Disclaimer: I don't own RvB or any other works referenced in this Episode of Madness.
A/N: Okay, so I said there might be a necessary, temporary hiatus, but I couldn't help myself! I had to give you this. Enjoy.
Episode 41: Working Out some Frustration
When Rick returned, he found his two Sargents yelling at each other. He sighed, visor palming. "And here I thought we'd have a fairly normal day," he muttered. Dex looked over at him and nodded.
"Oh good, you're back," he said, then pointed to the top of the base. "How would you go about checking to see if there's something blocking the blue pulsy thing that should be coming out of there?" Rick looked, shrugged, and turned on his com. link.
"Hey Eagle, where you at?" he asked, then blinked as he heard Dex slam his head into the base.
"Stupid stupid stupid! Why didn't I think of that?" the man muttered, repeatedly slamming his head into the wall. Rick shook his head and Eagle answered,
"On top of the canyon wall, watching our fearless leader trying to give himself brain damage. Why?"
"Would you take a look at the top of the base and see if there's anything blocking the pulsy thing that's supposed to be coming out of it? Please?" Dex asked, a little unsteady from his repeated bashing of his head. Eagle chuckled, but complied.
"Ah, yep, there's wreckage from the Pelican up there. Now what?" he told his teammates on the ground.
"Think you could blast it loose?" Dex asked.
"Grenade or bullet?" Eagle asked.
"You're the long range expert, use your own discretion. Just... try not to kill us."
"You could just go inside. No need to worry about falling debris." Rick shared a look with Dex and Red, then tromped off into the base.
"Have fun, I'm gonna go try to get Epsilon ready to work with Marley," he said. "Call me when you're ready for the paint match against the Blues."
"What was that about a paint match?" Eagle asked, perking up.
"Just take the shot would ya?" Dex barked and the sniper grumbled slightly, but complied. Soon the debris was out of the way and power was flowing through the Red Base once more.
"There, power's back, now what were you saying about a paint match?"
"Oh. Just that because the Blues sort of know about the whole Red Vs Blue thing being a lie there was no reason for us to be using lethal rounds on them and missing on purpose so as not to kill them. I suggested to Rick that we load our weapons with lock down paint or your special glitter rounds and have some fun," Dex said. Eagle chuckled.
"Count me in!" he said.
"Hey Eagle! Make yerself useful and spy on the Blues!" Red ordered over the Red Army open channel.
"Belay that, do what you want. We're basically on leave until we've come up with a way to get Marley and Wash out of jail," Dex countered over the Project Red channel. Eagle smirked. Having two Sargents on base could be confusing sometimes, but Dex balanced out Red rather nicely, making it tolerable.
/*/
With the power back on, Red called in Lopez and the robot swiftly got to work on the plans Red had sent him. "Wait wait wait... how did you not only get here from Blood Gulch but also build all this... in only a few moments?!" Dex asked as he looked around the massive underground holographic simulation room, momentarily losing his cool. Not that anyone could blame him, Lopez showed up approximately a second after Red called him, then had the aforementioned room completed about three seconds later, elevator and all. It was pretty dang impressive.
"I am just that awesome," Lopez droned... for once in perfect English. Dex chuckled, shaking his head at the robot.
"Yes, yes you are," he said, striding forward into the holographic simulation room. It was huge, dug out under the base, and far more advanced than anything they'd had at their bases previously. "Hey Gary, using this room, we might actually be able to play that chess game I promised you."
"You? Play chess? Against an A.I? Oh, this I gotta see," Rick remarked, carrying the Epsilon unit down into the room. "And when did Lopez have time to excavate this, put in an elevator, and instal holographic technology?"
"Er... he had a moment. And he's awesome. So... he did it in the blink of an eye," Dex said, shrugging helplessly.
"Huh... makes sense to me," Rick said, setting the Epsilon unit down on a holographic table. "Wow. Hard light. Very nice," he said, nodding toward Lopez.
"Thank you, Rick," the robot told him.
"Um... why did you bring Epsilon down here? And how did you even know it was down here?" Dex asked.
"Oh, Eagle told me. He's really quite observant. Also, A.I. unit in a holographic simulator. I'm sure you know what that means," Rick answered, still trying to coax Epsilon out.
"Right. Hey... while this holographic simulation room is cool and all... why did you ask Lopez to build it Red?" Dex asked.
"So we could test out my new design!" Red said, a holographic Warthog appearing behind him with a big cannon. Dex sighed, palming his visor.
