Chapter 2:

Grayson

"Are you sure that this is allowed?" Danya asked tentatively. She looked quite nervous, her fidgeting growing even worse than before.

"I'm sure. Omega's 'uniform' is really just the outfit the are obliged to give out to fill a bullet point. They're flimsy, offer no real advantages in a fight, and worst of all-" I grinned. "The look uglier than sin. They realize all this of course, but they aren't going to give us any real stuff because that would cost money. Thus, they give us the option to buy our own stuff from a few select places instead, like this place."

"Still... " She muttered, fingering the end of her coat tail. The forest green, button down jacket fit, at least in my opinion. I thought it was perfect, but apparently she thought otherwise.

"It's fine, it suits you." I had been rotating around her, and I stopped, clasping her shoulder. "Besides, it'll be much more comfortable than the 'uniform' anyways." She shifted awkwardly, and muttered under her breath.

"I-I-If you say so..." She still seemed nervous, but that was to be expected I guess. She had only met me this morning, after all. "But why would they allow officers to wear non-regulation gear?" I looked at her, and the expression that met me seemed genuinely confused.

"Well, first off, it technically is regulation." I put a finger to my chin, and looked skywards. "But more importantly, the uniform isn't that important to them. Sure, it looks kinda good in parade, but they really aren't that good in practice. I mean, really aren't good. Like, fighting nude would be preferable. That's why we get these jackets." I waved to the various coats around the small shop.

"Sure, everyone has their own style, but really, they're almost all the same, which is why they let us use them. A lot of them come from here, as well." I pointed to her and I's jackets, pointing out the similarities. Her's had an attached hood, and the tails were slightly shorter, but otherwise they were indistinguishable in build.

"Not only are they multiple times more comfortable, they also look better. This shop is special too. Since Omega officially sanctioned it, they've started to make clothing out of military grade materials. These coats are waterproof, tear resistant, and even shock absorbing to some degree. As such, they really are the Omega uniform, since they work so well in combat, which is what really matters, after all."

"Huh." Danya looked down at her jacket with a sparkle in her eye. "So these are the real uniforms then." She suddenly slumped. "But still... I don't know if it suits me." She started fidgeting again.

"C'mon Dany, cheer up. There's no reason to be nervous, you look fine. Better than most, actually. Don't get yourself down over nothing. Oh, and don't worry about keeping 'professional' either. I mean, I am your superior, but really, I'm just here to keep you from doing something stupid. Not that I think you personally would, but still." I attempted to comfort her, as I steered us towards the payment counter. I swiped my digitech across the scanner, completing the sale, before half pushing Danya outside. She immediately drew several long stares, mostly admiration or jealousy, and she blushed.

"See, what did I tell you? Being Omega isn't about just the saving people part, there's an image to uphold as well. Don't be embarrassed that people notice you." Danya just nodded slowly, though she didn't seem entirely convinced.

"Alright, I guess... But now what?" I hadn't noticed it before, but when she wasn't being nervous, her voice was very smooth, and carried a lot of weight to it. It seemed the Academy had taught her a bit about performing speeches as well, and it had carried over into her normal speech.

"Um, one question." I started. Danya turned to look at me with questioning eyes.

"Y-y-yes?" She managed. Her poise was gone again, her voice coming out hurriedly. I sighed, despite myself.

"Exactly how old are you? It didn't say on the transcript you gave me." I asked. She suddenly turned abashed, and her blush crept further up her face. She looked down at her feet, and began shuffling around nervously. She muttered something under her breath, barely audible, even to me.

"S-s-seventeen..." I raised an eyebrow.

"You look a bit younger than that, no offense. I had you pegged for fifteen, maybe even fourteen. Did you enter the academy late? I mean, your transcript only covered three years, and the starting age is twelve, so..."

"Hmmm... " Danya just sighed quietly. "I know I look young, and I-I-I'm sorry, bu-"

"I never said it was a bad thing." I interrupted. "It shows that the younger generation is interested in keeping the peace, which can only demonstrate how dedicated our world is to becoming violence free." She looked up at me in shock.

"I-I didn't know you were so eloquent." She managed. I grinned at her.

