Awakening - Operation: Blasted Heath

[Zhiel]

A painful groan escaped the mask-like layer of metal-fiber weave that covered Richard's face as he leaned against the side of a building while making his way away from the battlefield just fifty or so meters behind him. With the Thanatos suit inactive all the stress his body had endured while using it along with the internal injuries inflicted by the hits he had taken had begun to wear him down, as such he was barely able to walk and any movement he made caused pain to shoot through his system like if he was on fire. Regardless after a few moments to catch his breath Richard began to once again drag himself toward safety, in his current state there wasn't anything he could do though given how Y-1 was going completely wild he had to wonder if stopping him was even possible at this point...

Having put a pretty decent distance between himself and the battle (roughly three moderate sized buildings, two being skyscrapers) Richard turned a corner and slumped down on a weathered box that almost collapsed under the weight and from the sound it made it was probably filled with something Richard would never have touched even if it meant the death of him but right now he couldn't care less as he leaned the back of his head against the building and breathed heavily. Even this wasn't quite optimal safety distance but he was afraid if he tried to go on much farther he'd collapse completely, the pain in his neck had gotten worse as well which was not a good sign though for now he ignored it, focusing instead on the combat updates that appeared on the visor. Richard had to wonder just what Y-1 was playing at, if his goal was to escape then he wasn't doing a very good job at it as more and more troops joined the perimeter around the area, well away from the action but ready to shoot him or anyone who tried to assist him in escaping with a wall of spiritually charged lead.

Still with nothing to do at present than wait for the battle to conclude Richard began running a diagnostics on the suit, most systems showing up as having a catastrophic failure and would most likely disintegrate if they were activated again and was thus temporarily disabled but it seemed the suit itself was still functional though the main battery had been damaged so he'd need to use the severely limited backup one if it came to that... Course he was in no condition to rejoin the fight even if the suit could last for more than thirty seconds, so it was hardly relevant. Still the diagnostics results did remind him he could connect with the suits of the squad leaders out there and link their in-built camera feeds to his own visor, thus getting a better idea of what was going on.

Doing just that Richard opened a channel to the leader of the ELITE squad closest to Jager's position though as they were currently cowering for the seemingly relentless assault of reiatsu blasts and tendrils he wasn't able to get much new information at that time. It wasn't long until a loud noise sounded out from Jager's position, not actually participating in the battle Richard was able to read some of the data the suit were filtering through at the time and surprisingly it was such a loud sound that had the soldiers not worn their armor suits they'd likely be deaf now. Knowing an opening when they 'saw' one the ELITEs went out of their cover and resumed firing, which gave Richard a clear view of Y-1's crouching form which proved the sound had indeed come from the object the living weapon had acquired from the base of Tokyo Tower and was now attached to one of his ears. Despite a sense of delight on any pain Jager suffered the signal still made him worried about just what it implied.

During the course of this operation Richard had been continuously going over the plans in his head, adding minor changes to it as he went and directly improvising other counter-measures as the first, and secondary ones failed. He simply had not had the time to sit down and think in detail about who Y-1 could have possibly met with, until now anyways. Still his thoughts were interrupted when Jager once again yelled out his name, and from the feed he was getting from the ELITE squad leader the monster seemed to be looking in his direction... Of course he could just be looking where he had first disappeared, it still unnerved him though. The words being spoken by themselves wasn't particularly interesting on Richard's part even if they did make anger boil up inside him, that was until something very interesting happened...

Supposedly Jager was losing control over his reiatsu which manifested in it beginning to eat his arm, all the while Jager himself displayed a number of facial expressions Richard never expected to see from the until recently believed mindless weapon and while it was entertaining in it's own right to witness Y-1 trying to cope with such a mundane feeling such as pain the scientific portion of Richard was analyzing the situation on a deeper level, trying to understand just what was happening and why. And how it could be used in his benefit.

