[Where are we going?] Akira asked. She followed Yuki closely as he marched down a hallway, Erica beside her. [What’s wrong?]
‘The gem isn’t there,’ Yuki replied, snapping his fingers. Magic surrounded them, shrouding them from view. ‘I know where it is though. Don’t worry.’
[Mmm. Is that all?]
‘We’ll see.’
A knot formed in his stomach as he said those two words, but his expression remained unchanged. They were for Akira more than they were for him. He hoped that this task wouldn’t go in the direction that he was suspecting. But given his luck, he was certain that he had no say in this matter.
His pace quickened as he navigated that facility, weaving around, hiding here and there as he avoided the paths of the people busy with their work. They seemed to be in a rush to make sure that the weapon was operational. Checking his watch, Yuki understood why. They had five minutes.
‘Not a lot of time.’
A few moments later, he found the place he was looking for. It was the largest room of all. In the center of it stood a massive metal hollow pillar that stretched from the ground to the ceiling. It was surrounded with monitors that blinked with readouts. People rushed here and there, reading their screens and going to computers that were lined up against the walls of the room. They paid no mind to the group of three.
Paying an equal amount of attention to the workers as the workers did to him, Yuki marched right in and found a spot to hide among a pile of parts that seemed to have been put aside for emergency use. Akira and Erica pressed themselves against him as he removed the magic concealing them.
[What are we doing?] Akira asked, giving Yuki a confused expression. Their faces were barely an inch apart. [Are we just waiting?]
Yuki stared at her imploring golden brown eyes. Her breath tickled his nose.
‘Yes,’ Yuki replied. He shifted his gaze away from her and to the people hurrying about in the room. She was much too close. ‘Once the people in here clear out, we’ll get to work.’
[We won’t have much time.]
‘I know. But it should be enough.’ His eyes scanned the room until they landed on a few doors off to the side. They looked to be sealed shut. ‘Do you see those doors?’
[Yes. Why?]
‘If things go bad, they’re blast shelters,’ he explained. ‘Keep them in mind. We might have to use them.’
[Are you expecting something to explode?] Akira asked. Yuki could hear the frown in her voice.
‘There’s a chance.’
[How?]
‘When the elements are put out of balance, they can have explosive results,’ Yuki explained in as little words possible.
[Out of balance. Like what we’re about to be doing.]
‘Yes.’
Akira quieted. That worried Yuki more than when she was actively asking questions. He checked his watch to check the time left. Three minutes.
The sounds of chatter drew his attention. The workers in the room were beginning to file out from the room. Their mood was tense, but that was to be expected. Something they had created was about to be tested for the first time.
He waited until they had all cleared out. Akira didn’t speak again while they waited. She seemed to understand what was happening. When every worker had left and the door to the main room had closed, Yuki crept out from his hiding spot.
Not wasting a moment, he went to the center of the room where the hollow metal cylinder stood. He scanned the readouts that were constantly updating on the screens surrounding the cylinder. The weapon was charging.
‘Sixty percent already. It must have been charging while the workers were in here,’ Yuki thought. ‘They must have been monitoring the starting stages.’
He spent a few more seconds, reading the rest of the information. His mind connected points together as his understanding of how exactly the weapon worked grew. And as his knowledge grew, so too did the knot in his stomach.
‘I think I have a choice at this point.’ He bit his lip as he considered his options. ‘I don’t like this.’
“Yuki. I think right now is a good time to explain to me what exactly you’re planning to do.”
Akira’s voice drew his attention away from the screens. Her voice was stern, but her face betrayed her worry and concern. She must have been able to read his mood. Erica gave her a curious expression before looking at Yuki for an explanation.
Yuki didn’t want to explain it to her. She would try to stop him, making his decision even more difficult than it already was. But he needed to tell her. It was kinder than keeping her in the dark with no understanding.
‘I already kept too much away from her for too long,’ Yuki thought. His eyes flickered to his watch. Two minutes. ‘I’ll keep this short.’
“The jewels are inside of the cannon,” Yuki said, his words coming out as fast as they could. “Initially I thought that I would just need to get in there and take them. But recent information has changed that.”
“What do you mean?” Akira asked, frowning.
“The room we were in before this is a storage for mana,” Yuki explained. “When there is a lack of a certain type of mana in the beam, it will take it from reserves and use that as fuel. So removing the gems won’t be enough.”
“Then?”
“I have to manually unbalance the mana. I can only do that right when the weapon is fired.” His stomach clenched at the next words he was about to say. “And I have to be in there to do it.”
