'Thinking'

"Speaking"

"[Intercomms/Radio Transmission]"

*noises*

======

Sector 20 - 270 Kilometers Away From Forsaken Forward Operating Base
Artificial "Biome"
Commander (Y/n) "Ranger" Schmitt - Gray Raven
1212 Hours

More than thirty minutes have passed since the three found each other, and within that timespan, they also wandered around, trying to find the thing that's causing troubles to their auditory, visual, and kinesthetic senses. But so far, they have found nothing but small pockets of Corrupted walking around, searching for something to kill. But unfortunately for them, they came across a squad of warriors that have lost one of their own, and they are not playing around.

"Clear." Lee said, looking at the group of Corrupted slumped down in front of them.

(Y/n) and Lee reloads almost simultaneously, while Lucia flicks her sword to the side, throwing off oil and small metal parts that got stuck in her blade.

"Ammo count." (Y/n) replied, slapping the bolt of his rifle.

"Still enough to get us through." Lee answered. The trio then walked around the open area. "If I'm not mistaken, these sensory deprivations are caused by specialized 'EM Projection' devices that can alter the electromagnetic fields of nearby spaces. Rather than deceiving our organs directly, it's more like covering a fictional piece of veil over the real world."

"So that sensory discrepancy we felt earlier... that was a form of maladjustment to the augmented space?" Lucia queried.

Lee nods, though not fully certain. "I think so. But humans have long found other ways to deceive their senses. Even without considering the quality of the EM projectors, the cost still doesn't make up for this tech."

"So how can we disable the EM projections?" Lucia asked.

"Brute force." (Y/n) answered with confidence. "We find the main power source, and destroy it. Even if I wanted to find them all, I can't detect them on radar. We might be facing off against tons of projectors and don't have much time destroying every single one of them."

"I agree with your plan, Commandant, but we don't know where the main power souce is yet. That is still our biggest issue." Lee elaborated. "But there's one method."

"Which is?"

"This."

Lee took out a small square-shaped pendant from his collar. "This is a souvenir Murray gave me."

"Murray... That's your brother at Babylonia, right?" Lucia asked.

"Yes, we talk occasionally."

"That's... nice."

"Do you not have family in Babylonia?"

"..."

"Lee, we can talk about that later. Now's not the time." (Y/n) stopped them from straying off from the main topic. "Your device. What does it do?"

"This toy is a mini graviton detector." Lee began. "Just something you can buy in the souvenir shops near the living quarters. 'Find me from anywhere', that was it's motto. Of course it was just commercial talk. This right here has a small detection area, is highly inaccurate, and gets disrupted easily. But for us, if we simply move along and record its reactive signals, we can theoretically deduce a vague but usable map. And from it, we can find the location of the projectors."

(Y/n) crossed his arms and thought about Lee's recommendation. "Any more ideas?"

"We can also look for areas that seem strange and shut them down by hand. That's where the projectors are most likely to be at." Lee added. "For instance... here."

Lee led Lucia and (Y/n) to an area where the objects and plants did not align with the surroundings very well. There, the trio saw a sort of device with a touchpad, display texts and data of the surroundings. Lee then proceeds to deactivate the device, and the uncanniness of of the space around rises by several degrees.

(Y/n) immediately begins searching around for unusual spots. He then spotted an odd space in the distance. He pulls out an EMP grenade. One of the best things (Y/n) could thank the Science Department for is that they added a timer and a setting on which the user could set how wide the blast radius is.

He calibrated the settings, eyeballed the distance, pressed the button, and tossed it with calculated strength. It landed near the projector, and like earlier, the surrounding area began to shift.

A group of Corrupted appeared near the projector, attracted from the explosion. (Y/n) attached his suppressor and shot each Corrupted in their center mass. He then sticks his rifle on his back and grabbed all of his remaining four EMP grenades.

"Commandant, what are you doing?" Lucia wondered.

"Improvising, adapting, overcoming. We can't waste time here." The Ranger sets each grenade with a time of ten seconds and tweaks it to its maximum area of effect. "Here goes nothing!"

(Y/n) activates the grenades and tossed each one of them at random directions. They went off soon after, with having a second of interval in between burst.

Everything started to glitch, until every single thing disappeared in their sight, leaving only a large circular interior. The alloy covering the floor and walls had finally shown their true colors. The piles of rubbles were real, but their size were completely different from when the projectors were active.

