The fourth chapter. Things get a little...hairy for Erica now.
Disclaimer: I own none of these guys.
PS: Sorry if all of these chapters have been short. I'll try to make them longer.
For the past few minutes, after he returned to their base (with no Sniper Rifle in his hands - again), Tucker tried to make contact with their Command. He glanced over at the two recruits, watching as they placed Church's body into the hole they dug up.
He let out a sigh. So many things happened in a day (which is still today) - they got two new recruits (one of which is a chick but she denied him - he'll keep trying though), and a tank but even though the rookies saved them, the tank is destroyed and Church (his mutual friend) is killed. Oh yeah, he mentally added, looking down at his armor, which is still covered in this black stuff.
Tucker went back to trying to make contact with Blue Command. "Command, come in Blue Command. This is Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha. Do you read me?"
All he got is static.
The aqua clad man sighed. "Great."
"Something wrong?" The female chick asked, and he looked over at her. She was holding onto the shovel as Caboose put more dirt into the hole.
"I've been trying to make contact with our command," Tucker explained to her. "But I'm getting nothing from them."
"Oh," she simply said. "That's a shame." She went right back to digging.
Tucker frowned. "Hey, he was our leader when our previous captain died," he told her. "Sure he's a dick, but at least we have someone to lead us."
"Dude, I'm trying to bury our said leader's body!" The chick retorted, glancing at him over her shoulder. "I figured it's something we could do at least for our captain since he was KIA'd by the Reds! Not to mention that it's also bad to leave Mikey with the job alone!"
Tucker opened his mouth to say something- but paused. "...Who's 'Mikey'?" He blinked.
"Hello!" Caboose spoke up.
"Wait," the aqua clad male let out. "Your name is 'Mikey'?"
"Actually, his first name is Michael," the girl corrected. "I just call him Mikey because..." she looked over at Caboose then back at him. "Well, it's easier to say. Plus, he seems more like a 'Mikey', y'know?"
Tucker raised an eyebrow at them. "...Okay..." He let out slowly. "Uh, go back to what you guys are doing." He felt a little jealous of the new guy - they didn't got here, and he's already friends with the new girl.
He'll keep trying, though.
Turning around, he pressed the side of his helmet again to try to contact their Command- he looked down at himself.
He looked back. "Hey, uh, once you guys are done with that, do you mind help getting this black stuff off of me?"
"You mean the soot?" The girl asked him, looking back at him. The hole is halfway filled (Bow Chicka Bow Wow). "Just use soap - like Dawn or something, I dunno. A thorough scrubbing will get it off."
"Aw, c'mon!" Tucker complained. "Do you realize how heavy our armor is?"
The chick stared at him, then looked over at her own armor, and back at him. "...What? Are they, like, designed for the person who wears them?"
"Well, kind of," Tucker admitted, rubbing the back of his head - it took him a while to re-configure this armor so that only he could wear it. It used to belong to their previous Captain before he died. "But anyway, mind helping me?"
"...Help us bury him," she offered, gesturing to the hole.
"Huh?" Caboose let out, looking over at them, as if confused.
"...Fine..." Tucker sighed, slumping his arms. "But how are we-? Whoa!" He yelped and fumbled with the other collapsible shovel the chick tossed him.
"Let's get to work," she said, putting the shovel quickly into the dirt.
Tucker sighed again and proceeded to help the new recruits fill in the hole (Bow Chicka Bow Wow).
It took them a few minutes to fill it in completely, and it also took them a few minutes to clean off the soot on his armor. While they were doing that, he decided to try again at calling Blue Command.
"Come in, Blue Command," he said into the radio. "This is Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha. Do you read me?"
The new girl paused a moment before she resumed rubbing. "Hey, uh, could...you ask Command to send me some...things a girl needs. Like, uh...clothes and stuff?"
Tucker gave an incredulous look to her. "Wait, you don't have your things?"
"Well...I had them, but I think they were on the wrong Pelican," she shrugged. She then sighed. "They're probably lost by now..."
...He made a mental note to raid her panties once they get here. "Right then," he nodded-
"This is Blue Command," a familiar voice spoke up from the radio. "Come in, Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha."
Tucker sighed in relief (or is it the fact that one of them - hopefully the chick - was rubbing his cod piece) once he heard it. "Hello, Command! We need help."
"Roger that, Blood Gulch," the operator - Vic - responded. "What is your request?"
