A/N: Hello all, and welcome to chapter 61! We now start the penultimate arc of this story, The Manhunt. In this arc, we will see WashxCarolina start to bloom as well as some more focus on South and Maine. Those two have been out of the spotlight for a long fuckin' time, I know, and I think they deserve plenty of screen time.
*Chapter 61*
South Dakota had seen and done a lot of shit as a Freelancer. But never in a million years did she ever expect to see the entire side of the Red territory become filled with lush green grass. Tiny droplets of water clung to the tips and it brushed against her armor, and she looked at Maine. "Um, Maine?" 'How is this even possible? This makes no fucking sense!'
The massive silent brute was also looking around at their surroundings, and though his face was obscured behind that large shiny golden visor, South knew him well enough to be able to read his body language and tell that he was also very confused. He let out a curious growl and South began to rub her helmet.
"I'm not hallucinating or anything, right? We're seeing this correctly?" She gestured to all of the grass surrounding them and Maine let out a hiss of confirmation, prompting her to sigh. "That's what I was afraid of. Why the fuck is there grass in the middle of a desert canyon? This shouldn't be fucking possible." 'The only way I could think of it to be possible is if the UNSC came and did some terraforming to the place. But I highly doubt it, since barely anyone knows about it. It's not like Reach or even Harvest. And even then, why would they only do it to one side of the canyon?'
'I really, really don't get paid enough for this bullshit.' Shit, now she was beginning to sound like Reach. If there was one thing the Spartan did more than have filthy sex with Tex, it was bitch about his salary and his supply of 'headache' medicine running out. By headache medicine, he of course meant whatever form of alcohol was in the local vicinity.
Maine looked down and kicked something plastic, and as if on cue it started to spin and spray water on them. Both Freelancers started at the sprinklers quietly for a few seconds before South let out a growl. "Simmons…"
Maine hissed in agreement, and South narrowed her eyes before she began to stalk across the grassy field towards the maroon simulation soldier. He was currently talking to Grif about something in hushed tones, and he didn't notice a very irritable and dripping wet Freelancer stalking towards him with slightly murderous intent swirling around her like a storm cloud.
'That's right, you asshole,' she seethed. 'Keep talking and don't pay any attention. Fuck, I wish I had Delta install an active camouflage unit to my armor. I sure as hell could use it right about now to sneak up on them undetected. This damned armor isn't exactly good for blending in.'
Her armor was now spray painted to the familiar orchid with olive highlights, and on the battlefield it meant she stuck out like a sore thumb. The only way she was sneaking up on anybody was if they were complete and utter idiots.
Fortunately, the Reds and Blues were idiots despite their newfound training regimen. Not to mention Simmons had his back turned to her, another big mistake. He didn't have the slightest clue in the world about the world of agonizing pain that was stalking towards him.
Grif spotted her and his cigarette nearly fell out of his mouth, but he managed to catch it and swallowed a painful lump in his throat as she approached. He didn't say a word to Simmons, and that opportunity was all South needed. 'He did well by not giving me away. I'll buy him a pack of smokes for the help.' It was so much more tiring if her prey ran away.
With an annoyed growl she pounced on her quarry and put Simmons in a headlock. "You! You have some explaining to do!"
"Ah! Get the fuck off me!" Simmons wailed. His limbs flailed wildly, and South ducked to avoid being hit in the head. "Let me go, you goddamned psychopath!"
"Shut the fuck up," she hissed. She gave Grif a cheery smile, even though he couldn't see it thanks to the helmet on her head. "And thank you, Grif, for making this so much easier. You'll find a pack of cigarettes waiting for you when we get back to the ship."
"Sure, no problem. It's just a nice change to see someone else get their ass beat for some dumb shit instead of me." Grif shrugged, wincing. "That beatdown your boyfriend put on me still hurts. It reminds me of that bachelorette party in Honolulu."
"You seriously want me to believe that you slept with an entire bachelorette party?" South raised an eyebrow skeptically and held Simmons' arms behind his back. "Forgive me if I call bullshit on that." 'Yeah, no fucking way. There's no way in hell this guy has ever had sex in his entire life.'
"Hey, I never said I had sex with them." Grif chuckled miserably and kicked at the dirt. "I was the fuckin' piñata for them to beat whenever they got bored. Which was basically every ten minutes because they were drunk."
"That's what I thought. I'll be back. No promises on him being in one piece when I return." South rolled her eyes and started to drag Simmons over to Reach and Carolina.
"Ah fuck it, go ahead and kill him!" Grif yelled. "It'll mean fewer headaches for all of us!"
"Fuck you, asshole!" Simmons cried, trying desperately to free himself from South's cold grip. "And let me go, dammit!"
"I don't fucking think so, jackass," South snapped. "You have some serious explaining to do." 'Why do I have a feeling Reach is going to attempt to kill him this time instead of either Tex or Maine? Oh, right. Because he's still technically the Red Team's leader and could probably get away with it.'
She dragged the struggling simulation trooper through the grass to where Carolina, Washington, and Reach were talking and the Spartan glanced at her. "South? What are you doing?"
"I brought this idiot to explain why the fuck this side of the canyon is completely covered in grass," South replied, gesturing the green field behind her. "And why the hell the sprinklers are on."
Reach was quiet for a few seconds, and he faced Simmons with an exasperated sigh. "Private, care to explain?"
"Um, well, I needed the water for my vegetable garden, and I accidentally left the sprinklers and automated fertilizers on when we left," Simmons answered with the most pathetic whimper South had ever heard. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Just don't let this psycho kill me!"
Reach was still, and for a brief hopeful seconds South wondered if he would crack and punch Simmons in the face. To her disappointment, his hands never left his forehead and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "For fuck's sake. Do you have any idea how high that fucking water bill is going to be? I'm not paying that."
