A/N: "Winter Soldier" from the Captain America: The Winter Soldier OST inspired Rapunzel's PoV, and "Dive Bombers" from the Iron Man 3 OST inspired Jack's second PoV.
"The Purge: Zero Hour"
Rapunzel "Goldilocks" Corona
Location: Project Chimera Shipyard
Date: November 24th, 2073
Time: 17:15
Rapunzel shivered, feeling the cold bite of the November wind rush around her body as she leaned with her back against the Valhalla. Even under her standard issue trench coat, energy-dissipating body armour and military combat uniform, the bitter breeze consistently and irritatingly found a weakness, the tiniest patch where it could nip at her body. She drew her coat tighter around her in an effort to stave off the relentless shivers and silently noted that, quite frankly, she was sick of standing around in the middle of nowhere waiting for something to happen.
Astrid and Merida were nearby as well, with the former stood a few feet away to her left tossing stones into the dark in an attempt to alleviate the tedium, and the latter to her right testing the resistance and draw weight of her bow by pulling the string, focusing on the smallest bolt in the Valhalla's hull and releasing an imaginary arrow, attracting the brunette's glances whenever she heard the thwip. Rapunzel had no idea why Merida chose to test her accuracy; the red-head's favourite party trick was to hit a bullseye without even looking.
So with her two friends nearby, the company was good even if she was bored out of her skull, she supposed...but then her eyes drew over to Elsa who aloofly stood with her back to the team, her arms folded and the trailing hem of her trench coat dancing in the breeze. Not once had she shivered - which Rapunzel found curious, though Merida and Astrid seemed to be resistant to the chilly air - and aside from the occasional glance back to her team, her silent gaze had remained fixed on a singular point in the pitch black several hundred yards north. Digging her heels into the grass, Rapunzel drew the coat's lapels around her mouth and nuzzled into it, hoping the heat of her breath would stymie the shivers.
"Stupid mobilisation orders." Astrid hissed, seemingly echoing everyone's thoughts, except maybe Elsa's. With an audible grunt, she viciously threw her newest stone into the dark, perfectly illustrating her frustration.
Crinkling the leather as she nodded her head, Rapunzel muffled, "Seconded."
"Thirded." Merida chirped in, twanging the bow for effect. "I was just sitting down tae test me Dad's latest whisky when I got tha call." she grumbled further. Sensing an opportunity for conversation, Rapunzel took it.
"What about you, Astrid?" the brunette asked, looking at the taller blonde through the corner of her eyes - moving her head while asking the question would have been respectful, but then the cold would have snuck into her neck and oh dear, the shivers would come back.
Astrid froze in the middle of drawing her arm back as though the question took her off guard. "I was…" she hesitated. Frowning, Rapunzel watched as the blonde's arm slowly fell; Astrid was normally so sure of her words and of herself - being blunt and straightforward, she kind of had to be, so to see her be uncharacteristically uncertain of how to respond was curious, to say the least. "I was spending time with an old friend." she finally answered, and added, "What about you, Punzie?" just as she sent the stone on its merry way.
Wise to the change of subject, or rather, deflection, Rapunzel's lips curled into a wistful smile behind her lapels. "I was painting something. I had only just started, actually." she answered. Relaxing her arms, Merida glanced over to her and shot her an interested smile.
"I didn't know ye were an artist, Rapunzel." she said lightly.
"I dabble," Rapunzel shrugged, "it's more of a hobby, really."
"How come you didn't tell us?" Astrid asked. Noticing the stung tone to her voice, Rapunzel glanced awkwardly at her friend, and winced upon seeing the frown of disappointment etched upon her face.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to not tell you! I guess…" she began hastily, but trailed off as latent realisation crept up on her mind. Astrid always spoke the truth and expected the same of others, and though it technically wasn't her business, she didn't like it if things she considered important were kept from her - especially between two people who were very close friends. Rapunzel inhaled a galvanizing, chilly breath through her nose, and after the inevitable sigh she continued, "I guess it was just something I wanted to do for me, you know? Kind of-kind of wind down after a hard day. Something that I wanted to keep to myself, if you catch my meaning. I'm...I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Astrid." she offered apologetically.
Surprisingly, and to her relief, Astrid's thin lips broke into a warm, understanding smile. "No need to apologise, Punzie." she soothed, "I know exactly what you mean. We all need something for ourselves every once in awhile. Something just for us...so…" she continued as she squatted to pick up another stone, and then promptly tossed it towards its recently airborne brethren, "what did you paint?"
Her eyes crinkling with the smile of appreciation hidden under the leather, Rapunzel shrugged awkwardly. "Well, it's been three years since I last picked up a brush, so...rusty is kind of an understatement, but...I call it Lights. It's supposed to be a young girl with a tonne of hair, trailing down the tree she's sitting on top of, while she watches these little lights floating in the night sky."
"Sounds pretty, lass." Merida said softly, with an almost undetectable hint of wistfulness to her voice.
Rapunzel would have responded with a remark on how her three-years-out-of-touch fingers had meant that the trees she was trying to paint looked like emerald green splodges on brown sticks, had a familiar face not crept into her mind upon realising the depth of Astrid's previous words. She could recall his chocolate-brown hair, silly little goatee and enchanting hazel eyes with astounding clarity, how his rugged charm seemed to annoy and amuse her in equal measure, how his genuine smiles sent her heart a-flutter, and that even though it was technically the first time they'd ever met, way back when in the Lower City bar, she felt a connection to him beyond anything she'd ever felt for anyone. One of those love-yet-not-love-at-first-sight things that are usually dismissed as fairy tales.
Zach, if that even was his real name, was one of those things she would have kept to herself, for herself. Her little slice of heaven in a cold world of decay, technology and sameness.
But then even that had to be taken away from her, heartbreakingly as a result of who she was.
She didn't know. Stars, how she wished she had known. She never intended for it, for any of it to happen, and was following orders - yet those orders incarcerated the friends of the very man she had feelings for. Those orders killed them. It was like someone had said "Well, we know you like this guy, and you're really sure he likes you...but...you're indirectly responsible for the deaths of the people he considers family, so...yeah. No happiness for you."
Sniffing, she bitterly remembered how Frost's face had become as hard as diamond while he - with brutal honesty that even made Astrid wince - informed her that Zach wanted nothing to do with her. Revealed to her the gravity of what she'd done, and made her realise that she would never see his face, or hear his voice again.
Even several weeks later, leaning against the hard metal hull of the Valhalla, she could still feel the stabbing pain in her heart that she felt when she realised that there was no way he would ever forgive her. It was a depressing situation to be ashamed of who you are, but that was what she was. Ashamed and disgusted.
"Hey, you okay?"
Drawn from her thoughts of self-reproach after feeling the resting of a hand on her shoulder, Rapunzel's gaze floated up from a fixed point in the grass to the concerned eyes of Astrid who had since abandoned her flight-testing of hapless stones to stand just a few feet away to her left. "Yeah, I'm...I'll be okay." she answered quietly.
Astrid's lips thinned, and she cocked her head slightly. "You're thinking about him, aren't you?"
Her eyes falling down to somewhere over the blonde's shoulder, Rapunzel's brows furrowed slightly, and a sorrowful sigh escaped her chest. Bereft of a reply that would, or could, deflect her friend's attention, she chose to simply close her eyes, nod, and softly answer, "Yeah."
Astrid clucked her tongue, and the hand that rested upon her shoulder moved to her other one in order to pull her closer, something that Rapunzel was grateful for. Physical comfort was an understated boon in many things. "Astrid," she asked, "am I a…"
Frowning at her trailing off, Astrid prompted her. "Are you a what?"
"Am I a…" Rapunzel tried again, and after realising that the question was too important to be stymied by her hesitation, she forced the words out. "Am I a good person?"
She didn't see how Astrid's eyes momentarily flicked up to Merida's sympathetic expression, but did feel the squeezing of the one-armed hug. "Yeah, Rapunzel. You are." came the reply, one that was supposed to sound reassuring, but gave no such comfort to the tormented brunette.
