I know it's been some time since an update and I apologize. School is back in session and that means lots of homework and extracirriculars that eat up time like crazy. I'm trying to get back to about a chapter a week.

Chapter Six- Kill the Jaegers

The Capital- Imperial Palace Gates

Wave strode up to the Palace gates with confidence, before the standard "Halt! Who are you!" he was accustomed to at this point was shouted in his face by a guard.

Wave produced his documentation and he was shocked to see that same pale complexion wash over the guards' faces as they then bowed their heads, apologizing for questioning him, and guiding him into the courtyard, passing him off to another guard.

'Well, they sure know how to treat their guests right.' He thought, smiling to himself. He had assumed this would be the hard work he was accustomed to on the sea, but so far in the Capital he felt a bit pampered. 'It's probably because I'm from the Navy.' He smiled, still proud of his heritage.

The guard whispered to the other "This one's from out of town, clearly, he's just some dumb hick kid but he's here for General Esdeath."

The second one gulped heavily upon hearing this and his brows drooped in worry. "Here, sorry, what was your name again?"

"Wave, sir."

"Right, Wave. Nyle here is going to escort you to the East wing of the palace. You all will be meeting there."

Wave smiled brightly with anticipation.

Nyle made some small talk with him- So you're new here, where you from? Oh, the Coast. How long you've been here? Oh, just arrived this morning, huh?

The usual. Wave could hardly pay attention, though he felt bad as he thought Nyle realized this, as he eventually stopped talking for the last few minutes of their walk.

Wave didn't want to come off like some pretentious kid who thought he was hot shit because he was in the company of high-ranking officers, but he couldn't really focus. His brain was racked with nervousness, excitement, and anticipation at meeting the rest of his highly-qualified team. And, of course, the feared General.

He also couldn't help but think of how he even came into this possession of his- the Grand Chariot.

He remembered Keno teaching him to awkwardly pilot the thing around on the ship.

"Steady, steady, Wave! Focus your energy!" he had said, gesturing with his hands to come down, as Wave slightly levitated off the ground, losing his balance as he was not used to the feeling.

"That's it! That's it!" he said as Wave final leveled out and gazed at him.

"Now what?" he said, excited.

"Now let your mind's eye guide this suit. It will attempt to push you to your limits, but control it, it's one of the last Teigus ever made and so one of the most advanced. More so than the prototype suit it's based on. It's easy to let it take over. Now clear that power from your mind. Now tell it to fly. Picture yourself gliding on the horizon." Keno told him calmly.

Wave closed his eyes, picturing it, before a surge of energy rushed through his body seemingly from nowhere, allowing him to speed unfathomably off the deck off the ship and out onto the ocean, Keno quickly lost sight of him. "WAVE!" he screamed in terror.

Wave felt the suit slowly taking over control and going faster and faster. Wave panicked, he hadn't completely let the anxiety clear from his mind beforehand and now he was paying for it, panting heavily as it slowly gained more momentum and he flailed about awkwardly, dipping into the water several times. Wave finally pictured diving in solidly, and reined in the suit, allowing it to submerge, and in the darkness and pressure of the sea water, he started to sink. But he merely shut his eyes and held his breath, picturing shooting up like a spring.

He then felt the burst of energy come back, but this time it took him into the air as he wanted, and he stayed in an aerodynamic position, arms at his side, head forward like an arrow, and slowly turned back to the ship and came barreling down through the air, creating huge cloudbursts as he did. Keno saw this and eyes widening, bracing for impact, before Wave suddenly threw his arms back and his feet forward, allowing the suit to slow to a stop and merely levitate above the deck, and he lowered himself to.

Wave then collapsed over from the sudden exhaustion, and Keno came to his aid, cradling his head for a second and laughing, impressed "I warned you- it takes a lot out of a person. But you did well. You can control this thing easier than most for a first-timer. It really did choose you."

Wave smiled, radiating with positive energy, as Nyle turned to say "Here, down the hall is the conference room."

Nyle departed, leaving Wave to walk down the corridor alone, still with his map of the palace if he got lost later. He checked the door on the map and found it before him, a standard white and gold door common in Imperial décor.

'Well, here I am. My new teammates are waiting for me behind this door.' He remembered his father had told him to make a strong first impression, and to not let anyone walk all over him. Wave did want to be cordial though and opted for neutral but proud entrance:

He threw open the door- "Good afternoon! I've come from the Imperial Navy-"

Wave froze and swallowed his next words. Every bit of positive energy he had been oozing early dried up and disappeared. He immediately was terrified.

Sitting at a large conference table was a huge, muscled man. He looked more like a shaved Grizzly, though. He had to be about 6'6" or 6'8", just sitting he was clearly taller than most. He had a strange, eerie mask with emotionless blank eye sockets with crosses in them, with black marks around them and a strange breathing-like apparatus. He was shirtless, and had a massive claw scar across his chest and he looked like a man so strong and sturdy he could break a human neck like a twig.

