CHAPTER 65: MAN LOVES, GOD KILLS, PART 1
"Fear is your only god."
-Zack de la Rocha
"Fear is the mind-killer."
-Frank Herbert
DECEMBER 26TH
As the morning sun scorches the cursed Earth known as Hellwood, another long day of torment comes to an official beginning for its prisoners. Those who manage to wake from their short nights of sleep, some never waking at all and finding some release to this place, and never sleeping at all from insomnia seeping into their brains, the prisoners of Hellwood all stumble to their feet to start a new day in one way or another; some merely scavenging for means to survive, others predators seeking prey.
The city was once a melting pot, but it has now blown to pieces with its many ingredients within scattered and separated. Here, they may separate themselves as the Europeans, the Middle Easterns, the Hispanics, the Asians, and the Africans; each of different descent and heritage, but no one, not even themselves, can deny where they are:
This is hell on Earth, and they are here to stay.
Regardless, there is one man who seeks to bring change to the state of his city. Remembering a time when this land was once known as Hillwood, a city of peace and prosperity, he seeks to see that dream realized once again, and end the pain of the prisoners of Hellwood.
This man is Arnold Shortman, known better to the world as the Green Eye.
Tried of the eternal suffering and damnation that the city of Hellwood has endured, he had attempted to make just one day of peace where not only the people of Hellwood would see a pause to their suffering, but he, too, would find a temporary peace. Hours ago, on Christmas Day, he pushed his powers to their limit, trying desperately to make others see a peace that he desired for them.
For just a moment, the people saw it, and it had began to work.
However. Arnold's attempt at peace had made one fatal oversight: With commodities such as food and other necessities being scarce and hard to keep in Hellwood, the peace that he had established had quickly crumbled in on itself, just as he was warned. Brother had turned on brother once again, leading to more battle and war over supplies for their own survival.
Despite this, there were two select people that were not so affected by the collapse of his peace. One is Lars Rodriguez, the infamous cybernetic super-criminal with a Frankenstein's monster-like face, and Sid, the Hillwood Hero turned dysfunctional drug junkie under Lars' watch and care.
During their time together, the two had found something of a chemistry and friendship. Under the influence of Arnold's attempt at peace, the two had felt their friendship start to evolve into a more personal connection, one that neither could have anticipated before.
Smiling as he softly woke from his bed, Lars gently ran his hand over Sid's head, cuddling snugly against him as the two shared one another's warmth. Waking gently under his partner's hold, Sid smiled with a slight moan as he was held under Lars' gentle grip.
"Was it good for you, too, baby?" Lars asked.
"Yeah... That was just the best..." Sid said.
"Yeah..."
As conscious began to return to both parties, as did realization and sanity, as well as internalized homophobia and male insecurity. In an instant, the two stood up in bed, realizing the other of them was nude and both were lying together in bed, with a slight wetness inside Sid's anus.
The implication of what actions they took were expressed accordingly for two supposedly heterosexual males.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The two screamed in unison.
Looking away from one another, Lars and Sid hoped that they reality that they were facing was little more than a dream, looking back in hopes that their beliefs held true. Unfortunately for them both, it proved not to be the case, and reality remained that they had slept with one another.
As such, they returned to their pre-appropriated response.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The two screamed in unison.
With the destruction of The Farm and Aryan Nation, the balance of power has been shifted once again. Following the death of Wolfenstein and the Aryan Nation falling with him, its populace has gone two separate ways: One half to Old Hillwood in search of their original hopes of a secure place to live, and the other half taking to the last remaining province allied with The Freak to satisfy their need for violence:
God's Country.
Though there exists very little in the form of government in God's Country, claiming their god to be their only governor and the Bible their only constiution (not counting Saint Lila as a religious leader), there is one variation of a government service of law enforcement found in the form of the Crusaders.
