Well, here it is my Red vs. Blue fanfic. This is going to be Church/Tex centric, and will likely contain Tucker/Alex (I dunno why, but I always figured Sister's real name was either Alice, or Alex), and will have OC(Michigan)/OC(Ohio) (two characters from my planned Machinima series). Also, another thing that you'll commonly notice me doing, which I won't outright state yet, is referring to a certain thing over and over again (I'll give you a hint, it's gonna be in the Chapter names). On one last notice, you'll notice a severely more serious Church, as well as the fact that the new characters will also be serious)

The Heart

Chapter 1: The Pains of the Broken

The explosion didn't destroy buildings. It didn't destroy cities, or kill millions. It was barely heard a mile from the center. A small explosion, though it was, it couldn't possibly have affected one man more.

Leonard L. Church, a man who was confident, and somewhat arrogant, of his own abilities. No one believed that such a man could feel such things, let alone feel such sorrow over a single woman.

But it was true. Tex's death had affected him. He had always said so much about how they didn't belong together anymore, but now that she was gone, he missed her… a lot…

God, he'd been such an idiot. Why had he said all those stupid things? Why? 'Jesus Christ,' he thought to himself, 'you were such a fucking idiot Church.'

Always, he'd denied interest in Tex. He'd denied that he loved her still. He'd lied.

Suddenly, a noise behind him snapped him from his sleepless regrets. "Umm... Church… what are you doing?" said the all too familiar voice of Caboose. Church sighed, and tried in vain to make his voice sound as though he hadn't been crying. "I just can't sleep," he said. At least it was only a partial lie.

Caboose nodded. "Okaayyyy…" he said, almost cheerfully. Even though he was idiotic, even Caboose could tell why Church had so many sleepless nights.

Again, a different, more soothing voice filled his ears. "You always were a bad liar," he heard Tex say as she wrapped her arms around him. "Tex… Is this really you?" Church questioned, pressing against his invisible 'captor'. She smiled, and gave a quick chuckle. She poked his chest where his heart should be. "Don't forget," she mumbled.

As suddenly as it came, Church found himself awakening to a loud clatter outside. It was bright out. But, how could that be, when only moments ago it was dark? Church sighed once more. Another dream, this Tex hadn't been real.

Church sighed once more, turning his attention to a clutter outside. He heard the feint hum… The hum of the engines of a drop ship. Church shot outside, but found, to his disappointment, that it was not Tex.

There was a new person, who was not wearing his helmet. He had shoulder length, tied back, dark brown hair. His armor was jet black, just as Tex's had been, but there were key differences. Unlike the rest of them, his armor looked… newer, and was a different shape than the others. His shoulder plates were E.V.A style, with the upper part of the shoulder armor being a blood red. The helmet, Church noticed, had a differently shaped visor, and was red on the top, where their armor was one solid color. Furthermore, his armor plating on his chest had a differently shaped plating, and it appeared to be thicker, as well as having a knife holstered in a sheathe built into the breastplate. In addition, a symbol of a Phoenix on a shield, with marks coming off the corners was painted onto his shoulder plate.

In his hands, he held a Sniper Rifle, strapped across his back was a Katana, on one leg was a magnum, and on the other, what appeared to be a metallic handle, which Church noticed was exactly like the one from the Sword they'd found.

"Who's commanding officer here?" questioned the man. Church spoke up, "I guess that would be me…" The man remained serious. However, unbeknownst to the others, this was simply for appearances. "Who are you?" questioned Tucker. The armored man redirected his attention to Tucker. "I am Freelancer Michigan. My friends call me Mish, but… well, for all extensive purposes, my name is Sudaku. This is all you are required to be informed of," said the man, "I was informed that, last week, your assigned Freelancer, Texas, was terminated in the line of duty. I have been sent to replace her, and to erase any evidence of her involvement in this fight."

Church didn't need this. Jumping up, he gripped the newcomer's throat tightly in his hand. He gave only the slightest movement, showing little fear. "Don't talk about Tex that way," he said.

Mish growled slightly. Swatting Church's hand away, he began to walk towards the base. "Don't get too full of yourself," he mumbled, "remember this, Leonard L. Church, you are not the only one who was friends with Allison." With this, Church shouted out a loud, "Well fuck you!" and stormed away from base, heading towards the caves.

There, he knew what he'd find. He'd already elected a small memorial where no one could see. Into the wall, he carved In loving memory of Texas A.K.A Allison. A nameless soldier, who didn't deserve to die.

Once again a noise, now outside the cave, approached. Removing his helmet to give his short, black hair a nice breeze, Church looked back. It was Tucker. "Hey, dude," he said simply. He seemed to be hiding something that he had left just outside the view of the cave. "Listen… I don't really like that new guy, and I don't like Tex either, but…" he walked back, and dragged a figure from the shadows. It was Tex's body. "I found it this morning," he said, "You can have it, just to give her a nice burial, and stuff."

