Silence gripped the employee lounge as the tired soldier sat at the lunch table, a white tabletop made of that cheap, rickety plastic that everybody seemed to hate. Perhaps that was the one thing that he and the table had in common. Setting the warm cup of coffee against the horizontal surface, FOX heard a familiar voice reach out to him. "Either is fine." He remarked without averting his gaze. He had told himself just a few moments ago that he didn't want to talk to anybody, but it seemed that he had always held something like a weakness when it came to being with Naomi.
As she entered the room, FOX hid his frown behind his steaming, porcelain mug, drinking a shot of caffeine as tired eyes nonchalantly drifted towards Naomi.
"I take it you're here for a pep talk," He began slowly,
"First you'll soften me up a little with some small talk, maybe tell me how it's not my fault. Then you'll get real with me, tell me that I need to grow a pair. If I'm lucky, you'll even give me a little health lecture on drug abuse?" He spoke in a monotone,
After a short pause, FOX realized he was starting to sound more and more like Ashlynn.
"Sorry." He apologized after a moment,
"Didn't mean to take it out on you like that." After all, it wasn't her fault he was a sad sack of shit.
The Titan uncrossed her arms and walked in, taking a seat on the other side of the plastic table before crossing a leg over the other as her teal eyes watched FOX. Her face was expressionless as he listed off how she'd socially manipulate the conversation in a way to try and break through and help him, remaining silent for a moment even after he apologized.
"You're a big boy Fox and I'm not your mother. So I'm not going to do any of that and you want to know why?" she gave a slight shrug as she watched him,
"Because I know it won't make a difference".
She shifted her gaze to eye the plain looking room for a moment, crossing her arms once more as she looked back to him.
"At the end of the day none of were supposed to be here. You were never meant to grow up with a gun in your hands, I was never meant to become a monster" she exhaled a small breath,
"Yet here we are, huddled in a building pretending to live normal lives till we decide the best way to suicide ourselves".
She was quiet for a moment and as the silence fell into the room one could almost think Naomi was just talking out loud without much of a point to make.
"All I know is, there are a group of people in the next room relying on me as much as I rely on them. Good people fighting for a worthy cause, so that maybe one day we won't see children holding guns or being made into monsters anymore".
Naomi would unfold her arms again and reach to her neck pulling up a lace string attached to the silver bullet Alex had managed to recover from the remains of AFTERLIFE. She placed the perfect silver bullet on the table,
"I lied before" her eyes moved from the bullet to the Fox.
"I was going to use this to kill myself when this was all over, even if we somehow won. To escape the nightmares and leave this world, bury one of their monsters built to take life" her expression remained devoid of emotion as she spoke.
"It can be fired from any normal sidearm, which means I could have used this at any moment at any time of my choosing. I won't lie to you when I say how often I felt like using it, to give up and shed myself of this word ... this problem, once and for all... but I can't" she motioned to the next room with a nod of her head.
"Because they need me and they need me to be at my best, and you know maybe one day I'll get the selfish chance to throw myself in the flames and die for them. But I can't do that if I kill myself before that opportunity presents itself" she'd never told a soul about this before.
"Sometimes I don't want to live, sometimes I still think about destroying myself. But not before I see this through. You're your own man Fox and no one can tell you what to do... but if you're not going to stop for your sake, at least do it for theirs... because they sure as hell need you too".
Azure orbs flashed towards Naomi dismissively, his mind trying to take in the words that came out of her mouth. They were good intentioned, sure, but they were nothing that could potentially make Fox feel better about himself. As Naomi continued to speak, the man's eyes fixated themselves upon the silver, cylindrical object that was placed down onto the table in front of him.
"You don't need to worry about me, I've always been ready to see this through." He remarked, setting his warm cup down across the plastic surface before him. Suddenly, the Ronin began to lean inwards, blue eyes watching Naomi's own as the space between both portraits slowly compacted. Noticing a sad flicker in the girl's dark eyes, his lips gravitated dangerously close to Naomi's own, as if they had embarked on an irreversible collision course.
"I think you on the other hand…" He whispered gently, navigating his hand across the table and towards the confused Noah on the other side.
"...need somebody to make a decision for you." Before Naomi could realize what he was doing, the Ronin plucked the silver bullet off the tabletop, his face slowly retreating away from Naomi's own as he leaned back in his seat.
"Think of it as payment for saving your life." He teased, curiously studying the bullet between his fingertips.
The raven haired Titan was too stubborn to flinch, despite the confusion and dare she say fear, that welled inside as he approached her. The neural enhancement flashed warnings to her subconscious, begging her to engage and tear FOX apart like many others who had fallen victim to her overwhelming attack methods. Thankfully the conscious part of Naomi had control out of her elegance, though the result of that left her teal eyes searching his face with uncertainty, transitioning into anxiety as she was presented with a situation she didn't know how to handle.
