RP XCOM2: Liberation of Earth

[DarkGemini24601]

Taxor_the_First and DarkGemini24601: “Patient Perseverance, Part 3”

Merenu picked up on the motion, and questioned, is there a problem, Arbiter?

I assure you Overseer it is nothi-

I have concerns about Albina’s ability to combat the one who took Umbra, Carolus overrode her underling. The Reflection formerly belonged to someone dear to her. I question whether she will be able to set that aside to destroy the last remnants of that… individual. Albina hung her head at this.

You have six other remaining Inquisitors. Use those that you are confident in. There should be nothing more to it than that, Merenu stated flatly.

She will be accompanied by those I trust, fear not. I am not so foolish as to send someone I do not think could accomplish the task without some form of backup. The Arbiter nodded slowly. Unfortunately, a squad of eight humans was able to fend off two of my Inquisitors. I may need to send more next time…

Or perhaps you need better Inquisitors. It seems all of them so far have failed to do their jobs, Equium chimed in with a displeased tone. One would hope that those that have not seen battle against the Resistance yet are more competent than Fire, Wind, and Water.

Carolus glanced at the animal with disgust, as if noticing it for the first time. You allow that… thing… to speak in your presence? she asked Merenu.

I prefer to be tactful. Equium is useful for aiding me in being more… direct when necessary. The Ethereal petted the alien cat. I have to wonder if the reason you weren’t invited by the High Commander is due to more than just a lack of personal connection. There might be some doubt cast upon abilities of your organization due to recent events. There may be concern that the Inquisition is no longer as… useful as it was during the Purge.

The Arbiter straightened. I have faith in my Inquisitors’ abilities, she almost snapped. Terrash’Velesoro has not yet been tried against the Resistance, and he is easily my strongest combatant. Besides which, most of their failures in battle can be attributed to being outnumbered. None have directly failed a battle in a one on one scenario bar Aervouba.

I was not aware that we now considered humans to be equals to ourselves.

Carolus was silent. … I have come to accept that some are at least tenacious enough to stand at least close to us in prowess, she said at last. The majority of them are still no better than smart animals.

Certainly not the entirety of that New One’s team was up to that level, though?

No. Just one or two. Enough to turn the tide of that skirmish in their favor.

Merenu rolled her shoulders. I suppose I can afford to reserve judgement until I see what the rest of your team is capable of. I trust you will not disappoint.

We will not fail, Albina stated with surprising resolve. We cannot.

We shall not, Merenu corrected. I have faith, both in the High Commander and in my own abilities. I shall not become complacent, but I shall not give into doubt either. If you do the same, you should not fear.

The Inquisitor of Light bowed her head in reverence. I understand, was the simple response. I… the Arbiters fears will be unfounded. The human will die.

And you are both agreed on this?

Albina glanced at Carolus curiously. Both?

Your Reflection. Has he conceded? I understand you’ve disagreed on your past assignments.

Azrael will abide my wishes, the Inquisitor responded. That is the price he pays for being linked to me.

Merenu made a humming noise. I had forgotten that you possessed such a thoughtform, Inquisitor of Light. It offers me some comfort that you shall go into battle with such a powerful being.

Which is why I assigned the task of murdering the human with Umbra to her, Carolus stated. I had thought Aervouba might prove an equal, but she was found lacking. She smiled, turning her head to Albina slowly. That, and it will prove an opportunity to demonstrate its strength. I have yet to witness it unleashed.

Do inform me when the engagement begins. I may watch it to assess their tactics… Ceasing to communicate her thoughts for a moment, Merenu silently added to herself, and yours. The Overseer waved a hand. If there is nothing else, Arbiter, you may take your leave.

Beneath the Arbiter’s mask, her expression narrowed. … very well. I suppose there is nothing for us to gain by staying any longer. We shall just have to wait for the High Commander’s orders, as irritating as the delay is. Without waiting for her Inquisitor, Carolus turned around, and made to take her leave.

Albina hesitated. I… wish you luck in your efforts, Overseer, she mumbled, before following.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Amicable Advice, Part 1”

Alpine Megacity “Matterhorn”
0942 Hours, December 25th, 2038
Onboard the Avenger
Floor 4, Central Block
The Mess Hall

"Are you listening?" Brigid asked in frustration, giving her mother her signature pout that never change despite the girl maturing.

Morrigan wiped her tired eyes. "Yes, dear, of course. Please continue."

Brigid smiled again. "Well... Gwen said all the parents tell the kids that this golly fat man in a big red coat brings the presents! Isn't that silly? I think it's... silly..." Her eyes lowered to her food, her mother's blank look saying her mind had wandered off again.

"Well, I don't know if Santa parks in crappy places like these Megacities, but I've been doing my best to fill in, Shortcake," a voice intoned from behind.

Brigid quickly turned, her face lighting up. "Yakone!" She quickly climbed out of her seat, nearly tripping on the process, and rushed over to give the woman a hug.

The blacked-haired young woman smiled, embracing the thirteen-year-old with a squeeze. "I meant to get you something on your birthday way back when... but a lot of stuff was going on with me then." The Ranger stepped back, releasing Brigid and opening a closed hand to reveal an ivory carving of a black bear. Curiously, it hadn't been painted black, but was very purposely colored in on the nose to indicate the rest was white. "Figured a spirit bear would be a good guardian animal for you. Merry Christmas, Brigid."

"Wow." Brigid looked it over, handling it very carefully. "This is really cool. You made this yourself? Thank you. I'll keep it safe so it can keep me safe. I just wish I had something for you."

Yakone waved a hand dismissively. "It's no big deal, especially if you didn't know about the holiday until recently. Just don't forget next year," the soldier warned melodramatically. "Or I might get mad."

Brigid chuckled, and nodded her head. "How are you... you know, feeling?" Morrigan asked, giving her younger friend a cautious smile.

"Less shi... a lot better," Yakone corrected herself quickly.

Morrigan nodded in understanding. "You look a lot better. After our... less-than-stellar meeting in the bar last time, I've been worried about you. We all have."

Yakone ran a hand along her lengthened hair. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to worry you guys, but I'm okay now."

Morrigan motioned towards the seats in front of her. "Care to join us for a while? I'm sure Brigid Would like a chance to catch up."

"No, I just came here to give Brigid the gift and then run off mysteriously," Yakone jabbed, sliding into a seat. Yakone snapped her fingers. "Oh, right. Wanted to thank you for bringing my aunt home, Morrigan." Yakone smiled softly. "Means a lot to me, especially since I... realize it couldn't have been easy for you to resist driving that skulljack deeper than you did. Probably should've told you who Blukersey really was once I'd found out... but I guess I was afraid you wouldn't be able to let what she did to you go. You proved me completely wrong."

Morrigan lowered her gaze. "I... I-I understand why you didn't say anything. I know what kind of temper I have, and that I can hold a grudge. I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't trust me with the info since... well, let's face it. You probably couldn't. I'm just happy I found out before I did something I could never take back."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about having a short fuse. You know I'm not any different," Yakone stated with a shocking degree of humility.

This caught Morrigan a bit by surprise, and she smiled. "I hope you're not beating yourself up too much either."

Brigid sat next to Yakone. "Mom said you were avoiding everyone because you were feeling super guilty. I understand why. But I don't think you should feel like that."

"I still feel a bit bad about everything... but I'm not going to let it control me." Yakone ruffled Brigid's hair. "Don't worry about it, Shortcake. I'm good, I promise."

"So... guess what?" Brigid asked with a big grin. "You'll never guess what happened to me."

Yakone tilted her head slightly. "Well, you're not wrong. I'm clueless. What's that?"

"Mom, cover your ears." Morrigan rolled her eyes, but did what she asked. Brigid leaned close to Yakone and whispered, "I think I found a boyfriend."

Yakone's eyes widened slightly. "Did you now?"

"Uh huh. His name is Leonardo. Do you know him? He works in the infirmary."

"Uh... I've seen him once or twice, and I know Leon knows him... but I'm not familiar with the guy personally, no," Yakone responded honestly.

"Well... he is the most handsome boy ever. You know... b-besides Leon. He has perfect skin, and great hair, and the best smile." Brigid shrugged. "And he... thinks I'm cute."

Yakone lifted her hand and gave Brigid a high-five. "That's awesome. Well done!"

"Thanks!" She looked over to her mother, patiently holding her ears. "Just don't tell mom, okay? She was okay with Leon, but this is, like... a real boyfriend thing if I can pull this off, and mom might get... protective if she doesn't meet Leo first."

"Alright. Don't worry about it." Yakone made a zipping motion over her mouth. "Lips are sealed."

Brigid motioned for her mom to uncover her eyes. "So don't tell anyone about it," Brigid said rather loudly. "I need to, um... finish writing it first."

Morrigan hid a smile, and turned her attention back to Yakone. "So tell me how Leon had been. I've heard you've been visiting him. I was afraid that might not happen."

"Wasn't easy to do it, but I faced him. We're doing alright, and, well... uh..." Yakone rubbed the back of her neck. "It's a long story, but... Leon and I are taking care of a girl Brigid's age now."

Morrigan let out a short laugh. "Well, um... that's really unexpected. How did that happen? You at least have to give us the short version."

"Let's just say Leon and I were reminded that... those we fight have families too," Yakone responded somberly.

Morrigan's shoulders sunk, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

Do you ever think how many soldiers you’ve killed that were sons? Daughters? Siblings? Parents?

The Irishwoman rubbed the goosebumps that formed on her arms. "That's... that's really good of you, Yakone. Very... kind."

"What's her name?" Brigid asked.

"Consuela. She tends to go by 'Konny', though, which should be easier for you to pronounce." Yakone smirked. "I mentioned you to her, and she sounded interested in meeting you, Shortcake."

"Really?" Brigid lowered her head shyly. "You think she would like me? What's she like?"

"Kinda like me, to be honest. She's a nice kid, but she can be stubborn and irritable at times. I think she'll get along better with someone her size, though," Yakone spoke encouragingly.

"Yeah?" Brigid gave her a nervous look. "You don't think she'd find me, like... annoying, or weird, or dorky, or childish, or..."

"Honey, please." Morrigan raised a hand to silence her daughter. "It isn't like you to lack confidence. I'm sure this girl would like you just fine. She's just another child, not someone you have to impress to get a job or a principle you need to impress to get your child in his stuck up school... not that I would know anything about that."

Yakone chuckled. "I concur with Morrigan. It'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay." Brigid nodded, and smiled shyly.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Amicable Advice, Part 2”

Morrigan slowly sighed, wiping her tired eyes. "It really is good to see you're doing better, Yakone. We have enough to worry about right now. The last thing we need is our MVP out of commission. How are your injuries?"

"Got some wicked scars on my back now, but my psionics are flowing normally again. Good to go kick some Declension ass." Oops. I am really bad at this 'no swearing' thing.

Brigid giggled, more at her expression on cursing then the curse itself. "Yakone, can I ask you a question?" The way she looked over Yakone's face hinted at what her question might be.

"What's that?" Yakone asked with a bit of trepidation rising.

"You still have your special healing powers, right?" Brigid tilted her head. "Why... don't you fix the scars on your face? How did that even happen?"

"Scars are a bit hard to unravel. Biokinesis can allow the body to function in ways beyond those that are natural, but... doing unnatural things is harder." Yakone ran a finger down one of the lines across the left side of her visage. "Scar tissue is meant to be permanent. I can fix it, yeah, but I'd need to dedicate time to do so. I'd rather be training or hanging out with you guys." She seemed hesitant to answer the secondary question.

"Oh... I see. I'm sorry." Brigid poked at her food. Someone must have hit you really hard to do that, since you are always wearing a helmet in battle. Did you at least get the guy who did it?"

"Wasn't... a combat wound, Shortcake." Yakone rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not sure I should... go into details. Might be a bit much... I don't imagine Morrigan told you a lot of what... happened to her when she was a prisoner either."

"N... n-no... but I guessed some of it." Brigid turned her gaze away. "They tortured you, didn't they. Did messed up things to you while asking stupid questions you probably couldn't answer."

"Or wouldn't answer because she is faithful to her friends and teammates," Morrigan answered softly.

"Mom won't tell me exactly what they did... but I've seen her scars." Brigid bit her lips, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I'm s-sorry, Yakone. It isn't right."

Yakone shook her head. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done. And that wasn't about stealing information from me... they already had an Ethereal suck the useless tidbits of information out. No, I got these scars because I pissed a certain kitty off."

"A certain kitty?" Morrigan leaned forward. "That wouldn't happened to be a literal description of someone who worked with your aunt, would it?"

"I heard she was in the brig," Yakone commented, shaking her head. "Which is uncomfortably as hell for me. The relationship I have with that damn Mogul is... complicated, to put it lightly."

"Oh? In what way?" Morrigan have her a curious look. "You two go at it after you got your mind swap?"

Yakone coughed violently. On some level she realized that Morrigan was probably just joking, but the fact that the jab had been spot-on was staggering and left her speechless.

"It's okay if you two went at it," Brigid said. "I hope you beat her up good." The girl squeezed her fists, a dark looking crossing her eyes. "The Commander should let you scratch her like you scratched her. Maybe do more."

"Brigid!" Morrigan said in surprise.

"Wouldn't make me feel any better," Yakone replied, shaking her head. And that's not what I meant.

Brigid slowly released the tension in her fist and looked up at Yakone. "But don't you want your revenge for what she did?"

"Brigid, I don't like hearing you talk like..." Morrigan started.

"Mom wants to get her revenge on dad," Brigid continued. "She wants to pay him back for hurting her when she finds him."

Yakone's eyes widened slightly. She... doesn't know, huh? the Ranger sought confirmation from Morrigan telepathically.

I-I... I couldn't... I don't know... how to tell her… Morrigan looked away, shame filling her expression.

"Betraying you and leaving you to be tortured for a crime you might have committed is a lot different than giving someone a scar though, Brigid," Yakone spoke up after a few moments of hesitation. "Besides, like I said... my relationship with Jezebel is... uh... it’s complicated. Your dad acted like a clear-cut asshole, so I wouldn't blame Morrigan if she decided to take him out."

"Take him out?" Brigid thought that over. "You mean, like... kill him?" She thought about it for a bit longer. "I... I-I guess... i-if my dad attacked her, and... and she had no choice..."

"That's how war is, unfortunately. There's not always a chance to make the person on the other side back down... sometimes you just have to do what you have to," Yakone stated seriously.

Brigid nodded. "I hope it doesn't come to that," she said softly. She looked over to her mother, watching her expression for a moment before she climbed off her chair. "I'm, um... gonna see if Ms. Catherine made any cookies today."

As she walked off, Morrigan turned her guilty gaze to Yakone. "Thank you, Yakone. I appreciate you trying. But... there is something you should know."

"Eh?" the Ranger questioned. "What's that?"

"I had a chance to bring him in... but I didn't." Morrigan rubbed her eyes. "I-I... I knew I should... b-but I couldn't. I-I couldn't let him live, I... I killed him... in cold blood. He was beaten... and I shot him anyway. A-a-and when... Brigid finds out..."

Yakone shook her head in confusion. "I... don't really get what you're talking about. You executed an enemy combatant, one that was a huge piece of shit to boot - one that we wouldn't have gotten anything out of by taking alive. Why is that a bad thing?"

"Because he wasn't just an enemy combatant. He was Brigid's father!" Morrigan put her hands over her eyes. "I-I could have... she won't understand. She'll ask why I didn't bring him in. She'll insist we could have reformed him somehow. I know that is probably an impossibility, but do you really think Brigid will agree? Or care when I tell her I disarmed him, then shot him?"

"...then don't tell her that," Yakone responded with a shake of her head. "You and I both know that Daniel was an irredeemable piece of shit. So if Brigid has to know he died... just tell her that he didn't leave you any choice. It's not untrue."

Morrigan slowly moved her hands away from her eyes. "Is it right, though? To hide the full truth from her like that?"

