God Eater 3 – Starling's Start
Chapter 4 – An Ash Storm
Name: Aurick Bird
Codename: Starling
Hairstyle: Type 2
Hair Colour: Dark purple
Face: Type 4
Eyes: Type 4
Eye Colour: Fox Brown
Accessories: Frizz 2 (Dark Purple)
Voice: 8
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE GOD EATER FRANCHISE.
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After I wake up the next day, I look around the room to see if anyone else is awake yet. To my surprise, all but one other person are still asleep. Although when I look to the only other person that is awake, I can't help but feel sympathetic towards them.
*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *wheeze* wheeze* *cough* *cough* *cough*
It seems Sho is feeling a lot worse than yesterday, judging by his latest coughing fit. I hear some movement from beside me. I turn my head towards the sound and see Zeke trying to cover himself with the blanket. He must be awake, but he doesn't want to leave his bed yet. Just before he succeeds in covering himself, I can see him grimace. He doesn't appear to be grimacing in pain, so I know what is making him grimace. He is worried about Sho. I get off of my bed and head towards Sho, who seems to only just be recovering from his coughing fit. Sitting down beside him, on his bed, it takes him a while to notice I'm here as he stares at the ground. Now that I get a better look at him, his eyes appear to be sunken, most likely out of sleep deprivation. His nose looks very red so I'm pretty sure his throat will be red too. It must hurt him so much to breathe.
"Oh, sorry… I'm still a little sleepy." He manages to make the words out through his raspy voice. Looking to the floor beside him, I see an empty cup. He must have drank all of the water he was allocated yesterday. I hate that everyone outside of the cell can see how much pain Sho is in and yet they don't even give him extra rations to help him. They don't even give him more water. I don't know a lot about the illness he has, but surely water will help him right? I take his empty cup and head back towards my bed. I can feel his eyes on me as I move. "Where are you going?" He asks as I get back to my bed and lift up my half empty bottle of water. I pour almost all of it into his cup before going back towards Sho and offering it to him. He looks at it for a second before realising. "Th-thanks." He croaks out and shakily extends a hand to grab the cup. As soon as he does, the blanket that he was holding over himself seems to be slipping from his grasp.
"I'll help you drink it." I tell him as his shaky hand retreats back towards the edge of his blanket and he wraps it around himself again. He only nods in response. I'm happy that he accepts my help, I had thought he'd be a lot more prideful, but that must mean that even he knows how much he needs another person's help. I gently lift Sho's chin to tilt his head back. Surprisingly, he seems so lightheaded that he almost falls backward as I do so. I quickly correct myself to make sure I can keep his back straight while he can still drink. I don't want him to choke, after all. I place the edge of the cup between his lips. "You ready?" I ask and he gives me a little groan which I'll assume means yes. I tilt the cup slowly so that the water only trickles out. I stop after a bit of water has gone into his mouth so he can swallow it before starting the process again. He drinks about half of what was in the cup before deciding he's had enough, moving his head so that he can slump forward again and try and wrap himself completely in the blanket.
"Thanks, Aurick." His voice is still croaky, but there's nothing else I can do about it.
"You should try and get some sleep again." I'm not sure how long he has been awake, but he really needs to try and get some more sleep. Considering that I woke up earlier than I usually do, Sho must have been awake for a lot longer. I mean, I can't even select to go on a mission yet. I look out towards the cell's bars and see the usual night shift guard standing there. Only three guards bother to stand guard over us. One appears during the night, another during the day and the other one during the evening. Seeing as how the night shift guard is still here, then it isn't time for the day shift guard to appear yet.
"I'll be fine." Sho speaks up with his voice barely above a whisper.
"You should listen to Aurick." We hear Zeke speak up. Turning towards him, we see that he's already gotten off of his bed and is carry his bed sheet with him. Zeke usually takes great care of the kids, but I don't know if this is something new or not as, as soon as Zeke stands beside Sho's bed, Sho seems to lie back down and Zeke covers him with his own bed sheet. I don't recall Zeke ever doing this before, but I'm not always awake at this time in the morning. Judging by how little natural light enters the cell, I assume it's only about 5 o' clock.
"Okay." Sho accepts Zeke's blanket as he closes his eyes and attempts to sleep. Zeke simply moves back towards his bed and sits down on the edge of it. Deciding that I would only be a nuisance by staying by Sho's bedside, I decide to accompany Zeke instead. I sit on the edge of my own bed as the two of us wait to see if Sho can sleep.
30 minutes later, we hear the typical rhythmic pattern of Sho sleeping. By typical I mean he inhales, then exhales, then inhales again before coughing. I don't know how he can sleep like that.
"We have to find a med kit or something while we're out. None of the higher ups are doing shit about this." Zeke speaks up for the first time since telling Sho that he should listen to me.
"It's unforgiveable." Is all I can comment about the matter. Zeke is clearly in pain too. I'm not surprised though, we've seen multiple AGEs come and go while we've been here. Including a person that died not too recently. They seemed to be in the exact same state that Sho is in now. Coughing and spluttering, not able to eat anything. If we can't do anything to help him, then Sho is going to die too.
"I know, right?" Zeke agrees with me instantly. "If Sho wasn't an AGE they probably would have helped him." Unfortunately, Zeke is probably right. As AGEs we hold the lowest rank of citizenship in a Port. Actually, we're not even treated as citizens let alone people. We're all treated as monsters, hence why they trap us in these cages.
"I'm sure we'll find something we can use to help him." Hugo speaks up from beside the mission terminal. During the 30 minutes that it took for Sho to fall asleep, Hugo had woken up. We exchanged pleasantries but that's all. So it's a bit of a surprise to hear him suddenly speak up.
"If only I could do something to help." We turn towards Keith as he speaks, picking himself up from his bed as he fully wakes up. "My Ash density level is still pretty low, and I'm useless in a fight. Maybe I could help the kids try and scavenge something like a med kit." He states a little guiltily due to his own inability to fight.
"Keeping an eye on our God Arcs and making sure they work okay is your job, Keith." Hugo tries to cheer up Keith as he walks back towards his own bed. "None of us can do that. You just need to make sure they're in good shape for us."
"Exactly." Zeke chimes in, "You're doing your own part in all of this."
"Maybe, they really should try to adjust the bias factor here to individual AGEs a little better though." Keith dismisses Hugo's and Zeke's appraisal of him, "I'm sure you three could handle more dangerous environments."
"You're probably right." I chip in. "But we haven't really fought a lot of Aragami that we'd expect to find in the more dangerous parts. We've mostly fought against the smaller ones."
"And no matter how easy they seem; you can't let your guard down." Hugo finishes my line of thought. "Speaking about missions," Hugo turns towards me, "Have you looked up Engage on the terminal?" I shake my head. "It looks like we're together for the next job. You should go and check the database to learn more about Engage and check the mission terminal for the details of our mission. It's time for another day in hell."
"I'll do that now." I inform him and walk towards the terminal.
