Chapter 18: The Storm
As it turned out, the colourful substance you applied to your nails was called 'polish,' not 'paint.' Before arriving on Remnant, Noble Six would have considered this information about as important to remember as the air speed of any given species of sparrow.
Coco's constant mocking for the rest of that night had convinced her to keep it firmly in mind from now on.
Not that it had been all bad. Penny going through the process was mesmerising to watch, the small smiles and giggles she made. Beaming as she held up her emerald coloured digits to show the Spartan once Coco had said they were finally done.
"Sensational! These look so good, thank you Miss Adel!" Penny beamed, looking at the brunette who gave a bow of false modesty.
"Thank you, thank you. Always happy to help someone with their fashion, she's been fairly resistant to my efforts." Coco scowled, gesturing with a thumb to the Spartan who pulled her eyes away from Penny to glare back at the fashionista.
"You have yet to convince me fashion is actually fun." Six countered.
"The fact you're still wearing your hood says otherwise." Coco responded cooly before adding: "Now get your butt over here, I've got to do yours next."
Six rolled her eyes but did shuffle over. While she personally didn't see the appeal in having bright colours painted on her fingers, Penny seemed so excited for her to have them she decided not to resist, instead offering her hand to Coco who started applying a clear liquid to her nails. It was oddly gooey but still surprisingly pleasant to feel.
Six mostly sat quietly, adjusting her hands as asked and keeping them rock solid still as Penny and Coco talked. To her annoyance, she had to wait for Coco to put the colour on while she rolled on the floor, laughing like a feral hyena.
"Are cute boys a funny subject of conversation?" Penny asked, looking at the brunette who shook her head as she sat up.
"No, no. Sorry. We just met, so for future reference, boys were never my thing." Coco explained.
"On that note where is Velvet?" Six asked, she'd been wondering for a while where the Fanus was; she'd meant to ask but she'd been distracted.
"Working on a commission, she makes costumes for people." Coco explained as she carefully started applying the metallic purple colour she'd picked out to the Spartans' nails. "I've told her I can get her things, but she likes earning it herself."
They sat in silence idly chatting for a little longer, before Coco declared Six done. Curious, the Spartan looked down at her nails. They were… actually fairly nice. Sure she probably wouldn't bother doing them herself for a while, but it was pretty to look at and she supposed that was the point.
"I used the same top coat I do, that stuff wont chip for at least a month and that's with you smashing them into things." Coco said proudly, hands on hips. Penny moved in close, her eyes on Coco's hand.
"But you're not wearing any." Penny noted. At this point Coco shifted back slightly, eyes darting around, as though looking for an exit. Sensing metaphorical blood in the water, Six shifted so that she was blocking the door, enjoying the mild look of fear in Coco's eyes.
Huh, is this what friendship is like?
I think so?
Huh, it's neat.
"Oh, erm, yeah. I'll do them myself." Coco muttered hastily.
"But you said doing each other's nails was a critical part of sleepovers." Penny said innocently. Coco's pupils dilated, the look of fear was greater now.
"It's true, you did." Six said, a smirk on her face as Coco gulped.
"I-I… Fine." Coco said, huffing as she stretched out her hands, Penny excitedly grabbed the basecoat and started to apply it. Six swore Coco's right eye twitched every time Penny went over onto her skin. She was also reasonably sure Coco was grinding her teeth whenever Penny wasn't looking.
Six smiled and enjoyed the experience until it was done. Coco looked at her hands. She was holding out okay but, you could see that she wasn't thrilled over Penny's enthusiastic but slightly sloppy work.
"Well you did better than Bean did the first time that she tried." Coco eventually got out as she turned her hand over slightly.
"Who's Bean?" Penny asked as Six finally moved away from the door, standing up and stretching her legs which had been crossed for a while now.
"One of my half sisters." Coco explained as she too stood up and stretched. "I forget which marriage she's from, but Bean's occasionally stayed with me and dad for the holidays; she's a good kid."
After that Coco looked down, so Six hastily suggested they do something else. Which in the end turned out to be watching a movie and then falling asleep. Six found that last step slightly harder than normal, Coco had taken the mattress leaving Six and Penny to huddle up on the floor. And while Penny was asleep within seconds, Six was distracted; just watching Penny snore serenely until she finally drifted off.