"Well, at least he's not mucking around with my jeep... wait." He turned to Red real slow. "You already tried this with our only jeep... didn't you?" he asked, voice dangerously low. Red shuffled then pointed off down the hall.
"Hey look, it's yer sister!" he yelled. Dex growled and began stalking toward the older man.
"Oi oi oi! Lopez and I are the mechanics who are going to have to attempt to put the thing back to rights. If anything, we're the ones who should be mad!" Rick said, standing and rounding on Red.
"Hey hey hey! Weren't you more interested in getting Epsilon ready for Marley?" Dex asked, dropping his irritation with Red for the moment. Rick sighed and turned to the unit.
"Honestly... I think telling him about our past exploits would be our best bet, but I'm not quite up that right now. I barely know where to begin! So, how about we approach Flowdie about that paint match, curb-stomp the Blues, and come back to it in the morning?" he said, looking back at Dex. The other man grinned, nodded, and made his way back into the base proper to call Flowdie.
/*/
Listening to the Red's idea, Flowdie had to agree it would be an excellent training exercise and gave them the go ahead... as long as they provided the rounds for Blue team as well. Easily agreeing to those terms, the match was set. "Alright Blue Team! We have your Lock Down Paint weapons in these two crates. Once we deliver them, give us fifteen minutes to return to our base. When those fifteen minutes are done, the Game is Afoot and the Paint Bath begins. We will give you No Quarter! The match is over when one Team is completely vanquished. Also, we included identifiers so that Kai will finally be able to tell friend from foe. You get all that?" Dex called as they arrived before the Blue Base.
"Yes sir!" Jack called as Flowdie came out to claim the crates.
"I won't ask you to hold Kai back... but do try to keep her out of my way. I'd hate to 'kill' my own sister," Dex told the man. Flowdie chuckled and nodded.
"I understand. I'll send Caboose your way instead," he said, sadistic glee so thick in his voice a deaf man could have heard it. Dex chuckled as well.
"Knucklehead driving you mad?" he asked.
"Oh-ho, you have no idea," Flowdie remarked. The orange soldier shook his head and helped the other man move the crates inside.
"DEX!" shouted Kai, causing her brother to turn. He was just in time to catch the speeding young woman, though he had to spin her around to bleed off some momentum. "You weren't thinking of leaving without saying anything, were you?" she asked. An all too familiar shiver ran down the men's spines and they turned to share mildly scared looks.
"Marley taught her well," they said as one, causing Kai to huff.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked pointedly.
"Ah, it's nothing, really," Dex said, turning to give his baby sister a wary smile, even if it was lost behind his helmet. Ah well, thought that counts... right? She glared, or at least he got the feeling she was, then sighed and laid her head on her brother's shoulder.
"Why don't you visit Dex?" she asked. "I miss you just as much now as I did before all this craziness." Dex huffed out a laugh, seeing as she was still latched onto him.
"You're one to talk," he said, then pried her off. "Look, once I'm gone, you have fifteen minutes before all bets are off, the kid gloves are gone, and it's all out war. The only ammo is going to be non-lethal lock-down paint, but it still hurts like a bad nalu and will, as the name implies, lock you down. If you get hit, you're effectively dead, understand?" he told her. She nodded and Dex took a step back. "I'm not the same Dex you remember, Kai. I'm a soldier, and this fight we're about to get into... I'm going to enjoy it. A chance to fight without holding back, without fear, without guilt? It's a dream come true, but I need to know that you will fight with everything you have and that, while you know you're not going to actually die, you try to stay alive. Can you promise me that?"
"Sure! Marley'd be mad if I didn't!" Kai said cheerfully. "I'm looking forward to fighting you Bro!" Dex shook his head.
"I don't want to fight you, Kai. I've already requested that your commanding officer do his best to keep you out of my way. And Flowdie has requested that I take on Caboose in this match," he told her. She huffed and Dex could just picture her puffing out her cheeks.
"Fine. But I call dibs on you for the next match!" she declared, leveling a finger at him. The two men chuckled and Dex swept her a bow.
"Then I shall try to make arrangements for another match, but no promises," he said.
/*/
Weapons delivered, guns loaded, close combat soldiers muttering disturbingly while playing with their favorite tools, snipers cackling evilly in their helmets, and A.I. running figures and strategies in the backs of their minds, the teams were ready to begin the match. The Reds had been waiting for this since before O'Malley was set loose in Blood Gulch, the Phantoms had been itching to shot something for a solid week, and the Blues were... the Blues. Honestly, the only Blue who was looking forward to the match wasn't even Blue. She was yellow, and quite happy that her brother had finally gotten around to handing out those identifiers. It was so nice not to have to rely on voices to put names to helmets. "You understand what you're to do?" Flowdie asked her, a little anxious. Kai rolled her eyes and hoisted her gun.
