The Second Archon War: Interlude 5 (Patreon)

Interlude 5: Awakening

Just before dawn on February 17th, 2002, nuclear weapons were used in anger against mankind for a third and final time. The first attack occurred when the CUI Ballistic Missile Submarine Zhu Wen surfaced approximately five hundred kilometers south of Okinawa in the China Sea, and launched four JL-2 missiles. One was targeted at Naha, Okinawa, another at Hiroshima in a fit of historical irony, and two more at Tokyo.

The second phase of the attack took place mere seconds later when hidden silos in North Korea launched five Taepodong-1 Missiles toward Seoul and the 38th parallel, where fighting was still taking place.

Finally, missile silos in mainland China launched a dozen Don Feng Si missiles toward Taiwan and mainland Japan, targeting various military and civilian targets.

In total, twenty-one ballistic missiles equipped with nearly 45 megatons of nuclear ordinance, mostly contained in the Chinese missiles, as the North Korean missiles were merely in the half kiloton range, or more than a thousand times the power of the nuclear weapons used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was enough death to level Japan’s most prosperous cities, reduce Taiwan to a nuclear wasteland, and tumble the world closer towards doom.

But once more, in Japan’s darkest hour, the Raiden Shogun was there. For while economics escaped her, and social and foreign policy was a struggle for her, there was one thing she understood above all: War. And she had studied well the weapons of Mankind in this new age. Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Raiden Ei meditated upon her plane of Euthymia, her watchful gaze looking for just such an attack. She knew of ballistic missile submarines and of nuclear weapons silos, and she was prepared for such an attack.

For the second time, the Sacred Sakura Network bloomed. The first had taken place on December 9th of the previous year, when Khonsu had died, and had gone largely unremarked. This time, however, instead of all the power being funneled into the Musou no Hitotachi, they were instead funneled into a great shield that protected all of Japan, even Okinawa.

Japan itself was frozen in time, trapped in a moment of Eternity, while the world blew on around it. Storms could rage outside it, but Japan itself would not be harmed. This was the power of Khonsu, taken and reforged by the Raiden Shogun into a defensive mechanism, though it likely could be turned the other way, to speed up time within Japan, though most would not realize this.

Still, even this mighty shield would have allowed great devastation to be wrought upon Japan, with the blasts against the shield still resulting in some casualties to those caught without it. There was also the matter of Taiwan: Raiden had anticipated that it was possible that the Chinese would be willing to attack their own cities, but in that case, she would simply evacuate as many of her troops as she could, and leave the Taiwanese to fend for themselves, still allowing a holocaust to take place as nuclear fire washed over the island.

Over Korea, a storm suddenly blossomed, as Tsukuyomi appeared, calling forth a storm of titanic proportions as she used her mother’s blade to channel the power of the Sakura Network into a gale that made the air itself hostile to any form of electronics. All five Taepodong missiles were destroyed, with two tragically detonating early and destroying nearly all North Korean electronics, as well as killing tens of thousands in the initial blasts, and many times more that in the following years from radiation poisoning.

It was a calculated response, and the Raiden Shogun had sought to prove her complete superiority and mastery of warfare, even in this age.

But for all her might, the Raiden Shogun was not the God of this world.

And he would not allow his Cycle to be disrupted.

Before the Zhu Wen could resubmerge after launching its deadly payload, a golden god appeared. The sea boiled and flashed to steam, and the sailors aboard died as they were cooked alive inside of their metal coffin. The god turned, regarding the distant streaks of light that raced towards Japan. He moved after them almost lazily, until they were high up in the atmosphere. Then with a gesture, he turned all four into a quartet of new suns, turning the entire horizon white with nuclear flames.

In an eyeblink, he was over China, and with another gesture, all the missiles exploded, still over their own home nation. In an instant, much of China was without electrical power, save for certain hardened systems, as a massive Electro Magnetic Pulse swept over the country, generated by the missiles exploding in the upper atmosphere. Taiwan was caught in the blast as well, along with much of South Korea. Ironically, only Okinawa of Japan was within range, though because of the nature of Electro, it was largely spared.

The being who wrought this watched placidly as the nuclear blasts began to fade, the massive clouds of destruction slowly forming in the skies. Then, the placid expression began to change. His brow furrowed, and a frown formed on his lips. This was not according to The Cycle. If the specimens destroyed themselves in war, there would be no data to collect. Something must be done.

