When I woke up, I felt an unpleasant chill in my room. My mouth was bone dry and my joints aching. Grumbling, I wiggled one of my arms free from the multiple different blankets and varying kinds of cloth wrapped around me like a cocoon and pulled away the blanket covering my eyes. Only to wince at the much brighter room than what it had been when I had gone to sleep.
Closing my eyes tight, I leaned my head back deeper into the chair acting as my bed, pulling the old blankets tighter around me. "Guess the storm must've finally dissipated, about time too." I groaned quietly, rubbing my eyes before resting my arm over my eyes. And as much as I wanted to stay in bed, I still needed to head over to the Resistance camp today, since I spent yesterday mostly doing a bit of scavenging and then doing nothing here being bored.
Letting out a yawn, I propped myself up on my elbows. Letting the blankets wrapped around me unravel and pool on the seat and my lap as I slowly opened my eyes again, letting them adjust to the bright sunlight coming in through the windows and the tarps covering them. Kicking off the cloth wrapped around my legs and pushed the stools away. I sniffed and leaned forward groggily. Setting my legs down, I took a moment and rested my head on my palm as I got my bearings.
Sluggishly, I swung my arm down to my left to grab my boots. My hand missed a couple of times before getting a hold of them. Or one of them at least. Placing the one boot on my lap. I reached down again to find the other. Only to still grab nothing.
"Oh for the love of-" I growled and looked down, blinking my bleary eyes to see where the hell it had gone. Just to see it laying on its side. "Oh," I deflated with a sigh and ran my hand down my face. "Nevermind then."
Standing it up in front of me, I slid my foot into it before setting the other one down and doing the same. Picking up the pile of cloth still wrapped around my lower body, I placed them behind me before putting my hands on my knees and sitting up with a grunt. Shaking my limbs to try to help me warm up.
Stepping away from my makeshift bed, I grabbed my jacket off the floor and put it on, zipping it up and rolling up the sleeves before walking over to a small chest drawer by the window. Opening the top drawer, I grabbed my equipment belt, knife, and the scabbard for it. Closing it, I stopped when I heard something creak and looked down at the chest drawer before there was a snap. "Damn!" I hissed as the front left leg on the chest drawer gave out, causing it to start falling forward at an angle. Dropping the gear in my hands, I quickly grabbed a hold of the whole thing before it could hit the ground. Breathing hard, I carefully eased it down onto the floor on its side without breaking anything else.
A long drawn out sigh left me as I slid down onto my knees, placing my arms on the side of the drawer and resting my head on them. I sighed again. "It's always something…" I muttered before letting out a humorless chuckle. "Well, looks like I need to add super glue to my ever growing grocery list." Exhaling slowly, I sank further onto the floor, burying my head deeper into my arms with a groan.
A chirp made me slowly lift my head up enough to see a bird sitting on the window sill, its head facing towards me. It tilted its head and chirped again.
Rolling my eyes as I realized who it was, I shook my head and sat up, reaching down to collect my gear off the ground. "Hello, Koto." I greeted the small fat red bird. "You here for your rent?" The bird chirped again and started hopping around in an almost excited manner, looking for food on the window sill.
Koto had been living here first when I found this place. His bird nest up on the top floor on a branch that had punched a hole through the roof. At first, he hadn't been happy with me moving in and had attempted to chase me off, but he soon began to tolerate me when I started giving him berries as a bribe. And since then I haven't had any trouble with him. Or much at least. He still didn't like me, the few times I tried to pet him ended with him pecking my finger with anger and probably disgust. That I would dare touch him with filthy my peasant hands.
His chirping increased in intensity when he still didn't find any food. I rolled my eyes as I looked over my knife to make sure it didn't get chipped when I dropped it. "Alright, alright, geez. Just give me a second." Putting on the belt and knife, I walked over to my backpack and opened one of the side pockets, and grabbed some leftover berries I had collected yesterday.
Koto started impatiently hopping up and down even more and twittered as I got closer with the berries in my hands. "Here, here," Bending down, I carefully placed the berries in front of him. When I didn't pull my hand away fast enough, he got close and pecked at my hand. "Ow!" I hissed quietly and reeled my hand back. Fucker." I cursed at him while rubbing the spot he had bit. He released a few chirps as if he was declaring victory and he began quickly began eating his food like he hadn't had any in ages.
"Hmph! Dramatic little bastard." I wiped my hand off on my jacket with a grumble. "That's all you're getting this week. You can go find your own food." I eyed his tiny plump looking body. "And you could stand to lose a few pounds!" I said as I turned around and walked over to a dresser that had the rest of my gear on it. But he obviously didn't respond and just continued to eat with gusto.
Sighing, I scratched my head while looking over my gear. I grabbed my refilled canteen since that's a given. Attaching it to my belt, I eyed my rifle. "Right... Rifle still broken?" I asked absently while picking it up and trying to pull back the bolt, only for it to not move an inch. "Yep, still broken." Mumbling to myself, I set it back down and shook off my hand as grabbed my vest. "Really should've asked that armory guy if he could show me how to take apart and clean these kinds of rifles." Putting on the vest, I reached for the ammo mags and began putting them into their respective pouches.
Looking to my right as I put the last mag in, I saw the pistol Lilac had given to me. Resting next to it were also the two spare mags she had given me. Smiling softly, I walked over and picked it up. Holding in both hands, I ran my thumb over the slide. I sighed as I remembered the worried look on Lilac's face again when she had given me the pistol the day before yesterday.
"I'll be fine kid. Just like I promised." I mumbled, making sure the safety was on before putting the pistol in my waistband. "And you and I can go find a toy store or something." I chuckled to myself as grabbed the spare mags and put them in my pant pockets again. Looking up at the spot where the pistol had been sitting, were two postcards I had remembered seeing a while back. Which I had gone back for and collected as a gift and a... peace offering I suppose.
Picking them up, I looked over them again. The postcards were in somewhat decent condition, with a few tears on the edges and obvious signs of age and slight deterioration but it was still possible to tell what they were. "Hmm, she'll definitely love these." One was of Paris, while the other was Berlin. Holding them together, I reached over and grabbed my backpack which was still full of Machine parts, and slid it in front of me. Opening a side pocket, I carefully placed the cards inside. I ended up messing with it for about a few minutes, trying to make sure they wouldn't get folded or damaged during the trip before I was finally satisfied with the position they were in.
Pushing the postcards down just a bit more, I zipped the pocket closed and carefully lifted the pack up off the dresser, and put it on. With the straps tight around my shoulders, I grabbed my gloves and slipped them on before grabbing my shawl and wrapping it around my head and shoulder. With all my gear situated, I grabbed my rifle and headed out of the room. "See you later, your highness!" I called out sarcastically over my shoulder as I made my way down the stairwell. The bird's responding chirps making it sound like he had been waiting for me to get lost the whole time.
