Chapter Twenty 

Part One: Anomaly And The Dilemma 

 Idol arrived back into the Federation Territory. She parked her vehicle in the Southern Enclosure, and as she got out 6 Abyssus Units approached her. 

“Identification.” Ordered the troop to Idol.

They were tasked with keeping watch over the entrance gate, “But did they really need 6 people to do that?” pondered Idol to herself.

“001-Z, Abyssus Unit.” She responded while looking quite unimpressed. With a mighty eye roll she continued on her way.

 The troops nodded, and walked the opposite direction to check other vehicles in the landing zone. Idol made her way back to the Beacon. Her steel toed boots clanked against the brick path; she walked with her hands in her pockets, and her emerald eyes stared downward. As she neared the entrance her Slate began to suddenly beep in alert. She pulled the device out of her pocket to take a look. Her Slate was receiving countless distress calls.

“Yikes. The Rift site, that the Intrinsic sent the Task force to, is sending Central Command distress calls…” muttered Idol to herself.

“Those kids…” 

However she didn’t have much time to think about it, her concern was immediately pushed aside as she opened the doors to enter the Beacon. She was quite shocked to see her entire squad standing behind the door fully geared up for combat. Patch, Razor and the Captain, Crest, blankly stared at her.

She glanced at each member of the Revival squad. “Uhm. What’s up you guys? Did I miss something?”

Crest handed her a hook claw. “It seems our prestigious leader wants us to clean up another one of the Federation’s messes.”

“Seriously? I just got back from dropping off the kids and I’m already being deployed again.” Idol reluctantly took the weapon with a sigh.

“Apparently the Intrinsic Illow wants us to go South, towards the coast to one of the Intermission Towers there.” Informed Razor.

“Six days ago, they sent the Zeta Squad to investigate an Abyssiti rift that was giving off a different signal than usual…” Patch tapped her fingers together timidly. “…but the squad went radio silent soon after.” She added quietly.

Upon hearing that, a look of anxiety washed over Razor’s face. “W- wait, we’re being sent to an “Unusual” Abyssiti rift? What if whatever made the Zeta squad vanish does the same thing to us?”

Crest scoffed. “Let’s get there first. Don’t worry about it until then.”

Just then Soleria popped her head in the entrance doorway, from outside. She looked at the Revival squad as they stood in the lobby.

“Your flight has arrived!” Soleria then pulled out her Slate and tapped the screen a few times. “I’ve now informed the Federation you’ll be taking this mission, so good luck out there!”

Their Airship soared through the clouds as it approached the Intermission Tower and opened its side door, with the Revival Squad standing in the doorway. Crest looked down at the facility, it seemed completely intact from what he could see.

 The four prepared to jump from the airship as it flew over their destination. Idol looked back at her team.

“I’ll see you all at the bottom.” She yawned while adjusting the straps of her parachute on her back.

Patch stepped out of the ship, while Idol causally leapt backwards. Razor had to briefly hype himself up before hopping out. Crest took a deep breath, got a small running start and jumped out. He dove for a moment, then deployed his parachute as he neared the ground, his team followed suit. The four slowly drifted down over the beaches; they all landed gently in the sands surrounding the tower.

“I’ll never get used to jumping out of those.” Shuddered Razor as he crawled from under his parachute.

Patch was dusting herself off while Idol popped her knuckles and cracked her neck. Crest continued to analyze the exterior of the Intermission Tower, there was clear sign of a struggle, but no Abyssiti in sight.

“I remember you two almost shat yourselves the first time you were deployed aerially.” Smirked Idol teasing her teammates. 

Patch began to get flustered. “I-Idol! We said we’d never bring it up again!” She cried out.

“Plus you did too if I remember correctly!” Added Razor while pointing at her in accusation.

Idol folded her arms and stuck her nose up proudly. “False! I puked on my way down, and sprayed everyone above me.”

Crest pulled out his hook claw, silently, and glanced back at his squad upon hearing their conversation. “That’s gross, Idol.” He said bluntly.

“Let’s focus on the mission.”

They all nodded, pulling out their hook claws for possible combat. Patch calmly scanned her surroundings, there was nothing out of the ordinary to her. Razor and Idol soon came to that conclusion as well.

“What should we do, Captain? Any Abyssiti that came from within the rift 6 days ago should be long gone by now.” Said Razor seeking guidance.

Crest thought for a moment. He was right about that, the chance of them encountering an Abyssiti at this point was slim, and thanks to the flat terrain they would be able to spot one far before they become any danger to them.

“We were sent here to investigate, so that’s what we’ll do.” He responded while looking back at the others. 

“I’ll go into the building to see what’s going on, you all stay back and watch the perimeter for Abyssiti. If you see or hear anything, call me, and I’ll handle it.”

