Well… This story needs some more interest and intrigue… This is for all of you Roland and Lilith fans out there… And to everyone else, enjoy a little love and romance…
Chapter 17: The Next New Beginning. Begin.
Character Perspective; Zero.
All was as it should be and we had just finished off the fourth and final Atlas Stronghold on Promethia; leaving the undiscovered Vault that resided within undisturbed and safe. Angel and I were not required for this final assault as there was no need to even leave the cruiser; we simply stated our names and demanded that all Lance Soldiers and Assassins surrender immediately… They never even fired a single round and walked out of the base, their armors removed and their weapons unloaded and thrown into a pile. Roland piped over the loudspeaker to the newly unemployed soldiers.
"We realize that what we have just done to all of you is almost unforgivable, but we are not asking you to forgive us for stripping you all of your livelihoods; we are asking that you simply surrender yourselves to a peaceful existence here and help us to civilize this planet as we are trying to due back on Pandora… If you all help us to accomplish these goals, you will never again have to see us or any of the corporations again… Your new lives start now; the choice of how each and every one of you spends that new life is entirely up to you…" And with his address concluded, he shut off the speaker and we flew back to the first base that had been cleared as it now served as our temporary base while we stayed here.
Angel and I were relaxing in what used to the commander's office. It was almost surreal as to how we had laid claim to this respite in this dead station: Reflecting back on the event that granted us this outstanding gift filled me with unimaginable rage. I quickly dismissed this rage however, as I was simply remembering the details and overlooked the results.
Claiming it was no simple task as every one of us sought after it. Angel and I, however, possessed an unfair advantage… None of our challengers could use their guns in our presence as they were ineffective. Salvador realized this and immediately and angrily surrendered and resigned himself to the Men's Locker Room, trudging away from the challenge circle without so much as lifting a hostile finger- aside from the usual… Axton and Maya put up an outstanding fight and almost dropped me, before they realized that Angel's shield was allowed time to activate its fourth recharge. Maya reserved herself to Phase Locking Angel repeatedly as Axton tried desperately to finish me, his bullets all stopping in midair before hitting and dropping to the ground. I gathered up all of my strength and fired a single rocket at him, destroying his turret through its shield and leaving him defenseless. I released a single sniper cartridge from my rifle and hit him directly in the head, killing him instantly. Mata saw this and yielded, dropping to her knees. The only other worthy challenge was presented by the experienced couple of our rag-tag group; none other than Roland and Lilith… The older siren lunged at me, pushing me back with a huge wave of energy while Roland chucked out his turret and used it as cover. Huge slugs distorted Angel's shield before it finally yielded and she was forced to the ground by the hail of bullets burying in her soft, unprotected flesh. I immediately stood up, almost being knocked back down by a massive wave of elemental fury and Phase energy as Lilith Phase Walked out of space directly behind me. I weathered the force; however, as not even the world ending would stop me now. I regained my footing and Deceived; dodging Lilith's overcharged next attack. Fire had been burning at my flesh, leaving an unsettling smell in the air all around me that permeated the vents of my suit as they melted away, but this too, never broke my resolve as my steps grew faster. In only a second, my slow, deranged strides had changed into uncontrollable, lethal lunges. I took my first swing and cleaved Roland's turret in half, destroying it instantly. His eyes widened as my stealth flickered and he received a glimpse of my scorched face and burning eyes through a hole that had burned through my visor. I stared back him as I disappeared again. I then ran him through with my blade and watched as he bled. After several satisfying seconds of watching MY Angel's assailant bleed out on the floor, I redirected my attention to Lilith as her Phase Walk ended and my stealth timed out. I began to walk at her, my shoulders hunched and my blade at the ready. Her wings flared with flames and her eyes glowed a bright yellow and orange combination. My tattoos flair along with hers and we make our way closer and closer to each other, our strides becoming animalistic sprinting and our energies starting to slice at one another as the swirling forces collided. All that I could see and feel was the searing light and heat from the energy released as our burning powers combined and enveloped the training grounds in which we all were practicing. Our onlookers simply watched this event; then they were forced to cover their eyes and cower away from the scalding light. There was nothingness, and then I felt a severe pain in head and all along my body. I forced myself up from the ground and took several seconds to survey the area; there was nothing. All of my opponents had been defeated and no one remained in the arena with me; this realization caused my rage to well up again when I heard a happy, familiar voice pierce the anger and sooth away everything, as though it belonged to an angel and I was to ascend to heaven… Then I realized that it was the voice of MY Angel: Not that of a mere biblical angel, a being with some convoluted "Higher Purpose" but a real angel that could truly serve the world. I turned to see her racing toward me with her eyes gleaming with joy.
