Just as she thought, Raelle's pleasant dinner with Tally was politely interrupted by their old unit leader. She decided to play nice, Abigail was her friend after all and only wanted what she thought was the best for her. They awkwardly sat across from each other at the round table until Raelle led the conversation.
"Tally's decided against boys."
"I heard, I don't blame you, they can be trouble, but are you sure?" Abigail inquired.
"One hundred percent," she confirmed. "I missed this, sitting around and hanging out. I know we have a few months left of training before they assign us, but hopefully, we can go out before we start working?"
"That would be nice," Raelle confirmed. "I'm just not sure how much time I'll have between graduation and deployment with my work with Izadora. I'm just hoping nothing will come of it."
"Wait, what work with her?"
"Apparently I'm tied to the mycelium they have in the necro basement? I don't know. I'm just not sure what the fuck is going on or will be going on. I have another meeting with her in an hour, so I'm praying that it'll be a bust."
"I mean, that's pretty exciting, getting to do something on your own with such a high-level general," Abigail noted with a hint of jealousy.
"Yeah, that's not how I'm seeing it."
"Well, try to. This might give you power."
"Or allow them to use me even more."
"Well, either way, we'd love to hear more," Tally cut in. "I think we should make a routine of this, meeting for dinner. My classes normally end around five and we just finished our night classes. What about you guys?"
"I'll have to see what Izadora wants. Normally she takes me during my med classes, sadly not gen-ed. But I'll keep you guys updated."
"Me, too. We're starting city drops next week, but I should be free until eight," Abigail explained. "So, it sounds like a plan!"
Raelle checked her watch. "I have about thirty more minutes until Izadora expects me, so what would you guys like to do until then?"
"We could go to the rec hall?"
"Oh yeah, I heard that they got one of those home gaming systems?"
"Home gaming system? Okay, I'm interested," Tally agreed.
They finished their plates and headed to the rec center, passing by a few younger units who must have been prospective students, perks the Bellweather unit was never privy to in the delinquent years. The soldiers presented their tags to the guard at the door then entered. They rushed to the gaming lounge, finding the console hooked up to the old tv.
"So, what is this?" Tally asked
"PlayStation," Raelle nodded as she went through the games. "They have Madden and Fifa."
"Sports games?"
"What do you want to play?"
"Do they have any fighters?"
"Most of these are donations, so probably not the most fun games."
"Just choose one," Raelle quickly encouraged. "I have only a half-hour left."
"Fine, Fifa then."
The blocky graphics weren't horrific but did make the players slightly hard to see for their mini-tournament. Tally turned out triumphant with her choice of Brazil, absolutely smothering Abigail in a 4-1 match.
"You're using your witchy senses aren't you?" Raelle teased Tally after her second goal.
"I promise you I have no idea what I'm doing," she laughed with another header interception.
"Damn."
"Come on, you can't let her beat you this early. We aren't even finished with the second quarter," Abigail cut in.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Raelle swiped the ball away during a through pass and sprinted along the side to Brazil's goal, passing it along to a player in the center and scoring a goal. "Finally!"
"Shh…" a snobby witch in the parlor room berated.
Raelle rolled her eyes and continued for the next play. Tally slide tackled her a player and took her out of the game which opened her up for a PK. She shot and missed the goal, continuing the match in Raelle's direction where Tally was able to convert another point in her favor.
"Awesome." Raelle read her watch again, fifteen minutes to walk to the necro-dome. She passed the controller to Abigail and got up. "Beat her ass for me, Abs. I'll see you guys later."
"Good luck."
"Thank you," she disingenuously nodded on her way out.
Collar followed the path to the woods, veering off to the open grove of oak trees that carefully disguised the Necro basement. The door opened before her as Izadora greeted her, leading her to the same room for the second half of their tests.
"Fellthorn told me you're healthy enough for me to run my tests, is that correct?"
"Yes, ma'am," Raelle confirmed.
"Did she have an explanation for your heart?"
"She thought stress. I agree that may have been the issue," she lied.
"Well, I do not plan to damage you, just figure out how this happened." Izadora stood behind her desk, focused on a petri dish before her. "Now, when we first noticed something big happening to the mycelium, it was during the Bellweather wedding. Do you recall what happened that day?"
"I remember Abigail being uptight and rigid while we were there and… Tally had some weird stuff going on."
"And Scylla Ramshorn?"
Raelle's heart ached for a moment, "She was there, yes."
"Mhm, why was she there?"
"Is this an interrogation, ma'am?"
"Not about Ramshorn, no. But you and the mycelium. So, what else happened?"
