Combat Training
Chapter One - Games
Ghost gracefully kicked his feet over his head, feeling the wind blow through his hair. He reveled in these moments, when seconds became hours, when he could count the tiles on the ceiling.
Whoosh.
Or the bullets she was firing at him. She really wasn't trying to hit him - maybe she found the acrobatics as entertaining to watch as he found them to perform. Smiling, Ghost cocked his head, missing another bullet as his arms moved in a serpentine fashion to avoid the rest of the clip. His feet gently touched the ground, and he paused, before feeling the weight and speed of the world pull him down, the ground shaking as he hit landed. He looked up, one knee on the floor, to see her coming. She walked, and began to run. Ghost watched as she reached forward, one hand supporting a cartwheel as the other reached for her handgun at her hip. Pulling out of the cartwheel, she pointed the gun at him as she dove.
Ghost watched, and waited. She smirked as she was feet from him, began firing. Disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see the look on her face, Ghost sidestepped, and turned to watch her.
Trinity hadn't seen that coming. She turned to look up at Ghost, watching her fall off the side of the building. She waited, irritated for falling for such a cheap trick. Trinity hit the ground, minutes latter, as it bend like soft taffy, sending her a few feet back up, landing her on her back. She observed the sky, watched the clouds drift by. Her introspection was interrupted by a voice and a hand passing into her field of vision.
"Good game."
Trinity reached up, and took the hand Ghost offered her.
"So what's the score now?"
Ghost smiled. "I think that puts me two ahead, dear sister."
"That's because, dear brother, you've chosen the last three arenas."
"And so what would you suggest then?"
Trinity took out her phone. "Sparks."
"Sparks here - Why'd you let him win again?"
"It's the only way to keep him playing."
Sparks snickered. "You want me to boot the cornfields?"
Trinity looked up at Ghost, snickered, and answered. "Yes."
The world disappeared, leaving them in the white barrenness of the construct. Trinity and Ghost stood amoung racks and racks of weapons, bullet-proof armor, and clothing.
"New rules."
Ghost looked up. "What are those?"
"Hand to hand only, no armor."
Ghost took off his sunglasses, and eyed her skeptically.
"I'll still kick your ass Trin."
"Try it."
The sky whipped around Ghost, as the pair fell, kept falling. The world stopped, and the two stood deep within a corn field. The stalks grew tall, heavy with a late harvest. It was oppressively hot, dry, and the wind carried the sound of cicadas madly chirping. Ghost looked up, feeling his clothing beginning to stick to him, to a surprising image.
Trinity stood comfortably in a white tank top and frayed blue jean shorts. She kicked the dirt with her cleats. The only thing that remained the same were her sunglasses. She looked and Ghost and a faint smile passed her face.
"Hot?"
Ghost looked at her. "Does it matter?"
"Only if you let it."
"You spend too much time with Morpheus." Ghost muttered irritably.
"Come on Ghost," Trinity laughed, "Catch me."
Ghost rolled his head, stretching his neck. "Alright, you asked for it."
Trinity didn't give him time to get ready. She bolted past him, feeling the earth under her cleats and the wind in her hair. She looked over her shoulder to see him coming after her, and she slowly let him gain ground. Wait Trinity, wait. He was almost on her. Now! She sprung through the corn, doing at 180 degree turn, and kept running. She looked again, and saw that she had lost him.
Ghost pushed his way through the corn, and all that he could see of Trinity was a trail of kicked up dust. He took off, feeling the thrill of the hunt. He saw her cut though again, and he followed, as she zigzagged through the corn. Running hard, Trinity grabbed a ripe ear of corn and threw it at Ghost's feet.
Whunk. The corn nearly knocked him off balance, but Ghost managed to keep going. His sunglasses were covered in brown dirt, and he threw them off, along with his overcoat and jacket. She was cutting again, and Ghost took the opportunity to arm himself with an ear of corn. They were out of the corn fields now, and in a meadow, which spread out down to a small creek. She ran for the creek.
