AN: I feel that it is important that I say this out right, especially in this chapter. I have no idea how the military works, all the stuff that I am using here is from research into the United States and British armed forces.
If there is an inaccuracy (which there will be), please let me know and I will try my best to fix it.
Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence and Child Abuse.
I was listening to "Baby One More Time" while writing this, so yeah... It might show a bit (P.S. I do know that it isn't actually about partner abuse, but it certainly sounds like it sometimes).
Tortuga's Fairytale origin is a combination of the "Tortoise and the Hare" along with Blackbeard (Edward Thatch), hence her last name and position in the Atlesian Navy.
BTW, I'm placing the age of adulthood and drinking in Remnant as 17 based on the fact that students are considered mature enough to become Huntsman and risk their lives at that point. I know that this kind of screws up Yang's scene in the "Yellow Trailer", but I'm just going to chalk that up to Junior trying to be careful and Yang not wanting to go through the effort of taking out her ID.
Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth, and "We'll Meet Again" belongs to Dane Vera Lynn.
Reviews:
merendinoemiliano: Thanks, I tried my best to be comprehensive with the story. Sadly James takes a back seat for this chapter, but I plan to feature him heavily in the next one as the story is going to pick up pace as it races toward the start of the show's timeline.
CriticaofRandomness: Similar to my response to the other review, Watt's unfortunately is the other character that isn't really present in this chapter but will also be a big part of the next one. As for your theory of him being a double agent... You'll have to wait for the next chapter to see.
Text Legend:
§Singing§
"Speaking"
"Shouting"
'Speculating'
"Sarcasm/Sass or Stressed Speaking"
*Sounds*
Stressed Script
[Stenographic]
Storytelling/Scene
~Previously (Prologue: Chapter 1: Mr. and Mrs. Polendina)~
"Wanna get a drink." Tortuga offered.
"I'm fifteen." Pericles reminded her.
"Technically you're thirty-five." Tortuga corrected, as the only one who knew Pericles' secret.
...
Pericles sighed, "This is going to suck, isn't it?" He said rhetorically.
"Oh come on, we're going to have a great time you and I!" Tortuga answered nonetheless and threw her arm over Pericles shoulder.
Prologue: Chapter 2: Tortuga
~71 A.W. (Past), 13 years-old, and 11 years before the Red Trailer~
"Alright, fair warning about Cordovin, she can be pretty uptight, so try not to say anything unless she talks to you first." Tortuga advised.
"Got it." Pericles confirmed as they walked down the gangway of the Bullhead.
Brigadier General: Cordovin was there, and like his mother, a bit younger than her onscreen appearance, with flecks of black hairs still visible in the sea of grey.
""Brigadier General: Cordovin, sir!"" Tortuga and Pericles snapped off a salute.
"Assistant Researcher: Polendina, Navy Lieutenant: Thatch." She gave a salute back as she walked over to them.
When she stood before them, Pericles wagered that she was less than half his height, and only a third of Tortuga's.
"I had been aware of your transfer Lieutenant, for over a month now. After all, I had been the one to request a transfer for someone to whip the soldiers here back into shape." Cordovin began, walking in a circle around them, like a shark stalking its prey.
Eventually she stood back in front of them and turned her gaze to Pericles. "You on the other hand, Assistant Researcher, I was not informed of. For I had never requested one to be transferred in the first place."
Pericles went to speak, but an elbow to the side from Tortuga halted that.
"Tell me Polendina, do you have any idea what it's like to be a real member of the Atlesian Military?" She asked dubiously.
Getting the nod of 'okay' from Tortuga, Pericles began, "Only from the outside looki-
"No!" She interrupted. "The correct answer, and only answer you will give is no. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Sir." Pericles answered, trying not to let his annoyance show.
"What was that?" She asked, marching closer to him, "I didn't hear you, care to say it again?"
"Yes, Sir!" He shouted.
"Louder!" She ordered.
"Yes, Sir!" He yelled out, people in Argus proper, could probably hear him now.
She glared at him for a moment before stepping back. "At ease."
Tortuga and Pericles both quickly but properly folded their arms behind themselves and widened their stance.
She stood there, looking them over, before calling out, "Sergeant Nikos!"
Pericles brain short circuited, 'Nikos?!'
A man with vibrant red hair and brown eyes jogged over. "General, Sir." He quickly went into a salute upon reaching them.
"Sergeant." She saluted back to him, before returning her gaze to Tortuga and Pericles.
"Air-force Master Sergeant: Leonidas Nikos, will lead you to your barracks. Dismissed." With her piece said, she turned on her heel and left.
Pericles went to greet Leonidas, but the man had already started walking away.
Rushing to keep up with him, Pericles tried to figure out the situation.
'Okay, so there's like a ninety percent chance that this guy is Pyrrha's father. Either that, or he is some sort of brother or uncle.' He thought out.
They were led inside of the compound, as Pericles tried to steady his breathing. He didn't know what crawled up Cordovin's ass and died, but he wasn't too keen to find out.
They eventually entered a hall off to the side. "The officer's dorms." The Sergeant informed, "Yours is three down on the left, a copy of your orders are within them."
Tortuga nodded, and after saluting both of them, left for her room.
Nikos began moving again without a word added.
A few twists and turns later, and they entered another long hall. A young woman was leaning against the wall outside of one of the doors.
The woman, upon seeing Leonidas, quickly stood up straight and saluted him, all the while not so subtlety sending a kick at the door.
"Master Sergeant, Sir." She called out.
"Senior Airman: Diaz, care to explain why you just signaled your compatriots inside?" Leonidas asked, not beating around the bush at all.
"I-uh, no si-I'm mean, yes sir." The woman fumbled to respond.
Leonidas marched ahead and swiftly opened the door, allowing Pericles to see inside it.
The room was about a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide, with thirty-four bunks lining the walls, seventeen to each side. Men and women could be seen quickly scrambling to put away various food, drink, and other items.
The moment the occupants saw the Sergeant, they immediately lined up before their bunks.
"Master Sergeant, Sir." They all saluted together.
The man stalked forward, his head slowly swiveling back in forth between the lines of both sides of the room.
Pericles, not knowing what to do, just stood in the doorway watching.
"Drop! All of you, now!" The man ordered, and immediately all of them knelt down and began doing push-ups.
The Sergeant wheeled around and faced Pericles who was still at the door. A heated expression came on his face as he began to march toward the young-man while speaking. "Listen, and listen well Polendina, because I'm not going to repeat myself. I don't care how things are for researchers back in Atlas. I don't care how young you are. For as long as you are here, you will be a soldier like everyone else! You will sleep in the barracks! You will clean your mess kit and so help me Darkness, if there is a single thing out of place, I will have you swimming a hundred laps between the base and Argus."
Leonidas raised his hand and began to punctuate each sentence by poking Pericles in the chest. "You will eat with the soldiers, you will wake with the soldiers, and you will never let one extra thread lay on your uniform! Do you understand!"
"Sir, Yes, Sir!" Pericles answered, thoroughly terrified.
Pyrrha's father held his hand there for a moment, eyes of fire piercing into Pericles' own.
Pericles was so petrified that it took him a few seconds to realize that someone was snickering.
Looking over, he realized that all of the airmen had stopped doing push-ups and were looking over with grins. One of them, Diaz, he recognized, was laughing.
Turning back to Leonidas, he realized that there was an amused gleam in his eye.
"I-I am so lost right now." Pericles said honestly.
That garnered him a round of chuckles from the room's occupants. "Sorry kid, but we had to." Leonidas apologized with a grin.
