The train car reared up from the explosion, nearly falling off the track. The wheels hissed as waves of sparks flied. The buckling to the train car gave way and the rest of the train sped off, leaving its lone car in the dust of the explosion.
"Let's move fast before they decide to stop and come back!" West ordered, slapping a clip into his magnum.
They all braced as the train continued to roll with the momentum on the track; waiting for it to eventually lose speed.
A guard slid the door open to the front of the car, seeing nothing but thick, black smoke from the explosive. He coughed and waved the smoke away, seeing that the rest of the train was continuing on its venture down the track.
"We're being left behind!" He screamed over his shoulder, then noticing Agent Nevada curled up on the edge. As the guard went to reach for his pistol, Nevada grabbed the railing, lifted his body up and kicked the pistol out of his hand.
He then spun his body and smacked his heel across the guard's face, sending him toppling into the car.
A pair of guards rushed to assist their fallen comrade, only to be welcomed by West. West swung in from the door and fired, hitting both targets. They whipped backwards from the bullets, sliding on their backs.
Nevada and Oregon stepped in with Ten, and they were met with five more guards, all pointing their rifles at them.
Virginia and Michigan swung in from the back door of the car, firing off shots at the nearby guards. The two guards that were waiting for them fell back against the wall, lifeless.
A door leading into the car slid open and another guard came rushing in, waving a baton. Virginia rolled forward, dodging the baton as he aimed to bash her in the head. She kicked him in the back and he stumbling towards Michigan, who released an array of bullets into his front.
"Let's move up and find the cargo." Michigan said as he took the baton off the now dead man. Virginia nodded and they passed the door, venturing deeper into the train car.
"Hold it right there!" screamed a guard, holding an assault rifle at the two Freelancers.
Michigan whipped the baton at him, and as the guard attempted to dodge the weapon, Virginia ducked down and fired.
The guard screamed and fell backwards as he was riddled with bullets. Virginia and Michigan moved up, keeping their weapons up and ready to go off.
They slid open another door and found themselves looking into a massively empty room, with the two crates stacked in the center. A circle of guards had formed around the crates.
On the opposite side of the room, the door slid open and West, Ten, Oregon and Nevada all stood there.
"We've got you surrounded." West announced to the guards. "It might be in your best interest to hand those over."
"Over our dead bodies!" yelled a guard.
"We can arrange that." West slowly removed the katana from off his back, letting it gleam in the light.
West was the first to lunge forward, swiping his katana at the guard as he began to fire off rounds. Everyone dodged the bullets as they decorated the wall they were once standing in front of.
West embedded the blade into the guard's abdomen, then pulled the blade out. The guard collapsed onto his face.
Ten, Nevada, Oregon, Michigan and Virginia lunged forward; some jumping in the air and some ducking low to confuse, to confuse the guards. The guards fired, panicked, attempting to hit the Freelancers.
Ten and Nevada barrel-rolled past two guards and swept their legs out from underneath them.
Once they hit the ground, they rammed the butt of their guns into the back of their head.
Oregon grabbed a guard by the arm and smacked his face against the wall, causing his head to whip backwards with tremendous force. He then used his body as a shield as another guard attempted to shook at him.
Michigan flung a guard across the room with a heavy kick to the chest. Two other guards scrambled to hit any one of the Freelancers with their shots.
"Use the big gun!" Ordered a guard. One guard reached behind a crate and pulled out a rocket launcher, which he aimed at Virginia.
"Aw, fuck me." She cursed. She ran towards the back entrance as the guard fired. The explosion sprayed out and destroyed the back end of the train car. Everyone flew back and hit the wall as the explosion rattled the car.
"Virginia?!" West called out. All he saw was bellowing smoke and drooping ash from where the back end of the train used to be. He rushed to the guard with the rocket launcher and with a quick swipe, he decapitated him. "VIRGINIA?!" West called out again in panic.
The floor of the train was now littered with lifeless bodies. The Freelancers were the only ones standing in the room with the two crates.
West's head perked up when he heard coughing coming from the smoke. Coming up from the ashes and stepping out of the smoke was Virginia, waving a hand in front of her face to clear the smoke.
"I'm good!" she announced as she gave a few more coughs.
"How'd you dodge that?" asked.
"I ducked. He had lousy aim." Virginia shrugged. West chuckled and got onto his radio.
"Hey 479-er, we need an immediate evac." He called out.
"Roger that. Coming in now."
West and Nevada put straps around the two crates and dragged them over to the gaping hole in the train car. Everyone jumped off and looked up to see the familiar ship descending to them. After a few minutes, they got the crates aboard and they were back on the ship, flying back to Mother of Invention.
Virginia was relieved to have a nice, hot shower. She let her hair down to air dry as she got into her favorite comfortable pair of sweatpants and T-shirt. The front of the shirt was a decorative tiger surrounding by cherry blossoms.
She sighed happily, feeling refreshed. She jerked a bit when a knock at her bedroom door startled her.
"Come in."
The door creaked open and the familiar face of West appeared. He was out of armor, smiling at her.
"You decent?"
"Yes."
"Damn. I can come back another time?" West said, having a mischievous grin.