Trinity sprinted the last few yards, and jumped up to grab the arms of the willow over the creek. Her hands were almost there. only a few more inches. She missed. Trinity once again began to fall, briefly seeing the ear of corn which had hit her hand and prevented her from grabbing the branch. Ghost kept running towards the creek, watching with some satisfaction as her body flew slowly end over end. It was because of his preoccupation that he didn't see the root sticking up out of the ground in front of him. His foot caught, and Ghost now felt the disconcertment of flying through the air, watching the water come up to strike him in the face.
Ghost's humiliation kept the water from feeling as good as it might have. Kicking hard, he broke the surface. He critically examined his surroundings. Trinity was no where to be found. Ghost listened. He heard the sound of an object dropping, and looked up just in time to see Trinity falling, her feet pushing him underwater. Ghost opened his eyes to see her below him, her hands on his legs, dragging him down. He kicked, but she held on. He couldn't hold on much longer. He had to breathe. The water got darker, his heart beat slower. He couldn't struggle anymore.
When Trinity felt Ghost's legs go limp she realized that she'd crossed the line. She grabbed his hands, floating limply, and dragged him to the surface. She sucked in the air, and began to yell.
"Operator!"
She pulled him to the dirt embankment, felt his neck. No pulse. Suddenly, Trinity felt very sick, the world spun. She looked up to the sun, felt it burn her eyes, the light getting brighter and brighter..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "That wasn't funny." Niobe angrily said.
"He's fine." Trinity retorted, not looking at her.
Sparks snickered. "You going to tell him who gave him CPR?"
Niobe shook her head. Trinity looked at sparks. "It was you, if memory serves."
"Whatever coppertop. I know what the code said."
"Not another word, from either of you." Niobe snapped.
The monitor's steady chirping sped up. Niobe and Trinity both looked down as Ghost opened his eyes.
"I guess," Ghost said, smiling weakly, "You win again."
"We'll call it a draw."
"You have to get back to the Neb."
"I know." Trinity looked away. "I'm sorry."
Ghost reached up, touched her arm. "I know. It's OK."
Trinity looked down. "Can you get up?"
Ghost swung his legs over the side of the table, stretched and stood.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Niobe cut in. "Good, then go take the controls. We're now late," She shot an angry glare at Trinity "To meet the Neb."
He obliged, and walked to the main deck. As he walked by Trinity, he pushed her playfully.
"Next time, I won't let you cheat."
Trinity began to follow him, but was held back by Niobe.
"What's going on with you?" She questioned.
"Nothing."
"I've never seen or heard of anyone from Morpheus' crew behaving so." She looked for the word, "Recklessly."
Trinity looked Niobe in the eyes. "It was a game. Sometimes people get hurt."
"Then follow your own advice and be more careful."
Irritated to hide her humiliation at doing something she knew to be irresponsible, Trinity returned to the Neb. She hated the gossip line, how quickly the events aboard the Logos had spread. Tank and Dozer watched her enter, and when she met their gaze, the brother's eyes fell away. Walking down the hallway to her quarters, Trinity heard a noise behind her. She spun to see no one but hear Mouse's door softly squeaking. Turning the corner, she finally let her head drop, exhausted at the effort of being so indigent to their stares. She opened her door, slid behind it and leaned, letting her body weight slam it shut. Opening her eyes, Trinity was greeted to see Switch sitting on her bed. She sighed, and sat down next to her.
"What happened?" Switch asked, looking intently at Trinity.
"You already know that." She replied back tersely.
"I know I heard rumors." Switch replied simply.
"I got." Trinity stared at the floor, "I just played too rough."
"You've never done that to anyone else."
"He's."
"Different, I know."
Switch stood up, stretching.
"He's the closest thing I have to a brother."
Switch paused mid-stretch, thinking. "And so you play like siblings."
"Yeah, but I didn't mean to."
"He knows."
"It's strange though," Trinity mused. "He's distant now, from me."
Switch's eyes flicked down sorrowfully. "He's seen the oracle hasn't he?"
"We both have."
"You know, Morpheus says we're getting ready for a new mission."
Trinity's ears perked at those words. "To do what?" She asked.
"To bring back the man who is The One."
