Yemoramato's foot arced toward his head and Callum threw up his arms to block it. The kick jarred him hard. He'd learned that Yemoramato's slight build hid a ferocious strength. Still, he absorbed it the best he could and surged forward. She was on one foot now and he should be able to tackle her. Somehow, though, Yemoramato twisted out of the way, adding a cuff to the side of his head for good measure. "Too slow," she snapped. "Be more decisive. You need to be moving before my kick even lands." Callum stumbled down to his knees, breathing heavily. He was soaked with sweat and his whole body ached. Yemoramato sneered at him. "Weak. Watch your little friend. She seems to be marginally less dense than you." She turned and snapped, "Mikan. You're up since this mud farmer can't stay on his feet."
Mikan wearily stood from where she had been sitting against a wall. Callum watched the two women close with each other. Even though he was growing frustrated with her, he couldn't help but admire the lines of Yemoramato's body in the skintight white stocking that left her arms and legs bare. Mikan wore a similar stocking, in dark blue, but she lacked the ridiculous curves of Yemoramato. In fact, she was about a head shorter than Yemoramato and every aspect of her build was thinner. And yet Yemoramato was right. Callum didn't understand how but Mikan usually did better in these sparring matches than he did.
It had been five days since the meeting with Tsyirinsaku. Nothing had come from Yemoramato the next day but the day after that she had commanded Callum and Mikan to meet her here. It was a room with a padded floor that was connected to a larger annex of exercise machines. Callum had expressed some interest upon learning that the machines were to increase strength and stamina but Yemoramato had flippantly told him he had more than enough of both. What he lacked was technique and that was what she was going to beat into him. Callum was grateful that she was taking the time to teach him but he was growing frustrated with her unwillingness to actually explain anything. She just made him fight her over and over and he didn't feel like he was making any progress.
Mikan sank down into a low fighting stance and edged closer to Yemoramato. Callum focused on them, telling himself to actually watch this time. Usually he was going over in his head what he had done wrong and what he would do next time. Occasionally, he also just admired the two women. Yemoramato was like a goddess, absurdly graceful in form and movement. Mikan couldn't match that but she was extremely cute and her spirit shone when she fought. Moreover, she just seemed sexier now than she used to be. Callum didn't really understand why he thought that way but he couldn't shake it.
The fight started abruptly, with Yemoramato surging forward and throwing a straight jab. Callum suspected she was deliberately holding back but the punch was still lightning quick. Mikan managed to lean out of the way of it and counter with a fist aimed at Yemoramato's sternum. Yemoramato caught her fist with her free hand and turned her other into a sideways chop. Mikan was already charging forward, however, and tried to headbutt Yemoramato in the chin. Yemoramato leapt backward with a laugh of delight. Callum blinked. That was the first time she'd expressed anything but contempt during the sparring. Because Mikan almost smashed her chin?
Mikan didn't stop. She ran after Yemoramato and tried a kick at the taller woman's ribs. Yemoramato hit Mikan's leg down but the human woman's foot barely touched the ground before her entire body was twisting with a second kick aimed at the same spot with her other foot. Callum gaped. How had Mikan managed that? She should have been completely off balance and she certainly should not have had the leverage to twist like that. Yemoramato caught Mikan's ankle somehow and then lifted the girl up and flung her across the room. Mikan hit the padded floor and rolled a few times before coming to a stop on knees and elbows.
Callum was even more astonished by that. Mikan was small but she still had to weigh around forty kilos. To lift and throw her so easily like that with one hand was incredible. He knew Yemoramato was strong but…it hit him. Like a slap in the face. They were enhancing their abilities with ether. He hadn't even considered it before that very moment but it made total sense. Yemoramato was training them to be pilots. Callum felt like a complete idiot. But why hadn't Yemoramato just told him? She was maybe the most irritating woman he'd ever met.
Yemoramato glanced at him, her chin raised, as if she could hear his thoughts. Callum stood and raised his arms, holding them in a guard out in front with his fists closed. Yemoramato waited, not even bothering to assume a stance. Callum felt for that power within him. It came out so naturally now when he was piloting that he had to search for it all over again. That thrum deep in his chest. He tapped it and sent the power through his body. He didn't understand how it worked but it was almost instinctual. The ether surged in his body, so much that it almost frightened him.
