Of Angst and Promotion

Disclaimer: Same as before. Sally O'Connor is a character of my own creation. Raelina, I have read that Hardy Boys book before. It's what inspired these last few chapters.

~ ~ ~ ~

Sally O'Connor awoke slowly to a brightly lit room in primarily white tones. A hospital, she figured immediately. She sat up in bed and saw a blonde woman in a nurse's uniform walking her way. Her nametag read Bree.

"How long was I out?" Sally asked.

"Almost a week." Bree replied.

"Where am I?" Sally asked.

"You're in an Army hospital. You were kidnapped and left out in the desert for dead. A patrol found you and brought you here. We've informed your parents in Pasadena as to where you are and you'll be home in a few hours." Bree replied.

"I remember being shoved into a van when I was walking back to the campus from the bus stop, but everything after that's a blank." Sally replied.

"You'll remember it eventually," Bree replied, "Trust me, it's better you not remember right now. You're still recovering from your ordeal."

Sally blinked a couple of times. She had a vague feeling she had been in this hospital before. 'Well duh, you've been here for a week. You probably barely conscious when you came in here.' Sally thought. Her heart skipped a beat when she a lean muscled young man with a working man's tan, a grown in shaved head with a sad countenance walking in. It was almost as if she could see though his tough guy façade to see the man hurting underneath though she was a hundred percent certain she had never seen the soldier before in her entire life.

"Oh, that's Sergeant Bilby, his unit found you in the desert and he's been checking on you ever since." Bree replied.

"Thank you sergeant." Sally said.

"You're welcome." Bilby said, with a sad smile.

"Forgive him for being so grim, someone close to him just passed away." Bree replied. This wasn't really a lie, this was the truth pushed and twisted in such a manner as to give Sally something to explain a three- month gap in her memory.

Bilby's rank was no lie either, he had been promoted to Sergeant for his efforts in the negating COBRA's takeover of the GI Joe Infirmary. However, as good as such a promotion would normally feel, it still felt like the entire left side of his body had been shot away, yet he still lived in great pain. "Bree, I just came to let Sally know that her parents are on their way up." Bilby said.

Sally stared at the Australian soldier a little longer. It was as if she had known him, very intimately, but she couldn't be sure how. Maybe it was one of those cases where you think you know somebody just by looking at them. At any rate, looking at the Australian was giving her the biggest feeling of déjà vu she ever had felt.

"How far away are they?" she asked.

"About fifteen minutes." Bilby replied.

"There's some clothing for you in the bathroom, just throw that on and get ready to go." Bree replied.

Fifteen minutes later, Sally O'Connor experienced a tearful reunion with her family. Even her kitten, Yuffie, nuzzled her eagerly. Through tears of happiness, she waved goodbye to her rescuers yet again, wishing that she could do something more to help Sergeant Bilby.

~ ~ ~ ~

After driving back to the house, Bilby picked up his rifle and web gear and put his peaked field cap and walked out into the wilds for some perimeter patrol. He felt happy that he had been able to give an innocent young woman her life back. Yet he felt like a mailed fist was crushing his heart, as he was remembering Akima. Maybe that was the sacrifice that the old man in the prophesy had been talking about. One component of the prophesy had come true already. Akima discovered who she truly was. No that wasn't Akima, that was Sally O'Connor, surgically altered and mentally conditioned to appear as though she was Akima. That month and a half since he rescued her had without a doubt been the best weeks of his entire life in recent memory.

Too bad that those weeks were taken away from him just as quickly. He knew that Akima was really and truly dead. He felt hollowed out and too exhausted to cry. All that he felt was a burning need for revenge and he had an insane thought that he wished the Heartless would show their ugly faces around here. He'd gladly kill as many of them as possible, if only to avenge the feelings of pain within him.

'What's the matter, you're hurt because you did a good deed?' Bilby thought, 'No. I'm hurt because I've lost Akima forever.'

