Chapter Text
Anamnesis
Chapter 1: Enigmatic Encounters
~O~
They tickled her cheek. Ghostly fingers were brushing against her, and soothed the feeling of anguish. She didn't want to acknowledge them, but they had already pulled her mind away from her dreaming state. The brushes moved from her face to her shoulders, further trying to rouse the redheaded woman. She resisted, but then gave into the waking as she bolted up. She had been laying down at her work station, nestled among planners and manuals and papers. Nothing was disturbed as she anxiously looked around for the source of her rousing, finding only darkness and quiet.
Well, almost quiet. At a very low volume, she heard the lyrics to her song Axia whisper about lost love from a very familiar bracelet. The aquamarine light was dimmed to match the song, and Kaname stared at it in confusion. She didn't remember playing Messer's song while working . . . Still, she searched again for the presence she could never locate, and gave up by putting her face into her hands. But Kaname was surprised to find wetness, before realizing what had occurred. She'd cried in her sleep it seemed. She had been dreaming about Messer again.
He'd had his back to her, and she chased him through darkness in her dream. He was calling her name the further he moved away, and she wasn't able to reach him. Her hands would stretch and reach, but it was not enough. His husky voice, so intimate and customary, was asking her to find him, to help him. And Kaname was willing to go through Hell or high water to do so. But she could never get close enough to grab his hand. And when her pilot was swallowed by the darkness, she had cried for him, screamed his name until her voice was raw. She had collapsed onto herself, only to be roused by his fingers around her shoulders. He'd coaxed her up, reminded her to be strong, and whispered a promise in her ear. The promise she could not remember though. And then she returned to the world of the living yet again.
The idol silenced the song and brought her memento close to her heart. Tears dripped onto the musical jewelry, and the blue eyed woman didn't bother to brush them away. She needed to shed her feelings away before she made any moves to gather herself home. The holoscreen clock displayed a time of 3:03 A.M., and the redhead knew she had to head to the dorms. There was no more work to complete this evening that she could manage, so the best thing would be to go home. Once more, the singer let her eyes scan the room for anything out of place, or a sign of something astray. Sighing in defeat and heartbreak, Kaname rose up, gathered her things, and left the conference room with tears still prickling her eyes. This new dream would haunt her thoughts for the rest of her waking moments before she reached her bed.
She wanted him to come back to her. At least in dreams.
~O~
The battlefield was as thrilling as ever. Yet standing in the T-point dome, singing for the future and people as always, Kaname couldn't help her sense of despair at the shots being fired endlessly above them. When would the pain end? When would the enemy halt their tyrannical reign of terror against the common people? When could they be free to live and love and mourn again?
It appeared as if it never would as shots were continuously fired all around them. The leader of Walküre reminded Freyja to focus on her voice and feelings as a stray laser beam collided with their wall of protection, and the youngest member shrieked in surprise. It was difficult to control her anxiety in the face of battle, but Kaname had years of practice as compared to her newer member. So she stood her ground, squeezed the Windermerean's shoulder in comfort, and they continued harmonizing with Mikumo's penetrating vocals in their song. Delta squadron's Siegfrieds buzzed all around them in aerial defense and maneuvers, yet the bubble of stress seemed strong in the redhead today. She glanced to the mysterious goddess at their instrumental bridge, and was surprised to find crimson eyes locked onto her own features.
Something isn't right, was the message she sensed from her companion. It appeared as if the eldest Walküre member wasn't the only jittery singer in this performance. The two shared a nod as they continued to sing powerfully, making sure to keep Freyja behind them as best they could. The little Windermerean was not a weak girl, but she had been a target of their enemies far too often. Walküre couldn't afford to let her be injured. That, and Kaname knew she'd never hear the end of it from Hayate if something happened to their apple-loving girl. Leader instincts took over in that moment as their current song came to an end.
"Everyone, I think it'd be best if-"
Kaname didn't have the chance to continue as an explosion ripped through their barrier and caused glass to fly in all directions. She heard Makina's yell for Reina and Freyja's girlish scream. Her body crashed forward from the impact and her head collided with the metal floor grates.