Shaking my head as I hopped over the pile of glass in the entryway, I pushed past the tarp over the doorway and walked outside. Taking a moment to let my eyes adjust to the full sunlight. The ground and grass were still wet from yesterday's rain after the storm's last hurrah when I had gone to bed. The ground was also covered in a large number of petals from the cherry blossom tree. Stepping around a few puddles, and avoiding a few hidden ones, I made it to the entrance and made my way past the four large trees.
Wiping my boots off on the grass to get rid of the few petals that were stuck to the soles of my boots, I lifted my legs so I could check my boots and make sure there wasn't anything else stuck to them. I nodded to myself when there wasn't anything besides mud and started making my way in the direction the Resistance camp was.
A loud bang in the distance made me stop, and the birds in nearby trees were startled by the sound and flew off in a panic. Holding my breath and trying to block out the noise of the leaves and panicking birds, I waited. A few seconds later there were more of what were definitely explosions. Followed by the familiar cracks and pops of gunfire. The sounds reverberated off the buildings ahead of me. Grimacing, I paced in a circle for a moment as I realized it was exactly the same direction I had to go to get to the camp. Clicking my tongue, I shook my head and broke out into a sprint down the road.
(-)
(-)
"God damn it." I muttered. My lips curled down into a frown as I hunkered down next to some ruined cars. My breathing came out in harsh pants from my running. The smell and bitter taste of smoke in the air.
Ahead of me was the remains of a recent skirmish, which was obviously the origin of the explosions and gunfire that guided me here. A group of red eyed machines were patrolling the open field, with a few bodies of androids laying in the grass, dead. Ducking down, I lightly slammed my fist against the car door next to me, the stinging sensation distracting me from the bit of rage welling up inside me.
Gritting my teeth, I gripped my shaking hand with the other as I breathed through my nose to calm myself. Exhaling slowly, I let go of my hand and started slowly moving alongside the old cars. Keeping my head down to ensure I wouldn't get spotted.
As I crept along with the cars, I felt something clamp down on the wrist of my right arm. Jerking back with a quiet gasp as pain surged up my arm and I fell on my ass, trying desperately to pull my arm free before stopping when I realized it was a hand that had grabbed a hold of me. Following it up the arm, I saw a male android inside one of the cars, laying facedown on the back seat. Blood ran down the corners of his mouth and some on his clothes.
"P-Please," The android whispered, his wide eyes staring into mine while he kept his strong grip on my arm, pulling on it. "Help me!" Tears welled up in his eyes as his bloody lips trembled as he took in a shuddering breath. "I-I don't want to die…" He stuttered as he broke down and started to sob quietly.
I hissed as he practically crushed my wrist and quickly sat up and grabbed what remained of the vest he was wearing and dragged him out of the back seat. He whimpered in pain as I carefully turned him over, minding his wounds and leaning him against the car, and placing my other hand on his shoulder. "Easy, easy, you're gonna be okay." I told him gently in a hushed tone, wincing as I practically felt the bones in my wrist grinding together. "But can you let go of my wrist? You're crushing the damn thing."
"S-Sorry." He gasped quietly, releasing my wrist which I immediately brought up and rubbed it, moving the fingers and hand around.
Definitely gonna be bruised later. Frowning, I rolled up my sleeve to cover it. Before turning my attention back to the man. He had multiple cuts along his legs and deep one the right side of his waist. Exposing a lot of internal wires and parts that weren't meant to be in the open. The wounds had thankfully congealed, so I don't have to worry about him essentially bleeding out. But the thing I was more worried about and needed immediate attention was how fast he was breathing. His eyes flickered all around us as panic started to visibly grip him. His hand searching for a weapon that wasn't there.
I reached forward and gripped his shoulders making him jump and his wild eyes looked at me.
"Easy son, You're gonna be a-ok," I told him in what I hoped was a soothing tone. "I'll make sure you make it out of here alive. But I need you to calm down for me. Just breathe slowly, got it?" I asked him, slightly shaking him. He blinked at me for a moment before sluggishly nodding, and did as I asked. But he was still doing it too fast. "Slowly," I told him, pressing my hand against his chest. "Just follow my lead okay?" Slowly breathing in through my nose and then slowly exhaling through my mouth, I repeated.
He looked at me for a few seconds before copying me. He coughed slightly on his first breath, and my eyes widened when I saw fresh blood spilling past his lips, but he kept going before he started to do better. His breathing was still a bit iffy sounding, but he had stopped coughing for the moment. And more importantly, he didn't look like he was on the verge of freaking out.
I nodded and patted his shoulder. "There you go, feeling better?"
He nodded his head, raising his arm to wipe his eyes. "Y-Yeah, thank you." He said in a weak voice. His arm flopped down, brushing against the cut on his side through the damaged vest. Causing him to hiss in pain and look at it before turning his head to me. "Could you grab my bandages?" He gestured behind him. "They're in my buttpack."
I nodded and leaned forward. "I'm gonna have to move you a bit, so bear with me." I said before I pulled him towards me. He gasped quietly and whimpered as I quickly fiddled with the pack. Opening it, I dug around in it before feeling the familiar texture of bandages and pulled the roll out. Carefully easing the man back against the car.
"Alright," I lifted his right leg up a bit. "Let's cover up the wounds on your legs first, then that gash on your side." Stretching the bandage out, I started wrapping it tightly around the glaring cut on his thigh. "Can you tell me what happened out here?" I asked him as I continued in my work.
He winced and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he leaned his head back against the car. "We got ambushed. We were holed up in one of the buildings, waiting for a…" He trailed off, opening his eyes and staring at the sky with a thoughtful look before furrowing his brow and looking back at me. I paused in my work and stared back as he scrutinized me before his eyes widened. "H-Hey!" He gasped weakly, grabbing a fistful of my jacket and jostling me slightly as he pulled me close. "You're the… You're the android we were told to keep a lookout for!" He wheezed, before coughing slightly. My eyes narrowed while I pressed him against the car and poked my head out to make sure none of the machines were looking our way. Ignoring the alarm bells going off in my head.
Ducking my head back down, I looked at the man, who had let go of my jacket and was holding a hand over his mouth to muffle his coughs. "What are you talking about?" I asked warily as I went back to applying the bandages.
Another wet cough rocked his body before he removed his hand from his mouth, wiping the blood off his chin and lips with his scarf. "Our commander said to look for someone matching your description." He whispered, tightening the grip on his scarf. "She said to look for a male android wearing a dark blue uniform and a crimson colored scarf type of cloth."
