Interlude 8 - Ripples
A gray expanse.
"Stop, you moron!"
A flash.
"GET OUT OF MY LIFE!"
A pink blade ignited in the darkness, sharply rising up-
S̸͖̈́̒ ̵̺̞̘̗̩̥͑͌́͗̈̎̇͝h̴̺̠̻͇̍̀ ̷͔͓̦̪̀̔́̀͆̚ͅa̸̯̘̦͇͙̽́͂̀͗̆͆̇͝ ̵͖̯̪̗̣͖͇̘̦̰͒̓̀t̸̨̝͎͖͈̞̅͑ ̸̨͙͈͚͋̽̀͂̇̄ẗ̸̗͔͚͈̱͚̰̯́͊͛̂͐ ̷̜̈̀̌e̸̩̟̔͐͐̒͗̀̀̈͘ ̴̣͍̌́͑́̕̕r̵̛̭̠͍̓͑̌͆̔̆
-and turned the smokey surroundings into a void.
.
.
.
Silence.
It was an oppressive sensation.
Crushing from all around, suffocating, choking-
Step.
-and then it was gone.
Step.
…There was a figure in the far distance, a lone blot of color in the darkness. A silhouette, with a sparking kaleidoscopic core, walking further and further away.
Warmth.
There was warmth. Why was there warmth? What was the figure?
Safety.
Why were they walking away? Don't leave. Please, don't leave.
Comfort.
A hand reached out.
Then another.
And another.
More.
Numerous shadows were reaching out towards the distant figure.
Who were they?
Step.
The sound echoed in the empty expanse, leaving a visible ripple that caused the hands to vanish. The figure stopped, becoming still as they looked up. Shards then began breaking off of them, floating away in slow but steady movements. Despite this, the figure was unaffected.
\*̵̜̠̝̼̩̫̪͎̯̫̄-̵͈͔̘͓̀̀̊*̸̧̛͖̙͍͓̼̃̾-̸̟̬̦̰͍̝̀̄̔̑̐ͅ.
What..?
\*̵̜̠̝̼̩̫̪͎̯̫̄-̵͈͔̘͓̀̀̊*̸̧̛͖̙͍͓̼̃̾-̸̟̬̦̰͍̝̀̄̔̑̐ͅ.
Slowly, they turned their head-
\*̵̜̠̝̼̩̫̪͎̯̫̄-̵͈͔̘͓̀̀̊*̸̧̛͖̙͍͓̼̃̾-̸̟̬̦̰͍̝̀̄̔̑̐ͅ.\*̵̜̠̝̼̩̫̪͎̯̫̄-̵͈͔̘͓̀̀̊*̸̧̛͖̙͍͓̼̃̾-̸̟̬̦̰͍̝̀̄̔̑̐ͅ.\*̵̜̠̝̼̩̫̪͎̯̫̄-̵͈͔̘͓̀̀̊*̸̧̛͖̙͍͓̼̃̾-̸̟̬̦̰͍̝̀̄̔̑̐ͅ.
Blue eyes snapped open and were met with a white ceiling. The hand lowered as tears began to pool, streaming down afterward.
Cecilia slowly sat up, clutching her chest as she felt a deep pain in both her body and her psyche. Her shoulders hitched as she began to sob, unsure as to why she was feeling this way. She took deep, shuddering breaths to calm herself down, ignoring how her right arm briefly spasmed.
'What was..?' Her mind tried to make sense of what she saw. The dark void, the figure, and the hands. 'What was that?'
These past few months, she had been having these strange sensations. Little tingles that somehow warned her of incoming danger. She first thought that it was more on her senses improving with all the training and sparring she did, but now with her most recent attack, on a limb that she remembered having never been hurt…
'Was I hallucinating due to stress or..?' She clenched her right fist, wincing at the brief throb of pain from her elbow. 'No…that wasn't a hallucination…was it?'
Looking around in a slight daze, she saw medical equipment neatly arranged, glass cupboards holding syringes and bottles of what she assumed were medicine. There were also a few empty beds beside hers.
Wiping the tears away, she swung her legs around and stood up. Her vision swam and she had to lean against the nearby wall, gritting her teeth as a maelstrom of sensations wracked her body. Pins and needles attacked her legs, and she had to brace herself before her knees could give out.
"Alcott!"
She looked over her shoulder and saw Laura in the doorway, sole ruby eye wide in surprise before she ran up to her. The shorter girl quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her stable.
