God Eater 3 – Starling's Start
Chapter 5 – Claire Victorious
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.
Also, please leave a review.
Knowing that Zeke has already went to check on the kids, I decide to instead talk to the operator that captured my interest. I walk down the ramp and towards her, relishing in the sight of her working. As I reach the desk she is working behind, I try to greet her.
"Hi—"
"Sorry, but part of the system is down." She immediately interrupts me, cutting off my greeting. I immediately feel disheartened that my first greeting with the girl has ended in failure. She continues tapping away at the keyboard in front of her. "Probably because of the Ash Storm." She mumbles to herself. "Could you please try talking to me again a little later?" She asks, looking up at me with a look that tells me that she isn't trying to brush me off, but she needs to work without distractions. Despite her good intentions, I feel a little sad that we can't have a proper discussion. She doesn't wait for me to answer as she gets back on with her work. With a sad sigh, I back away from her desk and instead look around the place again.
I debate what to do with myself for the next few minutes before deciding that my best bet is to look at the terminals. Unlike Hugo who wants to find information to absorb into his already very tactical brain, I just want to check if the interface is the same as it was back at the Port. I check every option I can; one where I can upgrade my God Arc, but unfortunately I still don't have the materials needed to upgrade it; an option to create a new God Arc almost from scratch; an option to craft items; and an option to crawl through the NORN database. I decide to access the database but only to see the profiles of the people on the crawler. The first one I find is for Hilda.
Hilda Henriquez (28 years old)
The owner of port Chrysanthemum.
Born: October 8, Height: 180 cm
Her private Ash Crawler primarily operates as a transport vessel, but also regularly seeks to discover and develop new transport routes. Her late father was a leading scientist who studied Oracle communication theory, and his research formed the foundation for the technology that made the beacon-based network possible.
It seems like her father was a very important person. I don't even understand what Oracle communication theory is, but it seems that the beacons we will have to light were create by her father. He definitely left his mark on the world. I continue to browse through the database.
Amy Chrysanthemum (17 years old)
An operator belonging to the Chrysanthemum.
Born: March 2 Height: 160 cm
The following is a list of Amy's duties:
-Monitoring the resonance radar
-In charge of mission assignments and combat mission control
-Communicating with other caravans and Ports
-Database management
Note: If there's anything about this ship you need to know, just ask Amy!
I see. So the operator's name is Amy. Although, it may be a bit snide of me, but the note she left should say to ask her and when she isn't busy. She has a large list of tasks though, so there's no wonder why she couldn't spare the time for me at that moment. I'm sure I'll have another chance to make a first impression. I keep scrolling through the database.
Ricardo Sforza (27 years old)
A God Eater belonging to the Chrysanthemum
Born: December 19, Height: 184 cm
God Arc: Variant Scythe/Ray Gun
An intelligence expert, he spends much of his time supporting the Chrysanthemum's owner by sniffing out information on other caravans. In addition to being a God Eater on active combat duty, he also provides ship management support. He handles all the caravan's daily chores, such as cleaning, cooking, and washing the dishes.
There's another God Eater on this crawler? I haven't seen them yet. Maybe they're on another floor. If I'm going to be here for a while, I might as well introduce myself to him. Although it does say that he usually handles all of the chores so he might not be able to spare time for me either. Regardless, I should try and see if I can introduce myself. I doubt his chores require him to pay all of his attention to them like Amy's tasks do. Logging out of the terminal, I walk over to the lift and choose the residential floor as my destination. Maybe I can find him on the next level above this one, after all.
My search proves to be fruitless as I wander around the floor. However, there are a couple of other people here. I go up to Lil as I see her standing in a corner. It makes me happy to see that she's safe. It was only about two hours ago that the two of us were sharing a cell along with many others. I wonder if the constant changes today have made her feel tired at all.
"Aurick!" She greets me happily, "Have you seen this place?" She looks around the floor we're on. "There's so much space."
"We're allowed to roam about almost everywhere." I add to her enthusiasm. Her smile is infectious and I can't help but smile along with her. It's clear that she thinks that this crawler is amazing. I do too. When you've spent so many years of your life trapped in a boring and decrepit cell, seeing something like this is really inspiring. The walls, although they have a monochrome colour palette, still suggest that there's more to see in the crawler. Unlike the brown colours of the cell which only dampened our moods.
"Oh yeah," Lil slightly tilts her head to the side and looks up towards the ceiling as she thinks, "A lady in a hat patted me on the head a while ago." A lady with a hat? Who could she be talking about? The person that conducted their medical exam maybe? "At first, I thought she was trying to hit me, so I swatted her head away. Now I feel bad for doing that…" She seems crestfallen at the revelation that the woman wasn't trying to hit her.
"Did the woman have pinky/purplish hair?" I ask Lil. The only person I can think of that wears a hat on the Chrysanthemum, and who I have met is Amy.
"I think so." She comments. "Do you know her?" I smile as we figure out it was Amy that patted Lil on the head. I assume it was before we were even on board the Chrysanthemum.
"That's Amy. She is the operator here." I inform Lil of the woman's name. "She's pretty cool, right?" I ask with a wide smile. I didn't think that anyone would warm up to the kids that quickly, but it seems that from their first meeting Amy liked them. I can't help but smile at that.
"The operator?" She repeats. "I think she'll be good at that." I'm sure the reason why she thinks that is due to the kindness Amy showed to her. I nod my head at her words.
"Do you know where the others are?" I ask Lil, referring to the other kids as I want to check up on them as well.
"I think Sho and Marr went to explore." She informs me, trying to remember where they went. It must have been a while since they split up. As I'm about to thank her, she runs down the corridor. That's when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I know instantly who it is. There was one other person on this floor with Lil and me.
"Can you believe it?" Hugo begins on after Lil s out of earshot. "We're out. We finally escaped that prison!" He exclaims in joy. I haven't seen Hugo like this in so long. His joy is infectious, I'm happy too. We don't need to live in a prison anymore!
"It's amazing, right?" I can't help but chip in with excitement.
"The day we'd always dreamed of is here. And Sho is stable too." He adds which makes me feel relieved. I haven't seen Sho yet, but clearly Hugo has. At last, no more having to worry about his health!
"You've seen him?" I ask, already knowing that he must have.
"You haven't?" He raises the question.
"I thought Zeke was with them. I was trying to find another God Eater that should be on the ship. You haven't met him, right?" It occurs to me that Hugo might have seen the guy I wanted to introduce myself to as a temporary member of the crew. "His name is Ricardo."
"I don't think I've seen anyone new other than Hilda and Amy." Hugo brings a hand to his head as he tries to recall if he's seen anyone else. "Nothing." He comments after a few seconds. "Still, that Ash Storm turned our lives around… Life sure is strange sometimes." He comments with a smile before it quickly disappears from his face, being replaced with a stern and calculating expression instead. "By the way, the owner of this ship, Hilda… I've decided to trust her."
