The Next Phage.
Pyrrha's vision was a blur, she could barely register anything that was happening. All she could tell was that she was put on a stretcher and was pulled through the halls, her helmet had been removed and an oxygen mask was placed on her. She could faintly see Carolina run alongside them, holding her hand, and telling her everything would be alright and and she needed to hang in there. After that, everything went black. In another room, The Director and Counselor are ordering around some soldiers, who are pushing the Sarcophagus that was retrieved.
"Keep it in its case, and don't let it touch anything else" The Counselor said.
The Director then turned his attention to something "Hello there. Do you know your name?".
"I am confused" A voice answered.
The Counselor stepped up "Do not be concerned. That is completely natural given your state".
"My state? Was I injured?" The voice asked.
"No. Do you feel as though you have been injured?" The Counselor asked.
"Counselor please. Do not be concerned. You are fine. You're safe. Once again, do you know your name?" The Director asked again.
"Yes. I know my name. My name is Alpha" The Voice answered.
"No, your name is not Alpha. You are mistaken" The Director said.
"I am sorry, I am confused" The voice said, if his name was not Delta, then what was it?
"Do not be concerned. This is perfectly normal given your state. Would you like to know your name?" The Counselor asked.
"Yes please. I would like to know my name. I feel very confused" The voice said.
"Your name is Delta. That is your name" The Director said.
"Delta?" The Voice asked.
The Counselor nodded "Yes. You are very wise, Delta. It is very nice to meet you".
"I think I remember you" Delta said.
"No, you have never met us before. You did not exist before today. Today is your birthday. Today is a great day" The Counselor said.
"Do you know your name?" The Director asked again, wanting to make sure everything was working like it should.
"My name is Delta" Delta answered.
The Director nodded "That is correct".
"Delta, this is the Director. He is going to take good care of you" The Counselor said.
"I am glad to hear that. I am very confused" Delta said..
"Don't worry Delta, that will not last long. And when you feel better, we are going to do incredible things together you and I. Incredible things" The Director said.
In front of them was a green AI who was now named Delta. He would be a very important part of the future plans.
Light was the first thing Pyrrha saw as her eyes slowly opened. She could hear beeping, meaning she was in the medical bay. She let out a breath as she tried to look around, only for a female medical officer to appear in front of her.
"Easy there, you were more badly injured than we thought. Other than the stab wound and dislocated shoulders, you also suffered from broken ribs and mild internal bleeding. We fixed you up the best we could, but you should try to avoid moving around to much" She said.
"What... about... Maine?" Pyrrha asked.
"He... he will live. But he suffered severe injuries to his throat. I fear he will never talk again" The medic said.
Pyrrha looked sad at that. Sure Maine never talked more than he needed to, but being unable to talk at all. That will be torture for him.
"Rest for now. I will inform the others you pulled through. It shouldn't be to long before you can head out again. But until then, you need to rest and maybe even do some light work outs to restore your strength".
Pyrrha let out a soft sigh "Alright... thank you".
The medic nods and leaves.
Elsewhere in the locker room, York and North were talking to each other.
"List changed again" North said as he saw that Tex had taken the top spot on the leader board, pushing Carolina down to number two.
"Yep, lots of things changing these days" York opens a locker and pulls out his old helmet, looks at it, then tosses it in the trash "I think we've got more change on the way".
"You feel it, too?" North asked.
"I felt it since Texas showed up and when cops and military started shooting at us, yeah, I find that I just keep coming back to the same question in my head over and over again" York said.
"And what question is that?" North asked.
"We're the good guys, right?" York asked.
"Yeah, 'course we are" North assured.
York looked at him "You don't sound so sure of yourself".
"No, no I suppose I don't" North said as he sees South walks past the ranking board, looks at it, then storms out.
But suddenly she meets a medic. The medic seemed to tell her something, and South quickly pushed past her and rushed away. North and York looked confused and headed around to speak to the medic.
"What's going on?" York asked.
"I just told her Agent Greece is finally awake and her injuries are healing" The medic answered.
Both York and North looked relived to hear that. Finally some good news to make them feel a little better.
Back with Pyrrha, she opened her eyes when she heard some commotion outside. She then heard something that sounded like a punch, and a body hitting the floor. A moment later, South rushed in and ran up next to her.
"Pyrrha! Thank god, you scared the shit out of me" South said in pure relief "When I saw you being rushed to the medical bay I feared you wouldn't make it. North had to stop me from rushing in to you. I almost punched him".
Pyrrha couldn't help but to smile "You were worried about me? That's so sweet of you".
"Don't try to be funny, Pyrrha. I've had to put up with enough shit already, last thing I need if for my best friend to die on me" South said.
Pyrrha looked a little worried "South, what happened?".
South was silent for a moment before an angry look appeared on her face "The damn list changed again. After Tex showed up, she claimed the top spot and now I am not even on the list anymore".
Pyrrha looked surprised, but then a thought crossed her mind "But if Tex is the new number one. Does that mean...".
"Yup, your badass older sister is now number 2. Which isn't to bad if you ask me" South said.