"It actually worked..." Lee remarked. "It looks like they reduced their quality to make the cost cheaper for mass production."

(Y/n)'s radar began working back to normal. It detect several yellow blips on his radar, including a strong signal coming from the northeast. 'Is that...'

[LINKING... PLEASE WAIT...]

[LINK WITH BABYLONIAN GPS SYSTEM CONFIRMED]

[LOCATING BPN-08 LIV...]

[TRACKING FAILED]

"[Raven Actual to Raven 1! Can you hear me?!]" Celica's distressed voice shot out from (Y/n)'s coms, startling — and almost deafening him.

(Y/n) resisted the urge to sigh. "Raven 1 receiving."

"[I thought I lost you again...!]" Celica's shaky voice followed, and (Y/n) can feel that she's trembling. "[Please don't fucking scare me like that...]"

The Ranger was quite surprised at Celica's antics since she isn't the type of girl that would curse, but he understands why. She was also traumatized by what happened to Fireteam Eagle, his previous team before he got transferred to Gray Raven.

(Y/n) explained what had happened during their chase and the problem they had encountered, hoping to calm her down. He also added that it might happen again without warning as a heads up.

Celica calmed herself down. "[Understood... So? Did you find Liv?]"

"No. But we'll keep searching for her. We won't stop until we find Liv."

"[Roger that.]"

"You're shaking. Calm down and get some water."

"[Yeah, yeah... I'll do that.]" Celica cuts the connection right after.

[LINKING... PLEASE WAIT...]

[LINK WITH BABYLONIAN GPS SYSTEM CONFIRMED]

[LOCATING BPN-08 LIV...]

[TRACKING FAILED]

"Try again." (Y/n) said.

[ORDER RECEIVED]

[LOCATING BPN-08 LIV...]

[TRACKING FAILED]

"Verdammt..." (Y/n) muttered.

Lucia and Lee approached him. Lucia went ahead and asked, "Commandant, is Liv..."

"I can't detect her on radar. The projectors had affected the beacon, or they might've brought a jammer with them." (Y/n) answered.

"Kamui!" Lucia called out to the tank Construct who had reappeared out of nowhere.

"Yo!" Kamui immediately ran to the three. "You guys broke the spell?"

Lucia sheaths her sword. "We've been trying to reach you for the past fourty minutes. Where have you been?"

The blonde Construct smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. "Sorry. I got flustered and accidentally broke my communication system."

Lee showed his palm. "Hand it over. Let me see if I can fix it."

Kamui took out his coms, which had a crack on its exterior. "My savior, Lee..."

Lee cringed a bit at Kamui's statement. "I won't help you anymore if you call me that again."

Just as Kamui was about to hand over his coms, the devices began to restart, as the simulated environment earlier had glitched in and out.

"You three, on me! We only have a few minutes before those things restarts!" (Y/n) rushed to the location of where the strongest signal is coming from, running as fast as his legs would allow him.

Kamui, Lucia, and Lee went after without asking why. Soon after, they reached the location. There, they saw a massive control panel which, like earlier, had tons of texts and data displayed on the screen. There were also Corrupted present nearby, standing guard a few meters away.

"They're protecting the projectors!" Kamui stated.

"I know!" (Y/n) aimed his rifle and took out the Corrupted that blocked their way. "Cover!"

Lucia, Lee, and Kamui went to separate directions to give support in every direction as much as they could. Among the Corrupted were the much taller yet slender ones holding spears, which (Y/n) had recognized as Royal Guards. This engagement is his first time encountering them in real life, as he only got to fight them in simulation battles.

The eyes of the Royal Guards flashed red for a split second before they dashed with such speed while pointing their spears towards (Y/n). He slid under them, avoiding the tips by mere inches. He whirled around and shot the one on the left, damaging its head. Lucia went over, jumped to and finished it off with a diagonal slash. It dropped dead, still clutching its spear.

Kamui swung his sword upwards, sending a shockwave at the second one. The Royal Guard staggered back. Before it could fight back, Lee dumped all of his ammo at its chest, finishing it off. It slumped down beside the first one.

"Commandant, permission to scan their memory data. They might help us on our search." Lee spoke.

(Y/n) nods in approval. "Proceed."

(Y/n) approached the screen and began rummaging through the settings, looking for the deactivation sequence. Meanwhile, the three Constructs examined the Royal Guards' bodies using a tablet while the Ranger was busy with the main power source of the projectors.

