A/N: Well, I know that TheBestGothorita told all of you that I would be out for at least two weeks…but I have never been one to listen to my doctor, so here we are. It's time for the fight against South, and I hope it's somewhat good. Also, Reach finds out who his roommate is.
*Chapter 3*
Reach stood on one side of the Training Room, sizing up South Dakota. 'She's smaller than me, but I should have the advantage in my strength. I just hope I don't reopen any of my wounds from that hellhole of a planet.'
He put on his helmet, sealing it with a hiss as he stretched his sore leg muscles. The Mother of Invention's AI gave the signal for the match to start soon. "This will be one round of hand-to-hand combat. Agent Reach will be going up against Agent South Dakota. The first one to end up unable to continue loses. Agents, please get ready."
Reach cracked his neck, ready to prove himself. He wasn't scared; if anything he was a bit eager to prove his worth as a Freelancer. 'If I hold my own against South, I should be fine here.'
"Begin!"
South swung her fist first, her speed slightly surprising Reach as he leaned back. 'She's fast. Very fast.' He spun around to kick her in the body, but the strike was blocked and Reach grimaced under his helmet as South's fist collided with his wounded chest. 'Ow. That really fucking hurt.'
He grabbed South's wrists, preventing her from landing any punches on the former Spartan. South struggled, and Reach brought his leg up to his stomach before lashing out, a swift kick landing. The agent doubled over as the wind left her.
Reach threw South away from him, and he got into a stance again, a bit more careful this time around. 'She also isn't fighting wounded like me. I gotta hope she doesn't hit me in the chest again like that. Otherwise, I could be taken out.'
-0-
Tex watched silently as the new recruit, Reach handled himself against South. 'He's fighting with a major injury, so for him to have that speed is still impressive.'
'And there is something else, too. Something about him intrigues me.'
Wyoming and the other Freelancers on the observation deck were also watching the fight. The British Freelancer stroked his enormous mustache and glanced over at York. "So, who's your money on?"
York folded his arms across his chest as Reach threw South over him. "Reach. He looks to be heavily trained for keeping up with South this far." North shook his head. "My money's on South. Reach is fighting wounded, and he's not as quick as South. Unless he can formulate a strategy against her, he'll bend first." He watched as his sister punched Reach twice in the stomach before the new agent slammed her on the ground.
Wyoming turned to Tex, who so far didn't answer. "Tex? What about you?"
Tex folded her arms, her eyes narrowed as Reach grabbed South in the air, holding the struggling agent above his head before kicking her away. "Reach."
-0-
Reach could feel the burn in his chest as he continued his match against South. So far, he had been tested quite a bit by the female agent. But, he knew better than to underestimate South just because she was a woman. He hadn't forgotten what Kat had done to Jun during a training session in Sword Base. The end result wasn't pretty.
He stood up, his fist cocked back. South tried to give him a new ache in his chest by lashing out with a sharp kick, but Reach ducked and slammed his fist into her. South stumbled back, kicking in desperation at Reach's face. Her boot connected, and Reach winced as the visor cut into his eye, blood beginning to blur his vision. 'Dammit.'
South got up as she saw Reach holding his eye. "What's the matter, new boy? Giving up?" Time began to slow down for the former Spartan, something everyone one in the SPARTAN program dubbed as 'Spartan Time.'
Reach crouched low, and he ran at South, his augmented speed surprising the Freelancer. She tried to block Reach's flurrying fists, but the former Spartan didn't let up and he threw South over his shoulder. He had won.
Reach stood up, blood still slowly snaking down his face. He took off his helmet and walked up to the observation deck, where the other Freelancers were drinking. "What the hell?"
York took a swig from his bottle before handing the former Spartan another, unopened drink. "We had a bet, you see. If you won, we would celebrate you by drinking a bit and watching a Grifball game. Although Wyoming wanted to tell you knock-knock jokes until you bashed your head into a wall, which believed me, you will want to."
Reach unscrewed the top, taking a careful sniff. 'I'd really hate it to be tequila, because I cannot hold that stuff to save my life.' Smelling that it was only beer, Reach took a swig, the alcohol barely burning his throat. He looked in the corner and saw her, standing by herself. 'Texas.'
Tex walked over to him, a bottle in her hand. "So, you think you are good, huh?" Reach met her gaze evenly. "And what if I said I did?" He paused to wipe the blood from his face, but Tex beat him to it, taking out a small cloth to carefully dab it away. She leaned closer to the former Spartan. "I'd say you need a bit more practice."
Reach chuckled as he took a swig of beer again, looking at a massive Freelancer in white armor, an EVA helmet in his hand. He gave him a small piece of paper. Reach took it, and his eyebrow rose as he read it. "Agent Maine, is it? We're roommates?" The man, now dubbed Maine, nodded. Reach extended his hand in greeting. "Agent Reach. I take it you're a quiet one?"
Maine pointed to a wound, still healing, on his throat. Reach took a closer look, and he saw it was a gunshot wound. 'This guy was shot in the throat and is still fighting? Damn, he must be a tough son of a bitch.'