Tightening the bandage on his right leg and lowering it, I frowned and moved to his other side, and started working on his left leg. "Anything else?" I asked as I rested his foot on my leg so I could work on his calf.
He nodded his head. "Y-Yeah, she also said that if we did find you, we were to escort you to the camp." He sucked in a breath as wrapped a bandage around his calf, brushing against some wires. "I thought it was no big deal at first. But apparently, from what the veteran members said, this has never really happened before. Uh… like escorting a VIP you know?"
Nodding silently, I mulled over it as I finished wrapping up his calf and moved to his knee. I've never had to deal with this kind of situation before, so this is all new territory for me. I can only assume Lilac must have gotten in trouble and had to tell their commander where she had been. But to send out a squad to escort me? Either someone out there was looking for me and they knew the exact attire I had, or… Well, I'm not too sure.
"So what went wrong?" I asked him, just to momentarily distract myself.
He let out a weary sigh. "Like I said, we got ambushed. Commander said you might show up yesterday." He shook his head and ran a hand through his short hair. "But you never did, so then she said that it would be definite that you'd show up today. So we stuck around." He bit on the corner of his mouth, damaging the skin. "But we must've stayed for too long, cause a bunch of hostile machines appeared out of nowhere, killing two of us in the process."
I tightened the bandage around his knee and carefully removed his foot from my leg and moved to his thigh. "How many of you were there?"
"Nine. We gave the machines hell, but they were stronger than usual." He let out a shuddering breath and slumped against the car his lips trembling and as he got teary eyed again. "I," He sucked in a shuddering breath. "I think I'm all that's left." He whispered.
I finished wrapping the wound on his leg and sighed, rubbing my eyes for a moment before looking at him. "Their deaths won't be in vain, son." I whispered before scooting myself next to him. "Now let's get this armor off, so I can patch up your waist, and then we can get you out of here."
He nodded silently and moved his arms out of the way which helped me in removing the ruined vest. Which wasn't easy considering the most damaged part was at his wound. I managed to remove it without causing too much pain for him and held it up before shaking my head and tossing the now useless vest aside before grabbing the roll of bandages and got to work. The male android didn't make much noise besides a few small pained gasps as I wrapped up his waist, using up what was left of the bandages, I tightened it up and leaned back, taking another look over him. He still had some exposed wounds here and there, but they were minor compared to the ones I had covered up.
His coughing started up again, with him doubling over in pain. I gently grabbed ahold of him and eased him back against the car. Looking at him with worry as more coughs wracked his body. "Is there anything I can do about that?" I asked when he finally stopped.
He shook his head with a grimace and wiped his mouth again, the back of his hand stained red. "No… I took a pretty bad hit to the chest, and I don't know exactly what got damaged," He winced rubbed a spot on his chest, near where the heart and lungs would be for a human. "But I'm sure something must have ruptured, usually our wounds congeal, but it's not working for me. And the only means of fixing that is to go under maintenance back at my camp. Which is the only place that has the proper equipment to do internal repairs." He explained.
I nodded and got up and moved to his good side. "Well alright then, let's get you back to your camp so you can get fixed up." I hooked his arm around my neck and lifted him up. He groaned and held his side, I paused and watched him for a moment as he gritted his teeth. He took a deep breath and then blew it out before giving me a nod. I waited for a second before lifting him up as I started moving us along with the run down cars.
The man coughed quietly and held his side as we walked. Or well, I walked, his legs were no longer in a functioning state, so I had to drag him. Which wasn't easy. Especially accounting for how much androids weigh and all the gear I'm hauling, I was really starting to feel my age, but I pushed on.
I knelt down at the small gap between the line of cars. Peeking my head around, I still saw some hostile machines roaming around. The most concerning ones being the medium bipeds with large axes. Leaning back, I looked at the android who was panting. An unfocused look in his eyes, while his free hand patted the car next to us.
"Do I need to set you down?"
He shook his head rapidly, though that proved to be a bad idea as he groaned and held a hand against his head, leaning heavily on me. "No, no!" He exclaimed quietly, waving his hand at me before pressing it against the wound on his side again. "I'm okay! Let's just focus on getting out of here." He said, his speech slurring for a moment.
I gave him a look before nodding hesitantly and took a deep breath before lifting him up again, making a slow dash across the gap. We were about halfway before the man turned his head and gasped and began leaning to our right, almost causing me to drop him as his hand stretched out in the same direction as the machines. "Alder!"
Stumbling a bit as I almost lost my footing from him leaning so far and practically becoming dead weight, I managed to regain it though. Overpowering the android enough to haul him up and get us behind cover again. He let go of my neck just as I lost my hold on him, causing him to hit the dirt and gasp in pain. Falling to the ground myself, I lied on my side panting before sitting up and turning my attention to the android who was struggling on his elbows to push himself up. I glared at him as I got up and moved over to him. "What the hell was that!?" I growled, turning him over and grabbing him by his scarf to make him look at me.
He raised a shaking hand and pointed behind back out to the open field. "Alder was out there!"
"Alder?" Blinking in confusion, I eased him to the floor and let go of his scarf, and looked through the back window of the car we were behind and in the general direction he had been pointing at. At first, nothing stuck out to me, the field of grass only had a few car wrecks scattered around and some machine and android bodies. But slight movement did catch my eye and I saw a female android laying on her back next to a car, her chest rising and falling slightly. Her hand trying to reach for a sword a few feet from her.
A hand gripped my jacket from below, pulling my attention back to the male android, who was laying on his stomach looking up at me. "We have to get her!" He pleaded with a desperate look on his face.
Staring at him for a moment, I frowned and blew out a breath. Grabbing his hand, I pulled it off my jacket before taking off my backpack and rifle, placing them both on the ground. Turning to him, I reached down to grab him. "H-Hey! What are you doing!?" He tried to push my hands away, but I was able to easily bat them aside before picking him up and placing him on my shoulders in a fireman's carry and started moving again, making the man gasp and sputter.
"Damn it! Put me down, you bastard!" He weakly smacked his hand on my arm, making me grunt quietly. "We can't just leave her to die!" He hissed.
"No one is getting left behind to die," I gritted out as I adjusted my hold on him to keep him from falling off. "But I need to put you in a safe spot before I can go get her." I told him as we made it off the grass and onto the paved road. Broken pieces of concrete crunched under my boots as we made it to a building. Where I plopped him down on the corner of and out of sight of the machines.
He immediately tried to get up and crawl back, but I quickly grabbed the front of his shirt and pushed him back against the wall, and held him there. He opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly lost the wind in his proverbial sails and wavered under my glare, wisely closing his mouth shut and keeping silent.
