A/N: I deeply apologize for yet another long, delayed wait and for the shortness, and nowhere going of this chapter.
"Aw shit. Aw shit, aw shit, aw shit."
Marilyn jerked herself awake at the sudden shouts that echoed through the ruined building; the same words bouncing themselves off the walls around her, repeating themselves over and over again. She glanced around for a moment to try and find the source before she quickly pushed herself away from the dozing soldier next to her; cringing slightly as Butch started to wake himself up just the same. Note to self, forget that ever happened. "Ugh, alright uh... what the hell? Jackson?" she called as she slowly forced herself up to her feet; using the wall behind her as a support. "Jackson! Was that you?"
The floorboards creaked as an approaching set of footsteps called for her attention.
"Marilyn, Butch, we've got a vehicle approaching our vicinity and it's approaching pretty quick; I've got Nash and Dave up top to keep another set of eyes out for us." Jackson answered as he came around the nearest corner. "From this distance, we can't exactly tell who the vehicle belongs to but I don't think we're in any position to let our guards down."
"Great... okay, look Butch and I will take to the streets and see if we can't get a closer look at it." Marilyn started before she stopped herself as another idea came to mind. "On second thought, you and I can take to the streets and leave Butch here to keep a look out."
"That's not funny." the second man muttered dryly as he pushed one hand through his untamed hair; ruffling it up to get back into some kind of form or style.
"What are you going to get a closer look at?"
The addition of a fourth voice caught Marilyn off-guard as she turned to face off with the unknown figure; one hand going for the small pistol firearm at her waist. Fingertips were just grasping the heavy handle before she stopped upon noticing the familiar figure just a few feet behind her. That unchanging expression of the black-haired woman was difficult to confusion with anyone else. A heavy sigh escaped her lips in a mix of relief and self-panic. "Alicia, please... do not sneak up on us at moments like this."
She thought she had made plenty of noise while coming up the stairs but perhaps that had just merely been noise to her. "The vehicle that's approaching is reinforcements. I managed to get into contact with one of the bases and I also managed to convince them to come to our aid."
"You managed to do all of that... so quickly?"
"I told you I would be back by sunrise."
"Yeah but we thought you were just... you know, kidding." Marilyn started before she merely waved the whole matter off. "Forget it, forget it, let's just take the help while we can. Jackson, you and Butch get Maxwell up and ready to go; Alicia and I will go out and meet with these... whoever they are."
"Alright, we'll try."
"Come on, Alicia, let's go back and see who these people are."
Must we really repeat introductions? This is terribly hindering to my patience.
"Yes well, that's not up to you, now is it?"
Just the small sounds of engines grinding outside as they struggled to catch onto something, the echoes of footsteps outside in the passing corridors, the clanking of tools in the nearby shed... all of it gave off the illusion of presence; of a population that she had long since been a stranger to. It was those small noises that otherwise would've been an annoyance to her that reminded her of just how quickly the world around them seemed to have spiraled downward and out of control; were they really going to try and fix all of this? Of course. If they didn't, no one else could. Cupping her face in her hands, she let out a long sigh of exhaustion before she moved her fingers to lightly massage at her temples. The long-throbbing headache in her head seemed to have been present from day one but it was slowly beginning to back down; allowing for her to gain control for once.
The paper cup of steaming, pre-made coffee in front of her was reassuring, even if it kind of tasted like dirt.
"Tired?"
She glanced up at the question and chuckled lightly at the sight of the black-haired woman standing in the slightly cracked doorway. "Yeah… well exhausted and on the brink of death sometimes." Marilyn nodded as she moved to tuck aside a few of her hanging strands of hair. "Hell, just yesterday you were covered in dirty bandages and bleeding everywhere… and now you still looked better than me. What exactly... happened? I mean, now you're all healed and redressed... It's like magic."
"It's a perk." Alicia answered cleanly as she eventually moved her way into the small break room and took the chair across from the woman; a small, round table settled between them had seen its better days as one of its three legs had been replaced with a slightly bent pipe- a few rounds of duct tape kept it somewhat in place. "My powers were eventually revived enough to restore complete health and transform the earlier clothing back into my usual suit of clothes."
"Man, I wish I had that kind of dark, demonic power- just for the ability to change clothing." Marilyn chuckled as she dropped her hands to lightly wrap around the cup; using the faint warmth to bring some kind of feeling back to her fingers. "It would certainly save me time in the morning, or would have at some point. I guess that's one perk of this... Post-Apocalyptic affair, no wasting time in the morning worrying about my clothes or my hair or my make up. Instead, I wake up to gunpowder as eyeliner and death as a perfume."
"Never said it was a bad thing."
"It's a beauty queen thing now."
"Erhm, excuse me ladies."
The two glanced back at the voice and watched as the Lieutenant carefully made himself visible in the doorway. He seemed to wait for them to nod back in acknowledgement before he slowly stepped inside; hands lightly clasped behind him.
"How's he doing? Were you able to do anything?" Marilyn questioned; trying not to make herself sound all too panicked.
"I have my best medics working right now; they reported that while the damages were extensive, they were easy to repair. He'll be recovering for awhile but they predict a smooth healing period. From what they've told me, he'll be just fine soon enough. You might have to stay out of action for now while he's recovering, a couple of weeks, maybe months but... he's alive." the Lieutenant assured with his own brief nod.
"That's all that matters." Marilyn replied with a heavy sigh of relief. It felt like a suffocating weight was lifted off her shoulders and chest. Maybe now she could get a decent night's sleep without much worry."Until then, we can make ourselves useful around here; it's the least we could do."
The man seemed to make a move to offer otherwise as he spoke. "While we were suffering from some defensive problems before... those were settled out rather quickly. As of now, we have our perimeter secured once more and will now be able to offer the security and safety we had before. While we are in no need for men right now… I will keep your offer in mind if you want."
"I just don't want you thinking that we're taking advantage of the free ride; we may not be the most well-equipped squadron but we're not afraid to get our hands dirty. Although Butch may not be able to do as much heavy-lifting as he seems- or brags of." she chuckled lightly. "You know... I don't think I ever caught your name, or... really introduced anyone on our squadron either."
"I've already been introduced to Officers Butch and Jackson, as well as Commander Maxwell. As for myself, I'm Lieutenant Daniel Cooper; you may refer to me as just Daniel if you wish, it bares no difference to me." he started. "You'll probably meet Sergeant Cladson sometime today; he's the man in charge of this station."
"Marilyn. And this is Alicia... although I believe you two might've met before."
"Yes, she... provided her assistance in defeating an attacking Giga."
"Really? She just saved our asses when we met her."
Ugh, this conversation is simply nauseating. Please kill it.
She tried to push his remark from her focus as she eventually moved herself from the table; getting back to her feet after the short break. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to complete another round of the base and make sure that there isn't any Geist presence nearby."
"You don't have to, our soldiers are working on repairing the broken defensive walls so there's plenty of people on guard." Daniel started.
"If you're doing repairs, Butch is an okay handy man; if you don't mind him hitting himself in the hand with a hammer a few times, he can offer some assistance." Marilyn added. "Although he doesn't have the best coordination either… still, if there's a place that needs repair and is too dangerous to send any of your own men out to fix, Butch is free for the cause."
"If that's alright, I'll complete my own runs." Alicia repeated.
"I suppose I shouldn't reject a lady's request." Lieutenant Daniel nodded. "If you wish, there's a cleansing house on the far end of the facility you're welcomed to use. The facilities are still in working order and... they're fairly separated between the two sexes, but I'll tell my men ahead of time to avoid their usage for a few hours."
"If you basically told me that I could take a shower, then you said the magic words."