Year 2035, April
10:00 A.M
Oulu, Finland
,__.__,
,__.__,
That same morning, we met with Neary and discussed how the military coup would handle things going forward. As the three of us watched over the civilians at the shopping mall's parking lot, Neary started the discussion first by asking an earnest question.
"Our Valkyrie is still fourteen, huh," he said. "Are you the youngest among the Aegis User?"
Obviously, he didn't want to make his sympathy too apparent, so he asked Aya that straightforward question. He had shared with me about how he sympathized her fate, and that she deserved better. Though, Ava came to mind when he talked about it.
Aya furrowed her eyebrows. ". . . I was the youngest Aegis User a few years back. Maybe there is a younger one right now in the military base. After all, I was not the only one who got my Aegis at such an early age. There were a lot of kids back then."
Neary couldn't help but gritted his teeth. He was a former soldier of the C.U, but the existence of Aegis Users didn't come to light until he defected. I was like him too when I first discovered those human weapons. Not long after that, I found myself getting involved more and more with Aya and Ava.
Of course, I didn't understand what they had been through. After all, someone like me who once served such a corrupted country wouldn't understand them.
"Speaking of which, I have heard rumors about the Grim Reaper," said Neary. "She is a member of the Lutalo Aegis squad that is under Gheele Folami. And, that girl appears to be quite young . . ."
He wanted to say that Aya was the same age as her, but he brushed it off at the last second. Indeed, Neary wore his heart on his sleeve, so it didn't take any effort at all for a soldier like me to know what he was thinking.
"Ava . . ." mumbled Aya. She then bit her lip, perhaps remembering the memories she shared with Ava.
"Lutalo, huh. The military coup might need their help in the future," I said.
"Oh, right. You haven't heard the news, don't you?" Neary raised his eyebrow.
"What news?" I asked.
"The other members of our pro-Maltyie faction in Russia. Under the general name of 'military coup', they joined forces with The People's Light and Lutalo and invaded Moscow."
Aya and I gasped.
Neary continued, "They succeeded a few days ago. Apparently, the mess that Ivar had left behind also wreaked havoc in Moscow. The forces there had dispatched it though, so there's that."
"Hmm." I put a hand at my chin. "Considering the worsening state of Finland, there's a high chance for Lutalo to come here, helping us in the future. They have been helping rebel groups all over the globe for the past year, so it's only a matter of time."
"Then, we need to do our own part too in preparation for their arrival," said Aya. Her turquoise eyes gleamed brightly, signifying her eagerness to sortie out.
"About that, we had just received the location of Finland's general-in-charge. He has been ruling Finland for more than a decade now," said Neary.
"I see. So the next mission is to take him out of the equation," I said firmly.
"Exactly. He has been hiding from plain sight these few months. After all, his Finland is crumbling under the pressure we have been putting them on. Not to mention, more and more of their soldiers are defecting to our side."
I glanced at Aya for a moment. "I'm assuming some of them have been helping the citizens in the dire Kuusamo."
"Indeed. Yes," said Neary. "Oh, and this general is hiding in a bunker at the outskirt of Oulu."
"A bunker?" I said, puzzled. "You mean . . . They have a bunker here?"
"Yeah. Our scouts had just received this info. It seems like that particular bunker is for the general, and the other important figures of Finland."
I snorted. "Important figures, huh. I'm pretty sure even an underground bunker is not safe enough."
"That's why . . . We want our Valkyrie, and you, General Jones, to carry out this stealth operation. Our forces are ready in case you need them after the operation," said Neary.
"Stealth Operation . . . Been a while since I have been involved in one," I muttered. "Anyway, it has to be tonight, right? The chaos that Ivar had caused is only a short-term distraction for us."
"Yes. It's tonight. To make sure that you two will not encounter any heavy units like the Vasquez, our comrades have let loose on a military base in the next city. If anything, those soldiers will focus their might towards them."
"I see."
Aya stepped forward and coughed. "I guess we need to prepare right now. We need to be in top shape before the mission."
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Um, General Jones," called Neary.
"Yes?"
"Er . . . I heard that you went to the same military school as The General of the Army."
"Ah, right. We attended the same school. Why?"
Neary's eyes gleamed. "I'm a big fan of her! As I have said, our cause is to put Maltyie as the C.U's ruler. Many of us admire her."