"I don't know what the technical military term is for it, but-"
"We're in shit creek, and require reinforcements," the chick whispered to him.
Tucker stared down at her as she and Caboose stood up. "Uh-"
"Just tell him that," she insisted.
He stared at her. "...Is everything okay?"
"Huh? Oh- yeah, everything's okay," Tucker assured Vic. "We're in deep shit and need reinforcements."
"Ah, roger that," Vic said. "Did you get the tank we sent?"
"Yeah, that...got blown up too," Tucker admitted.
"Wow. Sucks to be you."
"Yeah, we know," Tucker sighed.
After a moment's pause, Vic spoke up again, "Okay, here's what I can do: the nearest Blue forces can be there in sixteen days or I-"
"Sixteen days?!" Tucker cried out - that's too long! The three of them won't last long with the Reds! "That's almost two weeks!"
"Two weeks and two more days, actually," the chick corrected him.
"Or I can hire a nearby Freelancer and get him there within a few hours," Vic finished, sounding a little annoyed.
At that, Tucker thought about it. More Blue soldiers would be here, but there's no way they'll wait two weeks for them. At most, they'll be killed off. But with a Freelancer - he heard about those soldiers; super soldiers that work for people with a lot of money. Specifically, mercenaries. That, and Church told him a bit about them, almost as if he knew about them the most - they could get better help in a couple of hours.
In the end, the private thought he'd rather go for a more, quick solution - and they would live.
Tucker nodded. "Okay, we'll take the quicker solution then."
"10-4, Blood Gulch," Vic replied. "We will-"
"Oh, one more thing," Tucker quickly cut in. "We would also request some...things like, girl stuff."
"...Why would you need those?" Tucker blinked - why'd he sound confused.
"Well, one of our new recruits is a chick, and she lost her stuff," Tucker explained. "So, do you think you can also send in those things as well?"
There was silence.
"...Command?"
"Roger that, private," Vic finally said. "We'll make sure that you'll get those. We'll contact Freelancer Tex and have him there posthaste with your request. Command out."
"Whoever he is, make sure he can fix a tank!" He called out, but Vic already hung up.
"So...how'd it go?" Caboose ask him.
"Well, the good news is, we're getting help in a few hours," Tucker told them. "But the bad news is, it's a Freelancer."
"Shit..." the girl cursed, but Caboose...
He tilted his head. "What's a Freelancer?"
"Freelancers are independent," the aqua clad male explained. "They're not Red or Blue. They're just guns for hire who'll fight for whoever has the most money."
"In other words, they're kind of like a mercenary," she added. "But, well, meaner."
"Oh, I think I get it," Caboose nodded.
"Exactly," Tucker nodded, "or like your mom when the rent's due."
The chick glared at him. "Not cool dude."
"What?" Tucker let out. "It's just a joke."
"Right..." she let out, not convinced, "Anyway, your armor is all clean." She turned and left.
Tucker looked over at his armor. "Oh, nice work," he complimented. "Did you get all of the soot off?"
"Yup!" Caboose nodded. "I had to rub extra hard on your cod piece - it's really stubborn to get out."
Tucker just gawked at the new guy in horror, before he stepped away from him.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot something," the girl said as she came back. "I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Erica Helms. Just...call me Erica. Yours?"
"What, you want my whole name?" Tucker raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, I figured it would be fair to call you guys by your first name," she explained. "If it's too long, I'll just shorten it."
Tucker stared at her. "...Nah, I like going by Tucker better," he shrugged. "I don't like my first name much."
"Well, what is it?" Even Caboose looked curious.
There was a moment's pause...before he sighed. "Lavernius."
"Lavernius?" The girl - should he start calling her Erica now? - repeated.
"That sound like a name a black person has," Caboose noted.
"Yeah, I'm black," Tucker narrowed his eyes at them. "Is that a problem?"
"No, I...well, no," Erica said. "I talked to a couple of them - they're really friendly."
"Meh, I don't care," Tucker shrugged.
"Anyway, did Command say who will be coming over? The Freelancer person," Erica asked.
"Well, they said their name is Tex, but...well, Vic said he'll be here in a few hours with your things," Tucker explained.
"Oh."
"Tuuucckeeer... Tuuuuucckeeerrr..."
"What the...?" Erica let out before the three of them turned to a figure behind them.
"HOLY SHIT! Who the hell are you?!" Tucker yelled in terror as Caboose hid behind Erica.
