---
Out on the deck of the Rhodes Island land-ship stood a Draco, Kaiser Rye, weary from battle. His hand rested on the rails as he gazed at the sun sinking below the horizon. The smell of smoke released from the ship's exhaust, paired with sweat dripping from his head, mixed together and formed a putrid stench. The air felt, at first, humid, but it cooled as the last vestiges of light vanished, replaced by the cold, ephemeral breezes of night.
He used his hands to touch the burn scars carved into his face; each one shaped like a crooked hand. Two fingers –index and middle– reached the bags beneath his eyes. The surface felt like a cluster of scabs; a solid carapace resting on his once handsome face. He picked at it, watching thin flakes of maroon fall to the ground, like snow floating from a winter sky.
Within a heartbeat, a white flash pierced the sky, rendering the night sky alight. He looked up and saw the clouds part, vanishing into thin contrails, flowing away from his sight. The smell of spring air imbued a sense of relief and sorrow inside him. The lights above danced around for a few moments, until they subsided, funneling into a trail of gray until they reached their ultimate demise.
Kaiser Rye released a rueful sigh, as he knew about the light's source. And in his ears, he heard a peculiar voice, known to him as a manifestation of all of his mistakes –and his faults. He covered his ears, hoping to block out all the words flowing into his head, but his effort was futile.
"Dadee~ where are you?"
A voice filled with such joy inside his ears, now spoke with haggard breaths. He clenched his hands on his head, as tears rolled down from his eyes.
"I'm scared."
An urge to fight –to go back– bloomed in his chest, but he can't do anything; everything happened in the past. For whatever reason, his eyes remained open, staring blankly ahead of him. An aimless stupor overcame him, until a violent tremor shook his organs.
He watched as the land-ship he stood on warp into a wasteland littered with corpses. Countless fires raged on, scorching the ground and the nearby buildings. A cloudy mist saturated the air, dyeing the world a repulsive red. Streaks of black lined the ravaged dirt; bones were discarded on their erratic path. Trees erupted in flames as the calamity played on in front of him –but he was motionless.
"No! This isn't right!" He screamed.
An unknown being crawled inside his skin, his Oripathy –jutting out from his neck and throat– twisted and turned; the skin on his body ripped apart, exposing his flesh underneath. He limbs rendered immobile as the pain inside his body grew unbearable. The crystals on his throat suffocated him, as they pierced deep inside neck. He couldn't scream; letting out strained puffs of air, before he fell on his chest, half-dead. Blood oozed out of his mouth as he moved his head to his side.
"Dadee! Help me! Waaaah!"
The cries of a little girl echoed through the place. He couldn't see her, if she was even there in the first place, from the red mist in the air. From what he noticed with his remaining vision, the place around him was fake. And with one final breath, he yelled –in fear...
---
"That didn't happen," He said. "It's not the right place."
But that yell escaped in a strained whisper, inside a cafeteria belonging to Rhodes Island. Kaiser Rye rubbed his eyes with his left hand, hoping to relieve himself from his nightmare. A bowl of thick soup sat untouched in front of him on the table he sat next to; its expected delicious aroma has long disappeared. The lights above flickered, grabbing his attention as he groaned in frustration.
"No, no. That's not right. That never happened," He muttered to himself.
"What's Kaiser Rye talking about?"
Beside him sat a young girl with her arms placed on the table with a bored expression. A fur hood covered her head of gray hair as she waited for an answer. It was Projekt Red, who Kaiser Rye haven't seen in half a week. The Lupo wore her fluffy, signature red coat and fiddled with an empty plate in her hands.
"You don't need to know about it Red," Kaiser Rye patted her head and started cleaning the table. He swallowed the soup he had, now cold and bitter, and threw it away along with Red's plate.
When he returned, he took off Projekt Red's hood off her head and tickled the back of her neck. A rueful smile appeared on his face as he watched the Lupo do the same –for some reason. Red shook her head around, rustling her coat, before Kaiser Rye fluffed it back up and wrapped the furs of her hood around her neck.