Turning towards the distant Being he felt over the battlefield, The Warrior contemplated. This was not something the Entity was used to doing. This was the role of The Thinker, his counterpart, now dead. And yet… and yet he could not abandon The Cycle. That was all there was.

Additionally, these new Beings… they were… Different. They were not as the Specimens, mere insects, barely even worthy of notice. They were not Entities, but they were… something. Could they be a part of The Answer? A solution to the Entropy that plagued the universe? This was not something The Warrior was equipped to answer. Not yet. But still…

The Warrior hurtled forward, until he found the Being at the center of a storm. She was flanked by two other specimens that were…

The Warrior paused. They were no longer typical Specimens. There was something different about them. Something that could not be expressed with the data set currently possessed by all his Shards. They had once been Specimens, though a part of the Shards that had been Experimenting upon them had been carved away in a most interesting fashion. It might have been interference, and yet… it was a new data set entirely.

“Sustainer,” the Being said. For the first time, The Warrior noticed that it was female. Biological sex was not something he usually bothered with, aside from noting its role in the reproduction of the Specimens. But this was… different.

The Warrior turned all his powers of Observation, and indeed, his Path, on. It would cost lifespan, but what did that matter with The Thinker gone? He frowned.

“Where is the one known as the Raiden Shogun?” he demanded, dredging up the name the Specimens used for this Being. This was not the Being, though it had her form and a fragment of her power, it was merely a vessel, much as this body was for the Warrior. “I would speak with her.”

“I am the Raiden Shogun,” the woman responded, her gaze cool.

“No,” Scion stated flatly. “You are a Vessel. Where is the Raiden Shogun?”

The two other creatures rumbled, and The Warrior regarded them. They had taken the form of large aerial predators, and… and… no. Creatures like this did not exist upon this world. Or they had not. But there was something…the Specimens had a superstition with no data to back it up about these creatures. They called them…

“Shenlong,” The Warrior said, trying to comprehend the cultural connotations of the word. This was not his skill set. “Where is your mistress?”

YOU DEAL WITH US, the male dragon growled, and The Warrior… felt his words. It was not as Specimens communicated, nor was it how Entities spoke, but it was… different. New. There was a threat in those words, along with that new Energy source. And something more. Something only the two Beings the Warrior had encountered possessed. What was it?

“My mother will not leave her domain, according to your Heavenly Principles,” the vessel stated. “Do you summon her to an audience?”

The way the vessel spoke, the words it used… Sustainer. Heavenly Principles. The meaning there… The Warrior did not understand. Not yet. But he would.

“I summon the Being known as the Raiden Shogun to speak with her,” The Warrior stated, folding his arms over his chest and regarding the Vessel and her Shenlong, the Celestial Dragons. Odd. Had the Specimens created them? Impossible. It must have been Raiden.

From between her breasts, the Vessel drew a glowing blade, and that blade contained the Raiden Shogun.

SPEAK, SUSTAINER. THE ELECTRO ARCHON LISTENS.

Shards whirled and processed, and The Warrior responded.

“You have done well to foster conflict. Much data has been collected. But these weapons, the nuclear missiles, cannot be allowed to continue. Humanity must not destroy itself. Their numbers must be kept stable, that data can be collected.”

I DID NOT EMPLOY NUCLEAR WEAPONS. MY PEOPLE REMEMBER THEIR SCARS ALL TO WELL. I SEEK TO REMOVE THE TREACHEROUS YANGBAN FROM POWER TO PREVENT SUCH. BUT CHINA IS NOT MY NATION, NOR MY PEOPLE. I AM THE GOD OF JAPAN.

The Warrior tilted his head to one side. This he understood. Conflict. Weapons. Escalation. Raiden’s response was illogical. “You provoked this response. You invade them and make war. It is the nature of living creatures to defend themselves.”

I WAS PREPARED FOR SUCH. THEIR WEAPONS WOULD NOT HAVE HARMED MY NATION.

The Warrior looked down at the devastation below the storm, where thousands of Specimens were dead or dying. He shook his head. An oddly human gesture, though he did not realize it. “You knew. I will not allow nuclear weapons to be unleashed again. But for your role in this conflict, you shall be punished as well.”

Turning away, the Warrior departed. It was an irksome task, but the few moments of the flight to Japan were spent utilizing the Path. What would be something the Raiden Shogun valued, but would not interfere with the cycle? The processing power devoted to this question was greater than every computer humanity had ever made could have managed in 100 years, but an answer was arrived at.

