Chapter 50: Connections
"Ugh," Shred groaned, being carried over into the lobby before the radio room. Moxxie had come down to help.
Shelly was holding him up, moving him over to the bed they had, "Alright, kitty kat," Carefully she laid him down with the help of Moxxie.
"Easy does it," Moxxie said, moving a pillow to support his head.
Laying across the mattress, Shred groaned: "Thanks."
"Good thing we kept this bed."
"Right? Told ya it'd be a good idea in case one of us needed a quick rest."
"Well, I'm resting," Shred said, "I'm good now, you can head back out."
"Right!" With a nod, Shelly whipped out her guns, making a slight flinch and gazing at her cuts.
Moxxie noticed it as well and offered: "Need a quick patch?"
"They're not that deep, I'll do a quick wash then have Solis get it when it's over."
"Sorry Shell," Shred said.
"Don't worry about it," She smiled, going to the sink, "Coming Mox?"
Mox shook his head, " I'm gonna keep him company."
"Alright," Relieved, she dried her hands and went out, "Be back soon!"
Shred sighed and laid back while Moxxie sat at his bedside, asking: "How ya feeling?"
The cat Exterminator answered: "Got aches and pains, I feel hot, not the good kind, I'm tired, and my head hurts."
"Want me to get you something?"
"Eh, just water."
Hopping off the chair, Moxxie took a quick trip to the fridge to get a water bottle for Shred, "Here."
"Thanks," Taking it, Shred opened it weakly and took a sip.
"Need anything else?"
Capping the now half empty bottle, he replied: "Nah, I'm good for now."
"Ok…I'm, er, sorry my shot missed."
"It's fine…How bad was it?"
"It wasn't…too bad," Moxxie explained, attempting to be delicate, "You showed those Stone Faces whose boss!" He smiled.
He paused before asking: "And afterwards?"
"Um…"
"Give it to me straight."
"...After you took them out you…started rampaging and ripping up the angels corpses, I tried to stop you before you noticed anyone inside but…" Disappointed, he gazed down, "I missed my shot…sorry."
Shred sighed, telling him: "Don't be. It's not your fault. The hole was small and it was hectic…I shouldn't have put so much pressure on you… Besides, it's my fault for being so sure I could control myself… I thought that I could handle Berserk if Ripper was armitized but…" His hand tightened around the bottle, "I went Berserk myself…and because of that…"
Sympathetically, Moxxie replied: "You stopped those two bosses and in the end, no one was hurt."
"Shelly's hand was scratched up."
"Well…majorly hurt. E-either way, everything ended up alright, didn't it?"
"Luckily," He grumbled, "Look, I know there's no point in thinking about what ifs, but I can't help but think back on it…especially with…"
"With what?"
"...The experience of it. Felt like a nightmare to be honest."
Shuffling closer, Moxxie inquired: "What do you mean?"
Tapping on the water bottle, finding his words, he answered: "When I unleashed it…there was this…raging heat boiling inside, and my head got fuzzy while everything I saw was turning red…My thoughts were fading away…replaced with an urge…urge to just…slaughter and destroy…it was scary really…the small bit of sanity I had left only able to watch it all…like a hazy dream. I was screaming when I saw you and Stolas."
"You were?"
"Yeah, yelling in my head to stop. Then Shelly came and I was just BEGGING her to stop me, to just knock me out somehow in hopes that would stop me, at least I managed to pull myself at the end there but…I'm gonna have nightmares about that for a while," He chuckled softly."
Moxxie was silent for a moment. Laying down next to him, the short Imp gave an offer. "Wanna sleep over then? I'm sure Millie won't mind."
"Eh…" He thought about it.
"Be better than waking up alone in the middle of the night, plus we still have some kebabs left."
With a smirk, Shred answered: "You had me at kebabs."
"I'll get the couch set up tonight," Moxxie smiled.
"Thanks," Drinking down the rest of his water, he loosened up and relaxed a little, his body aching still.
"Want another?"
"Nah, I think I'll rest a bit. Wake me when the Cleansing is over."
"Sure thing," Taking the empty bottle and throwing it away, Moxxie left to let the feline rest.
