[ Co-Author: butterfly123199 ]
Trinity was lazily messing around with a pillow, sometimes drumming his fingers, itching to jump back into action. It had been a few days since another close encounter with Death, he wouldn't be surprised to see gray hair strands forming.
Torn came back with a few vague words from The Shadow himself, it was so secretive and important that everyone was forced to move out and Trinity (with help from Torn) were discussing in the forbidden room. No one went in there except for very few, and when Jak wanted to know anything, Trinity was a brick wall towards him. It deeply frustrated Jak, eventually going out to cool off for some while.
Elise didn't dare pry or ask too many questions from Trin what went down in the room, especially with the incident at the Pumping Station...
It was noon, or about it. The masked soldier couldn't quite tell since the hideout was underground anyway. Elise had returned, the days of recovering being the same and dreary at times; uneventful even. Especially when everyone had stricter orders to stay much lower than usual.
When she returned with a tray of green eco, gauze, cloths, and whatnot to reapply and clean his wounds; around the corner of the gray, worn doorway... El noticed Trinity was so bored that he apparently was lifting the old pillow up above his face and letting it fall with a gentle *foof!*
He looked like a child about to die of boredom, it seemed ridiculously funny to see a hardened ex-KG guy like this, really.
Elise leaned against the door frame, smiling at the soldier. She had never seen him so childish before, it was cute, let alone hilarious.
Beth: Aw! Look at him, he looks bored!
"I think he is." Elise muttered softly, tilting her head as her smile grew. Outside the bunkers, Torn and Jak could be heard speaking with each other, Jak sounding a tad bit hostile. Elise gave up on their conversation, and decided to trot to the bunkers. She hesitated before stepping in, "Having fun?"
Catching Trin off guard, he stuttered. "Wh-what? Oh- " Then placed the pillow behind him, scratching the back of his head. He could feel his mask feeling warm by embarrassment, trying his best not to show it. "If, uh, you mean fun as in a slight but very temporary entertainment, er, yes. I assume the noises in the main room tells me Jak isn't quite happy though."
Elise grinned slightly, taking note of his stutter. "He's never happy," she said and sat down on the bed beside him "but you on the other hand are never that childish. Are you that bored?" she asked, a gentle smile on her lips. She was always more stolid, almost always looking bereft. I think it's safe to say she's been a lot happier ever since she's met Trinity. Beth and Dawn were too. "Jak and Torn are arguing yet again, while Dax is sitting on the sidelines so I decided to check on you."
Trinity gave a shameful (in his personal opinion) laugh, "Yes, I admit, I'm this bored. Usually I go out even when I'm like this, but ever since you, Jak, and Dax came along, I'm more... Outnumbered so to say, you all might tie me on the bed haha. Jak could be more uptight than Cap'n Ass is, I can't blame him for what happened in the very beginning."
He made himself comfortable, his fingers still drumming. Elise was hesitant on pulling the bandages away from his shoulder, her grin fading.
"You don't need to do this, really. And don't get me wrong, that feeling of trying to make up for things, but if it disgusts you..."
"It doesn't disgust me," She quickly interrupted him, "Seeing you surrounded by Metalhead bodies. That disgusted me." She sighed through her nose and gently began undoing the bandages. "I just... I feel terrible. And I know you're gonna tell me it's not my fault, but it is, Trinity." She pulled the bandages clean off and stared at the wound, almost smiling at the progress it made.
"How can you even trust me anymore?" she sat up on her knees, her frown turning into a scowl as she knelt down in front of him. Her attitude had changed quick, very quick. "How do you know I won't just... snap." She leaned forward, almost completely face to face with him, her dark eyes distrusting to stare into. She locked her eyes with his, almost feeling comfort in their blue tint, but she remembered to keep her scowl. She lowered her tone, gripping her hand onto his good shoulder. "How do you know I won't just turn right here, right now?" She uttered, her voice grim, nothing she'd ever shown Trinity before.
"Do you trust me to that extent?" She asked. At her question, her voice sounded as if it were overlapping with two other voices.
He gently and slowly took her hand, and turned to see her palm. Trinny couldn't quite look straight into her eyes, only the slightest movement under the dark eye holes of the mask showed his uncertainty.
"I'll be truthful. My, no, our hopes are not dashed." He thought it over for a few solid minutes, some renewed light returned to his blue eyes. "...We have the Oracle. While it may not be there, its, er, something. I've read many legends, many myths. Some are ridiculous even, but there has to be - something. I don't have anything other than the Oracle, but I was always looking for many years."