As much as he knew that it couldn't last forever, at least the brief time he had with whom he believed was Akima was like a soothing balm, an island of comfort in a sea of angst and pain.

"It's tough to go it alone isn't it?" said a voice.

Bilby recognized the voice as his sniper team leader, Jose Hedaya. He was chagrined that someone had snuck up on him, thus showing him his situational awareness wasn't what it should be.

"I figured you'd go onto one of your long 'wilderness training exercises'." Hedaya said.

"Yeah, I guess there's a lot on my mind." Bilby replied.

"Let me guess, Akima." Hedaya replied.

Bilby nodded, sadly, as Hedaya continued, "Yeah, the reason why most of the Troop kept their distance from you is the fact that you pushed them away, you wouldn't let them see what was hurting you."

"If I let them see what was hurting me, I'd be facing the gallows in a heartbeat." Bilby replied.

"True. But now you've got all of us to help you through this grief with no trial or execution necessary." Hedaya replied, "Hey, don't we have a promotion ceremony to get to in an hour?"

"We do mate." Bilby replied.

"Well as your superior I order you to get your butt back to the base, clean up, and head off to the Enlisted Club." Hedaya replied.

With a small, wry grin that broke through the sadness Bilby said, "Roger that Staff Sergeant Hedaya. Congratulations on your promotion, Jose."

"Gracias amigo." Hedaya replied, tipping his floppy desert hat in a mock bow.

"Race you back to the pit." Bilby said.

"You're loco Bilby, you know I always beat you on the bergen runs." Hedaya replied, referring to the full gear runs that were a fact of life for Gamma unit soldiers.

~ ~ ~ ~

"What is up with you guys!?" Lance demanded, "I meditate for hours, I train way more than I've ever trained in my entire life, and then I go through it all again. I can handle that. But what I can't handle is that my friends were on a mission without me. Even the X-Geeks were on a mission and I wasn't there to help them."

"Lance." Donald began, "Understand this. You have to be trained, you have to be focused in order to wield the Keyblade. You are pure of heart, but you are still extremely vulnerable to temptation. That vision of Kitty was the dark side probing your weaknesses."

"Your enemies are strong Lance." Stormshadow warned, "My clan has records of these Heartless creatures dating back generations. Around the time of Donald and Goofy's Ansem's report."

"They know how you care for Kitty and will explode that weakness." Goofy warned.

"Exploit, Goofy, exploit that weakness." Donald corrected.

"You must mediate again Lance. Find your center and calm yourself." Spirit added.

"If you find it difficult to meditate, try that form I taught you a couple weeks ago." Stormshadow replied.

"We will leave you be for now." Spirit said, "But you need to calm and focus yourself the trials ahead of you are formidable indeed."

"I'll get through it." Lance said grimly, "For Kitty's sake if anything else."

The others left Lance to his privacy in an adjacent room in the dojo. Lance tried to sit still and meditate, but to no avail. All he could feel were feelings of urgency, since that vision of Kitty being tormented by Maleficent. He figured he might as well try that Tai Chi Chuan workout that Stormshadow had taught him, if for nothing else, improving his concentration and martial arts ability.

It was hot in the dojo, for some reason, the AC was out of whack. Lance stripped off his black t-shirt, wearing only a pair of gray sweat pants and athletic tape around his hands and wrists.

He moved slowly, rhythmically, like Stormshadow had taught him. He moved with a supple, almost feline like grace. His hands traveled into position smoothly and with deceptively languid movement but they arrived much faster than they appeared. He was so intent on his practiced movement that he didn't notice he had a visitor.

Kitty Pryde, after having awakened and had breakfast, followed Xi to the dojo. She phased through the wall, and saw Lance training. There were faded lines of old scars from childhood and his time under Magneto's thumb that crisscrossed his body, which was more fit and muscular than she remembered. Lance moved with such grace, and skill, that it was dazzling. She soon didn't realize she had gotten too close, until Lance quarter turned toward her and she barely ducked to avoid being hit. She didn't avoid a collision with Lance though.