The Cleansing ended and Jack saved and compiled the recordings, getting up, "Alright, I'm gonna go collect."
"Be careful," Stolas warned.
"Im leaving my scythe here and we already established my Shadow Demons don't cause anything," Jack said while rolling his eyes, "Worry wart."
"Just wanting to be safe," Turning on the mic, Stolas asked: "Who else is collecting."
"Me," Shelly answered.
Solis replied: "Aht aht! Hand first!"
"I know, I know."
"Poch, mind helping?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, cmon Shiv," Poch answered.
"The Halo sucker is ready!" Blitz said with the sound of a vacuum going off.
"Oh you got it finished!" Stolas smiled in pride, looking at the camera feed on the imp. Seeing the backpack he wore with the hose equipped, his pride turned into skepticism, "Blitzy, you tested that right?"
"What do you mean?"
"That hose doesn't look big enough and the bag in the back doesn't look well fitted."
"It's fine, I measured it."
Loona was sharing the skepticism, questioning: "Dad, did you make that yourself?"
"I did."
"Oh no." She facepalmed.
With wide eyes, Stolas stated: "I thought you said you sought professional help!"
"Yeah, I looked online." Blitz said, starting it up. "I'll be fine, watch!" Not even five seconds in and it started to sputter and clunk. "Uh oh."
"I'll get the extinguisher." Millie calmly claimed as the machine lit up.
Moxxie walked in. "Shred's aw-" Pausing, he saw what was happening and decided not to ask, "Shred's awake."
Stolas faced him. "Is he ok?"
"He still has some aches and pains."
"Wouldn't be surprising," Said Octavia, "He went pretty crazy."
"In that case," Pressing the mic, Stolas said: "Once everyone's done, let's gather in the base lobby."
"Sure but mind giving us a hand Stolas?" Poch asked.
Shivarna added: "There's so many."
"Sure," Getting up, Stolas made a gate, "Be back soon," He told the girls before leaving.
"...Ok, he's gone." Octavia turned off the mic and faced Loona.
Curious, Loona asked: "What are you-?"
"I…need some assistance."
"About what?"
Nervously, she traced her words with: "About…the Bermuda Triangle event, I'd like some…help on getting something to wear."
"Oh, cause Dundy's going with you."
"Yeah, I mean," She blushed, "It's not like this is a date or anything, but I would like to look good for it, y'know?"
"I understand." Loona nodded, "So what do you got?"
"Well that's what I need some help with. I don't really have much in terms of dresses, I got like two from my mom for some formal stuff I just had to go to," She stated with a roll of her eyes, "So I was thinking that we could go somewhere to help me pick something out. I asked Erina but she's Banause when it comes to dresses."
"What?"
"Oh, sorry, bad taste."
"You're slowly turning german."
"Russian is next. Anyways, can you help me?"
"Sure. We can go tomorrow, just lemme tell Poch," Agreeing, she took out her phone to text him.
"Thanks."
After collecting
Shivarna and Dundy set the last of the bags in the room, the collection of containers taking up all of the corner and a row lined up adjacent to the wall.
"Big haul," Shivarna said.
"Agreed," Dundy replied.
The two joined up near the bed, everyone gathered around and Stolas clapped his hands together, saying: "Well then! Let us review this exhausting inconvenience!"
"Starting off, Boss galore." Jack commented.
"Who are you telling?" Shred groaned, raising to sit up.
Millie reached out, urging: "Careful."
"Im fine, Im fine."
"Still, they pulled out all the stops today." Moxxie noted, "Wonder what motivated them?"
Shelly added: "Especially with the improved bosses and trapping Poch."
"I can't use my gates when inside those barriers." Poch stated. "Still don't know what trick that is, but it didn't turn black at least."
"Keep those conspiracies at bay at least." Stolas said, "But I can't help but feel there is more to this. Did anyone notice anything strange?"
Jack shrugged. "I looked through the cameras and didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Though they mostly focus on the position of Angels and you guys, I doubt they know about that."
Echo shook his head, "Not like we really had a chance to."
"Everything was way too hectic…Not that I helped," Sighed Shred.
"You protected the base." Moxxie comforted him with a smile, "That's all that matters."
"I…Ugh you're right." Shred didn't even try to argue.