He pointed at the metal cylinder. Akira’s eyes widened as understanding dawned on her. Erica gasped beside her as she came to the same conclusion.
“You’re going to go in there?” Erica and Akira asked, their voices rising in sync.
“Yes. Please don’t argue. We don’t have much time. The weapon is almost done being primed,” Yuki said. “I need you both to go inside those blast shelters. I don’t want you two getting hurt.”
“I don’t care about getting hurt!” Akira’s eyes flamed as she grabbed Yuki’s shoulders. “I care about you! This can kill you.”
“Maybe.”
“What do you mean maybe!?” Akira shouted.
“I don’t have any other choice,” Yuki replied. “We don’t have time.”
“Then call this entire thing off.”
“You know we can’t do that.”
“If it means that you’ll live, then yes we can do that,” Akira growled. “I won’t have you dying here.”
“I won’t die,” Yuki said quietly.
“Don’t lie to me, Yuki.”
“How can I lie about something I don’t really know?” Yuki laughed, his voice cracking. The anxiety that had been building within him began to bubble out. “Would it make you feel better if I said I hope I won’t die?”
“If you don’t want to do this, then don’t,” Akira said, her voice softening. “We can also come back another time and destroy this thing.”
“You know we can’t,” Yuki whispered. Akira said nothing. “Go. Believe in me. Please.”
Akira stared at him. He could see the tears building in the corner of her eyes. He reached out and brushed them away, forcing a smile onto his face.
“Be out here when I come out,” he said.
Akira blinked, her lip trembling. Erica went to her side and gently pulled her away from Yuki, giving Yuki a small nod. He could see her fighting off her own protests.
“Don’t die,” Erica said, her voice shaking.
“I don’t plan to.”
He watched the two of them as Erica guided Akira to the doors of the blast shelters. Akira let her, dragging her feet as she constantly looked back at Yuki. Yuki waited, fighting to keep his expression from changing. When the door of the shelter was shut, he turned to the metal cylinder. The cannon.
His watch buzzed, notifying him that it was time.
With a snap of his fingers, two jewels appeared in his hands. One glowed a pale green, the other a deep blue.
‘Let’s fuck this thing up.’
[Where are we going?] Akira asked. She followed Yuki closely as he marched down a hallway, Erica beside her. [What’s wrong?]
‘The gem isn’t there,’ Yuki replied, snapping his fingers. Magic surrounded them, shrouding them from view. ‘I know where it is though. Don’t worry.’
[Mmm. Is that all?]
‘We’ll see.’
A knot formed in his stomach as he said those two words, but his expression remained unchanged. They were for Akira more than they were for him. He hoped that this task wouldn’t go in the direction that he was suspecting. But given his luck, he was certain that he had no say in this matter.
His pace quickened as he navigated that facility, weaving around, hiding here and there as he avoided the paths of the people busy with their work. They seemed to be in a rush to make sure that the weapon was operational. Checking his watch, Yuki understood why. They had five minutes.
‘Not a lot of time.’
A few moments later, he found the place he was looking for. It was the largest room of all. In the center of it stood a massive metal hollow pillar that stretched from the ground to the ceiling. It was surrounded with monitors that blinked with readouts. People rushed here and there, reading their screens and going to computers that were lined up against the walls of the room. They paid no mind to the group of three.
Paying an equal amount of attention to the workers as the workers did to him, Yuki marched right in and found a spot to hide among a pile of parts that seemed to have been put aside for emergency use. Akira and Erica pressed themselves against him as he removed the magic concealing them.
[What are we doing?] Akira asked, giving Yuki a confused expression. Their faces were barely an inch apart. [Are we just waiting?]
Yuki stared at her imploring golden brown eyes. Her breath tickled his nose.
‘Yes,’ Yuki replied. He shifted his gaze away from her and to the people hurrying about in the room. She was much too close. ‘Once the people in here clear out, we’ll get to work.’
[We won’t have much time.]
‘I know. But it should be enough.’ His eyes scanned the room until they landed on a few doors off to the side. They looked to be sealed shut. ‘Do you see those doors?’
[Yes. Why?]
‘If things go bad, they’re blast shelters,’ he explained. ‘Keep them in mind. We might have to use them.’
[Are you expecting something to explode?] Akira asked. Yuki could hear the frown in her voice.
‘There’s a chance.’
[How?]
‘When the elements are put out of balance, they can have explosive results,’ Yuki explained in as little words possible.
