Chapter 50 - Reflection
By Cille
For the first time in a week, the night passed uneventfully for the surviving rebels. No matter how worried, frustrated, or angry they were about having to put an end to the fighting, they were all so exhausted that their bodies welcomed the chance to sleep soundly.
Of course for most of them it felt like it had been much more than a week. It seemed like it had been years since the conflict started, and upon waking some of them had to remind themselves that they didn't need to rush out to the battlefield or the operating room.
It was well into the afternoon before there was any significant activity in the base. By that point the grogginess of the night had begun to wear off, and people were starting to wonder what they should do now and what would happen next. Some of them went back to their roles of serving food, or checking the base's infrastructure, or tending to lingering injuries or damaged equipment, but all of them were mostly just waiting to see what would happen.
**********
In the infirmary, the Syndicate's leaders were already grappling with those very questions. ...Or at least trying, with limited success.
"THIS WAR HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!" Samson wailed, burying his head in his hands.
"Jebus, get ahold of yourself," Clarice chided. "You were unconscious, remember? There's nothing you could have done."
"That's the point, I couldn't do anything. I helped get us into this war, but when the time came, I couldn't do anything to help us get out of it. All I did was get myself almost-killed."
"But you didn't get yourself actually killed. And that's a good thing."
"Yeah, I... I know," Samson said, not sounding entirely convinced. "It's just a kick in the teeth, you know? We spent all that time planning and preparing, and then I wake up and it's all over. It's like I missed out on everything."
Clarice was sympathetic, but something bothered her. "Well, there are some people who would have been happy to sit this thing out, you know."
He looked at her, realizing the implications. "Hey, I know that you and everybody else had a rough time out there. I'm not whining like I got left out of playtime or something. I wish I could have been out there with you, fighting with you. Maybe I could've made a difference, or... I dunno..." He slumped back into his gloom.
Clarice sighed dejectedly, and Hikki was at a loss for words.
The arrival of Dr. Tenma and Kira provided a welcome interruption.
"All right, Mr. Monroe, ready for your procedure?" Tenma said brightly.
"I guess, it doesn't seem to matter if I'm awake or asleep anymore," Samson said emoly.
Tenma wasn't quite sure how to take that. "Well... we'll get you looked at and patched up and back on the road to recovery as soon as we can," he said encouragingly.
"Thank you, doctor," Clarice said, filling in for Samson's lack of manners.
Tenma nodded to Kira, and the two of them lifted Samson onto the gurney they had brought in.
"Why don't you take him in and get him prepped," Tenma said to Kira. "I'll be there in just a minute."
"I can help too," Clarice said, standing quickly. She didn't want to be left out while Samson was going into surgery.
Kira and Clarice wheeled Samson out of the room, and Tenma went over to pick up his chart. He leafed through the pages, checking some things off and making a few notes.
Hikki studied the doctor's face, trying to decide how worried he should be about Samson. He noticed that, despite Tenma's cheerful demeanor, he looked quite tired.
Tenma looked up from the charts abruptly, as if he sensed that he was being watched.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Follet?" he asked, seeing that Hikki was looking straight back at him.
"Um... well, uh..." Hikki felt abashed at being caught staring. "Well I was just seenkeeng... are you sure zees surgery weel be okay?"
"Oh, I don't expect there to be any issues at all," Tenma reassured him. "Your medical staff have kept excellent records. All I'll need to do is retrace their steps and make sure everything is in good shape."
"Well... zat's good, but I meant... well, you have been so beezee... Are you sure you can do zees operation now?"
Tenma rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, all of the major battlefield injuries have been taken care of, and pretty much everything that's left can be handled by the others. I've been wanting to do Samson's follow-up surgery for a few days, so now's as good a time as any." He smiled wryly. "You know, if you want a bright side to look on here, calling an end to the fighting means I can focus on longer-term patients like Samson from now on."
"Oh..." Hikki murmured.
"Is something wrong? I thought you'd be happy to hear that. I understand you're quite devoted to Samson."
Hikki grimaced slightly. So even the new guy already knew all about his long-suffering crush.
"No, eet's... I am glad you are here to take care of heem," Hikki said. "Please do everyseeng you can to restore heem to full health."
Tenma smiled. "I surely will." He regarded Hikki for a moment. "While I'm here, do you mind if I take a look at your ankle? It's been a few days since I checked up on you."
"Um... sure, no problem," Hikki answered.
Tenma pulled back the sheets, sat on the edge of the bed, and started examining Hikki's ankle. "It's definitely less swollen, so that's good. You should stay off it for another week or two, but you should be fine."
Somehow Hikki couldn't feel too excited about that either. "Okay, sank you."
Tenma looked at him empathetically. "I guess Samson's not the only one here feeling low. Are you still worried about what happened yesterday?"
Hikki sighed. "I guess zat's pretty obvious, no?"
"Well if it means anything, you gave a fine speech. I'm sure everyone understands that you did what had to be done."
"I know zat, een my head... eet doesn't make eet feel any less terreeble."
Tenma tried to be positive. "Think of all the lives you saved, by pulling them out of harm's way."
"Saved for how long? Just so zey can starve to death een a few months?" Hikki looked more distressed than ever, and finally let out what he hadn't wanted to say in front of Clarice and Samson. "I have to face ze facts... ze Syndicate ees done for, and eet was all for nossing."
Tenma looked sympathetic and thoughtful. "You know... even though it ended up like this, I wouldn't say it was all for nothing. You may not realize it, but you made a difference to a lot of people. I saw it time and time again while I was on the run. People whose lives had been ruined by the regime. People who had lost loved ones, people who had lost their businesses, their homes... They saw that there were ordinary people who were willing to stand up and fight for people like them, and just knowing that helped them keep going."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Tenma smiled sheepishly. "Truth be told, you could probably count me among those people. So in a way, I have you to thank for my being here today."
Hikki blushed slightly. "Well... I guess zat makes two of us," he stammered, even though he knew that he owed the far greater debt.
The doctor looked modest. "Well, in any case, I know it has to be hard for you being in the position you're in. But I hope you'll take heart. You have a lot of good people here, and you can rely on them. And they believe in you. I know I haven't been here very long, but I can see that."
"You... you can?" Hikki asked, not sure if he could believe it.
"Yeah. It's kind of amazing to me, really. You have all these different people here, all very different, but somehow you've become a family. It makes me glad I decided to come here. It's really something very special."
Hikki felt himself wanting to tear up, but he was struck by something in Tenma's expression. It was a sense of longing, a wistfulness, and a kindness that somehow Hikki had never noticed before...
Tenma took a deep breath, as if snapping himself out of his reverie, and looked at Hikki.
"I'm sorry that I don't really have any words of wisdom for you that might help you figure out what to do next, but I just wanted to let you know what I've seen," he said. "It's not over yet, as long as you're still here and still have the will to go on. I learned that while I was on the run too."
Hikki feebly but appreciatively returned his smile. In truth it did mean a lot to him to hear these inspiring words and to be reminded of the family they still had left.
Tenma stood and held up the medical chart. "Well then, I'd better not keep Mr. Monroe waiting any longer. I'm sure you'll be wanting him back safe and sound."
Hikki nodded, and Tenma turned to go. As the door closed Hikki relaxed back into his bed and pulled the sheets back up over his chest.
He was still worried about Samson's recovery, but he felt much better knowing that Samson was in Dr. Tenma's hands. He had seen firsthand what Tenma had done for his comrades, and he had absolute faith in his surgical abilities. But more than that, he felt a calming sense of trust in Tenma as a person. And as he continued thinking about Samson's situation, and recalling the conversation he had just had, he found his thoughts revolving more around the doctor than the patient.
Had he really not noticed how handsome Tenma was until now? Images came back now that Hikki hadn't quite registered before: the encouraging smiles he gave his patients, the look of concern over people he barely knew, a lock of stray black hair falling over his face as he concentrated...
Hikki quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He could see where this was heading, and the last thing he needed right now was yet another impetuous infatuation. They all had more important things to think about. Besides, he had no way of knowing whether Tenma was even gay or not, and he certainly wasn't going to make that mistake again.
But for a while after Tenma had left the room, Hikki remained lost in thought. He certainly had plenty on his mind to mull over. And if those thoughts occasionally turned back to that handsome doctor, well, c'est la vie.
**********
Ozzal had stayed in bed for most of the day after being up all night throwing a victory party for herself. Makina, however, had spent the day making phone calls and sending emails, taking it upon herself to relay orders and get information from their various contacts and offices back in Orly. It was intensive work, especially after days of just standing behind Ozzal making polite conversation and preparing snacks. But she wanted to have a solid report ready whenever Ozzal made her appearance.
The time came soon enough. Ozzal ambled into the control room, still wearing her ducky jammies. Makina immediately sprang from the chair and turned to salute her. "Good afternoon, madam. I trust you enjoyed your respite."
"Were you just sitting in my chair?" Ozzal muttered, wiping the crusty stuff from the corners of her eyes.
"Apologies, madam, I took the liberty of using your work area to conduct some business," Makina answered.
"Business? What kind of business?"
Makina took a deep breath, bullet-point list at the ready.
"The Orly Review printed the front-page article celebrating your victory this morning, as forwarded by your speechwriters. My subordinates at Comdot Estate are on high alert for any unauthorized persons attempting to enter the estate. The Comdot prison facilities are also on full lockdown. Police patrols on the streets have been increased, as well as traffic checkpoints throughout the city. Our agents are rounding up suspicious persons throughout the city as we speak. A 9pm curfew will be in effect beginning tonight. And all of the television stations in the country have been shut down except for OZTV, which will be broadcasting your favorite reality shows along with customized news programs and repeats of your 'Behind the Dictator' VH1 special."
