Haru sat quietly as the bird touched down, Cobalt's voice reaching her ears via the speakers overhead with a self-satisfied little hum, as if touching down was the most impressive thing she'd done. It was cute, in an odd way, and Haru found herself smirking tiredly, eyelids heavy. Gods, I'm tired- it's nice that they didn't see me as a liability. That's a victory. What better way to celebrate victory than with a big nap? Naps are cool, man.
"Sure you're doing okay?" Fox asked quietly, angling her head, and Haru felt a quiet tug in the back of her mind as she nodded, mouth slowly opening wide as a yawn tore its way out of her.
"I'm fine," She began, and blinked as Charlotte cut her off.
"Ohoho, I'm fine after taking a bullet to the head, look at me, I'm Charlotte the sequel hue hue hue-" She snorted, then, pushing a few stray lilac strands out of her eyes and sighing. "Get some sleep, idiot. Good job today," She added, unbuckling and hopping from the helicopter, landing nimbly on her feet and starting toward the doors inside. Lif and Ica followed, not saying much, but spirits were high, and as Haru climbed out, second to last, looking down at Fox, she felt a strange sense of peace that she hadn't in quite some time.
-
"I am here to pay my friend a visit- you will let me in," A certain man stood before Abasaba tower, smiling languidly and lowering his head to make eye contact the the pitiful one before him, who stood at only six foot three. "Or there will be two who slipped past you tonight, and well, that would not be very enjoyable, would it? For your ego or your health," He added, straightening up and adjusting his cuffs, clearing his throat. "Stand aside."
Once they had, he slowly stepped forward, ducking under the doorframe and walking across the lobby floor, clearing his throat.
"Sir," A guard began. "We're closed-"
"Not to me you're not," He replied cordially with a warm smile, lacing his fingers behind his back and, for a moment, simply admiring the holographic display in the center of the room.
"Here at Abasaba, founded after the Pempan military took presence in Mir, we pride ourselves on our creating amazing weapons to power our soldiers in battle. Recently, we have also branched out into a number of cybernetic augments designed to aid humans without magical capability- and thanks to generous sponsorship from the Elevated, we have even begun to research ways to potentially protect the SOUL!!" The woman who spoke was smiling as if having the time of her life explaining this, and he, the giant, chuckled, hands still clasped neatly behind his back.
"Sir," One guard began, and fell silent, swallowing, stepping aside as he, the one who'd arrived, slowly turned and strode toward the stairwell, pushing his way inside, ducking under the door.
"It is not sir," He added, smiling back after he'd passed through the door. "My friends call me… well, never mind that. You might know me as the Giant- but you do not have the privilege of addressing me, whelp." Smiling, he shut the door and pressed onward.
-
I'm learning, Haru realized. She was proactive- shooting first, getting better at reading their moves. A guard swung for her head and missed as she cleanly ducked under, shooting the backs of his knees- oh gods what was that pop- he probably just needs a bandaid, right?Oof, continuing on.
Another thing that she was beginning to learn- bullets really didn't have a lot of stopping power when you ignored the pain; lead tried to pierce her chest, shoulder, leg; failed, hit the ground, and she pressed forward, swinging wide and sending another guard to the ground, clutching his jaw before she raised her foot and helped him get some sleep after his stressful shift.
-
"How's things?" The giant smiled as he stepped into the CEO's office, hands ever laced behind his back. Before him, the leader of Abasaba, a sniveling blonde man without a name worth remembering, cowered, forcing a smile.
"Well, we've made a number of g-great advancements, and the thieves tonight discovered n-nothing! They were fools, they-"
"Fools? Interesting," The giant chuckled, smiling. "Yoou say you have made a great number of advancements?"
"Yes! We-"
"What are they?" He asked flatly, still smiling, though the expression didn't quite reach his eyes.
"W-Well, we've discovered a reliable way of implanting retractable blades in somebody's arms, so that they can hide the weapons as part of their body-"
"The soul. Do not play me for a fool, for your mask would look quite poor on me," The giant smiled, still, chuckling drily.