"Tally got her heartbroken, Abigail's cousin died, and your people arrested Scylla."
"What about you, what happened to you?"
Raelle began to feel irritated by her questions, something she noticed seemed to interest her rather than drive her off. "I was betrayed by my family and country."
"What else?"
She felt her heart spike again in anger as she began to reflect on that day. "That's all I felt. I really don't want to relive that day, if you don't mind."
"I do mind. Tell me more about how that makes you feel?"
"Are you a psychologist?"
"No, I work with the dead, I don't do people in general."
"Lucky."
"Continue."
"No thank you, ma'am."
"This isn't a request, Private Collar."
Raelle shook her head and divulged with full passion. "Fine, that day I felt like the only people who cared about me or the shit I had gone through was the woman who got my mother killed and a Spree agent who wanted to kidnap me for her own selfish reasons. Even you, Izadora, don't care about me. You buttered me up when I needed help so you could perform tests on me like some mental patient."
"Well, done."
"What?"
"It seems like you are connected to the mycelium. I've never seen Her act like this before. Normally she just does her own thing, but when you got heated, she reacted to that. Very interesting."
"I'm glad you're happy then."
"I'm not going to say sorry to you if that's what you're looking for. Until you learn how to work with Her, I'm going to need to trigger you two."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure, but I have my best students working on this."
"So, I'm a college experiment now?"
"I wouldn't say that, I would call you a military interest."
"Thank you for the glamorous title."
"We may have a casual bond, but I am still your superior."
"Of course, ma'am."
"Could I get you to use wind strike?"
"On what?"
"That wall works," she pointed across the room with her pen. "Put a dent in it." Raelle nodded and took a deep breath then nearly struck a hole in the metal. Izadora flattened it and confirmed, "Nothing. The only other times we've noticed it change were… during Beltane, of course, and when you died."
"I'm not really keen on dying and I don't think Fellthorn would appreciate it either."
"Well, you have that VAD in you, so it may skew the results."
"Good to know."
"Wait here, I'm going to have you try something with someone," she explained on her way out.
Raelle pulled off a glove, nothing since the beginning of the day, but she still felt a strong connection to her ex's being. She felt a pinch of guilt and apprehension at not seeing anything from Scylla since her mini heart attack so, Collar drew on her palm. After a few minutes, without a response, she pulled her glove back on and continued to patiently wait, taking a short nap in the chair before Izadora returned with a young soldier.
She quietly spoke to them before explaining, "I'm going to have you two spar. Follow me, please."
"So, what are you hoping to take away from this?"
"I want to see if She reacts when you're in combat."
"Probably only when I'm in danger," Raelle offhandedly remarked. At that, she carefully watched the doctor and repeated, "I won't be in danger, right?"
"I'm here for research purposes, you would be doing a disservice to your best interest if you didn't put yourself in crisis mode, and M would be doing the same to their degree if they didn't try for the most accurate results."
"Aren't scientists not supposed to intervene with the project?"
"That's a rule for documentarians. All we do is intervene to find out how everything works." They continued to the vacant college training room. Izadora flicked on the lights and unlocked the storage closet. "Choose your weapon."
"I'm not going to get hurt am I?" Raelle inquired as she decided to stick to her trusty scourge from Byron while her opponent chose one crafted by the Camarilla.
"It's not sharp," she tried to assure her. "Begin when you're ready."
"Uh, psh are you ready?" she heaved to her opponent.
"Whenever you are," they confirmed with a swift swing of the scourge.
Raelle felt her heart race even with the dull blade but she tried to dampen the fear. She waited for M to attack first, rolling out of the way but getting slashed in the back. Collar knelt to the ground to study her opponent who showed mere amusement, then to Izadora.
"Don't look at her, she won't help you," M curtly commanded.
Raelle sang an ear-piercing seed and swung her scourge to wrap around M's leg before roughly pulling them to the ground. She released her hold then whipped the tool around until it landed a few inches from their head, taking a chunk out of the floor.
M's eyes lit up in fury, and they yanked the subject's scourge from her hands, instead favoring their skill in hand-to-hand combat. Raelle took a few steps back, bouncing on her feet as a jab was being loaded up. She dodged that strike only to take another to the chest. She sank to the ground, holding her chest tightly as M loaded up a kick.
"Enough," Izadora interrupted. "We have what we need. Good news, Collar, you passed the test." Raelle only rolled on the ground in pain, hiding her tears from the other soldier in the room. "I'll see you Monday for another round of tests."
M hoisted her up, helping Collar out of the building. "Hey, sorry about that, do you want to get a drink?"
"I kind of want to go to the Health Center," she gasped. Once they split away from Izadora, they continued their conversation. "What did she tell you?"
