Another chapter up~ :D
Please don't be angry with me for not posting for a bit. School was being a large pain in my behind and my internet recently got turned off so I couldn't write on it. I tried to write a bit more than there has been in the passed few chapters and it wasn't as long as I'd hoped, but it is here. :3
Thank you to those that have taken the time to review. And I'd like to ask you guys for constructive criticism and for you to warn me of any spelling/grammar errors that aren't obvious so I can fix them. I try to proof read these things, but I can miss some of the mistakes.
(Small Change) I have changed Caboose's looks in the previous chapter. He still has the same height and the same eyes, but he's paler and has sandy blond hair instead of brown. Figured it would be easier for everyone to recognize him in the chapters. :3 (Hope you don't mind.)
Nothing else has changed other than that. :3 Please don't get too angry with me.
I haven't started the storyline yet, but I'm introducing some new characters this chapter to build up to it. (Sorry for the false promise.) To make up for it, I added a small fun fact at the end. :3
Anyways, nothing else to report. Other than, you know, disclaimers.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Red vs Blue. It belongs to Rooster Teeth and I had no part in the making of the show.
Caboose's green eyes immediately searched over her face, examining how she looked with such enthusiasm that Eliza knew she should have been freaked out. Even though she knew him for less than a day, she figured this was a "Caboose" thing that she might have to get used to. Never ending enthusiasm was a perk and could sometimes be hell. For most people, it could even be impossible to obtain. There were a select few, like Caboose, that could keep a smile through the worst of times... Eliza admired that in a person.
Caboose couldn't help himself as he found himself staring for probably too long, taking his time as his eyes skimmed over her lips, eyes, cheeks well, everything. She wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but she was pretty enough that he knew he was going to have trouble talking to her from then on. Her lips were turned up into a small smile. One that he kept having to look away from but look back at every few seconds.
His favorite part about her was that smile. Or her eyes. He found both pretty. He couldn't help the small goofy smile that formed on his face. He wanted to say something nice, but his mouth felt dry and his tongue like sandpaper against his cheek. He fumbled slightly, eyes trailing over the indent in her skin that revealed to him a part of her past. He wants to be friends, simple as that. He never really was good at talking to girls though... Maybe he'd ask Texas? Last time he talked to her, she threatened to cut his tongue out. He paid her a hundred dollars though and now she's really nice... Maybe. He hasn't really, um, talked to her since then.
"Caboose? What's the matter?" She wonders, waiting for his eyes to meet hers. She wondered if there was something on her face before she remembered her scar. Her hand instinctively reached up to touch it, fingers trailing over the rough, somehow smooth skin that ran over her cheek. It slid from her cheek to below her right ear. It suited her, in a way that no one could really comprehend. Many had told her they couldn't imagine her without it. Much like her rather embarrassing birthmark, it was a part of her she accepted.
Caboose's eyes seemed to follow her hand, a light of curiosity shining in his eyes at the sight of the rift in skin. "How'd you get that?" He questions, tilting his head and giving the most precious look that Eliza had ever seen. He had his own scars, but only a few and none as noticeable as the one that dawned her cheek. Like Eliza, he was a newbie. Fresh out of training maybe a few months ago. Granted, he wasn't a cadet like she was, but many wondered why he was even allowed out in the field.
Eliza winced at the memory that clouded her head, remembering the burn of flesh against hot metal and the smell of smoke. "I got caught in an explosion a while back." She explains, giving a hesitant smile that fell as soon as it appeared. "Would've died too, had one of my squad mates not've got me out of there in time. Only got this shiner. Thankfully." She sighs in relief, letting both eyes fall closed and take their purple shine with them, allowing her to stare into the dark abyss that shrouded her eyesight behind her eyelids. "It was fine though. All in the name of trial and error, I suppose."