With each item on the list, Ozzal's eyebrows had risen slightly higher. "You did all that?"
"Yes, madam."
"Well... in that case, I might as well go back to bed," Ozzal mumbled, starting to turn around.
"If I may say so," Makina said quickly, "I would advise against that. It's healthier to maintain a regular sleep schedule, and if you go back to sleep now it would disrupt your sleeping patterns tonight."
"Okay, Mom," Ozzal said, sounding like a disgruntled teenager. "But I'm still going to wear my PJ's all day."
Makina smiled. "Of course, madam."
She stood to the side, and gestured to Ozzal to take her seat in the cushy chair. Ozzal took her time moseying over and flopped wearily into the chair.
"I've also been receiving reports from General Zoltron," Makina continued, reaching for some papers lying on the console. "In addition to the main entrance captured yesterday, two additional entrances have been discovered and secured. Our forces are in the process of retrieving any significant wreckage, including both ours and the rebels'. Injured personnel are being treated on-site or evacuated as necessary. And patrols have been on alert for any sign of further rebel activity or attempts to flee the area."
"Ha, fleeing the area. I'd almost like to let them try just to watch them get run down before they get fifty feet away," Ozzal smirked.
"Indeed, madam. However it appears that the rebels have made no effort to leave their base. They seem to be resigned to a siege."
"Well that's fine too, let them cower in their hole. It'll make less trouble for me. Which reminds me, how are plans coming for my victory parade?"
"Parade?" Makina asked uncertainly.
"Well yeah, I'll have to have a big parade when I ride triumphantly back into Orly. What do you think, would it make more of an impression to see me waving from the top of a tank, or a fancy sports car?"
"Well... either would be entirely flattering to you, but..." Makina hesitated, and then went on resolutely. "I'm sure you've considered the practical aspects of the current state of affairs, and I don't need to point out to you that there is a certain amount of risk involved in your returning to Orly so soon after the quashing of the rebellion."
"What do you mean risk?" Ozzal asked, having the sneaking suspicion that Makina was trying to keep her from getting her way. "What could possibly stop me now?"
"You have to be careful, madam. This is a critical time, and there will be a lot of desperate people out there. The chances of your assassination are as high as they've ever been. I don't think it would be wise for you to appear in public until we're quite sure it's safe for you."
Ozzal scowled. "I've been cooped up in this hole for like two months now. You're telling me I can't go back to my nice spacious mansion and live like a queen again?"
"Not yet, madam," Makina answered. "I understand your wishes, but my primary concern is for your safety. Especially considering what happened in Comdot a few weeks ago... I simply can't take that chance again."
Ozzal crossed her arms and pouted. Makina considered the situation, and decided to attempt to sweeten the bitter pill.
"I will do my best to make your current accommodations as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Is there anything I can have brought in from Comdot, or any luxuries you would like made available here?"
Ozzal just crossed her arms and pouted even harder. Then, as Makina began to wonder if she had crossed a line, Ozzal grumbled, "I want some chocolate cake. And some rum balls. And some rum. And a foosball table. And a pirated digital copy of Hot Tub Time Machine 2."
Makina relaxed, amused at her superior's whims. "Of course, madam, I'll get on those right away. And if there's anything else I can do for you, don't hesitate to let me know."
"Yeah, sure," Ozzal muttered, still kind of grouchy about her parade. "You can start by making me some waffles. I really feel like waffles right about now."
"At once, madam," Makina said dutifully, bowing slightly and striding purposefully out of the room.
Once she was alone, Ozzal contemplated her monitors, most of which had gone black now that there wasn't much to see on the battlefield. She pursed her lips, but the lingering disappointment soon gave way to a resurgence of smugness. So she couldn't go back to being a queen in her palace right away. The country was still hers, and it was only a matter of time before the entire world would bow before her power.
She leaned forward and clicked on one of the monitors. Finally locating a remote control among the stash of papers and snack wrappers around her chair, she sat back to enjoy the ongoing The Biggest Loser marathon while she waited for her waffles.
**********
Dinnertime in the Syndicate's cafeteria had turned into an impromptu meeting of the GAR Streeters. Even though they weren't fighting anymore, they were still as hungry as ever, and as they woke up from their naps and hangovers they inevitably found their way to the dining hall. Over the course of a couple of hours most of them congregated there, having nowhere else to really be after they finished eating.
Their conversations generally involved trading stories of their battlefield exploits, along with a few eating contests, belching contests, and arm-wrestling contests to entertain themselves. But it was only a matter of time before they started discussing what they would do now. And once the topic came up, it was only another matter of time before they started discussing it loudly and emphatically.
"Well of course we're blowing this popsicle stand," Kenpachi shouted, annoyed that anyone would assume otherwise. "What the hell else are we supposed to do here?"
"Yeah, this war is over," Mugen agreed. "We already spent way too much time cooped up in here waiting for the action to start, I'm not gonna sit around here now that it's over."
"Not to mention that the action was never even as advertised," Sam Champlan added. "Two armies, was it? We didn't even get a fraction of one. I might as well go back to napping and drinking all day."
The general rabble chimed in, many agreeing with the desire to hit the road while others tried to argue for staying.
During the entire conversation up to this point, Kamina had been sitting at a corner table with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. But he couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"So you just want to bail out now that things aren't going our way, is that it?" he challenged, not moving from his seat.
"Oh, there's the great motivator," Kenpachi snarked. "You gonna give us another speech about helping the underdog and fighting the good fight?"
"Sounds like I don't have to," Kamina replied. "You already know in your hearts how it is. You're just looking for an excuse to welch out."
"You wanna come over here and say that to my face?" Kenpachi growled, rising from his seat and leaning menacingly in Kamina's direction.
"You can hear me just fine from here," Kamina said. "And you already know what I'm going to say, or at least you should. This war might be over, but that doesn't mean we should just quit. We came here to help these people, and as long as they're not giving up then neither should we."
"Hey look, if these Syndicate guys want to keep believing in the heart of the cards or whatever then that's their thing," Sam said. "But we put in our time and nobody better tell me we didn't do our part to help here. Hell, I think more of our guys got killed than their guys."
"Then isn't that even more reason to see this thing through to the end?" Kamina asked.
"Aww hell no, don't give me some crap about how we have to honor our fallen brothers," Kenpachi retorted. "We all knew what we were getting into when we signed on for this. We knew it was going to be risky and that's why we came. The guys who died did it with no regrets, and we'd insult them by feeling sorry for them. So don't even try feeding us that BS that we have to stay here so their sacrifice was 'worth it.'"
"What about the sacrifices made by the people here?" Kenshin spoke up. "It was clear that most of them didn't know what they were getting into. But they fought and tried their hardest anyway, even as many of them died. Isn't that worth honoring?"
Kenpachi just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, we can give them a big ol' medal for trying so hard. Still don't mean we have to stay."
"Of course you don't 'have to,'" Kamina said. "Nobody's forcing anyone to do anything. But if you're gonna decide to do something, you'd better make damn sure it's the right thing to do."
"That's right," Jojo agreed. "We shouldn't make a hasty decision just because it seems like the easy way out."
"How is this decision not obvious?" Kenpachi said. "You heard what Frenchie said. He said we couldn't win this thing by fighting, right? Well fighting's what we came here to do, wasn't it? If we can't fight anymore, what the hell are we supposed to do?"
The rabble got louder as the men debated the answer to this question.
"Now hang on, guys," Jojo said. "There has to be something we can do. As long as we don't give up, there's still a chance we can win."
"And what makes you think we can still win without fighting?" Sam shot back. "You got any great strategies for that, genius?"
"Ehm... well..." Jojo felt a little stymied. "I don't think skedaddling would work that well in this situation..."
"Actually, that sounds like a great idea," Mugen said, pushing his chair back. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm gonna skedaddle myself right on out of here."
"Where do you think you're going?" Kamina asked as Mugen stood up.
"The hell away from here," Mugen answered. "After that, wherever the hell I want. You can do what you want, but I'm gonna do what I want. And I want out of here."
Several others, including Kenpachi and Sam, murmured their agreement and also stood to go.
"How are you going to get out?" Kenshin asked. "By now the army probably has the base surrounded."
"Then we'll just plow through them," Kenpachi said with a wicked grin. "Let's go boys, there's a way out right around the corner here."
The posse of departing fighters surged after Kenpachi, shouting raucously. Kamina and his supporters followed after them, still trying vainly to convince them to at least be cautious.
Kenpachi reached the exterior door, which had been used as a supply line to the kitchen facilities. With a final victorious glare at Kamina, he entered the access code to open it.
The heavy metal door slid open, revealing the waning light of the late afternoon. Unfortunately, it also revealed the barrels of several guns and a couple of tanks - pointed directly into the entrance into the base.
"Dammit, it's an ambush!" Kamina called.
"Fine with me, that means we get to fight!" Kenpachi exulted, charging forward along with several other GAR Streeters.
"OPEN FIRE!" came the order from the military ranks. Bullets and a mortar round came flying toward the fighters, who mostly managed to evade or deflect the projectiles. The grenades that followed through the door were more problematic, and then a wave of soldiers arrived to force their way into the base. Kamina, Kenshin and the others found themselves having to fight just to fend off the encroaching enemies.
"Don't let them in!" Kamina shouted. "They'll try to take over the base!"
The men fought as fiercely as ever, but the army was just as determined to infiltrate the base. It soon became clear that the GAR Streeters would be overwhelmed by sheer firepower.
"We have to get this door closed!" Kamina declared. "Get your asses in here or I don't care what happens to you!"