A small fiery red figure appeared on Maine's shoulder, his arms behind his back. "I am AI Sigma, the voice of Agent Maine." Maine growled, and Reach wasn't sure if that was just the way his voice was or if it was a threat. Sigma translated a second later. "He says he is curious to see you perform on an actual mission, and hopefully help him hunt down the Insurrectionist who shot him in the throat."
Reach nodded and took another sip. 'Well, I don't suppose I did all that bad. Still, my injuries didn't help at all. South nearly had me at some points.'
-0-
The Director clicked play on the tape from the match, smiling slightly as he observed Reach's victory against South Dakota. 'So, he did well even wounded. Just as I thought, he is one hell of a fighter in hand to hand combat. I am curious to see how he'll get along with Agent Maine. Both of them like the same style of fighting.'
The Counselor ran towards him, puffing a bit as he reached the Director. "Director. This new recruit, Agent Reach, is the topic of many conversations onboard, especially amongst the other agents. Is this a good idea to use him so soon?"
The Director carefully stroked his chin. "Counselor, I am aware of your concerns, but my mind is clear on this one. Agent Reach will be deployed with Agents Maine, Washington, New York, and Carolina to destroy a current Insurrectionist facility. The earlier match against Agent South Dakota was merely to test his abilities."
The Counselor's jaw dropped. "Sir, you mean it was just a set up? Nothing more?" The Director shook his head, sighing. 'Silly man.' "Counselor, I only told Agent South Dakota to introduce herself to him, nothing more. She took it upon herself to challenge Reach to a match, which she clearly lost. Judged by his performance today, if he heals from his injuries, Agent Reach could hold himself against Wyoming, Maine, and even Carolina and Texas. This man has some serious skill, which will be very valuable to this project."
The Counselor paused, his head cocked to the side. "I guess you are right, sir. I will check up on Agents South Dakota and Reach to make sure they are not seriously harmed from their match." He turned on his heel and left, leaving the Director to watch the replay of the fight again.
He saw when South had managed to land a strong kick on Reach's visor, making the new recruit hold his eye. 'After this point, when South pokes at his pride, Reach simply turns the tide and quickly overpowers her. South made a crucial mistake at trying to jeer at him. All that did was result in her loss.' The Director sighed and looked at the leaderboard, with Agents Texas, Carolina, and Wyoming currently at the top three places, followed by York, Florida, North, CT, South, and Wash. Perhaps a few changes were needed after all….
-0-
Reach sat on the couch, watching this sport called Grifball with York and Wash. "And the goal is to try and not get pummeled to unconsciousness while attempting to score?"
York nodded, drinking from what Reach believed to be his fifth bottle of beer. 'This guy might have a better liquor tolerance than even Emile. And that was a guy who could hold his drink better than anyone.'
"Yeah, and the players each have modified Gravity Hammers and Energy Swords, so that way no one is killed," York explained, wincing as he saw a player on the screen get thrown from one side of the arena to the other. Reach frowned slightly as he watched the game go on. 'Seems a little brutal to me, but this does seem to be good anger management.' He saw another person go flying, and he mentally agreed with himself. 'Yeah, I can see it already. Emile would have way too much fun with this. That close quarters specialist bastard…' Reach missed his old teammate.
Actually, he missed his entire team. He may have not been with them long, only a few weeks at the most, but he had bonded rather quickly with the members of Noble Team. Emile was always one to have fun while killing the Covenant, and Jorge always gave Reach advice whenever he needed it.
Jun helped Reach become an expert marksman in about a week, the both of them constantly trying to steal each other's kills. Kat was brilliant with electronics, while Carter happened to be one of the best commanders Reach had ever served in his career. Only now they were all gone, all of them sacrificing themselves to protect humanity with a soldier's honor.
'Actually, I wonder about Jun. It's possible he made it out with Halsey, and the two of them are safe on Earth.' Reach let out a small sigh and looked at the ceiling, the game only background noise. 'Only now I'm no longer with them. I'm here, in a different time, separated from those I trusted most, with no one to relate to.' He got up, his eyes getting a bit heavy. Whatever the medics gave him for his wounds sure as hell made him sleepy, and augmented Spartan or not, rest was something every human needed. Fighting while drowsy was not a smart gamble to play.
York glanced up. "You heading in for the night?" Reach let out a yawn and stretched, feeling his bones crack. "Yeah. That stuff sure can knock one out. I'll see you."
He made his way towards the quarters, and it wasn't hard to find the one that he and Maine shared. The massive Freelancer looked up, and gave a small hiss of greeting. Reach nodded tiredly in return. "Maine." Maine pointed to the empty bunk, and Reach flopped down on the cot, his exhaustion setting in.
The big Freelancer's AI, Sigma, appeared. "Agent Reach, would you prefer to get up at the same time as Agent Maine tomorrow morning?" Reach nodded before closing his eyes. "Yes, thank you." The darkness creeping away at his vision finally overpowered him again.
A/N: *sigh* I hope putting Reach as roommates with Maine isn't taken badly. As for the fight with South, I do hope it was good enough, but I'll try to improve this fic as much as I can. It just won't be easy with a bum wrist, so late updates might happen again. See you!
Ja'ne!