Caboose frowned slightly, tilting his head. "You blow a lot of things up... I think you and Andy would get along!" He comments and goes on and on about a supposed "talking bomb" that was Caboose's friend. Immediately, She worried for Caboose's sanity. Who had ever heard of a talking bomb? She took a moment to wonder if he had been out in the sun for too long. She moved forward, almost moving to place her hand on his forehead, but she stopped herself.
She soon realized that their were plenty of things that could talk that seemed unlikely to do so. After that realization, Eliza tried to pay attention to the fast paced conversation, the other blue constantly shifting topics though the central theme seemed to be revolving around what cool things her and "Andy" could do together. (They mostly consisted of blowing up Tucker or taxes or even babies. She thought the part about the babies disturbing.)
Eliza didn't like the bomb figured he was a jerk due to the knowledge that Caboose was probably sugar coating things. Even with that point, she knew she wouldn't like him. Explosives seemed to be their only similarity other than their tempers and "occasional" smart ass remarks. Eliza is far from perfect. Not in any way. And it was probably hypocritical of her to say this, but the bomb may sound like the most annoying thing ever.
"He sure seems..." Eliza struggled to find a way to describe the bomb. The words that popped into her head were along the lines of "obnoxious," "asshole-ish," and "an arrogant prick." She didn't voice this and tried to come up with something nice to say, but could only force out "Like something." She finally finishes her sentence after a long silence of watching Caboose stare at her with an expression that told her she didn't want to tell the truth.
"He is!" Caboose says excitedly, falling onto his back and staring up at the ever-lit up sky. "He really doesn't like it when people talk about his weight, so don't say he looks like a bowling ball or his feelings will be hurt." He hums, letting his eyes fall closed and his head rest on his crossed arms. He relaxed, a content look forming on his pale face. Eliza figured the pale look was due to never usually being out of the base without his armor on. She wondered if her own somewhat tan would fade soon as well. It probably would if she didn't tan and there was no way in hell she was ever going to be confident enough to prance around outside with her thumb up her ass without at least a chest piece on. Anything less would probably be suicide.
"Blarghh!" Eliza hears and tenses up, eyes growing wide and her breath catching in her throat. She flips around, pulling out her handgun faster than she thought she could. Her finger is gripping to the trigger and she points it at whatever had appeared behind her, aiming directly at the small blue creature as she presses herself as close to the wall as possible. It looked like an Elite... but much smaller. What in the name of all that is holy was a baby Elite doing here?!
"What the hell?!" She screeches in panic, gripping the trigger tighter and moving toward the entrance of the base. Caboose leans up, casting a smile to the child but kept his distance as he remembered when it was born.
"Hey Junior, where are you?" Tucker's voice echoes through the area, shocking Eliza even more as the Elite looked around for the voice. She kept her eyes glaring down at the thing and could've of sworn she saw it flinch at the sign of a gun, but refused to believe it. From her experience, most elites were trained with guns long before they reached their adulthood.
Tucker came around the base, the only one with a helmet on in this instance. "There you are Junior!" He says, oblivious to the gun pointed at the alien as he walked over to that... thing and knelt down beside it, forcing Eliza to drop her gun so not to endanger her teammate. "How's it going tiger?" He questions happily and Eliza bit her lip, holstering her handgun and moving to grab her assault rifle. She kept it clenched tightly in her hands, ready to shoot if she needed to.
"Tucker, what in the hell are you doing near it? Do you know how dangerous they are?" She questions, keeping a close eye on the creature. She wanted to get him away from it, but she wasn't moving any closer to it. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, letting it out slowly with force. "Please don't tell me you guys are keeping it as a pet?" She grunts, watching as Tucker turned around and she wished his helmet was off so she could see his expression.
"Hey! That's my kid you're talking about." He almost shouts defensively, arms crossed over his chest and Eliza could hear the frown in his voice.
