Far East Branch Headquarters - Lobby
Two weeks had passed since the laboratory incident. Reaper was still suspended from active duty, but she did occasionally make an appearance around the Den. Her armed squadron no longer followed her, but she remained under close surveillance. There had been no further problems, but most made a point to avoid her. Researchers wouldn't even exit their offices if she were anywhere on the floor.
The rumors had died down, much to Soma's relief, but they had only been replaced by different ones. The topic of discussion today was a new arrival to the Far East Branch.
"Did you hear the news? Another New Type is getting assigned to the Far East."
"Wait, seriously? Haha, wow… There's been a whole lot of them lately, huh?"
"Yeah, but they're still rare. The Director himself brought her over from Russia."
Four members of the First Unit sat together on a nearby couch, listening quietly to their conversation. Lindow had visibly tensed at the mention of another New Type and Sakuya's eyes shifted nervously around the room. Kota was, unsurprisingly, unaffected and Soma sat with his arms crossed in utter disbelief. Apparently, it hadn't been enough to bring over one New Type from North America. A New Type that had, in the span of a few months, nearly killed at least God Eaters, himself included, and succeeded in killing a civilian. What was his father thinking?
"Look, there she is. Speak of the Devil, right?"
The sound of footsteps clicked along the wooden floor. The First Unit rose to their feet as a familiar white pantsuit stopped in front of them. Major Amamiya waved away their salutes and held up her clipboard.
"Good day, squad. I'd like to introduce someone. Another New Type God Eater will be joining your team as of today."
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Alisa Ilinichina Amiella. I've been transferred here from the Russia branch. I will do my best to continue to serve with distinction. I hope we work well together."
The woman that addressed them was… strange to say the least. Soma had never been to Russia, but from what he had read, it was very, very cold. Yet, there she stood before them in a checkered red mini-skirt, and open black shirt that exposed her stomach. A red bow adorned her shirt and her black thigh-highs were attached with a pair of garters. A bright red hat sat atop her head. What was it with New Types and their unusual fashion sense?
Naturally, Kota was the first to speak up, addressing the new arrival with all of the subtly of an atomic bomb.
"Yes! We always have room for another hottie."
Her blonde locks bounced as she turned her attention to Kota. Her blue orbs observed him, carefully examining him with scrutiny.
"Is he serious? The fact that you have survived long enough to become a God Eater is astounding." Her voice dripped with disapproval and left a disappointed Kota sulking and dejected.
"Whaa?"
Ignoring their exchange, the Major continued her briefing. "She doesn't have the battlefield experience you do, but her scores in the simulation are beyond anything recorded. Better hone your skills."
"Yes, ma'am. Of course, sorry." Kota straightened up immediately the sharpness of her tone.
"Alisa, you will serve under Lindow, a talented God Eater and a good commander."
"As you wish, Ma'am."
Tsubaki nodded approvingly at her seriousness. She would do well here if she kept up that attitude. Turning to her brother, she changed the subject. "Actually, I have some documents that need your signature. Why don't you come with me? The rest of you, make Alisa feel at home. Dismissed."
The siblings turned and headed towards the lift, leaving the rest of the First Unit to get acclimated with their new teammate. Once again, Kota was first to break the ice.
"Hey, wow… Russia, huh? I hear it's really cold there. Like all the time. Uh… Snow's weird, right? But I guess global warming is weird too…"
Soma rolled his eyes and watched the Amamiyas disappear within the lift. The new recruit's arrival got him thinking about their first one. He hadn't seen Reaper since her appearance in the lobby weeks ago. Of course, he hadn't exactly made an effort to seek her out, but part of him was concerned about her. Her catatonic state had left him wondering if she would ever return to the battlefield at all. He wondered for a brief moment if this Russian New Type was her replacement.
Far East Branch Headquarters - Office Floor
As the lift rose, Lindow turned his attention to his sister. "She seems promising. Any special reason we're the only branch - and squad - to get a bunch of New Types? Or am I just lucky?"
"Maybe that's all there is to it. HQ's new policy is to step up New Type discovery and recruitment. They could turn the tide. There is something unique about this girl though. She might be a match, but she's a little unbalanced. Mentally. Part of the deal was that she adhere to a strict mental healthcare regimen while she's here."
Her brother groaned beside her in obvious discomfort at the thought of yet another mentally unstable New Type. What had he done to deserve this?
"Another one? You have got to be kidding me. I'm starting to see a pattern here…"
In truth, Lindow wasn't actually sure whether or not there was a causal relationship. So far, every New Type he'd encountered so far came equipped with major issues. But two wasn't exactly an adequate sample size. Perhaps the New Type's power came at a cost. Or maybe it was purely coincidence and he had gotten the luck of the draw. Either way, he wasn't thrilled about it.
Noticing her brother's irritation, she smirked at him. "Still, I need you to keep an eye on her."
Of course she did. What else did he expect?
"Anything for you, big sis."
Her smirk immediately fell into a frown. "Lindow, if you ever call me that again, they will be the last words to leave your lips."
Beside her, Lindow scratched his head nervously at the Major's warning. He knew that she would make good on her threat. As the lift came to a stop, he turned to ask her a question. "Speaking of New Types, I haven't Reaper in…" His question faded away unfinished as the doors opened to reveal another pair standing in the hallway.
Speak of the devil, and she will come…
Standing before them was Reaper herself and her companion, waiting patiently for the lift down. Ichiro saluted the two of them, earning a nod in return. Beside him, his teammate did nothing, staring blankly at the wall. Her eyes seemed deader than usual. Had he reset her again?
