"I'm sorry. I should've been there."
"It wouldn't have mattered."
"Maybe it would've made a difference, we don't know."
"I do know. Trust me. It would've been pointless."
"Still. I'm sorry. We should have suppor-"
"Don't. Just don't. I'm pissed right now. You're not helping."
"Ok."
Nuke was wholly and utterly dissociated. And drunk. Alcohol set with her as horribly as her recent defeat did. And the aftermath of both will be equally as bad in the morning.
The bar was handsomely filled, as usual. Unsurprising, for it is an infinite source of liquor capable of, deceivingly, mending anguish and desolation, which soldiers are an infinite source of.
Occupying a table in the corner of the room, three female soldiers were grotesquely trying to get some respite in the only way they knew how: bleat and beverage. After the burning lick of Nuke's beverage traversed her throat, she let out a gruesome, guilty groan.
"Fuck. I'm sorry Savvy."
"No you're ok."
"You were right. The whole time. And I hate that you were. You're always goddamn right."
"No, that's not true, I-."
"Oh, come on."
"No. I'm mostly wrong. Always. I never seem to make the right decisions. And yet, that's what they want me to do. Make the decisions. For everybody. Their lives I-…"
"And we're glad it's you."
"Rouge…"
Her friend's supportive remark raised her spirit, breaking a faint smile. Rouge complemented.
"What? It's true. You think it would be better to have Spike as our leader? Or fucking Jab?"
"That.."
"That would be comically disastrous."
"A nightmare."
"Yep"
"I'm sure you're doing a better job than our Kage, at least."
"What do you mean?"
Nuke nervously tapped her glass repeatedly on the dirty wood.
"I mean. I don't hold it against him, but. He's not the best at seeing the big picture. He gets caught up in his head and we get fucked up for it."
"Right. And I'm sure you and your team of degenerates are not giving him any trouble whatsoever."
"Rouge you… You're lucky I'm too drunk for this."
"What? Am I wrong?"
"I will neither confirm nor deny this outrageous claim."
"Hmm hm."
A few chuckles were exchanged before the group grew silent, neighbouring conversation keeping them away from absolute void. The mind cannot wander freely when it is preoccupied. Silence, however, frees the mind.
It let it loose. Let it spiral into limitless figuration. Imagination. And however crude reality might be, imagination always is more macabre. They cannot deal with that at the moment. At least, with how intoxicated Nuke is, she sure cannot.
"So that's it then."
"Hm?"
"There's no way out of this. This whole shit show."
"Hm."
"I've got to put up with this old piece of shit and go get the crap beat out of me in these fucking humid and muddy caves?"
"For now, I guess."
"I don't understand why. Why am I supposed to do that? I could just leave."
"Yeah, and end up like all the other deserters."
"I'm gonna get killed anyway. By who doesn't matter at this point now, does it?"
Rouge scoffed unconsciously at Nuke's cynical remarks.
"Coming from him, death should be the least of your worries."
"This. Exactly this. I hate it so much when you do this."
"What?"
"You always speak in fucking riddles."
"Ah."
"Why don't you just come out and say it?"
"Nah. Now's not the right time. You wouldn't get it. You're not ready to hear it."
"I'm gonna break something."
Rouge's humour hit the tipsy soldier right in her weak spot, earning muffled laughs from her friend.
"No no, ok ok. I'm feeling generous tonight."
"Oh, wow. Lucky me."
"No, it's just..."
Her sigh was heavy. And slightly intoxicated. But not enough to haze her mind. Or tie her tongue.
"You know this eerie feeling we have that, I don't know. Something is just… off."
"Yeah."
"We know."
"Yeah, well. It's not wrong. We're not crazy. We wouldn't have that feeling if there weren't something wrong. We've seen it. He kills people shamelessly. … I can still... taste the blood of that nurse."
Only Savvy knew the horror she was referencing, but both felt the weight of her words.
"But I'm not even talking about the rumors of people disappearing. And not only soldiers, I mean. His own men, too. Something tells me he's not only killing people for the fun of it. No matter how sick he is, Doc has a vision. Only he is aware of it, but he's driven. And he'll do anything to achieve his goal, no matter how twisted the means. I don't think you want to risk that, Nuke."
Nuke growled as she scratched her scalp.
"So much for coming here for a good time and forgetting about the bad stuff."
"You're welcome."
The girls shared an appeasing laugh again, despite the gloom tainting their discussion. That is something they developed. Accustomation for the horrific. A harsh truth acquired through the accumulation of torment. Knowing their friendly assembly was waning, slowly coming to an end, Savvy didn't want to leave it at that.