"Hm…" Octavia pondered for a moment.
Noticing this, Dundy inquired, "What is it, Ti- uh," Glancing over at Stolas, he quickly reworded, "Octavia?"
"Well…this is just a thought but…what if all of this was just some elaborate distraction."
"What do you mean?" Loona asked.
"They obviously wanted your attention so what's to say they didn't try to sneak something in?"
"What could they sneak in?" Blitz asked, "Not like angels can hide in hell, even if they were a Crusader."
Stating that made Poch think of Lara, how she infiltrated a while ago as Claire. "Maybe they can."
"Huh? Whaddya mean?"
"Remember Lara?"
Jack snapped, "Oh yeah! At your first kiss!"
"Barring that aside as that being how you remember it, she was disguised as Claire."
"That's true!"
"Did anyone talk with Claire about what happened?" Dundy inquired of Stolas.
Stolas answered: "From what she told us, she saved someone and was knocked out before the Purge ended. She did not wake up for a while and we collaborated on it to be around when Lara dropped her disguise."
"So it's possible they infiltrated that way." Octavia concluded.
"Hmm…" Poch thought back for a moment to when Lara posed as Claire. "I don't think so."
"What do you mean?"
"When I punched Lara, it cracked, and she was careful not to collide with anyone, like she didn't want something to break on her."
"Sounds like it was fragile," Moxxie surmised.
"Most likely."
Echo spoke up: "It'd be dumb for them to stick outside, but it was hectic so they could've snuck in, however if it's fragile as you say then they wouldn't risk it. It gets pretty crowded inside."
"Welp," Octavia huffed, "there goes that theory."
Dundy patted her on the back, telling: "It was a good theory, Tia."
Stolas's eye's laid on Dundy with a calm fierceness. "Who's Tia?"
"Uh…" Cursing his mistake, he answered, "H-her."
"Really?" He said with interest and daggers. "You have a nickname for her. How interesting."
"Y'know," Poch whispered to Loona, "Blitz may have almost shot me, but at least he wasn't like this."
Loona replied: "Yeah, I feel sorry for them."
"A-anyways," Blitz reigned Stolas in, "I guess we can expect the next few cleansings to be easy mode huh?"
"Unless they send Crusaders," Noted Shelly.
"They only did that once, and apparently he wasn't supposed to be there." Poch replied.
Jack leaned back, "Toket did say something about having them at the bases I think, so there's that. Lets stay on our toes and take it easy eh?"
"I'm good with that," Answered Shred. He looked over at the Halo pile, "Now…how are we gonna divvy that up?" They all looked at the pile with some dread.
"Do we atleast know how much there is?" Moxxie asked.
"No clue."
"Guess someone should count," Spoke Millie. "...Not it!"
They were shocked and quickly followed.
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
They went in a disorganized order.
"N-not i-" Jack stuttered.
"Not it!" Echo shouted right before the imp could finish.
"Shit!"
"Considering Dust, wouldn't you be the better choice?" Stolas questioned.
"...Oh yeah." Relaxing, Jack realized he was right.
Exterminator HQ.
A recruit walked into one of the barracks. It was a light gray military style with a row of single beds on each side with lockers right in the front of them with the showers/changing rooms in the back. It was a simple layout with names placed on the lockers, although some were blank. He went to the one with his name on it, Jerry, and took a seat, feeling around the bed. "Hm…comfy."
The door slid open and two more entered, one of them spotting Jerry. "Oh, hey Jerry."
"Hey. John, right?" He waved, looking at the other, "You are?"
"Scott," The new guy extended his hand, "joined around the same time you guys but got a different Instructor."
"Nice to meet you," Jerry shook his hand.
One again, the doors opened, and entered Jackson, walking down the middle, glancing at the trio and nodding: "Gentlemen."
Scott waved with a nod while John got tense and said: "E-evening."
Jackson continued down, his bunk across the room, about eight beds down from them, going into his locker. Scott faced John and questioned in a low voice: "That the guy?"
Nodding, John answered: "Yeah that's him."
"Huh…" Gazing at Jackson, softly checking him out, he surmised: "You're right, he does look tough."
Jerry rolled his eyes. "Oh please."
