Steampunk CTs

Out of everything I could’ve fought, it just had to be a giant undead gorilla! At least it’s not living. Then I’d have to get my hands bloody. And to be honest, I’m not that huge of a fan of blood. The problem is that all this gorilla wants to do is go wild and destroy me along with everything in the area. An emergency shelter is also close by and if I don’t watch where this ape and I both step, everyone in there might end up as collateral. What a shoddy emergency shelter! Is it even proper protocol to have it above ground?!

“GRAHHHHHHHHH!”

“Oh no, you don’t!”

The gorilla tried to flank me by circling around my right side, so I grappled the beast and did a takedown. Some rides and buildings were destroyed, and the various pieces of metal and debris started to leave cuts on my skin, but as long as the emergency shelter itself stayed up, none of that mattered.

The problem now lies in taking down this beast. For now, I have him restrained, but this giant form could only be used temporarily. The proper way to use the stemata would be to do partial enlargements for certain limbs of my body, but I needed to match this thing’s strength, so I matched his size. But every time I would try to smash its skull in, it would just reassemble every fragment and continue its assault. My only hope is to have Anna finish evacuating everyone and help out here. I didn’t want to rely on her, but I don’t really have a choice at this point.

That’s when I felt it. My stemata was at its limit. The energy from the crystal was almost completely depleted. Any second now, I would shrink to my regular size and everything I’ve done would be lost.

Win the fights you’re engaged in as quickly as possible! I remembered the words Ori said on the communications channel. It looks like I won’t be joining them there. I’m certain if Anna didn’t hold back, she’d be able to defeat this thing, but I never wanted her to use that…

But then I heard a woman's angelic voice. The sound floated through the air with grace and surrounded both me and the monster. When it entered my eardrums, my eyelids felt more and more heavy. Before I knew it, I was walking the fine line between consciousness and REM sleep.

The monster on the other hand was sound asleep.

“So it looks like even the dead can appreciate art!” The song stopped as briefly as it started and the songstress joked right after.

Whoever this person is, they have a stemata that can control people living or dead with their song. But I was never told about a CT with a stemata like that! So who just saved me? I looked to my right and I was surprised to see who my savior was: it was the idol from the north Archipelago of Acupos, Stella. And right next to her was a security guard. They’re not working with the terrorists, but they’re not CTs either. Who are they?

I pushed the undead monster to the side and shrank to my original side. As the two approached me, I took notice of the idol’s picturesque beauty. Her long, silk-like blue hair flowing down her back, the frills in her skirt and the clashing blacks and blues of the rest of her top, all complete with platform boots. Stay strong, Gollie! Your heart belongs to one girl and one girl only!

“Thank you for saving me, but I have to ask since it’s protocol: Why do you have stematas? You’re certainly not CTs, so who are you?” I asked with caution spread across my face.

“Oh, that’s simple! We’re both terrorists and a part of one of the four disasters! Specifically Anima!” Stella winked with the innocence of a child as she continued.

“I’m one of the 12 beasts: Usagi!”

“I’m also one of the 12 beasts: Cheetah. Though it’s kinda temporary.”

I stared them both down. Members of Anima usually hide their identities, so these two just showing their faces was an extreme abnormality.

That is…if they’re telling the truth.

Regardless, making a claim like that with unregistered stematas is grounds enough for their arrest and questioning.

“You realize that as a CT in training, I’ll have to take you both into custody.” I began to get into a fighting stance.

“We know you won’t do that though. After all…”

“You’re a member of the 12 beasts as well!” She pointed at me.

I stood my ground and let the ambiance of the night wash over the area. As it did, I let out a deep sigh.

I’ve been found out…

“You claim to be Anima, but I’ve never seen either of you before.”

“AHHHHHHH!” Stella screamed in excitement and I flinched in response. “Oh, sorry! I just knew you were a member! Deer told us that there was someone undercover in the CT’s rankings, but he never told me who he was! He just said to guess.” the idol started to jump up and down, barely containing her elation.

“The answer to your question is yes. We’re new. I’m moreso a temporary member though. I used to teleport all sorts of terrorists for money, but Deer’s offering me a paycheck to exclusively teleport members of Anima. He even made me one of the 12 beasts.”

That explains how Stella went from the entrance of the park to Holia land. This is…a peculiar situation though. Usually, we’re not supposed to know each other’s identities, but all three of us just put our cards on the table. Well, at least they don’t know which one of the beasts I am.

“But aside from that, you’re Bear aren’t you? Bear the immovable?!” The idol pinpointed my identity with exact precision.

“Another question: What exactly are you guys doing here?” I answered her question with a question.

“That…” Stella crossed her index fingers to make an X shape “Is a secret!”

“You…” I narrowed my eyes.

If they’re here on business, what could they possibly want? Does it have anything to do with the attack happening?

“Oh yeah…” Cheetah awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Deer wanted to know why you’re taking so long to pull out. The point of you infiltrating was to take advantage of the BCT giving stematas to half-baked CTs.”

”I was going to leave, but I’ve been thinking of converting someone over to our cause.”

“It has to be a pretty good ‘someone’ if you’re sticking your neck out longer than you need to.” Cheetah said.

“It’s Annabelle Hotch. Her aptitude score was so high that they gave her one of the strongest stematas they have. She also has a soft spot for life. I think that under the right circumstances, I can lead her down the right path.”

“Eh.” Cheetah shrugged. With that same nonchalant attitude he’s been sporting this entire time. “Sounds good enough to me. I’ll tell Deer about your plans.”

“Soooooo how did you join Anima? Why did the boss send you on this mission? And do you liiiiiiiike Anna?” Stella barraged me with all sorts of questions.

“I’ll tell you about it some other time. I have to go help her with the emergency shelter.” I deflected more of her questions and walked off.

“It was nice meeting you, Mr. Bearrrrr!” She shouted in the distance.

The fact that she’s just shouting my name like that in an open area…

But if I’m being honest…a part of me has been having fun hanging out with all of these people. Sure, they’re CTs that play judge,jury, and executioner to the common man, but breaking bread with them and listening to them talk so fervently about their dreams…it makes them seem more human to me. The boss has warned me about this feeling, but is it because he didn’t want my heart to waver and betray him? Is he worried that I might just switch sides? What if instead of choosing between Anima or the BCT…I just ran away? Maybe to Triana. After all, if a new recruit is an Acuposan, then that means the organization is going global. It’d be best to settle down in a place where our past won’t be able to catch up to us. I began to chuckle at the thought that I humored myself with.

“The only place that exists like that is heaven…”

[The following is one of many excerpts from the incident report of the 20th first zone division vs. the terrorist organization known as “New Dawn”]

[Gollie Themis Vs. Undead beast: Gollie Wins. Casualties: Deep cuts from the debris of crushed buildings and rides.]