OLD FRIENDLY FOE
CHANGYE is not a safe place to live. There is much competition and crime is always rampant. The LCPD are bystanders most of the time.
I am now looking at the body of an Agent clawed into the wall. The vandalized wall has a claw marking as big as a person. Each talon is as tall as an adult.
I walk to the office in Asobe Street. I climbed up the 3-story building and my guts told me that I should quietly enter. I entered the room silently and saw a white-haired woman in a fashionable bomber jacket with a horse chopper on the back of her waist. It is a hiltless one. I recognize the beautiful symbols on the flat of the blade.
Mystic Arms & Artifacts Workshop made. Not to mention she has the overbearing presence similar or close to Vaun and possibly even stronger than Vaun.
“Elvira von Nacht. The fuck are you doing here, fascist?”
“Huh? You wound me, Kei. Do you think I was that kind of person?”
“Yeah, Chief. She’s just insane.”
“Yeah. Maybe this bitch doesn’t want to breed loyal soldiers for their Fuhrer.”
“I told you I ain’t a fascist. “
Elvira's face goes cold. Like there is a cold heavy wind pressing down on the room. The faces of the women became fierce.
“Fine.”
Kei takes a puff of her cigarette.
“So, what brings you here? If you’re here to mock me, then can you leave?”
“Hey, we used to be a team, you know?”
Eta snorts. Eta is always smiling to the point that it is creepy. But seeing her face looking at Elvira now made me uncomfortable. There is rage that can break men and split them into, but here is fury so cold that it could freeze an ocean.
“Stop angering Eta, will you?”
“I did nothing wrong. I merely retreated. It is fortunate for you two to survive. Not everyone has the fortune to survive after that.”
“Bitch.”
“How uncouth.
Elvira laughs. Kei palms her forehead.
“Enough, if you are here to talk about business. Then spit it out. We aren’t exactly ‘good friends’ to chat this long.”
Elvira lifts her lips a little.
“We’ve recently formed a partnership with the Seven Swords. We are hoping to get information from you, but my office said that they’d rather have yours do the honors of checking this anomaly. You two are good at it.”
Elvira checks Eta out.
“But it seems that Eta can’t go for now. I heard that you fought Fu Ming. Heh, did you know that he also fought demons in China? He lost both arms when fighting in the Marches. He’s a strong son of a bitch that gutted himself to install those augments on him. No wonder your arm looks like that Eta. Still, it’s a shame since you can’t assist Kei right now.”
Kei snorts and then taps her cigarette.
“It’s fine. She can stay and watch the office. Besides, I still have Assistant there to watch my back. You really are quiet as a mouth, Assistant.”
Elvira turns her single eye to me.
“Oh, I heard you have another assistant. Couldn’t hear him come in.”
“He's sneaky. Elvira, meet my Assistant.”
“How’s the work with these fools?”
“It’s fine, Miss.”
Elvira raises a brow and turns to Kei.
“A polite one too. Where did you get this fella?”
She stands up and lifts my chin.
“He isn’t too bad.”
“Got his contract after his office fell into a flesh pit.”
Elvira thumps me on the shoulder. I could feel my flesh ripple at that.
“Is he useful?”
“So-so.”
She turns to me.
“How long have you been working here?”
“Three months as of today.”
“Oh, you survived three months with these idiots?”
Most of the cases are handled by Eta and Kei. I do join them to investigate once in a while, but mostly I do data entry work and pass on messages. I also go through the annoying paperwork, attend seminars for the office on behalf of Kei.
Kei usually does that but with me around I became the attendee instead. It’s not so bad since there is no danger involved most of the time.
Elvira circles around me. She’s like a predator.
“Tell me, is Anomaly Investigation okay?”
“It’s okay.”
“I see.”
Elvira sits back on the chair.
“Not bad. You got a professional now.”
“Had to agree. Paperwork has been easy with him around.”
“Always adventurous, I see. Well, how long does Eta need to heal her hand?”
“About two days from now.”
Elvira chuckles.
“Good. As much as I like to keep her out. We are dealing with an Anomaly that has a Risk Level of 3 and 4. Could be seven if it has any warping abilities.”