"You're awake already?! Are you alright? What happened?" The German asked, her expression twisted in worry as she helped her sit back down on the bed.
Cecilia took a deep breath as her surroundings slowly stopped spinning. "I just…got up too fast." She slowly shook her head as she steadied her breathing. "How long was I out..?"
'How long has it been since…'
The blonde glanced at her right arm and lightly clenched her fist, almost missing the shorter girl's answer as she did so.
"Almost three hours." There was a grim look on the albino's face, one that twisted her gut the longer she looked at it. "The others are… they're at Camp Schwab. Huang and I are heading over there with Yamada-sensei." There was a somewhat sad smile on her lips as she tilted her head slightly. "It's lucky that you woke up, you'll be coming with us then."
There was something in her voice that Cecilia picked up on, something akin to dread.
She didn't like it.
.
.
.
The hospital was filled with the noises one would expect from such a place, and the scent of disinfectant was as heavy as ever to go along with it. Nurses and doctors went about their routines, either transferring documents or wheeling medical trolleys down this hallway to the next. They spoke of mindless chatter, unrelated reports or unimportant gossip, or even the complaint of the lack of certain medicines and tools needed.
That was what greeted Maya Yamada when she entered the military hospital. She held no doubt that the hospital would be busy. There was an explosion that happened hours earlier after all. But despite this sense of normalcy, a heavy feeling bore down on her the moment she entered with her students.
And speaking of said students, at least the others, she spotted them huddled on one side of the room.
Charlotte looked entirely defeated, with a pale pallor and eyes hidden by the shadow of her hair. Her body language spoke of vulnerability but also of faint hope if the fact that her palms were pressed on one another in silent prayer were to say anything about it.
Kanzashi, meanwhile, was more morose-looking, with a scowl as she leaned back against the wall next to the chair the Frenchwoman was sitting on. With crossed arms, the ruby eyes of the bluenette were glaring at a far wall, hostility dancing within alongside restraint. Those same ruby eyes looked over her when she entered, and they lost the hostility, though her expression didn't change much.
"What happened?" Maya asked, trying to push down the paranoid dread crawling up her spine. Laura and Rin rushed past her, coming to a stop by their friends with worried expressions on their faces. "Where are the others?"
"Ms. Yamada?"
Turning her head, her green eyes met the cold gray of Mikhail Coast. Momentarily, she was taken aback, physically recoiling every so slightly.
When did he get here? And before them too?
Pushing her surprise down, she noted that he was wearing a doctor's smock over what looked like a fresh pair of blue scrubs. Alongside the scent of disinfectant, there was this metallic smell that clung to him, almost like a cloak. A clipboard and folder were underneath his arm, the latter of which seemed to be somewhat full.
"If you'd come with me." Mikhail offered with a small frown, glancing over to the IS cadets that were watching them like hawks. "There's something I wish to talk to you about."
Maya felt a cold sweat form down her spine, and she had to swallow to wet her suddenly dry throat. "...Of course." She murmured, giving one last look at the cadets to stay put before she followed the doctor.
They walked down a hallway in tense silence, though mostly it came from her. The gray-haired doctor, who was probably just as young as her, seemed nonchalant and indifferent about everything. It irked her, really, to have someone who swore the Hippocratic Oath to be so…uncaring about his duties.
He even complained about his treatment of Rin!
Her frown deepened when he opened the door to what seemed to be a break room. A few nurses were there, but they flinched when they met his stare. Thumbing over his shoulder, he ordered them out, and the teacher stepped to the side to let them pass. With a small huff, he walked in, and she followed, closing the door behind her.
Placing the clipboard and folder on a nearby table, he crossed his arms as he turned to face her instead of sitting down like she expected him to. "So, how do you want me to break it?"
Maya blinked. "I'm sorry?"
Mikhail tapped the folder with a slight roll of his eyes. "This folder contains the Operative report of both the doctors on the Kestrel and from me most recently. So how do you want me to break it?"
…
A cold pit formed in the stomach of the teacher. Her hands suddenly felt cold as she lowered her gaze to the folder, her lips quivering as the realization that Operative reports were made after surgery.
Her students got hurt.
Her students got hurt to the point of needing surgery.
"How…" She gulped, looking back up at the indifferent doctor with her gathered courage. "How bad did they get hurt?"
Mikhail took a deep breath and finally sat down, leaning against the table as he steepled his hands. "Let's start with the easier ones to get out of the way. Davion Guele. He mostly has superficial damage. Light bruising along his limbs and a slight case of exhaustion. The doctors on the Kestrel noted that he lacked most of the usual symptoms related to high g-forces on the human body such as musculoskeletal pain and petechiae." He opened the folder and slid some papers over to her.
