User blog:Roinelll/God Eater - Next Crusade - Volume 1 - Segment 12

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Hope...

There is no such thing.

Never was.

Never will be.

It's just they don't realize it.

No one does...

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========== G. E. N. C. - 1 - 12

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After the 14th day the girl started to show changes. More specifically her hair started to fall out, only to slowly be replaced by a very quickly growing new tissue. What made the two observers astonished that upon more closer inspection they were very much like that of a Sariels strands that are found on it's headdress. Despite this change, her vitals stayed stable and her status didn't change at all.

The days were passing and there wasn't still any sign of the girl waking up, nor any sign of that the new hair that she grew is the end of the changes or there is more to come for her. However they had made a connection to why the implanted eye is reacting, although that was done on the 17th day only.

Oracle Cells, it was reacting to the movement of those. The connection was established on this fact when one of the institutes local God Eaters came to report and the eye snapped onto him. Much to the surprise of Daigo and Lucas, it was keeping track of the man for a while even after he left.

From that point on the eye started to react more and more to the Oracle Cells and the two scientists were trying to measure the limit of it's effectiveness. What they had derived over a course of a week that it is still rising, currently at nearly a kilometer of diameter area is it's effect but steadily still increasing in width.

Close to a month to the girls falling chomatose, the attacks started. Incidentally there were stray Aragami that wandered near the facility and had been disposed of the local defenders, but from that point on it was more like a scheduled arrival of sorts.

What made matters worse, just like how the eye was increasing in it's search distance, so did the attacks intervals shorten. Furthermore not only the stray Aragami were pulled towards, but ones that were clearly coming from larger distances. It was unmistakable, that the girl once again served as a beacon to lure the beasts.

Close to two months since the girl went asleep and almost four weeks since the initial waves of attacks begun.

"Ah, Lucas... Another one incoming." Daigo noted as the two of them started to use the girl a few week ago as a radar to determines when the attacking Aragami will come. While the institutes detectors functioned at maximum efficiency it was still an easier job to do with the additional help from the girl's detection.

"Again? ..." Lucas sighed and reached into his pocket and pulled a walkie-talkie out, switched it on to alert the defending team. "Guys, there is one more approaching finish it off."

"So when are we going to kick her out?" The easterner lit another cigarette, he lost the count how many he had on that day already, but didn't really care. He required it, as the wait was nerve wrecking.

"When we figure out how she calls them, no sooner." Lucas would have gladly joined him by having a drink himself, but a week ago his own supplies of alcohol run out, plus they couldn't afford to request more without alerting Fenrir to their situation. Something neither of the two wanted to have.

"Couldn't we just transfer her somewhere else then make her bait?" Daigo suggested as he took a really long drag, consuming a third of his cig in one go and letting the ash fall to the ground much to Lucas' chagrin.

"Daigo, if you're a chicken you can leave any time."

"Yeah right, like having the very limited amount of God Eaters you have under your control able to fight the various Aragami non-stop for the last two days considers me a chicken, then I am." Daigo looked at the worn out partner of his. The two of them were still trying to figure out why does she call out, or how can they dampen the signal. Doing so they worked as much as possible, Lucas was even going that far as he worked literally until he collapsed from exhaustion. "Seriously Lucas, move the girl somewhere else to draw the attention away from us." An empowered beeping came from the console they set up as a radar and his eyes widened when he saw the large sign of Oracle Cell concentration heading their way. "Big one incoming. Did the cycle take up speed again?" Daigo bit on his lips, this was way too soon that it should have come.

"Take caution, a large one is coming." Lucas warned his men once again through the talkie-walkie, however this time instead of confirmation another response came.

-Boss!! It's the white Sariel!- One of the God Eaters reported as most of the group took up defensive stance outside.

"God... Ah forget it..." Lucas' face paled as he understood the situation that was arising. "Prepare to evacuate. Do not engage the Aether, I repeat. Do not engage!!" With a sigh he gave the order, and could hear clearly as the deployed God Eaters started their escape.

"So you're now heeding my advice?" Daigo finished off his coffin nail and watched with semi-interest as Lucas threw the communicator away and it shattered to many pieces. Before Lucas could have answered him something happened that they didn't account for. The lights dimmed momentarily a few times before resuming their normal function.

