Hello everyone and welcome back to HellFall!
I'm so proud of myself, I watched 9 movies last week. Probably isn't too good for me, but whatever. 'Twas fun.
I don't really like this chapter because it spoils a lot from my upcoming RWBY fanfiction, The Candidates (the two stories are connected). Unfortunately when I wrote The Candidates it was for a RWBY fanficion collaboration, and according to the host of it I'm not allowed to post it on my own account until the end of January, 2016, when it's due. I'm a wee bit frustrated, but oh well. It fits with the story and where it's going, so yeah. Plus The Candidates is just a back story, so you'd all have to learn about it sooner or later.
Anyways, this chapter has some new information, so let's get on with it!
I sighed heavily, dropping onto the armchair in the corner. Thunder was already there, waiting and looking over some notes. He glanced up at me, "You okay?" He asked.
"This recruitment crap is exhausting" I replied.
He adjusted himself, looking me straight on, "How can it be that difficult?" He asked.
"I have to put on a happy face and be generous or accepting or whatever." I replied, "It doesn't feel right"
"Probably because you've been a jerk your entire life" He suggested.
"Shut up." I said, "Everyone has a different way of identifying a 'jerk'"
"Or you just don't know what a jerk really is"
"Can we get back to work?"
"Of course"
"So?" I started, "How're the translators going?"
"Quite well." Thunder replied, "Because of the recent discovery, they're working harder at it than ever. Looks like you gave them some motivation"
"Good to know that I'm helping." I said, "So how's Cadet been with his family?"
"We talked his wife out of divorce" He replied.
"Well that's good to hear." I said, "And Dennis?"
"Getting used to the new leg"
I nodded. Everything seemed to be going well, "What have the translators released in terms of information?"
"Pretty much everything you found, with a few extras." He replied, "The Heishi, Gale Sheng, and Rocco Trask. We do know now that both Cinder and Rain Fall are involved, however"
"So she's back"
"Yes," he replied, "and it looks like this time's she's got her brother with her"
"Did they find anything on the Heishi?" I asked.
He paused the think, "Just the name of the man cloned, Dennis Soldier, which you already know, and that he went through several trials to be chosen as the man to be cloned"
"Trials?" I asked.
"Yes." He replied, "Apparently they put five people through trials, four of which died"
"Did it say anything else about the other candidates?" I asked.
He flipped through his notes, "Yes," he replied, "I was going to look into this myself. We have their names and how they performed. There was Cerberus Witch, the first to go, Hawksbill Stars, Maud Froze, Aero Simms, and Dennis Soldier, of course. Apparently they were all exceptional, but Dennis was still the clear choice next to Cerberus, who died during the trials"
"So they were looking for the perfect soldier," I replied, thinking aloud, "so that they could create the perfect army"
"Looks that way"
I thought for a second, "I'm going to look into this" I decided.
"I think I will too." Thunder replied, "I'll see if I can track down Witch and Froze's family, maybe. You look into Simms and Stars"
"Sounds good." I said, "Anything else?"
He handed me his notes, "You can look these over" He said.
I took them and glanced at the outside of the folder. 'Plan H' was written on the front. It was rather thin, with only a few sheets of paper inside. The actual Plan H folder wasn't huge, but it was bigger than this. There's still so much we don't know, I thought.
"Thanks." I said, "I think I'll head home for the day"
"Alright." He said, "Have a good one"
"You too." I said, standing and turning to leave, then turning back around, "Oh, quick little bit: Roy Sho from team WRGE claims to have fought Rain Fall twice in the last two days. Maybe you could talk to him about that?"
"I'll look into it" He replied.
"Thanks" I said.
Turning back around, I started to leave. As I reached the elevator I saw Grizzly running towards me.
"Mr. Void! Mr. Void!" He called.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I just need to tell you something." He started, "Rocco Trask. My caretaker and I ran into him not long ago"
"Where?" I asked, fully turning my body to him.
"Under a building," he replied, "in a dark room"
"How dark?" I asked, remembering the cloning center that I'd been to recently myself.
"Pitch black" He replied.
"Where was this?" I asked, "What street?"
"I don't know," he replied, "the man, Heishi, kidnapped and drove us there"
"You know about the Heishi?" I asked.
"The Heishi?" He asked, "Isn't he just one guy?"
"The Heishi are clones." I replied, "It means 'soldier'. You say you ran into one?"