[Out of balance. Like what we’re about to be doing.]
‘Yes.’
Akira quieted. That worried Yuki more than when she was actively asking questions. He checked his watch to check the time left. Three minutes.
The sounds of chatter drew his attention. The workers in the room were beginning to file out from the room. Their mood was tense, but that was to be expected. Something they had created was about to be tested for the first time.
He waited until they had all cleared out. Akira didn’t speak again while they waited. She seemed to understand what was happening. When every worker had left and the door to the main room had closed, Yuki crept out from his hiding spot.
Not wasting a moment, he went to the center of the room where the hollow metal cylinder stood. He scanned the readouts that were constantly updating on the screens surrounding the cylinder. The weapon was charging.
‘Sixty percent already. It must have been charging while the workers were in here,’ Yuki thought. ‘They must have been monitoring the starting stages.’
He spent a few more seconds, reading the rest of the information. His mind connected points together as his understanding of how exactly the weapon worked grew. And as his knowledge grew, so too did the knot in his stomach.
‘I think I have a choice at this point.’ He bit his lip as he considered his options. ‘I don’t like this.’
“Yuki. I think right now is a good time to explain to me what exactly you’re planning to do.”
Akira’s voice drew his attention away from the screens. Her voice was stern, but her face betrayed her worry and concern. She must have been able to read his mood. Erica gave her a curious expression before looking at Yuki for an explanation.
Yuki didn’t want to explain it to her. She would try to stop him, making his decision even more difficult than it already was. But he needed to tell her. It was kinder than keeping her in the dark with no understanding.
‘I already kept too much away from her for too long,’ Yuki thought. His eyes flickered to his watch. Two minutes. ‘I’ll keep this short.’
“The jewels are inside of the cannon,” Yuki said, his words coming out as fast as they could. “Initially I thought that I would just need to get in there and take them. But recent information has changed that.”
“What do you mean?” Akira asked, frowning.
“The room we were in before this is a storage for mana,” Yuki explained. “When there is a lack of a certain type of mana in the beam, it will take it from reserves and use that as fuel. So removing the gems won’t be enough.”
“Then?”
“I have to manually unbalance the mana. I can only do that right when the weapon is fired.” His stomach clenched at the next words he was about to say. “And I have to be in there to do it.”
He pointed at the metal cylinder. Akira’s eyes widened as understanding dawned on her. Erica gasped beside her as she came to the same conclusion.
“You’re going to go in there?” Erica and Akira asked, their voices rising in sync.
“Yes. Please don’t argue. We don’t have much time. The weapon is almost done being primed,” Yuki said. “I need you both to go inside those blast shelters. I don’t want you two getting hurt.”
“I don’t care about getting hurt!” Akira’s eyes flamed as she grabbed Yuki’s shoulders. “I care about you! This can kill you.”
“Maybe.”
“What do you mean maybe!?” Akira shouted.
“I don’t have any other choice,” Yuki replied. “We don’t have time.”
“Then call this entire thing off.”
“You know we can’t do that.”
“If it means that you’ll live, then yes we can do that,” Akira growled. “I won’t have you dying here.”
“I won’t die,” Yuki said quietly.
“Don’t lie to me, Yuki.”
“How can I lie about something I don’t really know?” Yuki laughed, his voice cracking. The anxiety that had been building within him began to bubble out. “Would it make you feel better if I said I hope I won’t die?”
“If you don’t want to do this, then don’t,” Akira said, her voice softening. “We can also come back another time and destroy this thing.”
“You know we can’t,” Yuki whispered. Akira said nothing. “Go. Believe in me. Please.”
Akira stared at him. He could see the tears building in the corner of her eyes. He reached out and brushed them away, forcing a smile onto his face.
“Be out here when I come out,” he said.
Akira blinked, her lip trembling. Erica went to her side and gently pulled her away from Yuki, giving Yuki a small nod. He could see her fighting off her own protests.
“Don’t die,” Erica said, her voice shaking.
“I don’t plan to.”
He watched the two of them as Erica guided Akira to the doors of the blast shelters. Akira let her, dragging her feet as she constantly looked back at Yuki. Yuki waited, fighting to keep his expression from changing. When the door of the shelter was shut, he turned to the metal cylinder. The cannon.
His watch buzzed, notifying him that it was time.
With a snap of his fingers, two jewels appeared in his hands. One glowed a pale green, the other a deep blue.
‘Let’s fuck this thing up.’
