Ragnarok
By: Aviantei
10
Retreat
There were several beats of silence as the words sunk in. Karellen was the first to move, lunging at Shizuo. He was too stunned by the sudden movement to even think to counter—but she just snatched onto the front of his shirt, dragging him close enough so that the fingers of her free hand could graze down the side of his neck.
Right over the hidden mic that Shizuo had forgotten he was wearing.
"You didn't ditch all of your gear?" Karellen said, voice boiling close to a shout. Unaccustomed to teenage girls yelling in his face, Shizuo just blinked. Karellen scoffed in disgust and shoved herself away from Shizuo, throwing herself at Izaya next. Jarret whistled, and Colleen was already running, her footsteps thundering out of the living room and up the stairs. Shizuo turned, catching sight of Karellen tearing Izaya's hidden mic out of his hands. "I can't believe both of you! What's so hard about leaving everything you had in Command?"
Shizuo felt a wave of guilt. To be far, he only ever took the damn thing off for maintenance, and it melded so well into his skin that half the time he forgot it was there unless he needed to use it. Izaya was a different story, but even he seemed surprised about the piece of equipment.
"Don't fret, Karellen-chan, things are more interesting this way," Izaya said, ruffling her hair. Shizuo finished peeling off his own mic, and Karellen seemed to recognize her position, jumping off the couch. Jarret's grin grew wider, even as he was fiddling with an mp3 player. "We weren't going to make it into CMA Headquarters without some trouble. Might as well start now."
Karellen spluttered out several frustrated insults. Watching someone else get angry over Izaya made it easier for Shizuo not to blow his own top. "Here," Jarret said, holding out a hand. He stepped towards Shizuo, though not without hesitation. "I'll take the mic. You should grab Kar's notebook, too."
Shizuo complied, grabbing the item from between the couch cushions. The thud of Colleen's footsteps signaled her return, and she shoved a handheld game console into an already stuffed messenger bag. "You guys are still inside? We needed to be gone like fifteen minutes ago!" She flung open the front door, and Jarret tossed one more grin at Karellen before jogging outside.
They didn't even bother to lock up the house and were piling into the car soon after. Leaving the three friends to the backseat, Shizuo loaded himself into the front as Izaya was turning the key in the ignition. "So which way should I drive us?" Izaya asked, already pulling onto the road. "Considering that our pursuers are probably coming from the direction of Headquarters, not that way?"
Shizuo glanced into the backseat. Colleen in the middle was frowning at a laptop, Jarret leaning over her, while Karellen had started scribbling already, tongue stuck out the side of her mouth in concentration. "No, they're coming from the south-west," Colleen said. "I guess you must've attracted some new friends in Texas, Karellen."
"Not on purpose, dammit," Karellen said, not once stopping her frantic writing. She almost tossed the pen aside when she'd finished, though, her head popping up to look at the front seat. "Okay, I've got something that will let us teleport out of their expected range. All of us. Permission to execute?"
Shizuo frowned. "If you're gonna do that, why not just take us to HQ?"
"Do you remember how Karellen-chan passed out last night, Shizu-chan?" Izaya slowed the car as it approached a red light, but he took a right turn, given the minimal traffic. "There's no point in dumping ourselves into enemy territory with her unconscious. So long as it's transporting all of us, permission granted."
"That's still a big order to fill," Jarret said, craning his neck to get a look at Karellen's writing without getting in Colleen's view. He pressed an earbud into one ear, then offered Karellen his hand. "Here, lemme help out."
Karellen and Jarret's clasped hands rested on the back of the seat, then they both closed their eyes. Jarret was mouthing words that Shizuo couldn't decipher, and Karellen's free hand pressed against her notebook. Colleen even paused her tapping away to give them silence. Outside the windows, the world kept rolling by, lines of pizza shops and pharmacies, and they were about to pass a gas station when the world shifted.
The small town traded out places for a highway. Shizuo felt a lurch in his stomach, and Izaya must've felt it, too, with the grimace on his face, but he accelerated the car to the proper speed soon enough. Karellen and Jarret both sighed, and when Shizuo looked away from the near empty stretches of land now around them, the teens had slumped backwards.
"Why are you such a damn overachiever?" Jarret asked, tugging his beanie down over his eyes. "We could've done just fine shifting a few miles, not a couple hundred?"