"What the... What was that?" Lucas snapped his head forward, trying to guess how could that have occurred.

"What was what?" Daigo took out another cigarette and put it into his mouth, and the phenomenon repeated itself this time it lasted longer.

"There shouldn't be a power flux, this installation was designed with multiple power generators." Lucas mused as it once again repeated not only dimming partially the room, but almost completely blanketing in darkness.

"Lucas, you're just--" Daigo tried to dismiss him, but was interrupted fiercely.

"There! It's getting stronger." As the power went out again, Lucas burst from the room and noticed that even the corridor is blinking in and out of light.

"Maybe the Aether's attacks do it?" Daigo joined him with a lit cigarette and puffed once.

"They didn't make contact and they will try to avoid it for their best abilities." Lucas noticed that the strange occurrence was mostly towards the eastern side of the facility, on the other area where the girl was being kept. In the direction where his eastern friend took up residence. "Daigo, you're trying to hide something do you?" He turned towards the other man, as he thought up a possibility.

"Why would I?" Daigo shrugged and exhaled a smaller cloud of smoke.

"Because I have known you for some time, plus you're really twitchy ever since #5 underwent the changes." Lucas stared right at him for some moment until his partner exhaled once again.

"..." With a sigh, Daigo took a longer drag and started to walk in the direction from where the disturbance was apparently coming from. "Fine, come with me."

"What have you done?" Lucas couldn't really handle the silence as it descended onto them. Not with the knowledge that the Aether was approaching them, or that his old colleaugue was doing something behind his back without alerting him.

"I've achieved your goal, but that's not enough for me." As they trekked towards the end of the structure, a small shockwave passed through the installation. Daigo seemed unfazed at the fact that the Aether started attacking the outer wall, which was built to repel Aragami. The normal ones at least.

"My goal... Mines? ... Daigo, what did you do?" Lucas stepped quickly in front and stopped before his collaeugue and demanded his answer.

"You wanted a puppet God, didn't you? Well, I got one." Daigo grinned widely as he pointed to the back of his partner. "Right here." He stepped past him and opened the door to his part of the complex. It was the lab that was given for him to work with. It wasn't much of a big space, a mediocre sized room with 25 square meters, but most of it was occupied along the sides with various machinery for observing. An observation that was focused on the large tank in the middle of said room. A tank that was made out of a visibly sturdy see-through material that housed a dark liquid.

However it wasn't empty, as inside the tanks interior something stirred upon the entry of the two scientists. Daigo grinned even more widely as Lucas stepped closer to examine what it is. As he neared he could make out a form, something resembling humanoid albeit very small. No larger than a child of early age. As he surveyed the creature inside he could make out various differences compared to a normal human.

First of all was the head of the being that pressed it against the wall of it's container. On the very center of it's forehead there was a large hole, while around it dozens of smaller red slit like eyes were littering the face. No other facial features were visible on it, while the rest of the body was more or less humanoid, not counting the dark and slick black tail that sprouted from it's back, or the apparently living hair as it tangled and weaved much like it was alive around.

"That's... No, it's not #5 who is calling for the Aragami. She only reacts to them coming..." The dumbfounded Lucas slowly turned to the side, as Daigo stepped close to marvel at his creation also. "It's this... thing you created who resonates with them."

"Intriguing isn't it?" Daigo lit his coffin nail and took a few moments before he took the first drag, to savour the taste of it. "THIS!!" With his right palm, he slammed onto the wall of the container, inside the creature mimicked him as it placed it's palm on from the inside. "This is the result of what you and Johannes are trying to achieve, she came into being after unifying the ideas of you both!" The thing inside drew back and disappeared from their sights in the dark liquid. "But... that's not enough for me, this is nothing more than a mere puppet." Daigo exhaled a long puff of smoke and took another deep drag from his cig. "The puppet of a God you aimed to acquire."

"How?" Lucas was baffled, although his collaeugue was right, it was beyond him how could he succeed this fast. Or exactly when did he start this project.

"Now you want to know, right?" Daigo chuckled, as he exhaled once again a rather large one. "Fine, you would have figured out by yourself anyways eventually. So it doesn't hurt to tell you. It's not like I have anything to lose here, you know."

