Insurgence

Falcon sat on a couch in the Central Shelter, lost in thought. She was finally a God Eater, but still unable to do a damn thing. The idea pissed her off more than she wanted to admit. But Ryo had a point. Even though she was feeling more than a bit weak, she could still protect the shelter. That was what she had to settle for.

But the suspense was killing her!

"This seat taken?"

Falcon looked up from her seat to find Yuuki standing in front of her. She patted the empty spot next to her on the couch and smiled. At least she'd still have Edge to talk to, or this would be just unbearable. "Yuuki, are you a sight for sore eyes. How's everything looking out there?"

He shrugged. "I don't know very much. I was in the North Yard having a snowball fight with Mink and Orchid when the attack alarm went off. Last I heard, its four Chi-Yous and a swarm of Zygotes lead by a pair of Polar Kongou."

Mink, or Maribel Foster as she was formally known, was a bouncy, hyperactive, clown of a girl. She was seventeen, but unmatched, making her one of the older trainees. Falcon didn't know Mink that well, as she was in a different division along with her sister. She did know that Mink had the reputation of being a total goofball and a huge flirt. Mink and Ocelot were quite fond of each other, and were often seen plotting mischief together. Chances were that any prank in Frostpeak could be attributed to either Mink or Ocelot, usually the former.

Then there was Orchid. Her true name was Natalie Foster, but few used that name. Orchid had been matched just three months ago to a European Arc, making her one of only a handful of kids with this type of God Arc. She was Mink's older twin, but the two couldn't be more different. They both sported the same white hair and blue eyes, but their personalities were polar opposites. Orchid was very quiet, to the point of being severely introverted. She did love to sing though, and was part of a small but popular house-band in Frostpeak alongside her sister. The band was called Griffin, and was named for Orchid's habit of going onstage wearing a bird costume, while Mink would wear a lioness costume and dance. When she wasn't practicing her singing, Orchid could often be found in the library, writing lyrics. As for battle ability, Orchid didn't seem to have any special talent, in spite of having P49 like most of the other kids. This fact often depressed her, but she usually hid it well. Falcon and Orchid were very good friends, almost as close as she, Ocelot, and Edge were.

"Are the twins alright?" Falcon asked.

Edge's face fell further and he shook his head. "I don't know. We got chased by one of the Chi-Yous and had to split up. Orchid had my back, and she kept the Chi-You off of me. I managed to escape inside, but Orchid ran the other way to find her sister. Last I knew, she and Ocelot were harrying the Chi-You, trying to protect a group of trainees..."

Falcon's unease intensified. "I wish I could at least see what's going on..." Just then, Falcon got a small idea. She pulled out her tablet and began tinkering away with the device. In no time, she had linked up to the surveillance cameras and was trying to find one that showed the North Yard.

After tapping into camera after camera without much success, she finally found a link that looked promising. The vantage showed a high view of the North Yard and a good portion of the northern Wall. Falcon guessed this might be one of the scout cameras. Soldiers and officers spread out in all directions as Zygotes swarmed over the top of the wall. Falcon could see there were charged and polar Fallen types mixed in with normal Zygotes. There had to be at least two dozen of them, and that was only what she could see! Tweaking a few more settings allowed her to control the camera, and she adjusted the angle of her view.

"Is that okay?" Edge asked, "You might get in trouble..."

"These cameras are linked to the internal network. All I did was override the automatic control temporarily." Falcon tweaked the angle of the camera one last time. "Besides, I can't stand not knowing what's happening out there."

She noticed the janitor from earlier leaning over her shoulder curiously. "Sweet mercy, that's a lot of Aragami!" she said, "I hope the soldiers can handle it."

"There's at least a couple dozen by my count..." Edge hummed as he observed the screen. "It doesn't look like most of the larger Aragami have showed up yet."

Falcon rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Good. That means the snipers can get some shots in without worrying about the other Chi-You or the Kongou trying to counter."

Falcon could only watch what was happening. God Eaters ran to and fro, chasing and attacking groups of Zygotes and making the scene chaotic and hard to follow. She could see Ocelot fending off two Zygotes while Mink and Orchid hid behind a corridor. Orchid was popping out from behind the wall periodically, firing off Shotgun rounds between Ocelot's jabs and lunges. Frost and Oni had one of the Chi-Yous cornered between them and were taking turns attacking and distracting it. A third Zygote suddenly flew in from high up, launching a poisonous cloud from its tail. Orchid turned and deployed her shield as she shoved Mink out of the way. She successfully blocked the attack, and gave her sister the opening she needed to flee from her hiding place and into the fort.