"They're letting you use Engage?" Zeke continues the conversation "That sounds really cool. We should try it out when we next go on a mission!" He excitedly informs me.
"Yeah, that sounds fun." I give a dismissing comment while not disagreeing with him. I load up the terminal and start reading up about Engage, ignoring Zeke as he rants about how strong he will be. Hopefully Hugo is listening to him so I don't have to.
Engage
A resonance phenomenon that occurs between AGEs and other God Eaters.
When God Eaters remain in close proximity during battle, their mutual resonance slowly increases. Engage can be activated once this resonance has reached its maximum value. While Engage is active, God Eaters share their characteristics with each other. However, sharing more than one person's characteristics would overload a God Eater, so Engage is only ever used on a one-on-one basis.
I see, so Engage can be used to boost our strength in battle. That could be really handy if we encounter an Aragami that we've never faced before. Leaving the terminal, I turn towards the mission terminal,
"The Engage system has been approved for use in actual battle." The machine voices a preapproved message about the next mission. "Please take the Engage field test once your God Arc adjustments have been completed." As soon as it finishes speaking, the mission brief loads up.
Engage License (Std.)
Old City: Chapel
Objective: Acclimatise to dense ash
Combat Skill #52 (Engage): Approved
This is a test to measure subject Adaptive Ability. Note that in rare cases, linking in the Ashlands may result in mental contamination. The port bears no responsibility for any problems that may occur due to this.
The following personnel are required to complete this program.
-PW-01407
-PW-01408
Having read up on my newest mission, I accept it and ignore the confirmation message the machine issues. I head over towards my bed and equip the few O-Ampules and restore pills before speaking to Hugo.
"Ready when you are." He gives a smile in response.
"Right. Let's go. Hopefully we'll find a med kit out there too." He adds as we walk towards the door to the cell. Only now do I realise that someone else stands near the guard. Someone I haven't seen before. I'm not sure when he got here, but it mustn't have been too long ago. After all, when I was helping Sho drink some water, I had looked towards the cell's bars and only the guard was there. The man wears an vest that looks to be made of a very thick material and what appears to be a jacket that only covers the left half of his body. The man also sports a pair of trousers. It seems like the man may have been through a lot as a lot of scars mar his right arm.
"Who are you?" Hugo must have been wondering the same thing I was as he asks the other person to identify himself.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to talk during work. Although… This Port is run pretty sloppily. Your protocols for information disclosure are solely lacking. Maybe it's an effort to intentionally hide something…. Or perhaps it's to pad expenses…"
"Work?" Hugo repeats the man's word.
"Stop standing around and get back to work!" The guard shouts as he unlocks the door. "I'm not sure what Gleipnir's thinking, using something like the Engage system… That whole Engage thing… It's like some kinda telepathy, right?" The man comments under his breath as he wonders aloud. "You AGEs really make me sick to my stomach." I choose to ignore the man, knowing that the guards here are never really the kind to sympathise with you. Hugo and I collect our God Arcs and head out for our mission.
"So, shall we get started?" Hugo speaks up as we reach the battlefield. I'm honestly glad I get to spend time away from those cells, even if it is just to complete a mission. "This time we're testing Engage effects." Our God Arcs hang by our side as we walk through the battlefield, hoping to find an Aragami to test Engage on. "The power of bonds between AGEs… Engage. Activating Engage has a couple of requirements." I decide to let Hugo continue his lecture as he walk without me interrupting him, only stopping to scavenge items. "If you're fighting Aragami and within a certain range, your resonance will deepen. Once your resonance is at a certain level, Engage will activate." I nod as he speaks, that is until we find a Blast Spider a short distance away from us. "Let's try it." He says as he also spots the Aragami.
"Yeah." I whisper as we try to get the jump on the Aragami. We're only two metres behind it when I decide to charge up my Arc's devour. As soon as it is charged, I let it loose and instantly feel the effects of Burst. The Blast Spider retaliates with a roar and it tries to stomp me into the ground. It's easy to dodge it though, and I slash at its legs a couple of times before backing off and switching my God Arc into Gun Form. I fire a continuous laser at it which, surprisingly, kills it. "Oh, come on."
"I didn't expect that to happen." Hugo comments on our strength, "I suppose when you've fought a lot of Blast Spiders then you're bound to take them out easily." Hugo proceeds to use his Arc to devour the Aragami's core after the Blast Spider's back has blown up. I choose to use my Arc to devour the Aragami for materials as well. "The Engage bar is at 90% though, so we should just need to find another Aragami to activate it." We decide to continue walking and scavenging as we try and find another Aragami. "Engage is a resonance phenomenon that lets users share traits. In other words, we combine strengths. From an Aragami's point of view, it's cheating." As Hugo continues his lecture, we stumble across another Blast Spider.
"Maybe we shouldn't use Burst this time?" I question due to how easy it was to kill the other Blast Spider.
"Good point. We'll have to save using the effects of Burst and Engage together until we find stronger Aragami." We rush towards the new Blast Spider. Without hesitation we launch our attacks, I slash at the Blast Spider's head a couple of times before deploying my shield to protect against the dust it tries to spit at me. Hugo, meanwhile, jumps into the air and delivers a couple of blows to the Aragami's back. As soon as he lands back on the ground he speaks up again, "Activating Engage. Let's do it!" As soon as he does, I see a small yellow beam connecting to the two of us. "Hit 'em hard!"
Engage
Aurick – Shared Supply
Hugo – Lasting Bonds
Perhaps a little carelessly, Hugo slashes straight at the Blast Spider's head and isn't able to dodge a slew of dust it sends at him. Knowing the effect of my own Engage ability, I eat a restore pill and know that Hugo must have felt the effect of it as well since he instantly regains his footing and goes on the attack again. We both slash at the Blast Spider a few more times before it falls to the ground. We back off at let its back explode before we use our Arcs to devour it for materials. Unfortunately, the materials we get from Blast Spiders and Axe Raiders isn't enough to improve our God Arc with. We need more materials but we can only do that by defeating Aragami that rarely stumble upon our Ports battlegrounds.
"The power of connections." Hugo speaks up, "Only we AGEs have it. Maybe it's a divine gift." He seems to be in awe of this power we have. To be fair, it is an amazing power. Now I see why Zeke was so pumped up about using it. "It only works when we're in combat, though, so keep that in mind." As soon as he speaks, we see a lot of dust get blown into the air. Looking at the source of it, we can see another Blast Spider makes its way out of the ground. With Engage still active, the two of us instantly go on the attack again. It's only a minute later that Engage deactivates, and another minute until the Blast Spider is defeated. "I think that's enough. We should have enough data to analyse. Engage is the ace up our sleeve. Don't forget we have it." Hugo speaks before we decide to make our way back to the Port.
Carnage Moon - 40%
Arriving back at the Port, the first thing I notice is that our rations appear to have been delivered. Resting on my bed is a bottle of water and a few slices of bread. I suppose this is what is called a late breakfast. Similarly, Hugo tucks into his bread as well. Looking around the cell, I see that Sho is awake again. He sits on his bed with his legs swinging off of it. As soon as I finish my breakfast, I walk over to him and sit on his bed. As soon as I do so, he begins coughing again. I find his cup of water and give it to him. He takes a few sips before putting his cup back down on the ground.