"When we were in the basement?"
"Yeah."
"She wanted me to pick a Camarilla weapon."
"Did she say anything about my surgery?"
"No, is that why you crumpled like a first-year?"
"Ooh-hoo, if I wasn't in so much pain I'd punch you."
"Heart surgery though?"
"Yes, it's still tender."
"How does it affect your training?"
"I normally don't get hit."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a Bellweather."
"Trust me, a Bellweather would brag more," Raelle sighed, getting back on her own feet. "Thank you."
"Oh, I know. And again, sorry about that."
"You're good. Even if you did know, I let my guard down. Did you get the chance to meet Abigail?"
"Only from afar, but I did know her cousin, Charvel."
"How?"
"We were going to be assigned in the same platoon, but you know the rest of that."
Raelle took a few breaths and nodded. "I think I'm better. I'll gladly take you up on that drink, but seeing that I'm feeling shitty, I probably won't be having anything with alcohol, sadly."
"As someone who took basic physio, I agree." They went to the commissary before they stopped selling drinks.
"What do you normally get here?"
"Mm, light beer. Cheap normally, but sometimes I splurge."
"Not tonight?" she jibed taking note of her choice.
"Hey, Pabst isn't the worst, Bud's for posers," they nodded at the near-empty case. "What do you want?" Raelle grabbed a coke from the fridge then headed to the counter. "Keep your money, I'll pay," M offered, "it's the least I can do after tonight."
They went back to the Rec Center, slipping into the only well-lit and slightly populated area to talk. Raelle clinked thor drinks then took a swig.
"So, Izadora is intense.
"Oh, one-hundred percent. She's already pretty high strung, but when you fucked with her Mycelium, she lost her mind. You should have seen her when it first started acting up."
"What happened?" Raelle laughed.
"She tore through the manifests and records of fungi until she realized it was you."
"How did you track it back to me? She talked about the sample, but I didn't understand."
"Well, when you came back from the field, she was the first one on the scene."
"Did they think I was dead?"
"Kind of? We had a reconnaissance group en route, so they picked you and Bellweather up which was when she figured out you two somehow survived."
"And that's how she found out?"
"Yes, she found the mycelium already mending your heart."
"What?"
"Yeah, that's why you're even alive. I'm surprised you needed surgery to fix it. How we were briefed, it sounded like you were in perfect condition."
"Yeah, I'm far from that, pretty broken in fact."
"I- that seems like a bit much, I'm sure you're getting by."
"Why did it take her so long to begin these tests?"
"She had us researching for a while before she decided to include you."
"Researching? What did you find out about me then?"
"I mean, not much. You're an Outcross who has a shaky reputation with rules. You're friends with a Bellweather. You helped save the Tarim."
"Outcross, what a High Atlantic term."
"Well, they do make up the Top Brass. It's all about who you know, or rather who you're from, not what you do," M joked.
"I like your sense of humor. Now, since you seem to know so much about me, can I learn a few things about you?"
"Ah, no. Well, if I knew much about myself, I'd tell you, but my life has a very brief past."
"Then start with what you remember."
"I woke up, ate food, cleaned up for class… was about to drink alone to start my weekend but was rudely dragged from my desk to beat up a five-foot gremlin."
"Fuck you," she laughed. "I'm taller than that."
"But I may have pregamed before we spared."
"You snuck contraband into Necro?"
"Of course not," they coyly lied. Raelle checked her watch and began to finish her drink. "What's with the gloves?"
"Scars I don't like."
"What about that one?" they mentioned drawing a line across their jaw.
Raelle placed her hand over the gouge, "That's another one I don't really like to think about."
"But you're not ashamed of it like the ones on your hands?"
"I'm starting to think this was also part of Izadora's plans."
"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."
"Yeah, yeah. You don't seem like a bad person," she reassured them before checking her watch again, "I just have other plans tonight. I'll see you again, though. Maybe over a drink once I'm off my meds."
"Sounds like a plan."
Raelle tossed her bottle in the trashcan and meandered around the base until she got to her room, grabbing a change of unmarked civilian clothes then went back down to the grove. It was a good half-hour before Anacostia was supposed to take her off base, so Raelle took the spare time to ponder whether or not it would be healthy for her to leave without permission. She needed it though and with Izadora having control over her schedule now, there wasn't much of a chance she would be let out unless she was given results.
She spotted Quartermaine in the distance, her boots shuffling through the leaves and branches until she stood a long distance from her student.
"You're here, I assume that means you want to get smuggled out of here?"
"Yeah," she confirmed after a few moments. "How are you getting me off base?"