He burst forward, trying to restrain the power flowing into his limbs. It was too much. He could have killed or destroyed all too easily with it. Yemoramato snapped a kick up so quickly that Callum couldn't even flinch.
A few moments later, Callum opened his eyes. He was face down on the floor. His head was ringing and black spots danced in his vision. His mouth tasted like blood. With great effort, Callum pushed himself up onto his elbows. A trail of blood connected his lip to the floor. He waited for a moment for his vision and hearing to clear. His vision did but it took him a moment to realize that the sound he was hearing was a muffled moaning, not just a tone from getting his ear pinned to his head.
He glanced toward it and saw Yemoramato a few steps away from him, holding Mikan in the air with one hand wrapped around the shorter woman's mouth. Yemoramato touched her other hand to her lip, which was split open. She nodded thoughtfully at the blood on her fingertips. "That was good, Mikan. You're finally starting to get a grasp of what you can do." Mikan took a swipe at Yemoramato's head but her arms were too short. The fie woman smiled and then tossed Mikan away from her. Mikan landed hard on her backside. She glared murder at Yemoramato but didn't get up. Yemoramato glanced at Callum, her sneer all the uglier because of her split lip. "And you. You're about a hundred years too early to think you need to hold back with me."
Callum glanced away from her glare. He couldn't really argue. Yemoramato snorted again and said, "We're done for today." She walked to the exit to the room and stopped. "Your mechs are ready in bay seven, though I don't think you are ready for them. You may check on them if you like but you don't have clearance to pilot." Then she disappeared through the doorway.
After a few moments, Callum pushed himself to his knees and then staggered to his feet. His muscles pulsed with a deep ache and his head was spinning. He walked to Mikan, who was still sitting, glaring at the door Yemoramato had gone through. He offered her a hand up. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Me?" Mikan asked, turning to him. The rage melted from her face, replaced with concern. "What about you? I thought she killed you when she kicked you in the head like that. What the hell is wrong with her?"
Callum took her hand and hoisted her to her feet. "She's just trying to teach us. She has a…hard way about her but she taught me an important lesson."
"I think she might just be a bitch," Mikan muttered.
Callum suppressed a smile. "Do you want to go and see our mechs? I've missed Angra Mainyu." He also wondered if Russell would be there. Despite himself, he kind of missed the crazy miniature man, too.
"I suppose," Mikan said, rotating her shoulder with a grimace of pain. "I am curious what kind of mech they assigned me."
"Let's meet out front." Mikan nodded and they headed to their separate locker rooms. Callum smiled slightly as he entered. It was nice that Mikan was more relaxed around him now. He doubted it was intentional but Yemoramato got Mikan so riled up that she came out of her shell.
Callum took a quick shower and then retrieved his clothes from the small locker he could lock and unlock with his chip. He'd been surprised at first that the fie had clothes that they specifically wore to get sweaty in. Shargi had been aghast when he tried to go to his first training session in slacks and a sweater. Callum was kind of aghast at the fact that Shargi washed all of his clothes after a single use. It seemed like an extravagant waste of water to him.
He met Mikan out in front of the gym building. She was wearing a purple blouse and black ruffled skirt that showed off a lot of leg. Mikan seemed to wear mostly things that bared her arms and legs for some reason. Her hair was still wet from her shower, glistening in dark waves. She seemed to be growing more beautiful by the day. What would she be like when she was in full bloom? Callum shook his head, disgusted with himself. 'God, you've become a lecher.'
Together they managed to find the bay that contained their mechs. They did get turned around a couple of times but Callum felt he was getting better at finding his way around. He spotted Angra Mainyu the moment they walked into the cavernous bay. The mech was huge, with thicker armor plating than any other mech he'd encountered so far. It gleamed crimson, all of the black scorching from the battle over Ragrun repainted. The mech had once had two curved horns sprouting from the sides of its head but one of them had been snapped in half during the battle. For whatever reason, they hadn't repaired that.