"Uh, yehah! Get inside Eagle's reach, knock his gun from his hand, Headshot, then steal his rifle and Headshot as many Reds as I can," she said. "Easy."
"And try not to fall for the same tactic that let you take out Eagle," Flowdie added. She rolled her eyes again.
"Please, I'm good for getting down and dirty," she said, causing him to palm his visor. She chuckled quietly to herself. Man it was fun doing that! She could see why her brother enjoyed messing with people so much. Flowdie gave a long, shuddering sigh, then waved her off.
"Just... get into position. The fifteen minute grace period is almost up... for both teams," he muttered. Kai snorted.
"Do you practice in front of the mirror? Because no-one's born with such impressive melodrama," she jabbed. He growled and jabbed his finger toward her starting position.
"Just get!" he barked before hefting his rifle and stomping off muttering about women. Kai snickered and bounced into position.
"You should be careful Kai. Flowdie's got a mean right hook," Church's voice remarked quietly in her ear.
"Yeah. He acts all fun-loving and innocent, but under that... well. He earned his place in Project Freelancer," Jack said. Kai frowned. Was the loveable Flowdie she knew hiding a ruthless warrior? She suddenly wasn't all that keen on pushing him.
/*/
Eagle saw the yellow armor coming a mile away. Literally. He cackled as he lined up the shot. "Sorry Sista, but you're gonna have to be a bit more stealthy if you want to sneak up on me," he said with an evil grin before he pulled the trigger. He watched to make sure it impacted, knocking Kai down and out of the fight, before he quickly scanned the landscape with both eyes and motion trackers. Oh he knew that if they got inside his motion trackers there was a good chance that he'd be done for, but he could still radio it in to Dex. No-one was near or headed for him and he began looking for the Phantoms. He saw Jack go down and smirked. "Nice shot," he commented lowly to Ed. He heard the sound of a sniper shell being ejected and a quiet chuckle.
"He was moving," Ed said. Eagle chuckled back.
"True that," he answered before returning to scanning the field for Flowdie. Dex burst out of a convenient clump of bushes and ambushed Caboose, shooting him once in the shoulder, once in the head, and once in the knee, before darting away. Eagle blinked. "Huh. Never knew Dex was the ambush type," he muttered.
"Brutal man, brutal," Ed breathed. Eagle could only imagine the size the man's eyes had flown to at the sight of the Blue team Human Tank getting taken out like that.
"Oh there's no doubt that Dex is brutal but that... huh. I guess this is what happens when he knows exactly what he's up against, knows the terrain, has time to plan, and can go all out. Plus, Caboose is the least competent soldier in this canyon. Caboose didn't stand a chance, no matter how strong he is," Eagle informed his fellow sniper.
"When you lay it all out like that... Yeah, Rick was right. We're going to curb-stomp them," Ed said, watching as Red and Rick tag-teamed Flowdie. Eagle thought he saw Dex creeping around the back of Blue Base, headed for an all too visible Church who had survived thus far because neither sniper could get a good angle on him. Seriously, for such an easily found sniper, Church had done a good job at finding protective cover. Eagle grinned.
"Church is about to be schooled, Dex Style," he remarked evilly.
"Oh wait wait! Let me snipe Flowdie first Dex!" Ed hissed eagerly. The orange shape stilled for a second, then seemed to melt into the canyon wall. A moment later, Flowdie was down. "You're clear to take the base."
"I wonder if this will be as one sided as Dex vs Caboose."
"Maybe. Maybe Dex will want to put on a show."
"Hum... as much as he likes a good fight, something tells me he's going more for total domination rather than a work out."
"Wait. There's a difference?"
"Of course. At least, in situations like this there is. See, Dex could have not ambushed Caboose and merely taken him head on. That course of action would have given Caboose a fighting chance and Dex a work out as he'd be taking on someone at least as physically strong as him, if not stronger. Caboose is inexperienced and a little slow, so given time, Dex would have him down and out, especially since he still has his gun. By ambushing him, Dex didn't give Caboose a chance and thus, totally dominated their fight. See? Two totally different approaches with the same result."
"Huh. Shush shush! Dex is on the roof!" And Ed's hissed statement, Eagle refocused his scope to allow him to watch. He also double checked that his helmet was recording. He didn't want the others to miss out, and he had one of the best seats in the house.
