Chapter 15
Disclaimer: Nope. Still not Rick. Oh well.
When Percy woke up, he felt like shit. But he took that as a good sign. He figured that if he woke up feeling fantastic, that would probably mean that he was dead. But he felt like boiled ass. So he was still breathing. He managed to open his eyes, only to instantly screw them shut again. The light was harsh. He was in the same medical room where he had woken up several times before. Not in a long time though. But then again, he hadn't been hurt like he had been in a very long time. His knee felt better. His hand still had a slight tinge of pain. His shoulder was pretty meh. His neck was sending daggers of pain throughout his entire body. His head was pounding. His chest had some kind of sharp, stabbing pain shooting through it. Like it hurt to breathe. His stomach was throbbing angrily. He wanted to fall back asleep, but he needed to get up. He needed to know what had happened.
He screwed up his courage and opened his eyes again. He eased them open that time, rather than forcing them. The light was still so harsh. He looked around the room. Sara was with him. He saw her head resting against his lap. She was asleep, but she still looked stressed. Almost as if she couldn't escape her worries, even in unconsciousness. Poor girl. With considerable effort, he raised his hand and stroked her hair. She had such lovely hair. She smiled as he ran his fingers through her beautiful golden locks. He knew she was asleep, she was just reacting. For a while, he just stayed that way. He didn't want to do anything, go anywhere, or talk to anyone. He just wanted to lie in bed and stroke Sara's hair.
But apparently, it wasn't meant to be. The door opened and Chaos walked in. He quickly dropped his hand from Sara's hair. It was for the best that Chaos didn't see that. In fact, it would have been preferable that Chaos didn't see Sara's head in his lap at all, but short of shoving it off, there was nothing he could do about that. Strangely though, Chaos saw exactly where Sara's head was, and didn't comment on it. She didn't even react at all. Maybe she knew about them. Maybe she was ok with it. He didn't know. He didn't really care at that moment.
"So, you're up."
"I'm afraid so. What the hell happened?" he replied quietly. He didn't want to wake up Sara. She looked like she needed her rest.
"We were kind of hoping you could tell us that."
He had to think quickly. He couldn't tell her why they had attacked him. Or at least, the justification they had come up with for it.
"I'm not totally sure. I came back to my bunk and they were waiting for me. They thought that I was sleeping with Sara because I didn't get back to my bunk yesterday." he tried to make himself sound confused.
"Why didn't you go back to your bunk yesterday?"
"I just needed some time to think after the psych eval. Talking about my time on Earth for the second time in 3 days really took it out of me. I guess I just wanted some time to myself. I went and got coffee, and just kind of walked around."
"And they didn't believe you?"
"No. I tried to tell them that, but they wouldn't listen. They had their theory, and they were sticking with it."
"So they attacked you for sleeping with an instructor."
"Nah. They said they attacked me because they wanted to. The part about me sleeping with an instructor was just the excuse they were going to give you. They were gonna make it seem like they confronted me, and I flipped on them."
It was times like that when Percy enjoyed the fact that he was such a good liar. It was fun. He only twisted certain facts slightly, and the entire narrative was radically different. It was so simple, yet effective.
"Right. Well, you shouldn't face any disciplinary action then. We had a few of our forensics experts go over the scene. From what they could tell, you were ganged up on and attacked first. It's clear that everything you did was self-defense."
"Ok. What happened to them?"
"The ones that survived, have been kicked out already. Though, Sara was lobbying for their execution, rather than expulsion. A few of them were dead."
He nodded. He didn't really have any problem with the fact that he had killed a few of them. It didn't bother him. They'd been trying to kill him, and it had been 9 against 1. He felt like he was justified. If he'd held back the entire fight, he would be dead. No doubt about it.
"Good. What happened when I passed out?"
"Sara found you. From what she told me, she was worried about you not showing up to your class with her, so she went up to your bunk to investigate. She found you on the floor, bleeding profusely, with a knife in your back, and one of your fellow recruits standing over you, ready to kill you. She killed him to save your life. She picked you up and brought you to my office. She was practically hysterical. She actually screamed at me to heal you, which I did, of course. As much as I was able to, at least. You had a lot of damage done to you."
