Every nerve in my body ached, and the pain returned to my limbs without warning. My eyelids felt like stone. The screams and sirens from my final memories were gone—replaced by a steady, high-pitched whine…
Beep... Beep... Beep...
My body twitched-a nagging urge to move. Then an inhuman cough erupted from my throat as I struggled against restraints that were probably there but were clouded with my foggy consciousness.
"Where... am I?" I croaked, my voice is brittle and sounded alien.
Forcing myself, I sat upright weakly, the buckle across my chest had clicked open. One more below my legs, the effort made my muscles tremble. The pod lid swung open, and I barely escaped falling onto the grated metal floor, which felt rather cold on my thin cryo-suit.
For a moment, I lay there, with a dense fog of breath sawdust in my throat. My pod indicates 733 and dozens more, extending into the darkness in silence.
"Father? Mother?" I said in a dry voice that sounded strange, even to me. Every joint ached as I forced myself to stand. Long silver hair looked like a matted curtain around my face. I pushed it back irritatingly.
As I read Cryo-bay, my keen and perceptive mind, started evaluating the surroundings and other details of the place. For now, at least. No immediate threat.
But the absence of sound made me uneasy. There was one pod close to the end of my row, which caught my attention. Unit 734 was unoccupied and opened, an instant oddness flooded my heart.
"Someone.. Someone had awakened before me." If the emergency lights were an indication it was possible the entire situation in this vault was a complete failure.
I straightened my body. My thin cryosuit did not provide much protection from the cold. I felt the goosebumps as I rubbed my arms to heat it. I took a deep breath and thought nothing would be resolved by panicking. My parents had given me a mission, though a confusing and unfavorable one.
Panicking won't help. I'd been trained better than that.
My mother's final words echoed in my thoughts.
"Lead them, Sera." Lead who? These unknown individuals who are still asleep?
I let out a soft, frustrated sigh. "Ugh." A soft green glow flickered on a nearby wall panel. It had text scrolling across it:
[STASIS BAY ALPHA – ALL SYSTEMS NORMAL]
Power: Auxiliary Fusion Core – Online (35% Output)
Life Support: Stable
Defense Grid: Active – Sweep Complete – No Hostiles Detected within Parameters
[AWAKENING PROTOCOL: COHORT SIGMA-7]
Subject 02: Valerius, S. – Awakening Complete
Subject 01: Jin – Awakening Previously Registered (Data Corrupted)
Remaining 13 Subjects: Stable Stasis
I noticed that the Vault's defenses were working. This indicated that this vault had been threatened by something, I felt a knot in my stomach.
This "Jin" had awakened first, into a potentially unsafe situation. I have to find out if he's a threat. The panel confirmed that the Vault was running on an auxiliary core at partial output, and the entire facility of barely contained system failures.
My composure came back, masking my uneasiness. "The situation was dire."
My first goal was the blast door the one I had previously noticed, at the far end of the cryo-bay. I need to learn more about what is happening with this facility and what its purpose is for us, if Jin was out there.
Let's see what kind of mess you've made or found yourself in.
The blast door at the end of Cryo-Bay Alpha opened with a sound of shrieked metal revealing a corridor plunged into a dim, flickering emergency red couldn't this "Project Phoenix" – my parents helped research be more welcoming?
My silver hair, already an annoyance from the cryo-sleep, felt like it was trying to pick up every mote of dust in this ruined tomb.
"Honestly," I muttered, stepping through the corridor my voice sharp in the silent place.
The metallic ozone and something else... something slightly coppery were mixed with the colder air here. I wrinkled my nose.
This "Jin," who woke up before me and started this system revival, had better not mess things up. I had to figure out how to get out of this crumbling crypt and clean up after some jerk.
I made deliberate movements, my eyes already adjusting to the darkness of the cryo-bay, searching every nook and cranny.
I learned how to quickly assess situations, recognize issues, and implement solutions with decisive, unwavering authority during my time at Yamashiro Institute before the disaster. But now this was simply a much bigger problem.
