Gilded Wings
I hummed a simple tune to myself as I sat on a bench, drawing while sitting in the Lobby. A day had passed since that recon mission with Alisa, Lindow, and Jackal. I was taking a well-earned break, amusing myself with my favorite hobby. So much had changed in just a few days, and yet some things felt just the same. In a way, it was comforting despite my anxieties. I felt like I could finally relax, just a bit.
Even though there were all these strangers here, most seemed to be at least indifferent to me. I still heard strange whispers on occasion about "those new kids". Mostly, the rumors centered around how nobody knew where Jackal or I came from, our history, or even why we were as skilled as we were. I found it unsettling, so I did my best to ignore the gossip. I really felt like I was under scrutiny though. Then again, if I were in the same position, I might be suspicious too. Maybe I should try socializing with them sometime?
As I considered this, I was suddenly aware that someone was hovering over my shoulder. I looked up, becoming self-conscious. A God Eater wearing a purple jacket, purple shirt, and black slacks was leaning in on me from the seat next to me. The white-haired woman was clearly one of the more experienced God Eaters, as I could see she was wearing an eye patch over her right eye. She seemed maybe a little older than me, but had something of an air of mischievousness about her.
"Aw, don't be so shy," she cooed at me as I instinctively shut my sketchbook, "that was good work."
"Ah... who are you?" Great. After all that thinking about reaching out, I just had to get nervous again. Maybe it was just this person's sudden appearance that startled me. Yeah, that's it.
"Who me? I'm Gina Dickinson. We haven't met have we? No, of course not. I'd remember a cute face like yours. What's your name, Sketchy?"
Sketchy? Was she already trying to invent a nickname for me? This Gina character was way too forward. People like this tended to make me nervous. I couldn't help shyly staring into my lap and breaking eye-contact. "I'm Reiko Kimura, and my codename's Robin."
Gina grinned at me, leaning at me from the side this time and regaining my gaze forcibly by grabbing my chin. I froze like a startled deer, completely surprised by the sudden grab. "Robin! Now I know where I know you from! You're one of the new kids who made such a crazy entrance last week! You two are kinda famous, you know that?"
"Famous?" I subconsciously leaned away from Gina and brushed her hand off. I was really starting to dislike how she got in my personal space like that.
She hummed in acknowledgment, "You got that right! You and the other kid, what's his name... Dingo? Fox? Coyote? Wolf? Some kind of canine..."
"Jackal. What about us being famous?" I was curious why we'd be "famous," but I had the feeling I already knew why. I could guess it had to deal with that mission last week.
"Jackal, that's it! Anyway, I heard you two cut your way out of a nasty Aragami attack. And you two are the sole survivors of a heli crash to boot. But that's not the best part. You two even bagged that snake that's been such difficult prey for us." Her face changed into a malicious grin suddenly, "I bet that thing made such a nice spray after being hit with its own scales like that! I wish I could've seen it myself!"
Was Gina some kind of sadist or something? My caution rose, but I decided to respond anyway, "We all nearly died out there. I'd rather not take risks like that ever again!"
"Aw, what good's a hunt without some risk?" Gina nudged my shoulder, almost making me drop my sketchbook, "The greater the risk, the bigger the thrill!"
"I'm not really into thrills like those. I just want to come back alive." I said simply.
"You're one of those types huh? Well, I guess it can't be helped. You gotta learn to to look danger in the eye, then..." She made a gun gesture with her index finger, "Bam! Right in their face!" Her smirk grew even more twisted as she raised her finger and blew across it playfully. "Just when they least expect it."
"Uh...?" was all I could manage. Was she even right in the head, or what? Now I was really uncomfortable!
If she noticed my unease, she didn't seem to acknowledge it. "So, what's our resident snake-charmer's story? You gotta tell me where you two learned to kill something we couldn't even scratch!"
"We never actually killed Tsuchinoko, just wounded it," I corrected her.