Pyrrha said nothing to that, being number two may not sound to bad. But for Carolina, someone who has been on top since the beginning, and someone who's been used to being on top... a demotion like that can be devestating. Pyrrha worried this could badly effect Carolina in the future, which in turn could effect everyone around her. She will be ready to do just about anything to get back on top again, and Pyrrha worried how far Carolina is willing to go, and how much she is prepared to do in order to reclaim her spot.
"I am sorry to hear that. But South, I don't care if you are on the list or not, I never cared about that. I still care about you" Pyrrha said.
"Easy to say for someone who's never been on the list in the first place" South said bitterly.
Pyrrha frowns "Well, if this is what happens, I am happy I was never on the list, and I hope I never end up there".
South sighed "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a bitch to you. I am just frustrated".
"Don't worry South, I can handle your temper" Pyrrha said with a smile. South gave her look before giving her a light smack "Ow! Take it easy, I am still injured".
"That's what you get for being a smart ass" South said with a smirk.
"You are so mean... But I wouldn't trade you for any other friend" Pyrrha said.
South smiled and gave Pyrrha a light hug which surprised her a little, but not nearly as much as the sudden kiss on her cheek "Get well soon, Pyrrha. It's dull not having you around".
Pyrrha moved her hand to her cheek. What the heck just happened?
Elsewhere Carolina was looking at the leader board. And as expected, she was less than pleased about her new position. She was now second best.
"Our next phase is ready to begin, Carolina. We will be asking you to do a great, many things" The Director said.
"I'm ready Sir" Carolina said.
The Director took a few steps towards her "Some of these things might be... questionable".
Carolina turned around to face him "I'll do whatever it takes. You've given me everything. I would do anything for you".
"Glad to hear it, I will need everyone of you for this. And I just heard your sister has finally woken up. Care to join me for a visit?" The Director asked.
"Of course, I want to make sure she is alright" Carolina said, she spoke in a professional way, but on the inside she was really concerned about her sister's well being.
With that, both headed to the medical bay, and saw a medic rubbing his head "Damn...".
"Something the matter?" The Director asked.
The medic saluted "No sir... Agent South came by earlier".
That was all The Director needed to know "How is Agent Greece?".
"Recovering well. At this rate it shouldn't be long before she's ready for active duty again" The medic answered.
"Good. May we enter?" The Director asked.
The medic stepped aside and allowed them to go inside. Pyrrha looked up and tried to salute "Sir".
"At ease. I was told you will recover soon, so I will skip to the reason why I came here. I heard you finally killed some of the enemies. And not just one, many. Is that true?" The Director asked.
Pyrrha flinched but nodded "Yes sir. I killed anyone in my way".
The Director was silent for a moment before a ghost of a smile appeared on his face "Well done, Pyrrha. You are now a true soldier. I expect you will keep improving from here on out".
"Thank you sir" Pyrrha said, biting back the urge to snap at him. His words were meant to be a compliment, but it felt more like a slap in the face. Pyrrha let go of her moral code because she didn't want to be separated from her sister, not to please her father.
The Director looked at Carolina "You may stay with her for as long as you want. Just be ready when you are needed".
"Yes sir" Carolina said and The Director walked out. Once their father was gone, Carolina looked back at her sister "How are you feeling".
"Like shit" Pyrrha answered "The mission... there was just so much that happened. My first kill, my first near death experience... that girl I faced was a lot more skilled than I expected. If not for Maine, she would've killed me".
"And I would've tore the galaxy apart to find and kill her" Carolina said with a small smiled.
Pyrrha giggled a little "Knowing you, that wasn't a joke... what about you, Carolina? Are you alright? I heard about the changes on the Leader Board".
Carolina was silent for a moment before she sighed "Let's... not talk about that for now. I want to make sure you are alright first. The first kill always leaves an impact".
"It did... But the fact I killed isn't what scares me the most. It's how easy it became later that scares me. When I killed those other soldiers, it was so easy, I didn't hesitate for a second. And the worst part is that, I didn't feel guilty or sick from what I was doing. I... I felt at peace, I felt free... like I could do anything without any morals holding me back. And that scares me" Pyrrha said as she looked at Carolina with a lot of worry on her face "Carolina, I don't want to be someone who enjoys killing people".
Carolina quickly gave Pyrrha a gentle hug "Calm down sis. It's ok, you did what you had to do. Our enemies made their choice, their deaths is their own doing".
"B-but what I won't be able to tell the difference between friend or foe? What if I start enjoy killing people so much I will start killing anyone around me just for the fun of it!?" Pyrrha asked, sounding ready to panic.
"Pyrrha!" Carolina said as she grabbed Pyrrha's face and made her look her in the eyes "That's not who you are. You are not a murderer, you are a soldier. And most of all, you are my sister, I know you better than anyone. And I know for a fact that my sister is not a monster. You never were and you never will be".
Pyrrha took deep breaths to calm down "Thank you Carolina...".
Carolina kissed her forehead "I love you sis, now get some sleep".
"I love you too" Pyrrha said and Carolina turned to leave "And Carolina. No matter what the board says, you will always be the best to me".
Carolina smiled at her "Thank you Pyrrha. Get well soon".
With that Carolina left and Pyrrha closed her eyes to sleep. Little did she know, things were just going to get harder from here.
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And that marks the end of part one of the Freelancer Saga. In the next chapter, things will really start to heat up as the next part of the saga begins.
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Tell me what you think.
