FalloutJack

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

The thing about calling her by name was about what she was comfortable with...and also sort of a humbling thing. Kate didn't think of herself as important, even though she had knowledge and precision operation in Titan-killing down to a T. She didn't have her mother's talent, exactly, and she didn't want to take over for her, just yet, because the real Dr. Bellows had been, in her eyes, irreplaceable. She had been there too. In fact, she was there for the sudden initial blast that was the Colossal Titan's very first kick. And...you know how that was.

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The gate had exploded. Several people were instantly killed while others were injured. Everything was in disarray, panic was in the streets already. Among some of that rubble was a brown-haired woman with a pair of broken glasses who'd been hit by a number of rocks while thrown by the shockwave and was lying near a torn-up shop, adbent-mindedly running her head through some calculations to distract herself from the pain. She was still doing such when her teenaged daughter found her.

"...so we must conclude that the ratio of the force indicated by the blast was equal to the mass of a leg several times larger than a creature that size needs to stand up, even though..."

"Mom!"

"Ah... There's my little protege'. How are you, my dear?"

"Mom, we have to go. It isn't safe!"

"I'm broken, sweetheart... Couldn't move if my life depended on it."

"Then, lemme take you somewhere they can fix you!"

The woman narrowed her view and her casually-delirious tone vanished.

"Katherine, you know there isn't time, and that I'd probably die on the way. Leave me now and save yourself."

"But...I..."

"I know, I know, but they're coming...and I won't let them take me."

The Colossal Titan having moved its foot, the entryway was now free for Titans to filter in. Myra Bellows touched Katherine's cheek with a smile.

"You are the best years of my life. Now, go."

She went...and rather weirdly, the last thing she heard from her mother was of her blowing a raspberry at one...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her time trying to engage with others outside of the friends she had was hard, and she had withdrawn into herself for a while, to the point where it might've seemed like she relapsed. This wasn't much worse than others around her, of course. Eren had lost his parents, which were Mikasa's surrogate family, as well. Armin had also lost everything. Really, was there anyone who hadn't lost nearly if not completely all when this tragedy started? Still, it all made authority a bit scary to Kate, taking time to eventually work it all out in her head, especially when her Aunt discovered her. That all rather-neatly landed her in their current situation, where Kate could just about manage to get a seemingly-cold-but-perhaps-not-really Lieutenant warm up a little.

"I'd...rather call you Sara, than Lieutenant Reinhardt, myself. Don't worry, though. I won't be like Aunt Hange..."

So, she won't be overly-dramatic or eliminating personal space without consent? Thank goodness.

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

Yes, it did seem like she had come over to Sara with this thing because she would be in the know and would not give her hell over it. The Lieutenant - while she had been cold to people in the past - also seemed to have a certain soft side that Kate had been noticing. Eren could have ended up in alot of bad ways, but in her own way, she had shown that she cared for the plight of others as more than just doing the job or following orders. What is it they referred to this as? Going above and beyond the call of duty? Yes, that sounded right. Although, this was more like delving deeper into the heart of humanity, given the situation. In either case, it was a great quality to have, and definitely great to see it in a person like Sara Reinhardt.

In Kate's world of trying to make sense of the world and all the people in it, the people who behaved irrationally toward's Eren's plight seemed less and less human, and more like unthinking animals. The things they said back there... The MPs were a bunch of scared roaches, and it was deplorable. The first real victory, and they were prepared to waste it... Well, that was over now, and in light of that, Kate had indeed been getting a little more proactive with her work, her smile broadening as Sara remarked.

"I'll be demonstrating it at the base."

Plans were in motion, then. Now, while Kate was eating, she actually stopped when she heard Sara curse. She wasn't sure why it was she did that, at least not without noticing after a second that she was apparently rather tired. This seemed a good a time as any to broach a particular subject, something that'd been standing out to her that need not be, at least not with her. So, after a moment...

"You really don't have to be formal with me, you know. Everyone knows that I don't... I really don't think that way, about title and position and stuff. Makes me uncomfortable. Maybe one day I'll be Dr. Bellows...but right now I'm just Kate, or Katherine. Whichever works."

Because someone like Sara, who helped out a friend of hers, deserved to BE a friend, to be someone Kate cared about.