"I am the ghost of Chuurrrch," the figure - wearing the same armor as them but white - replied eerily. "And I've come back with a waarrrniiinnngg..."
"You're not Church," Caboose retorted. "Church is blue. You're white."
"Rookie, shut up, man!" Church shouted in his normal voice. "I'm a freaking ghost! Have you ever seen a blue ghost before?"
"Yeah, that's definitely him," Tucker said boredly.
"Now I gotta start all over again..." Church sighed before he cleared his throat. "Tuuckerr, Tuuuucckeeerrr, I've come back with a waaarrrnninnng..."
"Umm..." Erica spoke up. "Not to be disrespectful, but...that only works once, dude."
"Yeah, I gotta agree with her," Tucker said, a bit annoyed.
"Yeah, it's kinda annoying," even Caboose agreed.
Church just glared at them. "Fine," he huffed. "Okay, here's the deal: I've come back from the dead to give you a warning about Tex. Don't let- Yes, rookie?"
Tucker looked over at the new recruits, seeing Erica raising her hand. "Yeah, umm...if you are going to warn us about Tex, why do that? Is Tex, what, dangerous or something?"
Tucker blinked. Yeah, he never thought of that... "Yeah, I don't think you ever mentioned 'Tex' before."
"Oh, right..." Church let out, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "Yeah, that could've saved some time. And made it more effective." He shook his head. "Anyway, Tucker, you remember that I told you that I was stationed on Sidewinder before they transferred me here to Blood Gulch, right?"
"No," Tucker deadpanned.
"Sidewinder?" Caboose parroted. "Isn't that the ice planet?"
"Oh dear God..." Erica let out, making Tucker blink. Does she not like ice?
"Yes," Church nodded.
"Cool! What was that like?" Caboose asked him.
"Um...it was cold," the ghost simply replied.
"That's it? Just cold?"
"Well, he's on an ice planet," Erica explained to Caboose. "It's a planet made out of ice, or maybe it's always in an eternal winter. So yeah, it's really, really cold I bet."
"Yeah, what she said," Church said. "It's really...fuckin'...cold."
"...You were saying?" Tucker asked.
"Alright, well..."
Church then recounted the day when he was at Sidewinder, were Tex apparently killed off the other Blues there. Even pulling out his partner, Jimmy's skull out of him and beat him to death with it.
"I still think that's impossible," Erica said. "I mean...Jimmy would've been dead before Tex beat him to death with his own skull."
"Well, Tex still managed to do it," Church retorted. "But the bottom line is, these Freelancers, they're bad news and Tex is one of the worst..."
"If he's such a badass, why didn't he kill you?" Caboose asked.
"To tell ya the truth, I don't know why I'm not dead," Church admitted. "Tex could have killed me at any point. But maybe it's because Tex and I have run into each other once before."
Tucker was surprised. "Really? Where?"
"You, err...remember that girl I told you about earlier, back home? Well, let's just say that Tex is the real reason we never got married," Church admitted.
What-?
Suddenly, he began to disappear. "Guys, I'm fading fast and I don't know when I'll be back. Just listen to my warning. Don't let Tex get involved here," Church told them.
"Okay," Tucker replied.
"I mean it, Tucker," he warned. "No fighting, no scouting, nothing. You'll regret it..." he completely faded away after that.
Tucker turned to the rookies. "So...Tex and Church were after the same girl."
"Or, it could be that Tex is his girlfriend," Erica said.
"What? Why would you have a girlfriend that can kill people?" Tucker asked. "That doesn't make sense!"
"A lot of people have weird tastes," she simply said before she left for real.
"I told you his girlfriend was a slut," Caboose stated.
Tucker just shrugged.
~o~
The whole time as we waited for Tex to arrive, I was a bundle of nerves.
I mean, Tex is the most dangerous agent of Project Freelancer - not to mention, she's the Beta AI. Not only was she made to be mean (and able to kick the ass of just about anyone - Carolina didn't get a chance once she has Eta and Iota in her head) - but...getting Tucker to ask about getting me things like clothes, underwear and womanly things when mother nature comes and delivers her 'present' was a HUGE risk.
I'm not really a recruit, and yet somehow I'm here. They'll expect that I'm incognito or some shit, here for the Alpha (which I'm not). But there are a lot of paranoid people out there.