"We'll be fine. We just have to stay strong for a bit. But we'll make it. I know we will."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time has never felt so powerless before him. Never had he felt that way. The solace in which he was bathing mended his soul. He felt it; part of him was cured.
While effortlessly unwavering until now, the pain had finally capitulated. Ever since his limb was torn apart, his appendage left to writhe. His eye was consumed by ache, nerves burning an impression in his brain.
Jab felt all of it. Always. Since that day. It was the first time he didn't feel any of it. It was the first time he felt at ease. Felt safe. And all it took was to abandon himself to her. Pour himself into her.
Her gentle and slender fingers were smoothly playing in his hair. Her core warmly welcomed him, burrowing his head into her. His curled figure snuggled shamelessly into her, accepting her comforting embrace.
Ace's warmth imbued him with care. Her soft skin pressed against his, nothing keeping them away from each other. Her smell overflowed his mind with a tender haze. A lull reaching the depths of his fears, quelling them. Taming them.
While unable to form any real subsequent thought at this very instant, he did find it funny that he would put that much introspection into someone's odour. But with her, it was different. Everything was.
He wanted to know all of her. Feel all of her. He didn't know how he got here, why they grew so close so fast or how far they would go. However, he will not waste a fraction of a second thinking about it. He gave himself up to this moment. He gave himself to her. And he will continue to do so, for as long as she would want him.
"Are you sleeping?"
Captive within the mellow atmosphere provided by the heavy blankets and the luxurious cashmere caressing them, Ace whispered in the young man's ear.
"Hm."
"You should get some rest."
"Hm."
Ace chuckled at her partner's drowsy mumbles while he snuggled in deeper.
"You're cute."
"Hm."
"No rebuttal? You really are sleepy."
"Hm."
"I guess I'll stop talking and let you fall asleep."
"Hm."
She couldn't help herself from smiling so much, her hands tenderly attending to his vulnerable figure. She herself did not know where all her fondness for him came from. But she felt attached to him more than anyone else she had in her life.
While this feeling had been slowly growing in her for the past weeks, Ace fully realized her attachment to him when she thought she would lose him. Her severe injuries and near-death experience didn't even poison her mind for an instant. All her worries were targeted towards him.
"Why you…"
"..."
Her soft whisper didn't wake up the recently fast-asleep soldier. She did wonder; what initially drew her to him. Normally, rarely would strangers cultivate such an intimate relationship. She knew that. But it was futile to ponder upon it.
She felt something in him when she first saw him. One could call for love at first sight. However, love was never meant to be a concept or an emotion for Outsiders. It is a soulless mandate. A sick means to a sicker end. All for the sake of nourishing the Foundation with offspring. It is solely a mechanical pattern, a subconscious lesson, taught to them. Or at least, it should be.
Except, passion is stronger than constitution. Legislation cannot suppress emotion. Not when they are a sentiment as strong as love can be. She cared for him. She cared for their bond. And she's going to cherish it as much as she will cherish him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What am I missing?"
Venom is usually composed and coolheaded. But she had been banging her head against the wall for far too long now. Sleep deprived and intellectually exasperated, her patience grew thin. She strongly rubbed her fatigued eyes, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
Laid on the dusty floor, the dismembered carcass of a Hollow, Rowdy's and Wig's courtesy. Venom had the entirety of the equipment at her disposal plugged into this test subject. Various holographic screens were floating across the room, lighting it up. Their content was fruitless, however.
"This is pointless. I won't get anywhere in this shitty place. I need better equipment. The Lab's equipment. But it isn't happening. I can't get your dead ass inside the walls, can I?"
She finally gave in to her worn-out body, letting herself collapse on the only stool decorating the room. She stared at the corpse blankly, unable to stop thinking.
It was understandable, given her position. No one knows about it, however. With no one to rely on, she had been carrying this pressure with her for the past few years. And this guilt of knowledge beyond human reason. Yet she must hold onto it. For everyone's sake. For humanity's sake.
She understands that. She really does. But sometimes, she just feels like giving up. Forsaking her endeavor. Running away from it all. Freeing herself. But she cannot afford to do so. Even at the cost of her own wellbeing.
"I can't just stop now. It will all be for nothing. All the lies. The blood on my hands. I can't let it all be for nothing. I'm already way too deep in this shit. I need to see this through. I need to find their weakness."
As she mumbled to herself, she stood up and crouched next to the large figure.