Acting under the command of Saint Lila and answering only to her, the Crusaders act as her own hand of god, placing judgement on anyone who breaks the word of the Bible and above any judgement of their own so long as they repent for their own sins. It is through their brute force that law and order is maintained in God's Country, and the land around them is conquered and brought into the province.
Herbie Grossman is the newest of the Crusaders, and the one with a different need for violence than his colleages. Where the majority of those who join the Crusaders are true believers in the word of their god, or simply mad dogs looking for an ideology to justify their actions, Herbie Grossman is a different breed altogether.
He is without any shred of family that he once possessed, he feels a crippling pain in his soul from the loss, and he wishes to inflict that loss on everone else.
Joining his colleages outside a small town within Old Hillwood, the next victims of his rage await him and the rest of the Crusaders in their conquest of Hellwood. Watching the people inside reside happily as can be for the land of Hellwood, content with the company of one another, he remembers that same warmth they share...
...and he knows it is long gone for him.
As a cold reminder of how his family was taken away from him, one such colleage, a Crusader that had stolen his daughter and made her his own wife, had put a hand on Herbie's shoulder. The touch of the man who was responsible for his loss was a touch as unwanted as that of a touch of poison ivy; slowly burning, painful, and one that would not easily go away.
"Hey, you about ready for this?" The Crusader asked.
Swallowing his hatred for the Crusader, needing to show no signs of hate for his fellow Crusaders to stay his position, Herbie gave a calm response.
"Yeah. About as ready as I can be." Herbie said.
"Good. Don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to this, especially snatching up a few more wives. That cute little daughter of yours? You raised her well. She was a little fussy at first, but, now, she's a perfect little cock-slut. Thank the lord and thank you for bringing her to me." The Crusader said.
Once again was Herbie forced to swallow his anger, and it was no easier than the first time. Needing to channel his hatred elsewhere, he placed all focus back to the town.
"Let's just focus on the job and do what we came here to do." Herbie said.
"I ain't arguin'. Let's go." The Crusader said.
[Soundtrack Cue: Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (Single Version)]
Following the command of their leader, Herbie and his unwitting comrade began rushing into battle, holding their rifles and other weapons at arms to attack the unwitting town and conquer it for themselves. For a small town of simple folk being pitted up against heavily-armed conquerers, the word 'battle' does not begin to describe the events here, but, instead, it is best known by another word:
Slaughter.
Running in with weapons of all manners in their hands, the first of the Crusaders who run in are those with blades, piercing through the first standing in their way and putting their bodies to the ground. Doing significant damage by way of swords and bladed weapons, the Crusaders continued to cut and stab away at their downed enemies until their lives were eventually gone.
Downing the first of many innocents in their way, the Crusaders with firearms are the next to take lives, drawing their weapons and aiming for their next targets. The first they took aim for were those who sought to escape the slaughter, running from the first onslaught of enemies to save themselves.
They find no such shelter, and are met only with bullets in their backs. With the Crusaders taking their aim carefully, each shot is sent through bone, muscle, tissue, and blood vessel to down their targers. Men, women, and boys are not spared from the carnage, but there is one breed that is given pass:
Girls, and young virgins only.
Not granted the escape of death that their families had been granted, girls, from ages anywhere from toddler to preteen, are given fates worse than their dead families. Forced down to the ground and accosted by way of rape from the Crusaders, taken and claimed as a wife through this ritual, they are damned to live on lives of sexual servitude to their new masters.
Pinned down to the ground by bodies larger and more capable than theirs, the girls are left to be penetrated and exploited against their will; what little they have left taken away with the unwanted entry into their wombs; their hymens being torn to shreds. Feeling their captors thrust in and out of them, they are torn apart from the inside out, and cannot focus on anything else but the pain inflicted on them and the pleas they give for it to stop.
Their rapists, the so-called holy men called Crusaders, do not pay mind to their cries and pleas. Some even grow more aroused under the struggles they give. Continuing to penetrate and thrust into them, the Crusaders make a message clear on the girls that they are no longer human beings, and whatever soul they once possessed was no longer theirs.