From what he could tell Jager had passed an invisible threshold, possibly the NWO's experiments on Y-1 had simply removed the barrier of limitations that otherwise existed for humans, such as muscle strength or in this case, the power of the soul. In short, what they were currently witnessing was probably the result of Jager drawing power where there was none. While witnessing the spectacle that ensued a beeping was becoming apparent as a message began to flash on Richard's visor, and though the name surprised him as Reginald shouldn't even be conscious at the moment he didn't have time to consider the mans reasons for calling him now, it was either of grave importance or a waste of time but Richard wasn't about to take chances at this point, not like he had much to do either way and if Reginald had thought of something then he'd gladly listen.

Accepting the link the first thing he heard was a number of shouts and a scraping sound, at which point he realized that Reginald had actually been in the middle of being treated when he had either regained consciousness or thought of something. Understanding that this was probably important Richard disabled the audio portion of the cam feed he was receiving from the battle as he concentrated on the call instead, still keeping his eyes on the progressing battle just in case something came up. At first there was only background noises, the medics and other staff chasing after Reginald as the guy apparently hid somewhere they couldn't get to right away before the man slumped down somewhere and finally began to speak.

When Reginald first began to speak Richard was skeptical about what the man intended to convey, a small part of his mind was even wondering if it was REALLY Reginald since it hardly sounded like him but the more rational part of him shot it down as mere paranoia. The man was injured, that much was obvious which easily explained his gruff voice and rather than focusing on this minor detail he instead decided to listen to what was actually being said. When Vulcan was first mentioned Richard felt almost like scoffing, there was no way they could pull Y-1 out of this situation much less manage to arrange a plan with him... Or was there? After the total destruction of the rival companies Japan department (After they had stolen some of Richard's blueprints for a Mallory Arms project) they had become a non-factor. Of course the survival of Yuuske had greatly surprised and angered Richard and though the man had made no move against them since then Richard had put him under watch. Still the man was sneaky and had evaded their stealth agents on multiple occasions...

Richard continued to listen to Reginalds theory and the longer the man went along the clearer of an image formed in Richard's head, pieces began to fall into place and he saw the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall in place. If Reginald was going for what Richard thought he was then that would suggest Y-1 was self-aware long ago, how the monster had avoided showing this to them was beyond his understanding and it still confused him, still if it was not the case there'd be no way for Y-1 to be so intelligent and seemingly knowledgeable as he was now. Still Richard wasn't quite sure what Reginald meant with his initial 'question' of "why would he be retreating toward the tower?", he still did not quite get how they intended to extract him from the middle of the city... Being deep in thought Richard had almost not noticed what was going on with Y-1 at this time, though when he saw the energy being unleashed from the living weapon and his suit began to blare warnings all over the place he didn't stop to think about it but immediately initiated the activation sequence, draining half of the backup battery in the process.

In what could best be described as a blue pulsing glow Richard was enveloped by the spirit particles that made up the Thanatos armor suit before they quickly reformed into solid plating and complex nano-tech based systems, luckily the suits self-repair algorithm had relocated particles from the visor so that the entire suit was sealed off from the outside as otherwise it wouldn't have made much of a difference. With his heart beating fast and adrenaline pumping through his veins Richard hurriedly got up on his feet, still listening to what Reginald was saying though filtering most of it to the back of his mind for the moment as he ran through the alley from earlier before climbing the side of the building next to the battle with ease. While his body was beaten down and he was exhausted to the point that he could easily fall unconscious any moment, the adrenaline combined with the suits own internal stabilizers made it feel as if he didn't have any problems at all, of course he'd come to regret it later. It was kind of like drinking, drinking more made the headache go away for a time but it would come back all the fiercer.

After scaling the building (Which admittedly wasn't that tall compared to most surrounding buildings, or the Tower itself) Richard was met with quite a shocking sight as numerous ELITEs were trying to help their comrades who had been affected by... Something... The suit readings showed there was a massive amount of energy in the air and while it was dispersing quickly it was still in the deadly amounts. Which made Richard yell out over the comm when he saw some trying to open the suits of unfortunate individuals who had their containment breached. It appeared the message had gotten through and most of those still alive were trying to pull the writhing forms of several wounded soldiers out of the area though it was unlikely most would live.

