Author: Heya! Here's chapter four of Hunted! This took me a bit longer than normal, mostly because of school and other crap in my life. I also wanted to allude to a few things later on. ;) Anyways, the word count is roughly 2,651 words on just the chapter itself!
I also want to thank my first reviewers, JC and knight! Thank you for reviewing! And please guys, read and review in the future! :D I really do love seeing reviews!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT Own Red vs. Blue or anything related to it. Just a few OC's and the plot.
WARNING: CONTAINS LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, GORE, AND POSSIBLE SEXUAL SITUATIONS! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR POSSIBLE SCARRING OF THE MIND OR ADICTION!
Hunted
Chapter 4: Vivid Dreams
Caboose was confused. This wasn't surprising in the least, however, his situation did call for a little discombobulation. He found himself standing around in pure darkness, with no armor or gun on his person.
"Hellooooooooo?" Caboose called, blue eyes trying to peer into the void that yawned before him like a great black sea. A flickering of light caught Caboose's eye, and he gasped as a tiny green figurine manifested before him, sharp against the black void in which he hung.
"Private Caboose, do you remember me?" A calm voice asked, green figure staring intently at Caboose.
"Yeah! You're the little green man!" Caboose said excitedly, a broad smile crossing his face.
"Yes, I am Delta. But I am only a memory of him, and I have very little time before Epsilon regains control." The logic AI reported, his green light flickering between opaque and translucent.
"Private Caboose, I must warn you about the creature that attacked you. I fear it may go after others in an attempt to locate the Epsilon unit." Delta said, trying to keep the dim-witted soldiers attention on him.
"That creature is not a natural being, and is being controlled by the AI know as Omicron, or Insanity. I also believe that Omicron has fused with Phi and has become extremely dangerous." Delta said, projecting the form of two others into the darkness. One glowed a wavering pearl color, while the other was a menacing maroon color.
"Phi? I like pie!" Caboose said, smiling broadly as he clapped his hands together. If Delta could sigh, he would have.
"Private Caboose, I need you to tell Agent Michigan that Omicron and Phi are trying to get Epsilon. Can you remember to do this, Private Caboose?" Delta asked, though he doubted that the bluetard would recall half of this. Caboose only tilted his head in confusion, brow furrowing beneath his messy mop of straw blond hair.
"Who is Agent Missygon?" He asked.
"I do not have time to explain. Epsilon is regaining control. You will know when you see her, Private Caboose." Delta stated cryptically, before he flickered out of existence and left Caboose to float aimlessly in the utter darkness of his unconscious mind. But instead of waking up at last, the private was met with a life sized Church manifesting before his eyes.
"Church!" Caboose squealed, throwing his arms around the pissy blue team leader excitedly.
"Caboose, get the fuck off of me!" Church yelled, pushing the taller man from him in a disgruntled manner. Surprisingly, Church was in full armor. Though, Caboose hardly cared.
"Church, you came back! My bestest friend is back! Now I don't have to spend all day in the base alone!" Caboose blabbed on, waving his limbs around in pure excitement.
"Yeah, great, whatever. Listen I... Wow, there's less in here than before." Church said, looking around at the moor of darkness around them.
"I didn't think it was possible, but apparently you got stupider Caboose." Church said, staring at the moron intently.
"...And we can go on walks, and we can visit the Reds together!" Caboose had heard nothing and was still prattling on about what he and Church could do as 'buddies'.
"Caboose, SHUT UP!" Church roared, finally garnering some quiet from the moronic private.
"Listen, I need you to make me a new body. If we want to...hang out, I'm going to need a way to walk around on my own. Especially since you left my other body behind!" Church growled, practically bristling with anger. Caboose twiddled his thumbs together, looking genuinely ashamed.
"But Church, the Reds wouldn-" Caboose was cut off shortly by an impatient Church.
"I don't care why you left my body behind, but I need a new one! And it better be good!" Church demanded, glaring at the blue private from behind his visor. Caboose only smiled and saluted Church with a lopsided grin.
"I can do it Church!" He proclaimed, puffing his chest out. Church sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, that's great. Now you GOTTA WAKE UP CABOOSE!" Church's sudden shout jolted Caboose from his coma, his real eyes flying open as his whole body jerked in a spastic display of limbs. Bright light and fuzzy color assaulted his eyes, making the private try to squeeze them shut tight. He couldn't control his arms and legs as they flailed about, hitting something distinctly hard. His body ached with pain, a feeling Caboose didn't relish in the least.
"Caboose! Stop moving! Jesus, Grif hurry up and help me!" A voice squealed, laden with stress and anxiety. Hands clamped down on Caboose's ankles while another set locked around his wrists, pinning the Blue soldier to the makeshift cot. Suddenly, the world came into sharp definition around Caboose, making him realize where he was. He was in Blue base. He was safe. He was home. For minutes, Caboose merely laid upon the cot, feeling his chest burn with a scorching pain as it rose and fell at an erratic pace. His body was limp, no longer able to muster the energy to fight off unwanted hands. Simmons puffed, slowly lifting his hands from Caboose's wrists, warily eyeing the soldier.
