Alpha and Omega - Jackal's Story
Chapter 2
In collaboration with Subzero Dragon. Visit their profile to see the other side of this story.
Shortly after our final tests in the Valley, Robin and I were informed about being transferred to the Far East Branch via a helicopter. At first, Robin was confused about what a helicopter was but after I described what one is to her she was very excited. After all, I may not remember if I've been in a helicopter but at least I remember what one looks like. Helicopters had rarely passed us at the Valley so I can understand that she didn't know what one was. Currently, the two of us are waiting quite some distance away from the facility to wait for a helicopter to pick us up. Humorously, we were told to wait in the opening that I found Robin in earlier in the day.
"Howdotheywork?" Robin's head turns towards me as she lies on the grass, shaded by a tree. Her excitement was clearly evident by the use of her language and how she had unknowingly slurred her words together, however, I couldn't understand what she had said.
"What?" I answer, making sure to give a confused expression when I turn my head towards her so that she would get the message.
"Helicopters. How do they work?" Her voice had slowed to a comprehensible point and she seemed to be slightly annoyed that she had to repeat what she said previously.
"Oh, right. Well basically, they have fans that spin really fast... I'm not an engineer! How am I supposed to know how they work?!" I shout in embarrassment as I realise that I have no idea how helicopters actually do work.
"Hmph. Useless." Robin comments with her arms folded before looking back up to the sky to locate our ride. I find it quite amusing at how our roles have been reversed; for once I am the level-headed one whilst Robin is bursting with excitement. I too bring my attention back to the sky.
Approximately 10 minutes later, Robin had identified the helicopter in the sky.
"There it is!" She shouts whilst pointing at it as she jumps to her feet. I notice that she has a smile on her face that reaches from ear to ear.
"We'll have to move so that the helicopter can land to pick us up." I say as I pick myself up from my spot. I notice that Robin either didn't hear me or just ignores me as she stares at the figure in the sky. I have to walk over to her and, by looping my arms under her armpits, drag her to a safe enough distance. Of course, I'm met with resistance but after repeating what I said before she finally understands.
"Well then, can I draw it before we leave." Robin says as she outs her hands into her bag and starts pulling out drawing utensils. I think about telling her that she can't but when she notices that the wind from the helicopter is beginning to blow her stuff away then she reluctantly puts them back into her bag. It takes a few more seconds before the helicopter lands on the ground but once it does, we proceed into it.
"No more Commander Viper." I say with a large smile on my face as I slouch into one of the seats, making sure to make myself comfortable for what will be a very long trip. I feel Robin take the seat next to mine where she immediately takes out her drawing utensils again.
"You're going to draw in here?" I ask with a look of surprise adorning my features.
"Of course I am! I have to draw this helicopter!" She exclaims as she places her sketchbook onto her lap and begins drawing. I don't really pay to much attention to the helicopter and lean back into my chair as I close my eyes. It's only seconds later that I feel the helicopter defying gravity and lifting itself from the ground. It did come as a bit of a shock but I think that Robin was even more shocked as I hear her quiet gasp. I then hear sounds that I am unfamiliar with and, upon opening one of me eyes, see Robin crumpling up a piece of paper which is when I burst into laughter.
"Hahaha. Did it shock you that much? What did you think would happen? We'd teleport from the ground into the air?! Hahahaha!"
"Be quiet, Jackal!" She slaps me on the back of my head. "It's my first time in a helicopter and I thought I would be able to manage drawing whilst gaining altitude but obviously I couldn't and there is no reason for you to point that out. You bully!" Robin explained. I opened my other eye after her explanation. It was surprising to hear her have a rant like this and I can only imagine that she must have been genuinely upset.
"I'm sorry, Robin. I didn't mean to make you upset..." I tried to apologise but I was met with the silent treatment. I inwardly sighed and closed my eyes again. I did try a few more times to get Robin to speak again but each time I was met only with the sound of her pencil scratching the paper. In the end I just stopped trying and my breathing became slower...
I was leaning against a wall and could feel its lack of heat through my clothing. I look around the room to notice that it is a small, dimly lit room. Through the use of the limited light source, I am able to notice a table in the centre of the room. There are four slots on the table where I'd imagine that a person would either willingly or forcefully place their limbs into. I attempt to walk closer to this table but realise that I cannot move. I attempt to look down towards my feet only to realise that I have none. It's as if I am just a head on a shelf or just a fly on a wall.
"Hmrempyur" I hear voices from outside of these grey walls and only seconds later, three figures enter the room through a door that has seeming just appeared or it may have just been very well covered. I wish I could get a better look at these figures but all I can see are silhouettes. It's as if something doesn't want me to see these figures. The only information I can discern from these silhouettes is that one of these figures is a rather muscular male whilst the second figure is a woman. I can only tell this by the size of her breasts. The third figure is very small and is moving onto the table, moving their limbs into the available sockets. I realise what is happening and attempt to speak up.
