Eleven: The Sequel of AlterMyth

Crystal Clear

Prologue

Night fell in Da Nang Air Base and Mumei finally ended the second day of Irys' physical examination. She bid farewell to the so-called Victorian girl Irys with a smile and teased the Australian rat-girl on her way out for good measure. The head nurse saluted her when she walked out the door and Mumei returned the gesture without missing a beat.

Mumei stepped out of the infirmary's front door, she was greeted by the moonlight shining down from the star-swept heavens. It was a pretty sight, she thought.

But not as pretty as the beautiful soldier waiting for her there.

A smile formed on Mumei's lips and she called the soldier by name.

"Kronii."

The soldier, First Lieutenant Kronii Ouro, smiled back at Mumei. All of the sudden, Mumei saw Kronii toss something towards her. The owl-girl caught it without breaking a sweat.

A motorcycle helmet? One of the 'shorties' too.

"C'mon, Mumei. Safety first." Kronii grinned and put on her own 'shorty' helmet. She stepped back and showed off her motorcycle to Mumei, "I'll give you a ride back to our building."

Mumei's eyes shone for a moment, but she cradled the shorty helmet in her arms and teased, "I can walk back, you know."

"I know, but I want to give you a ride back." Kronii insisted. She looked straight into Mumei's eyes and added, "Just like old times."

Mumei snorted. Then, she smiled again and finally agreed, "I guess it can't be helped."

She put on the helmet and watched Kronii start the engine of the motorcycle. The machine came to life with a low roar and its headlight cut through the darkness of the now quiet air base. Kronii rode the motorcycle first and Mumei followed with practiced ease. The owl-girl hugged Kronii from behind and the two of them rode through the night.

Under the light of the moon and the stars, the two Lieutenants shared their thoughts and vented their frustrations, just like they always did whenever they had time alone together. The only difference was that they had to shout over the engine of the Harley-Davidson bike and the wind blowing into their shorty helmets, sending their long locks of hair flying behind them.

A few minutes later, Mumei and Kronii arrived at their destination: the central MACV headquarters building. Kronii switched off the engine and was about to get off the bike when Mumei suddenly hugged her more tightly.

Mumei, no longer obscured by the rumble of the engine, craned her neck and whispered in Kronii's ear.

"You remembered, didn't you?" Mumei deduced, holding the First Lieutenant close, "Today was the day Lady Knowledge and Lady Janus disappeared in the DMZ."

Kronii held the handles of the motorbike firmly and nodded. She looked up to the pale moon in the star-swept heavens and mused, "I was worried that you would feel down today. Major Omega put your 110th ACB off the rotation today, after all. She put you on research duty too - today and tomorrow."

"Well, I'm not happy that the Major made me do her job for her... but today wasn't all bad." Mumei reassured Kronii, "I feel like I got closer to finding out the truth about what happened to our mentors that night."

"Were you?" Kronii asked.

Mumei paused. There were things that Mumei wanted to tell Kronii: things that she learned about Lady Knowledge, and the specter of her mentor that still haunted her to that day. Whenever Mumei let her mind wander, the specter of her mentor spoke to her. But on days like these, the specter's voice was louder than usual.