Vivian
December 3rd, 2007. 1:08 p.m. A.E.G.I.S.
So we get back to Aegis and there’s lots of damage everywhere. Scaffolding’s on several of the buildings. The parking lot is just a crater of ash and chunks of concrete. The sidewalks are all sticky and dirty with something I can’t identify, but all the staff insists it's safe so… I sure as hell hope it's safe. A bunch of students are walking around with eyepatches, bandages around their heads, or casts over at least one limb. It’s not a majority, but it's a big enough minority to be super noticeable. Even the park has a bunch of craters and burnt trees thrown around. It kinda looks like Verdun. If I look up, I can see that Suzy’s office has a huge hole blown right through it. As fun as it would have been to see what happened, I’m glad we sat that one out. Doesn’t seem like it was fun at all. My team and I have to cut through the park because everywhere else is cut off due to reconstruction. Suzy told me that our dorms are still up so that’s good. The heating system’s down and there may be some holes in the walls and ceilings, but it's still up. She said it should be repaired by the time we get back from winter break, so that’s nice.
Yet despite all the destruction, we see a neat little booth set up under the park’s one surviving tree. It’s being staffed by two students in blue polos. One of them is a girl who’s a little too chipper and has an eyepatch and one of her arms in a sling. The other one sitting next to her is a dude with a hoodie who doesn’t look like he has any arms. Poor dude. “Hello!” Eyepatch girl waves to us. “I know things look bad, but would any of you like to enter the Novus Annos Tournament? A.E.G.I.S. is hosting this year and it runs between January 14 and January 18.” she holds out a clipboard to us.
“Of course!” A.D. accidentally pushes me aside and rushes over to sign the clipboard. “Where and what do I sign?”
“You just need to put your name, student I.D. number, email, and phone number right here.” She points at the board with her good arm.
“Done and done.” A.D. offers the board to us. “Anyone else?”
“What’s the prize?” Yuko asks.
“Prize?” A.D. scoffs. “Winning a tournament is it’s own prize be-
“$1,000,000 after school fees.” The woman nods.
“$1,000,000!?” Yuko grabs the board before I can get my mitts on it and signs it. “Here you go!” She pushes it onto me.
I sign that baby and hand it over to Will. “You want in?”
“Of course.” He takes the board, signs it in neat calligraphy, and hands it back to the woman. “So who can we expect to be in this tournament?”
“Any student hero can enter, so you don’t have to worry about fighting anyone like Meteorman.”
Both WIll and A.D. look super disappointed.
“And the rules?” Will crosses his arms.
“Double elimination. Best out of one. You fight and fight until you concede or lose consciousness.” She looks over our signatures and puts the board back on the table. “Any other questions?”
“Yeah.” Yuko points to the armless man. “What happened to you?”
“Aw me?” The man chuckles. “Car went flying last weekend and crushed my arms…”
“Oof.” Yuko grimaces. “That sucks.”
“It’s not so bad.” The man grunts and big, scaly arms erupt out of his shoulders. His hood falls off and reveals a large lizard head. “Everything grows back if you give it enough time.” The dude’s tongue hangs out the side of his mouth as a lizard tail rises up from behind his chair and starts wagging in the air. “Impressed, darling?” He flexes his arms and puffs out his chest.
Yuko grimaces. “Ew.”
“Mind if I give you a friend’s number?” I ask the lizard. “I know someone who’d be all over you.”
“She cute?” His tongue slides back into his mouth.
“Yeah she cute.” I take out a piece of paper from my backpack, write down Angela’s number, and hand it to him.
“Thank you.” He flicks his tongue at the piece of paper and sticks it in his pocket. “Say… wait a sec. Aren’t you that giant from Chicago?”
“Maybe.” I reply. “Who’s asking?”
“Oh, I just have some friends who are into giants. If you have some free time, I could hook you up.”
I feel someone poke my butt. I hope for everyone’s sake that it was Yuko.
“I’ll keep you posted. Thanks though.”
“Alright, alright.” The lizard winks and waves us goodbye. “Nice meeting you all. I’ll see you guys at the tournament.”