Maya blinked, somewhat whiplashed at the sudden seriousness of the previously indifferent man. Gone was the subtle contempt or the nonchalant attitude, instead having been replaced with the professionalism expected of his occupation.
Nevertheless, she listened.
"Houki Shinonono. Light burns on her arms, shoulders, and face. She has a rather significant bruise on the back of her head, as well as a contusion. However, it isn't quite life-threatening, so I suggest that she remain bed-ridden and sleep on her front to reduce the chances of further complications. What is dangerous, however, is the case of High Altitude Cerebral Edema she has."
He flicked another set of papers stapled together towards her from the folder.
"Here is her file, give this to doctors back at your Academy. The doctors on the carrier administered dexamethasone so it's up to you to give her supplemental oxygen once you return."
The gray-haired doctor looked over her shoulder for a brief moment, and she glanced behind her, only to see the tail-end of a figure walking past through the frosted glass. She frowned minutely but focused back on their talk, dismissing whoever it was as another doctor or a nurse that wanted to use the break room.
A flick of his fingers and another set of papers slid over to her.
"Ichika Orimura. Much like with Shinonono, he has burns on his limbs and face, areas not protected by armor and the pilot suit. Unlike with Shinonono, however, he has an open fracture on the back of his head, the occipital bone has been cracked. Once again, the doctors at the Kestrel have treated this issue, mostly, so I had to pick up the slack in keeping it bound and writing up the necessary medication."
Mikhail tapped his finger on the table at a steady rhythm, keeping her attention as the room began to slowly wobble for her.
"He also seems to have some hearing loss, which I found out after an inspection of his ears. However, the most pressing thing he has is his case of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. He's already been treated with nifedipine, but he still displays cyanosis and occasionally coughs up sputum. Which is odd given its near-immediate surfacing of the symptoms as opposed to the standard 48 to 72 hours."
Maya swallowed some spit to wet her dry throat once again. He said that they were to start at the least pressing, but it sounded like Ichika was on the verge of death! What the hell happened to the other two if this was the third 'least pressing'?!
"Ryo Murakumo. On the surface, he's the one with the least amount of damage to his body. No open wounds, no bruises, with only some pulled muscles here and there. He also has that pilot suit of his to thank for, as there's a slight burn line going diagonally down his torso that should have been third degree, but only has been first. Internally, however, it is a much more pressing issue."
He stared at her dead in the eyes, causing her shaking hands to clench tightly in an effort to make them stop. "Blood tests concluded that he had high-level, dangerously high levels of cortisol and norepinephrine in his bloodstream. This indicates that he has been missing sleep, and if the amount is anything to go by, he hasn't been sleeping for days."
"What?" She jolted, staring at him with wide eyes. "But I saw him yesterday! He was all bright and bushy-eyed and-!"
"I'm not done." He coldly interrupted her, his eyes narrowing slightly. He continued either way, not even giving her a chance to settle down. "Because of his lack of sleep and the accumulated stress during his fight, he is effectively in a coma."
All the blood drained from the greenette's face. A chill spread throughout her body as she processed the news.
A student of hers in a coma..?
"The cause of the coma is an aneurysm, more specifically a saccular aneurysm that occurred in the Circle of Willis. This may be tied to the high cortisol level in his blood, or perhaps from another occurrence altogether. The odd thing about this is that the Kestrel doctors wrote down that the aneurysm was still there but scans earlier when he arrived showed that there was a lack of said aneurysm. While I don't believe in fantastical things such as fate or miracles, I'm just glad that I don't have to work on his brain because that would be a drag." He rolled his eyes afterwards, flicking the Red Frame pilot's papers to her.
Shakily, she reached out and took the papers but did not deign to look at them. She didn't want to believe it. That her precious students, those that weren't even fully adults yet, had suffered this much. A part of her blamed herself for this, for not having the strength to speak out against this course of action. Damn whatever the Board of Directors said, sending teenagers to handle adult problems was just not the way!
"Now this last one…" Mikhail sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I had trouble with."
Maya looked up at him with a myriad of emotions on her face. If the last one, if Ephraim, caused the good doctor trouble, just how bad was he hurt?
Fortunately for her, she was spared from further bad news by a high-pitched shriek. Her eyes widened as she recognized just who it was and she shot out of her chair to make her way to the door. She heard him sigh behind her, a resigned tone in the exhale.