He shifted uncomfortably.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that, thanks."
"You're very welcome. Anyway, after I healed you, you were brought down here to recover fully. It wouldn't normally take you as long to heal, but the wound to your carotid was difficult. It needed a lot of attention and you'd lost a lot of blood before we stopped the bleeding. You'll be fine though. You've been here for 2 days. Funnily enough, Sara hasn't left your side the entire time. She absolutely refuses to go anywhere. She won't teach, she won't shower, she won't do anything. I'm pretty sure this is the first time she's slept since she found you."
Percy felt insanely guilty. He hated that he had caused her so much stress. It hadn't exactly been his fault, but he still felt slightly at fault. Chaos raised an eyebrow at him.
"Is there something you wish to tell me, Perseus?" she asked dangerously.
He froze.
"Dear fucking shit. How could I be so, fucking, STUPID?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, playing dumb.
"Don't insult my intelligence." was all she said.
He took a deep breath. He felt like lying would actually be the worse option at that moment. The truth was going to have to come out. Or at least, a version of the truth.
"Ok, fine. After our interview the other day, I tried to convince Sara to sleep with me. She refused. She said it wouldn't be right since she was my instructor. But I just kept pushing and pushing. She's really beautiful, and I felt so lonely. Eventually, I wore her down. I think she felt bad for me, you know? Anyway, she told me it would be just once, and never again. Just stress relief. I didn't really care though. I just wanted it. Anyway, I guess she felt a little guilty. She must have guessed that they found the right excuse to do this to me because we slept together. She must have felt a little responsible. That must be why she's been acting like this."
He tried his absolute best to sound as convincing as he could. He had to admit, it was a pretty shitty lie. He was still woozy from coming out of the 2-day coma, and he was in a fair amount of pain. But Chaos wouldn't have believed that there was nothing between them, so he had to give her the best possible version of the truth that he could think of at a moment's notice. He knew that Sara would be devastated if she were forced to leave, but maybe there was some way he could come up with to spare her. Better that he left in disgrace.
"Oh really? That's why she hasn't left your side in 2 days? Guilt?"
"Yeah, I mean, it must be. She seems like a pretty sensitive person to me. She must feel kind of responsible. Like maybe if she had just said no, they wouldn't have had the excuse to beat the shit out of me."
Chaos stared at him. He stared right back. That was the story he had come up with. He needed to stick to it. Chaos had no way to prove him wrong, and he would unravel it all if he admitted that he had made that up. She wouldn't believe anything else he had to say, and both he and Sara would get kicked out. Maybe if he stuck to his story, Sara would at least be able to stay.
"Well, she still slept with a recruit. I don't see why I should let her stay. She broke the rules, after all."
"No! I mean, please don't do that. I spent a long time convincing her. I really went for it. I know she wouldn't have done it under normal circumstances. Plus, she'd just listened to me talk about my shitty life, so she felt sorry for me and stuff. Look, I'll understand if you kick me out, that's totally fair, but please keep her. It wasn't her fault."
Chaos crossed her arms over her chest.
"Sara is a big girl. She knew the rules. Why should I keep her on, even after she broke them?"
He racked his brain. He tried desperately to come up with some kind of excuse. Some kind of justification. In the end, he was left with one option, and it was really bad. He sighed.
"I'm begging you. I'll do anything you ask me to, anything at all, just please don't make her leave."
Chaos quirked an eyebrow.
"Anything?"
"Anything." he confirmed.
She spent a long while watching him. Her eyes were cold and hard. He felt like a worthless bug, about to be crushed under her heel.
"What if I took Sara out of her instructing position, and placed her back in the field, disallowing you two from ever seeing each other again?"
He swallowed hard.
"I would entirely understand, my lady."
She seemed to think about it for a while.
"No. No, that doesn't really cost you anything. How about this? If I keep Sara with me, then you can never be allowed to kill your brother."
Percy's eyes went wide. He was about to scream in protest. There was no way he was willing to sacrifice his revenge. But then Sara made a sound. It was just a little moan as she slept. It brought his eyes to her. Her beautiful face. Her stunning smile. Her amazing hair. He came to a startling realization. He really cared about her. And he knew in that moment, that he would give anything for her to remain happy. Even his revenge. Even on his brother. Percy took a deep breath. He told himself that it wasn't betraying them. Killing their killer, wouldn't bring them back. He wasn't sure if he believed himself.
