A/N: So, I'm back. Somewhat. Here's a new chapter and I hope all of you enjoy it.
Khaylittle: Thanks. Glad you enjoyed.
Hutakata: That's a secret for now. And maybe, just maybe, he was the first Nikke.
cjboughton: It took a while, but here it is.
What are you doing?
Atop a horse, a man hums, turning to spot a girl with white hair looking at him with curiosity, her eyes on his horse as the man tilted his head.
"What are you talking about?" The green-eyed brunette asks, leaning back and sitting straight on the horse. "There weren't any more motorcycles so I got a horse."
The horse whined, surprising the girl as the man laughed, patting the horse's neck to calm her down. "Why don't you go back with your squad?"
The girl sucked in her lips before asking, "But...you're also a part of it, [Commander]."
The man barked out a laugh, "True! He'd fight tooth and nail just to [not] be the only one to be scolded because of your girl's antics."
The girl looks away, "...I don't know what you mean."
"Sure you don't." The man says as he moves the horse to calm him down. "Now go back, you haven't seen me fight yet."
"You can-?" The girl starts but is interrupted with a careening screech, a single Rapture moving to inform the rest of their pack. "Rap-!"
The wind whistles besides her as the horse galloped forward and she gaped.
For the barest of moments, she saw shapes, rectangles and circles coursing through the body of the horse as they seemed to move naturally and in a beautiful way before accumulating into the arm of the rider, coursing into the ball as it spun naturally. Once again, she had trouble believing what she saw as a spectral form clambered up the rider's back, looking at her before turning forward revealing a star on its mechanical back as it touched the ball.
The wind caused the jacket the man was wearing to flutter, revealing a [star] on his shoulder.
Face in the table, Bell tries to ignore the play-by-play right in front of him.
"What's wrong with him? He looks broken." Lynn notes, biting down on a spoonful of cereal in the house of the couple that originally took her in, the wife, [June Carter], was washing dishes as she turns with a smile.
"He must have been busy, he is a [Commander] after all, right Marian?" She asks the Nikke beside her, helping her with the dishes as she returns the woman's smile with a sheepish smile of her own.
"R-Right…" She trails off, knowing the truth that Bell was just out late with [Ozzy] in the [Outer Rim] helping him with moving large pieces using his [ability] to make things easier for the residents. She truly loves that part of him, even if it worries her to no end.
"Enough of that, wake up!"
"Argh!" Bell yells out, reeling as a new mark appears on his skin under his shirt to Marian's worry.
[Johnny Carter], the husband of the wife is an active and strong, if not old, man with a large smile. "Your clothes have arrived and you came here to show us right? Be excited a bit!"
A few days after the Ozzy debacle, Bell went to [Lucky Land] to commission a few extra sets of clothing, aside from things that match with Marian.
One of those things was a more formal set of clothing reminiscent of the original garb he wore as a [Commander]. A few modifications were made like the lack of a belt like changing the color to a navy similar to Marian's own clothes, changing the jacket to be easier to move in and more comfortable to wear, giving it white accents, adding a few pins on the collar of it and the cuffs, before completely replacing the cap with one that had a butterfly in the middle with a pair of stars on each side.
He's yet to put it on but that's mostly because the old couple wants to see him in it. Lynn too.
"What the-Christ! Go easy on me!" He groans as he tries to rub it, Marian moving to rub it to his pleasure as she ignores Johnny's and June's knowing looks. "Thanks Marian." He adds as she nods, pleased.
At first, the couple were practically reverent of Bell's presence, but quickly learned that he was a very simple man with very simple needs if the way he occasionally looks at Marian is any evidence. Similarly, they were a bit on edge around Marian but she quickly won them over since she'd come with Bell to check-in on Lynn.
Speaking of, Lynn is settling in well with the old couple and Ozzy is a frequent visitor with them along with Isaac and Marie.
In the end, they made this little group and hang out on occasion and celebrate together.
Though, one thing that's glaringly obvious to everyone is Marian's attraction and affection with Bell. Why they haven't gotten together is a miracle in their eyes.
Even Lynn is getting a bit tired of the subtle flirting between the two.
"I'm not thinking about that." He admits, leaning back as he stretches, "Just had a weird dream."