Gina seemed slightly deflated. "What? Why didn't you finish it off? You cut off a head, right? I bet its materials would've made a lovely rifle."
Now I was getting even more confused. Just how wild were those rumors anyways? "It was a lucky shot, but not a severing one. I would've tried to kill it if it hadn't turned invisible and ran away..."
"I get it. You're shy, and modest. There's a lot of guys who think that's a cute combo. Bet you can't keep 'em off of you." I blushed at Gina's comment and broke eye-contact for the second time. This was getting awkward again. First Sakuya got personal, and now Gina: was this how the girls of the Far East liked to gossip? I was starting to regret my thoughts on trying to be more outgoing.
"Hey, you! Stop bugging Robin!" I looked up at the voice and smiled when I saw it was Jackal. He was approaching us from the far side of the Lobby. He didn't look too happy to see Gina teasing me. I was relieved he was here to save me from this situation.
"Aw, you're a spoilsport," Gina turned her attention to Jackal, giving me the chance to get up from the bench, "Can't you see we're just having a girl-to-girl chat?"
"Only if it's a different topic, please..." I said quietly as I slowly started to back towards the elevator.
"See? She agrees." Gina made a shooing gesture to an unamused Jackal, "Now go and let us get back to the juicy part."
Just then, I noticed a second newcomer arriving, and I backed up from the elevator and towards Jackal. This one was a young blonde wearing a pink shirt and black trousers with dark blue boots. He had the bearing of a tough-guy, and I couldn't restrain a fidget. I was now caught between a sadist and a punk. Just awesome.
"Karel." Jackal turned and gave the blonde a look.
"What, Jackal? I'm just here to pick up a new mission." The God Eater Jackal called Karel shot him a glare, "Are you here for a cut of my reward again?"
Jackal seemed a little angry at the accusation. "You wish," he scoffed. "I'm just looking for the three God Eaters who saw the strange, golden Aragami earlier. I think their names were Federico, Shun, and Gina."
"You mean that bird thing from earlier?" Gina cooed, "I was on that mission. I'm Gina."
Karel pushed his way past Jackal, making him stumble into me, "She'll tell you. Now get out of the way."
"Grr..." Jackal seemed barely able to contain his anger at the rough treatment.
I had no idea what happened between him and Karel, but the two obviously didn't get along. I didn't want any more animosity, so I put a hand on his shoulder. "Jackal, calm down. Leave it."
"Jackass," I heard Jackal growl under his breath in Karel's direction. He sighed sharply and turned back to me, seeming a little less tense now. "Sorry you had to see that, Robin, Gina. That jerk values his wallet more than the mission, and that kind of selfishness really pisses me off in a hurry."
"Ooh, a hot-blooded type, aren't you?" Gina cooed, then turned to smirk at me, "You have quite a dangerous taste in men."
I squeaked my surprise at the bold assumption. "Y-y-you're mistaken. W-we're friends from back at the other base..."
"Don't be so shy. You two would make such a cute pair. Opposites attract, you know."
I felt my face redden at her words. Me and Jackal, a pair? No way. He'd never settle for someone like me. I was weak, timid, and a total wallflower. He deserved better than me. Although, there was this other part of me that would not-so-secretly like it very much if he did pick me...
Crap. Now I was blushing even more! Better calm down before Jackal noticed...
"Gina, stop teasing the new kids. You don't want them to spook." I recognized the voice this time as the dark-haired man who Jackal had trouble with earlier, Lindow. He'd just come out of the elevator and was giving Gina a look.
"Oh, it's not teasing if its the truth~!" Gina threw me another wink. "I'll just let them think on it some more. Can't rush love."
A long silence passed before Jackal changed the awkward subject."Do either of you know where Shun or Federico are? I still have to ask them about that mission." I didn't know what to think about him not voicing his opinion about the topic of us being maybe an item. I was part upset, part relieved, and part... I wasn't sure what.