"ReiRei!" Her head spun and her ears rang from the explosion, but the woman would not just lay on the ground. Heaving herself up with effort, the redhead tried to focus on the shaking surroundings. She slid over to Mikumo, who was closest to her, and helped her sit up. The lavender-haired goddess shook her head to signal her unharmed state, and then Kaname wobbly rose to her feet. She noted that their newest member was covered in dirt smears and a few cuts, but had no serious damage to her. She was rubbing her head from where she impacted it, and the eldest made a mental note to send the girl to the medical bay after this battle.
Reina, their resident hacker, was not in such good condition. The missiles had collided from the right where the green-haired idol was situated, and she had taken the most impact. The petite girl's side was bleeding, and Makina cradled her into her arms. Skidding over, Kaname scanned Reina's body with her nails and immediately pulled a tegaderm dressing from the small kit at her waist. Applying it to the girl's wound, Makina was begging her for an explanation on what to do.
"Hush, Makina," she chastised. "Medical is on its way. Stay by her side," she instructed authoritatively as she stood to take in the damage and assess their Cygnus multidrone capabilities in lieu of their destroyed T-point dome.
And then she felt her insides twist. Kaname spun around just as an Sv-262 Draken III pulled up with its laser gun pointed directly into Walküre's stage. Even though it was just a moment, a hundred thoughts flickered into the leader's mind.
WeCanEscape-WeShouldCallThePlatoon-WeNeedToDistractIt-INeedToProtectFreyjaAndMikumoAndMakinaAndReina-CanTheMutlidronesShieldUsLongEnoughFor-
"-Messer to get here-" she choked on her whispered words as the building energy of the laser heated up. Another second passed, yet if felt like an eternity in her mind's eye. Messer wasn't coming to save them because Messer was dead and they had no protection. Hayate's warnings and Chuck's struggles to get to them would be to no avail. Commander Arad was zooming on the other side of the battlefield, and Mirage was cornered by two other Draken III units kilometers away. There was no escape.
It wasn't her first dangerous scenario with variable fighters, since Walküre had often been targeted by Var infected victims and enemies alike. But the strong woman was always confident that their safety was achievable. She had room to escape within her battlefield environment or their singing calmed the infected. More often though, a certain expert pilot would intercept any threat and leave them in a perfect blanket of protection. Shockingly, she knew that this was no longer the case. There was no efficient hero to save the day for them this time.
And all Kaname could picture was her raven-haired pilot who she supposed she'd be joining soon. With her next breathe, maybe her last breathe, Kaname summed up words that bubbled in her chest. It was the only thing she could muster.
"That ray of light, holding feelings for only you," she sang with a quiver as dark blue eyes flashed in her memory, "Will never die out!"
The echo of laser fire was expected. What was not expected was how the Draken before her eyes erupted in flames and soared toward the ground. The redheaded singer was speechless as she watched a midnight black Valkyrie unit, unknown to her, hover before the exposed hole of their dome and continuously fired a cartridge of bullets at the enemy units.
Sliding to the floor, Kaname distinctly heard the mysterious Venus choose their song Walküre Attacks to suddenly take over the arena, but she couldn't bring herself to sing yet. A strange feeling engulfed her chest as the unfamiliar machine continued to precisely and evenly attack the Windermerean army around the vicinity of Walküre's stage. Even though she could not see or confirm such a situation, the blue eyed woman would swear on her life that mysterious eyes were glancing back to her now and again.
Who is that? She couldn't begin to picture this presence in the battlefield, a lone dart of pitch black piercing the sky and destroying enemies left and right. It took down one of the two unit's cornering the Δ04 in a fly by, and continued onward to shoot down multiple drones scattered throughout the combat zone. In a strange maneuver, the unknown jet started scissoring with both Hayate's unit and the White Knight of Darwent, creating a triple helix of light in the sky. This caused a commotion with both planes, so all three units parted ways in various directions in apparent confusion.