He gave a firm reassuring grip, then glanced at the Stradivarius, its familiar gleam of its steel shining under the lights of the dim bunkers.
"You are not Moria." He immediately let go of El's hand. "You aren't her... But, let's just leave it at that." He nodded, "Okay? Let's just, perhaps go on a nicer topic. I'm sorry, we both do feel the same though." Then he gave a disgraceful, butter laugh. "What did I even do back then? Look at me, I can't even do anything right now anyway."
It was true, nothing was much more painful than the truth. Most experiments of the Dark Warrior Project had died, Moria was a part of that death count, and now he's just sitting in bed like a third wheel of the rebellion army.
"Commander Trinity, only known for killing, while people like you know the other me, it's still a cold hard fact."
Trinity looked at his bad shoulder from the corner of his eye, while the healing process has been going smoothly, it was a nasty scar and wound. 'Well, another nice story to tell, I guess.' He thought humorlessly.
Elise blinked in shock at his response, no longer thinking straight. She quickly leaned forward and pulled the large man into her embrace, squeezing him as tightly as she could, but being as careful as she could be with his shoulder. Swallowing thickly, she hid her face in the crook of his neck with slight embarrassment. "I'm sorry..." She huffed. "You're... I just wanted to really find out if you trust me..." She looked down. "I know Jak and Torn don't, but what can I do?" She pulled away from the hug and awkwardly shifted away, yet again moving to tend to his wound.
Her nose and cheeks blossomed red with embarrassment, but she decided to keep silent on that topic. "And I don't ever see you as Commander Trinity." She mumbled, "I see you as a good man... a strong man who has helped me more than I could ever help myself." She gently began applying green eco to his wound. "You're more or less like a savior to me." She mumbled, not really intending for Trin to hear that statement even though he clearly did.
With his turn to be completely taken back, he chuckled. 'Savior?' He thought, bubbling mixed emotions churned in the pits of his stomach. "Maybe it seems like they don't trust you, but they do care about you." He laughed, something about that word 'savior' just strangely makes him sad (secretly) but happy.
Elise softly brushed her fingers over the wound, giving it small presses to help it with tenderness. "Well, they sure as hell don't show it." She glanced up at him. "Try to move your arm as best as you can. We don't want it to go stiff." She said, reaching down to cut up some gauze to wrap the wound once he moved it. The red on her face never seemed to leave, instead only getting darker and darker by the minute.
He carefully did as told, while it was nice to move it again and have it intact, it still stung inside. As if his nerves were prickly, "Must've been dark eco..." He muttered with a slight grit, his entire arm hadn't felt like anything unless he moved it. Faint traces of prickliness were a phantom reminder of the dark electricity. But nothing else was damaged. "Irritating, but manageable..." His thoughts swam and Trinny daydreamed a bit.
She gently gripped his shoulder and rubbed small circles on it. "Does that help?" She asked softly, reaching for some cream with her other hand. She began dabbing the cream on the wound as gently as she could. "You doin' Alright, Trinny?" She looked up at him, a playful grin on her lips. "Hey, don't go daydreaming on me now," She nudged him softly before she began to dress the wound yet again.
"Ow ow, don't go poking me when I'm spacing out." He laughed, but then turned to his arm, even the scars had faint purple in them, looking like veins - perhaps they were. "Yeah, I'm okay El. No matter how much green eco is applied, well, I guess this prickly feeling is staying. Everything else is fine like normal though." Seeing Elise's sudden change of expression made him feel as if he should've kept it to himself. To try and change the topic, he continued. "You don't have anything to do?"
The green eco, while it helped in healing, the amount of energy in one's body is only so much. He felt slightly sleepy, but his impatience of returning out on the field outweighed that dreariness.
Elise bit her tongue, wanting very bad to say something about the dark eco. She cleared her throat and secured the bandages. "I have a mission next week to check out the back of Baron's castle." She said in a soft tone. "There's been reports of smuggled green eco through the back entrance, so Torn told me to check it out by myself."
She raised an eyebrow, "Unless... you wanna come along?" She offered, "it should be a quick thing... and there shouldn't be anything attacking us if we're careful." She knew she shouldn't be asking him, Torn would kill her if he got even more hurt, but it was practically torture letting him sit here. (Even though it was cute, she didn't dare point that out.)