"You're still adorable Red," The Draco remarked.
Red let out a few soft coos, whispers and murmurs. She was still a little wolf on the inside, radiating a sense of tranquility around her. Kaiser Rye hummed a slow, deep tune reminiscent to tubas. A silver lining reflected off his eyes; light circles suffused into them, delivering a shade of white on his pupils of dirty, foggy yellow.
He turned his head at the sound of footsteps approaching them from behind. A man with gray hair and glasses, coat and cloak, and a peculiar cane greeted them with a smile –and a black eye? He has a small bamboo basket hooked onto his left arm filled to the brim with apples and other fruits.
"Oh, it's you... Moonlight, right?" Kaiser Rye greeted as he stood up to shake his hand.
"Yup, Moonlight," The elite operator replied, returned the favor, and showed him the basket in his arms. "Here, I brought you some fruit."
"Thank you. I forgot to thank you for saving me back in the slums. I would have had a hard time getting out of there."
Kaiser Rye set the basket down on the table and chewed into a fat apple. "What happened to your eye?" He asked with a full mouth, forgetting his manners.
"I had... a former classmate to confront," Moonlight answered. He piqued the Draco's interest, but the latter didn't bother to ask; he continued eating away until he tossed his apple in the trash. Then he resumed patting Projekt Red's head.
"So Moonlight," He said, directing his attention to the elite operator. "How did I look when you brought me here? I was knocked out before then, and I can only remember the two of us running past the Reunion scouts."
"Your wounds were already terrible when I brought you in," Moonlight gave out a chuckle, bit into an apple and watched the Draco give him a wry frown. "I dropped you into the middle of a meeting with the top officials. Amiya looked as pale as a sheet, Ch'en was surprised, and Kal'tsit... eh, no change in her expression, so she expected you like that. Still hilarious regardless."
Kaiser Rye rubbed his chest, feeling a tinge of pain, biting his lip. "So you're the reason why I got an injury to my head and chest?"
"Just the chest," Moonlight answered. "A certain Lungmen officer did your head in."
"Tch," was all the Draco could say, letting the next five minutes pass by quietly, save for the chews of Moonlight, and the snores of Projekt Red.
"Oh right!" Moonlight wiped his lips, slapped his hand on the table, swallowed the pieces of apple in his throat and looked at Kaiser Rye. "Kal'tsit needs you right now in the strategy room; she and Ch'en are waiting for you."
"Oh okay," A scowl was plastered onto his face. Kaiser Rye rose from the bench and covered Projekt Red's head with her large hood before he started leaving. An eerie, subtle wind seemed to pass by, alerting the Draco's attention. It was too vague to pinpoint, so he ignored its presence.
Moonlight let out a yawn, and his blackeye vanished. With a few last words, he disposed his apple. "See you there, and try not to antagonize ChenChen." He said.
Kaiser Rye ignored his last few words. He let out a quick sigh of realization after a brief walk down the hall. Dr. Kal'tsit and Ch'en awaited him –he knew that, but he already anticipated the talk he was about to endure...
---
-Inside the Strategy Room:
---
Kaiser Rye refused to sit the entire way, having an avid desire to leave. Dr. Kal'tsit and Ch'en's words were ramblings in the Draco's ears, but he would have to comply to succeed. The room was silent –for the most part. The lights above flickered; a fly could be heard buzzing near it.
With the pleasantries gone, Dr. Kal'tsit glared at Kaiser Rye, before she delivered her remark:
"When the nurse and the Doctor treated your injuries, they found a miniscule amount of alcohol in your blood. There was no way you could received a drink within the slums, but given your previous affiliation with the Reunion, and your current relationships with their leaders, the possibility is not entirely absent. I surmise that you've received some unlikely along the way. Alcohol is forbidden before a mission; you know that, and even you did drink, it would have long passed your system."
"Well yes I did get a drink in," The Draco replied bluntly.
