Author's Note: As always, thank you to my reviewers for your continued or newly-voiced support. To rydia3791 and IronShounen, I'm glad to hear you approve; I was especially nervous about whether I'd captured Alisa's characterisation properly, especially her early "self", and my concern moving forward is getting the transition right as well.
As it turns out, Yuu is right: the two of them are enlisted for a mission under Lindow's supervision, although Alisa considers it rather unorthodox that they're travelling there by themselves first and standing watch while they wait for him to arrive. The spot where they're dropped off is a short distance away from where the two Chi-Yous they are hunting were sighted, but they stay alert nonetheless; after all, the smallest thing could mean the difference between life and death.
"Is he always this... carefree?" she grumbles loud enough for her sole companion to throw her an amused glance from her left. "I know he doesn't seem like it, but Lindow's a good leader," Yuu says predictably.
"Well, he really needs to act like one then," she fires back, and her instantaneous response elicits a laugh out of him. "Can't really argue with that one," he answers between dying chuckles before ending them with a rather fake cough. "Speak of the devil," he murmurs, straightening his features and posture as the man they were just discussing finally makes his appearance.
"Ah, I'm working with you two New-Types today. I'll try not to get in your way, so don't mind me," Lindow greets them cheerfully, apparently unconcerned with his tardiness. So much for being a good leader; he's a relic, to boot.
"If you ask me, Old-Types should just stick to what Old-Types are capable of doing," Alisa chides him with as much snideness as she can muster. However, all the older man does is give her a sheepish laugh and an apologetic look. "Well then, I'll see what I can do to live up to your expectations!" he answers as he walks up to her and claps his hand on her right shoulder-
Idon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodieTHOSEEYES
She jumps back from him, breaking the contact, and only belatedly realises that the scream she just heard is her own. Her ragged breathing is loud and harsh in the dead silence around them and her head hurts so much and both Lindow and Yuu are giving her looks full of concern.
"Woah..." Lindow backs off, raising his hands in a placating manner. "I can see you really can't stand me..."
Even her pride is not great enough to stem the wave of shame and embarrassment that washes over her. "Oh... I-I'm sorry!" she stutters out, pressing her hand to her head in a futile attempt to both stem the throbbing pain in her skull and to hide her burning face. "It's nothing, I'm fine," she tries to wave it off, but she knows she hardly sounds convincing at all.
The silence returns momentarily, allowing her headache to subside slowly, before it is broken by the sound of Lindow's soft laugh. "Just kidding," she hears him say as a means of defusing the uncomfortable situation they're in right now before musing out loud. "Hmm... Let's see..."
"Listen up, Alisa." The sound of her name causes the girl to look up at the man's grinning countenance. "When things get chaotic, look up at the sky. Then find a cloud that looks like an animal." ...What? "That will help you to chill. Until then, stay here. That's an order. Afterwards, I want you to join us over there. Got that?" he commands, pointing to the spot that will be their second rendezvous point for the day.
The instructions baffle her, and she lets it show. "B-But why should I do such a thing?" she asks incredulously.
All Lindow does is wave her off with a smile. "Just look for a cloud, okay?" he asks warmly before turning to address Yuu, who has remained silent throughout the exchange. "All right, we're going on ahead," he announces before leaping down and making his way to the location he indicated earlier.
Yuu moves as if to follow their leader before stopping and turning to face her. "Do as he says," he encourages with a kind smile not too different from Lindow's. "I promise it'll help. Don't rush and just... breathe." With that, he makes the jump as well, leaving her alone to... stare at clouds, apparently.
Drawing a deep breath, the girl scans the sky for whatever will pass for some form of animal, unconsciously losing track of time in the process. It's only when she finds one that could be considered as looking somewhat bear-like that she realises her headache's receded and the tension she hadn't noticed had built up in her body has faded away.
"I suppose relics have their uses after all," she admits to herself under her breath before making her way to where Lindow and Yuu are waiting for her. The latter is the first to react to her arrival by throwing her a wide grin. "Feel better?" he asks lightly, although it's clear he's not expecting anything other than a positive response. "Yes," she mutters somewhat grudgingly, deciding to humour him - but only because she's in a good mood - before debating on whether she should thank Lindow or not.
Luckily, she's saved from having to decide by the sound of metallic wings slicing through the air. "Heads up, people!" their leader calls out, readying his God Arc as one of the Chi Yous they are here to kill lands in front of them. "We've got company!"
As expected, the battle is a tricky one but nothing the simulators have not prepared her for. Things get a little dicey when the Chi You they have been fighting takes off and they run into the other one as they are chasing down the first Aragami, but after some teamwork (she is forced to admit to herself that Lindow's skills alone justify his leadership position and Yuu's no slouch either) both Chi Yous are dead and have had their cores extracted.