Crouching near the edge of the building while surveying the area below Richard got back up to speed with what Reginald was saying and began to realize just what the man was getting at, using the tower due to it's height and sky hooking from there... Certainly seemed like something Y-1 would be capable of, still he just could not believe that even Jager could survive doing it at Mach 8. Still Reginald's argument about their tech made sense, they were prepared to fight spirits and spirits didn't employ high-altitude jets traveling at HyperSonic speeds... At least, he hoped not. Regardless toppling the tower... He fully understood Reginald and also agreed that risking Y-1 getting out of their grasp would be a major disaster far beyond anything that happened here, but would it truly be a risk to THEM? Y-1 could not possibly hurt the organization as a whole, but of course he knew a great deal about them. Still was it worth the PR disaster destroying Tokyo Tower would no doubt cause? That's when he noticed Y-1 was at the towers base already. No more time to think, he had to act now.

"This is High Command to all Units. Commence fire on Subject Y-1 IMMEDIATELY! Those who possess Heavy Weaponry aim for the support structures of the Tower, take it down with haste!"

Richard ordered over the comm, most who heard it and wasn't badly wounded did as ordered and trained their weapons at Y-1 while a few who still had ammunition for their heavy weapons, such as spiritually charged RPG's, aimed them hesitantly at the second support for the tower, with the first broken by Jager earlier in the battle it should be a simple task to make it fall. Or at least that's what Richard hoped... He himself would have tried to stop Jager but the suit was already beginning to fail again, he had a mere 7000 UNITS left of energy thus utilizing any of the suits active systems would leave it dry. Merely getting to Jager's position was likely to result in the suit failing at this point. Though he wasn't sure if Reginald could hear him at this point he half-whispered into the comm. "I hope you're right about this..."

[GoldenKitten]

While Jager had managed to pull himself to the base of the tower that really didn't seem to be doing him a whole lot of good. After all he now had a hunking mass of metal extending three-hundred meters into the air above him, was incredibly weak, and one of his arms wasn't working. If his intent was to be on top of it like Reginald suggested then it seemed to be little more than a dream at this point, he was still stronger than a human of course, but he wasn't going to be making it in a single-bound. He himself seemed to realize this as he paused at the bottom, looking up wearily as if considering the possibilities.

- "This is High Command to all Units. Commence fire on Subject Y-1 IMMEDIATELY! Those who possess Heavy Weaponry aim for the support structures of the Tower, take it down with haste!" -

The order was given over the closed network communication, Jager should not have been able to hear it. Yet what other explanation was there for what happened next? In truth he was like an animal, sensing danger when it was near, tapping into natural hunter instincts that humanity had long since lost in its ever growing reliance on convenience. He didn't hear the order, but he felt the change in atmosphere, heard the clicks of weapons being released, knew that dozens of eyes had fallen on him again. And in that instant, just like a cornered animal he made one last attempt to escape the hunter, only time would tell of its success.

Almost in tandem with Richards command he pushed up off the ground with his working arm and right leg, when he was completely erect his left foot came down and slammed into the ground below. Curling his head back over his shoulder in a serpentine manner his lessened, but none-the-less penetrating, hollow red eyes scanned over the clearing. As if in slow motion a dozen soldiers were popping up at various locations, order had gone out the window and now anybody not either dead or caring for the wounded was simply preparing to fire at will. He caught glimpses of the few heavy weapons on hand though his mind didn't stop to consider what exactly they were going to be used for, they were all a threat regardless of prerogative.

The operatives brought their weapons up.
Jagers working arm flexed backward, his first footfall propelling forward motion into his body once more.

Crossing the space in an instant the bullets tore through ground, metal, and space...but uncannily Jager dodged the first volley, weaving up and down. Crossing the remaining meter he did not pause as he placed his foot on the base of the tower and pushed down, crushing the concrete and creating a small platform. With the remaining strength he could muster he pushed up and was propelled into the air, the spot he had just been being cut to ribbons by spirit-bullets. Though it was a far cry from his max ability he was still thrown four-meters into the air, far beyond human ability, as he then caught on to one of the towers many rungs with his good arm and spun around it in a manner more akin to a monkey than a acrobat.