"Then why do I feel like the villain? Why…" she trailed off, aware that her voice had started to crack ever since the word 'good'. "Why do I feel like a monster?"
The pain in her heart pulsed with every beat, and she forced her eyes shut in the hopes of staving off the ache of regret and absence, of shutting out the imaginary scenarios of what befell Zach's squad. In a flash of cynicism, she noticed how Astrid seemed unable to answer her question, whether it was because she had no idea what to say, or she was enduring similar feelings, she didn't know - but the silence was telling.
Merida, however, displayed the wisdom she had been relied on for ever since they first met. "Sometimes," she paused, and a quick glance upon opening her eyes told Rapunzel that, like Astrid, the flame-haired woman was carefully choosing her words, "sometimes good people do bad things without meaning to. Sometimes good people," she continued, and Rapunzel didn't miss how her eyes briefly rested upon Elsa's back as she spoke, "become tha villain 'cause that's their fate."
Stiffening, Rapunzel felt her throat begin to close, making the subsequent swallow a herculean effort. Maybe Merida was right. Maybe in the tale of Zach and Rapunzel, the two star-crossed lovers, she was always destined to be the villain.
Astrid then chose that moment to add, "Sometimes good people do bad things," she paused, "because they don't have a choice."
And in that moment, Rapunzel knew that Astrid nailed it. If she had a choice, she would have been perfectly happy continuing to learn the art of healing and medical care in a civilian form. Happy to finish studying, move into her own place in New Corona, and continue the work of her parents in helping people. But one night, one accident changed all that, and her fate was decided for her.
Maybe they were both right, she pondered. Maybe she was destined to be the villain because she had no other choice.
"You know what, I'm bored," Astrid said abruptly, and a little on the loud side. "Hey, Snow Queen?" she called over to the aloof leader, "what are we waiting around for, again?"
Curious, and partly grateful for the change in subject that was remarkably effective at compartmentalising her torment, Rapunzel turned her gaze towards Elsa, and watched as her head turned slightly to the left. "What time is it?" she called back.
Merida cocked her head, and regarded her with a confused expression before quickly checking the time on her wrist-com. "Five-thirty." she yelled.
Rapunzel detected the traces of a knowing nod from her C.O. "You might want to cover your ears." was her loud reply.
Frowning in confusion, Astrid repeated "Cover our…" just before the meaning behind Elsa's cryptic reply hit them.
The wall of darkness before them split apart with a line of dazzling light that seemed to cut through to the heavens, a line that slowly but surely widened and widened, accompanied by the groaning and straining of metal scraping against metal. Her eyes fixed wholly upon the spectacle, Rapunzel pushed herself from the hull of the Valhalla and slowly walked over to stand by her leader, blankly watching as the line of white light become more and more akin to a rectangle embedded in the black, positioned as though it was a part of the earth itself - but that couldn't be right.
Her answer came quicker - and louder - than she could have anticipated.
The earth beneath them trembled and shook, like an impeccably timed earthquake under their feet produced by the rage of Mother Nature herself. "Woah!" Rapunzel gasped as she stumbled backwards, her arms flying out for something, or someone, to latch onto and prevent an undignified fall to the ground. It was then, that a hand lashed out and gripped tightly to her upper arm, and startled by how easily her footing was dislodged by the surprise shaking, she blinked at the owner of the hand - Elsa. It was then that an incongruent sense of perplexed curiosity joined the feelings of surprise and alarm at how her leader's face seemed to be a blank slate, that on some level she was expecting the rumbling under them. Briefly, ephemerally, she wondered why Elsa seemed to be unsurprised.
There came a deafening roar from within the rectangle of light, a thundering sound that melded with the quaking as though they were one, and as her wide-eyed gaze snapped away from her leader towards the source of the terrifying howl, Rapunzel felt her heart stop as she came face-to-face with precisely what they had been waiting, in the dark, for over an hour for.
"Valkyries," Elsa yelled to make herself audible over the tremendous booming, "meet the Hammer of Unity."
Rapunzel was struck with the thought that she might never breathe again, as from within the light emerged a colossal vessel, rhombus-shaped, with four gigantic ionic thrust engines that hefted its impressive frame aloft. Rising from the ground, the Hammer of Unity rose with a vengeance, with smoke and steam heralding its takeoff. Pure black, its presence was only given away by the light from which it was born, and the blue jets firing from its engines as it cleared the ground and slowly, unstoppably, ascended to the sky.
Her parents once told her that people see things differently, that each person has a specific view of the world around them, and it was no more true in that moment. She didn't know what was going through the minds of her friends, but in the mind of the young Rapunzel Corona…
Instead of observation windows in the bow of the ship, she saw a pupil-less white eye bearing down upon her and staring into her soul. Instead of four ionic engines, she saw black, frightening claws embedding their blue tips into the ground, and rather than a monolithic vessel, she saw a roaring, screaming beast clamouring its arrival as it clawed its way from the depths of hell, releasing itself into the unsuspecting world.
That wasn't the worst part, it wasn't what shook her to her very core and aroused the deepest fear that she had ever felt in her entire life as, with wide eyes, she watched the beast reveal its belly to her.
She was a healer, from a family of healers. She had always felt her calling was to care, to heal, to cure illness and patch up injury, and in a way that helped her identify precisely what the Hammer of Unity was, what it represented - her antithesis.
It stank of it.
Death.
Elsa "Snow Queen" Snowfield
Location: Hammer of Unity, Engineering Room
Date: November 24th, 2073
Time: 19:45
Elsa had never actually seen an enhanced unidium drive in all its glory before, given that they were usually housed underground in one of the most heavily guarded places in all of the three cities. Access was restricted to all but the highest levels of government and the engineers responsible for keeping the power running and ensuring the drive's stability.
Which meant that one of the first things she did once she disembarked the Valhalla was to navigate her way from the landing bay, situated in the Hammer's belly, to the core room in her centre stern, two decks below. She always wanted to see what it looked like, and when she had passed through the heavy double doors to the engineering and power maintenance section, she finally did.
It was beautiful.
Hovering in the dead centre of a vertical transparent cylinder roughly forty feet in height, surrounded by hexagonal upper and lower catwalks ten feet away, was something that could be described as a miniature solar eclipse – a pitch black sphere surrounded by a halo of faintly glowing amber light. No matter how many times Elsa walked the upper catwalk the "halo" would always follow her, almost as though it was watching her. A spherical abyss that observed, weighed and judged her – or that was how it felt, at least.
The strangest thing was: the longer she looked into the abyss ahead and a few feet below her, the more it saw of her and the harder it was to tear her eyes away. It entranced her – lured her – and a small part of her wondered if she wasn't staring at a sphere of highly reactive enhanced unidium suspended by a gravitational field, but her soul.
Something as black as the armour that protected the hull of the Hammer, that was all that was left after little pieces of it were taken away to pay for every single step of her journey – which was almost at an end…
…or maybe it was merely a sphere of highly reactive enhanced unidium suspended by a gravitational field, and she was just placing an existential, spiritual quality upon something whose only reason for existence was to supply power to double-decker cities…or flying fortresses. Maybe her disquieted, uncertain state of mind was causing her to see things that were not there, like how Commander Larsen arbitrarily and rather pointedly suggested that the helmsman guided the Hammer on an eastern heading once they had reached an altitude of three thousand feet.
What she did know was that she had spent a long time losing herself in the void, leaning with her hands upon the upper catwalk's safety rail. How long though, she couldn't say, but she had a growing suspicion that she had been there for long enough to dull her senses – a suspicion soon confirmed.
"So this is an enhanced drive."
Elsa's heart skipped a beat as she woke from her trance with a start, and shot the briefest of glances at her second, who casually rested her arms upon the safety rail as she too stared into the solar eclipse, wearing an unimpressed expression. "I thought it'd be cooler looking." Astrid added.