Out of the blue, hands scooped under her elbows and helped her to stand. Freyja and Mikumo flanked her sides with worried glances, and Kaname awoke from her daze. She joined their chorus as she kept her eyes glued to the scene before her. The smoothness and ease of the variable fighter she watched was entrancing, and her normally steady voice was certainly non-active at this moment as she focused on the fighting. As it were, her emotionless voice wouldn't be problematic since a retreat flash from Windermere suddenly appeared. The redhead was certain she'd continue the battle half-awake and mesmerized by the obsidian Valkyrie if the fireworks of withdrawal did not come out. As it were, the enemy folded out within minutes and the mysterious unit shortly followed.
It made a pass by the broken T-point dome before its departure into folding, and the leader saw the outline of a flaming scythe insignia. It was not definitive in other markings, so no association could be found. Just a black plane disappearing into the purple haze of subspace.
With difficulty, the weary leader looked to her teammates again and assessed their damage. The usually perky Makina gazed teary-eyed at the approaching medivac, still applying pressure to her friend's wound. The mysterious Venus had brought smaller Freyja under her arm, easing the stress she suffered now that there was time to breathe. With a brush of her hand against her slightly throbbing temple, the red-haired singer started managing and caring for her charges, mechanically regrouping the situation. And as she did so, Kaname Buccaneer had a thousand questions about their battle.
~O~
". . . All we know is that it's not a part of the U.N. Spacey, Windermere, or Xaos. Let's not get reliant or expectant with this Bogie unit. Any questions?" Commander Arad Mölders gazed steadily at each member of Delta Platoon and Walküre, but no one made a sound. "Good. Meeting adjourned."
The present company all started mulling about and discussing the briefing, but Kaname slipped out the doors of the conference room before anyone could notice. She had been briefed before the others about their miraculous help in their last few battles. Lady M had made it abundantly clear that at least one member of Delta Platoon was to remain within the immediate proximity of Walküre at all times to prevent any situations where they were left exposed from cropping up again. However, she had no answers concerning the mysterious black Valkyrie and what to do about it. It frustrated the songstress to no end.
In the past three battles, the unknown unit showed up to help Delta Platoon when they were struggling with impeding destruction. Yet, no contact could be established with it, and it escaped untraceably every time by folding into subspace. The only thing they confirmed with certainty was that the fighter was a modified YF-30 Chronos variable type. Makina's mechanical assessment wouldn't be questioned.
Striding down the corridors, the black Chronos was all that occupied her mind these days. The leader couldn't disregard the feeling of connection she felt whenever the mysterious Valkyrie showed up. The one-way mirrored glass of the cockpit gave nothing away of the pilot, but Kaname's insides would twist with butterflies whenever it arrived. Her heart pounded with an unknown emotion as it protected Walküre, and she felt the pilot watching her despite having no evidence for that fact. It was almost as if the pilot's frequency matched her own, like a resonance of sorts, and she felt more than saw or knew anything about it.
"Miss Kaname!" Shaken from her train of thought, Kaname observed as Freyja skidded before her with an enthusiastic 'Hoina!' She greeted the younger girl pleasantly and asked about her health.
"I'm fit as a fiddle~!" she cheerfully implied. The bandage on her cheek was small, and the redhead was glad that their youngest member was safe. The Windermerean girl shuffled her feet and twisted her hands nervously as a silence overtook them. Something was on the girl's mind.
"Freyja," Kaname gently prodded. The addressed teen glanced up quickly and watched her leader intensely in her adorable manner. "Was there something you needed?"
"Ah, well, not need per say . . . but ask maybe- Hoina! Miss Kaname, how are you . . . feeling?" The apple-loving teen pointed to her forehead to mirror her leader's face. The redhead reached up a hand to her bandaged temple, where the evidence of her fading injury remained. In the aftermath of their battle near Ionideth, the leader had been so focused on taking care of injured Reina and the others that it wasn't until she nearly collapsed into Mikumo that Commander Arad ordered all of Walküre to get medically checked out and rested. Her mild concussion barely registered to her these days.