"Had to-what exactly?" The researcher asked honestly.
"Give you a scare." Diaz explained as she walked over. Clapping a hand on Pericles' shoulder she explained. "You see, when Cordovin heard about you coming, she blew a fuse, and has been even more of a hard-ass than usual. So we scared you a bit to get even, plus it's a fun way to welcome you to Fort Iotak."
Pericles breathed deeply to try settle his still racing heart. Meanwhile, the other men and women began taking their stuff back out, eating, drinking, and playing cards.
Diaz commented on it, "You're not about to have a heart-attack, are you? I didn't think we scared you that much."
"No," Pericles answered, "I'm far too young to have one."
"Yeah, how old are you anyway?" One of the other airmen asked from where he was seated on his bunk.
"Thirteen." The inventor's son informed.
A small hush fell on the room.
"Thirteen!" Another one of them spoke up, "Ah shit! I thought we were just scaring a nerd from Atlas, not a kid."
Quite a few looked a bit ashamed about it. None more so than Leonidas, "I noticed that you looked young, but I thought that was just your appearance. I am deeply sorry about this."
Pericles felt he was going to get whiplash from the change in atmosphere, "Um, it's fine, really. I can see how people mistake my age, it always happens."
An awkward air permeated the barracks.
One of the enlisted broke it, "So what exactly did you do, to piss off Cordovin so much?"
Everyone seemed interested as many leaned forward from where they were sitting or looked up from whatever game they were playing.
"Well, to be honest, I haven't done anything to her. If I had to guess, she probably found out who my mother is." Pericles explained.
"Your mother?" Diaz raised an eyebrow as she sat on the bunk near the barrack's door.
"Yeah, she and Cordovin despise each other. Apparently, my mom brought some cashews on one of the Bullheads once, and it escalated from there." The silence that greeted him after he finished speaking, scared him a little.
"By The Fuckin' Brothers!" Diaz swore, "Your mom is The Cashew Demon!"
Pericles felt his jaw drop at the sheer reverence put into such an inane name, "The Cashew Demon, really?"
"Cordovin talks about her all the time, and every year around the same time she has us on high patrol looking for them. When we don't see her as usual, she has a whole celebration for another year that the demon hasn't come." One man explained as he walked over. He held out his hand, "Senior Airman, Devin Nickelson."
Pericles grabbed it and shook it, "Dr. Pericles Polendina." He responded.
He saw the man's eyes widen in recognition. "I thought I recognized you! You're Pietro Polendina's kid, the child prodigy from Atlas that got a doctorate at like ten, or something."
"Uh yeah, am I really that well known?" Pericles asked.
"Well known? kid, you've been a celebrity for the past year. Almost everyone in any academic field knows about you. Youngest person to get their GED, college diploma, and doctorate. How did you do it?" Nickelson explained.
"Honestly, I don't really know what to tell you. Children learn far faster than most due to the constant creation of neural connections in their prefrontal cortex. I just figured stuff out quickly and then kept on going." Pericles lied. "Why do you ask, going for a doctorate as well?"
"Yeah, I'm going to try to get a PHD in Political Sciences, become a diplomat for Atlas someday." The Senior Airman explained.
"Alright, alright. Gather round everyone." Leonidas grabbed everyone's attention, resulting in them quickly crowding around and sitting on the floor where he was standing.
Leonidas brought Pericles to the front of the group, "So, this is Assistant Researcher: Dr. Pericles Polendina, and for the next 12 months, he is our responsibility, and we're going to need to help him out."
"Help me out?" Pericles asked, perplexed.
"That's the thing. All those rules I listed off for you when we were messing with you earlier-sorry about that-are actual things that the Brigadier General is expecting of you. She gave me a docket on the standards to hold you to, and to be honest, most trained soldiers would struggle to do them. Let alone a kid whose never been in the combat side of the military." Leonidas explained.
"Oh Fuck." Pericles swore, which drew a round of chuckles from the audience.
"Yeah, she wants you to be doing ruck marches with us, spotless mess-gear, the works." The man continued.
"I have Aura, but something tells me that won't be enough on its own." The doctor offered.
"No, but it will certainly help. Speaking of helping, that's where you lousy lot come in." The commander spoke to his followers. "There is no way in The Brothers Blasted Remnant, that Cordovin can expect our newest member to do half of what she asked of him. So, we're going to have to go for the tried and true, method of old."
Diaz asked the question on everyone's minds, "And what method would that be?"
Leonidas gave a predatory grin, "Fake it, till we make it."
~73 A.W. (Present Day), 15 years-old, and 9 years before the Red Trailer~
Pericles and Tortuga ended up heading to a bar anyways, a small hole-in-the-wall place called "The Grimm's Jaw".
They sat in a booth as Tortuga drank an Old Fashioned and Pericles sipped some water, while they both ate wings.
They were shooting the shit when Tortuga decided to address the elephant in the room. "So, what were you two fighting about?"
Pericles didn't respond for a moment, fumbling with his hands as he tried to compose his thoughts. Eventually he gave the short sentence that said it all, "Watts got me promoted."
"And your dad didn't like that." Tortuga concluded.
"Yep, he thinks I'm not ready for that level of responsibility." Pericles confirmed.
"Screw that, you're more than ready. Congrats man!" Tortuga praised as she offered her glass forward.
Pericles smiled and brought his own up to meet hers. *Clink*
"Thanks, it means a lot." He replied sincerely.
They went back to eating and drinking before Pericles brought up something that had been on his mind, "Hey, have you talked with Pyrrha recently?"
"Yeah," Tortuga answered, "she's been doing great. Chloe says that she's started to train to get admitted to the Sanctum Preliminary Huntsman Academy."
~71 A.W. (Past), 13 years-old, and 11 years before the Red Trailer~
"Again."
Pericles threw a punch, his fist striking the mitts held up by Diaz.
"New combo." Leonidas informed, "Left, right, right, left, right. Go!"
The researcher swung, his left fist crashed into the mitt as hard as his body-weight would allow. Then his right hand came flying forward and struck twice in succession, all the while his left one wound up to careen forward once more. Finally, the right one came in once more and a meaty smack emanated across the training room.
Pericles saw Leonidas flinch at the noise, and he found himself once more wondering what conflict the man had been in. Over the past three months that he had stayed at the base, Pericles had noticed on several occasions the way that Leonidas might react to loud noises. He hoped that he was getting help for it.
"Alright, that's enough for today." Nikos informed as Pericles took a drag from his canteen.
"Thank fuck, everything hurts. How do you guys do this without Aura?" Pericles, grateful for the reprieve, sat down on one of the benches.
"Lots and lots of practice. You got to build up stamina for fighting, and for other things." Diaz joked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Leonidas rolled his eyes, "I'm not staying for this. I got paperwork to do." The man waltzed off and Pericles gave him a lazy salute from where he was seated.
An airman in the sparring rink over, who Pericles knew was Amanda Bark, began to over exaggeratedly gag as she held up a hand to her mouth, "Please spare us the thought of you ever doing it Diaz."
That was at least until Devin sent a light jab into her stomach, "You're opponent is still here, soldier." The man gently teased.
Soon the two were back to fighting and sending easy barbs of insults back and forth between each other.
Pericles leaned over to Diaz, who was now sitting beside him on the bench, "How long before they start doing it on the arena floor, do you think?"
Diaz laughed, "They already have. I caught them making out in here two hours ago. Apparently, they like to do it, fight, and then they'll probably do it again."