"Astrid…" Elsa blurted quietly. Astrid shot her a look from the corner of her eye, and the left side of her lips curled into the beginnings of a smirk. Feeling the distinct suspicion that her second was amused at being able to sneak up on her – not that it was in any way difficult to do so, given her obliviousness to the goings on around her not long ago – and refusing to concede this victory, Elsa's demeanour instinctively shifted away from surprise. Straightening up like a tower, she drew her hands behind her back and coolly added, "What can I do for you?"
Astrid's faint smirk dropped like a stone, and she stiffly drew herself to her full height of five inches taller than Elsa. "What can you do?" she repeated, defensively folding her arms, "Quite a few things, actually. None of them I can say in polite company."
Elsa rolled her eyes with a derisive sigh, and returned her attention to the void. "Business as usual, then."
"Uh-huh."
"It's a shame. We could have been friends."
Astrid grunted. "Sure. Friends don't threaten each other with imprisonment and execution."
"You did sleep with Frost." Elsa pointed out with irritation.
"How many times do I have to tell you; I didn't know it was him!" Astrid hissed as she leaned towards her, "What else do you need to get that into your thick, vengeful head? Placards? Pie charts? A fucking theatre production?"
Elsa didn't shift her gaze from the core while responding with an eerie, tense calm. "You do realise," she reminded her, "that we are on duty, and I could have you court martialled for talking to me in such a way?"
The silence and lack of a snappy retort from her usually stubborn second in command was satisfying and telling in equal measure, as was the barely concealed petulance in her reply, "Yes ma'am," along with the apology which she almost spat, "sorry, ma'am."
Elsa cast Astrid a slow look, and saw that she was bolt upright with her hands laced behind her back, staring intently into the unidium core, breathing loudly through her nose while the muscles in her jaw tensed and relaxed over and over again. Elsa opened her mouth to say something – she wasn't sure what to say, though, and decided to keep it formal.
"Rephrasing my original question: why are you here?"
"I'm here to let you know that the Valkyries are on standby, ready to deploy when ordered." Astrid answered flatly, her eyes burning into the spherical void.
"I'm glad to hear it," Elsa said, "but why did you feel the need to tell me in person rather than by wrist-com?"
"Well, I was curious as to where you'd been for the past ninety minutes." Astrid said offhandedly.
Elsa's lips parted in surprise. She knew she'd spent a little too long lost in thought and memory, but she didn't think it was ninety minutes. She knew that the passage of time was a non-factor when staring into a happily crackling fire, so it stood to reason that the same concept would apply when gazing at a lambent unidium drive – but ninety minutes? She inwardly kicked herself for being so ignorant.
"Thank you, regardless, for coming to inform me in person." Elsa said a little loudly, trying to cover her surprise. Astrid muttered a sullen "…welcome" as she continued to burn the dark orb with her gaze.
Elsa's gaze lingered on the blonde as she internally debated whether or not it was worth striking up a conversation, or even just talking, when it was obvious that Astrid wasn't interested. She couldn't really blame her – anger had taken root in her heart, overwhelming her mind and sensibilities during the argument in the plaza's public bathroom. A lot of things had been said that she later regretted, once she had cooled off a couple of hours after returning to consciousness in Frost's apartment – but not before enduring the shame of being so easily ambushed, of course.
Yet, the damage had evidently been done, and there seemed to be no way that the situation between them would ever resolve itself. Pride took the place of resignation as she looked away from her subordinate and returned her attention to the lambent core, figuring that if Astrid didn't want to talk then it was no skin off her nose. She hadn't forgotten her mission, three years in the making. Finding out why Frost and the Ghosts murdered her parents was the only thing that mattered – not a relationship that, quite clearly, had no hope of being repaired.
If Astrid wanted there to be tension between them, that was fine by her.
The background noise drifted in and out of her ears as she stood, a noise filled with the various pitch of beeps, hurried conversations between engineers as they relayed readings to one another, and the occasional announcement over the ship-wide P.A. system for one particular officer to report to a certain place. She remained like that for some time, ostensibly as well as Astrid, choosing to ignore the feeling of awkwardness and unsaid words that grew within her heart.
So she decided that just because she and Astrid shared an uneasy truce, she might as well engage in small talk to pass the time, even if she refused to look at her subordinate and presumably, vice versa.
"This will be our last mission as a team." Elsa observed quietly.
"Mm-hm."Astrid hummed with obvious indifference.
A little stung by her response, Elsa nevertheless continued, "What do you intend to do when it's over?"
"Resign."
Elsa's brows furrowed, and she turned her head to face her teammate. "What? You don't intend to continue being a Valkyrie?"
"Nope." Astrid continued the theme of one-word answers.
"That's a shame, you're a capable warrior. Why did you choose-"
"Some of us didn't have a choice." Astrid snapped. Watching her intently, Elsa saw how her expression went from hurt, to horror, then self-reproach in the space of two seconds, followed by a sigh.
"What do you mean by that?" Elsa asked.
"Nothing."
"I will make it an order, Astrid. Tell me what you mean by that – and yes, you have permission to speak freely." she persisted. Astrid shot her a deeply irritated scowl – Elsa disliked having to essentially force her subordinate to speak, but the way she blurted without thinking but with meaning aroused a deep curiosity.
"Fine," Astrid said bitterly as she glared at the unidium core, "let's just say that my parents had a compelling reason to sign me up for the Valkyrie Program – and before you order me to tell you, no. They didn't tell me what that reason was, as usual."
She turned the glare back to Elsa, who wondered why the core hadn't burst into flames, before adding, "Story of my life. There, you happy? Besides…" her gaze softened as she trailed off and returned her attention to the core, "When this is all over, we'll be out of a job. Not like we'll be needed if there are no Ghosts to hunt…hell, with this flying monstrosity," she paused to raise her eyes to the ceiling, "pretty sure we won't even be needed for a war."
Elsa looked away as Astrid's words hit home – she had been trying not to think about her future beyond the Valkyries ever since she saw the Hammer for the first time, both out of uncertainty and of the unwillingness to concede that Inquisitor Jafar's words had left a mark…again, pride had a hand in that. Her old life was dead and so being a Valkyrie was all she had ever known, and the distinct possibility that her tenure was coming to an end was something that sat firmly in the back of her mind despite all attempts to ignore it.
She knew what she wanted to do – she would search for Anna, and even if she could not do so in her current role, she could always join a different section of the military and find her that way. Perhaps the Intelligence branch would be better suited.
"Speaking of this ship," Astrid added, jarring Elsa from her thoughtful state, "I have to admit: though it is pretty impressive, it makes me wonder how it was built right under our noses without anyone knowing about it – especially since it's armed to the teeth with Hoffertech cannons. The best part is, my parents sent me the blueprints to those cannons, asking me if I knew what they were for. Now I know – they were designed for the Hammer of Overkill."
Even though she was staring intently at the lambent unidium core, trying her best to not be a part of the context of Astrid's monologue, she could feel the glare of suspicion and curiosity as it shifted from the orb to rest upon the side of her face.
Then the inevitable question came, "Did you know about the Hammer?"
Elsa remained silent as she continued to observe the core – she didn't really have to answer Astrid's question. It wasn't any of her business whether she knew of the Hammer or not, and part of her regretted that she granted her permission to speak freely, if not rescind it immediately. Her lips became a thin line as she nibbled the inside.
"Elsa?" Astrid persisted, and she was left with the sneaking suspicion that her second-in-command had her tenacious head on, and wasn't going to let the subject drop.
"Yes, I knew." she answered flatly.
She heard a loud exhalation of breath as it rushed from Astrid's nose like an uncomfortable waterfall, followed by the next logical question, "How long?"
"I've known for a month and a half." Elsa answered. Astrid gaped, repeated "a month and…" in surprise and, through the corner of her eye, she could easily discern the way the taller blonde threw her hands into the air in exasperation. Elsa didn't know precisely why Astrid was reacting in such a manner – if Commander Larsen deigned it pertinent to inform Astrid of the Hammer's existence then he would have invited her as well.