We wish the duo goodbye and resume heading back to our dorm.
“Wait a second!” Eyepatch Girl nearly falls over her desk trying to get our attention.
“Yeah? Did we sign the wrong form or something?” I ask.
“No no.” She shakes her head. “I just forgot I’m supposed to tell you about the campus blood drive going on right now. A lot of brave students and professionals need blood transfusions after last weekend.”
“Of course. Where do we go?” Will nods.
“Just head over to the student hospital. We’ll have signs directing you towards the blood donation center. You can’t miss it.”
“What happened here anyway?” A.D. asks. “Did some villain league attack?”
“I wish.” Eyepatch Girl sighs. “The Tsukijin attacked us.”
“Was it the Lunar Legion or the Royal Army?” Will asks.
“Lunar Legion… I think.” Eyepatch Girl nods.
“Again!?” A.D. rubs his temple. “What on earth did they want this time?”
“I’m… not entirely sure.” The eyepatch girl rubs her temple. “Maybe it was retaliation for Chicago?”
“That’d make sense… but why here? Were any other locations or campuses attacked?”
“Nope.” Lizardman shakes his head. “This was the only one.”
“That’s suspicious…” I rub my chin. “Did they take anything?”
“Nope.” Eyepatch girl shakes her head. “I think they were just trying to cause as much damage as possible.”
This either means the Tsukijin are able to track me down… or someone else hired the Legion for a hit on somebody else at the school… The Legion wanting revenge makes more sense, but they are mercenaries and this is a big school, so I can’t rule out a hit attempt by a third party.
“Any other announcements we need to hear?” Yuko pops a gum bubble.
“Nopperoni.” Eyepatch Girl shakes her head. “Bye bye.”
We resume heading back to the dorm for real this time. “Soooo anyone want to train with me?” A.D. stretches his arms over his head and cracks his knuckles. “We’re going to have to work overtime if we wanna win that tournament.”
“I’ll have to think about it.” Will yawns. “I have to start studying for finals.”
“Huh?” A.D.’s eyes bug out. “When are finals?”
“Next week.” Will replies.
“NEXT WEEK!?” I could have sworn I saw A.D.’s jaw dislocate for a half second. “Aw this isn’t good! I still have like three essays due this week!! No no no!” A.D. starts sprinting off to the dorms without us. “Sorry guys! I’ll have to train with you later! Byeeee!” He disappears behind a sea of injured students.
“Heey… Viv…” Yuko leans on me and rests her arm on my head. “I have an essay due this Friday. Wanna write it for me? I’ll be your best friend.”
“But you’re already my best friend.”
“I’ll give you $50.”
“I’ll think about it.” I pull Yuko’s hand off my head and resume heading back to the dorms with the rest of my team. On our way back, I see a new stone slab affixed to one of the walls. “In Loving Memory to All Brave Students Who Perished: 11/29/2007 - 12/2/2007” There’s at least forty names etched into the slab. I recognize ten of them from my classes.
My chest tingles and I hold onto Will and Yuko.
Suzy
December 3rd, 2007. 4:21 p.m. My office. Ahhh… That was a productive weekend. Got some exercise, got some new Techs, apprehended the Conductor, and I got all these Tsukijin bodies to autopsy. There’s a Tsukijin body on the table in front of me just begging me to dig into its gooey bits. I dig a knife into the subject’s abdomen and start digging. I got a protective suit on, my office and table is full of shrink wrap, I got some Jonas Brothers blasting… I earned this.
ring ring
“Oh come now… Who’s calling me at this hour?” I levitate the phone by my cheek. “Talk to me.”
“Headmaster.” My assistant yawns. “You have another guest waiting to see you.”
“Is it another news crew?”
“No.”
“Is it the FBI?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Is it the ATF again?”
“No, miss.”
“Is it any of the other alphabet boys?”
“Nople dople.”