The virgin woman is becoming an endangered species, and the Crusaders are the hunters that lead to their extinction.
Herbie Grossman is aware of this 'perk' to being part of the Crusaders, but he has not brought himself to claiming a wife to himself yet. Instead, all he can focus on is the violence that he needs to fill the hole in his heart. No matter how many lives he takes, there is not anywhere near enough to erase the pain of his loss.
Soon, his killing spree brings him to a family of three, where he downs the two parents standing before him without a second thought. When he sees the third of the family, a young girl no older than his own daughter, he cannot help but stop in his murder spree for just one moment.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Realizing how similar this girl looks to his own daughter Annie, there is a shred of remorse that begins to fall before him, with a tear coming down his face.
This one moment of remorse is put to a pause by his fellow Crusader that had taken that daughter from him, pointing his gun to the young girl in preparation to fire. Acting to save the girl's life, Herbie knocked the rifle out of her way, preventing him from firing on her.
"No! We... We don't kill the female virgins, remember?" Herbie asked.
"Oh, whoops. Got a little trigger-happy. Be a shame to waste the girl, she is pretty. Tell you what, I've already bagged a couple, why don't you take this one? She seems like a good fuck." The Crusader said.
"W-What?"
"Virgin girls we get to take for ourselves. Go on and fuck her, and she's all yours. That's the rule."
"I-I know, but... I just... I just..."
"What? Not in the mood? Oh, well, more for me."
The Crusader began unzipping his pants to have his way with the girl, but Herbie stopped him once again, unable to let him continue in good conscience.
"NO! You can't do that!" Herbie said.
"The hell I can't! Look, if you want her, then go ahead and take her. Otherwise, I'll fuck her and take her for myself. I don't care which, but one of those things are gonna happen. What's it gonna be?" The Crusader asked.
Taking one last look at the girl, Herbie carefully thought over how he would allow the fate of the girl to unfold. Strongly disliking the idea of another girl suffering under his piggish comrade's rule, he could not afford the prospect of him taking her for himself like he has so many others.
Therefore, it only seemed reasonable that he took her for himself, giving her a more benevolent guardian to watch over her. However, that option could only come about if he personally took her in an exploitative way that a woman was not meant for, especially not one so young as this girl.
"C'mon, you gonna fuck her or not?" The Crusader asked.
"I... I'll do it. Just... don't look at me." Herbie said.
"Fine. I'll give you some cover."
The Crusader turned his back to Herbie, giving him privacy to exploit the girl for himself. Reaching out to the girl, Herbie placed his hands around her clothes, his hands themselves shaking all the time of gripping at her in regret. Gripping her clothes tightly, he tore them off of her, denuding her before him and giving him access to the organ which he would make her him with.
Unzipping his pants, his hands still shaking at the effort, he pulled out his member, stroking it lightly to make it stiffen. His shaking hands were not the only sign of regret and disgust that he had for himself, but light cries and tears coming from his face also showed his own remorse for his actions.
"Please don't... Please don't hurt me..." The girl said.
"I'm sorry... I have to do this... I'm trying to save you..." Herbie said.
Picking the girl up and fighting back against her resistance attempts, Herbie slowly lowered her onto himself, piercing through her hymen and making her scream.
"AAH! STOP! IT HURTS! TAKE IT OUT! TAKE IT OUT!" The girl screamed.
"I... I can't..." Herbie cried.
Moving her up and down on his shaft, he brought out more pained screams from the girl, feeling her undeveloped vagina start to stretch and tear under his size.
"NO! PLEASE STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING ME! I'M BEING TORN APART!" The girl screamed.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'M SO SORRY!" Herbie cried.
The act continued to its completion, a climax which neither party enjoyed. When all was over, the girl had found some salvation in the arms and the protection of Herbie Grossman, but never would she forget the foundation upon which that safety was built upon...
...and never would Herbie Grossman forgive himself for it.
