Chapter 10
Dr. Winchester's Office
Though the move was set as a joke, Alexis hardly saw the humor in them ditching her and leaving her for three hours until a drill team showed up to get her out of the street. Shinji and the others who had been consumed by the Orb had their armor taken to the labs again for cleaning, the Grunts were given smaller methane respirators while their gas tanks were being cleaned, and practically walked around in human clothing. The Master Chief found it humorous to walk down a hall and see a short Grunt wearing a Budweiser t-shirt that was too big for him and went down to his feet, and he saw one wearing a trucker hat once, which was cocked to the side.
However, this was not the time for laughing at Grunt's hilarious behavior; it was a time to speak with the doctor, and puppet master behind the MJOLNIR armor and the Eva series, which Sven had learned there were many more like Shinji, Ray, and Alexis, and each armor set was unique. The Evas were free of their armor, Shinji wore a jacket and jeans, Ray a blouse and skirt, and Alexis wore a t-shirt with the words Cutey on it and a pair of shorts. Sven, as usual, remained in his armor. Looking out into the test laboratories from his office, Dr. Winchester's back was turned to the four children.
"Seems we're learning so much about the Abaters every time we see one, and, of course, kill it." He turned, smiling at them. "You did well yesterday. And Shinji, what was it like inside the Orb?" He asked, quite curious. Shinji nodded, and said.
"It was cold…dark…and empty really. I felt like I was going to freeze inside that thing."
"And it appears that it is tough on the outside, but quite defenseless on the inside, no digestive system that eats away its food right away. Maybe it freezes its prey, and some sort of bacteria inside of it eats it away and gives it nutrients." Dr. Winchester said, stroking his chin. The others found his speculations a rather unsettling thought, but nonetheless, probably true. "But still, good work all of you, especially you Shinji, for killing the Orb." Though it was hard to tell for Ray, Sven and Shinji definitely could tell that Alexis was angered that she was outshined, and humiliated.
"Don't you guys worry; I'll take care of the next one." She said aloud. Dr. Winchester smiled.
"I'm sure you will Ms. Swans. And you did an excellent job finding out that once the Orb shadow stops, it appears as if you weren't sucked in at all. It was a miracle you didn't suffocate." Shinji and Sven smiled, even Ray gave a faint smile. "You're free to go, all of you." He waved them away, fighting the urge to laugh like the others tried to. "And…Sven, could you stay here a minute?" The Master Chief paused and turned, then nodded.
"Yes sir." He looked at Shinji. "I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay." Shinji said and left the doctor and Master Chief. Sven stood as straight as he could, towering over Winchester by more than a foot. His third encounter with an Abater made Sven begin to wonder why fighting the Abater armies was so difficult, where they all just odd creatures, perhaps from another dimension, or like what had been implied to him earlier, created by actual Abaters? If this was the case, what did the real Abaters look like, act, attack?
"Yes Doctor?" He asked. Dr. Winchester clasped his hands behind his back, and smiled humbly.
"Have you, by chance, ever seen a Hunter?" He asked. Sven shook his head.
"No sir. But I feel as if you wanted to speak with me about more than just this sir." Dr. Winchester chuckled kindly.
"Sven, must everything be so serious with you?" He asked. The Master Chief looked down to the carpet.
"I...guess not sir." He replied.
"And please, I hate the term 'Sir'. 'Doctor', or 'Herman' is fine." Dr. Winchester said, keeping his gentle smile.
"Of course s...I mean, Doctor." The Spartan corrected himself. "As you were saying..." Winchester cocked an eyebrow and pushed up his glasses, confused. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open and sparkled.
"Aw yes! Please, follow me." He said. The elderly man placed his hand on Sven's shoulder as he passed. "Well? Coming or not?" He chuckled again.
"Yes Doctor." Sven replied and walked after the scientist.
The doctor led Sven to the same training room where his armor had been placed onto him, only now there were two massive and bulky creatures there. They stood in squatted forms, at about eight feet, with shimmering blue armor, and small patches where their orange skin was revealed, at the middle and neck, so they could move easier obviously. They had massive, three-clawed hands; they had gauntlets which appeared as if supposed to attach something else to them. Their heads were concealed behind blue masks, but their red eyes still shot through. Six long spikes shot out from their backs, and made the two creatures look all the more menacing. As the two came closer, Sven realized that these large beings were connected by small orange worms. The worms under the blue armor squirmed and rustled, even when the beings themselves weren't moving.