"Fine, "he croaked out, "I'll let him live. If you keep Sara with you. If that's what you want from me."
Chaos stared at him for even longer that time. She almost looked like she was daring him to go back on what he had said. But he wasn't going to. He cared about Sara. If he had the option to sacrifice his revenge for her happiness, then he would do it. Eventually, Chaos spoke again.
"You must really care about her." was all she said.
He nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak. He didn't know what crazy shit would come out of his mouth if he tried.
"You would really be willing to give up your revenge, for someone that you've only known for a few days?" she asked skeptically.
He nodded again. He knew it seemed insane, but he was willing to do it for her. She didn't deserve to be forced out of her home. Another long moment went by before Chaos sighed and sat down in one of the chairs next to his bed.
"Percy... I like you. You're certainly my favorite recruit. You're easily one of my favorite members of the entire army, full members included. Sara is another of my favorites. I've always had something of a soft spot for her. And I want both of you to be happy. So, I'm willing to deal with you."
Percy's eyes lit up with hope. If there was some kind of way for both of them to stay in the army with Chaos, then he would jump at it.
"What kind of deal?" he asked eagerly.
"I'm not entirely sure yet. I would need to speak to Sara first. Maybe, if the two of you truly care about each other, and this isn't some kind of fling, then we can work something out."
He processed what she told him. He truly cared about Sara. He was reasonably sure that she felt the same way about him, and he would be supremely surprised if he found out that she was just using him for sex.
"But as I said, "Chaos continued, "I would need to speak to Sara first. And I certainly can't have you two comparing notes."
Percy was about to ask what she meant, when Chaos got up and tapped him on the forehead.
"Sleep." she said.
Before he could register what she had done, he was totally unconscious again.
Mere seconds after Percy was asleep again, Sara stirred. The very first thing she did, was glance up at Percy. She frowned when she saw that he was still asleep. She could have sworn that she had felt him stroking her hair. She dismissed the idea, assuming that it had just been a dream. It wouldn't have been the first time she had dreamed of Percy. She reached over to run her hand through his messy hair. She really loved his hair. Someone interrupted her, by someone clearing their throat. She spun around, ready to snap at whoever had dared to disturb them, when she saw that it was Chaos. She froze. She wasn't sure how she could possibly explain what she had been doing. Nor could she explain her actions ever since she had found Percy bleeding to death in his bunk.
"Sara, I think we need to talk." Chaos said.
Sara gulped. She was right. They did need to talk. And she had absolutely no idea what she could say to convince her that she wasn't involved in a relationship with a recruit.
"Ok." she said.
"I'll start, shall I?"
"Ok." she repeated.
"Let's review your actions over the last 2 days. You find a recruit bleeding to death in his bunk. You murder another recruit to protect him. You bring that recruit up to me. You scream at me to heal him. You remain with him for the entire duration of his recovery, foregoing your teaching duties. And now, I walk into his room to check on him, and what do I find? I find you with your head resting on top of the recruit's lap. Is there anything you can say to convince me that the two of you aren't involved in some kind of relationship?"
Sara thought as hard as she possibly could. She knew that she had to come up with something. There was no way to convince Chaos that they weren't in a relationship. That was out of the question. The very best she could do would be to beg for lenience. But there was no way that she was going to let Percy get kicked out.
"Ok. I'll admit it. We aren't exactly in a relationship, but we've been... intimate. I'd been attracted to Percy since I first saw him. I tried to make myself ignore it because he's a recruit, but I just couldn't resist. After his psychiatric evaluation, I made my move. I knew that he was emotionally vulnerable after telling me all about the personal details of his life, so I took advantage of it. I manipulated him into sleeping with me. The next day, he realized what he'd done, and told me that it could never happen again. I'd been hoping for something more. I went to his bunk to try and convince him to start a relationship, and I found him bleeding. You know the rest.
Sara felt tears sting her eyes when she was done. She didn't bat them away. They helped her performance, even though they were totally genuine.
