Part Six

Shimonoseki, Japan. Kyushu Defensive Line Headquarters……

“I can’t believe it. It’s actually over.”

“It’s almost surreal how easily it ended. Haaaah, all that paperwork for nothing.”

“Haha…well, if it weren’t for that paperwork, the waves of other monsters would’ve caused a lot more damage then they did. So it wasn’t a wasted effort.”

“Still, this might cause some blowback from critics who think we spent too much on the Defensive Line. Even though we couldn’t have survived this long without doing that.”

“Haaaah. Ouka was right. Politics are hell.”

Both Chris and Saito were looking at what was hopefully the final report concerning the Gluttonists. A few days ago, over twenty Mitsubishi H-60 helicopters were dispatched to eliminate the monster thought to be the source of the Gluttonists. After a violent and spectacular battle, the monster, tentatively named Glutton Hive, was killed. Most had believed that to only be the beginning of the battle to come, but things had gone beyond anyone’s expectations. Within seconds of the Hive’s death, all the other Gluttonists had gone berserk, and begun tearing into the closest creatures nearby. Which was almost obviously the other Gluttonists.

According to the crew that eliminated the Hive, every single one of the Gluttonists surrounding it had been torn apart, causing the massive swarm to literally self-destruct. By now, most of them were dead, though there could be one or two still out there, so they’d yet to fully drop their guard. No one wanted a repeat of this.

Though no one was aware of this, there was actually no need to worry about a repeat performance. While the Glutton Hive was a Gluttonist at one time, there was no chance that any survivors would be able to grow into a new Hive.

Everyone involved had the mistaken impression that the Hive was like insectile monster queens in that it produced young to gather food and protect it, but that was extremely far from what had actually happened. The Gluttonists produced by the Hive were actually miniature clones instead of offspring. While they possessed the abilities of the original, they lacked any means to grow or reproduce. Honestly, they were closer to mind-controlled puppets than anything.

And since their controller was now dead, all that left was shells filled with destructive instincts and an insatiable hunger. There was no chance of them becoming a true threat. But since no one on Earth knew that, all they could do was prepare for the worst.

Of course, just because one threat had passed didn’t mean that their job was done. In fact, it was just beginning.

“Well, at least the ground work we’ve been working on didn’t go to waste. We might actually manage to start reclaiming territory if this plan pans out.”

“Yeah, though it’s only because of Ouka that we even have this chance.”

“Saito…”

“No, you don’t need to tell me. I don’t blame you. I just…I don’t know.”

While the members of the JSDF who’d fought the Glutton Hive were being treated as heroes, Ouka had been flung aside like a used paper towel. Even though it was all due to her that they’d even had the chance to begin pushing the monsters back, they were treating her like a criminal.

Part of this was due to the fact that the crews were all employed soldiers, while Ouka was a volunteer who’d gone rogue. There would obviously be a difference in their treatment. Saito wasn’t too blind to see that, but the fact that his best friend had been reassigned against everyone’s wishes just wasn’t something he could simply ignore.

Thankfully, Chris had already developed a plan to bring her back. It would take some time, and both she and Saito would need results, but it was definitely possible.

“Remember Saito, you need to be on your best behavior from now on. You’re going to be in a position where your every move will be scrutinized. Any major mistakes could cause everything to fall apart before it even begins. Understood?”

“Yes Director. I’ll do my best.”

***

Washington DC, United States of America. Office of North American Defensive Line Director, Eugene Wallace……

“I’ll be frank with ya kid, this is more of a punishment than a reassignment. They may say that it’s to help establish a working branch of the Committee out here, but everyone knows the Army’s never going to let anyone but Americans guard their own.”

This was the first time Ouka had ever met Eugene Wallace, but her first impression of him was poor. The man seemed beaten down, as if he’d lost any and all hope in the world. And who would blame him? Prior to World Decay, Eugene had been a Pennsylvania state senator, and an extremely popular one at that. It wouldn’t have been odd for him to become governor during the next election, if only the world hadn’t ended before then.

As it was, most of the constituents he’d been elected to serve were now dead, and Pennsylvania was infested with more monsters than you could count, so he’d lost his purpose. And then to make matters worse, the rest of the US government had shoved the unwanted task of being the interlay between the Army and the Committee, a thankless task that got him nothing but enmity.

At first, Eugene had tried to make the best of a bad situation, but endless failures had broken his spirit, turning him into a shell of his former self. The US Army wasn’t willing to cooperate with the Committee, not when they already had the situation “under control”. Whether it was because of territorial concerns or because of fears of espionage was anyone’s guess, but the fact remained that they’d rejected every offer of aid, even material.