"Master Chief, these will be your two Hunter bond brothers, Hettu Orun Lekoly, and Kicilar Orun Geratu." Dr. Winchester introduced the two Hunters and Sven. The doctor turned to Sven. "Once you three have accepted the other, you will be known to them as Sven Orun McGregor." The Master Chief looked up, staring blankly at the two menacing Hunters glaring back at him. Sven nodded and stepped forward.
"Hello Hettu and Kicilar, I am Sven, your new bond brother." The two Hunters looked at each other, when the one closer, obviously Hettu, spoke in a low, powerful grunt.
"You are human, you cannot be our brother." He growled. Dr. Winchester stepped forward.
"Now, now Hettu, we discussed this, I told you all about Sven's deeds, you should be impressed." He said and looked as Sven with a reassuring grin. The Master Chief was a little surprised Dr. Winchester wasn't as prepared for this as he normally would. Perhaps the constant Abater attacks kept him busy.
"Yes, but we must be sure." Kicilar grunted before lunging forward and slamming his massive hand down. The Master Chief jumped to the side and dodged the attack, the two Hunters astounded. "I missed…" The Hunter grumbled. "I never miss." With his other hand, he slashed at Sven, but the Master Chief jumped back, dodging again. Kicilar staggered back, and nodded to his bond brother. "The doctor was right, he is quick to react." Hettu nodded. "One more!" Kicilar boomed as he cornered the Spartan and shot up his large arm, its claws ready to break Sven's bones. Instead of dodging, the Spartan threw his arms up and caught the mammoth fist with both hands and stopped it in midair. "Huh?!" The Hunter cried as the Master Chief forced him to the ground with a thundering boom. A moment of silence passed, and Sven stood up, patting Kicilar on his armored shoulder. "He's...good." The Hunter said, exhausted.
"Very well, welcome Sven Orun McGregor." Hettu boomed as he approached the Master Chief, each step he took a loud and thundering one. Stopping before Sven, the Hunter grunted. "As bond brothers, we shall fight together, protect each other, and will form a bond that shall be unbreakable. Do you accept?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. Kicilar stood beside his bond brother, eager to hear Sven's reply, which began with a nod.
"Yes, bond brothers, I shall." He looked at the Hunters, who gave the other a pleased look, then looked back to the human.
"Very well brother, when you deploy next time, we'll be there to aid you. Remember, as bond brothers, we must protect each other." Hettu said. Sven nodded.
"Of course Brother, thank you." He said.
"You are welcome, and thank you." Kicilar said.
Overlooking the Master Chief and the two Hunters, Victoria and Fred spoke with one another behind black glass. Fred had his sunglasses over his eyes, with his jet black hair still combed neatly to the side and his black suit. Victoria wore a lab coat, her arms crossed and her eyes fixed on Sven and the two giants.
"He has done extremely well for just being awoken three days ago." Fred began. "And he is only eighteen!" Victoria sighed, and nodded.
"Yes, but I always think, back to the day that we took Sven, and I knew what his destiny was to be. A soldier, for a nearly extinct human race, with little if not any hope left to fight." She looked at Fred, who stared at her through blank sunglasses. "Do you think this war is pointless? We have hundreds of thousands of casualties, we have only a few dozen records of Abater kills, and every time we kill one, Abater forces seem only to be warmed up and toss in a stronger monster, why can't those bastards just fight us themselves?" She looked back down to Sven. Fred stroked his chin.
"Well to crap on your whole theory Ma'am, the Abaters do deploy ground troops regularly, and we have captured one...just once. What we learned was amzing." Fred said.
"Yes, I read the report, Frederick, the Abaters are led by their religious leaders, Prophets, who have also recruited Brutes, Jackals, and Drones into their army, the Abater monsters are merely artificial beings when the Abaters spliced animal DNA from other planets to create what we fight now." Victoria said breathlessly. Fred stood, quite impressed, when he returned to Victoria's original question.