FOX seemed every bit as sly as his moniker, noticing the bullet falling into his possession as he examined it, taking it as some form of payment for helping her years ago. Instantly she was unsure how to feel about that, given the item in his possession had the capability and potential to kill her with maximum efficiency. Her eyes changed to red within a blink of her eyes, a physical change that once upon a time would cause the hardiest FEARLESS Ronins to tense up. Her brow furrowed as the crimson irises moved between him and the bullet,
"And what exactly do you intend to do with it".
Her tone conveyed the seriousness of the question and it'd be obvious to anyone that the answer was important to her. In his hands lay the only option she have of being able to take her life into her own hands, the choice to remove herself on her own terms and not when her body would permit her to die... whenever that'd be given it was designed to keep her alive through almost every scenario.
"I'll make sure you don't do something stupid with it." He replied, noticing the Noah's eyes change in hue. The brilliant, scarlet gemstones were something he had seen before, though admittedly he had never been their focus. While other men may have found his position frightening, Fox welcomed it, almost challenging Naomi to reach across the table and smash him into nothingness.
"I don't want to see you hurt yourself." Fox remarked, gripping the foreign ammunition in his hand.
"It's just…" He paused, eyes shifting as he struggled to find the correct words,
"...I think you're better than that, Naomi." The Fox creased his lips into a weak smile, a rare sight indeed. Pushing the round into his pocket, the young man stood up from his seat. He planned to hold onto it for safe keeping, though whether Naomi would let him walk out with it was another story entirely.
The Titan listened carefully as her eyes watched him for a response, as if the internal engines of her mind was deciding whether or not to engage him and take back the bullet forcefully. Though it was true the item was kept with the intention to kill her, but at the same time it held far more value to her that few would understand. She blinked again and the Neural Enhancement shifted, holding onto it wasn't disposing of it which would have been worse. When he tried to leave her hand shoot out and gripped his arm, not tightly but firmly enough that he'd sense her hesitance and reluctance. She stood up and faced him,
"I've known you long enough to be able to put some faith here... but that object is more to me than an escape" she hoped he'd get the point after what she'd previously explained.
In his pocket was her right to choose, and that choice was her own victory over what was done to her. She hoped he'd understand that. She let go of his arm and exhaled to recompose her anxieties and inner instability.
"And try to take on board what I said... even if you think it's a load of shit" she managed a small smile, the same cocky one she usually wore when taking the piss or being sarcastic.
As Fox moved to leave the room, he stopped at Naomi's sudden grip, turning momentarily to shoot the Noah a passing glance.
"I'll take good care of it." He remarked, understanding what the bullet meant to her.
"Thanks for the pep talk. Maybe next time we could do it over dinner." He wanted to laugh, but was afraid that he was already pushing his luck.
"See ya," he waved before disappearing back around the corner. He felt better now, whether it was from Naomi's talking or from the caffeine, he wasn't sure.
Among the early shades of Autumn, Valhalla's streets laid barren amid its towers of concrete and steel. Devoid of life save for the clusters of Cleric that jogged through its many districts, clad in their white combat armor. The scene was not all too different than the one vibrantly painted in the sky. The heavens above a relaxing azure among the whites of soft angelic clouds. Should have been a welcome change to the otherwise dreary and rain stricken climate know to Valhalla. A day fit for solace, for picnics in the local park, outdoor sports among friends and quality alone time between lovers. It instead went all but unnoticed and would be the least memorable spectacle of the day given the profound events that were to grasp its citizens.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Accompanying warm rays of sunlight in their search for the otherwise dark corners of the city. A soft cool breeze wisped by the flapping banners that adorned Valhalla's outdoor halls. Howling past street corners and vainly attempting to ease its way through the window panes and the cracks of doors. Valhalla's fair residents were vigilant in closing it out. Keeping doors tightly shut, curtains drawn, and windows firmly locked. Gleefully ignorant to the natural beauty of the outside world. The people preferred the bland but familiar view of their interior walls wherever possible.
Even among the tables of the local pub, all were huddled to themselves. Staring down at their drinks, with stone faces that revealed no emotion. It seemed that in place of chatting, singing, or having a rowdy time. The appropriate thing to do was not make eye contact with anyone around you. Just to sit and resembled a fun house of mannequins or strung up corpses while you drank away the late hours of the day.
Fights or drunk complaint about life, the government, or even your friends were quelled with fear. It didn't matter that they were in a pub. If you said something there was always the one guy who would rat you to the Cleric forces and have a dozen eye witnesses to back him up. As if that weren't enough, the television in the middle of the lounge sported the all too familiar large bust of the King of Valhalla. Well known for its daily announcements, even if never confirmed, it was accepted knowledge that it could not only transmit transmit sound but also record it.