He was still confused about what he [saw], because that couldn't have been a simple dream. Not at all.
He reaches up, rubbing the green eye as his brown one closes while yawning. Maybe it has to do with that. After all, his eyes have always been only brown, but now one of them is green.
In the end, he stood up, "Well, time to try it on."
Grabbing the bag, he let the people in the room talk among each other.
While she left, Lynn turned to Marian. "Tell him."
"Huh?" She blinked, confused as Lynn rubs the space in between her brows. June just laughs into her hand.
"Honey, we know you like him." Marian's face explodes into a blush, quickly looking away as she tries to cover her face, resting her hand on her cheeks as her embarrassment only increases as Johnny laughs loudly. She's not ignorant enough to misunderstand these emotions she feels, much less how she acts around her [Commander].
"But…" She starts looking away but Johnny interrupts.
"Marian, that man is smitten with you." He says, causing Marian to yelp, her blush only increasing as he starts. "He notices when you're down."
"He also gets you gifts. Like the pin." June adds, pointing to her cuff as Marian tries to hide the silver butterfly on her cuff without much success.
"He looks at your ass and breasts every chance he gets." Lynn adds coarsely.
"Jocelyn!" June scolds, smacking the back of the girl's head as she yelps, "A lady shouldn't say such things."
"Ow! But it's the truth!" She says before leaning away when June raised her hand threateningly.
Marian, meanwhile, was practically passed out on her feet, steam practically coming out of her head and her hands on her cheeks in an attempt to cool them down while Johnny laughed.
Before she could say anything, Bell stumbles down the stairs, wearing the clothes as it fit him perfectly, the slacks tucked into the boots and his jacket unbuttoned to reveal a dress shirt with the top three buttons unbuttoned and revealing some of his chest and collar with the pistol strapped to his leg. He was already handsome but with his sense of style it only elevated as it all came together to make the image of an officer that causes women to swoon and men to stand straighter.
It would be if his face wasn't contorted in urgency. "Marian!"
Despite her embarrassment, she stands up straight, along with everyone else, the teasing gone as Bell continues. "We're being called for a mission. We need to head out, now."
"Right!" She says, turning to the others with a smile, gulping as she releases a sigh.
Their faces were contorted in worry, especially the old couple, as she smiles. "See you later."
"Stay safe." June warned, grabbing her hands gently. "I'll pray for your safe return."
"Don't die." Lynn warned Bell, the Commander smiling as he nodded.
"I'll try not to. Then," with Marian joining him, he waved, "We're off!"
With that, the pair of [Commander] and [Nikke] left, leaving Lynn and the old couple worried. Finally, June sighs, "C'mon Lynn, let's get you ready for school."
"M'kay." She nods, grabbing a backpack and following June and Johnny.
On the way there, Bell slows down, looking at the park the two usually hung out at. Possibly for the last time, [Commanders] aren't known for surviving their first mission and he's getting a bit anxious. At least they had time, he was just hurrying because he wanted to get there early.
"Bell?" Marian asks, looking at the park as well.
There was a lot he wanted to say, to do, to learn, but…
While Bell lost himself in his thoughts, Marian stared at his face, her heart beating quickly as she looked at the sparse area. With a deep breath, Marian grabs Bell's hand, knocking him out of his stupor as he turns to her, "Com-Bell. There's something I want to say." She starts, the blush in her face increasing but a single wish pushing her through the embarrassment.
Fear and greed.
"Bell, I-you don't have to answer yet, but," She stutters, her heart practically beating out of her chest as she continues, her brown eyes looking into his own with resolve. "W-would you like to enter a relationship when we return?"
Bell's mind stills, gaping as Marian's grip tightens on his. "I-It's not like it'll change much, but…" She hesitates, having trouble looking for the right word before sighing. "You make me happy, Bell, and I don't want to miss the opportunity."
For the first time, Bell is rendered speechless, to Marian's amusement and worry, his face gaining a red hue. While relationships between [Commander] and [Nikke] aren't forbidden, it was all so sudden he didn't know what to do.
All he knew was that he felt the same as Marian, she made him happy and who wouldn't love the attention of a woman as beautiful as Marian?
