Caboose the SPARTAN
Part 4: Blood-Loss
Part Description: While there are perks to becoming a child owned by the UNSC, there are a lot more downsides. Tattoos, for example.
Description: Caboose the SPARTAN AU, from part to part, leading to the lovable Blue Team rookie we all know and love. But where did it all begin? This is his story.
A/N: I promise you all, that beginning first part is VERY important later on, but I just wanted to start when he's older and have it suddenly flashback as a way of telling the story mostly as he grows up, but hinting at what he'll one day become. Also, this is a pretty long chapter… I'm not sorry.
"Let go of me! Let go of me!"
"Grab him!"
This scene is not unlike the scene from the night before, for Michael. He's being held down valiantly by Clawson and Troy, both in full ODST armor, while he screams, struggles, and puts up his best fight as the tattoo artist- Jordan Monroe- struggles even harder to start up on the tattoo. Already, Michael wants absolutely no part of this SPARTAN-II program, as they obvious have zero idea how much getting a tattoo HURTS. He kicks and bites, managing to knock one of his own teeth loose on Troy's arm armor, but isn't nearly as successful as he's been hoping to be, Clawson groans as he holds Michael down, very careful to not let the little monster get a kick in below his belt, while Troy seems unaffected by the boy's fighting, even amused by it. Jordan groans- not unlike Clawson- and finally finishes the name 'Michael' on the boy's wrist.
"Jesus Christ, he's the worst one yet." Jordan makes sure to comment, aiming a harsh glare from under his helmet at Michael. "I've never had such a squirmy patient in here! Ya know, before he went in, Halsey told me he was gentle! Bitch didn't count on him being such a little fucker I guess."
"Shut up, Dan." Troy orders, letting out a loud 'Oof' as Michael manages to kick her straight in the stomach, knocking the air right out of her. "Ow! Shit! Little motherfucker has a kick to him!" Upon exclaiming this, Clawson chuckles under his breath, yelping seconds later as Troy clubs him in the knee. "Asshole. It's not funny when I'm the one getting kicked."
"Now you know what it's like." Is all Clawson replies, focusing more on controlling the angry child as Jordan starts up on the dash. "Geez, buddy, calm down! Dan here is almost done, then you can get your haircut and go back to kicking kids your own size. Won't that be fun? Just cooperate, for God's sake!"
"There's no use, just wait him out and keep him still." Jordan suggests, keeping for the most part quiet as he finishes the dash, drawing a screech out of Michael, only because he's accidentally drawn blood. "Oh, shit!" He mutters, gently wiping off the blood from the rest of the angry red tattoo. "Sorry, kid. See what happens when you squirm?"
"Let me go, you big jerks!" Michael shouts, trying to become stronger because of the pain, like Yang from that one kid's show his mother lets him watch sometimes: RWBY! God, he's really starting to miss Mother now. If only Yang were here to help him, surely she could stop these people from ripping his arm open!
"Jesus Christ, he's like a cat. One minute he's all sweet and eating the food ya give 'em, the next he's trying to bite off your fingers for next to nothing!" Clawson explains, talking like he's had experience with such ferocious felines. He probably has.
"Ya know, tattoos DO hurt, Jackass." Troy helpfully points out, for once agreeing with the little monster. "I mean, I have, like, four tattoos of my own. They all stung like a bitch to get."
"Listen to the lady! Listen to the lady!" Michael begs, glad to have someone momentarily on his side. He's no longer trying to be brave, as he's too scared and hurt to be a fighter. Now he just wants to go home, and for this terrible nightmare to end!
"Almost done…" Jordan promises, finishing up the last touches of the number '7' before stepping back, admiring his work. "Alrighty then… let him go, guys. But do it slo-" Neither of them listen long enough to hear the warning.
As soon as Michael feels the slightest give to the pressure keeping him on the table, he lunges like a lion out of the dentist's chair, ducking into a corner to examine the new markings on his left wrist. Now, his wrist reads 'Michael-57', a permanent tattoo on the once pristine skin of his wrist. He whimpers as he traces his right thumb over the tattoo, wincing at the sharp pain. Immediately, Jordan walks over to Michael, applying a soft, cotton white bandage around his wrist, in order to keep the earlier opened wound from getting infected. He pats Michael on the head, letting out a pleased hum. He's still a bit peeved about how much the kid screeched and struggled, but hey, he's just a little kid. Such a reaction is expected, and just proves once again that Michael's going to one day be a very great and capable fighter.
"Good work, kid." Jordan praises aloud, ruffling Michael's hair while it's still goofy, long, and soft. "Took it like a real champ. You let Clawson and Troy here take you to the barber, okay? Try not to give her a hard time. I promise you, this is the worst of it."
