Bones of Nagasaki
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A collection of human bones that were once components of RPC-494, gathered after the conclusion of Operation Forged Ossuary.
Registered Phenomena Code: 494
Object Class: Beta-Orange (Formerly Gamma-Red, further de-escalation to Beta-Yellow pending)
Hazards: Aggression Hazard, Grouped Hazard, Radiation Hazard, Regenerative Hazard, Sapient Hazard
Containment Protocols: RPC-494 bone pieces are to be secured in lead-lined boxes, held in place via shaped styrofoam. The boxes are stored within a vault room within Site-089, equipped with cement foam dispensers, packed and secured tightly together to minimize any possibility of boxes being shaken loose by internal movement. The vault also contains a radiation alarm that is set to activate should ambient radiation levels increase above 1gy. In the unlikely event that RPC-494 attempts escape, it is to be hosed down with cement foam either by the installed dispenser system or by hand-carried dispensers, and its pieces chiseled out and retrieved.
Personnel must wear standard radiation PPE equivalent to X-ray protection whenever handling storage containers. As of the current revision, a face-screen, lead apron, lead collar and wrist dosimeter are sufficient.
An operational ham radio is set up in a room adjacent to RPC-494's containment chamber. In event of a remaining constituent member of RPC-494 attempting to communicate, personnel donning PPE may utilize the radio to establish a communication link.
RPC-494 is currently uncontained. Authority assets across Japan are to prioritize locating and containing the entity. RCFs must be equipped with Geiger counters, radiation protection and motion detectors. The remains of civilians and personnel slain by RPC-494 must be removed as soon as possible from the area of engagement. No human remains that contain bones are to be left behind in any engagement against RPC-494.
Intact bone pieces successfully captured from RPC-494 must be secured tightly within lead-lined containment boxes containing no free space to move about; Either achieve this by packing bones tightly together or by filling the remaining space with packing foam. These containment boxes are to have their contents decontaminated of any trace radiation back at the closest Authority site before being sent to an Authority-sanctioned Onmyōdō for consecration and funerary rites.
Operatives engaged in combat against RPC-494 are to prioritize the destruction of its skeletal composition by using explosive rounds against its giant form. When RPC-494 discorporates into its bone swarm form, operatives should instead seek defensive actions and prioritize protecting the head and neck. If offensive actions are possible, explosives are recommended to continue destroying as many bones as possible.
Description: RPC-494 is an entity weighing at an estimated 5 tons 40 kilograms; it is a collection of human bones from an estimated █000 █ human beings, which align and arrange together via anomalous means to simulate a gigantic above-average-height human skeleton of 20 meters 2 meters in height.
RPC-494 previously displayed extreme hostility to all human life and assumed a predatory nature, stalking roads during night hours in search of humans to prey upon. RPC-494 rattles its body as it moves, and upon sensing prey would cease its rattling to move silently. Upon seizing a human RPC-494 would kill the human by decapitation via its jaw construct, attempting to drink the victim's blood out of an instinctual urge. The blood dribbles down RPC-494's hollow cavities and spills onto the ground, while not appearing to confer any strengths and advantages. Once this is done, RPC-494 begins separating flesh from bones to incorporate the victim's bones into its mass. If facing massed retaliation from a group of humans, RPC-494 will discorporate into a cyclone of animated bones, to either bludgeon and flay its enemies or escape into dense foilage and nearby treelines at speeds up to 50mph.
In addition to the above dangers, RPC-494 is also highly radioactive. Each individual bone piece emits 20mSv of radiation, and as pieces combine to form RPC-494 in its gestalt form radiation levels anomalously increase up to 20Sv. Any human caught within 5 meters of RPC-494 in its combined form risks receiving a debilitating/lethal dose of radiation within an estimated 4 seconds of exposure, assuming RPC-494 has not already attacked and killed them. Bones from recent victims incorporated into RPC-494 acquire this anomalous form of radiation, becoming new components of RPC-494. Radiation levels appear to fluctuate, lowering when RPC-494 is in a passive state and raising when becoming aggressive.
