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The sun once more hung low on the horizon, signaling the end of a long day and soon the start of an even longer night. And yet, its rays didn't bathe a frozen wasteland like in so many other places in this world, but instead a vast plateau, one filled with pockets of trees brimming with life rather than emptiness, a section of land cut off from the rest of the world by a chain of mountains, surrounding it like a crib. Beyond the northern and eastern mountains stretched short valleys that lost themselves into the semi frozen ocean and where the sun was the largest at any point on the planet as its glow and heat brought uncanny familiarity, echoes of a world now long dead. While in contrast, nothing but icy darkness engulfed the lands of west and south, subjugated to eternal winter and seemingly never ending nights.
Takamagahara Plateau was the name of this seemingly impossible land, nestled firmly in the eastern outskirt of the Sengoku Badlands, a strange hybrid of desolate, frozen wasteland and jagged cracks in the earth forming abyssal canyons, taking up most of the eastern continent. While nowhere near lush in biodiversity as Earth or even C9 pre core collapse had once been, it was still a paradise compared to everywhere else. The plateau housed several drone towns, all descendants of the machines that served the Japanese embassy and its colonies, before being razed into extinction by the initial toxic and magnetic storms that ravaged the planet on the day of the core collapse and before the plateau came back to life. Inoshima was one of the largest of these new towns, its denizens having quickly assimilated the culture of their former masters, now continuing their traditions like they had never left. On the border between the town’s suburban area and the decaying buildings that once housed thousands of salarymen and women, stood a proud and tall tower, keeping watch over everyone and everything in the settlement, its shadow casting a powerful, yet ominous presence on the urban decay behind it, almost like an ever present watchmen keeping the past behind and the future in front of it. And high on top of it, groans of someone that was very clearly bored out of their mind echoed across the land
”Daaaaaamniiiiiiiit, uuurgh….” said Haruka, head rolling like she had just gotten off a carnival ride, before her entire body plopped on the floor on her side.
”I'm surprised that you're so displeased, aren't you the one who always says that she wants a break?” a soft voice rang through Haruka’s hearing sensors.
”Yeah but I want an entertaining break, not a boring one.”
”Well, you could’ve brought your little laptop if you knew you were going to get bored so quickly.” said the voice.
”The bozos in charge of maintaining this piece of junk forgot to fix the power supply. And you already know that I've deleted all the shows in my system just to make room for YOU.”
”Many would adore a time of respite like this, yet you just want to watch anime and kill monsters.”
”CORECT!” the young WD suddenly rose up on her feet.
”I want to hack and slash every outsider that dares disturb the little free time I have!”
”You only have free time…..” said the voice.
”I want to kick a Disassembly Drone right in the face while riding a Sentinel before cutting both their heads off!” Haruka then unsheathed her blade.
”I hope you understand how dangerous that would be…..” the voice rung once more
”And most of all!” Haruka was now burning with excitement.
"I want to exterminate every single Inugami* until they stop bothering us!”
Haruka’s blade began glowing an intense red as she performed one last slash…..and stopped before she cut the drone behind her in half. For a few seconds the two were motionless, locked in shocked stares before Haruka clumsily stumbled back, apologizing profusely, her sword slipping out of her hands and hitting the floor with a harsh thud, its incandescent colour fading as it cooled down. The drone, who seemed to be around Haruka’s age, also stumbled back, but it was much more successful in controlling itself from spilling the tea it had brought with it.
”O-Ojiisan sent m-me here to give you this….”
Calming down, Haruka was now able to recognize the unexpected visitor. It was Yujiro-san’s grand kid, the old drone that owned the local tea shop and also Haruka’s own unofficial grandad, although that wasn't saying much since he was basically the entire town’s old man, always welcoming the youth to hang out at his shop with a smile on his face, despite most not buying a single cup of tea. Yet he still had a soft side for Haruka, having saved his own son and Aigami’s father from a Scabdog last year.