"...You done yet?" Kamui asked.

Lee, with a poker face, looks at Kamui. "Would you like to do it instead?"

"...I'm not suitable for analyzing data."

"Then just shut up and wait. This is the fastest way we can analyze data without Liv."

[SCAN COMPLETE]

"It's done." Lee said. "This kind of Corrupted were bionic mechanoids callled 'Royal Guards'. They were created to work in the Cultural Restoration Exhibit Hall, responsible for showing different cultures and operating these projectors. After the outbreak of the virus, M.I.N.D. technology's research was prioritized, and the facility was converted for such purpose."

Kamui nodded, while Lucia listened silently.

"These Royal Guards may not have their own M.I.N.D. systems, but they can still extract Construct consciousness and upload them to a central consciousness container." Lee went on. "Just the ones we encountered has uploaded more than ten consciousness."

"That behaviour is very unusual." (Y/n) jumps in their conversation. "Corrupted can't do that kind of thing and should've destroyed the consciousness directly, but it's very plausible that some third party had tweaked them."

"You would be correct in that theory, Commandant." Lee said. "From the records of their memory shell, there's an individual named 'Gabriel' ordering them to research M.I.N.D. technology."

"Gabriel..." Kamui repeats the name, sensing a sort of familiarity. "From the info I have, there are several Ascendant members, and this Gabriel might be one of them!"

"That is possible, but we don't have any more info for now." Lee gave his benefit of the doubt. "At least for now, we know that M.I.N.D technology still seems to be impenetrable to the Corrupted here. The special properties of unconsciousness so that the longer it is stored in a container, the more it deteriorates. Also, what they can only do is to plunder and find new consciousness and connect them to these projection devices."

"And then create a virtual M.I.N.D. to display in a real space with this roundabout way to observe and research it. In short, they do that to keep the simulation data up-to-date, and find ways to break in." (Y/n) concluded.

"Can... consciousness be replicated?" Lucia asked out of nowhere.

Lee looked at her in confusion. "Why would you ask—"

"..."

"...From what I know, consciousness processing is much more difficult than it looks on paper. Only the top researchers in the Science Council have the capabilities to fiddle with consciousness. However, there were no recorded cases of copying consciousness, and it is strictly forbidden by humanity."

Kamui looks over to Lee's tablet. "So who do these imprisoned consciousness belong to?"

"Do you still not get it? It's obviously the Forsaken's." A beep sounded from the tablet. Lee immediately checked it. "Found it — the consciousness of a trapped forsaken from not long ago."

"Put it in the projector!"

Lee grabbed a wire from the projector and inserts it on the USB port. A hologram then showed Watanabe, the other Forsakens, and Liv.

A Forsaken soldier ran to Watanabe. "Watanabe, we keep loosing comrades!"

"I know." Watanabe replied. "But we don't have any other choice. We're only able to reach this place because of their sacrifices. We can't let them down."

The Forsaken soldier nods. "Let's continue to the central consciousness container! Move it!"

The Forsakens went ahead, while Watanabe and Liv stood still in their spots. He looked at her and said, "We're counting on you, Liv."

"..." Liv said nothing.

The hologram disappeared shortly after.

Lucia frowned. "Liv..."

(Y/n) clicked his tongue. "It's locked down, and requires a passcode to disable it."

Kamui went closer and looks at the screen. "Can you hack it, Commandant?"

"No." (Y/n) punched the screen so hard, half of his arm went inside the device. He pulled out his arm, leaving behind a hole and sparking electrical wires. They then heared the sound of the systems shutting down as the lights also turned off.

Just then, something blasted the walls open, throwing debris and dust, prompting everyone to prepare for combat.

"It's a friendly signal..." (Y/n) said.

After the dust have settled, the sunlight had pierced through the opening. A figure soon went in, jumping in a playful manner while dragging her chainsaw like a toy.

"Nanami...?" (Y/n) utters her name as the three of them were equally confused on her sudden appearance.

Nanami stopped, looks at them, and waved her chainsaw in the air. "AHOY!"

"It's you..." Lee lowers his guns, but still looks at Nanami with suspicion.

"I'm not 'you', I'm Na⭐na⭐mi⭐!" Nanami corrected Lee while hopping towards them. She stopped meters away when (Y/n) held out his hand, telling her to stay in her spot.

(Y/n) went to Nanami. "Why are you here?"