"He's in the ICU. Don't rush ahead, I'll come with you."
The teacher didn't acknowledge his words, having already been out of the room and was half-way down the hallway when he did the same. She ignored the alarmed nurses and the few marines that were acting as security as she moved towards the ICU, her body on auto-pilot as she slipped past the staff.
Ahead of her were the double doors of the wing that housed the Intensive Care Unit. At its flanks were two marines, one of whom were trying to dissuade any further onlookers from going in, while the other kept a careful grip on his rifle. A single look from her was all it took for the one keeping watch to open the door, along with a glance over her shoulder at the gray-haired doctor following close.
Her hearing was filled with white noise as she stepped forth, eyes locked forward as she felt a palpable sensation of dread overcome her. Even through the strong scent of disinfectant, there was no mistaking the scent of the one thing she loathed now more than ever.
Blood.
"Père céleste, Mère où que vous soyez, veuillez sauvegarder le rétablissement de mon ami…"
The quiet muttering in French caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Charlotte kneeling by the bedside of Ryo. If the teacher wasn't informed of his status earlier, she would have thought that he was just sleeping soundly, and that would have been a much preferred alternative than what it actually was. The Frenchwoman was pressing her forehead against his hand, her own hands clutching it in a shaking grip as her shoulders shuddered in quiet sobs.
A few doctors and nurses were trying to talk to her so that she wouldn't get in their way of tending to the comatose teen, but it was all for nothing. Maya knew that the blonde wasn't going to move, not when she was that deep in disbelief and grief.
"This is why I dislike dealing with people." Mikhail muttered as he walked past, giving her a glance before going further into the ICU. "Come on, he's in the Critical Care Unit."
Maya followed wordlessly, her gaze stuck on the sight of her students' suffering. Her hands clenched tightly as a sense of fault brewed within her. Was it not her duty, her responsibility to help her charges in times of trouble such as these? So why did she feel so…useless?
"Yamada-sensei!"
At the cry, she snapped out of her wallowing and locked eyes with her albino student. In her arms was an unresponsive Cecilia, the taller blonde staring ahead at the curtained section of the room in shock.
"Mentor was…"
The teacher's brows shot up. What was this about Chifuyu?
Laura took a deep breath as she shook her head, a brief flash of disbelief and betrayal flashing across her face. "Mentor was here. She…she went to the room where Shinonono and Orimura are." There was an underlying frustration in her words, one that worried the teacher. "She didn't even look at Ryo-nii or…or at Sahaku-san."
"She asked the doctors as to where her brother was…" Cecilia muttered, a bit of color returning to her pale cheeks. The shimmering in her eyes spoke of unspilled tears, and she hastily wiped them away as she turned her head to look up at the teacher. "She disappears on us for hours and then comes back only to focus on…"
'Ichika…' Maya thought with a quiet inhale. 'Of course she'd focus on her brother, but…' Her green eyes looked back over her shoulder at the comatose courier before returning forward to the curtains. There was nothing but an eerie silence coming from it, broken only by the quiet hissing of a ventilator and the rhythmic beeping of a heart rate monitor. It only made her more anxious about what she'd see behind the veil.
"...What did you see, Alcott-san?" Her lips moved faster than her mind, only realizing her words seconds after a tense silence pressed on their shoulders.
The blonde stared at her with a haunted look before looking back at the curtains. Shaking her head, she got on her feet with a slight stumble. Laura helped her righting herself, her expression a mix of restrained anger and worry. Cecilia's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out, eventually closing in a grimace as her face twisted in grief.
"If you'll allow me to continue where we left off earlier, I'll do it." Mikhail suddenly spoke up, with a stern look as he stared at the teens. "I was going to tell her what happened to my patient when one of you interrupted us with a scream." Cold gray locked on to Cecilia's blues, causing the noblewoman to flinch. "So if you could, vacate the premises. Go out and get some fresh air, take a walk to clear your mind, or grab a snack at the nearby burger joint."
The albino glared at him before closing her eye and slowly nodding. "Ja. Ja, das wird gut. Come on, Frau Alcott." She tugged the blonde along, whose gaze remained locked to the curtains. A hand weakly raised up, reaching towards the veil but she let herself be guided by the German out of the ICU.
The gray-haired doctor took a deep breath, scowling as he turned to the CCU. "Now, if there aren't any further distractions..."
Walking over, he gestured for her to follow. Maya did so reluctantly, giving one last glance at the departing duo before coming to stand beside the older man. He gave her a long look before reaching out to grab the curtains.