RPC-494 generally favours one-sided fights and surprise ambushes of lone individuals. RPC-494 is capable of foresight and tactical planning; shedding bones to lay in strategic positions to act as sensors, ambushes and traps. RPC-494 has poor control of fractured and broken bones, and bones that have been thoroughly shattered/splintered lose all anomalous and radioactive effects. RPC-494 will choose to retreat should it lose sufficient mass, discorporating and escaping in a swarm.
RPC-494 may occasionally scavenge graveyards for bones, moreso if it has lost mass from a recent containment/neutralization attempt. RPC-494 appears either unwilling or unable to integrate remains that have been ritually consecrated in funerary rites, and will not disturb graves containing aforementioned remains. During one incident where it ambushed a traveling Shinto procession, it chose to flee rather than attack the Onmyōdō and his attendants.
RPC-494 does not speak or appear to possess any personality (see Interview Log 2.3) appears to have its actions guided by the collective efforts of Imperial Japanese Army personnel whose remains are worked into its composition. It appears to display heightened aggression and prioritizes attacks towards humans identifiable as Caucasian in ethnicity. RPC-494 will halt all current activities, including "feeding", to immediately attack said foreigners. In particular, RPC-494 becomes enraged should it detect American accents; Ignoring any need to hide or flee, it becomes driven to pursue and eliminate all targets to the point of breaking cover and facing severe retaliation. Caucasians slewn in this manner are not integrated into RPC-494's mass.
This extreme hostility towards Caucasians was discovered on ██/█/2019 when it enraged and attacked a group of english-speaking European tourists, to the point of charging into town in order to hunt down and kill them. Direct witnesses were forced to undergo amnescitization, with casualties and property damage being spun as being caused by a wild boar stampede leading to a vehicular accident that destroyed the front wall of the motel that the tourists were staying in, and had fled into. While the town was initially to be quarantined for a week, it quickly became apparent that RPC-494's radioactive emissions decay at an accelerated rate, and the all-clear was given within 3 days of its leaving.
As of Operation Forged Ossuary's conclusion, RPC-494 now only displays apathy and lethargy, and requires extensive prompting to briefly form an enlargened human skeleton before collapsing. Radiation levels have also lowered by 80-90%, to the point of only requiring basic radiation PPE to handle its remains.
Discovery Log: RPC-494 was first sighted among the ruins of Nagasaki during late 1945, and is believed to have formed from human remains created by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. RPC-494 vanished shortly soon after being sighted, but not before attacking and killing ██ survivors and relief workers during the following nights. It remained inactive until its reappearance in 2019. This is believed to have been caused by a botched ritual performed by RPC-486 meant to undo the [INFORMATION CLASSIFIED] located within RPC-257.
Addendum:
Following confirmation of RPC-494 being the same entity sighted back at Nagasaki in 1945, suspicion fell to the incident caused by RPC-486 at RPC-257 to be responsible for its release. RPC-486 was subsequently interviewed in the forest outside of Site-089.
Interviewed: RPC-486
Interviewer: Dr. Yoshizawa Hinako
Foreword: Dr. Hinako was accompanied up to the edge of the forest surrounding Site-089, and entered RPC-486's abode alone to reduce the likelihood of RPC-486 abruptly terminating the interview.
Dr. Hinako: Hello, 486.
RPC-486: Do not call me that number. You have a lot of nerve to approach me alone. Where's my sister?
Dr. Hinako: Mishio, then. Shiomi is doing just fine with us, happily serving staff within the cafeteria as of now. But I am not here to talk about her. I am here to talk about the sudden reappearance of a Gashadokuro. One we might even say that you might even be familiar with. Might this jog your memory?
[ Dr. Hinako presents a set of pictures showing RPC-494 attacking locals. RPC-486 tenses at the pictures. ]
Dr. Hinako: Is it that which escaped from ███-██-█████ when you snuck in there and caused an incident? The very same one?
RPC-486: <Loudly scoffs> And what if it is?
Dr. Hinako: It has been stalking humans and growing larger with each kill. Is being responsible for the indirect deaths of humans part of your 'sacred humbling duties' too, Mishio?
RPC-486: You should be grateful I stopped the crack from growing larger!