”You know you could've called my name before entering, right Aigami?” Haruka said, sheathing her sword.
”S-Sorry, I saw you were practicing with your sword and didn't want to disturb you.”
Haruka instantly became flustered, thinking that Aigami might've also heard her talk.
”Y-Y-YEAH PRACTICING! You know what your old man always says, practice, practice, practice!”
Aigami raised a confused eyebrow, but quickly changed to a softer expression.
”In any case, here. Just for you.”
The black tea stared back at Haruka, a faint whisper of steam dancing in the air.
”Ojiisan thought that you might get a bit restless due to being all by yourself here, so he wanted to share some of his special tea. He said that it can clear even the foggiest of minds and give you perfect tranquility. Whatever that might mean.”
Haruka raised an eyebrow at Aigami’s words. She knew that tea had a therapeutic effect, but on humans and less on drones. Yet every time the discussion cropped up, she never had the heart to tell this to old Yujiro. In a flash, Haruka took the porcelain cup and drank the tea in three gulps before giving it back to Aigami.
”Thanks. And tell your old man that it was great, ok?”
”Sure will! Oh, and if you see my father, tell him that mom and I said hi, ok? He hasn't been much at home as of late and we've grown a bit worried about him, mom especially.”
”You got it.”
Giving her a thumbs up, Aigami quickly headed for the stairs, but stopped mid stride.
”Btw, who were you talking to?”
”UH- I- UH UH I WAS UUUUH-..... MYSELF! Yeah your ojiisan was right in thinking that I was getting bored and oof, that tea sure did help!” Haruka gave a forced smile and a shaking thumbs up.
”Now leave.” she pointed at the stairs, eyebrows falling low.
Aigami followed her instructions to a T, loud footsteps being heard as they descended, getting fainter and fainter. Haruka let out an exasperated sigh.
”I'm not really a secret, you could've just said that you were talking to me.”
”Aoi, you know that everyone believes you to just be some strange energy that I summon from the aether and not an actual ghost.”
At that moment, a ghostly figure appeared, slithering out from Haruka’s core light like some hologram, black eyes with a cyan cross for a pupil staring back at her.
”I know. And I'm still not sure why you haven't told the truth yet.”
”It's not like they'd freak out and burn the town down. You could just say that I mean no harm and they'd certainly believe you since everyone trusts your word. For the most part.” Aoi said, the last sentence escaping more under her breath.
”Maybe one day. But not now. I want some more time to pass before they realize that they now share land with a literal ghost.” said Haruka.
Aoi didn't quite know how to respond as she was technically right. Be it human or machine, most still maintained heavy skepticism towards the paranormal, and she was living proof of it. The Solver had also been a paranormal being, but knowledge about it was scarce in current drone society and humans were long gone.
”Still though, I think enough time has passed for you to-”
But before she could interject further, both her and Haruka were caught off guard by a howl. Heading for the platform facing the forest ahead, they heard the menacing sound once more as it echoed through the trees, this time louder. Aoi wore a worried expression, while Haruka could barely contain her excitement, biting her lower lip and fists moving up and down like a child that had been told they were going to McDonalds. The howl rang once more, even closer than before, making it clear that it was approaching, and fast. Right then, Haruka received a notification on her HUD, showing that it was mister Takahashi calling.
”You heard that too, right?” the gruff voice spoke to her as mister Takahashi’s face appeared in front of her as a hologram.
Takahashi was the head chief of the fire brigade, Worker Drones with the task of disposing of the remains of Sentinels, DDs, Scabdogs or whatever else that came from the wastelands. In other words, the things Haruka chopped to pieces.
”Loud and clear.” Haruka said with a massive grin on her face, thumb excitedly sheathing and unsheathing her blade.
”It seemed to be heading for the town entrance. We're going to-”
”Don't need to speak anymore, pops. Catch you there, ok?” Haruka said as she closed the call.