"For what little it's worth from me… Brace yourself."
With those words, he pulled the curtain back.
Maya quickly put a hand over her mouth to muffle her scream.
Click click clack…
Gray eyes stared at the screen as rapid lines of code appeared and disappeared. A seal blinked into existence in the upper right corner, causing him to purse his lips as his fingers began to dance on the keys once more. The laptop on the table was connected by way of numerous wires to the three prone Astrays on the hangar's floors. Several windows were on the screen, all constantly moving with new data as the programs he had slaved to Barbatos ran their processes.
Click click clack…
[Prototype 01] Status: Inactive.
-Tengoku Backpack [Signal Lost]
-Damage Severity: 68% [Right Arm Damaged, Torso Compromised, Thrusters Redlined, Right Optic Destroyed, Mirage Colloid Dispensers Destroyed, Power Cylinders…]
-Ammo Levels: Igelstellungs (Empty), Type 70 (100%), Type 71 (78%), Gae Bulg (Empty)
-Battery Level: 15% [Critical]
-Overall Status: Emergency Repairs Required
.
[Prototype 02] Status: Inactive.
- Tactical Arms II [Inactive]
-Damage Severity: 22% [Right Leg Armor Destroyed, Torso Compromised, Power Cylinders Strained]
-Ammo Levels: Igelstellungs (Empty), Type 70 (100%), Beam Torch (57%)
-Battery Level: 63%
-Overall Status: Repairs Required
.
[Prototype 03] Status: Inactive.
-Tactical Arms [Inactive, Damaged]
-Caletvwlch [Inactive, Damaged]
-Lohengrin 'Galaxy' Launcher [Inactive, Damaged]
-Microfusion Reactor [Sealed]
-Damage Severity: 37% [Left Shoulder Thruster Destroyed, Left Arm Damaged, Right Foot Armor Destroyed, Igelstellungs Destroyed]
-Ammo Levels: Igelstellungs (!missing!), Type 70 (100%), Tactical Arms (e̴̢̬͔̩̽͂ ̸͖̗̞͎̾r̶̹̰͑ ̸̦͈̩̦̩̓r̷̺͔̟͎̞͂̿̓͠ ̴̖̠̹̈̀ô̷̢̼̦̗̻̾̿ ̸͓͠r̵̹͖̩͕̪͑)
-Battery Level: 55%
-Overall Status: Repairs Required
A sigh escaped his lips as the brunette leaned back, making sure not to lean back too far and tip the steel folding chair he was provided with. Glancing at the seal on the corner of the screen, he input several lines of code and let his AI do the rest of the work in the background. Closing the dark windows, he accessed the internet in order to find out what happened with the Gospel.
Slipping his earbuds on, he let his playlist shuffle as the riffs of guitars entered his ears-
Pop!
Smush…
Suddenly, there were two soft sensations pressing on his back.
"All work and no play, Davion-kun~?"
He was out of the chair in an instant, his right arm swinging in a vicious backhand.
With a mischievous giggle, the owner of the voice ducked underneath the blow and then backflipped away from him to a safer distance. Gray eyes glinted crimson as he grabbed the folding chair and wielded it by the leg as one would a large 2x4.
"Tabane..!" Davion snarled, glaring at the purple-haired inventor as she tittered.
"Goodness, Davion-kun!" She chided playfully, leaning forward as she placed her hands on her hips. "Is that any way to greet your mother?"
He didn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction to her words, merely keeping his glare as she sighed and leaned back on her heels. "Alright alright, I'll get right to business." She pouted and crossed her arms. "Seriously, you're becoming a killjoy like your friends."
"Oh, and I wonder why." He hissed, tempted to simply throw his chair at her. "Perhaps it's from all the stress? The sleepless nights? Or maybe it's because my friends almost died?!"
In the back of his mind, he noted that there was a lack of echo in his voice, unnatural given the spacious nature of the building they were in.
Tabane stared at him, her coy smile turning into a sheepish one as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Ahaha…okay, I know that it looked like that…"
His other hand was immediately on the grip of the Grizzly in its holster by his thigh, ready to pull it out in a moment's notice and point it at the infuriating woman before him.
"But trust me when I say that things didn't go quite to plan, okay?" She pressed her hands together before him, the plea ruined by her stuck-out tongue and playful expression. "I knew that you guys would pull through! After all, you're my little munchkins, you can't be beat!"
'Bullshit.'
