Chapter 2: Known For
Listen and learn. Fall and grow. Foolishness is granted to a fool. What we shall become is what we are known for.
"Why don't you ever listen!?" His voice came out harsh. Without a stutter. She tensed.
"Reckless abandonment, disrespect to your team leader, and neglect to watch over your own partner!" Her lips thinned and her fists shook.
This is the doctor. To her, this is what he was known for.
He was cold. He was harsh. He was pushing. He didn't care. It would be…
"If you continue to follow such an act of self-neglect and defiance towards superior Rhodes Islands operators, I'll simply throw you to wolves and find someone better to take up your position as... 'strongest'." The man before her. His voice was filled with fury and anger. That edge that gave off sharpness.
Even though his face was hidden, she could tell he was scowling down at her.
"This latest mission would have been successful if you stopped leaving behind your partner. If you stopped leaving behind your team. But now… you only have one more," his index finger raised. He pointed down at his desk. "One more! Chance to rectify this."
It was just her and him.
In this office.
"Now get out before I get fed up with you as a whole, and throw you out myself."
It sounded…
It all left her…
That…
She couldn't hold back her own feelings.
Her face gave it all away. There was a lump in her throat and it hurt to even attempt to swallow it.
She turned. Her back to the masked man shrouded in darkness.
Her legs carrying her…
Left. Right. Left.
She extended her arm to grasp the doorknob. Her fingers touched the metal. She trembled.
He was only human.
So why did his words scare her? She was the strongest. But…
The door sounded and time suddenly slowed
One step to leave…
Then it hit her. The cruel realization of why...
[BOOM!]
She was flung into the air. Her arms spread wide. That sword she held was lost from her grasp. Eyes wide. Her silver hair going every which-a-way. The pointy hat, she wore. It was airborne. Off her head.
That sound flashing in her ears before she could even react. She forced her eyes shut in untrained instinct. The memories…
[Ba'Dump…]
She lost track of her surroundings. She believed she was on her back. Her sword stabbed into the ground. It was right next to her head. Her left arm... it was...
She couldn't feel it.
Illuminated in fire…
[Ba'Dump…]
She was shivering.
Quivering.
"Doctor…?" That was right. She was to be his bodyguard. She was to protect him…
To the bitter end…
But…
Sh…. ine…. Your…. L….ig… t…
A darkened torrent of power circled around her. It grasped at her heart.
It's claws…
Covered in shadows.
Bathed in negativity.
Shi….. Shine… s….hine…. Shine…. Y…. L….ight...
Her eyes opened.
[Ba'Dump…]
Over her, he was… was…
"The image of one man. Traversing darkness. Greatsword in hand. Shield in the other."
What more could she say, but look on in awe?
What else could she do, but shiver at the powerful sight?
[Ba'Dump…]
A body made of fire.
So what more could she do?
"D-doctor.." Her voice was low. Unable to be heard by the flinging and pulling of chaos flame.
His bare chest held glowing red markings. His coat was beyond burnt, barely clinging onto his frame. His gown was torn from his body. The helmet he always wore, was soon to shatter completely. All that was left was his cargo jeans. But even they weren't spared. The damage that they held, the tattered edges that framed his knees. His boots had become ash, and the skin on his feet were bare.
Looking down with a large gash on the helm he wore. His eye; visible. The anger in that eye. The way the skin around his eye creased and strained. The way it glowed scarlet.
Her chest heaved…
[Ba'Dump…]
The power…
This wasn't… it wasn't...
"Do… ctor… your arm…" It was gone.
Gone.
Gone...
[Ba'Dump…]
He was on his knees she believed. His hand was on the handle of her sword. Slowly…
The shards of the helm slid.
A price for saving…
Had cost…
So much more.
Each shard fell. Closer and deeper into the blackness. Deeper into the void of dark.
Another crumble...
As each piece fell, a story played out on it.
The history…
It had fallen.
He had given it to the void.
More of his fresh face became visible. More. Even more. That heartless inhuman expression became more visible. The widened eyes. The whiteness of those eyes.
Being purged.
It was being purged.
Those memories. Falling and drowning in the black.
