Chapter 9
Despite the way Eureka clouded my thoughts, I did manage to get some sleep that night. Good thing, too, cuz my training started the next day. And let me just say...whoever invented the SOF training must have been one hell of a masochist.
Every day I was woken up at dawn by Ken-goh to take a six lap run around the compound. Now that wouldn't be so bad if the compound wasn't a mile all the way around. My legs were jelly, but I pushed through it, just like all my training up until that point. Once cardio was done, I worked on my arms and back. The next day, I ran and then did my core and chest. Throughout the week I worked all my muscles and god DAMN was I sore. He also started managing my diet, stating that to be one of the best, I had to be in the best shape.
After that I went inside with Holland to learn everything about handling weapons. I already knew a good deal from being at New Wave and in Sawyer Team, but Holland must have wanted me to be able to assemble a gun in my sleep or something, because he made me memorize every detail of every weapon he handed me. I did my best, and he seemed satisfied when I could assemble in under a minute consistently. I honestly never knew it was possible to assemble a gun that fast. He also gave me stealth drills, teaching me how to make no noise when I moved, how to maneuver in the dark, and how to avoid night vision tech by using things like stealth paint. I became competent in both weapons and stealth, though I still needed more training and experience.
After that, I went to Talho. What was she teaching me? How to launch and defend against cyber attacks. Something I was very interested in learning. She essentially just taught me the basics, like how to code and all that, and then she would have me break past some training programs in the given time limit. She switched it up eventually, instead making me write the programs while she was the one to try and break them. And damn if it wasn't hard to give that woman a challenge. She coded so fast you'd swear she was a fucking robot.
And finally, to end the day off, I'd climb into Cardinal's cockpit and spar with Eureka until it got dark or one of us could no longer fight. The cycle would repeat day after day after day. After about a month, I managed to see some big results. The small amount of body fat I had was gone, and while they weren't rock hard, I had abs. I marvelled in the mirror, thinking back to how scrawny I used to be. My stealth skills had also improved, as Holland actually had to put forth effort to find me now. As for my hacking skills, I could at least manage to make Talho break a sweat, which satisfied me for now. I smiled at my reflection, then put on my shirt and walked out my room.
After sparring, Eureka and I would shower (separately you pervs) and head down to the hangar, where I would play my guitar for the Nirvash. It was great that I made the LFO happy, and Cardinal seemed to enjoy the music as well. But most of all, it was the small smile Eureka gave me while she watched me play. Sometimes she would close her eyes and just listen. It made me happy, to bring a smile to the face of someone who had never known happiness.
I found myself in Eureka's company quite a bit, actually. Aside from training, she didn't really do much. I found her in the dining hall one day, just sitting there. "So...whatcha doin?", I asked. She looked at me. "I'm awaiting orders." My eyes widened. "Didn't Holland say the next mission was in three days?" She nodded. "So, you're gonna wait here until then?" Again, she nodded. I raised an eyebrow. "Don't you do anything for….ya know...fun?" She tilted her head at this. "Fun?" My mouth dropped. "Umm...ya know...something you enjoy doing?" She put her hand on her chin. "I enjoy being with the Nirvash." I chuckled. "That's uh...that's great. But I mean something other than that. Don't you play any games or anything?" She shook her head. I thought for a moment, and then it hit me. "Uh...hang on a sec. I'll be right back." I ran to my room, and dug through my bag, until I found what I was looking for.
I went back to the dining hall to find Eureka still there, looking at me in curiosity. From behind my back I pulled two decks of cards. "You ever played Slap Jack?", I asked. She tilted her head. "Slap...jack? No, I cannot say that I have." I grinned, and handed her a deck. "Put that face down, and I'll teach you." She put it face down. "So the game works like this. We each take turns laying a card from the top of our decks on the middle of the table. When you see a Jack card laid down, you slap it, and take all the cards currently on the pile." I held up a Jack, showing her what the card looked like. "The first person to slap the Jack takes the pile, and when both decks are empty, the player with the most cards wins. Just play a few rounds, okay?" She nodded, and the game began.
I ended up enjoying the game immensely. I had bought the cards to play with Sumner and the rest, but never really got around to it, what with the training and my practicing the guitar. Eureka was a bit startled when I suddenly slapped the deck, but quickly got into the swing of things, trying to get every Jack. She actually ended up slapping my hand a few times, which she apologized for. I laughed and told her not to worry, as that was part of the game. We played a few rounds, and I was ready to stop, but she grabbed my hand. I looked at her, to see another small smile. "Could we...could we play just a little longer?" I grinned and sat back down. "Sure. Tell ya what, I'll show you some more games to play, and one you can play by yourself too." I proceeded to show her how to play Old Maid, Go Fish, and Solitaire, all of which she took an immediate liking to.
