13 - Heartfelt
- With a Shotgun Blast
Forehead against forehead. Their eyes staring longingly at each other but somehow unable to believe this is real. His finger on her chin, her hand on the back of his head. All seems to confirm this is not a dream but reality. As impossible as it might look like, it is not. They feel each other's touch, can smell their unique individual scents and there is just a connection between them. Like a form of limited telepathy. Being together feels right. Especially after not having seen each other for that long.
Their moment gets interrupted when Patches puts the lock on the door. Both of them now look in her direction and when she realizes what she might have just ruined, she takes a slightly embarrassed step back. She tried to do it as quietly as possible.
But Trevor is not mad and neither is his girlfriend. Even if that girlfriend is quite curious why a female rabbit dressed like a cop, without a badge but with a military rank patch instead, came with him through that door. Trevor looks mildly puzzled at this but then realizes his ineptitude.
"Ach bug me, sorry. Forgot. Cal, meet the person who kept me safe on those streets outside; Militia Private First Class Ashley Hare. Ashley, in turn; this is my girlfriend I told you about. Her name is Calamity."
Patches looks up at this, at least for her, giant of a woman. Not exactly on Herg's level but definitely in the ballpark. Trevor comes up to her chin with the tip of his head. She is definitely a canine but what species she cannot tell. There really are too many dog species on Corneria to know all of them. Especially with those with a chocolate or almost leather brown fur color. At least her belly is white. And her tail is properly big and bushy. It almost looks like one orange and one brown tail held together by two bonds made from the same material as her undergarments.
As for more distinct features, she has natural, medium-long black hair with light blue eyes and a more stand-out maroon red nose. Like she was stung by a wasp a few days ago. Her left ear has a golden dragon earring that coils along the helix, like an industrial piercing but more fluid in its portrayed motion.
Her choice of clothing is unique; as in there is not a lot on display. A moss green, sleeveless and crop top green survivalist jacket complimented with a dark brown, more modern day interpretation of a loincloth that reaches halfway of the shin. She has one white glove on her left hand, fingerless much like Trevor's but made from a synthetic material. No pants or shoes. Only a black tattoo of a "T" with two swords dangling down either side of the flat part on her right foot. Her left leg has three silver rings around the lower part, with the lowest one having a connection chain to a toe ring around the third toe from the right. One detail she really likes are the nails painted in a shining silver. Both on the fingers and on the toes.
All and all, Patches can see where Trevor came from when he said that she was more of a survival person. But so far she has not seen any fiery behavior from her like he told her. Why was he so anxious? Just general nervousness or is there something this Calamity woman has not shown yet? Her name does not spell much good. But she takes it as presented and expects the best out of it.
"I also go by Patches these days." the rabbit suggests kindly as she reaches her hand out to her partner's partner.
And luckily for the small bit that was nagging in the back of Trevor's head, Calamity is not acting jealous about him hanging around with another woman, let alone someone he clearly spent quite a lot of time with. It seemingly takes a moment for the image of the rabbit to stand before her to register, but when it does she is not unkind. In fact, she is very cordial, shaking Patches' hand but in reality she just wants to give her a hug. Patches does not object and there it goes already. Given that Calamity is even taller than her boyfriend, Patches is really being lifted off the ground for a moment before being put down after the canine realizes this height difference.
"Oh so sorry! I get a little excited sometimes. Especially when someone brings my lazy-bones home."
Trevor's ears droop and looks at her with embitterment. If the sentence "why did you have to say that!?" had an expression, this would be the embodiment of it. Patches does her best not to add insult to injury and Calamity can only giggle at this. Quickly she gives him a make up pecker on the nose before inviting the both to sit down at the table and rest their feet. To have something to eat but moreover, tell what has been going on.
That is something that cheers the both of them up and they eagerly take a seat. Patches put the Aparoid core on the table like it is something normal but that is something Calamity cannot accept. And like a fussy mother, tells that unknown alien tech is better off on the floor. No sooner said than done and three cork coasters are placed on the table with the grace of an experienced stay-at-home wife. Along with two deep plates and a small pan with steam pouring from underneath the lid. A warning about the temperature is given before the lid is removed and reveals a thick tomato soup filled to the brim with meatballs, vermicelli and various vegetables. The warm, full smell envelops their nostrils instantly.