"W-We have not made any progress yet, but I assure you,"
"Fascinating," The giant sighed, stepping forward. "It is a shame, then, that in your failures, depression overtook you, and you took your own life."
"Wha-" The CEO began before the giant grabbed his throat and swung with all his might, uncaring what killed him between the force, the glass he sailed through, or hitting the ground somewhere in the night.
Such a convenience, he thought, to have human pawns. So very disposable.
Smiling, he walked around the desk and sat down at the blonde man's desk, opening a new document, beginning to type.
'I have failed as a CEO. I am exhausted- and my security has failed to stop even the most incompetent of thieves- I'm done with this!! I can't take my failures anymore- I'll become a demon, or a risen, and come back with the strength to end them all!!!'
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the keyboard into the rain before standing up and walking languidly in the direction of the security booth, whistling.
-
Haru winced as a guard grabbed her throat and jerked back, aiming for the weak points around his thumbs to break the grip- he was too strong, so she closed her eyes and rammed her head forward, sending him reeling, and fired into his chest before he could recover.
"Ica, come on!!" She shouted, ducking under a blow and shooting another guard, swallowing. "Any update?!"
"Nothing here, it's a bust!! Let's get to the roof!!"
"Sounds good," Haru hacked through another guard's baton, snapping it in half and ripping a taser from his other hand, stabbing it into his stomach and pressing down until he fell.
"Not bad," Charlotte laughed as they reached the roof. "I didn't save you once that time~"
"That's my girl!" Fox huffed proudly, crossing her arms with a face that probably could have been accurately described as an emote, making Haru laugh as she hauled herself up the ladder, into the bird.
-
Smiling, the giant flicked his wrist and watched with satisfaction as the security terminals exploded into a shower of sparks, frying the security footage of the last several hours. The guards gasped, standing up, hands on their heads in a mockery of shock- none dared look at him, and so he, the Giant, smiled, slowly headed back into the hallway.
"Have a pleasant night," He called as he stepped back into the lobby, starting toward the front doors, soon ducking under the doorway and walking into the dark, humming pleasantly as he dialed a phone call. After two rings, they picked up.
"Yello?"
"Abasaba will, regrettably, be needing a new CEO. See to it for me, will you?"
"What happened to the old one?"
"Unfortunately, he took his own life. Something you're quite familiar with, no, Aerendyl?"
"Ugh… I'll… figure somebody out. A human, I assume?"
"Yes, find one with illusions of grandeur and call it a promotion. Use the salary if you must."
"I hate working with the Elevated, you know that right?"
"Yes, I do. Just as you hate me knowing your secrets. Just as you hate my willingness to tell everybody, everything, Director. It's fine, though- for surely I'm bluffing. You're a hero after all."
"Right," Aerendyl snapped, and the line clicked dead. The Giant, for his part, just chuckled, continuing to walk.
-
The third base didn't last any longer than the second.
"Have you ever done ballet?" Fox laughed, and Haru shook her head, rolling to her feet, dodging another blow and using the soldier's momentum to slam him into the wall. It really did feel like a dance, though; under, over, left. Backs of the knees- fire, fire, elbow, she weaved through the crowd with Fox. There was a wild beauty to it, she thought, and she only felt better knowing that she wasn't killing any of them… probably.
"You're gaining confidence," Lif laughed, grabbing two of the soldiers and slamming them together, then throwing them several yards back, watching them roll across the floor with a gleeful laugh. "This is like candy for babies, hahah!!"
"Don't give me too much credit, it's all humans and minor demons!!" Haru snapped, ducking another blow and slamming her foot into his balls, then grabbing his torso and hurling him into the wall.
"Still!" Lif cheered, clapping as Haru threw somebody over her shoulder, muscles burning with exertion, bullets harmlessly peppering her back, the back of her head. "You are learning the motions, and this is very important!! You think correctly; it is a dance, a ballet! Listen to your small fox wife!!"
"Yeah, small fox wife let's fucking go!!!" Fox cheered, laughing and bolting forward as a soldier tried to shoot her, crunching the gun in half with her hand and throwing him aside. "You know guns were actually dangerous where I'm from?!"