Perched like a gargoyle on one of the bars the fire of the NWO was following closely but the scarcity of active soldiers and low-light was making it difficult. On a normal day in this weakened form it would have been a duck-shoot, but the nights events had seen his foe gravely wounded as well. It was less two armies plotting across the field and more two warriors fighting with their fists, on the ground and in the mud, amidst the field of corpses that was once that army. As they found their target again Jager swung around the piping and landed on the diagonal legging of the tower and began running up it like no human could, he might not have been a walking god anymore but that didn't mean he was normal.

The first rocket hit the already weakened support strut. Advanced spiritual energy ripped through real-world matter like it wasn't there and the tower shook like it'd been hit by an isolated earthquake. Still there was very little obvious lean, it was mildly perceptible but the tower still had three thick concrete pillars holding it up. It might fall in time but a single loss was clearly not going to topple it before Jager reached his destination, at least given that he was moving up it seemed highly likely they were now working on a very limited schedule.

By this point Jager had reached what was essentially the towers mid-point in about twenty seconds, it wasn't exactly flying but he was fast putting distance between them. This far up small arms were useless, sniper-rifles could hit him but not enough were still active and he was a agile target. Not that they stopped, or that he was out of trouble, they still cut through steel like butter but he was gaining ground. As he passed behind a strut several bullets passed through it, though none made direct contact one scraped his shoulder and without a second arm to balance Jager fell backward. However, before he dropped to far or the situation could be taken advantage of he grabbed a hold with his other arm spun in a circle and used the upward momentum to carry his several meters before landing on the lowest rung of where the tower went completely lateral.

Having noticed that the destruction was not sufficient by this point one of the first heavy-weapons had been aimed at the next support. The rocket was released and upon impact sheared a massive hole in the cement, like the first it would take several hits to take down but it was testament to the weapons power that a single hit could eliminate so much matter. But in their show of power the in fact harmed their objective, with so little power left it was questionable if Jager could in fact climb the remainder of the erect tower but then the support was struck...and ever so slightly the structure began to lean.

The bullets were flying but they came to late, though the service was far to angled for a normal human the smallest change in the diagonal plane was enough for Jager. He wasn't overflowing with reishi but he still had enough to adhere to the surface, and with his center of weight shifted over (as if running headlong into the ground had he been on properly oriented surface) he began to move upward, gaining speed at a rapid pace. It all happened in a space of less than ten-seconds, the ear piece once again let out a squawk, it was quieter than before as to not immobilize Jager but it was still audible on the NWO suits sensors. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it meant if Reginald was right.

Knowing they were safe to move into the open a contingent of heavy weapons had taken form in the field, and taking aim unleashed a volley of fiery earth-shakers at the damaged strut. In an instant they crossed the space between and slammed into the support with a great crash the combined air-force great enough to blow out the remains of what windows had not already done so in the local area. Unlike before there was no need for another shot, what one rocket could not do a half-dozen had been overkill for. The support was completely missing for several meters up its length, the spiritually enhanced weapons simply rending it into nothingness with no debris or remains to speak of.

The headset was squealing out, its pitch growing steadily higher.
The tower leaned, it leaned an inch, it leaned two.
For the briefest moment the local radar picked up a moving object.
Though two low and fast for long-distance radar the local brand usually used for close-quarters heli-rotor battle could.
And all the while Jager moved up the tower, running in a way that defied human logic.
But then they had built him to do that.
Jager reached the top of the tower, stray bullets flying past him, his eyes locking onto something no human could see in the night, the high pitched tone echoing out.
And then Jager was gone.

An explosion of sound echoed out, maybe Vulcan had estimated wrong, or perhaps they were playing it safe to make sure Jager could catch-on. Whatever the case Reginald had been wrong about one thing, apparently the crafts speed was so great that it simply defied friction and its cord connecting with the ground was not a concern. It happened faster than even the spiritually enhanced suits could follow, the cord hit the ground with an boom and then it was gone. In its wake a long trail laid out along the ground as if a great bulldozer has plowed through it. By pure luck a single soldier had been in its way and the pure force involved was shown, despite the object being normal and he in a spiritually reinforced suit there was now not much of him to speak of...at least in one place.