“Then why do you think that we will do this job?”
“Because you always take cases like this. If anything, aren’t you looking for the Okinawan Devil?”
Kei’s face hardened.
“Tell me more. How come I’m hearing that name here in Changye?”
“Detective, do you not understand? Changye, despite its awfulness, is the center of technological advances. Many minds are gathered here. A Fireteam of Graded Agents captured the Okinawan Devil four months ago. They did it by using ten EX grade agents.
“Captured. They wanted something from that devil?”
“They shattered the core of the Devil, but remnants remained and have begun spreading in some area that my associates want you to investigate. Are you willing?”
“I want proof first. That the devil’s neutralized.”
“Of course I have proof.”
She takes something out of her dimenbag and places it on the table.
“Here are the files. You can read it as long as you want.”
She stands up and moves to the door. Her hand on the handle.
“I’ll be back in an hour. Oh, Assistant, I think you should leave. Kei here doesn’t want you to know about her sob story.”
“Please go for now.”
Eta suggested. I got out of the office and stood next to the railing.
Elvira takes out a cigarette and lights it up. She leans on the railing with her eye on the landscape of Asobe Street. I stand silently on the side and browse my phone. There is a chicken sale nearby.
“Where did you fight?”
“Hmm?”
I look at Elvira.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Where did you fight?”
“None. I’m just a worker.”
“Oh, so you’re one of those, eh.”
She chewed on the butt of her cigarette.
“Don’t get attached to them. Made that mistake once, but they aren’t kind people. No one is that kind without something fucked in their heads.”
“I’m just an employee, Miss.”
“Sure you are. Been outside?”
“I have.”
“Oh, got any good places to go in Neon? Heard they have new chicks in there.”
“Haven’t visited Neon.”
“Bullshit. Ah, you are the kind that appreciates the side walkers? Eh, they are fine, sometimes they are nasty though.”
“Don’t prefer it.”
“Oh. Well, if you’re working for these two. I bet you barely get any breaks. It’s too crowded on weekends. Kei’s sleeps too much and Eta’s too autistic about her equipment. Notice that? They’re hard to get along with.”
“So you worked with them once, Miss?”
“I like that. You’re polite. Yeah, I did. Lasted for four years with them. But you know how it is. You have to find higher pay and a small office can’t exactly give that.”
“It’s stable.”
“For now. Anomalies are evolving and the recent rises are getting too troublesome. You don’t look like you pay a lot of attention to global news, but recently the African League got decimated by a Risk 5 Anomaly. Know what kind of Anomaly it was?”
I have heard of it from the mouths of other Agents. I also see it in the news, but it was so far away that it really doesn’t concern me. She still told me.
“A child that has been thrown out of his village. The child survived for weeks outside. The villagers would sometimes see the child picking up fruits and eating them near the entrance of their village. They are starving and yet the child they threw out is more full than them.”
She takes a long drag of her cigarette.
“So one day they follow the child when it is time for the child to eat. Deep into the forest, they were surprised that there was a giant tree where the endless fruits seemed to grow. Seeing this, the villagers hurried back to their village, gathered people, and then started harvesting the tree. The child, seeing this, tried to stop the villagers from taking all the fruits, but it was a child. What can a child do? One of the unreasonable adults smashed the side of that child’s head and the child’s brain got splattered on the rocks.”
Her cigarette smells good and it smells old. I recall smelling one like this back in Dubai. It’s an old brand of cigarette that still persists even today. Her eye is fixed somewhere distant.
“They didn’t even notice. They were just happy that they got fruit to eat. Someone did notice, it was a young adult who buried the child near the tree. Out of kindness or stupidity. It was the worst choice they made. The child became part of the tree’s roots. The tree ate the nutrients of the child and also its memories. A mindless tree suddenly got the memories and emotions of a lonely child.”
“Oh, quite common.”
“Isn’t it?”
She laughs and then tugs on her jacket.
“The tree got up. It walked to their village and with the vocal cords of the child. Told them to get out. The village, out of fear, evacuated their village. The child, despite how cruel it was treated, still didn’t want to hurt them. But the villagers came back with OB agents. They fought the tree for four days and the tree won.”