"There are enhanced bullets for military use, but they are rare!" Lif laughed, shoulder checking the door to the server rooms and letting Ica slip in.
"Let's figure out if these guys have anything," the twink giggled, hurrying for the desk. "Oh this one is gonna be easy- cheese dust on the number keys, they have a four digit password. Let's see…"
-
"Brynn," The Giant smiled, sitting back and crossing one leg over the other, lacing his fingers together. "This may not come as a shock- but Abasaba has disappointed me, repeatedly missing deadlines."
"Okay? Er- sorry, that sounded rude," The blonde woman before him bowed apologetically. "What I meant was that I am sorry to hear it, and curious as to how I might help-"
"Relax," The Giant waved his hand, chuckling warmly. "I would not kill an ally so readily. You are allowed to make mistakes with your words, and you should not feel the need to be afraid. Anyway, I have a task for you."
"What is it, sir?"
"Do you believe in your abilities as a spy? Tell me… a moment you were most proud of?"
For a moment, there was silence- he could see the confusion in Brynn's green eyes, but he waited, and she answered, given another moment.
"I have to be honest, sir- I do not feel pride in my work. I am a good spy- I get in, I get out, I am not seen. I believe that pride is a folly in my line of work."
"Interesting… well, it is a good answer, I suppose. I am no spy, I will not pretend to know better than you," The Giant shrugged, clearing his throat slowly.
"I'm sorry."
"No. It was an honest answer- I've always valued allies that I can trust. I want you to deliver a message for me."
"A message? Of course- to who?"
"Wolfpack. I wish to be kind, in the name of the All-Father."
"In the name of the All-Father."
-
"Ugh! Another bust!" Ica muttered as he shoved out into the hallway, swallowing. "Come on, let's get out of here. This is the last one, we'll have to talk with Aurelia, I don't know."
"Can you hear me?" Eileen's voice on the radio.
"Yes," Haru answered, a soldier in her own right, now.
"Good. I am keeping the thunderstorm away from Cobalt's helicopter. We will have a safe journey back. Have you found answers? This was the last place of our investigation."
"Nothing," Ica snapped back over the radio, annoyed. "I'll… I'll talk with Aurelia about next steps. Even if we forget about that summoned guy, Alex or whatever, we still have the issue of the weapons company potentially committing treason, and trying to manipulate gods."
"True. We will find him," Eileen affirmed. "Because it is the right thing to do, and because quitting on people is wrong."
"You wanna ride him or something?" Haru asked playfully, snickering.
"No. I want to do the right thing- elves hide in the woods and let the world burn around them. So much power, why should I refuse to use it? Alex is cute. So are you. Maybe I will ride you," Eileen added, and Haru jolted, face reddening- even Fox seemed stunned.
"That's a joke, right?!"
Silence, for a moment.
"It is, yes."
"Okay, good," Haru laughed breathlessly. "Let's not lose hope. We'll put our heads together with Aurelia, find another plan, another way forward. We can dig deeper; these places are bound to have branch offices, other places to look. Maybe hiding in plain sight wasn't their call- not gonna panic."
"Hey, Haru?" Charlotte stepped forward, and Haru blinked rapidly as the cat grabbed her face, glaring. "Can you stop being so fucking… rational?"
"W-What?"
"I… ugh, you're hot," Charlotte muttered, shoving her back. "All leader vibes- can we kick this Aurelia chick out?!" She huffed, turning and walking off.
"Hey- hey just who do you think you are?!" Fox shouted, stomping her foot and chasing after Charlotte, punching the Cheshire Cat in the back. "You jerk, I'm the small fox wife, yo!" Charlotte only laughed, and Haru giggled lazily, following along behind, stretching.
"Alright, Lif, Ica, thanks for letting us enjoy the moment," She added, winking back at the two men, who snickered quietly into their hands, standing by. "Let's get back to the bird, as Cobalt so loves to call it."
"Let's!! Gay women party, men do not disturb," Lif laughed, clapping his hands together.