"If it isn't the Commandant himself!" Nanami eyed him from head to toe in amazement. "That's a really cool armor, too!"

"Answer the question." (Y/n) told her.

Nanami "clears" her throat. "Ehem, mm-mmm... Nanami's done taking a walk inside, so I'm out here getting some fresh air. Should Nanami not be here...?"

"..." (Y/n) sighs. "Look, that's not what we meant—"

"Nanami wants to see more M.I.N.D.s, too! Everyone's M.I.N.D.s!" Nanami declared, putting (Y/n) on high alert.

Amused by what she had said, Kamui laughed while holding up a wire from the projector. "You can only see it if you stick your consciousness inside these devices!"

"Aha!" Nanami locked eyes with Kamui. "Then let's stick it right in, brother!"

Nanami disappeared from (Y/n)'s sight and reappeared in front of Kamui, who was holding her back from stabbing the wire on his head.

'So fast!' (Y/n) thought.

"W-What are you trying to do?!" Kamui was now genuinely confused and terrified while pushing Nanami back, who had surprisingly great strength despite her size.

"LET! ME! SEE!" Nanami continues to push Kamui.

Lucia and Lee rushed over to help, but (Y/n) had already got a hold of Nanami's clothes, surprising the chainsaw girl a little. He threw her back outside at full force. Nanami simply smiled and stabilized herself as she landed on her feet.

"Very strong!" Nanami commended his strength. "No wonder why you're called the Top Gun!"

"Stand down, Nanami. You've violated a code." (Y/n) walked slowly to her, but he didn't take out his rifle.

Nanami smiled playfully as she prepares to rev her chainsaw. "Ho? But you just threw me back outside. You just assaulted a Construct, Commandant. That's also against the rules."

"Commandant protocol two: protect your squad from every threat, even if it means sacrificing your own life." (Y/n) retorted, stopping meters away from her. This time, he grabbed his pistol as a silent warning. "I didn't break any rules, Nanami. I simply defended my team. I don't want to hurt you, either. So I'm gonna have to ask you to stop, or we're gonna have some serious problems."

Nanami stared at (Y/n), and decides to back down, knowing that he's serious about fighting her. She slung her chainsaw on her back and raised her hands. "Fine, Nanami will stop... for now."

(Y/n) holsters his pistol. At this point, the three Constructs were already behind him, but they had no intention to fight.

Lee broke the silence. "Do you still plan on pestering us?"

"Nanami doesn't want to answer you." She replied in a monotone voice.

(Y/n) followed Lee's question with his own. "Which team do you belong to? Under who's command?"

"As if Nanami would do something as boring as joining a team!" Nanami declared.

"At least we're all Constructs from Babylonia, so—" Lucia tries to de-escalate the situation, but Nanami cuts her off.

"Ah... You're color's cute too!" Nanami fixed her gaze at the crimson blade. "And fiery! And cool! Nanami will allow you to be friends with Nanami!"

"I can't understand her..." Lee sighs.

"Wait, did you just say cute, too?" (Y/n) interrupts their small talk. "Nanami, did you see... a cute Consturct? The one with a pink and white color scheme?"

"Yep!" Nanami confirmed, popping the 'p'. "The one I saw last time, very cute! Pink!"

Lucia took a few steps forward. "Can you tell us where you last saw her...?"

"Be friends with Nanami and I'll tell you!" Nanami sets up a condition. "Nanami still doesn't know your name."

"I'm Lucia." She introduced herself. "I'm not sure if I can do it, but I'll try my best to be a good friend."

Satisfied, Nanami then said, "Okay! Let Nanami try to remember. Hmm..."

"Please, she's our friend and we really need to find her! She's in danger!" Kamui cried out.

"Please, Nanami." This time, it was (Y/n) who pleaded Nanami.

"I remember! Just now! Over there!" Nanami points to the southwest. "Go find her then. Remember to let me see your M.I.N.D. next time!"

Lucia thanked Nanami and ran to the direction she pointed out. Kamui and Lee followed suit. (Y/n) went closer to Nanami and pats her right shoulder, much to her surprise.

"We owe you one." (Y/n) expressed his gratitude and ran off after his Constructs.

Nanami watched as his figure get smaller and smaller in the distance as he ran at full speed. She looked at her shoulder and touched it. She smiled and continued on her way, happily hopping along.

======

As they pressed onward, the scenery began to change again, much to the frustration of the Babylonian squad.