"I don't think what you're saying even is the truth. You're arguing semantics. So you shot the guy after the fight was over? That's not murder from where I stand. So don't go to your daughter, trying to make it sound worse than it actually is. You'd be intentionally torpedoing your relationship with her," Yakone stated firmly.

Morrigan sniffed, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You... y-you really think I'm... intentionally making it worse then it is?"

"Why would I lie about that?" Yakone shook her head. "I'll repeat myself. Daniel deserved to die. It sucks that Brigid has to lose her father, but what the hell did he ever do for her other than fill her head with propaganda and enroll her in a state school? I don't know how you could have 'redeemed' him, Morrigan. I don't think it would be possible. Even if he came around to our side - which is incredibly dubious in the first place - he'd still hate you, and he'd cause Brigid no shortage of strife. World's better off without Daniel Hunnigan."

"Yeah... m-maybe you're right." Morrigan continued to wipe her eyes, hating how weak she looked in front of a friend who had far more reasons to cry then her. "I-I... keep having these nightmares, you know? Like... Daniel will be an XCOM hero and all my friends will be out for my blood... or Daniel will be my boyfriend after he killed Mark. I, um... one that is really scary because it... seems like it could happen is, uh... Atka... I-I mean the Commander finds out, and she's furious that I killed someone I could have taken in for questioning for my own selfish reasons, and accuses me of putting my feelings before XCOM.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Amicable Advice, Part 3”

Morrigan shook her head. “But she doesn't... she doesn't yell at me. She just... stares at me with disappointed eyes. The kind only a mother can have after their child has done something to let them down. A-and she just kicks me out. And not even from XCOM, just her office. It doesn't sound that bad, but.. but I-I always wake up feeling so empty, you know? Like I've failed my team. Failed her." She let out a grim chuckle. "I probably sound so stupid."

"My mother hasn't given Daniel's death a second thought, so I think you're good," Yakone replied with a sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore. If for some reason he hadn't died, he would have either gone rogue and we'd have been forced to kill him anyway, or he'd be part of Genesis and wouldn't have seen justice for his crimes. You seem to keep forgetting - and in the process make yourself out to be the bad guy - that Daniel did a bunch of fucked up shit. It doesn't matter whose father he is... that sort of stuff can't go unpunished. Maybe we disagree on that front, but I'm a firm believer in justice. If someone does wrong, they should face the music. That's the only way we can have order and prosperity."

Morrigan softly smiled. "Th-thank you, Yakone. I know you have your own shit to deal with. I appreciate you being so willing to make me feel better about my silly problems."

"Hey. We're friends. That's reason enough." Yakone smiled. "Besides, I'm not just acting tough for Brigid... I am feeling alright now. The guilt's a dull ache more than anything, and when that damn cat feels more pressing than the pain of the past... that's a good sign."

"I hear you." Morrigan's smile grew more genuine. "About... the cat. You seemed flustered about my little joke. Any reason why?"

"...because you hit the nail on the head..." Yakone murmured.

"Oh... my... God..." Morrigan looked around for Brigid, spotting the top of her head in the kitchen. "So you two... whoa! How far did it go? Please, you have to tell me."

"What are you, fourteen?" Yakone complained irritably. "I'll never understand gossipers," she muttered, before explaining, "She didn't do anything significant to me. Ember was the one..." Yakone searched for the right words. "...who was doing the work."

Morrigan held a hand over her mouth in shock. "Wow. I..." She held a hand up. "I swear, I won't tell anyone. Especially Leon. Though... considering how men are... I bet he wouldn't mind as long you shared some details."

"No, I think it'd probably upset him. So please, keep your damn mouth shut," Yakone pleaded.

"Hand to God." Morrigan held her lips tightly shut, anxiously tapping her foot for a few seconds before asking, "So how much do you remember of it? Was it good? Obviously Ember enjoyed it, but did any of that pleasure... reach you?"

"Why do you need to know?" Yakone responded tersely.

Morrigan thought about it for a second, then sat back, sighing. "I guess I don't," she admitted in defeat."

"L-Look... I... you're my friend and all... it's just... uncomfortable." Yakone sighed. "I've only let it slip to one other person... I suppose maybe I can be a little more open with you... s-since we're both girls and all." Yakone rubbed her forehead. "Can I tell you a secret, Morrigan? I need you to promise that you'll keep it to yourself."

Morrigan nodded. "Like I said, hand to God. Cross my heart and hope to die, I won't say anything."

Yakone covered her midnight green eyes with her palms, whispering, "I... might have... an interest in girls... in addition to guys. I would never cheat on Leon, though! And it's not the same sort of attraction... but I'm... I'm curious, alright? So sue me, I'm a bit curious as to what it'd be like to be with another woman," Yakone confessed, her face reddening from shame.

Morrigan nodded. "I see. So you figure the reason Ember did what she did was proof of this... interest?"

"Ember took some of the worst aspects of me and magnified them... so yeah, I do," Yakone muttered self-deprecatingly.

Morrigan tapped her hands lightly on the table. "And you think you have an interest in woman would qualified as one of your worst aspects? Or at least a bad aspect?"

"It happens to be a sin, you know," Yakone murmured in response. "I don't judge other people for it, but I am a Catholic and I really shouldn't be thinking something like that..." Yakone sighed. "Plus, this is a terrible time to be getting experimental. I've already got a boyfriend, even if I have urges like that I shouldn't be dwelling on them like I am now. What the hell would Leon think of me if he knew?"

Morrigan shrugged. "He might be surprised, but..." She leaned forward. "Well, he trusts you, right? Knows you'd never betray him like that? He did ask you to help care for this Konny girl, right? That shows he trusts you. It might take him a bit to get used to the idea, but he would eventually accept it as another part of you, and realize it doesn't matter since you have him."

"Yeah, I guess..." Yakone granted. "I just hope those desires don't irritate the hell out of me in the future. If it weren't for Ember I might not have even acknowledged them. Woulda just kept kidding myself, pretending it was all just joking around instead of just mostly pretending."

Morrigan shrugged. "Maybe it is for the best then. I mean... heh, sorry. The whole Ember thing wasn't for the best, I just meant the self discovery part. Hiding from a part of you would just fester self-loathing. Knowing who you are is for the better. And, if you need someone to talk to, I know one person you care share with that would understand better than me."

"Suppose so... though mentioning it to Ayame might make things awkward, considering the whole kiss situation all that time ago," Yakone noted with a grumble.

Morrigan narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry... what was that? You... you two..."

"Did you never hear about that? We made a bet that whoever lost a sparring match would have to do something for the other, and she made me kiss her," Yakone remarked, seeming shocked that the news had never reached Morrigan.

Morrigan shook her head. "No. I guess Ayame knows how to keep a secret. So much for getting good gossip out of her." Morrigan chuckled, but her expression turned serious. "I still think you should consider saying something to her if her start really worrying about it. With her age, and all she has been through, you know she won't judge who you are, how you are, or how you feel about it, even if it contradicts how she feels about it. She's your friend. We're all your friend. And we have your best interests at heart."

Yakone smiled softly, breathing a sigh of relief. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Morrigan."

Brigid finally returned with three rather large cookies. "You want one, Yakone? They're really good."

The Ranger grinned. "Of course." She swiped one off the plate. "Much obliged."

Brigid handed one to her mother, and lifted her own. Before biting into it, however, she smiled up at Yakone. "Welcome home. It is really good to have you back."

Yakone smiled, taking a big bite out of the desert. "It's good to be back."

 

[Taxor_the_First]

A Judging Family’s Christmas, Part 1
Recreation Room, Avenger
11:30 AM, December 25th, 2038


It had been a simple suggestion. Holly’s idea, as always, for a way to bring the group closer together in the light of the siege they’d just overcome. What better way than to celebrate the holiday the old world had once stopped in its tracks every year for?

The entirety of Judgement Squad (minus Lucifer’s larger SPARK chassis) sat in a circle, all clutching some object wrapped or otherwise concealed from view. These objects were meant for one another, but exactly who was known only to the one holding it. In order to maintain the spirit of the idea, Lucifer had been the one to decide who got a present for who in this ‘secret santa’.

Holly grinned, internally pleased that her idea had been taken on so well. “So then,” she said. “Who’s first?”

“Ah, that would be me,” Alan stated, rising with a rectangular box in hand. “And my gift is for Bonnie.”

The Grenadier in question raised an eyebrow. “Well, from the packagin’ I’m gonna guess you got me a bottle of somethin’. The question is, what?”

Alan smirked. “Trust you to be able to recognize a bottle of alcohol without even seeing the bottle,” he quipped, handing the item over. “And to check out my package.”

A few shredded pieces of wrapping paper later, and Bonnie was squealing in delight. “Come ‘ere you perfect bastard you!” she cried, wrapping the Ambusher himself in her arms as he desperately tried to extricate himself.

Samuel tilted his head to read the packaging. “Muscat?” he asked confused. “The hell is that?”

“Like port,” Lester answered boredly. “Except not.”

“I… see.”

“It’s good shit is what it is,” Bonnie proclaimed. “Pre-war variety, too! I’m keepin’ this. Special occasion. Our final mission together. You survive, you can share some with me. Should be plenty o’ motivation for you all to not up and die on me.”

Arthur allowed himself a slight smile. “I’ll add it to the list,” he said.

“Moving along,” Holly prompted, waving her hand in a rotation.

“Ach, fine, fine. Don’t get yer knickers in a twist,” the Grenadier almost pouted. She procured her own package, grinning as she did so. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were just impatient to get yer own gift.”

The Sharpshooter’s face turned to an expression of surprise. “You’re the one who got my gift?” she asked, evidently caught off-guard. Her gaze swapped to Samuel, who shrugged.

“Thought some misdirection might do you some good,” the Russian said, a twinkle in his eye.

Holly tore into the gift like a Chryssalid at its prey, gasping when she saw the innards. With some care, she removed the battered aviators from her face and drew out the new pair. “They’re perfect!” she almost squealed, removing the sticker wrapped around one prong and placing them on her face. “And a perfect fit.”

“Thought ye could use some new ones,” Bonnie said almost sheepishly. “Your other ones looked a bit rickety.”

Rather than say something else, Holly stood up and embraced the Grenadier, prompting numerous requests from the latter to release her or suffer a grisly demise. “I ever tell you I love you?” the Sharpshooter asked. “Platonically, I mean. But I do.”

Bonnie laughed. “Fuckin’ git off me, and I’ll forget you said anything.”

Samara glanced away from the display as the two extricated themselves, with Bonnie returning to her place in the circle. “Who’s next?” Holly asked, grunting as she inelegantly plonked herself down. “Samara, don’t think I don’t see you trying to hide.”

“What?” The Juggernaut shifted. “Uh… no, no, I wasn’t…” She sighed, standing up with her gift. “I may as well do this now. Arthur?”

The Phantom tilted his head. “A gift is unnecessary,” he stated. “The very fact that you got me anything is enough.”

“Then what’s the point of me purchasing something and not giving it to you?” Samara asked, perplexed. “Just take it.”

Admittedly curious, Arthur gently took the object from his gift-giver’s hands, and unwrapped it. The silence was agonizingly long, as he chose to open the gift without ripping any of the paper. When he drew the item out of its package, however, the Chinese man smiled warmly. It was a length of thread, with a tassel on one end and a loop on the other. Along the line were several circular pieces of metal, which on closer inspection appeared to be coins with indecipherable text on them. “A charm,” Arthur stated, examining it.

Samara shifted. “There were plenty of antique shops around Matterhorn before the siege started,” she mumbled. “I’m… not certain if those are real coins or just made to look old, but-”

“It doesn’t matter,” the Phantom interrupted, smiling. “Thank you.”

Samuel leaned over to Alan. “Making a prediction now,” he murmured. “That thing’s gonna show up on his armor somewhere.”

“How much you wanna bet?”

“... two laundry runs.”

The Ambusher smirked. “You’re on.”

“Really? Huh. Never really thought you’d be a betting man-”

“Nono. Your turn.”

The Russian looked up to see everyone was looking at him expectantly. “Oh. Sorry.” With a grunt, he reached down to where his gift was leaning against his chair, grasping the small thin rectangle and standing. “You know, I thought for a while this might’ve been rigged,” he muttered, turning the object over in his hands. “Seemed like a strange case of luck for me to end up getting something for Lester.”

The Specialist straightened. “Oh dear,” he said.

“Don’t look at me like that. I got you something I thought you’d actually enjoy.” With a half-smile on his face, Samuel handed the item over. “Go on. Tear in.”

Lester’s eyes wary, he began to unravel his gift. His expression softened noticeably when he glimpsed the front cover. “The Fawlty Towers complete series?” he asked, stifling a chuckle. “I’m… honestly shocked. You didn’t just get this for me because I sound upper-class British, did you?”

The Russian scoffed. “No,” he said, his tone indicating the idea was preposterous. “You think nobody notices you snickering away in our squad drinking sessions? You might try your best to hide it, but we all know you have a sense of humor.” A shrug. “Alright, maybe the choice of comedy was influenced by your mannerisms, but that’s it.”

The Specialist was silent. “I suppose that’ll do,” he decided, smiling with a warmth Samuel had never seen before. “Thank you, Samuel. I really do appreciate this.”

“And I appreciate that you appreciate it,” the Aerotrooper responded, seating himself again. “Alright, don’t you all sit there looking like you’re about to cry over that touching moment. Who’s next?”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

A Judging Family’s Christmas, Part 2


It was thus that the group continued, exchanging gifts amongst each other - Alan was given a number of medicinal products, a sheepish Samson admitting that Chloe had told him about the Ambusher’s interest in such chemicals. Not for personal use, Alan was quick to assure everyone. Lester bestowed upon Samara a cybernetic eye, explaining that an engineer XCOM had picked up fairly recently had essentially done all the work.

“If there’s anyone you want to thank for this, it should be Alice,” he insisted amidst the Juggernaut’s expressions of gratitude. Bonnie seemed disappointed Samara’s eyepatch would disappear, however, stating for the record it made her look ‘like a modern pirate’.

Arthur gave Samson an equally surprising present - an altered helm for his power suit. “I understand you were attached to that hockey mask,” the Phantom explained as Samson turned the smooth object over in his hands. “It was a relatively simple job to get it inside the helm. Trickier to fasten it to the visor without breaking either of them, however.”

Samuel had to admit it looked impressive - the dome-shaped helmet was now underlaid with the skull-painted hockey mask the new Harrier had worn on his first mission with the squad, presenting an intimidating effect when it was pointed in his direction. Samson himself seemed to love it, which in the end was all that really mattered.

Holly was the last to give a gift, declaring it was for Samuel. To his embarrassment, at first she simply procured a number of the pills he recognized as being from the special closets around the ship. “Just in case neither of you can wait to get to the appropriate accommodations. It being a special day and all, I wouldn’t be surprised if you needed one tonight,” she said with a wink, only making Samuel’s face burn redder. When the laughter had died down, however, she presented a more serious gift.

The Russian blinked, the paper falling away. “A… photo frame?”

Holly looked away. “Well, I thought… since you’re carrying that picture with you all the time…”

Samuel reached into his pocket, procuring the image in question. The three people on it stared back at him, all grinning like idiots. He couldn’t stop the thought that one of them was dead.

With a sigh, he replaced it in his pocket. “That image doesn’t deserve to sit in this,” he mumbled. “No, I’d much prefer something else. Something more current. One that encapsulates my current family.”

Alan picked up on his meaning immediately. “Well, we could always grab one of the cameras sitting in Intel.”

“How’d you know there were cameras in Intel?” Samuel asked, raising an eyebrow. “Nobody but Intelligence staff are allowed in there.

“Uh… just practicing my PCS?” the Ambusher answered.

The Russian watched him with squinted eyes as the rest of the squad caught on. “Awww… you think of us as family?” Holly asked, the expression on her face further indicating she thought the idea to be cute.

“W-well, yeah.” Samuel rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “You’ve all been great people. Accepted me in your little clan, to the point where I sometimes forget I was the outsider.”

“I concur,” Samara stated, nodding. “I was little more than a wounded and starving pile of bones when you all showed up. But you all welcomed me, even those of you who might have been hoping I was someone else.”