The image of two. Standing across from one another. One with his face hidden. The other in a dress. The void of white around them. The hidden one had his hands in his pockets. The other's hands were clasped together, fingers interlaced with one another. Her smile presented to the hidden one.
His face was gifted to her. Like a Black Dragon.
His teeth. The fangs.
His hair. The eyes.
His rage. The fire.
Oh! How they now fight!
"You…." The chaos around them. The screams. The explosions.
"Foolish…" He exerted that feeling. He was at the heart of it all.
"Little…" his own soul was consumed by it. The feeling of fire. Fire resembling waves.
"Girl…" his face had distorted. The anger represented by fire. The fire from an origin.
The origin of waves.
Waves not like that of an ocean
But…
Waves of a new kind.
The sight of a sleeping beauty. Her hair white as snow. Layers of soft comfy covers were placed over the sleeping ones chest. Her face was the only thing available.
The sounds of beeps.
The shuffling of bodies.
The sound of orders.
All the noise.
"I hope you wake up soon." Came the only one within the room that didn't have any sort of energy.
"We miss you." The voice was like a squeak. Low and hesitant.
"Oh!" Suddenly she snapped up, and into a more exciting demeanor. "Install finally opened up to making a meal for you when you do."
She scratched her left cheek and closed her eyes. A nervous laugh had escaped from her. "I had to beg and annoy him. You know him. Always being rude and snarky, but still acting like a momma in the end."
Silence from the girl talking.
"Savage calls him doctor 2.0 after the incident now. Honestly."
The result was silence.
"Skadi…"
The one talking was named Grani. She was a small petite white haired Ancient. And her attire resembled what most would know as S.W.A.T Riot gear. Of course it held small miniscule modifications. However there were a few things missing and detrimental to her going out on the field.
But that wasn't important as of now.
She sat on the side of the bed. The one occupying it was none other then; Abyssal Hunter Skadi. Now in an unknown coma.
Grani didn't know why. She didn't know how.
But the end result was hurting her.
And… she believed she felt a bit hollow with the current nonstop course of events.
"Hey..."
The sudden masculine voice caught her by surprise. However she recognized it imminently. It was none other than Install himself.
As soon as she looked away from the bedridden girl, she was forced to look up and see the man in his entirety.
He was a giant compared to most Ancient males, if he was an Ancient, but he took the cake by a large margin. He stood literally above 8 feet. He wore a unique kind of armour that was a mix between brown leather, and silver iron. As a matter of fact, the use of leather was more common than iron, since only his left arm and shoulder was covered by a gauntlet. But to add onto his appearance was his red velvet cape that was wrapped around his face and shoulders.
A strange pointy hat rested on the top of his head obscuring a lot of his face. Even so she could see his white hair that extended out in cool thick waves.
"Install?" Grani, as she is known as, wasn't expecting him to show up suddenly. And with his attire set ready for a mission as well? This caused her to frown.
"Don't, 'install me'. I'm only here to gather you for a new briefing." He went silent taking a quick glance over at the sleeping Abyssal Hunter. "And to not bug the Hunter any longer. After all, she deserves poison laced word play. Not… this…"
Grani didn't really understand. After all… was he being considerate or simply himself? Hard to say.
"I don't… get it? But I'll assume you said something nice instead!" Well... better, that than arguing.
He scoffed and moved a bit closer to her, his eyes on the sleeping girl. "I have a feeling I won't like this new doctor…"
"New doctor? What are you saying? Did he wake up? Dr. Kalamet is awake!?"
He groaned at that name for some reason.
Grani pouted.
"Yes. He's awake. But from what Ms. Amiya has stated, I can only fear his time back in Chernobog had been far from treating. Life changing."
The tall man crossed his arms over his chest.
"Hey… Warren..." Grani meekly said, using his real name. "Was it really bad out there? And… was it true Siege used her lighting?"
Grani knew that before the Doctor had suffered life-threatening injuries. Grani knew that the four Operator teams that were sent in were the strongest Rhodes Island had on deck.
Including the resident coma patient.
But for her to hear that? To hear that Siege had used her lighting? It was an eye opener. So claiming that had happened would be met with the idea of it being nothing but lies.