Crest cautiously walked toward the entrance of the radio building, his feet crunching the sand below. He looked up at the steel beams that reached into the sky.

He then stopped in front of the door and turned to look at his squad.

“Understood?” He asked sternly.

“Yes, sir.” Saluted Razor and Patch. 

Idol on the other hand responded in a monotone voice. “Yeah.” She wasn’t particularly thrilled to be out and about on a mission especially since she felt she has already done plenty today as it is. Yet, here she was.

 The Captain meanwhile continued his way into the tower with his hook claw brandished. As the overhead lights came on, a secluded room filled with digital workstations, holographic screens and terminals were revealed. Something caught his eye, a corpse. He walked over to inspect it; the soldier laid lifeless on the steel floors, Crest looked over the body with intrigue. Abyssiti don’t leave intact corpses. They rip, shred and crush their victims, yet this person looked like they met their end out of the blue, so he thought.

“What the hell?” Crest then noticed the sight of burned bone, and melted flesh around the neck area, it was a plasma wound, from a gun. 

“What happened here…”

His eyes then drifted down at the fallens’ cold, dead hands, gripping onto a hook claw. Crest then looked around the room, as the terminal radiated with a low hum. There wasn’t a plasma gun in sight. He lifted an eyebrow and trekked forward deeper into the facility.

Soleria in the meantime sat alone in her office within the Beacon. She sat behind the L-shaped as she looked through the notes she had accumulated over her time as an Observer. She flipped through each page, though you’d be wrong to assume she was really reading them. Soleria was lost in thought, Cephyr could come in at any moment and declare her endeavor as a loss, ending humanity as consequences.

 Someone suddenly bursted through the doors of her office, breathing heavily. Soleria flinched, dropping all the papers in her hand. She looked up in complete shock to see Arsyle Cosme in the doorway. He was heavily panting as he attempted to catch his breath, with his silver eyes dilated and the curly hair on his head ruffled.

 This was an unexpected visit, from what Soleria assumed he was done with helping her, yet here he was. He seemed to have rushed over to the Beacon at a frantic speed, and Soleria couldn’t guess what he needed from her.

“You… you sent them to the Southern Coasts… Intermission Tower.” Said a breathless Arsyle.

“Did you not?”

Soleria perked up. It hadn’t even been over a full hour since she sent them on their way. “Yes I did, I sent the Revival Squad and-”

Arsyle cut her off, and stared at Soleria with intense eyes. Her heart dropped just by his glance.

“They are in immense danger, far more danger than they know, Illow.” He declared with dread in his voice. 

“Send them a flight to pick them up immediately.”

 Crest continued his way within the Intermission Tower, he entered a room, the lights were on. He scanned the room, yet no one was in sight, but he knew that wasn’t the case. The lights detect motion, and they were on before he entered.

“Show yourself. I won’t ask again.” He demanded into the seemingly empty room.

A guy with bleach blonde hair that hung across his face like a mop, rose from his hiding place and stepped out toward the Captain. Crest immediately noticed he had the armour of an Abyssus Unit, and let his guard down.

“Who are you? Were you a part of the Zeta Squad?” Crest asked. His cold gaze fixed on the Abyssus Unit. His piercing dark grey eyes stared him down, yet the guy refused to look his way.

“Hey.” Crest walked up to him and grabbed the soldier by the collar and pulled him toward him.

The Abyssus Unit’s eyes drifted towards Crest’s. His deep brown eyes seemed to lack a soul; the dark bags under his eyes only reinforced that. 

“What the hell do you think you are doing all tucked away?” Asked Crest with scorn while holding him in his iron grasp.

Finally he responded with dread in his voice.

“I… refused to die here. That’s all. My name is Scant.” 

Crest looked upon him. “The only reason he survived this, was because he hid. He hid while his team was slaughtered.” While his team fought for their lives he remained safe. It disgusted him, but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. With a heavy exhale he let go of him, dropping Scant to his knees.

“Come on, get up. After I’m done figuring out what happened here, I’m taking you back to the Federation.” 

“They’ll deal with you then.” Ended the Captain. 

Scant remained silent. Upon hearing that he looked away in contempt, returning back to the Evangelists was practically a death sentence on its own. 

He cursed under his breath while facing away from Crest. “Like hell I’d go back to them, after I’ve survived this.”

 Outside of the tower, the Revival Squad stayed on alert like they were ordered to. Razor was pacing back and forth while Idol leaned with her hook claw impaling the sands below. As she stood her head kept dipping like she was fighting the urge to fall asleep while standing. Patch on the other hand, kept her sights locked onto the exit of the Intermission facility, waiting for Crest to come back out to them. 