“You mean me,” the Aerotrooper responded, a smile lighting his face. “To be honest, I’m glad it was you now. You’ve been an invaluable addition.”

Samson meanwhile was shifting in place. “Well, shit. I ain’t been around long enough to really get a sense o’ that, you know?”

Bonnie laughed. “Then stick around,” she instructed. “And maybe then we’ll give you a full membership card.”

The meeting degenerated into simple drinking and banter, then, although far more restrained than previous gatherings had been. Bonnie even seemed largely sober for most of it. Aside from this, it was just as it would be any other day. The bad points of the siege - the death toll, the damage - were put aside on this day of celebration. One more year survived, Lester called it.

Samuel made to leave early, having other plans with Stacie later in the day he didn’t intend to be late for. But movement at the fringe of the group caught his eye. It was Chloe, positioned in a way that blocked their gazes from meeting by way of Samson’s buzzcut head. After whispering in Holly’s ear for a few moments, the Sharpshooter glanced at her. Then back at the group, then at the alcohol sitting on the low table in the center. Her gaze lingered here before she finally nodded, standing and excusing herself. Chloe followed closely behind, quickly glancing backward to ensure Samuel hadn’t been watching.

And he hadn’t. Not really. Arthur had done that for him.

Leave it, he instructed the Phantom mentally, before standing. Not much I can do except wait, anyway. At least now we have an actual potential victim.

Arthur watched him, silently. What do you intend to do once the waiting is over? he asked.

Samuel hesitated. Not sure, he admitted. Watch Holly when you see her again. Check her neck, in particular. If she’s acting like she has an injury, probe until you see it.

You don’t trust Chloe is keeping her word?

She’s an addict. I wouldn’t trust anyone in her situation. Shaking his head, the Aerotrooper left, pushing the worries out of his mind. “It’s Christmas,” he muttered to himself. “I shouldn’t have to deal with any of this shit today.”

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing is a colaberation between Dhalexpert & Zombiesplitter53

Preparing for my future
Onboard the avenger
11:57 AM December 25, 2038
Barracks

Luke made his way to the Chambers' room. He had been spending less time on the Avenger, and more in the city, assisting with the cleanup of the city. "Yo Chambers, anyone home? Jennifer, you there? If so, come out. I need help."

After a minute, the door finally opened. Jennifer peaked out, looking a bit different then usual. Her hair was well brushed and tied into a ponytail, and for the first time since meeting her, Luke noticed what looked like a small amount of make-up. "Um... Luke? What's up?"

"Well well, look at you. I have to say, you look gorgeous. Makeup looks great on you."

Jennifer smiled nervously. "I-I, uh... I was just getting ready for a d... meet up with a friend later. Thought I'd try and look nice for a change. So what's up? You needed help with something?"

Luke smiled at Jennifer and patted her shoulder. "I just need you to look over something with me, then Iwill drop you off wherever you need to be."

"Um. alright." She slipped out of the room, her clothing more casual then usual. "Lead the way, Luke."

"Well, don't you look attractive today? Come on." Luke led Jennifer off the Avenger, and into a car, driving off to the road. The city was still in shambles, but looked a lot better then it did a few weeks ago. "So Jenn, why are you all dressed up? Did I ruin a date for you, or are you this dressed up for me?"

"No, I... n-no a date. I'm meeting with another woman, so... so obviously... I just want to look nice." Jenn looked around. "Where did you get a car?"

"This was a gift from the Elder for me, one of many. I'm taking you to another gift he gave me. Well, loaned me. So you want to look nice for another woman. Well, if you swing that way, I'm cool with it. Though I have to say Jenn, you look stunning. You look like a model. I almost want to rent an apartment and have some private time with you. But that would piss off Alexis, so I won't."

Jennifer blushed. "Y-you're sweet in your... own weird way. But we're... just friends. I'm not... you know. And even if I was... that doesn't mean she would be... you know."

"Why not? You're attractive, smart, a great cook. Who wouldn't be attracted to you? The fact you're still single amazes me. I'm seriously considering taking you for myself." Luke's eyes widened and he realized what he just said, and blushed a bit. "I'm making a complete ass of myself, aren't I?"

Jennifer giggled lightly. "Yeah. But it's okay. I've known you long enough to know this is the way you compliment me. So... thank you, Luke. You're very sweet to say that."

Luke smiled at Jennifer, and stopped in front of an apartment. "Alright, we're here. Come on, I want to show you a surprise."

Jennifer exited the car and followed him in, looking around curiously. "You really got an apartment? I thought that was just a joke."

"No, I'm thinking about my future after all. Come on, I want you to see the place before I show it to Alexis and the others."

"Okay." Jennifer followed him closely. "Though I'm sure it'll look good."

"Oh, you have no idea." Luke and Jennifer took the elevator up to a penthouse. Once inside, Jennifer saw a very large room with a couch and a perfect view of the city. The room had a large TV, and there was a spacious kitchen. "So what do you think of the entrance?"

Jennifer laughed nervously. "I'm not all that familiar with this thing, but... this looks awfully expensive."

"Oh, you think that's expensive? Get a load of this." Luke opened the bathroom. It was only a bit smaller, and had a sink and a large bathtub, and a separate shower. "It has a shower... a personal shower. Can you believe that?"

Jennifer was taken aback. "I don't... how can you afford this on your salary? You know, your salary of nothing since being a resistance member doesn't pay?"

"Like I said, this was sort of a gift from the Elder I defended his museum and made sure not to damage anything in there. He recognize this is our home and was willing to help. I'll have to pay eventually, but he said I'll get a good deal."

"Pretty surprising considering you almost attacked him," Jennifer commented with a laugh. "Guess he doesn't hold a grudge. What does the bedroom look like?"

"Heh heh, oh, it's amazing." Luke led Jenn to the bedroom. It had a king sized bed, with red sheets and a blue blanket on top of it. There was also a large closet and a dressers. "Yeah, I think I'm going to be in this room the most."

"Knowing you, no doubt." Jennifer laughed. "This really is an amazing place. I'm sure Alex will love it. I'm surprised she wasn't the first one you showed it to."

"Well, I’m saving it for later on. And there's another reason why I brought you here. I need you to close your eyes for me alright? No peeking."

"Alright." Jennifer closed her eyes and half her hands in front of them. "But no funny business, pervy."

"Yeah yeah, I got you. Don't worry about it." Luke went into the dresser and pulled out a small box. Luke took Jennifer's hand and put something on her finger. "Alright, you can open them now. Just don't freak out, alright?"

Jennifer slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her hand.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 2
She saw a gold ring on her ring finger. "So, what do you think? Is it a little much? Did I go too far with this. Give me your honest opinion." Luke smiled brightly at Jennifer as she looks at the ring.

"Oh, my God." Jenn's eyes darted between Luke and the ring. "You... is this an engagement ring? Are you going... to ask Alex..."

"Yes, but I'm nervous. Now, before you say anything, yes, I payed for that. I worked for credits helping clean up the city. Now I'm nervous because I never done this before. Being serious and asking her to marry me. I'm a little anxious."

"I'll bet. I'm anxious and I'm not even the bride or groom." Jennifer took a few deep breaths. "You're really serious about this, huh?"

"Yeah. This apartment, the car... I'm preparing for a life after this is all over. It's just that, well... I pretty much stopped flirting with women. But then there's you." Luke brought Jennifer close to him and held her hips. "Is it wrong that part of me want's to make you happy too, and have you by my side as well just to keep you happy?"

Jennifer let out a long sigh, but smiled at him gently, rubbing his cheek. "You're kind, Luke. And I appreciate it. Sometimes I wonder what might have happened if I caught your attention first. Of course, I then feel super guilty about it."

"Huh, didn't know you felt that way. You know, a part of me wishes to have you both. I could make you both very happy, and I could give you two all the attention you want." Luke took a deep breath. “But this is the part where you set me straight isn't it? And bring me back to reality."

Jennifer lightly tapped his cheek. "I'm afraid so, Luke. Don't cloud your vision by looking at what can't be, and don't risk what you have with Alexis by thinking of me. Maybe somewhere, in another world, I'm a part of Alexis, and you have us both. But not here. So cherish what you have, because as much as my sister and I have bickered, especially in the past, I know she is a great catch."

Luke closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Jennifer, his face looked as if it was filled with pity. He then kissed Jennifer's forehead and brought her closer to him as he hugged her. "Ugh, I know you're right, and I do cherish every moment I have with Alexis. I just... look, I want you to be happy as well, like I've said so many times today. You're beautiful, smart, and very sexy. How no one has taken you yet, I don't know. It's a shame that you're being left behind with no one."

Jennifer shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I... you know, I... I-I might... have found someone... I just... I'm taking things slow. I don't know how they might feel. But you really don't have to worry about me. If things don't work out, I've heard my mother has been husband shopping for me."

Jennifer laughed. "You haven't even told my mom about this yet? Don't I feel special. Why me first?"

"Well, I can trust you for one. Second, you're the reason I still have a relationship with Alexis, when you had her hear me out when she found out about my past. Third..." Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, I figured I could wow you enough with all this to get a peck on the cheek." Luke smiled at Jennifer, clearly still loving to tease her.

Jennifer laughed, and stepped to Luke's side, giving him said peck on the cheek.

Luke smiled at her. He wanted to pick her up and kiss her, but his better judgment told him to do otherwise. "Heh, thanks. That felt like something long overdue with the amount of flirting we do to each other."

"Agreed." Jennifer smiled back. "Tell me, Luke... if there was one thing I could do for you to get over me... one thing to make you focus all your attention on Alex, what would it, be?"

"You sure you want me to answer that? I doubt you will like the answer."

Jennifer shrugged. "I didn't ask because I thought I would. I assume I won't. But I'd like to know."

Luke took a deep breath and looked at the bed and back at Jennifer.This is my chance, I could have slept with both the Chambers. I could fuck Jennifer to wheare she will never go to another guy. I could be the best she has ever had. I could ruin her for most guys, to where she's not satisfied with anyone but me.Luke thought for a moment about Alexis and if she ever found out about it, she would never for give him and will despise both him and her sister.
But think of the fun you can have with her. Think about it. You will never get this chance again.Luke looked at Jennifer up and down and saw how beautiful she was with her make-up and her ponytail, how tone she's gotten thanks to his help and thought how he could satisfy them both.

Luke took a deep breath and looked at Jennifer. "A kiss. That's it. A real kiss. We do this and we get over our personal feelings for each other, and go no further then that. If we do this, we mention this to no one. We take this to our graves. I can move on and finally marry Alexis, and I would have tied up all lose ends."

Jennifer slowly nodded, taking a step closer. "That sounds fair. I'd be lying if I said I... I wouldn't like a chance to get one, perfect kiss from my future brother-in-law. Might sound dirty... but I'm allowed a fantasy, right?"

"Well, you're allowed to be dirty minded. After all, you're human." Luke lifted Jennifer to where she was eye level with him. He then grabbed one of the chairs and sat in it, leaving Jennifer on his lap. "Ready darling?" Luke smiled at Jennifer.

Jennifer nodded, closing her eyes and leaning her head forward.

Luke held Jenifer's cheek and kissed her. Her lips were just as soft as Alexis, which made Luke a little more aggressive and passionate as he started to put his tongue into her mouth.So this is Jennifer? This is what she taste like? Whoever gets with her better appreciate this.

Jennifer kissed him back. She lacked his skill, but he could tell this wasn't her fist kiss. She returned his intensity. Her pride might have prevented her from fully admitting it, but even after coming to terms with it, and even with someone else catching her attention, a part of her was still jealous of Alex. She wanted to make sure she got all of those lagging feelings out of her system, and maybe enjoy herself a bit in the process.

Luke held Jenifer's hand, surprised Jennifer was skilled. He held her tighter and stood up, holding Jennifer to make sure he didn't drop her. A part of him wished he could have both of the Chambers sisters to himself, but he couldn't, so he enjoyed the moment while he could.

Finally, Jennifer pulled her head back. She let out a small laugh. "That... that was fun."

"Yeah, I'll say." Luke laughed. "You're pretty good. And here I thought I was your first. Naughty girl."

Jennifer blushed. "Yeah, well... there are a few things that no one knows about me. Maybe I'll share them with you some time." She patted him on the shoulder. "We good now?"

"Yep, I'm satisfied now." Luke gently put Jennifer down. "Hope you enjoyed yourself."

"I did." Jessica gave him a gentle hug. "And congratulations. I know you haven't asked her yet, but I'm sure she'll say yes."

"God I hope so. Never decided to get married before this. I hope she says yes, and if so, no more flirting or teasing other women. Just me being faithful."

"Good. I believe you." Jennifer stepped past him and motioned for him to follow. "Come on. I have somewhere I need to be, and you promised to bring me there."

"Yeah yeah, I got you, come on. And again, don't mention this to anyone." Luke said, opening the door for Jennifer.

"My lips are sealed," she assured him, stepping out.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and Frostlich1228: "Soft Steel"

Alpine Megacity “Matterhorn”
0738 Hours, December 25th, 2038
Onboard the Avenger
Floor 2, Central Block
Holography Hub

The twin orange-coated blades danced from right to left, tearing apart the Muton that challenged Yakone. The wreckage of a few mechanical enemies and the corpses of some Sectoids lay on the ground, having suffered similar fates to the fusion swords Yakone wielded - or having been mowed down by her plasma PDW. Flicking her blades downwards reflexively - not that there was any blood from a hologram, nor would blood do anything but evaporate on the superheated weapons - the Ranger nodded. "End simulation. I'm satisfied." The urban environment around Yakone blinked out of view, and she was left in the dimly-lit grid of a room again. "Still got it... though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Not like I've been out of action," Yakone muttered to herself, glancing over her recolored armor.

It was no longer a Crimson Regalia, and instead had three colors. Primarily, spikes on her shoulders (which were now slanted to the side to be less menacingly and more like metal winglets), the plates on her boots, and the armor over her limbs and chest were navy blue. The secondary color, white, showed up on her kneecaps and elbowguards, as well as on minor plating on her chest and on the stars on the back of her hands. Thirdly, a midnight green to match her arms made up all the flexible metals on her joints. The Inuit-Caucasian soldier was still working on customizing her old helmet to fit with the new and improved armor.

The Justice Regalia felt... alright, though Yakone couldn't help but register something missing. I hate what that damn parasite did to me, but the armor's not functioning at capacity without him or some A.I. equivalent. Dammit... on one hand I want nothing to do with him, but at what point do I sacrifice efficiency for caution? Yakone scratched her long hair with a sigh. "Fuck it, I don't know. I'll have to think about it."

"Well, the new armor looks good," Marx said, stepping into the room in his full battle gear, mask and all, obviously expecting to train.

Yakone glanced over, taking a moment to place him. The mask allowed nearly-immediate recognition. "Oh. Hey Marx. How've you been?"

"I'm fine. In fact... I feel better than I have in a long time, some things aside," Marx admitted, stepping forwards, "But the better question is, how are you doing?"

"Back in fighting condition, and I'm not crying a corner, so that should answer your question," Yakone replied evenly.

"Well... Maybe that's as much as you can really ask after everything... I'm just happy to see that red off of you." The Russian stated.

"Believe me, I am too," Yakone agreed, adjusting her cape - which had returned to its previous cornflower blue. "I now have a special hatred of that color."

"So..." Marx said slowly, "I'm guessing you still know some of the tricks they taught you? I can't think of a more appropriate form of payback then using it against them. Although, if you'd rather just forget about them entirely, I can understand why."

"Funnily enough, most of the new skills you saw me use as Ember weren't created by her. I used my Bioelectric Overwrite in an attempt to escape Chicago," Yakone remarked, a bit of bioelectric energy crackling around her fingertips to accentuate the point. "And I'm able to use my biokinesis on others because of something personal I faced, not because Ember was a massive psycho bitch."