Her rabbit ears suddenly twitched, and she looked past him, pouting as she huffed. "Oh boo, I'm afraid we'll have to cut this short. Come look for me in the forest tomorrow, okay~? I'll explain sooo many things! But for tonight…" The growing grin on her face slowly became more and more menacing as the light in her eyes winked away, leaving hollow pools of plum as she stared at him.
"Get ready for the encore~"
BANG!
Pop!
With that, she was gone.
And he was a moment too late in raising his gun.
Plink...
The brass casing of the .50 AE bullet impacted and then rolled on the floor, now having an echo to the action.
"Fuck!" He swore, stomping and causing cracks to spread on the concrete beneath his foot. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"
Clank!
He quickly set the safety back on his pistol and then back in its holster just as the doors to the hangar ever so slightly slid open. With a flick of his foot, he sent the brass casing rolling away and then turned his head. Gray eyes met brown as Lieutenant Murrue Ramius slipped through the gap between the large hangar doors.
"So this is where he's holed up, huh?"
A frown curled his lips as he lowered the chair, unfolding it back and leaning against it as the additional voice made itself known.
Mu la Flaga sauntered after the Lieutenant, taking in the damaged forms of the three mobile suits on the floor with a low whistle. He was still wearing his pilot suit, save for the helmet and the accompanying oxygen mask. The mechanic himself was in a similar state, with him still wearing his customized blue Earth Alliance pilot suit, with the red iron flower logo on the patches on his upper arms.
"What is it?" Davion asked, watching as she stepped closer. She took one long look at the Astrays, her eyes taking in the increasing amount of damage of each before wincing at the state of the Gold Frame. "I have urgent repairs that need to be done."
"No need to be so prickly, boyo." The blonde sighed, scratching the back of his head as he eyed the holster on his thigh. "We just wanted to check on you since you upped and disappeared on us following the landing." He then looked around again, his brows furrowing as he noticed something.
"Huh, so that's what the gray one looks like…"
The brunette turned his head to where the older man was looking and frowned.
A bit away from the three Astrays, was the upright frame of the Blitz, complete with the three almost imperceptible rents in its torso. Like with the other three, it was connected to his laptop via a cable, and he had Barbatos hack into its systems to see if there was a Black Box similar to their Gundams, or something similar to pull data from. He hoped that, should it be found, it would be prime evidence of Tabane's meddling.
Though, of course, he would never tell the two before him of such a thing.
"Well, you've seen me and what I'm doing." He gestured to the laptop with multiple windows open, his tone snarky as he scowled. "Now, if you'd please leave me alone so I can do my work?"
'Especially since the bitch told me to prepare for a second damn round…'
"But before that," Murrue asked gently, sending a stern look at the blonde to stop him from saying something that would irritate the temperamental teen before them. "Can we get an account from you on what happened..?"
Davion was silent as he stared at her, his scowl lessened into a frown. He then turned to his laptop, fingers dancing on the keys in broad and rapid strokes. "You'll get the video and audio recordings from our flight. I reserve the right to censor what I'll send, because there are some things there that will remain private for obvious reasons."
The two adults shared a glance.
"It'll be the same thing I'll send to the IS Academy's Board of Directors." The mechanic snorted, briefly glancing at the fading seal on the corner of the screen. Barbatos was already in the process of editing their recordings. He had anticipated such a thing after all. He knew the military types and the monkey suits at the high table in charge of the Island were obviously going to demand evidence of what happened to review like the hollering chimps they were.
"Expect it in a day or two. But for now..." He sent them a crimson-speckled glare. "Get out."
Mu raised his hands placatingly. "Alright, alright…easy there, we'll get out of your hair…" He sent a glance at the brunette women. "Hey, Lieutenant, are you free after this? What say we grab a bite at the burger place down the road?"
Murrue looked at him oddly, briefly frowning before she sighed. "I have duties to do, la Flaga. But if you're going to Bulldog's, grab me a cheeseburger, would you?"
"Will do!"
And with that, the two left the hangar.
Davion watched them leave before he let out a long sigh. Glancing at the three Astrays, he pursed his lips as he stood up.
Two of them would be unable to be used in the upcoming fight.
Two pilots down, two suits idle.
'Which meant…'
Clenching his fists, he slowly began to walk to the set of tools nearby. It wasn't of the same quality as the ones he had back on the Island, but…it had to make do.
It had to make do.
There was another battle on the horizon…
Bzzt. Bzzt.
"Is that your phone, Miss Winslet?"
"Oh, it is. Please excuse me, would you mind if I read this here and now?"