"Kitty?" Lance said, both surprised and pleased to see her standing before him, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you Lance." Kitty said, "The others are talking a lot about you being the wielder of the Keyblade and they all can't believe it. But to me, the Keyblade knows something about you that I've known all along. That there's more to you than what they see..."

"I knew that it would be a real tough crow for Mister and Missus Popularity-Uptight to swallow." Lance replied, referring to Scott and Jean.

"Will you be at the promotion ceremony tonight?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah. They decided to let me have the night off. Of all people I know Bilby deserved the promotion." Lance replied.

"Also that other guy, Hedaya's getting promoted and get this, Cover Girl got promoted too."

"Geez, I knew her paperwork to advance to sergeant was in the works but I didn't think she'd get it that fast." Lance replied.

"That's all the news Xi wanted me to tell you." Kitty said, before giving Lance a small peck on the cheek as she phased back through the dojo wall before Stormshadow and the others came back in.

Spirit smiled a knowing grin, he planned to let Lance feel like he got one over on him and the others, though they knew that this wasn't the case. He also knew that his fragile relationship with Kitty was what kept him strong. He prayed to the Great Spirit that Kitty wouldn't fail Lance at this, his hour of need.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Sergeant Jose Hedaya, in recognition with your work with Charlie Squadron, 2 Troop as a sniper team leader it is my pleasure as your senior officer to promote you to Staff Sergeant. Stand and be recognized." Fetterman stated.

Jose Hedaya stood up from the chair and shook hands with Captain Fetterman. Like everyone else, he was wearing the Type A uniform, a short sleeved green shirt with darker green pants. Bilby wore the same uniform, as did Cover Girl, though she wore a skirt and heels with hers. David Falk put the rank devices onto Hedaya's uniform.

"Corporal Martin Bilby. In recognition for your consistent acts of bravery during this mission, Kilo Two Zero, it is my pleasure to promote you to sergeant." Fetterman replied.

Hawk took the podium after Bilby shook hands with Fetterman and received his sergeant chevrons, "Corporal Courtney Krieger, step forward. As of this date, 4 June 2003, you now carry the rank of sergeant."

"Staff Sergeant Hedaya and Sergeants Bilby and Krieger, stand and be recognized." Roadblock called out.

To the applause of their teammates the three stepped forward to be recognized. The affair began to become a party with dancing and music. Bilby walked out onto the balcony for some fresh air and a quart of Imperial Scotch.

He gulped down a shot, feeling it burn all the way down as he peered out into the night. "Not your beverage I see."

Bilby turned to see Cover Girl standing behind him. "Look, Courtney, if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone for a while."

"Akima." Cover Girl said, knowingly, putting a comforting arm around Bilby's shoulders.

"Yeah. Part of me is glad to know that Sally's back home and safe where she belongs. The other part of me feels the same way I felt when I first lost Akima, only ten times worse. You know, I really and truly wanted to believe that I had found her again." Bilby replied.

"You seemed happier when you did." Cover Girl asked, "I know its hard on you, but you've got a big advantage this time, you don't have to go it solo. Come back inside and enjoy the festivities. That's an order."

"Excuse me, Sergeant Krieger, you're getting a little out of line." Bilby smiled, "I outrank you."

"What?" Cover Girl replied with mock offense.

"Oh that's easy. I was promoted earlier than you were." Bilby replied.

"By about five minutes." Cover Girl protested.

"That's still enough time. I'll be back in there in a few, I just need to work that last Imperial shot out of my system." Bilby replied.

"I'll see you inside." Cover Girl replied, "And on the dance floor."

"I don't dance." Bilby replied.

"I do recall more than a few instances when Akima was around where you cut quite a rug. Remember Stalker's anniversary party." Cover Girl replied as she walked back inside.