"Zero! You did it! We won!" she shouted, hugging me tightly with both arms as she kissed my burns with her soothing, soft lips; surprisingly, there was no pain.
As I remembered the interesting engagements among the others and Angel and I, a soft thumping was echoing through the halls outside of our room and gradually getting louder. I displayed a question mark and slowly approached the door, listening for several more seconds before I'd decided to open the door and take a look. To my surprise, outside our door stood the now mentally handicapped soldier that had shown a strange liking to Maya and Axton. His face was slickened with drool and his lips held a strange half-smile, as though he could not fully understand the gesture, which after what I'd done to his brain's internal workings, was entirely possible, and in fact, likely. As he stood, he teetered on his heels and toes, leaning forward and back in a repeating pattern as his arms shook slightly.
"Tall man and nice lady be my friend?" he asked with the same smile as his eyes locked onto the zero on my suit. I simply nodded and walked away from the door, leaving it open.
"Who is it, Honey?" Angel asked from the kitchen, looking out through the door leading to the room we now stood in. Her curious eyes widened at the sight of the man and she smiled slightly, walking to the fridge. "Would you like something to drink, young man?" Angel asked as she opened the door of the refrigerator, rifling through the drinks.
"I WANT APPLE JUICE!" the man shouted happily, his smile widening and his arms flying above his head. Angel smiled and pulled out a juice box and walked into the room handing it to him and sitting next to me on the couch. "Thanks, nice lady! I got go see mama 'bout playing with Papa and Scoot-Scoot! BYE!" he shouted, sucking the juice box dry and walking uneasily out of our room and down to the hall to Maya's and Axton's room, the door opening and slamming heavily as the man walked in. I released a sigh of confused frustration as I removed my helmet and rubbed the bridge of my nose to alleviate a headache that was yet to occur.
"It was a mistake leaving him in his current state… Should I end his existence?" I asked bleakly. Angel stared at me for a moment before slapping me hard across the side of the face.
"NO! He may not be exactly like everyone else, but he's happy! Let him be at least that!" she yelled, her eyes glowing with rage. My eyes widened with surprise and slight fear at her anger as I lifted my hands defensively and I tried to calm her down.
"I'm sorry… I didn't see a problem with it… But I see now that even though he barely functions like others, he is happy and that's all that matters; please forgive my ignorance..." I pleaded, softly taking hold of her hand. Her eyes softened and she leaned into an embrace as her rage subsided.
"Of course I forgive you; just remember what you learned here and you'll be able to avoid sleeping in the closet tonight…" she teased, her eyes adopting playfulness as she leaned in closer to me, her tattoos adopting a familiar pink glow. Her lips brushed over mine as she began speaking again. "And Besides… I don't like punishing you… It hurts me so much more than it hurts you…" she said while her lips gently grazed over mine.
"Is that so?" I asked, slightly aroused by her insinuation.
"Yes… I hate not being with you… And I especially hate it when you lose your temper…" she whispered, her teeth grazing my lips in accompaniment of her soft lips.
"You're right… I can be… Impulsive…" I said in a soft voice, causing her to gasp in anticipation.
