Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter Five:
Fireworks exploded in the sky above Junior's head as the young boy laughed in delight, turning his gaze curiously to the side to gauge his father's reaction. Of course, his curiosity was met with exuberant clapping and a grin.
"That's fucking awesome, kiddo!" Lavernius Tucker exclaimed, nodding his head in approval, "You've really been practicing, huh?"
"Theta likes seeing the fireworks." Junior admitted shyly, "North say it's good to show off if it's for practice."
Tucker nodded his head once more, humming appreciatively to himself. Leave it to a pro like North to turn practicing magic abilities into a game.
"He's right about that." Tucker told his son conspiratorially, "Why, I'd never practice my skills if it wasn't to show-off!"
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me in the slightest." A new, yet ultimately familiar, voice said from behind the Beast Folk.
Tucker couldn't help but roll his eyes at the intrusion into his bonding time with Junior by none other than Washington, the stick-in-the-mud Seas they had officially met earlier at the Guild.
Since their group had some free time before their investigation mission started while both Grif and Simmons were back in Blood Gulch explaining the situation to Kai, Tucker had wanted to spend some of that time in Armonia with his son. After all, the dark skinned man was heading out on another mission yet again and he had no fucking clue how long this one would last.
He honestly hadn't expected Washington to leave the Guild Headquarters at around the same time as him, nor had he expected the hella awkward interaction between the blond and North when they had gone outside.
North had simply smiled sadly when Tucker inquired about it afterwards, saying that it was a long, overly-complicated story that Doyle's bodyguard didn't want to bother him with. Tucker sure as hell hadn't planned on running into the Seas again at the fountain by the town square.
"You know, stalking isn't exactly a flattering trait, dude." Tucker said, apparently unable to help himself from giving the guy a hard time.
Sure enough, that caused Washington's face to turn beet red despite the gray tinge his skin had to it. Tucker would almost call it "cute." In fact, the Guild member had to work really hard at covering up the smirk that getting under the rather serious man's skin seemed to provoke in him.
"I—I wasn't…!" Washington began spluttering, "I just happened to be walking by and—!"
"Relax, dude. I was just messing with you." Tucker finally took pity on the poor guy and cut him off, "I know it's just a small world and all that."
The blond relaxed somewhat then, "You're telling me. To think someone like you would be a Guild member."
"Uh, I happen to be a damn good one!" Tucker stated proudly.
Junior was watching the exchange curiously, "Is he a friend of yours, Daddy?"
The two men exchanged glances and Tucker shrugged before explaining: "More like a new business associate."
"Okay!"
That simple answer seemed to satisfy the young Beast Folk's curiosity as Junior turned to create more fireworks in the air with a wave of his hands. Washington watched him for a moment, smiling at the carefree innocence of the youth before what he was witnessing fully clicked in his brain.
"Your son is a Magic User too?" The Seas asked, sounding both analytical and surprised.
Tucker nodded his head, "Yeah, his powers manifested pretty early."
Washington regarded the young boy once more before turning his attention back to Tucker with a look on his face as if he was seeing another side to the feline-like Beast Folk, "Must be tough." He stated, surprisingly sympathetic.
"Nah, more of a surprise than anything else." Tucker grinned proudly, "His control is excellent."
Which was only because Tucker had made sure of it. It seemed like a natural course of action in order to ensure that Junior didn't accidentally hurt himself or anyone else. But, there was no need to bring that up with someone who was just an acquaintance at the moment.
"I can see that." Washington's voice was filled with approval.
To Tucker's surprise, the blond sat down next to him on the bench. At a close-up glance, the Seas looked completely wore down.
"Dude," Tucker glanced at him in mild concern, "You okay?"
"I'll be fine once this mission gets underway." Washington assured him.
Mission, huh? Washington talked a lot in military terms, similar to York and North now that Tucker thought about it.
"Can I ask you something personal?" The Beast Folk braved, asking after a minute of contemplation.
Washington seemed surprised by the question, but hesitantly nodded his head regardless.
"I get why Andersmith wants to solve this case and I know the missing pilot is a friend of yours," Tucker decided to just dive right in, "But is there another reason you want to be so involved in this investigation?"