“What If he runs into trouble? What if there’s some… monster hiding within the tower that we don’t know of?” Ranted Razor allowing his nervous disposition to get the better of him. He was practically fumbling through his words.

“They said it was a different signal, it could only mean something unexpected came through that rift. Where is it? What did it do to the Zeta Squad?” 

“What if it happens to Captain Crest?” Panicked the Abyssus Unit. His olive eyes trembled.

Idol stabbed her weapon in the ground and glanced back at Razor, startling him. “Calm it Razor, I think the Captain can handle whatever he encounters.”

“He is the best Abyssus Unit in the field after all.”

“Yeah Idol is right. I understand your concerns, but you can’t worry about that right now.” Added Patch kindly. Her voice, being as soft as it’s ever been. 

“Let’s just focus on what we’ve been told, and we’ll face whatever comes at us!” 

“Right.” Razor sighed, attempting to collect himself.

Just then two figures were seen exiting the building. It was Crest, while being accompanied by another Abyssus Unit. Patch looked forward and smiled to see Crest was in one piece, but a surprised expression washed across her face when she noticed the guy next to him. She didn’t recognize him in the slightest, but she took notice of his dead eyes with deep bags under them. The three Abyssus Units lined up before their Captain as he approached; Razor gestured to the guy slunking behind Crest as he stood before them.

“Where’d you find this guy, Captain?” He asked curiously. From what he heard, the entirety of the Zeta Squad had been wiped out.

Crest scoffed while folding his arms. “This guy was hiding away in a closed room while his Squad was getting slaughtered.”

“I told him he can stay with you all until I’m done here. He’ll ride back to the Federation with us, and they’ll deal with him there.”

Idol examined the soldier. His bleach blonde hair draped over his face blocking his cold glare. She lifted an eyebrow, his demeanor was like a cloud of misery was radiating off of him. He gave her the same aura as an Abyssiti, which she found extremely odd, given that he was human.

“I mean…. look at him. Are you sure he didn’t die with the rest of his Squad?” Mumbled Idol sarcastically, which was instantly met with an elbow to her side from Patch.

“Hehe right!” Chuckled Patch attempting to drown out her colleague's comment. “Understood Captain. We’ll watch over him until you complete the mission.” She responded in a gentle voice.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Said Crest as he turned to face the Intermission Tower once more. “I’m going to check the back, and then we can leave.”

Razor nodded. “Be careful sir.”

 They all watched as he vanished behind the facility. As soon as Crest made it to the back he was greeted with a far more grim sight than the interior. Streaks of blood and torn bodies tangled in armor were seen covered in sand about the back. Two empty Abyssus Cannons were stationed there as well with giant holes scattered on the walls of the building. It was clear to him that this was the initial Rift Site with the interior of the Tower being dragged into it. Crest continued to look around the carnage as he scanned. There was an airship parked not too far from the Site, oddly enough the transport was in one piece. 

“If that Scant guy ever left his hiding spot he could’ve used this airship to head back on his own days ago.”

He then noticed the same occurrence that he found within the Intermission Tower, three bodies of Abyssus Unit were laid out in front of the Aircraft. They weren’t crushed or mangled like the others. The Captain cautiously walked over to them to inspect them further. 

“Again?” Muttered Crest as he took a knee beside them. Once more there were several plasma rifle wounds on their backs. Someone shot them. 

“Who could’ve-” Before he could finish his thought however there was a sudden flash of extreme darkness as if for a moment all light was drained from the world followed by a distant, high pitch screech.

The surrounding air’s consistency turned into what could only be described as a thick murky liquid, he could feel it weighing on him like he was deep under water. Grabbing another hook claw off of the ground, and unsheathing his other blade he frantically looked around him.

“An Abyssiti!” He bolted back to the front of the building, where he left his crew, his feet kicking up plooms of sand. 

No matter how many times he saw it, it never got any easier. He looked at the carnage before him; the smell of blood made the back of his throat sting. 

His head was pounding with the viciousness of someone slamming him with a metallic bat. The throbbing pain persisted as he stared at Patch’s remains with a silent expression of horror. She was crushed almost beyond recognition against the ground. All that Crest found of her likeness was her severed head.

 “I…” He was unable to muster even a sentence as his jaw hung open in distress. 

 He began to take shallow breaths, his brow furrowing in anguish as he blinked, shaking his head slowly. The smashed bodies of Razor and Idol were lathered about the beach, pieces of their armor scattered in the blood covered sand. Her blonde hair, the only thing that she put effort into being well-kept, was disheveled; Idol was twisted beyond belief. Crest could see an expression perpetually ingrained onto Razor’s face as he laid there, in his final moments he was petrified.

Devastated at the sight of their corpses, Crest couldn’t even process the creature standing in the middle of it all. It was an Abyssiti like he’d never seen before; burning with an orange hue, it had a golem-like form with jagged spires extending from its large arms which looked like giant hammers used for tenderizing meat. 