"She does seem like someone we can rely on. There's something about her, but I don't really know what it is." I agree with Hugo. She gives off the impression that she is someone we can trust.
"Hilda looked us in the eye. She treated us as equals." Hugo explains and I make the connection in my head. Now that I think about it, he's right. She talked to us as if we were already business partners. Confident and yet caring. "If she had pity on us AGEs, I'd be wary of her, but she wasn't like that. She was sizing us up as people, calculating if we could be any use to her. With someone like that, the way forward is easy. Just prove your value." I nod my head in agreement. "We're not your everyday God Eaters." He begins confidently, his words making me feel sort of patriotic to my role as an AGE. "Let's give her a show that'll blow her away. One day we'll be grateful we were raised as Hounds in that damn prison."
"Looks like I'll have to give it my all." I comment, rotating my shoulder as if to emphasise that now is the time to get serious.
"I'll be counting on you, buddy." Hugo slaps me on the back with a wide smile on his face. "For now, though, we should probably check to see what our first mission is." We walk towards the lift and use it to go back down to the main room.
As we approach Amy's desk, I notice that Zeke joins us.
"The kids okay, Zeke?" I ask him since I've only seen Lil at the moment.
"Yeah, they're okay." He dismisses my question. "Keith's okay too, thanks for asking." He adds as a stinging comment. I suppose I never really thought about asking if Keith was okay. To be honest, 90% of the time I was locked up in the cell I never saw him. He had to repeatedly work on our God Arcs to make sure they were in a good condition. That was his mission that he was always given, although sometimes he would need to go with the kids to collect materials too. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't like Keith, but we're not exactly as close as Zeke, Hugo and I are.
"I was going to ask about him next." I comment a little defensively, hoping he'd drop the subject. To make it up to Zeke, I'll ask Keith directly if he's okay after our first mission.
"I know you were." He remarks snidely yet with a teasing smile on his face.
"We're about to see if there are any missions for us yet. Want to join?" Hugo interjects and I am thankful for it. Zeke's teasing can get a little out of hand sometimes. Or maybe it's just because I am not used to it since I'm not his main target. That'll be Hugo.
"Yeah, I was getting bored just standing around here." With that, Zeke joins us and we walk up to Amy's desk. The first thing I notice is that she's no longer tapping away on the keyboard in front of her, and that she has a wide smile on her face.
"Welcome aboard the Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum!" She greets us with a happy voice, looking all of us in the eyes as she does so. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Amy Chrysanthemum, and I serve as an operator on this vessel." She brings a hand to her chest as she speaks, as if to point at herself during her introduction. "Um, so…" She mumbles and gestures towards the many screens in front of her. "This is the mission counter. We post tasks that need to be performed in order to clear our course."
"That's usually how a mission counter works." Zeke comments as if he'd heard it all before. To be fair though, we know how it should work. Only, instead of using a mission terminal like we did back at the branch, we just need to communicate with Amy if we want to accept a mission. I like the sound of that.
"So, in short, you're saying if we want a job, then this is the place to go?" Hugo probably already knew how it works too, but he's being nice and allowing Amy to continue the conversation.
"Yep, that's right!" Amy gives a heart-warmingly wide smile as she answers Hugo's question while ignoring Zeke at the same time. "In fact," She turns her attention to one of the screens in front of her. "It looks like something was posted just now." Her happy smile disappears as she raises her head to look at us again. "But… we have a bit of a snag."
"A snag?" Hugo repeats. His concern is clearly written on his face.
"That's right." Hilda's voice comes from behind us. Turning around slightly, I see her walking in our direction. "Continuing on our course would be like crossing a rope bridge blindfolded."
"So what? You just walk forward." Zeke clearly doesn't understand Hilda's simile.
"The snag is, there's something chewing on the ropes. Caravans that conduct their operations within the Ashlands are invariably equipped with resonance radar. It tracks local ash levels and locates Aragami. It serves as our eyes and ears, giving us an advantage over potential threats. We have one on the 'Mum, of course." She looks towards the large, yellow sphere next to Amy's mission counter. That's what that thing is? I thought it would be better if I didn't ask about it, but it's the crawler's version of a map? "Essentially," Hilda's voice brings our attention back to her. "If our resonance radar isn't providing us with that data, it's a big problem. One of life-or-death magnitude."
"Is yours malfunctioning?" Hugo asks her. Did saving us cause this much damage to the crawler? I'm beginning to wonder why she even decided to save us if they knew there would be this much damage to her precious vessel. Hilda shakes her head to answer Hugo's question.
"As the name suggests, the radar uses resonance so it needs someone with high resonance skill to operate it." Her explanation makes sense, and honestly, hearing that it needs someone with high resonance to operate it does make me intrigued. "We need a God Eater who can also function as a navigator." She further explains.
"However, our previous navigator was incapacitated in the Ash Storm… and currently we have no other candidates in our staff." Amy takes over the explanation. I'm pretty sure the only registered God Eater to this vessel is the man named Ricardo. If he's incapacitated, it would make sense why I wasn't able to find him on my little search. Maybe he's resting in the medical bay.
"Navigator, huh?" Zeke speaks up. "I like the sound of that!" His excitement bursts through as he forces his way through Hugo and I to speak to Amy. "Let me give it a try!"
"Amy, go ahead and bypass the authorisation system." Hilda's words suggest that she's not messing around and is willing to give Zeke a go as the navigator, to the surprise of Amy as she stands with her jaw slightly agape after Zeke's outburst.
"Okay." Amy quickly snaps out of her surprise as she begins tapping on her keyboard. "It's open." Zeke makes his way over to the seat directly below the resonance radar. Rubbing his hands together, he tries to expel resonance waves through his body with a few grunts, gripping onto the arms of the chair in the process. A whirring noise makes itself heard as Zeke pushes with all of his might,
"Rraaaaaugh!" He grunts as the resonance radar behind him glows yellow for only two seconds before depleting as he slumps forward. "… How was I?!"
"N-No." I can't help but smile as Amy flat out rejects his efforts. "Insufficient range. Maybe a two-mile radius? Too small to keep us safe."
"Nooo!" Zeke shows his disappointment with himself as Hugo walks over to him.
"I could give it a shot…" He informs Amy and doesn't even bother to sympathise with the depressed guy in front of him. Zeke clambers off of the chair and Hugo replaces him. He tries with all his might and a lot fewer grunts to try and achieve better results than Zeke. Surprisingly, he doesn't even manage to get the resonance radar to glow yellow, let alone whirr with energy.
"I don't think you have the aptitude, Hugo." Again, hearing Amy reject Hugo's efforts is slightly amusing to me.
"Not one iota!" Zeke is also humoured by Hugo's attempt as he tries to withhold his sniggers.
"It's tougher than I thought…" He comments on his own inability.
"Our regular navigator was born with a high resonance capability, however, they had training to see up to a twenty-mile radius as well." Hilda informs us. 20 miles would be enough to be safe from Aragami. Even the larger Aragami wouldn't be able to identify God Eaters from that far away.