Sighing in slight irritation, I let go of him and reached behind me to grab Lilac's pistol. Pulling it out, I grabbed his hand and brought it up before slapping the pistol into his hand, making sure he got a good hold of it. I kept my grip on his hand until I was sure he wasn't going to drop it and stood up. "Stay here and don't move!" I pointed at him before peeking around the wall and then looking back at him. "I'll be back with your friend."
Moving swiftly back to where I had left my pack and rifle, I pressed myself against the car and looked at where I had last seen the wounded android. I immediately saw her, the woman still laying on her back, but was now much closer to the car and hiding behind one of the doors that was dug into the ground.
Looking around to get a gauge on the Machine presence in the area. I was surprised to see that their numbers had lessened, with only a few still remaining in the area.
I wetted my lips and gripped the metal car frame. "Now or never then." I whispered before getting down into a crawl and moving in the woman's direction.
It didn't take long for me to make it over to her. Hiding behind the body of a medium biped, her ragged breathing was just barely audible to me. The small biped looking in my direction finally turned away, I waited till it was a bit further before I took the chance to crawl to the woman's position.
Hastily crawling through the grass, the woman must have heard me approaching as she gasped and raised her head in my direction. Her eyes wide as she clutched the sword handle in her hand, only for her to blink in apparent surprise when she saw me. The blonde android continued to look at me in confusion as I crawled up to her before her eyes narrowed and eyebrows drew together with her teeth bared, showing she was obviously not happy to see me. But I could care less for her current feelings towards me at the moment, as I finally got next to her, I pushed myself up onto my elbows to take a look over her injuries.
On the outside, she didn't seem too bad, with some damaged synthetic skin here and there. The most glaring injuries on her, however, was the obviously broken left arm, her forearm bent at an odd angle. And then there was the nasty burn mark on her stomach, the cloth and skin all but gone and revealing the artificial muscles underneath.
I shook my head. "Shit, don't have time to try to fix these up." I muttered before looking her in the eye. "Alder, can you hear me?" I asked her.
There was a moment of silence as she worked her mouth before she spat out a strange garbled sound of static. Which only persisted as she glared at me and kept going, obviously cussing me out. I sighed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, I don't care if I'm your least favorite person in the world right now," I said to her as I crawled closer and reached forward, grabbing her by the strap of her chest rig. "But I've got one of your comrades waiting for us in a safe spot, and I promised I'd be back with you."
She went quiet at my words, looking away from me with a frown, before slowly exhaling through her nose and looking back at me, the glare still on her face as she nodded her head. The pommel of the sword slipped from her fingers. I nodded my head and tightened my hold on her chest rig. "Alright then. Unfortunately, I can't do anything for your injuries, so please, just bear through the pain." I told her as I pulled her towards me.
Her eyes widened and she quickly brought her hand up and bit down it, muffling a pained scream. I winced and almost stopped but the glare she gave me didn't need words to get a message across. Don't stop. Grunting, I kept going.
Alder's pained whimpers tore at me as I dragged her away from the car. Doing my best to make sure we didn't get spotted and so she wasn't in too much pain. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she kept her hand in her mouth, blood running down her chin from her hand from where she had torn the skin.
My boot met metal and I looked back to see we were already back where I had left my pack. Letting go of Alder, I got up and hooked my arms under hers, hastily dragging her around and behind the car.
Placing her down on the grass. My legs gave out and fell on my bottom and leaned against the car as I caught my breath. Alder tore her hand from her mouth gasping for air as tears ran down her face. The skin near her thumb on her hand was all mangled.
Looking away and taking a gulp of air, I wiped some sweat from my brow and wiped it off on my jacket, I wobbled a bit as I got up and moved over to my pack. Quickly putting it on before grabbing my rifle and moving back to Alder, who was still catching her breath.
"Hey, Alder," I knelt down next to her, shaking her a bit. "You still with me?"
She just glared at me like I was the stupidest person in the world as she wiped her eyes.
"Good." I chuckled tiredly and got up, reaching down to grab the back of her rig. "Alright, just a bit more okay? We're gonna move on the count of three." She nodded and bundled up a bit of her cloak and stuffed it into her mouth, placing her broken arm over her chest.
"Alright, one, two, three!" I heaved and started pulling her. Her face scrunched up in pain as she grunted as I dragged her along the ground at a faster pace than before.
Dragging her across the pavement and towards where the other android was waiting. I lifted her up a bit more and hauled her up onto the sidewalk. "Friendly coming around!" I called out as we rounded the corner. The man in the middle of lowering the pistol in his hands before his eyes widened when he saw Alder and the state she was in.
"Oh shit! Alder!" He cried out, the pistol falling onto his lap and sliding onto the ground as he crawled towards us. I met him halfway, letting go of the woman as he quickly took her into his arms as I stumbled past them. "Alder, are you okay!?"
She spat out the cloth and glared at him before not so gently smacking him on the side of the head with her good arm. Causing him to reel and rub the spot with a wince. "Y-Yeah, stupid question, sorry..." He mumbled. To which she just huffed in response.
Ignoring their little get together, I bent forward, resting my hands on my knees as I caught my breath yet again. "Damn it... Getting too old for this." I grumbled, lowering my shawl so I could spit. While I was in a surprising peak condition or at least something near it I suppose. That didn't mean I had nearly enough muscle to be a pro weight lifter or consistently lift and carry around androids without breaking a sweat. Lifting the cloth back up, I turned my head and saw Lilac's pistol still laying on the ground. Sniffing and letting out a cough I stumbled over to it, bending down with a groan to pick it up.
"Alder is that shrapnel in your stomach!?" I heard the man exclaim behind me as I looked over the pistol for any scrapes or scratches on it.
Sighing, I stuffed it into my waistband. And turned back to the two androids. The man still fussing over Alder. Who was slapping his hand away from the wound on her stomach and hissing out something in her garbled static.
The man stared at her for a moment before groaning, his head falling into his hands. "Alder, did you blow out your speaker again!?"
Her already downturned lips went down even further as she threw her arm out in an angry gesture spitting out even more garbled words. I just stood nearby and crossed my arms as I decided to let this play out.
He groaned again. "Alder, I told you that you need to stop yelling so much when fighting, this is the third time now that you've damaged it." She glared up at him and smacked him on the head again, making him cry out and cradle his head. Blood spilling past his lips again. Causing Alder's eyes to widen and open her mouth in shock as she looked between her hand and him.
Turning my head up and taking a deep breath I called out to them. "Alright you two, that's enough," I said aloud, getting their attention as I walked over to them. "As much as I do love these kinds of reunions. We really need to get the hell out of here." The man nodded wiped his lips with a grimace and gently pushed Alder off him, helping her sit up. She just huffed and gave me a glare as she scooted away from him and shakily got up onto her feet.