"Sorry, it's nothing, really." He refers to his coughing fit. It quite clearly isn't nothing. "I'll be fine after I rest a little while." Silence comes between us for a few minutes as he recovers from his coughing fit. I get another chance to look over him. His sunken eyes appear to have disappeared, although he is probably still suffering the effects of not getting enough sleep. "I'm fine now, thanks." He speaks up. "Hugo told me not to get up or move around too much." He must have told Sho that yesterday because I don't think he has yet to talk to Sho today. "But I don't like just sitting around and being waited on by everyone. Ehehe…" He giggles and it sounds as though his throat isn't as dry as it was earlier this morning when I had to help him drink the water. "I just think I should do whatever I can to help."
"That's the spirit, just make sure you don't do too much." I tell Sho with a smile on my face. It's nice to see that he's doing a little better than before, but it's still important that he needs to rest.
"Thanks!" He replies energetically. "Just, don't wear yourselves out, okay?"
"I should be saying that to you." I get up from his bed and decide to check on the other kids who are talking in the corner.
"How are you two holding up?" I ask them with a smile although it quickly disappears when I see the look on Lil's face.
"I saw something scary this morning…" She frowns as she speaks, her voice sounding sad. "The guard put something weird in Sho's medicine!" Her words confuse me but thinking about it now. It wouldn't surprise me if they did do something weird like that. They probably think that if Sho dies then they can save on supplies. The thought of it really angers me. We really are treated as if we're not even human. "But I was too scared to say anything… And right after that, Sho's coughing got a lot worse and he looked sicker than usual… Why?! Why would they do that?! Did Sho do something bad to them?!"
"I'm sure Sho didn't do anything wrong, Lil." As I speak my emotions get the better of me. "It's better not to trust the guards or anyone else. They clearly don't want what's best for us."
"I know, but there's nothing else we can do." Sorrowfully, she states the facts.
"Believe in our dream, Lil. One day, we'll be able to live like regular people. We'll have nicer beds, nicer foods and we won't need to do something we won't want to."
"Hahahaha!" I hear laughter coming from the guard. "That'll never happen. Do you honestly think that AGEs will ever get better treatment than this?" He continues laughing.
"Ignore him, Lil. It will get better for us. I know it will." I tell her and she gives a small smile in response. I know that she has little faith that we'll ever escape from this cell. It hurts me to think that these kids have no hope.
"That guy who died a bit ago kept coughing just like Sho, didn't he?" Marr questions me now. "Does that mean Sho's going to die too?"
"Definitely not." I answer instantly. "Sho will find a way to get over his illness. We just need to support him to do it."
"Yeah, yeah. Support him. That'll make him feel better." The guard taunts, a humoured smile on his face. It isn't the first time that these guards have pissed me off, but I know that if I retaliate then I'll be the worse off for it. I'd be lucky to be kept alive if I did punch the guard in the face, even if he deserves it. Although, if I ever do get the chance and I know that there won't be any consequences, I wouldn't hesitate to punch him.
"How the hell can you sit back and let a little kid hurt like that?!" I hear Zeke shout as he approaches the guard. If the guard was in here with us then he probably would have been killed by Zeke. But because he is outside of the cell, all we can do is argue with him, but even that might have consequences.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." The guard taunts us again. "The kid looks fine to me." I turn towards Zeke and try to push him back towards his bed. He doesn't make it easy though.
"I swear if I ever get out of here, you'll be—OW!" Zeke shouts as the two of us realise that Hugo has hit him on the back of his head. "What was that for?"
"Call it revenge." Hugo starts. "Don't threaten the guards, we have no idea what the consequences will be."
"They'll pay for this!" Zeke groans. I try to ignore the laughter from the guard.
"Sho's condition is clearly getting worse. Of course, he says he's fine… But he's really putting up with the pain because he doesn't want to worry us… His body's s frail. I want to do something to help, but we can only go outside for missions. The only hope we have is finding a medical kit we can salvage out there. So that's the plan. Once we're out on a mission, get to scrounging." Hugo explains that he's worried for Sho as well.
"We'll have to make sure nobody from the Port notices." Zeke comments. "They'll probably try and take it from us if they did."
"Don't do anything risky for me… I'm… fine…" Sho speaks up, seemingly having overheard us.
"You should probably get some more sleep." I try to tell him with concern in my voice.
"When I lie down, it just hurts more." He sounds like he's still in so much pain. "It's easiest to stay like this… sorry…" As soon as he finishes, he enters another coughing fit.
"I'm going to check for another mission." I've had enough, we have to find a med kit for Sho. Approaching the mission terminal, I feel happy to hear the machine speak up,
"Error detected in external defence systems. Team is ordered to dispatch to site immediately." I view the mission brief straight away.
Malfunction inquiry
Old City: Downtown Ruins
Objective: Acclimatise to dense ash
A malfunction has been detected in the external defence systems. The following AGEs are ordered to investigate and perform maintenance on the affected area:
PW-01408, PW-01429.
"Mission acceptance confirmed." I hear the machine speak and procced to ignore it like usual.
"We have a mission, Zeke." I inform him. "Get everything ready and meet me in the usual place."
"You got it." He speaks happily as he knows this is our chance to go out and search for a med kit or anything that can help Sho. It only takes him a couple of minutes before he is ready, then we leave the cell and the guard unlocks the door, only just making sure we don't knock the guard out in the process, before we head towards our destination.
As soon as we enter the battlefield, we see a couple of Aragami that we haven't seen for a long time. There appears to be two Cocoon Maidens and two Zygotes.
"Which should we kill first?" I ask Zeke. These enemies are also pretty easy to kill if they're on their own. But when there's a group of them it can be difficult. Cocoon Maidens don't really move from the spot and they only have two kinds of attacks. One of which involves using spikes and the other is the only one we really need to be concerned about if we decide to take on the Zygotes first, an orb that has a very wide range of how far it can fly. I remember fighting Cocoon Maidens for the first time and being surprised by their orbs. Even now they can still surprise me. It just depends on if we can keep moving or not.