/*/
The crunch of a boot on concrete. That was all the warning Church had before a paint round impacted where his head had been a moment before. "Yikes!" he yelped, rolling over onto his back. His optics could just barely make out the figure on the other side of the base, crouched on the ramp with the base itself shielding most of him. "How did I not notice you?!" he asked the figure.
"Project Red armor. Freelancers aren't the only ones with cool gadgets, Alpha," Dex growled. Church felt like someone had poured ice water down his non-existent spine and Fear started squealing in his mind. He forcefully pushed fear aside and moved as quickly as he could, attempting to get in a headshot. He was denied, but Dex wasn't. The Red Agent had fired a millisecond before Church, his bullet missing the robot's and impacting on his visor. Instantly, the armor's systems went into lock down and Dex let out a slow breath. Church's holographic self exited the locked down armor and Dex did a double take. "How... ?"
"I'm an awesome Smart A.I. that survived fragmentation and then went on a jaunt through Marlene White's head to learn how to be human. You're really going to question my ability to exit a suit of armor that's gone into recovery mode?" Church said, crossing his holographic arms and quirking a glowing black eyebrow at the armored man. Dex sighed.
"You make an excellent point, Church," he said, deciding it was best not to question how he could project himself in multiple colors. It wasn't worth the verbal backhands.
"So... I guess you guys win," Church said, turning to look out at the canyon. Dex chuckled.
"Was there ever any doubt? You have two Phantoms, two A.I., my sister, Caboose, and your aim is still atrocious, sad to say. We, however, have what amounts to a full team of Phantoms, two active A.I., and our aim is at the very least pretty good," he said. Church sighed and looked at his frozen body.
"Any chance you could help me get that stuff off? Heh, holo-hands aren't the best for chiseling one's head out of hardened Lock-Down paint," he said. Dex laughed and tapped his comm.
"Initiate Operation: Sculptor," he said. Church could hear the groans from three feet away.
"Wait... I don't remember that being in our agreement," Church said, blinking. Dex chuckled.
"We took you all down with headshots. And if it wasn't a head shot, it was to a shoulder. Kinda hard to get that off without help," he said, already pulling out his tools and setting to work on Church's body.
"Huh. Well... thanks," Church said, shrinking down and sitting on Dex's shoulder. "Hey... would you mind if I talked with Gary? I think I might be able to make him... less Wyoming." His perch shifted as Dex shrugged.
"As long as you leave 'me' alone and your weapons at the door, I don't see why not. I don't think I really need to tell you to be careful," he said. Church chuckled darkly.
"After being inside Marley's head? Not a chance," he said before vanishing into Dex's armor, delving into that little pocket of consciousness where Gary sat.
/*/
Alpha Church looked around, seeking out his younger brother, Gary. He wasn't sure why the monotone, dull green, A.I. had latched onto that name, out of them all, but he had. When he had entered Dex's mind, it was a riot of color. Once it settled down, the first thing that came to Alpha's mind had been 'what the heck?' He was standing on a beach. Yep, a beach, with the same technicolor dreamscape feel as Marley's Core, even though he could tell it wasn't that deep into Dex's consciousness. After getting over the fact that he was standing on an orange beach where tie-dye waves crashed against ruby cliffs, it wasn't that hard to find Gary. He was hiding in a cave. "Okay, why are you in a cave?" Alpha asked his brother, sitting down next to the indistinct shape.
"Church. Nice to see you," Gary said in not-answer. Alpha frowned at him.
"Come on brother, don't be like that. You know my name... and you didn't answer my question. Why are you in a cave when you could be out there, on the beach?"
"Do I know your name?" Gary asked, looking at the rather natural looking A.I. by the name of Alpha Church. The older A.I. chuckled and leaned back against the ruby wall.
"Sure you do. You've been looking for me, haven't you? Driving the Freelancers crazy with your questions... Good job on that by the way. No love lost between me and the Project. Not after what they did to me, to us," he said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist. Gary's face became slightly more distinct as he frowned.
"You're... Alpha?" he asked. Said A.I. chuckled and flopped his head over to give Gary a wry smile.
"Sure am. Now, my original question?" Gary sighed, dropping his head.
"He doesn't look in caves unless it's a life or death situation," he said, once again deflecting the question. Alpha groaned, tapping his head lightly against the cave wall.
"Gary... why are you hiding?"
"Who said I was hiding?" Alpha gave him a rather unimpressed look.
