O-02-62 & O-02-63
The infirmary was busier than ever. The Apostles from the other day left few injured –among the many dead caused–, so The Red Mist wreaking havoc pushed our resources management to the limit. I miss the times when my only patients were the frequent Inspector and someone who got sanity knocked too hard on their skulls by Ekpmephtil…
My name… it doesn't really matter. I don't expect to live too much longer, so I won't bother you with a new name to remember. I am the clerk that custodies the auxiliary infirmary at Control, before the better one opened at Safety. We have a capacity of 12 employees at my place, but that day I was forced to receive double the quantity. I had to beg on my knees for Safety to lend me one of their clerks.
Among us, there's this saying. If a clerk reaches their fifth day, they are a veteran. For that reason, I was revered as a good luck deity by my peers. Such idiocy. All I did was hide in a corner and become one with the furniture. Besides, if I died, who would take care of the injured? Safety's team got replaced by newcomers so often I had already lost count of how many times I had to go over there and give them a quick debrief of the tips they would need.
If an employee loses an eye, give them an eye patch. If they lost a hand, a hand patch, whatever that is. The key is to treat their bodies in such a way their spirits refuse to give up. I had a case where an employee tripped, hit their head and died. It infuriated me so much I took some… relaxants… from my stash.
Although I haven't witnessed the abnormalities directly, I am an expert about what they can cause. Broken bones, exploding hearts, liquefying bodies, crushing ribs, cooked brains, self-harm of all kind and wounds of every shape.
That day, my infirmary was filled with a red mist. Whenever someone died to the injuries Gebura caused, a red mist would exit their pores. When I took a closer look, I couldn't believe my microscope. Blood cells weren't meant to survive in the air, so after a while, the mist turned cobalt and a fetid stench filled the place. I had my assistant running laps with a blanket to ventilate the area.
A robot visited. Maybe Malkuth, looking to find out how Gars was doing; maybe Hod, bringing pieces to help with Kikas' core repairs. A red virtual eye took in all the damages she caused and entered the infirmary. Some patients recognized her and freaked out, but the sedatives in their bodies prevented anyone from leaving their beds.
"Um, miss Gebura? Maybe bringing your weapon with you wasn't a great idea… You're going to make everyone panic." I politely explained.
"I don't care. I need this to protect them if more harm comes their way."
"Harm comes in many ways, miss. The fact you showed yourself at a place where you're hated shows your strength, but you would do good not to project your resistance onto everyone. These patients are like this because they couldn't keep up with you. They're weak."
The robot grabbed my shoulder. I felt death seeping from her grip.
"Do you think I am strong?"
"Strong is an understatement: you're the Red Mist."
"No. The Red Mist died. She was a strong Fixer who never lost sight of what she wanted to protect. I am her shadow."
"I am no expert on that field, but does it really matter? Kali or Gebura, you continue to be you. What's the difference?"
"The difference, doc, is that I allowed myself to be consumed by my rage. My emotions used to be my weapons of choice… not the owners of my actions. In that regard, every employee that fought to defeat me is stronger than I currently am. Raw emotions are useless if not properly managed. I have them to thank for reminding me what I wanted to achieve in the first place. The courage to protect."
Ah… She doesn't get it. The fact she can worry about all of these concepts is proof that we live in different worlds. I don't get to reflect on my feelings because I wouldn't get anything from it. I am a clerk. I am weak. Gebura is strong.
I left the Sephirah expressing her apologies to the employees she hurt and returned to my tasks. I helped my patient leaning forward so that I could change their bandages. I almost didn't recognize them without their blond ponytail. It probably didn't survive the fight… Their left eye was gone as well… One arm less, one leg short…
"Beta7854? Is that you?"
"What's left of me… anyway… Haha. Did we do it… doc? Did we help… Gebura?"
My voice wouldn't answer. I just selfishly declared myself weak for being a clerk. What about Qwerty? They used to be a clerk too, but they fought against a color almost on equal footing…
I gave them their treatment and moved on. Thinking about it would only bring me more regret, so I would behave like the clerk that I was meant to be… It was at those times that I looked at the bed number 3 and hoped the Inspector would get hurt or something. Talking to them always helped me clear my ideas. If not, I would wander around Control and talk to the team.
I looked at Gars, laying on a bed and suffering nightmares. They were the only member left of that old team. I sighed and adjusted their dosage of medicines. Information's adjutant called for me.