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

With Eren's situation squared away and the young man himself out of harm's way, there was at least a brief moment of calm, at least until the morning. So, for instance, now...people were taking their evening meal. Speaking of Katherine, though, she hadn't shown up like everybody else, not at the same time. In fact, it would be around the time Sara was finishing her meal that the light-haired lass would hear a telltale rolling sound. It was a distinct sort of noise. It was big, heavy, and wood. It was almost like a log, you might say. It wasn't a bad guess to take, even. In fact, better than bad, it was good, because the real answer was a loaded wooden barrel

In fact, looking over at the source of the sound, one might say that it was a powder keg, except that it was labeled 'Beans'.

The propellor of this rolling container took a steady path to the kitchen to get her food, obtained the night's meal, and then actually headed over in Sara's direction to take a seat nearby, steadying the barrel with using some deft foot control before making use of the salt and pepper on her meal. Kate Bellows treated this odd action like it was nothing. Whether it was actually nothing or not would require some probing, if one was up to it, because instead of explaining this business, the Brunette spoke thusly while enjoying her meal.

"I know the Elites didn't really take to the Titan-Shredders, since it doesn't mesh with their overall technique, but copies will be in circulation by the expedition, and I think they will like the new weapon."

Or was that an explanation? Those probably weren't beans in that keg. It was probably exactly what you think it is in there, and that means that Kate was planning on firing something, blowing something up, or both. The smirk on the girl's face said she was definitely looking forward to this. Despite the length of the day and what they'd had to do, she still had the time and energy for mischief, it seemed.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Okay, it was kind of obvious that Jean had suffered another Jean Moment, but he didn't wanna talk about it. For those of you at home, Isaac was starting to call every sort of circumstance that seemingly breaks or close-to-breaks his Darcsen friend a Jean Moment. It's a description fitting for any event that 'Jean wasn't ready to handle, but he had to do it anyway'. This was also something you could call a Lucia Moment, because the Asseni girl wasn't exactly in a different spot than Jean, at times, or even possibly 'Franz will flip his shit', but we won't be saying that one out-loud. Still, Jean didn't really want to talk about it. They'd attacked, something not-great happened, and now they were gone, leaving some hurt and shell-shocked. Michael was hurt. Was it about Michael? Isaac nodded at his thanks, not wanting to leave it at that, but Jean was practically giving him orders to leave it.

With that in mind, he walked off to 'prepare for departure', which is to say 'look around and make sure nobody is about to ambush them' while Britta was engaged in brief conversation with Franz. Yes, we're back to Franz, who also denied that anything was wrong, when it was plenty clear that something was off. It wasn't for lack of experience, as he claimed it, though. As for Britta...

"I'm alright, for the most part. It's just a bit exhausting, watching over everyone, making sure that nobody about to take us unawares. I don't smoke, sorry."

"I'll take one, just in case."

Isaac had seen the offered ciggy and just sort of yoinked it, in passing. Hey, it was freely given, and while he had never really gotten into the habit, his father always said that the occasional break from the healthy wasn't too bad. Britta, meanwhile, felt bad that Franz wasn't really comfortable talking about what was bothering him. Freya was pretty sure there was stuff up with the likes of Jean, Franz, Lucia...and all of this was basically first impressions, and she was right, of course. If a relative newcomer could pick it out, then it was pretty obvious, and yet Franz was sealed up tight. Damn...

After a short while, Jean gathered himself to speak to everybody. Jean was trying to find strength in this moment.

"Well, they DID say it wasn't gonna be easy to get there."

Specifically, the group they met here said that. Didn't they? Weren't they the ones who expressed how difficult it was...and then a new armored weapon killed the lot of them, if not a good chunk of them? As they all got into 'formation' to go - Isaac and Britta naturally positioned to protect the squad with rapid-fire 'Piss off!' - Isaac found himself thinking about that machine. It was kind of freaky, coming up with a device like that. It was secure from next to all the gunfire and perhaps even the grenades. Although, thinking about it...it couldn't do much if you were right next to it. Oh yeah, drive around, but how much room was there to maneuver in these streets, really? Realistically, you could only be there to do your thing or bugger off, unless you had someone there to keep people from crawling all over your armored self. That was where a crazy idea about jumping onto one of these things and using this prybar device he had was coming from in Isaac's head. He kind of had to think about it, because this wouldn't be the last of those they ever saw. They needed to have a plan when they saw one again, and that meant thinking in terms of 'even if we don't have explosives'.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Time passed.