"Looks like Mink managed to escape," Edge commented with a sigh of relief, "Good. I was concerned for a bit there when that Zygote came in from behind the twins like that."

The janitor wrung her hands nervously, "I just hope they can finish them before the Aragami reach us. If they do breach the Wall, we'll-"

The comment was cut short by the door slamming open. A breathless Mink was bent over against her knees in the doorway. "Bad...! Bad...! Bad, bad!" she panted, pointing over her back repeatedly.

"What's happening?" Falcon asked, standing up, "Are you alright?"

"Never better... thanks to... 'Lil Sis..." Mink continued to gesture wildly at the ceiling, "The Kongou...! They're... on the roof!"

"What!" Edge shot up, "Is anyone in pursuit?!"

"Dunno... blah," Mink wavered on her feet, stumbling as she tried to walk, "I'm so... tired... fading... fast..."

Falcon rushed forward and caught Mink by an arm she took a bad step and fell. Mink grinned slightly up at her, seeming more than a little bit confused. Now that she was closer, Falcon could see that Mink was not unharmed; she had suffered an acid-like burn to her upper back. The exposed skin was covered in black burn marks and looked painful. "Mink! You're not okay! You've been poisoned!"

"I'll get the medkit!" Edge was already running to fetch the emergency first-aid kit from the far side of the room.

"When'd the room... get so spinny?" Mink slurred in a daze, "Huh? Whazzat? Who said... pie? I want pie too!"

"I'm going to get a medic!" The janitor ran out the door in a rush, nearly running right into a startled refugee as she bolted.

"It's just a pineapple, so don't be scared," Mink babbled as she pointed to the sky and almost fell over backwards. "Wow, it's only Sunday, Mommy!"

"Don't try to talk, Mink," Falcon guided the bewildered girl onto the couch, "Just lie down and-"

"Whaaaaat?" the delusional trainee continued to spout nonsense, "Three times two is... coconut?" Mink's eyes suddenly went wide and she sat up and tried to stand again, "And my pants are still on the dog! No time to season the chopsticks!"

"Maribel! Get a hold of yourself!" Falcon grabbed Mink by the shoulders and guided her back to a prone position, "Calm down and stop struggling! You're hurt!"

Mink gasped and grabbed Falcon by the waist, pulling her down to her level. "No tinsel please! I want to flyyyyy!"

Falcon felt her face redden. "Maribel! Stop that! Let go!"

"I found the medkit, Falcon!" Falcon glanced up and saw Edge kneeling down and rummaging through the supplies. "Now where's the-?"

"I EAT SAUSAGE!" Mink shouted in Falcon's face. Edge coughed into his arm to hide a laugh as Falcon rubbed her ears.

"Damn... she's out of control!" Falcon shook her head to chase off the ringing in her ears, "Yuuki, find that medicine!"

"I-I have it!" Edge stood back up, holding a bottle of medicine, "Hold her down so I can inject this into her."

Falcon changed her position to get better leverage over the increasingly erratic girl as Mink lunged and tried to bite her in the face. Falcon pinned Mink's shoulders down, and Edge jabbed a syringe into Mink's right arm. The effects struck quickly. Mink stopped struggling and seemed to relax. She groaned softly and fell limp against the couch. Her body relaxed and her head lolled to the side as she caught her breath.

"Mink? You feeling better now? Say something," she asked Mink. Mink remained unresponsive, but at least she didn't seem delusional anymore.

Falcon stood upright and looked at Edge worriedly. "Was that the right medicine? She looks really bad..."

Edge's brow furrowed. "I'm sure it was! This isn't good..." Edge felt Mink's wrist, checking her pulse. He seemed alarmed and pulled out another syringe and injected it into Mink as well.

"She's very weak," Edge dug around in the medkit for more medicine. "I've given the antidote already, so I'm giving her some painkillers to help those burns. What I really need is a Recovery Pill..."

"Dammit..." Falcon shook her head, "Why? Why is this happening?" Falcon knelt down and held Mink's hand. "Mink... Mink, hang in there, okay?"

"Sorry! One side! Medic coming through! Excuse me!" Falcon looked up to see three of Frostpeak's doctors barging through the gathering crowd towards them. She was so busy trying to help Mink that she didn't notice the refugees crowding around her until just now. Apparently they'd been watching the whole thing. Two of them were carrying a stretcher and a third had a large bag with him.

"Is this the patient?" he asked, "What happened to her?"

"Zygote poison," Falcon explained quickly, "Please, can you help Maribel?"

The medic checked her over quickly, then looked back at Falcon. "It looks like the poison was successfully neutralized, but she's not out of the woods just yet. She'll need more treatment for her wounds. Help us get her on the stretcher."