"Two" He replied.
"And you fought Rocco?"
He nodded.
I put my hand on my his shoulder and guided him to the elevator, "Come with me," I said, "I need to make sure we're thinking of the same building"
"Have you been there Mr. Void?" He asked.
"I believe so." I replied, "And please just call me Gazini. Formality bothers me"
"Oh, sorry Gazini"
The elevator door slid open so we stepped on and went up.
"So are you staying with us?" I asked.
"Yes" He replied.
"Great," I said, "we'll stop by your house afterwards so you can get your stuff and tell your caretaker"
"Okay"
Outside, I hopped on my moped and gestured for Grizzly to get on the back.
"I expected some big awesome car or something" He said as I started up the scooter.
"Big awesome cars are expensive," I pointed out, "I can't afford that stuff. Besides, I prefer mopeds"
I backed out and started driving down the road.
"How long have you been with the military?" Grizzly asked.
"A few weeks" I replied.
"And you've already been assigned to a case this big?" He asked.
"I'm the one who brought this to the attention of the military." I replied, "I'm not actually an employee. They just asked me to be part of it, and I accepted"
"Oh" He replied.
We arrived at the square building where Dennis Soldier had been cloned.
"Is this it?" I asked.
"Looks about right." He replied, "I'm not sure. It was at night"
I sighed and parked my moped next to the structure, "Come on" I said, getting off and heading towards the door. Grizzly followed.
Inside I took Grizzly to the far room, where the trapdoor was located.
"This is definitely the building" He said, looking around at the walls.
"Great." I replied, "Come on, let's get you home. I can come by tonight to bring you back to the base if you'd like"
"It's fine, I can walk" He replied.
"Alright." I said, heading back outside and getting back onto the moped. "So where do you live?"
"You don't know?" He asked.
"I've watched you fight," I replied, "but I haven't been stalking you like those creepy CGF people"
He smiled, "I'm just on 254 Cider Isle" He said.
"Alright" I said, starting up the scooter and entering the road. We reached Cider Isle a few minutes later, where I dropped him off.
Returning to my own home, I found that Hail Strom was in the kitchen, a cookbook set before her as she attempted to create something edible for a change.
"Afternoon Hail" I said.
She turned, "Oh hey Gaz," she said, "How was work?"
"Fine," I replied, "we have to fight again tomorrow, right?"
"Right." She replied, "You excited?"
"I guess so." I replied, "It'll be nice to take a break from all the thinking and just beat someone up"
She laughed, "Sadist"
I smiled. She wasn't completely wrong. I did enjoy fighting and overpowering others. "I don't get aroused from killing stuff, though," I said, for the sake of a joke, "Maybe you do, but I don't"
She laughed, "Aroused?" She asked, "Where'd you get that?"
"From the definition of a sadist." I replied, "Have you ever read a dictionary before? A sadist is someone who gets aroused when they see or inflict pain"
"That's messed up" She replied simply.
"I know." I said, "I'm going to head up to my room to do some more work"
"Don't hurt yourself" She said, turning back to her cooking.
"How could I get hurt?" I asked, 'It's just paperwork"
"Paper cuts"
I smiled, "Right" I replied.
"Oh, you wouldn't mind if I brought some food up later, would you?" She asked.
"Not at all" I replied, heading upstairs to my room. I'd since painted the walls dark red and brought in a desk, office chair, lamp, and wardrobe. Nothing matched, but I didn't care. This was the first time I'd actually settled down in a room since Beacon, so I wasn't exactly an expert on room design, nor did I really care that much. The red paint apparently helps keep me awake, which is good for when I'm working. When I'm trying to sleep, not so much. But I felt that work was a bit more important.
I pulled up my office chair and sat down, setting the scrawny folder on the wooden desk before me. Opening it up, I began to read.
So there you have it. Basically just spoiled the entire ending and plot of The Candidates. Oh well, such is life.
As you can see, Hail is still trying to out-cook Gazini by learning how to actually cook.
Also, does the name Simms ring a bell? Maybe? I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure there was a Simms introduced already. You'll remember when I get to it though. Don't worry.
As you can see, the story is speeding along. The file is being translated, so it's only a matter of time. I already have traps set in place to keep this from ending abruptly though, so don't worry about it ending too soon.
And that's it. As usual, favorite, follow, review, tell your friends, tell your enemies, or don't if you don't want to, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!