"What's it gonna turn into next?" Kamui grumbled in annoyance.

Seconds later, the environment changed to that similar to a graveyard of some sorts. The surroundings were quite foggy, lots of dead trees could be seen alongside broken pillars, tilted toriis, and random wooden boxes, typical for horror movie settings of the Golden Age. Like earlier, (Y/n)'s radar ceased functioning, and have lost connection.

Lucia looks around. "This is...?"

"Another virtual M.I.N.D. by one of the Forsaken. Should be someone deeply trusted by Watanabe." Lee concluded. "This is the last M.I.N.D. space. The next stop will be the central consciousness center."

"This place looks quite oriental. It takes me back..." Kamui comments.

"Heads up!" (Y/n) alerts his whole team.

Scattered Corrupted rushed to meet them head on, but were easily torn apart by the deadly accuracy of the marksmen and the sheer brutality of the swordsmen. Like the shadow of death, they left behind a trail of destruction in their wake, not wasting even a second to stop.

"Clear!" Kamui shouted. "Where's the exit?!"

Lee aims his pistol at a torii and fires. The bullet went through several toriis and hits the projector hidden within. The virtual M.I.N.D. began to destabilize until the surroundings turned back to normal as they ran past the projector Lee had just shot seconds ago.

The surroundings became darker. The MJOLNIR's system detected the sudden change and automatically turns on the flashlight attached on his helmet, while the Constructs activated their night vision. They saw a closed door up ahead.

Lucia began to worry. "Commandant, there's a—"

"I know!" (Y/n) placed his rifle on his back and ran even faster, positioning his shoulder as he prepares to ram the wall.

*boom*

The wall crumbled from the hit, throwing pieces on the floor and creating a gaping hole. (Y/n) came out first, his Constructs following in seconds later.

Watanabe stared at the four. "Gray Raven...?"

The Forsakens, who were staying in the central consciousness center, were shocked to see the team standing in front of them. Behind the Forsakens was none other than Liv, unconscious, and is still as a rock. Numerous cables were extending from her Inver-device, connecting her to the central consciousness container.

The Forsakens pointed their weapons at the Babylonian squad, but the four were unfazed at the muzzles bearing down at them. (Y/n) snapped his gaze towards them — specifically to Watanabe, making them flinch. "You..."

Lucia unsheathes her weapon and prepares for combat. Lee and Kamui did the same. "Commandant, your call. What's the ROE?"

"Immoblize, not kill." (Y/n) ordered. "Watanabe's mine."

(Y/n) then sprints forward, startling the Forsakens on how fast he moved. They fired at him, but he simply blocked the bullets with his armor. Those that attempted to block his way received punches to their abdomen, throwing them several meters away.

Lee went for the weapons of the Forsakens, shooting them from their hands. He would then engage them in close quarters and give them punches and kicks to their heads, rendering them unconscious. Lucia did the same, opting for non-lethal strikes using the blunt edge of her sword. As for Kamui, he didn't even get the chance to fight as those he faced surrendered immediately, not wanting to get smaked by his broadsword.

(Y/n) had finally taken down the last Forsaken and goes straight for Watanabe. The Forsaken leader goes in for a stab, but the Ranger swivels to the side, grabs his arm, and striked Watanabe's chin with his knee. (Y/n) didn't give him a chance to fight back as he grabbed him by the neck, raised him up in the air, and slammed him back down to the ground, cracking the floor.

Watanabe was visibly hurt on what the Gray Raven's Commandant had done to him, and he could feel (Y/n)'s grip around his neck tightening every second. Everyone watched with mixed feelings as they saw what the Gray Raven Commandant is like when he snaps, all stunned to even speak.

Even though he struggled to keep his eyes open, Watanabe still saw something far from a human — a killing machine. The grim reaper himself. An avenging angel who had come down from the heavens to make him pay for what he had done. It was then he started to feel fear, an emotion he thought he had eliminated a long time ago.

His fear only intensified when he felt the cold barrel of a gun on the side of his head, ready to let out a bullet and blow his head off if he made the wrong move.

"What did you do to her?" (Y/n) asked in a rather calm manner, but his tone gave away the rage he's feeling, giving Watanabe chills to his very core. "Answer me."

"L-Let... let me... explain..." Watanabe voiced out, feeling the hand starting to crush his voice module.

Although hesitant, (Y/n) pulls his hand away and lets Watanabe stand up. "Thirty seconds."