Warren, or Install, seemed to not initially take too kind to that. But he twitched and sighed. "Yes. Make no mistake, Siege was pressed and almost killed by some of Reunions operatives. She had nothing better to do, but take up the armour." He said seriously. "Regarding the mission however, it was far worse. I was forced to use everything I could muster to simply not lose anymore of my armour."
Grani remembered that day.
The torn up, ragged, giant carrying several wounded. He, at the time, wasn't well off either. he had almost all his armour torn from his frame. With brownish brused and blood stained skill exposed.
She remembered the crestfallen faces of the injured Operators. Some hurt beyond repair. Some had been still bleeding and in a frenzie after getting back.
And the Doctor…
He was stripped of all his clothing. All the medics they had looked drained. The light in some of their eyes had fadded that day.
It had forzen, and shook up her from that day forth.
"...?" Install, or Warren slowly regarded the tone shift. He felt his gut fall into a pit. "Grani, look up and alive. We don't have much time. We recover and do what needs to be done, and you've done more looking after your friend. So come. We've still need to meet the newly awakened Doctor."
Right after saying such a thing he placed his hand on her head. And didn't waste any time leading her out.
She was more than used to him attempting to cheer her up.
Usually it worked and he even gave her a free meal out of it.
He really was a dad...
"Amiya."
"Yes Doctor?"
"Why is it that…" he trailed off, his red eyes looking away.
"Why is it 'what'?" Her voice, now more happy than usual.
"What is it that there doesn't seem to be an end to the paperwork? I have to admit that I wasn't expecting more to be brought to my attention, but another stack?" The wave like shaggy black hair of Dr. Kalamet Ash moved to the turning of his neck.
The table Kal'tsit had provided him was performing its job well. But the man that sat in the chair, which was Kalamet himself, wasn't doing so well.
He had paperwork that he was reading through about himself first and foremost. And before he had been skimming through the Operator documents, preparing himself to meet them in the next… say… hour or so, She dropped by with more.
So now.
He couldn't help but question the literal stacks of heavy papers.
Amiya nervously let out a chuckle. Her bunny ears went straight on end. "W-well. I've been meaning to inform you about that Doctor. And we'll… see this is the last time you'll be seeing me…"
"I'm getting a new assistant aren't I?"
Doctor! Don't stare at her with such a deadpan!
"Eh! H-how did you know?" She finished poking her index fingers together
Kalamet for his part wasn't sure how to respond without being blunt. So… he'd do so.
Shifting in his chair the man raised both his arms up and crossed them behind his head. A minor bored expression was on his face. "Well a number of reasons. First and the easiest, is how the shifting of parties and section members go. These files gave me all the info I needed and I wasn't even looking. Wasn't hard to pick up that you had become my acting assistant, if only temporarily, since my last one is now in a coma. Suddenly at that… right?"
Amiya had nodded her head to the Doctor's words. "Your right. Without your assistant you were totally left without instant access to be defended. So with unauthorized contingencies on my part, I was forced to put myself up to the task. At least for a set time."
"So you were in a rush."
Amiya blushed and nodded her head shamefully. Especially at how casually he said it.
He defiently wasn't the old doctor.
"But… I'm still interested on whatsoever else gave it away." She smiled even through the blush. Kalamet had to compliment her ability to regain focus.
His red eyes widened at that oddly. He hummed and nodded his head. "Well… it's like this."
He left his lax position, and had placed his right hand on his right knee, then hunched his back while turning himself around to better face her.
"If I've gotten my bearings straight on all the studying, then, you have your own branch of Rhodes Island to cover with your own paperwork and staff to throw orders at. Same with Kal'tsit and her sudden disturbance. She too had her own squad of staff doing things for her." Kalamet's eyes turned seriously. He shifted at her but he loosed up, when she started to shift in her standing position. He closed his eyes and continued on. "I'm now sure that the result of the many of paper, documents, and even the amount of Operators I appear to have under my rule is small compared to what you have, and it needs your immediate attention. I'm only assuming for Kal'tsit, but her area is probably the smallest team here."
Amiya for herself was going on the fritz now. She had listened to him so far and was slightly frightened by the fact that he was able to notice so much in these few weeks.