I tried to calm my nerves by figuring out how to use the gun I've got. But, I figured that I should take my helmet off first.
...It took me about thirty minutes to take it off. How in the hell did Caboose put it on over my glasses?! This world doesn't make a lick of sense! ...Until I found a button under the chin, and lifted it up...like a motorcycle helmet.
"Oh," I let out before I took it off. "That's actually convenient."
Ugh, my hair is all over the place. I need to find a hair tie or something to pull this back. Something big to hold it all back.
Stupid thick hair.
I just twirled my hair into a makeshift bun, and set my helmet down. Then I looked over at the gun. "Okay...let's try to get this over with," I muttered to myself, as I pointed the gun at...uh... I lowered the gun. "I should get something to use as practice."
I looked through the base of anything that won't be missed. I found a few cans, but that's just it. I set them outside so that I could practice a little.
"Okay, for real this time," I muttered, pointing the pistol at one of them. "Here we go..."
I squeezed the trigger, expecting a BANG...
But nothing happened.
"Huh?" I let out, looking over at it. The hell? Did I get a jammed one? How the hell do I know it's jammed? I never used a gun before in my life. ...Well, as far as I could remember, anyway.
It took me a few minutes at most to figure out what's wrong, before I gave up and went to Lav (short for Lavernius, but I'm still debating on how to shorten his name into a nickname) for help.
He seemed surprised to know that I don't know how to use it.
"Wait, you never used a gun before?" He asked me, sounding incredulous.
"Well...I don't think so," I admitted. I have a pretty bad memory growing up. But, I guess that's normal, right?
He let out a sigh. "Let me see," he said, holding his hand out.
"Okay," I said, handing him the magnum.
Lav looked over it for a few moments, even checking the gun itself. He pressed something at the side and pointed it-
"AH!" I yelped out when I heard a BANG.
Lav looked over the gun again. "Oh, no wonder," he said, "the safety's on." He turned it to show me a small round button on the side. "See this? This is the safety button. If you don't want to accidentally use it, you just press it, like I did a couple of seconds ago."
…Oh yeeeeah. I think I remember something like that some years ago.
Man I'm so stupid.
"Right, thanks," I muttered, taking the gun from him.
"By the way, why is your helmet off?" Lav then asked me.
"Oh, uh…is it not safe to breathe air here?" I asked him, mildly worried.
"Not really, but…" He looked over at me. "Well, I think it's normal for us soldiers to keep our helmets on all the time."
"Oh," I let out.
"Still…I never imagined that's what you looked like," Lav admitted.
"What, you have something against chicks with glasses?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Well, no, but…I'm just surprised is all." I'm still not convinced – but I'll let it slide…for now.
"Whatever," I let out before I left the base.
"What exactly are you doing anyway?" Lav asked me as I left.
"Practicing," I answered before I walked out of the base. I wanted to practice a bit alone.
With my new found knowledge, I walked out to resume my practice. "Okay…let's hope I don't miss," I muttered to myself-
I heard a gun being cocked, and pressing something against the back of my head. "Don't move," a deep voice said. "And don't make a sound."
…Hoh shit… I'm trying my best not to move or make a sound. Not even a whimper that I wanted to let out as I felt my heart pound.
"Turn around. Slowly."
I did as I was told, trying so hard not to whimper. Then I got myself a look at the person threatening me. The black armor looks different to the Mark V armor we all wore, with a different helmet as well – a Mark VI armor, slimmer but probably stronger than the one I have – and with superior things added to it as well…and they're pointing a pistol at my head.
"Who are you, and why are you at Blood Gulch?" The person demanded.
…Oh my God, Agent Tex is really scary in person…
~o~
Tex glanced over at this female, eying out for anything suspicious on her.
An Asian complex, brown, curly yet frizzy hair, and her dark eyes quivering in fear behind her glasses. Hmph, she should be afraid. "Well?" She said – using the voice modifier to disguise it – her figurative eyes narrowing.
"Uh…" The female whimpered. "I…I just got here, sir." As she spoke, she told Omega to pull up a scan of this female. "I woke up on the Pelican, and I got here with Private Michael J Caboose. I honestly have no idea why I'm here!" As she spoke, a small window appeared near her health bar.
No data, is all it says.
"She is an anomaly," Omega said to her. "We should kill her, just to satisfy those dogs."
Tex narrowed her eyes again. 'No…something isn't right,' she said to the AI. 'If she is a spy, she would have hacked into the computers underneath Blood Gulch – still, I'll keep an eye on her, just in case.'
"Don't you mean we?" She felt Omega making a dark grin. "It will be fun to interrogate this unfortunate female."
'Right…' Tex said, then asked out loud, "Name?"
"Uh- Erica. Erica Helms," she responded immediately.
Tex gave her a once over again…before she reluctantly lowered her gun then said, "At ease." And the female promptly fell to the ground. Tex just stared at the female. '…What a wimp,' she couldn't help but thought, shaking her head. But looks can be deceiving.
"Ugh…" The female let out under her.
Tex then remembered the other thing she had to do and promptly dropped the duffle bag next to her. "Your request is in the bag," she said. Then she turned and walked into the base. She isn't sure why this female is here…but she might as well help out the Blues, as per ordered. And besides…
She might find him here.
~o~
Honestly, I have no idea how long I've been lying there. I'm just scared shit-less from my encounter from Tex. I mean, I'm still in shock that I'm still alive when I honestly thought I was going to die by her hands. Tex is the best agent of Project Freelancer – and not to mention, the deadliest.
It took me a while to calm my heart rate to the 'safe' level. I slowly pushed myself up-
"Oh dear God!" I yelped out and I heard gun fire, and went back to the ground. I regret taking my helmet off now! Are we under attack?
I spotted my helmet and I slowly began to crawl over to it as I heard more gunfire- wait a minute. It is just one gun. I let out a sigh of relief as I slowly stood up. Okay, that's just Tex using Mikey as…target practice.
…
Oh shit. I grabbed my helmet and put it on before I hurried up there via a ramp. I just saw Tex through a grenade at Mikey, who quickly ran away at the sight and hid behind me. "Uh, hey, Tex? I don't know what it's been like at your other bases, but we try not to use other soldiers as target practice here," Lav said to the black armored soldier – with the grenade exploding as he spoke.
Mikey poked his head out from behind me. "I'm scared," he whimpered.
"Me too, Mikey, me too…" I whispered to him. She threatened my life earlier after all – of course I'm scared of Tex.
…But I have to say, it's actually kind of impressive that Tex made an outline of Mikey perfectly without hitting him once. Though, I looked over Mikey just to be sure.
Man, she is good…
During my mental rambling and inspecting Mikey, Lav spoke to Tex again…with the latter ignoring him as she reloaded her weapons then I saw her took off when I looked back at them.
"I don't think he likes you," Mikey whispered to Lav.
"Thanks…" Lav sighed before we went to the edge to watch Tex go. "Where are you going?" He hollered at her.
Tex turned back to us. "Red Base. Kill everybody. Get the flag back," she simply answered – yeah, she didn't want to stay here any longer. Then she turned and took off.
"Oh… Okay!" Mikey hollered. "We'll just stay here and guard the trans…porter…"
I looked between them. "…Yeah, Church is going to be mad at us for getting Tex involved," I said.
"Why would he care?" Lav asked. "I thought Church wouldn't care if Tex got killed or not."
"Still, WHY would he not want Tex to get involved?" I questioned. "You don't say stuff like that unless that person has some significance."
Lav gave me a look over. "…Is Church like, bi sexual or something?" …What?!
"…If he WAS bi sexual, he would be all over you, you know," I pointed out.
"…Good point," the aqua clad male conceded.
Then we heard a distant explosion coming from Red Base. Mikey pulled out a pair of binoculars to look through them, just as we heard, "Sim- where'd he go? Don't kill me; I'm too good-looking to die!"
"Man," Mikey murmured in awe. "He is really kicking their asses."
"How come there's only one Sniper Rifle here in Blue Base, and it just went missing – this is just unfair!" Lav whined- wait, what?
"Wait a minute," I looked over at Lav, "you mean to tell me that Church has the only one and it's missing?"
"Yeah! That's where I went to earlier, to try to take it, but it's gone now!" Lav explained.
…Oh – the Church from the future took it. "…Maybe someone else took it?" I offered.
"Bull shit! Who could've taken it?" I just shrugged at Lav's question.
"Oh! Tex is heading into the base!" At Mikey's exclamation, we tried to peer through his binoculars.
"Do you think he'll return our flag?" Lav asked-
"Blue team, flag returned," I wasn't the only one who jumped when we heard that deep voice from nowhere.
"What the…? Who said that?" Lav demanded as we turned to the source.