"The Zygotes are the main problem. As long as the Cocoon Maidens can't move, we just need to make sure to avoid that weird orb they can shoot." Zeke thinks along the same lines as me and we decide to first engage in battle with the Zygotes. "Alright, let's go!" Zeke shouts and we run towards the Zygotes. Unfortunately, they are right between the two Cocoon Maidens, so we will need to get the Zygotes to chase us if we want to beat them without injury. I jump up and release my Arc's devour attack on the nearest Zygote and enter Burst because of it. The Zygote roars in pain which alerts the two Aragami that are a bit farther away. One of which is the other Zygote. Having accomplished our plan, Zeke and I back off just far enough so that the Cocoon Maiden can't use their spikes against us. Although we will still have to avoid their orb attacks. As I feel the effects of Burst beginning to wear off, I decide to launch another jumping devour attack. Unfortunately, the Zygote I had targeted decides to do a backflip before charging straight towards me. I deploy my shield instantly as Burst completely deactivates, and the Zygote's momentum sends me flying backwards several feet. Fortunately, I already have my shield deployed so the surprise orb attack from a Cocoon Maiden doesn't deal any damage to me either. I don't dwell on the fact I could have been injured though, as I manage to launch another jumping devour. This one is successful and I attack the Zygote by using my crescent-shaped Arc and bringing it down onto its body. This attack manages to ground the Zygote where I slash away until I find the opportunity to devour again. Deciding to stay on the move, I keep slashing at the grounded Zygote until it lets out its final breath. After a quick devour, I turn my Arc to Gun Form and fire my laser on the Zygote that Zeke has almost killed. It doesn't take long before it falls as well.
"The Maidens are next!" I shout and charge towards the farthest one while Zeke devours the Zygote he took down.
"I'm activating Engage!" He shouts as soon as he's finished devouring the Aragami.
Engage
Aurick – Shared Supply
Zeke – Commander's Blade
I get to the Aragami and instantly have to backstep as it shoves a ton of spikes in all directions. As soon as they re-enter the Cocoon Maiden's body I begin my attack. Somehow, it doesn't feel as tiring to slash at the Aragami. I suppose Zeke's engage effect reduces the stamina used for attacks. I am forced to backstep to avoid another barrage of spikes headed in my direction. I decide that now is a good time to switch my Arc to Gun Form and set the Aragami in my laser's sight. It goes down pretty easily and I turn towards Zeke to see if he's defeated the other Cocoon Maiden yet. It turns out that he hasn't and I only just manage to dodge an orb it randomly shot in my direction.
"Sorry, bud!" Zeke shouts as he swipes at the Aragami a few more times. Just to be safe, I decide to swallow a restore pill. Even if I'm not injured, due to the effects of Engage, Zeke's health will also be restored. A few more attacks later, Zeke has killed the Cocoon Maiden. I walk towards him as he devours the Aragami. I look at him expectantly. He knows we can't openly talk about wanting to search for a med kit because our comms are monitored most of the time. When he looks back at me, he sees my expectant look and gives a sharp smile and a nod of the head. I point at him and point at the area behind him. After that, I point at myself and the area behind myself. He gives a thumbs up to confirm the plan and with that we split up.
Unfortunately, after 15 minutes of fruitless searching and an angry message over the comms asking why we haven't engaged in any combat for the past 15 minutes, we are forced to call off our search and head back to the Port. We thankfully don't get punished, but we are swiftly locked up in our cell. As soon as we are back though, I turn towards Sho and see him blankly staring ahead of him. Beside him I see an empty tray of food and silently feel hopeful that at least he's still eating. That feeling quickly disappears however,
"Sho gave me some of his food. He said he couldn't eat it." Marr speaks up, sadness lacing his voice. "Thanks to him, I'm full, but… but…" I place a hand on his head and ruffle his hair as I try and cheer him up. "I'm not happy… And it wasn't tasty… I don't wanna live like this." Marr doesn't speak anymore. I could hear his voice beginning to croak, it's clear that he's losing hope. I look towards the guard, feeling severely pissed off that they allowed this to happen. I am surprised to see that the guard isn't smiling and appears to be looking solemn. I choose to believe that they at least of some ounce of humanity left in them if they can feel sorry in this moment. It isn't enough though.
"Sho won't respond to us at all… He's been staring blankly at the wall all day." Lil's voice also croaks. "Please… Help Sho…" I can see the tears beginning to stream down her face. Like I did with Marr, I place a hand on her head and hope it will calm her down. "Can't you do anything for him?" Her words pain me. Zeke and I were unable to find a med kit or anything else that could potentially help Sho while we were on our mission.
"Sho will get through this. I know he can." My words seem to do little to quell the fears of Marr and Lil. To be honest, they don't even convince me. We've all seen numerous people die due to illnesses like that. No one has recovered from their illness once they contracted it. All the evidence points to us losing Sho as a friend, and it'll severely affect all of our minds.
"He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday." Keith chimes in, also wallowing in sadness. "He says he doesn't have an appetite." Even Keith is starting to lose hope now. He raises his head to speak to me and I can see that his eyes are beginning to grow wetter, "Hey, you think he's all right…?" I decide to approach Sho and see if I can get him to eat something. At least if I can do that then he stands a chance of winning against his illness. As I approach Sho, I hear Zeke talking to himself by his own bed.
"You can never find what you need when you need it the most…" He begins, mumbling about how we were unable to find a med kit. "There's always a med kit or two laying around somewhere… Why not now? Sho…" He croaks. It's heart-breaking to see the person who is usually the most upbeat break down. "I'm so sorry. We're doomed to spend the rest of our lives slaving away for those jerks. What'd we do to deserve this?" Zeke is taking the situation really hard. He's probably going to be the one person most affected by Sho's death. He has always tried to take care of the kids, after all.
"Sho…" My voice is soft as I approach him and place a hand on his shoulder. "Buddy, you need to eat something." I try shaking him slightly, although I know that shaking him any harder could make him feel a lot worse. "I can give you some of my food. Do you want it?" Sho remains silent as he stares ahead. He isn't dead, right? "Sho?" I speak his name again in a slightly more concerned tone. He doesn't answer me. Feeling a lot more concerned, I place a hand about 10 centimetres away from his mouth. I inwardly sigh in relief as I feel him exhaling. "Sho?" I speak up again but don't get a response. I give a sigh before leaving the boy to himself. I can only hope that he's just daydreaming or something. Before I do anything else, I go back towards my bed and open up the bottle of water and pour a small amount on my hand to remove any trace of Sho's breath. If Sho is any indicator as to what an illness can do to people, I don't want to contract it.
"I couldn't find a medical kit." Hugo's depressed voice from his bed makes it clear that he's starting a conversation with me. "Neither could Zeke. You too, huh?" He asks with a little bit of hope in his voice. Sadly, that disappears when I shake my head to answer him. I decide now is the best time to have my own food, although I do set aside a small amount in case Sho starts feeling hungry later on. "Can we do nothing but stand by and watch as Sho gets worse and worse?" He thinks aloud, not really expecting an answer. "Dammit all! I won't give up on him!" His sharp change in tone from depressed to pissed off surprises me slightly, but I'm glad to see that he isn't just going to accept it. Being depressed doesn't suit Hugo. In fact, his friendly nature and business-like attitude makes it pretty easy to get on with him. But since I've known him from childhood I know that he's not the type to give up. It's inspirational really.
"There must be something we can do." I speak up as I finish the small amount of food that I was given. It's been years since I've commented on the food this place serves up. I quickly learned that the taste of the food is really foul. It hasn't been too long since Zeke and I arrived back at the Port, but maybe there's a mission in a location we haven't been able to check yet. Standing up from my bed, I decide to check the mission terminal. Luckily, I find a mission straight away.