"Nice work everyone, and excellent performance for your first mission, Alisa. I see your simulation scores aren't just for show," Lindow congratulates both of them, and she doesn't even try to hide the smirk of satisfaction that covers her face. "Good job, Alisa," Yuu seconds with an encouraging smile that she answers with a none-too-modest "thank you".
Things take an interesting turn when their comms suddenly crackle to life on their return trip. "2nd Unit's leader Tatsumi here," the voice announces his identity as a way of greeting, "We've got reports of a few Aragami breaching the Outer Wall at two sections and we're spread a bit thin. I know you're coming back from your own mission, but we could use your unit's help, Lindow."
"Roger that, Tatsumi, we'll back you up. Send us the coordinates," Lindow answers. Tatsumi rattles off two locations: one close to their current location and one further away, and Alisa knows even before he says it that their leader is going to split the group. "You two get down here and assist here," he orders them as their truck slows to a halt. "I'll go ahead and help out at the other site. See you guys back at the Den, okay? This should be a simple mission, so don't die!" he calls out as they disembark and the vehicle roars off into the distance.
Their journey is a short one, and before long they spot the telltale exposed section of the Outer Wall that indicates Aragami have managed to get into the Outer Ghetto. Running in and towards the sounds of a God Arc meeting Aragami flesh, they are met with the sight of a small group of Ogretails attacking a lone male figure dressed in red and white. He is clearly on the defensive, making sure that their attentions are focused on him instead of the terrified citizens running around them as well as the guy directing them to safety - likely another God Eater judging by the armlet on his wrist.
"Hold on, Tatsumi!" Yuu calls out as he surges into battle next to her with his Long Blade drawn, confirming her suspicions that the red-dressed guy is none other than the 2nd Unit leader who contacted them for help. Alisa sticks to using her Long Blade, Avenger, as well - using their gun modes is a risk they cannot take as a stray shot might harm any one of the civilians around them or further damage the settlement.
"Appreciate the help, guys!" Tatsumi calls out as he takes another swipe at an Ogretail that's come a little too close. "Make sure they stay away from Brendan and the evacuees!" Brendan must be the other God Eater then, she surmises as she drives her Avenger deep into the leg of the unsuspecting Ogretail she reaches first. The Aragami, having been previously distracted by Tatsumi, screeches out loud in pain just like the one that Yuu has attacked, and with that the monstrous group become aware of the new arrivals to the formerly one-sided fight.
Minutes that feel like hours pass before they finally thin their enemies' numbers - the Ogretails' attacks send them leaping far too close to evacuees or buildings for them to fight at their best - and Alisa is about to internally call it a victory before she spots a couple of wounded ones running away towards the hole they came in. "They're getting away!" she yells to Yuu and Tatsumi as she deals the killing blow to the Ogretail she was attacking.
"Leave them!" Tatsumi hollers back as he dodges another attack by the Ogretail he is dealing with, much to her chagrin - minus the two escaping, there are only the two that he and Yuu are fighting. "Our priority is the civilians!" To hell with him, she seethes on the inside; protecting the civilians may be the 2nd unit's duty, but she's not in his unit. "I'm going after them!" she yells, pointedly ignoring Yuu's frantic shout of "Alisa, wait!" as she gives chase.
Luckily for her, the Ogretails have not gone far and have instead stopped to consume the remains of a broken down vehicle just beyond the Outer Wall's perimeter, no doubt in order to recover from their injuries. She doesn't give them the chance, bringing her Long Blade down on the closest Ogretail in a surprise attack. It roars in pain and turns to face her along with the other one, but a clean stab between its eyes ensures it stays down for good. However, it takes her a split second to realise that her decision to focus on one has created an opening for the other Ogretail to attack her. Everything seems to move in slow motion as she scrambles to pull her God Arc free of the dead Ogretail's body, all the while watching as it readies its attack-
-only for Yuu to leap in from seemingly nowhere to slam his Long Blade so deep into the Ogretail's neck that there can be no doubt of its immediate demise. A strange silence descends around them, punctuated only by his laboured breathing and hers, which is only slower by a small margin, as they both remove their respective God Arcs from their prey. It feels like forever before he meets her gaze, and she can almost feel both the concern and silent rebuke he is emanating.
"Are you alright?" he asks; the concern has won this time, and for some reason it causes a wave of relief to wash over her. "Yes," she answers; for a brief moment she had considered brushing his question off, but he came and backed her up - possibly saving her life in the process, but she refuses to acknowledge that - so the least she can do is be civil. She contemplates for the second time that day if she should actually say thanks, but again she is saved from that same predicament by a new arrival, this time in the form of Tatsumi who's grinning from ear to ear.
"Wow, you New-Types are really something on the battlefield! I guess all that hype wasn't an exaggeration after all!" he all but crows. "But Yuu, you sure can run like the wind," he commends. "You dashed after Alisa so fast after you killed the Ogretail you were fighting that I couldn't catch up at all."