"The guardian must be strong." Came a voice that wasn't Cover Girl's.

Bilby spun around to see the hooded old man again, "If the Keyblade is to manifest itself, the guardian must be stalwart and strong."

"I've already made my sacrifice you bastard! What more do you want of me! Stop speaking in these damnable riddles!" Bilby snapped, partially because of the alcohol and partially due to the grief.

"You will know when the time comes." The old man replied cryptically, disappearing as swiftly as he appeared.

Bilby walked inside and as he did, Cover Girl snared him and they stepped out onto the dance floor. As they did, Cover Girl felt a pang of guilt. She saw Shipwreck hitting on Ororo, but he wasn't doing it with the great gusto that he had usually displayed when going after her.

As the song progressed, Cover Girl felt more guilt which grew worse after Bilby escorted her back to where he she had taken him to the dance floor on. "Go get him." Bilby grinned.

Cover Girl grinned back, 'Damn you Akima, you were right.' She thought as she strode toward Shipwreck, who was bottling up the bar just then. "May I have this dance?" she asked.

Shipwreck smiled and said, "Sure."

"Are you OK?" Cover Girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, never happier." Shipwreck replied, as they walked out onto the dance floor.

"You're not jealous are you?" Cover Girl asked.

"Yeah, kinda." Shipwreck confessed.

"Well there's nothing to worry about. Even if I was interested in Bilby that way, there's no way I could get him to give up his loyalty to Akima." Cover Girl replied.

"Also, I was upset because tonight's the two year anniversary of the night Mara left the family." Shipwreck replied, "Not even so much as a kiss goodbye for her husband and her own children."

It was then that Courtney Krieger saw the side of Hector Delgato that he rarely let be known. The part of him that had been abandoned by someone he loved with all of his heart. She resolved that whatever happened, she wasn't going to do that to him.

"Oh my God." Cover Girl said.

"What is it?" Shipwreck asked, then he saw it too and grinned, "Son of a gun. It's finally happened."

At a cluster of tables sat the Misfits and the X-men with Goofy talking to both sides. "They're sitting in close proximity without one single explosion." Shipwreck remarked, "It's amazing."

Stith and Gune danced by them just then, the taller Stith having to crouch even lower on her kangaroo like legs to compensate for Gune's short stature. Lance and Kitty danced by them as well, with Kitty and Lance both giving them a wave and a thumbs up. The same came from Toad and Althea.

It was the perfect kissable moment. The lighting was right, the music was soft yet somewhat upbeat, a nice rendition of In the Still of the Night by the Five Satins. It was until a certain feathered menace decided to make himself known.

"Awk! Shipwreck and Cover Girl sitting in a tree! hic!" Polly flapped about erratically as he sang through the air with an equally plastered Lockheed in tow.

"Polly! Get back here!" Shipwreck shouted, chasing the bird with a fire extinguisher. He sprayed a couple of times, accidentally spraying Gung Ho, Jinx and Logan with the extinguisher.

"Oops!" Shipwreck shouted.

"SHIPWRECK!!!!" came the shout as they chased him through the club.

"Come back here feather head! Waiter! Come quick! There's a slight menu change on the way! Stuffed Parrot O'Grotton!" Shipwreck shouted.

"No matter how much things change." Cover Girl mused, "Things stay the same."

"Wanker." Bilby groaned, "I knew I shouldn't have left ¾ of an Imperial quart of Scotch unattended."

"Thanks Bilby." Cover Girl said, smiling, "Well I've gotta save Shipwreck from the wrath of a Marine, a ninja and a psychotic mutant."

"I'll help." Bilby replied.

~ ~ ~ ~

I'll get more into the X-men perspective later, I promise. I just decided to write a somewhat angsty chapter and finish it off with a little bit of humor before I go into a fit of depression writing this. (End of rant). I'm a big Shipwreck/Cover Girl shipper, so I chose to put them together.