Just as she made to help the doctor, a loud bang from the ceiling startled Falcon and made her look up. Her headset buzzed and a voice came through, laced with crackles and heavy static. "Can you read me? Natalie, Maribel, Lillia, Yuuki, anyone! Respond, dammit!"

"Ryo?" Falcon pressed the speaker a little closer to her ear as the medics hurried Mink onto the stretcher, "I hear you."

"Falcon, you have to evacuate the Shelter!" Ocelot's voice rang out, "Move everyone to the bunkers! We've got Kongou on the roof! Two polar types! I'm chasing them down, but they keep splitting up! Get the civilians out of there before those damn monkeys break in!" Anything else Ocelot was saying was drowned out by a rumbling and another, even louder bang. By now, the refugees were staring up at the ceiling, murmuring, pointing, and backing up towards the exits.

"What's going on?" she saw that Edge was staring too, "I thought I heard something about the Aragami over the comm, but I'm getting a lot of static..."

"We've got Aragami on the roof. We need to evacuate immediately!" Falcon picked up her God Arc and announced loudly, "Attention in the shelter! We have an Aragami incursion! All non-combat personnel need to relocate to the underground bunkers immediately!" The din of thew crowd fell silent for a brief moment, then shouts and panicked screams rolled through the people.

Falcon spoke up again, waving her arms in a vain attempt to recapture the civilians' attention, "Listen to me! We need to pull it together! Order! Order!" Her cries went unheeded as refugees swarmed the doors, knocking into each other and shoving her repeatedly. "Stop panicking! What's wrong with you people? Don't you remember the evac drills?!"

"Aaah! Stop that! Don't kick me! Ow! OW!" Falcon looked down to find that Edge had been knocked off his feet as the throng pressed the exits. They kept stepping on him and kicking him about as they strained to flee. "Let me up! Ouch! Stop standing on my-! Ow! Quit it!"

Falcon crouched down to help Edge up, only to be surprised by another loud bang and a metallic screech. She looked up in startled surprise and saw a gaping hole in the ceiling. An Aragami had peeled off one of the roof panels, exposing the humans inside like a can of vegetables. Windblown snow poured in through the gash and was quickly blocked off by a huge, simian face. An arm suddenly thrust through the hole and clawed at the ceiling, raking at anything nearby. One refugee could not run away in time and was within reach. Acting on instinct, Falcon switched her Arc to gun mode and took aim. She was not quite able to react in time, and the refugee was scooped up by the lunging Kongou. Her eyes widened in horror as the shocked man was dragged up through the roof. Panic flared anew through the crowd as terrible wet squelching, tearing noises erupted from the hole amid his dying screams. Falcon backed towards the wall, her revulsion overwhelming her. Her hands shook and her mind went numb, making it impossible to aim or even think.

"No! Don't eat me!"

"They're coming for us!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Where are the God Eaters?!"

"Every man for himself!"

"God save us!"

"We're all going to die!"

Falcon glared over at the hole, dragging herself out of her shock and taking several deep breaths to settle her nerves. Remember your training, soldier. Discipline. Order. Focus. And stop panicking! You're a freakin' God Eater for heaven's sake! You're literally a born warrior! Not only that, you're the only thing between these people and the Aragami's bellies! Pull it together, or they all die!

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she hoisted her God Arc over a shoulder. Falcon forced her way through the fleeing crowd until she was standing directly under the hole in the roof. She looked up to get a clear bead, and instantly regretted it. The polar Kongou was covered in the bloody remains of its kill, still munching on an unidentifiable piece of its prey. Falcon had to concentrate to avoid getting sick and only barely managed to stave off a dry heave. Summoning her will, she raised her gun and aimed. The beast saw her and grinned in malice, exposing a maw full of pointed fangs. It threw the rest of its meal aside and leaped through the hole in the roof, nearly landing directly on top of her. By now, the remaining dozen civilians were tangled up by the exits, screaming and gesturing to the Aragami in a frenzy. Falcon changed her Arc to melee mode and held the scythe in a double-handed grip before her. The monkey reared onto its haunches and banged its chest with its fists and roared. She waved her Arc and shouted right back. She knew full well that Aragami don't get intimidated by mere gestures and yelling. She was only hoping to distract the beast for a moment so the remaining civilians could flee.