"Dammit..." Kenpachi grumbled. He and the others who had rushed out with him had taken the brunt of the army's barrage, and as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't going to be able to get anywhere through this mass of enemies.
He and the rest of the group fell back, pulling their more seriously injured comrades with them, and Kamina managed to force the door closed despite the flood of soldiers still pushing their way inside.
"Finish them all off! Don't let any of them get farther into the base!" Kamina ordered.
The fighters managed to subdue all of the soldiers who had made it inside, and then Kenshin and Jojo each led a group down the hallways to make sure no other enemies had gotten away.
"You see? That little stunt could have been the end of us all," Kamina said angrily. "We're lucky they didn't get a tank or something over here fast enough to wedge the door open. If they'd taken over the base we'd all be dead meat."
Before Kenpachi could answer, Cille's voice came shrieking through the intercom. "What the hell is going on there? Who opened that door?!"
Kamina looked reproachfully at Kenpachi, who just went "hrmph" and looked away.
"It's all under control now," Kamina answered. "Just some idiots thinking it was time for shore leave."
"Shore leave? Do they understand the position we're in? Do they know what the word siege means? No one leaves here without an evacuation plan in place!" Cille raged.
"Geez, what's got her undies all in a twist?" Kenpachi muttered.
"Just shut up," Kamina snapped at him. "I think they learned their lesson," he said to Cille. "And I'm sure they're quite sorry. We're going to have some more work for the medical teams once we haul their sorry butts over to the infirmary."
"I'll... tell them to be ready for you," Cille said with a sigh. "Just... please tell me this isn't going to happen again."
"I'll make sure of it," Kamina said firmly. Once the intercom connection was closed, he gave one last meaningful glare to Kenpachi and instructed the others to pick up their injured comrades and take them to the medical quarters.
**********
"I can't believe it... I just..." Cille mumbled, holding her hand to her face as she crumpled back into her chair.
"We probably should have locked down all of the doors, not just the ones we knew had been compromised," Aoi said ruefully. "I can do that now if you want."
"Go ahead. We'll change the access codes later in case somebody actually needs to get out. But for now... I don't want any more surprises."
"Roger that," Aoi answered, typing away.
"Try to take it easy, Cille," Eric said gently. He'd been alarmed by her outburst over the intercom. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be angry at those guys for being stupid, but you should try to relax. You've been more on-edge today than you were during the actual war."
"Easier said than done," Cille said. "Just because the fighting's over doesn't mean my job is done. If anything my job's going to get even harder, trying to figure out how we're all going to get out of this mess alive."
Eric understood, but he was still concerned. He'd been impressed by how Cille was able to keep her cool while she was monitoring and directing the troops, but now that she wasn't constantly in "mission mode" the frazzled emotions that she'd barely been keeping in check were starting to come out.
The three of them had been back in the control room for a few hours. The room seemed strangely empty without the mass of monitors and the greenish dome that had surrounded Elian for the past week. The young Alter user was recuperating after his exhausting week, and Cille and the others found themselves without their link to the outside world.
"At least we've learned something, we need to get those surveillance cameras back online," Cille said, tapping crossly on one of the few remaining monitors. "We need to know what's going on out there even without Elian."
"I know, I know," Aoi said, his calm voice betraying just a hint of exasperation. "The jamming they're using out there is messing with our external electronics. I'm pretty sure that technology didn't exist when this bunker was built, so they didn't account for it with the construction. I'm working on it, but it'll take some time to get around it."
"I know, and I appreciate what you're doing. Just do your best," Cille said, trying to sound encouraging.
"Don't forget to call the infirmary, Cille," Eric reminded her.
"I'm getting to it," Cille said, leaning back toward the intercom. She pushed a few buttons. "Calling the infirmary, this is Cille, is someone there?"
She waited a few moments, and then someone responded on the other end. "Hi Cille, Roxie here. What's up?"
"How are things looking down there right now?" Cille asked.
"We're doing all right. Samson just came out of surgery and Dr. Tenma says he's in good shape. Otherwise it's pretty quiet."
"It's about to get a little more rowdy, I'm afraid," Cille said. "Some of our meatheaded comrades just had a welcoming party for some enemy troops at one of our entry points. Kamina says they'll be coming by with some injuries for you guys to tend to."
"Oh geez. Okay, we'll take care of them," Roxie said.
"Thanks. Keep up the good work," Cille said.
"Will do. Oh hey Cille, while I've got you on the phone, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Roxie said.
"What is it?" Cille asked, hoping it wasn't another crisis she'd have to deal with.
"Well, it's about all the bodies we've got," Roxie answered.
"Um... bodies?" Cille asked, before realizing what Roxie meant. "Oh, the people who died..."
"Yeah," Roxie said. "We've got an awful lot of them in the temporary morgue. Well... it was supposed to be temporary, but if we're going to be here a while, then I don't think cold storage is going to be enough. If they start decomposing, then we'll have to worry about contamination issues and possibly disease."
"Geez, it'll be like the Black Plague in here," Cille sighed.
"Well... hopefully not that bad," Roxie said with a slight chuckle.
"Right," Cille said. "So we should find a place to bury them, or what?"
"Hmm... that would be an option, if we can find a good place to do it. And if we can satisfy the need for a 'proper' burial, which might be tough with so many people. They might not want their final resting place to be hidden in some underground bunker, and I wouldn't even know where to start trying to figure out all of their religious beliefs..."
Cille rubbed her temple. "Well we've lost our priest, so I guess last rites or whatever are out of the question."
"Yeah..." Roxie answered softly, and Cille realized the Order of Glass member was probably still coping with Sadar's death.
"Any other ideas?" she asked quickly, sort of trying to change the subject.
"I was thinking of something, actually," Roxie replied. "General Mustang can control fire, right?"
"That's right," Cille said. "So you're thinking cremation?"
"Yeah," Roxie said. "If we can find containers for all of them, we can catalogue them until we're ready for their burials."
"I like that idea," Cille said, relieved to have found a solution. "I'll talk to Mustang about it as soon as I see him. Can you handle the rest from there?"
"I think so," Roxie answered. "I'll do my best."
"Great. Any other news to report?"
"Um..." Roxie seemed to hesitate. "Well it's not that important, but maybe you should know..."
She was interrupted by the sound of a monumental explosion, accompanied by what felt like an earthquake.
"What in the world was that?!" Roxie exclaimed.
"Bloody hell, are they bombing us now?" Cille said.
"Sounds like it," Eric replied.
Before they could discuss the situation further, the lights on the intercom started blinking furiously with incoming calls.
"Dammit, looks like I'm gonna need to calm everybody down," Cille grumbled.
"Should we not be worried, then?" Roxie asked uncertainly.
"Not really," Cille said. "This is a bomb shelter, after all. It was built to withstand stuff like that. They're probably just trying to freak us out."
"Okay... Oh, sounds like the injured guys are starting to come in. I need to get to work."
"That's fine," Cille said. "What were you going to tell me before?"
"Don't worry about it, it's not that important," Roxie said. "You've got more than enough to deal with."
Cille could hear boisterous voices in the background. "Sounds like you'll have your hands full there too," she said. "Bye for now, then."
She closed the line to the infirmary and started answering the rest of the panicked calls, reassuring each person that they'd be fine and just needed to stay calm. She sounded more confident than she felt, but at least she could be fairly certain they wouldn't die from getting bombed.
Raef came into the room just as she was answering the last of the flashing lights.
"Well that was quite a thing, wasn't it?" he said once Cille was done with the call.
She leaned back into her chair and gave him an exasperated look.
Raef laughed. "Well maybe my report will help cheer you up."
"Lord I sure hope so," Cille said. "What've you got?"
Raef held up a notebook, the first page of which was covered with scribbled notes. "I spent the day double-checking the various systems in the bunker, starting with the most critical ones like the air purification and water. We should be fine on those, since the river that supplies the water and runs our generators is far enough underground that I doubt the army even knows it's there. I guess they could try poisoning the entire ground around here, but it would probably take a long time for it to leach down to where it would affect our water supply. And they can't cut off the water, so we can keep the power going, which will keep the air supply going indefinitely too. Barring any mechanical malfunction, of course."
"I trust you can take care of that stuff if anything happens, right?" Cille asked.
"Yeah, between Larry and me, we could fix just about anything," Raef said confidently.
"Okay, good," Cille said. "What other systems did you look at?"
"Well the sewage and waste removal stuff was... interesting. It's basically a bunch of big septic tanks throughout the base. I didn't look at those too closely, but I'm guessing we'll be okay on waste removal for a while. So um... I guess we won't have to worry about having a bunch of poo sitting around."
Cille wrinkled her nose. "That's a blessing. Good call checking on that, though."
"Um..." Raef consulted his notes. "I checked with Foley about the food stock. He estimates about 2-3 months on food, although that will depend largely on what kind of rationing we decide to do. He did observe that there are a lot of guys here who probably wouldn't like having their food and booze supplies cut short."
Cille rolled her eyes. "Yeah, probably the same ones who thought they could just waltz out of here any time they wanted."
Raef raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Cille just waved her hand. "I'll tell you about it later," she said.
"So we'll have to figure out how to make the food supplies last, but we're okay on that for now," Raef continued. "We will be short on medical supplies, but I talked to Kaia and she said they can probably make do with what they have." He turned to the second page of his notes. "Beyond that, kitchen facilities are still operational... there are some problems with the surveillance systems, though. I think they're getting jammed or something."
Cille glanced at Aoi. "Yeah, we're working on that."
"Mmkay. That's about all I had. There's some electrical stuff I'll need to tune up, but otherwise we're pretty much good to go."