“Then the massacre started.”
“Nope.”
She flicks the butt of the cigarrete and it hits a passing car. She takes another cigarette out, but she puts it back in the packet.
“It studied the memories of the OB Agents. Planned ambushes and created spawns using the villagers. Bio bombs that spread the roots. They acted normal. Even went to work while the trees cautiously moved to the fortress city and revealed itself, as big as a high-rise tower with roots that spread everywhere. The bio bombs exploded, crippling the defense perimeters and crippling the OB branches. It was a harvest. Human memories became fruits and as it consumed the he powerful it became. Forty Graded Agents and Two EX Graded Agents fought it with the help of a battalion. They managed to destroy the Tree, but kept the seed. But knowing that humans will exploit it. The seed got burned by one of its puppets and was neutralized.”
“That’s odd.”
“Isn’t it? A sentient anomaly that killed itself rather than be used.”
“How many died?”
“Forty-five million and seven hundred thousand casualties and five hundred sixty million are injured or in critical condition. Legba City’s the only one standing now.”
“How does this relate to anything?”
“Huh? I was just chatting. Just telling you about foreign news.”
She smiles.
“Not everything has to be about something. Ah, are you a workaholic?”
I grin a little.
“I think so. Still, I guess Changye has it good then.”
“It’s been built to stand up against Anomalies and Monsters after all. I might argue that the Fourth Reich or Imperial Yamato has a better environment and life, but there ain’t no freedom there.”
She pockets her hands.
“Want to get some bite? Kei’s probably going to take time with that.”
I followed her downstairs and ate some sidewalk food and some soft drinks. Elvira’s trying to get some info, but I was more focused on my food than answering her. Seeing that I wasn’t answering, she ate her food and after that we returned back to the Office where I see Kei and Eta with such gloomy expressions
Elvira walks forward and crosses her arms.
“So, you two are in then?”
Kei nods her head. Eta snorts and sits back down. I got back to my desk and started typing as they discussed the request fee and how to tackle the case.
OLD FRIENDLY FOE
CHANGYE is not a safe place to live. There is much competition and crime is always rampant. The LCPD are bystanders most of the time.
I am now looking at the body of an Agent clawed into the wall. The vandalized wall has a claw marking as big as a person. Each talon is as tall as an adult.
I walk to the office in Asobe Street. I climbed up the 3-story building and my guts told me that I should quietly enter. I entered the room silently and saw a white-haired woman in a fashionable bomber jacket with a horse chopper on the back of her waist. It is a hiltless one. I recognize the beautiful symbols on the flat of the blade.
Mystic Arms & Artifacts Workshop made. Not to mention she has the overbearing presence similar or close to Vaun and possibly even stronger than Vaun.
“Elvira von Nacht. The fuck are you doing here, fascist?”
“Huh? You wound me, Kei. Do you think I was that kind of person?”
“Yeah, Chief. She’s just insane.”
“Yeah. Maybe this bitch doesn’t want to breed loyal soldiers for their Fuhrer.”
“I told you I ain’t a fascist. “
Elvira's face goes cold. Like there is a cold heavy wind pressing down on the room. The faces of the women became fierce.
“Fine.”
Kei takes a puff of her cigarette.
“So, what brings you here? If you’re here to mock me, then can you leave?”
“Hey, we used to be a team, you know?”
Eta snorts. Eta is always smiling to the point that it is creepy. But seeing her face looking at Elvira now made me uncomfortable. There is rage that can break men and split them into, but here is fury so cold that it could freeze an ocean.
“Stop angering Eta, will you?”
“I did nothing wrong. I merely retreated. It is fortunate for you two to survive. Not everyone has the fortune to survive after that.”
“Bitch.”
“How uncouth.
Elvira laughs. Kei palms her forehead.
“Enough, if you are here to talk about business. Then spit it out. We aren’t exactly ‘good friends’ to chat this long.”
Elvira lifts her lips a little.
“We’ve recently formed a partnership with the Seven Swords. We are hoping to get information from you, but my office said that they’d rather have yours do the honors of checking this anomaly. You two are good at it.”