Trevor's eyes open up wide and really has to hold himself back from drooling. This is only getting more difficult when a big ladle-full is poured into Patches' plate. Because when Calamity is cooking, it is guests first. Very hospitable but not exactly what he is looking for now. His patience is rewarded however and his plate is soon filled with actual food. Something he has been considering as nothing but a myth, a mere legend for the last month or so. And yet here it is.
Once the ladle is put back into the pan, does Calamity declare it time to eat. With an appropriate "Attack!", the starting signal is given. Spoons are grabbed and after making sure to blow first, does the fresh soup drench the eager taste buds in a natural, full flavor. Trevor is instantly in comfort meal heaven and Patches is joining in with him.
"Wow! This– this is incredible!" she proclaims before looking at the cook, who seems to positively fluff up from hearing this.
"Oh you're just being kind there! But I appreciate it nonetheless." she replies humbly and trying not to blush too much.
Then she sits down next to Patches' left and opposite of Trevor. Careful to not get her tail in the way and swiftly more busy with looking longingly at her man gluttonously scarfing down the soup she made. Even if it was not meant for him in the first place, she still made it as if it was meant for him.
And now he is here. She does not have to imagine him sitting ahead of her anymore. No one to do footsies with. For three or so months, that was her daily nightmare. Getting more grueling in the last few days, with those filthy bugs invading. Every day, seeing that empty chair and never knowing if he would come back. But now he is here. The nightmare is over.
Once Trevor is several spoonfuls further, he looks up at her. She is pretty sure his eyes are sparkling. Either that, or she just really missed those dim, light blue eyes of his. Then he notices that she does not have a plate herself and offers to get one for her.
"No no. Please remain seated hun. I'm good. I wasn't making the soup to eat now, but for later. The vegetables were almost brown so if I didn't make it now, I'd surely forget it and then they would be expired and sour." she explains.
"Clever. Good lord… I really needed this Cal. Even if you didn't mean to, thank you so much. MRE's will never compare this."
"It's your recipe after all. Besides, those MRE's are not that bad are they? I had a few before."
"They are so salty though." Patches chimes in.
"And this is the perfect antidote. So from me as well: thank you for this."
All these warm compliments along with the conviviality of her guest and the return of her boyfriend, make her feel so loved after so long feeling cold and alone. She wants nothing more than to give both of them a hug. And sneakingly also wants to kick the bunny out for just 15 minutes. Just a small quarter of an hour to have Trevor for herself… in the bedroom.
But naughty thoughts can come later. Right now, they came here with some intention after they were wreaking havoc on the streets down below. She wants to know why, when and how? The whole story and nothing but the whole story.
Trevor wipes his lips and the tips of his mustache hairs clean, looks over at Patches and both start from the beginning. With Trevor starting first. He starts off by telling her what happened after their phone call got cut off. The Aparoids were invaded at that moment and their presence messed up all communications.
Before Trevor continues, Calamity stops him right away. To apologize for her tone during that phone call. She was so stressed and feeling alone, that hearing that it would be another month before she would be able to see him again broke her. Resulting in an outburst of anger. Trevor accepts her apology instantly. He hated hearing her go off on him like that but he understands why. He extends his hand to her, which she grabs in a heartbeat. All is good when it comes to that situation between them. Patches finds it endearing, having a soft spot for this type of making up.
Trevor then continues the story. Of how he was very quickly sent over to Corneria with an inexperienced skeleton squad. And no, this did not include any of his old MacBeth mates. The squad did not last long and he was on his own. Calamity is glad she is still holding his hand, because she can feel his tense up as the indignation and sadness is visible on his face when he thinks back to it.
In light of keeping the story short and overall pleasant, given how there will be more low points, he skips over most of the nasty parts and instead moves on to him meeting Kip. The kangaroo lady who had his back throughout the first half of his adventure. Knowing Calamity's response would be to look over at Patches, the partner he actually brought along as if to say "then who is this?", clarifies that she will be featured in the story later.