"Delta2053, where is the patient that occupied bed number 4?"
"If you're talking about the captain from Information, they were discharged earlier."
I studied medicine at K Corp, yet harm always came in many ways… Leave any broken bones to me, but… broken hearts are no one's specialty... yet.
A captain had to set a good example and work their hardest. As long as there remained any document pending to be processed in our department, however, I… I would look for something else to do. I couldn't stand the idea of censoring their name. Yesod told me to take a day off and clear my ideas, despite there not being any regulation that allowed that. To maintain discretion, is it?
I needed to get over Ekpmephtil. If I couldn't do paperwork, I would help with the abnormalities.
Extraction Department was a dark place filled with gravestones-like structures with golden epitaphs. The employees there wondered from one place to the other like soulless dolls. The Sephirah stared at the green illuminated floor. There was a tank of green fluid and a mass of huge tentacles inside. I gulped. Whatever that was, I surely had not enough clearance level to ask.
I entered the hallway and reached the chamber with the new abnormality.
Judgment Bird likes justice, so don't attempt to repress it. It doesn't make much sense to judge the judge.
Feed it some fodder for Instinct, clean its feathers for Attachment and talk about yourself for Insight. Do not tell any sin it can judge.
I don't feel it is a good idea to reunite the Forest Rangers trio. –Inspector
"The rumors were true… Is someone impersonating them?"
I checked behind the notes.
The scars make you look more handsome, Greg.
I heard you got over your happiness syndrome, Kikas. I'm happy for you. :)
Sorry about Ek, Lin... I'll be back soon. I want you to tell me how they did as a captain during my absence. –[DATA EXPUNGED]
"You better hurry, dummy. What is taking you so long?"
O-02-62 was a tall bird with long, skinny limbs and neck. They were so thin I couldn't believe they supported its spherical body covered in black feathers, along its winged arms. Its head was covered by bandages and had two small white wings of red tips on the sides. Balanced on its neck was a golden scale that tipped to one side. One of the weighs was bigger than the other, so it was hard to believe it made fair judgments.
"I will caress your feathers. Is that alright with you?"
The bird extended its arms as if to offer them to me. Enjoying the fluffy sensation, I studied the WAW abnormality. Why was it so dangerous? I could understand why Big Bird was a WAW. It breached whenever the second trumpet sounded, turning the department's lights off and killing unsuspecting employees.
Judgment Bird looked at me. Although it lacked eyes –probably the Big Bird had them–, it knew exactly where my head was. The balance on its neck tilted more.
A hollow sensation filled my stomach. Dread. The last time I experienced anything similar, we fought and defeated a god. Pale damage? I wasn't equipped for that!
The balance returned to its usual position and the pain stopped, yet the hollow sensation inside me persisted. Pale was the element of death. Without the need of wounds, it just stole you of your life. If I kept going, it may end horribly bad for me.
Anxious, I continued to stroke the feathers. I didn't dare to look at its eyeless head again. I had to keep as minimum interaction as possible while continuing to do a proper job.
The scales tilted again, drowning me inside a pool of lifeless mud. My thoughts wandered. Did Ekpmephtil feel like this before they died? Is there an afterlife, would I be able to meet them again? The idea tempted me.
Apparently, considering suicide was a sin.
A huge pole raised next to me and a black rope tightened around my neck. Moments later, I hung from it, asphyxiating in the process. I struggled for air, but it was pointless. The Pale damage continued to shorten the distance between me and death. I flailed desperately and scratched my neck so hard it bled. That long bird continued to witness my execution eagerly.
As the lights faded, I regretted not being able to last long enough to welcome [DATA EXPUNGED] back. I also felt sorry for Martin and my team… they'll have to remove my name from a lot of records…
"Lin!"
I heard shots and explosions so intense, my consciousness faded. The darkness made me remember a certain poem about sorrow. How did it go? Oh, Sorrow, I have come to accept you… or something like that. Can't... remember...
A long time ago, in a warm and dense forest lived three happy birds.
Was I late? I panicked so much when I watched Lin being hanged I rushed back to my grave and forced my premature resurrection. After I shot the abnormality a few times with the gun that was on my hands when I awakened, I broke the pole and lowered Lin.
Oh, no. Was their neck always that long?