"Hmm… So resonance ability is the key, huh?" Hugo mumbles to himself as he makes his way off of the chair, looking towards me in the process. I know exactly what he is thinking. After all, not to brag but I do have the highest resonance ability out of the three of us, including Zeke. I don't know if I'll be able to beat someone else that was born with a high resonance ability and received training though. So maybe I'll settle with 10 miles. That should be enough to keep us going until the regular navigator is able to take over again. "If one of us can be contracted as a navigator we should be able to renegotiate royalties." He informs Hilda. "Sound like a workable deal to you, Hilda?"
"So you know, I don't pay for slipshod work." She quickly answers. Surely she already knows the situation by now. Hugo and Zeke have both already tried it out, that only leaves me left.
"Of course not." Hugo speaks up, the excitement in his voice is clear that he expects a lot from me. "Here, give it a try." He beckons me towards the seat and I give a nod of my head in return. To be fair, I was hoping I'd get this opportunity anyway, so for us to be able to hopefully benefit from my attempt could do wonders for us. I walk over to the seat and place myself in it, making sure I'm comfortable by placing both arms along the arm rests. I give myself a second to breathe before closing my eyes and trying to force out my resonance ability while trying to remain as calm as I can. Instantly, I hear the whirring noise become significantly louder than when Zeke attempted it. Even though my back is turned to the resonance radar and I have my eyes closed, I can see the room glowing brighter than Zeke's attempt as well. That fills me with hope. However, I also hear a lot of clanging noises behind me which negates that hope. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong now! Someone tell me to stop! I don't want to break the radar completely!
"M-Ma'am… take a look at the display!" I hear Amy shout in concern to her leader which only makes me grow more concerned. The whirring gets louder, the room gets brighter, and the clanging also gets louder. In fact, I can feel it begin to shake behind me. "I've never seen anything like this!" I really hope Amy's words are positive ones! I assume the fact that no one has stopped me yet means that it's going according to plan. "That's ten… No, a hundred miles!" Wait, really?
"Haha" I can't help but let out a chuckle as I hear Amy's surprise in my ability. Honestly, I'm surprised by it too.
"… Wait, it's still expanding!" Now I'm really surprised. I knew that my resonance ability was high, but their previous navigator could only reach 20 miles and that was only with training. How is this even possible?
"What?!" Even Hilda expresses her surprise. I decide that now I can open my eyes and look at my surroundings. As soon as I do, I see Hugo by my side staring at the resonance radar. Zeke does the same while Amy and Hilda stare at the screens in front of them.
"You've got to be kidding! This is unreal!" Zeke expresses his surprise and excitement as he looks backwards and forwards between me and the displays in front of Amy.
"Did- Did you do this?" Hilda looks towards me. From this distance, I'm not sure if I can see fear in her eyes or I am just imagining it.
"Ha, ha!" Hugo releases a hearty life from beside me. "My friend has always had a real knack for resonance. So… does that solve our problem?" While Hugo asks this, I hear running from somewhere behind me at the same time. It's only as they enter my field of vision that I recognise who it is.
"The inspector?" I can't help but ask as the man that had previously inspected our living conditions back in Port Pennywort makes his way over to me, while also looking behind me in surprise.
"You did this?" His question is eerily similar to Hilda's and his tone makes me think that he isn't happy about what I've done.
"Ricardo!" I hear Amy shout. "I see you've recovered." Wait, Ricardo? This is the God Eater I was searching for? I assume he must be their navigator too. Is he jealous that I've managed to achieve better results than him without any training?
"Are you sure you are well enough to be walking around?" Hilda asks in concern.
"Who is this?" Hugo asks. It seems he hasn't seen the person around the crawler before either.
"It's the inspector that came to our Port. Why is he here?" It seems Zeke hasn't quite figured it out. He mustn't have ready Ricardo's profile in the NORN database yet.
"Really?" Hugo turns towards me as if he didn't believe Zeke. I give a nod of my head before deciding to get up from the navigator seat. As I do so, the radar behind me begins to power down.
"I had no choice to rush down here considering all of the shaking." The man brings a hand to his head. "I thought we were being attacked." His voice is a lot calmer than before.
"Not quite." A smile makes its way onto Hilda's face. "Although you will be forgiven for thinking that." A thought comes to me. If Ricardo thought that we were under attack due to the shaking, did the kids think the same?
"Wow! You're so cool, Aurick!" I hear Marr's voice as he shouts from somewhere above me. To my surprise, I see that the three kids are all standing together, looking on in awe.
"That was amazing." Lil adds to Marr's praise.
"I want to do that too." Sho speaks up, a scarf still around his neck but he looks a lot healthier than he did the last time I saw him. Their words proceed to bring a smile to my face.
"They're right. You exceeded all expectations." Amy's praise of me makes my chest constrict with warmth. My smile only widens further. I feel a pat on the back and see Hugo giving me a thumbs up before turning back to Hilda.
"In exchange for my friend's services as navigator on this trip," Hugo begins, seemingly ignoring the fact that we now have more of an audience. "We want 60% of the royalties." Hilda's eyes close as if she's thinking about it before they reopen as she looks towards Ricardo.
"Are you fine with relinquishing your position as navigator while they're onboard?" She asks him which results in silence as the man thinks about his response.
"What range did he achieve?" Ricardo asks Amy who looks back down to her monitors.
"Aurick achieved 100 miles in three seconds of resonance output." Amy states simply, but hearing my name come from her makes my heart skip a beat. "It was still increasing before he got up. The maximum achieved before that though was 144 miles."
"Wow." Ricardo utters in disbelief. "That's over seven times better than me." He comments as he looks towards the ceiling.
"It makes me wonder what he could achieve with navigation training." Hilda adds as an afterthought.
"Maybe Aurick could get to 1000 miles!" Marr shouts from the upper level. I mean, maybe it will increase if I use it often enough, but I'm pretty sure that's a bit too much.
"Well," Ricardo gives a wide smile. "It would give me a break from navigating, I suppose. We'd be a lot safer too." He let loose a breath I didn't realise I was holding. It seems he's okay with it.
"Then we have a deal?" Hugo tries to get the conversation back on track.
"I'll need time before I agree to that." Hilda speaks up after a few seconds of silence and she begins to walk away.
"Why would you need time?" Zeke raises the question to Hilda.
"I'll need to make the calculations to see if it is an acceptable deal or not." Hilda replies instantly as she continues walking.
After Hilda disappeared, Ricardo properly introduced himself to us. Apparently it is thanks to his work as the inspector that lead to the quick evacuation of everyone left behind at the Port. After his introduction, he decided to return to work. In the time it took before he did return, Hugo and Hilda were able to reach an agreement about the reallocation of royalties. After that, we were able to finally accept a mission.
Program Repair
Old City: Downtown Ruins
Objective: Establish a route to Chrysanthemum
The integrated use program will be optimised following resonance radar adjustment. This mission's goal is a post-maintenance radar test. The following benefits are anticipated:
- Enhanced feedback precision
- Increased resonance wave range (etc.)
