"Get up Tessa. We have to go now." Tessa awoke to her brother shaking her. "Chameleon reported, we need to move now. Get your gear on." Her vision cleared and she saw Joseph already in his black suit.
"Why are you wearing that? you know it's not a good idea." She jumped out of her bed and started putting on her baggy jumpsuit.
"We need the protection this time. These issued clothes are laced with microfibers that will help with not getting injuries like mine." He hurried to the door, sipping a cup of coffee as he went. "I already made you a cup, now come on. We have no time to waste." He opened the door and waited while Tessa zipped up her jumpsuit and grabbed the warm cup from her bedside table, rushing out the door.
"Why so early? Couldn't Chameleon have waited, or at least fought him?" Tessa said, frustration rising in her voice.
"The director wouldn't let him take that chance. Besides, she...I mean he is specifically for stealth and recon, not combat." Joseph bit his lip at his mistake.
"It's okay, I'm still not used to the change either. But it's his decision I guess, or his situation." Tessa stumbled a bit on her last few words. "Whatever, I respect him for it."
"Same here, but we have to make it to his location before anything happens." They both hurried, drinking their coffee as quickly as possible and depositing the cups on a shelf before stepping into the elevator.
"So what's the situation?" Tessa asks, pulling on gloves from her pockets and readying her mask. It was a black Foo Dog mask accented by deep and vibrant reds with white teeth jutting from the mouth area.
"We were right in our assumption that there was a second assailant. Although it looks like the ghoul is a hired mercenary rather than belonging to a group." He fiddled with a short cylinder in his white leather gloves. "He can't tell what kagune the Merc has or his fighting style as of yet, but he knows the merc is really skilled. Let's not underestimate him."
"You always look like you're going to a ball when you dress in your issued clothes."
"And you look like you're going to get covered in grease working on an engine. We each chose what uniform we want, and I decided I wanted to look formal."
"It's a bit much if you ask me." Tessa leaned against the wall, closing her eyes to relax.
"And that's your opinion on the matter. But I'm the one wearing these, so it would be thoughtful of you to be less complaintive." He stiffened and pulled out his mask. It was a full face gray mask with a beak at the nose that looked like it was expelling blue flames. He attached the cylinder to the left eye socket and put it on. "Chameleon, can you hear me?"
"Yes Phoenix, coming in loud and clear." Chameleon's voice came in through the intercom built into the mask.
"Sup dude." Tessa broke in, putting emphasis on the word dude.
"Could you not put emphasis on dude or any words pertaining to my gender?"
"I'm just trying to make sure I get it right so I don't offend you."
"Yeah, well your attempts at not offending me is offending me, thank you." Chameleon's irritation was evident in his voice.
"Guys, we don't have time for this. Chameleon, where is your location?" Joseph said, stopping the situation from getting out of hand.
"Top of the Space Needle. He's downtown from where I am right now. The mercenary is hot on his tale. Go straight to point fifteen and you should cut them off."
"Alright, we'll head there right now. Anywhere I can station myself?" Joseph replied.
"There's a rooftop covered with several canopies. You should be undetected there until you make your first shot."
"Thank you. Stay on standby if we need you." Joseph and Tessa hurried out of the door, stepping out into the darkness of the night. "I can't believe we slept a whole day."
"Wait, a whole day?" Tessa jumped in surprise. "Well then we better get moving now."
"Agreed." Joseph took the lead, heading down an alleyway that would take them to their desired destination. As they came up on the building, they nodded to each other and Joseph made his way to the top, scaling a drainpipe, while Tessa went to find the ghoul. Once Joseph made it to the top, he activated his Kagune. A long, blue, wing-like appendage came from his left shoulder. "I'm ready and in position."
"Coming up on him now, just northeast of you." Tessa replied.
"Confirmed, target is cornered, you should have a clear shot Phoenix." Chameleon chimed in.
Joseph adjusted the cylinder attached to his mask and looked in the direction they told him to. He extended his arm, as if he were reaching for the place, and forced his kagune to extend parallel to his arm, solidifying it. "I'm ready if negotiations are unsuccessful.
"Right. Wish me luck everyone." Tessa rounded the corner and stopped in front of a beat up man. "Hey. You okay?"
"Get away from me! I don't want to go with you!" The man stepped backwards slowly. "I can't tell you anything!"
"You don't need to tell me anything. But it would be in both our interests if you came with me." Tessa slowly approached him.
"I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten in so long. I need flesh. Flesh." The man stopped and looked at Tessa, his eyes turning black and red. "Flesh, please, flesh." He started walking towards her.
"Sorry sir. But I guess you're going to sleep. Alright Phoenix." Tessa said into the mic.