"I'm sorry; this shit-right here," Astrid said loudly, jabbing a finger at the floor for emphasis, "is why we don't trust you."
Elsa was beginning to reach her limit of patience, and rounded upon the taller Valkyrie. "You never trusted me from the beginning." she snapped.
"You're absolutely right, Elsa. We didn't trust you. Want to know why?" Astrid said defensively.
Elsa rolled her eyes with derision. "I'm sure you'll enlighten me."
"Rapunzel, Merida and I made friends at the start. We talked and we spent time around each other. Then you come along – we try to make friends with you, but you're cold and aloof. You were all "Frost this" and "Frost that" and "I'm only here because I want to kill Frost", not giving two shits about us or getting to know us. You didn't care then and you don't now. Only thing you care about is nailing Frost, and you were perfectly willing to throw us all under the bus to get to him – which, as I understand it, you failed to do." Astrid ranted. Elsa felt her composure begin to slip under the weight of such a verbal assault – but strangely, even though Astrid was completely right…she was okay with it. The last time she opened up and tried to make friends, she found out that not only was Frost in the city and under her nose the whole time, but her second-in-command had slept with him…however mistaken or not the act was.
"Are you done?" Elsa said with a cold calm as she slowly walked towards her subordinate.
"Not by a long shot." Astrid growled low.
"Well that's too bad, because your permission to speak freely has been rescinded. Are you listening?" Elsa asked loudly and with a challenging tone. Astrid, presumably deprived of her original response, simply stiffened and answered with a "yes ma'am".
"Good, because there are two things you're forgetting – one, information of the Hammer was given on a strictly need-to-know basis, so Commander Larsen evidently deemed it that you didn't need to know. Secondly, there is this little thing called the chain of command, and you seem to have mistaken where you are on it. I have been letting it slide because you're a good Valkyrie, but it ends now. Do I make myself clear?" Elsa said commandingly. Astrid, after a few seconds of petulant glowering, responded with a mutter of something Elsa couldn't catch – so she leaned closer, and pointed a finger at her ear.
"Yes ma'am." Astrid said in a louder voice, though not without the bitterness.
"Furthermore, I do not need your opinion, or your friendship. What I need from you is your ability to follow orders, and combat skills. Am I clear, Valkyrie?" Elsa continued, gazing coldly and unwaveringly into the anger-filled sky blue eyes of her second-in-command.
"Yes ma'am." Astrid responded stiffly.
Elsa's hard gaze lingered for some time while she read every inch of Astrid's thinly veiled scowl for the smallest sign of insubordination, and allowed the background sounds of the engineering section to drift between them. Astrid's left eye twitched in response to an errant section of her bangs that tickled her eyelid, but she seemed to be in favour of matching Elsa glare for glare rather than alleviating her eyelid's discomfort.
"Good." Elsa announced brusquely after a time. She turned from Astrid and began to make her way to the other side of the hexagonal catwalk where a ladder would take her down to the main engineering level, but paused in step as she was reminded of a mental note she made when the Hammer took off for the first time.
With her back to her, Elsa turned her head to speak over her shoulder, "When the time comes that we engage the Ghosts, leave Frost to me."
"Why, ma'am?" Astrid asked through gritted teeth.
"You are a skilled combatant, Astrid, but Frost can and will make a mockery of you. He is too fast and too agile for your strikes – I am the only one who can defeat him, so leave him to me. That's an order." Elsa explained, wondering why she needed to and why Astrid simply couldn't accept it.
"Yes ma'am." was the rather sullen response of assent, though as Elsa resumed her walk towards the ladder with the intention of testing the fitness equipment in the training rooms, she had a strong suspicion that when battle was joined, Astrid would probably give into pride and charge.
At least it would ensure that Frost would be too busy to notice her before she slid her sword through his back.
Time: 20:44
"Valkyrie Leader Snowfield and Valkyrie Second Hofferson, report to the bridge."
The ship-wide announcement that was sent out over the P.A. ten minutes ago had filled Elsa's lightly sweating form with a deep sense of curiosity, enough for her to abandon beating seven shades of hell out of a punch bag, snatch a towel from the rack near the door to quickly dry herself off, carelessly toss it back and swiftly exit the fitness room like it was on fire.
Throughout the hasty ascent of two decks and several long steel grey corridors, her mind worked furiously as to why she had been summoned – Valkyries weren't exactly Unity Air Force-slash-Navy troops, so there was no real reason she would be needed on the bridge unless Commander Larsen or Captain Bludvist had something they wanted to boast about. Maybe Hans just wanted an update on the operational status of her team…or he heard of the argument in the engineering room and they had been summoned for a public chewing out. Astrid presumably had the same thought when she linked up with Elsa shortly before they rounded a corner into the corridor that led to the southeast corner of the bridge, a long, wide and slightly inclined passage that featured soft white strip lights where the light grey panelled walls met the similarly coloured ceiling and the matt black floor.
As they reached the transparent door that barred entry to the bridge, Elsa exchanged fleeting glances with Astrid, and wondered if the anxiousness she saw in the sky blue of Astrid's eyes was merely a reflection of her own, or if the headstrong Valkyrie was actually concerned about precisely why she had been summoned as well.
The thudding heartbeat? That was hers.
Her vest-covered chest rose as she sucked in a breath through her nose and forced it from her mouth. She turned her head to the right where a small console was fixed halfway up the wall. It was only a basic, small thing – a circular speaker and two buttons, one white and labelled Bridge Comm, and the other labelled Security Bulkhead. Elsa thumbed the white button.
"Bridge." a brusque and slightly nasal voice blurted from the speaker.
"Valkyries Snowfield and Hofferson, reporting as ordered." Elsa declared.
The double doors hissed apart to grant her access, and engulfed with a rush of anxiety she stepped over the threshold before they had even fully opened – hesitating would make her look weak in front of everyone on the bridge, and more importantly in front of Astrid. No way in hell was she going to let that happen and undermine the earlier display of superiority.
The nerve centre of the Hammer was humming with leisurely activity, with the bridge crew in no particular hurry to complete their individual tasks – though, if the Hammer's mission was simply to aimlessly fly in an arbitrary direction while kinks were worked out, capabilities tested and to isolate any problems that didn't show up in simulations, she supposed that there wasn't much need for haste.
The bridge itself was unusually large, though well-lit and constructed in the same design as the corridor behind her – matt black floor, light grey panelled walls and identically coloured ceiling with zero artistic flair. At the circular rear of the bridge to Elsa's left, some way behind the captain's chair was a rectangular holographic mapping table of similar design to the one in the Valkyrie briefing room, where two crew members were tracking the Hammer's route over Unity territory via a shimmering blue landscape and a single, irregular line. Upon the dais Captain Bludvist lounged in the captain's chair, his eyes forward and focused upon something on the impossibly wide view-screen ahead. With his voluminous chin in his left hand, he looked the epitome of bored – possibly due to the lack of a good fight.
Ahead of the captain's chair were two consoles, one for the helmsman and one for the tactical officer. Seemingly, being a helmsman was easy – all he needed to do was input destination coordinates, set a speed and sit back as the Hammer's main computer did the rest. Sure, there was probably the odd course change to be done in cases of inclement weather or emergency, and a more "hands-on" holographic interface in case navigating the ship required a human touch, but for the most part guiding the flying titan was hands free.
The weapons were trickier, from what she had heard, and as she flicked her eyes over to the console ahead and slightly to the right of Captain Bludvist, she saw the tactical officer hard at work conducting simulated broadsides and land bombardments, his fingers furiously typing in degrees. For all intents and purposes, activating the Hammer's weaponry was almost as simple as navigating it, with the targeting systems connected to the scanners and therefore able to track a target based on emissions or a specific shape – but if push came to shove and the scanners were inoperable, then four crew members could manually operate the medium cannons on the main deck using control columns and targeting screens on the bridge – far less accurate, but adequate in a pinch.
