Ingrid lets out a sigh as she observes a medic team rush into the simulation room.
" That was something. " She turns to face the others in the room with her. " Thoughts anyone? "
Mustang lets out a hum as he swirls his tumbler glass before taking a sip. " He is certainly unique. " He states.
" I'm more interested in what that thing was, " Syuen said as she watched the paramedics carry Larnos away. " That thing took out three nikkes but none of that should be possible, all of this was supposed to be a simulation. "
Anderson, who's been quiet all this time decides to speak up even though that would be not advised if he had consulted anyone.
" Perhaps it has something to do with the reports. " He gestures to a sleek, flat rectangular device resting on a table near Ingrid. " Reports from the various squads he initially encountered indicated a presence of a new type of rapture. "
Syuen eyes the device with a predatory gaze before directing a glare at Anderson.
" Why am I only finding out about this now? " She growled.
" I did send a report to all of you," Anderson counters. " It is up to you whether you read the report or not. "
Syuen was practically fuming and just about opened her mouth to retort but a subtle look from Ingrid kept her quiet. Among the three CEOs Ingrid was the one with the most combat experience as she was in the military for a while before assuming the mantle of leadership at Elysion.
" That rapture the report mentioned, " Mustang spoke up, breaking the uneasy silence that had descended. " It could speak yes? "
Anderson nodded and pulled out a data pad and directed the attention of the group towards a screen that had appeared from a component on a wall.
" Perhaps this will jog your memory, " Anderson pressed a button directly underneath the screen. " It is quite the footage. "
Syuen knew that was directed at her but retailing would deal a blow to her already shady reputation.
The footage began with the team at the airstrip and showed the battle between Larnos, the nikkes and the hoard of raptures. Syuen was impressed with the skills Larnos possessed but made sure not to show it.
After the battle had concluded a faceless humanoid entity walked out from the trees. It had some sort of bladed weapon resting on its right hip and sounds began to emanate from it even though it had no mouth. It was as though something decided to fuse human and rapture physiology.
Ingrid had already seen the footage but it still sent a crawl up her spine as she watched the creature. It warned to group before retreating back into the forest before the video ended.
" What the hell is that thing?!" Syuen barked.
" There are no records of this particular kind of rapture even during the early stages of the war, " Anderson explained.
" So what we have here is a new kind of rapture then. " Mustang's usual joyful demeanor had was gone. " How much of a threat is it? "
Anderson remained quiet for an extended period of time before admitting that there was no conclusive answer to that.
" Why don't we send a team to investigate it then? " Syuen asked.
" That would be the ideal solution but we are stretched too thin to dedicate any resources to this. " Ingrid countered. " Not to mention the fact that it is humanoid. "
" What about it being humanoid? " Syuen faces the stern woman.
" It means there is a high possibility of it being adaptable to whatever strategy we use and its smaller stature makes it a harder target to hit when compared to the normal sized raptures. "
Mustang stood and made a beeline for the counter and poured himself another glass before downing it in one go. " That sword it has also poses a massive threat. " He then poured another glass but merely watched the golden colored fluid dance idly in its transparent, glass container.
Syuen knew what he was driving at. Most nikke had ranged weaponry and were capable of handling themselves when it came to close encounters but that happened so few and far between that some models have completely ignored carry close quarter combat weapons.
" So what? " She objected. " At least three squads would be enough to take it out. "
Ingrid glanced in her direction for a brief moment and let out a sigh. " Have you ever seen a rapture retreat before? "
Syuen was unable to answer even though she tried her hardest. Raptures always attacked, no matter whether they would win the battle or not. This thing merely revealed itself and merely left, making no attempt to battle.
" Exactly, " Ingrid continued. " That thing will most likely pick its battles very carefully and it revealed itself only when Larnos showed up. "
" So they are connected then, " Syuen pointed out. " And that thing it said about checking on the human and us having a tendency to go in circles. "
" Perhaps Larnos knows something we don't. " Anderson interjected after being quiet all this while.
The others agreed with this but they would have to wait for him to regain consciousness.
" How did the higher ups react to this? Ingrid asked Anderson.
" Well, " he pauses. " They want to run more tests on both him and his arsenal. "
" Figures, " Ingrid mutters.
" These are the things our ancestors had to face," Mustang notes. " I wonder what it must have felt like. "
The others kept to themselves as they wondered as to how people fought the raptures similar to the ones they have seen.
" What do we do now? " Syuen throws the question to everyone. " What if we encounter raptures like what we saw earlier? "
" Pray it does not come to that. " Mustang answered.