"But you didn't seem to last long, according to Moonlight's account. He threw you onto a table in front of me, Amiya, Ch'en and the Doctor. Your hands were imbrued with blood –to the point that they looked like grotesque gloves; fitting for your unbridled use of violence.
"Yes, he told me all about it."
Dr. Kal'tsit ordered Kaiser Rye to sit down, and she laid a map down in front of him. It had the layout of the Lungmen slums, its distance to the inner city, and Chernobog –the inner city was at the bottom, the slums were in the middle, and Chernobog stood at the top of the page. Ch'en had her hands rest on her swords as she watched the Draco look at the papers indifferently. He stared blankly ahead of him; not a single word escaped his mouth. The option of leaving was no longer there; he had to cooperate.
"There is nothing to be said here," Ch'en stated. "You know what to do. You've assisted us the first time, now it's your second time. How are we going to reclaim the slums Kaiser Rye?"
Kaiser Rye looked at the Lung with uninterested eyes. "Is Lungmen ready for an attack?" He asked, watching the red eyes of hers.
"Another attack could spell devastating losses to this city and its people. We are not ready to take the Reunion head on, nor are we ready to defend. You have seen the carnage that ensued before."
"What we need is a little push. The Reunion already has their main forces stationed in the slums. If we don't act now, the Reunion will stage an assault towards inner city and L.G.D. Headquarters. You don't want the police force to fall apart in the midst of battle –you know that."
"Then what do you propose?"
Ch'en watched Kaiser Rye flipped the map upside down. Now the map displayed Chernobog at the bottom, the slums in the middle, and the inner city at the top. First, he placed a closed hand from the center of Chernobog and started sliding it into the slums; his fingers began to branch out, like a river entering a delta. Then, he lifted his entire hand and placed it in the middle of the slums and spread his fingers out from there. Finally, he pulled the finger all the way into the center of Chernobog, creating a rough mark on the map.
The Draco let out a sigh, knowing that an attack will result in major casualties. He suddenly remembered the last words he spoke to Faust that day: "Tell Talulah, that I want to speak to her. It would be great if we can talk things out". A frown pulled on his lips, he gritted his teeth inside his mouth. Then he remembered what he said to W: "Your mercs must be coming after them aren't they?". And with it, he rested on the first option that emerged in his head.
"We'll have to attack as soon as possible," He suggested.
"Elaborate," Ch'en added.
"We need your strongest soldiers and Rhodes Island's elite operators," He looked at Dr. Kal'tsit. "We can't send in any grunts; the Reunion can easily trample them. They are in enemy territory, so they don't have know much about the land they are standing on. The L.G.D. has this advantage over them. Ch'en you know how every corner of the city, don't you?"
"Yes I do. But the Reunion has laid traps everywhere; who knows what we'll encounter."
"The Reunion has sent in their strongest forces," Now he looked at Ch'en. "Next, they will send their remaining forces from Chernobog. They'll send in Sarkaz Mercenaries. Once they arrive, we're as good as dead."
"How do you know that information?" Ch'en asked.
"I spoke to their leader in the middle of battle."
"I've never expected you to turn to quickly –not only on us– but the Reunion as well. You've helped their leaders escape, not once, but twice. What are you aiming for, Kaiser Rye?"
The Draco's finger subtly tapped the center of slums on the map. The encounters he'll face will soon arise, but that will have to wait. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling light, not wincing at all, before he looked back at the blue-haired Lung with his dirty yellow eyes.
"Once Lungmen reclaims the slums-" He said.
Then Kaiser Rye covered the entire bottom part of the map with an arm.
"-we will attack Chernobog..."
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(A/N): Why do I have a feeling that the prose ~the writing– here looks different?
- But I ain't the judge of that, you are.
- I've read a bit too much 20th Century Literature recently, most notably Kafka
- Now that August is in full swing, things will get busier over at my end
PLEASE NOTE:
- All dialogue from "Operator Moonlight" has been reviewed and approved by Energeia_Aiegrene
- Yes I uploaded this earlier in the day (US Eastern Time)
- And I feel like this chapter is ready to be published, so here you go!