Hey guys, Kymeara here!
And near enough to the year anniversary of when I first started the game with Sylvi, I the other day completed the main story of the first two seasons with Violet. Throughout my time playing the game I've truly admired the storyline, and wanted to make my own expanded take on it, even if a slightly AU take. And what better way to do that than with a whole bunch of OCs I created?
Now, please enjoy this little intro chapter I prepared for you, and keep your eyes out for when the next chapter is released soon.
Having kicked off her highly uncomfortable business high heels, Katherine sighed and quickly poured herself a much needed and well-deserved glass of wine, striding barefooted across the cold pristine tiled floor of her studio apartment. Coming to the large glass wall that made up the northeastern wall of the apartment, Katherine took a sip of the deep crimson liquid as she looked out over the brightly lit Brooklyn nighttime skyline, especially where the three-towered building on the UNION HQ stood proud on the shore next to the Brooklyn Bridge, with the skyline of Manhattan behind it. It was boring work being an officer at the HQ compared to her last job, but in the current times, it was all she could manage.
However, clearly the world wasn't willing to give her even a single night of peace, as over by her desk several holographic screens appeared above her desk in the corner, and the entire apartment was filling with a loud obnoxious beeping. Sighing again, Katherine places her wine glass down, and walks over to the desk, looking over the screens, surprised to see an unknown number with a tag to the UNION with it. Who the hell from work would be calling her at this time of night? Her shift was long over. Quickly making sure her hair and UNION uniform looked presentable, Katherine tapped 'accept' on the screen in front of her. Rather than a recognisable face, Katherine was only presented with a shadowy silhouette of a man.
"Katherine Byron?" The figure said slowly, letting Katherine know who he was, just from his voice. The chief of UNION himself? What had she done so right, or even worse, so wrong to garner his attention personally?
"Yes, sir. How can I be of assistance?" Katherine said quickly, standing to attention before the screen, a strong air of professionalism snapping around her instantly.
"The head of UNION has a job proposition for you," The chief stated, leaning forward in his chair but still keeping his face in shadow. "One that would eventually give rise to a promotion and a considerable pay rise."
"If I cared about money I would have joined the Vultures," Katherine jokingly muttered under her breath. "Okay sir, I'm listening. What exactly is this proposition?"
"Five files will be sent to you, I wish for you to look over them. They are all trainee Closers who, for one reason or another have been washed out of their teams. However, we believe that they together would be compatible. Like all rookie teams, they will need an Administrator, someone to lead and organise the team," The chief said, just as five blips appeared on a second screen. The files had arrived for her.
"And… You want me to take that role? I've never lead a team before, sir. In fact, I've never even thought about leading a team before." Katherine looked in confusion at the man. What was he thinking, asking her?
"Your experience during the Dimensional War makes you an invaluable asset, Miss Byron, and more than qualifies you for the role. I know you went through a tough time with your PFDS, but UNION wishes for you to give these children a chance. You don't have to answer right away, but we will need your answer by the end of this week in order to fly you to New Seoul in time," The chief said.
Katherine flinched at the mention of PFDS. Phase Force Deprivation Syndrome, when a Phase positive person loses their ability to tap into their Phase Force. It was never a pleasant experience. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the location was mentioned. "New Seoul, sir? You want to fly me all the way out to South Korea?"
The silhouette nods slowly. "Correct Miss Byron. New Seoul is where the new team shall be formed and stationed during their training, as two members are already stationed in South Korea."
Katherine sighed a little. "Very well. May I please take some time to review the files, and get back to you?"
"Of course," The chief said, reaching to power off his screen. "But please don't keep us waiting."
The video screen went blank and then vanished, allowing the five files to push their way onto the main screen, each one with a name on them. Grabbing her nearby tablet, Katherine quickly flicked the files onto it and then wandered off to grab her glass of wine once more. Truly her peaceful night of doing absolutely nothing had been interrupted. Still, if newbie Closers needed her help, who was she to deny them. Flopping onto her sofa, Katherine resting her tablet on her thighs and took a look at the five files
[File name: Miseon Choi]
[File name: Reika Saito]
[File name: Raven]
[File name: Anastasia Ivanova]
[File name: Dahee Jeong]
Taking another sip of wine, Katherine placed her glass off to the side and opened the first file, being instantly greeted with the mugshot of a youthful girl with jet black hair and distinctive red eyes, most likely a trait the girl had developed from using her Phase powers far too much. A small profile beneath that told Katherine all the biological information she needed to know about her, but what she was most interested in for now was the girl's history. She even entirely skipped over the section documenting the girl's powers, just so she could see what had happened to lead up to her being lumped together with four other random Closers.