After all, he could just report the missing persons and leave well enough alone. If Tucker was being honest with himself, he sort of figured that's what he would do if he wasn't a Guild member. Not that he'd ever been, or wanted to be, put in a similar situation.
Washington paused, staring out at the busy town square and then at the sparks of light Junior was letting stream through the air. Finally, he let out a sigh: "I've heard rumors that another friend of mine might be involved in the disappearances."
Tucker couldn't help but wince sympathetically. Bad enough to have one friend be kidnapped, but to think another was somehow involved?
"Is this the same type of 'friend' as North is?" The dark skinned man couldn't help but ask curiously.
Washington bowed his head, a look of unmasked hurt and hesitation crossing over his features that almost made Tucker want to apologize for prying, when he sighed once more.
"It's complicated, Tucker."
Tucker had heard that enough to know it translated roughly to it was none of his business. He supposed he could respect that. For the moment, at any rate.
"Well, here's to hoping we'll figure things out and rescue your one friend quickly." Tucker remarked instead.
Washington looked at him for a second, seemingly shocked that the Beast Folk hadn't pressed the issue. Then he smiled slightly, and damn it all if Tucker couldn't help but think that the Seas had a nice smile.
He was able to cover up his return grin rather well thanks to Junior running to them just then. Both men turned their attention to the child once more as he excitedly showed them a new trick he had learned earlier with Theta's help.
The former Freelancer shook some flecks of blood from her fist before sitting down at the tavern's counter, signaling the barkeep for her celebratory drink.
After all, South had plenty to celebrate, especially given how she had just won her eleventh bar fight of the night without so much as breaking a sweat. Hopefully, a few broken noses would keep the local riffraff from harassing their waitresses again.
South grinned at the free booze coming her way, taking a huge burning swig of the stuff the second it was in front of her. She loved small towns in the Outer Regions like this one. She particularly enjoyed their dives. They were so much more entertaining than what any of the similar places in the Unsc were.
It was almost going to be a shame to have to leave this place when her contract was up. But she knew getting too comfortable in any one place was a bad idea for a whole slew of reasons.
Case in point: the asshole in blue who just then sat down next to her.
"That looks like a good drink. Could I try one?" A familiar, not to mention far too friendly and nonchalant, voice asked her.
However, the assessing look in his brown eyes and the fact that the cheerfulness didn't quite reach their depths gave his true demeanor away. South made a face and put down her drink, her thirst suddenly slaked.
"Fuck off, Florida. Or Flowers. Or whatever the hell it is you're calling yourself these days." She said to him emphatically, not bothering to turn her head in his direction, "I told you before that I'm not interested in anything involving Freelancer or the Unsc anymore."
If Florida was surprised by her less than joyful greeting, he hid it well. Instead, he smiled all the more cheerily and regarded her with a thoughtful look crossing over his features, "Well, that's a shame then. It just so happens I have a job that I think you'd be perfect for."
There was something in his voice that had her curiosity piqued. The pale blonde with violet-tipped hair glanced over at Florida, only somewhat surprised to see him smiling at her expectantly.
She smirked right back at him, raising an eyebrow, "Is that so?"
He nodded, "If you're still up for any and all challenges, that is."
South eased back into her chair then, smirk widening slightly, "I'd love to hear more about it, especially if it is going to include as much skull-bashing as you're insinuating."
Florida's smile widened, and South couldn't help feeling a bit more eager at the prospect of hearing her old work ally out.
The Grif house was burning. There was an inferno raging throughout the humble abode, one that was quickly threatening to engulf the surrounding buildings of Blood Gulch.
Richard "Dick" Simmons was distantly aware of people running from the sight in a panic. He somewhat made note of the firefighters arriving with Water Storage Relics that transported large quantities of water in a seemingly small, inconspicuous way.
However, his eyes remained glued on the fire itself. His green irises watching the roof that had caved in and the bits of stone, wood, and glass that had fallen to the ground all around them…
This can't be happening. This can't be happening! His mind repeated over and over again, although it was hard to tell when he had started thinking those thoughts.
"KAI!"
He wasn't sure if Grif had shouted his little sister's name or not, but Simmons felt the exclamation in his very bones. The redhead felt a panic and disbelief that was similar to his own but different too. It nearly seized up his heart.
