LANGUAGE USE WARNING

Cipher was chilling in his sofa late into the night when he heard somebody knock on his doorbell

"One moment..."

He slowly got off the sofa and put on some proper clothes. Then he walked up to the door

He leaned in to peek through the peephole. It was Pigmallion. Cipher immediately opens up

"Pigmallion..."

"Cipher, can I come in?"

"Are you coming for his things again?"

"No. There was a hailstorm and the ceiling broke, can I stay here?"

"Why should I?"

"Cipher, what the fuck kind of question is that? I already told you, there was a hailstorm and the ceiling broke back at my house"

"Yeah. Like that hailstorm you let on him, right?"

"Excuse me?!" said Pigmallion, obviously angered at what Cipher just said

"Excuse me what? You let him die back there, didn't you?"

Pigmallion immediately punches Cipher right on the liver

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Cipher just crawls back as Pigmallion makes her way into his apartment. She grabs him by the collar of the shirt he was wearing

"YOU REALLY THINK I PURPOSELY PUT MY DRONES DOWN FOR HIM TO DIE, ASSHOLE?!"

Pigmallion punches Cipher again

"Huh?! Answer, you fucking booze barrel with legs"

Another punch. Cipher's nose starts to bleed

"I SAID FUCKING ANSWER!"

Cipher would have, but between the punches and trying to catch his breath back from the first punch, he just stayed silent as Pigmallion threw another punch

"You think I didn't love him?! That this doesn't hurt as much as it hurts you too?!"

Yet another punch. Pigmallion knocks out one of Cipher's fillings. The fake tooth drops to the carpet

"Tell me. Tell me before I leave you worse than Gambit"

"Oracle...Stop...Please"

Pigmallion holds back the punch she was throwing. Oracle...Even if it has only been a week, it feels like an eternity since she was last called that

She then starts crying. A bottle drops to the floor

"You were drunk again...Weren't you?"

Cipher just looks away. Pigmallion lets go of his collar

Cipher just heads for the couch, while Pigmallion goes and closes the door

"His room is unlocked...If you want to. If not, mine is right across the hallway, I can sleep here" said Cipher, while he went for some ice in the fridge

"Cipher...I"

"Don't. You said what you had to, when you needed to. At least you can do that..."

Pigmallion goes with Cipher

"I...actually know who it was. We could...try and...pull some favors"

"Are you serious?"

"What?"

"Do you really think this is what he would want? For us to go on our own just to find one ...Huntsman among the countless there are in Vacuo to get revenge AFTER WE LITERALLY JUST RAIDED SHADE ACADEMY AND BEACON ACADEMY?!"

Pigmallion just lays in silence

"He used to tell me you were very responsible. That you would nag and lecture him every time he forgot to clean his cape so that it would be pristine for the inspection...But this...This is not who he used to speak about"

"I thought...you might want to know"

"And do what? Go AWOL on a personal vendetta? Like it would fucking revive him...We are better than that. Remember team GRMM?"

"Yeah"

"Well. Guess what happened"

Cipher heads back to the couch, while Pigmallion checks the refrigerator. There is only beer

"What? Cipher...Explain this"

Cipher lays silent, having another can in hand

"Cipher, what the fuck have you been doing with the Collective orders?"

He doesn't respond

"I'm reporting you to Sanatorium" said Pigmallion, as she grabbed her pad

"Well. You sound confident for a Reaper who just beat the crap out of another one off-duty after breaking into their house"

She stops

"Ah. Cipher. We went over this. Many times..."

Cipher then puts the can of beer aside

"This is not what he would have wanted..."

"He's gone...So there was no point in continuing my abstinence"

Pigmallion turns to look at Cipher

"Every night, he would dump out any beer we got in the deliveries. Sold for extra cash, turned into Molotovs...Whatever you can think of, he just...kept me away from it. Every day"

Cipher takes a breath and then continues, tearing up a bit

"And I thought...I could maybe leave it. That maybe...If I just kept going a bit longer this would end... That I would no longer have to cling onto these fucking things"

He snaps. And slaps the can of beer on the floor

"And then...The fighting stopped...That day, when you guys came back. The moment you gave me the news...The fight had stopped. Psyche died, and I think a part of me died with him, because...ever since...I just..."

Cipher collapses to tears

"AND THEN GAMBIT GOES ON AND KILL THOSE FUCKING ... GAHHH, FUCK IT. FUCK ALL OF IT"

Pigmallion goes to try and calm Cipher. His eyes were bouncing everywhere, never focusing in one place. His pupils, dilated. He was in a panic

"Cipher, look at me. Look at me"

She pulled him in

"Cipher. Focus on me"

"I can't. PSYCHE!"

"Cipher, look at me!"

"PSYCHEE WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"He isn't here, Cipher. Please, for the love of the Gods, look at me!"

Cipher tries to focus. The panic is too strong

"BABY BROTHEEEERRR! AAAAAAAAAAHHH"

He breaks down. The neighbor comes in

"Who are you?"

"Reaper Pigmallion. Currently on stand-by"

"Reaper Sigma. Also on stand-by. Is he your teammate... is he alright?"

"OF FUCKING COURSE NOT. GET US HELP, DUMBASS"

Sigma leaves immediately. Pigmallion tries to keep Cipher on the sofa and calm him down in vain, while waiting for the help to arrive. Some minutes later, an ambulance is heard on the street. Cipher had passed out

Both paramedics present themselves

"Curator Abimbola. On active duty. What happened?"

"Panic attack. He hyperventilated then fainted"

The other curator goes with Cipher to take pulse

"Curator Abara. On active duty. His pulse is weak..."

"Get him some digoxin. What happened precisely?"

"I came here to pass the night. My house is under repairs due to the hailstorm"

"Alright. So...Tell us your callsign"

"Reaper Pigmallion"

"Alright. What is your relationship with them?"

"He is...the brother of my...late fiancé"

"Sorry...What's their callsign?"

"Reaper Cipher"

"Well. Abara, how is it looking?"

"Not very well. Aside of the...facial injuries and the pulse, his liver looks heavily damaged, from what the DOC-BOT is telling me. We may need to take him"

Cipher then comes to back to his senses

"Don't...Argh..."

"Reaper Cipher?"

"I can hear you...umm"

"Reaper Cipher, we're Curators Abara and Abimbola. One of your neighbors called us to help you. How are you feeling?"

"Like fucking shit. Ah..."

"Alright. Are you okay? Anything wrong?"

"Well. Aside of the pain, nothing really"

"Alright, tell me about it"

"Well..."

Cipher turns to look at Pigmallion

"I tripped. I was a bit dizzy and tripped"

"Are you sure? Those wounds don't look the part"

"I said I'm fine. That's what I remember"

"Alright. You had a panic attack and fainted...Has this happened before?"

Pigmallion intervenes

"A couple times"

While Pigmallion and Cipher dealt with Abara, Abimbola went to check the fridge

"Well, this goes way beyond the allowance of alcohol in private residences..."

Abara turns to look

"Reaper Cipher, I recall you live alone in this apartment after the passing of Reaper Psyche, correct?"

"No. She was actually moving in tonight..."

"Well. This is...still past the allowance for 2 people...but...We may be able to do something about that"

Pigmallion hands some cash to the curators, which immediately take some of the beer for themselves

After that, they would leave

"So...I take it as a yes?" said Pigmallion

"Yep. Again, if you want, you can pick either room..."

"I'm picking his room. You need a good night of sleep and the couch won't do"

Pigmallion helps Cipher up, taking him to bed, then she goes to the room next door