Lor
The exhaustion of over expending my auric attack caught up with me but good and fast. I nearly collapsed into my leather padded chair when escorted to the military transport jet. Apparently all that preparation crap a plane has to go through is done preemptively when you kick a lot of zombie ass. Granted they had detained us in 'decontamination' for the better part of two hours looking for signs of infection. After making decontamination clearance, we were bussed onto the waiting plane. By 'we' I mean Leon, Chris, Jill, Sheva, Vergil, four survivors Chris and Jill had found last minute on a rooftop and a red haired chic I knew all too well.
The four survivors were hard worn but survivors through and through. The gristled old man wore a tattered military uniform. A veteran soldier, who knew what war. Vietnam or Korean his age was anything to go on. Sitting next to the veteran was a biker guy. He was dressed as every biker I've ever met seemed to be. He wore the compulsory leather vest and had enough inked tattoos to fill several bic pens. Their third companion was a white collar office worker, had a red tie and some red on his otherwise crumpled but white shirt. The office worker didn't look like much he but joked easily with the veteran and biker. The only girl in the group had to have been a college student. Brown haired with a pink jacket, she was the youngest of the group. They watched the rest of us in the plane with a weary shell-shocked gaze.
Her brown eyes alighted on me, I held her gaze for a moment before she got nervous and looked away. No wonder. I was a fit mess. My arm warmers were torn, pants stained with gas, blood, and oil , boots burnt down to nubby rubber soles, and of all things my batman shirt was intact. My shoulder still hurt to boot and the rest of me turned to quivering nerve ends when I sat down.
That aside the red haired chic was glancing me up and down. I knew her, had met and fought along side her even, but that was another lifetime ago. BloodRayne, she'd introduced herself as when we first met. Who knew what name she was running around with now. Rayne wasn't exactly human, but no doubt that little bit of information would be better kept on the down low while all us twitchy post traumatic stress freaks were aboard the same confining space. Rayne's tell tale twin blades were resting on the seat next to her. Really, it had to have been to most lax airline security I'd ever seen. Save for the four refugees, everyone else in the plane was packing.
Speaking of twitchy stress freaks, Chris and Jill were both giving Vergil and I a wide clearance. No doubt our little stunts had them on their tiptoes. They hadn't breathed a word of what had happened to the decontamination goonies, but they weren't going out of their way to make nice either. Whatever.
Rayne crossed her long legs, watching me with detached analytical eyes. There was another one who had the emotional training to make her scary enough not to mess with. I returned Rayne's detached, cold stare. She tilted her head to the side, the tip of her tongue flicked pass her lips as she played with a fang. I gave her my best 'FU' face briefly before settling into my seat. As I finally relaxed the muscles in my legs and stomach clenched painfully into hard knots before easing up into not so subtle spasms. My nails dug into the armrests of my chair as I waited the pain out. If Rayne had nothing to say, neither did I. I had more difficult things than her to deal with. Mind numbing exhaustion and physical stupidity among other things.
It was a three-hour flight back to the military base. I slept for the duration of it. The whole trip felt like an eye blink and when I woke up, I was as groggy and cranky-if not more so-than I had been when I feel asleep. My shoulder still hurt. My legs quivered like a newborn colt, and my grip was weaker than an infant's. The world tipped sideways when I stood up. Just like a blood donation occasionally left a donor lightheaded, donating so much energy to a single attack left me near invalid. Staggering, I grabbed for the headrest of the nearest seat to keep from toppling over. Rayne passed me another cursory analytical glance before she turned and left the jet. Her stilettos never made even the quietest of sounds as she stalked away, back poker strait.
"You okay?" Chris asked from behind me. I started weakly at the sound of his voice. I was surprised he was talking to me at all.
"Fine," I croaked, taking a step forward to follow the college chic in the pink jacket from the cities. My head was pounding. Shuffle by shuffle I made it off the jet. Molassess would have moved faster. By the time I got off the jet Chris was giving me sneaking glances. He was frowning but wasn't saying anything. I nearly tripped as I shuffled across the landing strip towards the base. Carefully I caught myself, taking a breath to steady my jits. My shoulder was guaranteeing it would scream bloody murder if I fell on it. Chris frowned again, following me. He cleared his throat, making to speak.
"You pathetic human," Vergil's voice rippled across grey of the early morning. I glanced over. He was a black shadow against the early morning light. "You over extended yourself." I raised an eyebrow. Overextendedmyselfeh?
"I thought that was a guy only problem," I smirked tiredly. "The over extending bit, that is." Vergil raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently it is," he retorted smoothly, not laughing. Me?Withmaleenvy?Howthehellwouldthatbepossible? I chuckled. I was still alive. That in and of itself was something of a miracle. Vergil just called me a dude, but hey, it was funny shit. In fact the whole idea was damn hilarious. I started laughing outright. I couldn't stop. I wasn't just 'over extended' I was bone deep in exhaustion and climbing my way ten fathoms deeper with each step. I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes from laughing so hard. My stomach hurt but it was already predisposition to it.