"'M 'kay." Michael mutters, sounding defeated and worn out. The area around his eyes are red and puffy from his shed tears, with tears still occasionally falling down his cheeks. The tattoo still hurts like Hell, but at least he's not dead like he thought he'd be by the end of it.
"Good. Go ahead now." Jordan urges, pushing Michael in Clawson and Troy's direction. Obediently, they stand on either side of the child as they take him from the room, leading him into the tiny barber's room.
Inside is a woman, looking to be in her late to early sixties, with greying black hair and big, circle-framed glasses. "Hello there." She greets, sounding nicer than Jordan, and MUCH nicer than the bath guy. "Come take a seat, deary. This will all be done in a few more minutes."
Michael isn't as frightened or shy as he obeys, getting into the chair- Michael figures that a haircut can't be any worse than a tattoo- causing the middle-aged woman to give him a happy smile. She then sets to work shaving his head, while the ODSTs cross the room, taking a seat in two doctor's office chairs. They pull off their helmets, allowing Michael to look them both over. The woman has short, pure white hair, and blood red eyes that almost seem to shine. The man has short, brown hair, with a blue ribbon hair-clip in it to keep his bangs out of his big, bright grey eyes. They both keep shooting Michael hesitant looks, but over time they seem to relax, realizing that Michael's probably all out of energy by now. Michael appears so tired that he almost lulls off a few times, eyes drooping as his head is shaved.
"Ya know, he's not so bad when he's drowsy." Clawson comments, allowing Michael to catch a glimpse of a noticeable chip in one of Clawson's teeth. "See what I mean? Like a cat."
"You're a fucking idiot." Troy points out, giving Clawson a toothy grin. She blushes bright red, however, as the barber shushes her. "What? I being too loud, Mrs. Kroger?"
"Yes, you are. And you hush with that fowl language in front of the children!" Mrs. Kroger scolds, making Clawson chuckle under his breath. "And you watch yourself too, Edward!"
Clawson rolls his eyes, it being Troy's turn to laugh at his embarrassment. "Geez, Mrs. Kroger. My name ain't Ed when I'm in uniform! Please, call me Clawson!"
Mrs. Kroger tisks at Clawson, careful as she shaves behind Michael's ears. "Oh dear, you'll always be Edward to me. Why, I've known you since you were in diapers!"
Troy only laughs harder, making Clawson blush bright red as he playfully punches her in the arm, ducking his head. "Please stop." He mutters, looking oh so embarrassed. "Is this revenge for the purple cat incident when I was seven? I told you I was sorry!"
Mrs. Kroger's light up at this mentioning, and Clawson's eyes go huge, realizing what he's just started. "Oh, I remember that! My, you were such a reckless child. I ask you to watch my house for ONE weekend, and what do I come home to-?"
Troy answers before Clawson can stop her. "-Your cat was running around the neighborhood neon purple and glowing!" She explains, ignoring the way Clawson glares furiously at her. "Hey, I'm just being a good friend and helping Mrs. Kroger remember, that's all!"
"You two are awful." Clawson announces, feeling like everyone should be aware of this. "I can't believe I told you that story. Why did I even agree to be your partner when I signed up for this shit?"
"Because I'm the greatest?" Troy offers, but one look from Clawson tells her that that is definitely NOT the reason. "I dunno why then, Clawson. Maybe we just work well together?"
"You have a good partnership." Mrs. Kroger explains. Once everyone starts looking at her- save Michael, whose damn near asleep- Mrs. Kroger chuckles at the looks on their faces. "I don't see how you two can't see it for yourselves. You two have been friends since Basic Training, yet you still insist that you hate each other. It's adorable, really."
"It's not cute!" Troy insists, now her turn to glare at Mrs. Kroger. "I absolutely hate his as- butt! He's the worst partner I've ever had in my life!"
Mrs. Kroger simply laughs again, making both ODSTs groan, glaring at each other before looking away to brood childishly. For awhile, the room is silent, until Mrs. Kroger suddenly speaks up, breaking the silence. "Alright, deary. You're all done." She promises, referring to Michael. "You can go back to your playing now!"
When Michael doesn't move, everyone glances at him, Clawson and Troy bursting out laughing as they realize that Michael is out cold, snoring quietly. "I'll take him back." Clawson offers, standing up and stretching before scooping Michael up effortlessly, making for the door. "You coming, Troy?" He asks over his shoulder.