"Callum!" a deep voice shouted. "Look what they've done! Look what they've done to my boy!" Callum glanced down and saw a tiny man sprinting full out toward him. He was the size of a toddler but had the proportions of a full-grown man. His skin was dark and his close-cropped hair and beard were coal black. His only clothing was a pair of crimson pants.
"What have they done, Russell!?" The last word came out as a shout when Russell didn't slow as he neared Callum, instead barreling right into him. He was heavier than he looked. Callum supposed that was because he was a robot, constructed to mimic the behavior of an ancient human hero. Or that's what Russell claimed he was. Callum managed to keep his balance though it was a close run thing.
Russell clung to his pant leg and snarled, "Can't you see? Look at that disgusting color they painted Angra Mainyu. Instead of a fiery god of chaos, he looks like some kind of clown!"
Callum glanced at Angra Mainyu. He supposed the mech might have been painted a brighter shade of red and was maybe a little shinier but the difference was minuscule. "It looks fine to me."
"Are you blind or are you out of your mind!?" Russell snapped. "Look at him! Just look at him!" Russell clutched his head. You would have thought they painted Angra Mainyu as pink as a fie's hair.
"He's been like this since I got here." Callum looked around and saw Valencia striding toward him. She was in shorts and a baggy shirt. While Mikan and Callum were getting the crap kicked out of them by Yemoramato, Valencia had been training in simulators to increase her piloting acumen. Yemoramato said it would be a waste of time training her to fight since she couldn't connect to a mech. Considering how brutal Yemoramato was, Callum was glad that Valencia had been spared.
"Because it's a travesty!" Russell shouted. "They've cut his balls off!"
"Balls?" Mikan and Callum asked together.
"They are neutering him!" Russell said, chopping two fingers together like scissors.
"Because of the color?" Callum asked, thoroughly confused.
"Oh, that's just the tip of the iceberg!" Russell shuddered and looked like he was going to be sick. Callum thought that was interesting, since he didn't ever eat or drink anything. "They installed a shield." He said it as if confessing to a disgusting crime.
"A shield?" Valencia said with interest. "Where?" They all glanced at the hulking mech and Callum couldn't see any shield.
"It's on the left arm," a fie woman said, walking up to them. She was older, with fine wrinkles around her blue and gold eyes. She had a bob of light blue hair and darker blue skin. Callum thought she was pretty, in a stern kind of way. She was wearing a long, pale pink coat that hung open, displaying the short black dress underneath. The woman activated her palm display and called up a small hologram of Angra Mainyu. "The shield point is a little above the wrist here," she said as a small blinking light appeared on Angra Mainyu's left arm. "It is powered via ether, so it won't appear until you call it up. You can adjust the size with practice. It can expand to cover the entirety of the yuuku but that would take a lot of power to maintain."
Callum studied the hologram of Angra Mainyu, intrigued. "Will it stop an ether beam?" he asked.
The woman nodded. "That is its primary function, though relative power levels also affect it. If you are facing an enemy of considerably more strength than yourself, the shield won't hold."
"Just beams or can it stop physical things. Swords? Missiles?" Valencia asked.
"It is not as efficient with those," the woman admitted. "I would suggest using your own sword to parry other weapons and rely on your anti-missile system for those."
"A shield is cowardly!" Russell railed. "I didn't have one installed on purpose. No true warrior hides like a child behind his mother's skirts!"
"My name is Nikarelenro," the woman said with a small bow. "I am the head mechanic of this bay. I think you'll be pleased with my other upgrades to your mech as well."
Callum introduced himself and then asked, "Other upgrades?" He didn't mind the addition of a shield or the new paint job but he didn't want Angra Mainyu changed too much.
Nikarelenro smiled as if she could tell what he was thinking. "Don't worry. All of the other upgrades are internal systems. The tracking and drive systems were both woefully out of date. The less said about the PFC liquid, the better. It's like this mech has been in storage for the last few centuries." Nikarelenro raised an eyebrow at him.