“Then who the hell wants to see me?” Their inner anatomy looks strikingly similar to ours, but their leg and back muscles appear a tad degenerated. They also have these little machines fused to their spines and leg muscles. They’re about as long as my palm, but four times as thin. If I had to guess, these machines help offset muscle atrophy from low gravity environments. I’ll have to salvage these machines and study them. I’m sure some physical therapy patients could use these.
“Vivian, ma’am. She’s here to give you back your keys.”
“Oh. Well let her in then.”
“Right away.”
I put the phone down and see the doors to my office open. “Heey, Vivi. How’re you doing? Did you enjoy your weekend?” And these Tsukijin ears… They’re each about a foot and a half long. Sturdy, yet malleable. I can roll them up with little resistance. Doesn’t appear to have a lot of nerves in them either.
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“Mmmhm.” Vivian looks down and points at the Tsukijin body. She looks confused, but not scared. “Do I need a suit or anything? I feel like I shouldn’t be standing here.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine. Just stay on that side of the room.”
The Tsukijin’s head begins to twitch.
“Excuse me.” I pierce the thing’s brain with the larger scalpel.
Tink
The sound of metal striking metal reverberates through the room. I hover a flashlight over the brain incision and find a little black box no bigger than my fingernail amidst all the gray matter. Fascinating… These things are biological without a doubt… but also feature cybernetic enhancements. Whether this is unique to soldiers or natural for the general Tsukijin population has yet to be seen. “You were saying?”
“Keys?” Vivian takes the cabin keys out of her pocket and dangles them in her hand.
“Riiiight. Thank you very much.” I levitate the keys out of her hand and whoosh them over into my desk drawer. “I assume you cleaned after yourselves?”
“Of course.” Vivian nods. “But why are you asking me? Don’t you have security cameras there?”
“I do. I just wanted to see if you would lie.” I take some tweezers, pull out the black box, and examine it. There’s no noise coming from it and doesn’t resemble any machines I’ve seen… though the weight, color, and texture resemble onyx. What fascinating creatures.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Vivian furrows her brow.
“Yeah go ahead.”
“Did you know the school was going to be attacked this weekend?”
“If I knew the school was going to be attacked, do you think it’d be this damaged?” I respond without even looking up at her.
“Fair enough.” Vivian sighs.
“Though I will say… I’m glad my star pupils weren’t here. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if I lost your team.”
“Aaaw…” Vivian sounds like she just saw a puppy trip over itself. “Thank you, Suzy. I appreciate that. Is there any way I can repay you?”
“Just be the best hero you can be.” I look up at her. “Got it?”
“Got it.” Vivian’s phone rings. She takes it out and starts looking at something.
“Everything alright?”
“Yeah.” She puts the phone away and smiles at me. “A.D. just really wants to train with me right now. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t leave this room. Understand?”
Vivian nods.
“This attack wasn’t for retaliation. The mercs here weren’t even involved in Chicago. I checked. Thoroughly.”
“Then why did they attack?” Vivian’s eyes narrow, her eyebrows furrow, and her head tilts slightly. She looks five years older when she does that.
“Well, according to this little fella,” I point at the body on the table in front of me. “President Robin hired them.”
Vivian’s lips curl into a wry smile, but her gaze remains serious as ever. “You gotta be kidding me… Why?”
“Do you remember those magic trains that ran through L.A.?”
“Yeah,” Vivian narrows her eyes. “Will and Janelle told me all about it.”
“Thanks to Will I was able to capture the man responsible.” I point to the Tsukijin with my screwdriver. “I think these guys were hired to try and retrieve him and to get back at me.”
“Did any of the soldiers admit to that?” Vivian asks.
“No. It’s just the prevailing theory. The rest of the soldiers killed themselves before I could get any more info out of them.”
“Interesting…” Vivian appears pensive. “Not that I doubt you, but why would the government resort to such drastic measures to retrieve one guy?” She motions to the hole in my office.
“The current regime really doesn’t like me or this school. Simple as that.”
“I see. Think there’s a chance she was lying?” Vivian points to the Tsukijin body beneath me.
“I have no proof that she was or wasn’t.” I stare into Vivian’s eyes. “But, the words of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony. Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain.”
“Fair point.” Vivian nods.