"You were just slow, Tatsumi, " Yuu chides good-naturedly, still evidently exhausted from both the fighting and chasing after her, but the 2nd Unit's leader brushes off his protest. "Don't be so modest. I'd say I'm a decent runner, but at the speed you were going it was as if I was taking a stroll." Looking between the two of them, he continues speaking. "Still, the two of you were really good today. We would've been in a lot more trouble if you guys hadn't backed us up. Lindow's reported that they've settled the issue on their side too, so you two can ride back to the Den with me and Brendan. Although..."
The way he trails off coupled with his sheepish and apologetic smile causes the alarm bells in Alisa's head to go off, and the rest of his sentence justifies the dread that has crept up on her.
"...you know I have to put all this in my report, right?"
...Oh no.
-xXx-
"So," Tsubaki asks in a tone that promises a punishment worse than death, and resisting the urge to flinch is taking an incredible amount of Alisa's willpower, "would either of you care to tell me why you both disregarded a unit leader's direct orders to stay put and proceeded to chase two Aragami that were already running away beyond the safety of the Outer Wall by yourselves?"
Alisa opens her mouth to offer an excuse even though her brain has not yet come up with one, but Yuu speaks up before she can say anything that could make things worse. "There was a chance that the escaped Ogretails would return with more of their kind and attack the Outer Ghetto after we had vacated the area, especially since that section of the wall will not be fully repaired for the next few days," he explains clearly, and she can't help but gape at how matter-of-fact he sounds considering he likely just made everything up. "Alisa acted in order to avoid this potential incident and I backed her up."
Lindow, who throughout the debriefing/interrogation has kept quiet, lets out a cough that sounds suspiciously like a snort of laughter, causing an already irritated Tsubaki to throw a very severe glare at him that could fell a horde of Aragami before turning back to them. "What you did was utterly reckless and borders on insubordination," she scolds them severely, and Alisa expects a rather harsh punishment is in store for them.
...Which is why she is understandably shocked when there isn't. "But you make a valid point and neither of you were injured, so I'm hard-pressed to punish you for doing your duty and returning to us alive," she continues, her voice lowering in intensity. "Although if you pull that stunt again, next time you won't be walking away with a simple warning," she finishes, once again resuming her harsh tone. "Dismissed. Dr Sakaki is already waiting for you."
"Yes, ma'am," they both chorus before leaving the room. Alisa is equally torn between feeling incensed and embarrassed about the situation, so she opts for the easier option.
"I could've handled it on my own," she mutters, not caring that her anger is coating her every word. As the words leave her mouth, she herself isn't sure if she's referring to him stepping in to defend her to Tsubaki just now or his interference in the battle earlier. (A small voice in the back of her head reminds her that she'd decided then to be somewhat grateful for his timely aid, but she ignores it.)
"You could have," he responds, easily keeping in stride with her as they make their way to the lift. "But we're teammates and I made the decision to have your back like teammates are supposed to."
"I don't need anyone's help," she shoots back viciously as they reach the lift and she stabs the lift button with a little more force than necessary. "And what's with the Far East Branch's 2nd unit in the first place?" she fumes as the doors slide open and they board the lift. "Especially the unit leader. Does he put people's feelings ahead of strategy? Does he really think we can repulse the Aragami with that kind of approach? It's simply ludicrous."
Yuu lets out a resigned sigh, likely having detected her unspoken desire to change the topic. "The 2nd unit's purpose is first and foremost the protection of the Outer Wall and the people who live within its perimeter. Defeating the Aragami is secondary to that duty." His unsatisfactory response causes her to turn to confront him, but the unnervingly neutral look on his face stops her short and his next words reveal that he hasn't actually let go of their previous topic like she expected.
"And regardless of whether you want or need anyone's help or not, I'm still going to offer it every chance I get. You could say this is because we're the only New-Types in the Far East Branch right now, but above all else I'm not interested in losing another teammate-" Another? "-so you're just going to have to get used to it."
She isn't aware of how long they stand there just staring silently at each other, but the moment ends when the lift slows to a halt several floors before their stop and the doors open to reveal a blonde guy dressed in a pink shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. "Oh, it's you two," he remarks as he boards and presses the button for a different floor, his voice carrying an air of haughty nonchalance.
Alisa dislikes him immediately.
"Hello, Karel," Yuu responds somewhat coolly, giving her the impression that he does not have the best of opinions of the new guy either. "I heard you guys acted quite recklessly when you were asked to support the 2nd unit," he comments offhandedly, his thinly veiled disapproval getting on her nerves.
"What's it to you?" she bites back, barely keeping her temper in check; recent events have done more than enough to set her on edge, and this guy is not helping.
