Ight, so it got a little angsty but all in all I like how it turned out. It much to say except enjoy ;)
Nonthing brings a soilder even such a thrill like the beginning of battle. The chance to put their teachings and discipline to use and dominate the battlefield. As the two warriors descended down on the desolate warehouse of interest, they each had one specific goal in mind. Not only to completely obliterate the storage of dangerous materials but to achieve victory over the other by winning their established challenge. They each had some words for each other while descending
"Winning this challenge is going to be a breeze! I'll make sure you have all the material to properly clean my suit!" Pharah yelled towards Soilder.
"AS IF!! I HAVE CAUSED MAYHEM IN PLACES BIGGER THAN THIS ONE WITH LITTLE TO NO EFFORT! I HOPE YOUR READY FOR MY FAVOR ONCE I ACTUALLY HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT IT!" Soilder fired back. The determination from both of them was daunting.
As they both were about to reach the drop zone, Pharah noticed something off about Soilder. From this height, shouldn't they have packed him a parachute.
"Soilder! Did you forget you parachute!? Even an imbecile like you shouldn't forget something like that!" Since Pharah already had the ability to hover due to her suit, she was guaranteed a safe landing. The same cannot be said for Soilder however.
"PARA-WHAT NOW!?!?" Soilder was so focused on beating her in this challenge that he forgot his parachute on the ship. He refused to acknowledge this and decided to shoot right back.
"WHERES YOUR PARACHUTE HMM!?!" Pharah just rolled her eyes at this. Knowing Soilder with his high pain tolerance, the most he could get from a fall from this height would be a fractured bone. But since there's no healers with them, she decide to take initiative.
"It wouldn't be much of a challenge if he's injured anyway." She thought. Soilder spoke to break the silence.
"I TAKE YOUR SILENCE AS A NO!! I DO NOT NEED A PARACHUTE! EVEN IF I WAS PARALYZED FROM THE NECK DOWN, I COULD STILL BEAT YOUR — H-HEY, GET YOUR COLD METAL HANDS OFF ME YOU GLORIFIED MICROWAVE!!!!" Pharah refused
"Would you stop struggling! The last thing I need is an idiot who can't walk and I don't feel like carrying dead weight!"
Pharah proceeded to hold on to Soilder's hand as she slowly floated down along with him.
As they touched down, they began to survey their surroundings. The ecosystem around the warehouse could be described as a lush rainforest. The lush green trees and ever growing vegetation on the floor was all the evidence they need. They had sight on the old warehouse, an estimated five minute walk was needed to reach it. Pharah called out to Soilder
"Well!"
"WELL WHAT YOU WALKING TOATER OVEN!?!?"
"Aren't you gonna say thanks for not letting you fall down to a potential injury?!? We have no healers so we can't afford to be reckless. Your lucky I actually want a challenge out of this." Pharah explained. The real reason was because she actually cared for his well-being. Someone had too because he clearly wasn't.
Soilder just laughed it off.
"LIKE IM GONNA BE THANKFUL FOR SOMETHING THAT I COULD HAVE TAKEN!! I FELL FROM HEIGHTS FOUR TIMES AS HIGH AND ONLY WALKED AWAY WITH A MINOR SCRAPE!" Soilder's pride kept his sincere side shut. Like he was gonna thank his adversary in this challenge
"Your Welcome." She said with a hint of venom.
"Also could you let go!" Pharah blurted out.
"LET GO OF WHAT!?!? IM NOT HOLDING ANYTHING TWINKLE TOES!!!" He exclaimed.
"I'm talking about my hand you ignorant moron! We are on the ground right now so you can cease this action." Pharah said, hiding the warmth of her cheeks. She got that uneasy feeling again, along with a good idea of why it's here in the first place.
"I LET GO A LONG TIME AGO SOFTIE!! IT IS YOU WHO IS HOLDING MY HAND!!! NOW UNHAND ME SO I CAN CLAIM MY VICTORY OF THIS CHALLENGE!" Soilder would be a liar if he said he wasn't feeling anything strange with this hand holding. The ocean blue metal felt cold yet warm at the same time.