Suddenly, as if a miracle had appeared before him, Trinity didn't let another moment slip. "Yes." He got up from the old, worn bed eagerly. "Carefully and steadily - how else would've I been able to plot the escapes from the prison long ago?" He replied grinning with a sense of boastfulness that Trinity knew very well he could back it up.
Gingerly, he let all his weight lean on his good arm as support and pushed himself up and was about to swing his legs to the sides of the bunk bed.
Thinking, he hummed. "I need to get out right now anyway - even for a bit. Resting ain't for me, honestly." He laughed at his own state.
She suddenly jumped up. "Hey hey! Easy, Trinny," She carefully helped him stand, wrapping one of her arms around his waist, seeing him wobble. "Looks like you were desperate for some action, eh? Especially since you were practically beating yourself up with a pillow." She chuckled and hesitantly released him when he gained his balance.
"B-beating myself up with a pillow?!" He bursted out.
"Yes! I saw it all, Trinny," she playfully flicked his cheek, "Every last bit, the drumming, and the beating yourself up!" She laughed and put her hands on her hips. "Aww, did I embarrass the baby~?" She teased, puckering out her bottom lip and playfully gripping his chin. "Honestly, you looked adorable! Like a little kid," She grinned, playfully mushing it away after she gripped it.
Now Trinity was embarrassed to the point that he was speechless, suddenly the bunkers were way too uncomfortably heated to him. "W- well!? I had nothing to do, hmph."
He quickened his pace, not used to having his brown jacket or black cape on...
...and then accidentally stumbled into the main room near the stairs of the entrance which Jak and Torn were in, even Dax was caught off guard by Trinity's appearance and abrupt interruption.
"Precursors." He stated.
"Ey! Maskboy! What're youdoin' up?" The Orange Lightning Dax jumped on his paws, Trin had silently wondered if the ottsel had a grudge about the box and tutu situation...
Jak and Torn had their hands on the planning table, both extremely unhappy towards one another. Jak crossed his arms, "I agree. Unless The Shadow said somethin' you need attending to." Then Torn slammed a fist to grab their attention, "Nothing about this has anything to do with - forget it, I'm wondering if I should skin you myself."
Trinity sighed.
Elise followed Trinity out, glaring towards Daxter, making sure to make her glare a warning one. The poor ottsel shrunk onto all fours and jumped onto Jak's shoulder. The ravenette clicked her tongue and leaned against the table. "The Shadow wouldn't be too happy with any of us, Torn." She motioned to Trinity with her eyes. "So I'm not too surprised he's busy, it buys me time to think of an explanation for you know what." She then said, "Nonetheless, I'm taking Trinity with me on my next mission."
Torn widened his eyes. "What?! Elise, he's supposed to be resting -"
"- and he will when we get back."
"Elise -"
The girl swiftly took a hold on Trinity's good arm and began pulling him to the exit. "I'll call you through my Communicator when we get behind the castle."
"Elise! -"
"Bye bye~!" She let the curtain fall behind them as they walked into the heavy streets of Haven City. She took a deep breath. "You ready for your first mission back?" She asked, walking to a Zoomer she had stolen before.
Trinity had minor flashbacks to her driving upon looking at the scratched Zoomer, "Alright." He began. "If this first mission doesn't put me back into the bed, your driving might." Trinny snickered at his own joke, wanting to use it to get back at Elise from the pillow play he was doing.
Elise grinned widely, "You know, you're just jealous because I get places quicker." She laughed as she opened the door for him. "Get in you big baby." She teased, closing the door when he sat down and climbing into the driver's side. She stared at the dashboard on Trinity's side, remembering her journey with Elie. There were deep scratches in the dashboard, from escaping the Krimzon Guards, But there was also a bit of dried blood... She silently prayed to the precursors Trinity wouldn't question it. But knowing him, he surely would. Underneath her gloves, her palms were littered with scratches and bruises from hitting them against it. Elie promised not to tell Trinity.
"So, how's it feel being outside after a few weeks?" She asked, starting up the zoomer.
He leaned back on the seat, staring at the skies, and was fixated on them (thankfully, Elise was wrong about the dash). "Reinvigorating." He smiled under his mask. "Keep calling me baby or teasing about getting to places quicker - and let's see who's laughing once I get my hands on that wheel." He had a devilish and mischievous undertone.