Only in the corner of the bar did a few merry and daring men and women enjoy actual conversation. Filling the silence momentarily with echoed voices and laughs to the disdain of those seated alone. They were showered in leers and gazes which they seemed accustomed to ignore.
Following a raised voice from their corner of the room a pale young man entered the bar in a bid to escape the outdoors. Not paying the sight of so many lone drinkers in funeral silence a second glance, he had come from a department store a few blocks down and ran the whole distance from there to the bar. Breathing heavy now, he looked briefly over his shoulder as the door closed behind him. Quickly there after falling in with routine he went up to the bartender with a slip of alcohol rations.
Wearing the standardized citizen clothing for men, he was a shade of darkened yellow from head to toe. With a button up jacket covering his white cotton shirt and light blue over shirt underneath. On both his shoulders were the blue embroidered emblems of New Ecclesia.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Cleaned prim as often they were the subject of write ups and fines by Cleric. Many a citizen was regarded as lowly for not keeping it the pride and joy of their outfit.
Women fortunately had but one emblem to worry over. Located on the left side of all their clothing just above where their heart lay. Its placement symbolized their role within Valhalla society. Swearing an oath to always have Ecclesia on and within their hearts, men in return were expected to shoulder the burden of government with their every act. Fashioned with opposite colors, women wore light navy blue, with skirts kept at regulated knee height. Their emblem being white instead of men's issued blue, it was to make cleaning a greater responsibility and represent the purity of their wearer.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Looking to the group gathered in the corner, it was clear to the young man and everyone else that their emblems were severely tarnished and neglected. The women's had been stained to colors of brown, red, and mixed tan. No longer the clear white of day one issue and wrinkled, they revealed the lazy and apathetic care of their wearers. As well as suggesting the habits of heavy drinking and terrible hygiene. The men's were faded, torn, and unrecognizable on some shoulders. A result of disregard and lacking pride for the symbols they bore, they were not to be trusted.
Eyeing them up with contempt as he waited on his drink, the young man turned just as the bartender finished pouring him a shot of clear foul smelling liquid. A disliked but generally tolerated substance that kicked with a scent of ethanol and tasted of rubbing alcohol mixed with rotten eggs. He downed it in one swallow before coughing it up and handing over another slip of paper for a pint of beer.
Taking his neon green liquid to what empty tables remained, three big swigs of the stuff disappeared before he set it down and wiped white film from his mouth. Looking around nervously at nearby tables as their hosts turned to look at the apparent outburst of his subtle movements. He smiled sheepishly before taking more smaller sips. Tasting of water more than could be considered beer, "piss water" was an apt name for the stuff, but most seemed not to mind. It was all they had and the alcohol content was there. Your chances dying from an allergic reaction or poisoning weren't as high as they use to be either.
Turning his attention away from the piss water and toward the television that many held with empty glazed stares. The current program was momentarily interrupted for a repeated news bulletin. The beautiful raven haired but stoic anchor detailed the events in a monotone as she had for the past week. Speaking on the King of Valhalla's funeral after a ruthless assassination at the hands of a vile and murderous rebellion group known as FEARLESS.
She detailed events leading up to the attack before showing blurred footage of the ball's guests being savagely murdered. Subsequently, being replaced for the speech delivered by the Queen upon the day of the tragic event. Her anguished words swearing justice for the crime repeated for the hundredth time..
Receiving little reaction now from those seated, it was little more than an infomercial to reinforce what had already been learned a week prior. Having solidified the information into the hearts and minds of most who watched. It acted as mere reminder to the weak and tired, that they should continue their hard work, while those to which it stirred emotions of sorrow and anger were to volunteer as the next recruit of the Cleric Corp.
Unexpectedly with a flicker the television screen image became chopped into pieces by static and interference. Audio distorted until cutting out completely and video blanketed in blue until blinking to black. The picture returned within a few minutes but not to greet its daily viewers with the original program. Instead it introduced them to something completely foreign, and the pubs partisans all sat up in their chairs before calling others over.
__________________________________________________________________________________
"
People are already beginning to call it the New Jerusalem…" The normal, muted colors of the usual, state-run Valhallan news channels had been replaced by news anchors they had never seen before. Vibrant swaths of color drew across the screen, as the footage seamlessly transitioned to another set of anchors who spoke in foreign accents. "This is rather alarming, a new city off the coast of Spain?" The news transitioned again, a string of alien television sets that had never been seen before. "
What a bunch of lunatics! Who in their right mind would want to live in a country that you can't leave?
Utopia my ass!"