"Ha! What do you want?" Virginia laughed. West stepped in, closing the door behind him. In that moment, he looked a bit bashful.
"I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you're okay." His Adam's apple fluctuated as he suddenly swallowed.
"Yeah, I'm good. Why?" Virginia asked, confused.
"Well, to be honest, you really gave me a scare back there." West rubbed the back of his neck. Virginia smiled and approached him, taking hold of both his hands.
"I'm okay. It will take a lot more to bring me down." She gave a reassuring smile, and he smiled back at her.
"Good. Because I don't want anything to happen to you." West brushed his thumb over the back of her hands. She could feel her cheeks burning. He pulled her closer and gave a kiss to her forehead. She could smell his aftershave, and she inhaled as much as she could as he leaned closer to her. She moved her eyes upward to stare at him, and they locked for a few seconds, before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
She found her arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer into the kiss as his arms wrapped around her waist.
In that moment, they enjoyed each other's presence with racing, anticipated hearts.
. . .
On Ambrosia
Some time later...
Virginia found herself walking around outside of their refuge, wondering where West had gone. Maybe he was fishing? Maybe he was hunting for their next meal?
She was afraid to use the radio to call for him; what if somebody would hunt them down? The paranoia after Project Freelancer went to shit was nagging her. She heard stories of Freelancers being killed and stripped of their A.I. and armor... but they were safe, due to not having an A.I., right?
Doesn't hurt to be cautious... She always reminded herself.
Virginia began to descend a slope, heading to an area where West often liked to fish. The lake was beautiful and big. On a few occasions, they even went swimming in that lake. They'd sit under a tree and watch the sun set, and watch as fireflies came to life. She knew they weren't Earth's fireflies, since they were more massive and could cover her entire hand. She often called them 'lanternflies' due to their size.
As she came to the familiar flat boulder that hugged the center of the slope, she noticed a red smear on the side of it. Virginia bent down to expect it, and knew right away that it was blood.
Whose blood is this?
She tried to keep calm, thinking that it could be a fresh kill from West. Her eyes casted down the slope and she saw something lying in a partial field. Her heart started to race and she instantly went on edge. The hair on the back of her neck felt like it was standing up. Her feet carried her over to the mysterious slump in the field, and she felt her blood run cold.
"W-West...?" She choked on the words as she flung herself over to the slump. She recognized the naked body instantly. As she got closer, she began to choke on her tears. His head was gone.
Her knees gave out as she collapsed, and she found herself scooting away from it, as if she were afraid it would suddenly come to life.
Virginia pried off her helmet and vomited into the grass. As she brushed the bits of saliva away from her quivering lip, she looked around and saw a blood trail leading to his head. His eyes were staring back at her, wide. In fear.
"No...!" She cried, sitting on her knees. She hunched over as heavy sobs came from her mouth. "NOOOOOO!" She clung to the dirt, screaming. Her hands went up around her as she tried to console herself while rocking back and forth. In that moment, she didn't care if the killer came and found her, too.
She continued to bawl, feeling her heart decimate into tiny pieces. It felt like hours had passed until she was empty on tears. She felt completely numb. Shakily, she stood back up and went to retrieve a shovel from their hide-out.
She buried him where she found him, feeling robotic as she dug the grave. None of it felt real to her. After she placed the last bit of dirt onto his grave, she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her shoulder blades were aching, and she felt like puking.
It took all her strength to walk back to the hide-out, where she showered off all the dirt and sweat. She collapsed into their bed after cleaning up, and stared out into the emptiness of the room. An indent was in the bed where he had laid. Her hand ran over it, until she grabbed his pillow. She brought it to her face and could smell that familiar aftershave. She choked back her tears and buried her face in it.
It took a week before she was able to get up and eat, but ever since that tragic day, she is haunted by the memories...
...
Present Day
"Virginia!" Simmons called out to her.
Virginia had finished packing her stuff that she had brought. Everyone was happy that Temple and his men were caught, and they could finally leave the bunker.
"Yes?" She turned around to see Simmons standing in her doorway. He walked in, holding both his hands behind her back. He cleared his throat.
"I know this may hurt... but I have something for you." Simmons slowly revealed the katana that was hidden behind his back. "I took it off Gene. Didn't seem right for it go into an evidence locker." He held it in his palms, exposing it to her. "I know how much West meant to you, and you finally captured his killer." Simmons looked up at Virginia, who seemed entrance by the katana. Her lip quivered a bit, and she swallowed. The tears were forming in her eyes as she looked up to Simmons.
"Thank you." Her words were soft and delicate. She jumped into Simmons arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. She buried her face into the curve of his neck as she lightly sobbed. Simmons hugged her back, letting her cry into him.
"Don't make my cybernetic parts short circuit." He chuckled. Virginia let out a laugh and grabbed hold of his cheeks, then pressed her lips to his.
Simmons still couldn't believe that he was being kissed, and seemed to squeeze her tighter, not wanting it to end.
Virginia pulled her lips away for a brief moment, before staring into his jade-green eyes.
"I love you." She said, and Simmons felt like his heart would explode in that moment.
"I love you, too."