"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that," Cille said, relieved.
"So have you thought about an evacuation? Are we going to try to make an escape?" Raef asked.
"We can't do anything right now without knowing where the army is located," Cille said. "It's a good bet they've spread out and will be watching for us to come outside. We'll discuss it and see if there's a way out of this, but for now we decided to just take some time to let everyone recover and come up with a good plan before we try any big maneuvers."
"That seems like a good idea," Raef said. "On one hand the longer we wait, the more time the army will have to block up our escape routes. But you're right that we should be cautious about how we do it."
Cille nodded. "We were lucky to get everybody inside the base last night without any casualties or breaches. A full evacuation would require getting even more people over several miles out in the open. As soon as they spotted us, we'd be in the middle of an all-out battle just to get away. That's not to mention all of the injured people we have here. There are a lot of people who can't walk and some who aren't even conscious. We can't just leave people behind, but trying to carry them along would just make things even harder. I guess we could try to move out smaller groups escorted by fighters, but..."
Raef put a hand on Cille's shoulder. He could tell that she was starting to get worked up again about the difficult logistics. "Well I can tell you've already put a lot of thought into this. I'm sure once you're ready to put a plan together you guys will be able to work out something good."
Cille smiled and relaxed a little. She knew that her son was mostly just indulging her, but she appreciated the thought.
"Why don't you call it a day in here, Cille?" Eric added, seeing an opportunity to suggest that she go off-duty to unwind. "You've put in plenty of time today and there's not much more we can do here. You could use the time to recharge for those strategy sessions."
"Yeah, I know, you don't have to lecture me too much. You guys are starting to sound like Cougar," she said with a laugh. Despite her stress, she was still self-aware to know that she'd been pushing herself pretty hard. And she actually did feel better with her friends watching out for her, especially Raef.
"Speaking of, I saw him carrying boxes around for Foley," Raef said. "He could probably use a nice quiet evening too."
"Hint taken," Cille said, rising from her chair. "All right, I'll leave the rest of the world's problems in your capable hands."
"Well look who we have here," Eric said, noticing that Cougar had appeared in the doorway.
"Special delivery," he said with a grin, holding up some sheets of notebook paper.
Seeing Cille's "what is it now?" expression, he quickly explained. "Foley tallied up everything he's got in stock and wrote up a report. Thought you might like to see it."
"I'll take that," Raef said, yoinking the papers from Cougar's hand before Cille could get ahold of them. He added them to his notes. "Cille's officially on break now. You guys should go relax for the night."
Cougar raised an eyebrow at Cille, and she gave him a smile and a shrug. "I'm under orders," she said, as if she had no other choice.
"Then I guess it's my job to make sure you don't work too hard," Cougar said, holding out his hand gallantly. She took it, and he led her out of the room.
The others watched them go, and then Raef and Eric exchanged looks while Aoi busied himself with his computer.
"Just hang onto those until tomorrow," Eric told Raef. "I have a feeling once things have settled down a little, the brass are going to have to start making some decisions. You can present your reports then."
"You got it," Raef answered. "You guys are gonna get some rest too, right?"
"I think we'll be here a while longer working on the surveillance systems," Eric said. "We'll see how that goes."
"I'll stay in case you need some input on the electrical or anything," Raef said, putting his notes down and taking a seat in Cille's chair.
"Might as well get comfortable," Aoi said. "We might be here for a while."
**********
"Maybe you've had enough," Angel said, grabbing the bourbon bottle that Emiri was in the process of knocking over in her fumbling attempts to pick it up.
"Don't even start with me," Emiri slurred, snatching the bottle from Angel's hands.
The two of them were sitting on the bed in Angel's room, which Emiri had invaded earlier demanding to know where Angel kept her stash of liquor.
Emiri didn't even bother refilling her glass, and just chugged straight from the bottle. Then, with a disappointed groan, she held it up over her mouth and shook it. A single drop was all that came out.
"Okay now I've had enough," she admitted. Then she gave Angel a sly look. "Unless you've got more somewhere~..."
"If I did I sure as hell wouldn't let you waste it all," Angel retorted, taking the empty bottle away before Emiri had the chance to smash it somewhere.
"When did you become not very much fun?" Emiri grumbled.
"About the same time I had to become a babysitter for someone who apparently can't control herself," Angel said. "Believe me, I'm not enjoying being responsible either. But at least one of us has to make sure you don't barf on my bed."
"Oh come on, I haven't had thaaaat muuuuch," Emiri drawled, curling up in Angel's blankets.
"I don't even want to know how much you've had to get this drunk," Angel said. She knew that Emiri could hold her liquor, and she also knew that if Emiri had come looking for more alcohol it meant that she'd already consumed everything she had on hand.
"I'm not thaaaat druuuuunk," Emiri replied. "Okay maybe I am but I deserve it. You don't do that to a girl and then tell her she can't get drunk."
"Do what?"
"You know, that... that thing... he did..."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Mmmm..." Emiri rubbed her face, trying to make the words make sense. "That Hikki. Stopping us. Telling us it was all over."
"You mean stopping the war?"
"Mm-hmm."
Angel raised her eyebrows. "You think it's bad that we don't have to go out there and try not to get ourselves killed anymore?"
Emiri sighed shortly. "Well maybe it's different for you. Maybe you're happy about it. I mean whatever, I don't blame you if you think you're gonna get killed or whatever. But that's not how it is for me."
"Okay, so how is it for you?" Angel asked, trying to understand and also hoping that keeping Emiri talking would help her keep it together.
"Well it's like..." Emiri thought for a few moments. "It's just how I felt out there, you know? I was feeling more alive out there than I have in ages. It was like the old days when I..." She stopped short before bringing up her killing sprees for Ozzal. "Well it's just been a long time since I've really been able to let loose, you know? And now it's all gone again. Just as I was getting my taste for blood back."
"Well maybe it's healthier that you don't get that taste back," Angel suggested. "I mean you're not a killing machine anymore. You're a person. I doubt any of us wants you to go back to being what you were before. You'd scare the crap out of Samson, for one thing."
"Oh, he's a big boy. Just because I cut him up a little..."
"You're kinda lucky he let you join us after you did that, you know," Angel pointed out.
"But I haven't done anything baaaad since thennnn..."
"Yeah, and we'd kind of like to keep it that way. I mean..." Angel took a deep breath. "I know you are who you are and you know I love ya and all. But we love ya for who you are now, not who you used to be. You're still a badass chica and all that. But you're a lot more than a killer. I mean you've got a lot more going for yourself, so don't think you can't be fabulous just the way you are."
As Angel's words sank in, Emiri suddenly looked like a little girl, curled up amongst the blankets looking up at Angel with soft eyes. She seemed strangely vulnerable, and Angel wondered if she might cry. She was also surprised at herself for saying something so heartfelt.
Then abruptly the moment of zen passed.
"You gonna tell me I'm preeetty and speeeecial and perrrrfect?" Emiri cooed teasingly.
Angel sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're pretty and special. You're not perfect though if you can't manage to drink a little bourbon without acting like a dumbass."
"Awwww," Emiri pouted. "I'll just have to try harder next time. You go get some more bourbon and I'll try again."
"Yeah, sure, next time the liquor truck comes by."
Despite Emiri's snark, she did seem more subdued, and she had a small smile on her face as she snuggled in the blankets.
Angel watched her, quietly amused, until she realized that Emiri had stopped talking.
"Hey, you're not gonna fall asleep in my bed, are you?"
"Maaaaaybeeee..."
"Ugh... At least let me get you back to your room before you pass out."
"Iunno, man, there's not much left of my bed..."
"Well... let me get Kira to take care of you."
"Kira had to go to the infurmry..."
"Well..." Angel weighed her options. Technically they could probably share the bed that night, but if Emiri was going to be barfing - or violent in any way - Angel wasn't sure she wanted to be there. On the other hand, if Emiri was going to be barfing and/or violent, Angel kinda wanted to be there to do damage control. But on the other hand, maybe she could find someone else's room to stay in for the night...
Before she could make a decision, a resolute knock sounded at the door. Kind of hoping it was Kira coming to rescue Emiri, Angel carefully eased herself off the bed, picked up her crutch, and hobbled over to the door. She opened it to find Mustang standing there with a nervous but determined look on his face.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," Angel answered warily.
Mustang took a deep breath and launched into his prepared speech. "Look, I just want to apologize. Sincerely. Not just trying to save face or anything, I know it's too late for that. But you were right about the way I was acting. It was juvenile and stupid, and I don't want you to think that's the way I really am. I've had a lot of time to think about this and I realized what a huge mistake it would be to let something idiotic like this ruin whatever we might have. So... please, I'm asking you to forgive me and let me show you that I'm not a jealous little boy."
Angel didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure she needed to deal with this right now, but she had to admit that it took a lot of guts for him to apologize to her like that.
"Man, you talk too much. Juss go make out or sumthin..." mumbled Emiri.
"...Is there someone in your bed?" Mustang asked, surprised by the interruption.
"Ugh... just Drunky McSmashed," Angel said, crossing her arms and looking back at her inebriated friend.
"That's not my name..." Emiri protested, raising herself up slightly and then immediately flopping back down.
"Oh," Mustang said, still not quite sure what was going on. "...Is she going to be staying with you tonight?"
Angel turned back to him. "Well she's too drunk to go back to her room, apparently, and she may or may not make a mess in here, so I’m still deciding what to do. I didn't invite her for a pajama party, I can tell you that much."
"I see." Mustang thought for a moment. "Is there... any chance you're looking for somewhere else to spend the night?"