Integrated into the wall to her right were three separate displays with the ubiquitously used translucent blue holographic readouts and images hovering a few inches before the displays themselves; Sensors, which had data relating to wind speed, direction, outside temperature and meteorological calculations; Ship Systems, which displayed information relating to power consumption, efficiency and distribution, as well as damage reports and various other internal scan results, and finally; Communications, whose holographic data displayed various messages Elsa could not read from where she stood, but she could see the speech line of a Uni-Com below them, and a rather flustered looking communications officer stood a foot away from the dancing blue lights, pressing a wireless earpiece into his ear while he frowned uncomprehendingly.
"Uh, Captain," the comms officer called loudly over his shoulder, "I'm recording some chatter over the waves, and I think it's Alliance but…"
"But what?" Drago snapped, attracting both Elsa's notice and, judging by the low growl that rumbled from her throat, Astrid's ire.
"I can't understand the language, sir." the officer finished ashamedly, his eyes falling to the ground.
Drago, his eyes firmly fixed on the back of the poor officer's head, rose from his captain's chair and slowly walked to stand behind him, regarding him with a contemptuous sneer. "What use have I for a communications officer who cannot understand a different language?" he growled.
"Y-yes, sir. No use at all, sir. I can only-" the young man stuttered, until-
"Give me the earpiece."
Elsa's eyes shot from Drago to Astrid, who had glided over to the comms display with her right hand outstretched, glaring daggers at the formidable captain. Feeling her heart shoot into her throat at the possibility of a brawl on the bridge of Unity's newest flagship, she hurried over to her second's side and hissed into her ear, "What do you think you're doing?!"
Astrid ignored her, and continued, "You want to know what the Alliance are saying? I can tell you. Just give me the earpiece."
Elsa's eyes danced between Drago and Astrid, whose stony, bring-it-on glares were in danger of causing a critical mass of violence. Even the rest of the bridge crew stopped whatever tasks they were working on to watch the situation unfold. Thankfully, and oddly, the one to avert disaster was Drago himself. "Do it." he ordered, and as though the very device was burning him, the nervous officer yanked the earpiece out of his ear and placed it in Astrid's outstretched hand.
Naturally, after a quick wiping of the tiny speaker, Astrid slotted it into her right ear and frowned as she listened to whatever, or whoever was speaking on the other side. Elsa watched as her eyes danced left and right, the way they do when someone is paying close attention. "Again." she asked-slash-ordered, and the officer obediently moved the holographic slider to the beginning with his finger. Squinting, Astrid cocked her head to the right, and said, "One more time?".
The officer repeated his movement with the slider and returned his expectant gaze to her. Curious, Elsa too watched her second-in-command; of the things that Astrid was capable of, discerning languages she did not expect.
Finally, after a long silence that was starting to adopt more and more tension as time went on, Astrid closed her eyes and nodded as she plucked the earpiece from her ear and returned it to its rightful owner. "The language was Russian, Captain, and your officer was right. It was Alliance, just some ship captain reporting that Grid Six is all clear, and they're moving onto Grid Seven."
Drago's jaw tensed as his eyes took on a dark shadow, and grunted dismissively before returning to the captain's chair. "You're welcome." Astrid muttered waspishly, though did offer a curt nod to the officer when he mouthed a relieved "thank you".
"I didn't know you knew Russian…" Elsa said, frowning.
"Lot of things you don't know about me, Snow Queen," Astrid replied standoffishly, folding her arms as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "but in case you're going to order me; Mom and Dad thought it'd be a good idea for me to learn other languages just in case."
A surge of defensive hostility blossomed within Elsa at Astrid's rudeness, but as she opened her mouth to retort, a familiar voice called out from the other side of the bridge and distracted both her attention, and that of her second in command.
"Ah, Snow Queen and Viking, you're here. Excellent!" Hans exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Stood by a pair of open grey doors labeled Briefing Room, the auburn-haired commander regarded them expectantly. "Your briefing is ready. Follow me." he announced, then swiftly passed through the doorway and out of sight.
Elsa shot a glance at Astrid before obeying Hans' request, and with the taller Valkyrie behind her, she followed the commander into the briefing room, feeling a blossom of eager anticipation swelling in her heart.
The doors closed behind them with a ssshht, and she took a brief moment to centre herself and examine the room, though after a few seconds she realised she needn't have bothered; the same muted and militaristic walls surrounded them, the same floor...the only differences being the presence of a large Uni-Com at the far end of the rectangular room, and a gun-metal grey rectangular table with curved corners and flanked by ten chairs sat proudly in the centre, the head of which was occupied by her commander, who sat with his elbows on the table and his gloved fingers laced together, waiting patiently.
"Please sit," he offered, gesturing to the chairs to his left. Shooting another glance to her second, one that pretty much screamed 'be on your best behaviour', Elsa obediently moved over to the closest seat and sank into it, resting her elbows on the chair's arms and entwining her fingers across her chest. The sound of crinkling leather graced her ears from her left; Astrid had followed suit, though her arms were folded defensively, but like Elsa she regarded Commander Hans with patient curiosity and anticipation.
Hans gazed at them silently for a few seconds, his face blank, before clapping his hands together and abruptly shooting to his feet and rounding his chair. Turning to the Uni-Com, he pressed a button on its black desk and began, "Now, we don't have much time, so I'll get right to it; an hour ago, I received a communique from Inquisitor Jafar regarding some information he was able to glean from one of the scouts we captured after the Battle of the Depot."
While holographic images, messages and shapes burst into life in front of them, Elsa automatically tallied what she was listening to, to her conversation with the Inquisitor himself in the museum. Three had committed suicide, so the information must have been gained from the fourth.
"Unfortunately the poor man had a psychotic break early into his questioning and has since been committed, however in between the insane babbling and rambling, the Inquisitors discerned two things. One, a name; Guardian Star." Hans continued, and then ordered the Uni-Com, "Exhibit A1."
The shimmering blue images shrank to a fraction of their size, except for a small rectangle that shot down to the centre of the table, and grew ten times larger. Quietly, Elsa gasped as the shape began to take form - an ancient aircraft carrier, slowly revolving clockwise in front of them. The same one she saw in the Hammer shipyard's observation room.
"This is…"
What she was about to say was something to that effect, but Commander Hans evidently misinterpreted her meaning. "Yes, Elsa. We think this is the base of operations for the Ghosts, and for the Abnormal Resistance."
Elsa's heart skipped a beat, and her breath ceased in her lungs as she came to terms with the revelation...she had briefly entertained the idea that the end was in sight for her personal mission as soon as Commander Hans mobilised the Valkyries three days ago, but tried not to pursue that thought in case her hopes were dashed...though she couldn't resist warning Astrid to stay away from Frost. She felt a little possessive in that regard; if Frost was to die, it would be by her hand.
But it was true. Justice was near.
"Not only that," Hans continued, slowly pacing the other side of the table, "but the scout also let slip a series of numbers. Coordinates, to be exact, leading us to…" he paused to issue another order to the Uni-Com, which obediently wiped away the carrier's image and replaced it with a map of Unity territory and the Atlantic Ocean, "a point three hundred miles south of Greenland. Naturally, I gave the order to divert our course to investigate."
That felt awfully convenient to Elsa, especially since she knew that the carrier in the hologram was a spitting image of the one she saw before. Not to mention that on the day the Hammer underwent her shakedown cruise to isolate, fix and prevent any glitches that might occur, Jafar was suddenly able to supply critical information.
But in the face of the imminent completion of her mission, seductive as it was, her suspicions found themselves swiftly compartmentalised.
"Do they know we know? That we're coming?" Astrid asked.
"No," Hans answered, shaking his head, "they are unaware. They know nothing of this ship, or that we are on an intercept course-which brings me to the next part of this briefing. Snow Queen, you and your team are to take the Valhalla while we are twenty minutes away, land on the Guardian Star's deck and infiltrate the ship, where you will isolate and shut down any power systems and defenses they may have, allowing our troops to sweep in and capture the Resistance without...well...resistance. If you encounter the Ghosts, or anyone in your way, you are to incapacitate them - this is a non-lethal operation."