Dr. Hinako: A crack that we have reason to assume you made to begin with?
RPC-486: Gh!
Dr. Hinako: And an action taken, dare I believe, more out of self-preservation than concerns for the disastrous implications of your reckless actions?
RPC-486: Don't make me curse you.
Dr. Hinako: <Ignores RPC-486, adjusts glasses and reads script> You have quite a bit to answer for here, Mishio. Kindly tell us what you did down there or we'll have you kept many many miles away from Site-089 and your sister.
[ RPC-486 snarls for a moment, before becoming quiet. ]
RPC-486: …I wanted to free my family. I thought if I could just find my way back around the cracks within the [INFORMATION CLASSIFIED] in ███-██-█████ and… call out, shine a few lights down the tunnel towards where everyone was…
Dr. Hinako: But it attracted others instead.
RPC-486: I swore I was only calling out loud enough to only reach the shallower depths, where the more harmless of our kind were placed… I must have called out too loud! The ones from the deep end, it was as if they were waiting! Ready to pounce the moment the darkness weakened! I had to stop all the lights and seal it all again to stop the worst from breaking out… let the darkness drag them all back down the depths, other than that bag of bones. It… collapsed into a huge pile of bones and poured through the tinier cracks even as they were closing up…
Dr. Hinako: Interesting. Did anything else manage to make it out?
RPC-486: …I don't think so.
Dr. Hinako: All right. We are done here. Thank you for your honesty.
RPC-486: Wait! I demand to see Shiomi-nee-sa-
Dr. Hinako: We are in the process of cleaning up the mess and deaths caused by your reckless actions, Mishio. Now does not seem like a good time to make your usual demands.
<End Log>
Notes: RPC-486 entered a state of quiet and did not attempt to infiltrate Site-089 for the following month.
While in transit after a failed engagement attempt(resulting in 28% destroyed mass, 7 casualties and RPC-494's escape), several anomalous bones that were captured intact from RPC-494 began to rattle and whisper as the attached Geiger counter erratically oscillated. Personnel reported the formation of crude voices and speech patterns emitted from the counters. After several attempts to pick up on the frequency, a portable radio scanner-communications array is found to be able to successfully tune-in to reveal separate "voices".
Interview 2.1: The first voice successfully communicated with, believed to be a civilian victim of the Nagasaki atomic bombing.
Interviewed: Unknown
Interviewer: Field Researcher Goda Kenjiro
Unidentified voice: I'm cold, so cold… so hungry…
Goda: Who are you? Where are you, what can you tell us of your surroundings?
Unidentified voice: I don't even remember my name… There was the pika-don and now I'm trapped in this place. It looks like Nagasaki, but everything is wrong, the colours are gone, and we can't leave…
Goda: Nagasaki? Interesting. We will attempt to look into this.
Unidentified voice: Please hurry with food…
Interview 2.2: The radio was operated carefully until a new voice belonging to a hysterical young woman was located. Said voice claimed the identity of a "Sakurai Mikuni", a recently slain civilian victim of one of RPC-494's hunts.
Interviewed: "Sakurai Mikuni"
Interviewer: Field Researcher Goda Kenjiro
Sakurai: Please get me out of here! There's these crazy soldiers in old uniforms, I think they're from World War 2… They think the war is still on!
Goda: Hold on. Give us your name first, then tell us about the soldiers.
Sakurai: My name is… <Sobs> Sakurai M-Mikuni! They have bayonets and rifles and s-swords, they order us to work the place! They suspect us of looking like spies, of being American sympathizers! I tried to tell them we're not at war, but they laughed at me and accused me of being crazy!
Goda: What do you mean by work the place?
Sakurai: It's like… I'm forced into a factory or warehouse, something like that. They're making us all work on a machine in the name of "the defense effort"! But it's so weird, one moment I'm pulling a lever, next moment that lever is a huge bone. I don't understand! <Sobs>
Goda: Do not worry. We are trying to figure it out too.
Sakurai: Please get me out! It's so cold and there's nothing to eat, I'm starving…
Goda: We promise to do everything we can. Thank you. <To attending personnel> IJA soldiers. We need someone who can put up a convincing act.
