Chapter 489: Collapse
Momousagi shifted carefully toward the sea creature's tail, where there was enough distance from the group that conversation wouldn't carry.
The Fish-Men had lent her the Den Den Mushi without a second thought. She'd mentioned wanting privacy for a family matter, and they'd nodded and moved away, entirely accommodating.
Kind people. Whatever the politics between Fish-Man Island and the Navy, the ordinary people of the island were genuinely kind.
The real ambition, the real threat, sat with Brett and the people around him. The leaders. The ones who had decided to drag their island into a war that would tear the world open. For the sake of humanity, and for the sake of the good Fish-Men who wanted nothing to do with any of it, that had to be stopped.
Because if it wasn't, the consequences would be catastrophic for everyone. Fish-Man Island included.
Brett was powerful, and the people around him were extraordinary. But Momousagi couldn't bring herself to believe they could actually defeat the World Government.
The World Government.
The thought of it curdled something in her chest.
A government that could send hundreds of Navy soldiers to be used as experimental material without a moment's hesitation. That could send her, and Doberman, without apparently losing a single night's sleep over it. That was not an institution that deserved anyone's trust.
But that didn't make Brett's faction right either.
She remembered clearly. He had killed senior Navy officers early on, and survived only because the Government chose to cover for him. Two sides of the same corrupt ledger. Their conflict was nothing more than dogs fighting over a carcass.
But where did that leave the Navy?
She didn't know.
What she knew was that she had to report everything she'd seen. That was non-negotiable. She dialed a number.
It didn't take long.
"Who is this?"
The voice that answered was composed, with a thin thread of surprise underneath it.
"Tsuru-san. It's me."
She couldn't keep the relief entirely out of her voice. It came through anyway.
"Gion?"
The Den Den Mushi's expression shifted visibly. Eyes going wide in a way that Momousagi had never quite seen from her.
She found, briefly, that she almost wanted to smile. Tsuru was always the most unshakeable person in any room. Seeing her caught off-guard felt almost like proof that the world still had some of its old constants left in it.
"Tsuru-san, I have something important I need to tell you..."
But she only got halfway through the sentence before the other end cut across her.
"You're still reaching out, Gion. Haven't you given this up yet?"
"Given this up?" Momousagi paused. "What do you mean?"
"We already know what happened." Tsuru's voice stayed level.
"You already know?"
Momousagi's eyes went wide. Had the Navy had another informant inside the facility?
"The Science Division was destroyed, but Doctor Caesar survived under CP0 protection." Tsuru's tone didn't shift. "It was from him that we learned what happened."
"What."
The bottom dropped out of Momousagi's stomach.
The cold spread through her before she had time to think about it.
"I honestly don't know what Zephyr did to make so many of you turn against us one after another." A quiet sigh from the other end. "It's a shame. Whatever you were planning, it failed. Caesar is alive."
"No. Tsuru-san." Momousagi's throat had gone dry. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"There's no point in trying to sow doubt now. What's your version? That the Science Division was conducting human experiments? That you were acting in the name of justice?"
The coldness in Tsuru's voice was unlike anything Momousagi had ever heard from her.
"The only thing we can confirm is that the Science Division was destroyed and almost no one survived."
Everything inside Momousagi had gone cold.
"No! You've been deceived, Tsuru-san!" She forgot entirely about keeping her voice down. Her teeth were clenched and the words were coming out hard. "Doberman and every single one of his people were used as test subjects! They were turned into monsters! I only escaped because Doberman threw himself in to cover for me!"
A pause.
"If that helps you feel better, believe whatever you need to."
The voice on the other end was as still as deep water.
"If we meet on a battlefield from here on out, don't expect me to hold back."
The call ended.
Momousagi held the Den Den Mushi in her hand and didn't move.
They'd been deceived.
The Navy had been deceived by the Government, and it had worked completely.
She couldn't feel her hands.
She was a traitor now. A defector. An enemy of the Navy.
Tsuru didn't believe her.
All of it drained out of her at once, like a string that had been cut. Every muscle, every reserve of will that had kept her moving since she'd woken up on this sea creature's back. Gone.
She didn't have anywhere to go anymore.
What was she supposed to do now?
Momousagi sat motionless.
"Hey. Is she alright?"
From the head of the sea creature, a cluster of Fish-Men were watching her with some concern.
"Must have gotten some bad news." One of them shook their head slowly. "She's got those injuries, and now this. Something must have gone very wrong for her."
"That's rough." Another voiced their sympathy. "This is always the way for our kind out in the human world. They never really see us as people."
"You know, this might be an opportunity." A third one said this with the conspiratorial air of someone about to suggest something inadvisable. "She's incredibly beautiful. If you caught her at a low moment like this and offered a kind word..."
"That's the most idiotic thing I've heard you say." An immediate rebuttal from the one beside him. "Approaching someone in that state with motives like that would only make her want nothing to do with you."
"Leave her alone for a while."
The group sighed collectively, sympathetic and helpless.
Everyone had their difficult stretches. Hopefully this one could find her footing again before too long.
Navy Headquarters.
Tsuru set the Den Den Mushi down. Her brow creased.
"Gion. What is actually going on with you?"
She didn't know who to believe anymore.
The world had become a very strange and unfamiliar place in a very short time.
I'm sorry, Gion. Now is not the moment to hear you out fully. Whatever the truth of it, the timing makes it impossible.
Mariejois. Pangaea Castle.
"We've intercepted a transmission between Momousagi and Vice Admiral Tsuru."
The door to the Five Elders' office opened and a CP0 operative entered, reporting at a brisk pace.
"And?" Saint Mars's brow was furrowed. He leaned in.
"Momousagi attempted to discredit the Government and Doctor Caesar. Vice Admiral Tsuru did not believe her." The CP0 operative answered quickly. "She dismissed Momousagi's account and ended the call almost immediately."
"I see."
Saint Mars let out a slow breath and waved the operative out. Then he looked around at the other four. "Our efforts produced results after all. It was worth the cost of the base."
"Surveillance must continue." Saint Ju Peter's tone was careful. "There may still be someone who can be swayed by her."
The Five Elders nodded together.