There were a series of calls as members on the front line pointed upward and then began to flee at will. Thankfully this was not nearly so quick and their suits more than fast enough as they moved out of the way. Seconds later the upper three meters of the tower came crashing to the ground, split cleanly as if by a blade by the tow-wire. Slamming into the ground it was crushed completely flat as it was simply not built to contend with vertical pressure of that nature. In the silence that followed there was a low groan as the tower began to rock, but contrary to initial appearances it began to lean back toward the NWO forces. This sent more than a few of them into a run again but after several seconds of eerie low moans and a slow lean it instead came to rest on the remains of the supports, perhaps not permanently, but it did not appear ready to drop at just that moment.

More than a few held-breaths were released as a great bundle of pent of tension was released amongst Richards soldiers. Most were prepared for battle, and losing was not something anyone wished for, but asking a fighting man to attack something he could not defeat was quite different from asking him to attack the knowable. A great many of those left on the field while disciplined enough to continue acting on orders, and keep it to themselves, were still more glad to be alive than anything else. And so it was no real suprise that as they relaxed almost everyone on the field about had a heart attack when the previously damaged skyscraper from earlier in the battle came toppling down unexpectedly.

Nobody else would die this night, and Jager had not left unscarred...but he had escaped. By the NWO standard this was a failure, they had lost both personnel and hardware in the process, Reginald would be out of commission for days if not weeks...not even starting with Gospel, and Derrick was already in recovery from their previous encounter with the Brotherhood. Then there was Richard himself, he would recover but while he had gained valuable information it would take a great deal of resources to repair the Thanatos.

By comparison if Jager lived his heightened healing abilities meant he would almost certainly be back to par within days, a serious injury by his context, but hardly of equal worth. In short he had lost nothing of permanent worth...he had nothing of permanent worth of which to lose save his life, and they had not taken that. But perhaps most dangerous was what he would do now. It was doubtful he could orchestrate something of true danger against them, but then after tonight who knew? But even if he wasn't of a large danger to the organization as a whole he was still wildly unpredictable, and now he could be anywhere.

Of course at the moment he was about two-hundred miles away, headed south across the ocean.

The wind was nothing like he had ever experienced, maybe it was because he was weak, but either way it was like a freight-train bearing down on him, it might as well have been solid matter. Despite his iron grip the wire was still slide in his good hand, blood flying off into the night as it sliced into his palm. Reaching out with his broken arm he tried to use all the strength he could but upon contact with the rope the blackened hand was split open as if cut by a blade, almost forcing him to let go of what hold he had. Blackness tried to overcome his conscious but at the last moment he became aware that the small light he could make out in the darkness was getting closer. With a great grunt he whipped the rope into a circle and spun it around his good arm, it instantly cut into it but also provided him with a grip that prevented him from losing ground. Sleep tried to grip him but he focused entirely on reaching his objective.

Less than a minute later but what felt like a lifetime to the weary bio-weapon the mechanical winch pulled him into a small compartment. He was vaguely aware of the hydraulic bay behind him closing, the wind still trying to pull him out. But then it was gone, replaced only by a soft rocking. A door opened to the front and a figure stepped through, he looked up but upon confirming it was a normal human who did not seem capable of doing him harm his head fell, his neck unable to support its weight any longer.

The man called out, asking him if he were OK, but after simply uttering “Yes” Jager drifted off and would not awaken for a full day.

Of course the man would wonder if he were OK since all they knew was they were picking someone up, in fact they had been lead to believe it was a state exercise. But Jager wasn't just battered and bruised from the battle. He was completely naked, the many weapons fired upon him ripping what little he had started with to pieces, he was covered in blood both of others and his own, and his arm was in obvious disrepair. By someone like this mans bar of the norm this is what a corpse should have looked like, not a living man. But Jager was not there to provide answers, if he would have anyhow.

Victory was his though; it had gone as planned if save more trouble than expected, but the real threat, that danger had perhaps not even begun...but Jager would make sure it did soon.