"You know, I'd hoped in my dreams I could escape the rain." Six muttered, starting glumly at her surroundings.
She was currently sitting in a garish pink restaurant booth. Looking over at the counter suggested it was primarily a dessert place, given what was on display through the glass. She leaned back in the plush chair, glancing idly around at the sparkly black support columns and the various media on the walls.
Still, the interior was currently serving to protect her from the constant rain, because even here the rain was coming down. She'd actually looked it up on her scroll and realised Beacon was experiencing far more rain then it was supposed to for this time of year.
And apparently it's slipped over into our dreams, fan-fucking-tastic.
"It's really coming down isn't it?"
Six jolted and looked around, standing at the foot of her table was a woman. She was wearing an orange waitress uniform, grinning from a freckled face and brushing her ginger ponytail off her shoulder so it hung down her back.
"Erm, yeah?" The Spartan eventually said, blinking when the woman went from standing next to the table to sitting opposite her in the booth in an instant, grinning as she munched on some peanuts that definitely weren't there a second ago.
"Sorry 'bout that, it's my fault." The Waitress said, offering her the peanuts.
"How is it your fault?" The Spartan asked, wondering why she was disappointed that dream peanuts didn't taste like anything. "The only people I can think of that can control the rain are terraformers, not waitresses."
"I'm not a waitress, I'm a… look, I don't have time to get into it. The point is, the rain lately has been my fault, it's just a side effect of me taking things out of storage." The Waitress explained, somewhat more frantically. "You have no idea how much rubbish I have to sift through here, and that's not to mention the aliens, bringing those things over has been a real issue."
"You brought the Covenant over?" Six demanded, glaring at her with a burning passion. She knew that it was all a dream, not real, but that didn't mean she was gonna act happy about an admission like that.
"Yeah… My bad." The Waitress admitted, closing her eyes and grinning awkwardly as the Spartan lunged across the table at her. She involuntarily blinked, and a moment later, she was sitting back in her seat again, staring murderously at the Waitress across from her with that damn smile on her face.
"Look, it was an accident! I didn't mean to bring them over!" She explained. "I was trying to get you lot off of that planet, but the collector has… look, I just picked up some stuff I didn't mean to, okay?!"
Six paused, momentarily too dumbfounded to try attacking the Waitress again. "So you're the reason I got off Reach?"
Well of course, dummy. I bet she's your fairy godmother too. If you ask nicely, she might even have some sweets for you.
Eat my ass, jerk.
Six shook her head and smacked herself across the face. "Wait, why am I taking this seriously? I'm dreaming, none of this is real."
"Why would it being a dream mean it's not real?" The Waitress asked flatly as a swarm of purple unicorns ran down the outside street.
"Cause dreams are just your brain throwing chaotic night terrors at you till you wake up." Six muttered. "If there's a meaning to them, it's obvious, like 'You miss your squad.' Call me crazy, but I don't think 'You got sent to a batshit planet because of a waitress' is very grounded."
"Still not a waitress… hell, I thought you'd like the look." The Woman muttered before her clothing changed in a flash of orange light. Now the girl sported a UNSC Army Dress Uniform. "There, is that better? Please say no, this thing is so boring!"
"I- Hey, don't insult the uniform!" Six spluttered, staring at the woman who rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I'll figure something better out for next time… maybe a pirate." She muttered, before she shook her head vigorously. "Look, it's not important. So you think that this is all just your subconscious, right? That I'm not real?"
"That's the current answer I've reached, yes." The Spartan said flatly as the woman nodded. Idly Six noted she was glowing slightly as she stood up.
"Honestly that's okay. But look, I need you, and I'm running out of time. He is going to be so pissed I've contacted you, but that doesn't matter now. Listen, I've been keeping tabs on the stuff that comes through, a bunch of crooks are going to get hold of a stock box of Spartan Lasers and some other tech you really don't want them having. They're gonna make the trade on the middle alley on Arc street at eleven-hundred tomorrow. Make sure you stop them, it'll prove I'm right and we can talk properly tomorrow."
"I… Fine." Six sighed, figuring she was probably gonna have to escort Penny back tomorrow anyway so it couldn't hurt to have a look. Heck she even knew where Arc street was given that Sinclaire's Combat Apparel was on said street. "Still, if you really are why I'm here-"
"I am." The woman butted in smugly. "You're welcome, by the way."
