The Grudge Match
It was a toss up as to whom was more relieved when Wizard's session with Lt. Palma was over with: the interviewee or the interviewee's squad commander, but Ange wasn't aware of that.
"Well, she sure is losing her 'cactus needle' image fast, isn't she?" Teiru groused as the two walked towards the base's hangars. "I mean, what was it with all that "Relax, studly" and "Don't fret about it, big boy" stuff?"
Wizard glanced at her while she was busy pantomiming the other womon with wide-eyed cutesy looks and stifled a laugh. "You're jealous?"
"Of that thorn bush turned street vamp? Nooooo."
He nodded knowingly, trying to keep his voice even as he battled with his mirth. "You're jealous because she has aristocratic charm with classical beauty and a nice laugh and because she and I are Datans and you think I'm likely to gravitate towards her for that reason alone if none of the others."
"Palma obviously thinks so!" the catlike womon growled. "That witch did everything but throw you down on the table and-"
"Hmm… Well, her skin tone does kind of color coordinate with my eyes." Wizard rubbed his chin through the material of his armashink as if in deep thought, all the while keeping her face within his peripheral vision. "I dunno, maybe she'd make a good mate." He stopped in his tracks, half twisting his torso as if contemplating turning around. "You think I should-?"
A white hand non-too-gently grabbed his sleeve, pulling him sideways towards the bristling Captain in mid step.
"That had better be you trying to tease me, mister!" She threatened him with her fist.
"You are jealous," Wizard grinned widely-and was darn thankful for the scarf that hid the fact. "Well, Teiru, the lieutenant can think what she likes. She's not the one wearing my mother's ring." He playfully roughed up her hair with his right hand before jauntily resuming his path towards the waiting planes, whistling cheerfully to himself.
Ange smiled a little dreamily as she automatically felt for the antique hidden under her tunic. It was there; the gold taking its energy from her body heat.
And now to me this ring you've given,
A symbol of ties unbroken; unshriven.
This piece of hope so gifted to me.
'Twined with such responsibility.
"Holding Light & Friendship in an eternal circle; ever connected always One, such shall we remembered be," Teiru breathed, quoting the words used when a mon and a womon committed themselves to a jogress relationship: living as bonded mates.
Granted, Wizard hadn't actually asked for such a relationship yet, but she was hopeful that he would ask her just as soon as he got settled in his new life. After all, it was she, Teiru Ange, whom Wizard had given such a precious item to, not that... that... trollop from M.I.! Mollified, she quickened her pace to catch up to him.
"Okay, I'll curb my desire to scratch up that 'classical beauty' of hers. At least today; tomorrow," she shrugged, "we'll see."
"Aren't Vaccynes supposed to be the holders of Light and Righteousness?" Wizard absently asked her as their approach was watched by other base denizens. His practiced eye was quick to which were fellow pilots and which were mechanics and technicians busily working on the various aircraft maintained there, instinctively cataloguing potential threats without even consciously thinking about it. The various mon waved at Ange while giving her companion curious looks. Within minutes peaceful tending of plexisteel fuel lines had been abandoned in favor of another, more lively activity that had nothing to do with planes and their innards.
Sludge.
Wizard turned his gaze to the ground, his good mood dissipated. Soon everyone would know there was a new Datan in their midst. How long would it take for the news of just which Datan he was became common knowledge? There would be fights. It wasn't a question of if as of when.
Why couldn't mon be less of a curiosity-driven creature?
"Ha!" Ange sniffed, not yet realizing she had already lost his attention and had herself become part of others. "I guarantee that if she tries to kiss you again I'll show her the Light of little stars and the Righteousness of my fist!" She bumped into him as he suddenly stopped and backed up a step.
"Uh… Teiru? Would your Lt. Tento happen to be about 5"7' with flaming red hair?"
"Yes, that sounds like… Oh, I see." Teiru smiled at her friend's air of dismay as a teenaged boy fought free of the gathering crowd and pelted their way at full gallop. "No use trying evasive, Captain-just strengthen your shielding!" she laughingly warned just before the living guidance missile hit the target full force. Despite being forewarned, the small Datan would have gone down on his butt from the sheer power of the collision if it wasn't for two strong arms that wrapped around his torso as they spun together in a one-eighty.
"Datan, blond, blue!" the boy exclaimed giving his victim a rapid once over. "It's you! It's really you- father's Guardian Angel!" The muscular arms tightened in a crushing hug.
Unable to get a full lungful of air, Wizard let his eyes silently 'plead' with his laughing commander: "Get him off of me!"
Teiru just laughed the harder, too busy trying to get her own breath back to be of any help.