Chapter One - Games
Ghost gracefully kicked his feet over his head, feeling the wind blow through his hair. He reveled in these moments, when seconds became hours, when he could count the tiles on the ceiling.
Whoosh.
Or the bullets she was firing at him. She really wasn't trying to hit him - maybe she found the acrobatics as entertaining to watch as he found them to perform. Smiling, Ghost cocked his head, missing another bullet as his arms moved in a serpentine fashion to avoid the rest of the clip. His feet gently touched the ground, and he paused, before feeling the weight and speed of the world pull him down, the ground shaking as he hit landed. He looked up, one knee on the floor, to see her coming. She walked, and began to run. Ghost watched as she reached forward, one hand supporting a cartwheel as the other reached for her handgun at her hip. Pulling out of the cartwheel, she pointed the gun at him as she dove.
Ghost watched, and waited. She smirked as she was feet from him, began firing. Disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see the look on her face, Ghost sidestepped, and turned to watch her.
Trinity hadn't seen that coming. She turned to look up at Ghost, watching her fall off the side of the building. She waited, irritated for falling for such a cheap trick. Trinity hit the ground, minutes latter, as it bend like soft taffy, sending her a few feet back up, landing her on her back. She observed the sky, watched the clouds drift by. Her introspection was interrupted by a voice and a hand passing into her field of vision.
"Good game."
Trinity reached up, and took the hand Ghost offered her.
"So what's the score now?"
Ghost smiled. "I think that puts me two ahead, dear sister."
"That's because, dear brother, you've chosen the last three arenas."
"And so what would you suggest then?"
Trinity took out her phone. "Sparks."
"Sparks here - Why'd you let him win again?"
"It's the only way to keep him playing."
Sparks snickered. "You want me to boot the cornfields?"
Trinity looked up at Ghost, snickered, and answered. "Yes."
The world disappeared, leaving them in the white barrenness of the construct. Trinity and Ghost stood amoung racks and racks of weapons, bullet-proof armor, and clothing.
"New rules."
Ghost looked up. "What are those?"
"Hand to hand only, no armor."
Ghost took off his sunglasses, and eyed her skeptically.
"I'll still kick your ass Trin."
"Try it."
The sky whipped around Ghost, as the pair fell, kept falling. The world stopped, and the two stood deep within a corn field. The stalks grew tall, heavy with a late harvest. It was oppressively hot, dry, and the wind carried the sound of cicadas madly chirping. Ghost looked up, feeling his clothing beginning to stick to him, to a surprising image.
Trinity stood comfortably in a white tank top and frayed blue jean shorts. She kicked the dirt with her cleats. The only thing that remained the same were her sunglasses. She looked and Ghost and a faint smile passed her face.
"Hot?"
Ghost looked at her. "Does it matter?"
"Only if you let it."
"You spend too much time with Morpheus." Ghost muttered irritably.
"Come on Ghost," Trinity laughed, "Catch me."
Ghost rolled his head, stretching his neck. "Alright, you asked for it."
Trinity didn't give him time to get ready. She bolted past him, feeling the earth under her cleats and the wind in her hair. She looked over her shoulder to see him coming after her, and she slowly let him gain ground. Wait Trinity, wait. He was almost on her. Now! She sprung through the corn, doing at 180 degree turn, and kept running. She looked again, and saw that she had lost him.
Ghost pushed his way through the corn, and all that he could see of Trinity was a trail of kicked up dust. He took off, feeling the thrill of the hunt. He saw her cut though again, and he followed, as she zigzagged through the corn. Running hard, Trinity grabbed a ripe ear of corn and threw it at Ghost's feet.
Whunk. The corn nearly knocked him off balance, but Ghost managed to keep going. His sunglasses were covered in brown dirt, and he threw them off, along with his overcoat and jacket. She was cutting again, and Ghost took the opportunity to arm himself with an ear of corn. They were out of the corn fields now, and in a meadow, which spread out down to a small creek. She ran for the creek.