Six growled before she continued speaking.
"Then why am I the only Spartan here?" She spat as the woman's head tilted to the side.
"I never- Shit! I gotta go!" The woman cried, bolting up through the table before she disappeared.
Six's eyes snapped open as she stared around the dark room. Nothing was out of place, and the rain was still bucketing down outside. The constant pattering making her wonder how she'd fallen asleep.
Then there was Penny, the gingette was still slumbering peacefully opposite her, forcing the Spartan to move very carefully so as to not disturb her. Once she was out, she carefully slipped out of the duvet and replaced it on the slumbering girl, watching as Penny snuggled up under the sheets.
She looked at Coco and wondered what the difference was, sure Coco was there and she wasn't unappealing; but still her eyes were drawn to the ginger girl, memories of her smile and green eyes flaring up.
Six grabbed her lavender hood, slipped her arms through and ducked outside. The way she felt about Penny scared her. No one else could do this to her, or at least they shouldn't be able to.
Noble Six had no experience with romance back in UNSC space, or even attraction. It had always been awkward in the showers after training, hearing her fellow Spartans talk about the various other members and remarking about how cute they were and such; honestly, Six didn't have much of an idea on the specifics given she'd very quickly started tuning the talk out, and there was a reason for that.
The common consensus amongst ONI's personnel was that the Spartan III augmentations were more advanced and safe than the Spartan IIs, but that didn't mean they were without their faults. Sometimes the candidates would "wash out," ending up unfit for service, but more frequently were minor health quirks and oddities.
Noble Six had not escaped the Augmentations unscathed. After she'd been augmented, she had been left with non-functional reproductive organs and glands that didn't work quite like they were supposed to. The upshot of her defects left her with a non-existent sex drive and suppressed emotions. Her superiors had deemed the defects not worth worrying about, and cleared her for field duty.
In a way, she'd actually come to appreciate them. Less time worrying about emotions meant more time in the field, getting work done. Since she usually operated alone prior to her involvement with Noble Team, that had worked out for her just fine. She could keep a steady head easier and thanks to her lack of a functional uterus, had no periods. Judging by the complaining she'd heard from female Troopers and Spartans, that was a bullet she was happy to have dodged.
Now though, her body, unusual hair colour notwithstanding, was unaugmented. Her body was restored and working as was normally intended, meaning those feelings she had avoided for so long were coming back, and they'd hit her like a truck. It was scary in a way that she didn't know how to deal with, it was a problem that could not be fought, at least not with guns and blades.
Noble Six had known how her brain worked, she knew how she coped with stressful situations and disasters, and now she didn't. It was terrifying, as were her feelings for Penny. It had to be manageable, but it didn't feel that way. She couldn't stop looking at her, focusing on her face and her cute legs and-
No! Focus Spartan!
Get a grip girl!
Crap, are we in love with her?
We just met her, no we're not.
But-!
This is a crush, it'll pass.
Well who says it has to?
Common bloody sense. The Covenant are here, and apparently stolen UNSC tech is being trafficked. We have to focus on what matters.
You're right. It's just physical attraction, we'll get over it; we probably won't see her again.
Yeah, yeah you're right. That's good, right?
…
…
Right?
Later that day, Six was back in Vale, her eyes watching the alleyway the figure in her dream had told her to watch. Her eyes glancing down to her open scroll, focusing on the time, her heart rate increasing as every minute passed. She was currently perched upon the roof of one of the nearby buildings. Six knew for a fact most people didn't tend to look up, and thanks to her dark clothes and ODST helmet, she blended in well with the surrounding brickwork.
To Six's annoyance, while she was meant to be focusing on criminals potentially making off with a large cache of the most dangerous anti-material weapons the UNSC had ever developed… and she was thinking about a cute girl.
Six officially decided there and then that she wanted her augmentations back, these feelings were 100% not helping.
How the hell does everyone else deal with these?
I don't know, maybe we should ask Coco for help?
You really want to trust Coco with this?
…Let's ask Velvet for help.
Coco's probably gonna be with her you realise?
Good point, we'll find someone else.
Six shook her head. Most other soldiers had these feelings by default, and she was going to be damned if she failed to do what they could. She was a Spartan III, the best of the best. Some school girl crush was not going to stop her, even if Penny was really cute-
STOP!
