°Shattered • Aarmau AU°

I - Mission Ultima

Aphmau paces the small waiting room, Travis watching her lazily and carelessly.

"Why are you so stressed? It's not like Mr. Ekima is going to tell us to murder each other." Travis sighs.

"He said this is big. And it never takes this long for him to tell us a mission!" Aphmau snaps at him, stopping her pace and staring at him with a tense posture.

Travis stands up, putting Aphmau's small, warm hands into his own.

"Calm down. Just breath..."

She exhales out shakily, shutting her eyes. Her head lowers down, her head tilted to the floor.

"Thanks, Travis.... I needed that."

"No problem. We're partners, right? I'll always be here for you. No matter what."

Aphmau chuckles, slipping her hands out of Travis'.

The door opens, a woman in formal clothing looking at them with worriful eyes.

Aphmau and Travis look at her, walking forward to her.

She leads them out of the room into another room, their boss' room, staying silent and still having worriful eyes.

The two sit down in front of a fairly old man, Aphmau getting a stressed posture again.

"Phoenix... Valkrum... I see you came..."

"We always do, Sir." Aphmau mumbles, looking down.

Travis elbows her, giving her a quick glance, telling her to zip it. She does so, crossing her arms and making her usual pout face, like a cat smirk.

"Are you both ready?" The old man, Mr. Ekima, looks at them, giving them a dark look with unpleasant and dull eyes.

The two agents nod hesitantly, looking at each other with large eyes then back to Mr. Ekima.

"This Mission is bigger than anything in the world..l no one has solved it... not a single agency... but I know we'll be the first..."

"...What exactly is the mission?" Aphmau asks, a small voice crack escaping her throat.

"Mission Ultima."

Travis stares at Mr. Ekima with a blank expression, Aphmau giving Mr. Ekima a dead stare.

"And what exactly would 'Mission Ultima' include? We can't do anything without details." Travis snaps, bouncing his leg up and down quickly.

Aphmau elbows him this time, giving him a amused glare. He laughs silently, still giving Mr. Ekima a dead glare.

"Mission Ultima... 'Ultima' is the key to this mission. A werewolf. The most powerful human being on Earth. Not even a human... a super-human. It is a rare bloodline, and we need to kill this Ultima. All we know is that the gender is male... hiding himself as a human. It will be a hard mission, but we need this. We need this to be accomplished..."

Aphmau leans back in her chair, crossing her legs in a formal matter, looking to Travis.

Travis on the other hand stares at Mr. Ekima with a tensed and worries gaze, his muscular build tensing.

"I-I'm in. All for it... I j-just will need the case file..." Aphmau agrees hesitantly, looking back to Mr. Ekima.

"And you, Valkrum?" Mr. Ekima gives Travis a small death stare.

"No. I'm sorry, Aphmau, I can't do this mission. I'll take on Mission Hebble, alone."

"Fair deal, Valkrum... Phoenix, can you handle this one alone? All our agents are either out on vacation or on a mission..."

"I'll be fine. Give me the file, I'll be on it with Espizo quickly." Aphmau leans forward.

"Alright... good luck, Phoenix."

Mr. Ekima gives them both their mission files, them exiting without a single word.

The two agents exit the building with their cases, Aphmau fidgeting with her case file nervously.

They enter Travis' car, sitting down in a dead silence, even the sound of a feather would be heard.

"Why?" Aphmau finally breaks the silence, looking down.

"Why what?"

"Why aren't you doing this mission with me? You never give out when I agree..."

"It's just... it sounds cheesey... Werewolves? Most powerful man on Earth? It sounds so phony..."

Aphmau sighs, slumping down in the black car seat.

"Just get me home... I have to start working on this mission... Espizo will help me over the phone..."

Travis frowns in an emotional matter, turning on his car. The engine roars, the whole cat rumbling with its ignition.

"This is going to be a... tense drive home..."