Density Rise (Classified)
Old City: Downtown Ruins
Objective: Acclimatise to dense ash
A sudden and dramatic increase in ash density was detected near our Port. The following AGEs are ordered to investigate.
PW-01407
PW-01408
PW-01429
Even though there is a mission, it is in the same place that Zeke and I had recently checked. I really just hope we missed something the first time we investigated the place. I accept the mission and once again ignore the confirmation message the mission repeats every time.
"Hugo, Zeke, we have another mission." They both turn their attention towards me and I point behind me to the machine, silently informing them to check the mission briefing. Having not unequipped the O-Ampules or restore pills from the previous mission, I head straight towards the cell's door. It only takes a few minutes for them to read the mission briefing and then get their act together, Zeke especially as he was wallowing in self-pity. When they're ready though, they head over to me and we set off for the battlefield in an armoured car.
"You've driven one of these before, right?" Zeke asks me as the three of us get into the backseats of the car.
"Just the once and that was a few days ago." I inform him.
"Sorry, but could you drive? I was driving earlier on." Zeke gives an excuse for not wanting to drive. I'm pretty sure it has to do with him still being a little bit emotional after his breakdown, but I don't bring it up with him.
"I'm fine with you driving." Hugo chimes in, deciding to let me drive. Rather than getting out of the armoured car, I decide to instead just manoeuvre my way over the seat and place myself in the driving seat. "Don't worry, I trust you'll do a good job." Hugo expresses his trust in me, but I honestly wonder why he doesn't want to drive us there. As I turn the engine on, he clambers into the front seat while Zeke positions himself centrally in the back. He leans forwards with his arms on both of our chairs.
"Let's ride!" He shouts in excitement which really confuses me considering we ride in this car pretty much everyday and he hasn't been this excited before. Maybe he's overcompensating for his mental breakdown? Yeah, that's probably it. Regardless, I put the pedal to the metal and drive towards the the ruins of the Old City.
Reaching the battlefield, I park the armoured car a fair distance away from where we expect the action to take place. Already we can see an Axe Raider wandering around as if it owns the place.
"That was a surprisingly smooth ride." Hugo comments on my driving skills as we leave the car.
"Yeah, I never expected it to go that well." Zeke chimes in, I don't know whether they are praising me or if they are commenting on their own lack of faith in me to drive.
"Why did you want me to drive if you didn't think I could do it?" I ask the two of them. I know why Zeke didn't want to drive, I think. But I don't know why Hugo didn't want to.
"I told you, I was driving earlier." Zeke responds quickly.
"Same here. You're the only one that hadn't drove yet." I still highly doubt Zeke's reason, and Hugo just sounds like he's jumping on the bandwagon. I give an exasperated sigh and decide not to comment any further.
"Enough of your idle chat. You have a job to do." I hear a voice over the comms. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's the guard that overlooks our prison cell. "We've confirmed reports of increased ash density near Pennywort. Return to base after collecting tissue samples from Aragami in the area." Thankfully, to collect tissue samples all we need to do is devour Aragami. Unfortunately though, that means we'll have to hand everything we did devour over which means we get no materials to upgrade our God Arcs.
"Tch… It's really thick here." Hugo comments and I can't help but agree. "Feeling any effects?" He enquires and I give a shake of my head.
"Nah, I'm fine for now." Zeke agrees with me.
"This place ain't gonna be our grave." Hugo responds, knowing that even a slight increase in ash density isn't enough for us to be killed.
"This is much thicker than before, though." Zeke comments and looks to me for confirmation.
"It wasn't this bad." I confirm his thoughts as we wander around in search of an Aragami to take samples from. It only takes another minute before we do find an Aragami: a Blast Spider. These things seem to be everywhere. We never have a change of pace.
"Let's get started. Stay sharp." Hugo instructs us in a business-like tone as the three of us run towards the Blast Spider. I fire my laser at it while Zeke and Hugo decide to attack it using their Arcs' Melee form. After I run out of OP, I decide that I don't want to waste any O-Ampules on a Blast Spider so I join Hugo and Zeke in melee attacking it. I do have to dodge a few times to avoid the Aragami's jumping attack and its dust spitting attack, but other than that the Aragami is defeated without a lot of effort. To be safe, all three of us decide to extract tissue samples by devouring it but only after the bulb on its back has already blown up. The explosion isn't enough to kill us, but it can damage us pretty bad. Hence why we want to avoid it.
"There's an Axe Raider too." Zeke spots another Aragami a bit of a distance away from us. It doesn't seem to have noticed us yet.
"Let's get the jump on it." Hugo instructs, although he is well aware of the fact that we could defeat the Aragami without the need for a surprise attack, we do get to save a bit of energy that way. "And look out for a med kit as well." He adds as he does not want to give up on Sho's health.
Just like with the Blast Spider, the Axe Raider didn't stand a chance against the three of us. After that another Blast Spider had appeared and we defeated it as well.
"Okay, we're almost done." Hugo encourages everyone as our only task left is to collect tissue samples from the Blast Spider we've just defeated.
"…Hm? Huh?" Zeke says in confusion. Maybe he is doubting whether devouring the Blast Spider is our only other task.
"What's up, Zeke?" Hugo asks in his own confusion.
"Uh, I lost connection to the Port. Maybe the relay's busted." He seems to be intrigued as to why we cannot contact the Port. Maybe this is our chance to explore further for a med kit since we still haven't found one.
"Not surprising in ash this thick, I guess. Take what you can and let's go home." Hugo tries to explain our lack of connection as he devours the Aragami. I decide to do the same. Hugo and I look back at the battlefield to watch for any surprise Aragami attacks while Zeke devours the Blast Spider. Hugo extends his arm and I clink his armlet with my own. A job well done.
"No good loot again?" Zeke comments with an annoyed grunt. "Man, there's been nothing recently."
"That's the price of your behaviour." Hugo retaliates instantly.
"Keep it to yourself." Zeke retorts with equal speed.
"Heh, heh. Well, shall we get goin'?" Hugo laughs off Zeke's retort and suggests we head back to the Port. I can't help but smile at their conversation. Despite everything that's going on back at the Port, they still know how to do their job and try to make it entertaining while they're at it.
"… caravan… all..." A voice suddenly speaks through our comms, but most of what they're saying is cut out.
"Hm? What's that?" Hugo asks in confusion as he holds a finger to his earpiece. I look at Hugo as he attempts to make contact with the person that has just been broadcast over our communication system.
"There's… Storm… area!... path toward…!" We still can't make out what the person is trying to say, it sounds feminine, and they sound like they're in a bit of a panic. Is someone in need of our help again?
"An open channel? Who and where is that from? We can't make out what you're saying!" Zeke also tries to make contact with the other person on the comms. "What in- Huh?!" At Zeke's loud protests, Hugo and I turn back to face him. That's when we realise something and my jaw slackens, my mouth falling open as a tidal wave around 400 metres tall of dust and ash hangs just over the buildings in the distance.