Troy rolls her eyes, but stands up as well, waving politely to Mrs. Kroger before following after her partner. "Right behind ya, Clawson!" She assures him, smiling as she pulls back on her helmet.
That night, after they're given dinner (Re-heated military-grade rations. Gross.) the soon-to-be SPARTANS are sent to bed. Michael lingers in the doorway to the bedchamber room, trying to look for a means of entertainment. He's not tired, not after that nap earlier, but the ODSTs and scientists are so they have to go to bed now. Well, that just won't do in Michael's mind. He stands in the doorway as the other kids- some just as upset about the early bedtime as Michael is- flood into the room. Only two ODSTs are leading them in, neither of which Michael recognizes as his initial kidnappers. He scans the crowd of kids carefully, before catching Veronica by the arm, pulling her out of the crowd and out of sight of the supervisors. Veronica gives Michael an odd look, but stays quiet once he puts his hand over her mouth, signaling for her cooperation.
As the ODSTs follow at the back of the crowd, neither notice that Michael and Veronica have gone missing, and shut the doors once everyone else is inside. Coming out from their hiding spot beside the door, which really wasn't that much of a hiding spot, Michael lets out a sigh of relief. He'd been almost certain that they'd be caught, but apparently, those ODSTs aren't nearly as efficient at their jobs as one might think. Still keeping quiet, Michael wordlessly leads his friend down the hallway, hiding behind any large machinery whenever doctors, scientists, or ODSTs walks by. As the lights of the entire building shut off, Michael and Veronica don't bother with stealth, allowing themselves to walk freely down the hallways, as they seriously doubt anybody will notice their absence, much less look for them at THIS time of night.
"Why're we up?" Veronica finally asks a few minutes after the building lights have shut off for the night. "Shouldn't we go to bed like everybody else?"
"I'm bored." Michael answers, holding Veronica's hand as the two walk through the secretive military base. "Besides, I already had a nap earlier, and you slept in. Why should we go to bed if we're not tired?"
"Guess you're right." Veronica mumbles back, though she does look a bit more tired than Michael does, but still has a lot of energy to spare. "What're we gonna do then? I bet they put locks on the gym, so we can't play in there."
"Let's go exploring!" Michael suggests, excitement in his voice. "This place is so big, I bet it has secret passageways and secret rooms! I mean, we've only seen an itty bit of it so far! Who knows what else is in here?"
"Where should we look first?" Veronica asks, running to where a directory is on one of the walls of the hallway. "Hm… LOOK!" She shouts, jumping up and down as she points at one of the colored areas on the map. "There's a door that leads outside near here!"
"Hey, you hear that?" A voice from far away asks, causing both Michael and Veronica to go deathly quiet, realizing that they aren't the only ones awake. "Think one of those kids got out? I heard from Terrance that a few of the bedchambers are empty for some reason, but I figured he just miscounted 'em."
"He might not've… come on, I think that sound was coming from near the mess-hall." Another voice replies to the first, running feet now beginning to echo in the empty base.
In a panic, both Michael and Veronica make a run for it, dashing down the hallway. They can hear footsteps behind them- far too close for comfort- but the idea of getting caught and punished only makes them go faster. Michael leads the way, holding tightly to Veronica's hand as they round corners with no real direction, aiming to escape. They can't afford to get caught- these people have already proven themselves willing to hurt them, if the tattoos are any indication- so, without thinking, they duck into an office, closing and locking the door behind them. Just outside the door, the footsteps come to a halt, whispered conversation sounding from the other side, before fists begin pounding on the office door in a fury.
"Hey! You kids get outta there!" The first voice from earlier orders, not sounding very happy. "Goddammit, Halsey's gonna be pissed when she finds out we let 'em into her office! River, you go get Clawson and Hershey! I'll watch the door in-case they come out."
"We're done for!" Michael whisper/yells, reaching up to pull on his hair, only to be reminded rather sadly that it's already been shaved away. "What do we do!? Oh man, we're in so much trouble! What should we do, Veronica?"
"How should I know!?" Veronica replies, also beginning to panic as it sets in that they're indeed in very deep water. She pauses, looking around for a way out. There's a big desk on the other end of the room, with a chair and window behind it. It sparks an idea. "Come on, Mikey! I think I know a way out after all!"
Hastily, Veronica and Michael run for the window, going as fast as possible in fear of the door soon being broken down. Lifting Veronica up on his shoulders, Michael helps Veronica reach the window. "I can't get it open!" Veronica whimpers, looking close to crying out of fear.