It was the first time he'd actually seen Tucker show a little sympathy. Church sighed, and looked up. Now, he saw a sight he didn't want to see. Mish was standing right behind Tucker. "A memento, huh?" he said, observing the wall, "hmmm… you really did love this girl a lot it seems… But command did say it all had to be whipped clean." Church sneered at the thought. "However…" mumbled Mish, "I have a personal code against defiling anything built out of love for another person. All that technical crap is for the public. I was required by protocol to inform you that your little girlfriend's remains had to be destroyed, however… what they don't know, won't hurt them."

With these simple words, Mish left, leaving Church and Tucker confused. But he didn't stop to explain. He just kept walking. He didn't even tell them what he'd come to tell them. He already knew, though. The red base was getting a new freelancer as well. As he walked, Church began to wonder which one.

Despite this all, he did turn one last time to offer a word of advice to Church via intercom. "Church, this is a private channel," I said, "and I would like to inform you of a little something that may cheer your spirits. What keeps the body alive? The organs and stuff, obviously, but what allows these to beat? Without a soul, a body is nothing. Now I wonder… what would happen if we stitched her original body, which has been so kindly delivered to you, back together, and repaired her wounds. What if we could find a way to rapidly heal cell growth, and make it so the damage never happened? What if we can find a way… to bring your dear beloved back to life? I have the solution, Church, just bring the body, and anything you that she held dear to her." And once again, Mish walked, a smile plaguing his features from beneath his helmet. He was eager to see the look on Church's face when it happened…

Like clockwork, as soon as darkness fell, Church was there. "If you're fucking with me, newbie, I swear to god," he mumbled. Mish sighed, hoisting Tex's corpse up over his shoulder, and laying her down on the table in his room. "I come from a very… rare religion that dabbles in the science of spirits. You'll find that it actually works," he said, "in fact, we've only recently started having successful, consecutive attempts. But, I've been at this since I was five; I know what I'm doing."

"Keep in mind, Church," Mish said, "this is by no means magic, it's more like a binding. I take it you brought the things, and stitched her organs and wounds?" Church nodded. "Okay," Mish mumbled, "let's get this underway."

He opened her eyes. Church turned away. He couldn't stare into her dead, lifeless eyes. They were so yearning… they looked like they needed something…

And then, it began. "Ancient divine ones," mumbled Mish, "grant this lost soul a place in this realm once more. A soul unfulfilled, and yearning. As if from nowhere, blood symbols appeared all over the walls. A resounding voice filled the room. "Why do you wish to bind this spirit to the living realm, when it has passed!??!?!?!" it shouted out, as the room rumbled. Mish clamped his hands together. He said only three words, and the shaking stopped. "She was loved."

The blood on the walls began to crawl down, sliding along the ground, yet gaining no dirt or dust. It flew up, and began to slide into Tex's wounds. As it all stopped, a small amount of color filled Tex's eyes. That green that Church loved so much. He auburn hair seemed to bristle with anticipation. "For this and only this… we can allow… the spirit ties the flesh and the blood, and allows for life once more, to bind her stitches together, and rekindle an old flame. Do not forget your reasons for this child… now sleep, you strained yourself too hard," said the voice, in a far more soothing tone.

With that, Mish passed out, and something else, something more glorious than anything in the previous weeks happened.

Tex blinked her eyes once more.

My theme for this chapter is Red: Breathe Into Me. For each chapter I will provide a theme, a link to a youtube video, and the lyrics (if a part is sung by a specific person, I'll place markers to name who), and an explanation for why I chose it. I think this song embodied both Church's pain, his want for her to come to life, and is going through her ghost's mind as she is coming back to life. And with no further delay, I present… (all lyrics presented by (Parenthesis)

Tex: LYRICS

"Breathe Into Me"

(And this is how it feels when I ignore the words you spoke to me
And this is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you
And this is who I am when, when I don't know myself anymore
And this is what I choose when it's all left up to me)

"Breathe your life into me
I can feel you"
(I'm falling, falling faster)
"Breathe your life into me
I still need you"
(I'm falling, falling)
"Breathe into me
Breathe into me"

(And this is how it looks when I am standing on the edge
And this is how I break apart when I finally hit the ground
And this is how it hurts when I pretend I don't feel any pain
And this is how I disappear when I throw myself away)

"Breathe your life into me
I can feel you"
(I'm falling, falling faster)
"Breathe your life into me
I still need you"
(I'm falling, falling)
"Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me"

"Breathe your life into me
I can feel you"
(I'm falling, falling faster)
"Breathe your life into me
I still need you"
(I'm falling, falling)
"Breathe into me"

"Breathe your life into me!"
(I'm falling, falling faster)
"Breathe your life into me!"
(falling, falling, falling)
"Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me"