Lindow scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I think Federico went on a mission with Brendan, Tatsumi, and Kanon to the Sunken Grid not long ago. It's just two Fallen Chi-Yous, so I expect they'll be back before dark. As for Shun, I last saw him in the cafeteria, grumbling something about being bored."
"Then let's go, Robin." Jackal started off towards the elevator, but was cut off by Gina.
"Did I put you two off?" Gina said, "Okay, I get it. Let's be serious then. I know about that Aragami too, so if you want me to tell you, just ask!"
"Well, don't you think right in front of the elevator is a weird place to discuss it?" Lindow continued, "How about you three head to the cafeteria and discuss the details with Shun? I heard him grumbling about how he wants a challenge. Maybe you should think of taking him and Gina with you, Jackal."
"I'd like that!" Gina said excitedly, "I love fresh prey. New Aragami like that make me want to hunt."
"Good. Well, I have a date to see to, so I'll see you all later." Lindow walked off at that and headed for the mission counter.
"Date?" I asked simply, but Lindow was too far out of earshot to hear me. Wasn't he engaged?
"Didn't expect him to be that type..." Jackal commented with a puzzled head scratch.
Gina shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, Lindow just says stuff like that when he's hunting something big. I wonder what he'll take down this time? Maybe another Ouroborus? Or better yet, two!" Gina turned back to us. "Well, enough of that. Let's find a seat at the cafeteria and discuss that Aragami there, hm?"
Jackal and I nodded and followed Gina through the elevator and over to where the cafeteria was. I could see it was mostly empty, save for a red-haired man at the far end of a table. He was wearing a lime-green jacket, a black shirt, and a studded baseball-style cap skewed sideways.
"Shuuun~! Hey!" Gina called out as we approached.
He looked up from his lunch. "What, Gina? I'm kind of busy."
"You know that scouting mission we went on yesterday? Jackal here has some questions to ask us." Gina took up a seat beside Shun as Jackal and I sat across from them.
Shun eyed us both critically, almost as if sizing us up. "You're those so-called 'elite' God Eaters we got. You two don't look like much."
"I'm tougher than I look. We both are." Jackal answered coolly.
Shun shot us a smirk. "You better be! I heard you two raised hell last week. Hunting that Tsuchinoko thing was ballsy of you!"
"How does everyone know about that?" Jackal asked.
"Well, you better include me next time! Tsuchinoko won't stand a snowball's chance against my blade!" Shun practically puffed his chest at that.
He's certainly not lacking in confidence, I thought, I hope he can tell us something useful. As if reading my thoughts, he continued, "So the bird. We saw it, but we didn't have the 'manpower' for a head-on fight." Shun made mocking hand-quotes at the word "manpower" and sneered.
"But Federico was right," Gina replied, "As much as I love a good fight, three of us versus one large Aragami, and a new one at that, wouldn't have ended so well."
"I wanted that mission to track the thing, but Hibari said it was taken!" Shun shook his head, "I was looking for something challenging. I'm sick of all the small-fry missions I've been stuck with lately!"
"So, why don't you come with me then?" Jackal offered, much to my surprise, "I took that mission. If you're so keen on taking it down, do it with me."
Shun slumped in his seat. "This sucks. I find my prey but I have to share the spotlight with some wannabe hero? Pass."
Jackal scowled at him. "Fine, then don't come. I'm just looking for some experience with the thing." Jackal turned to the gunner, "Gina, you in?"
"You bet I am! Fresh prey is my specialty." Gina got another sadistic look on her face and smirked at Shun again. "C'mon, Shun. Don't be a lone wolf. Or are you just scared?"
Gina's response seemed to shock and anger Shun. "Scared?! Hell no, I'm not scared of an Aragami! I take it back, I'm in. You should be grateful." That was a fast change of heart. I got the feeling that Shun was proud, but competitive. That could be a tricky combo to deal with...
"So, that's three then? Who're you picking for your fourth, Jackal?" I asked.
Jackal gave me a wink. "Oh, some cute spear-wielder I know. She won't mind, will she?"