"That doesn't make any sense! Now let go!"
"WHAT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE IS THAT YOU DIDNT LET GO! ARE YOU SURE YOUR NOT JUS-"
"Finish that thought and see what happens." She sternly stated.
Both of them were clearly not letting go anytime soon they were at an impasse. After a few minutes of silence, Soilder began to walk with Pharah resisting.
"Hold on, where are you going!?"
"WE HAVE A MISSION TO DESTROY THAT WAREHOUSE AND I HAVE A CHALLENGE TO WIN! YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT GONNA LET GO OF MY HAND SO THERE IS NO USE IN STANDING HERE! WE HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD!" He said while pulling her along. Since Soilder was able to get a good night sleep and some breakfast, he was at his full strength. He always did have a one up in strength against her. However a issue was present.
"How do we destroy the ware house if we need two hands to properly use our rocket weapons then genius?!" Pharah pointed out.
"WELL, WE EITHER UTILIZE OUR SECONDARY GEAR AND WEAPONS OR YOU CAN LET GO AND ADMIT DEFEAT!" Soilder said with a smug grin. Pharah was furious
"You better be a damn good shot with that gun of yours! I don't want this to last longer than it has to be." She replied. This sort of contact with his hand however wasn't bothering her as much as she thought. It started to feel a bit nice actually...she discarded that thought entirely.
They began to make their way towards the warehouse.
At the warehouse
After a bit of difficulty between the merc and agent, they finally made it to their destination; the warehouse. The appearance of the warehouse was average, nonthing really stood out making it a perfect place to house dangerous items. The second step is to destroy this place.
"ALRIGHT WAREHOUSE! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKE- GAH!" Soilder was preparing to charge until Pharah yanked the arm with their hands connected back. The amount of force literally knocked him on his back.
"What's wrong with you?! We shouldn't just barge in through a warehouse without any more info than what we have especially considering our current situation. So can you kindly let go of my hand." Pharah said while hovering over him.
"He here goes again, running straight into a promblem with no caution. He is going to meet an early grave if he keeps this up." She thought
"UNLESS YOU WERE TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT SOFT THINGS, WE HAVE INTEL THAT THE WAREHOUSE IS ABANDONED!! THE ONLY THING WE SHOULD BE GATHERING RIGHT NOW IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS WAREHOUSE SO I CAN WIN THIS CHALLENGE!" Soilder answered back. Pharah rubbed her forehead.
"Even so, we still have to assert our surroundings. Besides just because you wear helmet doesn't make you a soilder now doesn't? Looks can be deceiving." She retorted back with a smirk.
"YOU ARE WORKING MY LAST NERVES YOU SELF AWARE DISHWASHER!" Soilder was almost at his limit
"Well I don't see you doing anything about it Brainless amateur! Isn't that what you are always preaching." Pharah quipped back, also at her limit as well.
"YOU WANNA GO AT IT CUPCAKE?!?!"
"Don't you dare test me honey!"
They both glared at each other, growling like feral animals. One was waiting for the other to snap and make the first move. All they had to do was wait.
The creaking of a door grabbed their attention. This brought out two reactions from the two warriors. The conservative instincts of Amari and the attack first, ask questions later of Jane. Pharah wanted to hide behind cover and survey until a plan came to mind but Soilder wanted to run towards door to have the element of surprise on the supposed attacker.
These actions were unable to be performed due to their still connected hands. The longer they stay like this, the more it will pose as serious promblem.
"Soilder! We need to fall behind cover and see what we are dealing with! Stop being so difficult!" She whispered loudly while trying to pull him towards cover.
"NEGATIVE, THE ENEMY HAS UET TO KNOW OUR POSITION. WE SHOULD TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE AND KNOCK THEM OUT FOR QUESTIONING! YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE THE WORST TIMES TO BE A COWARD!!!!" Soilder said in his "hushed tone" while pulling her towards the door.