Aya and I looked at each other.
"How was she like back then? At that time, she must have been extremely popular right? Everyone keeps talking about her beauty, you know."
"Hmm." I rubbed my chin. "She is pretty. A lot of cadets back at the military school liked her. Even when she graduated and became the leader of the generals, her popularity spiked."
"Why is she not married yet? She's about thirty, right? She should start finding a potential husband very soon," stated Neary.
"Yeah, she's not married. So far, she has not shown interest in looking for a partner. While everyone admires her, a majority of them respect her to the point where no one dared to make any move."
"Ah, that's a pity . . . I did know about a few brave men who proposed to her, but . . ."
"Maltyie rejected them. Haha, I still remember when she complained to me about that one guy. He gave her flowers every single day for about a month," I said.
Neary blinked. "I guess she is really not into it. Well, no matter. When she becomes the ruler, she can just pick anyone from the country . . . If, she is interested."
"Yeah . . . When you think about it, being the C.U's ruler does give you that kind of authority, huh," I said.
Aya narrowed her eyes at me. "You need to make the move, Derrick. She's waiting for you."
Neary and I jerked our head from what she said. A moment later, Neary nodded in my direction. "You have known her for a decade now. I'm sure it would take longer for her to reject you."
"Pffft!"
I burst into laughter and the civilians there looked at us. Then, Aya and Neary pulled my hands as we went back into the shopping mall. I didn't know why, but I laughed for a long while until Aya asked me to stop.
Perhaps I could tell Elle and Eugene back home about Neary's statement. Though, that would have to wait.
,__.__,
,__.__,
The bunker was actually wrapped in an invisibility cloak, like the Teria soldiers and airships. It made sense that no one would notice it unless there were people coming in out and out, which automatically disabled the invisibility feature.
Although it was only for a few minutes, we managed to catch sight of the bunker, and quickly went near it. The only thing that surfaced from the ground was the bunker's large, oval rooftop. Its white surface had a few round lights attached. At night, it shone brightly in every direction, as a few soldiers waited near the oval rooftop. Three minutes later, a portion of the graphite in front of them shifted downwards, exposing a white incline leading to the bunker's inside.
Seeing that, Aya and I made our move immediately. The area was guarded with high, dark walls so we could only rely on the front entrance. The few soldiers standing outside fell for our ambush, where I then disguised myself using their clothing.
"Aya, follow right behind me and once we get inside the compound, hide in the shadows," I said.
"Understood."
She did just that once I strode towards the still open entrance leading underground. A few soldiers stopped me when I was about to go down.
"Soldier--"
Before one of them finished speaking, he fell down to the ground. Then, everyone in the area followed suit in just a couple of minutes. From a glance, one would think they were unconscious, but in actuality, they had fallen asleep from Aya's Aegis.
"That was quick. I thought it would take about ten minutes for my powder to work," said Aya as she jogged to my side. Then, red blood tendrils shot out from her arms and pierced the surveillance cameras in the compound.
"This kind of security is too lax. I expected at least a Vasquez to charge at me when I entered," I said.
"The general and his underlings might have their priorities on something else," said Aya as the both of us quickly went inside the underground bunker. "After all, this place has not really been in any danger since its creation."
"Yeah."
As we moved deeper into the bunker, we realized something.
It was not that they didn't care about this place, but more so that the workforce stationed appeared to be quite little in number. All in all, giving too much attention to a safe place like a bunker was kind of unrealistic.
The walls inside were plain white. A few surveillance cameras popped up here and there, but nothing too eye-catching. When we reached the end of a hallway, we stumbled upon a large, titanium door.
"Hmm, now I'm convinced that this bunker really is for those few people. It is large, no doubt, but these hallways would be troublesome if the citizens are to take cover here," I said. "The actual empty space of safety is behind this door."
Aya stepped forward and formed a giant, red blood claw from her right arm. I took a few steps back from the door. Quickly after that, I aimed my stolen assault rifle at the door.
"Hm!" Aya swiped her claw and a few narrow gaps popped open on the door. Seeing that the bulk of titanium managed to withstand her Aegis crystals, she swiped at it a few more times before punching it once.
