Title: Abandoned
Summary: Sci fi!AU. Newly promoted Sergeant Maka Albarn had not imagined her first mission from New Earth to go like this. Maybe she should have already known something was amiss when the vessel with the mysterious cargo was called God of Death.
"B-but Sergeant," Tsugumi whispered fearfully, her rifle meek and unassuming in her trembling hands as she pressed closer to the wall. "We are supposed to stay away from the cargo."
Maka threw the scared girl a stern look over her shoulder, green eyes hard like steel. "We were put on this ship to protect it, so whatever it is that has attacked us needs to be dispatched, especially if they're after the cargo." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, clenching her teeth because the attackers could be space pirates, which would be the best case scenario. Sergeant Maka Albarn had experience with that brand of criminal. They were at least human unlike the kishins.
A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, heavy like hot coal, left her uneasily trotting down the dark hallway of the Shinigami. God of Death. Whoever had decided to name this spaceship was an idiot, or some smartass who thought himself a paragon of ironic cleverness.
It had been an hour since the Shinigami had stopped responding, nearly all functions on the ship ceasing. But something had been wrong since the beginning of this mission. They were supposed to make sure the cargo made it safely from New Earth to the space colony Grigori, but they had not been told what he cargo was, why it was so important beyond the general implications that it would be a crucial weapon against the kishins. Kishins that swarmed space and arbitrarily attacked New Earth and its neighbouring colonies.
But why the fuck was this ship full with rookies if the cargo was so important? Hell, even Maka herself had been promoted only two months ago. It was as if this mission had been set up to fail since its beginning, since President Medusa had held that little speech in front of them with that slimy smile of hers. If only President Kid hadn't gone missing. Maka had liked him better since his decisions always seemed to make sense to a certain degree.
A bead of sweat rolled down her temple as she gulped, her heart jumping into her throat as another crash resounded. She hissed at Tsugumi to follow her, their steps hasty, their breaths flat and short. Where was everyone else? Where the hell were Anya and Meme? How the fuck had this ship turned into a ghost ship in a matter of minutes? If they were...dead-
"Mak- Sergeant! We-we should go back," Tsugumi whispered, and Maka nearly agreed.
"No, we have to make sure the cargo is safe." Maka pressed on, her eyes widened. The door to the restricted area was...gone. Not opened, not destroyed or damaged...but gone! Perhaps they really should head back, but she was a sergeant, damn it! She still had a duty to uphold. Stepping over the threshold to this ominous room that was the centre of numerous ridiculous rumours made her shiver and grip her rifle more firmly.
The sickly green glow from the life-sized capsules to their left and right, illuminated the area just barely. What was inside of them? And... one of them didn't glow? She gasped. It was broken...no. The strong impenetrable glass that was securely shielding the other cargos was gone, just like the door. She shook her head with a frown and turned to Tsugumi. "Private? Radio the Commander, tell him that someone has-"
The breath was knocked out of her lungs as her back hit one of the capsules, something pressing agains her abdomen, her rifle wrenched from her hands. Tsugumi's scream only registered in Maka's ears as a piercing, high-pitched shriek before it was cut of with a disgusting squelching noise, and garbled coughs. The edges of her vision blurred, but the sound reached her ringing ears regardless, enough to make her stomach churn.
"Tsu-tsugumi?" No reply; only heavy raspy breathing, the padding of bare feet across metal as the pressure against her abdomen doubled. She made a grasp for the thing that was holding her in place, her hand touching something that was...that was a bandage? Stretched long and sturdy over torso and left arm...but no...it lacked the rough texture of a bandage. Skin?
Bile rose in her throat, but then gleaming red eyes were in front of her, the green light of the capsule catching the madness, the raging bloodlust, and giddiness to kill. What...who? Damn it! She made a grasp for the knife that was strapped against her thigh, the blade glinting a sinister green as she slashed against the intruder's neck, deranged pupils widening before he threw his head back and cackled, unaffected by the knife that was stuck in his throat, that wasn't drawing blood, only black, viscous and sticky, closing over the wound and spitting the knife away like a toothpick.