Trinity sprinted the last few yards, and jumped up to grab the arms of the willow over the creek. Her hands were almost there. only a few more inches. She missed. Trinity once again began to fall, briefly seeing the ear of corn which had hit her hand and prevented her from grabbing the branch. Ghost kept running towards the creek, watching with some satisfaction as her body flew slowly end over end. It was because of his preoccupation that he didn't see the root sticking up out of the ground in front of him. His foot caught, and Ghost now felt the disconcertment of flying through the air, watching the water come up to strike him in the face.
Ghost's humiliation kept the water from feeling as good as it might have. Kicking hard, he broke the surface. He critically examined his surroundings. Trinity was no where to be found. Ghost listened. He heard the sound of an object dropping, and looked up just in time to see Trinity falling, her feet pushing him underwater. Ghost opened his eyes to see her below him, her hands on his legs, dragging him down. He kicked, but she held on. He couldn't hold on much longer. He had to breathe. The water got darker, his heart beat slower. He couldn't struggle anymore.
When Trinity felt Ghost's legs go limp she realized that she'd crossed the line. She grabbed his hands, floating limply, and dragged him to the surface. She sucked in the air, and began to yell.
"Operator!"
She pulled him to the dirt embankment, felt his neck. No pulse. Suddenly, Trinity felt very sick, the world spun. She looked up to the sun, felt it burn her eyes, the light getting brighter and brighter..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "That wasn't funny." Niobe angrily said.
"He's fine." Trinity retorted, not looking at her.
Sparks snickered. "You going to tell him who gave him CPR?"
Niobe shook her head. Trinity looked at sparks. "It was you, if memory serves."
"Whatever coppertop. I know what the code said."
"Not another word, from either of you." Niobe snapped.
The monitor's steady chirping sped up. Niobe and Trinity both looked down as Ghost opened his eyes.
"I guess," Ghost said, smiling weakly, "You win again."
"We'll call it a draw."
"You have to get back to the Neb."
"I know." Trinity looked away. "I'm sorry."
Ghost reached up, touched her arm. "I know. It's OK."
Trinity looked down. "Can you get up?"
Ghost swung his legs over the side of the table, stretched and stood.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Niobe cut in. "Good, then go take the controls. We're now late," She shot an angry glare at Trinity "To meet the Neb."
He obliged, and walked to the main deck. As he walked by Trinity, he pushed her playfully.
"Next time, I won't let you cheat."
Trinity began to follow him, but was held back by Niobe.
"What's going on with you?" She questioned.
"Nothing."
"I've never seen or heard of anyone from Morpheus' crew behaving so." She looked for the word, "Recklessly."
Trinity looked Niobe in the eyes. "It was a game. Sometimes people get hurt."
"Then follow your own advice and be more careful."
Irritated to hide her humiliation at doing something she knew to be irresponsible, Trinity returned to the Neb. She hated the gossip line, how quickly the events aboard the Logos had spread. Tank and Dozer watched her enter, and when she met their gaze, the brother's eyes fell away. Walking down the hallway to her quarters, Trinity heard a noise behind her. She spun to see no one but hear Mouse's door softly squeaking. Turning the corner, she finally let her head drop, exhausted at the effort of being so indigent to their stares. She opened her door, slid behind it and leaned, letting her body weight slam it shut. Opening her eyes, Trinity was greeted to see Switch sitting on her bed. She sighed, and sat down next to her.
"What happened?" Switch asked, looking intently at Trinity.
"You already know that." She replied back tersely.
"I know I heard rumors." Switch replied simply.
"I got." Trinity stared at the floor, "I just played too rough."
"You've never done that to anyone else."
"He's."
"Different, I know."
Switch stood up, stretching.
"He's the closest thing I have to a brother."
Switch paused mid-stretch, thinking. "And so you play like siblings."
"Yeah, but I didn't mean to."
"He knows."
"It's strange though," Trinity mused. "He's distant now, from me."
Switch's eyes flicked down sorrowfully. "He's seen the oracle hasn't he?"
"We both have."
"You know, Morpheus says we're getting ready for a new mission."
Trinity's ears perked at those words. "To do what?" She asked.
"To bring back the man who is The One."