As they continued to argue about the best plan of action, the door continued to creak until it reached full length to reveal...nonthing?
Curious, they both ran to the open door only to find rusted hinges and loosened nails. Perhaps this was a really old abandoned warehouse.
Soilder wasted no time as he quickly peeked in, Pharah did the same as well. They both were met with an incredible view.
The intel Soilder 76 shared was on par with everything. Anything considered as illegal or completely dangerous was all accounted for.
Weapons of mass destruction, lethal chemicals and poisons, and some militray robots.
But the most dangerous of them all was the Bomb.
This weapon has enough force to clear out a suburban neighborhood. The supplies for manufacturing this weapon was extremely low considering the danger of using it and the absurd pricing especially with it being illegal to use as the cherry on top.
"WHAT DEMOMAN WOULD DO TO SEE THIS!" Soilder was impressed beyond belief. Pharah slapped her hand across his helmet
"How about less talking, more destroying. Now get your weapons out and get to work!" Pharah ordered while using her wrist cannons to blast away the illegal items.
"KILLJOY!" Soilder huffed as he began to use his shotgun to destroy the weapons as well.
A few hours later
This laborious activity took some time considering they were using their secondary weapons instead of their rocket launchers. They both were keeping count of the number of things they destroyed because of the challenge. After their raid, the warehouse was reduced to smoldering bits and pieces everywhere. Pharah and Soilder began to count the amount of destruction they caused. Proud
"Ha! Five hundred items destroyed by yours truly. Beat that idiot." Pharah said with a smug grin.
"DONT GLOAT TOO SOON GOODY-GOODY! I HAVE ALSO DESTROYED FIVE HUNDRED ITEMS AS WELL! I BELIEVE YOU HAVE MISCOUNTED!" Soilder revealed.
This was looking bleak for them. They both destroyed the exact number of materials. They both looked around for anything else.
Until the sound of screeching tires were heard. Pharah and Soilder knew they had unexpected visitors
"HEY! We don't know who you are or how many of you are in there but we don't take too kindly to people ruining our bussiness! We know that you are armed! Now come out with your hands up, we will use lethal force if nesscary!" A loud voice on a megaphone boomed into the ware house.The two soilders were stunned
"HOW DID THEY GET HERE SO FAST!?! I THOUGHT WE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO DESTROY EVERYTHING AND LEAVE."
Soilder asked.
"Thanks to your stubborn behavior of not letting my hand go, we were both unable to use our primary weapons which would have taken less time." Pharah refused to take the blame.
"MY BEHAVIOR!?! YOU ARE THE ONE THAT REFUSES TO LET GO AND WAS THE ONE WHO INTIATED THE CONTACT IN THE FIRST PLACE! YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET ME DROP!" Soilder replied with more attitude.
This ticked Pharah off. She was getting tired of him not having any concern for himself.
"Do you even hear yourself!? Why are you always throwing your well-being aside!? Do you even care about yourself!?" Pharah began to shout.
"I TOLD YOU, I GIVE MY HEART, SOUL, AND BODY BECAUSE I AM A SOILDER! IF WINNING THE WAR MEANS SACRIFICING MY LIFE THEN I WILL NOT HESITATE! THESE ARE THE STANDARDS I WILL FOREVER LIVE BY." Soilder reiterated.
"Even so, It always looks like you are trying to kill yourself!! You won't have your mercy or medic by your side all the time! Do you even care for the people who'll miss you!" She began to feel uneasy.
"MY COMRADES WILL POWER THROUGH! THEY MAY NOT BE AS TOUGH AS ME BUT THEY ARE KNOWN TO BOUNCE BACK FROM ANY SITUATION!" Even though it may not look like it but Soilder really did care for his teammates. They might as well be considered his family in a way.
"What about us!? We also associate ourselves with you! Don't you think that we will also miss you!?" That isn't what she really wanted to say but it will have to do.