“You’ll die for this!” Shouted Crest, loud and harshly. As he strained his voice out of pure rage, his vision became blurred as his eyes were bloodshot. Now furious, he clasped the two hook claws in his hand and leapt at the entity without restraint.

Crest brutally swung at the Abyssiti trying to cut its arm off, only to discover his blade had no effect as the hook claw shattered upon impact. The Abyssiti swiped at Crest and he ducked and rolled away with one intact weapon and the hilt of a broken one. Before he knew it he was charging again, tossing his broken hook claw into the sand below. The Abyssiti slammed its fist into the ground blasting a cloud of sand into the air, immediately Crest jumped through the dust and attempted to pierce the orange anomaly with his claw to no avail. It was like he was stabbing a steel wall. Despite it however, he repeatedly went after the entity, his eyes wild with rage. He didn’t care if he was being reckless, he couldn’t even think past killing the Abyssiti that ended his team. He couldn’t hesitate, couldn’t ask questions, couldn’t think. 

Just kill. That’s all he could do.

 “I will eradicate you, with my bare hands if I have to.” He growled as the Abyssiti lifted its giant hammer-like appendage to crush him once more. 

Narrowly avoiding the strike he landed on it, latching onto its arm. As he held on his hand were stinging like a million needles were stabbing into them. However, Crest was unphased; he relentlessly began to stab his hook claw into the creature, the metal of the weapon was folding before any damage was seen on the Abyssiti. Before long his weapon was nothing more than a hilt with a shattered blade. 

“Shit!” He grunted as it attempted to shake him off, Crest was thrown onto the back of the creature; he noticed this Abyssiti, wasn’t susceptible to the standard Abyssus weaponry, but he couldn’t stop trying. He had to tear it apart, for his squad.

 He tossed the dulled weapon away and began punching at it with all of his might, until the skin on his knuckles tore. Eventually he reverted to clawing at its back, his fingernails were digging into his own nail bed, as they started to bleed. He could no longer feel his hands as he held on with all his might, he couldn’t understand why. “Why is this happening. Why do they have to always end like this?” Once again, in a moment, his entire squad was taken away from him. And just like then, he couldn’t do anything; he was the most skilled Abyssus Unit in the entire Federation, yet and still he was powerless to save his allies. He thought to himself full of dread, his strength didn’t matter. The Revival Squad: Patch, Idol, Razor; those were a trio he’d grown to care for, and they were stolen from him. Just like Scout.

“Why did I allow them to be alone? I should’ve taken them with me… maybe then… I could have protected them.”

His pained expression soon turned to shock however, suddenly he found his foot and hands had sunk into the Abyssiti. He had penetrated the surface, with minimum effort. “Where did this Abyssiti even come from? Why is it like something I’ve never seen before?” He began thinking about the strange occurrence. The more he analyzed the situation he noticed a strange shadow deep within the Abyssiti as its mass shifted around like a sea of glass shards. Crest stretched his bleeding hand into the semi-solid matter to reach towards the figure deep within the Abyssiti, the same stinging pain engulfed his arm shredding his long sleeve and armor, but it never tore his flesh. It was effortless, with little to no resistance. Eventually he felt something, like a uniform collar, and latched on. 

“HNGHHAAAH” Screamed Crest as he pulled out whatever he grabbed, his heart nearly dropped when he ripped out an entire person, a guy with long bleach blonde hair. He was immediately filled with hatred when he realized who it was.

He tumbled to the ground with the person in his grasp, as the Abyssiti collapsed, going limp, evaporating like it was slain. As they fell Crest slammed him onto the ground. He then put the guy in a tight chokehold as he struggled for air.

 It was the Abyssus Unit he found tucked away within the Intermission Tower, Crest had no idea how he was inside of an Abyssiti but he didn’t have time for questions. 

“You…” Growled Crest in a low gravelly tone, as he tightened his arm around Scant’s throat.

 Scant kicked and fought attempting to escape Crest’s clutches, but soon his resistance slowed to a halt, Crest had choked him until he was knocked unconscious. His dark eyes began to close. Crest exhaled and let go, dropping him head first once he’d stopped breathing. 

 Scant laid face down on the beach. Wide eyed and out of breath, Crest stumbled a bit and collapsed to his knees. He glared back at Scant as the sound of an airship engine approached, Crest looked to the sky; a Federation aircraft flew overhead. 

 The Captain was left surrounded by the corpses of his three teammates, shattered weapons, an unconscious Scant and the slow deterioration of an Abyssiti. There weren’t any words he could think of that could describe the misery he felt as he clenched his teeth. Crest began to scream out in deep rooted pain, and then fell completely silent.