Lesson 7
"Charlie, Gus, good, you're here," Death greeted the partners cordially. He motioned them forward, both sophomores having paused when they saw the headmaster wasn't alone. Again. As soon as they were far enough into the usually large room, Charlie and Gus recognized Death's other two guests.
The boy was much taller than Gus, but still almost an inch shorter than Charlie. His hair style, if it could be called that, was similar to Smithson's. Except the older boy's random spikes were shorter, and his hair was light grey. His crimson eyes regarded the younger pair with sarcastic curiosity, and the slight smirk on his lips revealed pointed teeth. He wore a white jacket and dress shirt, a black tie hung loosely around his neck, and a pair of medium blue slacks competed his uniform.
The girl was the same height as her partner, with short, dirty blond hair pulled into a tail on either side of her head by a Death's face hair binder. Her green eyes studied the sophomores more thoughtfully than her Weapon. She wore a sailor-suit style uniform with a blue collar and skirt. Her white shirt had a double row of buttons down the front and two long tails behind her. A red scarf/tie was knotted around her neck under her collar, and ended in a pink, square spiral.
"Soul Evans, Maka Albarn," Gus grabbed and excitedly shook each of their hands in turn, "It's an honor to meet one of the DWMA's strongest student teams."
Charlie tried to keep from looking too impressed, and linked her hands behind her back. She did not shake Maka's hand, because the older girl looked surprised at Gus's display, and if Charlie was right, a little uncomfortable as well. And if she did not clasp hands with the other Meister, she would not be expected to do so with the third-year Weapon, either.
"You're the Shield boy," Maka recalled her walk a few months back, "Umm..."
"Aegis, Aegis Smithson," he supplied, "But you can call me Gus, most everyone does..."
"I'm Charlene Chapel," the younger woman said, cutting off her partner before he could babble.
"Now that you're all introduced," Death recaptured their attention, "There have been number of disappearances in Minneapolis. Most of the people who have gone missing have been veterans or soldiers on medical leave. There have been intermittent readings of a Kishin Egg in the area, in addition to reports of other unnatural phenomenon. Though they are occurring throughout the metropolitan area, the epicenter for these events appears to be Fort Snelling, a partially decommissioned army base that also serves a military museum and cemetery. I am sending the four of you to investigate, and if there is Kishin activity, eliminate it."
Maka nodded, and Soul frowned slightly as he glanced at the younger students again. Gus looked excited, and Charlie also pursed her lips in consideration.
"Why send two teams, Lord Death?" Charlie asked an instant before Soul could.
"There are a number of reasons, Charlie," the specter answered without hesitation, "First, since his men appear to be the targets, the Secretary of the Army requested our help. And after my recent dispute with General Thomas..."
He stared at Charlie and Gus for a moment. The sophomores recalled the conversation they had accidentally witnessed two months prior, after their first mission.
"… I thought it was a good idea to put our best foot forward to stay on the Army's good side. Make a show of support and good faith by sending a Spartoi team, with assistance from one of our most promising sophomore teams."
He gave them a moment to bask in the compliments, before continuing.
"Second, given that we can't reliably track this Kishin Egg, I decided that having a second pair on the ground would speed up the search. Thirdly, I'm hoping Soul and Maka will be a good influence on you and Gus. Give you a chance to work in the field with a more experienced team, but one that is still close to your own age. And finally; though the readings are sporadic, they are very strong. A Rank. Normally Maka and Soul could handle it alone, but along with the other things I just explained, it's better to be safe than sorry."
"Thank you for giving us this chance, Lord Death," Charlie said, ignoring the barb about 'a good influence', even though she knew it was directly mostly at her.
"You guys should make any last minute preparations," the god instructed them, handing each a ticket, "Your bus leaves at 8:12 tomorrow morning."
The two sophomores left immediately, and Soul started to follow. But Maka moved more slowly, causing her partner to stop. Once she was sure the younger teens were outside the spiritually altered office, she turned to face Death again. The Scythe walked back over cautiously, wondering what caused his partner to sidestep the obvious dismissal.
"What aren't you telling us, Lord Death?" Maka asked carefully.