"Daigo, would you stop acting like this? It's not really becoming from you." Lucas muttered half to himself and the easterner laughed.

"Remember the left over cells from the transplant that I acquired from you? Well, I just mixed them with the blood sample from the girl and soaked them into a tank filled to the brim with unaltered Oracle Cells." He knocked on the tanks wall and the creature inside swam to them once again, probing the side in interest. "She is the result of that. Interesting isn't it?"

"WHAT IS THIS MOCKERY?!" For some reason Lucas seemed rather irritated by it's sight, as he grabbed his old friend by the collar of his shirt and pulled closer to glare at him from close.

"What's the matter?" Daigo looked a bit surprised by the outburst and then puffed once on his smoke. "This is the form the Oracle Cells themselves took on after coming into contact with the highly irregular ones from the girl. Without a core the cells fall apart don't they? However the substance you've soaked them preserved those very cells to dissolve even with the lack of their original core. So what do you get when you mix those with cells that do not require a core?" The smoker then brushed away the hands of his colleaugue as he once again glanced to the being made by him. "She is unique. The very cells you've initially implanted into that girl served as the new blueprint, forming that which were left from the Sariel into this. I would say, this would be the very form she could evolve into if she would survive long enough. Wouldn't she?"

"DAIGO!!" Lucas' eyes twitched as he gritted his teeth in anger. He was very close to loosing it and punching the easterner for good.

"She isn't an Aragami, not in a way we call them." Daigo mused as he took the final drag of his cigarette. "You see, as I explained before she lacks a core, however it is neither clearly human." He was a bit disappointed, because that was the last one on him as he watched the last of the ash to fall to the ground and flicked the burnt down butt aside. "This is what you wanted, right? A God, that surpassed both!"

"DAIGO!! YOU--" Lucas lashed out, aiming to the jaw of the other, but his hand was caught with ease. He could have followed the motion up, but gave up midways.

"What's the problem? Why are you so agitated by the sight of her?" Daigo nodded with his head towards the tank, as the creature once again disappeared from their sight inside of it.

"Her?!" Once again the eyes of Lucas twitched as he repeated the last word. "HER?!" He raised his voice his as he pulled his first away from the hand of his old friend. "YOU.. don't..." He pressured the words through the gritted teeth of his as he stopped to collect his thoughts.

"She likes you." Daigo stated as the creature inside once again came into the view, this time much closer to the other man, who stepped away from the frame. Only to have the being inside follow as close as possible, even flattering itself to the tanks outer layer. "Though I doubt why do you hate her so much, even though you two just made contact in this few minutes."

"Erase it." Lucas demanded as he tried not to make eye contact with the one inside the tank.

"Lucas, what has gotten into you?" Daigo raised his eyebrow as he turned back to the tank, to find the creature inside once again hidden from sight.

"ERASE THAT THING!! IN THIS MOMENT!!" Lucas pointed towards the tank, and to Daigo's surprise once again the being came into view.

"At least answer me." He scratched his head as to why was it demanded from him.

"YOU!!" Once again Lucas grabbed him by the collar as he glared at him from point blank. "What do you thin will happen if it makes contact with the Aether?"

"O..." Daigo realized the issue that was on their hand in a short while. "Oh... Shit..."

"NOW YOU GET IT?!" Lucas gritted his teeth again as he left him go, despite the fact that he was now really antsy about socking him a few dozen times.

"There's a slight problem with getting rid of her." Daigo stated as he tried to search his pockets for a last cig, only to remember that he already used up the very last. "She's practically immune to even the Oracle Cells." He explained and could feel the anger literally rise in Lucas from the distance even. "In fact she feeds on them on a terrifying amount as well as pure energy. That's why there are the power short-outs... She's started to take in massive amounts of both recently..."

"..." Lucas then sighed as his shoulders dropped in giving up his anger. "You're going to get us killed, you know that?"

"Wouldn't be the first, now would it?" Daigo mused as another tremor came signaling that the Aether managed to break through the outer walls of the institute and most probably got into the installation itself.

"..." With a grimace Lucas recalled the way they parted long ago. "No it wouldn't..."

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End of Chapter 2016,02,29

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