"Grif, go find that medic woman. I think she'll want to know Caboose is awake." Simmons said, not liking the blank way Caboose stared at the ceiling.
"Why do I have to do it?" Grif whined, crossing his arms over his plated chest.
"You goddamn... Just go get her you fucking cockbite!" Simmons snapped, lifting up his rifle in a threatening way. Grif scoffed.
"You would- HEY!" Grif shouted as a bullet whizzed by his visor, barely missing the orange helmet by an inch.
"That's your only warning shot!" Simmons growled. However, the façade dropped as he barely contained a laugh as Grif practically ran from the room.
"The only time I've seen him move that fast is to get the last Oreo." Simmons said to himself, cracking a grin under the blank gold face of his visor.
"Fucking asshole..." Grif grumbled as he slowed down to a begrudging trudge through the gloomy halls of Blue base. He hunched his shoulders up around his face; cursing the day he had met Simmons. That kiss ass had annoyed him from day one! ~One of these days...~ Grif grumbled to himself as he slowed down even further. The sound of Mitch's voice could be heard, but there was no one else in the base to talk to. Grif, feeling suspicious, stopped outside a doorway and hid himself from view.
"I haven't seen him yet... No, I don't think he intends to reveal himself... Well, dammit Des, what do you want me to do? If I start acting like that, I'm going to alert him to my presence! It's bad enough that he's already attacked one these soldiers, I don't need Omi attacking another one." Mitch said, grumbling. Grif furrowed his brow, his hands tightening upon his rifle suddenly. Something about the medic hadn't sat right with him from the beginning, and now she was starting to sound a lot like...Wash almost. ~Is this chick a freelancer?~ Grif thought, trying to sidle closer to the door opening.
"Look, give me some more time to look for him, and then I'll report back, okay Des? ...Don't huff at me! I swear to god, I'll reach through this radio and smack you silly!" Mitch scolded, placing her hands on her white armored hips. With a final huff and 'goodbye', Mitch turned off her radio. Grif decided it was a good time as any to pop up.
"Hey! Caboose is awake!" The Hawaiian announced loudly, trying to make it seem like he had only just walked around the corner. Mitch turned, gold visor glinting under the fluorescent light of the base.
"Thanks! I didn't think he would wake up so soon!" Mitch said, her voice light as she began to hurriedly walk to the temporary medical bay.
"Has he said anything this time?" Mitch pressed, grabbing Grif's wrist and dragging him along. And she did it so easily! "Um, well- Dammit let go! We don't have to walk so fast!" Grif shot, squirming in Mitch's grip. She only continued marching on, never wavering. She was like an ox! And it was hard to believe, considering that she was shorter than even Grif. Mitch finally released Grif outside of Caboose's room, shooing Simmons away like a worried mother hen.
"Jeez, she acts like Caboose is her own child." Simmons complained, huffing. Grif could see Mitch bent over Caboose, talking to him in a low and soothing voice as her hands ran over the injured sections of his body.
"Yeah, well... Have you noticed the medic acting weird?" Grif asked as he and Simmons began meandering towards the entrance of Blue base. It looked like Mitch wouldn't be done with Caboose for a while, so there was no sense of them standing around. Simmons shrugged, visored face turning to look at the orange Spartan.
"No... Why? She actually seems normal." Simmons pointed out, as they stood in the open arch that led to outside. The ground was soft from the rain, leaving behind the aroma of crushed pine nettles and fresh water. The river gurgled happily, overflowing with the clear liquid as it rushed out to the surrounding sea. Grif frowned.
"Well, I heard her talking to someone on the radio...and it didn't sound like Sarge or Command!" The Hawaiian pointed out, shifting in place. The area looked brighter than normal in his HUD display. Simmons only shrugged.
"She was probably talking to Command and you just didn't hear them right." The half robot said, earning a glare from Grif. "No it wasn't! If you were just a little bit closer, I would show you!" Grif threatened, waving his rifle around. Simmons opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by some sort of droning sound. It sounded like it was getting closer, but from where?
"Do you hear that?" Simmons asked.
"Here what? The sound of our pitiful existence?" Grif responded sarcastically.
"No, I mean something real! And my existence isn't pitiful, just so you know!" Simmons shot back, craning his helmeted head. It sounded like a yell...
"...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" At the last second, both Simmons and Grif looked up, mouths agape to release surprised yells. Before both could move, Sarge dropped from the sky and crashed into Grif, sending them both to the ground with solid thuds. They were a tangle of limbs and armor, a moaning mess that had Simmons on the precipice of laughing until he soiled himself, or trying to see if his CO was okay.