Interview 2.3: Following this, Agent Konda Yohachi took over while being briefed on military terminology. The frequency was fine-tuned until one such member was located.
Interviewed: "Acting-Commander Hijikata Danjuro"
Interviewer: Agent Konda Yohachi
Hijikata: Who is this, who has picked up this secure communications channel?! Identify yourself!
Konda: Officer Konda Yohachi of the National Communications Bureau in service to the Federal Japanese Government! Long live the Emperor!
Hijikata: Oh! Forgive my impudence! We are trapped and the enemy is all around us. Morale is tense and supplies are low!
Konda: All is forgiven. Status report, who is in charge?
Hijikata: Commander Masuda Tadayoshi, who has yet to return from his foray to beseech the capital for supplies! I, Sub-officer Hijikata Danjuro, am in command pending his safe return. We are trapped in Nagasaki, and I repeat, supplies are low. The situation is grim, but we will hold fast in defense of Emperor and Country!
Konda: Long live His Majesty! Acting-Commander Hijikata-taicho, we require a census! Can you tell us who else is there?
Hijikata: Forgive me. I cannot produce an accurate headcount, but I shall strive to declare to the best of my ability. Squad! Present yourselves! <Static for a minute> Three-quarters of the 134th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment stand at full attention! We are supported by hundreds of Nagasaki's populace, alongside the strange new arrivals. We are attacked… Sometimes we cannot tell who attacks, but sometimes we see the filthy Gaijin fleeing before us like the little rats that they are, and we work in righteous anger to strike them down!
Konda: Strange new arrivals? Explain the meaning of that!
Hijikata: At once! They are Japanese much like us, but wear very strange clothing and claim they are from… believe this… the future! Can you believe that? They are crazy, spouting lies that the war has ended and that we are all within a monster who has devoured them! How tragic that the war has induced such madness! Nevertheless we order them to work to shore up our defenses, same as the others. Hard labor shall bring them back to their senses!
Konda: Acting-Commander Hijikata-taichou, I wish to inform you that the war has indeed been declared to be over!
Hijikata: Unbelievable! You too have been fooled by the lies of the Gaijin invaders, dropped from their planes! In any case, we shall believe and obey none save our commander and the word of His Divine Majesty!
<End Log(s)>
Following the leads gathered within Interview 2-3, Authority agents successfully employ the Tokyo census to track down Masuda Tadayoshi, now a centenarian of 102 years and living as a pensioner.
Interviewed: Masuda Tadayoshi
Interviewer: Agent Aozora Ochiyo
Foreword: Aozora presented herself as an interviewer from a local broadcasting station, seeking an interview with Mr. Masuda based on the pretense of filming a historical WW2 documentary.
Masuda: To seek a withered old man such as I, who has little time left and little left to give to the world… I can only imagine one possible reason.
Aozora: Indeed, Masuda-dono. We wish to speak of your time at Nagasaki.
[ Masuda nods, and remains silent for a minute. He gestures for his daughter to leave the room and slowly rises to his feet, walking towards a closet and opening it, parting hanging clothing to reveal an IJA Officer's uniform preserved in a glass case. ]
Masuda: You have worked hard to find one such as I. I too have worked hard to bury my past, and you must understand it is not something I am comfortable with discussing. But I do not have long left, so I might as well humor your request. The young ones beyond my family deserve to know, if anything.
Aozora: Masuda-dono, your last task back then was to travel out of town?
Masuda: <Paces the room, nods> It was a simple chore, I remember. I was to pick up a permit for new supplies: food rations, armaments, tools. The communication lines were down at the time… severed by the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima. Therefore travel by car was necessary, to the next most reliable communications line beyond Hiroshima at… Fukuyama. I traveled through Hiroshima on the way, you know. Stopped the car to walk through the ruins. <Slowly extends his foot out, replicating the act of carefully walking through debris> To imagine all that devastation from one bomb… ONE bomb…
Aozora: Forgive my interruption, Masuda-dono, but the journey?