As soon as we (Hugo, Zeke and I) accepted the mission, I was told to make my way to the resonance radar and did so promptly as Amy and Ricardo as the navigators did their thing. I rest in the chair and wait for further instruction.
"Switching to departure sequence." I hear her tapping away on the keyboard. As does Ricardo.
"Energy flow from the main accumulator has been established. Now sealing ash bulkhead layers one… and two." Ricardo confirms the status of the resonance radar.
"Resonance radar navigation link complete." At Amy's words, I prepare to allow my resonance to flow through me. "Harmonisation rate at 30… 60… 100 percent. Oracle sensor system is green. Ash density along our plotted course is 0.02ppm, within tolerance." If I remember correctly, ppm means parts per million.
"The ash bulkheads are sealed. Activating the hull bias field barrier." Ricardo completes his checks as well. "All systems are reading green. The Chrysanthemum is ready to depart." Amy confirms the status of the caravan and that we're ready to go as soon as Hilda gives the signal.
"There's no turning back now… Are you certain about this?" I hear Hilda speak to someone on the upper level with her.
"Yeah… I never planned on turning back, anyway." Hugo confirms that we're ready to do our jobs.
"This is the start of a big adventure! We're more than sure, we're pumped." Zeke's enthusiasm is exactly what we need on our journey.
"It's good to see that kind of spirit." It seems that Hilda agrees with him. "Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum… casting off!" She commands and I pour everything I have into activating the resonance navigator.
"Do you read me?" Amy asks as we arrive at the Downtown Ruins. "I'll be your mission guide from here on. All instruments are green. Vitals are normal." She ticks off her checklist. I must say, it feels nice to have a person I can trust as the operator. Plus, the fact that the operator is a woman is also a nice change of pace. Her voice is a lot better than hearing a gruff guard's voice. We walk around the battlefield and try to find the small Aragami that are blocking our path. "Alright. Are you ready? Remember, the mission lasts until you're back home." As soon as she says this, I see three Axe Raiders close to each other and hanging around in front of a crumbling building I can only describe as being important due to its detailed designs. Some of which have still stuck around to this day. "Your first job starts now. Good luck!"
"I could get use to this." Hugo states as Amy finishes her speech.
"It's a hundred times better than an old creep in my ear." Zeke pitches in. Their responses showing I wasn't the only one that liked the change in operators.
"Hm?" Their words get the attention of Amy who hums in interest.
"Sorry, it's a long story." Hugo tries to dismiss the need for an explanation, but it isn't a long story. All we had to say was that we were previously instructed by the guards of our cell.
"Anyway, back to work." I try to keep them on track as it seems as though the three Aragami are beginning to move away from the area in their herd. Charging towards the closest one, I quickly perform a devour and back away as it roars in pain and surprise. While I have the opportunity, I send the Link Burst bullet I retrieved from the devour Zeke's way where he immediately enters Burst despite not devouring the Aragami.
"Alright!" He shouts as the two of us get in one the action, slashing away at the two closest Aragami while Hugo deals with the third. I notice something as the Axe Raider I've targeted rises onto its back legs. These Aragami are a different colour to their normal species. Instead of simply avoiding the Axe Raider as it slams its belly onto the ground, I decide to deploy my shield as well. Something seems different about them, other than their colour. It isn't until I see an orange liquid spill out of the Aragami that I realise something. They seem to have an ability to control lava.
"These Aragami have the Blaze attribute." Hugo informs me, perhaps a little too late as I backstep just enough for the lava not to reach me. I'm surprised at how quickly it disappears though and spring straight back into action, performing another quick devour as the monster makes its way back to its feet and I add to my Burst duration. Jumping into the air, I bring my Arc down onto its back before managing to pull off a front flip and do the same thing due to being in Burst state. Unfortunately, my second front flip sees me hitting the ground rather than the Aragami, and I quickly recover before it can pierce me with its horns by rolling out of the way. I switch my Arc to Gun Form and train my laser on the Aragami. It proves to be enough to take it down, so I quickly switch my God Arc's mode again and devour it before helping Zeke with his Axe Raider. His target appears to be close to death as well and it only takes a few slashes from me as well as Zeke's crushing blows to kill it. I let him devour the Aragami while I run towards Hugo and help him out as well. Having gained a small amount of Oracle Points in my battle with Zeke's target, I switch my Arc to Gun Form once again and train my laser on Hugo's target. When I run out of OP, I fire a Link Burst bullet in Zeke's direction as he comes to assist us. With a few more strikes from each of us, the third Axe Raider has fallen.
"Is that all of them?" Zeke asks. If it is the case, then that isn't much of a challenge. I think that even the kids would have been able to beat these Aragami, even if it would take them longer than us to do it.
"I've detected three more similar signals to those Axe Raiders approaching your area. Stay sharp!" Amy quickly informs us.
"Good. We won't get the chance to show off is there's no Aragami around." Hugo comments as he refers back to a conversation he had with Hilda. "Where are they approaching from?" Hugo switches to a business-like tone as he asks Amy.
"From the East." We look towards the area that Amy points us but don't see anything yet. I decide to slowly walk in that direction and Hugo and Zeke follow me. About a minute later, I see the three Aragami heading our way.
"We each take one again, yeah?" Zeke asks if our previous plan will be enough to take down these three Axe Raiders.
"It worked before; it'll work again." Hugo's comment confirms that we'll each battle one of the Axe Raiders.
Like the last time, these Axe Raiders stood very little chance. They were all defeated very easily.
"We're all waiting for you back home." Amy's happy voice comes over our earpieces as she confirms our mission was successful. On the way back to the Chrysanthemum, I decide to pick up a few things that are lying around. Who knows, they may be useful in upgrading my God Arc at some point.
Carnage Moon II – 36%
"Still though," Zeke speaks up as we reach the Chrysanthemum, "your affinity with resonance is really something… I mean, I bet I could get a better reaction if I really tried, of course. Heh heh!" He chuckles to himself as he tries to boost his own ego. He's right though. I do have an amazing affinity for resonance, but why is that? I understand that it's something you are born with, but I don't think my parents were that special. Maybe that bastard of a commander noticed it when he and his group surrounded Hugo's and my group and forced us to become AGEs. Actually, no, I don't want to think about that anymore. That guy wasn't exactly kind to me when I was younger, even if others would think I was his favourite. "Resonance radar stuff's just so cool. I wish they'd let me give it a shot…" Zeke's words snap me out of my depressing thoughts.
"They'd only do that after Aurick could guarantee that nothing dangerous would happen in a 500 mile radius." Hugo delivers a light-hearted joke to Zeke's dream.
"What? No way! They just didn't let me get serious when I tried it out." Zeke tries to hit back at Hugo but it doesn't work.