Angel felt her cheeks involuntarily redden. They both knew the implications of what he was asking. At one point in her life, she would have given him a saucy smile, closed the door behind her, and congratulated herself on her choice of lacy underthings for the day. But now... she felt a strange sort of reluctance to throw herself into this man's bed.
"Wooooo you go girrrl, hit dat..." Emiri encouraged.
"You're not helping, you know," Angel said over her shoulder.
She looked back at Mustang, who was looking at her hopefully, and sighed. "Look, Roy, I really do appreciate you coming here to tell me all that stuff. You're right, what happened the other day was stupid, and if we can get past it that's great. For right now, though, I think..." She paused and looked back at Emiri, and made up her mind. "I think I'd better stay here and keep babysitting. I might have to make her sleep on the floor, but I'll make it work."
"I'm not sleeping on the floor," Emiri objected.
"I understand," Mustang said. "Duty calls, especially for a friend." Then something occurred to him. "Um... she is just your friend, right?"
Angel definitely didn't need to be reminded of the awkwardness surrounding his awareness of her attraction to the fair sex. "Yes, we're just friends. There's nothing going on here."
"Are you suuuuure~?" Emiri purred mischievously.
"Oh, quiet, before I shove you out of the bed," Angel snapped.
Fortunately Mustang just laughed. "Well you two have fun, and... I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Angel said, kind of relieved that he seemed to be in a relatively non-angsty mood.
She watched him walk down the hallway, and then sighed and closed the door.
"You must really not want me to barf on your bed," Emiri said.
"Yeah, we'll go with that," Angel replied, not really wanting to get into a big relationship discussion with a snarky drunk.
Fortunately Emiri didn't seem inclined to mess with her about it. "I promise next time I won't get in the way of sexytime," she said, sounding kind of guilty.
"Don't worry about it," Angel said, limping back to the bed. She regarded the situation for a moment.
"Okay, you get this," she said, picking up a trash can and putting it on the floor next to Emiri's head. "And I... get this." She yanked out a comforter, which had been gathered up at the foot of the bed.
"You sure you don't want to just share?" Emiri asked. "I promise I won't kick you... too much."
Angel gave her a disapproving look. "I just got shot in the hip. I don't think I need to get kicked too."
As Angel looked around for a place to settle on the floor, Emiri stuck her lip out, realizing that she had failed to consider her friend's injury.
Abruptly Emiri hoisted herself out of the bed, tottering a little, and marched over to Angel.
"Gimme dat," she said, grabbing the comforter. Before Angel could react, Emiri was making her own little blanket nest in the corner, and then she curled herself up again.
"See I'mma good friend too," Emiri said proudly. "Now go to bed."
With a shake of her head - and after relocating the trash can next to Emiri again - Angel did just that. Just for good measure she tossed an extra pillow in Emiri's direction.
She turned off the lamp next to the bed, and as she settled in it occurred to her that it was a little bit early to be calling it a night. But if Emiri felt like going to sleep already, then it probably wasn't a terrible thing to get some extra rest.
She stayed awake for a while, though, thinking about the developments of the last few days. She wasn't even sure how to feel about Roy now. Things just seemed to get more and more awkward with him. At least things were starting to look up now, even if she wasn't quite ready to jump into bed with him. Of course things would be a lot simpler if all she cared about was getting into bed with him.
"Dammit, apparently I've changed too," Angel muttered to herself. But the more she thought about it, especially in light of her conversation with Emiri earlier, the more she thought that might be okay.
Chapter 50 author's notes:
Recurring characters:
Samson Monroe - MasterSamson
Clarice Rowe - QueenoftheDorks
Hikki Follet - Kohikki
Michelle Ozzal - Mike Lazzo
General Bernice Zoltron - SwimMod_Beezo
Sam Champlan - SamuraiChamplooFan
Lucille "Cille" Compton - Cille
Eric Ominae - OMNI-Enforcer
Roxie Goldsmith - anime_goddess05
*Father John Sadar - FurionTassadar
Raef Compton - Maenos
*Larry Zorin - LAZY17
Foley S. Goode - Foley_is_Good_149
Kaia Namek - namek_kaia
Angel Sarcasta - mgangel1124
Emiri - _Boxers_
Kenzou Tenma - Monster
Izuru Kira - Bleach
Major Makina - Deadman Wonderland
Kenpachi Zaraki - Bleach
Mugen - Samurai Champloo
Kamina - Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
Kenshin Himura - Rurouni Kenshin
Joseph "Jojo" Joestar - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Aoi - Ghost in the Shell
Elian - s-CRY-ed
Roy Mustang - Fullmetal Alchemist
Straight Cougar - s-CRY-ed
*Characters marked with an asterisk are mentioned in this chapter but do not have an active role in the story.
For the first time in a week, the night passed uneventfully for the surviving rebels. No matter how worried, frustrated, or angry they were about having to put an end to the fighting, they were all so exhausted that their bodies welcomed the chance to sleep soundly.
Of course for most of them it felt like it had been much more than a week. It seemed like it had been years since the conflict started, and upon waking some of them had to remind themselves that they didn't need to rush out to the battlefield or the operating room.
It was well into the afternoon before there was any significant activity in the base. By that point the grogginess of the night had begun to wear off, and people were starting to wonder what they should do now and what would happen next. Some of them went back to their roles of serving food, or checking the base's infrastructure, or tending to lingering injuries or damaged equipment, but all of them were mostly just waiting to see what would happen.
**********
In the infirmary, the Syndicate's leaders were already grappling with those very questions. ...Or at least trying, with limited success.
"THIS WAR HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!" Samson wailed, burying his head in his hands.
"Jebus, get ahold of yourself," Clarice chided. "You were unconscious, remember? There's nothing you could have done."
"That's the point, I couldn't do anything. I helped get us into this war, but when the time came, I couldn't do anything to help us get out of it. All I did was get myself almost-killed."
"But you didn't get yourself actually killed. And that's a good thing."
"Yeah, I... I know," Samson said, not sounding entirely convinced. "It's just a kick in the teeth, you know? We spent all that time planning and preparing, and then I wake up and it's all over. It's like I missed out on everything."
Clarice was sympathetic, but something bothered her. "Well, there are some people who would have been happy to sit this thing out, you know."
He looked at her, realizing the implications. "Hey, I know that you and everybody else had a rough time out there. I'm not whining like I got left out of playtime or something. I wish I could have been out there with you, fighting with you. Maybe I could've made a difference, or... I dunno..." He slumped back into his gloom.
Clarice sighed dejectedly, and Hikki was at a loss for words.
The arrival of Dr. Tenma and Kira provided a welcome interruption.
"All right, Mr. Monroe, ready for your procedure?" Tenma said brightly.
"I guess, it doesn't seem to matter if I'm awake or asleep anymore," Samson said emoly.
Tenma wasn't quite sure how to take that. "Well... we'll get you looked at and patched up and back on the road to recovery as soon as we can," he said encouragingly.
"Thank you, doctor," Clarice said, filling in for Samson's lack of manners.
Tenma nodded to Kira, and the two of them lifted Samson onto the gurney they had brought in.
"Why don't you take him in and get him prepped," Tenma said to Kira. "I'll be there in just a minute."
"I can help too," Clarice said, standing quickly. She didn't want to be left out while Samson was going into surgery.
Kira and Clarice wheeled Samson out of the room, and Tenma went over to pick up his chart. He leafed through the pages, checking some things off and making a few notes.
Hikki studied the doctor's face, trying to decide how worried he should be about Samson. He noticed that, despite Tenma's cheerful demeanor, he looked quite tired.
Tenma looked up from the charts abruptly, as if he sensed that he was being watched.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Follet?" he asked, seeing that Hikki was looking straight back at him.
"Um... well, uh..." Hikki felt abashed at being caught staring. "Well I was just seenkeeng... are you sure zees surgery weel be okay?"
"Oh, I don't expect there to be any issues at all," Tenma reassured him. "Your medical staff have kept excellent records. All I'll need to do is retrace their steps and make sure everything is in good shape."
"Well... zat's good, but I meant... well, you have been so beezee... Are you sure you can do zees operation now?"
Tenma rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, all of the major battlefield injuries have been taken care of, and pretty much everything that's left can be handled by the others. I've been wanting to do Samson's follow-up surgery for a few days, so now's as good a time as any." He smiled wryly. "You know, if you want a bright side to look on here, calling an end to the fighting means I can focus on longer-term patients like Samson from now on."
"Oh..." Hikki murmured.
"Is something wrong? I thought you'd be happy to hear that. I understand you're quite devoted to Samson."
Hikki grimaced slightly. So even the new guy already knew all about his long-suffering crush.
"No, eet's... I am glad you are here to take care of heem," Hikki said. "Please do everyseeng you can to restore heem to full health."
Tenma smiled. "I surely will." He regarded Hikki for a moment. "While I'm here, do you mind if I take a look at your ankle? It's been a few days since I checked up on you."
"Um... sure, no problem," Hikki answered.
Tenma pulled back the sheets, sat on the edge of the bed, and started examining Hikki's ankle. "It's definitely less swollen, so that's good. You should stay off it for another week or two, but you should be fine."
Somehow Hikki couldn't feel too excited about that either. "Okay, sank you."
Tenma looked at him empathetically. "I guess Samson's not the only one here feeling low. Are you still worried about what happened yesterday?"
Hikki sighed. "I guess zat's pretty obvious, no?"
"Well if it means anything, you gave a fine speech. I'm sure everyone understands that you did what had to be done."
"I know zat, een my head... eet doesn't make eet feel any less terreeble."
Tenma tried to be positive. "Think of all the lives you saved, by pulling them out of harm's way."