The young man laughed beside her before slowly standing up, "Welp, I gotta go help Tortuga with her Aura training, see you at the mess hall later."
"See ya, kid." Diaz responded as she leaned back on the bench and watched the various sparring matches unfold.
...
The past few months had gone a lot better than Pericles had anticipated. The Flight (A group of 35-60 airmen) he had joined, was Manta Fighter Flight C-06, or as they referred to themselves as, "Cog". Nickelson had explained why, by doing a heavily dramatized stoner voice and saying that "Cause we're all cogs in the machine of Atlas, man." The Flight itself was in charge of providing aerial support to the Naval units that were dispatched to deal with deep-sea Grimm that attacked Argus.
True to his word, Leonidas and his Flight provided the best help they could in teaching Pericles how to be a soldier and getting him in shape to be one as well.
While Pericles had already started to learn melee weapon combat from his mother, the Cogs had taught him how to use firearms. It wasn't long before Pericles had taken a liking to semi-automatic rifles like the M1-Garand, which led him to his current M110-A1, but they made sure he knew how to use other guns alongside it.
They also had him start learning hand-to-hand combat in case he ever lost his weapon in a fight. While he was getting better, compared to the others he was still a novice at it. So, whenever Cordovin came by trying to catch Pericles failing at some standard she assigned, his opponent would go easy on him and try and make it seem like an even match.
Over this time, Pericles had learned a couple things about his comrades.
Ayden Diaz was the resident jokester and pervert of the group. It would have been an odd day if she hadn't made some lewd remark.
Devin Nickelson was planning on getting his PHD in political sciences and becoming a diplomat for Atlas, but also writing a novel on the side.
Amanda Bark had a thing for Devin and had only just told him about it. Leading to their recent spree of having sex in any part of the base that they could. According to Diaz, the couple's end goal, was to do it on Cordovin's desk.
Finally, Leonidas was like his daughter, and would constantly apologize for things that weren't his fault. Pericles guessed that Pyrrha had inherited the behavior from him.
Speaking of Pyrrha, as Pericles walked through the base, he passed by the front gates where a mop of frizzy red hair could be seen. It turns out her hair was naturally curly, and Pericles guessed that she must have started straightening it when she got older.
Pericles happily walked over to greet her, "Hey Pyrrha, you here to see your dad?"
Pyrrha was a near constant sight by the gates of the base. Seemingly doing her best to visit her dad whenever possible.
Upon closer inspection though, Pericles realized she was crying. Quickly opening the gates he rushed over and knelt down beside the six-year-old. "Hey now, what's wrong?" He asked tenderly.
Pyrrha let out a few sniffles and hiccups as she began to speak, "I-*hic*, got a booboo, and I want daddy to take care of it. I'm sorry for bothering *sniff* you."
Looking her over once more, Pericles realized that the girl had a rapidly darkening patch around her right eye that she was covering with her hand. He knew that Pyrrha technically wasn't allowed on base and Leonidas would usually meet her by the gates when she came, but it wasn't like he could just send her away or leave her like this.
"Aw, how'd that happen?" The researcher inquired as he hugged the girl.
Something flashed in Pyrrha's vision, "I... Fell, uh down the stairs."
Something was prickling at the back of his mind, but Pericles ignored it for now, his priority was taking care of Pyrrha.
Grabbing his Scroll out of his pocket, Pericles sent a quick text to Tortuga that he was going to be late for their training session. Pericles knew that Leonidas would probably be in his office right about now, which was only a hall away from Iotak's infirmary if needed.
"Alright, you wanna see your dad?" Pericles offered gently.
Pyrrha nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes widened rapidly as she felt herself lift off the ground. Looking down, she realized that Pericles had picked her up, and soon she was sat on his shoulders.
"Alright, now you have to keep it down. We can't be letting the nasty General know that you're here, can we?" Pericles joked.
None the less, as Pericles snuck around the base toward Leonidas office, he was able to hear Pyrrha let out a few squeals and giggles of laughter as she sat atop his shoulders.
By the time they reached the door, Pyrrha was all smiles and laughs.
Pericles brought up his hand. *Knock* *Knock*
"Come in." A voice reverberated through the door.
Pericles opened the handle as Pyrrha rested her head on his wavy black hair, her hands making patterns in it as she swirled them through it.
Leonidas looked up from his work at the sound of the door opening. His eyes dilated upon seeing Pyrrha and her injury. "ψυχούλα μου!" He exclaimed as he rushed over.
Pericles knew from his studies that Leonidas had spoken Argus' regional dialect of Mistralian, the phrase meant: My Soul. A term of endearment used by the closest of individuals, in reference that they were very near and dear to them. It was especially meaningful since a Soul was a proven fact in Remnant.
The researcher gently lifted Pyrrha off his shoulder and handed her to Leonidas, who began to heavily fret over her. A dangerous gleam could be seen in his eyes as he turned to Pericles, "What happened?" His voice was stone.
"I found her by the gates, apparently she fell down the stairs and wanted to see you to make it all better." Pericles wasn't offended by the harsh tone that Leonidas spoke with. The man truly would give his very Soul, if it meant the safety of Pyrrha.
Leonidas clutched his daughter close to his chest. "It's alright, I've got you." The man turned to Pericles, "I would rather Cordovin not know about Pyrrha being on base, but I don't know if the people in sick bay will keep quiet..."
"Say no more." Pericles nodded to the man, "I'll be back in a minute."
Leonidas gave a smile of thanks as Pericles turned and left the room.
A short jaunt and Pericles was in the infirmary. Grabbing an ice-pack and a few other supplies he then made his way back to Leonidas' room.
Quickly opening and shutting the door behind himself, Pericles got to work. He wasn't a doctor in that he went to medical school, but he knew a damn good amount with what he had learned from being a Biomedical Engineer. 'Maybe I should go to medical school?' Pericles considered, 'Hold off, focus on Pyrrha right now.' He mentally chided himself.
Pyrrha for her part was doing a great deal better than she had been earlier and was calmly sat in her father's lap.
"Alright Pyrrha, I'm going to need you to hold still for me. This might hurt a bit, but I need to feel the area around your eye to make sure the orbital fissure is not fractured." Pericles explained.
Pyrrha just looked confused.
Pericles reminded himself he was speaking to a six-year-old and tried again, "I need to make sure your eye bone isn't broken."
Recognition lighted Pyrrha's eyes and she brought her hand away from where it covered her injury.
A few gentle prods brought hisses of pain from Pyrrha, but Pericles was satisfied, "Alright, looks like it's just some bruising, no overt damage to the bone, but you should probably still get her to a doctor for a proper X-ray if the swelling doesn't go down in a few days." He instructed Leonidas.
Pericles then grabbed out an otoscope (That thing they use to look in your ears and eyes) and did a few quick tests with Pyrrha's vision and reaction to light. Once he was finished, he turned back to Leonidas, "Nor does it look like she has any form of concussion. All she'll need is an ice-pack and a few days of rest."
The man visibly slouched, sighing in relief. Even if there was a minor fracture, there never was too much chance of danger, but Pericles knew that parents would be parents.
"Thank you, Pericles." Leonidas spoke sincerely.
"It's no problem, Sergeant." Pericles dissuaded, "Besides, it's always nice to spend time with Pyrrha." He said tickling Pyrrha's belly causing her to giggle in her father's lap.
"Alright Pyrrha, you've been been such a good patient and a big girl about this, so just two more things, okay?" Pericles asked.
Pyrrha smiled at the praise and nodded happily.