"What, just because I don't fit the stereotype of a senior officer in your mind's eye?" I achieved the desired result of embarrassing her, and her blush grew.

"I-I-I..." She stammered, eyes darting around. I laughed, and she quickly stopped, cocking her head at me. Her blush slowly subsided as I took my time calming down.

"Ah, come on Dany, it's a joke, lighten up!" I teased. I began to walk, and Danya hurried to catch up to me.

"Oh, so, I meant to ask you earlier, but why did I get chosen as a mentor? Honestly, you seem way too good to be sent to humble old me. And what are your Primary and Auxiliary Scions while we're at it?"

Scions were the weapons used by Omega troops and their affiliates, and were separated into two categories. Primary Scions were formed from imbuing raw materials with a portion of a arcanist's mana. This allowed the mana to take whatever form it wanted, anywhere from a shield to a mace to a dart gun. The first few with Scions had thought they were random, but that was not the case. While it might seem like a random event, the mana actually almost always turned into a weapon that fit it's 'parent' perfectly. No one knew why it did that, but such was the nature of Arcan, after all. Primaries had special abilities too, like being able to be disapparated and reformed at will, or even stranger applications. It was because of these unique properties, as well as a near-automatic mastery of them, that had prompted Omega to start including them in a soldier's base equipment, despite their obsoleteness. Then there were the Auxiliary Scions, like my pistols. They also were imbued with magic, but they were pre-built weapons, and didn't change form due to the magic imbedded in them. Thus, they could not be disapparated, and had to be carried around, like normal weapons. They were generally made to offset the arcanist's primary weapon as well, such as a rifle for a whip, a shield for a sword, etc, and were far more standardized, though high ranking officers and the like had more freedom in that regard. Scions were also split into classes, with five being the least 'unique', and one being the most.

"Well..." She seemed genuinely excited,I noticed. "For my Scions, I have a class two rapier as my primary, and an MDMR-71 Scout rifle as my auxiliary. I grew up in the country, so from a young age, I learned to shoot, and I took up fencing as a hobby when I was eleven. I scored top of the class with each, so there should be no problem there, at least skillswise. As for the first question..." She slumped a bit as we walked, and her voice went back to it's 'normal' awkwardness. "I was unable to find another mentor."

"What? Why?" I asked, confused. "You're a perfect student, according to your records." She seemed almost on the verge of tears, but I continued. I needed to know if there was some flaw that would seriously endanger her or me in combat. If that was the case, then I would need to work around that, or strengthen that particular trait through training.

"T-t-they... " She visibly swallowed. "They said I had a personality deficiency. T-t-that I was too timid. After that, no one would accept me." I couldn't hide my shock, even though I vaguely remembered something to that effect on her application.

"What the hell!?" My shout drew the attention of some bystanders but I didn't care particularly much. Just the fact that someone had rejected this girl due to her sheepishness was inane.

"Who was it that said this?" Danya had shrunk back at my outburst, and was quivering. I realized I was probably intimidating her, and took a deep breath, before continuing in a calmer tone.

"I'm sorry." I said, giving a short bow. "I didn't mean to shout, but who was it that said this?" Danya slowly recovered, standing a little bit straighter after a moment.

"Mr. Baetz and Ms. Scarlet." She answered meekly. I sighed, crossing my arms.

"Figures, they always have had sticks up their asses. They must have been taken from a particularly nasty rose bush those days." Danya gasped at my language, but I just chuckled. "Still though, don't take it to heart. The reason they haven't taken on any mentees to this date is their own stubbornness, not for lack of talented applicants. And besides..." I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to my side, despite her resistance.

"It just means you're with me! I'm so much more fun than those two, you'll never even think about them again!" I could feel Danya squirm in my grip, and she had her usual blush, but she was smiling.

"I-I guess so."