Elvira checks Eta out.
“But it seems that Eta can’t go for now. I heard that you fought Fu Ming. Heh, did you know that he also fought demons in China? He lost both arms when fighting in the Marches. He’s a strong son of a bitch that gutted himself to install those augments on him. No wonder your arm looks like that Eta. Still, it’s a shame since you can’t assist Kei right now.”
Kei snorts and then taps her cigarette.
“It’s fine. She can stay and watch the office. Besides, I still have Assistant there to watch my back. You really are quiet as a mouth, Assistant.”
Elvira turns her single eye to me.
“Oh, I heard you have another assistant. Couldn’t hear him come in.”
“He's sneaky. Elvira, meet my Assistant.”
“How’s the work with these fools?”
“It’s fine, Miss.”
Elvira raises a brow and turns to Kei.
“A polite one too. Where did you get this fella?”
She stands up and lifts my chin.
“He isn’t too bad.”
“Got his contract after his office fell into a flesh pit.”
Elvira thumps me on the shoulder. I could feel my flesh ripple at that.
“Is he useful?”
“So-so.”
She turns to me.
“How long have you been working here?”
“Three months as of today.”
“Oh, you survived three months with these idiots?”
Most of the cases are handled by Eta and Kei. I do join them to investigate once in a while, but mostly I do data entry work and pass on messages. I also go through the annoying paperwork, attend seminars for the office on behalf of Kei.
Kei usually does that but with me around I became the attendee instead. It’s not so bad since there is no danger involved most of the time.
Elvira circles around me. She’s like a predator.
“Tell me, is Anomaly Investigation okay?”
“It’s okay.”
“I see.”
Elvira sits back on the chair.
“Not bad. You got a professional now.”
“Had to agree. Paperwork has been easy with him around.”
“Always adventurous, I see. Well, how long does Eta need to heal her hand?”
“About two days from now.”
Elvira chuckles.
“Good. As much as I like to keep her out. We are dealing with an Anomaly that has a Risk Level of 3 and 4. Could be seven if it has any warping abilities.”
“Then why do you think that we will do this job?”
“Because you always take cases like this. If anything, aren’t you looking for the Okinawan Devil?”
Kei’s face hardened.
“Tell me more. How come I’m hearing that name here in Changye?”
“Detective, do you not understand? Changye, despite its awfulness, is the center of technological advances. Many minds are gathered here. A Fireteam of Graded Agents captured the Okinawan Devil four months ago. They did it by using ten EX grade agents.
“Captured. They wanted something from that devil?”
“They shattered the core of the Devil, but remnants remained and have begun spreading in some area that my associates want you to investigate. Are you willing?”
“I want proof first. That the devil’s neutralized.”
“Of course I have proof.”
She takes something out of her dimenbag and places it on the table.
“Here are the files. You can read it as long as you want.”
She stands up and moves to the door. Her hand on the handle.
“I’ll be back in an hour. Oh, Assistant, I think you should leave. Kei here doesn’t want you to know about her sob story.”
“Please go for now.”
Eta suggested. I got out of the office and stood next to the railing.
Elvira takes out a cigarette and lights it up. She leans on the railing with her eye on the landscape of Asobe Street. I stand silently on the side and browse my phone. There is a chicken sale nearby.
“Where did you fight?”
“Hmm?”
I look at Elvira.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Where did you fight?”
“None. I’m just a worker.”
“Oh, so you’re one of those, eh.”
She chewed on the butt of her cigarette.
“Don’t get attached to them. Made that mistake once, but they aren’t kind people. No one is that kind without something fucked in their heads.”
“I’m just an employee, Miss.”
“Sure you are. Been outside?”
“I have.”
“Oh, got any good places to go in Neon? Heard they have new chicks in there.”
“Haven’t visited Neon.”
“Bullshit. Ah, you are the kind that appreciates the side walkers? Eh, they are fine, sometimes they are nasty though.”
“Don’t prefer it.”
“Oh. Well, if you’re working for these two. I bet you barely get any breaks. It’s too crowded on weekends. Kei’s sleeps too much and Eta’s too autistic about her equipment. Notice that? They’re hard to get along with.”