Taking occasional glances at him, she seemed to grin widely. "Oh? Is that a threat, Trinny?" She asked, her tone becoming more taunting and teasing, mirroring Trinity's. "Remember, I'm the one who has their hands on the wheel right now," She enunciated the 'now' before she continued, "So don't challenge me."
Trinity resisted the urge to gulp, admittedly. 'Good point...' As they took a leisure drive, Trin looked at the sorry gray jungle of Haven City, his mind swimming once again. 'Okasan...'
"I wonder what kind of man he was..." He muttered unintentionally.
Elise quickly glanced away from the road to look at Trinity. "Who?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're deep in thought- is something on your mind?"
Beth: Perhaps he's wondering about... Baron?
Elise shook her head at Beth's comment, now looking back at the road. She was an awful driver, but that didn't mean she wanted to crash.
"Huh? Oh, no. It's someone you mentioned a few times, I don't mind if you don't want to say." He rested his head on his hand, his arm being used as support. "This 'Okasan'. From what you say, this person must be a one-of-a-kind." Since it was still the deep end of The Slums, danger was low, everything was serene for once.
At the mentioning of the name, Elise visibly tensed, her grip on the steering wheel roughly tightening. "Okasan... was my father." She uttered out, beginning to slow the zoomer down. "He adopted me when I was nine. I never knew who my real parents were before him. I was just - an orphan." she frowned at the memories. "If Okasan could see me now? Tch. He would be so disappointed - especially with what I did to you." She pulled the zoomer over completely, laying her head on the steering wheel. "Damn it..." she chuckled breathlessly and shook her head, forcing back tears.
'No.' She thought. 'No more crying. He already thinks you're weak.' She mentally scolded herself.
"What do you want to know about him?"
Trinity scratched the back of his head in shame, 'Disappointed, mm?' But then shook his head. "You can continue if you like. But let me tell you this..."
All of the sudden, he stared skyward, pointing.
"Tell me, Elise."
On the dusky skies, he grinned.
"What do you see?"
Speckles dotted the dim skies.
Elise raised an eyebrow, following his finger and looking up at the sky. "Stars?" She chuckled in confusion. "I... don't understand? Am I supposed to come up with something?" She let out another nervous and confused chuckle. "Sky freckles?"
Trinity gave out a hearty laugh, "Sky freckles?!" Catching his breath, he jovially continued. "Stars, you're right on that first part, silly."
As they both gazed upon them, Trinity smiled fondly at a vague memory of the past.
"Look at the stars, each far away, far apart from one another." Trinity watched somewhat sadly, "All surrounded by the deep, vast darkness, El." Then, he changed his lonely tone. "But that is only one we're watching. Now, look at the entirety of the sky."
The stars, each with their own unique color, blinked upon the canvas of the void and the dusk.
"While they are far apart, they are not alone." He waved his hand, gesturing to all of them. "No matter how deep the darkness is, they always seem to shine bright enough for all of us to see..."
Then, Trinity turned his gaze unto his companion, who always seemed to be awestrucked by his speeches, and pointed to her.
"That is you. While I may not know how Okasan thinks, I'm sure even he could see how much you've grown and kept on going, kept on shining. He wouldn't be right in his mind to be disappointed in you." He smiled, seeing her tears when he mentioned her father, feeling guilty. Trinny gently wiped it away. "That's how I see you. I don't care what you did. I don't care if reaching for the star burns me." He chuckled. "You have a power that many don't, while destructive, The Oracle and all of us will help you, Elise."Elise gave the taller man a teary smile, softly nuzzling her cheek into his hand when he wiped some of the tears away. "You always know how to make me cry, you asshat." She joked, sniffing and wiping away some more tears with her free hand.
"How the hell has no one snatched you up yet?" She asked but quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. She looked down at her right hand. "Dawn! That wasn't needed!" She hissed, her eyes still red and puffy from the tears.
Dawn: I had to ask. ;(
Gotta make sure my Trinny is still available~
"You're so fucking weird..." She cursed at her inner voice, hesitating before laying her head on Trinity's good shoulder. "I'll tell you about him. Just - don't. Don't pity me." She glanced up at him.
"Okasan adopted me, from Haven City's orphanage. The place is closed down now..." She smiled softly at the memory. "I know I told you when he adopted me and when he died, so I'll skip to the middle..."
Elise glanced up at Okasan, angrily glaring at the elder man. "No!" She shouted. Okasan raised an eyebrow, "You don't wish to eat?"