Wave immediately screamed "So sorry! I think I have the wrong room!" and bolted out, slamming it behind him, laying against it panting, as though he could stop that behemoth from getting through if he decided to.

'Holy shit! I must've accidentally found the torture chamber by mistake!' Wave double-checked, and the room was labeled as the conference room, and his heart sank and mind raced realizing the towering hulk he may have just offended is actually his teammate. He was honestly considering going back home, hoping futilely his mother wouldn't be furious if he did so.

Wave skulked back to the room and said nothing, sitting at the opposite end of the table, while the terrifying brutish guy just stared at him ominously.

Soon, all his other teammates arrived, one after the other they proved even stranger.

First, a strange but cute younger girl with black hair and a sword, who sat across from him, who then freaked when Wave simply approached her, obsessed he might take her cookies.

Then a very cute and sweet-seeming girl of around the same age with a little dog-type creature at her side. She was maybe a little official but seemed alright, but she for some reason had metallic arms. Whether they were actually her arms or just armor Wave wasn't sure. She sat beside him.

But before she did take a seat, the girl then bowed and introduced a flamboyant surgeon in glasses and labcoat into the room, whose entrance with enhanced by falling rose petals, who immediately began to not-so-subtly hit on Wave to his upset.

Finally filed in a normal-seeming man, a little older than Wave, with blonde hair, a feather in his hair, a metal collar piece with an insignia, and white robes, carrying with him a book.

Then he was shocked that the mountain of a man he had fled from quietly approached him and offered tea he had made to everyone. He explained he was just very shy to Wave to his confusion and shock and introduced himself as Bols of the incineration squad.

Shortly thereafter, another person entered the room. It was clearly a young woman, but all they could notice was the blue hair and creepy skull-like face mask and the fact she didn't seem to belong there or speak.

Wave decided to take initiative, as a leader does.

"Hey, who are you?"

She approached the head of the table where Wave and the black-haired cookie girl were seated.

"What are you all doing here?!" the woman shouted in an aggressive, deep tone.

Wave began to stand to confront this strange and unnecessarily rude woman "Hey! We were all told to assemble here-" Wave suddenly lost all breath and felt an intense pain, somehow blunt and sharp, as a boot heel from the woman slammed full force into torso, where the stomach meets the sternum, sending him flying into a wall on the opposite end of the table, smacking his head against it and falling as he groaned. "Assassins are among the traitors. Don't ever drop your guard." The masked woman warned. She then began immediately attacking the other members of the team, but Wave could hardly notice as he was still processing and recovering from the intense pain of the kick, which seemed to completely knock the air out of him.

When he finally did sit up with a groan, he saw the mask had been taken off and before him was General Esdeath, he only knew per Bols' shouting it out as he sat up, and also her reputation- not only for eccentricity and sadism, but also beauty. He was shocked to see his incredibly strong attacker was actually equally endearing, with very striking blue eyes and smile that was wicked, knowing, and attractive all at once. Not that he could really register that completely at the moment, still reeling from the pain and the completely strange encounter. They then were able to finally get to know each other after sharing in that very unconventional ice-breaker.

He greeted the teacher, whose name was Run. He was soft-spoken and gentle, and Wave was so happy to find that he was as normal as he seemed on the surface.

"Oh, so you don't want any cookies?" the black-haired girl approached him, one in her teeth already.

"Uh… no." he said, almost half-laughing.

"Oh, in that case- I'm Kurome." She held out her hand for him to shake.

"Okay." He said, smiling, now that he knew she wasn't totally crazy, "I'm W-"

"Wave. I know. You said that."

"Oh."

"So, you are the one from the Imperial Navy? Who discovered the Grand Chariot?" the commander asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"Uh, yes, ma'am." He straightened his uniform with a grin.

"Hmph. Kind of disappointing. That kick took way too much out of you. We'll have to do something about that." She said with more than a dash of judgement, not even looking him in the eyes and looking to the side.

Wave's eyes widened in shock and Kurome giggled about it. "So.. she really is cold-hearted." She muttered to Run and Wave.

"And that's a terrible pun." Wave turned to her.

Run chuckled at that.

"Not to worry. We'll start training tomorrow, so that will either make or break you." She said, smiling menacingly as she was turned from them, though it didn't do anything to stop Wave from heavily gulping and his spine chilling.

The Capital- Imperial Tailor's Office

Esdeath had split the team up shortly thereafter, telling them that she had commissioned some matching suits for them to wear for a welcoming party the Prime Minister insisted upon throwing for them that evening.

'Damn, things move fast in the capital.' Wave had thought of it.