Joseph readied his arm closing his fist to trigger his kagune shot. At the last second, a kagune shot out of the corner of his vision and knocked his out of position. "Ow! You're on your own for now. I think I just found the assailant." He turns to face his attacker, readying his kagune.
Tessa sidestepped the crazed ghoul, cursing herself at not giving the order sooner. She released her kagune, two deep red koukaku emerged from below her shoulder blades and wrapped around her arms, making two swords. "Let's have some fun shall we?" She rushed the ghoul and swung at him, meeting his own rinkaku.
"Flesh. Let me taste your flesh." Another of his tendrils circled around and attacked Tessa from behind, partially impailing itself below her kagune. She flinched as he pulled out the scaly kagune and tasted the blood dripping from the tip. "Delicious. Flesh." He started laughing, his face distorting into a vision of malignant delight. There was a squelching sound and his face changed from delight to pain.
"That's what you get for not watching your back you crazy bastard." Chameleon said from behind his mask, withdrawing his bikaku from the man's back. "You better finish this up quick Dog. You're brother's doing his best to hold off the mercenary." Chameleon disappeared to the rooftops, leaving Tessa to the ghoul.
"Alright, no more playing around. Time to go to work." Tessa jumps back, getting some distance, and shaped her kagune to claws on the ends of her arms. The ghoul regained his previous composure and rushed at Tessa, flailing his tendrils as he ran. At the last second, she sidestepped and raised her arm, producing deep gashes across the ghoul's body. He screamed in agony as Tessa impaled her claws into his back over and over, his blood spewing from his body like a grotesque fountain. At last, he fell to the ground, unable to move. "I guess I just caught my next meal." She said, marking him with a small device from her pocket and heading in the direction of her brother.
Joseph flew across the rooftop, falling off the edge and hitting the ground. "Damn it all. This woman is no joke." He quickly aimed his kagune at the rooftop and fired a high caliber piece into the air.
"What's the matter. I thought ukaku could shoot more rapidly than that." The mercenary said. She walked to the edge, fully dressed in a black leather suit. "Oh, honey, you having performance issues. It's okay, I can help with that." She licked the tip of her tendril and jumped down to the street in front of him.
"Actually, I forced it to shoot like that." He got up and brushed off his suit. "It can no longer fire rapidly, because I forced it to 'Evolve' to different purposes." He stood still, taking deep breaths to relax. "Although, if you want to see rapid fire, I may have to end this quickly."
"Now that's big talk from such a handsome young man. Really honey, would you hurt a lady?" Her tendril snaked toward him slowly. He stepped away, keeping his calm expression.
"Not my brother bitch!" Tessa jumped from the top of the building and impaled her claws into the ground where the mercenary's tail had once been.
"Heads or tails?" Joseph said as he flipped the coin.
"Tails." Tessa replied. Seeing the coin land in his hand.
"Your turn then." Joseph retracted his kagune and stepped back to let his sister fight.
"My pleasure." Tessa ran straight at the woman with the intention to rip her apart, but she dodged her initial attack.
"Looks like it's girl time then." The woman said, shooting her tails at Tessa, almost impaling her several times. Tessa reacted by slashing at the tendrils surrounding her, scratching one of the Rc cell created appendages. "Ow! It looks like I 'broke a nail'. Guess I'll have to take it out on you then." The woman circled around, impaling one of her tails into Tessa's side.
"Flip!" Tessa yelled and Joseph flipped the coin while dashing to Tessa's defense. He pulled her away and released his kagune, instantly solidifying it to attempt at protecting himself from any attack, within that time, another blue wing emerged from his right shoulder and started firing rapidly at the woman. She screamed in pain as she was impaled with multiple shards of solid Rc cells.
"That hurt." She said laughing. "Now I know why they call you the Blue Phoenix." She looked at him her face distorted in pain. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just ran a marathon. "But I can see it uses more of your stamina to have them both out."
"Shut up" He said, raising his left arm. "And die in hell." He closed his hand and there was a loud crack before the mercenary fell to the ground with a giant Rc crystal through her head. Joseph stumbled, almost collapsing to the ground. Tessa helped him up and brushed off his suit.
"I'll mark her for you." Tessa pulled out a device from her pocket.
"No, I got it." He pulled out a similar device and tossed it next to her body. "Let's hope the cleaning crew does something about her fishy smell before they prep her for our meal."
"Dog, Phoenix. The director would like to see you back in the lab." Chameleon said through the radio.
"Why in the lab?" Tessa asked, walking with Joseph.
"You may want to ask him when you get there. I don't know a thing." The radio went dead, leaving the two ghouls to walk home in blood spattered clothes.