Masuda: <Seats self back down before interviewer> Yes, yes. The permit was easy enough to obtain. Once I return to Nagasaki, the trucks with the requested items would have shortly followed. Alas…
Aozora: You were at the outskirts of Nagasaki when the bomb fell…
Masuda: Yes, I saw the pika-don, right as I was returning from the capital. I turned and fled. There was nothing left of Nagasaki. There was nothing left of my men.
Aozora: Masuda-san… You may find this hard to believe, but your men yet persist, waiting for you to return.
Masuda: What are you talking of? The pika-don consumed them all in its fiery embrace. Surely you do not mean they wait for me as ghosts?
Aozora: In a sense, but worse. They, along with half of Nagasaki, have persisted through the years in the form of this. <Provides pictures of RPC-494>
Masuda: A big skeleton? Is this a joke? Is this a photoshop trick? Unbelievable. Wasn't this supposed to be an interview for a history show?
Aozora: They believe the war is still going on, and that they continue to defend Japan. In reality, they are guiding this monster to attack and kill innocents.
Masuda: …You are mocking them and my memory of them. Leave.
Aozora: Perhaps this will change your mind. <Plays recording of interview 2-3. Masuda freezes, and gradually trembles as he listens to Interview 2-3.>
Masuda: No, that… That unique stubbornness! That irreplacable conviction! That truly is Hijikata's unreplicatable voice! The stubborn, brave fool! He promised me he would do beyond his best until I returned, and he has held to his promise until now? I am amazed!
Aozora: So you believe us now?
Masuda: Yes! No… No! My failure! My promise! My men have awaited my return all these years, and I turned tail and abandoned them like the coward I am! I stepped through Hiroshima, but never did I return to Nagasaki! What was but a bright flash and a loud bang compared to the honour we held then? What have I done? Oh… Truly, my shame is well-deserved!
Aozora: It's not too late, Masuda-dono. May we ask your weary soul to aid us, and lay your squad to rest?
Masuda: I will. I must…
<End Log>
Notes: Despite protesting his sudden travel plans, Masuda's family packed the uniform as well as any items of value into his belongings. Masuda's healthcare and wellbeing were managed by the Authority prior to the Operation's commencement.
This operation's goal was centered around the final containment/neutralization of RPC-494 at all costs, and follows a three-phase plan:
Phase 1: RPC-494 is lured out of hiding. This is accomplished by American ASF personnel wearing the uniform of 1945 Pacific Theater marines driving through RPC-494's last sighted area during the night, in a restored 4x4 US Military jeep bearing an American flag. More importantly, a loudspeaker set mounted on the jeep is to play a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at 105 decibels. The driver is to maintain a speed of 50~80km/h to maintain a minimum safe distance from RPC-494, while staying close enough for it to not lose track of.
Result: Success. RPC-494 is immediately brought into an enraged state, causing it to blindly pursue the jeep for the following 3km to the zone of operations for Phase 2.
Phase 2: 500m prior to Phase 2's zone of operations the loudspeakers and the lights are to be turned off, while operators compensate for their impaired driving via night vision. Masuda Tadayoshi, donning his IJA Officer's uniform, stands upon a stage with his presence magnified via spotlights. He is to halt RPC-494 and attempt to communicate with the controlling entities presiding within it, delivering: the official declaration of surrender, the end of the war, and the official command to stand down. Masuda is to be supported and assisted by members of MST Delta-4 "Garcas" that have been dressed fully in IJA uniforms, and drilled in IJA processionary detail.
Result: Unprecedented success. RPC-494 almost self-terminates without warranting the need to execute Phase 3, despite all measures primed and personnel ready to carry it out.
Phase 3: A contingency plan should Phase 2 fail. The area where RPC-494 halts is lined with numerous claymore mines and other fragmentary explosives, all set to detonate via remote command. Additionally, fully-armed members of MST Delta-5 "Oligarchs" await alongside ASF reinforcements while bringing to bear a wide range of explosive weaponry: rocket-propelled grenades, flak rounds, fragmentation devices and so on to bring down RPC-494 once and for all. Any damage or death dealt to Masuda would have been considered as acceptable collateral damage, as long as RPC-494 is finally contained/neutralized.