Elsa's expression of dismay was obvious, so much so that the commander seemingly felt it necessary to amend, "although, I suppose loss of life in certain circumstances is unavoidable, especially if your safety is at risk." he finished - Elsa caught the knowing smile he gave her.
"However," he added, and his voice took on a serious tone that told Elsa he wasn't playing, just as he leaned with his fists upon the table, "I feel obliged to warn you: we are on their turf. We are the invaders in their place of safety. They will fight, they will fight hard and they will fight to the end. Do not underestimate them; the most dangerous creatures are those that are cornered, and fighting for their survival. Mark my words, the Ghosts will be fighting for their survival, so be prepared to fight harder than you did in the Depot."
Straightening up, Hans laced his fingers behind his back, allowing Elsa to assimilate the information. She wasn't stupid; she knew that with his back to the wall, Frost could be a deadly opponent, but she was resolved to finish it. Either her, or him. Only one of them would be standing when the dust settled, and she would be the one.
"To that end, as soon as this briefing is finished, you and your team are to report to the armoury where the quartermaster will install vitals-tracking software into your energy-dissipation suits, so we can watch over your health. After that, you are to suit up, arm yourselves and report to the Valhalla where you will wait for the order to deploy. Do you understand these orders?" he finished solemnly and matter-of-factly.
Elsa nodded, as did Astrid. If she had to be honest, she would have worn anything, endured any form of tracking software, even fought without weapons if it meant she could take the opportunity.
"Good," Hans smiled, and calmly said, "You're dismissed, and good luck."
Jack "Frost" Overland
Location: Guardian Star
Time: 21:15
The sound of Jack's fists pummelling a punch bag reverberated around the Ghost's training room, surrounded by exercise mats, weights and close-combat weapon racks, like an oddly satisfying rhythm created only by him, and each thump that his ears registered fuelled the next punch. Of course he should probably have been practising his kicks too, but if he was honest he felt like working off some stress.
Despite his hands being wrapped by a couple of layers of material, each sharp connection his knuckles made with the vinyl sheath sent small shocks of pain through his arms, adding to an already cumulative effect of making his knuckles and wrists ache with use – though, beating the shit out of a hapless punch bag tends to have that effect.
Just switch off the mind and swing away.
The midsection of the bag caved sharply under the swift and brutal jab-jab-cross, jarring it and the chain it was suspended by into a jerking shudder. The light sweat on his exposed skin felt cool thanks to the air around him, helping to cool him down whilst he worked himself up, wailing on the punch bag like it was a Valkyrie. Certainly, a real one of those wouldn't stand still long enough for him, but still – in that moment, he could always pretend. His fists lashed out over and over again, each time striking the bag harder than before, eventually reaching the point that he was no longer practising his hand-to-hand combat attacks, but simply beating the everliving crap out of the helpless punch bag with raw, unrefined strikes.
Breathless, he applied three more inelegant hits to the bag's midsection before he inevitably gave way to fatigue, and as he held the gently swinging bag with both hands to steady it, he closed his eyes and rested his lightly sweating forehead against the cool sheath while panting away the ache in his arms.
It was his panting that meant he missed the sound of the watertight door opening behind him, along with the footsteps that followed - but he didn't miss the hairs standing up on the back of his neck, nor the disdainful sigh that appeared to his left.
"Koz." he stated simply.
"Overland." came the low reply.
Pushing his head off the punch bag, he glared at Kozmotis out of the corner of his eye, who was stood next to a table against the left wall, clad in his ever-present Ghost uniform and had his back to him while his partially obscured arms moved round and round - evidently his taller 'friend' was here for the same reason Jack was, and was in the process of wrapping his hands with cloth. Jack stared at him for a few seconds more as Kozmotis straightened his black T-shirt, wondering if he should say anything, if he should address the metaphorical elephant in the room that had been shadowing him since he arrived at Sanctuary. They both knew why Kozmotis had been giving him the silent treatment, so in a weird way he figured it was a case of 'why say anything'. Partially out of petulant spite, out of anger that Kozmotis would throw away years of fighting side by side for the 'crime' of sleeping with a Valkyrie. He gave nothing away and Kozmotis knew it; if he had, then the Dead Zone would have been swarming with Einherjar squadrons.
But he knew that his comrade was black-and-white, and Hiccup reinforced that knowledge; they were the enemy, and Jack had sex with one of them. Maybe their friendship was truly over.
Sighing, he released the punch bag, moved over to pick up his towel from the rack on the wall to the right, and made his way to the door, and just as he wrapped his hands around the wheel to open it, Kozmotis' voice rang out behind him.
"Was it worth it?"
Hesitating, Jack exhaled a long, exasperated breath through his nose as his hands instinctively tightened around the metal ring. "Was what worth it?" he answered flatly.
"Sticking your dick inside that Valkyrie. Was the sex good? Was her," Kozmotis paused, whether for effect or as though to force the words out, "body...desirable?"
Jack closed his eyes and released one hand to tap twice against the door, the metallic thump serving to both punctuate the situation and galvanise himself for the inevitable onslaught. "The sex was great, not that you remember what sex feels like, and she was pretty hot, yeah. Why do you care?" he sighed.
"I don't," Kozmotis replied far too airily, "I just wanted to know how attractive this Valkyrie must have been, to convince our best Ghost to betray us. She must have been a real gem."
"I didn't betray anyone, Kozmotis. It was nothing more than a mission - I am still a loyal-"
"Liar," Kozmotis cut him off, "you're a liar. You could have walked away, but you didn't. You chose to sleep with her, to make her scream, to satisfy your own desires. Don't hide behind objectives."
Jack's breathing became deeper and deeper, almost exclusively through his nose. His hands, which had since left the wheel, clenched so hard that his nails dug painfully into his skin. He tried to think of good things, of the children undoubtedly asleep in Sanctuary, of his friendship with Anna and the army of snowmen they made three days ago - anything to stem the tide of rage swelling from his heart. So focused was he on controlling his anger, that Kozmotis took it as a cue to continue...and in true Pitch Black form, he went straight for the jugular.
"You're lucky, you know, but you should feel ashamed of yourself. Lying to Neve and Anna like that...they don't think any worse of you, but I do. I think you're nothing but a deceitful…"
"Don't." Jack snarled.
"...filthy…"
"I'm warning you…" Jack growled, practically shouted.
"...traitor." Kozmotis sneered.
That was it, the moment he snapped, enraged by the goading words of his team-mate. With a roar of anger, he turned on a dime and charged into Kozmotis, intent on tackling him to the ground and punching him as hard as the bag. If he couldn't convince him of the truth with words, then fists would have to suffice.
Unfortunately, his moves were obvious even if Kozmotis wasn't waiting for him; as soon as his left shoulder connected sharply with Kozmotis' lower ribcage, he felt an elbow be driven into his back to wind him, and almost as soon as the strangled cry of pain escaped his throat, a knee flew into his forehead and sent him backwards to the floor. Groaning, dazed, he coughed his breath back as the pain blossoming in his spine argued with the newly created headache.
That was stupid, Jack. He saw that coming a mile away.
"Come on! You can do better than that!" Kozmotis taunted, and the way his voice moved from left to right told Jack he was being circled like prey, "Show me I'm wrong! Prove it to me!"
Even under the daze, Jack knew he needed an edge. Kozmotis was itching for a fight, and if he was ready for you, he was one of the most dangerous hand-to-hand combatants on the ship. If Jack was to defend himself, and win, then he needed to surprise him, and use his superior speed and agility. So, whispering something unintelligible, he faked his fading daze into being more profound than it was by blinking vacantly, and straining to roll onto his side. Kozmotis sneered something about him being so weak that he couldn't even speak properly, before grasping his sleeveless T-shirt and yanking him to his feet.
Staring into the judgemental, venomous golden eyes of his friend, Jack offered half a smirk.
Perfect.