Karellen was too worn out to even frown. "Excuse me for wanting something closer to a guarantee," she said, sounding out of breath. "Col, how'd we do?"
A few taps on the laptop later, and Colleen nodded. Even Shizuo let out his own sigh of relief. "Definitely enough of a leeway to keep us from getting caught," Colleen said. After typing out a few more commands, the GPS on the dashboard blinked to life, a new route in place. Satisfied, Colleen shut the laptop with a snap. "That should get us where we need to be. I'll leave this next part to you." Without any further remarks, she pulled Jarret and Karellen next to her, instigating a group cuddle.
Shizuo turned back to the front, trying to make sense of where in the country they were. Izaya had finished looking over the new route and seemed satisfied enough. "I didn't exactly agree to this so I could be a chauffeur, but if it's what must be done," he said, overdramatic as ever. Shizuo went for a cigarette, not in the slightest ready for several hours of driving again, let alone with the Flea as company. "So long as we can stop for gas sometime soon enough, we'll make it to HQ before nightfall."
Singh whistled, and it was enough to send a shiver down Oliver's spine. The moment Command had been relocated and passed on to some substitute Commanders, the CMA Head had wasted no time in dragging Oliver from the hotel and into a car. The whole operation change had taken the night, and so Oliver was spending his morning on a plane ride that he didn't even know the destination to. With the CMA's influence, he, Singh, and a few other higher-ranking Agents had the entirety of first class to themselves, while the stewards had been given express orders not to bother them after serving refreshments.
"That was a little bit more extreme than I'd expected," Singh said, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't even look the least bit tired from the lack of rest, and her dark hair was smooth and beautiful. Oliver, on the other hand, felt very much like a university student about to pass out from final exam stress, and the built-up grease must've had his face shining like a beacon. "You gotta give it to those BUN-level targets. They sure do know how to make a mess of things."
"Did…something happen?" Oliver risked asking. It was better than letting the stream of complaints building in his mind spill out his mouth.
Singh smirked again, looking beyond amused by Oliver's cluelessness. "Well, we sent an advance unit after your little friend. They pulled off a rather impressive Chaos manipulation, though, so we've lost sight of them." Singh shrugged. "We'll be able to find them soon enough, though." Oliver couldn't help but wonder how she'd figured that out, but maybe there were some mysteries left unsolved.
There's something very wrong with the higher-ups, his mentor had said, when she told him about people like Karellen Fenlon and their powers. It had been a warning he had never heard the rest of.
Not wanting to put himself in a worse position than he already was (if that was even possible), Oliver decided to ask a different question. "What does that code mean? The BUN one?" Despite making it sound as if she didn't have a problem with Oliver getting his hands on more information, Singh hadn't bothered to say anything about it. Based on the way her smirk widened, maybe she had been waiting for him to ask.
Singh's nails tapped against her seat's armrest. "As you know, we use several different target codes to categorize the types of Chaos levels." The other Agents seated nearby had incredulousness in their eyes that Oliver even deserved to hear the information, but they didn't dare speak out against their superior. Oliver focused on Singh, though, nodding; that had been part of the basic Agent training. "Beyond standard levels, repeat offenders, and even concentration-affected targets, there's one more: Chaos Manipulators. They not only have ridiculously high levels, but enough awareness to so actively and consistently use that power. Those are the BUN targets."
Oliver swallowed, the memory of the illusion replica of himself stuck in his mind. There was no doubt that Karellen Fenlon had been one of those targets, even if she hadn't recited her number at him. "That's dangerous, isn't it?"
"Very." Singh's eyes roved over him, as if looking for some trace that he was feigning ignorance. As much as Oliver wanted to hunch in on himself, he kept his posture as relaxed as he could. She thinks my mentor already told me this. "In any event, this particular BUN target, Miss HV1AN731, is even more dangerous because she has friends." The lump in Oliver's throat grew. "Since she managed to rendezvous, we also have BUN-P4P4H and BUN-5U1H0P to deal with."
In his jacket pocket, Oliver's sunglasses chirped at the code. Singh nodded, and we went to put them on. Unlike before, with Karellen, he could see the profiles that had loaded up, thanks to his overnight access increase. Two teens—Jarret Gist, seventeen and Colleen Metelski, sixteen—smiled back at him, looking like nothing more than ordinary kids.