“So you worked with them once, Miss?”
“I like that. You’re polite. Yeah, I did. Lasted for four years with them. But you know how it is. You have to find higher pay and a small office can’t exactly give that.”
“It’s stable.”
“For now. Anomalies are evolving and the recent rises are getting too troublesome. You don’t look like you pay a lot of attention to global news, but recently the African League got decimated by a Risk 5 Anomaly. Know what kind of Anomaly it was?”
I have heard of it from the mouths of other Agents. I also see it in the news, but it was so far away that it really doesn’t concern me. She still told me.
“A child that has been thrown out of his village. The child survived for weeks outside. The villagers would sometimes see the child picking up fruits and eating them near the entrance of their village. They are starving and yet the child they threw out is more full than them.”
She takes a long drag of her cigarette.
“So one day they follow the child when it is time for the child to eat. Deep into the forest, they were surprised that there was a giant tree where the endless fruits seemed to grow. Seeing this, the villagers hurried back to their village, gathered people, and then started harvesting the tree. The child, seeing this, tried to stop the villagers from taking all the fruits, but it was a child. What can a child do? One of the unreasonable adults smashed the side of that child’s head and the child’s brain got splattered on the rocks.”
Her cigarette smells good and it smells old. I recall smelling one like this back in Dubai. It’s an old brand of cigarette that still persists even today. Her eye is fixed somewhere distant.
“They didn’t even notice. They were just happy that they got fruit to eat. Someone did notice, it was a young adult who buried the child near the tree. Out of kindness or stupidity. It was the worst choice they made. The child became part of the tree’s roots. The tree ate the nutrients of the child and also its memories. A mindless tree suddenly got the memories and emotions of a lonely child.”
“Oh, quite common.”
“Isn’t it?”
She laughs and then tugs on her jacket.
“The tree got up. It walked to their village and with the vocal cords of the child. Told them to get out. The village, out of fear, evacuated their village. The child, despite how cruel it was treated, still didn’t want to hurt them. But the villagers came back with OB agents. They fought the tree for four days and the tree won.”
“Then the massacre started.”
“Nope.”
She flicks the butt of the cigarrete and it hits a passing car. She takes another cigarette out, but she puts it back in the packet.
“It studied the memories of the OB Agents. Planned ambushes and created spawns using the villagers. Bio bombs that spread the roots. They acted normal. Even went to work while the trees cautiously moved to the fortress city and revealed itself, as big as a high-rise tower with roots that spread everywhere. The bio bombs exploded, crippling the defense perimeters and crippling the OB branches. It was a harvest. Human memories became fruits and as it consumed the he powerful it became. Forty Graded Agents and Two EX Graded Agents fought it with the help of a battalion. They managed to destroy the Tree, but kept the seed. But knowing that humans will exploit it. The seed got burned by one of its puppets and was neutralized.”
“That’s odd.”
“Isn’t it? A sentient anomaly that killed itself rather than be used.”
“How many died?”
“Forty-five million and seven hundred thousand casualties and five hundred sixty million are injured or in critical condition. Legba City’s the only one standing now.”
“How does this relate to anything?”
“Huh? I was just chatting. Just telling you about foreign news.”
She smiles.
“Not everything has to be about something. Ah, are you a workaholic?”
I grin a little.
“I think so. Still, I guess Changye has it good then.”
“It’s been built to stand up against Anomalies and Monsters after all. I might argue that the Fourth Reich or Imperial Yamato has a better environment and life, but there ain’t no freedom there.”
She pockets her hands.
“Want to get some bite? Kei’s probably going to take time with that.”
I followed her downstairs and ate some sidewalk food and some soft drinks. Elvira’s trying to get some info, but I was more focused on my food than answering her. Seeing that I wasn’t answering, she ate her food and after that we returned back to the Office where I see Kei and Eta with such gloomy expressions
Elvira walks forward and crosses her arms.
“So, you two are in then?”
Kei nods her head. Eta snorts and sits back down. I got back to my desk and started typing as they discussed the request fee and how to tackle the case.