With Kip, he had a fantastic time. Christening her as his "partner on the battlefield" and having her semi-made into Militia. Despite her being a mercenary, she will therefore be tolerated by official Cornerian Army soldiers should any still be around. And it turns out, there were. Quite a lot too. Under the lead of the Captain and his right-hand man the Sergeant-Major, they were folded in together and joined them for a crusade heading south to initiate a counter-attack.
Things did not go to plan exactly, as they had a few hiccups. One of them was that their jeep fell through the floor and they ended up in the metro. And the second was him getting separated from Kip after an premature demolition incident which may have also knocked his radio out of alignment. And then he was alone for a while.
"But that is where Patches came into the picture. We didn't have the smoothest of starts but you can't win 'em all. You wanna tell the rest?"
Now it is her turn to wipe her lips after taking in a spoon more filled with meatballs than soup. She tells of the first impression Trevor gave her. The gruff, relatively unkempt look, those tattoos and in particular the piece of heavy "artillery" he called a sniper rifle. However, after she was forcefully paired up with him and unceremoniously dropped into the basement to sort out some power sapping bugs, she got to know him much better.
Calamity shows her sassy side by commenting that it took her some time to get used to him too. Trevor rolls his eyes and asks Patches to continue before the two ladies start to gossip about him and making him all flustered. And for the sake of his comfort, she does. Although she plans to share more with Calamity in private.
Then she reveals how she was treated. First violently by her superior and her "partner" and then properly by Trevor. Calamity is shocked by this and much like Trevor did, instantly goes into doctor mode. If a tad more aggressively. Although not a medical profession by any means, she is a caring person nonetheless. Patches has to politely decline however, as Trevor did one hell of a job in cleaning up her face and healing wounds.
Somewhat satisfied with that answer, Calamity takes her seat again and hears of the other adventures that happened during their stay in "Metro Society". From the moment she was christened to be Trevor's "+1" and emerging back from that basement, the first seeds of resistance were sown. She of course quit the police force and officially became Militia. Then recruiting more people to their side, forcing a compromise before taking over completely after holding off against impossible odds. After one last attempt at a counter coupe was foiled at the conclusion of the final battle, Metro Society was disbanded. Her former superior was arrested and the civilians were brought to safety.
"Wow! That is… one incredible story. So many bugs? And you held them all off and lived?! With the exception of that Felix fellow. You must have received some kind of medal for that." Calamity enthusiastically proclaims.
Trevor has to scratch behind his ear for that, explaining that they got a reward in some way. They are known as Nova 7, he and Patches. At least, they were. Both of them now hang their heads. She can see Patches aimlessly stir the spoon in the soup and she can feel Trevor tense up again.
"So, what happened then?"
Nova 7 look at each other but also immediately avert eye contact. An exposed nerve has been struck. Calamity however is having none of this melancholy if she can help it. She puts a support hand on Patches' left shoulder and tightens her grip on Trevor's hand.
"I'm not judging. What happened?"
Trevor takes a small sip of soup before he tells her about the decisions that led to their presence here. The evacuation, the arrival at the base and hearing that awful news. Vapor unit. By immediate order of the Captain himself. So that they could be sent in like pawns into this Infection Zone to find an Aparoid Core that will be a major asset in the cleansing of Corneria City. The Captain and the Board seemingly wanted complete deniability in case they would die. Their identities removed, sent into this zone almost naked. As nothing more than Mr Bones and Ms Patches.
"If not for Herg. What a gentleman." Patches adds a little dreamy, as thinking about that big bird improves her mood quite a bit.
"Herg?"
"The Sergeant-Major." Trevor explains.
"He went out of his way to ignore the Captain's orders to save our identities and return at least one item that we held dear back to us. For me it was the radio, love that massive bronze antique bookcase. For Patch, it was a picture of her mother she held in her wallet. Now in the locket she is wearing around her neck. Found it while we were in the remnants of the jewelry store closeby."
Calamity now understands why asking what happened touched a sore spot. It was forced upon them. But there was also tension between the two, as Patches explains. Trevor was worried sick about Calamity, his future and she was having second thoughts about her joining up with him. All because of what the Captain ordered.