I smiled at the compliment. "She sure won't!"
"Then that's settled!" Jackal said excitedly, "Good!"
"So, where is he mission this time, o fearless leader?" Gina asked playfully as she leaned across the table at him, "I can't wait to start the hunt."
Jackal seemed to ignore Gina's antics, but I saw him shift uneasily in his seat. I was used to deferring to Jackal when we went on missions together, so the idea of him leading didn't faze me. But for some reason, Gina seemed to be flustering him. Was he that uncomfortable with being called a leader? He quickly regained his nerve and spoke, "The mission's somewhere called the Wailing Plains. Hibari said it rains almost constantly there, so I better prepare supplies for the weather. Meet me up on the roof in thirty minutes."
O-O-O-O-O-O
The journey to the place called the Wailing Plains was uneventful. The chopper had dropped us off at the edge of what seemed to be an ancient crater site. Overgrown husks of buildings spoke of an attempt to build here, or maybe they were pre-Aragami ruins. I couldn't tell which. Broad, emerald plains surrounded craggy, ring-shaped cliffs at the center of the area. A huge twister roared in its heart, whipping up rain. I didn't mind the rain so much, I actually liked rain. Gina meanwhile, looked a bit like a wet cat.
"This should be good," Shun shot a cocky smile at us from over his back, "You three better not hold me back!"
"Didn't plan to. I'm just here for the thrill." I noticed a slight annoyance to Gina's words that contradicted her earlier attitude.
"All vitals are green," I heard Hibari's voice over the comm, "Stay sharp and don't let your guard down. If that new Aragami is invulnerable like Tsuchinoko, you must retreat, am I clear?"
"Sure." I acknowledged her, "It's better to come back alive than to die doing something stupid."
"That's the spirit! Oh, and try not to forget who I am this time, okay Robin? That kind of hurt last time..."
I blushed at myself. I had the embarrassing tendency to forget people's names when I'm nervous. Awkward. "G-got it Hibari..."
"Alright, let's start the search. Don't get separated, guys!" I nodded at Jackal's words and heard Shun and Gina acknowledge him as well.
We only searched for about five minutes before I noticed a shape up on top of a ruined building. It seemed like some kind of avian Aragami, but it was far more animal-like than a Chi-You. This beast kind of resembled a huge raptor, easily a good twelve feet tall. Glossy, gold plumage covered its body, and its head was crested like a cockatoo's. Its tail was nearly twice its body length, consisting of three long, multi-eyed, peacock-like tail feathers whose "eyes" shone as if lit from within. Though much smaller than Tsuchinoko, it carried itself with a clear sense of pride, almost like a lord surveying his domain. It was an elegant, almost kingly creature. But like all of its kind, the Aragami still had its grotesque side. At the tip of each wing, a three-taloned claw sat curled, clasping onto its own back like some kind of cloak. Its eyes were a pair of savage slits, glowing from under its crown. This beast would be kind of mesmerizing if it weren't an Aragami!
"It's that bird again!" Shun raised his Long Sword to a ready stance on sighting the creature, "That thing's mine this time!"
"I don't like this," I said warily, "I know it sees us. How come it isn't attacking?" I was getting Tsuchinoko vibes about this. The bird didn't seem like it was taking initiative. It was looking over its back at us, silently glaring from its perch up on the rooftop as if sizing us up. I took a second to try and predict what it could be up to, but it was anyone's guess. It's not like Aragami smirk or anything when they're plotting. I changed my Arc to Gun Form and stood ready. I really didn't like how calm it was acting.
"It's just sitting there?" Shun clicked his tongue in disdain, "Lame. I came here for a challenge, and this is what I get?"
"Should we shoot it down?" I asked.
"Don't ask stupid questions! Just do it!" Shun barked.
"You should savor the hunt more. More for me, then. Wish granted!" Gina sighted her rifle at the bird's face.
"Wait!" Jackal warned, "Something's wrong!"