"Personally, I wouldn't have bothered," he answers in a bored tone. "While it would have improved my stats, it's not like the extra effort would've gotten me paid more and the 2nd unit's missions are hardly ever lucrative to begin with."
His statement causes her temper to ratchet up a few more notches, and she knows she's about to lose control of her anger. "So all you care about is the money?" she asks icily, and out of the corner of her eye Yuu is shifting closer as if to step in on the chance this becomes physical.
Karel, however, is still painfully oblivious to the situation he's in. "Other people will tell you some sob story about how they want to avenge themselves on the Aragami or try to sound heroic by saying they want to protect people," he answers dismissively, "but I'm one of those who'll tell you the honest truth: I do this because it pays well."
That proves to be the last straw, and she's right in his face before anyone else can react. "You'd better pray we never get sent on a mission together," she hisses, fists clenched, "because you can forget about getting any help from me. And that's considering I'd rather head into the mission solo instead of having to be on the same team as you for even a second."
The lift chooses that precise moment to stop at their floor, and Alisa makes sure to slam Karel's shoulder with hers on the way out, ignoring his indignant sputtering as she all but stomps her way to Dr Sakaki's office. Yuu, of course, catches up to her in no time and matches her stride with ease.
"While I freely admit that I don't really like Karel," he begins but never finishes as she proceeds to quickly cut him off. "Either way, I meant it, I'm not taking it back and I don't care to hear what you think about it," she snaps irritably.
"Be that as it may-" he tries to argue but thankfully stops as they arrive at their destination. Upon their entrance, Dr Sakaki looks up and smiles. "Ah, so you two finally managed to escape Tsubaki's wrath," he remarks cheerfully. "Kota's already arrived and ready for our next lesson."
By which he meant that the boy had already fallen asleep, and tracing the source of the loud snoring to the figure half-draped over the table visually confirms the unspoken statement. She hears Yuu let out a tired chuckle as they move to take their seats before the scientist begins another of his long-winded lectures.
"Aragami... Back when the Oracle Cells were first discovered, they still existed in amoeba form. After that, Aragami in earthworm form were found. 6 months later, Aragami in beast form were sighted. And by the time a year had passed, an entire continent had been thoroughly destroyed by the expanding Aragami. Even considering that they evolve by taking on the form of whatever they eat, wouldn't you say that's a blistering pace? Right. Now, strictly speaking, the Aragami don't actually evolve. The fact is... the Oracle Cell's gene sequence hasn't changed at all from the originals. You hear me? Not one tiny bit."
That jerks Alisa out of her near-daze, and by the way Yuu is sitting a little straighter that revelation has caught him by surprise as well. "But wait a minute, that's not possible!" she blurts out incredulously. "They're changing form, aren't they?"
Pleased that he has their rapt attention barring a particular individual, Dr Sakaki continues his speech. "They... the Aragami, you see, they're just like you right now," he remarks as he approaches the sleeping Kota. "For them, taking on the form of whatever they've eaten is the same a acquiring knowledge is for us. That's right... all they're doing is acquiring knowledge and getting smarter. What kind of bone structure would they need to move faster in our environment? What would they need to develop the ability to fly? They're busy absorbing tons of information like a sponge soaks up water. In a mere 20 years, they've reached a highly advanced level of development in terms of form and function."
Staring down somewhat despairingly at his one inattentive student, the man pokes the unconscious boy whose only reaction is to grumble and shift before resuming his deep sleep. "Too bad the Aragami weren't as adverse to studying as young Kota here," he muses humourously, which elicits a muttered "If only" from Yuu.
"Yes," Dr Sakaki continues, "they're extremely dedicated and diligent students. I mean it really boggles the mind. I've even heard rumours of an Aragami that is actually capable of launching missiles. If that's really true, then that means they've even taken on the form of man-made tools. Isn't that just intriguing? If they can incorporate such complex information into their paradigm... Then perhaps one day, in the not-too-distant future, an Aragami in human form will appear."
Another sentence that strikes a chord in her. "An Aragami in human form?" she finds herself repeating numbly before pain lances through her skull, forcing her to press her palm to her forehead.
"Perhaps we should end the lesson here," Dr Sakaki announces, having seemingly noticed her discomfort. "Alisa, I believe it's almost time for your appointment with Dr Oguruma so you should get that headache looked at while you're there," he advises. She offers him a quick bow and leaves as quickly as possible before Yuu can chase after her; she's heard more than enough from everyone in fact for today, be they kind or reprimanding words, and the last thing she needs is to deal with him while her head feels like it's going to explode.
I apologise for the lateness of this chapter; real life, a wrist injury incurred through work and the release of Tales of Xillia has put a serious dent in my writing time and abilities. I'll try to be more diligent, but damn that game's addictive and these original scenes inspired by a few lines of additional dialogue and emails are really tough to write. DX