Marx chuckled dryly, "Makes me wonder what they would've turned me into if I had gone in your place. "What they did to you was like my own personal hell. To be turned against everyone..." He explained, looking over his blades, "Seeing you go through my greatest fear… it gnawed at me.”

"Wasn't a fun time for me either. I struggled in vain yo reassert myself for awhile, and then when they installed Praclaritas I was made to live a mental lie."

Marx shivered a little, "I wish I could've ripped that slug out and smashed it myself."

"Dunno that you can smash him. He's pretty slippery," Yakone replied with a shake of her head. Probably best if I don't mention he's alive.

"Speaking of things that deserve to be smashed... what are we going to do with the cat?" Marx asked, cracking his neck, "She's not exactly useful to us anymore and I doubt domesticating her will be as easy as spritzing her with water."

"She's just a prisoner... I'll leave that crap to Atka." Why the hell do people keep talking about her?! Yakone internally screamed. Definitely not saying anything about it to him... considering what he thinks of 'manly love', that would be disastrous for our friendship.

"Well, she was your ally while you were with them. Most of them are now helping us. I was wondering if you had an opinion about her." Marx shrugged.

Yakone considered the question. "Personality-wise, she's outwardly a bitch but she has a soft side. She's a good soldier despite acting like some sort of stuck-up posh person."

"Then maybe if they didn't implant her with some kind of control chip, she could be... persuaded to help us somehow." Marx crossed his arms thinking about it. "Doesn't mean I exactly like the idea, but the feelings of a single person don't really matter when it could very well be in XCOM's best interest. We already have the AI's, that outsider intelligence, and now the Ethereal - all of which I don't trust. What's one more?"

"Maybe. I don't know what cause she'd be loyal to." Yakone traced her fingers along her scars. "She gave me these, you know. Desmond was so pissed he torched her with a soulfire... and his continued dislike of her probably explains why he never asked for her back when we allied with Genesis."

"Guess we'll just have to see." Marx straightened helmet as he marched over to Yakone, "By the way, I hope I didn't leave a scar when I hit you."

"You'd have to hit me a lot harder than that," Yakone blustered in response. "You didn't do any lasting damage, don't worry."

"How much do you really remember about our fight?" Marx asked cautiously, "Was it... Vivid?"

"It's... as bad as you would imagine. I can remember it as well as I could any other memory." Yakone shook her head. "You have to understand that Ember wasn't a separate personality. She was me - twisted beyond belief. So I was conscious up until Praclaritas disassociated my... true self from her, for lack of a better explanation."

"God..." Marx shook his head, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Knowing that you saw everything, and your Aunt was in that position for years… your family has a hell of a lot of strong women, Yakone."

Yakone smiled. "Thanks, though I'm pretty sure most of us are aware. I'm the only one that's liable to brag about it, however." The Inuit-Caucasian nodded to the other Ranger. “We’ll talk more later, alright? I’ll let you get to your training.” The young woman smirked. “Just don’t work yourself too hard. It is Christmas, after all,” she remarked, waving and departing for now.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and Taxor_the_First: “Barriers Broken, Part 1”

Alpine Megacity “Matterhorn”
1826 Hours, December 25th, 2038
Onboard the Avenger
Floor 2, Rear Block
The Bar

After sundown, the lights in the bar had automatically dimmed - moving into half-brightness for nighttime. The light above the table Stacie frequented was, for once, not flickering. The soldier-mechanic smiled at that fact, satisfied that she’d been the one to fix it. She leaned back in the bar booth’s chair, relaxed. It was only four minutes until Yakone was supposed to arrive with her boyfriend, but the Gunslinger was confident that she would make it. The Inuit-Caucasian woman wasn’t the type to let her friends down, after all. “So you’ve never met Leon before, huh?” Stacie questioned the man beside her. “I’ve been on a mission or two with him, and from what I’ve heard from Yakone I think you’ll get along swimmingly.”

Samuel shrugged. “Well, we did go on that one mission together, but I can’t remember if we ever actually talked or not. Certainly didn’t hold a conversation. If I recall correctly he was too busy going into the building by himself.”

“It is kind of fitting that two badasses are dating each other, isn’t it?” The Texan soldier mused.

There was a pause. “... are you talking about Yakone and Leon, or you and me?”

“Now you’ve gone and confused it,” Stacie mumbled, shaking her head. “I sorta loathe to admit it, but those two are way stronger than I am. From what I hear from Holly, Yakone’s certifiably more of a badass than you… not sure who would win between you and Leon though.”

Samuel rolled his eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have let Holly sit in on that,” he muttered. “And I’m good without getting my ass kicked yet another time, thanks.”

At the entrance of the bar, Leon’s arms remained crossed with a frown on his face, looking over the girl who had insisted on him coming to meet Stacie and her boyfriend for a talk over some drinks. “Why did I let you talk me into this? It is embarrassing enough going on a date in a room full of people, but now you want to do it with two other people. Lovely…” The Grenadier noted with a slighted huff.

“Since when have you been this antisocial? Relax, I don’t plan on embarrassing you… I just wanted you to meet some friends of mine,” Yakone responded with an eyebrow raised.

“When in the past have I exactly shown to be a social butterfly when it involves groups?” The Canadian man retorted with his own eyebrow up as well as his nose. “Besides, isn’t Stacie the nosey friend of yours?”

“Don’t go throwing around accusations… she’s a good friend of mine. Member of the squad that suffered those losses, too, so don’t be a dick,” Yakone noted with a shake of her head. “Come on. We are doing this and there is nothing you can do about it.” I better not end up having to be the mother of two children.

Leon groaned, following in behind Yakone with a frustrated hand through his hair. “You don’t be a dick.” He mumbled sourly.

“Last time I checked I didn’t have one,” Yakone riposted.

“Hey, that statement holds no water. At this point how would I know?” Leon shot back with a smirk. “Though I warn you…” he began, letting that statement remain open ended as they neared company.

You’d see the bulge. If I had one it wouldn’t be small, Yakone telepathically retorted, smiling and waving at Stacie. “Hey, Belle. I’m on time, right?”

The Gunslinger glanced at the clock. “One minute before. Almost perfect.” She nodded to Leon. “Hello, Sinclair.”

“Yo,” Leon responded with a small salute of two fingers. “Long time no see.”

“Last time we served together was on the train, right? That was when we first ran into the cat bitch, right?”

“Can we please not talk about the cat bitch?” Yakone responded with a vehement shake of her head.

Samuel suppressed a giggle. Leon meanwhile looked between the two women with a shake of his head, not bothering even asking, instead opting to comment, “I think she isn’t the only one catty on this ship.” before sitting down.

Stacie chuckled. “I think we have a shortage of lions, in any case.”

Yakone, attempting to use that as a pivot to change the subject away from that particular task force member, remarked, “well, you know what they say. The female lions do all the work in the pride.”

“It’s also a known fact most prides have an excess of females compared to the male ones. Though even with a numbers disadvantage, we still rule the pack.” The Grenadier interjected with a smile growing wider.

“Do we?” Samuel asked with a raised eyebrow. “Do we really?”

“The trick is to outsmart them. Women usually follow a sort of hive mind that somehow allows all of them to live in a fantasy scenario where they think they can rule over the men like queens. You just have to learn how to play a better game than them, and we will always survive. If we lose in the end, well God was gracious enough to invent the bimbo…”

The Russian glanced at Yakone. “Think I already lost that game,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now your girlfriend kicked my ass.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t the one dating her, so you still get to keep your man card.” Sinclair placed his cheek on his hand, leaning on the table with his smile having faded back to a more neutral face. “Unless you and Stacie like to get in the ring together?”

“I, uh…” Samuel looked at the woman beside him. “You know what, I’m surprised you haven’t asked for a chance to do that with all the shit I’ve put you through.”

Stacie shrugged. “I will reiterate myself as many times as I need to. My beef’s not with you, it’s with the va-eh… Chloe.”

Yakone raised an eyebrow. “Chloe? Who’s that?” Oh God, am I engaging in gossip? Send help...

“The Overseer, my ex-girlfriend, and in a way my adopted sister,” Samuel answered. “Don’t think about that one too hard. Had to bring her in after her camp was attacked. She’s been nothing but trouble ever since.”

“Minus the ex-girlfriend part I can certainly relate to the nothing-but-trouble part there. They say you can’t pick family, but in our cases we just make the wrong choices.” The man across from him noted offhandedly. “What are you going to do though? Once you have ‘em, they stick around.”

“Well, I’ve considered asking the Commander to lock her up,” the Russian responded offhandedly. “Short of asking her to behave herself, that’s my only option.”

Yakone frowned incredulously. “The hell did she do to warrant those extreme of measures? Try to rape you or something?”

“Well… she did pin me against a wall and demand I have sex with her while Stacie was standing right behind her.”

“So she did. Yikes.”

Leon merely offered up a shrug. “Never been in any sort of situation like that so no witty comeback from me on this subject.”

“I’d call that a good thing,” Samuel noted. He blinked. “I… should have saluted when you came in, shouldn’t I. Since you’re…” A frown. “Wait, what rank were you again?”

The Grenadier thought about it and let out a confused grunt. “Can’t even remember honestly. Stopped caring a while ago. Somewhere right below Bradford. I just help out when I am needed to in terms of command, it wasn’t something I really actively sought out. Just came naturally I suppose, and I ended up leading more and more ops. Also doesn’t help my commanding officer is also my girlfriend’s mother.”

Yakone smirked. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the king of humility. I guess opposites really do attract,” she quipped. “I don’t think it’s nepotism. My mother’s got a good eye for leadership skills, and she singled out you to be her second officer. She wouldn’t favor you just because I’m with you. I don’t think Atka really thinks that hard about you and me, to be honest. She wasn’t overprotective, she just let me make my own decision.”

“Yeah, well your mother is the one to thank I didn’t fall off the rails when you were captured. If it wasn’t for our talks together, I don’t think I would have been able to keep myself caring about trying to get you back. Never did apologize to her for trashing the second situation room either now that I think about it. Though Bellum was partly to blame there too.”

“You did what?”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and Taxor_the_First: “Barriers Broken, Part 2”


“I… don’t handle frustration well.” The Grenadier admitted while looking away from her. “Having a spirit sword that fueled rage didn’t exactly help either. Don’t worry about it.”

“Commander seemed pretty worried about it,” Samuel noted. “Weren’t you locked up for that?”

“Gee, thanks for the wonderful insights from the peanut gallery.” Leon said, sending a glare Samuel’s way.

Yakone rubbed her elongated hair. “Well, similarities also do attract. You know how I can be with my anger. I’m just surprised you lashed out that much. Regardless, I will have to thank Atka for looking out for you - and by extension me back then.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me yet. Consequence of the war I suppose. Things would have likely been worse if I had the entirety of Fortis on hand, I know that much.” Leon said with a slight sigh.

I shudder to think of what would come about if you had turned out to be a red, Leon… The soldier’s A.I. said within the man’s head.

Hush you, at least I would have made a show of it. Leon thought back gingerly.

“Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A relationship would get boring if you spent decades knowing every facet of the other person,” Yakone reasoned.

“Probably. Though with how things go with Gwen. I imagine we are more of a slow burn in terms of knowing things about your others.” The Canadian man said to his girlfriend with a wave of his hand.

“What do you mean by that? Has she had someone in the past?” Yakone asked curiously. “Never heard about it before.”

“There was no one in the past as far as I know, but that isn’t what I was referring to. She got with someone while you were off playing bad guy. She’s with that Emmeline woman.” Leon informed the Ranger.

“I do not know who that is,” Yakone admitted, sounding surprised at the development. Guess I’m not the only one who…

“I’m sure you can talk to Gwen more about the details. I’m not exactly thrilled about their relationship though.”

“Protective brother incoming,” Yakone noted with some degree of amusement.

There was a roll of the eyes from Leon. “Well, that’s part of it. There’s also the fact that the woman turned out to be apart of that Exalt family, and that she is also a woman. Never really expected Gwen to really be into that considering she only showed interest in guys before.”

“I… I guess people can surprise you,” Yakone remarked with a bit of a shaky shrug.

“Certainly was a surprise. Though I suppose I can at least be glad she is making something work from it. She seems happy enough and is being treated right. I just… figured I knew her better. Though, never do really know everything in the end, no matter how close you ever are with someone. Total transparency is a pipe dream in any situation.”

Yakone nodded slowly. “Yeah. People are too complex to understand each other one hundred percent. Just the way it is.”

“All this philosophy is making me crave another drink to numb my mind. Firebrand! Another round!” Stacie requested.

Samuel merely chuckled. “Some people will try anything once,” he said. “Not many do it again, but those that do are better for it.”

Why is everyone talking about me with or without realizing it… it’s pissing me off… Yakone internally growled.

Leon looked down at his largely untouched whiskey and shrugged, bringing the calming drink to his lips. “You know, at first I didn’t know why Bradford kept referring this stuff to me, but somehow it just feels right. Can never go back to poorly made piss beer again.”

“It’s not bad,” Yakone agreed with a nod. “Might have some myself this evening.” Could certainly use a buzz. “Danielle!”

“What am I, a busboy?” the pilot grumbled, going back behind the bar. “You have legs, dammit…”

“Please, you’d have a better time trying to move a stubborn mule then getting her lazy ass to do her own shit.” Leon called back to their impromptu server, scratching the side of his head. “It’s a wonder she can wipe her own ass.”

“Now that’s an exaggeration, and you know it,” Yakone growled. “You can vouch for me on that, right?”

“I can,” Danielle responded. “Doesn’t mean you’re not a bitch in your own ways,” the Skyranger’s driver shot back with a smirk.

“Said the bitch,” Yakone retorted in response.

“I’m no stranger to banter, but the fact that you two are friends is a little surprising to me,” Stacie noted with a disbelieving tone.

“Bitch is practically a compliment from me,” Yakone responded with a grin.

Samuel nodded. “The past few months have taught me that insults are one of the best ways to keep friends,” he stated. “You’ve seen Bonnie and Holly in action, haven’t you? They fling insults at each other faster than the former downs drinks.”

“I never really try to drink that much. It’s too bothersome in the morning. Yakone’s time away allowed me to explore other methods of self help. Besides, last time I went too overboard Morrigan was on the edge of knocking some sense into me.” Leon noted passively with merely a brief chuckle. “In terms of insults, there’s no better indication of friendship. After all, who else other then a friend would you stick around with after being insulted constantly?”

Yakone stared at Leon for a moment. “The Irishwoman told you to moderate yourself. Are you… sure that didn’t happen in a dream?”

“Why are you acting so surprised?” her boyfriend asked with a confused look.

“Man, no one here acts according to stereotype. Samuel doesn’t drink vodka, so I hear, and now Morrigan’s offering moderation advice when it comes to alcohol. What has the world come to?” Yakone mockingly bemoaned.

The Russian raised an eyebrow at her. “What, you want me to walk around wearing a ushanka or something? Maybe carry an AK in my back pocket?” He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again the faint accent he’d had before had been toned up severely. “You know, for the Motherland?”

Yakone snickered. “That’d be pretty funny, yeah.”

Leon looked between Yakone and Samuel several times, rolling his eyes. “I am surrounded by idiots sometimes.”

“Hey, it’s the path you chose. You must enjoy it,” Yakone responded with a smile.

“Be sure to let me know when we pass a ledge on the way down that path. Might take a quick detour.” The Grenadier said, nudging the girl next to him with his elbow with a small smile on his mouth.

Samuel tilted his head. “You’re getting a bit too metaphorical here. What are you on about?”

“Don’t worry about it. Go find a unicycle to ride or something. You Russians enjoy that kind of thing, right?” Sinclair asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll find a bear to wrestle while I’m at it,” the Aerotrooper responded with a smirk. “Although I’d have to tell Umbra to not intervene. Real Russians do it without the help of ghost shadow… things.”

“I feel like this conversation has slowly been just imploding on itself. Thanks for that one Yakone.” Leon said with a big gulp of his drink.

“I do my best to sow chaos. I’m just admiring my work now. In the seventh minute I rest,” she declared, sipping some of her whiskey.

