makina's eyes lit up with excitement and Asuka and Kiku quickly ran outside to catch a peek. Kiku started chasing after him, stopping once she met with Sakagami and Yukino. "Wait, he's actually doing it! The jetpack is flying!"
"No," Asuka denied, "Miki is the one who's flying."
Miki made it a few feet from the ground in an attempt to stick a clean landing, but dropped to it instead. Yukino ran up to him and pulled him up, hugging him tight and giggling. "You see! We got this!" She said to him before turning to Makina and Hideyo. "Hear that? We stand a chance! The Compactors will fear us!"
Makina replied in a whisper, making the others unable to hear her. "It's not the Compactors you have to worry about… its your friend."
The trio huddled together. Miki did his best to explain his technique but found it difficult to make his ideas come out into comprehensible words. Nonetheless, Yukino and Sakagami continued trying. Hours passed and they continued to launch upwards and then plummet back down. The sun finally revealed itself behind the clouds as it set behind the twisted remains of a cityscape. Hideyo and the Omegas watched as the three danced around the setting sun, pulling the vivid blue hues of the sky down with it.
Kiku yawned, hiding her mouth with her tiny hands. "They've been at this all day… we can just try again tomorrow."
Asuka was stretched out against the side of the pile, toying with the wrapper of old min-donuts from the gas station. "I wouldn't say that…," Asuka warned. "Makina will get on you."
In the distance was Makina standing with the others, scolding them. The three watched her rambling, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. Makina took off Miki's jetpack and put it on herself, demonstrating how to maneuver herself and the machine properly. Impatience and worry accumulated in Makina as time passed on, and she eventually gave him back the jetpack and stormed off. Ignoring the calls of the others, she entered the parking garage and rested against a pillar.
Running her hands through her hair, Makina sighed and slid down the pillar supporting the collapsing roof above her, now squatting with her hands in her face. Makina opened her eyes, staring at her palm when she came to a realization. "If I want to rescue him… then I'll, have to put on the uniform." She turned around, facing the cracked pillar behind her. "I can't be ashamed of what I am… because when it comes down to it…," Makina weakly punched the pillar, "…that's the thing that's going to save him."
She stepped back and clenched her fist tighter before throwing all her strength into the punch. The pillar crumbled into dust and before long, the ceiling started collapsing. Makina ignored it however and instead continued to throw her fists at the wall and pillars. Clouds of dust started surrounding her as the parking garage collapsed when a streak of white flew past her and cleared it.
Sakagami circled around Makina, forcing the debris out of the area. "What are you doing?! I told you to be careful!"
"You're doing it," Makina exclaimed, her eyes big with pride. "Where's Yukino?"
Yukino hovered over the debris and approached Makina with a big smile on her face. Miki approached close behind her. "Her jetpack must've been defective," he said, "so she's using mine."
"What'd you make this mess for?" Hideyo asked, climbing up the rubble while using one of her swords as a cane before abruptly coughing from the smog.
"I needed to release some steam, sorry." Makina pushed her braids over her shoulders. "That's a problem though- because if one jetpack is defective, that means one of us won't be able to fly."
"You mean you don't have another one?" Yukino asked, landing to the ground.
"Those were all I could find nearby," Asuka stated. "I mean… we could steal some from the corpses along the street but… those probably don't work either."
"I-I'm not sure how comfortable I am with using some dead girl's equipment," Miki confessed, scratching his cheek uncomfortably.
"Then its settled," Makina said, "Miki gets the jetpack since he's the heaviest and I'll carry Yukino."
"A-Are you sure?" Yukino blushed and stepped back as she covered her stomach. "I won't be too heavy?"
"You haven't eaten a full meal in weeks," Makina pointed out. "I'm positive."
Makina, Hideyo, Asuka, Kiku, Yukino, Miki, and Sakagami sat around the table they moved to the middle of the utility closet. The singular light above them swung back and forth, dying the face's of everyone with a harsh rotating shadow. Their chairs squeaked as everyone leaned in towards one another, clinging to every approaching word as the plan to rescue their comrade devised.
"Our objective is to locate and retrieve Akino," Makina explained. "Once we have him, we need to equip him with a jetpack and a weapon so that he can stand on his own if any of us get separated or die."