"W-What the--"
The door flew inwards and it crashed into a few soldiers standing behind it. There were five more foot soldiers inside the dark, empty space, excluding the general sitting on a chair at one corner. Before anyone could react, Aya swiftly obliterated them with a wide swipe of her gigantic claw.
"A-Aya?!" exclaimed the general as he had his back at the dark wall. "What is an Aegis User doing here?"
I aimed my assault rifle at him. "General Autio, we have some questions for you."
Aya brought her gigantic claw to shadow over General Autio as I walked towards him. There was no way out, but he managed to keep his composure while gritting his teeth at us. It was to be expected from a veteran, though he was barely hanging in there.
"What a brave stunt you are pulling, traitor Jones," he hissed.
Aya kept guard on the room's entrance as I steadied my aim at General Autio. Sweat trickled down his forehead.
"General Autio," I said. "First things first, I want to ask about the C.U's method in containing the rising coup d'etat in Finland. It didn't seem like the C.U is deploying their forces from the nearby regions, like Sweden or Norway."
Autio bit his lip. "I . . . Don't have to answer that."
"Hmm. You forgot about my tendency when it comes to interrogating, General. Everyone knows about how the ones who got out of Maltyie's interrogation room had broken arms and all that. I might make it worse for you though," I said.
" . . . Amathelia is preparing."
I frowned. "What do you mean? Is it about the Pillars?"
"No. They are indeed her most powerful assets. But, this time, she is trying to focus the C.U's military might for one thing."
My rifle's muzzle was only a few centimeters away from his skull. "Amathelia is making preparations for something big," I said.
He nodded slowly. "A great war, General Jones. A war that will definitely involve more than one continent. That is why the military is not putting its best effort in fighting off the coup. Heck, even the coup has quite a few former generals like you on their side. Their influence alone has made a significant difference in the soldiers' morale. Those guys all want to make Maltyie the new ruler. A pro-Maltyie faction."
I caught a glance from Aya. She didn't say anything, but I knew that no one was on our tails yet. I took a deep breath. "An upcoming war. What is that woman trying to pull off this time?"
"I don't want to get involved in her mess either, Jones. The C.U has so many problems right now. Only with the support that Maltyie has behind her back will this change. Believe me. Everyone likes her. Maltyie being the ruler will ultimately put an end to decades of senseless bloodshed made by her father," said Autio.
I lowered my assault rifle. "Amathelia wants to end everything with this one war, I assume. The pieces would be the C.U and Neo Africa. Then again, those two superpowers are currently at war with each other."
"What they are doing right now is on a very small scale," said Autio. "You must have noticed that after the invasion attempt of Neo Africa by Melker, there have been only skirmishes on the frontline. Nothing much happened. Amathelia basically had enough of those petty cat fights. This one movement from her will draw Neo Africa's military forces for real."
I scratched my head. "I can imagine it. Gheele Folami has always said he has been in war with the C.U, but he's just downgrading it into mere skirmishes. No major movement whatsoever by both sides since the invasion attempt."
"An inevitable war that will ultimately decide the fate of the current C.U," said Autio. "Huh. They are turning a blind eye on World War III from about a decade ago. That particular world war had claimed so many lives. And yet, that Amathelia is making an initiative to create another war of that scale."
"Perhaps smaller. But yeah, it will still be terrifying," I said.
Aya was silent the whole time I interrogated General Autio. Even she could imagine; what would happen if Amathelia made a move to take over Neo Africa after Melker's attempt a year ago. Truly, it was something that a fourteen-year-old girl like her clearly understood. At her age, one would expect her to do homework or spend time with friends.
But the state of the world didn't permit such a thing. It was hard enough that the civilians had to endure what the government was pulling time and time again.
"Damn it," I mumbled.
An explosion on the surface made me fall on my knees. I tried to get back up on my feet, but a few more explosions shook the bunker. I looked at Aya, and sure enough, she was on high alert for any soldiers to breach through the front entrance.
"Oh no," muttered Autio.
I shifted my attention towards him, and sure enough, his face was pale. That expression of his was new. He didn't flinch that much when I interrogated him, but the shockwaves attacking the bunker had sent a chill down his spine.
"She's being rash . . . This is just the same as what she had done to Sweden, Germany, and Italy. The forces in Finland is on its way to swarm the cities and destroy the coup," he said.