Slowly, Bell manages to find the words, looking into her earnest and beautiful eyes as he leans forward, surprising her as he's never been this forward. Her lips are surprisingly soft.
Leaning back, Bell manages to stutter back, "I-I'm not good with this at all, but if you're willing to deal with me and everything that comes with, then I'll give you an answer when we're back."
Marian blinks, her mouth curling into a smile as she nods. "Of course, Commander, I'll make it a memorable one." She adds with a wink and a smile, Bell's face flushing as he looks away gruffly.
"Tsundere." She adds as Bell stumbles
"Quiet, you minx." Bell grumbles as Marian smiles.
To Marian, Bell was a man of miracles.
He managed to connect to different people in his time in the [Ark]. His kindness and frankness endearing him to others and transcending simple boundaries.
Above all, Bell was the man she loved.
She rubs a butterfly on her cuff as they reach the Command Center.
Staring at the details from the tablet he's been given, Bell reads through the details once more, sitting in the aircraft with Marian beside him, the materials they were supposed to give a squad in need of back-up. Him, Marian, and the supplies in whatever he had on.
Marian was subtly leaning on him as she read with him. "Bell, here." She says, passing him a pair of earpieces as he quirks a brow. "Audiometric earpieces, they'll muffle the sound of gunfire and double as comms."
Nodding, Bell placed them in, setting them up as he spoke, "How is it?"
Marian smiled, nodding as she held his shaking hand. "I hear you, loud and clear."
"Good. Jesus this is stressing." He mutters under his breath, tapping his finger against his knee.
"You'll be fine Bell, you're one of the best Commanders I've had the honor of working with." She mutters, rubbing the back of his hand. "I have co-." She's cut out, her mouth moving but no sound coming through the comms."
"Huh?" Bell started in confusion, tapping his earpieces with a huff. "The hell?"
As he was about to summon [To Pimp a Butterfly] to fix it up, Marian laughs, her voice clear in his comms as he stares at her. He realized that he was being played and he huffed. "That was rude. I was about to use that."
Sighing, Marian smiles fondly, "Sorry, you did it so well I couldn't help it."
Bell, looked away, holding his cheek by his hand and harrumphing as Marian laughs. "Aw, don't be like that Bell."
When Bell didn't answer, she leaned forward, pushing her chest against his shoulder as she whispered into his ear. "I'll make it up when we come back." She said with a suggestive and throaty voice, Bell already imagining the look on her face when he turned. He didn't, but he shifted with a blush on his face as Marian laughed once more.
Though she also had a red hue on her face, as she tried to cool it without moving, just as excited as Bell but hiding it easier. She didn't note how he sighed, moving his arm back and around her neck, pulling her closer as he whispered, his finger tracing circles on the skin of her shoulders right by the curve of her breast as he whispered, his voice husky, "I'm sure you will."
"A-ah, yes si-mh!" Before she could finish the sentence, she coughed, looking away as she felt something awaken in her.
Everyone has their weaknesses. It seems like Bell's is pretty women and Marian's is a Bell who takes charge. The two blushed as they shifted uncomfortably, the temperature rising until they were interrupted by the clanking of machinery, the two returning to normal as Bell sighs.
"Seems like we're taking off." Marian points out, her hand still on Bell's, while the other held his tablet. Stowing it away on his person, Bell releases a deep breath.
He looks out into the [Surface], the place he was when he woke up, greenery overtaking the few buildings intact, clashing with his views of wastelands when it comes to post-apocalypse. Though, in the distance, he could see a few places that fit his mental image of a wasteland.
Then, he spotted the [Raptures], stalking the area and ignoring anything that doesn't have to do with humanity.
Before he could see more, the vehicle sped off at surprising speeds, Marian tightening her grip on him as he released a breath of air. "What's the ETA to the drop-off point?"
"Twenty minutes." Marian confirms, massaging his hand to calm him. "It might get pretty intense, so you should take a moment to rest. I'll wake you up when we get there."
Bell nods, "Alright, then I hope you don't mind." He leans on her shoulder, to her surprise, and closes his eyes, slowly relaxing as he hears Marian chuckle.
