The building looked... out of place. most of the structures on the island were ornate and done in a style befitting the Japan of centuries ago; this particular building... was like a hastily thrown-together sheet metal structure built into a hillside. The guards outside bowed at the approach of Emerald and her father; two men, both offshoots of the Imperial line; scales, tails... just two more of the numerous reptilian descendants of the fallen Empress.
The inside... had a wide open space. Dozens of beds; and women. All pregnant to various degrees, some sitting, eating. Others lying there, staring at whatever happened to be in their line of sight. None of them responded at all to the entrance of the dragoness and the angel. Two men, both in dark green jumpsuits, were guiding women up a flight of stairs; speaking slowly, calmly, advising them where to go, giving them constant quiet reminders. A man in a labcoat and surgical mask was taking a blood sample from one of the women who was lying down; and glanced up as Emerald entered the room.
He gave a short bow. "Your highness. I have been told that you are now the Empress. As I obeyed your great-grandmother, so I shall obey you. May I finish performing my examinations?"
Emerald looked at the woman he was checking. A distinct scar on her forehead; but otherwise pretty enough. A heavily pregnant hispanic woman, her hair cut short, likely having been completely shaved off at some point. She looked... listless. A faint trace of drool running down her cheek.
She turned to the doctor. "What exactly are you checking?" She noticed the woman appeared to have a small metal socket implanted where the man had drawn blood.
"Making sure she's absorbing nutrients properly. We also download data from the implants daily, and charge them. Basic things like heartbeat we always get, but it keeps a detailed analysis we can check when we need to. She's carrying triplets, so of course we need to be careful."
Emerald grimaced. She felt more sick than she had with the swords. "..The lobotomies. Any chance they'd be reversible?"
He sighed, and gently brushed his hand along the poor woman's hair. "Not really, Empress. Your great-grandmother had us check on that when the first group were delivered years ago. The Chinese have this down to an art. Speech centers, conscious thought... all gone. The first one we tried ended up even worse off than she was before. The second... essentially a helpless infant in a broken adult body. Almost able to remember indescribable horrors, but unable to ever really understand them or speak of them. She eventually managed to kill herself."
He set the syringe into a machine nearby for the next stage of the testing. "These women can understand their native language, sort-of, and obey some very basic commands. They can feed themselves, and don't soil themselves; they'll find their own way to a bathroom, if its clearly labeled.. But... they can't dress themselves, don't remember anything but what they were just told moments ago, and any trace of who they once were... is gone."
He gently squeezed the woman's wrist. "Go to the stairs." He nodded at her. The woman gave a vacant smile; and pulled to her feet. One of the men in the coveralls started to gently escort her upstairs.
"So... she didn't want them like this?"
"No. She didn't know they'd be arriving like this until they were here. I don't know what she expected, but... this surprised her. She told me... that when she was younger, the man she'd been besotted with, one of the Emperor's cousins I believe, had led her to show the Chinese what true horror was, to try to make them fear us. That she'd briefly believed the fear and torment she and the other Japanese had given out to the Chinese population had surpassed anything anyone would ever accomplish; and that they would speak of our people with abject terror for eternity, and never dare stand against us."
He turned to another of the surrogate women; she wasn't Hispanic, but Emerald wasn't familiar with her ethnicity. At the moment, she wasn't certain it mattered; this poor girl would never be able to tell her who her family was, if they still lived. "When General Zhou explained the process, and how they were funneling these 'Refugee' women through it hundreds at a time? She told me after that, perhaps, she had gone too far. That she believed there was something broken about any people who could do such things."
As the new woman was gently settled into place, and he began drawing blood, he shook his head. "But no. However bad it might be. Whatever dark torments are being unleashed across the ocean from us... my ancestors have done worse. She did worse. Our German allies back in the day? Did far worse. This is nothing new. Its just... evil.
***
When he thought of 'Crossing the ocean' to go to another country, Eyeball always thought of the vast distances between North America and Europe, or Australia. The kind of voyage that would take many hours, or even days, by boat. Even though this other island wasn't technically part of any country, and he'd started off, of course, on just another of the islands owned by Russia... the idea of making such a crossing in less than an hour seemed absurd.
Though, Clone had told him this wasn't really the ocean; rather the 'Sea of Okhotsk'. Still. Seemed like a bunch of nonsense. He felt keeping the men prepared for a fight was a good idea; even if they seemed to have rolled over easily, that could change. Who knew; the Empress might have some twisted spell to bring herself back to life, or some such.
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The boat settled in on the docks next to a pair of fishing boats; old, well-worn, the crews looked at Eyeball with suspicion as he leaped over the side and landed on the docks... almost sliding on the slick surface right off the other side, barely catching himself on a post. His foresight managed to make it almost look intentional; but clearly it had been a mistake.
When Butcher leapt, however... he smashed right through the wooden docks, into the water, his arms upraised by the hole he'd just made in the wood. The massive, black and red armored figure thrashed about for a bit, sending splinters of wood in every direction... before he grumbled, ducked under the dock, and waded the rest of the way to shore as the fishermen stared after him.