She couldn't believe her ears... Kid? That Elite was Tucker's kid? How was that even possible? "You have got to be joking." She deadpans, faltering as she moved forward a half step. "You're human. To have... That... Happen, you would have had to have been with an Elite. You know..." She says slowly, a slight blush forming over her face. She clears her throat. "Sexually." She finishes, looking away. "For some reason I can't explain, you guys don't seem too threatened by the most obvious bane of human life." She murmurs, more to herself than anyone else.
"Woah, no. Its not like that." Tucker panics, waving his hands around to try and stop any more of that from coming out. He had to admit though, it was funny watching her get flustered when talking about sex. Teasing her about it was for another time, however. "I'm a ladies man..." He rambles on after that, every single word almost too quick as he uttered them, being ignored by Eliza. She didn't really care whatever the hell his sexual orientation was, even if she could swear he was "batting for the other team" so to speak. He just had that air about him.
No, what she really cared about was keeping the little blue creature away from her as it approached. She took two steps away every step it took closer to her. She didn't know if he was actually Tucker's strange alien baby or not, but it freaked her out and she wasn't dealing it.
"You see, Tucker and I went with this really cool guy named Crunch Bite, I think you'd like him, to do stuff and when Tucker came home he ended up with pregnancy." Caboose spoke up happily, a goofy grin covering the bottom half of his face. "I kept away from him because I did not want to catch pregnancy, but Church had read some things with me and I now know that is not how it works." He explains and Eliza had to hold back the laugh that wanted to leave her.
"Hey guys..." Church calls, walking up beside Tucker. He paused, looking between the people present. "What the hell's going on with you fuckers?" He wonders, looking like he was keeping away from "Junior" about as much as Eliza was.
"Eliza got freaked out by Junior and tried to shoot him." Tucker explains, but he didn't sound mad at all. That was strange considering the alien was supposedly his child. Church burst out laughing at that, having to clutch his stomach as the ache began from laughing too hard.
"H-Holy shit. I missed it." He sighs, sounding disappointed, falling to the ground suddenly with Tex standing on his back with a handgun in hand. She looked around, ignoring the curses of the man below her. Church was trying to push her off, but Tex's own balance was greater than anything that the man could try it appeared.
Tex looked around at the people surrounding the area. "What are y'all doing?" She questions, not hiding the acid in her voice though she sounded somehow... Fond of them all. It was a bit strange. Eliza took a long, deep breath and turned around. She grabbed her helmet, fixing it onto her head and began trying to figure out of she could be posted somewhere else- anywhere else- in the universe. She didn't say anything, ignoring the random chattering that echoed around her from her teammates.
"You are all fucking insane." She grumbles, beginning to shake from the anger that tried to burst through. Everything that had happened so far was so stupid, irrelevant, or down right annoying. She needed some sort of normalcy before she went just as insane as the others. She continued walking, wanting to go on a simple patrol, but that obviously wasn't going to happen if the others had anything to do with it. It was like the universe was out to get her and do whatever it could to make her completely mad.
Testing her patience, it seemed, Tex spoke up. "Oi, Cadet, where do you think you're going?" Eliza sensed the authority in her voice and almost wanted to turn around and punch the girl square in the face. "You weren't dismissed." She adds, a tone of superiority in her voice that made Eliza's anger spike once again.
Eliza gritted her teeth together and slowly turned around, a string of curses forming in her mind in those few precious seconds. "On patrol." She spat out, beginning to turn around once again. She desperately hoped the other girl would leave her alone. She would snap if she had to hear one more insult spew from that God forsaken woman. "I figured since you guys were so busy, I'd have to do it." Even though she just wanted to get away, there was no way she was telling Tex that.
"Actually, I was hoping we could talk." Tex answered, the way she said talk revealing to Eliza that it would be another rant about not trying to steal her place as the only female or something stupid ass shit like that. Eliza tensed slightly, just walking away and not stopping even when Tex called after her, calling her by her full name in an inane attempt to show her authority. Eliza wondered if steam was coming out of the bitch's ears. She almost laughed at the thought and the mental image that ensued.
