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“There’s a ranger waiting for you in the sparring room.”
Argenti lifted his head from where he had been engrossed in his book, looking over to where the general stood by the door of his dorm, his sudden entrance was not of a surprise. He closed the book, indifferent to marking down the page he was on. This was his fifth time reading it, after all.
“Hello General,” Argenti greeted first and foremost, placing the book aside and standing up. “How was your day–”
“This one is different.” his master–the general, cut him off. Disturbing the usual routine of the charade Argenti has been in for the last three months, the change in it has him staring deeply into his former mentor, trying to gauge out what he meant. “Do not hold back.”
Argenti blinked, and thought of all the trainees he had fought before. Trying to find someone, anyone, to fight alongside him. They were all strong willed, but not enough for Argenti, not enough. They didn't last after a single blow.
All it took was one glance to know that they were not like his friends from before, that only a soft nudge would take them out of the sparring session.
“...I’ll see about that.” Argenti said, plastering a smile for the sake of it.
He did not hope, as he couldn’t afford to lose it. It had been three months since he had sat back, since his friend, the other pilot, the only one who was left to fight with him, had left this forsaken beautiful world.
Argenti wanted nothing more than to go out there again, take out the fueling anger in the Kaijus that had stripped him from his dear friend, that had taken away his body that they were supposed to bury. To turn that pain into something useful.
Nobody has been able to fill in that spot beside him.
Nobody has been compatible with him.
“Will you be there then, if the ranger is so different?” Argenti found himself asking. Lately, there hadn’t been anyone to judge their fights, nor the audience. The general had been there at first, but perhaps he even thought his presence wouldn’t help or alleviate the pain of not finding anyone.
“I would have, if it weren't for an important meeting,” the general said, Argenti could see that it was true and not an excuse however. “But, I trust your judgment.”
Argenti could only nod at that, and tried his best not to show disappointment.
“...get dressed.” was all his master said, the sympathy in his eyes hadn't lessened from that day, though his rough tone had been grounding enough for Argenti to not lose himself in distraught anymore.
It was harsh weather, a heavy storm and the sky was clouded black. It had been an unexpected emergence of another Kaiju, the ugly thing had been trying to swim its way to the shore. Its heinous first instinct to rampage the innocent.
But the One and only stood before it.
“Aureo!” Argenti called out in a panic, his voice echoed in the conn-pod, peeking outside his helmet. The sight of the Kaiju nearing in so soon after a blunt attack that nearly destroyed an arm of their jaeger, it didn’t look like it would strike again the same way with it’s claws, but jump at them at its hurried pace.
Aureo could hear what he wanted, exactly what they needed to do at that moment in their shared mind. Their shared space as pilots, their thoughts are interlinked.
Their jaeger, One and only lifted its working hand under their–Aureo’s and Argenti’s–command, the mechanics rapidly forming and changing, revealing a long, sharp blade.
There wasn’t time to even swing, not when the kaiju had slammed harshly against them from the front. As that was the plan.
The monstrous thing pushed them roughly, making them stumble on the waves of the ocean and barely regain their balance. Argenti grit his teeth, hearing alarms and the deep crunch of metal that squeaked under the weight. The Kaiju doesn’t move after, however. As their sword had still done damage, the ugly beast had practically impaled itself on their sword, right through the heart. It had fallen for their quick thinking.
It's a tense moment of silence, waiting for the kaiju to stir or even move, but all it did was slump its large form against them.
A breathless chuckle echoed through his headset, making Argenti glance at his friend. Aureo’s relief was evident in his face, contagious as it was that Argenti felt himself momentarily relaxed, sharing it.
Argenti’s shoulders slumped lightly, but his grip was still tight.
“Let’s make sure the beast is dead.” Aureo said, but he didn’t need to, Argenti could hear him clearly thinking in his head.
“Let’s.” he said and nodded despite that.
They were only human, after all.
But it was a mistake, to even let a Kaiju get this close, dead, or alive.
It wasn’t dead, to their misfortune.
At the One and only slightest nudge, the Kaiju moved, not with the push but by itself. There hadn’t even been a sound, a rumble out of the beast to alert them. It only unhinged its massive jaw, sunk its teeth into the head and tore away a space of the helm from the jaeger.
The harsh weather and rain made itself home in their conn-pod, the sounds of the ocean waves strong with the sudden slight opening of their armor.
“Argenti!” Aureo cried in alarm, and Argenti tried to move the hand–their blade that was in the Kaiju’s belly to try and push or even injure the beast to stop it.
Aureo pushed alongside him, but their strength was unmatched, it had already latched on.
“it’s getting through–we need to–!!”
