Sector 27: MRPA HQ [17:12]
“Hong, why are we here? I was in the middle of training my class,” Aku had her arms crossed and tapped her foot impatiently, “And Arisa must have just gotten back from her pick up,”
Arisa smiled widely, “Before we start!!” she pulled out a display-print, “Look what I found in Sector 7!!”
Aku took the small page and laughed, “You finally got a wanted poster huh?” The poster in her hand was an official wanted notice from STAM. Just like Keiko and Aku’s, her face was drawn contorted and strange. SHAPESHIFTER it said, “Look’s like you’ve been promoted by STAM too. How’s it feel to be a black agent??”
Arisa pouted, “They could have done a cuter picture….”
Hong coughed to catch their attention, “I called you two in here today about the new recruit to be assigned to you...”
“You’re going to start training for another solo agent??” Aku raised her brow.
“Since 013 is having to spend most of her time at STAM I thought having a third party to the top agents might ease the workload placed on the two of you as of late.”
Arisa nodded, “Who is it?”
“Agent 437 will be the next up for promotion,” Hong stated matter of factly.
“437? You’re giving us a fresh agent? How could they even be ready for something like this?” Aku crossed her arms, “There are plenty of more experienced agents-”
“Most of the mazoku don’t want to work solo 014. 437 excelled through all of the training and-”
Suddenly the doors opened and a man walked in, “Oi pretty agent 00, nice to see you again,”
Arisa’s face lit up as he finally came into view, “Masahiko!!” he had cleaned up since she last saw him, his MRPA uniform actually fit him unlike the near rags he had once worn. Masahiko had also shaved his stubble back to show more of his face, but the thing that Arisa was staring at was his hair. It sat, twirled to the side, on top of his round head.
Arisa and Aku stared at his hair without a word.
“Ummm-” Masahiko stood stiff,
Arisa and Aku couldn’t help but make the comparison: his hair was shaped like a cinnamon roll.
Hong coughed fairly dramatically to draw everyone’s attention back to him, “About your mission then,”
Sector 22: The Wasteland [18:00]
“So this is exciting,” Masahiko grinned at Arisa, “A mission! In this sandy, sandy place. The hunt for a rampant mazoku!!” he flung his arms around dramatically.
Arisa had volunteered to take Masahiko out on the mission, allowing Aku to return to her class. When she had been up for promotion, Keiko and Aku had taken her along on their missions and now Arisa was the one training a new solo agent. She couldn’t help but grin at how far she’d come.
“Where was the rampant last seen?” Arisa chuckled at him.
“Do you smell something?” Masahiko asked, holding his nose, “Something bad?”
“What are you talking abou-” she turned to look at Masahiko but he was no longer beside her, “437!!!” he had run off to the left through the sand. She ran after him.
When Masahiko finally stopped he had to turn away from the scene and cover his mouth, “I think I found it...”
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Arisa covered her mouth and gawked at the dead mazoku. It was large, maybe 20 feet from head to foot and had large scaly legs like a dinosaur. Its whole body was covered in scales and was heavily covered in muscle. Its face was oozing some type of orange liquid and it was contorted in pain and from the looks of it the mazoku had bit through his own tongue.
“This is awful...” Arisa couldn’t look away from it as she covered her mouth, “I’ve never seen a rampant look this bad...”
Masahiko was on the ground heaving the contents of his stomach out, “Oh my god. Are these things always this fucked up??”
Arisa thought, “No. This one is particularly bad. I don’t understand some of the things I am seeing…..437-” Masahiko turned to look with a green face, “I need you to turn his face so that I can see who he was...hopefully he is in the MRPA database,”
Masahiko looked hesitantly, “Me?”
Arisa pinched her nose, unable to adjust to the horrid smell, “Please?”
Masahiko spat before getting his feet and walking over to the rampant. He turned his arms invisible hoping that maybe not seeing his own arms touch the mess would help...but it didn’t. As he turned the face his body heaved and his eyes were watering from the smell.
“Thanks,” Arisa stared at the face now that it was less contorted. Masahiko had quickly turned away and dry heaved somewhere else. “Now let’s see...” she scanned the face with her omni-book, “No Omega Cells??” she read the display, “That can’t be possible...” she went to another part of the rampant, one covered in scales, and tried the scan again, “This time there are omega cells….how can there be omega cells here but not in the face??” she furrowed her brow, “437!!”
Masahiko turned back around, his face still green, “Yes 00?”
“Call the white coats. They need to come out here.”
Sector 27: MRPA HQ- The Tower [20:02]
The tower stood tall, if slightly leaning, above the surface of MRPA. While the tower wasn’t accessible through the elevator system that connected MRPA, there were stairs and ladders that led up the tower. Having left the scene with the dead rampant after the white coats arrived, Masahiko had come here. While not a secret place- he had learned of it from the other agents he trained beside, it wasn’t a common place either. The view across the sector was completely barren aside from the occasional bits of rubble left from the war. For miles in each direction there was hardly anything and no signs of life. He lit his cigarette and tried to erase the images of the rampant from his mind...but he knew they wouldn’t leave him for a long time.
As he thought he turned himself invisible, there was something oddly pensive about not being able to be seen. He took another deep puff of his now invisible smoke and watched the ash turn visible once more as it fell down….and then a door opened. It wasn’t a door connected to the tower- but a door that opened up from the ground. There was a door like that from MRPA?
Very quickly, a vehicle pulled up next to the door and several white coats rushed out and went down through the door. What is going on?
The white coats came back up through the door, but this time they were pulling a stretcher with an unconscious man...Durim?! Masahiko had to cover his mouth with his hand to avoid coughing. It may have been a part of his past that he had moved away from, but Masahiko would never forget the face of the man. They had worked in similar circles for several years before the Free incident. Why is Durim being taken? When did they find Durim? Why didn’t they tell us about this?! He put out his cigarette and started to make his way down the side of the tower while staying invisible, Durim...where could they be taking you?
Inside of MRPA Arisa was headed to the pharmacy for medication for the infants. She yawned loudly. Things were so much busier now that she was a solo agent. Not only was she on call at any moment to go on a mission, but she also had to keep up with her duties in the infant ward, and all the paperwork that Keiko couldn’t do anymore. She was tired, but she didn’t regret all her effort to get to this point. She had worked hard to prove herself, and for the first time she finally believed she had.
“Oh Nell!” Arisa smiled as she walked up to the pharmacy counter, “Did you get my request?”
Nell returned Arisa’s smile, “Agent 00!” Nell had been promoted to the science and research division of MRPA to help streamline the production of MS2. After the loss of Ms.Mary, Darrius was quick to assign Nell as the head pharmacist, “How are the new batch of infants?” she tapped on the display of the desk and began picking up the order, “I miss the nursery.”
Arisa leaned against the counter, “It’s a small batch this time. I think only 5 or 6 right now-”
“I’m sure you’ll pick up some more throughout the month,” she set the large box of medicine on the counter and motioned Arisa to approve the pick-up on the display, “This is a lot of medicine for just 6 infants though...”
Arisa groaned and tapped her omni-book to the display, “One of them apparently can give people allergies with his spit so we have to do some testing….” she sighed as she picked up the box, “Darrius is going to come see if he can do something about it because he might have to be quarantined until he can control it if not...”
“Oh that’s terrible,” she leaned over the counter, “Let me know if you need anything. I might be able to help if Darrius can’t find anything...” a blush crept over her face.
Arisa smiled brightly, “Thanks Nell. I might have take you up on that-”