Through the cloud of dust, the bird's balance tried to measure my sins. I picked my companion up and exited the chamber.
"Greg! Greeeeeg!"
I hadn't used my vocal chords in so long my voice cracked after a few shouts. Nobody welcomed me at Discipline. The aftermath of the Red Mist still could be seen around the area. I couldn't stop there. Lin still breathed… somehow…
"Zero! Kikas! Anyone, please!"
Running through the hallways, I lost my balance. My body felt weak and hungry, and my prosthesis hurt a lot. A thick headache settled in. I gritted my teeth and checked on Lin.
Their breath stopped.
"Don't you dare! Not you too!"
No matter how much air I blew into them, life wouldn't return to their eyes. A pulse of healing traversed the corridor. Their neck made a weird noise. Coughs! Tears in their eyes!
"Don't leave me, Lin! I'll take you to Safety! Edge-lord will take care of you, okay?"
"Edge-lord… is…" I moved closer to hear their weak breath. "…coma…"
"What...? That... isn't like them…"
I stood up again and continued my race through the facility. Don't think about it! It's too soon to feel bad for Gregory. Lin's life was on the line. I had to focus! Dark tears will mess my vision! The golden colors of Central came into view.
Nobody welcomed me. Where was everyone? Ah… The second trumpet had been sounded… They were probably suppressing the breaching abnormalities, the Ordeals or whatever it was.
Big Bird, with his many eyes, watched over the forest to seek trespassers. Big Bird's eyes can see very far, and things we can't see.
When I almost reached the top platform where the main elevator connected the layers, I met two small Sephirahs. Above one of them, a blond young girl's spirit looked at me.
"You're back, Inspector. I wanted to ask you something."
Tiphereth A was a smart kid. She wouldn't waste my time if it wasn't important.
"Training's captain was badly damaged during yesterday's meltdown. Normal repairs won't work. Since they are an existence similar to a Sephirah's, we can reset them, but they will end up… like Tiphereth. It usually takes more resets to end up like that, but they were not converted by the usual procedure… I wanted to ask you whether we should reset them anyway or…"
I pressed on. Learning Kikas wouldn't pester me about their happiness ever again was the last thing I needed to know. This wasn't the grand return I expected.
Beak. Snap.
It took Punishing Bird a single hit to make Lin's neck make a horrible sound.
Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak. Beak... Beak.
After that little devil continued its journey somewhere, I was left alone. Explosions and screams. I embraced Lin.
"Hmm… Hm, hm, hm… Hm, hm… Hm, hm, hm… Hmmmm… hmmmmm…"
This is Lobotomy Corporation.
Humming my sorrow, I picked the white gun with the long barrel and pressed it under my chin. Would it kill me? Rushing my revival left me with incomplete knowledge about my light. Only one way to find out.
Bang!
"You can't do that." A person pushed away the barrel at the last second.
"Will you ever let me finish anything I try to do, Angela?"
The cyan-haired lady of the white coat took my gun and put it into her pocket.
"A said he would allow your return if I confiscated your personal EGO. Do you agree to these terms?"
"Hah. I don't have a say in this either, do I? Do whatever you want… I was meant to be complete once I returned, so… why do I feel so empty?"
Angela crouched next to me and studied the dark tears that spilt from my empty sockets.
Long Bird weighed the sins of creatures that enter the forest to keep peace. Long Bird's scales could measure every sin, and were fair and just.
"You should hide those before A notices. Giving up a gun in exchange of your life is a fair price, but we can't do anything about the rest."
Following her finger, I noticed what she meant. Weapon, armor and gift. EGOs usually had three parts to them. White handgun with a silencer, grey raincoat and ear headphone. I could hear myself, humming aloofly from the other side. It helped me retain my sanity. Then… I heard a voice I didn't expect.
"Hey, captain. What can we do to help these two get along?"
"Let's be happy!"
"I don't befriend edge-lords. I don't want to get cut."
"Yuck. I forgot to bring my pink-demon repellent today."
Hey, that's pretty neat…
Little Bird decided to punish bad creatures with his beak.
The lights of the facility turned off.
In chaotic cries of fear, somebody shouted. 'It's the monster! Big terrible monster lives in the dark, black forest!'
I stood up and breathed out all my sorrow.
"That's my cue. See you later, Angela. I've got work to do."