"Wa-" I suddenly feel myself being hit with something.
I wake up to find that Robin was sprawled onto the floor.
"Ow! What was that?!" I shout as I realise that there is no logical reason why Robin would lay on the floor. I almost fall out of my seat as the loud bang occurs again and I quickly latch onto my seat; using all of my strength to remain on it. I would attempt to help Robin who was fumbling all around the helicopter but it wouldn't be very helpful if I had also fell off of my seat and began stumbling around like her. I'll just let her keep that floor space for now.
"We've taken heavy damage! Something's shooting at us! Taking evasive measures!" The pilot exclaimed in a slightly worried voice.
"We're under attack?!" I ask incredulously and attempt to unbuckle my seat belt. Unfortunately, the helicopter made a suddenly move to the right and had thrown me against my restraint although I think that was less painful that what had just happened to Robin since she was thrown against the back of the helicopter, and it looked painful. Robin managed to regain her composure as the piloted managed to correct the helicopter's position and she stumbled to the window. After a few more seconds of fumbling with my seat belt, I managed to unbuckle it which is when I heard Robin gasp. I moved over to the window to see what would elicit such a response.
I wish I hadn't stared out of the window now, for staring back at me was an Ouroboros-sized two-headed serpent. It's large black scales stood on edge, using the same technique that cats use to appear bigger to threats. The Aragami's first head's most prevailing feature had to be its set of sabre-tooth fangs. It was broad and flat but I couldn't locate its eyes, if it had any. The second head was more aerodynamic and had a flared hood like a cobra which contained white markings that accentuated the creatures dark scales. The Aragami's tail had to have been about one third of its body length and looked like a significantly sharper spear head.
"What is that thing?" Robin asked in shock.
"A new Aragami? I've never seen anything like this!" I attempt to answer Robin but without really knowing myself, it was a lot more difficult. As if hearing us, the creature turned its heads in our direction and was seemingly angry at us. It snapped its tail over its heads like a whip, in a similar fashion to Borg Camlanns, which sent a barrage of scales our way. These scales came into direct contact with the helicopter, tearing the metal. What was curious was the electrical sparks that belonged to the scales. Maybe this Aragami is a spark type. The emergency lights had been tripped, which were blinding and the warning alarms had gone off, which were deafening. I noticed scream and cover her face. Oh how I wanted to protect her from this. I wanted to comfort her, tell her that everything will be okay but in reality, the situation looks bleak. The helicopter was falling apart and I narrowly avoided having my face wounded by shielding my face. Staying on my feet was a hard task as well. It was with great difficulty that I managed to right myself by holding onto the sides of the helicopter. I have to be careful though as any wrong moves could destroy the helicopter's walls from the inside. It's only then that I realise that the helicopter is falling out of the sky...
"Dammit! We've lost the tail rotor! I can't keep us steady!" I head the pilot's voice despite the pandemonium, "Hang onto something! We're going down fast!" Robin screamed in fear as she braced herself for impact. I also braced myself for impact but tried to hold back my own fear for Robin's sake. I failed...
"AHHH!" I wasn't as loud as Robin so it's likely that she didn't hear me and for that I am thankful. Our helicopter hit something and forced me to hit the top of the helicopter and go through it. I land harshly against the ground and feel my vision slowly fading.
I awake with a start to the sound of a nearby roar. I sharply open my eyes and pick my head up ad soon regret the decision.
"Grr!" I groan as my head feels like it is going to implode but I am reminded I am not alone as the roar comes closer. I make it to my feet with much difficulty. I may not have any broken bones but you can't be sure. I try to locate my God Arc only to find it in some of the debris about 10 metres away. I run towards it so that I am armed if an Aragami decides to jump me. My Scythe doesn't look damaged but I'll definitely need to check it out when we're at the Far East Branch. Speaking of which, what time were they expecting us? I'm sure that we've missed that meeting time. Hopefully they'll know that the helicopter has been damaged. My though process is cut off as I hear another roar but it seems like this one is further away. Deeming us temporarily safe, I then check on my two companions.
Walking to the helicopter, I try to pry open the doors but find myself being unsuccessful.
"Damn. I'll need to check from the other side." I tell myself and begin walking around the front of the helicopter. I find myself regretting walking this way as I see a horrific sight.
"Holy shit!" I find myself almost shouting as I notice the pilot's corpse. The pilot must have been thrown against the glass as the upper half of his body has penetrated the glass and seems to have been separated from the lower half. His eyes are wide open and there is fresh blood pooling from is mouth. Getting a better look, I notice that his entrails had also been split when he went through the glass. In fact, the only way they were still attached was because of the intestines. There is no chance that he would have survived that. I began to fear that Robin had met a similar fate.
I ran from my spot in front of the helicopter to the helicopter's other doors. They were open and revealed an unconscious Robin. She didn't look too hurt.