"Give a he-she a lift?" I asked Vergil as I nearly tripped over my own feet once again. He was quick to reach out and shove me back onto both heels.
"No." The response was swift and firm. I snorted on laughter again.
"Vergil are you homo-phobic?" I asked, still chuckling. "Aren't demons supposed to be open minded?"
"I could care less what your sexual preference is," Vergil retorted dryly. "Although your present state raises more than a few questions."
"You said sex," I sniggered. "I'ma he-she. I juz said so," I giggled, my laughter making my speech slur. It was kinda hard to breath between the laughter.
"With that kind of hair, I wouldn't question it." That shut me up for a moment. I stopped laughing and stared at Vergil, processing what that meant. Then I cracked up again.
"Say what?" Now it was Vergil's turn to don a rare faint smile as he shook his head in slight disgust. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a real smile. Vergil doesn't smile. But the corner of his mouth tipped upwards. He was amused to say the least, at my near hysterical behavior. "Seriously?" I asked him. "Everything you could pick on with this outfit and you're taking out my do?"
"A boy is a boy and you look like one," Vergil replied. His hands were jammed in his pocket. He'd secreted away his new flaming sword of doom into whatever aura pocket of hell there had been. I didn't remember quite when he had done it, but then again, there are some things I probably didn't want to know. I was holding my still aching arm as I walked.
"You ever try to run past a zombie with long hair?" I retorted. "Them fuckers have strong hands." I snorted, chuckling too. My bubbling laughter was killing itself off quickly. "Strong teeth too," I added. "Christ I need a-"
"If you're going to say what I think you're going to say," Vergil cut in, sucking the humor from the conversation.
"A beer?" I finished. I ran a hand through my hair. "I could go for a cig too though, now that I think about it." Vergil shook his head.
"You never learn."
"Bull," I retorted. I gave Vergil a glance. "Less look at facts m'kay? We're tied, Verg."
"Tied?" Vergil thought for a moment. He had slowed his pace to match my own. As usual his question wasn't so much as a question as it was a statement. Seriouslyhowdoeshedothat?"I was leading by nearly a hundred head last count," Vergil commented after a moment.
"Yeash, buuuuuttt-" I started.
" 'Tied'," Chris' voice made me jump for the second time in as many minutes. He was trailing behind us by a few steps. He'd heard every part of our conversation so far. Fuckin' snoopybastard. " 'A hundred head'?" He asked looking between Vergil and I. "You made a bet-a game-out of this mission?" I sighed not bothering to mask my irritation as I looked over to Vergil. I stopped walking as slow about faced to Chris. Vergil remained silent as he glanced from me to Chris. Guess that means I take this one. I gathered my self for a cranky, razor edged rebuttal.
"I supposed focusing on the fact that I was killing sick people should have been a priority then?" I asked flatly. Wow,boy scout just sucked the fun out of that conversation. Chris looked taken aback for a moment, before his expression softened.
"No," he said. "That's not what I meant." Chris paused as if thinking. "I don't care what you do to cope. Just don't let too many people hear about it. They'll ship you to section 8 you if they think you're getting unstable." Section8? What is that for crazies ors omething?
" 'Getting unstable'?" Vergil asked dryly. "She already is."
"I'ma man," I announced, brightening as I picked up on Vergil's vibe. I started giggling again. "Wrong pronoun, 'member?" Chris looked between Vergil and I. "He kills things for fun," I said pointing to Vergil innocently. I doubled over laughing. Killing things for fun? That was a misdometer offense compared to what else Vergil had probably done in his life. Fuck, Chris would never see Vergil coming let alone fend him off. No one would, least of all me. Chris shook his head, not quiet cracking a smile.
"I kill as needed," Vergil corrected me, unamused now. I snorted, laughing still. Ouch. Where did I fall into all of that? Had I been an 'as needed' basis too? The pain would have been unbearable if I hadn't been laughing so hard.
"With flaming steel," I responded, devolving into giggles again. "And the non-flaming variety as well. Hey Verg, does that overextend itself too?"
"Riiiiight, just keep what I said in mind," Chris said, backing up. He tossed Vergil a funny look that was priceless. It set me off laughing harder. "See you both around." We'd made it just out side the compound. The air inside was liquid warm against my skin compared to the frosty chill of mountain air. It beckoned as we stood just beyond the ring of light the facility shed. Chris nodded a final time to Vergil as he turned away. He followed Leon, Sheva and Jill to where ever. I made a face at his retreating back. Butthole.
"We're tied," I said, attempting to snuff my giggles. I turned to Vergil, crossing my arms in the cold. "I annihilated just as many as you at the end."
"You took my kill." Vergil cocked a head to the side as he crossed his arms
"Cry me a fuckin' river," I retorted. "You wanted'em so badly you'd'uv killed'em yourself. We're tied Vergil." He considered it for a moment. He straitened before speaking.
"As you say. You may request one thing that is within my power to give."