"First, I need you to make sure that you keep this on your eye for a bit. A few minutes on, and then a few minutes off, back and forth." He handed her the ice-pack and gently placed it against the swelling.
Pyrrha made a small noise of discomfort but held the ice-pack there.
"Lastly, I need you to take this." Pericles reached into his pocket and brought out a small packet of sour gummies. He could have sworn he saw stars in her eyes as she happily grabbed them from his hands.
Leonidas raised an eyebrow.
Pericles answered the unasked question, "I won them off of Diaz in Black-Jack, but I'm don't really like them that much."
Leonidas leaned down and whispered into Pyrrha's ear. Pyrrha nodded and turned to Pericles, "Thank you, Dr. Pericles."
"By the Light, she is so adorable." Pericles said candidly.
Leonidas laughed and hugged his daughter to his chest. "Yes, she is." The father agreed wholeheartedly.
Pyrrha blushed from the praise and embarrassedly turned her head towards her lap.
This moment would haunt Pericles' nightmares for years to come.
~73 A.W. (Present Day), 15 years-old, and 9 years before the Red Trailer~
"We should go visit Pyrrha some time." Pericles suggested.
"Sure," The Captain readily agreed as she took a sip of her drink, "I've built up quite a bit of vacation time."
"Same." Pericles copied.
That got a bark of laughter out of Tortuga, "Ha! Of course you've built up vacation time. You've never spent any of it."
Pericles laughed in response, "Not exactly my fault that the previous Chiefs of the Research Department didn't remember to put a cap on accumulated vacation hours."
"What about the fact that you haven't told the current Chief about it?" She asked dubiously.
"Eh, I'll do it someday." Pericles dismissed.
"How much are you up to now anyways?" The Faunus asked.
"Including all forms of paid time off... About 120 days." He informed after doing the mental calculations.
"Fuck!" Tortuga swore in astonishment, "What even is your goal with saving it all up?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. I just enjoy working in the lab so much that I don't really ever feel the desire to take time off. On the rare chance that I get sick enough that I have to, I usually just feel antsy and end up working in the shop at the house." He confessed as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
"Have you still not gotten yourself any hobbies?" Tortuga asked, exasperated.
"Engineering is my hobby." Pericles protested.
"Okay, but other than engineering, what do you spend your free time doing?" She pressed.
"Well I train." He offered.
"Other than that as well." Tortuga clarified.
Pericles had to think for a moment, "I ski."
"And what do you do when you go skiing?" His friend interrogated.
"...I practice shooting while skiing." He answered sheepishly.
Tortuga sighed as she put her head in her hands, "Pericles... Look, I know that you're worried about the future, and that you're trying to do your best now to prepare for it. Believe me, I listened to all of your... Well, I'm sorry to put it this way, but rants on the topic. I know how bad it gets, I understand why you want to prepare, but do you not have any hobby that isn't simultaneously prepping for the apocalypse?"
Pericles went to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. The simple truth was that he didn't. He engineered to make sure that the world had the best tech possible for the ensuing conflict. He researched the cast to try and subtly push for a more opportune position in the future. He trained as often as he could with his mother in order to be the best fighter possible for what was to come.
Hell, he even tried seeing if he was far back enough to rescue Cinder from the hotel she was trapped in, but reports of Rhodes' death a year before he was born dissuaded that.
"I play video games sometimes." He attempted weakly.
"That's a start." Tortuga nodded encouragingly. "What else?"
Pericles' silence was telling.
Tortuga tried another angle, "What about back on Earth, in your last life. What did you do for fun then?"
It came to him instantly, "I played piano."
Tortuga's shock was obvious as both her eyebrows rose into her hairline, "Really? I wasn't expecting that, seems too relaxing for someone as uptight as you."
"Hey!" Pericles cried in protest.
"You know I'm right." Tortuga gave a smug grin. "What, are you about to tell me you were a jazz pianist as well?" She asked, her tone indicating she expected a no for an answer.
"Actually, yes." claimed Pericles.
*Pfft* Tortuga spat out part of her drink, "Bullshit!" She claimed.
"You don't have the believe it, doesn't mean it ain't the truth." He argued as he leaned back with a Cheshire grin.
Tortuga looked him up in down, seemingly looking for some indication of deceit. However her efforts were inevitably in vain as something else caught her eye.
She gave a dangerous smile.
"Alright then, prove it." She challenged while pointing over his shoulder.
Turning in his booth, Pericles felt his shoulders slump as he saw an unattended piano in the corner of the bar. Most likely there for when the owner was able to bring in performers.
"Tortuga, I haven't played in fifteen years, you can't expect me to just start playing out of nowhere." He protested.
"Look around, there's barely anyone here." She waved her hand in the direction of the many empty booths, "Besides, I'm friends with the owner she'll be fine with it."
"I don't know..." Pericles whispered nervously.
"What, afraid to admit that you're full of it." Tortuga challenged, goading him on.
Indecision played across Pericles' face as he sat there nervously. Eventually he made up his mind.
Pericles quickly reached over, grabbed Tortuga's glass of whiskey, and downed the rest of it in one sip. Then, quickly standing up, he made his way over to the piano.
Bringing the seat away from instrument and sitting down in it, Pericles began to crack all the knuckles in his hands. *Pop* *Pop* *Pop*
Cautiously letting his hands drift across the keys, he took a few calming breaths.
Gently completing a few arpeggios up and down the keyboard, he finally ended on base G.
He brought his left hand pinky back down upon the G alongside his thumb on the D above it. Meanwhile, his right hand thumb played the D above middle C.
Slowly, he began to play, and sing softly alongside it.
§We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when~§
His timing was a little off as he searched for notes, but it was overall recognizable.
§but I know we'll meet again, some sunny day~§
He unconsciously began to smile as he let the speed pick up.
§Keep smiling through, just like you, always do~§
Footsteps to his right alerted him to Tortuga's presence.
§'Til the blue skies chase those dark clouds, far~ away§
Pericles was about to continue singing when he was interrupted by Tortuga doing so herself.
§So will you please say hell-o~ to the folks that I know, tell them I won't' be long§
Her singing voice was a good deal better and louder than Pericles'.
§They'll be happy to know~ that as you saw me go, I was sing-ing this song§
Getting back into it, Pericles joined her.
§§We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when~§§
They both sang together on the final verse.
§§but I know we'll meet again, some sunny day~§§
Pericles once more arpeggioed up the instrument, ending the song on the highest G.
"I should have bet money on proving you wrong." Pericles joked
"I wouldn't have taken a bet I knew I'd lose." Tortuga informed.
"Knew you'd lose?" The pianist asked as he turned to his friend standing behind him, "You seemed awfully certain earlier that I didn't play."
"Yeah, I lied." She explained with a teasing smile, "I knew you played."
"How?" Pericles couldn't help but wonder.
"You hum and sing piano songs and your hands move like they're on a keyboard when you sleep. It wasn't too hard to put together." Tortuga explained.
"Should I be worried that you've been watching me while I sleep?" Pericles asked rhetorically.
Tortuga laughed, "It's not exactly my fault if you fall asleep every time after teaching me Aura techniques."
~71 A.W. (Past), 13 years-old, and 11 years before the Red Trailer~
It had been six months since they had arrived in Argus, and Tortuga still wasn't having much progress with the Aura technique.
"Alright, once more. Bring the Aura out of your Soul, stabilize it, and then gently infuse it into the bone of your finger." Pericles instructed Tortuga.