Metal shrieked under the pressure, alarms banging in their heads. The side of a hull had been torn away fully with an ugly sound, Argenti could hear himself shout along with it, and far away, when it shouldn’t have been, Aureo screaming in the distance.
In an overwhelming tiny second, Argenti could feel the fear in the pit of his stomach that wasn’t just his own, life flashing before his eyes that wasn’t his own, the taste of blood on the back of his tongue, feeling everything and then–
Nothing.
A gaping hole stood to his side, where Aureo just was.
Shredded metal, electric wires dangling and alarms are flashing in front of his wide eyes.
Argenti felt as if his head exploded, stabbing heavy pain that shot at every cell in his skull but it couldn’t come close to the burning rage and grief that struck him deep.
He wailed, screaming his heart out in pain that was doubled over, that was just only his. anguish that he had never felt before burst into his heart. Adrenaline, or whatever it was that powered his pained body, under the stress of a one pilot, pushed him with strength he had never known before.
Red was all he saw, whether it was from blood getting in his eyes, or boiling rage, Argenti didn’t know, didn’t care.
He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even think for a moment.
Argenti believed himself a dead man, but if he were to die, then he could only try to get rid of the ugly thing out with him.
Argenti killed the Kaiju by himself, piloted the jaeger in a hazed pained daze in a random shore, and walked out.
He collapsed, bleeding, but still alive.
Still alive.
Argenti was somehow still alive, but Aureo wasn’t.
“Velite,” Argenti greeted, noticing his friend in the hallway on his way to the training room. Velite arms were crossed, and shot Argenti with an unimpressed look. “It’s been a while, friend.”
“Ugh, only because you ever come out of your room when there is another ranger to fight now.” Velite said first, not pulling back any punches, but he came close to his side to walk with him until they reached Argenti’s destination.
The hallway wasn’t silent, a few other cadets filtered through. Argenti could see their thrown glances at him as he walked past, once Velite said–and would deny after and now in fluster, the poor man still had trouble expressing–that it was out of admiration, but all Argenti could see was pity nowadays.
“I suppose that is true,” Argenti hummed, focusing on looking forward and not on the poorly hidden concern aimed at him by Velite. He truly hadn’t meant to stray away from his other friends. “I apologize.”
Velite only scoffed lightly, and fortunately, moved on from the topic at hand.
“The ranger that came in came all the way from mexico.” Velite spoke, Argenti perked his ears at that. His friend has always been the best one to get an idea of anything, anyone, around. Whether it was scientific knowledge, or gossip that’s been spreading around in the shatterdome.
“He is also one of the few nut jobs who went under the procedures of cybernetics enhancements,” Velite continued in a hushed tone, “some say that he even went to threaten the doctor herself to get it done.”
That must be what his mast– the general meant, the difference between him and the past rangers Argenti fought.
He had never seen anyone with the special cybernetics. Argenti had heard of it before, a friend of his that had suffered brutally in a battle and came out of it with one arm alone had been recommended to it.
(thinking on it, it had been a while since he heard of his friend. Stationed far away that he was, as well as the nature of their jobs, it was normal to not have a stellar communication. Still, Argenti hoped he was okay.)
“He’s a lost cause,” Velite sighed, and perhaps realized how badly he sounded at that moment as Argenti glanced at him. “Not because of that! It’s ugh, i maybe, heard the general talk to some people…the guy hasn’t been able to find a drift partner in like, a year! Or something…heard he’d been going around the entire globe…and here I thought you were the most stubborn guy I know.”
An entire year?
“That…must have been difficult,” Argenti murmured, thinking back to his three month wait.
“Yeah, you know what else is difficult? That guy’s attitude! He’s even more horrible than I am on a bad day, and that’s saying a lot!” Velite gestured towards the cafeteria that they had just passed by, “here! Just a few days ago, there was a fight! Nothing physical to get him kicked out or anything but words that i won’t even say were said loud and clear…that guy got guts to talk the way he does…he literally cussed out an entire generation of a family–”
“We’re here.” Argenti announced, stopping in front of the sliding doors.
It was rude to cut off Velite like that, but it was a needed reminder of what he must do for his friend. He tended to forget where he was when he was passionately talking, and oftentimes he would say the wrong things in a presence he wasn’t aware of.
Velite blinked, and flushed a little red as he looked behind them at the hallway. As if he couldn’t believe they already arrived. He coughed silently in his hand, looking back at Argenti.
“Let me know when you’re done! There is…'' he paused, glancing away nervously and back at him. Argenti could only tilt his head in confusion, but patiently smiled at his friend, whose face had gotten more red for some reason. “There is a new menu in the cafeteria! Just to let you know! So, don’t hole yourself anymore in your room!” Velite said with a rush.