But in the end she had been listing and nodded her head at what he said last. "Yes. I'm the acting face of Rhodes Island, and I'm in charge of practically everything. It's… not a stretch to say I have more work to do…"
"Recently my thoughts have changed. Defiantly a fact."
Doctor stop with that deadpan you'll make her cry!
"Anyway, back to what I was saying." He began again. "One report was about a mysterious Operator, callsign; Projekt Red. She, because her file lacked a large amount of info, was to take up the role of assistant. But this was recorded the day Kal'tsit vanished. And not the operator file of volunteer acceptance, but a registered request that holds various documents, including a copy of the volunteer papers and acceptance letter.
"Projekt… Red? I don't think I've heard of an Operator with that name before. Should be new and very recent." Amiya provided.
"Same… but again. This was recorded the very day Kal'tsit left. I didn't receive this file until today. Right before you showed up with… more…"
Suddenly he scooted out from under his desk and stood up away from his chair.
His feet were still bare and the lab coat he wore instead of that gown felt right. No shirt still and his chest, and gut were visible to the known world.
Amiya couldn't help but mentally ask; why.
But the answer was always, and continued to be "It feels right".
This still was her childhood friend. Even after that accident. He still retained something about the old Kalamet. Even if it was the same stubborn simplistic reasoning.
"Doctor?" She called out now wondering where he was going.
He seemed to look around the operating room for some reason.
"Hold on, I feel like someone's watching. It felt like… hmm…"
Amiya now felt curiosity in this. Could she possibly be here?
And how could the Doctor feel someone was watching him.
He moved to look behind some curtains. Nothing so far.
"Weird… I swore It was coming from over here-" he suddenly stopped himself… then he sniffed the air….
Wait what?
"Doctor. Are you feeling alright…?"
"Smells like tuna. Why does my room smell like disgusting tuna!?"
Amiya blinked her eyes at what she just heard.
That's right… Kalamet Ash didn't like the smell or taste of tuna. Must've stuck like certain attributes. But now Amiya knew for a fact it was her. But… she was surprised that Kalamet figured it out.
In a bellow of wind that blew anything that was light away, and ruffled through the two layers of top wear for Kalamet and Amiya, the both of them stood ridged, with straight backs.
Amiya was looking at the one who caused the sudden burst of wind, while Kalamet stood still with his back turned to the one who caused it.
"Please. I ask you to not say a word." Kalamet identified the tone to belong to a young female. There was also a shiver to it. Hesitant. Scared?
"..." He'd say nothing but not his head.
"...!" Amiya herself held her hand up and watched the sight.
"My Lord." The voice began sounding slightly broken. Emotion in that voice. "My lord you… you may not remember who I am, or why I call you my lord, but…"
"But telling me you're sorry for what happened then won't mean anything now." Kalamet said suddenly.
At that moment the famine voice grew hesitant to speak.
"I'm not the man from before. But I read your file and I can say for a fact that you saying sorry isn't needed because I wasn't angry at you. Because you'll still be needed."
This silence from her was concerning.
So he continued. "All I can say now, is…" he smiled and turned around. He offered her his hand and to his knees. "Shut up and stand. You're stronger now after that. And I'm sure you'll become even stronger, Shirayuki. So as your Lord, don't fail. Expectations are high now."
Who Kalamet saw right before him was a young woman. Hair white as snow, and feline like ears. She wore an all black attire with baggy like pants. Her face was covered from the noise down. Her beautiful glass like eye stared up at him.
She could only look up at him in shock. At the hand.
She had been frantically looking for him out of shock. Out of desperate need to know if he was safe and sound. To know if he lived or not after the affair and total failure that resulted the Doctor to be put under extensive care.
And unfortunately…
As she was finally told his location, and made haste to watch over him, she had hit a deviating horrendous roadblock.
This roadblock prevented her from entering and she was all in the know. Because the roadblock that was in her way was the one that put her Lord in the hospital to begin with.
Shirayuki was beyond livid. She was so furious and rightly so. Not only because the woman was tasked with guarding the operating room, as the only guard, but she was tasked with allowing only surgeons in. No one else besides Kal'tsit and Amiya.
She couldn't feel more useless than right there. Staring at the source of her Lord's problems, and at the time, her own.