He had explained to Tortuga when they first started months ago, that it would be far easier to do a small area, and then build up to her whole arm and shoulder over time.
Teacher and pupil watched as a deep green mesh of light emerged over Tortuga's hand. Then, slowly, it resubmerged itself back down, entering the skeletal structure before-"Fuck!" Tortuga cursed as she lost hold on the technique.
She kept swearing as she huffed and marched in a circle around the training room, "Dammit! Dammit! We've been at this for months, why isn't it working? Am I really so dumb that I can't get it to work at all!?"
"Tortuga, don't feel bad. This is a difficult skill to learn; most Huntsmen don't know how to do this. You're only sixteen and your already a Lieutenant in the Navy, you'll get it eventually." Pericles did his best to console her.
"And you're thirteen, and yet you have three PHDs and have been doing this with your Aura for years!" Tortuga countered.
"Look, maybe we just need to face the facts as I said months ago. I am not trained as a teacher, I am not teaching you well enough." The Auralogist reiterated.
"No. I've heard what all the others say about you." She denied, "You're the top of the field, a genius, and yet even with you teaching me. I still can't Fucking Do It!"
Pericles sighed as he sat down thinking about the issue. They had been stuck on this portion of the technique for months, and Tortuga was beginning to snap-*Crash*
Pericles looked over to where his friend had kicked the backrest of one of the metal benches and sent it flying into the ocean.
Correction: She has snapped.
'Agh!' Pericles mentally groaned, 'What are we doing wrong? Why can't I explain it to her? If I could just get her to do it once, she would be able to feel the correct form and could repeat it from there...'
Pericles' mind was drawn back to a fairy tale his mother had told him. Well, calling it a fairy-tale was a stretch, it was more of a small piece of folklore from Western Vacuo.
It was the idea that the closest of allies could guide each other's Aura to heal wounds if they were too weak to do so themselves. Pericles at the time had chalked it up to being just a Semblance that was similar to Jaune's, but something niggling at the back of his mind told him to try it.
"Tortuga, come here for a second." Pericles instructed.
The Faunus walked over and stood in front of her teacher.
"Pass me your hand." He requested.
Confused, but too tired to care, Tortuga offered her hand.
Pericles grabbed onto it and began flaring his Aura. His skin began to shine Periclesian blue all across his hand. Then slowly, with extreme care, he began to push it against Tortuga's skin.
He watched as Tortuga's Aura began to flare in response, "Tortuga, I want you to close your eyes. Imagine the bones in your hand. Imagine them being wrapped in a blanket of light, imagine that light slowly sinking into them, but never leaving."
As she did so, Pericles gently grabbed hold of Tortuga's Aura with his own and held onto it, even as his protégé pushed her Aura below her skin. A few times Pericles felt her Aura begin to slip away, and he used his own to grab hold of it once more, it continued for a few minutes, but felt like hours to him.
He didn't realize when he had closed his eyes as well, but when he reopened them, he gave a sigh of relief, "Tortuga open your eyes."
She did so, and looking down, she saw that not just the tip of her pinky finger, but her entire hand was glowing. Just below her skin, the outline of her skeletal fist was illuminated like someone had dipped her bones in glow-stick fluid.
Tortuga was excited about her progress with learning the technique. "It worked! Pericles it worked!" Tortuga shouted with glee as she hugged him, letting go of her Aura and allowing it to return to her Soul.
Meanwhile, Pericles was terrified of the implications of such an ability. He wondered, if he practiced enough, could he bypass a person's Aura entirely, by just pushing it to the side? Dread filled his mind at the thought.
Eventually Tortuga set him down and he spoke, "That's great Tortuga, because I used so much Aura and am so tired after doing that, and it would have sucked if it didn't work."
His Aura shattered quickly after and Tortuga noticed it, "Pericles, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I just need to-" Pericles slumped over and Tortuga quickly caught him, checking him over, she realized that he was out cold.
The first time she had been terrified, but after the assurance from the doctor on base that it was just Aura exhaustion, she settled down. From then on, they practiced in Tortuga's office since she could look after Pericles while he rested unconscious on the couch in her room.
~73 A.W. (Present Day), 15 years-old, and 9 years before the Red Trailer~
Pericles and Tortuga returned to their booth and to talking.
"So, you got any other hidden talents you care to share?" Tortuga asked lazily.
"I can cook pretty damn well." Pericles revealed.
"Wow, you are going to be some girl's perfect house-husband someday." Tortuga teased.
"Sure," Pericles jokingly agreed, "and what is your plan exactly. Marry some rich girl from Atlas to pay for your extravagant eating habits?"
"Or boy." Tortuga readily agreed.
They both devolved into laughter as they continued talking.
Pericles massaged his head as slight headache developed from laughing so much. In doing so, he rubbed his hand across the upper left temple of his head and felt the piece of metal below his skin.
Tortuga noticed and adopted a guilty look, "Pericles, I'm so sorry-
Pericles cut her off, "Tortuga, we've been over this. It wasn't your fault, its entirely the opposite. I made a stupid decision, if you weren't there then, I wouldn't be here today."
~71 A.W. (Past), 13 years-old, and 11 years before the Red Trailer~
Pericles had been in Argus for nine months now, and he was currently spending his Saturday by taking a walk through Argus.
There were plenty of shops, but as usual none of them caught his eye. As he began to make his way back to the base, he ran across Tortuga, who was out in the town as well.
"Hey Tortuga, doing some shopping?" Pericles asked amicably as he walked over.
"Yeah, I'm trying to find a restaurant serving Vacuoan Gooseneck barnacles." She explained.
"Tortuga... aren't those like a hundred Lien per pound?" he asked, concerned.
Tortuga bashfully scratched the back of her neck and looked away from him. "Maybe..." She mumbled.
"Tortuga-" Pericles began to admonish.
"Tortuga, Pericles, just the two I was looking for." A voice called out from behind them.
Turning, they saw Leonidas happily walking up the street, his hand holding onto Pyrrha's as she took two steps for every one step her father took.
"What can we do for you Leonidas?" Pericles asked.
"Not for me." Leonidas answered as he turned to his daughter.
Pyrrha smiled and walked over to the two of them. Once standing in front of them, she began to nervously shift her feet, "Well, I was wondering if you would be able to come to my birthday tomorrow?"
Tortuga answered for the both of them, "Absolutely, we'd be delighted to Pyrrha, when and where is it?"
Pyrrha smiled at her response and Leonidas answered, "It's at our home, I'll text you the location. As for when, it'll only be a brief thing, an hour at most, 1800-1900."
"We'll be there." Pericles agreed.
Soon the two pairs parted ways and Pericles and Tortuga were walking again, though he did keep snickering.
"What?" Tortuga asked, confused as to why Pericles looked like the cat who caught the canary.
"Absolutely? delighted? Who are you and what have you done with Tortuga? I didn't think you knew words over seven letters." Pericles teased as he began laughing once more.
"Oh shove off!" Tortuga complained, but she laughed as well.
...
After Pericles and Tortuga had done a brief bit of shopping to find gifts for Pyrrha, the pair returned back to the base and went to sleep.
The next day though, while he and Tortuga were chilling on Argus' pier, the researcher received an email from Cordovin informing him that he was ordered to report to the courtyard immediately.
Tortuga was curious so she tagged along beside him. Reaching the main grounds of the base, they were shocked to find a large crowd awaiting them.
Cordovin was there and the pair saluted her.