The Magic User couldn't breathe. The smoke from the fire was burning his lungs as dread continuously clawed at his throat.
"Kai could be in there. She could be hurt or dead or…!"
As suddenly as those thoughts entered his mind, Simmons grabbed Grif around the waist, knees crashing into the ground as he tried to keep the Orc from racing into the fire. It was as if he knew that the tan skinned man would try to see if Kai was still inside their home, as if he had heard Grif say as much even though he knew the other man hadn't spoken a word out loud.
Still, Simmons wasn't strong enough to stop a fully motivated Orc from moving. All he did was slow Grif down momentarily, the other man dragging them both closer to the inferno.
"N—no, Grif!" The redhead tried screaming out in-between coughs, "It's too—!"
Just then, Grif twirled around to glance down at Simmons, the lanky man hugging the Orc's back while his bloodied knees and shins were dragged along on the village ground.
Something unreadable flashed through the panic in Grif's eyes as he gazed down at the human, and he opened his mouth to speak when, suddenly, part of the collapsed roof flew past them both—an arc of fire streaming through the air in its wake.
A black-armored figure stood up from amidst the wreckage, clapping their hands together. Simmons distantly realized that they had thrown the piece of burning roof off of themselves. It was terrifyingly impressive.
"Kai!" Grif called out, though Simmons knew that the other man recognized that whoever this mysterious figure was it wasn't his younger sister.
The woman began walking over to the two of them, her black armor turning red as it dissolved from her body completely to reveal pretty simplistic black traveling clothes and a big black star tattoo partially visible on her back. She was blond, with a sharp look in her brown eyes and a commanding presence.
"She's not in there, if that's what you're thinking." The blonde informed both Simmons and Grif, looking at their awkward positioning with mild amusement before a reminiscent scowl took hold over her features, "They took her. Fucking assholes dropped the building on me to keep me from following."
"W—who…?" Simmons began as the firefighters cautiously approached the burning house as he tried his best to ignore the knot in his stomach that the sight of the destroyed home left in him.
"Charon. Who else?" The woman in black looked at the redhead as though the answer should have been obvious.
At her answer, Grif stiffened even more within Simmons' embrace.
"I'm Tex, a reclaiming agent for the Guild." The woman finally introduced herself, "I was just passing through when the attack happened." She informed them as she looked at the two men seriously, "You guys came through a Teleportation Orb, right? We're going to have to do a return trip. Fast. I need to talk to Kimball right away and you need to get moving on saving the girl. Quickly."
The trip back to Armonia didn't take any time at all. As it turned out, Tex had a Relic Communicator on her, which she stated proudly was a perk of being a reclaiming agent of long standing.
The blonde was able to secure their ride back using a Teleportation Orb more efficiently than Simmons would have thought possible. Which was a good thing, all things considered, since Grif's Relic Communicator had been inside the now burned out husk of a house that they used to call "home."
Truthfully, Simmons was only partially paying attention to what was happening around them. Instead, most of his focus was placed on his growing concern for Grif as there was an alien wave of panic and disbelief over recent events still intermingling tightly with his own that the Magic User couldn't quite understand.
Meanwhile, Grif seemed to be in a daze. The Orc was only moving along at Simmons' or Tex's prompting. Considering how take-charge Grif had been when it came to helping Simmons settle in the Outer Regions, it was more than a bit nerve-wracking for the redhead to behold.
Simmons wished there was something, anything, he could do to help Grif right then. But, all he could do was make assurances about Kai's safety that seemed to fall on deaf ears.
So, once more having used a Teleportation Orb and after picking himself up off the floor again (seriously, what the hell was the deal with that?), Simmons was startled to see that this time around they had materialized in what appeared to be a large room.
Judging from the décor, it seemed that they were in the Guild Headquarters itself. Evidently, Tex was not joking around about them needing to get there right away.
"Greetings." A familiar voice called out, and Simmons was even more surprised to see Delta and York standing in the unfamiliar room.
"Still got a great throwing arm." York grinned as Tex moved past him, though the brown haired man's expression turned serious a second later when his good eye got a look at all of their faces, "I take it something really major happened out there if you needed an emergency teleport?" he asked Tex even as the woman was already one foot out the door.