Appearing over the largest Specimen colony on this landform, The Warrior looked down at the shield over Tokyo. Fascinating. The Raiden Shogun had such a wonderful understanding of Gravity and the illusion of Time. So much data to collect. But for now, the answer was destruction.

Pointing down, The Warrior sent waves of power through all realities, beating down the wall of time by sheer simple brute force. In mere heartbeats, the task was accomplished. Then, the real work began. The first target was simple: the largest of the exotic power plants Raiden had built. Japan had been enjoying too much easy power, reducing conflict, and such constructs represented time and energy invested. They could be rebuilt, but it would send a clear message that destroying too many Specimens and interfering with the Cycle had consequences.

And so, the tree planted on the grave of Lord Nakamura was reduced to ash, along with the trees over the graves of the Emperor and his family.

Before The Warrior could turn to the other plants in the city, the Raiden Shogun ripped a hole in reality and strode forth, along with her Vessel and dragons, and hundreds of her trained Specimens.  She was wroth, and her sword was bared, but The Warrior was nonplused. A child, pitching a temper tantrum that a toy had been taken away from her. Nothing more.

THIS IS MY JUDGMENT. The Warrior declared as Raiden and her pets arrayed themselves for battle. YOU ARE PERMITTED TO MAKE WAR, BUT IF YOU HARVEST TOO MANY OF THE SPECIMENS, YOUR OWN WILL PAY.

YOU WILL NOT HARM MY PEOPLE, the Shogun snarled, and there was fury emanating from her in waves as her massive sword crackled with power. So palpable was it, that Scion’s physical heart skipped a beat. It was a new sensation for The Warrior, and one he reveled in. It was not often that an Entity had a truly new experience, but was this… fear? Joy? He could not tell.

DO YOU WISH TO FACE ME NOW? OR WILL YOU SUBMIT? The Warrior demanded. I DO NOT WISH TO DESTROY YOU. YOU OFFER VALUABLE DATA. THIS IS BUT A REMINDER OF YOUR PLACE IN THE CYCLE.

The Warrior felt something other than sorrow as Raiden prepared herself and her forces to attack him. He felt… elation. This was what he had been created for. To Fight, and to protect the Cycle. And so, without even realizing it, he responded to the feeling.

He smiled. It was not a human gesture, but a feral bearing of teeth with wild eyes. He summoned his might, and an aura of power crackled about him. He could lay waste to this army, and to this land as well. It would be a blow to the Cycle, but better than simply abandoning it now.

Upon seeing his resolve, the Raiden Shogun backed down. VERY WELL. WHAT ARE YOUR PRINCIPLES? WHAT DO YOU DEMAND OF ME?

FOSTER CONFLICT, BUT DO NOT ALLOW FOR MASS DESTRUCTION. THE SPECIMENS MUST ENGAGE IN CONFLICT TO ALLOW FOR THE COLLECTION OF DATA ON NOVEL EXPRESSIONS OF THEIR POWER. YOU MAY HAVE DOMINION OVER THIS LAND, BUT YOU MAY NOT RULE THE WORLD. THAT WOULD BRING TOO MUCH STABILITY. THE CYCLE MUST CONTINUE.

This was, perhaps, more of an explanation than he should have given, too much of the Cycle explained.

SO THIS… CYCLE. IT IS AN ENDLESS WAR? I AM THE GOD OF ETERNITY, NOT WAR, the Shogun said, and The Warrior could sense she was preparing for battle.

Though part of him was eager, another part was…wary. Cautious. She was no ordinary Specimen. She could harm him. Kill him, perhaps.

And when he looked Death in the face, the Warrior found he was not yet ready for it. Not when he felt this spark of joy. Of… hope?

IT NEED NOT BE WAR. The Warrior gestured to the distant land, where the mushroom clouds yet lingered. THE CYCLE IS… EVOLUTION. GROWTH. THE FIGHT AGAINST ENTROPY AND STAGNATION. FOR THAT, THERE MUST BE CONFLICT. WITHOUT CONFLICT, THERE IS NO DATA, NO SIMULATION, NO PROPAGATION.

At that, the Shogun relaxed slightly. YOU SPEAK OF WARRIORS FACING ONE ANOTHER IN HONORABLE COMBAT. OF THE TESTING OF METTLE. NOT MERE FESTIVALS OF WANTON SLAUGHTER.