"Goddamn Grif... You can't even cushion my fall right!" Sarge said, his voice wavering with pain. Grif only grunted in response, either too lazy to move or he really couldn't. It was hard to tell sometimes. It was only now that Simmons saw the long gouges in the older soldiers armor, cutting through metal with ease.
"Are you okay sir?" Simmons asked, immediately bending down to Sarge's level. The man hadn't moved, a sure sign that something was wrong with his body.
"Get me off this dirt bag..." Sarge rumbled, squinting at Simmons through the flashing warnings that covered his HUD. They were screaming at him about how his armor was in critical condition, and that the suit would fail any moment. "Mitch! Hey, medic lady! We got a situation out here!" Simmons yelled, his voice in a notably higher register, too afraid to move Sarge in case he hurt the older man more.
"What's going- WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!" Mitch exclaimed as she saw the heap of Sarge and Grif. She rushed outside, kneeling by the head Red Spartan and twisting off his helmet. Blood was dripping down the side of his chiseled face, and turning his short silver hair a rather hilarious shade of pink. Mitch was quick, pulling up an eyelid and shining a penlight into Sarge's eyes, gauging how quickly his pupils dilated. Mitch grumbled, glaring up at Simmons.
"I check on Caboose for a few minutes and then I come to find out that ANOTHER one of you idiots is injured! How are you people this accident prone?!" She demanded, wrapping her arms under Sarge's shoulders and dragging him off of Grif. The Orange soldier slowly sat up, rubbing his helmeted head in annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks for asking!" He whined, crossing his arms over his chest plate. Simmons could only shrug.
"We have a long track record of injuries and accidents." The half cyborg explained, to which Mitch groaned.
"Help me get him inside then. No use standing around. You!" Mitch pointed at a still seated Grif.
"I want you on watch. If there's something lurking around this place, we shouldn't be so lax with our security." Mitch said, as she once again picked up Sarge's upper half. Simmons quickly grabbed his knees, muttering something about awkward positions as they shuffled into the Blue base once again.
Once Sarge had been stripped of his armor and examined, Mitch had reported that he only had some bruising to his abdomen and a mild concussion. Currently, the Red leader was on a cot on the opposite side of the room from Caboose, blissfully sleeping away. Mitch sighed, running a gloved hand through her unruly hair. She had already discarded her helmet, opting for being able to see Sarge with her own eyes, and not through her HUD.
"Okay, I'll be honest, shit like this really doesn't happen that much." Simmons said, watching as Caboose woke up from his brief nap. The Bluetard had apparently fallen asleep right after waking up from what Simmons assumed to be a nightmare. Mitch frowned, saying nothing as she walked over to Caboose. The private looked at the approaching medic, tilting his head in thought. What had the green man said? It had been something about pie, crazy people and someone named Missygon. "Hey there Caboose. How are you feeling?" Mitch asked in a soothing, calm voice as she picked up one of the privates wrists, and began counting his heartbeats. Caboose blinked, staring at Mitch intently.
"I had a funny dream where the little green man told me about pie. Oh, and Church was there! He wanted me to build him a new body, so we can play and hang out together!" Caboose said excitedly, practically bouncing in his seat. Mitch, satisfied with Caboose's heart rate, looked at him with genuine interest.
"A little green man? Did he have a name?" She asked, running one hand over Caboose's bandaged chest to check that they weren't tender with infection, peeling one strip back.
"Um...I think his name is Delta, but I don't remember so I call him the little green man!" Caboose explained, seemingly unaffected by Mitch prodding at his wounds. They were well on the way to mending just fine, they were just deep. It seemed the biofoam was doing its job of plugging up the wounds.
"Delta. What an interesting name! But why were you talking about pie?" Mitch asked, glancing at Caboose's back and then his head. He was doing extremely well for someone who looked like they got attacked by an angry grizzly bear.
"He said someone ate the pie, and that they were really made. I think it's because the pie was bad and they got a really bad tummy ache." Caboose concluded with a smile. Mitch shook her head, but smiled right back at Caboose.
"Alright, it seems you-" Mitch was cut off by the sound of a scream piercing the air, a strangled shout that was followed by a horrifying crack of metal against concrete. Simmons was already rushing for the door, fear clenching at his chest. The only one outside was Grif!
"Hold on Grif! I'm coming!"
Author: Ooooooohh, what's going on?! Is there another attack?! Can Sarge really fly?! Well, you're going to have to wait for the next chapter to find out! So, now would be an excellent time to hit that review button and leave a comment! :D I loooooooveeeee hearing from my readers about what they think! Honest! And you don't even need an account to review! So, if you're just cruising through FF and don't have an account or aren't logged in, you can still review my story! So, LET'S REVIEW EVERYONE!
Flames will be use to heat Hell and Axel! :D