FOCUS SOLDIER!
Six thankfully got the distraction she badly needed as someone moved in the alleyway. She vaguely recognised the man in front of the group, the bowler hat and white coat were fairly distinctive, and were widely recognised as the preferred garb of Roman Torchwick, a notorious criminal. Six's first instinct was to charge in but she held back, her hand on her Gravity Hammer's handle.
She kept still, watching carefully from her hiding spot as she looked down at the scene. Roman was looking down a dark alleyway, and soon Six realised what he was looking for. The garbage strewn around was crushed underneath an invisible foot. Low growls sounded off, and an Elite Ultra burst into existence. The two stared down at one another, all while Six prepared to intervene.
"My my, you really are as ugly as they say." Roman said with a smile.
The Ultra, to Six's surprise, didn't immediately gut Roman on the spot, but instead replied.
"Did you come to taunt me? Or do you have what we wanted?"
Roman raised his arm and made a simple gesture, and two more goons entered the alleyway carrying between them a large reinforced crate. They lowered the crate next to Roman, which he opened to reveal a large quantity of Dust inside.
"I always deliver on my end of the deal. There's a few dozen more of these not too far away." Roman said. "Now, what about you?"
The Ultra huffed, but he gestured as well, and the air shimmered behind him as a squad of Grunts came forwards, each carrying a single Spartan Laser.
No kidding, the dream lady was right. Down to the weapons and everything.
Maybe we should've called for backup…
Oh really? Backup? "Hello Ozpin, I need a squad to help me check out a vision that came to me in a dream."
Point taken.
"There is no honour in this… backroom dealing, but I will deal with you if I must." The Ultra spat. "Take your accursed heathen weaponry, we care not for it anyway."
Torchwick smiled as one of the Grunts handed him one of the weapons. "Oh yes… this'll do nicely…"
Six narrowed her eyes as the rest of the Grunts shuffled forward almost directly beneath her; it was precisely what she had been waiting for. With no hesitation, she leapt forward off of the multi-story building and plummeted downward. Under normal circumstances, it would've been a suicidal manuever… but Six was holding a gravity hammer. Physics bowed to her, not the other way around.
As she was about one story from the ground, she powered on the hammer and swung downwards, generating a massive airwave and gravity pulse beneath her. As she gently slowed down and fell to the floor, Roman, the Ultra, the Goons, and the Grunts were all blown away.
The Grunts, having been the direct recipients of the force, were reduced to little more than blue stains on the wall. The Ultra got away with only damaged shields, but Six's follow up blow sent him flying end-over-end down the alleyway, where he roughly bounced his head off of a wall, shattering his shields and leaving him in a collapsed heap on the ground. He was out of the fight.
Six turned to see Roman's two goons charging at her, one wielding a baseball bat and the other a tire iron. Apparently unbeknownst to them, Roman Torchwick was already booking it out of the alleyway, a single Spartan Laser in his hands.
"So long!" Roman declared as he rounded the turn. His two goons turned and looked back at him leaving in horror, apparently surprised by the betrayal.
That was enough to leave them vulnerable to Six's Gravity Hammer, and as they both flew out of the alley and into a busy street in extremely dubious states of health, Six took off after Torchwick.
He was fast, impossibly so, probably thanks to his Aura. Within only a minute, he'd managed to disappear within the pedestrians on the street.
Damn it! I told you we should've brought backup!
Settle down, we got most of them. Let's head back and wait for the Police to get here, I'm sure someone's already called them…
She arrived back in the alleyway to find the Elite Ultra gone, causing her to kick herself for not finishing the job while she'd had the chance. At the very least, the crate of probably-stolen Dust and the rest of the Spartan Lasers were secure, but the victory still felt hollow.
Author's notes: Hey, it's me, the person who writes this thing here; sorry for the longer than normal gap. I blame distraction with other commitments and far more importantly: Uni deadlines; which still wont be done for like, another 4 weeks. So sorry about that.
On the upside you have this chapter, which you need to thank KMPH2001 for given how much he helped me finish this thing (last section owes a lot to him over me)
Also, This story has Omakes; well an omake, but it exists; check out my page to see it, hopefully you have some fun with some extra content.