"What do you mean?" the headmaster countered innocently.
"A single A Rank Kishin Egg?" she prompted, "Soul and I could handle that without breaking a sweat, no matter how stealthy he is. And not to boast, but sending a Spartoi team alone should be enough to impress the military. So either there is something about Charlie and Gus, or there is something else about this mission you're not telling us."
"Well, Charlie and Gus haven't getting along quite as well as I thought they would when I assigned them to each other," Death admitted, "Even after eight successful missions, they still haven't achieved a true Resonance. Charlie is able to... lend her soul power to Gus, and draw on his in return. But they don't really mesh, combing and strengthening one another. So I am honestly hoping seeing you two work together will inspire them. Or Soul's playing might guide them to what they are missing."
"But," the specter drew out the conjunction, "the real reason I'm sending two teams is because of the readings we are getting."
"You think it is more than one A Rank Egg?" Soul asked.
"We don't know what it is," Death's voice lowered. The teens had interacted with the headmaster enough to understand the change in tone meant he was troubled.
"It's not a Kishin Egg?" Maka frowned, "Is it some sort of monster, or a witch?"
"No, it's a Kishin Egg. Probably," Death sighed expansively, shrugging. After letting that sink in for a moment, he started to explain, "You two know how we rank Eggs from D to A, right? The detectors we use actually give a numeric reading and we lump them in to ranks based on plateaus of power and how close the Egg is to 'hatching'. One to twenty-five one the meter is a D Rank, twenty-six to fifty is a C Rank, and so on. However, once they become an actual Kishin, that rating jumps, usual to a value of over nine hundred."
He paused to make sure they were following, but neither of the juniors seemed to have any questions, so he continued.
"Even though A Rank Kishin Eggs generally read anywhere from seventy-six to one hundred, occasionally we've had higher readings, as high as one thirteen. In those cases, something was preventing the hatching..."
"So these sporadic hits you've been getting, what are they?" Maka asked after Death trailed off, thinking she knew where the god was leading the explanation.
"Two hundred eighty one," the specter answered, "more than double any Kishin Egg on record, but not quite one third of the corruption of a full Kishin. That's why I'm sending two teams, because there are too many unknowns. How did this Egg keep from hatching for so long? Or if it is a full Kishin, why did it not make the normal jump in power? And most importantly, how will this Egg, or whatever it is, compare to the strength of a true Kishin?"
Soul shuddered despite himself. The young Scythe knew that, outside of Death and Spirit, no one team was a match for a complete Kishin. That was part of why Spartoi had been formed.
"I take it you don't want Charlie and Gus to know about this?" the girl prompted.
"I leave that up to you," Death said, "I was hoping a difficult fight might force them to work together, and to work with you. But if you think it's going to put any of you four at risk, then you have my permission to tell them."
"I understand," Maka nodded, "Well, we had better get ready to go."
Gus eyed his three companions with a look Charlie had never seen on his face before. After a brief contemplation, she realized it was smugness.
Charlie was wearing a fall jacket over her gi, and had not removed her shoes. Maka and Soul were both also wearing an extra coat over their uniforms. But Gus was still wearing his regular clothing, shorts and a light-weight long-sleeved dress shirt. Despite the additional layer, the three were shivering in the brisk autumn air, while the shorter Weapon appeared completely unaffected by the weather.
"Come on guys," he grinned slightly, "You can't be cold. We don't usually get this kind of heat wave in November. And Charlene, you have ice powers."
"Heat wave?" Soul demanded incredulously, "It's only 52 degrees. It was over eighty when we left Death City."
"Way too hot," Gus sounded like he was agreeing with the other boy, "Even after four years, I still can't get used to living in the desert."
"We should get to work," Maka insisted, adding silently, 'So we can get out of here as quickly as possible.'
"Death said that most of the missing people were veterans," Gus recalled, "I wonder if the Kishin Egg has a grudge against the military."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Soul said.
"Maybe we should start with the local Veterans' Affairs office?" Charlie directed her question at the older Meister.
"That and if there are any hospitals in the area that treat injured soldiers," Maka nodded her agreement.