Kozmotis' eyes widened in realisation, but far too late for him to do anything; Jack lashed his open hands up to either side of the taller Ghost's head and sharply slapped his ears. Howling in pain, Kozmotis recoiled and shot his hands up to protect them, and taking advantage of the resultant disorientation - dazing, pain, ringing of the ears - Jack drove his forehead into his cheek, followed by a thrust into his chest with his right fist, forcing Kozmotis to hunch over and bark a cough. He swung a left hook into his right cheek, hard enough to further daze him, and in a spectacular display of fancy acrobatics, he launched himself towards the nearby table, leapt onto it and used his left foot to push himself into the air, twist around and slam his left fist into the same cheek.
Kozmotis hit the floor chest down with a thud, coughing hoarsely and groaning with the brand new injuries he sustained. Invigorated by his cunning reversal, Jack sniffed before wiping his nose with his left index finger, and began to pace up and down whilst glaring at his fallen opponent.
"Feeling it yet?" he snarled breathlessly, "Feeling my heartfelt remorse for my traitorous ways?"
Kozmotis laughed - actually laughed - and spat out some blood onto the blue exercise mat as he pushed himself up. If he was honest, Jack entertained the brief hope that when the inevitable bruise blossomed on his cheek, it would hurt like hell.
"Oh, I'm feeling it," he panted, and spat out some more blood - the resulting tap telling Jack that a tooth had been dislodged as well, "but I'm still not-convinced!" he yelled the final word as he surged towards Jack with his right hand drawn back and flat.
Gasping, Jack twisted to the left and narrowly avoided the knife-hand aimed for his throat as he passed, and in the briefest moment of clarity noted that Kozmotis was sloppy; he enjoyed misdirection, so even if Jack dodged the throat jab, there should have been a strike into his side half a second after. Except there wasn't, so why was Kozmotis holding back?
The thought promptly flew out of the metaphorical window, as Kozmotis' left elbow came out of nowhere and crashed into his upper lip, splitting it and allowing his opponent to follow up with a right boot to the chest. Having tensed his muscles just in time, Jack was only partially winded by the impact, and was therefore able to duck the subsequent left swing and dart behind him - which was lucky, as it came with enough power to knock him on his ass, with at least one spin in the air before he would have landed. Not to be deterred, Kozmotis fluidly administered a right hook kick that nearly took Jack's head off had he not ducked that too. Jack aimed a snap kick at Kozmotis' exposed head, his body still in post-kick-recovery mode, but the taller man seemingly recovered faster than anticipated...or Jack, in his exhaustion from both a session with the punch bags and holding his own, was slower than normal. Either way, his foot was caught with both hands before it reached the taller Ghost's jaw, and his world went topsy-turvy when he felt a foot sweep under the one still planted on the ground. Impacting the mat with a pained grunt, he winced through the pain erupting in his mouth, spine, head and chest, and with another fearful gasp rolled to the left and narrowly avoided a boot to the face. Gritting his teeth and enduring the angry resurgence of pain in his chest, Jack jabbed the back of Kozmotis' right knee with his left foot before rolling onto his upper back, placing his hands either side of his head, and kicking both feet into the air to yank him upright.
Groaning with the sharp pain in his knee, Kozmotis had barely stood up from being forced to his knee before Jack was in the air with a dropkick aimed at his chest, and with one of the most satisfying howls of pain was sent flying backwards by the impact, and hit the mat with a resounding thud. Sensing victory was near, and wincing with the angry throbbing in his ribs - and thanks to the less-than-graceful landing from the dropkick, the back of his head, too - Jack rolled onto his side and quickly yet clunkily scrambled to his feet, practically jumped astride his coughing, wounded comrade, and with teeth clenched in panting rage he grabbed a fistful of Kozmotis' T-shirt and drew his right fist back, intending to administer a knockout punch.
"STOP!"
The rushing of blood in his ears was so deafening that he nearly missed the worried cry to cease that came from the doorway, so focused was he on finishing Kozmotis off, but it came at just the right time. Looking up from his friend's bruised, bleeding face, his fiery gaze came to rest upon Anna, wide-eyed, mouth parted and breathing heavily, regarding him with a shocked, utterly dismayed expression.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" she shrieked, gesturing madly at Jack and his prey, "I came to see how you were doing, and I find you beating seven shades of hell out of each other! The hell's the matter with you two!?"
Panting, Jack let his fist unclench and fall to his side, and allowed his body to calm itself. Satisfied that Kozmotis wasn't going to retaliate, he let go of the fistful of T-shirt. Groaning with the pain that somehow had become sharper thanks to the adrenaline wearing off, he awkwardly rose to his feet and pushed off his knee, contemptuously stepping over the coughing form of his once-friend and comrade as he moved towards the door, grabbing the forgotten towel on the way - his lip was starting to sting rather angrily and required cold water, if not medical attention.
"Ask Koz, if you wanna know." he muttered just as he passed Anna, who stared incredulously back.
"It's okay...Anna…" Kozmotis coughed, forcing Jack to freeze in step just as he reached the door, "Overland and I were just...working things out, is all."
"I'm sorry, do I have 'idiot' tattooed on my forehead?" Anna snapped, rounding on her mentor. As Kozmotis rose gingerly to his feet, he chuckled.
"No, no. You're not an idiot, just the person Jack hides behind when the going gets-"
Anna stepped forward and brandished a reprimanding finger. "Bitch, I will roast you six ways from Sunday if you don't shut up. Jack does not hide behind me. He fights beside me."
Jack felt the anger bubble up once more; Kozmotis was exceptional at getting under someone's skin, and he had to admit - in his case, it was easy.
"Like I said," Kozmotis gloated, "hiding behind your best friend. I shouldn't have expected any different, especially from a traitor."
And then he snapped - again. Ignoring the cries of Anna to stop, Jack turned on a dime and rushed towards Kozmotis, who bent slightly in preparation for another tackle.
Except it didn't come; after a quick hop, Jack proved to his team-mates once again why his agility and acrobatic still was unmatched with a decisive hands-free cartwheel, a version of au sem mao that slammed both of his feet into Kozmotis' head, driving him unstoppably into the ground while Jack landed perfectly on both feet and his back to the fallen Ghost.
"Traitor that." he hissed, and stalked past Anna to the open door into the bowels of the Star, leaving his opponent dazed and beaten, hoping that would be the last time anyone ever called him a traitor.
Time: 21:50
"Stupid Kozmotis." Jack snarled angrily to himself, his right hand resting protectively over the sensitive bruise under his tank top as he awkwardly stepped over the tenth knee-knocker away from the training room. "Stupid Valkyries. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid." he continued.
Intent on not showing weakness to either Anna or the the freshly floored Kozmotis, he had forced himself to walk straight, tall and as normal as he could, despite the aggravating pains in his chest, shoulders, back and legs...everywhere, really. The brawl was short yet brutal with neither side truly holding back, so combined with the punch bag practise, Jack felt worn out. He desperately wanted a shower and bed, to forget the brawl ever happened, and hopefully talk things out with Kozmotis tomorrow...provided he still had a working jaw. Cartwheel kicks like his tended to put an obscene amount of momentum behind them, so it was lucky that Kozmotis managed to move his head in time, in such a way as to render it a glancing blow, otherwise Jack would have felt bone shatter under his feet.
However, out of earshot of the training room, where Anna was undoubtedly helping and simultaneously chewing Kozmotis out, he had allowed the aches and pains to explode around his body, and as he passed the eleventh knee knocker, halfway to the set of stairs that would take him one deck up, he came to a stop and leaned his left shoulder against the cream-coloured bulkhead to his left, closing his eyes as his head touched the cold, smooth metal. He was probably going to get chewed out for it by Kristoff at some point, if not by Anna. Ghosts are supposed to be unified, coordinated, fighting as one; not feral brawlers seeking violence against each other. In a way, he was remorseful that he had to kick Kozmotis' ass - he could have just ignored the jabs and walked away. For an abnormal that had powers over ice, he was awfully hot-headed.
