Crosshair gives me heavy "Don't Tread On Me" vibes.

Also yes, I have broken boards before!

"Shadow, I know you wanted to shift the topic but… are those boards…?"

At Tech's question, I looked back at my smaller bookshelf where four broken boards, ¾ of an inch in thickness, were stacked on the lowest shelf. "Yep, I broke those. Two by foot, two by hand." I scooted back and grabbed one of them before shuffling back and handing it to Tech.

Holding the two halves in his hands, he looked from them to be in surprise. "You broke these?"

"Well I wouldn't own shattered wood otherwise!" I laughed. "Back kick, snap kick, hammer fist, and palm heel strike. I have a scar on my foot from one of the practice boards but I was lucky and escaped my test without severely damaging my foot although the snap kick cause me to limp for a few days. Hell, the entire test did. I lost my wind fifteen minutes into an hour long test."

"But ya made it, Haran'ika!" Wrecker grinned, nudging me with his elbow.

I returned the grin. "Sure did, Wrecker!"

He winked at me before he scooped up the machete at Hunter's feet and inspected it. "Nice toy!"

"Thanks man, gotta love collecting items of lethal quality!" I chuckled. "Oh, since I said you could pet my head if you got off me, have at it."

Setting down the machete, his face brightened and he reached up to rest his large head on the top of my head. I expected it to be heavy. What I didn't expect was for his touch to be as gentle as it was. Granted my head ducked under the weight of his hand but his touch was still soft.

Oh… this is why people like other's playing with their hair. This ain't half bad.

"Shadow… should I hit play again?" Tech asked shyly, holding the controller in his hands.

"Sure, it's that bottom button," I said, still trying to decide how I felt about Wrecker's hand on my head. The man's palm was nearly the size of my skull.

Tech hit play again and we continued to watch the rest of the video. I had to laugh again when Cory jumped on the counter, but made sure to turn down the volume before the killer attacked him to prevent it from hurting Hunter's ears. Nevertheless, the sergeant still jumped as blood splattered across the screen. He recovered quickly, however, and went back to sifting through my knives.

All was going fairly well through the rest of the video until Wrecker hit me with a curve ball.

"Do you purr?"

My head snapped towards Wrecker as his hand still rested top my skull. "'Xcuse me?"

"Purr!" he repeated with a smile. "You're half cat, right? Do you ever purr?"

Both Tech and Hunter looked towards me, no doubt curious as well. Tech especially.

My ears shifted. "Er… I can if that's your question."

"What does it sound like? If I scratch the top of your head will you start purrin'?" His hand shifted as if he were about to test it right then and there.

I took hold of his wrist to stop him. "I'd really rather not test that," I muttered. "It's embarrassin' when I do that."

"Oh, ok," Wrecker said, a bit saddened but at least he respected it. Finally dropping his hand back to his side, he asked, "What about chasin' lasers?"

"Now that I'd love to see."

I immediately bristled at the sniper's raspy tone. It'd been nice just these three, but now the dark cloud was back. Standing at the threshold of my room in his blacks, leaning on the doorframe, Crosshair looked around my room before his sharp eyes landed on me. "Aw, what's wrong? Don't want us to hear you purr?"

"Better watch it or I'll get you personally acquainted with each and every knife in that bag Hunter's goin' through," I warned. "I may have the ability to purr, may chase shiny things, and my pupils may make me look like an absolute idiot when I get excited in Beta form, but remember this, Twiggy. I'm also a species that was created to be fierce warriors in battle."

"Fact check, sweetheart. I am made solely for battle."

The underlying bitterness in his tone made me pause briefly. That was true. But yet here I was with freedom to do whatever I wanted while Crosshair… Crosshair didn't have that luxury. No clone did. They were just slaves, created only to die…

James was right…

Crosshair must have noticed my hesitation for he rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't get soft on me, brat."

I glared at him. "Sympathy is not weakness, Crosshair. Would you rather I be a stone-cold, emotionless asshole who only cares about myself? Only a fool would be cruel for the sake of something stupid like pride or their massive ego. Besides, if I were an ice-cold heartless bastard, not only would you not be in my apartment right now, but I could have killed you four when I first met you to save myself the trouble of dealin' with you."

The sniper scoffed. "You really think you could have killed us, sweetheart?"

"I may have the sillier traits from felines, but I also am a deadly hunter armed not only with claws and elemental powers, but telekinesis as well. I can kick your ass if I so desire."

"Doubt that," Crosshair retorted, strolling in and sitting down with his back against the wall to my left.

"Did I say you could come in here, Twiggy?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Don't have a problem with those three," he drawled, lazily gesturing towards the two commandos on either side of me and Hunter to his direct right.

"Yeah, I like them. I don't like you or your attitude."

"Best get used to it, sweetheart. You'll be dealin' with it a lot for the next week."

"Guess I'll just repay the favor."

His eyes narrowed. "That a threat, sweetheart?"

"Perrrrhaps," I replied, purposefully turning the word into a purr. Man did that feel strange to do. I could mimic a purr decent well in real life, as well as a bunch of other sounds… but that was a true purr. My throat tickled now.

Crosshair raised an eyebrow at the sound, but he didn't get a chance to comment before Wrecker gasped in surprise.

"That was a purr!"

"Righto, my dude," I snickered, pointing a finger gun at him.

"Do that again!"

"Sorry big guy, but that was a one time-"

"What's that?"

I glared at Crosshair as he interrupted me. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours?"

He rolled his eyes and pointed a thin finger above my head. "That yellow flag with the snake. What does it mean?"