"So, make sure you're ready for tomorrow." I instructed. We were standing outside of Adrian's apartment building. It had gotten dark out, so I had to stand beneath a streetlight to see Danya's expressions. After buying the jacket and eating lunch, we had sat in the nearest park and gotten to know each other, until dusk had fell. She really was a nice girl, but I could see how Scarlet and Baetz could describe her as timid, as if it wasn't obvious before. However, she had started to loosen up a bit towards the end, and I even caught her calling me Gray once. It was a good sign, really, that she had started to open up a bit. It wasn't much though, as we had disused mostly things concerning her ability, how engagements would work, etc. As a student, and a potential officer, she was as close to perfect as one could get, and it honestly was going to be amazing to work with her. I had told her so, of course, but she had only blushed, and murmured a dismissal. That's just how things would be for a while, I supposed.

"Of course." She replied. " I will not disappoint you."

"I didn't think you would. Just make sure you have your auxiliary with you tomorrow. I don't expect much trouble, but banking on things like that can get you killed, so I want you to bring it anyways. A scout rifle, you said?" Danya nodded.

"Alright, that should work then. Just don't forget, alright? I'll see you tomorrow, at the cafe, same time." I turned to ascend the steps to the door, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Ummm... " I turned back to see Danya with a blush. "I was wondering, Grayson, perhaps what your Scions were? I mean, if we really are going to fight together, I need to know about you too right? I mean, besides what I heard at the academy, I don't know much, and your scions never came up" I cocked my head.

"I never told you?" She shook her head, but did not speak.

"Well, I'm sorry then, I guess it never did come up. I have a class one war scythe, and my dual Jericho pistols." For emphasis, a took out one of said pistols, and twirled it by the trigger guard around my finger. It was a lean pistol, with aggressive curves, and shone a bright silver in the artificial light.

"Ohhhh... " Danya's eyes seemed to sparkle, and she leaned forward. "C-can I hold it?" She looked up at me with puppy dog eyes, all anxiety gone, and I smiled.

"Sure." I answered, halting the spinning and holding out the grip to her. She took it gingerly, letting it rest on her palm.

"It's so light... " She murmured in wonder. She turned the pistol over and over, looking at every nook and cranny. She hefted it a few times as well, her eyes shining the entire time. Apparently, this was like an early birthday for her.

"Thank you." She sighed, handing back the pistol carefully. I just smiled, re-holstering it in my jacket. She blushed."I'm sorry. I... I know I'm a bit strange."

"Hey, nothing wrong with that." I pointed out. "Oddity is the spice of life, after all. I mean, compared to Izumi's quirks, you're almost depressingly normal." Danya smiled. She seemed kind of sad though, but it was not polite to pry.

"Gray, you are one of the kindest people I've ever met." She said this with so much sincerity, that I grinned sheepishly myself.

"I try."

"Well, are you ready?" Izumi asked, straight faced. Compared to her normal work clothes, the maroon jacket she wore now was absolutely conspicuous. That, and the black skirt, made her look much more girly than normal, which was odd her. She absolutely deplored dressing up for anything, unless it involved her projects, of course. She always wore good clothes for tests, because according to her, 'they like it when you acknowledge they're about to be born.' Whatever that meant. Danya was, of course, present, and resplendent in her new coat, with a pair of white pants to accompany them. She also had on slender white gloves, and overall looked very proper. I had my white jacket with gold trim, which so happened to be my favorite, and ordinary black dress pants. Small gold designs laced their way around the edge of the attached hood, as well as the ends of the cuffs of my sleeves, forming rings. There was also a strap of white leather attached to one collar of the jacket, to be used to cover my face if necessary. It currently hung down my chest, not entirely unlike a tie. Embossed on its surface were three lines, swirling out from a center point. This was my Mark, a symbol designated to an individual to identify them.

Each Omega legion had a Mark put onto their 'combat' clothing, whether they were normal combatants or not. Izumi's was located on the left side of her hood, a black pheonix against the red, as she was a member of the 'Rebirth' legion. Danya had apparently done some work with her jacket as well, as now a thin blade surrounded by vines flashed blue on her right shoulder. I didn't know much about the 'Sentry' legion, besides the fact that it was highly regarded. Danya nodded to Izumi, and she appeared less anxious than usual.