“I’ll dig into it all the same… Just make sure you or your friends don’t talk to any cops or feds for now. Got it?”
“Understood.” Vivian closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When her eyes reopen, her smile is calm and her cheeks are composed. “Thank you for informing me. I’ll inform you if me or Angela come across any new information relevant to the attack.” She waves goodbye and closes the door behind her.
“Thanks, hun.” I wave her goodbye. God her smile’s so cute… and she even closes the door behind her. What a good student.
ring ring
“Uuuuugh.” I levitate the phone next to my ear again. “What is it now?”
“Ma’am, you have a message from a person named Doc. Do you wish for me to give you the message?”
“This oughta be good.” I sigh. “Lay it on me.”
“She said, ‘I’m sorry to hear about the attack on your campus. It’s such a shame such bright, wonderful students lost their lives. How about we meet and negotiate? I can bring the dead ones back and even throw in the little Patty bonus if you listen to me.”
“Tell Doc she can suck my ass empty.”
“Right away, ma’am.” My assistant hangs up and I’m left alone once again.
Janelle
December 5th, 2007. 4:46 p.m. Student Hospital. Team Lovers and my team just donated some blood and are now sitting outside on the steps overlooking the park enjoying the free milkshakes the school gave us as thanks. Well, everyone else donated blood except me and Josh. We had to donate platelets. I don’t care if this shake’s going to mess with my workout diet. It’s worth it.
Vivian just finished debriefing us on what happened to the Conductor. “Aaaand that’s what Headmaster told me. Any questions?”
Will exhales deeply as his entire body relaxes. “Oh thank God…”
“Where is the Conductor now?” I ask.
“Suzy didn’t tell me that.” Vivian rubs the back of her head. “But she assures me he’s in her custody.”
“If that’s the case… then it’s likely the school could come under attack again.” Will rubs his chin.
“Suzy says to not worry about that.” Vivian assures us. “She’s implementing new safety measures. Some Alumni will be patrolling the campus from now on.
“Good to know.” I nod.
A.D. does a little fistpump before taking out a little protein powder packet from his pocket, emptying it into the shake, and stirring it. “Sooo. Onto happier topics… What’s everyone’s blood types? Just learned that I’m A-.”
“Ooooh.” I smile and point my shake at A.D. “Yeah that makes sense. You’re totally an A-.”
“Uuuuh… what?” A.D. tilts his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yuko lets out a groan that sounds like a polar bear that’s just been gored by a walrus.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“Don’t tell me you believe in that blood type fortune telling garbage.” Yuko looks very, very tired.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s fun. Fortune telling can tell you so much about the world and about other people. It’s super cool.”
“Yeah I’m sure it’s fun here.” Yuko shakes her head. “When everyone brings blood type up within five minutes of meeting you, it gets super obnoxious.” Yuko does a mocking voice. “Oh yeah we’re besties because we have the same blood type! Lol XD! Oooh I knew they were trouble. Never should have trusted that B type. Yeah… sorry babe. It just won’t work out between us. Our blood types just ain’t compatible.” She rolls her eyes. “Screw off.”
Will stays silent and nods, but I can feel like I’ve said something wrong. He’s doing that weird cold smile where your lower lip rests on top of your upper teeth.
“Oooh I was not aware there was such a thing.” At least A.D. sounds interested. “What’s so special about A types?”
“Okay. So!” I clap my hands together and feel my chest get warm. “A types are known for being well-organized and warm, but also stubborn and over-earnest. They get along well with other As. They can also cover up Os’ shortcomings, but the differences between As and Os can also lead to conflict.”
“I see… That’s fascinating.” A.D. takes a sip of his shake. “What’s your type?”
“AB+.” I nod.
Vivian lets out a little laugh. It sounds like she just barely managed to avoid choking. If she chokes, it would be the fifth time this month. I’m not sure if that’s impressive or depressing.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“Just… your blood’s actually worthless. It can’t be given to anyone except other AB+s.”
“Hey! It’s not worthless. I make good platelets… Plus AB people are creative, calm, rational, sociable, intelligent, and adaptable.” I cross my arms. “What type are you then?”