"You expect me to believe that you would manipulate a man, a recruit no less, to sleep with you?"
"It's the truth, my lady."
Chaos seemed to consider it for a time. There was a very long silence. Sara stared at Chaos pleadingly the entire time. Finally, she spoke.
"I still don't see why I should keep him. He knew the rules, and he broke them."
"No! Please, my lady. He would never have done it under normal circumstances. It was only because I had spent so long listening to him talk about his past. He was vulnerable, and I exploited him. It wasn't his fault."
"Then give me one good reason to keep him."
Sara racked her brain. She would be damned if she let him get kicked out without a fight. But she couldn't come up with any decent argument. So, she was forced to resort to flat-out begging.
"Please. I beg of you. I'll do anything you ask, anything at all, if you keep him."
Chaos stared at her for a long moment before she spoke again.
"What if I took you out of your instructing position, and placed you back in the field, disallowing you two from ever seeing each other again?"
She swallowed hard.
"I would entirely understand, my lady."
Chaos seemed to think about it for a while.
"No. No, that doesn't really cost you anything. How about this? If I keep Percy with me, then you have to go. You will resign your position immediately, and you can never come back. If you're willing to do that, then I'll keep him here."
Sara's throat went dry. She felt more tears spring up in her eyes. She had been hoping that it wouldn't come to that, but it had. She managed to nod.
"Ok. If you keep him here, then I'll go."
Chaos stared at her for a very long moment.
"You must really care about him."
She really did. It hadn't fully occurred to her before. She'd been trying so desperately to deny it. But there was no point anymore. She really cared about him. And if that meant that she would need to leave Chaos' army, so that he could stay, then she would.
She nodded. Chaos watched her for a very long moment.
"You're really willing to leave your home, for someone that you've only known for a few days?" she asked skeptically.
Sara nodded again. It was slightly crazy, but she was totally willing to do it. He didn't deserve to be kicked out. After that very long moment, Chaos sighed and sat down in one of the chairs next to Percy's bed.
"You know I like you, Sara. I like Percy too. And I really want you two to be happy. I told Percy earlier, that if the two of you really cared about each other, then I would make a deal."
"When did you speak to Percy?" Sara asked, utterly confused.
"A few moments before you woke up. I put him back to sleep so that we could have our discussion in private."
She blinked.
"What did he say?"
Chaos snorted.
"He gave me some bullshit story about manipulating you into sleeping with him after the psych eval. He said that you felt really sorry for him afterward and he used it to his advantage."
Sara wasn't sure if she wanted to cry, laugh, scream, throw up, or do them all at the same time. She'd tried desperately to find a way to excuse him, and he had just done the exact same thing for her. She felt an overwhelming gratitude to him.
"He did?"
"Yeah, he did."
"He was willing to get himself kicked out so that I could stay?"
"More than that. You two can discuss it between you later."
Chaos reached over to him and pressed a finger against his forehead. A few moments later, Percy woke up. The very first thing he saw, was Sara's eyes. She had such beautiful eyes. But they had tears in them. He didn't know why they were there, but he didn't like it one bit. He had already forgotten that Chaos was in the room with them. He reached up and wiped a tear away from her eyes.
"Please don't cry. You shouldn't have to cry." he said dopily.
He probably wouldn't have sounded like such an idiot if he were slightly more aware. But he felt like he was just coming off general anesthesia. He felt really groggy, and his mind was cloudy. Sara didn't seem to mind though. She just smiled at him. He much preferred it when she smiled, than when she cried. She had the most stunning smile.
Chaos cleared her throat. He dropped his hand. Slowly, his conversation with her came back.
"So... Are we going to make a deal?" he asked.
"We are indeed, "Chaos said, "But first, may I just say, that your stories were just terrible. Both of you. Holy shit, I'd been expecting better."
They both blinked at her. Then they turned and blinked at each other. Then they blinked at Chaos again.
"Chaos?" Percy asked tentatively.
"Yes, Percy?"
"How long have you known about us?"
"Oh, ever since you started. The two of you gave it away the second you saw each other in that class. I put 2 and 2 together. I was willing to let it go because I thought it had been a one-time thing. Then you asked if Sara could be the one to interview you, and I knew that there was more to it. I was going to confront you two about it, and I just did."
