The Red Hand

Chapter 84 – The Christmas Tragedy

The rest of December flew by until Christmas Day finally arrived. It was cold and snowy, but overall not too bad for this time of the year. Akagi and Kana enjoyed the holiday at their home in the mountains, having a nice relaxing celebration of the holiday. There was a minor gift sharing, but they'd kept things to a modest level, just happy to spend some time as a family together. Unfortunately for the rest of Japan, while Akagi enjoyed a nice relaxing day, Libra was about to show that tragedy can happen any day of the year.

Alarms rang out in the Tokyo Headquarters of the RRT. Aoi who stayed, just in case, rushed into the main control room. She'd been worried about the possibility of a Libra attack and decided to stay in the office building over the holiday.

"We're getting reports of strikes throughout Japan!" An officer spoke to Aoi. "Nagoya, Tokyo, Koriyama, Hiroshima, and Sapporo have all reported explosions, and some of our local agents have already engaged Libra members. Law enforcement and military units have been notified, but things are in chaos." 

"Bastards couldn't even let us have the holiday, could they? No, this was their plan all along wasn't it? Why did I have to be right about this?" Aoi quickly put on her uniform. "We don't have enough people for this!" Most of the attacks were Libra members, but Hiroshima and Nagoya were onsets by players, as well as, puppets. Aoi scrambled the RRT members, some of which were quite angry to be disturbed on the holiday. With their limited resources, they couldn't effectively handle this many attacks simultaneously, and it would take time to get their forces in place. Seeing no other choice, Aoi ordered Wexel to head to Fukushima since it was only being attacked by puppets, she figured it would be safest for the summoner to head to a place without players. While Mixu and Excelsior went to Nagoya to provide backup after they finished in Tokyo. Minazawa would reroute to Hiroshima, while Hoshino dealt with Sapporo.

{I have a bad feeling about this. It's far too coordinated for a normal attack. Almost like these attacks are a diversion so we don't see their real objective. But I don't have the liberty of just letting them run roughshod over any one city. The government is already inundated with complaints, so we have no choice but to defend everywhere, even if that spreads us too thin! Damnit!} Aoi cursed the politics of this war in her head. She understood people were scared, but that fear was letting Libra control the flow of the conflict. At this rate, she seriously doubted they could win.

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After receiving her orders to sortie, Wexel took off from the roof of her home in Tokyo. She rode a giant eagle as a mount, and its speed meant she could reach Koriyama in about an hour. This was still quite slow, but since it was only puppets, local law enforcement and the military were estimated to be enough to handle things until she arrived. After summoning him, she took off towards her destination.

"Let's go, Kitamaru!" Wexel urged her friend to move swiftly, and the eagle let out a crow. Flying at top speed, Wexel rushed to Koriyama, hoping that she could make it in time to prevent fatalities. The cold wind blasted against her skin, and even though her magic she still felt a slight chill. Kitamaru was unaffected by the cold, and the two rocketed over the skyline quickly putting the Tokyo Metropolitan Area behind them.

This would be the first time Wexel was sent out alone, so she was nervous, but the girl would still try her best to handle whatever threat came her way. Even though she was a summoner, she was confident in her familiar's powers and her own magical ability. As she flew over highway four which ran from Tokyo to Koriyama, the location of the attack, she began to plan and prepare for the coming battle.

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At a point just over halfway between Tokyo and Koriyama, three people stood on top of a nearby mountain. They were bird watching, specifically, they were looking for the rare giant eagle. A rarity in these parts.

"Shouldn't be much longer..... Ah-ha!" Armalthy was using some binoculars, keeping an eye on the sky above the highway. "Right on schedule, and it looks like she's alone. Fantastic." He grinned. "They took the bait."

"Alright, let's make this quick," Herlex said from behind. "Armalthy, you knock her out of the sky, and once she's forced to the ground, we jump her. If we do this right, she won't even know what's going on until it's too late."

"Sounds good to me." Armalthy put down the binoculars and flew up into the sky. Herlex followed suit, carrying Elna.

"Alright, little birdy." Armalthy charged up some electricity in his palms. "Let's see how well-done you are after this!" As he flew towards Wexel, he sent a barrage of lighting into the atmosphere and clouds above. His abilities allowed him to control and influence natural lightning and so super charging the atmosphere to create a powerful blast was quite easy. After a few moments, a massive bolt came down, striking the flying eagle, and causing it to careen toward the ground. "Zap goes the birdy!" He laughed.

"Alright, let's go! Full speed!" Herlex took off, and Armalthy followed suit.

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"Kitamaru!" Wexel screamed as she spun towards the ground. The bird was not dead, as a familiar couldn't really die, but it was unconscious. And without its flight, it would hit the ground any second. Unable to awaken her friend, and left with little choice, Wexel took out her staff and channeled some wind magic around her and Kitamaru in an attempt to break their fall by creating an air pocket to act as a shock absorber. Seconds later, the two impacted the side of a nearby mountain causing an eruption of dirt and rocks as they impacted into the ground. Miraculously, Wexel survived, but she ended up smashing her head against the eagle, which caused a concussion. "Kita-maru." Wexel was woozy from the impact and fell off the side of the eagle onto the ground. She tried to activate her communicator but found it had been destroyed by the collision with the ground. Unable to stand or move, Wexel watched as Herlex and co arrived.