"Within the radius of the disappearances, I have one VA office, two VFWs, and two hospitals that are listed on the VA website," Gus told them, without looking up from his smart phone.
"We should split up," Maka said, leaning closer to Gus to look at his phone, "Gus, you and Charlie take these two locations..."
She pointed at the two northern spots on the digital map without reading which ones they were.
"And Soul and I will check out these two. Then, if we haven't found anything else, we can meet up at the last location. We should exchange phone numbers, so we can keep in contact."
She and Soul took out their cellulars, and suddenly the red in Charlie's cheeks wasn't the wind. Maka looked at the younger woman expectantly, while Gus and Soul pointed their phones at each other.
"I don't have a cel phone," the martial artist admitted defensively, "I don't need one to contact Lord Death, and I'm not big on technology. If I need to call someone I use the dorm phones."
"That's okay," Maka said kindly, "we can call Gus. Just make sure you two don't get separated."
Aegis nodded, and after a moment, Chapel bobbed her head once. After they took off, Soul looked at his Meister questioningly.
"How are we supposed to be a good influence on them if we aren't with them?" Evans asked.
"We aren't," she conceded, "But Death also said that we were supposed to split up, so they would get suspicious if we didn't. And it wouldn't be a good idea to switch partners. I doubt Charlie could wield you, and I don't think either one of us could make effective use of Gus."
"Alright," he changed topics to indicate his agreement, "Let's check out that VFW."
Charlene Chapel was not pleased. It had been almost four hours since they had separated from the older students, and their efforts had been less than fruitful. At both locations they had been able to gather a few rumors, but nothing concrete. And she had been able to detect lingering traces of corruption, though Gus's still under-trained senses could not. They had spent almost as much time outside, in the cold, as they had inside, asking questions. Worst of all, she had had to wear shoes the entire time.
And now they had a police officer trailing them. It was fairly obvious why, he thought they were skipping school. If that was all, it would be fairly simple to clear up the issue. And he might be able to give them some clues about their quarry. But Charlie was annoyed at being suspected, and she did not want to talk to the cop if she was outside while he was warm in his car. So she continued to walk quickly, moving as fast as she could without running. Despite the time she had spent training him, Gus still struggled to match her pace. Chapel could not tell if her partner had noticed the tail.
The cruiser's lights and siren suddenly turned on, and Charlie stopped abruptly. Gus nearly collided with her, but he stepped left while she slid right, he ended up skidding to a halt a few feet past her. The vehicle rolled up to the curb beside them, and the window rolled down. He was older, at least to the two teens, but was reasonably attractive and appeared fit.
"Afternoon," the thirty-something man tried to sound cordial, "Mind if I ask why you two aren't in school right now?"
"We are, after a fashion," Charlie said calmly, showing him her school ID. Gus followed suit. The officer's eyes widened, and he nodded slowly.
"So you two are here about all the strangeness that's been going on," he mused.
"Yup," Gus confirmed, and Charlie noticed that they had almost the same accent, "Have you heard anything about the missing soldiers?"
"Probably not much more than you two," the man answered, "Though I have been keeping an ear open. I'm retired Army myself, so you can bet I want to get to the bottom of this."
Then his expression told them he remembered something, and he asked, "You know about the scrapyard, right?"
"What scrapyard?" Charlie asked, as Gus shook his head.
"There's an auto parts recovery place about a mile north of here," the adult explained, "Two of the missing men were last reported heading there. Both were mechanics, and the detectives didn't find anything out of the ordinary; but I still can't help but feel it's a little suspicious. Maybe you two could spot something there. You know, something that we couldn't?"
"It could be worth checking out," Gus whispered, so only his partner could hear him.
"What's the name?" the young woman prompted.
"Car-cyclers," the officer answered wryly, before adding, "Can I give you a ride there?"
Gus shrugged, and rolled his eyes towards the car to indicate his agreement. Charlie decided they could probably trust an officer of the law, and if she was wrong, she and Gus could take him.
"Sure," she said.
The officer let them out in front of a large, spotlessly clean warehouse. The sign said 'Car-cyclers', and depicted both a small car and an SUV made up of mismatched parts. After they exited, the cop said that he would let the duty sergeant know that they were in town investigating. Then he drove off, citing the need to return to his regular patrol.