"Saved for how long? Just so zey can starve to death een a few months?" Hikki looked more distressed than ever, and finally let out what he hadn't wanted to say in front of Clarice and Samson. "I have to face ze facts... ze Syndicate ees done for, and eet was all for nossing."
Tenma looked sympathetic and thoughtful. "You know... even though it ended up like this, I wouldn't say it was all for nothing. You may not realize it, but you made a difference to a lot of people. I saw it time and time again while I was on the run. People whose lives had been ruined by the regime. People who had lost loved ones, people who had lost their businesses, their homes... They saw that there were ordinary people who were willing to stand up and fight for people like them, and just knowing that helped them keep going."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Tenma smiled sheepishly. "Truth be told, you could probably count me among those people. So in a way, I have you to thank for my being here today."
Hikki blushed slightly. "Well... I guess zat makes two of us," he stammered, even though he knew that he owed the far greater debt.
The doctor looked modest. "Well, in any case, I know it has to be hard for you being in the position you're in. But I hope you'll take heart. You have a lot of good people here, and you can rely on them. And they believe in you. I know I haven't been here very long, but I can see that."
"You... you can?" Hikki asked, not sure if he could believe it.
"Yeah. It's kind of amazing to me, really. You have all these different people here, all very different, but somehow you've become a family. It makes me glad I decided to come here. It's really something very special."
Hikki felt himself wanting to tear up, but he was struck by something in Tenma's expression. It was a sense of longing, a wistfulness, and a kindness that somehow Hikki had never noticed before...
Tenma took a deep breath, as if snapping himself out of his reverie, and looked at Hikki.
"I'm sorry that I don't really have any words of wisdom for you that might help you figure out what to do next, but I just wanted to let you know what I've seen," he said. "It's not over yet, as long as you're still here and still have the will to go on. I learned that while I was on the run too."
Hikki feebly but appreciatively returned his smile. In truth it did mean a lot to him to hear these inspiring words and to be reminded of the family they still had left.
Tenma stood and held up the medical chart. "Well then, I'd better not keep Mr. Monroe waiting any longer. I'm sure you'll be wanting him back safe and sound."
Hikki nodded, and Tenma turned to go. As the door closed Hikki relaxed back into his bed and pulled the sheets back up over his chest.
He was still worried about Samson's recovery, but he felt much better knowing that Samson was in Dr. Tenma's hands. He had seen firsthand what Tenma had done for his comrades, and he had absolute faith in his surgical abilities. But more than that, he felt a calming sense of trust in Tenma as a person. And as he continued thinking about Samson's situation, and recalling the conversation he had just had, he found his thoughts revolving more around the doctor than the patient.
Had he really not noticed how handsome Tenma was until now? Images came back now that Hikki hadn't quite registered before: the encouraging smiles he gave his patients, the look of concern over people he barely knew, a lock of stray black hair falling over his face as he concentrated...
Hikki quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He could see where this was heading, and the last thing he needed right now was yet another impetuous infatuation. They all had more important things to think about. Besides, he had no way of knowing whether Tenma was even gay or not, and he certainly wasn't going to make that mistake again.
But for a while after Tenma had left the room, Hikki remained lost in thought. He certainly had plenty on his mind to mull over. And if those thoughts occasionally turned back to that handsome doctor, well, c'est la vie.
**********
Ozzal had stayed in bed for most of the day after being up all night throwing a victory party for herself. Makina, however, had spent the day making phone calls and sending emails, taking it upon herself to relay orders and get information from their various contacts and offices back in Orly. It was intensive work, especially after days of just standing behind Ozzal making polite conversation and preparing snacks. But she wanted to have a solid report ready whenever Ozzal made her appearance.
The time came soon enough. Ozzal ambled into the control room, still wearing her ducky jammies. Makina immediately sprang from the chair and turned to salute her. "Good afternoon, madam. I trust you enjoyed your respite."
"Were you just sitting in my chair?" Ozzal muttered, wiping the crusty stuff from the corners of her eyes.
"Apologies, madam, I took the liberty of using your work area to conduct some business," Makina answered.
"Business? What kind of business?"
Makina took a deep breath, bullet-point list at the ready.
"The Orly Review printed the front-page article celebrating your victory this morning, as forwarded by your speechwriters. My subordinates at Comdot Estate are on high alert for any unauthorized persons attempting to enter the estate. The Comdot prison facilities are also on full lockdown. Police patrols on the streets have been increased, as well as traffic checkpoints throughout the city. Our agents are rounding up suspicious persons throughout the city as we speak. A 9pm curfew will be in effect beginning tonight. And all of the television stations in the country have been shut down except for OZTV, which will be broadcasting your favorite reality shows along with customized news programs and repeats of your 'Behind the Dictator' VH1 special."
With each item on the list, Ozzal's eyebrows had risen slightly higher. "You did all that?"
"Yes, madam."
"Well... in that case, I might as well go back to bed," Ozzal mumbled, starting to turn around.
"If I may say so," Makina said quickly, "I would advise against that. It's healthier to maintain a regular sleep schedule, and if you go back to sleep now it would disrupt your sleeping patterns tonight."
"Okay, Mom," Ozzal said, sounding like a disgruntled teenager. "But I'm still going to wear my PJ's all day."
Makina smiled. "Of course, madam."
She stood to the side, and gestured to Ozzal to take her seat in the cushy chair. Ozzal took her time moseying over and flopped wearily into the chair.
"I've also been receiving reports from General Zoltron," Makina continued, reaching for some papers lying on the console. "In addition to the main entrance captured yesterday, two additional entrances have been discovered and secured. Our forces are in the process of retrieving any significant wreckage, including both ours and the rebels'. Injured personnel are being treated on-site or evacuated as necessary. And patrols have been on alert for any sign of further rebel activity or attempts to flee the area."
"Ha, fleeing the area. I'd almost like to let them try just to watch them get run down before they get fifty feet away," Ozzal smirked.
"Indeed, madam. However it appears that the rebels have made no effort to leave their base. They seem to be resigned to a siege."
"Well that's fine too, let them cower in their hole. It'll make less trouble for me. Which reminds me, how are plans coming for my victory parade?"
"Parade?" Makina asked uncertainly.
"Well yeah, I'll have to have a big parade when I ride triumphantly back into Orly. What do you think, would it make more of an impression to see me waving from the top of a tank, or a fancy sports car?"
"Well... either would be entirely flattering to you, but..." Makina hesitated, and then went on resolutely. "I'm sure you've considered the practical aspects of the current state of affairs, and I don't need to point out to you that there is a certain amount of risk involved in your returning to Orly so soon after the quashing of the rebellion."
"What do you mean risk?" Ozzal asked, having the sneaking suspicion that Makina was trying to keep her from getting her way. "What could possibly stop me now?"
"You have to be careful, madam. This is a critical time, and there will be a lot of desperate people out there. The chances of your assassination are as high as they've ever been. I don't think it would be wise for you to appear in public until we're quite sure it's safe for you."
Ozzal scowled. "I've been cooped up in this hole for like two months now. You're telling me I can't go back to my nice spacious mansion and live like a queen again?"
"Not yet, madam," Makina answered. "I understand your wishes, but my primary concern is for your safety. Especially considering what happened in Comdot a few weeks ago... I simply can't take that chance again."
Ozzal crossed her arms and pouted. Makina considered the situation, and decided to attempt to sweeten the bitter pill.
"I will do my best to make your current accommodations as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Is there anything I can have brought in from Comdot, or any luxuries you would like made available here?"
Ozzal just crossed her arms and pouted even harder. Then, as Makina began to wonder if she had crossed a line, Ozzal grumbled, "I want some chocolate cake. And some rum balls. And some rum. And a foosball table. And a pirated digital copy of Hot Tub Time Machine 2."
Makina relaxed, amused at her superior's whims. "Of course, madam, I'll get on those right away. And if there's anything else I can do for you, don't hesitate to let me know."
"Yeah, sure," Ozzal muttered, still kind of grouchy about her parade. "You can start by making me some waffles. I really feel like waffles right about now."
"At once, madam," Makina said dutifully, bowing slightly and striding purposefully out of the room.
Once she was alone, Ozzal contemplated her monitors, most of which had gone black now that there wasn't much to see on the battlefield. She pursed her lips, but the lingering disappointment soon gave way to a resurgence of smugness. So she couldn't go back to being a queen in her palace right away. The country was still hers, and it was only a matter of time before the entire world would bow before her power.
She leaned forward and clicked on one of the monitors. Finally locating a remote control among the stash of papers and snack wrappers around her chair, she sat back to enjoy the ongoing The Biggest Loser marathon while she waited for her waffles.
**********
Dinnertime in the Syndicate's cafeteria had turned into an impromptu meeting of the GAR Streeters. Even though they weren't fighting anymore, they were still as hungry as ever, and as they woke up from their naps and hangovers they inevitably found their way to the dining hall. Over the course of a couple of hours most of them congregated there, having nowhere else to really be after they finished eating.
Their conversations generally involved trading stories of their battlefield exploits, along with a few eating contests, belching contests, and arm-wrestling contests to entertain themselves. But it was only a matter of time before they started discussing what they would do now. And once the topic came up, it was only another matter of time before they started discussing it loudly and emphatically.
"Well of course we're blowing this popsicle stand," Kenpachi shouted, annoyed that anyone would assume otherwise. "What the hell else are we supposed to do here?"
"Yeah, this war is over," Mugen agreed. "We already spent way too much time cooped up in here waiting for the action to start, I'm not gonna sit around here now that it's over."
"Not to mention that the action was never even as advertised," Sam Champlan added. "Two armies, was it? We didn't even get a fraction of one. I might as well go back to napping and drinking all day."