"That's definitely an Ash Storm!" Hugo states with a slight hint of worry in his voice.
"And it's definitely heading toward our Port!" Zeke's worry is a lot clearer than Hugo's.
"Damn it. Talk about some bad timing." Hugo laments as the storm grows closer. "There's no way we can outrun it from here." He adds. We'd have to run back towards the storm in order to get our armoured car that we drove here. That could come with a lot of risks in and of itself.
"but… what about everyone at the Port? What'll happen to the kids there?" Zeke asks in worry and a tightness grips my chest. We've had to worry about Sho for ages, but now the other kids are in danger too? Losing just Sho would be heartbreaking but now… I'm not sure if we'll be the same if all the kids were to die. We'll all be affected, physically and mentally.
"Calm down!" Hugo shouts and I have to bring a hand to my chest to keep my breathing in check. "We'll manage something… We're not going to stand by and let our friends get wiped out…"
"First things first, we need to get to our car." I command the two of them and we start running back to where we left the car. If we want to save everyone, we won't be able to do it without some form of transport.
"This is a caravan calling all AGEs!" We hear a feminine voice coming over the comms as we run back to the car. I'm not quite sure if it is the same voice as the one we heard earlier, but I don't let that worry me now. "I repeat, this is a caravan calling all AGEs. There is an Ash Storm developing." The voice sounds a lot clearer now, despite us heading towards the storm to get our car.
"AGEs here!" Hugo connects with the person on the other side. "What's the status of the storm?" He asks right as I get to the car. Not bothering to argue about who is arguing, I open the door for my two friends who are about 100 metres behind me, before opening the driver side door and starting the engine as I wait for the two of them to get in.
"We read you!" We get a positive response. "We'll talk later. For now, we need you to clear out the Aragami in our path!"
"Why should we do that?!" Hugo responds and I agree with him. We have our own problems right now, like saving our friends. Speaking of which, Hugo and Zeke are still about 50 metres away from the car. Maybe being the fastest person in the Port has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages, like having to wait for my friends as they approach the car. Maybe it would have been easier to drive closer towards them and then turn around to drive to the Port.
"I said we'll talk later!" The feminine voice shouts and it hurts my ear slightly. "Now hurry up and do it! If it's your fee, we'll pay whatever the cost! We don't have time to negotiate. We're on our way to evacuate the Port! Every second counts!" As the woman speaks, both Hugo and Zeke have made it into the car. I feel like sighing in relief as we know that we'll have help in evacuating the Port, but I keep it held in as I know our job is not done.
"Understood. Where do we need to go?!" Hugo asks as we cannot drive anywhere without knowing where we need to go.
"There should be an area south of your location. We have identified a medium-sized Aragami in the location." As soon as I hear those words, I put the pedal to the metal as I know exactly where they're talking about. It's only a ten minute drive away to the location south of here – Old City: Chapel.
"There are AGE children at the Port who will need help. You have to get them out of there…" Hugo informs the woman. I'm honestly glad that he has the ability to take charge. As a person that can't find the words to talk a lot, I'm glad I have a friend who can.
"I promise you we'll get them out. Good luck out there. Caravan out!" The woman drops the connection between us and everyone falls silent. I decide to go all out and speed towards our destination.
"I guess this is our chance…" Hugo's voice is filled with warmth which radiates to Zeke and me. Even in this perilous situation, Hugo is finding the positives about it. One of which is that we no longer have a Port. I can't help but smile and nod at his words. "Come on." He pats my shoulder a couple of times from the backseat. "Everything changes… starting now." My smile only grows wider at his words.
It takes us six minutes to arrive at the Old City: Chapel. As soon as we do, Zeke and Hugo hop out of the car and head towards the medium-sized Aragami that we can already see while I try and hide the car in a place the Aragami will not find it. We can't afford to place the car too far away since we need quick access to it to drive around and take out the Aragami. So, once I find a good looking spot about 30 metres away from the action, I turn the engine off, grab my Arc and then sprint towards the Aragami. Surprisingly, I get there just before Zeke and Hugo can jump into the action. Maybe it's due to the adrenaline coursing through me, but I feel a lot faster than before. The Aragami itself appears to be bipedal and has numerous horns sticking out of its body. Two of which stick out of its head and are curled. Perhaps the most important thing to be aware of is that it has three drills on its left arm.
"Don't go dying on me now. We're going to live to see a new future… everyone will." I prepare my God Arc as the Aragami roars as numerous parts of its body begin to glow blue and the three drills on its arm rotate incredibly fast. I had hoped that they would just be for decoration, but apparently not. I use my shield bash to charge right in and hit the Aragami square in the face. It doesn't take too kindly to the attack and the drills on its arm start spinning faster. Deciding not to try and devour it straight away, I deploy my shield only to see that the monster jumps into the air and comes crashing down with its drill arm first. It drills underground and I lose sight of it completely.
"Stay on guard." I tell my teammates who are just as confused to its location as I am. "Keep moving, we'll be a harder target." I tell them as I realise the monster has to come up eventually, so I disengage my shield and start running in a different direction from Hugo and Zeke.
"I wonder if they'll save the kids at the Port." Zeke speaks up, his mind not totally focused on fighting right now. I feel the ground under my feet begin to shuffle and I try to quickly step out of the way as I realise the Aragami must be under me. As it bounces out of the ground, I only just manage to avoid being launched directly upwards into the air. Although, due to the momentum, I am still flung sideways into the air. I land on my side but quickly pick myself up as the monster sticks its drills into the ground while looking at me. Knowing that its dangerous to be directly in the Aragami's line of sight, I run around to the side of the Aragami before landing a quick devour.
"There's only so much we can do. Stay focused, Zeke." Hugo reprimands Zeke for not paying his full attention to the Aragami as he fires a few bullets at the beast. I manage to land a swipe on the monster's body before I feel the ground beneath me rumble again. Having learned my lesson, I back away just in time to avoid several rocks that spring up from the ground. As quickly as they appear though, they disappear and I charge at the beast again. This time, I see that its drills are glowing blue and it swings them from side to side. Thankfully, I managed to move behind it where I manage to land another five slashes before changing my Arc to Gun Form and training my laser on it. When I run out OP, I switch back to Melee Form. At the same time, I see Zeke bring down his hammer on the Aragami's tail while Hugo slashes at its hind legs. The Aragami quickly turns around and uses its drill to slash at the two of them. They quickly deploy their shields and avoid any damage, but I take the opportunity to slash at its tail until I can see an orange substance under its skin. The beast roars out in pain before stumbling to the ground, using its arms to try and stop it from completely falling.