As for the Committee, they weren’t happy with the situation, mostly because this meant that there was a precedent for any other similar disputes between nations and the Committee in the future, but they couldn’t really complain since the US was one of the major suppliers of ammunition. No one would willingly look a gift horse in the mouth.

This unfortunately led to Eugene being used as a scapegoat by both sides, and the North American Defensive Line existed in name only. It had in fact become a dumping ground of sorts for people who’d gathered enmity in one way or another. Somewhere they could send people who’d blundered bad enough to be shuffled away, but not bad enough to be dismissed completely.

Just like Ouka.

A single glance had been enough for Ouka to sense that everyone here was in a similar state as Eugene. They all had the same forlorn expression, as well as a lack of any motivation whatsoever. They also had one more thing in common. They were all civil officials. Not a single one of them had ever fought a monster, meaning that Ouka was the first combatant to be sent here. A testament to how bad her superiors wanted to be rid of her.

Having deduced all she could by examining them, Ouka decided that her next move would be to find out what was expected of her here. Unfortunately….

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You don’t have to patrol, you don’t have to fight. Nothing. This is literally a dead-end position. No one expects anything of us, so that’s what we do.”

The utter cynicism spilling from this once respectable man was actually kind of respectable in its own way. One had to wonder just what he’d gone through to turn into this languid, despair-filled man. Fortunately, Ouka wasn’t one to really care about how other people saw her, so she’d likely be fine under these conditions.

She also knew that Director Walters and Saito were planning something big, so she had no intent on hanging around here for very long. Once their plan got off the ground, she’d likely be able to find a reason to join them pretty quickly.

Little did she know that an extremely good reason was brewing even as we speak. She was to soon have an encounter that would change everything.

***

Warsaw, Poland. Temporary Headquarters for the Allied Committee of International Defense……

Natasha made her way down the hall towards her private chambers, utterly exhausted by today's events. She’d been in back-to-back meetings today, and they’d worn away at her. Even the other participants had been exhausted by the end, so it didn’t have anything to do with her age. Right now, all she wanted was to settle into bed for the night.

The primary causes of today's meetings had actually been Warren Laurent, Chris Walters, and Ixan Isphael. All three had made recent proposals that came to the Executive Board, upping her workload. The discussions had taken hours for each issue as they weighed the pros and cons, though each one had ultimately been passed.

If you asked for her opinion and her opinion alone, the only one that would’ve passed was Chris's, as she believed his was the only one that would directly aid humanity. Warren's desire to learn more about monsters could theoretically help them, but it was obvious at a glance that his own interests were why he’d proposed his plan in the first place. Though perhaps having a full-time lab studying monsters would eventually pay off.

While everything had been settled by now, all the stress had been taking its toll on her, causing more and more fatigue. And things likely wouldn’t get any easier going forward either. Only God knew when the next zone would appear, so the Committee needed to be ready to react at any moment.

Why can’t they let an old woman enjoy her retirement? I’ve already done my part, so can’t the next generation take care of this? And why must they make more trouble for me at every opportunity? If it’s not one of them, it’s another. Haah, kids these days.

It should be noted that those she was complaining about were all men in their mid-thirties, certainly well past the point of being labeled children. Granted, for someone more than fifty years their senior, perhaps there was little difference. Actually, she probably thought that men in their thirties should know better, which made them worse in her eyes.

Finally making it to her chamber, Natasha began preparing for bed. Or she would’ve, if not for the doll-like figure currently sitting on it.

“Hey-hey! I’ve been waiting for you, Miss Natasha.”

If a hundred people were asked, every single one of them would describe the creature sitting on her bed as a fairy. In fact, it was so stereotypically fairy-like that you’d be forgiven for believing that it wasn’t a fairy. Fortunately, Natasha was a practical woman, and immediately realized that the being before her wasn’t normal. And since it was likely here for a reason, getting to the bottom of it would make it leave that much faster, so she didn’t dwell on its appearance long.

“Oh, you have? Apologies, but I’ve been busy all day, and was looking forward to a good night's sleep.”

The little fairy's face twisted into a frown at that, but soon regained her earlier expression. Apparently, even magical beings knew when they’d been rude.

“Oh dear, oh dear. How rude of me to come so suddenly! Please, accept my humblest apologies for so rudely showing up unannounced.”

A little voice in the back of Natasha’s head began to warn her about the creature in front of her. It was a combination of her intuition and experience telling her that the fairy was patronizing her. It didn’t really care about her, nor did it actually feel apologetic, though there was also no anger present in its voice or posture.

“But if I could simply ask for a little bit of your time on a different day, then I’d like to make a proposal, one that could benefit both of us. You’re free to refuse of course, but I wouldn’t recommend it…”

The fairy smiled then, but Natasha couldn’t determine whether it was benignly, or maliciously.

“…After all, if you don’t do anything, your world's going to die.”