A flash of black moved in front of her and she was pressed into the side of the base, arm in the black clad agent's grip so tightly and curved in such an awkward position that Tex could move barely an inch and probably break Eliza's arm, wrist, and shoulder in one quick tug. Eliza held still, not wanting to risk her limb being broken. She grunted on the impact of her armor clad body against the metal of their head quarters. "I thought I said not to go." Tex's voice hissed in Eliza's ear and Eliza grimaced, not saying a word as she began to feel the other's grip loosen.
Once she let go, Eliza pushed away from the building and farther away from Tex as well. She narrows her eyes at Tex, shaking her left arm as it began to ache from being held in such a way. "What do you want?" She questions slowly and through clenched teeth, not really trying to be polite, but not wanting to be put in the girl's grip again.
Tex crosses her arms over her chest, going into a rant of whatever crap she felt like spewing and Eliza ignored her, like she was learning to do when she knew that the others had nothing important to say. Her hands slipped to rest on her hips, fuse slowly burning lower and lower with each second she was forced to stand and listen to whatever Tex was saying. She began counting in her head, having heard that helps calm you when angry, but that didn't come anywhere close to helping as it only made Eliza get angry at the seven that ate nine. Who does that bullshit and scares six?
She paused at her own thoughts, almost smiling at the randomness that burrowed itself in there. She was probably tired or worse, sleep-deprived. It was to be expected from the sleep she received or lack thereof. A clank broke her from her own thoughts, her eyes snapping forward to see what had ensued. A suit of deep maroon and bright orange trimmed armor sat on top of Tex, shouting random things in anger at the girl. Soon enough, the girl was rolled off and pinned to the ground by Tex, taking no time to start throwing punches. Eliza winced with each hit either hit on the other, the steel on steel sound unbearable to her own ears.
"What the hell?" Church questioned in shock, voicing everyone's own thoughts at the random attack. Somehow, no one spotted the person approaching. They all sat and watched the girls tumble around on the ground, some too shocked to move and others simply not wanting to get in between the cat fight that contained more than just mere "claws."
"Where are mud and bikinis when you need them?" Tucker questions excitedly, the shit-eating grin apparent in his voice. "Bow-chicka-bow-wow." He adds at the last second, shit eating grin a little more than obvious.
Church face palmed, er, helmet palmed and let out an aggravated sigh. "Tucker?" Church calls to the other man and the aqua soldier turns his head to look at Church. "Shut the hell up." Church growled, dragging his hand down his visor over-dramatically and looking toward the two tumbling girls in a vain attempt to figure out what in the world was going on. He'd never seen Texas get jumped like that... It was kind of cool in a strange, surprising way.
"Sh-Should we break them apart?" Eliza questions, annoyance being put on the back burned as the situation evolved. As much as she would enjoy being able to watch Tex get her ass handed to her, the maroon and orange person wasn't doing much of anything and actually looked like she had a few dents in her armor... Plus Texas was helping her team. If she was telling the truth, Eliza would claim the first as her reason. How in the world could Tex be strong enough to dent armor durable enough to withstand bullets? It seemed almost... superhuman.
"No. I think things will turn out fine and that they'll hug and-and become friends." Caboose explodes, a happy-go-lucky grin exaggerating his ever charismatic outlook. Church stepped forward and grabbed a dark blue helmet off of the ground, tossing it to Caboose before he stepped back again to not get caught in the flurry of tangled limbs that Eliza could hear the distinct sound of angry grumbling coming from them both. From the sounds of the grunts, however similar they were in sound, were both feminine in nature.
"I doubt that will happen, Caboose." Church replies to Caboose's ignorant comment, shaking his head with a quiet, indignant sigh. "Put your helmet on." He adds. As many team kills Caboose has fired off, many on Church himself, Church couldn't bring it upon himself to let Caboose get himself. He wouldn't admit it, however, and would simply say it would be on his ass if Caboose died or got hurt... Well, other than Church shooting him in the toe, but that was purely instinct or whatever the hell you could call it.