I walked over to Alder and held my arm out for her to hold onto. But she glared at me and pushed herself off the wall. And as I was expecting, she stumbled a bit, to which I caught her before she could fall over onto the ground. She breathed hard through her nose for a few seconds as she leaned against me before pushing against me and straightening herself up and giving me a stiff nod.
I slowly let go of her. Hovering close in case I had to catch her again. She took a step forward and wobbled a bit and ended up latching onto my arm, which helped stabilize her. Her shoulders sagged as her glare turned into a look of resignation as she kept her grip on my arm and stepped close, looking away from me with a frown.
"Alright then." I looked down at the man as we stepped over to him. "You ready to get out of here?"
He gave me a weary smile and eagerly nodded his head. Which was enough for me as I bent down, letting him wrap his arm around my neck again, and hauled him up off the ground.
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"Any word from them?" Anemone asked again as the radio operator walked up to the table for the third time this morning.
The resistance member opened his mouth, before sighing and lowering his head with a shake.
Biting back a curse, she planted her hands on the table, leaning forward with a frown on her face as she closed her eyes. "Damn it... " She sighed, lowering her head for a moment before looking back up at the subordinate. "Thank you. You're dismissed." The man nodded silently with a solemn look and left. Leaving Anemone to herself.
She sighed as she pinched her nose, her shoulders slack. "Yet another squad lost…" She muttered quietly. There hadn't been any communication from them for some time. And Anemone knew what that usually meant. Her adjutant glanced at her with worry from her terminal. But Anemone ignored her, closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath. "And all because I got ahead of myself."
"Here you go, ma'am." A dull voice said to her right, breaking Anemone out of her sullen thoughts. Opening her eyes, Anemone turned to see Lilac standing next to her. An almost dead look in her eyes and a tablet held in her hands, which she was holding out.
Anemone snorted quietly in amusement and took the tablet from her. "Thank you Lilac, would you take this to the quartermaster?" She grabbed another tablet and placed it down on the table in front of the girl.
There were a few seconds of silence as Lilac stared at it. Almost like she was hoping it would disappear into thin air. When it didn't, she hung her head with a groan and grabbed it. Sliding it off the table and trudging away in a downtrodden manner. Forcing a few androids to walk around her.
Anemone shook her head and brought the manifest tablet up. She knew the girl was just over exaggerating. After all, she only had her doing menial tasks that weren't strenuous in the slightest. She had found not too long ago that Lilac was okay with manual labor, but when it came to paperwork or helping with manifest? The girl detested them with a passion. So it worked for her minor infraction. Especially since she came back late again and took a rifle from the armory again. And came back with some damage no less.
She chuckled as she remembered the commotion that had happened in the maintenance bay when Lilac had tried to sneak off with some materials to do her own repairs. Leading to the maintenance shop owner quickly intervening and doing the repairs on the girl's hands herself before dragging Lilac over to Anemone. And after having a long talk with the girl, she then placed Lilac on probation. Again. And just for good measure, she had placed Lilac on a probation sentence of one week and two days. Considering she had just gotten out of her last probation before she disappeared again.
A shout jolted her from her thoughts, and it was soon followed by others. She raised her head and lowered the tablet as she saw some kind of commotion going on near the entrance of the plaza. A few androids that were sitting down jumped out of their seats in a hurry.
Frowning and stepping away from the table, she set the tablet down and made her way over to see what the hell was going on. A small group of her people was crowding around someone before she saw a few break away, holding an injured android in their arms, his legs and lower torso covered in bandages as they quickly dragged him to the maintenance bay.
She instantly recognized him as one of the androids from the squad she lost contact with. A recent transfer into their ranks from about two months ago. Anemone hastened her steps. Just as others came out with another wounded android.
"Alder." She said, walking up to them. The two Resistance members holding the wounded woman stopped and turned towards her so Alder was facing Anemone. Her gaze hardened when she got a full view of the woman's injuries and turned her eyes up. "What happened?"
Alder's lips trembled slightly as she took in a shuddering breath. Her lips curled into a snarl before she looked away. Glaring at the ground and shaking in the other androids' hold as she remained silent.
Anemone waited a moment for Adler to say something before sighing when she realized the woman wasn't going to say anything. "Get her to the Maintenance bay so she can get repaired." She ordered the male and female resistance members who were holding Alder, who nodded and did as told. Carefully guiding the woman away.
"Hey, you alright?" Anemone heard someone ask and turned around to see one of her members bent down, resting a hand on another android's shoulder.
Anemone faltered as she looked at the other android. Taking note of his clothes. The red cloth wrapped entirely around his head and hanging a bit off his left shoulder, along with the blue jacket and pants. Just as Lilac had described to her.
"Ah, I'm fine." The man said with a chuckle, waving off the other man's attempts to help him up. "Just worry about your friends."
Shaking her head, Anemone walked over. "I can take it from here." She said, getting her subordinate's attention. He looked between her and the man before nodding and heading back over to a seat. Anemone hesitated slightly once it was just her and the new arrival. Who was breathing hard, his head hung low.
With a small frown, Anemone walked up before kneeling down next to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do you need medical attention?" She asked him.
He shook his head at her question before groaning. "No, I'm alright... Just winded is all." He chuckled.
Anemone nodded at his answer before grabbing his arm and helping the tall android up off the ground. "Come on, let's set you down somewhere better." He nodded silently, using her for balance and letting her lead him over to an unoccupied folding stool sitting in the shade of one of the tall buildings.
He groaned as she eased him down onto the seat while she sat down on the one next to it. "Ah," Closing his eyes, his shoulders fell while he rested his arms on his legs, taking a moment to catch his breath. Once his breathing was sounding less haggard, he opened his eyes and turned his head to her. "Thank you."
Anemone frowned slightly at the look in his eyes. One she had seen on too many androids. And what she saw every time she looked in a mirror. The weary look of someone who has seen indescribable things, one who was just tired of all the fighting and death. But there was something underneath it that made her feel a wave of familiarity. Combined with his voice, and the clothes he was wearing...
"We only get one shot at life, Anemone. So make it count, okay?" The words filtered through her head from an old memory. One from a long time ago in war torn city under the dark morning sky. The embers of burning buildings floating in the air.
Her breath hitched and her hands tightened into a fist on her lap as she leaned forward with wide eyes. "Sebastian…?" The name left her in a hopeful whisper, a feeling of shock going through her systems as she looked at the android who she had long given up on ever seeing again.
There was confusion in the man's eyes as stared at her in silent bemusement from behind his scarf. Before his eyes narrowed and his posture became rigid as he quickly sat up, squaring his shoulders as he gave her a hard stare. "...How do you know that?" He asked warily.