"And just how much Impulse do you resist every day?" she asked as her eyes turned to a half lidded state and her breathing grew ragged and faster.
"More than you could handle…"
"Try me…" she challenged, hopping onto my lap and straddling my hips, giggling slightly. I kissed her passionately, my serpentine tongue twisting its way into her mouth and teasing hers.
I apologize for cutting the description of this escapade short, but I believe that you all have heard enough or our adventures for a little while… Go listen to someone else's stories for a while; Angel is calling me on Echo and I do not want to have her wait any longer for her next treat…
Character Perspective: Roland.
I suppose that it was only fitting that I was immediately appointed to captain of our ship and granted use of the captain's quarters following my and Lilith's defeat at the hands of Zero and Angel… Those two are perfect for each other; in more ways than one… I never thought that man could be so compassionate and protective; let alone so quick to anger… He just snapped when I hurt Angel… I mean really snapped! I He was on fire and didn't even care! His armor was burned and melting on his skin and it didn't even slow him down! There was really nothing that could stop him except the death of whatever hurt her… He was unstoppable! And what he did to that lance the other day? *Shutters* Ugh… I never want to have to face him again for as long as I live! That shit was scary! How do you even do that to someone and not even think about it? He does feel emotions; I've seen the way he looks at Angel… But there was nothing in his eyes when he'd done that to the man… It's like she's the only thing that registers on his radar when it comes to emotions! I'm just happy that he's on our side!
I continued to think in this fashion for several more minutes before the sound of hydraulic hinges opening stirred me and forced me into total awareness. I turned to my door and saw the perfect frame of Lilith stride into my room and shut the door behind her.
"How's it going, Fearless Leader?" she asked, her tone adopting a sound of sarcastic playfulness.
"Not too bad, Firehawk, not too bad at all…" I replied, standing up from my chair and turning to completely face her. She sat down without hesitation on my bed and patted on it to convince me to sit next to her. I chuckled slightly and followed her silent instructions, taking my new place next to her.
"That's good to hear… I wouldn't want you to go about feeling uncomfortable when you've only been alive for less than a day…" she said in another, deeper, playful tone and leaning in closer to me.
I smiled lightly at her words and met her eyes with a similar playful gaze, causing her to form a very slight blush that she quickly dismissed and continued speaking in a sultry voice.
"Since when did you find a sense of humor?" she asked, leaning in slightly.
"Since you guys killed off Jack, managed to stop an apocalypse, take down a corporation and bring me back from the dead…" I replied with a soft smile.
"Yeah, I get it; we're awesome… You don't need to say it…" she said with a soft giggle.
"Based on how you're reacting, I'd say I do; otherwise, you'd likely feed me to one of those Sand Worms I've heard so much about from Axton recently…" I replied, chuckling again.
"Got that right! We went through Hell and Brimstone just to kill off Jack without your sorry ass; Let alone to get that ass back! You better commend us!" she replied in mock-anger.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right… Sorry…. And speaking of commending, how would you like me to repay you personally?" I asked in feigned ignorance.
"I know you know what I want…" she replied, looking deep into my eyes before beginning to lean closer. Her lips almost touched mine when they stopped; a grin playing across her face. She leaned back and began to ignite her wings and eyes. "…So tell me… Ever experience a burn that you didn't mind getting?" she asked, reaching forward and igniting my black thermal shirt into a controlled burn. The shirt burned away from my body and the fire left me unscathed. I looked down and after several moments of inspecting my skin, looked back up into her still yellow and orange eyes. She just smirked and began to giggle slightly, reaching for my pants as well. I reached forward and stopped her hand.
"Even if you can control the fires, I don't want that part of my body that close to any type of open flame…"
"Not even mine, Lover Boy?" she asked, her face leaning in closer to have her lips brush against mine, causing me to grow motionless with emotions and a lack of thought. Her fiery wings disappeared and her eyes closed, adopting their natural color as our lips now completely connected.