"Thank you Church!" Caboose says happily, tugging on the helmet and concealing his face and the goofy little grin that seemed to always be on display. He turned back to the fighting, wanting to know if his idea was actually going to happen.
"Don't know what you mean Church. I think it'll happen." Tucker counters Church, probably having a different idea than Caboose did. He seemed to be overly happy with watching them fight. From his standpoint he could see both of their rear ends. To him, he had a perfect view.
Eliza sighs, reaching into her grenade stash to pull out one that looked like a grenade with spikes attached to it. She pulled the pin and threw it about five feet from the two girls. She turned and ran a few more away so she wouldn't get blinded. "I'd look away, you guys." She calls to the rest of blue team as she moved passed them, only Tucker having difficulty looking away from it. A pop, a flash, and two identical cries of alarm later, Eliza looked back at the two to see them both off of each other and obviously trying to gather their bearings. Eliza felt a smirk on her face. Damn, she loved explosions.
Eliza walked forward and pulled the maroon and orange one away from Tex, feeling that if she came up swinging that she would have a better chance at not getting hits. No offense to the girl or her fighting abilities, but Tex had obviously landed more strong hits than this one, seeing as there was only a dent, maybe, on Tex's armor and there were almost fifteen on the enemy's, not to mention the crack in her visor.
When she finally pulled herself together, the new girl shot up, immediately looking at Tex with a strange amount of animosity radiating off of her in waves. She held just as much for the other, but she wasn't used to anyone showing it other than maybe a few short bursts from her own team. It was... Refreshing for some strange reason. "That's what you get, you bitch." The new girl snidely comments toward Tex, sounding surprisingly proud of herself even though she had way more dents than Tex, moving forward to try and attack her, but Eliza stepped in the way, pulling a gun into her hand in an attempt to look more intimidating. It probably didn't help any, but it made her own self feel safer.
"Don't mean to intrude." She calmly speaks, holding her assault rifle pointed at the girl's chest. "But, I think you should take a few steps back." Eliza continues, trying to keep a level head, but it was getting difficult with the silence that seemed to follow after she spoke and she felt her anxiety grow with every beat of her heart. "Lady, I said step back." She growls, trying to get her to do what she was said.
"Are you okay?" The girl asks and Eliza pauses, lowering her weapon slightly at the random question. What did she mean "okay?" "I saw her bullying you so I thought I'd come over and help." She continues, the cheeky grin echoing itself in her words. The girl stepped back as directed, trying not to get shot, it seemed. Eliza dropped her stance, weapon lowering so it pointed to the ground.
"Wait... What?" Tucker speaks up and he seemed about as confused as Eliza was. Everyone was wondering what the hell was up with this chick. Well, Caboose was thinking about lunch time, or "Food time" according to him.
"She was messing with... Are you all stupid?" She questions, rubbing the back of her neck in confusion, tilting her head. "That's cool, I'd just like to know before I speak more... Let me try again. She. Hurt. You." She pauses between each word, pointing at Eliza. "I. Hit. Her. Make. Be-" She was interrupted by Eliza clearing her throat and shaking her head to collect her thoughts.
"We aren't stupid... Just a little, confused." She speaks up, mouth feeling a bit dry. "Aren't you on red team?" She questions, making sure the girl was wearing maroon and orange armor like she originally thought. When she was indeed right, Eliza was even more confused. She understood her wanting to sneak attack their strongest part of their team but the reason being her wanting to help Eliza was a little far fetched.
"Well..." The girl seemed to contemplate this for a few seconds before shrugging. "Dunno, just don't like bullies I guess." She hums, rubbing the back of her neck. She seemed embarrassed for some reason. She took a few steps, each one making Eliza tense more with each step as she was suddenly in front of her not three seconds later. The girl grabbed Eliza's hand off the gun, not the one attached to the trigger, before shaking her hand. Eliza almost fired trying to keep the gun from falling, grip tightening. "My name is Alexis. You can call me Allie though~" She says happily, walking around the group shaking miffed and stiff hands.