It is you… His question was all the confirmation she needed, a feeling of elation spreading through Anemone's core. "Sebastian, it's me..." She pressed a hand against her chest. "Anemone. We fought alongside each other, remember? Back in Alaska."
"Alaska?" He whispered. His eyes still lingering on her as he scrutinized her before there was a quiet gasp from him, his eyes widening behind the cloth as he reeled back.
Anemone waited with bated breath as his eyes looked over her before he looked her in the eyes again. "A… Anemone?" He asked in an unsure tone. Almost like he couldn't believe she was there in front of him. She could hardly believe that he was here herself. "You're alive?"
Her face broke out into a smile as she nodded her head as she relaxed. "As alive as one can be these days."
He nodded slowly before chuckling. "I can't believe it. I…" He swallowed before he reached up and began unraveling the cloth wrapped around his head. Revealing his face, with a light stubble on his chin.
Anemone was taken by surprise however at the 'scars' he had, which immediately caught her eye. With one that ran across his left cheek, one on his lip, and a deep long one that started at the top of his right cheek and ended on his jaw.
"It's…" He took in a deep breath through his nose and managed to give her a wide smile even with how tired he looked. "It's good to see you again Anemone."
"It's good to see too." But she couldn't help but let her gaze linger on his face. Taking in every detail, the few minor old and possibly hastily repaired cuts on his chin. Anemone found her eyes lingering on the deep cut on the right side of his face. Sebastian noticed and huffed with a small smile, reaching up and placing a hand over it. "Doesn't make for a good look, does it." He said with a humorous tone and his smile still in place.
Anemone tore her eyes away from the damaged synthetic skin on his face and coughed into her fist. "It's not that." She said, trying not to stare as she looked back at him. "I just…" Anemone frowned and tapped a finger on her the back of her hand. "I guess I'm still getting over the surprise to see that you're," She swallowed. "You're actually alive."
Sebastian raised his head with a scoff and tilted his head. "And what is that supposed to mean?" He asked in a humorous tone. "What? You didn't think I would survive on my own?" He asked, pressing a hand against his chest.
"Yes." She immediately answered bluntly, causing Sebastian to make a sound of surprise and stare at her with wide blinking eyes. The word had left her mouth before she could fully process it. Though she couldn't help it. Sebastian had been decent with a rifle, that much she knew and had witnessed. But his strength… left a lot to be desired compared to the majority of androids. At least with combat models androids such as herself. Though she supposed he made up for it in... courage. Even if that courage meant looking like a suicidal maniac.
Sebastian stared at her in silence, obviously still taken aback by how sudden and quick her answer had been, before shaking his head and smiling before he started laughing. A deep hearty laugh that he quickly tried to cover up. Anemone ignored the bewildered looks they were receiving from others in the plaza and grinned as he tried to get his laughter under control.
Sucking in a breath once laughter came to an end, Sebastian turned his gaze back up to her. "Hah..." His smile widened and he shook his head. "Even after all these years, you're still the same as the last time I saw you." He said, running a hand through his hair while a few more quiet chuckles left him.
Anemone rolled her eyes with a sigh. "I don't know about that." She said. Getting another quiet laugh from him.
Anemone felt her shoulders slowly ease as she relaxed into her seat. It had been so long since the last time she felt like this, the feeling of being at ease alongside a comrade. To be able to open up to them… to be herself. She hadn't felt this way since she lost her squad, including Number 2 and the others. She frowned and closed her eyes with a sigh as she remembered those days.
If only they could have all been here. Sebastian would have loved to meet Number 2 and her squadron, and probably would have coddled them like… children. Constantly making sure they were okay and in peak condition. But now they're gone, all of them. And only Anemone remained. A coward who had been too afraid to die. Anemone looked at Sebastian again, a warm smile making its way onto her face as his laughter finally wavered and she noted just how alive the man looked. But at least there's still someone she knows in this world.
Movement and a flash of red out of the corner of Anemone's eye caught her attention and she saw Popola and Devola walking into the maintenance tent. The straight-haired twin stopped and looked back at her and then Sebastian with a questioning stare. Anemone waved her off with a shake of her head, and the red haired twin nodded before turning away.
"How many years has it been Anemone?" Sebastian asked suddenly, making her turn her attention back to him. "Since we last saw each other?" She watched him pick at a loose piece of leather on one of his worn gloves while glancing at her.
"Twelve." She answered immediately.
"Twelve years." He whispered, with gaze turning inward for a moment. Before looking down at his feet while running a hand through his hair with a chuckle. "Twelve damn years..." He mumbled, nodding his head. "Can't believe it's been that long."
She crossed a leg over the other and folded her hands together. "Feels like it's been longer doesn't it?" It almost felt like an eternity since she last saw him.
A short laugh came from him. "It does." He agreed with a grin. "Hell, most days it feels like time isn't even moving. And then next thing you know it's flying by without you even noticing." He mumbled, still picking at his glove.
She knew the feeling all too well.
A comfortable silence fell over them. With the sounds of camp working like clockwork around them, along with the chattering androids in it, patrols coming and going. Anemone took the chance to get a closer look at his uniform. Noting how worn and dirty they looked. With his scarf being seemingly the worst off with a few tears here and there. And the end hanging off his left shoulder in tatters, with burn marks on it. Though she knew exactly how he got those after a stupid stunt he had pulled in Alaska, or one of many really. Anemone sighed quietly as the memories all started to come back to her now. She was sure if they had the ability, she would have gained wrinkles from the surprising amount of stress he caused her back then.
Behind her, Anemone could hear the not so quiet whispers coming from a few androids, along with feeling the stares into her back and the side glances from occasional passersby. She rolled her eyes knowing there would be rumors galore and gossip about the both of them later in the day. But she didn't care, at least not at the moment. She was sure she would have a headache by the end of the day when she had more than a few of her subordinates coming to her later to ask about her and Sebastian.
Turning her head to the maintenance bay Anemone saw the twins exiting and heading off to their usual spot. The maintenance owner soon stepped out in front of the tent as well, wiping her hands off and removing the goggles over her eyes and placing them on her head. Taking out a tablet, she began looking over it before she noticed Anemone looking her way.
The stoic woman gave her a nod and thumbs up. Behind her, Anemone saw Alder and the other android still laying down on the cots within. Both seemingly in better condition than before. Causing Anemone to sigh in relief. At least those two made it. Anemone also didn't miss Alder reaching out with her arm towards the cot across from her.
Anemone then looked back to the one who was responsible for them still being alive and bringing them back here.
"...Thank you."
Her voice startled Sebastian for a moment. Making him turn his head back to her with a hum before he tilted his head. "For what?"
Anemone gestured with her head towards the maintenance bay. Making him look in its direction "For saving two of my people. I was all but sure they were all dead so… thank you, for getting them back here alive."
