[We have reached the point of the story where it actually "starts", so I will begin to stick much closer to the orignal book. That means more words per chapter mainly.]
The days leading up to their departure passed in a flash, the dread of the day looming over them.
Jet had once again delayed the Irregular Company's meeting, making those present wait.
Winter and Vandal, two veterans of the government sat next to each other exchanging quiet words while Jesse and the other two sat around the table in silence.
They had been waiting for nearly half an hour, each of them growing more impatient by the minute.
Suddenly, the sound of the large metal doors sliding aside rang through the room, each of their gazes turning to the door.
Jet walked in, leading a group of four behind her. Each of the newcomers wore the same dark bodysuits as them, showing their position as members of the First Evacuation Army.
However, what made them pause was the identity of those people.
Very few people hadn't seen the heroic Changing Star's face, and the faces of her closest friends and cohort.
The faces of Huntress Athena, Raised by Wolves and Nightingale, Kai the former singer.
Each of the Government Masters present knew exactly who they were.
However, there was two people they didn't recognize.
One gave off a dreadful pressure, the other...
He was barely noticeable, his presence muted and non-existent next to a Saint.
And they were sure that's what that woman was.
They all stood, each of them straightening at the entrance of their commander.
"At ease, we are all Ascended here..."
Each of them sat, awaiting the start of the meeting.
Jet took her seat as the others followed, the table growing silent as everyone got a feel for the room.
Winter's calm eyes surveyed the newcomers.
Kai, Nightingale, former singer and songwriter, now archer and Awakened. His aspect had something do with flight and sight, but the strength of said aspect was up for debate.
Athena or Effie, Raised by Wolves, a powerful Awakened with a strong physical Aspect that increased her brute strength and base defenses.
This was all common information among the government, however...
Her eyes moved to the Saint, then the man she stood behind.
At that moment, Winter realized the Saint had never sat. She simply stood behind the young man, her eyes impassive as they stared ahead.
'I wonder...'
Her curiosity got the best of her.
"Ahem, Excuse me ma'am. Who would this boy happen to be?"
Jet glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Boy? Gosh... Looks really can be deceiving huh?"
She gestured to the boy next to her.
"This "boy", is Master Sunless, the Latest and Final addition to the First Irregular Company. He is probably the youngest Ascended ever, but he also has a kill count higher than most of you combined."
She smiled.
"Give him—and the two Ascended he brought with him— a warm welcome."
A moment passed then, it clicked.
"Ascended?"
It was Jesse who asked. She had heard a lot about The Changing Star and her cohort, yet nothing about them having Ascended.
"Yes, they have recently Ascended, and through Sunless, have agreed to help out cause..."
The way she trailed off told them there was more to it.
Davis, the resident assassin, grinned.
"The government was always a dirty job, what is it?"
Jet grinned right back.
"They are going to work together, yet separately from us. In exchange for our help in transport, they have agreed to back us up when needed."
Her grin turned a bit forced.
"Furthermore, Sunless here has a deal for you."
The five Ascended were surprised by her words, each of them turning to the young man named Sunless.
"The Irregular Company's Captains will each have six Awakened under them, I simply request the same for me and my companions, as well as first pick."
Before anyone could protest, threads of darkness erupted from every corner of the room, each string tangling with the others before condensing, each forming a different memory.
Each of them lay on the table in front of the Ascended.
Winter picked a small necklace from the table, its surface glowing with palpable essence.
"A Transcendent Memory of the First Tier. It has one enchantment that constantly produces essence, allowing its user to draw on it. It charges slowly, but if used right, it could greatly extend your output."
She glanced to the bo- young man named Sunless.
It seemed he had done his research.
Each Ascended found a similarly tailored item, Davis got a Dagger, Dale a sturdy shield, Randall and Jesse a charm.
Sunny had gone to great lengths to ensure that he and the others would be allowed to pick whomever they liked. And it seemed it had worked.