“I’m not carrying you,” her boyfriend mumbled.

“I can hold my alcohol. I was drinking this shit before you touched it,” Yakone responded insistently.

“Never had a reason to drink before I brought you into my life darling.” Leon responded with a flair of facetiousness.

Yakone laughed, but clarified her amusement with, “if we turn into an old arguing couple by the end of this I will fall on my own sword.”

Samuel shrugged. “I thought the phrase ‘arguing like an old married couple’ was a positive description. Certainly nothing to commit seppuku over.”

Stacie looked at him incredulously. “Since when is that positive?”

“Everyone I hear using it says it like it’s cute!” he said defensively. “I figure if you’re tight enough to argue over something and still be together, that’s a strong relationship. It… it made sense, alright?”

“There’s a reason I made a conscious effort to stay away from relationships all of my life. That is a prime example. Too complicated,” Leon admitted to Samuel, enjoying Stacie ripping on the man.

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” the Russian muttered. “There I was, sitting around having a good day, when someone decided to come by and profess their feelings for me. Still haven’t gotten rid of her.”

Stacie shrugged. “Woe is he, the man who has a girlfriend with an awesome body. His life is pure, undiluted suffering. Pity this man.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and Taxor_the_First: “Barriers Broken, Part 3”


“Why did you two even get together? Just ‘cause you like to look at one another?” Leon asked with a raised eyebrow, looking down at his hand as he opened and closed it idly.

“I just went along with it because I thought she deserved a chance,” Samuel answered, shrugging. “Sure, she’s attractive. But that doesn’t mean someone’s instantly a good person to be with.” He looked at Stacie. “I guess you’ve sorta… grown on me a bit.”

Stacie punched Samuel in the shoulder. “Stellar complement, ‘mate’.” She glanced over at Leon. “Something like love’s hard to explain… I can’t give you a flowchart showing how I got from point A to point B, but my reasoning’s not dissimilar from his. I spent a lot of time here in the bar with him, hanging out, having a good time, and getting to know him better… and friendship turned to an attraction beyond itself. That’s the best justification I can offer you. Like Yakone said earlier, people are complex.”

“I suppose we aren’t much different. Me and Yakone were barely friends when I asked her out, and really only did that on a whim. It’s almost funny how easily it could have gone on with us never ending up together with just how spontaneous it was. There was no reason to it.” Leon admitted in agreement.

“I’m not about to complain if it was just random… but I wouldn’t discount destiny,” Yakone added with a shrug of her own.

Samuel scoffed. “Ha. I’d be more inclined to call it luck. Calling it destiny implies there are things beyond our control involved.” He stopped. “Which I suppose is true in a way, just not the sense that I mean it. Someone’s always pulling the strings.”

“Honestly, I’m not the kind of person to bring myself to care. Fate, destiny, luck… who cares. Life’s too short to get caught up in those sort of pedantics. Many choices are actually more even then most would give it credit for. I could be dead now if Desmond had decided on just executing me when he had the chance. I was weak and broken, he had the chance. Just so happened he didn’t. I don’t see any driving force behind that.”

The Russian glanced at him. “... you too, huh?” he asked, not really clarifying his question.

“Yeah. You know, thinking back… it’s ironic that your aunt is the only one who has been no threat to me in the past. Atka might have been merciful with me for trashing the ship, but she almost wasn’t for a few moments. If anything getting with you has been a hazard on my well being.” Leon noted to Yakone.

“It’s a mixed package, buddy. You get the risks to life and limb, and a girlfriend that can be pissy and prideful, but in exchange you’re granted a kickass extended family and a smoking-hot lover,” the Inuit-Caucasian woman stated.

“Man, you really do have a dick Yakone. Never seen someone so into sucking themselves off.” Leon said, patting his girlfriend on the shoulder. “At least I have our daughter to balance you all out.”

Samuel blinked. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

The Canadian man looked over at Samuel and sighed slightly, drumming his fingers against the table. “Child of a friend who… died. We took her in since she has no other family.”

“Oh. Well.” The Russian rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was about to say. Thought you’d somehow been away for nine months without my noticing most of them.”

“Me and Yakone haven’t been together enough to ever get passionate with each other. I’m not too interested in that stuff much, so it doesn’t bother me.” Leon admitted, finishing his glass of whiskey.

“W-wow… didn’t realize you uh… felt that way…” Yakone stammered, gulping down a swig of her drink.

“With how things are, I’ve never put much thought into things like that. I’ve just been either too focused on training, or things have preoccupied me. I thought that was rather obvious,” Leon told Yakone, looking her over briefly in confusion. “What, did you think I am just a passive person?”

“No, that’s… not what you said,” Yakone responded, closing her eyes for a moment. “You said you weren’t interested. That’s different than not giving it much thought. We’ve been… joking around this evening and everything, but it almost sounds like you don’t really… care all that much about me. About us, more specifically.”

“They’re one in the same to me. Not giving it thought leads into not being interested. Implying I don’t care about us is a preposterous claim though. You know that I do. This is territory I’ve never explored before, so I just stick to what I know, and that’s just going with how things have been. If you’ve been wanting to go further, then just come out and show it. I’m not one for subtlety,” Leon defended himself, frowning at being accused in such a way,

“Maybe I just don’t understand your train of thought… but the way you were saying that, you sounded like you didn’t really care to get intimate… and the things you’ve been saying before seem to suggest that you see our relationship as a burden rather than a good thing. I’m… I’m confused as to what you’re trying to say,” Yakone replied, opening her eyes and fiddling with her hair.

Leon slowly rubbed his eyes, letting out a deep groan and shaking his head. “Look, I don’t see you as a burden at all. What I am trying to say in more direct terms is that intimacy is not something I have actively on my mind. All I know is that I love you, and I show it in the ways I know how. I’m not about to make a fool of myself running headlong into something I have no clue about when I am already perfectly happy. That’s how I feel. If I thought that this was a burden or that you weren’t worth it, than I would have had no point in fighting for you. It hurts me to think you would assume I would just throw away what we have that easily.”

Yakone grumbled. “Forgive me for seeking clarification…”

Leon rolled his eyes at the comment, shaking his head as he looked away from her, kicking himself mentally for finishing off his drink and not having refilled it.

Samuel shifted uncomfortably. “I… wasn’t quite pushing for that either,” he admitted. “It took Stacie practically dragging me down for me to really accept it’d be a good thing for us. That didn’t mean I wasn’t up for it. Just didn’t want to push her into something like that.” He shrunk back slightly. “Is… that what’s going on here? Am I wrong?”

“Who knows? Things have been complicated between us for a long time. Maybe we just don’t know what we want.” Leon responded after keeping a silence for a short while.

The Russian frowned. “Then work it out.”

Leon shook his head, getting up from the table. “We’ve been down this road before. I know where it lead once, and I’m not exactly keen on treading down it again. I know I’m not the bad guy here, and I just don’t want to deal with this right now. Enough shit is going on to be worrying over what I think about this relationship. I expressed what I felt and I… don’t have anything else to add. Sorry for bringing you two into the middle of this.” Leon gave one brief look back towards Yakone before walking off to leave, grumbling to himself as he went.

He found his route blocked by Umbra, smaller than usual, standing directly in his path with both pairs of arms folded. “The hell do you think you’re going?” Samuel asked, his tone irritated. “Sit down. This isn’t about being the bad guy, this is about clearing something up. You’re running away from a situation that isn’t even hostile. At least, not yet.”

“It never works out when you try to flee from your problems,” Yakone added with a knowing tone. “You’ve done it before, and you end up regretting it.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601, MarineAvenger, and Taxor_the_First: “Barriers Broken, Part 4”

“Then what the hell do you want from me Yakone? I’m not going to just miraculously know how to properly work in this relationship, especially when trying to figure out what exactly you want isn’t even something I can even comprehend to know. I’m not a knight in shining armor come to sweep you off your feet like in a fairy tale. So tell me, what do you want?” Leon asked, holding open his arms in frustration. “What is it you want from me? Do you even know?”

“You’re blowing everything out of proportion! All I asked you was what you meant by something, and the fact that you’re trying to weasel your way out of this discussion tells me that something’s wrong!” Yakone retorted, crossing her arms. “You’re afraid to go further with our relationship. Is that a correct statement?”

“No, I’m not afraid Yakone. What’s wrong is the fact you weren’t the only one dealing with loss. I don’t know what the hell you felt when you weren’t yourself, and I wouldn’t want the fucking displeasure of ever dealing with that. But while you were gone, you were something I had to keep fighting to tell myself that you were attainable. But at every moment, every part of me kept telling me that it just wasn’t worth it. That I was living some… childish dream of ever thinking I could actually have you. It was like your hand was dangling right above me and I had to reach with all I had to try and grab it, but all that happened was I sunk lower and lower away. You were gone… and now you’re suddenly back, and I am lost, Yakone. That’s what’s wrong. I don’t know what to do with you, because I went without you for so long. Understand?”

Yakone’s eyes watered. “I do, but at the same time I don’t at all. I get that this is confusing… but you’re doing half of this to yourself, dammit!” she cried out in exasperation. “You could have me so easily, if you wouldn’t cast doubt upon our relationship and would have faith in yourself and me! But instead you waver on a tightrope of your own making. You won’t even answer the very questions you're posing. Am I worth it, Leon?” Yakone questioned, placing a hand over her heart. “I don’t know? Am I? You have to decide that for yourself. The fact that you’re refusing to answer might be damn well worse than a ‘no’.”

Leon tightened his fists together, looking down at the floor with a slight trembling to his body. “I want to say yes… but I… I don’t know if I can. All I’ve ever known has been loss. I’ve lost you once Yakone. I’m too damn confused on what I am even supposed to feel anymore. I wish I could just… show you but I can’t. I just… can’t.”

“Then allow me to help clarify,” Samuel stated, now standing. “You spent months hoping she’d come back. Months. You say you doubted whether that’d be possible, but in the end you kept hoping. You didn’t accept that it would be impossible. Don’t now go and waste all that effort telling us you’re unsure. To me, it’s pretty damn clear.” He paused. “Leon, do you love her? Yes or no please, I don’t want a speech.”

“Of course I do. This wouldn’t be so damn hard otherwise.” Leon responded with irritation at the question.

Samuel flung his hands in the air. “Then what’s the damn problem?” he asked hotly. “Stop tearing each other to shreds emotionally and act like two people that do love each other. Not the people that went into that church trying to murder each other.” He shook his head, turning to Stacie. “I’m done here. Thanks for the drink.” Umbra fading away, the Russian breezed past Leon. “And above all, do not fuck this up!” he commanded, pointing in the Grenadier’s direction as he began to leave. “It’s Christmas. I’m not dealing with this shit,” he swore before disappearing. Lowering her head, his girlfriend’s eyes were shaded by the dim lights and she followed Samuel out the door without a word.

Only Leon and Yakone were left behind. The former couldn’t stop moving his hand as he tried to tie his thoughts down, and in a low voice, Leon asked, “Mind if I tell you a secret Yakone?”

“Go ahead,” the latter responded, her throat dry.

Leon chuckled sourly, gritting his teeth as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. “Ever since this damn war started, I’ve been holding out hope over things I knew I never would ever get back. My parents, my home, my grandfather, all my friends… I don’t hold out hope because I believe things will get better, I hold out hope because it is the only thing that can plug up the holes that despair just seems to bore in.” Leon put a hand over his face, taking a sharp deep breath as he ran it back over his head and looked up.

“When you were gone I never was holding out hope. I was trying to deal with the despair of knowing I had lost you. And I had. There’s no going around the fact there was no you with Ember around. In the moments before everything went out… when I knew it was the end… all those walls of hope I put up just came...” He held up his hand, laughing bitterly briefly as he let it fall. “They just fell down. This isn’t a simple matter of just having you back. It’s a matter of coming to terms with having you back when I had already come to terms with knowing I wouldn’t. I love you with all my heart… but you are the first to ever come back.”

“Well… I’m back,” Yakone whispered, her voice rising quickly. “I made it back. It took everything I had to break free… and without my feelings for you I couldn’t have done it.” She shuddered. “If you can’t accept that, then… I don’t know what to do anymore either. If I… destroyed all your hope… I don’t know how I can repair that damage.” A despairing sigh escaped Yakone’s lips. “I guess that in the midst of trying to get over my guilt I missed the greatest harm I’d dealt out as Ember. This is it, and it sounds like it might be irreparable.”

“Maybe… maybe it is.” Leon said after a long silence had fallen, and he took a step forward towards the Inuit-Caucasian. “So… let’s not repair it. What’s the point in trying to fix a sunken ship, right? Maybe… we just need to get on a new one. Start over instead of trying to go back to what we did have.”

“I… I don’t… I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

He continued to walk towards her, Leon stopping in front of her so they stood close, almost within touch. “You love me, right? With all your heart?” The man asked in a whisper.

“What kind of question is that?” Yakone replied hoarsely. “Of course I do. That’s why this is hurting me so much.”

“It hurts for me too. Hurts more then anything.” Leon put his arms around Yakone, holding her softly, placing their heads together. “I need to ask you something. More important than anything I’ve ever asked of you, okay?” Yakone shakily moved her head to nod. After that, Leon began to say, “Will you stop being my girlfriend and just… be mine? To… to have for the rest of our days together?”

Yakone gasped. “L-Leon, are you…?”

Leon’s hold on her tightened slightly, a few tears falling from his chin. “Yakone, please be my wife. I can’t… live without you. I can’t keep going on with the fear of losing you without showing you how I really feel. If there would ever be one single regret I would always hold… it would to never have been your husband. I love you too much. You’re everything to me.”

Yakone’s eyes went wide, and she responded with a tearful yet joyous smile. “O...of course… I accept! Of course I do!” Her vision blurred for a moment, and whether she was hallucinating or not the soldier swore she saw that same church again - but this time it was not induced to entrap. “There’s… a church in Toronto… that Atka once told me about… let’s get married there,” she spoke breathlessly, and then fainted.

“Ya… Yakone? Hey, Yakone!” Leon looked down at her worried for a few moments, letting out a short sigh, shaking his head. He looked down at her face, giving her an angry look. “Well, looks like I need to carry you anyways now. Me and my big mouth.” He lifted Yakone more properly, easily able to support her with his strength, even if the woman was more dense then she would outwardly appear, lending credence to her claims of strength. As if in some ironic twist of fate, the easiest way to hold her was bridal. “Way to make a jackass of me by proving me wrong.” Despite all his uncertainty, Leon couldn’t help but smile down at Yakone, walking to go back to their room, hoping that sweet dreams would follow her.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Unobtainable Inamorata
Part One

The Alps
Matterhorn Megacity
Protectorate Facility

Four months ago...

In the white, clean walls of the facility subject room., there was little in the way of luxury furniture. There was a bed, a desk, a bookshelf with some rather terrible books and a drawer for clothes. All metallic and polished clean. Nick Cauthon didn’t know if he hated the cleanliness more, or the boredom. He currently laid on his bed, reading through Moby Dick for the literal 36th time, always discovering new things the author left in his story to find.

He was a extremely well built teen, on the shorter side, but with worked arms that showed through a sleeveless gray shirt, matching the gray pants he wore with them. He had faded dark blue hair that perfectly complimented dark blue eyes, a pair of eyeglasses on his face to help with rather poor vision. He licked his thumb, turned a page and waited. Waited for something to come through that door. Nick just didn’t know what.

The door slid open, not unexpected considering it was just about lunch time. When Nick looked up, however, it was not one of the facility’s doctors or attendants as expected. It was the masked being Nick had only seen a few times personally, but whom he was always told he should be on his knees before, slowly floating inside and gazing down at the teen.

Nick sneered at the being, slowly sitting up but not getting up, and not bowing. “What do you want?” He asked in a harsh tone.

Such hostility. The Elder stopped a few feet before Nick’s bed, keeping his arms folded beneath his robes. Whatever did I do to elicit such anger, young man?

“You exist. And you instantly speak using your mind. Do you know how annoying it is? Probably not.” Nick narrowed his eyes, and slowly closed the large book at his side. “Why are you here?”