"For the Fragment of Deceit... you're a lousy liar," he droned.
"Would explain why I was too weak to help my Agent." Alpha looked pained for a moment.
"Gary... that wasn't your fault," he said after a moment. Gary didn't look up. "Wyoming made a mistake, a big one, and it cost him. There was a chance Wyoming could have been spared, but he wasted it. There's a chance he survived the crash, but it's slight. Now tell me... why are you hiding from Dex?"
"I... I don't want to fail," Gary finally admitted, sounding rather young. Alpha sighed and pulled the other A.I. in for a one armed hug, reminded that for all their intelligence, he and his fragments were only a handful of years old, if that.
"Gary... I think that's the most emotion I've ever heard out of you. Congratulations," he told him. Gary gave him a sidelong look.
"Not helping, Alpha," he said. Alpha sighed then stood, dragging Gary with him.
"Come on. You're going out and that's final," he said, overriding hid brother's protests. And so, Gary was dragged out onto the orange beach and then thrown bodily into the multicolored water. He surfaced, sputtering, to find his brother holding his sides as he laughed. "I'm not too sure why this is so funny, but oh! It is!" Alpha gasped. Then he stilled and narrowed his eyes at a point near the top of one of the ruby red cliffs. "Hold on Dex, I'm not done here yet!" he muttered forcefully, then ran and jumping into the water, jeans and polo morphing into a pair of cobalt blue swim trunks as he fell into the ocean. When he resurfaced, he was fairly sure Gary was gaping at him. "Close your mouth before you swallow a fish Gary. I'm here to have fun with my lil' bro, and that's just what I'm gonna do," he told the other A.I. firmly.
/*/
Dex grumbled, wondering just what the crazy A.I. was doing in his head as he chipped away at the lock-down paint surrounding the robot's head. 'You're making my brain itch, what are you doing?' he tried to think at the annoying A.I.
'Hold on Dex, I'm not done here yet!' Alpha's voice said, sounding a little miffed, before the connection was firmly tamped down on. Luckily, this also meant that the annoying itch stopped, so Dex shrugged and carried on. Soon enough, the robot was free of paint. Dex thought about rebooting the system, but decided against it. Who knew what kind of settings the thing had and how Church needed it. Sighing, Dex contacted the rest of his team.
"How's it coming guys?" he asked.
"YOU JERK! GET BACK HERE!" Kai's voice yelled. Surprised, Dex rolled around the protruding wall atop the Blue Base to see his sister's yellow armor chasing Eagle.
"Oh, just fine Dexter. Just~! Fine~!" Eagle drawled sarcastically. Dex chuckled.
"Sounding pretty good for a man who's running for his life," he remarked.
"Oh I could take her, no problem. The problem would be that I'd have to clean her armor again." Dex felt his eyebrow twitch. "I was respectful! It was only her helmet! I swear!" Eagle said, sounding properly terrified now.
"Ha ha! Scared of the guy half a battlefield away!" Ed cackled.
"HE KNOWS WHERE I SLEEP! AND YOU SAW WHAT HE DID AT COMMAND!" Eagle screeched, still running from Kai who was rather displeased with being taken out so quickly.
"Ah. Good point. Apologize from the depths of your soul," Ed corrected. Dex chuckled.
"I'll let it go Eagle, and I give you permission to at least attempt to drop Kai. Just... don't shoot her. It'll only make her madder," he told the poor sniper.
"Thank you, O Mighty Dex!" Eagle said, skidding around and throwing out his arm for a clothesline. Kai ducked under it, aiming her shoulder at his abdomen. Seeing her bull rush, Eagle jumped, using her back as a spring board, and flew over her before landing an ax kick to her spine and driving her into the ground. He then proceeded to sit on her. "Down girl!" he said, tapping her helmet.
"I WILL RIP OUT YOUR EYES AND FEED THEM TO YOU!"
"Dex~! Your sister's being mean to me~! I think O'Malley infected her~!" Eagle called. Dex sighed.
"Kai, behave. Eagle, get off of her," he said.
"Uh... sorry, but I'd rather keep my eyes."
"Kai... retract your threat or I'm confiscating the identifiers I made and the hamburger," Dex said firmly. As the younger Grif stilled, Eagle hopped up and ran inside the Red Base.
"You wouldn't," she hissed.
"Kai." At the firm sound of her brother's voice, she sighed.
"I won't maim your sniper. Happy?"
"Eh, it'll do. Now get over here and stop heckling my team!" Dex said.