"ATTENTION! LIEUTENANT TENTO- FRONT AND CENTER!"
The boy hastily released Wizard-causing him to fall down after all- and scrambled to attention as the sound of the mighty roar echoed in everyone's ears.
"Lt. Tento, that is no way to greet a ranking officer!" 1st Lt. Vee 'Dragon' Flahm rebuked the wide-eyed boy.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Oh, power down the gunnery, Vee," Ange grinned, still holding her aching sides. "I bet you were once a wide-eyed hero-worshiper too." She patted the teen on the shoulder. "Relax, Tenny. No harm done."
"Easy for you to say," Wizard wheezed from his sitting position. He patted his ribcage. "I think my chest just got compressed down to a smaller tunic size."
"I'm sure you'll survive. After all," Teiru's eyes twinkled. "You're a hero and heroes don't whine about being glomped."
"Glomped?" Wizard blinked, rubbing his sore ribs.
"Hero glomped," Vee grunted, the blue mon crossing his arms in front of his chest as he scowled with disdain upon Mera. "Not, Tenny, that street trash warrants either badge of honor," Dragon loudly continued, "In my book VAF Captains earn their rank by defending their people. And when I was young the idols were worth both the worship and the title." He scathingly eyed the fallen Datan. "They didn't work for the enemy and get knocked flat on their tails by mere kids!"
"Vee, knock it off," Ange warned her wingmon. "What is it that you can't stop acting like a jerk when Wizard is around? What happened to that 'extra full line' you promised?" She glanced around and saw that they had attracted the others who'd just been looking for an excuse to move in closer. Some muttered amongst themselves, having recognized the Datan from the public flying arena. She caught the words 'Wizard' and 'stunt flier' being passed around to those not in the know.
Damn. This was not the way she'd hoped to introduce Mera to her colleagues.
"It got incinerated along with the 430 people in File City the Viralians attacked and killed this morning, Teiru!" Vee spat at the ground by Mera's feet. "And he has the gall to come here wanting to fly our planes while wearing Viralian purple!"
"Viralian?" 2nd Lieutenant Grey Agu, a large, beefy mechanic questioned aloud, looking Wizard up and down. He looked at Vee "What's this all about, First lieutenant Flahm?"
In answer, Vee pointed an accusatory finger at Wizard. Before he could say something, though, Tento (quite unthinkingly) beat him to it.
"That's Captain William Skull Mera of the Viral—"
Ange clamped her hand over the boy's mouth. "Tenny!"
Agu's close friend, 'Howling' Wolf Gabu sidled up to Teiru. "Viralian sympathizers don't wear the greys," he loudly proclaimed so that the whole crowd could hear. Tuning down his voice, he asked her, "You want me and Agu should break this up?"
"Don't," Agu grunted. "If that's 'Wizard' then Dragon's been wanting this scuffle for a long time, and from the looks of it, so has the other fellow. Let 'em get it out of their systems."
Everyone moved away to give the two mon some space. Teiru could see credits changing hands.
Typical.
Satisfied that he had a suitably sized audience, Vee made a show of warming up. "I'm going to knock you all the way back to detention. Save the MP's the trip out here." He gave Wizard a push. Wizard fell back a step, but did not fall down.
"You need to check your eyesight, Dragon," Mera said with false mildness. "Virilian purple has more red." He indicated his armashinka. "This is my family's color: a Datan color."
"Well, Datan purple doesn't go well with Vaccyne whites and greys, Ace." Vee sneered. Giving him another, harder push. This time Wizard fell, but it was a controlled fall, like he'd let himself get knocked down. His eyes glanced quickly at Teiru before settling on his opponent again.
"I'm here to work with you, not against you. This fight is pointless, Dragon. We should be planning strike's against Viral."
"So what? You can sabotage them? If you really want to work with us, Captain Skull," Vee sneered as Wizard slowly started to stand up "you should start by getting yourself a decent scarf and burn that revolting, Viralian thing."
That did it.
Green eyes narrowed to slits. Gloved hands clenched.
He'd tried to be the pacifist for Teiru's sake, but now Dragon had gone too far. Cold fury was brimming within him. He could feel it. All he had to do was let it heat up and let loose and that smile would be wiped from Dee's mouth never to form again. He knew so many attack forms that could do it. He could hear Belial's voice in his head reciting to him the properties each one and what it would do to an opponent.
Thunderball was enough to put a mon down.
Magical Game would be more than enough to maim for life.
Vision of Terror would -quite literally- be overkill.
Kill.
Slaughter the enemy; show no mercy.