The hallway led to what looked like a mess hall. Trays were scattered around while tables were overturned. The painting was mocked to now reality, peeling the mural of some peaceful outdoor scene.
"Charming," I sneered. "The Vault's maintenance schedule clearly shows that the previous occupants left."
If this "Jin" guy couldn't even leave a welcome note, I wasn't totally sure he would make a positive contribution.
"Hello?" I yelled, my voice echoing, louder this time. "Jin, was it? If you can hear me, please show up now in my presence!"
"It's obvious that your previous actions have restored some systems to operation, so a status report is now necessary!" The only response was the hum of struggling machinery in the distance. "Ughh" I sighed in defeat as I proceeded.
I came to a path that led to what appeared to be "Sub-Level Engineering." That seemed significant. If there were answers, they would be there.
With the main lifts probably offline, the descent into Sub-Level Engineering was made via a flimsy emergency ladder. Every rung creaked under my weight, and with only the few emergency lights above, there was complete darkness below. Fear pricked at me for a moment.
But I blew it away, fear was a pointless diversion to my situation I need to be strong. As I tested each rung before putting my weight into it, I complained, "If this entire Vault collapses because of poor-quality ladder maintenance, I will be having words with Project Phoenix's chief engineer."
When I got to the bottom, I entered a walkway with grates. Huge silhouettes of dust-covered machinery filled the large chamber. The coppery smell of blood filled the air.
I looked around. There were walkways that led to a central platform. And there was a shape that appeared to be a blast door with strong reinforcements but there was a figure in the ground.
I cautiously walked up, my nerves on high alert. The figure was a man, wearing a cryo-suit just like mine, ripped and discolored. He had a lot of dark blood matted in his black hair. Glistening wetly in the dim light from a nearby, sparking console.
Near his outstretched hand was a crude-looking metal pipe. "This must be Jin." And he appeared to have lost spectacularly after wrestling a pack of monsters.
My mind racing, I hissed, "You absolute… imbecile," and knelt down, being careful not to get any blood on myself.
The Vault system had referred to him as "Subject 01". The power was restored thanks to him but now he was in this state. In contrast to the carnage all around him, he had an odd almost peaceful expression on his face while unconscious.
Then I saw them.
Twisted, deformed things slumped against the walls farther back in the shadows—hunched figures with shattered limbs, fractured skulls, and black ichor seeping from burst organs.
And suddenly—I remembered memories on the rooftop, my school was overrun by these monsters
A choked breath escaped my lips. My pulse spiked and my legs faltered for a second as the memory slammed into me with a force I hadn't expected.
"No... no, it can't be—" I whispered.
I staggered back a step in my heart pounding and eyes wide. The scent was the same—burned meat, rotting. I remembered how their limbs bent. The gleam of those black, lidless eyes.
"They're here too?" My voice cracked slightly. "They followed us underground...?"
I clenched my fists to stop the tremble, forcing myself to calm my breathing. I had survived them once. I would do it again.
Swallowing hard, I stepped closer to the boy the one who had apparently faced these monsters alone. And won. Barely.
I hesitated, then reached out two fingers toward his neck.
He engages these monsters in combat.
"So," I muttered, more to myself than to the unconscious person in front of me, "You're Jin." My eyes narrowed.
"You've completely messed up, haven't you? I guess it's up to me to fix you now." I let out a sigh that was heavy with a burden that I hadn't requested but that seemed to be my destiny.
This boy, this destroyed world, this Vault. Everything was so useless. So awfully, hopelessly disorganized.
However, as I observed his beaten body and the unwavering will that must have motivated him to this point, a slight spark of something other than irritation ignited inside of me. Perhaps it was reluctant respect. Or maybe, just maybe, the first sign that I was finally no longer alone.
_____________
Author Notes:
Do you like it more romantic scenes or lean more on the ecchi side?