"Robin! Robin!" I shout as I kneel beside her and take her by the shoulders. I shake her lightly and continue to say her name. After a minute or two,
"Robin! Robin! Come on, say something, will you?!" Robin coughs and I take my hands away from her as she opens her eyes.
"Ow... What happened?" Robin groaned and I felt myself relaxing as she answered.
"Good, you've come around. You got flung into the door and knocked out. I was worried when you wouldn't wake up. Are you injured?" I asked.
"A little, but I'll be fine, really. What happened?" She tells me as she notices a small wound. I find myself panicking slightly at the wound but I feel myself becoming angry.
"Some giant snake-Aragami shot down our chopper. We were forced to make a crash landing."
"Did... did anyone else make it?" Robin asks and I feel myself shiver remembering the pilot's corpse. I shook my head slowly,
"I checked, but we're the only survivors..." Robin seemed to become more depressed at that but proceeded to ask another question.
"We're not in comm range, are we?" She sounds as if she already knows the answer and I shake my head again. I move back to the cockpit to double check, making sure to avoid the corpse as I do so.
"The onboard radio is broken. Luckily the SOS beacon still works," I tell her as I press the button for it. Hopefully the Far East Branch would have taken notice, "but we're on our own until the signal gets through. Can you stand?" I offer Robin a hand but she sits there with a displeased look on her face.
"Hey, look on the bright side, Robin. We're alive, right? We can still make the best of this somehow." I give her a smile before I contort it into something slightly sinister, "Besides, I still owe you a mochi ice cream, don't I? Look forward to that." She still didn't look very happy although I cannot blame her.
"Jackal, it's not safe here. We better find somewhere to-" A loud hiss cut Robin off. Looking in the direction it came from, we noticed the Aragami's sabertoothed head pop out from around the corner of a building and flicked a silver tongue our way.
"Too late, it saw us!" Robin shouted.
"Are you kidding me? Now!?" shaking my head, I drew my scythe, "Talk about bad timing! Robin, get ready for a fight, it's coming!" I notice Robin give a surprised look before she rushed into the remains of the helicopter. I desperately hope that she doesn't see the pilot's corpse.The snake slithered our way, moving startlingly fast for such a big creature. It reared both heads and roared as it charged our way, snapping its fanged head at us as it rushed for a bite. I deployed my shield as the thing lunged. Its fangs screeching against my God Arc as I push against it. The snake immediately countered by swinging its tail-blade like a sword. I moved my head so that the beast couldn't decapitate me but the Aragami had caught my shoulder.
"Hurry!" I shout to Robin, slashing at its side, "I can't do it alone!" I slammed my scythe down in an Extend Bite, attempting to pin it but my blade merely slid off its scales.
"Huh, immune to slashes, is it?" I change my God Arc into its Gun Form, "Let's see it handle this!" I fire a point-blank barrage of mortars to its exposed flank as the Aragami coiled for another lunge. This provided fruitless as the Aragami became more angry.
"No effect again?!" I almost screamed in frustration, glancing from my weapon to the snake repeatedly, "How is that possible?!" I am forced to deploy my shield again as the beast launches itself towards me. It seems to deuce me by faking a bite and whipping me with its tail instead.
"AHH!" I could feel the sleeve of my shirt becoming damp. I daren't look for the fear of losing a limb if the Aragami decides to attack again. Thankfully, Robin had found her God Arc and had drawn its attention with a direct hit to its tail, hopefully unbinding it. Although the sparks were quite spectacular, it looks like her God Arc also had no effect.
"Crap! Pierces don't work either! What is with this crazy thing?!" Robin's fear was escalating and I can't deny that mine was as well.
"Nothing works on it!" I tell Robin as I try to fire a laser at it with no effect. "We don't have a choice: run for it, Robin!" I shouted and saw her take off into a sprint. I changed my God Arc back to Melee Form to run faster. The snake screamed as it charged towards us. I followed Robin through numerous side streets. I looked behind me to see if it was still following us and I was right. I turn my head back around to see that Robin has disappeared. I sharply turn my head back to the monster in case Robin had slipped. Thankfully she hadn't but that's when I realised that the snake was no longer following me. Of course, I had to be careful, it could reappear at any moment and so I kept running.
After another 10 minutes of running, I had made it into an open area where I would be able to see any kind of surprise attack from the beast and it is where I am hoping that Robin will run to as well. I stop my running and turn back towards the side streets, hoping to see any sign of Robin. My hands fall to my knees as I hunch over in an attempt to regain my breath. All I can hear is the sound of my own breathing and it is only then that it hits me, I am alone. Robin is still being chased by that monster. I have to go back and help her! I hear footsteps against the ground from beside me and turn towards them, anticipating it to be Robin and I have a small smile on my face. I am shocked to see that it is not Robin but four other God Eaters.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Alisa Ilinichina Amiella, Acting Captain of the Far East's 1st Unit. We have orders to bring you to the Far East Branch."