"HONESTLY, I CANT THINK OF A SINGLE AGENT WHO WOULD MISS ME! PERHAPS MY BEHAVIOR KEPT THEM AWAY FROM ME BUT IT IS FINE. AS LONG AS I HAVE MY MERCS IM KNOW IM TAKEN CARE OFF!!" Soilder found it difficult to make friends with agents. They either found him crazy, violent or just plain loud.
"You...Idiot! Of course there is somebody who will miss you!Pharah really wanted to say what was on her mind but her pride was biting back at her.
"WELL, MS.SMARTY PANTS, IF YOU SO SURE WHO WOULD MISS ME!?!" Soilder asked.
"..." Silence. That's all she could muster out. Her and that damn pride.
"ALRIGHT! A FEW MINUTES HAVE PASSED AND YOU HAVE NOT OBEYED OUR ORDERS! WE ARE COMING IN AND I GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL NOT COME OUT ALIVE!" The megaphone yelled before the sounds of boots stomping and guns cocking filled the air.
Both Soilder and Pharah returned to the reality. They needed to think of a plan and fast. Then they each looked up at the bomb that was set before them. The idea hit both of them.
"We have to trigger the bomb!"
"WE HAVE TO BLOW THIS MOTHER UP LIKE THE FOURTH OF JULY!"
They both looked at each other. They knew what needed to be done. How to carry it out was a diffrent story.
"Okay, our firearms are out of the question. We need to enable the bomb while having a way to safely get out of the blast radius." Pharah explained to Soilder slowly lowering his shotgun.
The two fighters looked around to see a
timer on the bomb, it appears it needed a passcode of some sorts.
"Damn it! It needs a passcode we gotta find another way to trigg-." Before she could say anything else, Soilder violently thrusted his trusty shovel into the panel. After a couple sparks, the timer appeared with sixty seconds on it.
"YOU SERVED WELL FOR YOUR COUNTRY! MAY WE MEET AGAIN!" Soilder saluted to his shovel as he and pharah began to rocket through one of the skylights to make their escape. Pharah noticed something about Soilder before flying off, but she'll figure it out at a later time.
The door flung opened to reveal many armed man lead by a muscular man with a scar on his forehead. He motioned his men to spread out through the debris to find the culprits responsible.
"Did you grunts find anything?" The leader asked and received negative answers.
"Negative sir."
"Nope, not here."
"I think they got away sir."
This was not good. All the supplies they had were due in the next few days. He noticed that they destroyed everything, except the bomb. His curiosity got the best of him as he walked up to the panel to find a shovel shoved through it.
That's was the least of his promblems as he saw the five seconds he had left.
"...Da-"
BOOM!!
As the two soilders were walking towards their drop zone that Pharah called in, they turned their attention towards the explosion and marveled at it. Soilder was still a bit upset over losing his shovel but Pharah provided a pat on the back for comfort. They then proceeded to speak about the challenge.
"Well I owe you favor." Pharah admitted
"WHEN DO I START MY CLEANING DUTIES!?!" Soilder stated.
They both were shocked at what the other said. This is the first time they hear each other admit defeat.
"How do you owe me a favor?! It was your shovel that started bomb along with it being the final weapon in the challenge. I should be the loser here!"
"EVEN IF IT WAS MY SHOVEL, IT WAS YOUR THINKING AND THOUGHTFUL APPROACH THAT HELPED ME FIND THE PANEL! I WAS PREPARING TO SHOOT THE BLASTED THING UNTIL YOU MADE A REALLY GOOD POINT! SO WHEN DO I START?!"
They both looked at each other and realized two things. The first is that with their combined minds they together actually set the bomb off, meaning their challenge ended in a tie. The second is that they learned enough about each other to atleast have a little bit of an understanding towards one another.
As the dropship landed to pick them up, the pilot looked outside and began to quickly duck back inside.
"Hey, What seems to be the matter?" Pharah asked with concern.
"Oh I thought I was interrupting something.." The pilot responded.
"WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?!"
"The both of ya are holding hands sir." The pilot pointed out.