"I say this but…"
She then reached into her long lab coat's pocket to pull out a blood sample she had previously harvested. She looked at it longingly, fidgeting the vial with her fingers.
"I knew getting myself into this wouldn't be easy, but still. I haven't made any substantial progress in the last 5 years. Has it really come down to this?"
Venom stood up and pinched the air in front of her, pulling the closest projected screen towards her. She studied the numbers for the umpteenth time. They did not change. They never do. She brought the warm glass recipient to her forehead and gently pressed it against it as she closed her eyes in contemplation.
She pondered for a moment. In silence. She knew the answer. It wasn't about finding it. It was about finding anything else that would avoid it. In vain. She stood with a firm determination that followed her steps to the closest desk. She placed the vial on the cold surface as she reached for her stool, dragging it on the floor, taking place on it.
She placed her palms on the table, her restless fingers rapidly tapping the old surface. She was determined to do what she had to do. There was no question in that. She just needed the time to mentally prepare for it. Or, more accurately, completely disassociate. Which she did.
With no afterthought, she frantically took off her jacket and threw it over her head. She then rapidly reached for a worn-out but sturdy piece of bandage and began to vehemently tie it around her upper arm.
In the meantime, her other hand aimlessly searched for an empty syringe viable for use, which wasn't hard to find. As she used her teeth to finish tightening the bandage, entirely cutting the flow of blood, she filled her syringe with the hostile blood sizzling in the vial.
Pain coursed her arm all the way to her face, forcing a grimace out of her. But she didn't slow down. If she did, she would have yielded. And she couldn't afford that. So she pushed through, pressing the sharp needle to her soft skin resting in the crease of her elbow.
She threw one last glance at the unsightly creature, eying in disgust at its features, before calming her breathing. She stared at the tip of the needle, delicately denting her skin, but not quite perforating it yet. She took one deep breath. In a split second, the Hollow's blood seeped into her. And it took even less time for its crude nature to pollute her.
Her tourniquet was rudimentary, and the violent mixture pounced on that weakness. She felt as though her lungs had brutally withered, a bloody cough forcing itself through her grinning teeth. Her eyes were bloodshot, not a single hint of white left.
Her stool flew to the ground as she stumbled up in agony, screeching in torment. The Hollow's vital fluid completely took over her arm, licks of it finding its way throughout her metabolism.
If it was any other soldier, they would have imploded as soon as the blood would've entered their veins. But not Venom. She had superhuman resistance to poison and illness. Knowing this was her reaction to it, there were no words to describe the horrors it would have spawned if she wasn't.
The tormented doctor collapsed on her knees as she was forcefully clasping her scorching arm. She could feel uncontrollable tremors parcouring it, as if a beast was crawling within her flesh. Ultimately, her body gave out, and she collapsed on her side, squirming in pain.
Soon, her vision drastically faded away. Before she noticed it, she was fully blind. She underestimated her body's reaction. This was bad. Venom had to use all her willpower not to pass out. The agony was so great that she couldn't think straight. Yet, she had to clear her mind. Or she would die.
The Commander focused all her life force on this moment. Shut away in total darkness, she crawled on the floor, dragging herself. When her unsure hand finally reached the foot of the medical table, she made use of all the adrenaline keeping her going to forcefully pull herself up.
She then leaned all of her weight on the surface just to ensure she could stand up. Before the torture completely disabled her motricity, she threw her arm around trying to locate her equipment. Thankfully, the scientist knows this place all too well, she had no issues locating the various conduits probing from a vintage engine.
One of them was equipped with a pointed end, which she quickly located from the sharp poke on one of her fingers. She was lucky; she couldn't afford to waste more time. Guided by years of experience, it's as though she never needed her vision in the first place.
With blood seeping out of her mouth and the corner of her eyes, she rapidly set up the needle in her arm. With a few mastered taps, she triggered the console and began the process. Almost immediately, blood began to drain out of her rotten arm, promptly gifting her a sense of release.
After a while, Venom's arm felt glacial, with no life force residing in it. Empty. She quickly removed the needle from her flesh and untied the bandage, allowing blood to feed her limb once more. As the fear of perishing slowly faded away, so did her consciousness. Unsurprisingly, she fainted, her body clumsily slipping off the table and crashing next to the Hollow's headless corpse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You wanted to see me, Sir."
"Ah yes. Come on in, son."
Adam reluctantly followed Doc's inquiry and took place in his office, standing in front of his desk. The old man stood up from behind it and walked around it, passing by his right-hand man.
"You've been hard to reach as of late, haven't you?"
Adam could smell the threat from a mile away. He wasn't about to fold, however.