They'd been in and out of buildings, hit by rain or sheltered by the still-intact parts of this massive city. They had been, as per the intent to preserve the squad, meticulous and cautious in their progress towards the target tunnels. Currently, they were out in the rain, which was not altogether pleasant. The only advantage it had was that the noise of it covered (sort of) the noise of their passing. Providing there wasn't some kind of huge splash involved, they were masked, it seemed. Isaac as feeling some of the strain of watching every shadow, and having to simultaneously be sure of whether or not it was an attacker...and having to check himself from making an unwarranted noise that could draw attention. We'll skip the play-by-play of that matter and just simply state 'Mostly no, but a couple times yes'.

Ahead lay a building that could be potential shelter from the weather, and in fact would suffice, as there was nobody inside. It was largely empty, though, and those that were hurt were taking the beds. Fair enough. Jean also announced that he would be taking first watch. That was not out of necessity. That was out of things just bugging the hell out of him, Isaac was sure. As tired as Isaac's own eyes were, he felt that this was kind of a bad idea. It left him uncertain on the matter. Someone had to keep watch when both Gunners were getting eye-strain. And make no mistake, Britta may not have wanted to show it, but she was fatigued in her fatigues, as well. As people were settling in now, he heard Luke call for a match for his cigarette. That actually made Isaac snort with amusement. He forgot to even ask for one, himself. Ah well. He didn't wanna try it on, just now, anyway. He was looking to make sure that everybody else was okay or at least intact, then looked back at Jean before he spoke to Britta.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"'I could sleep anywhere, even the floor'?"

"That too, but I'm not going down just yet."

"Isaac, you need it."

"So do you, but I won't rest easy without saying my peace, at least. Come one, you'd do this too."

"I'd pick a better time."

"If there was one. Just let me. Get some rest."

She did so, at a spot where she thought she could draw her weapon and shot someone coming in, if necessary. Some out-of-the-way spot like that... Isaac nonchalantly slumped down not far from the chair that Jean had not-quite-managed to get into. He just sort of got down on his back, eyes shut, and then after a moment of silence...

"I'm doing as you asked, but I'm talking in my sleep now. I don't actually hear you IN my sleep, so you can't order me silent."

This was all bullshit, of course, but Isaac continued.

"So, are you gonna talk about it, or do I have to talk about how I'm starting to see us in the charge at the end of my machine gun?"

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

Indeed, that fateful excursion was due to be rife with potential madness, but before that happened, there were a few other things that had to go on. It begins with Eren asking "So, what happens now?", and...him getting an answer. Maybe not the answer he or anybody wanted to hear, exactly, but it was the one that was inevitable. In short, Hange answered.

"Naturally, with this expedition in mind, we can hardly go into this unprepared. We need to understand how your change works, what its limits are, how we can control or at least direct it, and I believe we're all on the same page on where that should take place?"

She looked to the two other Commanders, who of course were in the know. Erwin nodded, knowing that he had Eren in good if...perhaps overly-anxious hands. He knew Hange would not get too overzealous with this, of course. The only real concern he had was imparted with just a look in Levi and Sara's direction. It was a simple gesture, but the message was clear: 'Your best wisdom on this matter, at all times.' He was positive that certain unknowns were about to come to light, things that he had remained silent on for the good of all, and would remain so until one of the others - or perhaps just Sara herself - broke such a silence. He was going to be busy organizing the expedition itself, and he had a few thoughts on who to assign that would help...

"I must go and get things underway, so I'll leave you in their charge now."

And with that, Erwin left the room. No doubt, they'd be putting Eren back in his cell - probably for his own good - to await heading out to the location in question in the morning. At the moment, Kate was actively distracted before realizing after Erwin left...

"I forgot to ask him for help in getting some of that powder, 'cause I think the MPs aren't gonna just give it after we took Eren from them."

"I'm sure we could sneak away with something on the way out, especially if you need to test them out first."

Speaking of ups and downs, there appeared to be plans of explosive powder theft going on right under their noses here...

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

Only a very exclusive few were aware that there was more than one Titan-Shifter in the room, and it was gonna stay that way until it was important enough to blow that cover. One can only imagine what sort of things go through Sara's head in regards to that confidentiality. Did she fear being put into the same danger as Eren himself was in? Did she regret not revealing herself sooner and giving humanity an edge more publically? One can only guess, but the thing to know for sure was this: Those in this room who were fully-aware of Sara's secret nature believed that it should remain as one, because it truly does go further than 'Oh, we've had a Titan-Shifter this whole time.'. It was more like 'We've known that there are humans who become uniquely-dangerous Titans for a while now, and that knowledge is even more dangerous out in the open than it is quiet.'. After all, someone had to BE the enemy that kicked in the gates. If they knew about this, they'd never be so brazen in exposing themselves at the second wall.