"It's faltering!" Hugo yells. "Now's our chance!" Seeing the opportunity, I run to the other side and start slashing at the Aragami's face. It doesn't stay down for long, as after only six swipes it gets back up and swings straight at me. I have no time to defend against it, so brace my body for impact as it sends me flying through the air. I feel the earth beneath me begin to rumble and look towards the beast again it launches itself into the air and tunnels back under the ground. After a little stumble, I get back to my feet and run. It's a good job I did as the Aragami had re-emerged right where I was. However, it doesn't stop there as it instantly goes back under the ground. I decide to keep running to avoid it. It re-emerges again a short distance behind me and I realise it can't go too far when it tunnels underground. Since I have the time, I look at my God Arc and check the engage meter progress.
"Everyone who was left behind has been evacuated." I hear the same woman's voice over the communication line and feel incredibly relieved that they made it in time. "Are you almost finished defeating that Aragami?" She asks.
"It shouldn't be too much longer." Hugo responds straight away and, after seeing that my engage meter with Zeke is full I decide to activate it.
"Activating engage, Zeke" I shout to him and wait for it to activate before I swallow a restore pill and charge back into the action.
Engage
Aurick – Shared Supply
Zeke – Commander's Blade
I already feel the effects of Zeke's engage ability as I thrash at the beast's already exposed tail. I hear it roar in pain but choose to ignore it as I perform a quick devour and enter Burst before having to back away as it pierces the ground with its drills again. A couple of seconds later, a barrage of sharp rocks surrounds the Aragami which disappear after another couple of seconds. I go straight back on the attack as it recovers from its own, sending a barrage of swipes at its drills using my Burst arts before unleashing my laser on it once again. Those attack successfully damage the drills enough that they break the Aragami's tough skin and expose the orange oracle cells underneath. It also falls to the ground, using its arms to prop itself up again as it protests against being defeated. After a few more attacks from all three of us though, it stops dead in its tracks and falls to the ground. We quickly decide to devour it for materials.
"Aragami defeated." Hugo communicates to the woman as I signal towards everyone as to where I parked the car. This time, it only takes us about a minute to reach it and I wait to hear for our next instructions.
"Good. That seems to be the only Aragami there. Unfortunately, we cannot meet you where you are now." The woman communicates.
"What?" Zeke utters in confusion.
"We will pick you up at these coordinates." She informs us and as she does so, the coordinates she had specified has been sent to us and we enter them into the car's navigation system. "We estimate that the Ash Storm will not appear there until much later today." She speaks. Despite my thoughts, I decide to start driving towards the destination. It will take one hour for us to get there, so I had better start moving.
"Are the kids okay?" Zeke's concerned question reaches the woman.
"Yes. They appear to be unharmed." She answers and I hear Zeke let out a relieved sigh. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding either.
"It will take an hour for us to reach that destination. What time do you estimate the Ash Storm to reach those coordinates?"
"At least four hours." The woman replies. "We will meet you at the destination." She cuts the communication lines.
"Sit tight." Hugo speaks up, "It's going to be a while." I know it is, I'm the one who has to drive us there.
Elsewhere
"Everyone who was left behind at the Port is now under our care. Ricardo's information was spot on." A pink haired woman informs her commander while operating a very large computer. "It seems the AGEs who were left behind were all left inside a room like a prison. There were a number of young kids with them there too."
"It's awful…" The commander speaks, her feminine tone not hiding her disdain for the situation the kids and AGEs were put in. "How could people have sunk so low?"
"I've already sent them the rendezvous coordinates while you were speaking to them." The computer-operating woman speaks up again. "But are you sure it was a good idea?" She turns towards her commander who is situation in an overlooking seat behind her. "Offering to pay any price if they clear the way?"
"Probably. They don't strike me as the kind who would trade their lives for cash." The commander replies confidently.
"Pardon me," The computer operator doubts her commander's decision. "but that's… not much of a strategy, ma'am."
"I know that!" The commander shouts as she observes the situation using the cameras aboard the vehicle, both where the kids were taken into the ship and the situation regarding the Ash Storm. "Change heading 180 degrees!" She commands as the Ash Storm grows ever closer. "Get as far away as we can! Now! It's an Ash Storm!" She shouts as the Port is just minutes away from being swallowed by it.
After an hour, the three of us reach the destination using the coordinates we were sent by the woman. We're currently overlooking the Ash Storm which crackles with red electricity as it covers the ground we were on only an hour ago. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake and we look for its source. An incredibly large vehicle makes its way towards us. It stops right in front of us, a large door is the only thing blocking our entry into it. Hugo and Zeke re-enter the armoured car and as the large door opens, I drive us into the much larger vehicle.
A few minutes later, we leave the car and are taken into the vehicle's main room by a couple of people in uniform. As we wait for further instruction, a blonde-haired woman with a monocle over her left eye walks towards us. The first thing I notice about her is that her breasts are not very well covered, instead only the sides of them are covered with a thin white material. Over the top of that she wears a jacket that also covers very little. In fact, it covers everything apart from the front of her body which just so happens to be the most interesting part about her. As I try to ignore the fact that a pretty much half naked woman is walking towards us, she begins to speak.
"A pleasure to meet all of you. Welcome to our caravan." She extends her arms as if to tell us to gaze upon the room. "This is the Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum." That's a mouthful to pronounce, I think to myself as I look around the room. The one thing that intrigues me the most is a large, yellow hologram-looking system that sits on the level right below the commander's chair. I also notice that they have many terminals here. "I'm her owner, Hilda Henriquez. We made it in time… thank goodness." Or so she says, but I don't see the children anywhere here. She extends her arm out for a handshake. That's when I notice a pinky-purple haired beauty standing to her side and slightly behind her. She has a warm smile on her face and she holds what looks to be a clipboard in her hands. She wears a white buttoned shirt with a black corset which accentuates her large chest as well as a black skirt and a pair of white tights. To complete her outfit is a black tie that hangs from her neck and settles gracefully over her chest. She is a stark contrast to the almost half nude owner of this caravan. And honestly, I like that; it's a lot more mysterious.
"I'm Hugo Pennywort." Hugo extends his hand to shake Hilda's.
"Handling that Aragami problem wouldn't have been an easy task, even under the best of circumstances." Hilda continues, and as she does so, I find myself staring at the woman beside her. So much so, in fact, that she must notice me as she smiles slightly wider than before. I feel my chest constrict and force myself to look away. "And that means you're a talented bunch."
"Would you mind filling all of us in on the situation here?" Hugo asks.
"That will come in due time. You've created a real opportunity for us to work with." Hilda's response is calculates, as if she expected that question. Regardless, I find my eyesight drifting back towards the other woman beside Hilda. She has turned her attention away from me and has started looking at the thing in her hands. Now that I get a better look at it, I'm pretty sure the guards back at Pennywort had them as well. I think they're called tablets, I'm not too sure. I'm not really good with technology other than what I've already worked with. Pretty much just the terminals. "Won't you let me express our gratitude?"
"You saved our friends. That's enough for me." Hugo's word speak for me as well as I nod my head and show I agree with him.
"Yes… However, that is only a temporary measure, as I'm sure you're well aware." Hilda's words confuse me. How is this only a temporary measure? Pennywort was swallowed by an Ash Storm, there's no chance we can save it and return there, right?