"Polendina, you have stayed on this base for nine months now. As such, I expect that you will have reached a sufficient level of capability, even if its barely sufficient." She insulted, "So, today you will prove so, or I will have you cleaning the base's latrines for the next three months before having you discernibly discharged, do you understand?" Cordovin threatened, even though he technically wasn't an actual soldier.
"Sir, yes, Sir." Pericles answered, gritting his teeth.
"Good, at least you can answer an order properly. Either way, you will be fighting Master Sergeant Nikos in a hand-to-hand combat, and I will decide when the fight ends." Cordovin said vindictively.
As if on cue, the crowd parted and a large ring was formed, Leonidas stood on the other side of it.
"Of course, this should be a fair bout and we'll need to knock out your Aura before we begin." The Brigadier General explained as she held up a mace with sadistic glee.
'This Fucking Psychopath!' Pericles screamed internally as he handed off his weapons to .
"No need, though I would recommend for everyone to close their eyes." Pericles dissuaded her.
Most did, but Cordovin refused to follow the order of someone below her.
Pericles raised his right fist into the air, and flared his Aura as brightly as possible, burning through it rapidly.
A beacon of bright blue light illuminated the area, and Cordovin hissed in pain as the light temporarily blinded her.
About fifteen seconds afterwards, Pericles' Aura broke, and he visibly sagged as a result. While most Huntsman struggled to stay awake after their Aura broke, Pericles had spent the last three months training to do so with Tortuga.
"Alright let's get this over with Leonidas." Pericles said and the man nodded in response.
Cordovin, who had finally recovered, cut in "And don't think I won't know if you go easy on him Nikos!"
The two combatants ignored her and began circling each other.
Leonidas began to close in, and once he was only a few feet off, he sent a punch towards Pericles' chest.
The young man adeptly stepped back with his right leg, turning his upper body to allow it to harmlessly pass by. However, Leonidas had already sent another punch with his other hand after it, and Pericles was forced to block it with his left forearm.
Knowing that he couldn't be put on the defensive if he wanted to win, Pericles sent a low kick to Leonidas' right leg, causing the man to jump back and widen the distance between the two.
Pushing his advantage, Pericles ran forward after him and sent a punch towards Leonidas gut. However the man knocked the arm to the side and sent his own back at Pericles.
Deciding to let it hit, Pericles spun his body around and swung his left leg in a circle through the air.
Leonidas' punch landed on Pericles' shoulder blade and the young man winced at the pain. Meanwhile, Pericles leg completed its spin and slammed into Leonidas' shoulder, eliciting a grunt from the older man.
The fight dragged on and the blows between the two continued. At one point, Leonidas sent a heavy punch to the front of Pericles' left shoulder and the boy felt something shift beneath his skin.
Looking down at it, he realized that it was dislocated, but thankfully not broken. The distraction though cost him a hit to the face and while a not broken, a still very bloody nose.
Down his dominant arm, and only able to breathe through his mouth, Pericles was not at all hopeful to make it much farther. He had scored a few hits on Leonidas, and one big one to his right knee, resulting in the man favoring his other leg, but they were nowhere near enough for him to come out on top. Despite the injuries, Cordovin made no attempts to end the fight, and simply smiled as it went on.
It all came to a head when Pericles sent an upper-cut to Leonidas' jaw, making his teeth snap together with an audible, *Clack!*.
Leonidas' response was a hard kick right to Pericles chest and the young man felt himself lift off of the ground as every bit of air left his lungs. The vacuum was only increased when he hit the pavement and more pressure was put on his chest.
Pericles made a horrifying impression of a fish as he tried to gasp for air but found his lungs not opening. *Hc* *Hc* *Hc*
Leonidas panicked and ran over to Pericles and held him up. Gently massaging the boy's back, the man was eventually able to coax a breath out of him.
*Gasp!* *Cough* *Cough* Pericles hacked as his breath returned and his heartbeat slowly steadied.
"Pericles, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Leonidas asked frantically.
"Sergeant, I did not end the bout-
Cordovin's ravings were interrupted by Tortuga yelling, "That's It! Fights over!"
Cordovin turned to her, enraged, "How dare you!? I am a Brigadier Gener- *Smack!* She slapped her right across the face.
"No, You Fucking Sadist! I don't give two shits what your rank is! I am tired of dealing with your bitchiness. They fought, and it's over." Tortuga screamed at her. The severe height difference added to the intimidating effect.
"Do you have any idea what the General will say when he hears this?" Caroline Cordovin threatened.
"When he hears what?" Tortuga challenged, "That you ordered a man thrice Pericles' age to beat him up?! That even after they were both covered in blood and bruises that you told them to keep going?"
"And you think the General will believe you? *Ha* There's not a chance." Cordovin countered with bravado.
"Maybe not," Tortuga admitted, "but he will believe the person he considers his nephew and is the son of Atlas' top scientist: Dr. Pietro Polendina." She gestured over to Pericles who was slowly stabilizing his breathing.
Cordovin's eyes widened in fear as she realized how far she had overextended. So Tortuga continued "And I'm certain that plenty of people here will attest to other abuses of authority that you've committed over the years. How does that sound, Caroline?"
A few hesitant nods could be seen among members of the crowd, showcasing that Pericles wasn't the first person Cordovin had decided to punish.
The two glared at each other for a moment that stretched out into eternity.
"All of you are dismissed!" Caroline Cordovin shouted before stalking off.
Tortuga quickly sprinted over and stooped down to Pericles, "Darkness! Pericles, are you alright?"
"It's still a little hard to breath." He answered, his voice nasally from his bloody nose.
"Let's get him to the med-bay." Tortuga instructed and gently picked up the injured combatant by his upper body, making sure to support his injured arm, while Leonidas lifted his legs.
...
Once they had him in a bed and stuffed his mouth with some pain-killers, the difficult part came.
"Pericles, I need you to straighten out your left arm and make a fist with your hand." Tortuga instructed.
Pericles did so and went to look at his arm, but Tortuga's hand quickly guided his head back to looking at her. "Don't," She advised, "it's best not to look."
All of a sudden, he felt someone grab his arm and push.
Pain!
It racked his whole body, and he felt his jaw squeeze shut with agonizing force.
*pop*
Finally his arm returned to its socket, and he felt hot tears pour out his eyes as it mixed with the sweat and blood on his face, "AGH! FUCK!"
Turning, Pericles saw the doctor step away from his arm. Over the next hour Pericles was wrapped in quite a few bandages around his body and loaded up with a few more painkillers.
During this time, Diaz and Nickelson came to visit him.
"Damn, Pericles. We heard what happened, sorry we weren't there." Nickelson apologized.
"It's alright. Where were you anyways?" Pericles asked.
Ayden stepped in, "Well, when we noticed that everyone had gathered outside, we realized that Cordovin's office would be unguarded, so..." She said lecherously.
"No!" Pericles claimed in disbelief.
"Yes, and it was awesome! Cordovin better hope that she cleans her desk before she touches it again." she warned, giggling.
After a bit more chatting the two left. Soon after, Leonidas anxiously stepped back in, having left after depositing Pericles on the bed.
"Pericles, you have no idea how unfathomably sorry I am." The man began, meaning every word of it.
"Leo, it's fine, you didn't do anything but bruise my ego a bit." Pericles answered magnanimously.
"But-" He began again.
"But nothing. I can say with certainty that if it weren't for you, Cordovin would have been even worse to me. What I can't say for certain was that if I was fighting someone else, that they would stop like you did." Pericles chastised.
"Thank you, Pericles." The man smiled gratefully, covered in a few bandages as well.