Argenti could only smile politely at his friend and nod, his care was not unappreciated, but his grieving was far from over.
He could not bring himself to face everyone while he was still stuck in place. Stuck where he could still visibly see Aureo vanish before his eyes, unable to do anything about it alone as he was.
“Ugh, well, whatever, kick his butt or something!” Velite stammered, stepping back. He pointed at Argenti with a glare that wasn’t threatening at all, before turning around and leaving.
Argenti watched him walk away, before turning to face the show that was ahead of him.
Silently, and as always, he prayed he would find the one.
Gleaming dark metal shone in the light, extending from the collar down to the fingers. It was the very thing Argenti noticed, on the new ranger that sat on the bench, waiting for him.
There was more to follow under the black tank top he wore, the only seemingly human skin he had left remained on his face. His hair gathered in a high ponytail, a mix of white striking against the black, with bangs covering one of his eyes. Argenti found himself at the end of a harsh looking glare, and an impatient look.
“Look who’s finally here,” the ranger spoke, “fuckin’ took ya long enough.”
Argenti spared a look around the room.
He really was the only ranger he had to fight today. Usually, it would have been a group, but it seemed his options dwindled.
“I apologize,” Argenti said, stepping towards where the rack of weapons were, his very first choice being the wooden staff. Ideal to him. “I fear time has escaped me.”
The ranger gave a mocking laugh, “well, imma make sure ya ain’t gonna escape me anytime soon.” He said lowly, and caught the wooden staff that Argenti threw at him.
“If that’s the case, may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?”
The ranger stood up, twisting the staff in his hand and Argenti followed the lead of his form. He held it awkwardly, not a beginner, but it was obvious that this was not his preferred weapon.
Still, he hadn’t said anything about it.
“It’s Boothill,” the ranger said.
Argenti blinked.
That was not a human name, but he wouldn’t question it. If it weren’t for the fact that he was sure he heard of the name before, and that it belonged to…
“A Jaeger,” Argenti muttered, finally remembering. “Was that not The name of a Jaeger that had three pilots—“
A heavy thud echoed the room, making Argenti stop. He stared at the ranger, who roughly slammed his—apparently metal—foott on the sparring ground as he stepped in.
“That’s my name now,” the ranger, Boothill, said with a scowl.
There was a story behind it, as every ranger had one, but this one Argenti could piece together with what he knew.
After all, the Jaeger, named Boothill, had been one of the best.
A family ran it all together, their compatibility was perfect, even when they weren’t a family of blood.
Argenti heard stories and saw news of the heroes that piloted it. Nick and Gray have been written down as one of their best, and it had been a great tragedy when they fell at the hands of a Kaiju just last year. Their fight lasted a while, long enough to tire them down, until another emergence of Kaiju appeared on them, and forced them to fight it as well. Help couldn’t arrive in time.
He had seen glimpses before of the third pilot of theirs, their son who fought alongside them.
Argenti couldn’t believe he hadn’t recognized him.
“…so it is,” Argenti muttered, accepting his name and stepping into the arena as well. Everyone made peace with their grief differently.
“Yours?” Boothill asked, shifting into a relaxed prepared stance.
“I am Argenti,” he smoothly introduced himself, one of the pilots of the One and only. “Though it is under unfortunate circumstances, it is my pleasure to meet you.”
Boothill smirked, and made an obvious glance towards where their would be judge would be sitting.
“Don’t get anyone?”
“I fear they had became weary with my many fights, but if you’d like, i can call someone–”
“Nah, i don’t fuckin’ care,” Boothill waved him off, “come at me.”
Boothill's stance with the staff wasn’t the most ideal, if it had been anyone else, Argenti would have assumed that it would have been an easy win. But Even without knowing Boothill's origin, his grin and gaze alone was enough to make Argenti grip his wooden staff in caution. A shiver traveled up his spine under his stare.
This was different. Oddly enough, he kind of felt excited to battle him.
Argenti stopped thinking, and moved first.
Their staff clashed against each other, Boothill moved in incredible speed to block him. Argenti stepped back to take a quick stab to his unguarded side, yet the ranger maneuvered around just as quickly. Despite the heavy metal of his prosthetics, he was nimble, and Argenti barely blocked the rear of the wooden staff coming towards his neck.
He fell back to regain his balance, taking a breath that he kept holding onto.
Something flared in his chest, Argenti found himself matching the smile on Boothill’s face.
( this had lasted longer than anyone he had previously fought. )
This time, it was Boothill who ran up to him.
He came close enough that Argenti could see red in his grayish eyes, the look of a thrilling promise of a fight that Argenti would never forget, a look that he dared to hope and fall in. Argenti could see the same passion he has reflected in the eyes of the other man, in his actions.
