"You had a tough time, didn't you kid." Frederick's face filled with sympathy, and he pat Zac gently on the shoulder, his arm whirring and clanking with even the slight movement.
"Alright, lad. I need you to think hard, this is really important." Frederick's tone grew serious, and he looked Zac in the eyes as he spoke.
"Can you tell me where you ran from, the sooner we're able to find the other survivors, the more likely it is that more of them will survive." Frederick spoke earnestly, and inwardly, Zac squirmed as he spoke.
Zac's made up tale had been quite straightforward, but in reality, he had been fleeing so wildly, back and forth, that he couldn't make heads or tail of where he had come from.
"I'm sorry, when I ran from the Flame Fennec, I was zigzagging and rolling since I was trying to put the fire out. All I know is that they're near the trees with white bark and fan shaped leaves." Zac had desperately racked his brain for how the trees had looked, and thankfully, he managed to recall them.
"Really? Good job, kid! That's still very helpful!" Frederick's face creased into a smile, revealing a set of shining white teeth, as well as a gleaming silver tooth.
"Team, this is Fredrick. My survivor here tells me the other survivors should be near trees that have white bark, and fan shaped leaves. Keep your eyes peeled, people. Over." Frederick's walkie talkie crackled as he spoke, and even as he tucked it away, the replies came.
"Roger that!"
"Loud and clear!"
"You sure that's helpful?" Zac asked, feeling a little guilty. Even if he thought the other survivors would take advantage of each other, he still wished he could help more.
"Of course, lad. Think about it like this, it's far easier to look for a massive tree in this jungle than it is to find a group of people, who if they're smart, will be hiding anyway." Fredrick explained, standing up from where he had been leaning next to the pond, and walking off.
"Come on then, kid. Or do you wanna stay here?" Fredrick raised an eyebrow at Zac, who smiled nervously and started to follow Fredrick.
Zac was still reeling from the revelation that his Augmentation had been a success, his mind was spinning with what he was going to do.
He needed to come up with a good explanation for his ability, especially if he wanted to register with the ITC and complete missions. Those paid the real big bucks, if he couldn't, then he'd be stuck solo hunting and selling Magical Beast parts and materials on the open market.
It wasn't uncommon to not register with the ITC, but the drawbacks were clear, the open market pair far less than the ITC, and nobody would pay a solo hunter an advance.
The reason being that there was a nickname for solo hunters, 'Mayflies.'
It was a cruel nickname, given to them because of how mayflies only lived for a day, making fun of how solo hunters had the highest fatality rate of anyone who ventured into Transition Zones.
"Hey! Don't doze off kid! You might be with me now, but this isn't your backyard!" Fredrick's gruff yell cut into Zac's musings about his future.
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about what I'm going to do now, since everything's gone." Zac had realized that the enormous M-Type Augmented had a soft spot for him, and decided to play the pity card.
"Oh. Don't worry about your future, if you don't stay aware in here, your present will be in jeopardy!" Fredrick continued to admonish Zac, who slowly realized that the Augmented in front of him and somehow managed to keep track of him without turning his head even once.
"Ah, I've got sensors installed, they plug right into my optic nerve. I'm like those teachers who say they've got eyes in the back of their head, except I really do." Fredrick noticed Zac's confusion, and brushed the hair on the back of his to the side slightly, revealing two black orbs set into his skull, each with a blinking red light at the center.
"Thanks to these puppies, it was easy for them to replace my eye when I lost it." Fredrick continued slicing the branches int their way with swipes of his clawed hands.
"What is it like? Being an M-Type?" Zac asked, shivering a little at the sight of the orbs set inside Fredrick's skull.
"It's not so bad, kid. Especially nowadays, back when I first signed up, I got called all sorts of names, but even though we're called Machine Type, we're still human at the core." Fredrick's continued to speak, he knew the young man behind him was shocked from his experience, and was doing the best he could do to keep him alert and not falling into his own thoughts.
"Does it feel different?" Zac asked, looking at Fredrick's shoulder, where the machinery met his flesh, the skin red and inflamed.
"Yeah, sometimes I get an itch I can't scratch, and the sensors they install aren't anything like real touch. Plus, you've got to take meds constantly, so your body doesn't reject the parts." Fredrick unconsciously brushed at his shoulder as he spoke.
"But you know, I hear the new M-Types don't have it so bad. If you're so lost about what you want to do, you ought to voluntee-" Fredrick looked back at Zac, smiling, but then his face changed, and he stopped mid sentence,
"Get down! Now!" Fredrick yelled, pushing Zac roughly into the bushes behind him, and then turning around to face the crashing noises rapidly approaching from one side.