Allie moved over to Tex, who had stood up and pointed the gun at her as soon as she was relatively close to her. Allie didn't falter as she moved around the gun and shook Tex's hand. She stepped back quickly though, the tension thick enough to cut through with a knife. The only sound that seemed to be heard was a strange song playing far away from them. What was that song and why was it playing?
The silence that ensued was thick and dripping with confusion and people trying to wrap their minds around what was going on. "What the hell is that music?" Eliza finally breaks out, looking around as it got louder and louder. She rose her gun once again, getting ready for whatever was going to happen.
"Shit, not this again." Church groans, looking around for what he thought was coming toward them. What Eliza strangely didn't expect was the red team bursting over the hill in their Warthog, Simmons manning the gun, Grif at the wheel, Sarge in shotgun, and a new pink soldier running behind them shouting things about them slowing down.
"You dirty blues! Kidnapping our new recruit. You dirt bags are despicable." Sarge shouts, southern accent more than prominent. Eliza turned and ran toward the base as soon as she saw Simmons lean forward to aim.
"You tried to do the same to Kidd!" Tucker shouted back in annoyance, following Eliza as she ran and herding his "son" along with him. Eliza still doesn't believe they're related. It just didn't seem plausible. It made her curious why Tucker had trusted, let alone knew an alien for... that... to happen. Soon enough, a tank had rolled out from behind the base and was currently aiming it's turret at them.
"Kid? I would never hurt a kid, you assumption making... I'm so furious I can't make a witty remark!" Sarge shouts back, standing up and aiming his shotgun at someone. It wouldn't have done much, seeing as he was more than a fifty feet from them. The blast wouldn't have hurt very many people very easily.
"No! Our new recruit's name is Kidd, you dumb ass." Church yells at him, sliding into the base behind Tucker and Eliza, Tex and Caboose at his heels. Eliza climbs to the top of the base, hiding on the ramp to protect herself from their shots if they tried to shoot at her.
"Target locked." A robotic voice broke through and Eliza felt some sort of curiosity. Was that the tank? Her eyes began to sparkle slightly, wondering what kind of Artificial Intelligence worked the mechanisms that ran the tank. She wanted a closer look at its makings, but she doubted that would happen. 'Hey, let's let the newbie mess with our tank!' Like that would ever happen. She could hear the reds scrambling, shouting things and trying to get away. Well, except for the newest one she had met... Was that pink one a girl? They sure sounded like it from the way he/she was screaming. It was higher than Eliza could go. She would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't the time. "Firing main cannon."
A loud explosion fired and Eliza felt anticipation grow in her, a huge grin forming on the lower half of her face like a child on Christmas morning. The bang sounded like music to her ears and she almost yelled out something along the lines of "Awesome!" but she held back, silently screaming out a "Woo!" in her mind. She hadn't heard an explosion that big since the incident. She wondered what kind of missiles the tank fired. She hadn't gotten to the point of building missiles for tanks by the time she left her training, so she felt a familiar sensation rush through her. She was a nerd for explosives and military vehicle, she admits it.
It was probably in her blood as well. Her father taught her about cars since she was a child and her mother made fireworks for a living. Both were a taste of home. Her brother was more of a gun person, however, and liked building guns from scratch... They were a military family, it seems. Her grin slowly lowered into a sad one at the thought of her family. She missed home.
They stayed in the base for a while, waiting to see if they could hear anymore reds. "This, Tex, is why I wanted to go on patrol." She grumbles toward the girl and Tex tensed at that, probably a little more than slightly annoyed at what had happened. She seemed to glare daggers at Eliza, daring her to utter another word. Eliza was half tempted to do so, but she didn't, just wanting to get out of there and go for a walk. She slowly stood and walked over to check over the side of the base to look for more reds. The only thing close to the base was the tank, Phyllis, she recalls from training, is what they call them.