In the darkness, I hummed along the sounds of my ear headphone.
I picked Lin and brought their lifeless body to the infirmary. I just missed Greg's last moments. The blackout turned off their life support, apparently. God dammit.
I cleaned my black tears. This wasn't the return I was expecting, but I wasn't giving up on any of them. I was their witness… and I wasn't going to let them go so easily. I would collect energy… and suppress abnormalities… until no more energy could be collected and no more abnormalities could be suppressed. I would reach the end… and bring along those who couldn't make it!
A huge screech roared through the facility. I let out a groan.
"Ugh… I'm developing ornithophobia by the end of this."
Control was almost wiped out. Information just lost their captain and were too busy managing ASIYAH's abnos. Safety was occupied moving the injured to a safer area. Hod found me and entrusted me their freshest batch of trainees. I considered promising her I would keep them safe, but that was a silly thing to do. I knew better.
We reached the elevator to descend to BRIAH. There we found the rest of our forces. Headcount: 16. This would be tough. Zero was nowhere to be seen. Considering their condition, I wouldn't expect their help anyway. Personifying the void is no funny business.
Some survivors from Central Team A recognized me.
"It's the Inspector!"
"They're back!"
"We're saved!"
I smiled.
"That's way too optimistic. My presence doesn't change that much. I mean, you have your own captain, don't you?"
"That would be me! Izzy! Apprentice of Kikas and rival of Zero, at your service!"
"I know. We talked before. Who else do we have?"
The redhaired punk picked an albino who hid behind them. They had a white wing behind their back and a white and red exoskeleton suit.
"O'Neal. From Welfare."
"They're the one who manages WhiteNight, so you can expect a lot from them!"
"Is the captain from Discipline not here?" I asked.
"Qwerty was injured during yesterday's fight."
That was too bad. I heard they were a better fighter than they looked, and not having Kikas or Greg around hurt our fighting power tremendously. We had little time to coordinate, so I started dishing out orders.
Central's task would be occupying the cornering elevators of the facility, spreading wide and making sure they can reach any Qliphoth Meltdown that occurs. The beast we were about to face seemed spooky enough. Adding anything else to the equation would be too much for us to handle.
Our collective forces of Training, Welfare and Discipline would search for the breaching abnormality and beat it on our own. Since the captains were the only ones to have proper ALEPH gear, they joined the strike team.
We just started heading towards the first hallway when something appeared behind us. The dark room made it hard to see anything, but that… thing… There was no mistaking it.
The monster possessed a bandage-covered body, with the revealed head of Bird of Judgement at the top of it, and the mouth of Punishing Bird in front the body. It had big talons covered in bandages, as well coming from the top of the body. Its big black wings had several yellow eyes of Big Bird on it, coming from the back.
I was the closest employee to the beast. Fear poured into my heart with each passing second. I could feel my heartbeat drumming against my ribcage, trying to open it from within.
"Stop that, you little birb. I am not sinning. I'm just taking some of Greg's food while they're gone. It's called revenge, and it's served cold anyway."
Ah, that was it. The Apocalypse Bird was the fusion of the three forest rangers. My ear headphone helped me snap out of it, restoring my SP. I clapped my hands.
"What are you waiting for? Move! Retreat and regroup!"
My words broke the ice and the employees whose sanity was drained began fleeing in a panic. The beast raised a talon… and slammed it against the platform! The whole room shook. Black damage was dealt across our forces. A few of us failed to escape.
When we reached the hallway, a white magic circle was conjured behind us. The King of Greed started gobbling up everything in her path. We just kept running until reaching the second floor of Discipline's Main Room. There we found an egg. It was covered in bandages and had two white feathers of red tips.
Without thinking about it too much, I entered the armory of Discipline and took a black scythe of silence, Da Capo. Its White damage would help me restore any more panicking employees. Besides, we had an egg to destroy.
The beast returned. It just teleported from room to room, so there was no way to predict its patterns. We fled to the next hallway. The Mountain of Corpses was already feasting on the clerks. I gave the order to ignore it and reach the elevator. I took it upon myself to lure the ALEPH back to the room with the bird. Apocalypse opened its mouth and I jumped off the platform. The Mountain got eaten by a mass of red flesh. The whole area received the damages of the attack.
I stuck to the wall with my scythe and waited for the bird to teleport away. I clicked one of the buttons of my headgear. I knew it allowed me to communicate through the speakers. Conveniencies of being an aberration of a 06 type.