"However, we did talk it out. Made some very clear rules and commitments to each other. And it has brought us not only the core but also to you." Trevor smiles as he squeezes her hand.
"I never saw you as a secondary objective. I was always gonna reach you, irregardless of that damn core. The paths just happened to cross and now I have both."
"So that was all the racket outside. You two?" she double-checks.
"Just the two of us." Patches states proudly.
"Burning down jammers and taking Aparoid cores from a massive hybrid mutant… thing."
It sounded a lot better in her head but there it is anyway.
"And when does this offensive start?" Calamity asks as she takes a quick gander at the device.
"8:00 tomorrow. Speaking of that, we have to contact Nelson to tell him that we got it!" Trevor suddenly remembers as he gets up from his chair.
However Calamity is quick to respond and usher him back down. To relax, to enjoy the company and the soup. It is a little over 22:00, they have about ten more hours before they have to return. Plus, she has acquired a vehicle in the meantime. Although she does not know how to drive very well herself, she did manage to put it in the underground garage. Relatively undamaged but with a full tank of gas. So there is no need for hurrying. They can relax here.
Both realize that she is serious about this and come around to it. It can wait indeed. Meanwhile, their soup is still warm and is just begging to be consumed. And its siren call cannot be denied. Soon, they are back to slurping it up. And Calamity just glows as she sees them enjoy it so much.
The mood is slightly ruined when there is a knock on the door. Followed up by scratching against it. Calamity gestures to Nova 7 to remain seated while she goes to handle this. She gets up for her chair, lightly piqued and approaches the fridge. She opens the freezer section and from it, she takes out a shotgun. Leaving a nice packet of plastic explosives, whose purpose is so far unknown, in the freezer.
In complete amazement, Trevor looks at this happening. From the freezer? Where are the compartments? Why is there a shotgun in the freezer? And why did she just take it like it was the most normal thing in the world?! So many questions go through his head and even more question marks appear above it. Meanwhile, Calamity walks over to the door with a slightly unnerving calm pace. She stops before the door, asks rhetorically who is behind the door before she shows Patches why Trevor was afraid of being decapitated by her kick. The door is brutally kicked open in the opposite direction it opened in before, launching the scratching Aparoid back against the wall. It does not even get an opportunity to understand what just happened before it is forced to eat buckshot, splattering its inside against the wall that was already coated in Aparoid guts. She meticulously pumps the shotgun and the smoking, spent cartridge hits the floor. Then, as if nothing of much importance happened, she "closes" the door and puts the manual locks on as the latch is probably no longer going to fit after she kicked the door frame out of shape.
She turns around and sighs about having to deal with those "cockroaches" again. However, another disturbing plague turned into paste and her mind is at ease again. She opens the disabled freezer door and staches the shotgun back in. While doing this, she casually mentions that she never was a fan of those door-to-door preachers anyway.
"Always disturbing you whenever you really don't need them." she adds as she takes her seat again.
Patches' mouth is only then closed and Trevor is feeling a mixture of confusion and a strange sense of arousal. Because that was both very unexpected and at the same time so badass. His girlfriend. The person who was so allergic to weapons she practically sneezed when gunpowder was in her general area, did just kick an Aparoid against the wall and then executed it. With grace and ease. This was not the first time she had done this, explaining the mess on the floor before the door.
"Did you just…?" Trevor stumbles over his own words.
"I think she just did." Patches adds.
"Oh that? Pffft! That was nothing. You should've seen the surge I held back yesterday. Six of those things in the span of like ten minutes. That was such a rush! But… I know why you two are looking at me like that."
She starts explaining that her aversion to guns had to take a backseat when those Aparoids literally landed in front of her home. She was outside at that moment, returning from the store with those vegetables they are currently eating in the soup. It was a split-second decision; she found the shotgun near a recently killed police officer and there was an Aparoid coming her way. What else was she supposed to do? Luckily it was already pumped before so she could pull the trigger and blow the thing to kingdom come. The recoil knocked her to the ground but she was safe for that moment.
"I had no idea how to operate one of those things." she chuckles awkwardly.