The general rabble chimed in, many agreeing with the desire to hit the road while others tried to argue for staying.
During the entire conversation up to this point, Kamina had been sitting at a corner table with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. But he couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"So you just want to bail out now that things aren't going our way, is that it?" he challenged, not moving from his seat.
"Oh, there's the great motivator," Kenpachi snarked. "You gonna give us another speech about helping the underdog and fighting the good fight?"
"Sounds like I don't have to," Kamina replied. "You already know in your hearts how it is. You're just looking for an excuse to welch out."
"You wanna come over here and say that to my face?" Kenpachi growled, rising from his seat and leaning menacingly in Kamina's direction.
"You can hear me just fine from here," Kamina said. "And you already know what I'm going to say, or at least you should. This war might be over, but that doesn't mean we should just quit. We came here to help these people, and as long as they're not giving up then neither should we."
"Hey look, if these Syndicate guys want to keep believing in the heart of the cards or whatever then that's their thing," Sam said. "But we put in our time and nobody better tell me we didn't do our part to help here. Hell, I think more of our guys got killed than their guys."
"Then isn't that even more reason to see this thing through to the end?" Kamina asked.
"Aww hell no, don't give me some crap about how we have to honor our fallen brothers," Kenpachi retorted. "We all knew what we were getting into when we signed on for this. We knew it was going to be risky and that's why we came. The guys who died did it with no regrets, and we'd insult them by feeling sorry for them. So don't even try feeding us that BS that we have to stay here so their sacrifice was 'worth it.'"
"What about the sacrifices made by the people here?" Kenshin spoke up. "It was clear that most of them didn't know what they were getting into. But they fought and tried their hardest anyway, even as many of them died. Isn't that worth honoring?"
Kenpachi just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, we can give them a big ol' medal for trying so hard. Still don't mean we have to stay."
"Of course you don't 'have to,'" Kamina said. "Nobody's forcing anyone to do anything. But if you're gonna decide to do something, you'd better make damn sure it's the right thing to do."
"That's right," Jojo agreed. "We shouldn't make a hasty decision just because it seems like the easy way out."
"How is this decision not obvious?" Kenpachi said. "You heard what Frenchie said. He said we couldn't win this thing by fighting, right? Well fighting's what we came here to do, wasn't it? If we can't fight anymore, what the hell are we supposed to do?"
The rabble got louder as the men debated the answer to this question.
"Now hang on, guys," Jojo said. "There has to be something we can do. As long as we don't give up, there's still a chance we can win."
"And what makes you think we can still win without fighting?" Sam shot back. "You got any great strategies for that, genius?"
"Ehm... well..." Jojo felt a little stymied. "I don't think skedaddling would work that well in this situation..."
"Actually, that sounds like a great idea," Mugen said, pushing his chair back. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm gonna skedaddle myself right on out of here."
"Where do you think you're going?" Kamina asked as Mugen stood up.
"The hell away from here," Mugen answered. "After that, wherever the hell I want. You can do what you want, but I'm gonna do what I want. And I want out of here."
Several others, including Kenpachi and Sam, murmured their agreement and also stood to go.
"How are you going to get out?" Kenshin asked. "By now the army probably has the base surrounded."
"Then we'll just plow through them," Kenpachi said with a wicked grin. "Let's go boys, there's a way out right around the corner here."
The posse of departing fighters surged after Kenpachi, shouting raucously. Kamina and his supporters followed after them, still trying vainly to convince them to at least be cautious.
Kenpachi reached the exterior door, which had been used as a supply line to the kitchen facilities. With a final victorious glare at Kamina, he entered the access code to open it.
The heavy metal door slid open, revealing the waning light of the late afternoon. Unfortunately, it also revealed the barrels of several guns and a couple of tanks - pointed directly into the entrance into the base.
"Dammit, it's an ambush!" Kamina called.
"Fine with me, that means we get to fight!" Kenpachi exulted, charging forward along with several other GAR Streeters.
"OPEN FIRE!" came the order from the military ranks. Bullets and a mortar round came flying toward the fighters, who mostly managed to evade or deflect the projectiles. The grenades that followed through the door were more problematic, and then a wave of soldiers arrived to force their way into the base. Kamina, Kenshin and the others found themselves having to fight just to fend off the encroaching enemies.
"Don't let them in!" Kamina shouted. "They'll try to take over the base!"
The men fought as fiercely as ever, but the army was just as determined to infiltrate the base. It soon became clear that the GAR Streeters would be overwhelmed by sheer firepower.
"We have to get this door closed!" Kamina declared. "Get your asses in here or I don't care what happens to you!"
"Dammit..." Kenpachi grumbled. He and the others who had rushed out with him had taken the brunt of the army's barrage, and as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't going to be able to get anywhere through this mass of enemies.
He and the rest of the group fell back, pulling their more seriously injured comrades with them, and Kamina managed to force the door closed despite the flood of soldiers still pushing their way inside.
"Finish them all off! Don't let any of them get farther into the base!" Kamina ordered.
The fighters managed to subdue all of the soldiers who had made it inside, and then Kenshin and Jojo each led a group down the hallways to make sure no other enemies had gotten away.
"You see? That little stunt could have been the end of us all," Kamina said angrily. "We're lucky they didn't get a tank or something over here fast enough to wedge the door open. If they'd taken over the base we'd all be dead meat."
Before Kenpachi could answer, Cille's voice came shrieking through the intercom. "What the hell is going on there? Who opened that door?!"
Kamina looked reproachfully at Kenpachi, who just went "hrmph" and looked away.
"It's all under control now," Kamina answered. "Just some idiots thinking it was time for shore leave."
"Shore leave? Do they understand the position we're in? Do they know what the word siege means? No one leaves here without an evacuation plan in place!" Cille raged.
"Geez, what's got her undies all in a twist?" Kenpachi muttered.
"Just shut up," Kamina snapped at him. "I think they learned their lesson," he said to Cille. "And I'm sure they're quite sorry. We're going to have some more work for the medical teams once we haul their sorry butts over to the infirmary."
"I'll... tell them to be ready for you," Cille said with a sigh. "Just... please tell me this isn't going to happen again."
"I'll make sure of it," Kamina said firmly. Once the intercom connection was closed, he gave one last meaningful glare to Kenpachi and instructed the others to pick up their injured comrades and take them to the medical quarters.
**********
"I can't believe it... I just..." Cille mumbled, holding her hand to her face as she crumpled back into her chair.
"We probably should have locked down all of the doors, not just the ones we knew had been compromised," Aoi said ruefully. "I can do that now if you want."
"Go ahead. We'll change the access codes later in case somebody actually needs to get out. But for now... I don't want any more surprises."
"Roger that," Aoi answered, typing away.
"Try to take it easy, Cille," Eric said gently. He'd been alarmed by her outburst over the intercom. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be angry at those guys for being stupid, but you should try to relax. You've been more on-edge today than you were during the actual war."
"Easier said than done," Cille said. "Just because the fighting's over doesn't mean my job is done. If anything my job's going to get even harder, trying to figure out how we're all going to get out of this mess alive."
Eric understood, but he was still concerned. He'd been impressed by how Cille was able to keep her cool while she was monitoring and directing the troops, but now that she wasn't constantly in "mission mode" the frazzled emotions that she'd barely been keeping in check were starting to come out.
The three of them had been back in the control room for a few hours. The room seemed strangely empty without the mass of monitors and the greenish dome that had surrounded Elian for the past week. The young Alter user was recuperating after his exhausting week, and Cille and the others found themselves without their link to the outside world.
"At least we've learned something, we need to get those surveillance cameras back online," Cille said, tapping crossly on one of the few remaining monitors. "We need to know what's going on out there even without Elian."
"I know, I know," Aoi said, his calm voice betraying just a hint of exasperation. "The jamming they're using out there is messing with our external electronics. I'm pretty sure that technology didn't exist when this bunker was built, so they didn't account for it with the construction. I'm working on it, but it'll take some time to get around it."
"I know, and I appreciate what you're doing. Just do your best," Cille said, trying to sound encouraging.
"Don't forget to call the infirmary, Cille," Eric reminded her.
"I'm getting to it," Cille said, leaning back toward the intercom. She pushed a few buttons. "Calling the infirmary, this is Cille, is someone there?"
She waited a few moments, and then someone responded on the other end. "Hi Cille, Roxie here. What's up?"
"How are things looking down there right now?" Cille asked.
"We're doing all right. Samson just came out of surgery and Dr. Tenma says he's in good shape. Otherwise it's pretty quiet."
"It's about to get a little more rowdy, I'm afraid," Cille said. "Some of our meatheaded comrades just had a welcoming party for some enemy troops at one of our entry points. Kamina says they'll be coming by with some injuries for you guys to tend to."
"Oh geez. Okay, we'll take care of them," Roxie said.
"Thanks. Keep up the good work," Cille said.
"Will do. Oh hey Cille, while I've got you on the phone, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Roxie said.
"What is it?" Cille asked, hoping it wasn't another crisis she'd have to deal with.
"Well, it's about all the bodies we've got," Roxie answered.
"Um... bodies?" Cille asked, before realizing what Roxie meant. "Oh, the people who died..."
"Yeah," Roxie said. "We've got an awful lot of them in the temporary morgue. Well... it was supposed to be temporary, but if we're going to be here a while, then I don't think cold storage is going to be enough. If they start decomposing, then we'll have to worry about contamination issues and possibly disease."
"Geez, it'll be like the Black Plague in here," Cille sighed.
"Well... hopefully not that bad," Roxie said with a slight chuckle.
"Right," Cille said. "So we should find a place to bury them, or what?"