"Well, the youngest goes first anyways. What is a few more?"
Sunny smiled, the rest of his cohort sharing victorious expressions.
"Well, then. With introductions out of the way. I say we get on to the briefing? Yes?"
The Ascended nodded, the memories vanishing. They would get them from Sunny after the meeting.
Letting the silence linger for a moment, Jet sighed and began.
"Today I will bring you up to speed about the projected composition of the First Irregular Company, our purpose and guiding military doctrine."
She placed a large box on the table and clicked small button.
Light bloomed from its top, shapes and lines forming in the air, a holographic map of Antarctica.
"All Antarctica is divided into three parts..."
~~~
The meeting had gone the same as before. Most of the gates were expected to begin before the armies even arrived, only getting worse from there.
However, Sunny had been working with jet for a while now, all of the information being covered during the meeting he had either provided himself, or already knew of.
This meeting was more for Effie and Kai than anything. This was the first time they learned about the true extent of everything happening on the southern quadrant in detail.
However, they weren't scared.
They had all faced hell before, what was a new shade of the same color?
Once the meeting was over, they had dispersed to their quarters, each of them opening the communicators provided by Jet.
Sunny didn't waste any time, he simply clicked through, selecting his cohort with something near muscle memory.
The others, however, took much longer building their cohorts. This was because they had chosen to build cohorts that complimented them, filled roles, or supplemented weaker areas.
Kai for instance had built his cohort around his lack of physical attacks. Two of his members were frontline fighters, one a sword user, the other a shield and mace.
His other four members covered more versatile positions. One specialized in Healing, her aspect entirely dedicated to saving lives.
The other two shared the position of engineer, the first's awakened's ability allowed him to create metal from essence. The seconds let him inscribe essence into objects, enhancing them.
The last was a pilot for their rhino, his aspect something about acid.
Together, they could repair and enhance anything from vehicles to weaponry and defenses.
Overall, it was a solid team.
That night, eighteen dossiers were reserved, each of them different, yet all of them marked with the same code.
[File Designated: Shadow]
~~~
The next day, three people sat around a fire, the warmth of it keeping the cold wind at bay.
Luster turned to the bland girl next to him, his voice curious.
"What do you think Kimmy, will we get our reassignment today?"
Awakened Kim hesitated, but answered in an awkward tone.
"I, uh... Don't know."
Luster shook his head, Kimmy was such a strange person, perhaps the strangest. This timid girl was the only awakened he knew... that was somehow not hot!
As far as he was concerned, that was a big deal. Every awakened was hot, that was just common knowledge.
Everyone except Kimmy, she single handedly ruined that entire thought.
Belle who was perched on a nearby piece of debris, gave them a smile.
"I think we will."
Luster felt a rush of excitement.
"Do you know something?"
The blonde daredevil leaned forward, speaking in a hushed tone.
"I heard from my pal in logistics that Soul Reaper finalized her command structure the other day. That means they'll start recruiting today. After that is done, the other elite units will be free to pick out the rest of us."
'Hell yeah!'
Luster grinned, his thoughts wistful.
"I know that chances are slim, but wouldn't it be great to be picked by Soul Reaper's unit? Just imagine... Ascended Jet, she's such a ba..."
Before he could finish, their communicators chimed simultaneously.
Kimmy was the first to read it. Her eyes widening.
Seeing her reaction, Luster felt his heart sink.
'Oh god.'
She lingered, making him more anxious, before showing him the screen.
"First... First Irregular Company! We've been assigned to Soul Reaper's Unit, actually!"
Luster paled.
'Me and my big mouth...'
***
Luster, Kimmy, and Belle left their observation spot and headed toward the training facility where they had been ordered to gather by the end of the hour.
They were a strange trio. Sure, each was considered an elite, but in usual circumstances, a combat specialist like Belle would not have been keeping company with two younger support operators. Unless they were members of his cohort, of course, which neither Luster nor Kimmy were.