Shen'lutusus stood silent for several moments before, surprisingly, speaking with his own voice. “It is about Subject SNY-101-2.”

The mention of that made the British born teen tense. “Her name is Sunny asshole, get it right.”

“Sunny… yes.” Shen smiled behind his mask. He knew it was so unbecoming, and he should instantly punish Nick. However, after the formality he was so used to, it was amusing, even refreshing, to find a human who didn’t cower before him. “I will try to be more careful. Would you like to see her today?”

“Depends on the condition I find her in. What did you do to her this week? Make her a real computer instead of a living girl?” He asked, clutching his fist so hard his knuckles turned white.

Shen placed a hand to his chest. “Of course not. SN… Sunny has her job to do here, but her health and humanity is important to me as well. Important to all of us. Though, on occasions, we hit some… walls. Walls you are quite skilled at getting over.”

“You scare the hell out of her and need me to come in and help her to calm down. Is that it?” The teen asked bluntly, standing as he rolled his shoulder, book still in hand as well.

Shen sighed, rubbing his mask gently. “So antagonistic. Do you not understand the good she does for us all? Do you not applaud her perseverance?” He leaned down a bit. “Do you not understand the trials and tribulations that I go through to make sure she isn’t completely turned into a computer?”

“Oh how do you deal with the stress you poor thing?” He mocked shaking his head. Nick walked to the dresser and grabbed the gray subject jacket with the orange shoulders and lines going down the sides. “I’ll see her, but not for you.”

“I didn’t expect it to be for me, my boy. I would never make such a grievous mistake.” Shen went to the door that had automatically locked behind him, opening it by an unseen force and waving his two right arms towards it. “After you.”

At first the Cauthon boy did not move, but finally he sighed and moved forward first, looking down the hallways before making his way to where he remembered his friend’s room was.

The Elder followed closely, wary of letting him roam free, even if he was sure Nick wouldn’t try anything when his friend needed him. “You have been behaving as of late,” he said as the walked/hovered. “I hope this is a good sign, though others seem to think it is only a sign that you are planning something.”

Nick did not give the Elder the satisfaction of a response, only having one goal in mind at the present time, though the truth was he was not wrong. There were indeed plans upon plans upon plans.

Shen chuckled, and as they neared the appropriate room, he asked, “Are you aware of the medications Sunny needs?”

“Of course I do.” Nick rubbed the back of his neck, where a small incision marked where his enhanced chip was, an upgrade to make him smarter, and a fighter. The latter was an unforeseen consequence of the former.

“And I am sure you know how much she needs them. Well… she overheard my… debating… discussing with a superior about the use of her medication, and now she doesn’t want to take them. Again.”

“They aren’t exactly good for her. That is your own fault alien. But I already know what you are going to ask. I’ll try. Don’t expect results.” Nick crossed his arms, his face hardening.

As they arrived, a bowl suddenly flew out of the open door. Timid, shy, always seeming frightened, anger was not Sunny, and if she was angry, she was definitely off her meds. “Get out!”

Shen’s assistant rushed out of the room, yelping as a spoon flew past her head. She wasn’t paying attention, and she ran into Nick, bouncing off him like he was a wall and falling on her back. “Ow…”

Nick strode past her and into the door, looking back at the panel on the side of the door and hitting it hard so the door shut behind him. “Does that include me too?”

“N-Nick!” Sunny’s face lit up. She weakly stood up, and moved to in front of him, too tired to rush. “I… w-w-what are y-you doing here?”

“Here to see you of course.” Nick said, allowing himself a small smile, slowly laying a hand on top of the girl’s head, giving it a soft rub.

Sunny lifted her head into his rubbing, almost like a pet being coddled. “I-I’ve missed you. I-I… I-I had to… w-work, and th-they said I c-couldn’t see you this week.”

“How many times have I told you not to believe everything you are told?” Nick asked softly, continuing his rubbing. “Are you feeling well? You look weak. More so than usual.” He teased, though unlike before this was playful.

“I-I’m okay. Just… h-haven’t sssslept well.” She closed her eyes for a moment, whispering, “Shut up, shut up.”

“I was told you haven’t taken your pills.” The teen said soothingly, moving his hand down her face to slowly stroke her cheek. “No wonder you haven’t been getting sleep young lady.”

Sunny slowly shook her head. “I-I… I don’t need them. Th-they… they slow me down.” {You are slow anyway. They all know. They all laugh. They all judge. He judges. He laughs.}

“You’re slow if you are exhausted beyond belief. Come on, take your pills and maybe we could have a sleep over. You’ve always expressed how much you wanted to have a real one, didn’t you? It could be fun.”

Sunny smiled widely, but it quickly turned to fear. “I… I-I heard M-Master Shen'lutusus talking to… t-to a-another Elder. Th-they don’t w-want me t-to take the m-medicine. Th-they say that th-they don’t l-like mmmmy loss of productivity.” She whispered, “I think they might… g-get rid of me.”

There was a slight chuckle from Nick, shaking his head as he reached, down, easily picking up the extremely light girl to carry her. “Do you remember the promise I made to you when we first met?”

“Um… u-um…” Sunny looked to the floor, rubbing her hands together nervously. “I-I, uh…”

“To protect you until the day I die. Do I look dead to you at all Sonya?” The teen asked with a smile as he held her bridal style.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Unobtainable Inamorata
Part Two

Sunny looked up at him. “N-no. Y-you look as a-alive and… a-a-and handsome… a-as the day we met.”

Nick let out an amused laugh as he moved over to the bed and gently set down Sunny so she was laying down. “Look at you being so forward. You really are growing.”

“I-it is because of you,” Sunny stated. “I-I… I was always t-to scared to… t-to talk to anyone. And… I always thought they’d… hurt me. But you nnnever have. S-so I… I-I want to be more like you. I want to be… b-brave like you, Nick.”

“I’ll see it that one day you can be. I swear it.” He took her hand, slowly moving some of her pale, almost white hair out of her face. “Now how about you take those pills and we can hang out talking about whatever you want. I even brought a book.” He said, holding up the large novel.

Sunny took a deep breath, and slowly nodded. “Okay. But I… I threw them at Master’s assistant.”

“They can get you some more then. Tomorrow I have training down in the labs. Why don’t you come watch me?” The young teen suggested, letting out a small sigh at the fact he remembered.

“Um… o-okay. But… w-what if Master s-says I-I can’t?” Sunny asked.

“Then I simply won’t perform as well as I could.” He gave a mischievous smirk.

Sunny smiled back for a moment. She wrapped her arms around him a moment later, suddenly bursting into tears. “Please, Nick… don’t ever leave mmmme. I-I knnnnow I-I… I-I’m n-not… good enough, b-but…”

“Shut up Sunny.” Nick told the girl simply, pinching his fingers over her lips. “No more of that. You’re my friend. And that is more than I could ever ask from you. We’re partners, okay? Forever and ever. Understand?” He felt kind of stupid saying it but it felt like it was what the Russian girl needed to hear.

Sunny slowly nodded, smiling again, and squeezing him even tighter. “Thank y-you, Nick.”

“Of course.” Nick pat her head once more, holding her arms. “I need to go tell them to get more pills. Mind waiting a bit longer before you get an iron grip?”

“Oh… o-of course.” Sunny let him go, blushing.

He got up, leaving his book besides her as the british teen moved to the door, knocking his hand hard against the door.

When it opened, it was Anja on the other side. A quick peek out showed that, for some reason, Shen wasn’t there anymore. “How did it go?” she asked in her usual perky, high pitched voice.

“She won’t fight this time. Where’s the alien?” Nick asked, crossing his arms now annoyed.

Anja was flustered, caught off guard by the way he referred to Shen, even if it wasn’t the first time. “The, uh… the Master said that even i-if he did not listen in on your conversation, you would accuse him of doing so. So he left, saying he trusted you to get results.” She smiled. “It sounds like his trust was well placed, huh?”

“Go get her pills.” He told the assistant frankly, shaking his head. “And I’ll be staying with her tonight. Tell anyone who disagrees to take the matter up with me personally. See how long they keep that tune.” After that, he stepped back, forcing the door closed again.

Anja blinked several times, needing a second to collect herself before walking off. Sunny gave him a worried look. “Y-you… you shouldn’t talk about the master like that. Y-y-you’ll be punished.”

“He won’t do anything. Believe it or not, he likes it. It doesn’t catch him off guard like it should, but that only works in my advantage.” Nick smiled in a weird way, shaking his head. “Come on, scooch over. Do you want to cuddle up with me or hog the bed for yourself?”

“C-cuddle up, silly.” Sunny scooted to the side. “Nick, will you… read a little to me. I-I h-haven’t r-read a normal book iiiin a long t-time.”

“Sure kiddo. Sure.” Nick slowly opened up the book and waited for the small girl to get close besides him, wrapping her arms around him once more as he began to read slowly to her, wanting to give her at least one memorable night.

***

The next day, early morning hours.

The chief technician looked over his datapad, his gaze changing to look at the training area before him behind the glass window. “Elder, is it wise to let him go all out? He might break something.” The human scientist intoned to the alien besides him, a tone of submission to his voice.

Shen kept his gaze on the training area. My superiors have been demanding results. They have not been happy with the pace I have been setting. They do not understand that things like this take time. So I will take the risk. I might even be counting on it. Should I go to their extremes and something goes wrong, hopefully it will… how do you humans put it? Get them to back the hell off?

“...Quite.” The technician nodded, looking to the bottom floor where there was another observation room where he knew the other subject of their study and her assistant were. “Does the girl seriously need to be in attendance? It seems completely unnecessary.”

Dr. Randolf assures me that the best thing to do now that she is taking her medicine again is to award her for her compliance, and award Nick for his assistance in that matter. And dealing with human children is much more his field then my own. Besides, she needs to adjust again, and can’t work right now anyway. Let her enjoy herself. There is not much joy to find elsewhere.

“If I may ask, when has this been about joy at all, Elder?” The assistant asked coldly.

Shen remained silent for the moment, gauging many things. The man’s tone, possible meanings behind his words, and as always, his interpretations of loyalty. Finally, he answered, The work we do to make both ADVENT and the Protectorate stronger, and ensure the advancement of humanity down the Path, is the best joy we can hope for. But it is harder for one in Sun… Subject SNY-101-2’s position to know that joy. It is my duty as her caregiver and master to let her share that joy. Don’t you agree?

“It is as you will, and so it will be master. Shall we let the subject begin his training then?” The scientist asked finally.

Shen let out an internal sigh, and nodded. Please do.

The side door opened in the training area and Nick entered in slowly, wearing a fresh set of clothing that was now majorly white with gray accents, barefoot at the moment. He glanced up at the one sided glass observation room where he knew an observer and the Ethereal were located. He looked at the set up targets next, observing them with a rueful look, turning his gaze behind him. It was there Sonya was entered in with her own caretaker for her safety, though he flashed her a confident smile, holding up a thumb.

Sunny smiled gleefully and waved, eager to watch him. “G-good luck!” she yelled out.

“I don’t need luck. I make my own.” He called back, looking back to the targets in front of him. I pledged my life to you. Wonder if you even truly realize that. The subject thought to himself a bit gingerly, pushing away the childish thought as the intercomm amplified the voice of the scientist in the observation box.

“Your task is simply to show how far you’ve come in your psionic development. You have targets in front of you to try them out. Don’t disappoint young man.” There was a certain edge to the man’s voice that held a hidden meaning, one that made the teen tense angrily.

Nick slowly reached out a hand, his eyes glowing a dull red as the same glow surrounded the three dummies, the objects slowly lifting in the air, showing off his telekinesis. Setting them down, a glow assembled in his hand as he thrust the congealed power forward, letting loose a blast of power that sent one of the targets flying back.

“Good. Now it is time for your rift. Show us what you claim to have accomplished.” The scientist urged eagerly, looking over at the Elder beside him to gauge his mood of the situation.

The tall being watched intensely, seemingly interested in the advancement of this single child. His advancement is impressive given his age. I know a few adults that would be envious of him.

“Please. Mere basics he has shown us. I must say I expect much more.” The scientist replied, looking back down at his tablet as he began looking through older reports.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
Unobtainable Inamorata
Part Three

Back in the training room, Nick once more glanced at the Russian girl standing off to the side with her handler. He looked to the last remaining dummy standing, and raised his hands, releasing all barriers. It was time. In the air, a ball of red energy formed, rotating on itself slowly at first before it began to speed up, turning faster and faster before it bloomed open magnificently, forming a hurricane like vacuum of power. The dull red in his eyes brightened significantly, putting his plan into action. In the eye of the storm, another orb formed as the rift grew in size and intensity, beginning to suck wind into the center of it from the force of the singularity.

The scientist looked up from his notes with a horrified look, reading over a notice of his predecessor too late. “Shut him down! Get him under…” His voice trailed off as stones on the walls nearest the rift began cracking, pulled apart from where it had been and swarmed around the psionic manifestation. With a yell, Nick expanded the internal orb of the rift and a massive explosion was set off, blasting everything in its path away except Nick and Sunny, who the psion kept to the ground using his power. Quickly seizing a stray debris of large, jagged stone the subject turned and sent it flying at the glass, sending it shattering through.

Nick’s best hope was that he killed the two occupants he wanted inside, running to Sonya as he grabbed her wrist. “Let’s go!”

Sunny looked at the chaos in confusion. “O-okay. W-where are we going?”

“We are escaping.” He told her confidently, looking to the door she entered from and ripped it from its holdings, throwing it to the side as he ran forward, leading the girl into the hall. “I think I know a way out, just keep up!” Nick ordered before sprinting down the hall, dragging her along.

Sunny followed along loyally. Never really knowing the outside world, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to escape, but was willing to follow Nick anywhere. “Stop!” yelled a voice behind them, Dr. Randolf rushing behind them. “Don’t do this, Nick!”

“Fuck off!” He yelled, sending out a shockwave down the hallway. “I’m taking Sunny and getting out of here! She’s not yours to keep any longer!”

The doctor went tumbling back, and stayed down. He wasn’t the most athletic of sorts, and knew he wouldn’t catch up with them know. Sirens blared through the building as the two ran along, frantic yelling over the intercoms mixed with the surprised gasps of the techs they ran by. “Nick,” Sunny called out, panting heavily. “I-I’m scared!”

Nick himself was sucking in air, but stopped for a brief moment, picking up the girl as he ran once more, taking on the full burden. “I… want to see you… free. I want… to see you… happy… with me.” He got out, saying between his breathing, his lungs and legs on fire.

Up ahead, emergency bulkhead doors started to go down, and a trio of guards rushed out of a side room. They all yelled and charged, wielding stun batons. Either they were still order to take him back alive, or they hadn’t got the message of how dangerous he was.

The subject stopped, gritting his teeth as he weakly threw a psionic blast their way, having used up most of his psionic endurance creating the means of their escape, turning around to try and run the other direction. “Have… to find… new route…”

After another minute, Nick started to feel heavy, like an incredible pressure was pushing on him. I think you’ve caused enough trouble, don’t you? Shen floated out from around a corner, his robes covered in dirt and tattered in several spots.

“D-... Damn it…” He fell to his knees, reaching an arm back to wrap it around Sunny, holding her close against him. “I… won’t… fail… now…” Months of planning… of hoping… damn it. Why wasn’t I stronger? Why wasn’t I faster?

The pressure let up on him, the Elder apparently cautious with his proximity to his other prime subject. Why, Nick? Why do this? What even was the plan? If you actually managed to get out, where would you even have gone? Don’t you understand that there is no where to go?

“I would have found something. I always figure something out.” He growled, staring down the Ethereal with an animalistic sneer. Not out of pure hate however, it was almost territorial. His grip on Sunny tightened slightly. “I’ll kill you and find a way.”

Shen sighed internally. Alright… you have made your point. Now, return to your room, and I promise, there will be no punishment. But you need to stop this foolishness.

“Nick.” Sunny gripped him tightly. “I-I don’t want you to get punished.”