”H-Haruka…let's try this time to take th- KYYAAAAAAA”
Aoi barely had time to finish her sentence as Haruka jumped right off the platform, plunging into a 90-story free fall. But as the Poltergeist was screaming and crying, Haruka sprung into action, creating a Solver symbol with her fingers.
”AOI, QUICK!”
Still with tears in her eyes, Aoi concentrated her energy into the focal point between Haruka's fingers, allowing her to manipulate a loose metal sheet, pulling it off of the tower’s exterior and slipping it under her feet to use it like a hoverboard, sparks flying as she scraped against the metal beams before doing a 90° turn and flying forward with blinding speed.
”Oh come on, you're the one that should be the most fearless between us, you know you can't die twice.” said Haruka, keeping the AS symbol in front of her like a steering wheel.
”THAT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING! YOU KNOW I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT!!”
”You'd think you'd get used to it by now.” Haruka grumbled, as the two passed by numerous houses and streets, quickly approaching their destination.
At the town entrance, the fire brigade drones were lined in a defensive barrier in front of the gates, flamethrowers ready. In the center, Mr. Takahashi was making numerous checks on his pad, gaze rapidly shifting between the clock in the upper right corner and the text underneath. Time was of the essence, especially with the bone chilling howls getting closer and closer. Throwing a glance behind, he saw how his men, despite wearing determined expressions, felt very much on the edge, the fear in their eyes betraying their inner thoughts. A sudden gust of wind then caught him by surprise before a familiar voice rang in the air.
”Damn, you guys beat me to it. That's a first.” said Haruka.
”We were already on reconnaissance due to a missing person notification. That's when we heard the howl and rushed back to town.” said Takahashi, stern voice adding incredible weight to his words.
”Where did you hear it come first time?”
”South West, almost certainly from Izumo tunnel.”
Haruka’s eyes narrowed.
”So it opened again, huh.”
”Correct.”
Turning around to fix her gaze at the forest as the howls became louder than ever, Haruka slowly unsheathed her sword.
”We're gonna have to blow up that cave one of these days.” A more serious tone now befell the ronin’s words.
”It's our only straight path to the outside, but I don't think it's worth dealing with monsters every odd month.”
Mr. Takahashi didn't respond immediately.
”If even the metal gates we installed weren't enough to stop the Inugami from breaking through...” the old drone spoke more to himself than to Haru.
Hard, rapid footsteps could be heard as branches and fallen leaves crunched under whatever abomination's paws was heading for them. Haruka took a stance, blade in front of her at a 45° angle.
”Then I guess we really don't have a choice, huh.” she said as the mystery guest’s silhouette appeared behind the trees.
Like a nightmare rushing from the darkest depths of the mind, the Scabdog finally revealed itself. It was a horrid sight, arm muscles swollen to a comical degree, claws and teeth randomly poking between the fibers, from what could be discerned of its head and fur it might've once been a Boxer, but now its head was seemingly merged with a smaller, underdeveloped and skinless version of its original noggin, jaws merged in a crooked upside down V, two large amber eyes on the right and on the top of the head, with two smaller beady eyes on the left side. The front paws were mangled and now sharpened bone replaced the original claws. The beast took a deep breath before letting out the same howl that stunned in fear any that heard it, before it devolved into a guttural roar. While the fire brigade members were now shaking in fear while still clinging on to their stoic expressions, Haruka and Mr. Takahashi remained unmoving.
”Easy.” Haruka said with a smile on her face.