Michael looks around this time, helping Veronica to sit on the windowsill before running to the chair. He hops up, opening the desk to search for a key or bobby-pin. Thankfully, he finds the card-key to the window, and jumps off the chair, handing it to Veronica. "Here! I hope this works…"
A loud thud outside makes both children jump, frightened by the sudden and loud noise. They're either trying to break the door down, or someone much bigger than them is knocking on it. Either way, neither child wastes time as Veronica swipes the card-key over the scanner, unlocking the window. Veronica pokes her head out first, looking down. They're on the second floor of what she can now tell is definitely a very, very big building. Thankfully, the air is breathable without a helmet and there's a ledge that goes along the wall just below the window. Carefully, Veronica steps out of the window, bare feet landing without any real weight on the ledge, as she's holding onto the windowsill for dear life. She soon gathers her courage though and sits on the ledge, promoting Michael to copy her until they're both on the ledge.
They breathe heavily for a few minutes, deep fear implanted into them at the thought of slipping just a bit and falling to their deaths. Michael grabs Veronica's hand in a tight, almost painful grip, assuring both her and himself that neither will fall tonight. As an afterthought, Veronica stands up on shaky legs, thankful for her small size, as it means she can stand on the ledge without too much fear of falling. She reaches up to the open window again, and closes it shut. She smirks, proud of her cunning idea. Hopefully, the guards and ODSTs won't realize that they've snuck out the window until they've gotten away from the compound. At this thought, Veronica starts to think, taking a seat beside Michael once more, who again grabs ahold of her hand for reassurance. She glances at him, confusion written on her face.
"So… what do we do now? I… I don't think this is home, Mike. We're not on Shipwreck anymore." Veronica points out, staring out at the horizon, as if transfixed by the environment around the compound.
Outside, the area has a strange, African feel to it. There aren't lions or giraffes around, but there're big, ostrich-like birds running around here and there, pecking at the ground and drinking not too far off from a watering hole. The grass is a deeper green than what could be considered normal for Earth, much less Shipwreck, but that might just be because Earth and Shipwreck are both very polluted and there's not much green grass left on either one. The sight is cinematic for both children, and even the usually far too enthusiastic and adventurous Michael appears calmed by the atmosphere of the outside world, internally grateful for the change of scenery, because even before he was kidnapped and forced into the compound, he usually only saw a lot of grey in his life. This is nice.
"I dunno… maybe we should get down first." Michael answers after a few more minutes pass by, the two drowning out the frantic noise from inside the compound. The guards have almost got the door open, by the sounds of it. "We're really, really, really high up."
"You said it. Come on, let's look for a ladder or something." Veronica urges, standing up on more sturdy legs this time. She's overcome this fear now- though death is still terrifying to her- but she has stood before on the ledge and isn't afraid anymore. "I think we might be able to get down if we scale the wall, I dunno, but we need to be careful if we do.
Michael hasn't stood up before on the ledge, so he's shaky as he stands, longing desperately to once again hold Veronica's hand, but the last thing he wants is for his best friend to call him a baby, so he bites his tongue and keeps his hand a fist as they shimmy along the ledge. "I don't think we should do any scaling, Veronica. Just saying. We could die really easily." He points out, not yet filled with the bravery the environment and heights have gifted Veronica with.
"I know that, dummy." Veronica promises, but isn't nearly as careful as Michael is. However, they soon come to a ladder along the wall, and Veronica grins victoriously as she looks up upon balancing herself on the metal ladder. "Hey… how about we go up instead of down?" She suggests, a courageous light in her eyes.
But Michael, who is shaping out his own reasoning skills through this adventure, can tell that Veronica's courage is also foolishness. "Naw, let's go down. I don't wanna be up here anymore." He openly conveys a bit of his fear into the sentence, hoping that Veronica with sympathize with him and allow him some kind of freedom from this terrifying adventure.
Veronica considers Michael, considers how his eyes are watery at the edges, considers how the scar below his chin pulls as he grimaces at the ground below. She makes a decision, smiling warmly up at Michael as she decides to save her courage for another day. "Alright, Mikey. Come on down then, and be careful, this thing is slippery."
The warning is actually pretty important, and Michael tries to be careful, but just as Veronica gets her feet on the grassy ground first- her having been ahead of him- he accidentally slips. He falls as a blur in Veronica's eyes, and lands on his right side on the ground, facing away from Veronica. He yelps on impact, letting out a groan of pain as he lies there for a moment. Veronica rushes to his side, fear chilling her bones to a sudden numbness, but she powers through and crouches down beside him, shaking his upright side furiously. Before she can even speak or cry out for him to get up, Michael is already sitting up, looking around in a daze. His vision is a bit blurry, but otherwise he seems fine. He didn't fall from that high up after all, only about two or three feet high, but it's enough to knock the wind out of him afterwards.