"Un-fucking-believable!" he thought.
He glanced at Sara and saw that her thoughts were running along the same tracks as his. Chaos was just grinning at them.
"Now, time to make a deal."
Percy and Sara dragged themselves out of their thoughts.
"Ok. What exactly are you willing to do?" Sara asked.
"I'm open to negotiation."
"I think it would help negotiations if we had a ballpark of what we can ask for." Percy chimed.
Chaos seemed to consider it, before relenting.
"Ok. While I want you both to be happy, I think that Percy must focus on his training. I have a rule about cadets not having relationships, and I stand by it. What I am willing to offer, is this: I will expedite your training, Percy, to a moderate degree. You will advance through the ranks faster than you would normally. Once you are both full members of the army, I will send you on a joint mission, as a trial. If you do well and prove that you can work together efficiently, then I will make the two of you a team. You will go on missions together, meaning you can have a relationship, should you want to. Now, I am open to negotiating terms."
Percy and Sara shared a glance. Neither of them were sure if there was anything that they wanted to negotiate. Chaos' offer seemed more than reasonable, and they understood that she was already bending some of the very rules she had made. It might be a bit insulting to ask her to go further. Nevertheless, there were a few points that needed clarifying.
"When you say that you'll 'expedite' my training, "Percy said, "What exactly do you mean?"
"I thought you might be curious about that. One of my powers, allows me to create pocket dimensions. Within these pocket dimensions, I have total control over anything and everything, without it affecting the real world. I can simulate ideal training environments where I personally, will train you for a few hours every day."
He raised an eyebrow at that. The fact that she could create pocket dimensions was interesting, sure, but the part that had piqued his interest was when she told him that she would be training him herself. That was going to be interesting.
"So, does that mean that I'll be excused from my regular training?"
"Yeah, right! You'll train with me during your free time."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I don't have free time though."
"You sleep, don't you?"
His eyes widened.
"You expect me to go without sleep?"
"Well, not completely without sleep. You'll still get an hour per night."
"So, we'll only train for 2 hours per day?"
"Not quite. When we're in these pocket dimensions, I'll alter the passage of time within them. We can spend several hours in there, and only have an hour pass in the real world."
His jaw dropped. That seemed insanely powerful.
"So, wait, why don't you just do that here? Why not have all of the recruits train in pocket dimensions?"
"It's not the easiest thing to sustain. A few hours per day should be easy enough, but anything long-term would be incredibly fatiguing."
He nodded. That seemed reasonable.
"Ok. How long do you think it would take me to graduate with your expedited training?"
"It might cut the wait by a century, or so."
He blinked. That was a very long time. It meant that he would be ready in 50 years, rather than 150. And if he did especially well, it might be even sooner. He shared a glance at Sara. 50 years was still a long time. She looked hopeful. He knew that Chaos' offer was the only real option available to them. There was nothing else for them to do. They would have to go 50 years without each other. But after that, they would get to have a regular relationship. No hiding things from anyone else. No sneaking around. They could just be together.
"Ok. I accept." he said.
"So do I." Sara spoke up.
Chaos nodded at them.
"Ok... "she trailed off.
Percy and Sara were staring at each other sadly. Neither of them wanted to stop for so long, but they needed to. Chaos paused for a moment before she sighed.
"You've both got the rest of today and tomorrow off. Take some time together. Say goodbye. And after that, you need to stop until you're members."
They looked at her in shock. They hadn't been expecting the chance to say goodbye. Never mind 2 whole days. 2 days together sounded like a dream. Or at least, the calm before the storm.
"Thanks." Sara choked out.
"You're welcome."
Chaos got up and left. Percy and Sara shared a glance before she leaned in and kissed him softly. They melted into each other. The conversation with Chaos had been stressful for both of them. It felt good to relax with each other. And they even had the next two days to do so.
A/N: Full disclosure: I'm not happy with this one. There's something about it that won't let me be satisfied. It really bugs me. If anyone has any suggestions about potential fixes, please let me know. I might decide to implement some of them, and if I do then I'll edit this chapter and credit the person that gave me the idea. Anyway, thanks for reading. Stay safe, everyone.