"I'm good Freyja. Don't you worry about me." She gave a quick smile to reassure their newest member. "Just be ready for our next Waccine concert in a few days, alright? We really have to do our best." The girl with multi-toned hair nodded vigorously before returning to wringing her hands. It seemed she wanted to say more, but felt hesitant. The older woman figured she'd have to coax it out of her.
"Freyja, do you want to have lunch in the cafeteria with me?" Perhaps the invitation was unexpected, but the other agreed excitedly, so the pair strode down the hallways toward their destination. Despite the chatter, the orange-haired Windermerean had a blue rune that gave away the state of her mind. The elder had to wonder what was upsetting the younger one.
The girl was a mystery to the Dividean, in many senses. She was a person on a short life line, yet lived passionately every day. If a certain blue haired boy was involved, however, Freyja turned into a jumbled mess of nerves and emotions. But just as her emotional highs were as powerful as a wind singer's, her lows were so deep that they contorted Freyja into a useless lump of flesh. She was a delicate girl who need both protection and support to succeed, but Kaname was grateful that the other members of Walküre and Delta Squad were happy to take those posts. She didn't have the capacity to do it all on her own these days. The leader of the tactical sound unit was more fragile than she cared to admit publicly.
"-that is to say, ever since Mr. Messer's passing-"
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Kaname asked, thoughts having drifted off. She automatically reacted to that particular name though. Watching the green eyed songstress as she shrunk away from her elder, Kaname tried to smile and send the message that there was no anger.
"I just think that, well, you should try to rest. You haven't been the same, Miss Kaname. Not since what happened to Mr. Messer- not that it's wrong or anything! Just the girls and I worry-"
"Freyja," she disrupted quickly. Freyja was a precious asset to Xaos, and as the leader, Kaname felt that she should manage her girls so they were taken care of. Not for them to try and care for her. She wanted her youngest to be free of worry, so she played her motherly role with the teen.
"I am so grateful for your concern. It has been a struggle for me, but I promise I'm okay." She took hold of the pale hand closest to her, giving it a squeeze. "I have been through worse." She wouldn't tell the Windermerean that in fact this was her worst struggle to date, if only to prevent her from being stressed unnecessarily.
Seemingly reassured, the green-eyed girl nodded again with a 'hoina', and chose to pull Kaname further down the hallways of the Elysion. Her rune was more pinkish now, so the other worried a little less. She opted for taking the conversation away from herself and delved into her curiosity.
"Say, Freyja, how are things these days with you and Hayate?" The reaction was comic and endearing, with the younger singer tripping over nothing and sputtering enthusiastically. Kaname caught the girl reeling backwards before she would drop to the floor, and tried not to giggle at the antics. Freyja heaved a sigh and the elder righted her into a standing position.
"H-H-Hayate? N-nothing out of the ordinary. W-why do you ask?" she cutely stuttered in a rush, avoiding eye contact with Kaname at all costs. The redhead smiled endearingly at her friend, and looped their arms together so they could almost skip down the hall.
"Oh, just curious," she answered with a sly smile. "It seems that he's piloting better and you're singing stronger these days."
It wasn't that she needed confirmation from Freyja, but the teasing amused her. Kaname was well aware of the connection the pair shared from headquarters, resulting in an exponential growth of talent from both parties. Their fold receptors were symbiotic, which allowed them greater capacity for improvement. The organization was hoping their special compatibility would help them discover a means for longer distance control over the Var.
"Y-you think so?" Freyja questioned in a flustered tone, giving away her shyness with a reddened rune. You had to be blind not to see the attraction she felt for their blue-haired rookie. The leader of Walküre had no idea what his feelings for the apple-lover were absolutely, but she assumed he reciprocated the sentiment by his faithful protectiveness and encouragement. It was a familiar interaction for her to see.
"It's probably because you two resonate so well with each other," Kaname mellifluously suggested. Poking her companion's cheek for good measure, she laughed at Freyja's squirming until the other had joined her in a bout of laughter as well. Kaname really loved watching the girl's lips pull from ear to ear with grins and hear her, sometimes alarming, chuckles.