Failing in his prior attempt to bring peace to Hellwood before, Arnold Shortman returns to the streets as the Green Eye to bring about that peace in his old ways. Taking to the streets of Hellwood once again, he seeks to battle against the evil forces within with his hands, hoping that such efforts would take his mind off all his other troubles, attempting to put his mind on something else and something more productive.
Unfortunately, one of those troubles he cannot remove from his mind. That trouble is the loose cannon named Baise-Moi.
The true identity of this French femme fatale is none other than Helga Pataki, his own fiancee, but he is unaware of this fact. Just as her undying love of Arnold was kept from him during the days of their youth, her double life of Baise-Moi is kept secret; the information out of his mental reach.
With no idea to the whereabouts of Baise-Moi as of now, the only person who could give him the answers he needed was Valiance, in his other self of Buckley Lloyd. Following their battle against Valiance, the white knight had shared a conversation with her, noting that she even knew his real name. Before she mentioned it during their fight, and once again had she spoken it while battling Nippon.
But, still overridden with guilt over his own manic killing spree, he has gone comatose with no signs or chance for recovery. A brief glimpse into his mind with the powers of the Spirit Master would reveal nothing inside but emptiness; a blank slate of a mind that would give him no answer.
This leaves him with no idea where to find her, and less idea of where to guess.
For the majority of the day, he has put all of his energy, both mental and physical, on trying to restore peace in Hellwood in the same way he knows best: Fighting off those who would prey upon those that cannot defend themselves, and keep order within the borders of Old Hillwood.
Even with all the effort that he puts into his actions, there is nothing that take his mind off the subject of Baise-Moi. He does not know what it is that makes this person eat at his mind, what is it that makes this person seem so familiar to him, but the French femme fatale will not leave his mind. Such is the case since this day has begun, and such is the case all the way until the fall of the sun and rise of the moon.
Suddenly, the thoughts revolving around Baise-Moi are cut short with the sounds of voices crying for help, leading him to place his focus on the present time yet again. Running to the sounds of the cries, the Green Eye ran from rooftop to rooftop, moving in pursuit of the voices to come to their rescue.
When he arrives, he finds that Baise-Moi returns to his thoughts yet again, finding her on the scene before him. Carefully watching her battle off gang members in an alleyway, the Green Eye cautiously observes how she takes action against the enemies, finding opportunity to observe her and perhaps even reveal her identity at last.
Baise-Moi, fighting off a small gang of those who would seek to prey on lesser people, proved herself to be more than capable when fighting on her own. Fending off her attackers with grace and skill, she proved that her truncheon was not her one weapon, but her body itself was just as much as and just as effective as a weapon.
Dodging the punch of one attacker, she threw an uppercut to his groin, following with a bashing over the head with her truncheon. Moving onto the next, she threw several strikes to his chest with the billy club, concluding with a roundhouse kick to his face, sending him to the ground as his comrade currently was.
Somersaulting backwards, Baise-Moi threw a kick to the face of her next would-be attacker, driving her heel into his chin and downing him with the others. Sweeping her leg backwards to one attacker who sought to surprise her from an attack from behind, she turned the attempt back on him, putting him to the ground.
Having put down the enemy in full, Baise-Moi had earned her victory in this fight, but had not yet claimed it. Moving to the leader of the gang, she grabbed him by the ear, painfully dragging him against a wall. At the other end of the alleyway from the wall he was placed at was a young man with a small bag of food, having scavenged Hellwood and salvaged the food for himself, making him the target of this gang.
"Do you see this man? He was doing nothing to harm you. All he wanted was to leave with his food. But you sought to take it from him. You sought to steal that which you did not earn." Baise-Moi said.
"I'm... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." The gang leader said.
"You're not sorry. You're only sorry that you were caught. That's no excuse for people like you. How many people have suffered under your gang's pillaging? How many people have starved because you have stolen their food?"
Baise-Moi raised her truncheon above her head, preparing to drive it down onto the gang leader's head.