Josh looks like he’s holding in laughter. Come on… Help me out. AB types gotta stick together.
“O-.” Vivian smirks. “Wild card, baby. I can bail any of you guys out.”
“But aren’t you kinda screwed if you need blood?” A.D. asks.
“Yeah, but I don’t worry about that. I just won’t get hit.”
“Ooooh… yeah.” I nod. “You being O makes a ton of sense.”
“How so?”
“You’re optimistic, confident, ambitious, and strong willed. O types are known for not sweating the little details and being able to roll with any punches that come their way.”
“Aaaaw…” A warm smile spreads across her lips as she holds her chest. “Janelle… are you coming onto me right now?”
I continue. “They’re also self-centered, arrogant, and ruthless.”
Vivian stops smiling, but nods her head in agreement. “You got me there. Although I prefer confident over arrogant.”
“Of course, of course.” I nod and laugh a little. “What about you, Yuko? What’s your type?”
“B-.” Her eyes narrow as she bites down on her shake straw.
“Oooh yeah… You-”
Yuko interrupts me. “You’re selfish, forgetful, uncooperative, don't play well with others, impatient, and puts themselves before others. Did I miss anything?” Yuko looks at me like a kid hearing the same lecture from a teacher for the 500th time.
“Yes. You missed creative, strong, and outgoing.” I smile.
“She’s right, you know.” Vivian and Josh nudge Yuko’s sides.
“Sure.” Yuko huffs. I can just barely see a smile form at the edges of her lips.
“Who are we missing?” I finish my shake and put the empty cup down beside me… I kinda want another.
“I’m O+.” Angela raises her hand.
“A+.” Sejong comments.
“AB-.” Josh yawns.
“A+.” Will says before sipping on his shake again.
“Oooh…” I scratch the back of my neck. “That’s going to be interesting for us.”
“Why?” Will asks.
“Type As don’t get along well with ABs who are too strong on the B side of their personality, but everything will be fine between us since I’m more of an A type anyway.”
“Sure.” Will just sips his milk shake.
“As for you two…” I turn over to Angela and Josh. “You two are gonna be fine. ABs can be complex and mysterious, but Os’ honesty and earnestness will support and comfort the AB through their adversity and troubles.”
“That certainly ain’t wrong.” Josh grins.
“Well yeah…” Yuko rolls her eyes. “It’s hard to be wrong when all the words are vague and rely on other people’s perceptions and pre-existing biases to feed into a never-ending loop of confirmation bias.”
Everyone just kinda stops and looks at Yuko.
“What?” Yuko bites her straw again. “Was that too smart for a B type?”
Suzy
December 7th, 2007. 8:31 p.m. My office.
This is going to be a good weekend… Well, better than last weekend. I hope. I finished writing all my condolence letters, responded to all the emails, got myself a nice box of chocolates, and a hot pot of coffee. Even the hole in my office is already repaired. Work gets done so much faster when you don’t hire from the union I swear. I’m lying on my mattress in my pajamjams… time to finally watch High School Musical 2.
Within five minutes of watching, my phone rings. I really should disconnect that once office hours close. If they’re calling me… it has to be important. I sigh and levitate the phone over to my cheek. “This better be important.”
“Sorry to trouble you, ma’am.” My assistant clears her throat. “But I can assure you, this is important.”
“Shoot.”
“Thanks to the blood drive, we’ve been able to collect quite a few blood samples from a majority of the campus population.”
I pause my TV and feel a smile spread across my lips. “Really now? What did you find?”
“We found a student who is a prime candidate for the procedure. Her blood and organs don’t have any of the problematic antibodies.”
“Ohoho yes! Who’s the student?”
“Vivian.”
“That’s too perfect. It’s like it was meant to be.” I take a deep breath and feel my spine relax. “Find any others?”
“Yes, ma’am. I will finish compiling the list by tomorrow evening.”
“Thank you very much. Ciao.”
“Ciao.”
I hang up the phone, take a sip of coffee, and just let the fine brew lie in my mouth for a minute.