Maka's eyes widened. She was going to die. A pale gnarly hand reached out for her, his black greasy fringe covering those demonic eyes. Why couldn't she move? Why were her legs frozen and heavy like lead, why was her heartbeat slowing, not reacting with thundering fear, the terror that she felt in her veins and marrow. She closed her eyes. What had he-
The pain never came. Fat, droplets of liquid splashed against her face, and her sluggish heart jumped into overdrive. Her eyes wrenched open, her mouth parting in a gasp as the man in front of her released an unholy shriek, along curved blade plunged into his chest. Black blood dribbled out of the wound, pulsating onto its naked skin and the floor, drenching her pants. He bled and bled until his skin became an ashen grey, flabby and wrinkled. The face in front of her twisted and contorted, eyes wide open, pupils blown, cheeks hollowing and hollowing until there was no face anymore.
Maka's stomach lurched as she watched the man in front of her dissolve into nothing but black liquid. She inhaled sharply, through her mouth, the pungent smell of dead skin and coagulated blood assaulting her nose. What was going on?
The-the blade? Where? It had come from behind her. The capsule? She didn't dare to turn around, afraid that the sleek metal might cut into her vulnerable skin. What kind of weapon was that. Who the hell had attacked her...and Tsugumi! Oh God! Carefully, she dislodged herself from the spot, grimacing at the black liquid soaking and weighing her down as she crawled towards the cadet's prone body. Maka bit back a sob. So much blood. Her vision swam, her hands jittery and anxious as she tried to assess the damage, tried to still the blood flow. Tsugumi was still breathing, barely so. If she didn't receive immediate treatment, she-she-
Maka squeezed her eyes shut before she clumsily reached out for her radio, hurriedly whispering where she was, what had happened, she needed help, please! She had to get out of here because she had no idea what the fuck this cargo was? What kind of freaks this ship was transporting. What-
Her eyes shot up, deliriously fixed on the capsule with the fucking blades. Her breaths rattled her ribcage as she aimlessly made a grab for Tsugumi's discarded rifle. Whatever was inside might have saved her, but she wasn't taking any chances. Maka's fingers nearly slipped as the blades receded back into its confines. Maybe it would just stay where the hell it was.
Crack.
Oh please, no. With another deafening crack two blades at once sliced through the glass, splitting it open, splinters and little crystalline shards scattering all over the floor. Her fighting instincts kicked back in and the rifle was clutched more resolutely in her hands. Her blood was roaring in her ears, her palms clammy with sweat as she took aim.
A boy stepped out, covered in nothing but his skin and the green substance that had kept him in the capsule. All blood left Maka's face, her cheeks pallid. The blades were protruding from his arms. He had no arms! But then shiny deadly metal morphed into skin and flesh and muscle; he stared down at his newly formed hands, curled his fingers, cracked his knuckles.
Bare feet stepped out of the gooey mess that was the mixture of the black blood and the green essence with a gut-churning squelch. Eyes, red eyes, focused on her almost lazily, his skin tan and healthy, his face youthful, curious, wondering.
"Stay where you are! Or I will shoot!" Maka bellowed, her voice echoing sharply. She prided herself for not letting it waver, even though she felt like pissing her pants right now. "Who are you?"
The boy-the man cocked his head to the side, a gesture so endearingly normal and innocent that she almost lowered her gun. But the adrenaline in her body sharpened her senses, every noise, every little movement of his. He raised his hands, and she flinched, her rifle rising with them.
"My name is…"he began, parting and sealing his lips, cracking the bones in his jaw before he cleared his throat. This time his voice clearer, deeper; so smooth and so very human, but she wouldn't let her guard down again. Maka nervously glanced down at Tsugumi. "My name is Soul."