"When I saw the Slicer 'n Dicer mission in England-02, and the Master Chief seemed outnumbered, yes, I did find this war pointless. If he had been killed, it would've just meant that we wasted a child's life…and a few million dollars of tax-payer's dollars." Fred replied. Victoria was disgusted, how could he think of money now? Sensing that he angered her somehow, Fred changed the subject. "So, how is the Princess of England?" Victoria, without looking away from the Master Chief, said.
"Well, she seems happy here. She tells me that she enjoys company with the Evas, and especially Sven." She said.
"Sven? Why him? I mean sure, she did seem to have a crush on him in the beginning, but I thought it passed by now. He never shows his face anymore, just encases himself in the MJOLNIR armor. Does he sleep in it?" Fred asked.
"Hmm...I'm not sure about him sleeping in his armor." The dark-haired scientist began. "And trust me, it isn't some puppydog crush either, Susan told me that she thought he was 'cute', but sees them as merely friends." Victoria said, looking back at Fred.
"Heh, the countless girls who have said that to me..." Fred thought out loud. He looked at Victoria, then returned back to his mind. "Oh, well, in my own opinion, I think we should keep Evas and Spartans away from relationships, the last thing we want a soldier to do, is to think back to a romantic night with their 'honey' and space out the battle."
Yeah, I guess you're right." Victoria replied.
Break Room
The Break Room, the only place where people could escape from the thought of Abaters and death, just for soldiers and civilians alike to relax, play a game of pool, watch TV, or just lay back and hang out. There were two pool ball tables, which two Helljumpers were playing at, a third one watching the game and socializing with the other two. Couches made a 'U' shape around the big screen television, where when the Master Chief walked in, he found Ray, Shinji, Alexis, and Susan sitting. Next to the carpeted area with the pool tables and couches, was a small tiled area, with tables and chairs, beside three vending machines. Glancing at a nearby calendar, Sven noticed that it was February. His heart raced and he remembered something, but first he would see his friends. He sat down beside Susan and smiled at her, despite wearing the helmet, the princess did the same.
"So what did the doctor want of you this time?" Alexis asked. Sven looked away from Susan and at the redhead, who was seated at the end of the 'U', Ray next to her, then Shinji.
"I went to meet my bond brothers, Hettu and Kicilar." Sven replied. He looked at Susan. "They're Hunters."
"Why do you get to have bond brothers?" Alexis asked. "I guarantee that I've done more than you or Shinji over there, and I haven't gotten anything for it." Sven nodded and politely said.
"I'm sure you will someday." Thrown way off by the polite respond, Alexis shrunk back. The Master Chief looked at the calendar again, something turned on in his mind, he remembered something. He looked at Susan. "I need to go. I'll see you later." He said and rushed off. Susan watched him, wondering what the idea of the hi-and-run attidtude was.
As Victoria went over some notes while she walked down a hall, she never even noticed Sven approaching her. He was pleased to find her so quickly, for he had a question. She looked up, and smiled at Sven.
"Good day Sven, how are you?" She asked. The Master Chief stopped in front of her and nodded.
"I'm fine, thank you, but…what day is it?" He asked. Victoria was a little surprised, but said.
"It's February 24th, why?"
"No reason, thanks." The Master Chief said and walked quickly in the direction of his room.
"That was odd…unless…" Victoria smiled to herself and continued on.
"And it was so strange. He just sat down, looked at me, and left." Susan said, taking a sip from her tea. She and Victoria sat facing each other in the mess hall, one on one side and the other on the other. Though the setting wasn't exactly what the princess was used to, she always liked a cup of tea, and now she was beginning to look up to Victoria like a sister.
"Maybe something was bugging him." Victoria replied, hiding what she knew was going on. Susan sighed.
"But I thought we were friends. Don't friends talk to each other? Maybe I'm just doing this whole friend idea wrong and..."
"Don't worry, it's just a guy thing, they like to remain mysterious." Victoria said reassuringly. "And Sven…well, he has a lot of mystery around him doesn't he?" Susan nodded. Victoria reached out and touched her shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll open up, just give him time." Susan smiled faintly.
"I hope so..."
Shinji opened Sven's door just a crack, peeking in, he saw Sven at his desk, still in armor, with the lamp and he was apparently writing or drawing something.
"Hey Sven, why'd you leave so soon today?" Shinji asked. Sven's head rose up on his shoulders, and he turned around in the chair.