"What are we supposed to do about Matoi?" Asuka scooted forward, staring Makina intently in the eye.
"After we find Akino, I'll go off on my own and kill her myself. I don't want anyone else laying a finger on her," she said.
Hideyo introduced herself into the discussion, her mind running wild with speculations. "It's likely that Matoi or somebody else will be guarding him if she's working in cahoots with someone. If that's the case then you should lure them away while I lead the charge to rescue him."
"If somebody is working with Matoi to get this done, then we should be prepared for that also," Miki specified.
Asuka shifted her gaze to the boy with a scar on his eye, responding. "Kiku and I will take care of any miscalculations. Matoi is probably the only one who's on Stage Two, so if she's busy with Makina then Kiku and I should be able to handle anyone else." She turned to face Makina. "Is that okay, Captain?"
"That's fine," Makina replied. "Don't bother keeping anyone alive unless its Akino."
"Now, wait a minute," Yukino interrupted. "Don't you think we should keep one of Matoi's allies alive? We could gather information that way."
Makina leaned back in her chair, rubbing her chin as she contemplated the circumstances. "That's none of my concern right now. We won't have any need for hostages, even there's any to be had. They're going to fight to the death, and that's fine by me. We need to focus on one goal at a time or things will get messier than they already are."
"We don't even know where Akino is. We have to find him first," Miki said.
"I think I know where he is," Hideyo admitted. "When Matoi kidnapped him, she flew Northeast."
"Ah...," Kiku gasped. "So that means..."
Makina stared directly into the eyes of her piers. "Mount Massive…," she decided, "The Compactor Base."
"But it was destroyed…," Kiku claimed in disbelief of Makina and Hideyo's assumption.
Makina rested her elbows on the table as she held her head, blood fueled adrenaline rushing in as memories of the mission flooded in. "It was, but not entirely. There's still a pit that goes a thousand meters down. It's where the Compactors come from, I assume."
Sakagami's eyes widened as bursts of chilling fear lit up in her gut. "You mean... Akino is in a pit with hundreds of hungry monsters?"
Hideyo's determined gaze softened as she took pity on the worrisome mother and attempted to explain her reasoning as a failed attempt at comforting her. "That's the only place I could imagine where Matoi would keep him. It's a secure location devoid of people. Not only that, but if master's theories were true, then Mount Massive is where the Compactors enter the city. Matoi obviously has some control over the Compactors, so that's where she'd be also."
Miki shook his head in denial. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would she blow up her own base?"
"To hide it," Asuka said, "or to get rid of any evidence."
"It wasn't a big loss for her, anyway," Makina elaborated. "The mountain was a coverup. The real sweet spot in underground in the pit."
Yukino arched her shoulders and looked down at her dirty, scarred feet. The lingering fear from her churning stomach crept its way to her throat as she choked up words of terror. "I-I've never fought a Compactor before. If he's really down there, then that's where we have to go." Yukino pulled her head up a bit, but couldn't find the strength in her to face everyone else. "Be honest, am I going to die?"
Sakagami grabbed Yukino's hand and squeezed it, just like she'd do when Akino was anxious back when he was a child. "Ms. Shota is right. I'm not getting eaten before I rescue my son. There has to be a safer way in."
"The only other way in is to blow up the area surrounding the pit, but that poses the risk of demolishing it entirely and killing Akino," Hideyo mentioned. "That's a risk we can't take until we get him out. Afterwards, maybe."
Makina pushed her chair back and stood up. Her tall figure casted a shadow over the table distancing them. Everyone looked up, stunned, noticing Makina's eyes glowing with passion. "You won't die," she said. "If humans are known for anything, its for their ambition. If your heart is truly set on saving your friend, then you're invincible."
Miki stood up as well, his height towering hers in a battle of dominance and assertion. "How can I trust you? No offense, but you've given me no reason, Makina."
Yukino squeaked, shocked by his abrupt attitude. "Miki…"
Makina met eye contact with him, her head cocked downward as she stared into his soul. "Even when I didn't want him there, Akino was always beside me. He had my back when nobody else did, and I'm indebted to him for that. It's my purpose to save every last human I can till my body is dry. Since the day I became an Omega, no, since the day I was born, that was my duty. I won't let you down, I promise."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone