"Jesus Christ, fucking finally!" Alpha exclaimed, looking at the door. His package had finally arrived, with North's armor mod chip ready to be installed. He already had the armor, all he had to do was upload the hardware and software to North's helmet. He set to work installing the new chip into the armor, when he was interrupted.
"Hey, Alpha. You done with my armor yet? The Director wants me to go test it out with Delta," North asked.
"Yeah, I'm almost finished here… just one more second…. there! Finished. Here's your armor back," Alpha said, tossing the helmet at North. He sighed, leaning on the table heavily.
"Uh…. you okay, man? You seem a little… off," North asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine; you don't need to worry. Just a little bit tired. I'll be good after I get some rest."
North put his hands on his hips accusingly. "Have you been pulling all-nighters to get this done again?"
Uh oh. Enter Dad mode. "Mayyyyyybe."
"Oh my god, Alpha, we talked about this!" North complained as he slid on his helmet. He was already wearing the rest of the suit of armor. "No pulling all nighters, even when you absolutely have to- it just accelerates your condition!"
"I'll be fine. I'm not due back for another few weeks," Alpha informed him. "Just… the Director was putting a lot of pressure on me to finish this, okay? I had to get it done as soon as possible. Now go, go train, I'll be down in just a minute."
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE USED HIS EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD?!"
He was pissed- no, he was beyond pissed. He was fucking infuriated. "That armor was barely tested! It needed at least another few MONTHS of testing before I could allow it to be used!" He pushed past the protesting medic- "sir you can't go in there"- and barged into North's hospital room.
"What the EVERLOVING FUCK were you THINKING, North?! You could've died! There was a… I can't think of the numbers off the top of my head but there was a pretty damn good chance it would have failed and you all would've died! What the fuck!" Alpha chastised. "Don't EVER do that again!"
"Jesus, okay, dude. We're all fine. You don't need to yell so much."
"I don't need to- you know what, whatever. I'm gonna go see how Delta and York are." Alpha huffed, crossed his arms, then left the room to a variety of medical professionals yelling at him. He rolled his eyes and pushed through them, not answering any of the various questions/demands for answers aimed at him, and headed down to the training room where York was running various simulations with Delta.
"Goddamn it- that fucking- motherfucker-" he cussed at a datapad. He looked up when he noticed Carolina staring at him, the Director by her side. His eyes widened, and he immediately started apologizing. "S-sorry! I mean, I didn't realize you were here, sir- I mean- I, uh.. I really don't have an excuse," he said lamely.
The Director waved his hand. "It is all right, Alpha," he dismissed. Carolina raised an eyebrow at Alpha, then turned to look at York and Delta below.
The Director looked at Alpha. Alpha shrugged helplessly. The Director made a face, then turned to look below, Alpha following his lead.
Below them, York and Delta were working on a holographic lock. Alpha ran the numbers in his head, noting the difficulty of the lock, and noted, "There's no way they're gonna get that open. Delta can't think creatively. He has to follow the most logical answer…. Unless, sir, that was what you were going for?" he asked curiously.
The Director declined to comment.
After they were done training, Alpha headed down to the training room floor to check up on how Delta and York were getting along. "Hey guys. How are you doing, York?"
"Aside from the little green voice in my head?" York asked semi-sarcastically. "Just great. D likes to run simulations a lot."
"I must say, Alpha, you are looking surprisingly well for someone whose condition is worsening rapidly. I deduct that you are more than halfway past your normal time," Delta announced, popping up beside York's shoulder as he looked over Alpha.
Alpha glared at the hologram and at York's worried look. "Gee, thanks for ratting me out, Delta."
"My pleasure. You need to take care of yourself, Alpha."
"What's this about Alpha not taking care of himself again?" Carolina's voice rang out in the training room.
"Nothing, just that it's almost Alpha's sick time again."
"Alphaaaaaa…." Carolina warned. "Is this true?"
"NO."
"Your eye bags say otherwise," York teased.
Alpha huffed. "What are you guys, my parents? I'm fine! I.. I'm… oh god-" he swayed suddenly, seeing the curtains start to close. Carolina slid behind him, ready to catch him as York grabbed his shoulders. The pair were used to Alpha's random fainting spells at he got sicker, but the concerned looks they shot each other showed that they were unused to it being this early.
York picked up Alpha's legs, Carolina hoisted up his shoulders, and together they carried the passed-out scientist to the medbay. Confused looks were shot the trio's way, mingled with concern over the unconscious one's health. They got to the medbay relatively uninterrupted, having picked up North, South, CT and Maine. The group hovered, some in full armor, others in just casual clothes, until Alpha woke up about an hour later.
"Ngh… what happened?" he asked, putting a hand up to his head. "My head hurts."
"You, sir, passed out again," CT informed him. "You need to take better care of yourself, especially so close…" She trailed off, playing with her bangs nervously. "You're the youngest one out of all of us. We… you're family, Alpha. You have got to let them know when you're feeling sick!"
Maine nodded from across the room. Idiot, he signed. Alpha rolled his eyes. "I'm not an idiot. Rude-ass fucker."
Bite me.
"I'll do it. Don't underestimate me," Alpha said jokingly. He grinned and laid back on the pillow. "I'll take better care of myself, CT. Promise."
"Hmm.. if you don't, I'll make you go a round with Maine."
"Ohgodno."
A.N. Okay, that's the second chapter done! Cool.
It's literally midnight now. I have work AND lessons tomorrow.
Help.