"Get in the backseat of my car and hide until I tell you to come up. It's concerning how easy it is to get on and off base without question."
"That's not what I wanted to hear at all," Raelle muttered as she followed Anacostia through the trees to the parking lot.
She was right, as a cadet, she remembered there being guards throughout the night, but as a student at their academy only thirty paces away, they had free reign. Raelle jumped into the back of her car, a black blanket getting thrown over her before they drove off. Getting past the gate took a few moments of banter between Anacostia and the guard, then a seemingly endless drive.
"Can I come out now?"
"What the fuck," Anacostia exclaimed. "I forgot you were back there."
"I'll take that as a yes." Raelle tossed the blanket off and sat up. "So, what's the plan."
"I'll let you stay in my area until Sunday then sneak you back that night."
"Sounds good to me. So, where do you live?"
"This isn't going to become a regular thing."
"I was assuming as much from you. Why are you taking me to your area?"
"You need a place to stay, so I'm offering you a place you won't have to show your ID."
"Thank you."
She pulled into the driveway and turned off her car, "Also, there is someone here so prepare yourself… keep a level head."
Raelle poked her head out from the back seat. "Now I regret getting into your vehicle. You know, the phrase "Tricky People", perfect application."
"Do you want to walk back to the Fort?"
"No."
"Good, get out of my car."
Raelle slid out and fixed her hair again then followed her inside.
"What do you want for dinner," she heard a familiar voice ask.
"Wait," Collar muttered, "No."
"Well- uh… hold on." Anacostia escaped to the living room where a quiet conversation was being held. "Okay, come- come in Raelle."
Doing as she was told, Collar warily approached the room to see Scylla on the couch. Tense silence echoed in the room as they stared each other down. Scylla seemed scared but relieved to see Raelle again in the light. Her ex, however, was more pissed and hurt than anything else. She glanced between Anacostia and Scylla to decide who to interrogate first, then turned to their old drill sergeant.
"How long have you known where she was? How do you still work for the army? Why would you bring me here, do you know how much pain she caused me?"
"Now, calm down."
"No, I-I this is what I was trying to escape from. She's why I can't control my emotions anymore." She looked at Scylla for her next accusations. "You just had to see me for Beltane? I had almost forgotten how you used me and then you roped me back in. You gaslit me about Porter and the whole Spree thing. I can't believe you're not in prison. And this scar you gave me, it's a burden to feel every emotion and physical thing you're going through." Ramshorn looked more than hurt at her words as tears filled her eyes. Raelle felt her sorrow and exclaimed, "Stop, just stop! I don't want this anymore." Scylla wiped her eyes and left the room.
"Wow," Anacostia murmured. "I gave her another chance. She hasn't hurt anyone since she was released."
"Only me."
"I-I can't say what you've been through, but she's led the front for us to join forces against the Camarilla."
"Ugh, god, she's crying."
"I mean, do you blame her?"
"Do you blame me?"
"I'm not choosing sides, just trying to give you two a better life."
"You know, I think I'll go back to my original plan and let the army use me until I die."
"Well, I'm going to bed, the couch is yours. There's a spare toothbrush in the bathroom, it's green and unused. You can use the pillows and blanket on the couch."
Raelle nodded and decided to rest on the couch until she felt tired, which didn't happen. She heard soft footsteps pad from the hallway to the room on the other side of the partition.
Collar called out, "I can feel your apprehension, being this close is just amplifying your emotions."
"I can't help it," she seethed.
"I don't want to wake up Anacostia." Scylla slowly walked into the room and took a spot by the fireplace. "Please tell me everything to relieve your woes."
"I really don't know what to say after all that."
"How about sorry? I mean, you haven't said sorry once."
"I'm sorry I used you. I couldn't be candid but I do care about you."
"What about the wedding?"
"I was- I couldn't do that to you."
"In a way, you did."
"Are you talking about when Anacostia caught me? Because I can assure you that the outcome would remain the same."
"What do you mean?"
"They wouldn't have allowed us to be together because you'd be used as a weapon."
"I'm a weapon for the army now," Raelle whispered turning away from her.
"I'm sorry about all of the grief I caused you."
"I don't know if I can forgive you, but I also am tired of being mad as I'm sure you're feeling."
"Yeah, just so you know, I also feel everything you do."
"Yeah, but were you also manipulated by the person you are currently tied to?"
"I'm sorry about that."
"Abigail was right, I should have told someone when I saw you at Beltane."
"I'm glad you didn't."
Raelle hid her face in the cushions. "I just don't want to see you right now."
"I understand. Goodnight, Raelle."