Callum shrugged. "You could say that." He didn't explain further, mostly because he was unsure where to even begin.
Nikarelenro's eyes narrowed. "Hmm. Well, I think you'll be pleased at the performance improvements," she said.
"'Performance improvements?!'" Russell cried. "You stripped his soul out and replaced it with alien gumbo! He'll never be the same!"
Nikarelenro glanced at him. "It's a machine, Russell Jones. Making it more efficient can only be considered a good thing."
"You don't understand!" Russell fired back. "I crafted Angra Mainyu myself, with my own tender hands! I can't believe you would just take it apart and slap in new guts, like it was nothing at all. You ice witch!"
Nikarelenro seemed like she was considering booting Russell across the bay. Callum could understand the impulse, so he grabbed up the little robot and said, "Why don't you come home with me tonight, Russell? I can introduce you to Shargi, my new aide. I think you will like her."
"I don't want to meet some fucking maid!" Russell said, struggling. Callum could tell he wasn't really trying to get free, however. After enough of a fight to soothe his pride, Russell sagged in Callum's arms. "Is she hot?"
Callum was suddenly very conscious of Valencia gazing at him with a raised eyebrow and Mikan trying not to seem like she was looking at him. "Um, you'll see."
Russell snorted. "That either means she's hot as fuck or a dog ugly. Either way, I guess it's better than being here. Being ignored!" He shouted the last two words at Nikarelenro.
She smoothly ignored him, turning to Mikan. "You must be the other human pilot," she said. "Your mech is ready as well. One of our own yuuku recently restored to service." She gestured at a mech standing across from Angra Mainyu. It was a head shorter than Angra Mainyu and much more slender, with smooth armor opposed to the thick plates of Angra Mainyu. The color was a pale, shimmering blue-green. It had a crest on the top of its head in the shape of a half-moon. "Armaments include ether beam cannons in the palm of the left hand and right chest. Shield generator in the left arm, the same location and ability as the one installed on Angra Mainyu. Anti-missile railgun in the head. Triple missile racks on the left and right hips, the right facing forward and left facing back. You can carry up to forty-five missiles. Your primary weapon for now is a carcha sawsword, since that is what you have used before. We have a variety of other weapons if you would like to customize."
Callum perked up at the thought of other weapons but kept his mouth closed. He could only imagine the explosion at the hint that he might not use Shamshir in battle. Mikan's eyes had gone round. "I see," she said, haltingly. "Thank you."
Nikarelenro nodded. "Also, it is a two-seat mech so you will need a co-pilot. It seems one has already been selected for you."
If Mikan was a little overwhelmed before, that almost made her fall over. "Who?" she whispered.
"Finally!" a voice shouted. Everyone looked up. The voice had come from the top of Mikan's mech. Dahri stood up, from where she had apparently been crouched behind the mech's head. "My legs were starting to cramp while you all babbled on." She stepped to the edge of the mech and pointed down. "I'll tell you who your partner is going to be!" She swan-dived off the top of the mech and everyone watching collectively gasped. Jeffs, her dobed assistant materialized from seemingly nowhere at the foot of the mech and caught her in his huge arms. The dobed spun her so she was right side up and set her down. Dahri wavered slightly on her feet but then she smiled widely and snapped her fingers. "I present!" she said breathlessly. A small girl climbed up onto Jeffs's shoulder. Callum decided she must have been clinging to the dobed's back.
The girl was called Myna and Callum supposed she wasn't really a girl at all. Though she looked like a human girl of about eleven or twelve, she was actually an android. Callum had no idea how old she actually was, if that even applied to robots. He hadn't considered it but she might not even be as old as she looked. Her silver eyes stared forward emotionlessly. Dahri had said that there was damage to her personality matrices or something. It was well over Callum's head.
Dahri stood, holding the lapels of her green robe, with a little smile on her face. She seemed to be waiting for something. Applause, maybe? Callum was convinced she was at least a little insane. He'd never met a carcha that wasn't. In Dahri's case, though, it seemed mostly harmless. He trusted her, since she'd been in prison for crimes against the Empire and seemed to detest it. Honestly, he also kind of liked her, eccentricities aside.