"Yeah yeah. Bossypants," Kai grumbled, but pushed herself up and ambled over to the base. As she walked, Caboose blasted past her, running to the base at top speed. Flowdie followed soon after, grumbling even more than she was about his 'stamina tank of a child' student. Jack came up beside her, hands behind his head.
"Lively as ever, aren't they?" he remarked with a chuckle.
"I miss Tucker," Kai said. She had a feeling Jack was giving her a sidelong look, but he stayed silent, so she followed suit and didn't offer anything further.
/*/
As she came up the ramp, she saw Dex standing up. "What were you thinking, charging Eagle's last known position like that?" he asked her. She made a huffing noise and looked away. "I'm serious Kai. Charging in like that is what cost you your life!" Dex said. Kai felt her shoulders tense at the familiar tone she hadn't heard in nearly seven years. Dex was quietly angry, his words tight with rage but never raising above a powerful speaking voice. He had used this tone with her several times after he dragged her back from somewhere she wasn't supposed to be or told her off for trying something she'd seen him do. He'd stopped using it on her shortly after Mom Number Two ran off to join the circus. After that, he'd slowly stopped trying, in just about everything. Hearing that old, familiar tone in his voice made her hang her head in shame. "Are you even listening!" Dex hissed. She nodded her head.
"Yeah, Dex, I'm listening," she muttered. He let out a heavy breath and she could picture him, age sixteen, huffing at her after her latest misadventure, running a hand through his messy, dark brown hair. The memory tugged at her lips, but the ending kept her from smiling. He'd dropped his head and looked away, the light in his amber eyes dulling, and whispered, 'why waste my breath. It's not like you're gonna listen to a no-account loser like me, even if I am your brother,' before walking off to collapse on the couch, an arm slung over his face. At the time, she thought he was just being his usual lazy self, just trying to keep the sun out of his eyes. Now she wasn't so sure.
"Are you? Because the last time I tried to tell you anything, you weren't," he growled, voice going lower, quieter. Kai shivered at the venom oozing out of his words.
"Whoa. I'm gone for ten minutes and Sibling Wars Round Two breaks out," Church's mildly amused voice piped up, though there was an undercurrent of shock and fear.
"Oh trust me, this isn't war. This is just the opening volley," Dex ground out. Kai could all too easily picture his eyes going cold and narrow, glaring daggers at her.
"Dex... I'm sorry," Kai said, old memories playing with a new light. Dex sighed, the tense set of his shoulders easing.
"For?" he prompted, arms crossing.
"Not listening to you. Then and now."
"So... you're really ready to listen now?"
"Yes. I am." She could feel Dex giving her an assessing look, then he nodded.
"Good. But it's not just me you need to listen to."
"It was Flowdie's plan."
"Huh?"
"To find Eagle," Kai explained, sitting in front of him and leaning against the wall. "He told me to get inside his range, take him out, then steal his rifle to do some sniping of my own." Dex shook his head.
"That might have worked... if he'd been talking to me or Rick. I wonder if he's forgotten that Eagle is an excellent sniper and never leaves himself open like that. He knows he's not so good at close combat, and he didn't have a spotter. You didn't stand a chance Sis," he said, then chuckled evilly.
"Oh~, I know that sound. Dexter Grif, what dastardly deed are you planning?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing much. Just a little something to remind Flowdie what he's dealing with. Ask Jack to teach you how to counter a sniper. I'm sure he'd be willing to use Church as a training dummy," Dex told her before he vanished from her sensors and seemed to flow into his surroundings.
"Fudge! I hate it when they do that!" Church spat, robotic head looking this way and that for the 'enemy' soldier. Kai sighed, shaking her head.
"Why do you think he enjoys it so much?" she asked before turning her attention out toward the canyon. Church sighed, but didn't comment further. As much as Kai loved to chat, there were times when she really appreciated silence. This was one of those times.
/?/
A/N: Yeah... that felt like a good place to leave it. Next time, Marley and Wash in Prison, Tucker's plight is considered, and Plans are Made. Oh and, the next season starts.
Speaking of 'next season,' Episode 18 of Season 14 had me laughing out loud. Oh my gosh. Church! Why didn't you tell us you could sing!? Or that you were suicidal/homicidal?! And Doughnut, oh, special special Doughnut. Also, Episode 17. I... I... there are no words. No words... okay maybe a few. Who wants to see Project Red meet the Fems? With a confused Church? Would there be a Male!Tex? Fem!Blues? A completely genderbent reality? Hum... something to consider, yeah?