"How many will be spared with the taking of your life?" Baise-Moi asked.
"NO, NO!" The gang leader begged.
No longer staying his hand from intervening in the fight, the Green Eye threw a shuriken to the wall, catching the attention of Baise-Moi. Looking up to the origin of the projectile, she found a pair of glowing green eyes looking back at her, knowing that her vengeance on these gang members would be cut short tonight.
"Merde." Baise-Moi cursed.
Releasing her grip on the leader, Baise-Moi began retreating from the scene, hoping to escape the sight of the Green Eye. Her watcher did not release his sight nor his pursuit of her; running after her on the rooftops and keeping his higher ground on his selected target.
Coming to a crossroads of two differing roads to the alleyway, Baise-Moi turned to face down one way, but found shurikens thrown to the ground before she could cross it to her originally intended destination. Looking up to see the same green eyes watching over her again, she began heading down the opposite way, moving towards the intended destination of the Green Eye instead.
Moving out of the alleyway and into the open road, Baise-Moi ran down the snowy pathway, hoping that she would come out of view of the Green Eye. The man without pain showed no signs of ending his pursuit; continuing to run on the rooftops, all while keeping his eye on Baise-Moi and closing in on her.
Making his move to catch her at last, the Green Eye jumped down from his higher ground, leaping on top of a power cable, hopping off it to land on Baise-Moi, tumbling her to the ground. Freeing herself from the hold of the Green Eye's tackle, Baise-Moi kicked him off, giving herself freedom to try to escape from her pursuer yet still.
Climbing up a fire escape, she sought to obtain the same advantage of high ground the Green Eye once held, making her way to the top and preparing to head across the rooftops to her safety. Just as Baise-Moi made her way up to the rooftops with the fire escape, the Green Eye was close behind in pursuit, climbing his way back up to the rooftops to continue chasing after the French femme fatale.
Stuck on a run above the ground, the Green Eye and Baise-Moi continued on their chase; one intent on finding freedom away from the other, and the other intent on catching and finally knowing the identity of the one. The two forces move towards and away from each other, like two opposites attracting one another, or a predator in pursuit of his prey.
The latter comparison is much more in tune with Baise-Moi's own thoughts. For years as Helga Pataki, she had been in pursuit of Arnold Shortman much like this, with her efforts never paying off until much later in life. To be caught in the opposite affair is an irony that would be delicious to a few, perhaps even to herself, but she is too far focused on preserving her identity to enjoy her chase.
However, there is a sliver of emotion in her that draws pleasure from being caught in this chase, if only to drive her to keep running.
Nonetheless, that emotion is cut short with the chase itself coming to its untimely end. Running up to a rooftop with a dead end, no adjacent rooftop next to it to jump to, Baise-Moi found herself stopped in her tracks and put up against the Green Eye at last, leaving the two face-to-face.
On top of being pitted against the Green Eye, the cold night began to send down rain to the scene, with lighting provided by the moon and a glowing neon sign for Yahoo Soda, giving the two plenty of focus on one another with a scene more than fit for their final confrontation.
Stepping forward to Baise-Moi, the Green Eye made his speech to the femme fatale, finally having her where he wanted her.
"Listen. I want you to know that I appreciate your help, and I know you mean well, but your methods aren't what this city needs. Especially not now." Green Eye said.
"The deaths of the Jolly Olly Man and Wolfenstein have brought peace to Hellwood where your methods could not, le heros Green Eye. The case has been made clear that only the death of evil will mean the end of evil." Baise-Moi said.
"Valiance believed in that line of thinking, and it drove him to insanity. You saw what he turned into firsthand, and fought him alongside me. Is that the road you want to head down?"
"Valiance was a fool who had no principles, only working through his own flawed moral lines he drew from his own failings as a father."
"You say that like you knew him. You also sounded like you two knew each other when we fought. He even told you my name. When Nippon sliced at me, you said my real name. 'Arnold'. Almost like you knew me."