Larnos awoke in a room similar to a stereotypical hospital room. The only difference was the fancy equipment all around the room. Anis and Neon were in one corner of the room and from where he was it was as though they were asleep.
Trying to sit up proved futile as pain came from his midriff. His eyes passed over various items in the room before coming to a stop at the bandaged part of his body. Half of his torso was wrapped in what he assumed to be a sterile dressing that was underneath a light blue shirt he wore. A heartbeat monitor was set up next to his bed and had a reading of ninety-six beats per minute.
' So much for a demonstration, ' he thought to himself as he reflected on the recent battle.
The higher-ups would no doubt have seen that and the next logical thing would be to interrogate him on it. He glanced briefly at the two sleeping nikkes. They took a considerable amount of damage from that thing.
His head aches as he recalls the apparition of a foe from so long ago. It was supposed to be a simple simulation they said. Yet here he was in a hospital bed, covered in bandages from a wound inflicted on him by his own mind. He sighed as he sank back into the embrace of the pillow.
The handle on the door a few feet away began to jostle before spinning in an anticlockwise manner. The door slid open and in stepped Rapi. Her crimson eyes landed on her sleeping teammates before she turned to look at Larnos.
" How are you feeling? " She asked.
" I feel like I was dragged through concrete," he answered to which she nodded. She walked over to her teammates and shook them awake, much to their displeasure. The two grumble as they rub their eyes. For androids one could mistake them for actual people.
The trio began to bicker amongst themselves and he used this as an opportunity to try to leave the room. The pain felt as though he was stabbed with a blade but it was nothing that he could not bare.
Doing as much as he could to reduce the rustling noise he landed softly on both feet which were clad in wool slippers that had a soft blue hue to them. He wobbled for a moment but used the bed as support.
" And where do you think you are going old man? " He overheard Anis question. " Brave of you to think you can sneak out of a room with three nikkes. "
" Don't worry about me. " He hobbled towards the door, wincing with every step as strained muscles made their displeasure known. " Compared to other situations, this can be considered as a walk in the park. A painful walk no doubt but a walk nonetheless. "
Rapi watched him with a concerned look. If he simply shrugged off that experience what horrors of war did people like him face in his time.
A gloved hand held his wrist, preventing him from moving any further. Rapi had a determined look on her face as she held him in place. Her grip was not what he was expecting and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't break out of her grip much to her suppressed shock and displeasure.
" Take a seat. " She gestured towards the bed but he merely looked at her before continuing his futile effort to break free from her grip. Neon stood in front of him while Anis stood in front of the door.
" Your commander needs your attention more than me, " he reasoned. Surely that would make them leave. " Go check on him. "
" I just came from his room. He is fine. "Rapi answered in a matter of fact tone and a moment later she began to move towards the bed with Larnos being dragged along even though he refused to accept the fact that this was a situation where he would not win.
He would ultimately give in and sit on the bed with the other nikkes sitting at various parts. An awkward silence befell the room as Larnos hoped they would ultimately grow tired of this and simply leave.
' Resilient bunch, ' he mused as the group sat in silence.
" What do you want to know? " He spoke up after a while.
" What was that thing? " Neon asked.
" That, " he pauses as he searches for the right words to use. " That was Nyxarus, or an apparition of it. "
" A pretty strong one if you ask me, " Anis comments, earning a chuckle from him.
" What kind of rapture is it? " Rapi asks.
" Eggheads called it a Reforger class rapture. " He rubs his temple in an attempt to dull the growing pain as he recalls the information.
" Why call it that? " Neon asks.
" Because raptures like Nyxarus are capable of reducing a city to ash in a relatively short time, reforging the land to whatever they please. " He leaned back and watched the ceiling lights. Small, inconspicuous devices merely serving their purpose, just like him.
" They are more like that? " Anis asked, worry in her voice.
" Yeah, " he answered. " A total of nine with each being completely different from one another. "
" How many have you encountered? " Rapi asked him.
" Three. "
" And I'm guessing all three weren't pleasant encounters, " Anis commented while giving Neon a nudge who gave her a disapproving look.
" What I can tell you is that not a single one has been destroyed as far as I know and entire armies worked together in order to take out Nyxarus. " Larnos closes his eyes as the memories of the first encounter with Nyxarus flood his mind.
" I need to be alone, " he says after contemplation.
They share uncertain looks amongst one another before filing out of the room, leaving Larnos alone with thoughts he'd rather not be with. Thoughts of how his hubris lead to one of the catastrophic military operations of all time but it seems this generation has forgotten, intentionally or not and he hoped it would remain that way.
Larnos knew only he could face his problems no matter how insurmountable they may be.
' I've done it before and I can damn well do it again, ' he thought.