"Well, I don't think we were needed at all." Armalthy floated down next to her. "The fall nearly did the job for us!"

"Ar-mal-thy." She looked up at the man with anger in her eyes. But with her injuries, she was unable to do anything.

"I suppose I underestimated the damage of the fall. That or she's simply that weak of a summoner." Herlex floated down next to him and put Elna down. "Either way, finish her off. With her dead things get easier, and we shouldn't hang around longer than needed."

Armalthy reached down and picked her up, holding her by the throat. "Sorry, kid. It's nothing personal, just be happy I don't have time to play with you a bit." He pulled back his arm, channeling electrical energy and into his fist as he struck Wexel in the head, killing her instantly. "Well, that was easy enough." He threw her body onto the ground. With her death, Kitamaru vanished into a blue mist. "Oh well, their mistake is our gain. But damn that actually worked! I thought they'd never send the kid out on her own like that."

"They had no choice." Herlex shrugged. "They are suppose to be the heroes who protect everyone, and don't have the luxury of just letting us attack cities and causing destruction. It was only natural they'd send her out. Otherwise they'd be in hot water for having abandoned civilians to their fate." 

"That's what's wrong with these hero types." Elna laughed. "Always trying to save everyone. You'd think they would've learned from the countless stories made over the years that such stupid ideals don't work in practice."

"Well, there aren't many people who actually understand the reality of the situation like we do. Akagi is probably one of the few who's pragmatic enough to understand the proper way of dealing with things, hence why keeping her off our back is in our best interest." Herlex sighed. "Elna, if you would? We might have killed Wexel, but I don't want to just leave her body to rot on the side of a mountain." Herlex looked at her, and she threw out her fist, burning the body to ash with her fire.

"It's the very least we can do," Elna smirked.

"Not to mention if someone revived her with magic that would make what we just did pointless." (Armalthy)

"Good point." Herlex nodded as he kicked the ashes, scattering them into the wind. "Alright let's go." He picked up Elna as the three flew off back towards their base, confident that they'd come out victorious in this conflict.

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"What do you mean Wexel's gone missing!" Minazawa screamed on the video call. The attacks by Libra had been quickly routed, and it was apparent that they were little more than a feint. Once things settled down the RRT was called into a group video meeting to discuss things.

"We've lost all contact with her, and her radar and comms signal went silent about halfway between Tokyo and Koriyama." Aoi winced. "We've got search parties looking for her, but so far there's no sign of her."

"Were they after Wexel?" Mixu asked. "She was our scout and recon, perhaps they planned this attack to get her specifically?" It was plausible, but still a stretch. Libra had been more interested in killing civilians than them. Though as someone who dealt in underworld dealings, Mixu probably had the best insight into Libra's mindset among the RRT.

"It's possible," Aoi admitted. "But to go through all that effort just for her? It seems unreasonable to assume that."

"Libra was quiet until today. Is it possible they took her out because they're hiding something they don't want us to know about?" Mixu pressed onward with her theory. "She was constantly surveilling their base, so I think they wanted her gone. If I was Herlex, she'd be my priority target."

{Killing off our ability to keep an eye on their movements really fucks with our plans. Even American intel isn't perfect and we've been blinded by the loss of Wexel's familiars.} (Mixu)

"Why the hell was she sent out alone!" Minazawa exclaimed. "You know she can't handle fighting one of us, it's the reason Mixu isn't sent outside of Tokyo without either me or Excel!" She was pissed that Aoi had made that call.

"I didn't have a choice!" Aoi yelled back. "We needed to respond to every attack, even if that meant splitting our team. We don't have the numbers necessary, and the higher-ups are under public pressure to handle Libra. We don't have the leeway to just ignore an attack at this stage!" She continued. "I sent Mixu with Excelsior to back up Superbia at Nagoya, and I figured that Wexel would be fine to handle puppets at Koriyama. You're right that it was my decision to send her there alone, but I was given little choice as we had no one to escort her. The only person available was Imp and that won't work."

"So why the hell aren't we getting any help!" Minazawa yelled. "Where's the JSDF? Where are the Americans? And why is no one else joining us!" They had been getting military help, but she thought it was too little to actually matter. Even if the Americans had killed Ichimon.

"Calm down Minazawa." Excelsior chimed in. "Fighting like this is pointless and arguing gets us nowhere. Aoi isn't the person to direct your anger at anyway, its not her fault things are as fucked as they are." He tried to lower the temperature in the room. "I've spoken to the JSDF command and the Americans. They are moving as fast as they can to deploy forces. Trust me, it's been a real hassle to move American troops into the county and supply them, but they are here, and they are helping." With Wexel missing, the US Military was the one that rushed to Koriyama to handle the puppets. "American forces have been great help in securing places we simply can't be and their intel sharing has helped us deal with a few Libra cells like how you took down Tatsumaki and captured Shimari." The girl was still in a coma from her injuries and it was unknown how long she'd be asleep.