"What?"
"He's just a big guy. Sure he can fight but I bet he's just a coward and was nervous when he asked our instructor for a fight."
"Dude," John said in disbelief. "Didn't you see his Dog Tags? He's military!"
"So?" He shrugged.
John spoke: "So he's a soldier, meaning he's been to wars."
John continued: "He's seen some shit and all for the sake of our country. I respect him for that and I can tell just by looking at him," He took a quick glance at the military man, "that he's definitely got a code of honor. Guy like that, CAN'T be a coward."
Rolling his eyes and leaning back Jerry said, "C'mon, for all we know he probably just sits back and lets others do the work, just calling out orders over the radio or some shit. I'm just saying he looks like a…." He noticed the two looking behind with pale expressions. "What?" Looking over, his eyes went wide.
Jackson had removed his shirt, revealing that the front and back of his torso were covered in scars. Some looked like shrapnel scars and some appeared like gunshot wounds. He took off dog tags and turned to his left to hang it on his locker door, revealing to the recruits some tattoos on his left arm, the one on his upper arm, being a black skull. On his forearm there was an inscription written as: Mors Sequitur. He then turned back to his right and grabbed his shirt from the bed. There was a tattoo on his right forearm, a year, in roman numerals, MMXVII, the year 2018.
"Holy shit." John said. Scott was left speechless while Jerry swallowed a lump, realizing he made a mistake. After hanging up his tags and grabbing a new shirt, he turned towards the three and approached them. The showers were behind but he went to them first, making Jerry shake.
The man knelt down right infront of Jerry. Jerry was shorter than average while Jackson was close to seven feet, easily towering him. He braced, expecting to get punched hard and sent flying with some broken bones. However…
"Relax," Jackson spoke calmly, "I'm not gonna hurt you. I will say though, I don't appreciate you calling me a coward. I served my country valiantly, so kindly," He narrowed his eyes on Jerry, "Show. Some. Respect."
Jerry hurriedly nodded his head. "Yes sir! Sorry sir!"
Smirking, he rose up and looked at the other two. "I appreciated you two not joining in."
"Y-yeah of course! Would never bash a military man!" John stated.
"Hm," He chortled, "John right?"
"Yes sir!" He stood straight.
"Relax. What you said about a code of honor? I'm a Marine, and that's something we have engraved in us. We protect."
"Of course sir!" John smiled.
Scott spoke up, asking: "If you don't mind, I was wondering about those tattoos and what they mean."
Glancing down, he took a moment before responding. "This one," Jackson tapped the Skull, "symbolizes that I don't fear death. The one on my forearm," He pointed to it, "translates to "Death follows", together, it means I don't fear Death even if it follows me."
"Wow." He was genuinely in awe of what he stated. "What about the Roman Numerals?"
Looking at the numbers, his face scrunched a little. "That's personal," He shook his head, "Not something I'm ready to share."
"Ah. I understand."
"We won't pry," Said John. "Right Jerry?"
"Y-yeah." Jerry said.
"Thank you." Jackson smirked and crossed his arms. "The only way we're gonna get through this, training and all, is by working as a team, which won't happen if we keep questioning each other. With that said, we should hit the rack, we gotta be up at 0500 hours." He got an affirmative nod from them and turned back for the showers.
Jerry sighed in relief.
"Learned your lesson?" Scott chastised.
"Yep…"
"Hm…" John kept his gaze towards Jackson's direction.
Noticing this, Scott asked, "What's up?"
"He was across the room and we were kinda whispering…how'd he hear us?"
"Uh…Military experience?"
"Maybe."
In the showers, Jackson stood under the head, letting the hot water run down his body. He was in his thoughts, his fist tightened and he took a hard exhale, thinking: 'Get a grip…you got bad intel so it wasn't your fault…you made the right calls, Jackson.' Lowering his head, he stood in solidarity in the stall, before taking the soap.
Tom removed a container from the microwave, sitting at one of the round tables in the room, opening the box which contained white rice, and grilled teriyaki chicken. He was alone in the room, which looked to be a break room of sorts, but not a small one. As he ate, he rubbed his side, grunting.
"Ribs ok?" Asked someone coming in.
