Tina turned and with a few hand movements, the armory was sealed away. The Aigs felt heavy on Vigo’s arm. His powers had always required him to be fast and explosive to trigger the ghost effect with minimum power consumption. However, he was getting old. He still could run but his mind and body were not as quick anymore. He’d get used to the shield and train to respec into Belaphorde’s guardian. No one was still sure what the Kaiju task force would look like. First, they needed an S-ranker online.
“With that taken care of please listen closely to the plan.” Tina stopped them at the foot of the elevator. “Even with a few safety precautions, this is still an experimental and risky venture. When you get up I want you to first collect and attempt to Guide inactive overflow ichor. We usually use it to train Guides since there’s no stress on the Guide’s system. You can first try a passive technique. If you see no results you can go over to a pulse technique. Music with a clear rhythm should help you focus. However, do not expect that we might get results on the first try.”
“Because we are still unsure if I can Guide while burned out?” Belaphorde leaned on the wall in a futile attempt to relieve some pressure. The pain was getting annoying.
“That, and you have no particle technique training. You’d be considered an F-rank in that subject.”
Vigo made a baffled grunt while Belaphorde let out a deafeted sigh.
“Who are you calling an F-rank? On what basis? Belaphorde is a great Guide!”
“He is indeed unique. My basis comes from talks where it has come to my attention that Belaphorde knew nothing of techniques and even used techniques that were against his interests. Therefore, an F.”
“Great. Thank you for the briefing Professor Tina. Let’s get moving.” Belaphorde butted in before Vigo could get another word in on the matter.
“Indeed. I’ll be here when you have something to report. And take this, for good fortune.” With a sly smile, Tina handed Bel a single mint candy. Belaphorde thanked her and put it in his pocket before entering the elevator.
***
Stolen story; please report.
Stepping into the third floor in daylight was surreal. Sure there were the broken windows, debris, and piles of trash, but there was also so much random colorful junk. The room was bright and white at its base. Near the windows was a white leather sofa. Further in was a bar with rainbow-colored glasses hanging in rails in the ceiling. Vigo was immediately drawn to the sound system right to the side of where they stepped in. Comically large speakers stood on cabinets filled with CDs and Vinyls.
“Oh come on. He could at least have spared this beauty.” Vigo gestured at a fancy brass gramophone that lay in pieces beside the speakers.
Belaphorde’s eyes were drawn to the walls. There was a massive oil painting of a family. Two children in white dresses with a wall of roses behind them. Their faces had been defiled with wine stains. The ends of a suit and gown could be seen. The rest of the parents had been violently ripped away. On the other walls hung photo art of vibrant and tasteful graffiti. The sight of which didn’t sit right with Bel, though he lacked words to explain why the photos out of everything would bother him.
“The Esper got some range in his tastes. Billy Ocean, Queen, Depeche Mode. I didn’t even know Snoop Dogg made vinyl.” Vigo whistled and picked up a few CDs at random. “Most of the stuff here I don’t recognize at all. I’ll have to ask the guy about it later. Kaigo was his name?”
Belaphorde hummed in reply. The whole thing was going over his head.
“Lord knows how long I’ve gone without just sitting down and listening to an album. What do you say we take a few records with us downstairs later?”
Belaphorde moved ahead and peeked through the open door to the bedroom. The blond lay on the floor amongst colorful trinkets and black goop. The only part of the room that remained undamaged was a display cabinet with plastic toys. Kaigo lay on the floor in a mess of blood, ichor, and excrement. Every now and then he twitched, a sign of still being alive.
A few hours passed as Vigo slowly got the Esper cleaned up. He deserved some human decency and Guiding wouldn't get him dry and fed. Vigo held up his shield and shouted when burning hot steam hit his skin. The room turned into a sauna as Kaigo weakly defended himself.
Belaphorde kept his distance. He provided Vigo with towels and put all the loose goopy ichor into a large bucket. He kept his eyes firmly away from the Esper. It felt wrong to look at a naked unconscious person.
Once set up and ready Bel and Vigo tried to Guide away some of the stale ichor from the bucket. Since it didn't have any active power there would be no stress put on Belaphorde, if they were successful it would just evaporate the ooze. Just as predicted by Tina's theory the ichor evaporated, be it at a snail's pace. With confidence, Vigo moved on to Kaigo who was propped up in a pink pony pajamas, and positioned himself between the younger boys. Belaphorde touched the tips of Kaigo’s fingers, and he prayed. It was easier to pretend to love someone if he prayed for them as a human rather than an individual. Belaphorde could not fail in this or he could never repent.
He coughed and convulsed. Every drop of ichor was infernal. Vigo patted his back and furrowed his brows, he could feel part of the Guide's pain.
Then, a change. Belaphorde felt a cold chill. His mind went quiet. Rapidly the ichor disappeared. A hardness crystallized in the middle of Belaphorde's chest. He felt distant from his own skin. Floating on toxic fumes.
Vigo pulled them back. Something had happened that he didn't understand. Kaigo was still an ichor-filled mess, but he could breathe. Belaphorde was limp in Vigo's arms. As he turned to get them both out of the room Kaigo opened his blackened eyes.