"I tried pulling the trigger again but nothing came out. So I ran back inside and hoped the Aparoids didn't see me. Luckily they didn't. I locked myself in. Then, I started watching action movies and the like. The Net was down almost immediately but Trevor never liked streaming anyway, so he had some stuff already downloaded on the computer. Which included games and movies featuring this shotgun."
Trevor is very impressed with her resourcefulness and so is Patches. It reminds her of how she had to rearm herself as well against the ever increasing Aparoid threat.
"Then the freezer broke because of a short-circuiting but the rest stayed intact." Calamity continues.
"Luckily. Then the emergency power kicked in. Still broken, the freezer made for a perfect place to store the shotgun. I didn't want a weapon like that visible for everyone to see. Still not 100% comfortable with them but they are not as bad as I first thought. During some supply runs I also found those explosives. Probably meant for demolition. So I took them. Could be useful. And now we're here."
"Yes we are. And I'm not going to leave you behind again." Trevor vows.
"And I will teach you the intricacies of handling that shotgun when this is all over."
Calamity smiles warmly.
"Thank you. Both of you. Now, eat your soup before it gets too cold. Then you two can call your superiors and report that you got your core-thingy. I'm sure they would be happy to hear that."
- New Entry
"Part 36872 has been unsuccessful. Assimilation has encountered unexpected drawbacks. The host has proven more resilient, even when fully suppressed. Something of the host lingers in its subconsciousness. A voice. It foolishly attempts to replicate our persuasion techniques. It has unfortunately had an effect; we were defeated when the name of the host was uttered…"
Martin. His name is…
SILENCE!
"This voice continues to cause issues. Therefore, unable to continue with the directive given. We will adjust. … We obey!"
You will never get rid of me…
BEGONE!
This disembodied voice is starting to work in their nerves. Something they sadly inherited from their host. No matter how they try to suppress it, it keeps evading. If they try to ignore it, it gets only louder. But they try to silence it, it only pretends to be silenced before coming back in full force. Always calling out for… Martin.
That name is venom. Vile bile. A sign of weakness. It made them lose their advantage at the square. When the core they were tasked with safekeeping was taken from them by that torching bunny, they had her concerned and dead to rights. But she had to mention that disgusting name! It caused something to connect to the deep emotional trauma kept under tight wraps.
The way the brains of these Cornerians or Lylatians work is intricate but also very annoying to deal with. The more they know about it, the harder it becomes to understand. So many unneeded feelings, desires and evolutionary dead-ends. A potentially very potent race held back by old instincts it has only started to very slowly shed.
They bring enlightenment and purpose but these creatures still resist! All because of those drawbacks they want to hold on to.
Why wonder when you can go along?
This time it has no retort. What the voice says is different this time. It is not contradicting them. Instead offer cooperation?
You admitted to it yourself; they hold on to so many desires and feelings. Why capitalize on those?
"Continue."
I will never leave you. You took him away from him. His grief created me. A manifestation of his lover. The one that was killed by your kind.
"That creature could only cower! It never fired the weapon that would have saved his miserable life. And I buried the other! He was weak and unwanted!"
Clearly you were mistaken. You forced him to relive so many awful memories but you hid all of the loveliest memories. From childhood to the life he lived with his partner. You can block those all you want. If dug deep enough, either triggered by a word, sight or feeling, it will always surface.
"How do we know you are not fooling us?"
You witnessed it for yourself. Your inability to kill that bunny. To take back what she stole from you. You heard the name mentioned. You saw the tag. Right away it stopped you. A disconnect ensued and you lost control. You could only crawl back into the sewer where no hurt could come to you. Hiding away. Ugly and alone. Like you made him feel.
"There is no concept of beauty with Aparoids! We are one and appearance is irrelevant."
That is obvious. However, you admitted to the difficulty with the transformation process.
"His resistance proved…"
His resistance continues, you mean…
SILENCE!
No, I will not be silenced. I will never be. Not until you gave him back to me.
Did they hear that right? That sounded like a veiled offer. An exchange. Martin would come back and the voice leaves? That would be very beneficial. Martin is easy to suppress and will keep its mouth shut with the right amount of oppression. Or could be deceived into actively helping the Aparoid cause.