"Yes, Lady Shiro, I believe all preparations have been made." Danya tapped the rifle leaning against the side of her chair. This, as I had been told, was her Auxiliary, the scout rifle. It was something between a hunting rifle and a military carbine. and it looked sort of like a mish-mash, but there was no mistaking it's lethality. Izumi smiled at the girl's eagerness, as did I.

"Well, at least she seems reliable." She noted cheerfully. I smiled larger, looking at Danya.

"I do believe so." Danya blushed but didn't avert her eyes this time.

"W-what about you, Lady Shiro?"

"Well... " Izumi, grinned, before standing and pulling on the strap across her chest. Her Auxiliary swung around to her front, for us to see. It was a compact, boxy sub-machine gun, and had actually been designed and built by Izumi and her sister, Tora. It didn't look like much, but coming from those two, I knew had one hell of a punch to it. Even Tora had commented on it's unexpected stopping power, and she had made the thing.

"Oh come on, don't be so doubtful!" Tora laughed, observing Danya's skeptical glance. She had joined us this morning, as this was her project as well, and she could offer insight as to what might happen. The sisters always worked together on all of their projects, which was one reason for their success. Izumi was able to design anything to as close as perfect as physics would allow, then Tora was able to build it exactly as specified, down to singular atoms it seemed. This precision was the main thing that had earned all of their prestige. Tora brushed a strand of her dark gray hair out of her face, and clasped Danya's shoulder.

"I mean, the Shiro Duo did make it, after all." The Adamant, or metal, Arcan, smiled at her sister, before continuing to address Danya.

"I'm sure it's just because you're not used to all this, right? You seem like the type to be nervous about stuff, no offense. You are young though, I guess it's normal. Izumi was super nervous when she was younger. I mean, even Gray made her anxious! Though that might just be becau-"

"Enough, you're rambling." Izumi pointed out huffily. While they certainly were a brilliant pair, Tora often got on Izumi's nerves.

"Oh. Sorry." Tora dismissed casually. "Anyways, what I was getting too was a request. Look after them, won't you rook?" We all turned to look at Danya, who looked back at us in confusion.

"I-I guess?" She muttered quietly. Tora jumped up quickly, and leaned on the top of Danya's head. She was quite tall, rivaling even me in terms of sheer height, and she towered over her sister.

"So then, you're all good?" Tora asked, looking around the table. Unlike us, she was dressed in her stereotypical fabricator's uniform.

"Yeah, I think s-." I pointed out, but I was ignored.

"You aren't joining us?" Danya asked. She looked genuinely confused, and cocked her up head at Tora. The metalworker just smiled back at her.

"Well, it would be really fun, and I do want to get to know you better, since I guess you'll be around for a while, but nah. I have other things to do, and besides, lil sis here really loves the attention." In reality, Izumi hated attention. Tora usually did public unveilings, but this time, it looked as though Izumi wanted to do the test and report the results herself, which was odd.

"And there she goes." Izumi snorted. Tora had promptly bound off, to wherever it was she was going. It was honestly quite ironic that an Adamant would be so ditzy, but that was just who Tora was, and she wouldn't be half the person she was without those traits. The thought of a serious Tora flashed through my mind, and I grinned.

"And just what are you so happy about?" Izumi asked in a confrontational tone. Her temper had appeared, and her face was contorted such that I couldn't help but laugh. This caused Izumi's expression to deepen, and I held up my hands in a sign of resignation.

"I-I'm sorry." I panted, trying to contain myself. "It's just, I was thinking about if Tora wasn't... you know... Tora, and you made that face, and I couldn't help it! You agree with me, right Dany?" Danya nodded her head compliantly.

"You were making quite the face, miss Izumi." Izumi growled.

"Traitor."

"Hey!" I exclaimed dramatically. "She my mentee. You, missy, can get your own." I crossed my arms, and looked away, feigning dignity. Izumi just laughed, her expression instantly easing, while out of the corner of my eye, I could see Danya go red.

"C'mon." Izumi said, standing up. "Let's go over to the lab."

"So this is it, huh?" The thing in front of me... wasn't pretty. It was a metal ring, made of obviously welded plates. Each plate had a different appearance, like they were all made of a different metal, which was completely possible. There were wires everywhere as well, forming a complex web of seemingly random colors. I even tried following a particularly colorful one, but lost it amid the mess.