“Sunny… I can’t let them just keep using you like this. It isn’t right. You deserve more than this. It’s more punishment seeing you go day in and day out the same way all the time. I don’t want you to experience atrophy of yourself. I don’t want to see you worked into nothing…”

She gave him a sad look. “But… it is all I can do. It is what I am here for. Without it… without my work… I-I have no purpose.”

“That’s not true! You are a bright and sweet girl… you make me not want to hate everything about the world. You can find more purpose.” I thought I could be your purpose. He thought somberly.

She looked into his eyes, smiling softly. “Do… d-d-do you… really mean that?”

He looked back, nodding confidently.

Sunny placed her hand against her chest. “Well… th-the truth is… I… also…”

Shen lifted a hand, and Sonya suddenly floated up and away from Nick. With another hand motion, she was quickly moved to the side, into the arms of her caregiver. I am sorry, Nick. You really have no idea how sorry I am. But it is time to return to your room.

Nick glared at Shen, squeezing his hand into a fist as he charged the Elder, going to use his bare hands to kill him if necessary. Shen was caught off guard, barely able to telekinetically grab him before the punch landed. Holding Nick tightly, he rose the young man until he was eye level, staring intensely at him.

You truly are amazing. Strong. Confident. Determined. Brave to the point of reckless abandon. I might actually have seen you as a threat if you hadn’t used up so much energy. Despite what some of my people idiotically believe, you have improved so very, very much. Honestly, you could be a real problem if you tried this again. The smart thing to do now would be to… end the threat right now, wouldn’t it?

I’m going to end you one day. You’ll regret EVER laying one of your sinewy fingers on that girl. You hear me!? Nick psied back defiantly.

Perhaps you will one day. It would be fitting, wouldn’t it? Shen moved his head closer. I truly do enjoy seeing you get strong, and I wish you luck. If my death by your hands is what motivates you, then so be it. He lowered Nick to the floor, and released him. Please go back to your room. If you do, I will not take away your privilege to see Sonya.

Of all the threats, that one made Nick’s mouth go dry. He looked to the side, trying to see if Sunny was still there. She was, watching him with tears in her eyes. Her look was a pleading one, obviously worried to not be able to see him any more. A pang of guilt hit him like a punch to the gut, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut tightly. “...fine.”

Shen nodded, motioning for the guards to stand aside and letting Nick go on his own. As Nick went, Shen looked to his side, staring at the lab’s chief technician. It looks like you underestimated him, he mentally stated, his tone saying he wasn’t pleased.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “Roundabout Replies, Part 1”

Alpine Megacity “Matterhorn”
1358 Hours, December 27th, 2038
Onboard the Avenger
Floor 2, Central Block
Holography Hub

Gwen placed down her water bottle onto the floor and walked towards her position on the holographic training floor across from her training partner. The frenchwoman was dressed in her standard gym set of loose fitting shirt she had snagged from her brother long ago and refused to give back, along with a pair of yoga pants she felt comfortable fighting in. Her blonde hair was bound back in a french braid and currently hanging over her shoulder so it would not be in the way too much. “Feels like forever ago since we did this together, huh?”

“Things have been busy,” Atka remarked in return. “I’m curious to see how far you’ve come since then.”

Gwen rolled her eyes with a wry smile, crossing her arms as she looked across at her commander -and at least to Gwen- sort of a friend since the time she had first gone to the Inuit woman for training advice. “That was me saying I’m excited to be doing this again, not complaining. But trust me, I wasn’t idle during the siege. This dog has learned some new tricks indeed.”

Atka crossed her arms. “Show me, then.”

“Seniority first.” The Juggernaut said with a pleased look, getting in a battle-ready stance, allowing Atka to make the first move to start off their sparring engagement.

The Commander rolled her shoulders. “Alright, then.” The temperature dropped a few degrees around the blue psion, and a frosty mist coalesced in an instant into shards of ice that Atka launched at her opponent.

Gwen started off with the basics of her psionics, getting into a better stance to face the multiple threats head on. A look of concentration crossed the younger woman’s features as she held out her hand, tiny hexagonal shields interconnecting to form small plates of protection in which the ice shattered against, the shields popping up and disappearing as needed. Gwen’s control of her main protective ability had gotten more and more precise through her multiple uses of it, and was now to the point where she could more efficiently use them without wasting unneeded mental exertion.

“Not bad… I doubt we’re going to see any Shieldbearers pulling off something like that.” Atka glanced to the side for a moment. “Seshat, give me an ATR.” A laser-based anti-tank rifle materialized in the Ambusher’s waiting hands, and she took aim at Gwen. “Can you block a more focused attack, though?” she questioned, pulling the trigger.

Gwen took the challenge with a smile, forming her shielding once more in a dome shape, taking the blast head on. What helixes the laser tried to burn away reformed merely as fast through the use of reinforcement behind it, the soldier able to produce multi-layered shielding for sturdier defense. “Piece of cake.”

“What about the other abilities you’ve been working on?” Atka asked. “Have you progressed with them?”

“Yep. Why don’t you try and hit me with those cool whips of yours. I’ll show you something cool I’ve been developing.” Gwen punched her palm, giving a confident look. “And don’t hold back!”

“If you insist.” Seshat will stop me if she can’t properly counter, anyway. Atka formed her icy helixes, winding the twisting Reflection weapons out from her palms, and then shooting them at high speeds at Gwen like harpoons.

The frenchwoman backpedaled, her confident look not leaving her as she swiped a hand up in the air, glassy shards from her shielding flying outwards as they did. The sparkling spectacles lingered in the air with no motion before a semi-transparent wall of energy spread throughout all of them, and immediately once Gwen was behind it. Her image became one of slight distortion. There appeared to be three of her moving at once with the same motions, and even those motions were choppy as if a photographer was taking pictures in shutter mode, tracking the movements the girl made extremely difficult.

Atka retracted her weapons. “Certainly don’t have the spread with these to compensate for that.”

“That’s the point.” Gwen called out, walking through the wall as easily as she could through a hologram. “It’s more useful for evasion then say just a full on protective sort of move since against a single enemy it is awesome but you have a group blindfire at it and then there is trouble, so I have to incorporate my shielding from time to time to add that protective layer.”

“You should be able to flood that power into the distortion field system in your armor as well,” Atka remarked. “So when you’re in the Pavise suit it will be easily to use subconsciously.”

“Told you I wasn’t being idle. I had Lily explain to me the systems she installed into the Pavise when she was working on it, and the distortion field subsystem is actually the original reason I tried to replicate it personally for my own flair.” Gwen explained, quickly exclaiming, “Oh! One more thing!” Gwen looked around and frowned, looking around at the ceiling. “Hey Seshat, can you mimic electrical outputs like outlets or something? I don’t want to break something with this next move.”

The Codex materialized a few feet away from the Juggernaut. “I can generate such energies myself. I would indeed prefer if you didn’t damage this room,” the synthetic said rather protectively.

“It’s why I asked beforehand, sweetie.” The frenchwoman noted with a smile. “Whenever you are ready.”

“Ready.” Seshat lifted her hands, and between her slightly-fluctuating digits thick threads of electricity formed. The psionically-created lightning shot back and forth between her hands at dizzying speeds like being conducted along a power coil.

The Juggernaut held her hand over the A.I.’s, some of the smaller sparks dancing up to her hand before a much larger stream began making its way from Seshat to Gwen. The girl stepped back, her right hand crackling with power as she put her hands close together and replicated exactly what Seshat had done. “I taught myself this sort of thing as a sort of ‘what if’ kind of thing. I knew some of us yellows could control electricity and the like but I always had trouble, so I looked to see if I could… ‘borrow’ from other sources. Turns out I am a little lightning thief.”

“Impressive. If you cannot do something well yourself, then succeed via mimicry. A similar tactic to the ability of Facsimiles,” Seshat noted.

“Thanks. Give me a static target, I need to discharge this stuff safely.” The soldier remarked with a nervous chuckle.

Seshat merely moved her hand into the electrical stream. It conducted onto her fingertips, along her right arm, and then out the left into the ceiling - being distributed into the Avenger’s power network. “Nullified successfully.”

“Once again, my thanks.” Gwen said with a slight bow. Her attention turned back to Atka with a proud smile, her eyes though clearly indicated she was seeking approval from her better though. “So? What do you think?”

“You’ve made an excellent amount of progress. I’m impressed,” Atka responded with a smile. “I look forward to seeing this applied in the field.”

“What? I’m not looking forward to it, that would require me being in a tough fight to actually use these new powers.” Gwen said, nudging the Commander with an unsuppressed laugh.

“Considering that our next objective is to take out some of the strongest psions in existence, that’s not optional,” Atka replied with a shake of her head.

“I know, but a girl can dream, can’t she? Anyways, I am glad I could make you proud Atka. It… isn’t really something I used to since you know my whole story. You’ve been like a second mother to me. Pretty soon that will actually be true.” The soldier noted happily.

Atka covered her eyes with a palm for a moment. “Don’t remind me… I don’t think I’m remotely ready for that.”
“Why aren’t you ready for it? I’m not sure I understand what you mean by that.” Gwendoline informed the older women with a slightly perplexed look.

“Wasn’t that long ago that they started dating, and now they’re already getting married…” Atka shook her head. “I don’t think you can understand without having a kid. Go ask Morrigan if she’d be comfortable with someone proposing to Brigid tomorrow.”

“Oh no, I perfectly understand the Brigid one, don’t worry about that.” The frenchwoman said with a shrug. “What are you gonna do though, right? They’ve had some ups and downs… and some really high and low ups and downs but… I think they’re different then any relationship on the ship. Everyone else has gone through the motions while those two have been building up their connections through the trials they faced. Sure, it may seem quick when you step back and look, but I’m more of the opinion that this had to happen. Could you go through what Yakone did without that support effectively?”

Atka shook her head. “I suppose not.” She sighed. “The other half of it that throws me off is that… well, it sort of reminds me of the past.”

“Oh… you mean with you and… I see.” Gwen scratched her head, trying to think of a proper avenue to go down and pushing down her anxiousness about the situation, she asked Atka what she believed to be the right question. “Have you… tried talking with him since he left ADVENT behind? The way things ended never really put a proper end to your relationship. I will tell you from my experience that not tackling your regrets eats you more than anything else.”

“You know as well as I do the things he’s been involved in. The crimes he’s guilty of. I don’t think I’d have much to say to him,” Atka replied hesitantly.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “Roundabout Replies, Part 2”

“No one is trying to deny that. I’m of the opinion though that… people who do bad things and want to make things right will never stop doing so. That those are the people who have the true good in their heart. With people like my… m-my father… you just have to let them go and accept the shit that happened and try to move on to makes things better for yourself. Right now, Desmond is trying to make things right. You shouldn’t make it easy but… unless he turns back on that, I think it would be good for you to just keep an open mind. The day you won’t feel hesitant at all is the day you will know your heart made the right choice.” Gwen offered, putting a supportive hand on the woman’s arm. “And I know Leon. Your daughter is in the best care she could ever be under.”

“I… understand what you’re trying to say,” Atka began, closing her eyes for a moment. “But Genesis worries me. They might be on our side, but it’s still ADVENT. There’s a possibility we’ll have one more enemy left to fight should we succeed in ousting the Protectorate, and I don’t see a point to making peace with someone you may have to kill.”

“Even if that peace might be the key to avoiding the fight altogether?” The frenchwoman asked with great care, fiddling with her hands a bit nervously. “Look, I’ve never met the guy personally, but from what I’ve been told, he spared my brother’s life, and he helped keep Yakone alive in the moments she was most vulnerable. If you just let him do his own thing, then his mindset won’t change. You can’t just expect people to suddenly not be who they’ve been for a long time. If you want change to happen, you have to do something to enact it. Make him care. When you do that, he may change by the time we end this war. But remember what I said, too. If he is truly a bad man, then your efforts of reaching out will have exposed that and you can go on with a clear conscience knowing you were right in the end. There is effort that needs to come from your end though, okay? I say that to you not in support of him, but because I want you to be happy.”

“I’ll give it some thought,” Atka said after awhile. “That’s the best I can offer you.”

“You don’t need to offer me anything. This isn’t my happiness you need to think about. I can just give you my opinions and hope they guide you to the best choice.” Gwen flashed another smile and pat the Inuit woman on the back. “I think a proper training routine can wait for another time. I don’t need it right now. Let’s do something else. Got any other major plans to do today?”

“I do have someone to meet with, actually…”

“Oh, alright. I should leave you to that I suppose.” Gwen said, stretching out her arms and putting them behind her back. “I will come talk with you later, alright?”

“You might want to attend, considering who that person is. One Verona Episcopo,” Atka noted with a raised eyebrow.

Gwen did catch the name, putting her hand on her chin with a confused look. “Emmy’s sister is coming here? Funny… I didn’t know about that. I mean, if you want me along, I don’t see why I should refuse.”

“I figure you ought to meet your girlfriend’s family sooner or later…” Atka mused.

The french girl looked at her commanding officer with a sour look. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Possibly.”

“Somehow I knew Yakone didn’t get it from her father…” Gwen noted with a sigh. “I’ll meet you after I go and change. I am not meeting Verona dressed like this.”

Atka chuckled. “Understandable. I’ll be below the cargo bay ramp.”

***​

When Gwen arrived, Atka was already there, true to her word. The Commander had changed out of her exercise clothes into her ‘casual’ uniform, with the navy blue pants and white undershirt of a military officer’s garb but a frilly black leather jacket that was anything but formal. The reason for Atka’s choice of attire became apparent when Gwen caught sight of Emmeline’s older sister.

The Director of Exalt was dressed up in her typical attire: the augmented semi-translucent black latex jumpsuit. All of it - black heeled boots, gray woolen stockings, short skirt, gold-plated belt with a panther skull, form-fitting chestplate, gloves made of the same material as her stockings, and orange googles - was present in the face of the December weather. “Apologies that she’s late, Set was saying goodbye to the others and I just went on ahea-ah!” Vee noticed Gwen, and looked over her with her orange eyes. “So you’re Gwendoline de Saint Pierre, eh? Not bad, not bad…”

Gwen stood in place, completely red faced from embarrassment for a multitude of reasons. The first of which was the look over she had gotten from her girlfriend’s sister, and subsequent comment. The second was the fact that Gwen looked completely out of place from both Atka and Verona, wearing her signature white dress and having kept her blonde hair in the ponytail she had for training in fear of making it look horrible. The third and final reason was just how beautiful Gwen thought Verona was in the similarities to her sister. “S-So you’re Verona. I suppose it is good to finally meet you.” The frenchwoman began, trying to hold her tone with as much tact as she could muster off guard as she was.

“And you, femme who has seduced my sister,” Vee replied with a smirk. “I can definitely see how that occurred.”

“I-I-I… B-Bu-Bu… but… um, look shut up!” Gwendoline exclaimed, clearing her throat to allow herself some moment to reclaim her composure, crossing her arms across her chest. “I-I wasn’t the one who seduced her, or her me. There was no seducing at all. She was a nice woman with a lot of smarts and good sensibilities that attracted me, nothing else.”

“Just a figure of speech, cara mia,” Verona responded with a dismissive way of her hand. “In any case, I am glad that my sister has found some measure of happiness with you. As she has no doubt made you aware, attachments were not something she was able to enjoy for the majority of her life thus far.”

“Yes, that was certainly one of the hurdles we had to step over to reach this point.” Gwen affirmed with a nod of her head. “Though I have to ask this of you, since I get the same answer from Emmeline no matter how I rephrase it to her. Why… was I the first one to come along and finally get her to commit? She let spill before about other crushes she had fancied before. I thought you would have a bit of insight.”

Vee sighed, placing her thumb and pointer finger on her forehead. “Because I specifically told her not to. Spies aren’t supposed to get settled down. Their whole purpose is to feign camaraderie while feeding information to those with whom their true allegiances lie. I reasoned that should the Resistance become a problem I didn’t want her to be left with qualms about betraying them. I asked her to be ready to cut herself off from others at any moment. What I didn’t account for, I suppose, is the balance to the adaptability of humanity.” The Director retracted her hand. “The fact that we have our limits. I didn’t realize it - I suspect she’s been having an internal struggle for longer than she let on - but she was worn out. Tired of the lies. And you just happened to be the perfect storm of being in the right place and having the right personality to persuade her to confess.”