The fie in the bay did not seem to feel the same way. They were all glaring at her and Dahri's smile wilted. She hunched in on herself and glared right back. Her crimson eyes made the glare particularly malevolent and Callum began to worry that something ugly was going to happen. "Dahri!" he said, opening his arms wide and walking toward her. "I'm glad to see you're as energetic as ever." Her glare melted away as her eyes turned to him but she didn't smile back. "I'm surprised to see you," he said, lowering his voice considerably as he reached her. "I thought the Princess was keeping you hidden."
Dahri crossed her arms and scowled. "She wanted to but I spent enough time in a cell. They wanted me to lend my little Myna to them as a pilot so I asked to be assigned to the support team for your unit." She glanced away and for the first time Callum could ever remember, he saw fear and pain in her expression. "I won't be locked away again."
Callum nodded. That made all the sense in the world. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I'll make sure you get to stay with us, Dahri."
Dahri scoffed but Callum thought it was forced. "Myna will make sure I stay. You might have cast her aside for your side piece but I think Mikan will be smarter. Myna will prove her worth and mine."
"'Side piece?'" Valencia said coldly. Callum jumped. She was right behind him and he hadn't heard her come up.
Dahri blinked. "Am I wrong?" She shook her head in consternation. "Your relationships confuse me. Things aren't so complicated among we carcha."
"Yes, well, it's hard to be too complicated when your only desires are murdering and fornicating," Nikarelenro said, walking up to them.
Dahri's eyes narrowed into slits. "At least we have more than just the one. Tell me, is that dress so short so that anybody can just bend you over the moment they feel like it?" Nikarelenro colored and took an angry step forward. Jeffs quickly interposed himself between the fie and the carcha, growling softly.
Callum looked back and forth between them, wondering if he should say something. He thought hard but nothing came to mind. Nikarelenro stepped back with a final glare for Dahri. She sighed. "It is as the carcha says. Tsyirinsaku has assigned this android to be your partner. We'll see if it actually functions." Dahri snarled silently. "Will you two be taking your yuuku out for shakedown runs today?"
Callum shook his head. "We haven't been given clearance by Commander Yemoramato yet. She just wanted us to come down and see them."
Nikarelenro raised an eyebrow. "I see." She shrugged. "Well, they'll be waiting for you whenever the Commander wishes you to pilot. You can trust my team to keep them in top condition." With that, she left them.
"How can that slut tell you when you are allowed to pilot Angra Mainyu?" Russell growled. "The God of Chaos cannot be constrained by the whims of some woman!"
Callum glanced down at him. "I am trying to get along with them, Russell. Yemoramato is teaching me how to fight properly. I trust her." Mikan snorted in derision. Callum held back a sigh. Why was everybody so ready to fight? He glanced at the women with him. "Let's go get something to eat. Me and Mikan don't have long before we need to attend our swords training. Are you coming with or staying, Russell?"
"I'll come," Russell grumbled. "I'm sick of watching these women reduce my beautiful boy to some kind of clown baby!"
"Great." He looked at Dahri. "Would you like to come, Dahri? I was just planning on going back to my apartment. Shargi will have made something."
"Tempting, tempting," Dahri said. "But I have work to do and frankly, I hate fie vomit. I have my own store of actual food."
"Alright. You should stop by my apartment sometime, though. I miss talking to you, Dahri."
That seemed to catch her off guard. She stared at him for a long moment, fiddling her long fingers together. "Maybe I will," she eventually said.
As they left the bay, Valencia glanced at him. "Are you terminally incapable of not flirting with every woman in sight?"
"Flirting?" Callum gasped. "I don't think I've ever flirted. I don't even know how." Valencia gaped at him. Callum still wasn't sure how to approach her about what had happened between him and Bel. He'd tried a number of times but he just couldn't think of the right way to phrase it. Especially since it had happened twice more since the first time now. He had to do it soon, though, before they got in Angra Mainyu together. Because she would learn then and in the worst possible way.