"Welcome back." I hear Amy's voice over the speaker system in the Chrysanthemum and feel a warmth in my chest. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though Zeke or Hugo heard it as they continue bickering.
"You seemed to be pretty serious to me. With all that straining I thought you were going to—"
"At least I managed to activate it. You couldn't even get anything out of it." This time, Zeke gives a painful blow as he interrupts Hugo.
"Two miles isn't enough to keep us safe." Hugo comments to Zeke before looking at me. "That's one more thing to thank you for. That aside, did you hear that? Welcome back." Ah, so Hugo did hear it.
"What? I never heard that." Zeke looks from Hugo to me and I give a nod of my head to confirm that I did hear it.
"Has anyone ever said that to us before?" He asks as our minds are brought back to that rundown cell.
"No, and they still haven't because I never heard it." Zeke goes into denial about the situation and storms ahead.
"Sure is nice to hear. Welcome back." Hugo adds, making sure to speak loud enough so that Zeke could hear his taunt.
"Oh, hey! You're back!" I am greeted in a very familiar way as I see Keith standing ahead of us as we make our way into the main room on the Chrysanthemum.
"I'm happy to see you're well, Keith." I say to him with a smile on my face.
"You didn't need to sound so monotonous." His comment is so sharp I feel like he could have stabbed me with it. I didn't intend for my voice to sound monotonous. I'm sure this is how I usually speak. I raise a hand to my voice box.
"You just need to get used to it, Keith. Maybe you should hang around with Aurick for a while." Hugo's words don't exactly fill me with hope.
"My voice is monotonous?" I ask them in concern. I hope the worry is evident in my voice but judging by their surprised looks and a lack of concern on their faces, the worry mustn't have been very clear.
"You've only just realised it now? I mean, I have heard some emotions from you, but only when you feel really strongly about something." Keith asks in genuine surprise. Honestly, this hurts me more than any attack I've received from an Aragami. I knew that my voice wasn't exactly full of emotion, but I had hoped that it could convey them. I can't help the itch I feel on my neck and lightly scratch at it.
"You know, we aren't in a situation where you need to hide your emotions anymore." Hugo seems to think that my voice was the result of training to hide my emotions. I mean, yes, I did do that, but that was only for my facial features. I rarely ever spoke to the guards back at the Port, so I rarely needed to hide my emotions from my voice. "You should express yourself a bit more." He adds as an afterthought.
"Anyway, it's my turn to check on your God Arcs now so I'll be a bit busy for a while." Keith informs us with an excited tone. "So, unless you want to help me with my work, Aurick, I won't be able to talk with you yet."
"Yeah, I'll help." I give a quick answer and hope the intrigue in my voice can be heard.
"Ah, you're interested, are you?" Keith smiles widely. As far as I'm aware, he has never had any friends spectate his work. He has told me on occasion how he would have his work inspected by the management at the Port, but nothing other than that.
"Yes." Again, I hope the interest is clear in my voice.
"I haven't heard you speak this emotionally since before we became AGEs." Hugo rubs his head sheepishly. His words do hurt me slightly, but at least he's acknowledging that I'm trying to add more emotion to my voice. But that does make me wonder, how have I sounded up until now? Have I always seemed disinterested when I've been comforting the kids? When Hugo's been talking about our dream? Surely they would have seen my facial expressions change according to the situation, right? I remember smiling to my friends and frowning at the guards, but is that all I've done?
"Well, I should get to it." Keith's happiness is clear in his voice. This comment about being monotonous has really awoken my senses to other people's feelings. "Let's get going, Aurick." He sounds genuinely excited for someone to watch him work. Or maybe he's just excited about the prospect of explaining something he's passionate about. Either way, I should take this as an opportunity to display my emotions more. I follow Keith as we head towards the God Arc Storage area onboard the crawler, leaving Hugo to do as he pleases.
I spend the next 15 minutes watching as Keith talks about all the different parts of the God Arc as well as how I can try to perform minor maintenance after finishing a mission. Of course, I explain to him that there's always the possibility of a surprise attack by an Aragami, so I can't put too much attention into making sure my Arc is in working order. Otherwise, he'd be out of a job. However, that's not what concerns me the most. The entire time I've been on this third level, something has felt off. Something doesn't quite feel right. It's as though I'm being watched from all directions. It's crazy enough to make me not want to stay up here for much longer. After giving my farewell to Keith who still had work to do, I decide that I want to head off this level straight away. As I approach the split in the corridor, I look to the left and find that the lift isn't down that corridor. What is though, is a woman with a pistol. Is it possible that she is what's giving me the weird vibes? I understand that I'm not allowed access to all parts of the Chrysanthemum, but why does it need to be guarded by an armed blonde woman. Now that I get a better look at her, she seems to be quite pretty. Other than the gun, the first thing I notice is that she is showing a lot of skin. It seems like she is wearing a white variation of a cold shoulder halter neck, but only the top of her chest is not covered at all along with her shoulders, but her arms are. She also wears a dark blue skirt. Along her arms an innumerable straps, some of which is connected to a bag on her back. A little pouch also hangs off of her waist, only kept there by another strap. It must take her a long time to get ready in the morning. Who is she though? Was there anything on the NORN database about her?
"So, this is the pretty woman that Lil saw passing by." I hear Hugo's voice from beside me. He surprises me slightly, but I assume he must have appeared as I was observing her. "Why don't we introduce ourselves?" Hugo asks as we begin walking towards the woman. As we approach her, she visibly flinches and firmly grasps her gun. She looks at the two of us as we come to a stop.
"What's this?" She asks in confusion.
"I was just wondering if it's a common occurrence to find God Eaters from Gleipnir travelling with caravans." Hugo states plainly. "I suppose you're keeping an eye on some cargo back there. Is that right?" I see now, that would make sense. If the Chrysanthemum is carrying cargo for Gleipnir then it will need to be guarded. Still though, that does little to quell the feeling. In fact, that same feeling of being watched seems to be stronger here than in the God Arc Storage area.
"The area up ahead is under Gleipnir jurisdiction. I cannot allow you to proceed." The woman is pretty defensive of what she is guarding. Hugo must be right in assuming she's hiding cargo back there.
"Meaning that whatever you've got stowed up there is a special delivery for Gleipnir."
"Ah!" The woman yells in surprise as she realises that she's just been tricked. After she yells however, I see a flash of yellow appear to burst through the door. It leaves no marks, and the door doesn't even look as though it has been affected. I quickly feel as though I'm being watched again. I step closer to it as I attempt to discover what made that light. It looked exactly like it has something to do with resonance. Maybe that's why I feel like I'm being drawn to it. As soon as I step closer, I feel as though the resonance connects exactly with me as a yellow light covers my eyes. I find myself being drawn through the door and being beckoned towards an incredibly bright source that emits wave after wave of resonance. I'm drawn further in and eventually see a figure in a bright white space.
