>>5144612You two managed another few filters until finally you were both being buffered by raw strands. Your walls rumbled but held, Ruki doing the same. A tender tune knocked out towards your own, a tune you could remember. One you had heard Churvik hum almost an age ago, tenderly you attempted to mimic it. Pounding against your own mind walls, the storm outside carries it back to the girl. Then both machines began to decline in intensity until they died down. Outside you received praise, the staffers clearly in shock by your state of being. Both you and Ruki were fine. The other candidates had seen better days, the prince was bleeding from both nostrils. Bloody paper towels halting the flow as medical staff checked his pulse and pupils.
Anastasia and Katerina were both dazed and pale, staffers were holding them steady. You made it seem as if your machines hadn't even been on. Yumigawa was ecstatic, going through the readings from the hefty machines. "Very impressive. Yuga really out did herself didn't she…" You were all given a short break, the girls eventually reviving themselves as the royal stopped leaking his blue blood all over the place. A tense silence hung over you all. You glimpse Ruki attempting to build up the courage to say something, but every time she'd close her mouth. Next came synchronization rates, measuring your mind state. Typical preliminary stuff. You didn't have to try, passing easily on the first attempt you and Ruki achieved 100% the others took a few tries before climbing up to the desired rates.
The afternoon was long as a handful of tests were carried out. All led up to your linking. You and your bloodied band were let into another room lined with chairs. Soon every unit reconvened under the harsh glow of fluorescent tube lights, worn and tired looking faces meander in thin chairs. Minds heavy as apprehension began to grow, the mirth of the morning had worn out. Nerves were raw. Not a word was muttered as the boys and girls were led to separate locker rooms. Lined up were protective suits. Dampeners, considering the state of the other pilots they would need them. Three types of suits lay out for each candidate, they weren't mandatory. The mental strength of a pilot determines what they would wear.