Leonidas left after a bit of talking as well, and only Tortuga remained with Pericles.
"Hey Tortuga, what time is it?" Pericles asked his friend who was sitting in the chair next to the bed.
"1730, why?" Tortuga asked.
"Shit! Help me up." Pericles ordered her.
"What? Why?" Tortuga asked as she stood up from her chair.
"Pyrrha's birthday is in thirty minutes." Pericles reminded her.
Tortuga went to speak, but Pericles stopped her, "The next words out of your mouth better not be anything about me staying here to rest."
"Stubborn ass." Tortuga swore as she pulled him up.
...
Pericles and Tortuga stood outside the door of the Nikos home, waiting after they rung the bell.
A few moments later Pyrrha opened the door, "You came! Daddy said you were too hurt to come!" She happily exclaimed while hugging both Pericles and Tortuga.
"Of course, can we come in?" Tortuga asked.
All of sudden Pyrrha looked nervous, "Uh... I'm not sure."
"Is something wr-*crash* Pericles stopped speaking after he heard a distant crash and saw Pyrrha flinch.
"Tortuga, watch over Pyrrha." Pericles ordered as he quickly marched into the house.
"Pericles, wait!" His friend told him, but he kept moving.
Making his way through the house by following the noise, he eventually reached a door upstairs. He guessed that it was the master bedroom. Placing his ear up to it, he listened closely.
"I told you to bring him here! What part of that do you not understand?" A woman screamed.
"He's hurt and staying back at the base." A man tried to explain frantically.
"Order him to come then! Councilor Huang will be here any minute. I promised him that I would have the 'Atlesian Genius' here for the party, it's the only reason he's coming. Don't you care about this family's reputation at all?!" The woman accused viciously.
Having heard enough, Pericles threw open the door and was greeted by a terrible sight.
Leonidas, an indomitable man in Pericles' eyes, was currently lying on the floor covered in blood and bruises. Meanwhile, Gorgo Nikos, a woman he knew only in name, was standing over him wielding the man's pistol as she repeatedly swung the barrel across his face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." The man whispered over and over again.
In that moment, Pericles could see Pyrrha in the show again, constantly apologizing for things that weren't her fault. He saw Leonidas flinching at every loud noise, and he saw Pyrrha only a few months ago, crying over her black eye.
Pericles felt all inhibitions leave him as Gorgo raised the muzzle toward her husband's head, her finger on the trigger.
He ran, the noise drew Gorgo's sight away from her prone husband and her eyes widened as she was tackled over when Pericles rammed his shoulder into her chest. Falling on top of her, he began to try and wrestle the pistol away from Gorgo, who began screaming and trying to throw him off.
*Bang!* *Bang!*
All of a sudden everything was ringing, and Pericles felt like he had been punched in the gut and head. While he was disorientated, Gorgo threw him off of her.
The noise of the bullets triggered something in him, Pericles felt he was somewhere else, and he felt his whole body seize up as he hyperventilated.
Standing up, Gorgo aimed the pistol at Pericles.
She was interrupted by a roar from her husband who charged into her.
*Bang!**Crash!*
The pistol went off once more as Leonidas crashed on top of his wife.
Gorgo fell against the dresser on the side of the room. Her neck made an awful *pop* as it hit the corner, and her body slumped over.
Tortuga burst into the room to see Leonidas fall over, blood pouring out of a whole in his chest, meanwhile Pericles blacked out as blood oozed from his head.
...
*Ugh* Pericles groaned as his eyes fluttered open, the bright light in front of him burned at his pupils.
"Pericles!" A voice from his right exclaimed with unbridled relief.
Looking over he saw Tortuga fretting over him with tears in her eyes.
"What happened?" He ground out, his voice dry and scratchy.
Tortuga quickly grabbed a glass of water from a table near the hospital bed. Drinking it, Pericles looked to her, waiting for an explanation.
Tortuga nodded and began, "I heard the gunshots from downstairs and came up as fast as I could. She shot you in the stomach and on the left side of your face, grazing the top of your ear. Thankfully, it didn't hit your brain, and the doctor said your hearing in that ear will come back eventually, though a little muted, but... Well, your skull was pretty fragmented, they had to put a metal plate in it to replace the damaged area."
Pericles' hand subconsciously reached up to grab that part of his head, but a firm grip from Tortuga stopped him.
"It's only been a six hours since the operation, It needs time to heal." She instructed.
Pericles nodded that he understood. "Where's Leonidas?"
Tortuga looked away, "Pericles, he got hit in the heart... he was dead long before the ambulance arrived."
"Oh..." Pericles responded, his voice hollow. He spoke again, "Tortuga, Gorgo's been abusing-
"I know." Tortuga cut him off, "Gorgo's gone, she snapped her neck against the dresser. She was dead before she hit the ground."
Silence stretched on at that revelation. Pericles realized that he had watched two people die.
"What's going to happen to Pyrrha?" He asked, desperate for a distraction.
"I don't know." Tortuga answered honestly.
"How did we not see it?" Pericles asked guiltily, "We should hav-
"Hindsight is 20/20 Pericles." Tortuga advised, "It feels obvious to us now, but that's only because we know all the details. The people at the base who knew Leonidas far longer than we did, didn't notice it either, but neither are they guilty for Gorgo's crimes."
"Do my parents know what happened?" Pericles hesitantly asked.
"Yeah, I've received orders from Ironwood that the both of us are to return to Atlas the moment you're released from the hospital." She informed.
"Cordovin?" He inquired.
"I got reprimanded for hitting her, but the General agreed to launch an investigation after some of the other soldiers corroborated my story." Pericles was relieved hearing that.
*plip* Pericles' head recoiled as he felt Tortuga flick his nose.
"That's for being an idiot." She informed angrily, her demeanor rapidly changing, "What in the fuck were you thinking running off? Your Aura was broken, and you had no guns, meanwhile mine was full and I had my weapons on hand."
Pericles felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment, "Sorry."
Tortuga tried to hold a glare, but sighed and gave up, "*Ugh* You're too injured to be mad at."
Tortuga began to berate herself under her breath, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! You dumbass! Congratulations Tortuga, you got a kid shot! All you had to do was hire your own Aura instructor, but no~ you had to be a brat and pick the first one you found and drag him halfway across Remnant."
"It wasn't your fault, and I'm not a kid." Pericles corrected.
"Teen, whatever." Tortuga said bitterly.
"I'm not teen either." He corrected once more.
"Of course you are, you're thirteen." Tortuga said with the same confidence that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
"No Tortuga, I'm not." Somehow, when Pericles said this, Tortuga could see something in his eyes.
"What are you trying to say? Oh Light, did that bullet mess with your head.?" Her voice wavered, and Pericles realized just how distraught she was.
"I... I'm trying to say... That thirteen years ago, a guy was walking down the street. He was catching a cab so that he could visit home after his first year away, off in college, a-and..." Pericles began to stutter as he tried to explain it. "And when they were just pulling up to the drop-off... There was an explosion, and it was so loud and so bright, and he never got to go home, he never got to see his family again, and then he woke up in a strange new place, and he was an infant again, and he didn't know what was going on, and-" Pericles had begun to speak rapidly as his composure left him.
Tortuga hugged him tightly as he sobbed. He clutched onto her, she was his only lifeline at that moment. "Shh~" She softly whispered, trying to soothe him "It's alright."
"I felt like I was back there again, and I was so scared." Pericles confessed as he hugged her. "I know it sounds so crazy and that I'm off my rocker-
She interrupted him, "I believe you."