Realizing that he own double-identity was coming to an end, Baise-Moi desperately tried to hold onto what secrecy she still had, trying to dismiss the question.
"What difference does it make? We fight on the same side. We are allies; a commoditity that you are lacking in these days. Does it matter who I am or what I know if we fight together?" Baise-Moi asked.
"It does to me. I can't have any loose cannons running around when I have no idea what they're going to do. I have enough of that problem with Lars, and I don't need it from some French dominatrix that just wants to get in my pants that I don't even know. But, like you said, you're still an ally, and you've helped a lot so far. That's why I'm giving you this one chance to take off that mask and end all secrets now, or walk away now and give up this nonsense altogether." Green Eye said.
Unable to accept either of those outcomes, Baise-Moi once again pulled out her truncheon, preparing herself to fight against the Green Eye.
"I cannot allow either of those, le heros Green Eye. If you will not let me go, I will have to fight my way through you." Baise-Moi said.
"Look. Trust me. You know who I am. You don't want to do this." Green Eye said.
Finding the Green Eye's statement more truthful than she hoped for, Baise-Moi swallowed her next saying, keeping it in her thoughts only.
If only you knew how accurate that statement was. Helga thought.
Still standing her ground against the Green Eye, Baise-Moi ran towards her opponent, swinging her truncheon at him in hopes of landing a hit. Finding her attacks less than a challenge to overcome, her movements fueled by confusion and fear, the Green Eye swerved and dodged every strike that came his way, putting almost no efforts into his attempts to evade.
"I've noticed you have a bad temper. That's no good on the battlefield." Green Eye said.
Ignoring his taunt, Baise-Moi continued to throw more strikes at the Green Eye, putting more power and speed behind each blow. Unfortunately, just like before, each of her attacks led to naught but the Green Eye effortlessly dodging each strike, leaving her attack ineffective.
"It makes your technique sloppy and your hits lack power. Waste of energy." Green Eye said.
Lunging forward with a swing to the side, Baise-Moi followed her attack up with a side-kick to her target, neither of which landed. Jumping back and landing on the edge of the building, the Green Eye once again was left unscathed, showing the ineffectiveness of Baise-Moi's attacks.
"Now you're just losing control. That's what happens when you let your anger get the better of you." Green Eye said.
Throwing a sweeping strike at his ankles, Baise-Moi's attack did nothing against the Green Eye but drive him to leap up over her strike, somersaulting over her head and landing onto the concrete rooftop once again. Turning to see the Green Eye unharmed once again, Baise-Moi was met with a look of disappointment from the man without pain, further driving her to frustration and anger.
"Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me." Green Eye said.
Having no more luck with her truncheon, Baise-Moi threw the weapon aside, instead putting her focus on her fists, raising them up to spar against the Green Eye. Hoping that her efforts would show more fruit with a more personal method of fighting, the Green Eye raised his fists up in response.
"Okay. Let's see how you do it old-fashioned." Green Eye said.
Running towards the Green Eye, Baise-Moi threw a series of punches towards her opponent, aiming to land a hit to his face. Despite changing her choice of weapon to her truncheon to her own fists, her outcome still managed to remain the same up against the man without pain.
Dodging hit after hit thrown his way, Baise-Moi's furious attacks were no match against the Green Eye; the cool and collected warrior's focused mind outmatching blind fury and rage in every advantage. The only one advantage that remained on the side of Baise-Moi was her own rage giving her enough drive to continue on for as long as she could push herself, but even that was met wtih the patience of the Green Eye.
Still continuing to throw her hits towards the Green Eye, Baise-Moi managed to land none in her opponent, and soon found herself as the recipient of one herself. Striking at her with an open palm, seeking to do as little damage to her as possible, the Green Eye pushed Baise-Moi back, taking her by surprise to take away her breath.
Jumping up in the air, Baise-Moi threw two kicks to the Green Eye's head, each being blocked with ease from the would-be target. Continuing to try for more kicks in her attack, Baise-Moi followed up with spinning to roundhouse kicks, continuously moving towards the Green Eye with each spin.