"Strike team, move back to the egg we were beating! The coast is clear!"
Slice, slice, slice. I wasn't adept at using scythes, but I just made sure to thrust the pointy bits into my target over and over, until it finally could pierce its tough defenses. Everyone joined me, except for O'Neal, who entered Nothing There's chamber to eliminate the Qliphoth Meltdown.
A head that looked up to the cosmos has been lowered.
A distant screech could be heard. Whatever we did, it worked. If the Beast was made of three birds, there had to be two more eggs to destroy.
We separated in three teams. Izzy and the Training team would search the Extraction Department. O'Neal would return to Welfare with their own team and inspect the rest of Central. After that, the captain would remain there to prevent WhiteNight from reducing its counter any further than one. ASIYAH was mine to clear. If anyone found an egg, their first task was to let the rest know by talking through the emergency broadcast system of the department.
Big Bird's egg was found at Extraction and Izzy engaged first. A huge tremor could be heard from above. When I reached Control to check what was going on, I found the room painted in red. Apocalypse Bird faced off with a red-haired spirit and a crippled employee. They were fighting to protect the corridor that led to the provisional infirmary.
The Beast extended its eyed wings and they glowed yellow. Then, golden lasers were shot to the fighters. Gebura danced around to dodge each hit, but the crippled employee just shielded behind their Mimicry weapon.
"Don't waste your time here! Find the eggs! Destroy them!" I roared.
I jumped onto Apocalypse Bird's back and thrusted my scythe into it. Judgment Bird's head turned to back to me, a fiery red eye glaring with deadly intent. Martin entered the room along with some other employees. They were entranced. That was Big Bird's ability.
Far-sighted eyes of Big Bird have been blinded.
"Uhh… I'll see you later?" Martin said before turning back and skedaddling. Good choice. This battlefield was no place for the unprepared and unequipped.
Just one more egg remained. One more… and it would be over.
Apocalypse bird teleported to Information Department, bringing me with it. The space-bending warp made me lose my balance and I fell from its back. A giant talon wavered over my head. I rolled aside and it crushed the mountain of documents underneath. Black damage reached me anyway, stealing me of my consciousness.
"Do you really read all of these reports?"
"And censor a lot of information in them. Do you want to see our collection of empty markers? Martin and I are trying to fill a room with them!"
The tremors had opened the door to that room and the markers filled the surrounding area. A giant talon crushed them.
"Hey! That's not cool!" I complained before picking up my slack.
The bird's mouth opened again. I ran towards it and jumped, readied my scythe and slammed it into Long Bird's face.
And Little Bird's mouth that devours everything has been shut.
Three birds, now as one, looked around to find the monster but couldn't find it. There were no creatures, no sun and moon, and no monster. All that is left is just a bird, and the black forest.
The beast plummeted to the ground, unmoving, dead.
My back hurt. A wing with yellow eyes grew on it. The twilight was endured and we now face towards dawn. Has the birds' twittering in the forest finally stopped?
I turned to look at Yesod.
"Sorry about the giant corpse and the torn documents. I'll help you clean this up when the day ends."
"Do not worry. We still have a long day ahead of us. Some magical girls and mercenaries are still wreaking havoc. Please, do something about it."
"Sure. Ah… Also… I'm sorry. I couldn't save Lin, either…"
The Sephirah crossed his arms. The blue-haired spirit above it did the same.
"Do not concern yourself about it."
His comment may have been a cold one, but I sensed the truth that seeped from his words… or rather, I heard it from my ear headphone.
"Yesod… Something weird happened today. One of my employees came back to life!"
"There's no such thing as resurrection, Hod. That employee was just merely reset. If you want to know more, research the Record Department's functions."
That's right… it completely slipped my mind when I went off the grid… The Record Department was a thing.
The manager's cursor selected me and ordered me to suppress the Queen of Hate.
Thoughts for some other time. Duty called.
"Hey, A. I think I deserve a raise after being exploited this much. I know I don't really get paid for anything in this place, but you should at least promise me a better payment. It may get me a bit more motivated."
The cursor morphed into a scope circle.
"I get it, I get it. 'No rest for the wicked'… That's why you don't take breaks anymore, isn't it?"
I really had to dodge a couple of bullets.