"I'll protect you, Bell. It doesn't matter if you can do it yourself, because I will do so regardless." She says, scratching his head and smiling. "Sweet dreams."
Bell was having a good time in his dreams, inappropriate thoughts running unbidden as he laughed perversely, Marian's words repeating in his dream as the anticipation was great.
Then, something clicked, his dreams disappearing like a butterfly flapping its wings and his eyes open.
His back hits a wall, or the floor considering he's looking up at the sky, and he rolls, grunting as he forces himself up, [butterflies] following him as he blinks at them. "What-?"
[TPAB] appears, running his hand through the butterflies as they begin to merge, shrapnel and other sharp things fall to the ground as Bell realizes that his [Stand] protected him from a blown-up transportation.
Speaking of…
"There goes the suppli-Where's Marian?" He quickly woke up, searching for his fellow brunette and Nikke as his head turned on a swivel. "Marian!" He yells as he materializes [TPAB] to help him look around, considering the [Stand] has better visual acuity than he does.
He pats himself down, from his first aid kit to his gun and the extra ammo and nods. "Hey," he starts into his earpiece, "anyone there?"
The sound of static rings within his earpiece as he clicks his tongue. "Useless piece of shit." He hisses as he, through the eyes of his [Stand], sees Marian. "Marian!"
"Commander!" Marian calls as she runs closer, stopping in front of me as she looks me over, "Are you okay? Injured?" She asks as she stops in front of me.
"I should be asking you that." Bell retorts with a sigh of relief as he surprises her with a hug. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too." She answers as she looks around while Bell pulls away. "The Raptures will be here any minute now."
"Let's move then." Bell says, looking around, "we're sitting ducks and I don't fancy taking our chances when we're surrounded. Not to mention I'm not sure there are any survivors."
"Agreed." She says, disengaging the safety of First Affection. "On your command."
"Then let's rendezvous with the other Squad." Bell says, looking around, "I'm no tracker, but we should be going…" He trails off as he points towards the nearby city, "That way. Cause enough damage and they'll come running...hopefully."
Bell, admittedly, doesn't have a high opinion of his compatriots.
"Alright." She says as she turns to Bell. "Stick close."
His eyes instinctively lower but they quickly go up as he coughs into a hand. "Obviously." His blush was obvious to Marian who smiled but managed to keep herself in control.
The two began to run as they went through the buildings, evading the Raptures as much as they could, which wasn't for long.
With a touch, [TPAB] uses its ability as a section of the wall becomes [butterflies] as Bell waves Marian in, "Hurry!"
Marian's gun rings out, aiming at the cores of the Raptures, the red blinking out as some of them fall but more of them pile through, completely different from the Simulations, which Bell expected but not to this extent.
Marian jumps through as the [butterflies] return to their previous position as they become solid wall as Marian and Bell continue to run, the wall breaking a second later. "This is bullshit!"
"Complain later!" Marian says as they run up a flight of stairs before both of them turn as Bell hides behind a wall and Marian crouches down, First Affection ringing out as gunshots hit the Raptures, the bullets either leaving deep grooves or hitting the core. "Now what?"
Bell looks around as an idea comes. Manifesting [TPAB], he turns a wall into [butterflies] as they move to converge in front of them. The Raptures charge through the wall as they don't find anyone, stopping as they try to find their victim only to find nothing as they move.
Meanwhile, a floor down with [butterflies] converging around the hole made, Bell sighs in relief. "There. We're safe."
"Good thinking." Marian says as she flinches, "Mmrh!"
"You're injured." Bell notes the injury on her leg as he crouches down, "Here."
White [butterflies] manifest from his skin before landing on the injury as Marian blinks, "I haven't seen you do that."
"I didn't need to." Bell admits, "it also uses my own body mass, so I can't always use it."
"Are you okay?" Marian asks, now worried about him as she continues, "That didn't use too much, right?"
"I'm fine." Bell says, pushing her back gently, "But it's probably better not to use it too much." He admits, quickly bringing her in a side hug before looking out the window. Staying down, [TPAB] manifests, placing a hand against the side and peering down the street. "Well, I don't think anyone survived the crash, we're probably the only ones here and our comms are down."