I can say with certainty that she was very hot… In every sense of the word! Her form was enticing in ways that no one could match and her skin was hot to the touch… To this day, I wonder exactly how she could feel so warm and still… Hrm!... Sorry!
Her heated skin pressed to mine and I could feel her body heat still rising as our kiss grew more wild and animalistic. She leaned away again, sighing softly and igniting her hands again. She stood up and took several steps back from the bed to stand in the middle of the room as her wings came into sight and the flames engulfed her arms and burned away her sleeves and up her torso, continuing to her chest and burning until she stood before me without a single piece of clothing. I simply stared with pure amazement as to the fact that she could manipulate her fire in such a way that it could appear so elegant and refined. She was truly magnificent and the fact that her every inch was visible to my eyes was attesting to that very statement… Nothing about this woman was subpar… and everything… And I mean EVERYTHING about her was breath taking! All I could reason was that she was willingly offering herself to me without a single thought of even slowing down. Then a new thought popped into my head; if I don't act quickly, I'm going to have one, outrageously angry and sexy siren standing in front of me with the ability to pass through Dimensions and reappear wherever the hell she felt like, who could also manipulate fire… Yep. Definitely needed to act quickly!
I lurched forward and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug, causing her flames to burn a clear white flame that spread painlessly to my entire body; burning away every inch of clothing that I had on my body- with the exception of my hat… I'd discarded that several moments ago; and I am thankful tor that… Her every movement was mind boggling to comprehend and her every touch offered a burning the likes of which I'd never experienced in my life! In the five years that she and I'd not kept in touch, she'd matured in ways that no one would ever have imagined. She pulled back just enough to look me in the eye and grin slightly.
"So how are you liking the fire now?" she asked as the flames heated every inch of my body.
"I… uh… have no… uh… idea what to say… so…" I stammered before pulling her into another kiss; I could then feel the burning grow stronger as her pulse began to increase and the orange glow behind her now closed eyelids grew brighter. Her tongue slithered into my mouth and my insides began to feel as though they were heating up from the inside out… To this day, I still have no idea how to fully describe that feeling… The faint taste of cherries filled my mouth; soon after being accompanied by the sensation of eating a very strong pepper, leaving me breathless as my tongue and throat burned pleasantly. In all that dry, powerful heat, one location of my body was not affected; the part that she was likely most interested in… The sensation of a wet, humid warmth instead preoccupied this region; forcing questions into my mind that were soon forgotten as she pushed me back and onto the bed. The heat subsided and the fire burned out; leaving me feeling incoherently cold all across my body. This feeling was soon replaced by the warmth of Lilith's body pressing to mine; warding off the cold and causing my body to heat up exponentially.
"And what about this heat? Any objections?" she asked in a pouting voice as she ground her hips into mine. My breathing seized as I felt her core drag softly against my length, allowing me to feel the same warmth as before. A heavy gasp clawed its way out of my throat at the sensation that her body had caused, eliciting a light giggle from her at my expense.
"Oh… Looks like it's almost time… You feeling up to this mission, Fearless Leader?" she teased, sliding her hands to my chest and sliding lower down my body. At this statement, I felt a surge of vigor and flipped the two of us over, causing me to rub intensely against her and forcing a light moan from her lips.
"Burning as hot as you do, Lil, I'm surprised how cool you can act at a time like this…" I replied, further rubbing against her now throbbing core. Her once calm demeanor was replaced by desperate, choked sighs as she began to rub against me even harder; her body responding to every millimeter of touching flesh. Continuing my assault, I slid a hand up her body to one of her supple breasts, choosing one of her delicate nipples to excite. She released a groan and several sighs as she involuntarily lurched into the embrace and intensified the feeling before crashing back onto the bed, panting lustfully. The familiar fire slithered down her skin, starting at her markings, and rolled silently across the two of us and onto the bed. The heat permeated every pore of our bodies and intensified every sensation of the intimate feel of her tight, elegant skin pressed to mine. She shook violently before turning to the light switch on the far side of the room and launched out a ball of energy that impacted against the wall and forced down the switch without damaging anything. She looked back into my eyes with a new fiery glow and pulled her face forward to whisper into my ear.