It was too late. Gina had already fired several shots at the bird. It took wing in an instant, reacting before the shots were even fired. Now that the bird's wings were spread, I could see silver-colored marks along its "arms" and down the sides of its body under the wings that reminded me of the markings I saw on Tsuchinoko's hood. As the shots struck the bird's wings, I could see the sliver marks glow more intensely. I couldn't tell if it had any other effect on the bird. It still wasn't attacking though.
"Get down from there, feather-face!" Shun waved his sword impatiently, "Come over here and fight me man-to-man! Or, bird-to-man! Whatever!"
As if in reply, the bird tucked its legs into its tail plumage and pinned its wings, dive-bombing straight at us with a terrible keening cry. I tried to change forms and roll aside, but that bird was way faster then me. It slammed into my front and grasped me by the shoulders with its powerful feet. Before I could do more than scream, it flew up, taking me with it! I waved my Spear, desperately trying to land a shot, but my weapon kept glancing aside. Those feathers must be acting like armor plating, just like Tsuchinoko's scales. I looked down to call for my allies, and I quickly realized what a bad idea stabbing my captor could be. I was a good twenty, maybe thirty feet in the air and rising very fast. If it dropped me from this height, I'd surely die! I could see my friends scrambling from below, but I couldn't hear anything past the wind in my ears.
An icy laser shot from below, narrowly missing me, but striking the bird in the belly. Who did that?! They almost hit me! I desperately wanted down from here, but not if it meant falling to my death or getting killed by friendly-fire! I screamed again, now clinging to the bird's legs in fear. The bird finally stopped gaining altitude on getting shot, but I was now impossibly high up. It keened again, then angled its body and dove nearly straight down. I panicked and screamed again.
This is it. I'm going to die at the claws of this monster-bird!
I briefly caught a glimpse of someone deploying their shield, but I couldn't quite tell who. The bird reared mid-dive and tried to veer aside. In doing so, the bird and I both collided with the splayed shield painfully. The impact knocked the God Eater over and tore me from the bird's talons. I felt its claws rake across my upper arms as I slid on my front across the ground. I felt my companion fall across my back and land next to me. I could only lie there, catching my breath and trying to stop my body from shaking. I was dizzy and a little wounded, but I was alive somehow!
"Ow..." I raised my head and propped myself to a sitting position. As I shook the stars from my vision, I realized who I'd crashed into.
"Argh!" a semi-stunned Jackal groaned from my side, "I'll feel that one tomorrow!"
"You two are something else!" Shun fell back as Gina fired another barrage of rounds. He deployed a Restore Post and ran back to a vanguard position. "Are you sure you're elites?" Shun said the last word with a mocking tone. "Some elites you are!"
Would it kill him to show a little empathy!? I almost died just now! It took a lot for me to actually dislike someone, but Shun was doing it in a hurry. I put my growing anger aside and stood, offering a hand to Jackal, who was rubbing his head. "Are you okay?"
Jackal got to his feet with my aid. "I'm fine. I just I hit my head on my Arc when that bird rammed me. How about you? That thing didn't hurt you did it?"
Yes, but that Restore Post would help with that. "Not really." Jackal gave me another look. Am I that bad at hiding my injuries? "Okay, okay. I did get hurt a little, but I'll be fine in a moment. Come on, we better help!"
I turned back to the bird. It had fallen over and was floundering around on the ground, clawing at the ground with its feet and wing-talons. Apparently, it lost its balance when it crashed into Jackal. Gina was still shooting, but her rate of fire was slowing. I could tell she was getting fatigued. Shun, meanwhile, was maneuvering behind the thing and releasing multiple Impulse Edges to its back. I could tell their tactic wouldn't last, and I had to hurry. I ran for the healing pillar, with Jackal following suit, then we both ran forwards at the bird.