Those three words would stick with him for the rest of his life, because he knew she meant it.
...
When Pericles was discharged, they were able to meet up with Pyrrha for Leonidas' funeral. The whole Flight was there, along with many other friends of the man. It was while Tortuga and him were there, that they met Chloe Nikos, Leonidas' sister, and Pyrrha's new guardian.
That same day, they flew back to Atlas, and from then on, Pericles would tell Tortuga about Earth, about what he knew was coming for the future of Remnant, and Tortuga listened intently every time. It meant the world to him.
~73 A.W. (Present Day), 15 years-old, and 9 years before the Red Trailer~
Pericles and Tortuga had left the bar soon after and were relaxing in the quiet of the night.
"Why did you tell me back then? What made you think I should know?" Tortuga asked as they walked.
Pericles stride slowed to a stop, and Tortuga slowed alongside him and looked over to him.
"For the same reason that I had fun hanging out with you tonight." Pericles answered. He let his eyes trail up to Atlas flying high above them, then back down to his friend. "Because ever since I've been reborn, I have treated every moment like one that I waste if I'm not preparing. That every time I let myself be distracted, I am responsible for so many deaths to come. My parents didn't say anything, because... Well, why would they? They don't know why I am the way that I am. All they know is a responsible and driven child, what more could they ask for?" Pericles asked rhetorically.
Tortuga gave him a sad look, "Pericles... You're more than that."
"I don't blame them of course... Not for that at least." He turned and smiled at her, "You though, you didn't accept that. You wouldn't let me just do my job, day-in and day-out. You made me go out and do things that I enjoyed in my last life. You were the first friend I had in this life. So when I was so overwhelmed in that moment and I felt like someone needed to know the truth, I also realized that you're the only person I could trust with it."
Tortuga gave a warm smile and wiped a few tears from her eyes.
"Oh shit! Did I say something mean?" Pericles asked, panicking.
That only made Tortuga laugh, "For all this talk of you being older and more mature than you look, I sometimes forget how much of a dork you are."
"D-dork?" Pericles stuttered out.
Tortuga chuckled once more and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "It's okay, you're my dork."
For some reason, Pericles was just fine with that.
...
The two of them now stood before Pericles' home.
"Hey, if things don't go well, you can always stay with me in Atlas for a bit." Tortuga offered, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks Tortuga, but I don't want this to fester anymore. My dad and I are going to either get through this, or I'll move out and get my own place. I've got the funds saved up to do so." Pericles declined.
"Well, you'll need a place to stay while you look for your own spot, so the offer still stands." Tortuga reaffirmed.
"Thanks." Pericles gave a quick hug to his friend, opened the door to his home, and sent a small wave as he closed it behind him.
Pericles took a breath and began walking up the stairs to the second story of the house. He heard his parents muffled voices from beyond the door but couldn't make anything out.
Mentally readying himself, Pericles opened the door to see both his parents sitting in the living room. At once, both of their heads turned to him.
Slowly walking over, Pericles stood before them, but refused to sit down, as he waited for them to speak.
Pericles watched as his mother sent a nod to his father before Pietro began to speak, "Pericles... I never wanted to embarrass you or make other's think that I hate you... But, as you've told me, that doesn't mean it didn't happen."
Slowly, Pericles walked over more, and Pietro took that as his cue to keep speaking, "I've always known that you were a smart child. When you got your PHD I was so proud, but then the media heard about you and then kept trying to find out more about you. I told them that we didn't want to do any interviews because I know that fame is never good for a child's emotional development. Then the events with Gorgo only confirmed my fears. However, I know now that I should have consulted you on that, that you had a right to be a part of that decision. Either way, they never stopped asking about you, and it got pretty overwhelming at times."
Pericles finally sat in the armchair across from his parents. Pietro felt like that was a good sign, so he continued, "When the General tried to get you promoted, I stopped him, because I felt that it would only bring more attention to you, that you would end up pestered by the public and not able to live out your childhood like you should. I put even stronger system protections on the technology in our house to make sure people couldn't start harassing you, but that didn't stop the few that just came to our door."
Pericles felt his mind wander back and he could remember several occasions when he would go to answer the door, but his father would stop him and just direct him to go back to what he was doing. While his mother would keep him distracted from seeing who was beyond the doorway.
"But, once more, that wasn't my decision to make, that should have been yours... and I'm sorry for that Pericles, I'm sorry I have taken so many decisions from you. I didn't want you being thrown to the wolves by the media, I didn't want everyone just seeing you as a spoiled child that only got to where he is because of his parents, but I was wrong about that. You got to where you are today, because you put in the work, and you deserved it." Pietro apologized.
"Why though, after I was promoted, did you just ignore it, ignore me?" Pericles asked desperately.
"I-I was scared, my son. I was frightened when the General and Watts went over my head and promoted you anyways. I know that it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but in that moment, I was scared that they were taking you away from me. That, soon you'd be led away from me, and that I'd lose you. I couldn't bear the thought... So I ignored it, I acted like it never happened, and moved you to my project so that I could watch over you." There were tears in Pietro's eyes as spoke.
Pericles though, needed to know one more thing, "Then why did you create Penny? Why does she call you dad?"
Maria jumped in for her husband, "Because I asked him to. Your father and I are getting old, we all know that. We were so intimidated by the idea of us not being there to see you grow up, to see you get married, have kids, and watch those kids grow up. So, I asked your father to do everything that he could, to make sure that we could be there for it. Eventually, we realized that we didn't care about preserving our bodies if it meant we could be with you. I've already lost my eyesight, and I'm willing to give up so much more to be with you."
Pietro explained from there, "I knew that I needed a way to preserve our consciousness, our Aura, and move it into our new synthetic forms. So I created Penny, transferring an already made consciousness will be hard, but we can work our way up by creating one already in its artificial home. That's the other reason that I moved you to the project. You are the smartest man I know Pericles, and a damn genius when it comes to Aura. I knew that if anyone would be able to figure out how to give an artificial being a functioning Aura, it would be you."
He took a breath and continued, "She calls me dad because I realized that if I was going to create life, then that was no different than anyone else fathering a child. I knew that I couldn't just leave her with no family, leave her as just an experiment. So I adopted her, and in doing so I repeated a decision I made fifteen years ago. A decision that I never once regretted, never once was ashamed of, and have always been so incredibly proud of."
The father wept as he went on, "Pericles I am proud of you, every day I wonder: What did I do to deserve a son as great as you? I will never know the answer, because I don't Pericles. I don't deserve to be your father, but I want to." The man looked every bit his 57 years, as soft tears trailed down his face.
It hurt for Pericles to stay away from his father when the man was so clearly hurting, but he needed to be sure, "Promise me... Promise me that Penny will never replace me, she can be your daughter, my sister, whatever she wants to be... But never a replacement for me."
The old scientist nodded, "I wouldn't every dream of it."
Father and son embraced, and both cried as night blanketed the Kingdom of Atlas.
AN: Goddamn, I guess Thanksgiving has gotten me in some sort of mood. I was not expecting for this chapter to be this emotional, but that's how the cookie crumbles, I guess.
If you can, please leave a review for this story, even if you don't like it, I'd love to hear your criticism to improve this tale. Reviews mean a lot more to a writer than many readers realize.
Speaking of reviews, thank you so much to merendinoemiliano and CriticaofRandomness, for doing so!
Since I doubt I'll have a new chapter out before Thursday, I'd like to wish all of my readers an incredibly Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you all stay safe over the holidays.