"Is resonating so special, Miss Kaname?" the younger asked her once their stomachs had settled and they turned the final corner before entering the cafeteria. Being lunch time, the area was noisy and crowded with all sorts of Xaos subordinates, but they paid them no heed. Instead they ventured to retrieve their chosen foods, and quickly occupied a free table closest to the windows overlooking the darkness of deep space.
"Well, it has its benefits," the older idol rationalized as she took a bite of a Ragnan clamfish wrap. "For one, less exposure to the Var, though his fold receptors help him there too. I'd say it's mostly the enhanced awareness when flying and the increased abilities." Freyja nodded her head quickly in understanding. She watched as the blonde then took a hefty bite of her sea spider and jellyfish filled bread, squeaking in delight. Seeing her finish chewing, she continued with a finger against her chin. "It usually only happens with one pilot and one singer though."
"Whaa, so Hayate will only fly better with me?" the teen instantaneously determined, a bit of tentacle hanging from her lip. The redhead chuckled at Windermerean, using her fingers to pluck off the offending piece of food from the other. Her other hand went out and patted her head softly.
"Yes, most likely." She returned to her sandwich and continued with her exposition. "We've seen it before. Mikumo's voice is special since she resonates with many people to varying degrees. But she let's Commander Arad fly at his best, you know. It's one reason they were paired and work so well together." It was fitting that as she glanced outside, she saw a squad of VF-31A Siegfrieds take off from the deck of the Aether toward an unknown destination within the star filled blackness.
"I suppose Miss Makina and Miss Reina resonate too?" the girl wondered as she took in the same view, hand pressed against the chilly glass.
"You bet. They are so powerful when they sing together. It was their gift even before they got along." Kaname fondly remembered that when Makina first joined and they rehearsed as a unit with Claire and Lily, she spit out her coffee at the visual readings of Makina's output when Reina decided to sing a few cords.
"Wahhh, that's Deculture! How did you discover these things, Miss Kaname?" the curious teen enquired, finished now with consuming her meal and moving on to dessert: an apple. The singer shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, sipping on her hot tea.
"The research department did most of it," she provided, not going to take credit for actions that were not solely her own. "But I really noticed it when I started working together with Messer. . ." A pang of sadness bit into her chest, but she forced herself to not focus on it by gulping some tea. She needed to cope with her loss and be able to live around it. The other member of Walküre didn't notice her distress and forged ahead with her curiosity.
"Mr. Messer? Did you resonate with Mr. Messer?" her inquisitive voice remarked. It was difficult for Freyja, who was still so new and naïve to their world, to know all of the information that came with being a member of their organization. The redhead wouldn't chastise her for being curious if a bit obliviously callous. She was still a child after all.
"Ah, well, yes. Our compatibility was very high too." It wasn't her place to brag, so a pink flush graced Kaname's cheeks and pushed out her dolefulness. It wouldn't do to tell her friend that before she joined Walküre and Hayate joined Delta Squadron, Kaname and Messer had the highest synergy of resonance in Xaos. Commander Arad had once confided in her that the reason Messer Ihlefeld was recruited into their unit was exactly because of the resonance he displayed to even her digitized voice, despite his Var infection. It was only additional benefit that he was already an exceptional pilot and soldier. "But not the way you and Hayate do. Now that's pretty extraordinary," she added to retract herself.
As it were, their newest recruits vastly out-shined everyone in the fold receptor race. While Mikumo held the most influential position when it came to sheer power, effect, and control, Freyja's output was double what their lead vocalist could produce simply by focusing on the boy she liked. It was actually a little unreal to imagine.
"Hayate . . . he makes me feel good when he flies to my singing." Freyja timidly revealed, biting her lip awkwardly. The younger teen's mind seemed to drift off into deep thoughts, and the redhead observed her patiently. Kaname was aware that Windermereans felt rather than saw things because of their runes, so that meant Freyja understood subconsciously that the Δ05 pilot affected her with his actions. It was an ability she was envious of, in all honesty.
"Make sure you always sing well for him then, Freyja." The words were encouraging, and got the desired response. A pink flashing rune followed by a large smile. Kaname's heart felt a shot of warmth in that instant.
"Right!"
~O~