"I need to get something done, for Susan." He said. Shinji thought for a moment, an old childhood memory popped up in his mind, and he smiled.
"Valentine's Day?" He asked. Sven nodded.
"I'm going to deliver it to her tonight, while she's asleep." He said.
"So you are like what Johnson said, an item." Shinji said. Sven looked back over his shoulder.
"I still don't know what that means, but I do...I'm not sure...I think of her and...I don't know." He said.
"I heard about that, I think it's love. My Mother and Father always talked about it." Shinji's grin faded. "Then my mother died, and my father sent me off to an orphanage."
"I'm sorry." Sven said with a nod. Shinji looked up and smiled.
"No, no, it's okay. Hope Susan likes your Valentine."
Secret Committee Room
The people behind all of this, the Evas, the Spartans, the kidnappings, was the Committee, which had outlived the all other forms of government. Now that there was hardly anyone to boss around with a government, everything was simply run like a business. Dr. Winchester, Victoria, and Fred walked into the dark chamber, where a table stood, where businessmen and military men alike sat. Nothing could be seen, except for the lights overhead, which made each person visible, but nothing else.
"Dr. Winchester, take a seat." The headman, Bill Kingsley said, motioning with his large hand to take a seat. Kingsley was a large man, bald, and always wore the finest suits his money could buy. Between two of his large fingers he clasped a fat cigar, something he smoked often. "We are pleased with what is going on. Three victories in three days…impressive." He put his cigar on the edge of his mouth and clasped his pudgy hands then rested his chin on them.
"Yes," Another man said, this one in his fifties and with a Russian accent. He had grey hair, but dark eyebrows, which went with his black eyes. It was General Vassili Rykov, the leader of a mercenary group called the Iron Bears, and though he was fifty-something, he was known to be a great fighter. "I have looked forward to seeing the MJOLNIR armor work, I am impressed. And the MJOLNIR II series…?" He asked.
"The battle suit has worked more efficiently than even the first series General." Victoria stated. "We will ship the first to you immediately." Rykov nodded.
"Very good." But before Rykov could go on, probably on the topic of Evas, Kingsley spoke.
"And of the children, may I hear their names and status please?" Dr. Winchester, Victoria, and even Fred hesitated to give each other a look of worry. They all knew Kingsley as a businessman, a ruthless person who didn't see anything in the world but green money. Victoria brought up her clipboard, but Dr. Winchester spoke.
"Sven McGregor is the one in the Spartan, the Master Chief as we call him; he awoke from suspended animation three days ago and is quite the fighter." He began, glancing every once in awhile to the clipboard.
"Is he the one who killed the Slicer 'n Dicers in London-02?" Someone in the group of businessmen asked.
"Yes." Fred answered. There were mumbles and whispers among the businessmen and soldiers. Rykov, however, seemed interested.
"Then there is Shinji Ikari…who…is the son of Gendo Ikari, and the holder of the Eva-01 armor." Dr. Winchester went on.
"But Commander Ikari is in Japan, taking control of the Committee building there, along with the Evas there too." Kingsley stated. "Why is his son here?"
"He told us to take him, and we did." Dr. Winchester replied. "Now then, we come to Ray, Eva-00…"
"Go on." Kingsley said. Dr. Winchester wet his lips nervously.
"We…we don't have any files on Ray, they…they seemed to have been erased…completely." Dr. Winchester said.
"Yes, date of birth, parents, relatives, everything." Fred added.
"I see. Now if the world weren't in such a predicament and depending on each other I'd say that Ray might be some sort of spy." Kingsley growled.
"We can assure you she isn't sir." Victoria said.
"And there's Alexis Langley Swans, Eva-02. She came from New York-02 and seemed quite confident in fighting the Abaters sir."
"That's what we need right? Confidence, hell, we're all out of it here." He leaned back in his chair. "So is that all of the children?" He asked. Fred, Victoria, and Dr. Winchester nodded. "Very well, that's all we need to know, you're free to go." As Dr. Winchester rose and the other two turned, Rykov stood up as well.
"I would like to see the Spartan for myself. Is that okay with you Doctor?" He asked. Winchester looked over his shoulder, and though mercenaries weren't always to be trusted as he was told, Rykov was a general, and a truthful person. He nodded.
"Very well, come along."