But she wouldn't have survived a one on one confrontation. Skadi was universally the strongest of Rhodes Island.
No denying such a thing.
Even the likes of their Abyssal Hunter's, as well as the mysterious Install had agreed to not confronting her.
But…
Shirayuki knew that man could hold his own against her. No. Something about him voided that idea of loss, and Shirayuki knew he was hiding something. The way he talked, walked, and interacted with Rhodes personnel carried strange nostalgia. It raddiated off of him… along with sadness.
A mysterious man. A bigger monster he was in combat. Capable of fighting with Skadi, Ch'en, Silver Ash, and surprisingly using magic to a high degree without a catalyst or any Originium infection on display.
A mysterious tall being.
But… she couldn't think about that any longer.
Her lord was near. Her Lord was here. Her Lord still held her in high regard. Her Lord… was different…
But…
She didn't mind that.
As long as he was somewhat recovering…
Who he was… would be what he is known for.
So she reached out…
Taking that hand…
He smiled. And he pulled.
"I'm overjoyed to be used once more…"
This was his first time leaving the hospital room. This felt great!
He couldn't keep the excitement down and probably looked like an idiot, overreacting child.
What others thought in the now wasn't meaning jack to him at this moment.
Three weeks! Three weeks of isolation bare minumum. At least now he could get some fresher air than just opening the sliding glass door that allowed him to see the shifting sights of the wasteland. It had a balcony funny enough.
But he was glad about it.
And since he was now on his own, he could get away with feeling such excitement. Well except with his shadow well… shadowing him.
But that wasn't something he'd really care too much about.
She was his secondary bodyguard. The one that stayed in the shadows and attacked from them. She was Shirayuki of Lugmann and had been offered as a permanent bodyguard, in exchange for communication between organizations and population control. A start of a new kind of corporate relationship.
As Kalamet walked he began to run by the various nations he had studied about, and the various anicents that inhabited those locations.
"Man. All this information and it still feels like I've only scratched the surface…" Kalamet had hunched over and rubbed his neck.
There was so much to think about and as the Doctor of Rhodes, the Amnesiac, had to balance it all.
So much...
The man's eyes narrowed as he began to rack his mind over how he had fallen pray to a now fractured mental state.
Going over who, what, where, and why.
His eyes opened and Kalamet stopped in his stride. He began focusing on the incident in particular.
The image of fire crossed his mind. Then a blank space.
Kalamet began focusing harder.
That blank space slowly began to fill.
Focus…
He was getting closer to seeing it.
So much closer.
A face began to become visible.
"Hey now. If you concentrate so hard you might end up dropping a squat."
Who the…?
He felt himself being pulled into an embrace. Long arms wrapped around his being. He didn't get time to even react much but he did have time to spot the perpetrators face.
He couldn't help but crack a small nervous lopsided grin. He was being buried into a hug and his hair was being rustled through.
The one doing it was none other than one of his own Operators. One Kazimierz native turned nomadic. She was known by the codename Meteor by her peers, and fellow operators, and one of the closer operators to the old Kalamet.
It felt oddly soothing and since he didn't catch sight of his shadow, she must've been fine with it.
"I can get used to this."
"It's what I'm known for…"
He tensed. There was a hidden sadness in her voice.
And it set something off within him.
One with red stood outside a box.
One of white stood next to that box.
"I see she's still recovering."
"Yes she is."
…
…
"What do we do about her? She hasn't said a word after the attack. It's like she saw a ghost."
"Can't say. Tallulah lost her arm when confronting that Abyssal Hunter. Who's to say she couldn't recover from that?"
…
"After all, wouldn't you be scared after seeing that thing with a sword in its jaws? Fighting. Heh, she fought it with one arm at that, but it was a losing fight."
"Chernobog is ours. We took it with the strength needed."
"At the cost of spilled blood."
"Worried about innocent deaths? That's unlike your display so far CrownSlayer. Your words before showing action were filled with stationed assurance. After? I've seen you complain and doubt more and more now."
…
"Hmm. You're still growing. I can't fault you."
The one of white left, the one of red. The one of red, looked on from the outside.
Inside the box was one person. In a dress. A pure black sword in hand. Giant. Made from a tail.
END