I looked over my shoulder at my Gadsden flag. "Actually, you know I think you'll like that flag."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why's that? What is it?"

"That's called the Gadsden Flag, or Don't Tread On Me flag. That's the wording under the rattlesnake. It was created back during the time my… a country was seekin' its independence from the mother country."

I really hoped they didn't notice the slip. This wasn't America, and I didn't feel like figuring out how to explain that nonsense. But judging by Hunter's slightly narrowed eyes, I have a feeling he did. Thankfully he didn't comment on it, however.

"They were just an amalgamation of thirteen colonies vibin' across the ocean from a damp island that, somehow, had control of almost the entire planet," I continued. "Well, there was a lot of complicated stuff goin' into it, but long story short the colonies got sick and tired of being told what to do by a government which they had no representation in. They rebelled, fought for their independence, and won it. That flag became a symbol for freedom durin' the war. The rattlesnake is the symbol because if you step on a rattlesnake, it's sure as hell gonna bite you. Similarly, if you tread on the colonists, in this case limit their freedom, better bring a big ass gun because they aren't goin' down without one hell of a fight."

"That is a good choice of symbolism," Tech mused. "I didn't know you were into history."

"For this time period I especially am. It's personal for me." I looked back at the flag. "To me, that flag represents being able to live the way I want without an oppressive government or any authority figure breathin' down my neck all day and night, trying to control me. Nobody telling me what to say, how to act, what to wear, who to talk to, how to think, where to go, who to care for." I turned my eyes back to Crosshair. "It represents freedom. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I am proud to own that flag and will defend my freedom to do so until my dyin' breath."

Crosshair held my gaze, dark eyes shifting between mine. A faint smile slowly appeared on his face. "Freedom," he repeated softly, looking back up at the flag.

"Freedom," I confirmed with a nod. "Where the only person you have to take orders from is you."

Crosshair continued to stare at the flag, softly mouthing the word once more as if savoring the taste of it on his tongue.

"Don't know about Cross," Hunter spoke up. "But I know I like that idea."

"Same here!" Wrecker shouted with a massive grin on his face. "No government tellin' me what to do? Doin' whatever I wanted? Count me in!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm. These boys definitely struck me as 'Don't Tread On Me" guys, Crosshair especially, and it looked like my hunch was right. "Just gotta make sure you don't try to limit the freedom of others, or you're goin' against the very thing you claim to be supportin'."

"That does make sense," Tech chirped. "People would be hypocrites if they used that flag to oppress others, right?"

"Correct, and they do exist. Give the rest of us, who just want to be left in peace and don't bother anyone else, a bad name."

"There's always got to be people who ruin it for everyone else," Hunter muttered dryly.

"Yep. And then there's the people, namely those in authority, who will try to take away everyone's rights. That's why I'm rather attached to my guns. I don't like fightin', in all honesty. I prefer to resolve things peacefully if I can. But if I need to fight, I like to know I can."

"That's why you have a small array of guns, then?" Tech asked. "As a safety measure?"

"Safety measure is right, and not just against a robber or enemy combatant. It's to defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic. After all, better to have it and not need it…"

"Than to need it and not have it," Tech finished with a smile.

"They were nice guns."

I stared at Crosshair in utter shock. Was… was that a compliment?! "Who are you and what have you done with Crosshair?"

Dark eyes narrowed. "What are you on about?"

"You just said you liked my guns."

"I appreciate a nice piece of work when I see one."

Did… did his eyes shift over me for a moment? No, I had to be imagining it. There was no way he just complimented me personally.

"They are nice guns," Hunter commented slowly, eyes shifting between Crosshair and I.

Using him as an excuse to break the staring contest with Crosshair, I looked over at him. "You looked in there too?"

"The door was open."

I looked at Wrecker accusingly.

The giant laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I… er… forgot to close the door."

"Thanks for that, mate," I grumbled.

"Did you name the guns like your knives here?" Hunter asked, holding up my three SOG throwing knives. Crosshair took the bag from him and staring digging around in there as well.

Ignoring the fact Crosshair looked like a raccoon rummaging through a trash bin, I shifted my eyes to Hunter's. "Yep. The two autos are Tommy and Gunner." Or at least they would be if I had them in real life… "And the rifles are Kindness, Truth, Predator…" I paused, took a deep breath, and sighed. "And the fourth is Crosshair."

The sniper paused in his rummaging, remaining still for a moment before his eyes raised to meet mine. "You named a rifle after me?"

I held his gaze. "As I said earlier. I respect your skills."

A grunt was his response as he went back to inspecting my knives, but the smug look had left his face. He looked almost… confused.

"Nice names!" Wrecker laughed, nudging me again as he broke the silence.

"Can you show me them after the next video?" Tech asked. Out of all the men, he was the only one who hadn't seen them.

"Sure thing, nerd. At least you asked," I said, shooting a good-natured glare at Hunter and Wrecker.

The demolition expert laughed nervously again. "So… uh… got any other good horror games you like to watch this guy play?"

A sly grin crossed my face as Krampus is Home, Escape the Ayuwoki, and Bonbon came to mind. "Oh, I think I can find somethin'."

"Only two more," Hunter said, settling down against the wall. "We're getting up early tomorrow."

"Copy that, Sarge," I chuckled.

The man flashed a small grin at me and crossed his arms as he got comfortable.

Looking back at the screen to search for the videos, a warm feeling spread through my chest.

Maybe this self-insert won't be so bad after all.

Well...here we are at the end! Been a hell of a ride! The story probably will undergo minor updates in recent days.

Thanks for coming this far and thanks for the memories! :D

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See y'all later! 3