Sebastian stared at the maintenance bay with a small frown before sighing and looking back at her with a tired smile. "It's the least I could do Anemone." He said before the tired smile was replaced with a thoughtful expression.
Anemone watched as Sebastian stared at the ground for a good few seconds. Before turning his gaze back up to her with confusion. "Anemone are… are you the camp leader?"
Giving him an amused look, Anemone crossed her legs with a smile. "Did you only just now figure that out?" She asked with a slightly teasing tone.
Anemone's smile widened a bit as Sebastian turned his head away with an embarrassed smile while rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah… Didn't exactly click until you mentioned it." He mumbled. Getting a quiet laugh from Anemone.
"Well, at least now you know." Anemone said once her laughter died down.
Sebastian rolled his eyes and grumbled. "Yeah, yeah…" He then chuckled. "And... I suppose that explains why I didn't immediately recognize you."
Anemone tilted her head at him. "What do you mean?"
His face twisted into a complicated expression as he frowned. "...The way you carry yourself… and your eyes." He answered, though it only increased her confusion. Which he noticed as he scratched his chin and looked away. "I guess... I don't know. You just seem to have a more mature look in them than the last time we saw each other. Back in Alaska, it was like there was a fire in them." Sebastian hesitated for a moment. "Full of resentment and anger."
A soft tired frown formed on Anemone's face as she fully understood what he meant now, and she closed her eyes briefly with a sigh.
Back then, Anemone had held anger over her squad's sudden redeployment to Alaska at the time. Anemone remembered the distrust she had held towards Sebastian the first time they met. Along with the distrust, she had with any other androids she met. Be it Army or Resistance.
Though that had only been because she had never interacted with anyone who was from outside her unit or descent mission. And seeing as how command all but abandoned her squad for over 100 years at that point, Anemone had little reason to trust others that weren't her friends.
Anemone sighed again and opened her eyes. "A lot's changed since then." She admitted with a weary voice before she snorted and shot Sebastian a look. "Though seeing as how you saved those two from certain death. I see that hasn't applied much to you."
Sebastian gave her a deadpan look in return before he blew out a breath and sagged. "Do you have to make it sound like a bad thing?"
Anemone couldn't help but roll her eyes at that as she crossed her arms. "If I hadn't had to make sure you didn't almost get yourself killed on a few occasions." She replied with a grumble.
A long sigh left Sebastian as he slumped further while rubbing his forehead with a smile. "Come on Anemone, I wasn't that bad." He chuckled and looked away for a second before his eyes widened a bit and he sat up. "Hey wait a second. If you're here..." He trailed, gesturing towards her while she already connected the dots of what he was thinking, and tried not to show anything on her face as he looked at her. "Are Rose and the others here too?" He asked her, raising his head further and looking over her head around the camp.
Anemone couldn't hold back the pained look as she quickly turned her head away to try to hide it. Unfortunately, he saw. The smile on his face dimmed as a look of understanding entered his eyes. His shoulders fell while his smile became strained, his eyes drooping as he stared at her. "Ah… I see." He said in a resigned tone, looking even more tired. "So that's how it is." He whispered, clasping his hands together and resting his arms on his legs with a sigh. "So it's just you and me then?"
Her own sigh left her as Anemone pinched a strand of hair between her gloved fingers. "Yes. They…" Closing her eyes, Anemone took a deep breath to keep her emotions in check. "The others fell in battle back on Oahu. I was the only one to survive."
Sebastian stared at her with a sad expression before he slowly nodded, rubbing his brow with a sigh. "I'm sorry, for what it's worth... They were good people."
That they were. Anemone managed to give him a smile, albeit a weak one. "Thank you. I'm... I'm just glad to know I'm not alone anymore."
He returned her smile with one of his, though it lacked the enthusiasm it had from before. "Yeah, me too." His smile then wilted and he turned his head down with an ashamed look. "And…" He pursed his lips before blowing out a breath. "I'm sorry about your people too. If I had gotten there sooner-"
"It's okay," She cut him off, reaching over and resting a hand on his shoulder. Seeing no need for him to blame himself for what happened. Not when that blame should solely lie on her shoulders. "It..." She trailed off for a moment, pursing her lips as she tried to think of what to say.
"Comes with the territory?" He said for her, tilting his head so he could glance at her.
She gave him a tired nod and closed her eyes. "Yes."
She had lost count of how many androids had died under her command since her first day. Or… It's more of her trying not to think about it. She remembered their faces, all of them, and she always would. This was the burden she had to bear ever since command had finally decided to even glance in their direction after the Machine server on Oahu had been destroyed thanks to the efforts and sacrifice of her squad and with the help from Number 2 and her own squad. Leaving Anemone as the only survivor out of all of them.
Anemone couldn't remember how long she had wandered around for in a broken state afterwards. All she could remember was being eventually discovered by an Army patrol. And once they brought her back to a base and fixed her. She was then promoted to the rank of captain for her efforts in the battle and success. Before being unceremoniously shipped off over to the Japanese mainland and put in charge of a new camp. Put all of that alongside the stress of ensuring the camp was functioning at all times, the stress of waiting for the next supply shipment and hoping it didn't get sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Or if command deems it not necessary for them to receive said shipment and decides to send it elsewhere.
It was all so tiring.
"You didn't have to send them out to wait for me, you know?" Sebastian said. Bringing her out of her thoughts and making her open her eyes and see him looking at her with a frown. "I would have been fine on my own making it here."
She narrowed her eyes and frowned as well, crossing her arms. "I sent them because you're not-"
"Not a combat model?" Her eyes widened a bit while she grunted quietly. It was minute, but she could see the corners of his mouth turn up just a bit. "Come on Anemone, how many times did you say that back in Alaska?"
She sighed. "Not enough evidently." Anemone remembered the shock she had felt back then when she had found out he wasn't a combat model. And yet he was out running around in a combat zone. Then again, Alaska had been one big snafu, so it wasn't too surprising. Plenty of non combat models had been caught in the middle of all the fighting. But it didn't help that he kept doing things that were outright suicidal most of the time, just to help others.
Sebastian chuckled and took off his backpack, placing it down next to him along with his rifle. "Seeing as how you sent out a group to escort me. I take it Lilac must have spilled the beans?"
Her mind blanked at his words before she remembered it was an old human idiom and she nodded her head. "She did." Lilac had tried to deny she had snuck out again. But one look from Anemone was enough for Lilac to cave in and tell her everything. She had felt bad at the look on Lilac's face. But Anemone needed to know what she was doing since it was affecting her work time. Which was affecting the camp as well, even if it wasn't anything major.
"So how'd you know it was me then?" He leaned back with a perplexed smile on his face. "I kinda find it hard to believe it might have been just the description of my outfit alone was enough to send people out to find me."