Even though she was disappointed that Reach didn't deliver the most brutal beatdown the galaxy had ever seen, South couldn't help but snicker at his response. He wasn't even mad about the grass. Instead, it was the massive bill that would need to be paid eventually. 'Okay, I should've expected that.'
"Does that mean I get to kill him?" she asked hopefully. "Grif said we'd all have fewer headaches if we did, and we could very easily make it look like an accident. Just saying."
"I could say the same thing if we killed Grif," the Spartan replied dryly. "South, let him go and I'll let you and Maine test the liquor I've been working on."
"Don't do it," Carolina whispered. "It'll floor you in a heartbeat." Washington laughed at that.
South hesitated. On one hand, she really wanted to smack Simmons around like he was the ball in tetherball. But on the other, she was very, very curious about this mysterious alcohol that Reach had secretly been working on. 'Dammit. Why did it have to be liquor? He really knows our taste.'
With great reluctance she let Simmons go. "Fine. But this better be some good shit, otherwise I'm going to kill him."
"Don't worry. I guarantee you you'll enjoy it quite a bit." South could feel Reach smirking devilishly under his helmet, and suddenly she shivered despite it being stupidly hot outside.
'I feel like I'm going to regret this…' South was glad when Maine came over with a curious growl at the mention of liquor. If he could handle it, then she definitely stood a chance. "Hey Maine. Reach here has some sort of mysterious liquor that we're all going to try out. Is that something you'd be interested in?"
Maine nodded with a growl, and Carolina sighed in despair as if she already knew how everything was going to end. South didn't buy it. Carolina was never a fan of drinking like her brother and York were during their time in Project Freelancer. She preferred keeping her head clear of any and all distractions during her failed attempt of dethroning Tex from her spot on top of the leaderboard.
Honestly, South thought the woman could use a drink every now and then. Especially with all of the bullshit the Director put them through on a daily basis. They all needed a way for them to unwind and let themselves relax. Now that they managed to find Carolina mostly in one piece save for her sanity, it would be a good time for them to relax and take it easy for a bit before they went after the Director.
A drinking contest would be perfect.
"By the way, Carolina, there's something you ought to know," Reach said, and he pulled his helmet off with a giant smirk plastered on his face. "Texas and I are now married, and as we all know from the records, she technically is your mother."
"…wait, WHAT?" Carolina's face turned as red as her hair and Washington fell on the ground howling with laughter, tears of mirth in his eyes. South hid her snickers behind a cough and Maine chuckled.
They hadn't forgotten about that one.
"Yep! Say hi to your new stepdad!" Washington said with a gasp, wiping his cheeks. "Holy fuck, I forgot about that!"
"M-my new stepdad…?" Carolina's eyes glazed over with shock, and she sank to her knees and toppled over to land facefirst on the ground. "No…no, no, no…this has to be a hallucination…"
"Eta, if you would be so kind as to reveal the wedding certificate?" Reach smirked.
His little orange AI showed a holographic image of the certificate to the stunned agent, looking at her in sympathy. "I'm afraid to inform you that Sierra B-312 here is correct. He and Agent Texas are lawfully wed."
"Wait, what the hell was that?" Carolina lifted her head up from the grass in a heartbeat at the mention of Reach's number. "Are you telling me what I think you are? The one who my mother married…is a UNSC war hero and legend? How the fuck is that even possible!?"
"Believe me, I ask the same question every day of my life," Reach answered with a shrug. "To be honest, I have no idea how I survived. I'm starting to think I'm just really lucky."
A loud explosion from in the smoking ruin of Blue Base sounded off in the distance, and South looked at the giant pillar of smoke. "Um…what the hell happened there?" 'Why does it look like it was glassed from orbit?'
"Oh, that…" Carolina chuckled awkwardly and glanced at Reach. "Um, would you be kind enough to explain?"
"Hell no." Reach smirked. "You get the honors of retelling that story. We recorded it, too. For data gathering purposes only, I assure you."
"God-fucking-dammit. You're an asshole."
"And your father in law. Don't forget that."
"Ugh, why do I even bother sometimes?" Carolina groaned in annoyance. "Well, okay. I went to see if anyone was still around, and when I walked inside, I saw that someone had covered nearly every square inch of the interior with posters of porn."
South and Reach looked at each other and sighed. "Goddammit Tucker…" Maine hissed and cracked his knuckles before stomping off to go kill the pervert.
"Needless to say, I didn't take too kindly to that heretical filth, and I decided to purge the galaxy of it," Carolina finished. "Think I should've used more explosives or no? The ruin isn't quite symmetrical."
South really shouldn't have been surprised that Carolina went on an exterminatus, especially when she remembered how she acted when they were stranded on that tropical island some time back. It was a pretty explosion, she wasn't going to lie.
But she didn't think Carolina would snap after spending less than a week here. Though it must have been pretty fucking boring with nothing to do apart from shoot shit and try raiding Reach's liquor stash. Okay, she couldn't blame her for wanting to destroy the Blue Base.
She just wished she was here to witness the glorious spectacle. South hoped Carolina recorded the footage for them to marvel at later.
"So, now that we're all nice and reacquainted, who's up for a drinking contest?" Reach asked.
There was an instant rise of hands from everyone save Carolina, who backed away with a nervous laugh.
"Okay then. I'll get it, we'll fly back, and then the party begins. First one to collapse has to pay the water bill."
"Motherfucker."
South should've known there was a catch to this shit.
A/N: Next up, the drinking contest. It'll go about as good as you expect XD.
Also, if you haven't, I'd recommend checking out 'The Gambling Noble State' by IronGiant9000. It's another 'Freelancer Six' fic and one with a Tex/Six pairing, too. Definitely worth reading!
C. Strife #5371