IT IS PREFERRED IF THE SPECIMENS SURVIVE THE DATA COLLECTION SO THAT THEY MAY BE FURTHER TESTED AND ANALYZED. The Warrior stated.

THE YANGBAN HARMED MY FAMILY, HURT THOSE I LOVE. I WILL SEE THEM PUNISHED, The Shogun stated.

If the Warrior had been more self-aware, or been more familiar with human social bonds, he might have realized that he had just spat upon the grave of one Raiden had loved, but to his mind, the Shogun had to be speaking of Beings on her level, not mere Specimens. To have kinship with those so far beneath himself was completely alien and incomprehensible to him. He could barely comprehend the need to communicate with the Shogun, though she was as nearly far below him as the Specimens were below her.

Still, she was the closest thing to a peer the Warrior had, save for the Being on the other side of the globe that controlled the exotic atmospheric energies. But that Being was dull and boring, barely causing any conflict or seeking it. The Warrior had been interested for several months, until after the Remnant was slain and the Being shrouded itself so well that The Warrior couldn’t even find them. And Entities were made to be a duality. The Warrior was lonely, and was becoming aware that there was another female. Not of his species, but a fascinating one with broad abilities and a thirst for battle. This was enjoyable, even if it was clumsy, and much like talking to a small child.

YOU MAY CONTINUE YOUR WAR, SO LONG AS YOU DO NOT SLAY TOO MANY. CONTINUE TO FOSTER CONFLICT AND PERPETUATE THE CYCLE.

Turning, the Warrior destroyed the other power stations in the city, but the Raiden Shogun only watched. He sped up and down Japan, until every single Thunder Sakura was nothing but ash and scattered energy. The entire time, Raiden watched, seething with anger. The Warrior, and even his Path, assumed she was infuriated that her possessions were being taken from her.

He vaguely understood that in denying Raiden’s nation power, he condemned many to death, even as he incited them to further conflict. To him, it was of no more consequence than killing a few ants in the process of cleaning out a child’s room. He did not fully grasp that he had desecrated a grave, for Entities did not have such things, and he cared not for human rituals involving the afterlife and the dead. It was all Entropy, what did it matter?

At last, the final Thunder Sakura Tree, the first Raiden had planted in Nagasaki, was destroyed. The Warrior nodded to himself, turning back to the Raiden Shogun, far in the distance, and speaking to her directly.

DO NOT INTERFERE IN THE CYCLE AGAIN. NEXT TIME, MY JUDGMENT WILL BE HARSHER.

And with that, the Warrior departed, turning off his Path once more. If he had been more focused, he might have noticed that it was oddly fuzzy when it came to Raiden and the Dragons, but though his malaise was lifting, the Warrior was still in a deep depression and was not being overly observant.

The first thing he did was fly to the United Nations, which was in session. He vaguely understood that this was a governing body of the Specimens and that they were in an uproar over the use of nuclear weapons. He interrupted the session, ignoring what was happening and flying through several doors to hover over the assembled Specimen leaders. He waited for silence to fall, then spoke.

“The use of nuclear weapons is forbidden. Do not engage in warfare that could exterminate yourselves. In one year, any nation that still possesses any weapons of mass destruction, whether nuclear, chemical, or biological, will have their stockpiles destroyed, and a toll exacted upon them. This is my command. Uphold the Cycle.”

Then he departed the way he had come, going to hover over the Atlantic Ocean, in the same position where he had first arrived. Not going to another crisis point, but pausing to ruminate.

What was it that the Warrior wanted? He wanted the Cycle to continue, but without The Thinker, this was impossible.

Or was it? These new Beings… they were fascinating. And one was female. Was there a way to continue the Cycle? The Warrior did not know. He was not the one who planned, he was the one who acted.

But now, he bent his will towards contemplation.

The Cycle must continue.

Silence filled the room. Alexandria looked desperately to Contessa, who was sitting pale-faced to her left, her hands stroking that damn Magic 8 Ball. Hero was to her right, and they were holding hands, Alexandria was forced to take care she did not crush Hero’s in her own. Eidolon was the only other one present: Legend had been excluded from this meeting, which was taking place on Earth Gimmel, as far from both Scion and Eden as they could get. Even so, they were in a high tech base with every bit of Trump shielding they could get around it.