Still, of the people who were in the know, Kate Bellows was not. She had walked into the room quietly, making no noise to disturb the others, no comments to interrupt them. At least, not until there was a great need to speak. This was the job and both the Commanders and Sara had the floor. She wasn't even going to greet her Aunt until she was focused away from Eren...which might take some time. As to Sara's question, Eren said "You seemed to believe in what I said, so I have to return the favor.". As stated beforre, he understood WHY she beat him, and it worked. So, while the Lieutenant was rather intimidating - right along with her cousin - at least things appeared to be alright now. She would see that Kate was indeed relieved, even smiling. It would be a hard road ahead, but now that they were walking the path, they would never stop until the end was reached.

"Will my friends be alright?"

And this is where Kate broke her silence.

"Nothing will happen to them, Eren. They'll be fine. The only problem is that, for obvious reasons, they can't go where you're going. You're our responsibility now, and by that token, everything you do reflects directly on us."

So, if he were to - say, for instance - go completely out of control and have to be put down, possibly killing people along the way...heads would roll, literally, as punishment. This sunk in deep into Eren's understanding...a very seriouss thing...which is why it was completely out from left field that Kate would suddenly get practically tackled and put into a tight deathgrip of affection by Hange Zoe.

"Katherine! When did you get here?! You've grown again, haven't you?!"

"...hi, Aunt Hange... You're the one who arrived unannounced... I've been here."

She released Kate, going "Oh yeah, that's a good point.", and then gripped her hands excitedly.

"I hear the Titan-Shredder is going to be approved for regular use! How's the new project coming along?"

"Got the basics of it down, but I'm gonna need a black powder supply to fill the heads. If I don't test a fully-operational prototype, we won't know how effective it is."

They're both getting that wild look in their eyes over - one would assume - some other invention or even mulitple inventions Kate was working on. What? You thought the Titan-Shredders would be the only thing she could make? Her mother perfected the wall cannons and railing system with a few measurements and some math. This kind of thing was running in the family!

NCQuest - A Mecha RP: The Defense of Darwin (BeeNCQuest)

It seemed that while her proposal was not fully-accepted, the idea of her teaming up with at least a pair of others under her command was possible. The reason for this, although unspoken, was due to the loss of Zahra in the last battle. NC Ursa Nova had gone right for the mecha giving every one support-fire, and - whether or not the operator even knew she had been coordinating their movements in the field - silenced it. To Terra, this meant that they were attempting a somewhat-decentralized form of organization to keep the enemy from compromising their command structure. It was possible for them to succeed, although the main thing was to be certain that everyone was properly ready for the next assault. Hisako and Tabris had to be ready, without question. Grand Sword Star needed to have all remote access by Red Star removed, and as much defense from Osamu as possible, where possible. The artificial's abilities were uncanny and difficult to handle. But in any case, Terra's response to Theodore's answer had been...

"Very well, Commander. I will coordinate with all others, as needed."

The meeting continued and, among other things, another Denver-Vegas volunteer was among them, it seemed. Funnily enough, and...this actually caught Terra off-guard for a moment, she seemed to have...a similarly-energetic way of being to Kxeyun. She looked from Anna to Kxeyun and back again, wondering if this was just how people were in Denver-Vegas. She had no idea. Kxeyun had been sort of a benchmark based on her being the only 'sample' from the area. This made Anna something of a corralation. The only difference that Terra could see was that Anna probably didn't have the same traumatizing escape that Kxeyun did. Perhaps they should talk. Perhaps they should all talk...

While a few of the introductions were taking place, Adam Philips wanted the room. They couldn't exactly say 'No', and he cut the holo-link to the room. He umm...actually forgot that Terra was IN the room, as Commander Narra had asked her to show up in person. No big deal. The only thing was that he seemed somewhat red with impatience or irritation being barely contained. It seemed to show when he spoke, but Terra could not see why. She left with the others, and then proceeded to walk nearby to Anna Mustang.

"Commander Narra has said it's important that we all know each other to some degree, and I felt my last meeting with someone of Denver-Vegas went well, so I might as well. I'm Terra Laedo."

She extended a hand for shaking.

NCQuest - A Mecha RP: The Defense of Darwin (BeeNCQuest)

@Psychic Loser:

As Anna is a fan of the Reality Games and Kyexun was one of the NC Pilots hunting 'lawbreakers' down, perhaps that can be a reason for them to interact?

@Letter Bee

Personally, I feel this is likely. Kxeyun is suppose to be rather good at those games, so her name would be circulated widely.