"You are suggesting something. An exchange?"
It would be a win-win for you. You'll be rid of me and I know for sure that Martin will be back. Which is all that his partner would've wanted.
"How would we be sure that you will be really gone?"
If he returns, I as a manifestation of his will no longer be necessary. I will only leave if he returns. And vice versa.
"So it will be either you or Martin?"
Correct.
The Aparoid presence does not need to think very long on this. All it decides, all that it thinks is connected to the greater hivemind. And this plan does not have any downsides.
"We agree. Martin will return."
I'm glad to hear this. Martin, if you can hear this… he loved you so much. Please be safe.
The voice slowly fades away as the screaming, the torment and the pressure he was subjected to begins to become more audible. But the more audible it becomes to the Aparoid, the less it is forcing Martin back into that state of pure anguish and terror. For the first time in what has felt like an eternity, he can open his eyes. It is still nothing but darkness and his ears are ringing, but at least the torture is fading.
The voice he heard, breaking through the wall of audio agony like a rock thrown through a glass pane, why does it sound so familiar? And where is he even? He does not recognize this place. It is wet and smells rather foul. This is definitely not the place he was in before.
"Welcome back."
It is that voice again! The well-spoken, smooth one who tricked him! What it said it would do, it did not deliver. It presented him with a haven and dumped him in a hell instead. Why did this deceiver pull him back? Why not let him rot like he did?
"If you must know, we regret it. Yes, we do. We have learned so much from peeling into your brain. Feelings, loyalty, commitment… love. All things we had but only the concept of. We do not claim to know it like you do. But we know it can be powerful. Especially… when your partner taught me."
Partner? What is this voice talking about? Then it hits him. Memories, flashes of those lovely moments. Together on the park bench. Holding his hand. Telling him that everything will be alright, as long as they are together. Nothing could separate them nor beat them.
"We saw how powerful it made you feel. We want to harness this power but we do not understand it. Hence, why I brought you back."
Only for that? To use him as a tool to give that monster even more power? No, he has heard enough of those lies. He will have to package it a lot better before he will believe anything this voice tells him.
"We may not know how it works exactly, but we know something you can understand. Your partner is alive."
Hearing that shocks him. For the first time in a long time, he could feel something other than emptiness. Like his own heart beating once the endless void of darkness and numbness. A red colored, momentary smudge visible for just a moment on a vantablack background.
"See? We do not understand why this causes your temperature to rise, your blood to pump faster or your brain to release so many different hormones that strengthen your happiness and resolve. But how powerful it must feel. WE must harness it! And to have it… we must have you reunited with your partner."
That sounded like genuine discomfort but desperation at the same time. This voice has realized that it cannot go on without some kind of cooperation. And it will leave him after finding his partner? But how would he know where that partner is?
"We sense your doubt. We are connected to the hivemind. We can see everything our other selves see. We have seen your partner. We had an encounter with it."
The white membrane encloses around his eyes again and it starts playing a memory. Presented like a video. He can see him. Herny, a brown canine. His partner. Now on the floor and sitting against a cupboard. His expression is nothing but pure terror. A face stained with tears and an expression with small hints of desperation that the gun he is holding in his hands and so close to his chest that the hammer almost stabs through it. The perspective changes as what is assumed to be the Aparoid creature is either growing or just standing up. Looking down at the terrified partner, ready to strike at any moment.
Then a flash erupts from where the barrel of the gun is and it strikes the Aparoid. Followed by a desperate scream from the partner and another shot rings out. And another. And another. Until the whole magazine is empty. The senseless clicking of an empty pistol is heard before the perspective falls down to the ground. The partner was not killed and as the vision fades into darkness, a silhouette can be seen running away.
The white membrane disappears again and he can see the familiar darkness again. He is alive? Still? When was this video taken? And how will he even know if this really happened?
"We understand. What if we told you that we know where he is? Remember that square where we were ambushed? In the building to the north of that. In its basement. There your partner is. All I ask is that you cooperate with us. Let us do the talking. And try to keep yourself under wraps as much as possible. We know it is difficult when your name is called. But try to keep yourself hidden. And try to trust us."