“Well, good news first,” Contessa said quietly, looking up from her toy as she clutched it to her breast. She swallowed, forcing a smile on her face. “According to my Path… the End of the World has been pushed back. By how much, I don’t know, but… not as soon as we feared. Maybe as much as a decade.”

“That’s great news though!” Hero said with false bravado, smiling around the room. He squeezed Alexandria’s hand. “We’ve got more time to prepare, right? And, well, Raiden scared him off! Right?”

“That’s… that’s the bad news,” Contessa licked her lips, holding the Magic 8 Ball up and shaking it until Doctor Mother put a hand on her arm.

“Enough, child. It doesn’t hold the answers. Tell us,” she said gently but firmly.

“Raiden… Raiden made some sort of deal with You-Know-Who. I can’t get all the answers, but… she made a deal of some sort.”

Alexandria felt as though she would vomit. Raiden, taking Scion’s side? How could they face both?

“Fucking bitch,” Eidolon growled, his hands clenching into fists. “I knew we couldn’t trust that false god.”

Contessa shook her head slowly.“I don’t… I don’t think she’s his friend. Not… exactly. More like… she cut a deal that he wouldn’t blow up Japan, and agreed to do what he wanted.  Less submission and more surrender. Stalling for time if you will. She’s… very angry with him. Furious. She’d have killed him if she thought she could win. I am- I mean, my Path, it’s getting better and better at reading her. She’s holding back, but that Sacred Sakura Network? That wasn’t designed as a shield. Or to use against us. That was made to fight You-Know-Who. And… and I think we know what happened to Khonsu, now.”

“She killed him. She’s working with Venti. We knew that already,” Doctor Mother confirmed. “And she seems to have done something with his powerset, much as she did with Leviathan’s. How she is able to manipulate Passengers like that… we must learn more.”

“Will she pull back now?” Alexandria asked. “China is in chaos, but the Yangban are still in power and could rebuild.”

“No,” Contessa said with a slow shake of her head. “I’m not sure why You-Know-Who decided to do what he did. I think it’s because he wanted Raiden to understand he wouldn’t tolerate her destroying an entire country? But I’m just not sure. Regardless, he didn’t tell her to stop, just to keep the conflict relatively small scale.”

“So, Raiden will conquer China then,” Alexandria said, feeling like she needed to brush her teeth from the bile in her throat.

“Again, no. She’s not going to conquer China. She’s going to kill the Yangban, punish China, then leave. It’ll be chaos. But I think that’s what You-Know-Who wants. Raiden just…woke him up,” Contessa explained, holding her Magic 8 ball to her cheek now, eyes closed.

“And him waking up pushed back the end of the world? This is bad why?” Eidolon demanded.

“He’s awake now. Or… almost. He’ll be much harder to stop,” Contessa whispered. “We need something. Anything. Raiden isn’t going to be enough. Neither will Venti.”

“It doesn’t matter. We keep finding new tools. Raiden seems to have a plan, maybe we should ask her,” Hero suggested.

“No!” Contessa’s eyes flew open, panic in her voice. “If she thinks even for a second we know… she’ll destroy us! Or tell You-Know-Who, or… something! My Path isn’t clear, but Raiden has just made this worse! We can’t involve her! Not until that final day.”

“So, what. What do we do then?” Alexandria asked, looking around the room. “Everyone is in an uproar. The US government was already reducing nuclear stockpiles, but people are panicking. Will Scion destroy a city in the US if even one nuclear missile is left?”

“We have to change tactics,” Doctor Mother said, looking around the room. “Things are different. Raiden is on the warpath. There are rumors she hit Toybox for supplying weapons to the terrorists who attacked her. People are frightened.”

“They need hope. What can we use to deliver that?” Eidolon demanded. “Nuclear war? Scion destroying infrastructure? It’s going to be bad.”

Alexandria looked to Hero, and he gave her a sad smile, then squeezed her hand. Raiden was a threat to him, to her, to her own family. She needed to protect them. The Shuumatsuban had bypassed all the protections Wyatt had created by teleporting right into their home. They couldn’t hide with secret identities anymore. They couldn’t separate their civilian and cape lives anymore.

She took a deep breath. “I have a plan. But it’s going to be risky. Contessa, I need an over-under from you.”

Contessa nodded eagerly, and all eyes turned to Alexandria.

“What would happen if I ran for President?”