The creature balled its fist and loosed a massive punch at Falcon's front. She tried to deploy her shield, but her timing was not quite perfect. Its thundering strike sent her backwards several yards and made Falcon stumble. She slashed with an overhead blow and hit the Kongou directly in the face with the edge of her blade. It screeched and wiped its face with a paw. Falcon took advantage of its cringe and took a step forwards. She lashed out again and spun her scythe in an arc, doling out multiple, rapid slashes across its body. The Kongou roared and arched its back, sucking in air for a blast from its cannons. Falcon backed towards the nearest exit as the last of the civilians fled the shelter. She deployed her shield just as the Kongou blasted its cannons at her. Her block was more successful this time, but the wind still swept her back and slammed her into the far wall. Stars swam in front of her vision as she struggled back to her feet.

"Falcon! Don't fight it! Fall back!"

Falcon glanced over a shoulder and saw Edge rushing to the nearby exit and urging her to leave. "You can't fight like this! You'll get yourself killed, Lillia! C'mon and get over here!"

"You get out of here!" she barked back, "I'll buy us some time!" Falcon spun her scythe again, catching the Kongou's left arm in a swipe and impaling it against the wall. The furious beast lunged with its free paw and swatted her on the side with a backhanded slap. She was flung again, this time slamming against the door by the exit and crashing into Edge. Her Arc was ripped from her hands and remained lodged in the wall. Dizzy and dazed, Falcon tried to stand. A sharp pain in her thigh made her scream in pain. Her right leg gave out and she collapsed to her knees.

"Lillia, you're wounded! Can you stand?!" Edge slid his shoulder under her arm and helped Falcon to her feet. The initial pain had subsided a bit, and she was able to stand with some difficulty. She examined her injury and found a deep puncture wound in her leg. Her white uniform ran red with a large, growing spot of blood. Falcon put a hand on the wound to keep pressure on it, and blood oozed between her fingers. She gritted her teeth and glared towards the Kongou. It kept trying to grab Falcon's God Arc and tear it out of its arm, but flinched and recoiled every time it touched the biological weapon.

"C'mon, now's our chance! Go, go, go!" Edge half-dragged, half-pushed Falcon out the door as she stumbled to follow. They were blocked almost immediately by a stray Zygote in the hall. Falcon only had the time to blink in astonishment before the femme fatale screamed out a war cry and dove across the hall at them. Acting on instinct, the two trainees hit the floor as the Aragami swooped like a hawk over their heads. Falcon shot a glance over her shoulder and saw the Kongou had torn loose from the wall. Its left arm was mangled and bleeding, but it was now free to pursue. It also blocked Falcon's chance to retrieve her Arc.

Unarmed and wounded, panic took hold of her once again. Falcon bolted down the hall with Edge close at her side as the two Aragami gave chase. Falcon fled down another corridor and was greeted with the sight of still another Zygote. Falcon recalled how terribly Mink had been hurt by just one errant shot from a Zygote. Edge was not a God Eater and would surely be killed at this range! She pulled Edge behind her. Even though she was wounded herself, she could take the upcoming shot.

"W...we're surrounded!" Edge stammered, pressing close to Falcon's side, "What do we do?!"

Falcon had no words. She had no answer to give. All she could do was press against one of the walls in hopes it could partially protect her and Edge. Edge whimpered in fear behind her as the Zygote cried out and aimed its tail in their faces. She scrunched her eyes shut and shielded her face. She didn't want to see what was going to happen.

Except, the expected blast of venom never came. Instead, Falcon heard a loud bang and the scream of a Zygote. Falcon opened her eyes to find the Zygote dying on the ground. Ocelot was standing behind the beast, his Sniper Rifle smoking.

"You two alright?" Ocelot shook his head at his own question, "That was stupid of me. Of course you aren't. You two almost died!"

Edge sighed in relief. "Ryo! You saved our hides big time!"

Ocelot grinned. "Hey, save the thanks for when the Aragami are cleaned out, okay Edge?" his jovial grin fell as he laid eyes on Falcon's leg. "Lillia! Your leg...!"

Falcon shook her head. "I'll manage. Thanks for-"

"What'd I just say?" Ocelot's joshing tone returned, "Cut that out. But seriously, what happened to your God Arc, Falcon? You didn't forget it did you?"

"I had to leave it back in the shelter when I nailed a Kongou to the wall."

Ocelot laughed, "You what?" his face suddenly changed to worry, "Wait, wait, wait, what?! You were fighting? Your Bias Factor-"

"I know, but I had no choice!" Falcon said, "Besides, don't we have bigger problems right now?"

"Like that one?!" Edge pointed down the hall. The wounded Kongou and the second Zygote had caught up to them and were squaring off at the far end of the hall.

"Oh shit!" Ocelot changed his Arc to Spear form. He bared his weapon at the Aragami as they cried out and charged towards them. "Okay, okay, change of plans. We'll cut our way out!"