Just as I reached the bird, it finally regained its feet. I saw the marks on its wings glowing even more brightly now, and the eyes of its tail were now shining blue. The beast was flexing its wings as energy gathered at its hands. I saw frost start to form on its talons, granting the bird huge, icy claws that radiated a blue aura. It slashed wide with its wing, sending a rain of icicles our way. I tried to block it, but I was slightly too slow again. Most of the icicles screeched and shattered on my shield, but one still hit me in the upper arm. I heard cries from my allies, and I knew they were not spared the assault.
So, it's a Frost type, huh? I better plan accordingly. My arm hurt, but I gritted my teeth and changed back to Gun Form. I switched to one of my customized healing rounds. It was a wide-range laser bullet that I designed to cover a broad area at once. Like my other laser, it was expensive to use and could not be fired often. Jackal saw me changing bullets, and took point with Shun. I fired my shot, making sure to include all of us in the radius, then changed back to melee. The bird keened and slammed its fists into the ground, releasing a shockwave of ice and leaping backwards in one move. I blocked again, this time managing to completely escape the ice.
I immediately realized something was wrong with my Arc. The shield would not fold, making the weapon unbalanced and hard to handle. I examined it quickly, and discovered that my God Arc had frozen over! Solid ice had fixed my God Arc in its shield form, preventing me from using it properly to attack. I noticed that Shun, Gina, and Jackal's Arcs were frozen too, and Shun and Jackal's were unable to change from shield form just like me.
"What the hell?!" Shun waved his sword, trying to free it from the ice, "My God Arc's stuck!"
"I'm stuck too!" Jackal seemed more than a little upset, and he kept hitting his Arc on the ground to try and break the ice, "I can't change to Gun Form either!"
"Me too!" I replied as I tried to manually pry some of the ice off of my shield. But my efforts were fruitless. It was so cold that touching it was painful. I flinched away, unable to handle it. Luckily, my God Arc itself was just cold, but not dangerously so.
Gina looked somewhat concerned. "My gun is frozen too! I can't change bullets! I think I can still fire my gun though!"
"Good, try to shoot that bird! I'll cover you since I can't fight back. Robin, Shun! Back me up!" Jackal said as he raised his God Arc back to a protective stance.
"Good idea! We might not be able to fight, but we can still defend!" I said, joining Jackal in a defending formation.
"Oh my, how noble of you," Gina cooed, "You're all like my guardians now. That's so sweet~! Do you two practice chivalry?"
"Shut up and do something, Gina!" Shun growled, joining Jackal and me as the bird took flight, "When this thing thaws, that ice-bird's mine!"
"Oh, boo. Why do you have to be so serious, Shun? Whatever, time to hunt." She raised her rifle and fired more shots. I noticed she had Blaze bullets loaded. Lucky. Gina fired repeatedly at the circling raptor, hitting it multiple times. I wasn't sure that was working. The only change I noticed was the bird's tail "eyes" turning red, and its markings glowing brighter still. I had a very bad feeling about this...
The bird shrieked an eerie call and swooped at us. As it dove, I saw flames cloak its body, increasing in intensity as Gina's shots landed. I raised my God Arc to block it again. The blazing heat of its dive melted the ice from my Arc, and the panels folded up unexpectedly. That left me wide open!
This so isn't my lucky day.
I threw myself to the ground in a last-ditch effort to evade its tackle. I covered my head with my arms, and I felt the flames scorch my back when the bird shot past me. Though intense, the flames didn't last very long. I sighed and relief. I didn't expect a Blaze attack after all those Frost moves! What's up with this bird?
That was when I heard Jackal screaming. My head popped up without thinking. I saw the bird pinning something just ahead of me. The beast's back was to me, but Jackal's cries of pain told me everything. The bird must've pinned him!
"Jackal!" I cried as I scrambled back to my feet. I leaped at the Aragami, aiming my spear for another Charge Glide. I landed a solid hit, but my spear turned aside again. I wound up sliding aside and landing roughly beside the bird. It raised its head and glared my way as if annoyed that I was interrupting it.