As he inhaled a deep breath, a cold, tingling sensation blossomed somewhere under his ribs, flickering like a freshly-lighted flame. His lips quirked into a knowing half-smile; it was probably his powers acting up again. Ever since his rescue many years ago, he always felt like there was a strange block preventing his gift from reaching its full potential. That the occasional and spontaneous flaring up was just his frustrated powers pushing to grow and break through the invisible, metaphorical limit - as though despite being able to fly, summon gusts of wind strong enough to throw a man off his feet, and fire lightning-like blasts of ice from his staff, his gift was supposed to be stronger than it was.
His breath shuddered as the ice-like chill grew within his chest, reaching up to his heart and down to his stomach, and he winced with how it was increasing in strength. How the pulses that occurred every time it grew stalled his lungs the way stepping under a supremely cold shower does.
As the seconds went by, however, he noticed something weird, something that wasn't usually associated with whenever his gift was aroused - emotion. It was a chill that carried feelings, like anger, anticipation.
Bitterness.
Vengeful rage.
And then his eyes snapped open as he realised; he had felt this chill before. Every time she was near...and it was driving him to move. To go up.
"No…" he whispered in horror, "it can't be…"
Adrenaline surged through his veins once more, re-energising and reinvigorating his body as he launched into a full sprint, dulling the pain while he leaped over the knee-knockers, his breathing rapid and his pulse raging. Once he reached the steps, he ascended them three at a time, his boots echoing with metallic clatters every step. Various scenarios rushed through his head as he rose deck by deck, ignoring the stitch in his diaphragm that had appeared fifteen seconds beforehand; the Star surrounded by by Einherjar fighters. Flanked by small boats, or the deck swarming with Unity clone troopers. If he wasn't running on single-minded instinct and adrenaline and a blinkered desire to get to the flight deck, he would have contacted Kristoff over the radio and warned him.
Practically flying up the steps, he reached the floor of the integrated island, with only the heavy watertight door standing between him and the outside air. He took a moment while he fought for breath and tried to suppress the pain in his lungs, and looked inside himself - specifically at the chill which threatened to take over his entire being.
He wanted to be mistaken, prayed for it to simply be a case of his powers being on the fritz. Blinking, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, he plucked the small rod from his bracer and pushed the button to extend it, bringing back his thin, metal, six-foot-five-plus staff as he quickly walked to the watertight door. He didn't know what was on the other side of it, and though he wasn't thinking straight in terms of what he should do, he knew that it was better to be prepared.
Lacing his right hand around the wheel, he winced and grunted with effort as he turned it to the left, listening to the creaking and scraping of the metal locks as they slid away from the frame, his heart thudding and his mind focused.
And after a deep, galvanizing breath, he yanked open the door and rushed out into the night.
Initially there was nothing but darkness, a starlit sky and a bitterly cold breeze to greet him; nothing but the sound of waves crashing against the stationary ship's hull caressing his ears as a welcome clue that maybe he was panicking over nothing.
But then he heard the whoosh of a dropship flying overhead, circling the ship from stern to bow. His head shot up and followed it as it banked to the right, and under the moon's all-seeing and illuminating natural light that shone over the Star's deck, bestowing it and the vast ocean around him with an unearthly glow, he could clearly see the inimitable winged sword insignia of the Valkyries adorning the dorsal hull of the dropship.
In that moment, his heart stopped, his breath caught, and he lost all hope in a happy ending - for as he watched the dropship open its exit ramp and descend to the deck, he caught sight of something huge, something terrifying on the horizon, with four blue dots on either side of it and illuminated by the full moon's gaze.
The drop ship landed with a dull clunk a few hundred feet away, loud enough to attract his attention from the monstrosity clearly heading their way, and gripping his staff with enough tightness to cause his knuckles to whiten, he watched with dread as four figures emerged from the drop ship's belly and began to head his way. He felt a bubbling up of offended anger within his heart that fought with the bitter chill; how dare they.
"Great," he muttered sarcastically as two of his right fingers moved to his earpiece, "four Valkyries versus little old me, alone."
"You're not alone, Jack." came a voice from behind him, and Jack whirled around to see its owner stood with his arms folded, his lips curled into an imperious and predatory sneer as he gazed unblinkingly at the new arrivals on the deck.
"Koz…" Jack's lips parted in surprise, "how did you…"
Kozmotis' golden eyes flicked down to him, and for a second Jack saw a knowing smile carve its way across the grey skinned man's face. "I'll tell you later; for now, you should probably call it in."
Blinking, Jack endured a few more seconds of being stunned at both the fact that Kozmotis was speaking to him without insulting him, and seemingly had his back. Without a further word, the taller Ghost swept towards the integrated island's door, bringing Jack back to reality, and just as he pressed two fingers to his right ear, he heard the creaking of the watertight door being closed and locked.
"Frost to Harvester, please respond." he muttered quietly, eyeing the distant Snow Queen as she drew her sword from its sheath.
"Harvester here. Streak told me what happened; what the hell were you-"
Jack swiftly cut him off; his inevitable chewing out would have wait. "They're here." he said, his voice cracking.
"Who's here?"
Ordinarily Jack would have rolled his eyes and poked fun at Kristoff's badly timed slowness, but any humour had been tossed aside as soon as he saw the drop ship. "Remember when you said that it was only a matter of time?" he spoke slowly, quietly.
"You don't mean…" Kristoff hissed, and even over the radio waves Jack could easily discern the fear blossoming in the Ghost leader's voice.
"Time's up."
COUNTDOWN TO THE PURGE (MONTHS/DAYS/HOURS/MINS/SECS): 00:00:00:00:00
A/N: Hai guise *waves shyly* um...surprise?
Firstly, I apologise for it taking so long. I was starting to get burnout, then I went through a nervous breakdown, a family emergency and then the soldering on the connector port for my laptop charger came loose, so once the battery ran out, that was it. The guy who would have repaired it was being distinctly unreliable, so yeah. Massive clusterfuck that gave me two months off!
On the other hand, it's two months that I needed. I am re-energised, psyched, and raving to go. With the aid of a good friend, in addition to several ideas bouncing sessions with another author on this site (you know who you are), OGaV's plot has undergone a few changes that make it far superior to the original storyline I had planned. The only question is whether I can pull it off, of course. But I intend to try.
Truly, thank you for your patience. I sincerely hope that this update is worth the wait.
I have also started learning to draw, so hopefully it won't be long until I start drawing OGaV stuff, comic book style!
Regarding OGaV itself: I'm trialling using the character's names and call-signs to herald PoV switches, to make the change of character a little more robust than it was before, and this chapter is the prototype for that. Please let me know if it works or not, because a lot of PoVs will be switched over the next six chapters, and if it works, I'll be using that format from then on.
In addition, this will be one long story, but I will be splitting it into three Acts. Act I ends just after the Purge, and Act II picks up where it left off.
Regularity: I won't be holding myself to a rigid schedule like I did before; I got very stressed and frustrated if I was not able to contribute anything to a chapter for a few days, because I was conscious that "Saturday was update day and Sunday is rest day and grrr" which, truthfully, damaged the joy of writing. So I'm not writing to a strict schedule any more, for my own sanity - rather, updates in a timely manner (not two months apart), but with no definable day of the week.
"noir heart" will still be updated every two or three days, so I'll always be releasing something.
Guest message board!
heartonfire: Schadenfreude is a beautiful thing, but we must be careful not to let it overwhelm us. Thank you for your review, and your concern.
Snowpomme: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad they're coming off as complex. No idea how I'm doing that, but hey. Who is behind the murder? The answer will come in time :D
Maggietheawesome: You're daft. I like you. Protect Hans...maybe.
Guest1: Toothless in this is a genetic hybrid of a few different species, much like Indominus Rex in "Jurassic World". He's a lot less...psychopathic, though.
mar: ta-da! one update.
Ralph slyhand: Here you are, hope you enjoyed it!
fantasy oh yea: You haven't let it go, lol.
TellhimSteveDave: Aww, thank you! My confidence in writing is always up and down, but your review helped it stay on the up. Thank you so much.
Next up: The Purge begins.