Soilder and Pharah both realized that as soon as they touched down they refused to let go of each other's hand. They both released at the same time with a blushing Pharah going to her seat and a shaken Soilder going to the other seat some ways from her's.
It was a quiet ride back to base.
At the base
"Well well well, not only did you both literally blow that warehouse to kingdom come but you were also able to take out a good bit of a private militia along with a commander. A productive mission like that deserves some rest for a couple days. If you both feel anything unusual feel free to go to medic or mercy. That is all. Dismissed."
Pharah and Soilder walked back to their room noticing the emptiness of the hallway. Most of the other agents and mercs must be caught up in something.
As they took their shower and changing into a more appropriate attire for bed with Pharah wearing a sports bra and compressed shorts and Soilder wearing a tank top and shorts, Pharah decided to break the silence. Something was bugging her and she was going to figure it out tonight.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Don't play dumb with me! As soon as you plunged your shovel I felt your hand going lax in mine when we were escaping. It's like you wanted to be dro—" A thought came to her. "You were gonna sacrifice yourself, weren't you!" She said trying to keep her emotions in check.
"... alright yes, I was going to stay behind and fend them off the bomb. They could've disabled and we would have been none the wiser but you literally hauled me out of there before I could even do anything about it." Soilder confessed.
"What have I told you about doing that! You need to-"
"Listen here softie, I already told you about my standards and dedication of a soilder. I will put my life on the line if it means victory. I'm ready to draw my final breath any day now. And don't try any of that "what about your friends" crap on me. They can power through." Soilder made sure to cover every corner. Pharah was past her breaking point
"...Idiot!" Pharah tried to tackle him but he was prepared this time. The amount of times she has taken him down was not gonna get bigger anytime soon. He quickly moved out of her way and reversed the position.
"Also why do you always try to pin me?! Give it up softie, I got the high ground." Soilder had her pin down but was surprised by what happens next.
She took her legs and kicked him off of her. He was sent flying a few feet. Soilder didn't know what was the issue with Pharah but he was starting to worry.
He was about to get up to only to be pinned by Pharah. This women really knows how to keep a man down literally.
"Look here missy, I had a long day and I lost my favorite shovel so can you get off me!" Soilder was not in the mood for this
"Maybe when you stop being such a damn fool! We hate seeing you act like this!" Pharah yelled.
"Who the agents? How do you know what they feel towards me when none of th-"
"I care!" Pharah shouted. Her pride starting to crack
Soilder decided to stay quiet.
"I hate seeing you like this! The way you just throw caution to the wind! How you physically harm yourself but don't care! It seems like everytime you put yourself in danger, I feel a pain inside me! The thought of losing you just because of your stupid standards just...just..."
Soilder then started to feel some droplets of water on his tank top. He looked up to see that Pharah was crying.
She laid her head down on his chest as he slowly lifted his hand up to her head to gently pat it. They both began to take a seated position with Pharah wrapping her arms around him. This wasn't the Pharah he went on the mission, this was Amari. His roommate who cares for him. There wasn't much he could do. He really wasn't an emotional kind of guy so he tried the usual straightforward approach.
"Amari, I cant promise you that I will be able to preserve myself but I can assure you that I will find a way to come back?"
Pharah looked up with watery eyes and confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Like I said I'm friends with devil! I can't come back just like that every time but I will find a way if you care about me so much. I will most of the time be there for you Amari" Soilder felt satisfied with that answer.
"...You have to be the most ignorant, moronic and craziest soilder I've ever seen in my line of service." Pharah responded.
Soilder thought that was all then he felt a pair of lips on his cheek. The warm and soft feeling was something he didn't really experience all that much. He didn't need to be a detective to know who was responsible.
"...Never change Jane." Pharah quickly said before getting up and going to bed.
Soilder didn't know how to react so he went to bed as well.
When fighting a side or a person for so long, you tend to try and look at the reasons of why they are in conflict with you. The answer may surprise you most of the time. But as the The two warriors reflect on the day, they can only dream of what will happen next. But rest is very important.
Another Battle should be afoot.