"What should we do, Commander?" Marian asks as Bell brings a hand to his chin. Bringing out his datapad, he smacks it as it doesn't show any signal.
"Whose idea was it to make these things reliant on a signal?" Bell grumbles, pressing a few buttons as it reveals a map. "So, we probably crashed here," he says, pointing out a location, "you know where we're supposed to rendezvous with the other Squad?"
"Yes." She confirms, pointing at a different location. "Here."
Bell nods, checking the distance, "We can either go the long way around or go directly, directly is out since there's probably a bunch of Raptures and circling the city would take too long…" He looks up and spots some interesting things. "Are… Are those planks?" He asks out loud as Marian looks at where he's looking at.
"Yes, they are." Marian confirms, "Not everyone managed to make their way into the Ark, and those that didn't, found homes in roofs and such."
"The small ones can be killed with small arms while the flying ones can be hidden by going inside, huh." He notes as he brings a hand to his chin. "That." He finishes, making his way to his feet as he looks at the map. "We'll stick to the buildings, keep the shooting to a minimum."
"Affirmative, Commander." Marian accepts, [TPAB] receding into his body as they make their way to the ground floor. They run through the street, Marian bounding first to the other side in record time, her gun propped up as Bell ran after her.
Once inside, Bell waits for Marian, the two making their way through the alleys and back doors as bell can't help but look around.
[Homes] Marian described them as such, but in what world would any of these constitute as a [home]? Who in their right mind would abandon their fellow man in such a situation?
Bell scoffs, aware of who'd do such a thing but shaking his head. He's got better things to think about.
Like Marian's a-. Nope. On a mission. Stay focused. Leave that for later.
Speaking of focused, Bell pauses as he leans against the wall. "Shit." He manages through deep breaths in an attempt to regain his wind. Sure, he's athletic, but god damn if it's not being much help in this case.
"Commander, are you alright?" Marian asks as Bell nods, removing his hat and using it to cool himself down. "I'm guessing you aren't."
"No, I'm fine." He confirms, tugging at his uniform and glaring at it, "Just think I might have to change my uniform at some point."
"Hmmm~." Marian hums, but she was pouting slightly, "Well, it would be bad if you were hurt because you were exhausted. Could you even afford it though?"
"Geh." Bell coughs at the memory of his current financial status, turns out, ordering tailor-made clothes is [expensive]. Who'd have thought?
Marian giggles at his reaction as she sits down beside him. "As much as I like how you look in those clothes," she admits, Bell's face flushing slightly to her amusement, "I'd rather you not pass out from heatstroke."
"Thanks." He says, reaching up and unbuttoning his jacket and sighing. "There we go." He finishes with a deep breath, a bit of mischief glinting in Marian's eyes.
"Would you like me to carry you?" Marian asks as Bell sends her a flat look, his answer in his eyes before it was in his mouth.
"No." He shuts down quickly before standing to his feet, stretching as he nods to himself. "Right, I'm good, let's make one last push."
"Right, Commander." Marian says with a smile as he helps her up and the two continue on their way, though Bell stopped for a second as he balked. "Uhhh, Commander?"
"Marian," Bell starts, almost shocked as he slowly raised a hand, pointing somewhere, "I'm not the only one seeing that, right?"
Frowning, Marian makes her way over as she pauses as she looks outside the opened door to an alley and gapes. "… Huh?"
Outside the store where there should be a wall, is instead a store front, in bold words with neon lights, the words [Candy Shop] was plastered with a door on it. There wasn't a door previously.
"Huh… 50 Cent?" Bell asks as Marian points her gun at it.
"Commander, what should we do?" Marian asks as Bell makes his way outside, and to it. "Commander?"
Bell doesn't answer as he brings up a hand and hits it against the door, a dull thump ringing out as he lowers it a second later. Then, a [voice] came from it.
"Y-Yeah? Come in, come in. Don't be shy." The voice started as Marian and Bell glanced at each other, neither particularly shy, but very suspicious about this entire thing. Slowly, they make their way in an-.
A [gun shop] unfurled beyond him, there was also candy, but the gun shop was what had Bell's attention. "Yo." The man by the cashier started, blonde and green eyed, bringing up a hand as Bell returned it.