The Antarctica campaign, however, had changed a lot of things.
While troop movements in the waking world were happening on a massive scale, something similar, but less noticeable, was currently happening in the Dream Realm. The Awakened assigned to the First Evacuation Army were hastily relocating to larger and better protected Citadels, so that a sudden attack of Nightmare Creatures could not disrupt their deployment in Antarctica.
Some were going to government Citadels, while some were going to impregnable Legacy strongholds like Bastion or Ravenheart. All across the Dream Realm, thousands of Awakened were participating in this quiet exodus.
Luster, Kimmy, and Belle had just happened to reside in the same general area of the Dream Realm. The Awakened serving the government banded together to brave the wilderness and reach Bastion, forming a large caravan that only grew bigger as it passed various Citadels.
Eventually, a couple hundred Awakened all traveled together while their physical bodies were being relocated to various ports, locked inside the sleeping pods.
It was a weird thing. Luster had fallen asleep in one place, but woke up thousands of kilometers south of it.
In any case, in the month that it had taken him to reach Bastion on foot, he and the two other elite specialists traveling with the caravan had become somewhat close. They were not really friends, but at least knew each other.
That could not be said about the other three Awakened they met after reaching the reinforced prefab building.
Luster's face grew a little dim when he realized that two of them were dudes. The third one, however…
'Wow!'
The tall, gorgeous redhead was a real bombshell! Sure, she seemed unapproachable and older than him by a good decade… but that only added to her charm…
Belle lightly tapped the young man on the shoulder.
"Get your head out of the gutter, fool."
Luster blinked a couple of times, then looked at the swordsman with a sheepish smile.
"Oh… sorry."
Kimmy glanced at the two of them with confusion and said quietly:
"I… I think I know her. That is Awakened Samara. When I trained to receive the technician certificate, she taught the spelltech introduction class to us."
She squirmed a little, then approached the tall woman and forced out a small smile.
"Instructor Samara. I- it is so nice to see you again."
The aloof beauty glanced at the meek young woman and nodded.
"...You can call me Sam. We are colleagues now."
Kimmy froze for a moment.
"Yes! I will, Instructor Samara. I mean… uh… Instructor Sam."
She blushed a little, and then gestured at his two companions.
"These are Awakened Belle and Awakened Luster. We traveled to Bastion together."
Samara looked at the two men, then said in an emotionless tone:
"These are Awakened Quentin and Awakened Dorn. We just met."
The six elites studied each other for some time.
Eventually, Belle scratched the back of his head and asked:
"Uh… does anyone know who our commanding officer is?"
None of them knew.
Checking their files, there was little information, the only thing that stuck out were two lines of text.
[File Designated: Shadow]
[Designation Authorized by: Ascended Sunless.]
Quentin, the only one who had thought to check frowned.
"Master Sunless... I don't think I have ever heard of him. There is no Ascended of that name that has been with the government a long time, that I am sure of."
He lingered a moment, his voice sounding reluctant as he added.
"I did hear some rumors though."
Luster gave him a lively smile.
"Come on then, you can't just leave us hanging."
Quentin sighed, clearly uncomfortable to be participating in something that could be amounted to gossip. Eventually though, curiosity won over decorum.
"Well, it's not much. I heard that Master Jet delayed the formation of the First Irregular Company, all to give him enough time to arrive."
Luster blinked a couple of times. If Soul Reaper had gone out of her way to make sure the guy joined her unit, then he had to be a beast!
Belle spoke up, confirming his thoughts.
"I actually heard that Ascended Sunless is a real monster. A demon of a fighter with a wild, bloodthirsty streak. Apparently, he killed four hundred Awakened abominations… as a Sleeper. Some even say that he hunted down an ancient Fallen Devil before Awakening."
A silence lingered for a moment before Luster scoffed.
"That's impossible... Right?"