But their Chaos levels were another story.
Sure, the current monitoring data only had them in a similar level to where Fenlon had been: the mid-teens to low twenties. But the CMA kept records of all previous Chaos levels in order to track possible resurgences, and the numbers that were in Gist's and Metelski history far exceeded the two-hundred level benchmark that necessitated Command Officers' involvement.
F-four-hundred…?
Singh hummed a short note, catching Oliver's attention. He refocused on the woman, the display of his glasses fading into a faint overlay. Recognizing that his mouth was hanging open, Oliver snapped it shut.
"Those three have a collective base Chaos level exceeding twelve-hundred," Singh said. The mere idea sent a shiver of fear through Oliver, but Singh sounded no more concerned than one would over a fly buzzing overhead. "If they start resonating with each other, they can break through thresholds of the two-thousands."
The highest Chaos level individual that Oliver had ever faced down in person had been just past one-hundred, and that had been taken care of in a group, as per protocol. "H-how are we supposed to do anything about kids like that? They could—" Singh raised an eyebrow, but Oliver caught his tongue before he let it slip. "They could pretty much tear the universe apart, couldn't they?"
Singh crossed her long legs, nodding. "Yes, that much concentrated Chaos could very easily cause a disruption in the universe balance. We might even end up with similar situations to Heiwajima and Orihara." Remembering that this mission was supposed to be about his missing superiors, Oliver tried to remember anything else unusual that they might have done before disappearing, but he couldn't do it. "Until now, our targets haven't done anything harmful, but they've also been concealing themselves. Neutralizing them is best in everyone's interests, especially if they've taken action against our Agents." Singh smiled, flicking a finger in Oliver's direction. "So I'll have you go ahead and take care of them as our vanguard, okay?"
"Me?" Oliver looked to the other Agents, realized he had just questioned a direct order from the head of the CMA, and swallowed his next protests. "Of course, if you think that's best, ma'am, but how am I supposed to get going? We packed gear, but it's in with the rest of the luggage."
"Oh, Oliver," Singh said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her metal cigarette case, "I've been doing this for almost a decade. Do take care not to underestimate me."
Colleen Metelski finished stretching as she stepped out of the gas station bathroom and headed back to the car. Jarret and Karellen were still fussing over which snacks to get, but Colleen trusted their judgement. She had taken a nap as they drove and felt refreshed from the constant use of her Alter. While it wasn't as demanding as Karellen's massive energy dumps to affect change, or as physically involved as Jarret's could be, replenishing energy while they still had the chance was necessary.
Shizuo had wandered off out of the gas station's immediate range to take a smoke, while Izaya had been left with the duty of replenishing the gas tank. Karellen had done an excellent job pulling them out of the range of the first wave of CMA pursuit, and they still had about four hours of driving until they made it to actual HQ. The sun was still shining over the stretch of highway, but it would be evening once they started the infiltration.
Not bothering to acknowledge Izaya, Colleen hopped back into the car and rummaged through her bag. It was strange, seeing an anime character in the flesh, but there were higher priorities for the moment. Unearthing her laptop from the collection of handheld consoles, Colleen tapped in the password, then booted the necessary game from her desktop.
They had never bothered to name their individual techniques, but Reality Alters varied based on the person. Karellen's technique, which was best for creating big changes and had the most flexibility, required that she write out or even sketch a scenario with pen and paper, then push to impose that scenario on reality. Colleen's was best at gathering information and creating stage changes, but it also shared the necessary requirement of connecting to the image and imposing it on reality.
Her conduit was games.
Sinking into the rental car seat, Colleen tapped at the indie war strategy game. Once she'd set up the basic field, she closed her eyes to focus on her Alter. Instead of imposing the image of the game onto reality, she instead willed reality to be reflected on the game. The car bounced as Karellen and Jarret hopped into their respective seats, shutting the door and cutting off the stench of gasoline. Not wanting to break Colleen's concentration, they kept their silence.
"How's it looking?" Jarret asked once she opened her eyes. Colleen surveyed the game. The pieces had shifted from their default positions, but they were clear of enemies in the immediate radius of her starting marker. Keeping her Alter in affect in the background, Colleen left the game open and scrolled across the field.