"
Breaking News: The United States has raised its alert to
DEFCON 1 in the growing tensions between NATO Forces and the Eurasian Front. Hostilities continue to escalate as Russo-Japanese Forces threaten to invade Korea if Germany attempts to intervene on the construction of the city…"
The footage cut once again to a young man standing in what appeared to be a construction yard, hundreds of people carrying signs lined up behind him. "... We just want peace! A place where we can be free from these fucking mutants! How could the government hide this from us for so lo--"
"--It is a very,
very nice wall. Some of the people inside of it are questionable, others, I assume… have good intentions. If I were to build a wall, I would have built it like that one. Though I would have done it for cheaper and I would have made sure that Mexico--"
"-- The United Nations has already developed new sanctions against the city that now calls itself VALHALLA. Sixteen countries including the United States and the United Kingdom have refused to acknowledge the city's independence. Even the Pope has spoken against --"
"After nearly fifty years of construction, the city that had begun construction in 2010 has nearly been completed, several countries still refuse to acknowledge its status as a sovereign nation and tensions over the city's independence are the controversial topic among those in the United Nations--"
The footage finally cut to a black screen, an ominous set of words forged across every television in the city:
A cloaked figure stood among the streets of Valhalla, watched as the news spread like a virus, cell phones steadily erupting into a high pitched orchestra. His masterpiece was almost complete. Flipping open his own phone, he navigated his contact menu until he found Tia and Monad. Opening a new text message, he quickly tapped the buttons on his screen:
"Turn on the television"
__________________________________________________________________________________
Within the company conference room, ODIN finally stood and opened a briefcase.
"I'll keep this short." ODIN explained,
"I have reason to believe that the government has recently finished production of a super weapon." He navigated his fingers to his glasses, pushing the lenses up the bridge of his nose. If what ODIN had suggested was true, then it would confirm what CHEVALIER had initially talked about - except it would come from a more credible source.
"Can you say for certain?" STINGRAY asked, shooting a momentary glance towards Juniper beside her.
ODIN shook his head.
"No, this information was found among highly trusted sources. Whether the weapon exists, or is complete, is still up in the air. Everything I know is merely the result of my findings."
"And what were your findings, if you don't mind me asking?" Chevalier crossed his arms. The fact somebody else besides him had found this information was quickly making him uneasy.
"I've been following paper trails for awhile now. Found some interesting things, it seems that the government has been working on this for a very long time. Since Valhalla was built, even." ODIN paused,
"I have no idea what it is, only that they have been pouring resources into it for a long time now and that whatever it is, it's in the Imperial Palace."
"It's a super weapon, alright. The government plans on using it to wipe the city out." Chevalier explained,
"This is the weapon that I was talking about." He directed his sentence towards GODFATHER.
"Your information corroborates with what Chevalier has told us, though Chevalier thinks that it's a laser of some sort." Gillian explained,
"Unfortunately, how would we even destroy such a weapon? The Queen's Palace is the most heavily defended part of the city. We had to wait years to plan out that strike on the cathedral."
ODIN removed a map of the city, drawing a red circle over the map with a pen. The group hunched over the map, the red circle hovering around an empty section of the city.
"There's nothing there." Jill remarked, her brows furrowed in a confused expression drawn across her face.
"It's an underground military facility. I know for a fact that the schematics to the weapon are inside a black Node within." ODIN explained,
"Heavily defended, I've mapped out some of the security procedures, but it's not something that can be easily done. We will need a distraction if we wanted to..."
Before ODIN could finish his sentence, Valkyrie and FOX burst through the conference doors. "
GUYS!" The both of them shouted in unison.
"Turn on the television!"
Jill picked up the remote and flipped on the television that always sat in the corner of the room. Since the only thing that was ever aired on television was mind-numbing propaganda, it went without saying that the television saw very seldom use. To their surprise, a variety of unfamiliar figures from places they had never seen before began to speak to them.
"What's... what's going on?" Gillian froze as he watched the events unfolding on screen. The room sat in confusion as Gillian turned towards Chevalier,
"What the hell is this?" Gillian grabbed the blonde-haired man by his blazer, shaking him in place.
"What makes you think I know anything abou-"
"Don't play dumb with me!" He shouted, smacking the man across the face. The door to the conference room was open and the members of the team began to trickle in.
Rubbing his cheek, Chevalier looked up at the people around him before the message changed back to the Valhallan News.
"Rioting has broken out across the city, the world is plunging into a state of confusion! Our great government has declared martial law and urges its citizens to stay inside for the duration of these riots!"
"Well, looks like you have the distraction you were looking for." Jill smirked,
"Shall we gear up?"
Gillian wasn't sure what to think anymore. VALHALLA was a lie? What did it all mean?
"Fifteen minutes. Everybody get your shit together and be back here in fifteen minutes." They were questions that would have to wait. Now was their chance to make their move.