Result: N/A
134th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the 4th AAA Division! Halt actions!
[ RPC-494 forcibly skids to a halt, its bones audibly grinding across tarmac. ]
Men! I have returned!
It has been too long, but I have come back for you, as I promised long ago! I ask for your forgiveness!
[ Masuda wobbles on his cane, and is held stable by an assistant from Delta-4. ]
I bear news from the capital! His Divine Holiness, Shōwa-Tenno Hirohito… has spoken!
[ Another Delta-4 assistant marches in bearing a portrait of Emperor Hirohito, mounting it upon a lit podium behind the group. RPC-494 freezes at sight of the picture. ]
Long live His Divine Majesty!
[ All costumed personnel turn to bow before the portrait, prompting RPC-494 to bow its own head in supplication. Freshly integrated remains are observed to visibly wobble and quiver against the rigidity of the older remains. ]
Now! Stand to attention!
[ ASF personnel face forward once more. RPC-494 brings itself back up. Masuda reads from an unfurled scroll containing the remainder of the script. ]
In accordance with Divine Imperial Mandate, the war is declared over!
All army units are to cease all combat and combat preparation activity!
In accordance with military headquarters command No. A-2003, the homeland defense headquarters is effectively relieved of all duties!
Units and individuals under the command of Homeland Defense are to cease military activities and operations immediately, and to cease any further hostile actions!
Thus concludes your acting superior officer, Masuda Tadayoshi. Long live the Emperor!
[ A Delta-4 assistant plays a tape recording of the Daitōa-sensō-shūketsu-no-shōsho as read by Emperor Hirohito. ]
<End log>
As the Imperial Rescript was broadcasted RPC-494 initially maintained a rigid standing posture. As the script progressed, its bone structure was observed to begin trembling and shaking. RPC-494 then fell to its knees and held its head, seemingly in agonized confusion. Its structural cohesion failed as bones began scattering and falling, starting with the fresher bones. RPC-494 finally adopts a howling motion with its arms thrown out, and begins ripping itself apart as its bone structure fully collapses en-masse.
Despite Delta-5's readying of their weaponry, RPC-494 successfully self-terminates without the need for further escalation. Its fragments are collected, and any remaining anomalous parts were determined by detecting which bone piece continued to emit radiation. As 94% of RPC-494's bones no longer did so, they were declared non-anomalous and shipped off to a shrine for funerary rites.
Masuda passed away in his sleep a few days later, soon after returning home. Family members testified that he had possessed a tranquil demeanour in the days leading up to his passing.
A week post-containment, the bones began to rattle again. Only one frequency was detectable.
Interviewed: "Acting-Commander Hijikata Danjuro"
Interviewer: Agent Konda Yohachi
Foreword: Interviewee's voice is noted to sound considerably aged and fatigued, in contrast to the previously youthful exuberance of Interview 2.3.
Hijikata: So… It was true? We lost the war? Everything we had done… was for nothing?
Konda: Yes. I am sorry.
Hijikata: It is we of the defense force who ought to be begging for forgiveness, for our misguided fervor.
Konda: What happened that night?
Hijikata: Infighting. Madness. Grief. Denial. Our unified spirit broke at last, and we fought among one-another. There were those of us who accepted the words of the Emperor to stand down with humility. And then there were those who refused to believe that the shame of the impossible had occurred. Several of us committed seppuku and fell away into smoke and ash, as others fought, shot, stabbed each other. The civilians and the newcomers chose to flee past the mists beyond Nagasaki. Now only I remain; I, and a few others who have lied down and refuse to think anymore. Perhaps I should join them. There is only that or seppuku left for me.
Konda: It does not need to be that way. You can still share with us of your experiences. You are a remaining link to the past: A history we sometimes struggle to accept, but need to understand nontheless.
Hijikata: Perhaps… Perhaps. But for now, I need rest. The illusion is shattered and the years have finally caught up with me, and I am so very tired.
Konda: Rest well, Acting-Commander Hijikata-taichou. Your watch has ended.
Hijikata: Hrm.
<End Log>
RPC-494 has not responded to further hails ever since.