The blonde paused in the doorway as Grif and Simmons caught up to her, "I'll fill you in as soon as I can, York." She assured him.
He nodded, glancing over at Delta who hadn't said anything since greeting them after their arrival, "We're counting on it."
With that, the three of them left the two Guild agents and were off walking again. Even though Simmons had only been in the building two times before, he recognized the way to Kimball's office almost immediately.
Tex didn't even knock, she just opened the door and walked into the space as if she owned it. Both Doyle and Kimball had been sitting at the head of the Guild's desk, cups of what appeared to be tea before them.
They had been pouring over maps of the areas they would be investigating in the upcoming mission. Apparently, when they were fixated on a common goal, they could be more than civil to one another without even realizing it. Their heads were even bent close together as they held a quiet conversation amongst themselves.
Naturally, both Doyle and Kimball pulled apart as if struck the second that they realized that Tex and the two shell-shocked men were in the room with them. They had a reputation to uphold, after all.
"What happened?" Kimball wasted no time getting down to business, casting a glance at Doyle to make sure he knew who called the shots in her space before resting her gaze expectantly on the trio.
"There was an attack in Blood Gulch." Tex informed her, "A Magic User was taken."
Kimball's eyes immediately went to Grif, understanding flickering over her features, "Your sister?" The Seas asked softly.
Grif let out a shaky breath as he nodded in affirmation, and Simmons couldn't help it when his heart ached at the sight.
"It was Charon." Tex spoke up again, "Just like Wash surmised."
"You know this because…?" Doyle couldn't help but inquire.
The woman shot him a quick, assessing glance, "Long story." She finally noted, "Don't ask."
"We won't." Kimball shot Doyle a pointed look, "Tex's word is trustworthy."
For a moment, Doyle looked as though he wanted to argue with the head of the Guild. But, the blond human wisely kept his mouth shut instead as the Unsc representative nodded his head in understanding, mouth pursed into a thin line.
"In that case," he finally stated at length, "We should speed up our investigation time."
"I agree." Kimball turned to Grif and Simmons, "Gather everyone as quickly as you can and head out immediately. We'll be doing the same."
"Ye—yes, ma'am." Simmons couldn't help but awkwardly salute.
Tex nodded her head, moving towards the door, "I'll go and collect some more helpers. Might be fun," she grinned mischievously, "Since I just know they'll love to see me. I'll meet you at the landing site."
"Understood. Thank you, Tex." Kimball noted as the other woman left.
Grif turned to leave the office woodenly, Simmons reaching out and touching his arm to stop him from doing so. Of course, the redhead then realized he had made things horribly awkward since he was now pondering over what he wanted to say or ask the Orc.
Maybe he should start by asking about how Grif was doing on account of what had happened to Kai and Charon's supposed involvement. The pale skinned man opened his mouth to do just that, but the scared, worried look on Grif's face and in his brown eyes—practically pouring off of his body in waves, made him stop.
Instead, he wanted to just reassure the Orc in whatever way he could.
"We'll find her, Grif." Simmons told him, gently squeezing the other's arm while shocked at how strong and sure his own voice sounded at the statement.
Grif didn't respond verbally, but there was a light in his eyes for a moment as he stared down at Simmons' hand on his arm and then up at Simmons' encouragingly smiling face.
The Magic User was caught off-guard but still oddly touched when the Orc momentarily took his hand in his own and gently squeezed it in response. Simmons could feel his face turning a bit red at Grif's gesture, although he wasn't entirely sure why.
Author's Notes: So, not only do we have some emotional and heavy Grif and Simmons interactions in this chapter on account of Kai getting taken, but we also got our first real interaction between Tucker and Washing too (naturally bonding over how cute Junior is! XD). Oh, and Kimball and Doyle weren't yelling expletives at one another as well! Progress, possibly? XD
Anyone care to take a guess as to who Tex might be going off to collect? Some reunions are definitely upcoming! :)
There were a few more character introductions in this chapter now that the plot is definitely picking up pace. Hopefully, this was an enjoyable chapter to read as I hope that the next one will be too!
Thank you for taking the time to read this update! :D