Chapter 09 - Saviour

The overwhelming peace encapsulated Eric again. His body was light and comfortably drifting like it was before. He laid in the same open space he did the last time he piloted the Yatogami and passed out. He stared at the open sky; the clouds slowly drifting and the sun’s rays peering out from behind them. He bathed in the light and let out a small sigh. He enjoyed this peace, but knew it would not last. He sat up and looked around for the figure that he saw last time. He knew not to panic as he recognized and remembered what this meant. Eric simply relaxed and waited to wake up again, closing his eyes and took in the sunlight.

“Enjoying the view?” A warm, feminine tone asked, coming from his side.

“Whoa!” He jumped out of his relaxation and turning to his side.

“Sorry about that.” The figure smiled. “And sorry to bring you into here again so soon.”

Eric was staring right at the figure talking, but other than the voice, he could not make out anything from it. Shrouded in black and distorted as if being censored, there were no discernible traits. No hair, skin or eye colour, face shape, age, or anything.

“What do you mean bring me in here? And why can’t I... see you?”

“There’s a lot to tell with no time for it. For now, I need you to do one thing for me.”

“For you? Who, or what, are you? And why would-”

“I thought it was obvious. Let’s say I’m the Yatogami and leave it at that for now. Oh, and you’re welcome by the way for saving you.”

“Like the spirit of it? And saving me?! If you didn’t pull me in here, I wouldn’t need saving!”

“Agree to disagree. Listen, I need you to do something.”

“O-okay? What is it?” Eric stopped protesting as the voice became stern.

“Continue on your path. Get stronger.” The figure paused.

“And free me.”

Just like last time, Eric’s eyes shot open, but instead of having the pleasant sensation of Laura’s lap as a pillow, he was still in the Yatogami, floating in the air above the concave crater that Alice’s weapon made. He looked around quickly in a daze, trying to understand what had happened.

“Eric, welcome back. You were out for shorter than expected. Good.” Laura spoke to him over comms. “Please head over to the school roof and find Alice. She stopped responding. Your vitals are back to normal, but we will need to run inspections again after.”

“On it.”

Eric launched from his location and headed straight to the school, following the path of destruction. In a matter of moments, he got up to the sniper spot where Alice was and saw her lying on the ground, her suit completely dark and her breathing erratic. Eric reported her location and status to Laura, and was instructed to evacuate her to the medical bay. He carefully picked her up in the machines hands and carried her down.

“I’ve got Alice. Hey, Laura, what’s the sitrep on Iris and the others?”

“I just got intel that they held off the additional intruding hostiles. Halford and Iris are handling the ones still alive, prepping them for prison and interrogating.”

“Do we have any intel on if there’s any more incoming?”

“None on radar. And we already have countermeasures launching to increase early warning systems.”

Eric gave acknowledgment as he headed back. He looked down at Alice and his face filled with worry, wondering what had happened to her and hoping she was okay. He then slightly chuckled, as he realized this is probably how her and Iris felt like after hearing about what happened to him.

“You seem to be oddly calm.” Laura said over comms. “Last time you were in a panic. You even felt me up after you woke up. Pervert.”

“I did not! And yea, I guess I am calm. I mean, I’m worried about her, but I also know she’ll pull through. Just need to get her to medical. By the way, what happened after I passed out?”

"Well..."

***

Alice awoke in a hospital bed, wrapped in a blanket, dressed in a hospital gown. The room was a blinding white that was unnaturally clean and pristine. Her bed was surrounded by monitors that she was attached to by thin wires that stuck to her chest, arms and forehead. She ripped the nodes off her and sat up, resting on the edge of the bed. A nurse entered the room and started to examine Alice, testing her temperature and blood pressure.

“You must be pretty important.” The nurse said in a soft, elegant voice.

“What do you mean?” Alice tilted her head in confusion.

“He’s been here since you were brought in.” she nodded toward the other side of the bed. “He even refused to be treated and examined himself until you woke up.”

Alice turned toward where the nurse nodded and saw Eric sleeping in a chair that was resting against the wall, still wearing his power suit. A jacket with the name ‘Redgrof’ emblazoned on the back was resting on top of him like a makeshift blanket. She smiled slightly as she turned back to the nurse and shook her head.

“I didn't even notice him. No, he’s just like that to everyone he considers a friend.” She chuckled.

“Oh, really now? Seems like you’re being purposely oblivious.” The nurse said, crossing her arms.

“I know how it seems, but it’s true. He did the same for our friend Iris back in exams. She fell off a scaffolding during one of our training sessions and he not only carried her to emergency, but stayed with her everyday she was in there. And that was after already getting roughed up in a serious fight with some other delinquents.”

“Seems like he can’t choose.” The nurse curled her lips in a wry smile.

“Are you done here!?” Alice said, not hiding her annoyance.

The nurse chuckled as she told Alice her results looked fine and left the room. Alice sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. Her small smile turned to a quiet frown as her demeanor diminished to one of sadness.

“You need to worry about yourself for a change.” She whimpered out.

“Muh?”

Eric let out a grunt as he woke up from his slumber. He inspected the jacket on him before placing on the back of the chair. He looked over and saw Alice quivering and ran over to her.

“Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong, should I grab the nurse?” Eric said in a flurried panic.

Alice wiped her face and looked up at Eric, tears still forcing their way out of her eyes. Despite her face a moment ago, she was smiling now, looking at Eric.

“No, I’m fine.” She pulled herself into his chest and hugged him. “You’re just such an idiot always making me worry.”

“Wha- Me!? You were basically a corpse when I found you!”

“Because I spent everything saving your ass!” Alice’s face went pale as she yelled, pushing away from Eric. “Wait, I don’t actually remember saving you…”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember getting in position to help, but after seeing you unconscious and falling, I just remember panicking.” She gripped her chest tightly. “And an unbearable pain in my chest before collapsing.”

“So you don’t remember firing your gun? I’ll be honest, I don’t either, but I was pulled- I mean I passed out.” Eric shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You saved me there and if you remember or not doesn’t matter. The strain of draining your energy probably messed with you. Just get some rest for now. I'll go grab you something eat, you must be starving.”

Alice slightly nodded as she laid back in the bed. She looked out the window and let out a small sigh.

“What if it wasn’t me who saved you…” she whispered faintly.