"Sheila! You are awesome!" Caboose shouts out to the tank and Eliza looked over at him. Sheila? Wasn't the A.I. usually called Phyllis? She shook her head, wondering if it was authorized for them to call their tank Sheila instead of Phyllis. It probably wasn't, but they probably wouldn't care whether or not it was.
Sheila looked over at them, turning her turret. "Thank you, Private Caboose." She sounded surprisingly happy. Eliza wondered if A.I. could be happy... Had it reached Meta-stability? She jumped over the edge of the base, dropping to the ground with a quiet thump and the drop barely jarring her. The other blues simply retreated back into the base, Tex being the only one to go off somewhere.
"You are such a magnificent specimen." Eliza says in awe, examining the tank from all angles with a happy smile back on her lips. "What generation are you?" She questions curiously as she came back to the front, all kinds of questions flowing through her head, but she didn't want to ask too many.
Sheila seemed to laugh, her turret turning down to look at Eliza. "Why thank you, Cadet. You are Eliza Kidd right?" She questions, robotic voice curious. Eliza nodded, wondering how she knew that before realizing that the tank probably had a database that held all sorts of different information in it. It made her fill with awe, wanting to sort through her circuits.
"Yes, ma'am." She says happily, feeling all of her frustrations disappear to be handled later. "Would you mind if I performed maintenance one you? To tell you the truth, I don't really think they take care of you like they should." She requests hopefully, really wanting the tank to say yes.
Sheila appeared to think about it for what seemed like an eternity. "Yes, please. I haven't been cleaned since Agent Texas had fixed me." She agrees to it, turning off her defensive systems so that Eliza wouldn't get hurt whilst trying to help her.
Eliza was appalled that they hadn't even tried to clean her since then. From what Eliza could see, cleaning hadn't been done in a while, so Tex must not have fixed her for a long time. "Wait... Agent? What do you mean Sheila?" She questions curiously, tilting her head slightly and wanting to know what she was an agent of. Usually, people are Privates or a Sargent, not usually much else in the bases. Well, that's what she was taught anyway in training. She began running tests over Sheila's programs, listening with varying interest to what Sheila was saying.
"I am not allowed to give that information out." Sheila answers, obviously going to be a tough cookie to crack.
"Override: Alpha, P723S." Eliza speaks clearly, having learned different codes. Depending on how top secret the information was, she would have to use different codes, but she had memorized different ways to hack, be it voice recognition or others.
"Override code denied." Sheila answers, voice growing more robotic. Eliza frowned, thoughts running over different codes that could work. This was definitely not for her to know, but she didn't know if Tex was supposed to be there. She needs to know who the girl is. She obviously wasn't an official part of blue team, that was for sure. The way she acted was as if she was only going to go with her own agenda.
"Override: Beta S5R6." She tries again, ready for a fight to get the information. She wasn't backing down. It probably would have just been easier if she asked blue team themselves, but she didn't want Tex to start watching her even more like a hawk than usual.
"Override code denied." Sheila answered after processing what Eliza had said in the database. Eliza knew she would have been blow up by now had the offensive cannons and other weapons not been shut down for cleaning. She was thankful for that, not wanting to deal with getting blown up once again. She wouldn't want it to be over something stupid. She had enough scars from explosions and didn't want anymore. It was inevitable. She was definitely going to get more scars, but if she had the chance to avoid more, she would take it. Well, if it was reasonable.
For most of the day, even after maintenance was complete, Sheila and Eliza went back and forth like this, Eliza beginning to say off long lists of numbers and letters. She wasn't going to give up. Frustrated was a bit of an understatement after a few hours. She was going to go in a rage soon. Eliza was getting more persistent, hopes being chipped away every time she heard her code be denied.