Blocking away each spinning kick that came his way, Baise-Moi's offense still proved to be ineffective against this enemy; the Green Eye too sharply focused and serene to effectively swat away her attempts at hitting him. His strategy proved to be superior once more with a jump over her head, landing opposite to her past attack, waiting patiently for her to resume.
Meeting back with trying for punches yet again, Baise-Moi met his patience with further strikes of her fists, still never landing any hits. On and on, the cycle continued between the two: One lashes out in blind rage from their own secrets, and the other shows patience from the abuse being shown.
Had there been an ounce of self-awareness in this allegory, the image would make them both laugh and cry.
But, eventually, the patience of the Green Eye began wearing thin to Baise-Moi's rage, finding his own way to put a stop to the fight. Making one last dodge from her oncoming hit, the Green Eye jumped into the air, completely disappearing from her sight. Though gone from her sight, he did not keep himself out of her mind, speaking out one final taunt regarding her poor fighting skills.
"You still don't get it. All that anger doesn't just make you lose control over yourself. It makes you lose sight over everything that you need to know. Make you unable to see what's coming..." Green Eye began to say.
Keeping her guard up to her unseen enemy, Baise-Moi scanned the area carefully and quickly for a sign of the Green Eye, only to find no sign of him anywhere on the rooftop. Trying to follow the sound of his voice, she only continued to chase herself around in circles, as if his voice were surrounding her entriely, like standing in the center of a theater with surround sound.
Soon, she found the Green Eye at last, but at a point where she could not defend herself from his next strike.
"...until it's too late." Green Eye said.
Throwing an uppercut to Baise-Moi's face, the Green Eye sent her flying up into the air with his hit, soon landing back down to the ground, unmoving and out of fight to give. Staying idle on the ground, Baise-Moi seemed to have no more drive to continue, needing to stop and breathe to recover.
As a result from the punch, her mask and the wig of long blond hair had come off of her face; knocked clean off from the hit and landing on the ground, out of her reach before she could meet with the Green Eye again. Though she gave an attempt of a crawl towards the mask to obtain it, the Green Eye stepped in front of it, preventing her from concealing her identity and making the revelation inevitable.
Hiding her head under her chest to prevent it for one last moment before revealing herself to the Green Eye, Baise-Moi's defeat was offered with a hand from her victor.
"But you do have some skills, a lot more than I've seen in others. I can tell you get your lessons from a place of experience. I can help refine you. You can help us bring Hillwood back to the way it was before. We could use a person like you fighting with us. I could use a person like you. I will put my trust in you if you put your trust in me. What do you say?" Green Eye asked.
The Green Eye's sincerity and attempts at peace with the stranger known as Baise-Moi were as genuine as could be from any human being, from a man who wanted nothing more than the peace of everyone on Earth. Knowing nothing of this strange woman, and less of her ulterior motives, he was willing to look past it all for a chance to simply know who she was and earn her trust.
But that all changed when Baise-Moi lifted her head, and showed her face to him. Seeing the same face he had kissed time and time again with the short blonde hair that he had ran his hands through innumerable times, it was clear who her true identity was and there was no mistaking it...
...but neither the man named Arnold Shortman nor the superman named the Green Eye could believe their eyes.
So struck with disbelief that he even stumbled back from the sight of her face, removing his own mask and blinking his eyes in confusion, there is nothing in the mind of Arnold Shortman nor the Green Eye that can consciously grasp the reality that is clear and apparent for anyone else who can look at this scenario:
Baise-Moi is Helga Pataki.
Still unable to come into grips with the facts that he was now given, Arnold Shortman could not accept this reality on his own; his mind still racing with reasons to tell himself not to believe his own lying eyes. Needing the confirmation of another to accept the facts laid out before him, he asks out for the truth from Baise-Moi.
"Helga?! You're... You're Baise-Moi?!" Arnold asked.