In that instant, she sprinted forward with insane determination. Almost on cue, the Scabdog reciprocated the action, the beast taking huge steps forward using its front limbs instead of all four of them. Having closed the distance between them in mere seconds, the beast was ready to crush the little drone like a bug, but Haruka was faster, sliding to the right and getting a deep cut on the beast's lower arm, severing it in half. The Scabdog couldn't control its momentum and tumbled forward, rabid snarls echoing as it tried breaking its roll. Behind it, Haruka had much more gracefully stopped her sprint, now slowly turning around as she focused on the rolling pile of rotten meat. The Scabdog finally got its footing back as its head snapped at the little drone that dared injure it, Haruka responding to the gesture by beckoning the creature with a smile on her face. Not wasting a second, the dog beast used its remaining arm to propel itself forward, hind legs coming to life. Its jaw then unhinged, opening wide to reveal a double set of teeth, ready to bite Haruka in half. The drone, however, was once again much quicker, but instead of sliding underneath it, she instead activated her “Solver”, levitating the metal sheet she had used as a hoverboard.
”EAT THIS!” she shouted, as the sheet flew forward, spinning at a dangerous velocity.
The beast had no time to dodge as the sheet cleaved its head and front torso in half, embedding itself into its flesh. The monster once again tumbled forward, but Haruka gave it no time to possibly get up, a mighty slash cleaving its remaining arm before its head followed suit. Three more slashes and the torso was now just meaty chunks rolling on the ground. Some feet away from Haruka where the creature's head had landed, it was already stitching itself back together, jaw gnashing uncontrollably. But despite this, something still felt wrong. Because of the nature of reanimated MC-2 organisms, they didn't possess any real high cognitive thought, only basal instincts that drove them to do what they did. And yet despite this, utter confusion and bewilderment crossed through the Scabdog's minds as it suddenly realized that…..none of its body parts were regenerating. They were moving, but cellular mitosis didn't occur at all. While it couldn't see its own wounds, the drones could. Every place where Haruka had severed a body part, every cut she had inflicted on it was singed back, flesh still sizzling. The Scabdog's weakness was fire as it destroyed cells faster than they could regenerate. And Haruka had exploited that weakness, the Scabdog finally noticing her blade glowing an incandescent red, a hidden device allowing it to heat up. But before it could assess her any further, it was engulfed in a ball of fire, its death squills filling the air along with the sounds of the flamethrowers. Soon enough, all that was left of the dog beast were just charred bones and ash. Haruka simply walked away, her blade having cooled enough so could sheath it back in.
”Another job well done, eh?” she said as she stood by Takahashi's side.
”Indeed.” the gruff drone responded with a monotone voice, yet a clear tinge of pride could be felt underneath.
Swinging left and right, Haruka then spoke once more.
”Soooooo. Now that the Inugami has been taken care of and I made sure the tower was in perfect condition, am I off the hook?”
Takahashi simply looked at his pad’s timer, showing 6 in the afternoon.
”Sigh. Yes you're free to go home now.”
”YAY!!” is all Haruka said as she sprinted towards the gates, ready to parkour her way back home.
But then suddenly she was stopped in her tracks, freezing in motion almost like time had halted, a cyan aura surrounding her.
”Are you sure we're not forgetting something?” Aoi’s voice echoed in Haruka's head as she appeared in the lower right corner of her HUD.
Haruka let out a gumbled sigh as she regained control of her body and went back to Mr Takahashi.
”Takahashi-san?” she spoke in a softer voice.
”Hm?
”Your son came today to the tower to visit me and give me some of his old man’s tea. And he told me to send you greetings and that they're a bit worried about you.”
Takahashi’s intimidating stare then softened, now with a more worried expression.
”You are right. I haven't been at home these past couple of days and I imagine everyone's wondering if I'm still alive or not.”
Takahashi then put a hand on Haruka’s shoulder.
”I'll be sure to spend some time with them later tonight.”
The drones simply smiled at each other.
”Ok. Thanks. Bye!” Haruka ran with the speed of the wind, once more heading for the town gates.
”Alright, now that we took care of that too, let's binge some anime for the entire night!”
”Haru, are you sure that you don't want to go to sleep early tonight?” but Aoi’s words fell onto deaf ears.
”So what do you want to watch? Bleach? Death Note? Kill-la-Kill?”
”.......Fruits Basket?”
”......”
”Eh, sure why not.”