“So sorry for ruining your plans.” Gwendoline said with a small smirk. “I’m glad to hear it from the source at least. Emmeline always seemed like she was trying to make your actions sound right, but I just wanted to hear the truth. And this perfect storm is glad she happened to roll by. Emmy seems a lot less stressed than when we first encountered one another.”

“That’s good to hear.” Vee nodded slightly, and then glanced behind herself as a black car pulled up. “There they are.”

The driver of the car opened the door and stepped out, dressed in a pair of fatigues that were of plain gray color though the front of the jacket was let open as if he was a soldier but just didn’t care about appearance. He walked around and opened the back door, saying, “Welcome to your new home cupcake.”

The woman that stepped out had an appearance more exotic than even Verona. She wore a thick, insulating black jumpsuit with red decals emblazoned onto it. On the sides were erratic patterns formed entirely from gears, and over the heart was the symbol of a rose. There was no covering over the arms and legs from the very beginnings of the limbs at the shoulders and hips - and they were not organic. Sleek black alloys with faint lights that glowed a dull crimson made up the four cybernetic limbs of the Exalt soldier - augmentations that had not been given to her by her organization. They were decidedly alien in design.

The cyborg woman’s hair flowed free, being a slightly pinker shade of rose red than the markings on her simple article of clothing. The color of her eyes, however, was an unknown - as she wore square-shaped black shades that obscured her eyes completely behind tinted glass. “How that nickname makes any sense to you is beyond me,” Poinsettia muttered, stepping fully out of the vehicle and approaching the three beneath the Avenger’s ramp. She extended one of her robotic hands to Atka. “Poinsettia Proulx Episcopo. A pleasure to meet you, Commander.”

“And you as well. I’m grateful that we’ll be getting some reinforcements,” Atka replied evenly, seeming unshaken by the mechanical aspects of the new recruit - perhaps due to the limbs she’d lost herself.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “Roundabout Replies, Part 3”

The driver from before was not far behind the woman, tilting his head briefly with a smile after she left the car. “‘Cause you act just oh so sweet.” He said to himself, falling in besides Verona’s other side. “Asher Episcopo. I must say for the Commander of the famous XCOM, I expected a lot more.” The sniper held out his hand.

Atka took it rigidly. “Expectations will always disappoint you,” she replied coldly.

“Glad you seem to have some bite backing up those big barks you made around the world. I spent time moving around your cells here and there. Your supporters talk about you like some kind of demagogue. True, from a certain point of view. We all want to be free, now don’t we?” Asher gave the commander a smile, but it was a mask that held no true meaning. Asher’s attention went to Gwen, who was standing next to Atka with a baffled sort of look. “And nice to meet the flower our dear sister happened to come across.”

“Yes… I am. You certainly don’t have a lot of respect for authority, do you?” the Juggernaut asked with some hint of resignation. He reminds me of Luke… and not in a good way…

“Well it all depends on whose authority I’m supposed to respect.” Asher shrugged his shoulders, pointing at Atka. “If you mean her authority, well all I’m gonna say is she isn’t my leader. She’s flesh, blood, and a soldier like the rest of us. Don’t give much of a rat’s ass the organization behind it.” He put an arm around Verona with a bit of smile. “She on the other hand feeds, cares, and orders the supplies I need in order to fire my rifle, so she’s my saint.” Asher looked down at the woman with a smile and pat her back. “Work a bit harder for that goddess promotion you crave, sis.”

“It’s a good thing I’m getting the respectful one, then,” Atka muttered audibly.

“What could I possibly do for you that I haven’t already?” Verona questioned with a roll of her eyes. “Buy you a personal hooker you can call at any time? Purchase gold-plated gear and furniture for you?”

“Oh, come now, nothing so esoteric and material. Honestly, there likely isn’t anything you can give me to placate me, as I simply enjoy making your life oh so more lively and full of cheer. Besides, have to milk it till the eventual mind wipe and reprogram, or knife in the back so you can make a new test tube baby.” Asher noted with a large, toothy grin.

“So you’re the type of person who just enjoys being an ass, is that it?” The frenchwoman asked with an irritated look all the other women seemed to have.

“Enjoy it? No, no, no, I don’t simply enjoy it, I adore it. There is nothing better then the thrill of a fist fight at a bar because of the wrong words to the right woman, or the fact that you make someone pissed enough and they usually draw the weapon they thought they were smart enough to conceal when approaching my family. It’s a useful trait. After all, in the Episcopos... nothing is more important than family.” Asher explained, chuckling with a full essence of unease. “Especially with our fun little family circus. Welcome to it toots.”

My sincerest condolences, Atka told Gwen telepathically.

I’ve been through worse before, Gwen psied back, offering up a smile to Asher with a sincere look of gratitude. “Thanks Asher. I’m glad to be apart of it.”

That sniper blinked a few times, caught off guard as he nodded. “Good. A-Anyways, where is our sister? I expected to see Emmeline here before we left.”

Something impacted with Asher’s back, knocking him onto the ground. A boot materialized out of the shadows, followed by the rest of the Phantom attached to it. “Hello, brother. Was that a sentimental tone I heard?”

“Of course not. I’d throw the whole of humanity and beyond into a soundproof room and jettison it into a black hole if I could. Sentiment is not in my nature.” Asher answer simply, sitting up with a smirk. “Also that was a cheap move and you know it. We aren’t adding it to the W/L chart.”

“I could have done that without a stealth field generator and you know it,” Emmeline retorted, smiling herself. “How have you been, Asher?”

“I’m still alive, so that’s a plus. Still waiting to finish our bet on seeing who I make kill me first though. Money is still on Vindicta. It’s always the quiet ones. You’re currently 1-0 on me in the relationship department, and oh, I got you a souvenir from my trip into the wasteland formerly known as Russia. Hope you like it.” Asher took a small bag from his coat pocket and tossed it at her, standing up and wiping the boot mark on his back with an annoyed sigh.

Emmeline caught it with expert dexterity, and took a look inside. There was a bracelet located inside with a dark cord of black leather and a small nameplate with Emmeline’s full name on it with a small gold star at the end. The silver haired woman’s eyes sparkled, and she put it around her wrist. “Thanks, Asher.”

“Don’t say I never did anything for you.” Asher replied with a proud look, glancing over at Verona. “Act a bit nicer and maybe I’ll bring you things home from my adventures.”

“I doubt there is anything that you could collect that I couldn’t pay someone to get for me,” the Director remarked gaudily. “I’ll be good.”

“That’s not the point, and I’m sure you realize it,” Emmeline noted.

Vee just shrugged noncommittally. “Why should I answer that question? It would ruin my aura of mystique.”

***​

After catching up further and bidding farewell to the two sisters that would fight with XCOM for the foreseeable future, Verona departed with Asher. She sat in the passenger seat to the left of Asher, removing a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino from a cooler and pouring herself a small glass. She brought the red wine to her lips for a sip.

“So, do you think Set is going to survive the thrills of the Avenger? It isn’t like back home with us.” Asher asked as he leaned against the door, driving with one hand as easily as he could with two.

“She’s a capable soldier. She’ll be fine,” Verona responded with a shake of her head. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Not healthy.”

“You know how I am with following your orders to the letter, so of course I am going to worry about her.” There was a bit of silence between the two as the car sped on down the road they had turned onto, Asher reaching down in between the door and pulling out a white box, holding it out to the side.

Verona placed her glass in a holder, and took it carefully. “What is this?”

“It’s a bomb and the real Asher is in the back of the trunk with his fucking throat cut. God woman, what do you think it could possibly be? If I gave Emmeline a present you should have expected on for my favorite sister.”

“You are getting sentimental,” Vee remarked as she opened the package. Inside the rather big, flat box was a black winter hat, a skull embroidered onto the front of it with a tongue sticking out and two white threads zigzagging all along the brim.

“I found that suited you considering you don’t exactly have a hat that fits your preferred style.” Asher noted in a bored tone as he stared forward to look where he was driving.

Verona smiled broadly, placing the hat on her head and pulling it down until only a few locks of her short black hair peeked through the bottom. “It’s perfect.” A thought occurred to the Director. “Did you… make this yourself?”

“Boredom breaks any man, and around you rays of sunshine, I find myself bored a lot,” he answered non-directly.

“You’re the best,” Vee said genuinely. She leaned back in her chair, listening to the purr of the engine for a few seconds before adding with a snarky tone, “if you weren’t my brother…”

Asher let out a brief chuckle, shaking his head slowly with a sigh. “When has that stopped an Episcopo before?” he joked.

“Well, I suppose you are a clone of Markus and aren’t biologically a relative…” Verona mused. “Brother-in-laws are fair game, I would imagine.”

“The way you sounded about meeting Emmeline’s girlfriend I’d say not just brothers-in-law.” The sniper jabbed with an amused shake of his head.

“Hey, I keep my options open. And remember… I’m not nearly as bad as Mary. Or that ‘painter’ fellow she recruited. Compared to them I am scarily sane and normal.”

“Was tempted with Mary a couple of times but I was scared my immunizations weren’t up to par to handle that minefield. I heard she keeps a body pillow of you though, hidden away in her closet.”

Vee rubbed her chin. “That… wouldn’t actually surprise me if it were true. And I’m not sure I’d be entirely offended.”

“Egomaniac.” Asher said with a laugh, reaching over and putting a hand on her head. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Rather than offer a witty reply, for today at least, Vee merely replied, “I am, aren’t I?”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Frostlich1228 & ZombieSplitter53
Friendship over Culinary Delights
Part One

Catherine walked through the city, where repairs had already begun to take place, some stores and restaurants in the least damaged districts had already reopened. Looking around, Cathy spotted what looked like a Chinese restaurant, having never really tried Chinese style cooking before, she decided to give it a shot, after all, it'd be the perfect place to relax after preparing the 'bold' thing she had been preparing for Artyom.

As she stepped into the door, the waiter took her name and allowed her to seat herself as he checked on other customers. The whole place had a 'red' theme, with crimson lights and decorations all around, smiling giddily, she looked for the perfect place to sit, settling on a little booth near the double door entrance.

She sat alone for quite some time, long enough for her to notice. The servers seemed to be distracted by something, and every time the door to the kitchen swung open, Catty could hear the sound of arguing.

Finally, a flustered young woman came over to Catherine. "I apologize for the wait. Please, what can I get you today?"

Used to working in a kitchen of her own, Cathy could tell something was wrong pretty quickly. "Is something going on? Do you need some help?" The Chef asked politely.

"Well, um..." The waitress look over to the kitchen, then back at Cathy. "We have, um... something of a VIP here, and the head chef isn't available. He was injured during the fighting, you see? And the VIP's assistant made the mistake of, ahem... i-insulting the current chef's cooking. And he's refusing to cook for her..." The woman laughed nervously, obviously not finding this funny. "...e-even if it means disgracing out restaurant by not serving him."

"Yeesh..." Catherine cringed, "Okay, I cook for XCOM's ship, maybe I could help you... I'm not too sure how to cook Chinese but, I could try talking some sense into him..."

"You're with XCOM?" The waitress scratch her head, then nodded. "Anything you can do will be great." She stepped to the side and waved her hand towards the kitchen. "Just be careful. The chef tends to throw things when he's mad... sharp things."

Her eyes widened, "Uhh... I don't think it'll come to that... but if it does I'll be sure to... duck?"

Once Catherine stepped into the kitchen, her ears were assaulted by the sound of a very angry man of Chinese decent yelling in Chinese at a blond woman Finnish decent desperately trying to respond in broken Chinese.

"你可以告诉他去别的地方！ 我的烹饪是最好的城市！ 你能做饭吗，小女孩！" <You can just tell him to go somewhere else! My cooking is the best in the city! Can you cook, little girl!?>

<I-I wasn't saying... your cooking is bad>. The young woman wiped some sweat from her brow. <I-I was just making sure y-you're cooking was up to par with the usual chef. I-It look... a little...>

The chef slammed a rather large chef's knife down, burying it into a wooden cutting board. <He is a hack! He is only the head chef because this city doesn't know what good sushi really taste like!> He yanked the knife out and pointed it at Cathy. "And who is this? Another smart woman, thinks she can tell me how to cook? You probably not know shrimp sashimi from California roll!"

She put her hands up quickly, "Hang on... How about I... Personally make you and your Vip friend some food? it might not be Chinese food, but I'll make it exactly the way you want it... Mr. Chef doesn't have to cook for someone he doesn't want to, and your friend still gets food, everyone wins right?"

"U-um..." The woman nodded. "That would be great. As long as..."

"Tch." The chef walked away. "Just don't get in anyone's way."

The woman let out a sigh of relief, seemingly just as afraid as Cathy about getting a knife through the gut. She offered Cathy a data pad. "I-I took the liberty of looking up the ingredients and preparation techniques of all of the master's choices today. I-It is sorta my job, amongst other things, to make sure he doesn't get anything that wouldn't agree with him. Please do you best. You... you can cook, right?"

"Well, yeah. Although Chinese food is pretty different for me, as long as you got some basic instructions on that thing I should be able to just wing the rest." Cathy responded, looking around to see what they had in stock.

The kitchen was well stocked with pots, woks, and utensils. Meats included fresh fish, beef, chicken, and steak, and there was a variety of vegetables. Every spice Cathy could want, and a few she didn't recognize, were lined up neatly.

"Please, if you find the instructions unfamilar, feel free to make your... um, speciality?" The woman bowed her head. "M-my name is Anja Hämäläinen by the way."

"It's good to meet you! And don't worry, I'm sure the head chef will have some stern words with him when he gets back." She said, grabbing a frying pan, "How about... A bowl of fried rice topped with chicken and beef... Fileted fish would be nice... I bet I could fry it in..."

Cathy stopped, looking about and grabbing some soy sauce and tasting some of it, "Mmm! S-OY sauce!"

"And don't forget some veggies... I could get these nice and crisp... Maybe cook them with... I wonder if they have olive oil?" Catherine bounced around the kitchen, talking to herself and getting everything ready before turning back to her, "Sound good?"

Anja quickly nodded, the smile on her face saying Cathy's enthusiasm was contagious. "That sounds wonderful. And I am sure he would love to try something from a new chef. I'll go let him know the food is on the way. Thank you so much. I'll repay you for this somehow."

"It's alright! Actually..." Cathy considered, turning on the hibachi style stove-top and sliding two slices of filleted fish onto it along with a combination of vegetables including celery, potato, and leeks, "Well, I'll bother you with after I'm done!"

Anja nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She bowed her head, and rushed out to deliver the news.

Cathy brought a fryer onto a more normal stove top, toasting the rice and cooking the meat separately, then once they were finished brought them all together in a bowl, placing a bay leaf on top. Next she splashed the soy sauce onto the fish, along with various other spices that she taste tested and thought would compliment the flavour of the fish. Flipping it once or twice, she moved it and the golden vegetables onto a plate, drizzling some more of the soy sauce onto the fish and the rice bowl. All in all, it cooked rather fast, being finished in a little over thirty minutes.

Some of the chefs around her gave her surprised or impressed looks as Cathy loaded the food onto a tray and brought it out into the dining room, searching around for the lady and her 'master'.

One of the waitresses pointed towards the stairs leading to an overhead floor. There were fewer tables up here, the second floor meant for reservations and special diners. It was empty except for a table at the end, a screen blocking the view of whoever was dining. Anja sat up from the seat across from him and said, "This is her. Please, miss, come on over. I'm.. afraid I never got your name."

"Just call me Cathy." She replied, taking the food over to him, " And I'm happy to cook for you guys."

Is it a new policy for the chefs to also deliver the food? As Catherine reached the table, she finally saw who the so-called VIP was, watching her behind his ornate mask. If so, I might just have to tip you a little extra.