"Hey… Hey!" The figure turns her head towards me, but I'm quickly sent back to where I am standing as I feel Hugo nudge me on the shoulder. "Are you okay?" Instantly, I see that he's standing in front of me and looking me in the eyes. I backstep slightly and bring a hand to my head. Was it all just a dream? I give a nod of my head as I realise I haven't actually gone anywhere. "So tell me," Hugo turns around to speak to the woman again. "What's your name?"
"Gleipnir 6th Engineering Battalion, Special Transport Unit, Claire Victorious." She introduces herself along with the unit she belongs in, pretty much confirming that she really is transporting cargo. I look to Hugo and he looks back at me. Is this what I sound like? That was a pretty monotonous introduction that seemed to be all-business.
"You… can just call me Hugo Pennywort." Hugo's introduction is a lot less extravagant as Claire's.
"The owner told me about you. It seems you helped with clearing our route." Claire sounds a lot less monotonous as she gives us praise. "Understand that while I do applaud the work you've done, I cannot approve of any frivolous actions you take in the field." I think it has to be said. She's a lot worse than me. At least I can talk to my friends and they understand me. Does this girl even have any friends? If she does, does she talk to them like that? "Don't expect to garner any special favour for it."
"Great. A teacher's pet." Hugo turns towards me and I can't help but smile at his comment. Claire, however, doesn't find it to be very funny as she visibly scoffs at his words.
"I'm only doing the job that I was assigned. If we're in combat together, I will be trusting your to perform." I doubt that we will be in combat together since she is only a God Eater, and not an AGE like us. Which means her ash density level can't be as good as ours. Still though, there's no reason why we can't get along. I walk closer to her before extending my hand.
"Huh?" She seems confused by my gesture.
"I'm Aurick Pennywort. The pleasure is mine." I greet her with the kindest smile I can offer. She takes her hand off of her gun and puts it by her side.
It… It was nice meeting you." I have to say, her nervousness is pretty cute. We shake hands and I feel Hugo rest his arm on my shoulder, slightly leaning against me and he takes advantage of the situation to give a proper greeting to Claire.
"Heh! Maybe we're gonna get along after all. It's a pleasure to meet you too, Claire." I'm sure I see a small smile cross her face as we finish shaking hands.
"Well, I'm going to check on everybody." Hugo informs me as he gives me a pat on the back. He's a very physical person to his friends, but I kinda like it. It shows that he's always there for us.
"Just to let you know," I hear Claire speak up, but Hugo doesn't stop as he continues walking back to the lift. I turn around to face her again. "I got good marks on joint missions with AGEs in the simulator, but…" She trails off as her confidence wavers. "Our first mission together will be my first field experience, so… bear with me."
"Oh, so you're a rookie?" I ask her with intrigue in my voice. The way she presents herself wouldn't suggest that she is.
"If you are asking if I have fought before, then no." She seems to be pretty annoyed at me question, so I decide to quickly wrap up the conversation.
"If that's the case, feel free to ask us anything. We won't mind." I give her a smile as I speak before turning around and waving goodbye and leaving the floor. Still though, what is it that she's guarding? I'm sure I saw the figure of a girl. It can't be, right? Gleipnir engaging in human trafficking?
As luck would have it, an hour later Hugo, Zeke, Claire and I are informed of a mission that we're all needed to take part in.
Area Sweep: 1
Old City: Downtown Ruins
Objective: Establish a route to Chrysanthemum
Readjustments to the resonance radar have proven successful. Now, repairing nearby beacons damaged in the Ash Storm will allow a safe route to be secured. Clear the area around two beacons: one to the east, one to the north.
Apparently, it is only due to Gleipnir's request that Claire is taking part in this mission. She must have known beforehand that she would be required to do so as she was speaking as though she already knew we'd be on a mission together. Regardless, as I sit in the navigation seat and allow my resonance ability to power the radar, we once again make our way to the Downtown Ruins.
"Are you feeling alright, Claire?" Amy asks for Claire's welfare as we search for the northern beacon.
"I'm fine. The ash density is within tolerance. Nothing to worry about." As Claire responds, we all set eyes on a Blast Spider. However, this Blast Spider isn't like the others we've faced. It glows a blue colour instead of having the usual brown colour. If we assume it is similar to the Axe Raiders we faced earlier, then this Blast Spider must have the Freeze attribute.
"Let's go!" Zeke yells as he prepares to sprint towards the Aragami, but I hold a hand out to stop him as another Blast Spider makes its way around the corner. However, they aren't the only Aragami in the area as two Ogretails also emerge from the corner. It seems as though they are in a herd.
"Not yet. We need to think of a better plan. That just letting all of us fight one Aragami." Hugo instructs Zeke, his voice barely above a whisper to make sure that Claire doesn't hear us. After all, Claire is a rookie, we can't just expect her to instantly throw herself into battle and produce the same results that we're capable of. Plus, we have to remember, she isn't an AGE like us. Hugo explains this to Zeke while Amy and Claire continue to communicate.
"Even with ash-resistant bias factor, you should still be careful." Amy expresses her feelings towards Claire's situation. Her bias factor isn't nearly as strong as ours though, so she isn't able to withstand the ashlands for too long.
"I appreciate your concern." Claire speaks up, her voice seeming to grow in confidence as Hugo, Zeke and I wait for her to finish her conversation with Amy so that we can focus all of our attention towards the Aragami, and for the rest of us also devote some of our attention to keep Claire safe.
"Claire specialises in logistical support and first aid." As Amy informs us about Claire's strengths, I decide to check the progress of my engage meters. It seems as though Hugo's is at 70% while Zeke's is at 45%. As you would expect, the percentage of Engage between Claire and I is 0% due to this being her first battle alongside us. "Okay, team. Use teamwork and take down those Aragami!" Amy finishes her conversation about Claire's welfare as she tries to motivate us to defeat the Aragami.
"Both kinds of Aragami are capable of short-range and mid-range attacks." Claire informs us, using her knowledge as a bridge to help us all become closer as a team. I nod in confirmation, to reassure that we know that Claire is right.
"The Blast Spiders also blow up when they're defeated. So don't stay too close to them." Zeke teaches Claire of the dangers the Blast Spiders present even after they're defeated.
"Right!" Claire confirms that she's taken onboard what Zeke has told her.
"Always watch your back." Hugo informs her and Claire gives another confident nod. I see her turn to me as she expects advice from me next. However, Zeke and Hugo have already told her everything else that we didn't think Claire already knew so,
"I'm sure you'll do fine." I comment to her surprise. "Just don't forget to communicate with us if you're having any trouble."
"I will." She confirms, nodding her head again as we set our sights back on all of the Aragami in front of us.
"Just let me know if you need a hand and I'll come running to rescue you." Zeke tries to show off his Aragami hunting abilities, but when I look towards Claire I notice that she doesn't seem too interested.
"I'll take both the Blast Spiders. Zeke, Hugo both of you take an Ogretail. Claire, provide support for all of us from a distance. When you run out of Oracle Points, you can help me with the Blast Spiders." I inform my teammates of their roles before running towards the direction of the two Blast Spiders right next to each other, not allowing them to argue with my orders.
