Valkyrie Smash

Though it appeared that humans were entirely powerless against the Calamities, the truth was much more complicated. Many brilliant minds gathered after the invasion and managed to create weapons that had the potential of pushing against the mysterious enemies, and by studying their remains, those weapons were polished even further.

There was a problem, however. The mental and physical load of operating such weapons far exceeded what humans were capable of handling. Attempts to substitute the operators with artificial intelligence always ended in failure.

In the end, the only ones who could operate those weapons safely were the Valkyries, which was yet another blow to those who opposed placing the fate of humanity in their hands.

The sentiment against the autonomous humanoid weapons became more radical as their role in the war grew bigger. The purpose of the research center expanded from the study of Calamities and weapon development to genetic and cybernetic experimentation. Their main goal shifted to the enhancement of the human mind and body so it could withstand the toll high caliber weapons exert on their users.

Young Rollo saw all of it. Every attempt. Every experiment. Every test. People had their bodies ripped apart, their limbs torn, and their organs plucked. Some were stripped of everything, leaving them as heads strapped to machines designed to keep them alive for as long as possible.

Others were placed under extreme conditions and tortured in the hopes that it would push them past their human limits.

Women were made to bear genetically engineered children, most of whom came out disfigured or mentally challenged. Very few survived a single year outside the womb. Orphaned children were brought in and experimented on. No one cared for their disappearance. No one was there to mourn their deaths.

Of course, very few of the scientists brought to the facility were so heartless that they would commit atrocities without feeling anything. Even those who deluded themselves into thinking they were doing it for the sake of humanity's future reached their limit sooner rather than later.

Those running the facility were having none of it, however. They used various methods to ensure the experiments continued, going so far as to threaten the lives of the scientists and their families. Rollo realized that he had been a hostage all along and that his father couldn't live with the guild of what he had to do to keep him safe.

"Stop…"

The scene changed again, this time depicting his mother's bleeding corpse as she lay down on the bathroom floor. It happened soon after he had discovered the truth. Unfortunately, he was too late to do anything. With his mother gone, he was placed in an orphanage run by the same people from the facility.

Knowing what kind of future awaited him there, young Rollo escaped and did his best to hide his presence. Though he had ample evidence of what happened in the facility, he didn't believe that releasing any of it would have done much of anything. Considering the tight grip the Resistance has on the surviving human population, no one would be able to stand up to them.

That didn't mean he gave up on exposing the horrors he witnessed.

"Interesting…"

As the scene changed to the attic of the abandoned building he lives in, a voice spoke to him, one that clearly was not a part of the memory he was watching. Turning around, Rollo saw a man in a lab coat walking over to him.

"So you bid your time all while gathering any evidence you came across. Not bad, kid. Not bad."

Rollo's eyes widened, having recognized the man. He suddenly recalled what he was doing before finding himself in the mysterious virtual space. That led to another wave of strong emotions raging inside him and he suddenly felt like puking.

After forcing everything back down, the boy turned to face the man in a lab coat, this time not afraid to glare at him

"What… what did you inject me with?"

"Nanomachines, son."

Silence permeated for a few seconds before the tension suddenly vanished.

"... Eh?"

Rollo wasn't sure if he heard him right, or if he misunderstood the meaning behind his word.

'No way he just made a video game reference, right?'

"I can hear your thoughts, you know?" The man said. "And yes, it's exactly what you're thinking."

The man was the new Head General of the Human Resistance, Sam Sanderson. The two of them have already met, but compared to before, the way he acted made Rollo wonder if he really was the same person.

"Wait, did you just say you can read my thoughts!?"

"Of course. How do you think we were able to recreate your memories?"

Standing beside him, the Head General raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The scene changed again, this time showing a different room in the same abandoned building. Rollo was sitting alone in the darkness, one hand holding a phone, the other holding something else. Realizing what he was doing in this scene, the boy's face lost all color.

"That's quite the intense expression." Said the Head General, barely able to contain his laughter. "Someone is enjoying himself a bit too much."

"The hell you think you're doing!!?" Rollo suddenly burst out.

"Relax, kid. There is nothing to be embarrassed about." Still laughing, the man snapped his fingers and the scene changed again, bringing them back to the attic. "You can't keep going at it like that, though. You won't be able to last long when it counts."

Rollo kept glaring at the Head General, his face beet red. He didn't understand what the man got from humiliating him so much, but he couldn't just keep taking it.

"Guess the legends are right." The boy said. "The government really is run by pedophiles."

"Don't flatter yourself, kid." Taking off his glasses, the man wiped the tears that began to gather from all the laughter then put them back on. He then cleared his throat and spoke in a more even tone. "Anyway, now that you calmed down, let's talk business."

Just then Rollo seemed to realize that the nausea was gone along with the storm of emotions raging inside him. Though he still felt a little embarrassed, he was feeling a lot better than when he had to go through all the memories of what he saw after hacking the facility.

"As you might already know, messing with people's memories isn't exactly an ethical practice."

"As if you care about that," Rollo commented.

"But my fiancé does." The Head General shrugged. "We had a really big fight, you know? I only convinced her to let me do it by saying I would have to kill you otherwise."

Rollo went stone still.

"Aren't you glad we didn't go that route?"

Though he was still smiling, the man's eyes seemed a lot colder than before. At that moment, Rollo had no doubts about what he said. The boy was sure that his life would've been over if he the Head General didn't peek at his memories, or if he didn't like what he saw.

'Hold on…' as if realizing something, he turned to the man and asked. "You aren't going to kill me?"

"Hm? Why would I do that?"

"W-well, I mean…"

The boy has been gathering evidence against the Resistance for quite some time now so he thought getting rid of him was the first thing their leader would do. He just knew too much.

"What are you talking about?" The man said. "That facility has nothing to do with me. Did you think everyone in the Resistance is on the same side?"

Once again Rollo felt dumbfounded.

"In fact, I should be thanking you. You just gave me everything I need to crush those old geezers. Wait till people hear what they did."

"I… I'm not sure I'm following…" Rollo said. "Are you saying you're… you're going to expose what happened?"

"Of course. They have been on my ass this entire time, but I couldn't just kill them." Heaving a long sigh, the Head General turned to face him. "That's why I said let's talk business."

Rollo swallowed, not knowing how to respond. After a brief silence, the man in the lab coat spoke again, each word carrying the same hidden message; refuse this offer and you die.

"In exchange for all the evidence you gathered and your silence on me reading your memories, I will let you keep the Mind Link."