"Roland, you Black Son of a Bitch; you keep teasing me like this and I… WILL… FRY… YOU!" she said in a commanding voice that sent shivers down my spine and caused my hair to stand on end. She leaned back onto the bed, her eyes a maelstrom of fire, lust, and siren energies.
"Right away, Ms. Firehawk…" I replied, rubbing myself against her one more time before beginning to lean away from her to align myself with her pleading core. I lingered for several seconds for confirmation when she leaned up again and kissed me passionately while pulling us back onto the bed and forcing me inside. In the kiss, as we crashed down on the soft bed, she released another gasp followed by a moan a breath later. Her every muscle contracted in that moment and her body wrapped around mine in a possessive display of acceptance as the burning inside her body melted away every thought that racked my usually nonstop mind; the storm of plans, strategies, and calculations cleared to a chaotic yet tranquil peace where my heart battled with my last remaining sensible thoughts for dominance. I pressed her down into the soft bed below us and began the maddening movement that she and I both craved; drawing out another burning moan and causing her whole body to quake at the sensation. The watery burn of her insides became the focus of my mind as I attempted to discover the singular point within her that would drive out every form of control that she possessed over her body. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly, I made repeating passes within her, testing out multiple places in the soft flesh to find the place that I'd hoped to excite. In only another three attempts, the place had been located and had immediately turned into the focus of my exploits; causing her powers to fully bloom and her body to phase out of existence for a fraction of a second. She returned only an instant after and screamed with enjoyment at the sensation that awaited her; her every nerve seemingly burning and her fiery eyes forming yellow flames of their own. I kissed her slowly; her burning form flashing out at every apex of my insertion and returning every instant I began to withdraw before phasing out yet again when I would come to stop at the end of the retracting motion. Every time that she'd phase out, her form would remain slightly visible and her tough would remain just forceful enough to prevent us from accidently joining when she returned. Her insides would spasm every time I would begin the retracting and penetrating motion and her form rematerialized before me. No words were, or could be said between the two of us as the throes of passion were too great and our vocal cords would seize up with intense feeling. Our slow pace made everything else around the two of us seem almost as though it were at a stand-still and nothing existed aside from us and the pleasure that was being forged between us. Lilith's wings flickered to life behind her with every moment that her body crossed into the new reality and faded away when she'd return; however, every time that she'd phase away, the duration of the departure would increase. She grew closer to her inevitable release, her jumps lengthened and her wings grew brighter as her flames began to lick at the ceiling and spill over the edges of the bed; still leaving no trace of their existence. With one, powerful burst of energy, her body completely disappeared into the other realm momentarily before snapping back with an echoing explosion and her voice weakly filling the air while I released as well. A thin sheen of violet seeped from one of her eyes and her tattoos turned white as she fell to the bed, completely motionless and panting heavily. I leaned forward to kiss her on the neck as she fell with her head resting against the soft bed, her eyes distant and her tattoos fading back to normal. I rolled over to drop onto the bed beside her and snaked an arm under her lower back and pull her close as I drag an unused sheet over the two of us. She weakly turned to face me and smiled with a soft, caring expression and half-lidded eyes.
"I love you…" she said calmly, forcing herself forward into a tight embrace against my chest and curling up into an almost fetal position; her eyes still listlessly trained up to mine.
"I love you too, Lil… Happy to be back." I replied, pulling her tighter to me and allowing sleep to overtake me. That night, my only dream was a seemingly unending moment of having her pressed to me and stroking her hair as she gazed lovingly into my eyes with a soft smile.
End Chapter 17: The Next New Beginning.