"The pursuers are in about the same places they were before," she said. Several enemy units were approaching but were still at a safe distance. Colleen still frowned, and Karellen dropped a pack of fruit snacks in her lap. "They must've guessed where we're heading to, so they might send some people from HQ, but we're in the clear for now."
"Then we should be in the clear for a bit longer, then," Izaya said, sliding into the driver's seat. Shizuo lumbered in as well, completing the party. "Everyone ready to go? Then we're setting out. Karellen-chan, did you manage to get enough to share with the rest of the class?"
Karellen twitched, her face twisting in frustration while a blush crawled up her neck. "Well, I got Heiwajima-san some donuts, but you managed to slip my mind," she said. "Would you two care to share?" Colleen looked to Jarret, and they shared a snicker. "Oh, hush up! Don't act like you wouldn't be the same if like Mikado or Masaomi were here."
Colleen avoided immediate eye contact, ripping open her bag of fruit snacks. Jarret didn't miss a beat, saying, "Yeah, but these two are here, and you're just too fun to tease."
"God, please just go and die."
"I'm not sharing with the Flea, but can I have the donuts anyway?" Shizuo asked. Colleen repressed another splutter as Karellen complied, though she did notice that there were still some leftovers in the bag when all the snacks were distributed. Knowing it was her job to keep up surveillance, Colleen glanced back to her laptop.
An enemy marker had appeared right on top of them, turning the sweet taste of her snack to ash.
"Don't stop driving!" Colleen said, slamming her laptop shut and diving for her messenger bag. After much digging, she unearthed an old Game Boy Color, a fighting game crammed in the cartridge slot. It wasn't her best stage, but it would have to do. She started to undo her seatbelt, even as Izaya accelerated up the highway entrance ramp, and went to crawl across Karellen to the door. "I'll take care of this one."
"Are you sure?" Jarret asked, stuck in a fight with the child lock on his seatbelt. "You've been using your Alter a lot, and I can take care of a big force easier than you can."
Colleen managed to flick up the lock, then powered on her game. "It's just one-v-one combat. I'm better suited for this than you are."
"What's going on?" Shizuo asked. "If we're under attack, I—"
"How the hell are we supposed to send you home if you get dragged somewhere else?" Karellen asked. Shizuo fell silent. Colleen's game booted all the way, and she started up the select character and stage screen, pressing her Alter forward all the while. Karellen managed to navigate around Colleen enough to produce pen and paper. "I'm gonna give Col a boost so she doesn't kill herself jumping out of the car. Authorize it."
"Granted," Izaya said, without much delay. Colleen sighed in relief, and the rush of adrenaline from Karellen's Alter followed soon after. "Do hurry up. I think that's who you're worried about in the road ahead."
He didn't need to tell Colleen twice. She flung open the door and dived to the side of the road, tumbling first against concrete, then onto coarse grass, flecks of gravel sticking to her bare arms. Thanks to Karellen, she didn't take any damage. The coiling sensation in her gut stretched out to maximum, then it snapped into place as her Alter did its duty and affected the rest of the world to match her parameters.
Standing some distance in front of Colleen was a figure, their head swiveling around in surprise at how they'd been moved. But even with that, they caught onto their composure again with a speed worthy of the several layers of high-end CMA gear they were decked out with.
Colleen glanced one more time at her Game Boy to catch her opponent's name, then tucked it into her back as she grinned at Oliver, right before the booming voice echoed through the sky above:
Ready… Fight!
[Author's Notes]
Could it be? That's right, it's chapter ten! We're officially in the double digits, baby! Hopefully there was enough tension in this chapter to make it feel worth it.
Thanks this chapter go out to Jaoxy40 for the favorite and follow, SpicySnowflake for their delightful PMs, and just anyone who gives this story a chance considering how overall odd it is in the fandom. I hope that I can continue to get your support throughout the rest of the story!
In any event, we get to see different Reality Alters this time - namely Colleen's. Her abilities revolve around games of all kinds. How she takes advantage of those capabilities is rather flexible. We'll see more of them moving onward!
I know that the pace of updating doesn't always seem that way, but I'm a bit impressed when I look at the sort of rapid pacing of this story. I guess that fits the vibe I was looking for, though. More chapters will come this year, so please look forward to it!
-Avi
[02.25.2019]