"I've been as responsive as always. I'm here after all."
"Right. I guess I just haven't run into you as much as I usually do. Nor have I seen that whore, now that I think of it."
Adam said nothing. He turned around only to see Doc standing behind him, now staring at him. While the old man himself is quite tall, taller than most, Adam manages to tower over him still. He just stared him down.
"Well, no matter. We both have better things to attend to than idle in some mere small talk. We need to figure things out with Akuma."
"More precisely?"
"Fix him."
The tall man must have looked confused, Doc immediately clarified.
"His last assignment was a fiasco. I can't have that. We need to set up his next mission. Maybe I didn't push him hard enough..."
"Not pushed him hard enough? We almost lost their whole squad... On a reconnaissance mission."
"Exactly. He was supposed to be a trump card against the Hollow. And yet he proved to be useless."
Adam showed the most sour expression.
"What does that mean?"
"Hm?"
"... It was a reconnaissance mission."
"And?"
"Why did you say he'd be a trump card?"
"I don't understand. He was meant to be an asset in defeating the Hollow."
"... You just assumed there would be one, right?... No. Why did you know there was going to be a Hollow? "
"Why, because I sent it there."
"..."
"Have I not told you already? I could've sworn I did. Ah, old age. What can you d-"
"Explain, Sir. Now."
"It's nothing intricate, really. The surveillance equipment is not only equipped with cameras and audio devices, but also an emitter. Ultrasounds, to be precise. Some only Hollows can hear. It's quite irritating for them, you see. If any of them are any close at all, they wouldn't waste a instant to tear it down."
"... All of our Soldiers' death... You..."
"Yes. Calculated loss."
"..."
"Don't tell me you don't understand? You know why it has to be this way, don't you Adam"
"They were orchestrated."
"Quite the missread, son. It would be time-consuming to just aimlessly wander around trying to find Hollows in order to hunt them down. That's too arbitrary. And unreliable."
"Why not tell them?"
"That I'm using them as bait?"
"They would be prepared for what's coming. We would avoid so much loss. ... Deaths."
"Adam. Adam. Adam. You have so much more to learn. Our Soldiers, those Outsiders, barely listen to my orders. They distrust me and everything I stand for. I can barely have them behave and listen to my orders. Do you really think they would still listen if I told them they are living bait?"
"..."
"This is a discussion. Answer."
"... No..."
"See? Even you understand."
"Why are you even doing this? What's even the point of sacrificing all those lives?"
"It is but logical. We need to exterminate them all. They are a threat to our well-being. A threat to humanity. And pacifism breeds weakness. If we want to win this war, we can't afford weakness. The same way you can't forge a blade without fire and hammering, you can't forge strong soldiers without hardships and death. And I need to breed the strongest cohort of soldiers there is to complete my lifelong mission. You see, this. All this. The Lab. The Foundation. Those aren't my life's work. Those aren't my legacy. This is but a minor stepping stone."
"For what? What could be worth sacrificing all those kids for?"
"The Surface. We're claiming it back, Adam."
"What?"
"Oh, don't act surprised. Did you really think we, humans, the ultimate lifeform, would just rot down here? It's already been centuries, far too long, since our kind was driven off from our homeland. A homeland we built through millennia of adversity and advancement. All of that, just be stolen from us. That's where I come in."
"If your goal is for us to reach the surface, why not get everyone on board with you? I'm sure if you explained everything to everyone, they would want to participate. Why lie? Why hide everything? Why segregate our own people? Why let things get as bad as they are now?"
"There is so much you do not know, Adam. So much. I thought of telling you everything. Truly. That would have been a first for me. But you have shown me that you are not ready to hear it. Not that you will ever be, it seems. Just let me take care of things. Like I always have been. I have already proven myself, countless times, haven't I? Well. Not that you would be aware of most of it now that I think about it. Nonetheless, I have built the Foundation with my own hands. I've accomplished more in its 50 years of existence than any of our predecessors ever did in the hundreds of years they were given. I will save us. I am saving us, Adam. The means in which I am doing so do not matter in the slightest. Only the results do. And I only bring results. Trust me...-"
Adam was left speechless in the face of this display of vicious dedication. After learning the infinite possibilities of Doc's involvement, and by that effect his own, in countless soldiers' deaths, he collapsed and sat on the edge of the desk.
The old man slowly walked up to him, now taller than him, looking down at the broken man. Adam could but look up to him in disbelief. He knew what kind of man he was. He only understood now.
He will do anything to make it happen.
"I will do anything to make it happen."