"Come on! Why can't I take two at once?" I hear Zeke complain from behind me as I continue to run towards the two Blast Spiders whose attention has already turned towards me.
"Is that really alright?" Claire asks in concern which does make me feel a little warmer, but I'd rather hear Amy be concerned for me instead.
"He's the strongest one here," Hugo sticks up for me and my choice to take on two Blast Spiders at once. I instantly feel rejuvenated and feel like I've entered Burst status. I am slightly confused since I haven't tried a devour attack against them yet, until I realise that someone must have shot a Link Burst bullet at me. Judging by the fact that Hugo is the person defending my decision, I assume he helped me out by letting me activate Burst before reaching the Blast Spiders. "He's more than capable of defeating two Blast Spiders at the same time."
"Maybe I should still help him out." I hear Claire's voice but I choose to ignore it as I land five consecutive swings on the first Blast Spider before forcing myself to roll away from an impending jumping attack from the second Blast Spider that I was able to detect due to its shadow. Before I can deploy a devouring attack, I see the first Blast Spider jump towards me as well. I'm easily able to dodge it and land the devouring attack on this Aragami instead, before backing off and changing my God Arc to Gun Form and firing my laser towards the second, unhurt Blast Spider. I'm surprised to see my God Arc perform so much damage before being hit by an icicle in the shoulder.
"Grr." I grit my teeth at the unexpected attack before suddenly feeling as though I took no damage at all. I realise that Claire must have fired a healing bullet in my direction.
"Keep your target under control, Zeke!" I hear Hugo shout, and I assume that it must have been the Ogretail that Zeke is targeting that shot the icicle at me. I don't have much time to dwell on it though, as both the Blast Spiders recover. One of them attempts to spit a ball of ice in my direction while the other one tries to charge at me. It takes a bit of calculation in order to dodge them both, as step to the right to avoid the charging Blast Spider before having to duck to allow the ball of ice to pass over my head.
"Activating Engage!" I hear Hugo shout. As I feel a power boost to my melee attacks.
Engage
Aurick – Shared Supply
Hugo – Lasting Bonds
I immediately land five swipes to the second Blast Spider and deal a fair amount of damage before I am forced to dodge another couple of ice balls shot in my direction by both of my targets. I dodge them easily before delivering another slash to the closest Aragami. I see it recoil in pain but don't get the chance to capitalise on it before being forced to roll away from the other Blast Spider jumping in my direction. To my surprise, I feel Engage deactivate. I'm sure it shouldn't have deactivated yet. I can't dwell on it though, as I do have to defeat two Blast Spiders which can be a threat if I don't pay attention. I decide to jump and roll with my Arc aimed straight down to the back of a Blast Spider. As my Arc lands on it, I swipe forward and perform a front flip and land another attack. That's when I notice that the Aragami falls to the ground as its back begins to glow and expand. Landing on the ground as quickly as possible, I step backwards several times with my shield deployed to avoid the explosion.
"It's my turn!" I hear Zeke shout and immediately feel a connection between us. He must have activated Engage.
Engage
Aurick – Shared Supply
Zeke – Commander's Blade
As soon as the Blast Spider explodes, I feel myself able to move a lot faster. Or at least, without exerting as much stamina. I quicky eat a restore pill just in case Zeke needs the extra boost before charging towards my last remaining target.
"Why does everyone use Engage with Aurick?" I hear Claire speak up from near me. She must have run out of Oracle Points as I see her land a few piercing strikes with her God Arc. It's only now that I see that she has a Charge Spear type of God Arc. "Why don't Hugo and Zeke use Engage with each other?" She asks in confusion.
"You know how Engage works, right?" Zeke asks as he continues fighting an Ogretail.
"You share the same senses and benefit from shared abilities." Claire explains the advantages of Engage.
"You can't use Engage with more than one person at the same time, right?" Hugo confirms whether Claire knows this before continuing. "Otherwise, you would overload a God Eater."
"Wouldn't Aurick be overloaded then?" Claire asks another question, this time in concern for me. I won't lie, it's nice that she is even thinking about my own welfare while we're deep into the ashlands. Somewhere that regular God Eaters like herself shouldn't be able to handle very well.
"It's probably due to my high resonance ability," I begin my own explanation to Claire as we both deploy our shields to avoid being thrown backwards as the Aragami charges towards us. Thanks to our shields, we are only carried with the Blast Spider's momentum and don't take any damage from it. "But I don't experience overloading effects when others trigger Engage with me several times."
"How many times have you triggered Engage during one mission?" Claire asks in a tone I can't quite identify.
"Maybe twice each with Hugo and Zeke." I try to answer her to the best of my ability.
"And you suffered no mental effects from activating Engage four times in a single mission?" I shake my head in response to Claire's question.
"I see." She mumbles and silence overcomes us as we continue battling the Blast Spider. I decide to attack the Blast Spider less and less and let Claire take over, treating it as though we're just going through a training drill now. About a minute or two into our joined battle, she speaks up again. "Would you mind if I activated Engage with you?"
"Feel free." I comment simply. I doubt that it would do much now. After all, in those two minutes of silence, Hugo and Zeke had defeated the Ogretails and are providing support for the both of us as we train Claire to fight Blast Spiders. The Blast Spider that remains will die with another few attacks anyway, so I decide to let Claire do what she wants.
Engage
Aurick – Shared Supply
Claire – Guardian's Shield
"I feel different." She comments but does relent on her attacking of the Blast Spider. To show off Engage's effects, I swallow my last remaining restore pill as well as a stamina boosting pill. "I feel it. What did you do?"
"His Engage effect lets others experience my items as well. So, when he use a restore pill, O-Ampules or other items, the effects happen for you as well." Hugo explains the effects of my Engage ability. "My Engage effect powers up melee attacks."
"And my Engage effect lets you attack more by using less stamina." Zeke chips in as Claire deals the final blow to the Blast Spider.
"I see. That is very efficient." Claire still seems to be in business mode as she continues the conversation. We both deploy our shield as the Aragami's back begins to bulge. As the Blast Spider explodes, I feel myself take a lot less damage than I had expected, considering I'm still pretty close to the Aragami.
"Your Engage effect must increase our defensive abilities." I state to Claire as I realise that the added defence must have been due to her Engage effect.
"Yes, that's right." She answers with a smile on her face. It seems the praising of her own Engage effect makes her happy. "It also prolongs the use of Burst by 12%."
"That'll be very handy." I can't help but comment as Claire uses her God Arc to devour the Blast Spider.
Crescent Moon II – 52.2%
For the next few minutes, we walk around the area to check for any other signs of Aragami life while paying close attention to the areas with the beacons.
"Whew… that takes care of the mission." Claire comments as we finish our checks.
"Excellent work! You were great out there together!" Amy's voice comes over the comm lines.
"You're better than I expected, Claire!" Zeke states how impressed he was with Claire's combat abilities, especially since this is her debut mission.