The Engineer, for his part, leapt with precision; neatly avoiding the hole Butcher had made. He was wearing the same grey labcoat the original Engineer had, with the new silver-red body-armor beneath it, and transitioned from ship to dock to dirt without a moment's problem, virtually skating along the slippery surface.
Eyeball shook his head, and waved at Clone as he tied up the ship, before looking up... at the fortress.
It was a beautiful scene; in the bright noon light he could see groves of cherry trees with white and pink blossoms, what seemed like a quaint village surrounding the structure... while it looked similarly ornate, with antique japanese-style roofing and paint... there were anti-tank turrets mounted on the roof. Nice ones; and new. No simple kinetic weaponry there; one might be a railgun, while another might actually be a plasma weapon! Ridiculously expensive. Maybe even able to take out Butcher.
Two guards; each with an SMG at his waist, wearing a set of ornate armor and a long bladed spear.. a 'Naginata', apparently... approached the dock; and stopped a short distance away, giving a brief bow. "Lord TitanSlayer, betrothed of the Empress. I am here to guide you to the Perch of the Dragon."
Eyeball blinked, and shook his head in bemusement. "Engineer, Butcher. Come along. Our friend has been busy without us."
As they approached the fortress, he could see the villagers; mostly looking like ordinary Japanese folk, wearing modern garb, without any of the ancient symbolism of the guards or buildings. The buildings had electricity; a cell phone tower was easily visible. It seemed that while they made efforts to keep up ancient appearances, they were also fine with modern conveniences.
The fortress gates were just as impressive as the cannons; solid Tungsten alloy slab by all appearances, with concrete around it... most likely much of this fancy design was a facade over an armored bunker. Those gates, at least, would survive a nuke hitting the island... if they were closed.
The guards stopped at the door; with Emerald there to greet them, smiling... a man who looked like an angel standing beside her, tall, powerfully built, looking like a 30-year-old bodybuilder.. or actor.. with feathered wings that had a faint glow to them. Eyeball glanced at the man, then at Emerald. It was hard to pickup visual cues with the helmet, but she was used to it by now.
"This... is my father, Gabriel. He's in his sixties. We had a bit of a strained relationship, but its on the mend. My mother looks like a bigger, stronger version of me, without the wings. Avoid her if you see her; I actually have a bit of hope we can get through this without killing her."
The winged man nodded. "Well, I'm fond of her myself." He glanced at Eyeball. "I have dozens of children by half a dozen women. Once Emerald was born, she wanted me and her mother to have more... but, well. Her mother eventually became barren. I wouldn't say I ever loved her, more than the others... I only really love my children... but I wouldn't want her hurt any more than need be."
"Gabriel. Look like an angel, named Gabriel."
"All of my siblings were born with wings. My sister and brother... Jophiel and Michael. Also named after angels. I joked that Michael should have been named Lucifer quite a few times."
They headed further into the fortress; the walls... were thick. He could see stairs leading down into the depths; at least three more floors below, and several above. This place... was enormous. Attacking it would be a nightmare. "So, we're going to lunch?"
"Its a bit of a tradition. The family all gets together for meals when possible.. though only those who are part of the 'plan' are allowed. Your betrothed has changed that; any on the island are welcome, today, and none are required to attend. Some of the villagers came here for breakfast... and hadn't seen inside the fortress for over a decade."
As they continued to advance, more guards bowed... and stepped into their path. "My Empress. The fallen Empress had decreed guns and technology were not to be allowed in the throne room except by specific permission of the Empress herself. You may, of course, decree these individuals allowed to enter if you so choose. Otherwise, the one with the cybernetic eyes will not be allowed to enter, and the others will need to disarm."
Emerald chuckled. "This is my fiance. In all things, he speaks with my voice." She nodded at the giant. "Butcher is a close personal friend. I trust him more than my own father. And the other..." She glanced at Eyeball. "I don't really know. Is he trustworthy?"
Eyeball blinked... and turned to Engineer. "... He is hiding all sorts of things, but when he gives his word, he keeps it."
The Engineer stepped forward; gave a short, precise, bow. "I have already agreed, under no circumstances, to harm yourself, Empress. And for today, I will also agree not to harm anyone in this structure unless someone attempts to harm me first."
"Then you may enter."
The Engineer gave a nod in response. "Of course. May I return to the boat for proper radiation shielding first? I am uncertain how long we intend to remain in this room, and don't wish to receive more harm than needed."
Emerald looked at the cyborg as if he were a lunatic. "Radiation shielding? Why would you need..."
Eyeball blinked... and frowned, taking a step forward into the room, past the guards. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he could hear... a faint clicking sound. His helmet popped up with a radiation symbol. The built-in geiger counter had activated. Not at a fatal level, yet. But at one that ordinary humans shouldn't spend too long at without proper protective gear. His armor... was mediocre against radiation. He'd be fine, short-term, but long-term...
"Sweetheart... why is your throne room radioactive?"