Samara, who had remained mostly silent before that, suddenly spoke:
"My information is different. From what I've been told, he is a distinguished explorer and academic researcher. Just in the last month he has released more than a few expedition reports, all backed by Awakened Julius. His published works are supposed to be available in the government database. They are very extensive exploration reports about dangerous regions of the Dream Realm and the Nightmare Creatures populating them."
That sounded more believable. Explorers of the Dream Realm might not have been the most renowned fighters, but they had to be capable to survive its wild expanse. It would make sense if Soul Reaper wanted to recruit a knowledgeable academic.
Vandal, Mustang, Queen, Knight, and Pride were legends among the government soldiers. Their renown only paled in comparison to the dreaded Soul Reaper herself.
Kimmy suddenly moved her voice hesitant as she spoke.
"I… uh… I heard that he is utterly mad. Some say that he actually comes from the Forgotten Shore, where he lived completely alone in the Dark City for a long time. They even say that Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan once said that he was the only person he was afraid to fight. I mean… it's ridiculous, of course…"
Her voice gradually grew quieter and then trailed off.
After a short and somewhat awkward pause, the giant man, Dorn, spoke in a steady tone:
"Those are all just rumors. I only know that Ascended Sunless is relatively young… however, we don't need to guess. There is a lot that we can assume just from who he chose as the members of his cohort."
Luster craned his neck to look up at the towering man.
"Yeah, like what?"
Dorn shrugged.
"Well, for one, our composition is quite telling. We have two offensive fighters, a healer, a ranged specialist, and two support specialists. The cohort seems to be well-rounded, but it lacks means to fulfill several key roles. We don't have a reliable scout, and our defense is comparatively subpar."
He paused for a moment, and then added:
"That suggests that Ascended Sunless is a utility specialist with a scouting Ability. Alternatively, he might be a defense-oriented fighter or simply a believer in an offense-centered military doctrine. He might also possess a powerful Echo that can serve as a defensive bulwark."
Dorn thought for a bit.
"What is especially interesting to me is that he deliberately chose Awakened with higher than usual mental resilience. He also neglected direct combat efficiency in favor of Aspects that possess sufficient longevity. The presence of Awakened Luster only confirms the fact that our commanding officer puts a lot of value in sustainability. All of that tells me that he has a very mature outlook on combat that is in direct contradiction to his young age."
Luster followed along, surprised that he had not come to these conclusions himself.
'The big guy is wicked smart!'
He cleared his throat, then said:
"Well… he is a Master. Everyone says that the Second Nightmare is the game changer. Who knows what kind of crap he experienced there? Stuff like that can make a person mature real fast."
"Well said."
Luster nodded, pleased to receive a bit of praise, but then almost jumped.
'Wait… who said that?!'
At some point, a seventh person had somehow appeared in the gymnasium without being noticed by any of them. He was of small stature, with flawless ivory skin, long, black hair, and unfathomable dark eyes. The guy was extremely young, and looked like a porcelain doll. In fact, he was kind of cute… in a strange, unsettling sort of way.
Luster frowned.
'Who's that shorty?'
Then, realizing who was in front of him, he froze.
The new arrival smiled.
"Good morning, Awakened. I am Master Sunless. You can call me Captain Sunless, or simply Captain. From today forward, I will be your commanding officer."
He remained silent for a few moments. Then, his pleasant smile slowly turned strangely ominous.
Captain Sunless stared directly at the six of them and added:
"Yes, I killed four hundred Awakened abominations and hunted down a Fallen Devil as a Sleeper. Yes, I am a distinguished explorer and researcher whose published works are well-known in academic circles. And yes, I indeed come from the Forgotten Shore, where I lived in the Dark City completely alone and went… slightly… mad."
The frightening smile grew a little wider.
"But all of that is in the past. It has been a full month since the last time I had a conversation with a talking skeleton, and you truly have nothing to worry about!"