Inside the place lived up to its name. The front half had two hydraulic lifts in the center, and dozens of shelves of sorted and verified parts on either wall. In the back half there were a half dozen cars in various states of disrepair and disassembly. Opening the door triggered a bell, and a well-muscled and well-oiled man in a grey jumpsuit extracted himself from under hood of a mini-van with a smashed in driver's side back quarter.
"What can I do ya... for?" his greeting trailed off as he saw them. His jumpsuit had a name tag that read 'Ryan'. As he drew closer, they realized from his goatee that his hair was naturally blonde, the dark brown streaks were more grease from the vehicles he worked on.
"Shouldn't you kids be in school?" Ryan demanded harshly, glaring at them suspiciously. Both teens showed him their IDs, but he just looked confused.
"DWMA?" he frowned, "What's that?"
His question didn't surprise them, a large part of the population refused to believe in the supernatural, or even actively ignored it.
"It's a magnet school, focusing on law enforcement and investigations," Gus rattled off the standard explanation they gave to normals. Charlie allowed herself to drift away, looking around and extending her soul to search for hints of corruption.
"Again?" the adult sounded annoyed, "Look, like I told the cops last week, I ain't got nothing to do with the any kidnapping or whatever. And I ain't happy that two of my best customers vanished."
"We don't think you had anything to do with it," the boy reassured him, "We just wanted to know if you had seen anything unusual around here recently."
Charlie could feel something, but it was faint.
"Unusual how?" the mechanic asked sarcastically, "Like a guy in a hockey mask walking down the street with a chainsaw? Or maybe a couple of kids claiming to be investigating a crime like they're the Hardy Boys?"
"Sorry, I shouldn't take it out on you," Ryan said after taking a breath, "I already explained to the cops, I haven't seen anyone acting suspiciously."
Faint, but pervasive. It could have meant this place had served as a feasting ground in the more distant past. Or there could have been handful of souls consumed in the area, but more recently. But it wan't that much stronger than the other places they had visited.
"Okay," Gus sighed, "Do you have any other customers who were in the Army?"
"Why?"
Uncertain, Charlie started to walk slowly back to her partner.
"Because we suspect the criminal might be a soldier who had a grudge against the military."
"There are a couple of guys who were in my platoon..."
He trailed off at the confused look Smithson gave him.
"What?" Ryan demanded nervously.
"Nothing," Gus said amiably, "It's just most soldiers are told about the DWMA. I guess it isn't a univer..."
"GUS!" Charlie tackled her partner out of the way as an oversized wrench descended into space where his head had been. As they rolled away, the Weapon had the presence of mind to fish out his phone.
"Call Maka Albarn," he said as he hit the button for voice dial. He pressed the device into Charlie's right hand, even as she stood and he transformed onto her left wrist.
The mechanic no longer looked human. His mouth had extended into a muzzle, except the shape of it looked more like the front end of an automobile then an animal's jawline. He opened his mouth, and his teeth were now square and metal, interlocking like the tines of gears. His skin was a deep lavender, and crackled with red-black flames that burned the motor oil and grease off his skin and hair, filling the store with a second noxious stench.
"I guess I should have thought that out better," he told them, tapping his weaponized tool against his empty left palm, "I should have copped to knowing what the DWMA was, or not mentioned that I served. Something to remember for next time."
He darted in, swinging the wrench Charlie thought must have been for working on a ship or an airplane. Or a tank, she realized as it hit the Shield. Then something happened which the Meister had not experienced before. Like usual Aegis absorbed the impact, and like usuual Charlie barely felt it Howver, unlike usual, the blow pushed the young woman back a few feet.
"Gus?" Maka's voice emerged from the phone. Chapel slapped it to the side of her head and hopped back to avoid another swipe.
"Under attack by a Kishin Egg," the younger girl hissed, "An auto parts place called Car Recyclers, on 42nd street, north side of town. Hurry."
Charlie dropped Gus's phone as the Kishin Egg's next attack threw them into one of the shelves...