Church – back and in his transparent self – coughed and cleared his throat. "Sorry, that was me," he said, "I uh, I guess I got something stuck in my throat. Your flag is back, by the way." He gestured to the blue flag back in its place once we looked through the skylight.
"How did…?"
"There's a button on the flag that we just press to get our flag returned," Lav explained to my unfinished question.
"Oh."
"Hiya Church!" Mikey waved at the 'ghost'. "What're you up to?"
"Yeah, hey Caboose," Church waved back at him half-heartedly. "But seriously, I'm not really here to make small talk, okay? How'd you guys manage to get the flag back?"
At that, Lav gave us a look – though I just gave him a look that said 'I told you so' after I lifted up the front of my helmet to make it more effective. "Uh, wh-what? Oh that flag? We've always had that."
Even Church can tell that what he said is bullshit. "Tucker, who do you think you're trying to fool?" Then he seemed to blink and looked around. "Hey, where's Tex?"
"Uh…" Mikey let out nervously.
I sighed. "We…got him involved," I admitted.
"You WHAT?!" We all cringed at his shout.
"Church, calm down-" Tucker tried to say, but Church just palmed his visor and shook his head.
"This is just fucking perfect!" He yelled. "I told you specifically that you shouldn't get Tex involved. And what did you guys do?!"
"…We got him involved," Lav admitted shamefully, as we all hung out heads.
"And how involved?"
"Very, very involved…" Mikey murmured.
…I feel like I'm a little kid again, being scolded by people whenever I do something wrong. And most of the time, I just disobey things. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who does this.
"Um- Don't worry Church, I think he'll be okay," Mikey spoke up, picking up the binoculars to look back at the base. "Tex should- oh."
"…What?" I asked him.
"Uh…the Red guys are heading into the base right now," Mikey informed us. "It looks- yeah, he's definitely captured… Or dead… Captured or dead…" Then he gasped sharply. "Or captured AND dead!"
"…Mikey, there's no way you can be captured AND dead," I told him, lowering my visor. "If you're already dead, they would've tossed your dead body out."
"Oh."
"Oh well that's just perfect!" Church shouted, mad as hell.
"What!?" Lav cried out. "What is your problem? Why do you even care if he's captured? I thought you hated that guy anyway for stealing your girlfriend."
Church just shook his head. "I never said I hated Tex," he admitted. "I just said that shewas the reason why we never got married."
Mikey looked back at Church as we stared at him. "…'She'?" He repeated.
There was a few beats, so…I decided to fake realization. "…Holy shit," I let out. "Tex is your girlfriend?"
"What, what?!" Lav cried out, shocked.
"Uh, yeah, it's like this," Church began. Then he explained to us about his situation with Tex, her real name is Allison, and that, when Church got into the military, Tex was just shipped off to some project (which is Project Freelancer but…how much of his memories are fake?).
Once Church was finished, Lav shook his head in amazement. "Let me get this straight," he said slowly. "You're telling me that the guy that showed up here, scared the living shit out of us, shot at Caboose and beat the hell out of those Reds wasn't a guy at all? That he was a chick? And on top of that, she was your ex-girlfriend?"
"In a nutshell, yes," Church nodded. "That's an excellent summary."
"Huh," Mikey let out thoughtfully. "Girls never like me but…" he looked over at me. "Erica likes me."
"I…kind of like you like a little brother I never had," I told him. "But, you're young. You didn't know better." I patted him.
"Okay," Mikey said. "That makes me better." I hope so.
"Seriously, though," Lav continued. "I don't think I've seen a girl that mean before. Are you sure she's a chick and not a guy? Or like part guy, part shark?"
"I'm pretty sure I'd know if Tex was a guy," Church replied. "And I'm definitely sure I would know if she was part shark."
"If she was, then you would be dead long before you met us," I joked.
"Very funny," Church said to me – in sarcasm. But, meh, I'll take it.
"But, wait," Mikey cut in. "If she's a girl, then why is she named Tex?"
"Uh, because she's from Texas," Church answered as if it was obvious.
"…You mean 'Texas' is like her codename?" I asked, slowly – mostly for Mikey's sake.
"Exactly," Church nodded. "And you can't blame her for being so aggressive. It's not entirely her fault to begin with."
"Right, you should blame God," Lav said, sarcastic. "First he makes hangovers and now half women, half sharks that won't even sleep with me." He looked up and shook his fist at the sky. "Thanks for nothing, God!"