The pair switched places, Ichiro and Reaper entering the lift as the Amamiyas exited. Without another word, the two of them made their way down the hall.
Far East Branch Headquarters - Lab Room
"Are you absolutely certain about this?"
The Director stood behind Dr. Sakaki in the decimated laboratory, his eyes scanning quickly over his report. The room had been somewhat repaired since Reaper's rampage, but it was still in relatively terrible shape.
"There is no mistake."
The doctor entered a few keystrokes into the console, summoning an array of images and graphs. Photographs of cells were displayed on the screen, ranging from different colors, shapes, and sizes. Director Schicksal observed the pictures, his brow furrowing in disbelief.
"These are from the recent samples? They are comparably different from the initial data we collected upon her arrival." Johannes couldn't hide his interest.
Beside him, Paylor shook his head. "On the contrary, Johannes. These samples are all collected from the same draw."
At this, the Director turned to his friend, a look of pure astonishment on his face. "Impossible!"
"Evidently not." The doctor pulled a few more graphs on the screen. "These are the blood samples we collected from Reaper on the day of the incident. And in 14 days, they have changed indeed." Johannes examined the different images curiously as Paylor continued.
"We placed the three phials we collected under different levels of stress and environmental controls. For example this sample, we stored in a subzero chamber. This sample we placed in a chamber with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius. Both samples were agitated routinely to stimulate their response. The third sample, we left untouched as a control. And these…"
A new cluster of images appeared on the screen. "… are those same samples today."
The cells were visibly different from image to image. The cells were smaller and different in shape in one photograph and larger in the other. The cells in the final image simply appeared to have multiplied.
"What is this…? Paylor, are you suggesting…"
"Quite so." He spun around in his chair and moved to a microscope containing yet another blood sample. "Her Oracle cells are highly adaptive. They can twist and turn and change depending upon their environment. Of course, this is relatively common among Oracle cells, but they appear to accelerate under the right levels of stress and agitation. Take a look at this." He gestured towards the projector. It displayed the blood sample on microscope. When he had his attention, Sakaki tightened the lens, pressing it down until the disk cracked in two.
"Paylor!'
"Observe."
Turning his attention back to the screen, he did as the Doctor asked. His eyes widened incredulously as the damaged cells reawakened. They began to multiply and fuse with one another, each piece fragment seeking out the other like a magnetic pull. They reformed and returned to their original state, relatively unchanged, although greater in number. They had regenerated. Johannes couldn't believe it.
"So your hypothesis was correct."
"Indeed. Additionally, this new finding has confirmed my suspicions regarding surgical procedures. Her larynx has likely been removed multiple times. Given time, her Oracles activated, regenerating the tissue and the eventually the entire organ itself. The scarring is probably a side effect from repetition of the process. As for the reason behind such a necessity… I do not know."
The Director grew quiet, his face pensive. This woman was a scientific marvel. A biologically enhanced creation that combined human intelligence and adaptability with Oracle cell functionality. His eyes drifted across the remains of the laboratory and his mind drifted to his discussion with Director Smith.
It took everything in my power to avoid her extermination.
His words held far more gravity in light of this new information. They had successfully created a living weapon, adaptable enough to excel in multiple environments, and intelligent enough to exhibit free will… and that was the precisely problem. In their aim to find the perfect soldier, they inadvertently created a force of nature that they simply couldn't control.
What remained unclear was why such pertinent information had been hidden away. Placing aside the humanitarian concerns of their experimentation, one would think that they would protect such a discovery with everything in their power. With the correct alteration, the experiment could have continued and created a better, improved version of God Eater… but they didn't. Why?
Johannes paced around the room, wracking his mind with possibilities. The information regarding Reaper's existence wasn't buried and was unlikely to have been destroyed. It was simply… missing. As his mind wandered to the crash of years ago, a realization dawned on him. What if someone hadn't wanted for the information to be found? What if it had been stolen and hidden away, to be transported somewhere far out of reach? There was only way to find his answer.
"Paylor. Have you located the coordinates of the crash site?"
At his question, the Doctor strode to his computer. His fingers moved rapidly, typing commands and summoning a collection of maps. They displayed North America with various circles drawn across the landmass.
"I believe so." Pointing to the map with his pen, he explained his findings. "We have determined that the destination of the flight was originally meant to be the Russian Branch." He dragged his finger along the map. "However, during flight, the aircraft deviated to the north and traveled in this direction. Based off of their trajectory, we can assume that their destination was likely…"
"The Arctic Circle."
The theory made sense. If someone wanted to destroy her, the Arctic Circle would be a perfect location. It was so uninhabitable that very few, if any, would travel there. The rampant Aragami population would make anyone's survival rate slim to none. And even if by some chance, the Aragami didn't kill her, the temperatures would. Over enough time, both her body and anything left with her would be buried under layers of snow and ice meters thick. Swallowed by nature itself, her existence would erased forever.
"Correct. However, as we know, something went wrong. The plane lost communication in transit. Using the available data and reports, I was able located the plane's flight path before its disappearance. After triangulating the coordinates, I have determined the site to be somewhere in this area."
"…Canada."
Times such as these made the Director grateful for his colleague's brilliance. If his hunch was right, then any and all information regarding Reaper would be aboard that aircraft. Assuming that anything remained.
"Bring your winter coat, Paylor. We are going on a trip."