Disclaimer: I do not own God Eater, and anything else contained in the the game.
Chapter 1: Becoming God Eaters
7 years ago at 2000 hours.
On a cold night, there are two kids worriedly waiting for their friend outside the room where he was taken in, and are unsure of their upcoming fate. Before this, the three were fending for themselves until they were captured by Pennywort, one of the underground human settlements in the Ashlands that are called Ports.
After a while, the large door in front of them finally opened, and they saw their friend walking out, seemingly weary from an unknown ordeal with his hands cuffed together by two strange armlets. The boy looked up to them, and smiled.
"Hugo," A boy named Jerad murmured. "What did they do to you..?"
"Heh heh…" Hugo chucked. "Don't look so worried, guys. We're not going to die, I promise you that."
"I…" Misha, Jerad's fraternal twin sister who is almost in tears, finally spoke. "I'm so glad you're OK…"
Hugo smiled at Misha before he raised his hands, and the three tugged each other together with their fists. However, just after they cheered each other, the guard walked behind Hugo, and shoved him aside.
"Hey!" Jerad glared at the guard as he held Hugo.
"Next is PW-01408," The guard plainly said.
"What..?" Jerad murmured.
"That will be you," The guard pointed.
"Brother!" Misha quickly held his arm.
"And I'm not calling for you yet," The guard glared at the young girl before he pushed them apart which caused her to stumble down.
"Don't you hurt my sister!" Jerad stood in front of Misha.
"Quiet down, kid!" The guard gripped the boy's arm. "Consider this as a chance for you to be finally useful for something. Now come with me."
"Let go!" Jerad cried out.
"I said quiet down!" The guard yelled, and Jerad stopped resisting the guard's grip as he pulled him into the room, not knowing what would happen to him but he knew it certainly would not be pleasant, remembering how Hugo is.
Once they arrived into the AGE Aptitude Test room, the guard shoved the boy onto the chair, and immediately clamped his arms with restraints.
"You better stay still," The guard warned. "If you want the test to work properly and survive. That machine doesn't take kindly to unruly kids."
Jerad stood still. His heart was beating fast, but remained quiet as he looked around the room before he watched the guard walk to the control panel and started pressing buttons.
"What are you going to do to me?" Jerad glaringly asked as he trembled.
"You'll see," The guard plainly replied. "Just shut up, and follow instructions."
"We will now begin the AGE aptitude test. Please try to relax."
"There you go," The guard smirked. "You better listen."
"Stage One. Inducing Ashblight corruption."
"!?"
"Ngh… Agh…" Jerad grunted when he felt a piercing pain in his left wrist, and started sweating. Then he started seeing red lines creeping around his wrist.
"Ashblight corruption has been confirmed. Now processing Stage Two: Mounting God Arc."
Panting, Jerad turned to his right after he heard a mechanical noise, and saw a moving object holding a weapon that looks like a spear. He was startled as the device suddenly swung toward him, and as if the message was clear, he grabbed the spear with his right hand. The machine suddenly clamped his right wrist with the same red armlet he saw on Hugo.
"Auuuuugh!" The boy panted before he heard the machine speak again, and his test is not done yet.
"Progressing to Stage Three. Final Stage: Implanting Adaptive Oracle Cells."
The machine clamped his left wrist with another red armlet, and grunted from another surge of pain. He panted again after a few moments before the machine finally spoke.
"Status confirmed. Ashblight corruption has been neutralized. Subject's vitals have returned to normal. Aptitude is...positive."
"Congratulations. The process is complete. You are now an Adaptive God Eater."
'Done..?' Jerad wearily thought.
"Hm, so you survived," The guard plainly smiled. "And a Grade A at that. Never seen your kind around here before."
"How does it feel to give up your humanity?" He spitefully asked.
"I..did not choose this," Jerad shut his eyes, looking down.
"Aw, but the weak have no right of choice," The guard mocked with a grin. "The strong will always decide for the weak. You better remember that, kid."
'This damn world...' Jerad sobbed, shutting his eyes, and gritting his teeth as tears started flowing on his cheeks.
'Is rotten!'
The machine finally released him, and then the young boy stood up and lay limply on his God Arc. He stood for a few seconds before he slipped, and fell down.
"Hey, don't croak on us, okay?" The guard chuckled. "Your life belongs to this Port now, and you're of no use for us dead."
"Here, I need you to sign this contract," The guard set the electronic tablet on the floor in front of the boy, and he grimaced before he slowly picked it up and signed it. The guard picked up the tablet, and checked to make sure it was properly signed.
"Good, and too bad I can't carry your God Arc into the storage so you'll have to do it for me. Not that I'll carry it for you, anyway. Now follow me, and don't slack off," The guard instructed.
"Oh, I almost forgot the protocol," The guard chuckled. "You'll have to carry that god arc with your hands cuffed. First rule you should know about this Port is all of your kind will be cuffed at all times when you're in here. We simply don't like you."
"Now put your hands together," The guard ordered before the boy slowly linked his armlets together. He operated the panel until Jerad heard a buzzing noise, and realized that he could no longer pull his hands apart.
"Now pick up your god arc, and follow me," The guard turned, and started walking.
Jerad slowly stood up, and limply carried his spear to where the guard led him to the storage room. Afterwards, the guard led him back to the waiting area where Hugo and Misha waited.
"Here," The guard pushed Jerad to the two before he stumbled down.
"Brother!" Misha and Hugo ran, and helped him.