"Uh… 'Sup?" Bell starts as the man nods.
"I know. Been a while since I've seen people too." The man confirms with a nod, "I'm [Max], this is my [Stand: Candy Shop]." Max says, spreading his arm as the shop began to rearrange itself, suddenly, the [gun shop] was replaced by a [cornerstore], foodstuff lining the aisles and similar things. Though, Bell could still see a [gun] in the back.
Before he could even try to summon [TPAB], the man stops him, "So, since you're new, I'll give you a rundown of how my [Stand] works." Max says, leaning back, "[Candy Shop] is a [Stand] that takes the form of the store you see in front of you, depending on the need of the customer. As you are new, [Candy Shop] won't take a solid form but should you find your way here again, it will change. Like any shop, you buy stuff in equal worth of what you want, unlike normal shops, we don't take cash."
For a second, Bell slowly relaxes and Marian does so as well, not to the same extent he does, but enough for her to put her gun at rest. "So… we're not gonna fight?"
"Fighting is bad for business." Was Max's answer with a shrug. "If you do start something, [Candy Shop] will eject you. Considering you're new, you probably don't have anything to [trade], that's fine." The man says, leaning on his palm. "Just come back when you do."
"Are you going to be alright?" Marian asks, Max's eyes widening before narrowing into relaxed slits.
"Me? Your worry is charming, but don't worry. No one can get in here easily." He answers, swiping his hand. "So, unless you have any other questions, please peruse at your convenience, or you can step out."
Max didn't say anything, and considering neither had anything to trade with at the moment, they made their way out and into the alley as the two look up to see the door is still there with the sign.
Marian and Bell look at each other and nod. Neither will say anything until they can figure out what in God's name just happened.
Still, they made their way through the buildings as they began to hear the vague sound of gunfire. Stopping before they could get closer, Bell stops Marian as he puts a hand on a wall, a section of it becoming [butterflies]. "C'mon, let's provide support."
Marian nods, the [butterflies] converging around the area before melding together and the wall returned to normal.
"Damn it! Why are we still here?!" A brunette complains, her yellow eyes narrowed in annoyance and a jacket over her shoulder and short-shorts, her grenade launcher releasing a thwoomp sound for each round that she spent. "You saw that crash," she adds, crouching behind cover and loading more canisters into the cylinder of her grenade launcher, "there's no way they survived that!"
Her fellow Nikke, another brunette with a beret over her long hair and grey clothes with a red inside aims her assault rifle and fires, ducking under a barrage of laser fire. "We haven't received any confirmation of death." She retorts, calmer than her compatriot but the edge of her eyes tensed.
"What?!" The other yells as she clicks her tongue, "So we're sitting ducks until we're dead? Damn it!" She yells, aiming and firing, the radius of the blast form the grenades forcing the Raptures back, some of their limbs becoming damaged as the other aims for the core.
"Moving from here will throw a wrench into the works."
"Would it though?" Bell asks, the other two turning to him in shock, "You could've holed up in one of the buildings, sure, they can crash through them, but being out in the open would just be a bad idea." He says, like there's bad weather acting up instead of laser nearly knocking his head along with his cap out of his head.
"Who-?"
"I'd suggest leaving that for later. If you're open for suggestion, I'd say for you," he points at the Nikke with a grenade launcher, "to aim at the front, you," he says, pointing at the Nikke with an assault rifle, "aim as far back as you can and go for the core."
"Wait, what happened to your Nikke?" The grenade launcher asks as Bell brought a hand to his mouth.
"Marian!" He yells, from one of the buildings beside them, gunfire sprung out, hitting the crowd as she aimed for the furthest enemies.
"Huh?" The grenade launcher grunts before taking the opportunity and firing, the other joining a second later as he kept his head down, occasionally peering back before returning. He should really ask for a drone, from what he's seen most [Nikkes] can see [Stands].
While it's viable, it's a secret he'd rather kept close to his chest.
Through the din of gunfire, slowly easing up, he glanced at Marian as he can see her firing from her position as he sighs in relief, returning as he waits for it to end.
Once it does, the two whirl to him as he waits for the inevitable questions, "Are you sure you're the Commander?"
Harsh.