EDIT: Actually, Terra is perplexed by the way Anna is energetic like Kxeyun. I could have her initiate conversation too. That'd be another in.

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

With Eren being not particularly threatening and Captain Levi confident that he could end him if he really needed to, Commander Erwin's proposal was easily accepted. The MPs assumed that killing Eren for some fruitless disection and their own peace of mind was a foregone conclusion, but in no way was it this. An advantage, a resource, had to be cultivated properly. They had so very little, on the grand scale of things. They needed this, and they needed the incentive towards a particular goal.

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In the dungeon, right before Sara and Kate left Eren's cell...

"...the basement!"

The basement?

"There's something in the basement of my home in Shigenshina. My father told me there was something important there, and I have the key!"

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An incentive, a clue. Eren seemed convinced that his father held something important in his basement. Kate remembered it, vaguely. She remembered the key around Grisha Jaeger's neck during one of their sessions, supposedly the same key that Eren had now. It was a longshot, truth be told, but suppose... What if there was something really there? What if, besides the notion of sealing up Wall Maria, they could learn something new and important? Kate had, of course, no idea what Grisha did in his spare time. He was a doctor and he helped cure her of her trauma from when she was younger. If Shigenshina were targeted because of him...

No matter, for now. We'll have to reach it first. Now...wait a minute. Where'd it go?

People had started getting up and leaving. Eren was being taken away. In the shuffle, Kate noticed that the tooth was gone. Someone must've picked it up, and the only real answer to that was...

"Of course she did."

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Eren was still sort of reeling from the trial, or from the blows inflicted upon him by Sara. He was actually kind of surprised he didn't transform. When Erwin greeted him, apologized to him, it was a little hard for him to contain himself. He took his hand almost eagerly. And why not? Erwin Smith was a man of rank, courage, and determination. He was someone to look up to, believe in. Sara, on the other hand, was a bit scary.

"It's okay, though... I understand why it was necessary."

And this was where Hange pulled out the tooth he lost. Good god, she was keeping that? If she did that, you have to wonder...did she have his arm from before too? Probably. Hange seemed to want to test it, and him, for alot. She asked him about the pain he felt and even wanted to see the inside of his mouth, where it was revealed...he had a full set of teeth.

"Commander, are you sure I'm not going to be disected?"

Before the man could even try to reassure him, Hange got in first by a mile, shaking her head wildly with those glaring eyes.

"No no no no! I would never take apart someone as vitally important as you! How could you even suggest such a thing when there's so much more to learn while you're alive? Run some tests, make some notes - certainly. But I have other subjects for the really deep stuff."

Eren was taken aback. He saw several things familiar about this woman. Like he'd seen a face like hers that was alot more calm, but still blessed with that same mad spark of genius. And those eyes. He'd seen those wild eyes before. That was when Eren had the 'Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?' look, for sure.

Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

Everything went silent as Sara started beating up on Eren Jaeger. Well, mostly silent. You could see the shock on Mikasa's face right before she was about to go out there and do something about that. Fortunately, Armin stopped her, probably because he saw where this was going. It was a good thing too because...in all honesty, it was impossible to tell just how dangerous that girl really was. She'd thrown herself into training and come out a vicious killing machine, something that surely came out in the battle of Trost. The problem was her singular devotion to Eren, which could lead her into unreasonably...well...wanting to basically kill anyone here, to be honest. The thought of anyone trying to disect her didn't even bring a reaction, since she'd probably just take the knives out of that person's hands and...yeah, let's not dwell on that.

For now, they were all staring at this one-sided slugfest, where Sara was beating the everloving shit out of the boy. Kate was frankly shocked, as well. Everyone was, but for her...she didn't expect this.

Sara didn't...mention this...earlier. Was that a tooth...? Did something just SNAP?

Not everyone was reacting this way. Probably not Commander Erwin. And Levi? He looked impassive enough, but was there just a small smile of approval on his face? Of course, he'd've done the same, probably would have, if Sarah hadn't. Eren continued to take a beating in front of everybody, until the man who'd ordered a gun pointed managed to chime in "Hey, stop it. You might make him angry, turn 'im into a Titan.". Did it seem like his heart suddenly wasn't in it, like he didn't really believe his own words? It might've been more like he couldn't take watching Sara at work, while Kate noticed that Aunt Hange was both shocked and facinated by all of this. Honestly, though, Kate wanted to speak up, as well, stating that Sara might do irreparable harm soon, which would slam home the impression that Eren was still a fragile human, not an indominatable Titan.