"Ow." Michael mutters, but gives Veronica a big, toothy smile. There's blood in his mouth, which he notices with a wisp of his own tongue over his teeth. He pauses, tongue pressed into a new, once tooth-owned hole in the bottom row of his remaining teeth. "Aw, nuts. I must've lost a tooth when I fell. Help me look for it!" He asks more than orders, getting on his hands and knees to seek out the lost tooth.
"You scared me!" Veronica scolds, but rolls her eyes and smiles nonetheless, helping Michael to search the grassy ground for his missing tooth. "Be more careful next time, okay? I don't want you to get hurt, or get us in trouble!"
"Sorry." Michael mumbles apologetically, before his face brightens up, as he jumps to his feet, left hand enclosed in a fist. "Found it!" He cheers proudly, holding out his hand so Veronica can see the small, bloody tooth, now slightly pink with blood. "Neat, huh?"
"Ew, that's gross!" Veronica cries, hopping away, but she's smiling, amused by the look on Michael's face. There's a thin line of blood coming from his mouth that keeps dripping onto his nightshirt, yet he seems happier than ever. "You're such a dummy, Mikey!"
"No, you're a dummy!" Michael teases back, shoving Veronica playfully.
Michael starts running around afterwards, letting out all the energy in his system as he explores the area. He doesn't go far though, waiting occasionally in the same spots so that Veronica can keep up, or so that he can focus his attention on a particular thing. It's not long, however, before their playtime is ruined. All at once, terminating the sweet silence of the nighttime, sirens at a horrendous volume begin blaring from the compound, causing both Michael and Veronica to jump with fright. On instinct, they run like wild dogs from the base, but suddenly freeze in their steps. Before them is a large, intimidating black cement lot, with hundreds upon hundreds of Pelicans, helicopters, parked Warthogs, tanks, and all sorts of really big, really strong looking vehicles, all just waiting to be used for war.
"This way!" Veronica suddenly orders, grabbing ahold of Michael's arm before running full speed into the lot, knocked out of her stupor early by the incoming footsteps of guards and space marines. "I think I know a place to hide, come on, we'll hide in here!" She starts climbing into the back of an open Pelican, yanking violently on Michael's arm until he tumbles in with her.
"We're gonna get in really big trouble, huh?" Michael whispers after a few seconds, barely heard by Veronica over the commotion outside in the lot. "I mean, sneaking outta bed was bad enough… thanks for coming with me, though. It was a lot of fun while it lasted." Michael's smile to her is fearful, but it's sincere as well.
Veronica smiles back at Michael, though it's with more courage than her friend. "Well, maybe if we're lucky, we won't get caught at all." She whispers back, looking at least a bit hopeful, but they both know that such a wish is unlikely to come true.
Michael shrugs at her, grinning now. "Have to try, right?" He's trying be positive, which he's pretty good at, meaning it rubs off on Veronica. They both laugh at their own stupidity for being so hopeful, but it certainly lightens the mood. At least for a bit.
"There you all are!" A guard yells angrily as he charges into the back of the Pelican, stopping to glare down at the two children. "What the… where are the other kids?" He asks, looking confused, the anger fading just enough to show an honest to God worried man underneath.
"W-What other kids?" Michael asks in return, voice wavering on pitiful as he feels tears of fear trail down his face. He was pretty hopeful before, but now he feels ready to die, a terrible ache in his stomach at the thought of getting punished by the guards for their insubordination.
"Didn't you… shit!" The guard pulls out a walky-talky, voice sounding a bit panicked, but not in the same way Michael's is. "Come in, Sargent. This is Hershey. I'm here with-" He suddenly crouches down, looking over both children's tattooed wrists before standing up again. "-I'm here with Veronica-56 and Michael-57. They look as if they escaped on their own, neither appear to know the locations of Russell-18, Jeremy-19, and Matt-23."
The voice on the other end of the walky-talky is unable to be heard by Michael and Veronica, but nonetheless, they exchange a worried look, both shuffling uncomfortably on the floor of the Pelican. This can't be good…
Part 4 Complete
A/N: Ooooh… shit's going down for Michael now. We'll just have to wait and see how this whole mess'll be resolved now!
NEXT PART DESCRIPTION: Part 5: Manhunt. While Michael and Veronica have been apprehended by the guards, it seems three other soon-to-be SPARTANS have taken off in the night! Will the three boys be apprehended with compassion and understanding like Michael and Veronica, or will this be the first of many terrible trials for Michael and his teammates to overcome?
~Supercasey.