"Huh?" Hugo questions it as well.
"Reassigning AGEs requires both the permission of both the governor of the Port and Gleipnir. You do know that, do you not, Hugo?" I can safely say that I didn't know that. If what Hilda is saying is correct, then this isn't the big break that we hoped for.
"If that's the reason you can't keep us all here, don't worry about it." As Hugo speaks, he turns back towards Zeke and me. "Being alive is what counts, but… do you really have to be so formal?"
"Ma'am!" Suddenly, the beauty beside the commander speaks up, "We've completed our survey of the Port that was swallowed by the ash!" She looks squarely at the commander as she speaks. "Despite our efforts, we have been unable to establish the whereabouts of the Port's management." The woman looks back at the tablet.
"I'm sure they fled. I saw ships moving away in the distance." Hugo speaks up. Although I don't remember seeing any ships moving away, maybe it was while I was concentrating on driving.
"Mm. That would explain it… There were some ships that made unregistered departures." Honestly, despite the seriousness of the situation, I feel as though I could listen to this woman speak for ages.
"Fools. Leaving without notifying anyone… If the Ash Storm drags them in…" Hilda speculates.
"That's what they get for leaving kids to die." Zeke sounds really happy about the outcome.
"Zeke, don't." Hugo tries to keep him in check, however.
"What? You're gonna tell me you're not pissed at 'em?" Zeke retorts which makes Hugo look towards the ground. I think he might be wondering if he actually is pissed at the people from the Port. I know I am.
"Regardless, it still doesn't make me happy." Maybe not, Hugo, but you are still pissed, right?
"Ma'am! The ash density levels are rising again!" The woman beside the commander speaks up. She must be the operator for this caravan if she is relaying all this information to the commander. "Staying any longer would be hazardous."
"You now represent your Port, Hugo." Hilda informs him. "Under Ashland Navigation law, I place you under my protection and transfer you to our Port." To be honest, I'm really happy that we can finally disregard Pennywort. We're finally free from it, even if it is only temporary.
"Understood. Our services are yours during the voyage." Hugo informs her. "In exchange, though, we don't want your everyday drudgery tasks." His words make Hilda chuckle lightly.
"You've got a spine. Very well. You can be our front-runners and keep our route free from interference." I would much rather fight Aragami than be left with the other kinds of work. At least you get to feel validated by killing Aragami…
"That's fine by us. Once we're out there, you'll see we're not just your run-of-the-mill AGEs." Hugo sticks up for us and I can't help but nod my head and smile in agreement. Hilda turns towards the woman beside her.
"Let's move out." The woman nods her head in response and runs away from us, seemingly driving us away from the Ash Storm by herself.
"So, uh, where is everyone?" Zeke can't help but ask in concern.
"They should be receiving their check ups in the medical bay. You can go and check on them, if you like, uh… Zeke, was it?"
"Yeah, that's right." He sounds a bit excited that she got his name right. "Where is the med bay?"
"Third floor. Try not to wander off too far." Hilda comments as Zeke starts heading towards the lift. "You may be guests here but there are still places that are off-limits to you."
"Hey, you coming?" Zeke turns back towards me. "It looks like they have other things to talk about." He comments in regard to Hugo and Hilda.
"Nah, I'll check on them later. Tell them I said that I'm glad they're safe." Zeke merely smiles in response and gives me a thumbs up.
"Will do." He dismisses me with a backwards wave before getting into the lift.
"We'll need you to clear the caravan route for us." Hilda speaks to the two of us. "Should I explain how it works?"
"How a caravan route works?" Hugo repeats as he thinks to himself for a second. I decide to stay silent and let him think. After all, he is usually the brains of the team. I'm usually the brawn. "We use areas of low density as reference points, and then just travel along the connected dots?" He doesn't seem completely sure, but that's definitely a lot more than I could remember about them from the database.
"You've got it down." Hilda remarks as she is slightly impressed by Hugo.
"Just repeating what I learned from the database."
"There was an old but reliable route through here previously. The beacons, however, have all gone dead." Hilda explains why we will need to protect the Chrysanthemum from Aragami during the voyage.
"Knocked out by that Ash Storm." Hugo quickly comments. "This crawler has a pretty small crew for its size, doesn't it?" I can't help but agree with Hugo. This crawler is massive and yet I've only seen four people. The two women and the two guys that directed us to this room. That's it. Surely there has to be more than 4 people living in here. Maybe there's another person that is completing the kids' check ups?
"I can't afford to hire very many people. Resources and bias factor supplies aren't what they used to be." Her explanation does make sense. I mean, I don't know how much the resources and bias factor supplies cost, but surely it must be a lot otherwise. But what happens if the crawler encounters any Aragami? Do they just pay other people to take care of them. That can't be very cost effective. Surely it would be cheaper to hire some AGEs permanently to the caravan.
"I see. So you decided to bring us on to do a little work for you?" Hugo theorises.
"Right, and I can assure you you'll be compensated." The commander informs us. I sense this is where business will be discussed.
"Yeah, well, a weekly allowance isn't going to cut it." Hugo's right. This is our chance to make some decent money and put it towards our freedom.
"If we can re-establish the old route, we'll be able to claim pioneer royalties. A cut of those royalties will go to you. Does that sound fair?"
"We're the ones who'll be out there risking our necks, so I'd say 70 percent should go to us." Instead of intervening, I decide to let Hugo do all of the talking. I'm just here for backup really.
"Heh." Hilda scoffs. "Thirty percent for us? The rewards are split amongst the entire crew. That's outrageously unfair."
"Well, what do you think, Aurick?" Hugo turns towards me.
"We can't go less than fifty-fifty." I make my thoughts known. Surely 50-50 is the fairest it's going to get.
"Yeah, fifty percent. Can't take any less." Hugo agrees with me. "I know you've got some serious cargo. You're sure to rake in a hefty profit from that, Hilda." Hugo confuses me. Maybe he's just bluffing. How would he already know about the cargo that this crawler holds?
"Heh, heh…" She chuckles, although it sounds really strained. "Fine, fine. Half of the royalties. We have a deal." We reach an agreement. "You're free to roam the crawler, though some locations may be restricted. We do have our secrets."
"Compared to our cells, it's paradise." I agree with Hugo. As soon as this discussion is done, I'm going to talk a walk around the place and maybe even chat up the operator. Or try to anyway, I have no experience with that sort of thing. All of the women that I have seen while at Pennywort never sparked my interest. I was too busy trying to survive to care about women. But now I don't have to think about Pennywort or any sort of punishments. I should enjoy this while I can.
"Glad to have you all aboard. I'm looking forward to continuing our work together." Hilda ends our conversation there as she walks towards the lift.
"I'm going explore the place." I tell Hugo and wait for a response.
"I think I'm going to have a look at the terminal records here. There may be something in there that wasn't in our terminal back at Pennywort." Hugo informs me as he walks down the ramp towards the terminals. He has a good idea though. Maybe I should have a look at the terminals soon. For now, though, let's explore…