"It... Certainly is... impressive." Danya looked just as skeptical as I must have.

"Well of course, I made it." Izumi bragged, missing Danya's sarcasm. "I mean, it isn't pretty, but it should work. I think."

"Should?" I raised an eyebrow. "I think? That isn't encouraging."

"Welll... " Izumi drew out. She shrugged. "I give it ninety percent chance of working. I mean, it never has been done before so even I don-"

"Wait." Danya interrupted. She was starting to look nervous now. "Ninety percent? What about the other ten percent?" Izumi took an an abashed look.

"Well, I mean we could end up in like, a tree or something, but I doubt that'll happen." Danya's eyes widened.

"And just where are you planning to send us to?" I asked pointedly. Izumi brightened up at that.

"Oh, just to the outskirts of Renton. Really, all we should need to do is walk back. We leave, come back, and pop champagne. Simple."

"Rigghhtttt... " I said skeptically. We stood there, awkwardly for a moment, before I clapped my hands in front of me.

"Alright then, let's get going before I get too worried about losing my limbs to inanimate objects." That only made Danya look more worried, but Izumi smiled.

"That's the spirit."

Izumi led us up a shoddy ramp to the center of the ring. The inside of the ring was finely pockmarked, small holes evenly dispersed along it.

"Are we ready, John?" Izumi called. From out behind a large piece of machinery, and hand shot up, with a thumbs-up. Izumi turned to us. "Are you two ready?" She asked. I nodded.

"I'm game." I replied confidently. Danya whimpered a bit, but she nodded as well.

"O-o-of course." She managed. Izumi grinned.

"Well then, I see no reason to prolong this any longer." She turned back to look at where the hand had been. "Alright John, let's go!" The machine began to whine, and even shook a bit. I could feel Danya grab onto my arm, as the machine sounded like it was threatening to tear itself apart. I couldn't blame her, it really was quite worrying. Suddenly, the pockmarks emitted a bright light, and like that, we were gone.

"Ufff..." I groaned. I was lying on my back on something hard. The wind was rustling some leaves, and I could smell pitch. I opened my eyes, only to close them again against the harsh sun. I sat up, and opened my eyes again, wiggling all of my extremities. I took in my surroundings. I was in a forest, the trees reaching up into the blue sky.

Something seemed seriously off. The air was clear, and crisp. Wherever I was, it was definitely not near Renton. There, it was the middle of the second cycle, the hottest point in the year, and had been stifling. Now it was cold, and a harsh wind blew through the air.

"Gray!" I turned to see that Izumi was running towards me from a copse of trees nearby, seemingly unaffected by our surroundings. Following along her a ways back was Danya, brandishing her rifle like it was a lifeline. She was looking around too, and seemed as apprehensive as I was.

"Izumi! Danya!" I called back. As Izumi reached me, I got wrapped in a hug. Well, to be more accurate, my waist was.

"It worked! It really worked!" She cried ecstatically. "And we aren't in the middle of a tree!!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself." I cautioned, gently pushing her away. She blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry." She apologized. Danya reached us and stiffened, standing guard.

"You feel it too?" I asked her. She did not stop her scanning, but did nod her agreeance.

"Something's off about this place." She noted. It seemed as though she could feel it too. The air just felt... different somehow. Almost like the difference between air in a vehicle and the air at the top of a mountain. I looked around, surveying our surroundings, and noticed something.

"Hey, take a look at the trees." I pointed, and the two followed my indication. They were studying a nearby tree, when they saw what I had noticed. The leaves of the trees were odd, shaped like crescent moons. They had a dull gleam, and were a green color more akin to a flower than a tree. Izumi quickly walked over, reached up and plucked one from a branch, before trotting back with her prize.

"Quite strange." She concluded, tearing it in half after studying it briefly. "I get what you mean now. There is definitely something weird about this place." Izumi looked around more seriously now, giving our surroundings a more serious gaze.

"Well..." I sighed, looking around again. "There's no point in standing here, so let's shut up and soldier." I quickly walked to the edge of the trees, with Izumi and Danya hurrying to follow me.