"Go ahead."
Lath smiled thankfully at the man across the conference table and picked up the phone on said table. Navigating through the apps, she found that whatever was sent to her was a message from Mikhail Coast. Apparently, there were some things that her brother had hidden from both her and the world.
'To think, you were some sort of super soldier all this time…' The Scandinavian kept her mask serene as she speed-read through the medical report the good doctor had made concerning the blonde after his surgery. 'Not that I discounted such a possibility. After all, you were able to react fast enough to redirect my pistol. But seriously, nano-implants? How did someone even create hormone boosters that small? Not to mention all that genetic tampering… Are you even considered human anymore?'
Her finger stopped scrolling as she locked on to a sole paragraph, more like a footnote than anything else in the cold and clinical report.
Patient displays numerous burns from multiple sources, all save for the following almost healed completely. Ice and fire burns are present around the hips and neck, while faded electrical burns are present on the torso and around the wrists and ankles. Smaller marks, that have long since healed, congregate around the groin and glutes. This finalizes my theory from the last check; patient has possibly undergone sexual abuse that may or may not include torture, as the wounds are too deliberate to be accidents, all the while being restrained during or after.
That…that sounded like…
'...He was raped..?' Her blue eyes narrowed imperceptibly but she kept her mask secure. There was no need for any weakness right now, not especially in front of her business partner. 'No, that wouldn't make sense. He's got implants and genetic enhancement, how could someone like him be…'
She pushed those thoughts away for now and then read the rest of his report.
Concerning the body of the pilot of what was called 'Unknown 5' by the Americans, similar implants and signs of genetic tampering has been observed-
"Is there something wrong?"
'Tch!'
"No, nothing you should be concerned about, sir." Lath gave the man a smile, channeling all the lessons her mother had taught her into creating a perfect mask. "It's just something about dinner that I may need to reschedule."
Ping!
Her eyes lowered to her screen once more at the notification sound. A stylized purple rabbit's head took up the entire screen before flashing her a playful grin and a thumbs up. This repeated for a few more seconds before it disappeared.
…
Despite her best efforts, her lips curled further into a satisfied smile as she put her phone down. She'll read her brother's medical report later.
For now?
The man across from her quirked a brow, tilting his head in slight curiosity at her sudden cheer. "Did something good happen, Miss Winslet?"
"Just some confirmation." The orangette leaned forward on the desk, steepling her fingers as her blues stared into two pools of similar color. "Now, where were we, Mr. Hekmatyar?"
Kasper Hekmatyar's ever-present smile grew wider as he sat up straighter. The man dressed in an immaculate black business suit as tilted his head ever so slightly. The eyes of the blank-faced bodyguards in the room briefly flicked over to him before returning to their usual duty of keeping watch of anything that may be of danger to their charge. "Something on a contract about transporting raw materials, yes? My, I wonder what you're doing behind the backs of your fellow O.R.B. members."
Lath merely tittered at the pale-haired man.
"Grabbing an opportunity when it presented itself, of course."
Maya gladly took the offered cup of coffee into her hands as she stared at the table blankly, letting its warmth settle into her palms to calm herself down, even for a little bit. Mikhail took his seat across from her and gathered the papers back into the folder. They had returned back to the break room, with the teacher having been thoroughly shaken after seeing the state of her students.
"So…he woke up during surgery?" She whispered, still in disbelief at the report the doctor gave her earlier.
"Multiple times, yes." The gray-haired man nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee. "He was reported to have woken up three times, hissing something about 'not again', or so according to the report. The last time he woke up was during the closing of the chest cavity. It gave the doctors a scare, especially when some of the stitches opened back up."
The greenette looked at him tiredly, not even as surprised at the news as she wanted to be.
All this, these unfortunate sequences of events, these unexpected tragedies and calamities, all of it, is simply unbelievable. To think that just a few days ago, everyone was having a good time. The breakneck speeds of how it turned to the worst were enough to almost put her into complete shock.
But she had to hold it together… for her students.
And all this serves as a harsh recall in her memory of the real nature of her three quintessential astray students.
Project: Neo-Type.
The abominable super soldier project that created the three of them through what she could only assume were bloody trials, monstrous experimentation, and numerous unethical acts done upon them.
This cruel reminder made it easier for her to comprehend that one of her students was able to endure enough anesthetic to knock out a fully grown man. Not only once, but three times? In what were possibly incremental amounts? Not to mention that one of them is presumed to have not been sleeping for days, perhaps even more than they can speculate, while forcing himself to act normally to hide it. Why?