"Thanks." Claire expresses her gratitude towards Zeke with happiness in her voice.
"Make sure to rest when you get back to base." Amy's words cause me to look up to the sky and I begin to realise that the sky is growing a dark shade of blue; the day is coming to an end. With that said, we quickly start heading back to the Chrysanthemum; not wanting to be outside during the night where visibility is severely limited.
Arriving back at the Chrysanthemum, we are quickly shown to our living quarters. The first thing we see as soon as we walk into the male barracks we notice that there are six beds. These are split up into two sets of three bunk beds.
"I call the top bunk!" Zeke shouts as he makes his way over to the set of beds closest to the door as well as being closest to a lot of filing cabinets. He jumps on top of it and lets out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Ricardo, who along with Marr and Sho had accompanied us to the male barracks, pushes past us and takes up the top bunk on the other set of beds. Marr and Sho decide to take up the other two beds under Zeke, leaving the two beds under Ricardo to be for Hugo and I. We walk over towards the two remaining empty beds.
"Which one do you want?" Hugo asks, offering me the chance to choose the bed.
"As long as they're more comfortable than the ones back at the Port, I don't care." I dismiss his question.
"They are a lot more comfortable!" Marr shouts in happiness as he moves around on his bed and makes himself comfy.
Hugo decides to take the middle bed while I get the one under him; the one that rests on the floor.
"Unlike your Port, the Chrysanthemum knows how to treat people." Ricardo comments and I assume he's thinking back to when he was inspecting our living conditions. "Still though, I'm glad you're out of there."
"So are we." Zeke joins in with the conversation.
"Anywhere had to be better than there." Hugo lets his own thoughts be heard. I wait for Hugo to roll onto his bed before crawling into mine since he would have been in the way if I had wanted to get into my bed first.
"Everyone here is so nice." Sho decides to get in on the act as well. I roll around on my own bed for a few seconds as I attempt to get comfy, but when I do it feels bliss. A hell of a lot better than being back at the Port. In fact, it feels so comfy that my eyes struggle to stay open and within seconds I feel my vision turn black.
(No POV)
"We've been through a lot today." Hugo reflects on the events that took place today. "We took on a mission trying to find a med kit for Sho, only to find that an Ash Storm was heading our way. After that we were all rescued by the Chrysanthemum and its crew. Then, we worked out some deals and went on a few missions to prove our worth. We even went on a mission with a regular God Eater."
"Claire was pretty good, but not as good as me." Zeke interjects with confidence spilling out of him.
"Of course not, she's only a beginner." Ricardo argues for the woman that cannot defend herself since the women cannot access the male dorm during the night and the men can't access the female barracks either.
"She was impressive for a rookie. She wasn't exactly going toe-to-toe with the Aragami like you were, Aurick, but she was still impressive." Hugo reasons and waits for a response from the man he was talking to. "Aurick?" Hugo repeats after not receiving any word of agreement.
"I think he's asleep." Sho mentions which makes Hugo look over his bed to see if Aurick is asleep, like Sho said. It turns out that Sho was right as Aurick is sleeping soundly.
"I shouldn't be surprised." Hugo comments as he corrects his position so that he is back on his own bed. "He's always been the backbone of the team. It only makes sense that he gets tired like the rest of us."
"His abilities are so monstrous that it's hard to remember that he's just like us." Zeke joins in with the praising of the sleeping team member.
"He's like a superhero!" Marr remarks with the positivity overflowing from him, not seeming to read Zeke's comment properly.
"You're all pretty close, huh?" Ricardo shows his interest in the situation.
"We'd have to be after all we've went through." Zeke comments on the bonds that they all have with each other. His voice reflecting the happiness he feels in the situation, although it also shows that he's missing something.
"We've been through things that no AGE should have to experience." Hugo's voice turns serious as he speaks. "We've all seen people die in that prison cell. It's unforgiveable, really, but we've had to move on with our lives. Aurick and I have seen the most deaths in that prison." He comments. "We've been together since before our first day as AGEs and seen all the different ways that Port Pennywort tried to get rid of the bodies."
"It's sickening what you've went through. But you're here now. You should try to forget about it." Ricardo comments on the mistreatment of the people from Port Pennywort.
"I hate to say it, but it's only due to Aurick that we're even here now." Hugo continues. "He suffered so much for us when we were younger. He was always the favourite of the Port's management."
"He was the favourite, but he suffered for it?" Ricardo asks in confusion.
"Aurick probably thinks that everyone else suffered more than him. He may have even forgotten due to how traumatic his experiences were. But, when we were younger he would often be dragged out of the cell at the dead of night. Despite being in the other side of the Port, I could still hear his screams as the Port experimented using his resonance ability."
"Is his high resonance ability due to experiments?" Zeke asks in clear concern.
"No, you have to be born with a high resonance ability. It isn't something that can be changed." Ricardo explains. "They were probably experimenting to see what they could do with resonance."
"Right now, his resonance ability is a gift. But back then, it was a curse. I regret not being able to be there for him during his time of need." Hugo continues.
"There was nothing you could do though. If you had fought back then you would have been punished for it." Zeke tries to reason with Hugo to get him to stop taking the blame.
"When Keith had told Aurick that his voice was monotonous, I saw his face fall. I'm not sure what the experiments were that the Port had forced him to go through, but I'm sure that was the cause for Aurick's voice becoming monotonous. He must have repressed the memories of the experiments as he seemed really surprised when he was told his voice was monotonous. When his screaming eventually stopped, I felt relieved. But they would still conduct many more experiments. I think when he stopped screaming, something inside of him had broke."
"I didn't even know." Zeke mumbles in disappointment. No one had told him what Aurick had went through.
"I think it will all come spilling out at some point. He'll remember everything and tell us all about it. When that day comes, I'll be there for him. That's the only thing I can do as his best friend. Until then, I'm going to do my best to bring him back to his usual self."
"That's going to be a really difficult task, Hugo. Are you sure you're up to it?" Ricardo asks the man who seems to have solid conviction in his voice. "This isn't the first time I've heard about AGEs being forced to undergo experiments. Baran makes all the AGEs in the caravan undergo it. If they die, or don't respond well to the experiments, Baran deserts them."
"I will always be there for Aurick. He's my best friend and nothing will change that. Even if remembering those experiments turns him into a monster, I will do everything I can to help him."
"Aurick is like a brother to me, and I don't want to lose another brother. I'll make him return to his normal self even if he hates me for it!" Zeke shouts in confirmation, his aim clear to everyone.
"I'll help too." Marr and Sho make their opinion known as well. All of this brings a smile to Hugo's face for the first time since the discussion started.
"We'll be counting on you." Hugo lets them all know.
"For what it's worth, I'll try my best too." Ricardo confirms that even he will help them all, despite knowing them for less than a day. "He seems like a good kid." With a renewed vigour, all five of them fall asleep with the hope of helping Aurick through the mental trauma he has forgotten.