He, Run, Bols, and, to his chagrin, Dr. Stylish had been sent to get their suits from one tailor, and Esdeath, Seryu, and Kurome to the other.

Seryu had blushed in embarrassment at having to get changed in front of other women and them in front of her, but Kurome had said it was okay and not to be too conscious about it, or the commander may get upset by her cold feet.

Wave had been walking and thinking about the commander. He was finally able to register after the initial shock of their violent meeting how attractive the commander was. He tried to jog these thoughts out of his mind, as they were a bit invasive, and he thought 'If she even gets an inkling from me that I would look at her in any way but professional it could be my head. Or worse...' he got shivers and then was distracted by the tailor.

"So you're 5'11"?" he asked.

"Uh, yes. Sorry, I was thinking."

"About what?"

He had to save face. "Just a bit of nerves. This is a big meeting, and it's all happening in one day."

"Oh, don't worry. These Imperial types aren't so intimidating. They're actually a little skiddish." Said Bols warmly.

"Easy for you to say." Wave scoffed, seeing the giant man, who intimidated the tailor.

"You'll be quite the challenge, I'll have to use a lot of fabric on you." He said, causing Bols to feel a bit self-aware and blush under his fearsome mask.

"Don't fret, country boy. You just stick with me—same with you, teacher man. I'll show you the right way to do things." Dr. Stylish said with a hint of eroticism to his timbre, winking behind his glasses.

Wave gritted his teeth and Run's eyes widened. "Uh—thank you—for the offer." Run said, trying to be polite as he could but barely masking his awkwardness. Dr. Stylish was about to say how cute a nervous guy was but he was cut off.

"Take your shirt off, I need to fit you." The tailor said professionally, and Wave froze up, but didn't want to waste time, but couldn't help but feel Stylish's lustful, yet still calculating and clinical eyes just scanning him up and down. He practically could sense the guy licking his lips even though he didn't. He didn't have to.

Bols was next, though the doctor couldn't care less. 'Huge, too husky and broad and jaded. And that huge scar needs some fixing up. He'd be an interesting project but definitely not my type.' Said Stylish, who preferred the youthful, boyish looks of his other comrades, who desperately wished to just be out of there to escape him.

It wasn't just the lust. Run had been in the capital long enough to hear about how often the "best surgeon in the Empire" had violated Hippocratic oath for his own curiosity's sake.

The Capital- Imperial Palace Garden

It was sunset now, and the team had reassembled in their sharp, slimming black and white suits and ties, with the red and orange glow perfectly illuminating them.

They stood beside the botanical gardens in the Imperial Palace courtyard, in one of the many marble and stone halls with white pillars.

Wave was standing between Kurome and Seryu holding her Coro, with Bols and Stylish behind him, with Stylish cupping his hand over his own cheek as though constantly in admiration of something, and Run to the far right of Wave.

"Good, now that we're all here, we can go to the party." There was no hesitation or moseying about with Esdeath. Everything was efficient and no time was wasted.

"Did I surprise you earlier? I figured a normal greeting might be boring." She said, almost like surveying the group for approval of her methods.

Wave saw an opportunity to seem strong and confident, as he was already parallel to her at the front of the pack. "I'm used to rough situations." He said, coming off more like a declaration than the nonchalant comment he intended. 'Too strong,' he noted internally though no one seemed to notice, probably all thinking of how to make the best impression on the commander. 'Hopefully not too late for me,' he thought, remembering earlier her first impression of him as a punching bag.

"In fact, thank you for the lesson!" Seryu added, kind of saving Wave's comment. Wave had noticed Seryu standing next to him, and thought of her as a girl he's sure his mother would like- strong, independent but loyal, sweet-natured, and as maternal with her pet/weapon as she would be with any child.

"All right then," the commander said with a smirk, tilting her cap, which matched her usual one except it was black for her outfit. "We have a party to attend, after we meet with the emperor, of course."

Wave tightened up and let slip out "What? We're already meeting him?!"

"Yeah, for the first day this seems a little fast-paced." Run chimed in.

"I believe in getting annoying things out of the way, first." She turned back, not quite looking at them but sporting her sly grin, as thought to say 'So be sure not to prove an annoyance.'

"But before that, Lady Esdeath," the doctor said with a handsome smile, adjusting his fashionably-rimmed glasses, "What do we call ourselves?"

Esdeath grinned with a certain intensity at that, though none of them could see it, she audibly made an amused noise.

"We are a unique organization, ordered to mercilessly hunt and take down the atrocious traitors. We are the special police force…" as she said this, a menacing black crow circled, appearing to eyeball them as a predator does prey. Run thought how poetic this was.

"We are the Jaegers!" she proclaimed.

She turned to them. "Now enough small talk, let's get to that meeting."