"Feel the rage, little Mera. Let it free."
If I let go...Death would smile as it devoured. Darkness would laugh praises of delight.
If I let go...
"Let go, my Skull...
Free the ache of revenge within...
Kill for me."
Wizard curled his legs under him but did not rise all the way to his feet, his jade eyes darkening to emerald under the amber hair that fell over his forehead. He held his arms loose and out from his sides, balancing himself. "If you want a fight with me that bad, Dragon, I'm right here. Just come over here."
Teiru shivered at the sound of Mera's voice-which he hadn't raised at all-, but which seemed to have taken on a more glacier quality that made her shiver. More so because she could sense the eagerness beneath it. Agu was right-despite his initial peaceful overture, Wizard wanted this fight as much as Vee did.
Dragon for his part had adopted much the same stance; head lowered slightly, eyes unblinking and locked on target.
Teiru's shiver became a spike of fear. This had all the earmarks of something more deadly than a quick grudge match.
'Good grief...' Teiru gasped, they were going to kill each other! She started to raise her arms in a gesture of 'time out', when Dragon threw himself at Wizard.
After that it was a blur of motion.
The Vaccyne made a grab for the homespun scarf meaning to use the article to choke its owner into submission; Wizard dropped backwards onto his back while kicking up and sending the larger mon flying overhead. Vee recovered quickly, rolling away, but not before getting a boot heel to the thigh. Pulling out of the sweeping kick he had started, Wizard rose to his feet, watching Dragon like a wary hawk; shifting his weight from foot to foot. Dragon got up with more care, his fists balling as he stepped forward more slowly this time, favoring leg a little, yet looking for the best opening to attack again.
'ENOUGH!" Teiru snapped, jumping between them. She ignored the sounds of disappointment from her coworkers as she shoved them both combatants in opposite directions. Vee grunted, rubbing his leg. Wizard might as well have been carved from stone for all the reaction that he showed. "No fist fighting on this base!"
"Aw, Captain!" one of them jokingly groused loud enough for her to hear, "I didn't see any fists...it was more like feet!" Sporadic laughter came of that observation.
"Since you seem so eager to see blows traded of any sort, Mister Gomma," she snapped back, " if you'd be so kind as to bring me two mops? Wizard, pay attention to your commanding officer!"
The brash-mouth Lieutenant grinned. Saluted her as he quickly scrounged up two of the cleaning implements with the willing aid of some of the others who made sure they were well loaded with soapy water.
"You!" she snarled at the Datan who had finally snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in enough to look like he was actually was seeing her. "Get back five paces and stay there!"
"And you", she pointed a threatening finger at her sulking fighting partner, "back five and freeze!"
Seeing the look on her face, they hastily complied.
Accepting the mops from Gomma, Teiru tossed one to an unhappy Dragon and one to a bemused Wizard. "You guys want to have your little macho contest? Fine! But it's going to be a 'clean' fight of five minutes and no more. First one to get a face full or let his weapon's business end touch the ground concedes the match. Mop ends only! If I see either one of you two overly-hormone endowed idiots use the wooden end on the other there will be no need for Biyo to figure out who works K.P. for next month's shifts- have I made myself clear?"
Laughter from the crowd. This was scenario was nothing new, but enjoyable to watch nonetheless.
"Yeah… Captain," Vee grumbled, holding the mop like a staff.
William was thoughtfully fingering the dripping end of his own 'weapon'. "As my lady says," Wizard bowed when she glared at him for taking too long to answer.
"Ready?" Ange held up her arm while consulting her watch…
Dragon shot Wizard an evil look. "You are going to get the drubbing of your life, Mera."
"You know, Flahm, whether I win or lose- you're all wet."
"You think so, Dark Boy? Prepare to get your first good washing behind those ears, Willie."
Wizard reaffirmed his grip on the mop.
"Ahem!" Teiru brought her arm down in a slashing movement. "Go!"
As Vee ran forward, Wizard hurled his mop into the air just in time to make his own charge, double grabbing the pole of his opponent's weapon while picked up his feet in a jackrabbit kick. The unexpected forward then downwards weight of the Datan crashing into his midriff caused Dragon to lose his balance and go toppling flat on his back, still clutching his mop, but rendered momentarily helpless; the breath knocked out of him.
Meanwhile, the Datan had leapt to his feet. To everyone's surprise, Wizard made no move to save his mop from hitting the ground as it fell past him a second later. Instead, he knelt down by the groaning Dragon. Using one finger, Wizard tipped Vee's mop so that the sodden material landed squarely on the Vaccyne's face.
"I concede the match, Dragon...but you're still all wet."