"No! I'm not eating that garbage!" She shouted, the nine year old girl stomping her feet. The man smiled, "then what do you wish to eat, Elise?" He asked. The girl paused, pondering. She never thought she would get that far...
"He was always willing to compromise... Even when I was being a spoiled brat..."
The nine year old smiled. "Gummy worms!" She shouted. Okasan snickered and picked the girl up off her feet, "how about we eat real dinner first and have gummy worms for dessert." The ravenette squinted. "And Ice cream?"
He chuckled. "And Ice cream."
"He always did whatever it took to make me happy... he was a bold man, but very kindhearted. There wasn't a single mean bone in his body." Elise turned to face Trinity completely. "As I got older, he became more and more understanding... he started teaching me mixed martial arts when I was twelve."
"Ah!" Elise fell to the ground after a soft blow from her father. "Papa, I can't do it!"
Okasan held his hand out and helped the girl to her feet. "And why do you believe you can not do it, Elise?" He asked. Elise grunted, "Because I'm not as strong as you..." She said.
His gaze softened and he knelt down to her height. "Ah, But you aren't as strong as me, Elise..." she put her head down and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're stronger... I know you can do this." He cooed. She smiled weakly and nodded, standing back on the mat. He stood up straight. "Steady..." He said, watching as Elise's expression turned stolid. "Go!"
"Okasan always had high hopes for me.. always expecting the best from me."
Trinity nodded, "A man like that makes me think of someone familiar."
"Great work! Very great work, Elise." Okasan cheered, standing up after the small girl had knocked him down. Elise grinned brightly. "Do you mean that, Papa?" She asked, her expression changing to a joyful one.
"He one time bought me velcro shoes because I never learned to tie my shoes until I was fourteen." She let out a sad chuckle. "When I found out he died, I..." she cut herself off.
"I see..." Trinity began, "To have a caring father figure to look after you and teach you, I'm envious." He smiled from under his steel mask.
Elise snickered softly, rolling her eyes playfully as she started up the Zoomer yet again. "You never seem to stop surprising me..." She whispered softly, taking a glance up at the stars.
After driving normally for more droning half-hours, they were rounding into a corner, taking Trin's best alleys and alternate routes in order to avoid the KGs.
"Mh," she glanced at him. "Are you sure you're ready to get back into the field? I mean, I wouldn't want the baby huwting himsewf," She teased, yet again gripping his chin with her free hand as a wide grin coaxed her lips.
Trinity leaned away from her hand on instinct, "If I teased that much to Jak, he would've tried to kill me when we first met." He chortled at the thought. "But in all seriousness, yes. Haven City's all anyone's got around here, and every corner is on the brink of being destroyed either by the KG or Metalheads..." Then he suddenly remembered, "Oh, and those Metalheads, I'm, er, sorry. I'm sorry about that. It's what I usually do but I ended up biting off more than I could chew."
He couldn't help but feel awkward, or was it embarrassed? Was it because he was too sloppy than usual that it ended up in a huge disaster? Nonetheless, there was no point in thinking about changing that - even if he could.
Elise frowned and looked straight ahead at the 'road' yet again. "Hey, let's not think about that, yeah? Just try to relax yourself until tomorrow. Hell, I think Torn might send us some time tonight," she clicked her tongue, drumming her thumbs on the steering wheel. "Between you and me, I heard there's gonna be a shipment tonight at 03:00am. Even if Torn doesn't send us..." She grinned slowly and glanced over at Trinity. "We'll sneak out,"
"Just think about how pissed Torn would be. And The Shadow? Whoof! He'll be lecturing me until my ears blow up!" She joked but smiled. "How's that sound?"
He looked at his companion and nodded appreciatively, "Deal."
JV007 A/N: Since Bliss is unpublished and people who have read Haven's Heroes may not know about Elise, we thought I'd be nice to give y'all some back story, a light-hearted chapter, and some undertone of ominous foreshadowing hehe!
Butterfly A/N: For you readers! Thinking about combining Bliss with HH (we're still discussing that part) and I'll be commenting any updates!
None of the other authors I've asked has responded about their OCs having an appearance, so they won't appear, BUT they'll be name-dropped here and there. (I've already did it anyway lol)
Also, why not, go check out butterfly123199 's art book! (ON WATTPAD ONLY) She drew Elise!
Next chapter...
The illegal Green Eco shipment our characters will do!
P.S. Y'all must've done that with the pillow in the past if you were bored too lmao.