I smacked him at the back of his head with my pistol, ignoring his yelp of pain. Heh, you just got pistol whipped. "No chick would go with a rude man, such as yourself," I told him.
"What? Bullshit!" Lav cried out.
"Knock it off!" Church shouted at us. "Look, she got recruited into some kind of weird experimental program back during basic where they infused her armor with this really aggressive AI. I'm not sure how it all works, but all I know is that it made her meaner and tougher than hell."
"AI…" Mikey repeated. "What's the 'A' stand for?"
"Artificial," Church answered.
"And the 'I' stands for 'intelligence'," I added.
"Ooohhhhh," Mikey let out, understanding…but: "what was the A again?"
"Let's move on," Church sighed. Can AIs really feel a headache?
Lav rubbed his chin in thought. "So, the military put this program in her head, and that program made her a killer. But underneath it all, she's really just a sweet, down-home girl?" Not exactly, Lav.
"Oh hell no," and Church corrects him. "She's always been a rotten bitch, it's just now she's a rotten bitch with cybernetic enhancements."
I raised my brow at him. "…And yet you used to date her?"
"Oh, shut up."
I rolled my eyes. "I told you people have weird tastes," I said to Lav.
"Yeah, I gotta say, you really won the lottery with that one," Lav let out. "Good catch there, buddy, she's a keeper."
Church seems to roll his eyes, then glanced over at Mikey. "So how are you doing, Caboose?" He asked him. "Are you following any of this whatsoever?"
"I think so," Mikey replied, tilting his head in thought. "That guy Tex is really a robot and you're his boyfriend. So that makes you… a gay robot."
Suddenly, Tucker burst out laughing. Even I'm surprised. "Yeah! So that makes Church bi-sexual!"
Oh yeah…
And now I'm beginning to chuckle. "Yeah, good one," I said.
Church just groaned as the two of us chuckled, while Mikey laughed along. "I have no idea what we're laughing about," my fellow recruit said after a bit.
It took us a while to calm ourselves, and we looked over at Church. "So, what now?" I asked him.
"Well…" Church began, before he looked over at them. "I have a great plan for how we're gonna rescue Tex."
"A plan? Oh man," Lav whined. "I hate plans. That means we're gonna have to do stuff. Can't we just have a strategy or…I dunno, a mission statement?"
"It's better than doing nothing all day," I pointed out.
"Anyway, I just need you guys to run a distraction, while I spring Tex," Church said.
"Distraction?" Mikey repeated, nervously. "That sounds a lot like 'decoy'."
"The way I see it, the Reds have absolutely no idea how many Freelancers we have out here," Church explained. "So all I need from you guys is to run around in the middle of the canyon, wearing black armor, while I sneak in the back of the base."
"Yeah, uh…I don't think that would work," I spoke up – Mikey taking a Sniper Rifle and shooting Church while he's in Sarge's armor, controlling him, came readily to mind.
"Trust me, it will," Church insisted.
I thought about it…then I said, "Well, if you wanted to rescue Tex, you gotta making it convincing."
"What do you mean?"
"Well…say that you took over one of the Reds, and that Red is their commanding officer," I explained. "If you want to convince his subordinates that you ARE their commanding officer…why not take a Blue prisoner?"
There was silence as I waited for Church to consider it. I just…came up with it on the spot.
I mean, it isn't really Mikey's fault that all of these things happened – his future self was the one who started these things anyway. Not to mention that having three AIs in your head – and being forcibly ejected out as well – messed him up pretty bad. So, maybe I can try to make their relationship better-
"Okay."
…Huh? "What?" I wasn't the only one who was surprised.
"We'll go along with your idea," Church said. "But…you'll be my prisoner." He pointed at me when he said that.
"…Aw, crap…" I muttered.
"Okay, that's fine and dandy, but how are me and Caboose going to get two suits of black armor?" Lav asked. Church just gestured to the teleporter. Lav looked between the portal and Church then groaned. "Oh, fuckberries…"
For once, I have to agree. This will suck.
Majorly.
Okay, that's all for chapter four. I finally got something for my dad's computer so that I can do this properly. Anyways…
Well, it looks like Tex needs some rescuing. Here's to wondering if Erica will also screw this up – would she or would she not? At this rate, who knows?
Next chapter, Erica will (technically) meet the Reds. Pray for her!
Review please!