But as depressing as it was to remember the fact, it also gave her some ease, knowing that it wasn't in the realm of impossibility that her students could recover from what they experienced.
Because before they were proclaimed superhumans of Project whatever, she didn't care.
She was a teacher, and they were her students. Their well-being came first before any of their abnormalities.
"And his eye..?" The teacher asked, now taking a slow sip of the cheap coffee. It was of a lower quality than what they served at the Academy, and definitely not at the same level as the brew Chifuyu would share with her.
"Like I said earlier, we managed to save it." Mikhail sighed as he set his cup down, fixing her an annoyed frown. " All I needed to do was to remove traces of glass and metal from the flesh surrounding it before it could heal over."
Maya slowly nodded her head, somewhat relieved that at least there wasn't any permanent damage.
…Well, aside from…
"His arm can't be saved, I told you." The doctor saw the look in her eyes and grumbled. "After all, the severed part wasn't recovered. Not that it could be even reattached in the first place." He traced his own arm, tapping the area halfway down his bicep. "There's intensive heat damage here that all but fried the nerves and flash-boiled the blood, causing the veins and arteries to explode, as well as all the liquid in the muscles. I was able to save enough for him to still have something to call an arm."
Maya felt something break. "Damn it…" She hissed. If her frustrations were directly transmitted into strength, the cup in her hands had already shattered a million times over.
"He'll recover, I assure you. His physical state, at least, as well as the other one." The doctor surmised with a frown, picking his cup up and downing the rest. "But of their mental states? One lost an arm, and the other is a whole can of worms in itself. I wouldn't know how to treat them, mental faculties are beyond my field of study and practice. I can only assure you that they will physically recover. I promise you that. If you want, I can refer you to a bunch of therapists and psychiatrists I know, make it easier to deal with them after all this blows over."
"…" That brought some relief to the greenette. Even if it was just a tiny bit of hope, she would hold on to it like a lifeline. With a low sigh, she placed her cup on the table and then moved her hands to cover her face for a few seconds before sitting finally straight, facing the doctor. "... How much does the Academy owe you?"
"None." Mikhail huffed as he got up from his seat and put his cup on the counter a few feet behind him. "I'm on a retainer agreement with the Sahaku Clan and they pay well. Of course, it's in their best interest that the Heir of the Clan doesn't die so soon, or so Lady Winslet tells me."
"I…I see." The teacher muttered as she too got up. "Thank you, doctor, for saving my students." She continued numbly, turning to walk to the door as a myriad of emotions ran gamut within her.
"Take care of yourself, Miss Yamada." There was a sliver of slight concern in the dismissive tone of the doctor, but Maya didn't care or even accept it. She left the room silently, turning to close the door behind her and catching a glimpse of the gray-haired man sighing as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
"Maya."
She jolted and whirled around to meet the burning gaze of Chifuyu.
"Get the rest back to the conference room in Kanucha. The Gospel will be returning tonight."
The greenette just couldn't catch a break, couldn't she?
AN:
Beta'd by: ProjectRyo
Haven't had an interlude in a while, yeah? Also another upload so soon? Well, let's just say that today's another special day.
I had to pull out some of my medical books for this one, as well as cross-referencing it with online sources.
Next chapter will finally be the Finale of Season 1 and the beginning of the spiral that is the Light Novel! Bloody hell, whatever high entity watch over me for I will suffer. So uh...expect longer pauses between uploads once that happens. Combined with the upcoming troubles in University...well...
Anyway, to the reviews!
RoyalTwinFangs: It's a mixed playlist of Ace Combat, Project Wingman, and from the various Gundam series'.
KnightOfZaku: We'll see. Highschool gossip and whatnot is similar but distinct, in a way, compared to conventional politics.
P.B.S: Oh, don't worry. I know who the first person is. Curse my curiosity for that one, though given the knowledge that I've learned, it kinda messed up some of my future plans. But, rest assured, I'll find a way to fix them right up.
I tried my best to make Forte and Daryl true to what little information about them there is on the wiki. And yes, as a result of me not having read up to Volume 10, this'll be the last time they'll appear in the story for the moment. They'll return once I get a chance to read up on their characters.
It isn't really cucking if they (Mu and Murrue) weren't in a relationship in the first place ;)
MrSoandSo: You read the product of a mind hazy with alcohol! Expect more to come... maybe.
This is Cipher, enjoying a hot brew of Coffee with Irish Cream, signing off!