"Y-yeah." Minazawa took a deep breath to calm down. "You're right, sorry Aoi. I shouldn't have screamed at you."

"It's fine." Aoi shook her head. "Trust me, I'm just as frustrated as you are. The fact that Wexel might be dead because of my call is just..." Her eyes darkened.

"Well if you thought we're having a hard time getting more players to join us before, it's only going to get worse now. On top of optical issues, most don't want to fight anymore Minazawa," Mixu spoke. "Ones like us, who are willing to keep the fight going are rare. Most just want to put down their weapons and have peace. That's what they fought for in FWO and well, I don't blame them. Plus our potential pool of backup isn't exactly large, as there was only one-hundred of us to begin with and subtract those who are dead, on Libra's side, or not recruitable and you've got perhaps fifty to sixty people who we can pull from."

"So they'd just sit this whole mess out? Even if that means the country is destroyed by Libra?!?" Minazawa was still upset. "Are they idiots?!? If we don't defeat these bastards they're going to be next!"

"No, they're just scared." Mixu shook her head. "Listen Wexel is probably dead. Once that gets out, what do you think happens? Do you think we're gonna get more willing volunteers? No. Not after that." People were already hesitant to fight, now that the RRT had lost a member, people would be even more afraid to get involved.

Her words caused the call to go silent. "I hate to say this, but Aoi you need to pressure the government into giving Akagi whatever it is she asked for. At this rate, were in deep trouble. Unless we get her and/or Hishya involved Japan's future isn't looking great."

{I hate to admit it, but she's probably our best bet.} Mixu sighed internally. {Hishya would also be good, but I'm not convinced she could turn the tide completely. No matter how much more powerful she's gotten, I doubt she can fight all of Libra's combat players at once and win.} 

"I know. Hopefully, I can use this incident to pressure them, but I really doubt they would agree to her terms. Even now." Aoi sighed. "They're stubbornly refusing to consider her terms.

"What did she ask for anyway?" Hoshino asked. "Is it really something that outlandish that they'd refuse?"

"This is classified, but she asked for an area of land around her home. She wants it to be given to her so she may form her own country. Like the Vatican." Aoi pinched the bridge of her nose. "You can imagine what that was shot down."

"She wants to rule her own country?!?" Hoshino exclaimed. "That's nuts, since when did Akagi have that kind of ambition?" She never thought the assassin would want something so grandiose. "What's next? She takes over all of Japan and become Empress?"

"Heh-heh." Imp laughed at that comment. "Demon Empress!"

"Now I see why the government declined." Superbia connected to the call. "But I still say it's necessary. We're strong enough to fight most of Libra's members. But Japan is too big, and there's not enough of us. Unless the US Military is allowed to effectively occupy the country, we're not going to be able to handle this Aoi." She sighed. 

"I know, you're not telling me what I don't already know. But still, we must fight on. If we give up, so many innocent people will die." Aoi's tired eyes had a spark in them. "I will try to persuade the government to accept Akagi's terms, and I will reach out to Hishya once more. Hopefully, we have some good news soon. Excelsior, please try to speak with the military and tell them we need more help."

"Will do." Excelsior smiled.

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A few days later.

In a hotel in Nagoya, a cloaked woman entered one of the rooms and plugged a small device into a laptop. Taking off her hood revealed blue and red rainbow hair. She turned on the device, input a pass-code, and placed the laptop on a nearby table. Once finished, she pulled the blinds shut and darkened the room right before a cloaked figure appeared on screen.

"It's good to see you again, Birdy." The woman in the image was sitting in a chair, wearing a heavy dark cloak that obscured her face, and her voice was distorted so it wasn't easy to discern who she was. "I trust all is going according to plan?"

Birdy kneeled. "It is good to see you too, my Lord. Please forgive me for the delay in communication, things have been busy with the plans for the Nagoya attack. It has been hard to find time to slip away for my reports. But yes, I am happy to report that everything is going as you foresaw. Libra has dealt with Wexel, the last obstacle before their planned attack on Nagoya." She looked at the monitor.

"Excellent, all the pieces are falling into place." The woman laughed. "It won't be much longer until I have what I wanted. Continue to monitor the situation and inform me of Libra's activates. I do not want a repeat of what happened in Kyoto." Her tone got slightly harsher as she said that.

Birdy started to sweat a bit. "Yes, my Lord and please forgive me for failing to adequately monitor the movement of Libra's members. My failure nearly caused a great tragedy, and I am sorry." Birdy bowed her head deeply in regret. "I knew they planned on attacking Gifa, but that they would change targets abruptly was something I did not foresee. I have failed you."

"It is fine." The woman waved her hand. "It would be unfair to expect you to foresee that those two would take independent action. You had no way of knowing and have otherwise done your job to perfection both here and within FWO. Besides, my other agents are more at fault for not detecting their entrance into Kyoto. So there is nothing to forgive. Please, raise your head."

Birdy obliged. "I am grateful for your understanding and mercy, my Lord. May I give you my full report?"

The hooded woman smirked, and for a brief moment, you could see a glowing orange eye under her hood. "Proceed."