Boothill was fast with his strikes, but they held no weight to accumulate its speed. It worked in his favor, as the first one to get hit by a strike would lose even if they hadn’t fallen. However, that is if Argenti let him.
It was easy to push away his wooden staff with his own, take a step back and prepare for another speedy assault. Despite that, Argenti found himself overwhelmed at keeping up the pace, and he was soon starting to find himself at the edge of the arena.
If he gets pushed, he’ll be eliminated.
Argenti blocked the next attack, he quickly twirled the staff in his hand to change the stance from a defense to offense. Charging it straight down at Boothill, aiming to hit him in the collar and tap him out.
Except, in a swift movement, the ranger in front of him dropped into the ground in a split, and blocked his strike just as quickly. Argenti failed to recover from his shock, and Boothill took advantage of that, striking him down and making him lose his footing far too easily, falling and laying in defeat on the floor.
Argenti gasped as he sprawled on the ground, blinking at the ceiling lights.
But Argenti doesn't find himself embarrassed, peering up at Boothill who looked down at him with a wide grin, instead, something flourished in his chest. It felt as if he could breathe again, despite being knocked down.
“You–” you won, he tried to say, but Boothill extended a hand towards him that silenced him.
“C’mon, one round goes for me, we still got two left,” Boothill said, and something told Argenti that the ranger in front of him also feels the thrill that's thudding under his skin, excitement that was palpable in the air.
( we are the same, aren’t we? The desperation to go out and fight, the waiting that slowly killed them inside, the feeling of being utterly useless and small against such monsters that took away the beauty of their world. If we could do it alone, we would, but we need each other. )
Boothill shaded Argenti from the ceiling light as he hovered above him, yet he shined brilliantly as he asked with a wild grin, “or are ya tuckered out already?”
“No,” Argenti breathed, taking his metal hand and squeezing as he was lifted back into his feet with a surprising amount of strength. He didn’t let go, not until Boothill did. “No.”
Their second round lasted longer, they fought, as if they danced. Footwork that was elegant and smooth, agile on their feet, graceful almost. Argenti’s heavy on his strikes, and Boothill quick to dodge. It was apparent that they made it so they wouldn't take each other down actively, they were testing each other's limits, they were teasing each other.
He was glad no one was here other than them, it made the moment so much better, it removed that force that they had to actively take each other down, but at the same time, it made it much more intimate in a way that made Argenti shiver in delight.
The stretch of a smile on Argenti’s face made his cheeks ache, and forgetful in the haze of a good thrilling spar, he pushed against Boothill roughly, far too roughly that Boothill stumbled out of the arena.
Marking his defeat.
A moment to catch their breaths.
“...fuck me sideways, you really are something.” Boothill said, dropping the staff in his hand and walking back in, stretching his metal fingers. “Let’s change it up, yea?”
Argenti blinked, chuckling lightly under his breath as he threw away his staff as well.
“Won’t your punches be more painful considering your physique?” Argenti asked, eyeing the gleam of light that shined on Boothill’s cybernetics.
“What, you pussy?” Boothill laughed, “I'll pull back my punches for ya, princess.”
“Don’t you dare.” Argenti quickly said, that idea repulsive to him and Boothill's eyes glimmered at that.
Boothill charged at him, and Argenti fell back into that beautiful trance once more. He was sure of it now, more than ever.
Argenti found him, his compatible drift partner, the one who will be by his side.
“Ah shucks, yer gonna need ice for that.” Boothill said, pressing a cool water bottle against his shoulder. It had already started to color, a pretty hue of purple amidst his freckles. Sitting at the benches after their tiresome, but electrifying fight, the two rested.
“Suppose I do.” Argenti hummed, feeling the coolness of the bottle against his skin. He much preferred the chill press of Boothill’s against his own, he found. He reached over to take the bottle from the other ranger, to hold it in his stead, but instead of pulling away, Boothill kept holding it. Argenti kept his hand on top of his, his debate of pulling back his hand or not taking too long.
Long enough that he spoke anything or something to ease the sudden tension, “you’re not preoccupied with anything after this, i hope?” he asked, remembering something Velite had told him about earlier.
Boothill tilted his head, shaking it. “Nah, nothin.”
“Then, would you like to accompany me to the cafeteria? I heard there was a new menu.”
“Ah, ain’t we supposed to report to the general?”
“It can be done after, he is busy with a meeting,” Argenti smiled, curling his fingers around Boothill's hand. “Will you keep me company until then?”
Boothill blinked at him, before a small smile formed on his face, and an almost shy answer. “sure.”
Argenti would later then remember to express his gratitude to Velite, and apologies as he had forgotten to text his friend until much, much, later.