"Oh!" Glancing over, Tom saw who it was. "Hey Rex. Ribs are aching and I'm sure at least one is broken, but I wrapped it up at least."
"Heh." Rex sat himself across Tom. "Tough fight, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, Jackson's a tough guy for sure, but that's a military guy for ya."
"You held your own pretty well though."
Tom let out a laugh. "Helps that I had some tough brothers growing up."
"You mean…Poch and Celis?"
"Yep! You've seen how well those two fight so you can tell I ain't no slouch either."
"Definitely…what…was it like growing up with them?"
"Hm?" Taking a bite of his chicken, he chewed while thinking. "It was…never boring." He smiled. "They always kept me on my toes and my uncle always had his line ready just in case we got too rowdy. Celis was always a big brother for us, especially Poch, we always felt like we could turn to him when we were down or something."
"Sounds nice." Rex nodded with a smile.
"It was…broke me up when I learned he died," Saying that, he picked at his rice, "even more so when I learned what really happened, especially after losing contact with the only brother I had left."
"...I'm sorry."
"It's fine," He shook his head, returning his smile, "I'm back to talking with him and honestly I feel…better now, knowing the truth. Feels like a weight has been taken off."
"That's good. I'm glad."
"Thanks, also thanks for helping him out in Hell."
"Least I can do."
"Why do you say that?"
"Uh, no reason. Just uh…nothing."
"Hm?" Tom looked at Rex with odd curiosity.
"A-anyway, back to Jackson. I was curious, when you fought him did you notice anything different?"
"Anything different?...well it was pretty hectic so I was more trying not to get my ass kicked to notice anything. Why?"
"I'm curious about something. When I first met him, it was during a purge. I saved him from a brute but another came and it seemed like he knew where it was coming from right before it came crashing in. I was able to hear it because of my ears but he just…knew."
"Military experience?" Tom shrugged.
Shaking his head, Rex stated: "I don't think so. We have a few military men in the corps but before they've transformed they've never shown such reactions."
"What are you saying?"
"...Keep a close eye on him. If you notice anything strange, let me know."
"Uh, sure." He was unsure about this request.
Raising from the chair, Rex nodded to him, "Good talk, I'd like to chat again soon if you don't mind."
"Course." Tom was still nervous but smiled nonetheless.
Back in Hell.
Wally Wackford was in his office, looking over the large blueprint that laid there with heavy interest. "I must say my dear," He gave a wide grin, "this is impressive!"
"Thank you." The lady said calmly, sitting right in front of him.
"And in return for this and the second half you just want some information?"
"The information that is required is not easy to come across."
"What are you looking for?"
"Thou knowest the Exterminators?"
"Uh…thou haven't not fully interacted with them, but mine company did help with that base of theirs in the Wrath Ring."
"What of this…Harvest Moon?"
"Yeah, I hosted that. What of it?"
"Thou hast heard there was an incident, regarding one of the Exterminators."
"Oh yeah," He cringed, "That. One of them got shot by a blessed rifle. Poor guy nearly died."
"So thy heard. Although when thou asked for information on who did and where they can be found,"
With a further scrunch, Wacky backed up. "You wanna know who did it? And where to find them!?"
"Yes."
"Look miss, I may not know ya, but you seem like an ambitious lady, so I'll tell you for your own sake. Don't look further into this. You'll live longer."
"Thoust is more noble than thine looks."
"I'm just saying this for your own s-"
"It's noble but," She opened her hands, revealing her dark red curved claws, with a silver outline. In a flash, she cleaved the desk in half in an upwards slash, frightening Wacky, his tie caught on the tip of her fingers, picked up and pinned against the wall. "Thou needs none of thine concern." She softly glared with her green eyes, the scarlet flames on her head flickering.
"U-uhhh." Wacky was too scared to say anything, falling when she loosened her hand. She knelt before him, reaching out, making him flinch. When he felt his collar shuffle softly, he looked down to see her fix his tie and shirt.
"Just wanted to show thou the point," She spoke calmly, without even a hint of malice. "Now…will thy kindly give what thoust asks?"
"Um…s-sure." He fearfully smiled.
"Thank you."
End
Next chapter: Trouble saying sorry.