She did the same for the other four girls and then threw her head back in exasperation. Miseon had apparently been forcefully removed from her first team because of her overbearing arrogance. Reika had alienated her teammates by her cold, self-centred mannerisms. Both Raven and Anastasia had made their teammates afraid of them, Raven through apparently being creepy and Anastasia from her sheer violent tendencies. And Dahee had been rejected by her group for being too hyperactive. How anybody thought that throwing those five together was a good idea was well beyond Katherine.
It would be a challenge for sure, but Katherine always loved a challenge. Several bosses she'd had working her way up the UNION's ranks surely had to be worse than five teens with various attitude issues, even if the fact that Dahee was only thirteen was concerning her. The UNION had never recruited kids that young back during the Dimensional War. Still, though, New Seoul was one of the most peaceful areas in the world, having barely any dimensional disturbance since the war had ended eighteen years ago, making it an ideal place for training young closers.
All of this lead her to one disturbing thought: "I'm not actually considering doing this, am I?"
Sitting up, Katherine looked out of her window to the nearby UNION HQ towers again. It would be nice to get out of the offices again and do something that actually felt useful for once. Those kids needed someone to help them, and who better than a former UNION Closer? Sighing, Katherine reached over and took another large sip of wine. She was totally going to regret this but, hell, what was the worst that could happen. It wasn't like she was getting thrown into a war zone. Sending the files away, Katherine opened her official UNION email and found the address of the chief. Thinking of her next words carefully, Katherine began to type her message.
It had been a week since she had been confirmed to be flying out to New Seoul. She'd sold her apartment, UNION workers were currently packing up all of her things and taking them to the airfield where later today she would take the several hour flight to South Korea. The week had truly dragged along, making her wait for this new exciting venture in her life. Typing away at her desk had grown so dull so quickly now that she had something else to look forward to.
However, as she tried to focus on her work her fellow employees around the work floor started gasping and muttering in shock. She tried to ignore it for a minute, but as the muttering grew louder, she couldn't hold back any longer and stood up to move over to a group who were huddled around a screen, most of the people were wide-eyed, opened mouthed or had their hand over their mouths. Tapping a woman on the shoulder, Katherine quickly said. "What's going on?"
"Dimensional Monsters are invading Gangnam. There are Class C and B Monsters all over the district, and the Special Unit can't seem to handle them all," The woman said with a shaky voice. She'd been with Union from the start, and this was just like how the war eighteen years ago had started.
Katherine's mind meanwhile started reeling. Gangnam? That was in New Seoul. One of the most peaceful places in the world had suddenly become a battlefield? Slowly strolling back to her desk in a daze, Katherine's thoughts quickly turned to her Closers. With her confirming her position, both Miseon and Dahee had been moved to New Seoul ready for the new team's formation. They were in imminent danger, and she wasn't around to help them.
Clenching her fists in anger, Katherine brought the news feed up onto her own computer screen. Camera feeds showed Korea's special unit, police soldiers clad in white armour desperately fighting against Monster types that she had seen during the last war. Scavenger and Troll types, some of which were returning the Special Unit's gunshots with thrown fireballs and blades. Just watching the scenes she could tell that the human forces were losing, and losing badly. The city needed Closers and it needed them quick. And she needed to hurry and organise her team.
Quickly snatching up her phone, Katherine ran from the office floor and down the stairwell of the building as she organised herself leaving work several hours earlier than intended. It didn't take long, as the newly named Gangnam Crisis gave her an entirely legitimate reason to run.
It took all of her mental strength to drive safely to the local airport where the Osprey was stationed to take her to South Korea. She has also phoned ahead to them, ordering the pilots to make sure the craft was ready to fly as soon as she arrived. And all the while, all she could think of was if Miseon and Dahee were safe. She had checked England, Russia and Japan and was happy the other three members of her upcoming team were safe, so she didn't need to worry about them until they arrived.
Flashing her UNION ID badge to the security guard at the airport, Katherine raced her car around to the hangar where the twin rotor VTOL aircraft commonly used by the UNION was sat ready, pilots and other crew bustling around it like ants. Parking her car within the hangar, Katherine didn't even think to look back at the machine that had ferried her around for almost eight years as she ran straight to the open rear ramp of the Osprey, showing off her ID badge to the pilots as she did. It wasn't long until the ramp was closed as the thumping sound of the rotors spinning up filled her mind. Clutching her head, Katherine pulled a set of headphones out of her bag and slipped them over her ears and tried to relax. There was nothing more she could do for now. Even still, her heart grew heavy with worry for her Closers.
"Hang in there you two." She couldn't help but whisper to herself.