Missions came and went as the weeks flew by. I continued my training with everyone, played guitar for the LFO's, and played cards with Eureka. Aside from the hellish training, the SOF wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Another mission came around one day, and unfortunately, it was the one I had been dreading all this time. Ciudades del Cielo. I wasn't even sure what I was going to do after this. It was pretty scary to think about when you knew what was going to happen. Nonetheless, I had been steeling myself for this mission ever since I joined the SOF.
We rode into the city, splitting up to cover more ground. Luckily for me, I was ordered to go by myself. Our instructions were to kill everyone in the city, but I never intended to follow those orders in the first place. Dewey could suck my dick. While everyone else was off murdering, I was saving as many people as I could, taking them to the transports the Vodarac had organized to evacuate the city. Luckily the SOF were the only ones ordered here, so I didn't have to worry about any soldiers getting in my way. Not everyone was cooperative at first, but they all calmed down once they realized that I was helping them. I'm not sure how many people I saved. I didn't bother counting, focusing more on the task itself rather than the amount. I would have liked to save more, but then it happened. I heard the gunshots. I rounded the corner to find Eureka standing over a pile of bodies, kicking one over and aiming her gun.
I jumped from Cardinal's cockpit and ran up to her just in time to watch her eyes go wide with shock. In the heap of dead bodies, were three living children. A small boy, a female toddler, and an infant male. Maurice, Maeter and Linck. Eureka put her hands to her mouth and started to scream, but I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. "Shhhh, it's okay. It's okay.", I said comfortingly. Her breathing was panicked and rapid. "I've been...killing people. This whole time I…" I held her tighter, rubbing her back. She kept ranting about her realization, and I pushed her away, putting my hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "I know, I know. It's okay. It's not your fault. You didn't know. And now that you do, you can make the choice to stop."
She dropped to her knees, staring at her bloodied hands in horror as the children continued crying. "What should I...what should I do?", she said, looking at me. I placed my hands on her shoulders once more. "You have to make it right. You see those kids, there? Regardless of whether or not you knew, you took away their parents. So to make up for it, they're your responsibility now. You're their mama now." She hugged Maurice, and I took Linck and Maeter in my arms, placing them in the Nirvash's co-pilot seat. I turned to Eureka. "We need to-ACK!" I was cut off as a bullet pierced my chest and I dropped to the ground bleeding. Eureka screamed and Cardinal's eyes shone bright green as he turned to robot mode on his own. It was the first time he had ever moved of his own accord. I watched from the ground, clutching my wound with wide eyes as he quickly skated over to the shooter, a Vodarac terrorist, and crushed him with his fist. He made his way over and knelt before me, as though concerned. Eureka placed Maurice in the Nirvash, and rushed to my side as well.
I tried to move, only to find that my legs were unresponsive. I put my hand to my chest, and felt the dark red liquid cover it as I tried to heal myself. For a moment, a faint green glow appeared, only to fizzle out. I cursed. 'Dammit. My strength is fading because of the blood loss. I don't have enough energy left to heal it.' I coughed up some blood and looked at Eureka, my breathing ragged. "You...you need to listen to me. Find…Holland. Get out...get out of here, and take those kids with you." More blood. She grabbed my hand, tears forming in her eyes. "NO! I won't leave you! We can take you back to the base and get you some help!" I shook my head. "I can't even move...my legs, and I'm losing a lot of blood. I can already...feel myself passing out. I won't make it that far. Just go without me, and take Cardinal with you."
My LFO's eyes shone, and Eureka's widened. "He says...that he wants to stay by your side. That you're his most important person, and he refuses to leave you." I shut my eyes and gave a small smile, blood running down my chin. "Fine...stubborn idiot. But you...you need to go, Eureka. Please, just go. Do it...for me." With teary eyes she nodded, climbing into the Nirvash and taking off towards Holland.
I laid my head back and smiled. 'Well, Cardinal, I guess this is how it ends. Sorry, pal. Guess I'm gonna have to leave you behind. Sorry to you too, Gramps, Renton. Guess I won't be coming home after all. Sorry, Eureka. Guess I won't get to play another game with you, or sing another song for the Nirvash. Or help you raise those kids. Oh well. Renton will do a pretty good job regardless. Sorry, Sumner, Ruri. Guess I won't get to see either of you again.' I felt my consciousness fade, and allowed myself one final thought. 'Sorry...Sakuya. Guess you chose wrong...after all.' My eyes shut, and I saw no more.
And that's a wrap!
Ooooo scary cliffhanger. And that's all you get for now. Also I'm rather proud of myself, as I managed to break 2000 words on this one. Told you it'd get better once I could use a computer.
This is D3vilB4sket, signing off!