"Same to you," I replied, yawning. "It's a tie…so neither of us won and neither of us lost."
"And what do you want Lauren?" Vergil asked me coolly. He was tense, waiting. I remember our less than friendly talk in the cities. Whataloadedquestion.I gave Vergil a beautiful smile, still giggling a little.
"Got'er narrowed down to two ideas. Can't make up my mind," I paused. "What do you want?" Vergil raised an eyebrow. "Ya might influence my decision." Vergil was quick to my battle deadened senses. Hell a one winged fly would have been quick. His hand buried into my hair, his fingertips digging lightly into my skull. He forced my face upwards towards his as he took a step forward. We had to have been separated by mere inches. For a moment I didn't breath.
"Grow your hair out, little boy," he smirked, releasing me. The short spiked ends of my hair slid through his fingers. "A girl should act and look as one."
"That's it?" I asked. All the things he could ask for and he wants me to look like a grungy version of Rapunzel?
"Should I have made a different request?" Vergil asked. The hard edge was back to his voice and eyes. He was dropping the amusement and trading it up for his 'Demon-Lord-kills-you' mask. He was fore-going our previous, darker conversation in the cities. We were back to playing pretend again. Vergil wasn't going to ask such an obvious request. He wanted the challenge of figuring out the puzzle I represented for himself.
"The hell should I know?" I asked, opting to keep it light. "Was your request." I yawned again, feeling my leg muscles beginning to quiver a bit as I continued to stand.
"Hmm," Vergil was non-committal. We stood in silence for a minute, chewing on that last bit of conversation. Or at least Vergil was. I wasn't thinking about a damn thing related to what Vergil wanted. In fact my thoughts were a complete 180 to his.
"I know what I want," I said after a moment.
"Oh?" Vergil gave me his full attention. "And what is it you desire Lauren?" The words 'a new Ferrari' almost slipped out. I giggled at the thought before shaking my head, clearing my mind.
"An eternal favor," I said.
"I shouldn't have to remind you that your request has to be something-"
"Within your power to give blah, blah, blah," I waved away the rest of the bet's conditions with a hand. "I made the conditions. I know the restrictions on the bet." Vergil waited expectantly. "I want an eternal favor from the king of hell." I shivered in the morning air. Better make this good. "I want your help Vergil. Not when I want it, but when I need it. That's the favor."
"An eternal favor," Vergil said.
"If its within your power to do so, you'll help me where and when you can."
"Not when you want it but when you need it," Vergil finished, considering. "What ensures that I keep this bet?"
"Hey you can hang out with a dude or I can grow my hair out," I retorted, slightly annoyed. "I'm not the one picking bones about the way someone else looks. Other than that, nothing really." Vergil considered.
"And when would your 'favor' end?" He somehow made the word favor seem a tad bit more sarcastic than he should have.
"Whenever one of us expires," I shrugged. "Does it matter?"
"You're asking for far more than I did," Vergil commented.
"Apparently greed isn't native to your character," I said sarcastically. Now there was irony for you.
"What did you do to the gem I gave you?" He asked suddenly.
"I threw it away," I replied, shrugging. "I told you that. Ask me the same question and I will always answer it the same way."
"You also often lie," Vergil responded. True fact, but not completely. How funny life shifts from left to right to something in between the two of them.
"You know the clinical definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting a different result every time. A bet is a bet. You taking my terms or not?"
"A bet is a bet," Vergil said quietly. "You can have your eternal favor Lauren."
"A you shall have…hair…," I glanced over to Vergil. "You didn't hit your head or something did you?" Vergil laughed. It was a cold, unamused laugh of a ruler. For the first time I wondered what exactly Vergil had been through on his quest to rule hell. Was it worth it? Did he finally have everything he wanted? Was it worth abandoning his humanity for? Did the ends justify the means for him? God help him on the day he decided it didn't or hadn't.
"What in the world do you know of that could harm me?" True fact right there.With demonic healing, there wasn't much other there that could even leave a lasting mark, let alone hurt Vergil in a lasting physical for the fact that something out there had hurt Vergil that badly before. He had the scar on his body to prove it. I had seen it before. Once or twice, but that was probably a story I would never learn.
Twin lines of thought, parallel to each other. Ruler of hell and those that had hurt him. Huh. I would keep my fingers crossed that Vergil would keep his end of the bet. Whether he knew it or not, it was time for me to pay him back in kind for the use he had put me through 10 years ago. But hey, isn't that what friends are for? Even the murdering bastard kind?
"Right then," I said, grousing myself. "A bet is a bet." I yawned again. "You wanna grab a beer or summin'?" Vergil stepped away, heading back to the retreating shadows.
"Rest Lauren, you won't last another hour in your condition." I scratched my head as Vergil melted into the shadows.
"You commin' back some time soon?" I asked the fading darkness. If Vergil was still there to hear me, he didn't respond. All I heard was the rustle of leaves in the pre-winter chill of the morning.