Its golden face was covered in blood. Jackal's blood. My breath caught in my throat and I stood dumbstruck for several moments. The bird practically smirked at me, daring me to stop it. Something in me snapped again. I bared my teeth and shot a glare of my own. The thought of its attitude enraged me to the core. How dare this thing act so proud of itself! Now I was super, mega furious! All I could think was that this thing needed to die. I lunged forwards and screamed, stabbing the bird straight in the eye. It keened and fell back, shaking its head. I swiped at its body, but my spear was turned away again.
The bird raised its plume and gave me a nasty look. Then, it spread its wings wide, suddenly emitting a brilliant flash of light from its markings. I lost my bearings and fell on my butt. I could hear the bird's wingbeats, and its screams begin to grow distant. It was running! The bird was retreating!
"Gina! Shun! Jackal! Robin! Come on, somebody answer me!" I suddenly heard Hibari call out from the radio.
"What, Hibari? Stop shouting!" Shun answered.
Hibari sighed, sounding very relieved. "Oh, thank goodness! I completely lost your signals for a while! Report in!"
"We found the Aragami. Too bad it ran though, because that fight was just getting interesting!" Gina replied.
Wait, our signals disappeared? That didn't sound good. But I had more important things to worry about right now. Nobody seemed badly hurt, but what about Jackal? He was the one who got pinned. I turned to check on Jackal, and I gasped at what I saw. The bird had torn into Jackal quite brutally with its beak; his chest was covered in tearing wounds that were bleeding profusely. He was lying on his back, breathing hard and groaning softly. I was so astonished that I could only stare for a moment. I shook my head to drag myself out of my daze, but I still felt numb as I collapsed to my knees in horror. This couldn't be happening!
"What happened out there?! Jackal's vitals are redlining!" Hibari sounded shocked all of a sudden. "I'm aborting your mission! Stand by for med evac!"
"What?!" Shun said as he and Gina rushed to Jackal and I. I managed to regain enough of my composure to realize that Jackal was in very serious condition. One particularly deep bite to his right shoulder was looking grave. I started digging for some bandages to bind the wound. Luckily, I found what I was looking for, and started wrapping the injury. He sucked in a pained breath at my treatment, making me flinch in kind. I bit my lip and continued my work. Seeing him in such pain tore me up in a way I couldn't even describe, but I had to work through it. I had to act fast or he'd never make it long enough for the chopper to arrive!
For the first time since I met him, the cocky look on Shun's face had faded. "Damn, that looks bad! Hibari, tell that heli to step on it! It's serious!" he called into the radio.
"Hold on. Let's see if this helps." Gina stood and fired a healing-type emitter at us. Jackal's breathing seemed to become slightly less labored, and some of the smaller wounds closed, but the deep one to his shoulder remained unchanged. I had to do something more, or he might die right here and now!
Something from my training clicked just then. We God Eaters have the ability to support a fallen ally by connecting our armlets and exchanging Oracle Cells. The ability was called Link Aid. It was very draining to the user, but a vital tool for saving a downed comrade. I didn't care what I had to do; I wasn't going to let Jackal die! I took his wrist and lined his implant up with mine so they were in direct contact. Vines extended from both armlets, and intertwined with each other. I instantly felt my energy draining into him from the link. Ignoring the bizarre, weakening feeling, I downed a Recovery Pill and gritted my teeth against the pain. I felt his body relax a little as it took hold, and my own tension fell slightly. It's working, I thought, he'll be fine... I hope. The vines disconnected and withdrew, leaving my arm somewhat tingly and painful. I put pressure on the shoulder wound, which had already soaked through the bandages.
"They're coming in!" Gina shouted, "I'll go meet up with them!"
"And I'll help from over here." Shun knelt down to my level, but seemed at a loss as for what to do. I noticed just then that the sound of a helicopter was approaching rapidly. I looked up to the sky as the chopper descended like a shining, steel angel. I'd never been so happy to hear that sound in my life. It meant that Jackal was going to survive. He'd make it... I hoped.