She nodded. "It was a few things." His outfit wasn't solely unique. As there had been plenty of androids running Alaska with the same or similar colors as him. At first, she had thought it was just some random android who had managed to make his way over here from the Night Kingdom. It wasn't until Lilac began telling more about him and his supposed knowledge of old human related things is when she began to think otherwise. And when she started to hope as well.
"I had a feeling that gnawed at me at first." She admitted. Before frowning at him. "But I knew it had to be you when she…" She trailed off. Glancing away as she tried to think of how to approach this topic.
He didn't miss how she trailed off and raised a brow at her while doing a gesture with his hand. "When she...?"
Anemone sighed. "When she found you out scavenging. When you found the body." She said with a tone of worry.
His face smile stayed in place even as his face scrunched up a bit. His eyes glanced away from hers for a moment while idly scratching his jaw. "Ah… that." He said, sounding incredibly tired. "What about it?"
She scooted her seat closer to his as her eyebrows went up in worry. "You're still doing that?"
Sebastian continued to avoid looking her in the eyes before he finally heaved out a sigh, and looked back at her. An exhausted and weary look placed itself on his face as he nodded. "Yeah… I am." He admitted simply. Causing Anemone's worried frown to become more pronounced. As she reached forward and gently placed her hand on his arm.
"Sebastian," She whispered. "That can't be good for you. Mentally I mean. It worried me when you did it back in Alaska and the fact that you're still doing it..." While the act itself didn't really bother her. She had seen a few androids do it or something like it throughout her life. But the extent that Sebastian went to… It almost seemed like an obsession for the man. But she knew it wasn't with ill intentions, but it obviously wasn't healthy.
Sebastian scowled at his lap and pulled his arm out of her grasp. "Damn it Anemone," He whispered harshly, his eyes turning up towards hers. "I do it because-"
"Because you feel that you owe it to them." She finished for him. Staring into his eyes with a steadfast frown on her face while his eyes widened. "That's what you told me, remember? In that garden." His mouth opened and closed before he looked away and sighed, sagging in his seat. Breathing through his nose as he rubbed the side of his face with his hand.
"Damn it," Sebastian said quietly, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just…" He pursed his lips before sighing. "I just don't really like talking about it. And I guess my emotions are all over the place right now. Plus, I'm exhausted from carrying all this gear those two and having to bring them all the way here." He waved a hand to the maintenance tent. "And then... seeing you again." He finished with a tired look before he gave her a strained smile. "It's all a bit much."
Anemone gave him a gentle smile. "Don't worry about it." She reached out and rested a hand on his arm again. "And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed like that. But I just can't help but be worried."
"I know..." Sebastian sighed before he looked at her with a weary smile. "Old habits die hard huh?"
Anemone didn't have the chance to respond before a quiet cough from behind her caught their attention and Anemone looked behind her to see her adjutant standing there with an awkward look on her face. The dark haired woman looked at Sebastian with a wary look for a moment before looking at her. "I'm really sorry to interrupt ma'am. But I have Commander White on the line."
Anemone frowned and sighed in annoyance at the name before pinching the bridge of her nose. "She's probably wanting more info on the local Machine presence again." She grumbled and sat up from her stool, adjusting her cloak. "You'd think she would have better intel than us by now, considering she has a few Scanners of hers running around in the city for about a month now." She muttered. Still feeling a bit peeved at how she has to basically drag any information out of the secretive woman for her own use every time.
Sebastian laughed quietly from his spot, while her adjutant shifted from one foot to another. An uncertain look on her face.
"I-I could tell her to contact you later if you want, ma'am?" The woman suggested. But Anemone shook her head with a sigh.
"No, it's alright. Besides, I need to get back to running the camp anyway." The woman nodded and headed back to her post. While Anemone turned and looked at Sebastian. "Is there anything you need before I go, Sebastian?"
"Hm?" He blinked at her in a tired manner, before looking much more awake. "Oh, right!" He reached to his side and grabbed his pack and rifle. Standing up he walked up to her. Slinging the rifle on his shoulder before opening his pack for her to see inside. Anemone blinked in surprise when she saw his pack was chock full of machine parts.
"I hope these are enough for trading?" He asked while she pulled out a part from the bag and inspected it. "I do need a few..." He made a face and shrugged his shoulders. "Certain things. And I also need someone to take a look at my rifle. The bolt is stuck, and I don't want to try messing with it." He explained.
She looked up from the part and raised a brow at him. "Certain things?" She asked, cause the way he said it left it open for interpretation.
"I, um..." He frowned and looked around before shrugging his shoulders again. "I need a mattress." He stated.
"Oh." Anemone blinked at the actually tame request and carefully placed the part back in the bag and nodded her head. "Uh right. Well, our supply trader doesn't really deal with that kind of stuff. So how about after I'm finished with my call, you and I can hash out the details of what you need, and what we can provide."
Anemone was sure they had a mattress or two somewhere in storage that they could spare. So if he was willing to trade in sought after parts for that? Then she wasn't about to turn him away. Especially since the camp was hurting for parts and materials, that much she knew. What with the constant request from the weapons shop owner so he could get up and running, repairing and making weapons again, if only temporarily. But they just didn't have the manpower to do many scavenging missions at the moment. So these parts would prove immensely beneficial.
Sebastian nodded his head and zipped the backpack closed. "That works for me." He paused and exhaled through his nose before giving her a warm smile. "And It really is good to see you again, Anemone. It's nice to see a familiar face for once."
She returned the smile with the same enthusiasm and warmth. "Likewise."
(-)
(-)
And done. Oof! This was a hefty chapter. And I bet no one was expecting Anemone and the MC to know each other.
I'll admit, I had the idea of the MC knowing a character in some way bouncing around my head for months before I had even written down the first chapter.
Originally, it was going to be a different character. But then I decided to go with Anemone, cause, well, I felt really bad for her when I replayed the game to write down details and other stuff and read her memories on the terminal. That and because I wanted to try and do something more with her character rather than have her basically stuck just as a quest giver or just being the leader of the local Resistance.
Plus I think it goes nicely with the inevitable reveal later on.
And this probably clashes with lore or something somewhere. But I'm having a hard time trying to keep track of every bit of detail I can, and it ain't easy. Especially when I find new bits of info, and I should be getting my hands on the world guide books in a couple of days, so that's probably a lot of stuff in it. If the few screenshots of the English pages I've found online are any indication.
But yeah, anyway. I'm gonna stick with it. Because I just really like the idea. And I hope I did a decent job with it.
The next chapter might be a bit shorter, but it should hopefully be on the more light hearted side to try and balance things out with the earlier chapters. Also, I stayed up till one in the morning just to finish this in time.