"Last one is PW-01409," The guard instantly fixed his eyes on Misha. "You're the last one. Now come with me."
"You…" Jerad glared at him, and protectively stood front of his sister. Having recently gone through his painful ordeal, he would not want her to go through this.
"Don't you EVER touch her!"
"Out of my way!" The guard swung at him, and Misha gasped as her brother fell to the floor. He whimpered from pain, and there is blood oozing from a corner of his lip. Hugo helped him up.
"Here, come with me or else you'll get a beating like that brat there," The guard warned, and grabbed Misha's arm.
"Brother! No!" Misha cried, reaching her hand out to him.
"Once I take her in, bring these two brats to Cell A-1, and I'll be done with my shift after this girl, so make sure you also bring her in that cell," The guard ordered while keeping his grip on Misha.
"Yes, sir," Another guard complied.
"Let's go!" The guard started dragging Misha by her arm.
"Damn you..." Jerad shoved Hugo off, and stood up. "Let her go..."
"Jerad, stop!" Hugo stood in front of the boy.
"I know this is hard for you, but she'll be fine." Hugo whispered. "She's your sister, right? So, if you survived that, then she will, too."
"Plus, we're all going to be together in the same cell."
Jerad grimaced, and helplessly watched Misha fearfully stare back at him as she walked along the guard before the door shuts.
"Alright, you two," The other guard called. "Time for you to get in your cell. Now follow me."
A few moments later…
"Sit down here, and don't move," The guard instructed the girl as he clamped restraints on her wrists. "We're about to do an aptitude test, so you better behave yourself."
"OK," Misha murmured while staring down.
"We will now begin the AGE aptitude test. Please try to relax."
"Stage One. Inducing Ashblight corruption."
Misha saw strange energy emanating from her left wrist, and started feeling immense pain.
"Eeghh..ghhh!" Misha whimpered, and shut her eyes.
"Ashblight corruption has been confirmed. Now processing Stage Two: Mounting God Arc."
Misha widely opened her eyes, and turned as she heard the machine swing a God Arc from her side that looks like a scythe. She gasped as the god arc suddenly swung at her, and like her brother did, she looked at the large pole weapon for a few seconds before she hesitantly grabbed it. The machine suddenly clamped her right hand with a red armlet, and the machine started humming.
"Nghh...ghh...AHHHHHHH!" The girl swung her head back and squealed before panting with her eyes closed. She wearily dropped her head down as the machine continued its process.
"Progressing to Stage Three. Final Stage: Implanting Adaptive Oracle Cells."
Then the machine clamped another red armlet on her left wrist, and she briefly squealed again. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, worn out from this painful ordeal, and then tears started running down her cheeks.
'Why?'
Misha tearfully shook her head, sobbing.
'What did we do to deserve this? All I want is to be with my brother, and Hugo…'
"Status confirmed. Ashblight corruption has been neutralized. Subject's vitals have returned to normal. Aptitude is...positive."
"Congratulations. The process is complete. You are now an Adaptive God Eater."
The machine hummed down, and the guard looked at his tablet for the result.
"Heh, really..?" The guard chuckled with amusement. "Not only you survived, but you're also Grade A like that other kid is. Looks like we caught ourselves a good haul."
The machine released the girl, and she quickly fell forward, but wearily leaned on her God Arc to keep herself from falling. Luckily, her scythe had a flat end, so she did not slip.
"Here, you need to sign this contract," The guard unsympathetically said to the girl, and started slightly waving the tablet at her. After a few moments, she shakily took the tablet, and signed it.
"Good, that's done," The guard plainly said, and as to make sure not to forget to cuff her hands with her new armlets, he ordered her to put her armlets together. Misha silently did so, and the guard sealed them together.
"You're going to be like this for the rest of your days, so you better get used to it," The guard smiled. "Now pick up your god arc, and follow me to the storage. I'll have someone bring you to your new home afterwards."
Misha quietly sat down, and awkwardly picked up her scythe before she followed him to the storage room.
30 minutes later…
Jerad and Hugo sat beside each other on the floor, and leaned on one of the beds together. They were almost asleep until they heard footsteps coming closer.
They slowly opened their eyes, and saw the guard open the jail gate while Misha stood beside him. Her head was hanging down, and her hair was covering her face that Jerad could not see her expression.
"Get in there," The guard said, and shoved Misha into their cell before she tripped to the floor. "And you kids better stay quiet."
"Misha," Jerad ran to help her, and due to his armlets linked together, he could not embrace her for comfort, so he had her to lean on his shoulder instead.
"Brother…" Misha started quietly sobbing on his shoulder.
"It's OK, it's OK..," Jerad whispered to her. "I'm glad it's finally over, and you're safe."
"Yeah," Hugo chimed in. "At least we're still together, right?"
Misha slowly looked up at the smiling boy, and in turn, she smiled.
"This may be our life now, but we'll be fighting together," Hugo encouragingly smiled. "And we won't die here, I promise that."
"Mm." Misha nodded. "Thanks..."
The three raised their arms, and fist pumped each other with their armlets.
Note: Ignore stats, and God Arcs are just God Arcs.
Jerad Pennywort (PW-01408)
Age: 19
Hairstyle: 09
Hair Color: Platinum
Face: 01
Eyes: 01
Eye Color: Emerald Green
Accessory A: Headset
Accessory B: Headgear
Voice: 05 (English)
Upper Body: Dark Sentinel (Alt.)
Lower Body: Night Battlesuit
God Arc: Manticore Lance/Final Judgement/Venturer