About halfway through her trying, she stood and went into the base to get something to eat. The blues were all seated in the living area playing cards. They were playing Bull Shit. It was a game of lying and Caboose was obviously losing from the sight of him holding about three fourths of the deck in his hands. Tex was winning, having maybe two cards. Church was next in line, holding seven. Tucker was before Caboose and Church with only four.
They didn't really look like they were having too much fun, but they were still all smiling, cursing at each other and sometimes even laughing. It made Eliza's heart warm. She didn't interrupt them and walked to her room to grab a pen and notebook before going to the kitchen to grab a water and food. If you could even call it food, it was still disgusting. It was nutrients and vitamins she needed, so she didn't complain.
She passed the living area once again, making her way out of the base and back to Sheila. She was going to crack this code, may it be next week, tomorrow, or within the hour. It shouldn't have been so big to her, but it was. It was strange how determined she was, but she was going to figure it out. She wrote down the different codes she remembered using and chatted idly with Sheila. The tank didn't seem perturbed with her attempts to hack her mainframe. In fact, she just seemed happy to have someone nice-ish to talk to.
She began again, getting lost in the numbers and different letters she read off. Her head was hurting with how much she had had to think in the last few hours.
She would get it eventually. She yawned quietly, taking a glance at the clock that flashed on her visor. It showed about eleven at night. She glared down at the ground, picking at the patch of grass she sat on with her fingers. She had to sit down after such a long time in front of Sheila, legs getting tired. "Override: Theta 199L5FY27GO10BK30814JAZ134." Eliza tries for the last time, praying to whatever God there was out there that it would work. She was getting annoyed. If it didn't work, she'd be out here again tomorrow.
"Override code denied." Sheila said for the billionth time, dashing away Eliza's hopes. Eliza stood from her seat, a long, angry sigh leaving her lips at her vain attempts. Well, they weren't entirely useless. She knew more than she had when she started. She knew what codes were wrong, anyway. That was something. She grabbed her notebook and pen, writing down the code she said so she wouldn't forget she had already said it. She didn't want the same thing that happened today to happen tomorrow.
She stood, heaving a sigh at the lost time. "Alright Sheila. I guess I'll come back tomorrow and try." She says with a gentle smile on her face, too tired to try much more. She'd pick it back up tomorrow. Right now, she was starving and thirsty. She hadn't eaten since lunch time and it was now way passed dinner. Her drill Sargent would be yelling at her to get her ass up and eat before she goes to bed without food. He tried to make himself seem like a tough son of a bitch all the time, but he actually worried about the cadets. It was way, way different from other cadet's experiences with their Drill Sargent, but she was thankful in a way. He helped her become the soon to be soldier she was.
"Alright Cadet Kidd. Good bye." Sheila answers as Eliza turns to enter the base once again. Eliza passes the living area to see it empty before entering the kitchen. It was also empty and Eliza wouldn't be surprised if they were already all asleep. Sure, it was always bright as afternoon outside, but without flipping a light switch in the base, you wouldn't be able to see your hand in front of your face.
Doing so, Eliza begin to sift through the supplies. She settled on a few crackers, deciding it was best to eat light before she went to bed. For the longest time, if she went to bed with a full stomach, Eliza would sleep walk. Eliza didn't know why, nor did she really search for the reason why. After munching down on the crackers on the way to her room.
Stripping from her armor and changing into some night clothes, Eliza thought of some new codes to try tomorrow with Sheila. She put her armor pieces on the ground gently, knowing they wouldn't be hurt if she simply dropped them, but she wasn't going to wake up her teammates with loud noise. She didn't want to give them a reason to hate her. That was the last thing she wanted in her current situation. She fell back onto her bed and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. The last words that passed through her mind were "I think I might learn to like this place."
Of course, who's to say she'll have to?
Fun Fact: I was listening to You're Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring when I thought of this story. :3 Typically, it was after watching the newest episode of RvB. (Can't remember the episode though, for the life of me.)