"Hmm... that would be an option, if we can find a good place to do it. And if we can satisfy the need for a 'proper' burial, which might be tough with so many people. They might not want their final resting place to be hidden in some underground bunker, and I wouldn't even know where to start trying to figure out all of their religious beliefs..."
Cille rubbed her temple. "Well we've lost our priest, so I guess last rites or whatever are out of the question."
"Yeah..." Roxie answered softly, and Cille realized the Order of Glass member was probably still coping with Sadar's death.
"Any other ideas?" she asked quickly, sort of trying to change the subject.
"I was thinking of something, actually," Roxie replied. "General Mustang can control fire, right?"
"That's right," Cille said. "So you're thinking cremation?"
"Yeah," Roxie said. "If we can find containers for all of them, we can catalogue them until we're ready for their burials."
"I like that idea," Cille said, relieved to have found a solution. "I'll talk to Mustang about it as soon as I see him. Can you handle the rest from there?"
"I think so," Roxie answered. "I'll do my best."
"Great. Any other news to report?"
"Um..." Roxie seemed to hesitate. "Well it's not that important, but maybe you should know..."
She was interrupted by the sound of a monumental explosion, accompanied by what felt like an earthquake.
"What in the world was that?!" Roxie exclaimed.
"Bloody hell, are they bombing us now?" Cille said.
"Sounds like it," Eric replied.
Before they could discuss the situation further, the lights on the intercom started blinking furiously with incoming calls.
"Dammit, looks like I'm gonna need to calm everybody down," Cille grumbled.
"Should we not be worried, then?" Roxie asked uncertainly.
"Not really," Cille said. "This is a bomb shelter, after all. It was built to withstand stuff like that. They're probably just trying to freak us out."
"Okay... Oh, sounds like the injured guys are starting to come in. I need to get to work."
"That's fine," Cille said. "What were you going to tell me before?"
"Don't worry about it, it's not that important," Roxie said. "You've got more than enough to deal with."
Cille could hear boisterous voices in the background. "Sounds like you'll have your hands full there too," she said. "Bye for now, then."
She closed the line to the infirmary and started answering the rest of the panicked calls, reassuring each person that they'd be fine and just needed to stay calm. She sounded more confident than she felt, but at least she could be fairly certain they wouldn't die from getting bombed.
Raef came into the room just as she was answering the last of the flashing lights.
"Well that was quite a thing, wasn't it?" he said once Cille was done with the call.
She leaned back into her chair and gave him an exasperated look.
Raef laughed. "Well maybe my report will help cheer you up."
"Lord I sure hope so," Cille said. "What've you got?"
Raef held up a notebook, the first page of which was covered with scribbled notes. "I spent the day double-checking the various systems in the bunker, starting with the most critical ones like the air purification and water. We should be fine on those, since the river that supplies the water and runs our generators is far enough underground that I doubt the army even knows it's there. I guess they could try poisoning the entire ground around here, but it would probably take a long time for it to leach down to where it would affect our water supply. And they can't cut off the water, so we can keep the power going, which will keep the air supply going indefinitely too. Barring any mechanical malfunction, of course."
"I trust you can take care of that stuff if anything happens, right?" Cille asked.
"Yeah, between Larry and me, we could fix just about anything," Raef said confidently.
"Okay, good," Cille said. "What other systems did you look at?"
"Well the sewage and waste removal stuff was... interesting. It's basically a bunch of big septic tanks throughout the base. I didn't look at those too closely, but I'm guessing we'll be okay on waste removal for a while. So um... I guess we won't have to worry about having a bunch of poo sitting around."
Cille wrinkled her nose. "That's a blessing. Good call checking on that, though."
"Um..." Raef consulted his notes. "I checked with Foley about the food stock. He estimates about 2-3 months on food, although that will depend largely on what kind of rationing we decide to do. He did observe that there are a lot of guys here who probably wouldn't like having their food and booze supplies cut short."
Cille rolled her eyes. "Yeah, probably the same ones who thought they could just waltz out of here any time they wanted."
Raef raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Cille just waved her hand. "I'll tell you about it later," she said.
"So we'll have to figure out how to make the food supplies last, but we're okay on that for now," Raef continued. "We will be short on medical supplies, but I talked to Kaia and she said they can probably make do with what they have." He turned to the second page of his notes. "Beyond that, kitchen facilities are still operational... there are some problems with the surveillance systems, though. I think they're getting jammed or something."
Cille glanced at Aoi. "Yeah, we're working on that."
"Mmkay. That's about all I had. There's some electrical stuff I'll need to tune up, but otherwise we're pretty much good to go."
"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that," Cille said, relieved.
"So have you thought about an evacuation? Are we going to try to make an escape?" Raef asked.
"We can't do anything right now without knowing where the army is located," Cille said. "It's a good bet they've spread out and will be watching for us to come outside. We'll discuss it and see if there's a way out of this, but for now we decided to just take some time to let everyone recover and come up with a good plan before we try any big maneuvers."
"That seems like a good idea," Raef said. "On one hand the longer we wait, the more time the army will have to block up our escape routes. But you're right that we should be cautious about how we do it."
Cille nodded. "We were lucky to get everybody inside the base last night without any casualties or breaches. A full evacuation would require getting even more people over several miles out in the open. As soon as they spotted us, we'd be in the middle of an all-out battle just to get away. That's not to mention all of the injured people we have here. There are a lot of people who can't walk and some who aren't even conscious. We can't just leave people behind, but trying to carry them along would just make things even harder. I guess we could try to move out smaller groups escorted by fighters, but..."
Raef put a hand on Cille's shoulder. He could tell that she was starting to get worked up again about the difficult logistics. "Well I can tell you've already put a lot of thought into this. I'm sure once you're ready to put a plan together you guys will be able to work out something good."
Cille smiled and relaxed a little. She knew that her son was mostly just indulging her, but she appreciated the thought.
"Why don't you call it a day in here, Cille?" Eric added, seeing an opportunity to suggest that she go off-duty to unwind. "You've put in plenty of time today and there's not much more we can do here. You could use the time to recharge for those strategy sessions."
"Yeah, I know, you don't have to lecture me too much. You guys are starting to sound like Cougar," she said with a laugh. Despite her stress, she was still self-aware to know that she'd been pushing herself pretty hard. And she actually did feel better with her friends watching out for her, especially Raef.
"Speaking of, I saw him carrying boxes around for Foley," Raef said. "He could probably use a nice quiet evening too."
"Hint taken," Cille said, rising from her chair. "All right, I'll leave the rest of the world's problems in your capable hands."
"Well look who we have here," Eric said, noticing that Cougar had appeared in the doorway.
"Special delivery," he said with a grin, holding up some sheets of notebook paper.
Seeing Cille's "what is it now?" expression, he quickly explained. "Foley tallied up everything he's got in stock and wrote up a report. Thought you might like to see it."
"I'll take that," Raef said, yoinking the papers from Cougar's hand before Cille could get ahold of them. He added them to his notes. "Cille's officially on break now. You guys should go relax for the night."
Cougar raised an eyebrow at Cille, and she gave him a smile and a shrug. "I'm under orders," she said, as if she had no other choice.
"Then I guess it's my job to make sure you don't work too hard," Cougar said, holding out his hand gallantly. She took it, and he led her out of the room.
The others watched them go, and then Raef and Eric exchanged looks while Aoi busied himself with his computer.
"Just hang onto those until tomorrow," Eric told Raef. "I have a feeling once things have settled down a little, the brass are going to have to start making some decisions. You can present your reports then."
"You got it," Raef answered. "You guys are gonna get some rest too, right?"
"I think we'll be here a while longer working on the surveillance systems," Eric said. "We'll see how that goes."
"I'll stay in case you need some input on the electrical or anything," Raef said, putting his notes down and taking a seat in Cille's chair.
"Might as well get comfortable," Aoi said. "We might be here for a while."
**********
"Maybe you've had enough," Angel said, grabbing the bourbon bottle that Emiri was in the process of knocking over in her fumbling attempts to pick it up.
"Don't even start with me," Emiri slurred, snatching the bottle from Angel's hands.
The two of them were sitting on the bed in Angel's room, which Emiri had invaded earlier demanding to know where Angel kept her stash of liquor.
Emiri didn't even bother refilling her glass, and just chugged straight from the bottle. Then, with a disappointed groan, she held it up over her mouth and shook it. A single drop was all that came out.
"Okay now I've had enough," she admitted. Then she gave Angel a sly look. "Unless you've got more somewhere~..."
"If I did I sure as hell wouldn't let you waste it all," Angel retorted, taking the empty bottle away before Emiri had the chance to smash it somewhere.
"When did you become not very much fun?" Emiri grumbled.
"About the same time I had to become a babysitter for someone who apparently can't control herself," Angel said. "Believe me, I'm not enjoying being responsible either. But at least one of us has to make sure you don't barf on my bed."
"Oh come on, I haven't had thaaaat muuuuch," Emiri drawled, curling up in Angel's blankets.
"I don't even want to know how much you've had to get this drunk," Angel said. She knew that Emiri could hold her liquor, and she also knew that if Emiri had come looking for more alcohol it meant that she'd already consumed everything she had on hand.
"I'm not thaaaat druuuuunk," Emiri replied. "Okay maybe I am but I deserve it. You don't do that to a girl and then tell her she can't get drunk."
"Do what?"
"You know, that... that thing... he did..."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Mmmm..." Emiri rubbed her face, trying to make the words make sense. "That Hikki. Stopping us. Telling us it was all over."
"You mean stopping the war?"
"Mm-hmm."
Angel raised her eyebrows. "You think it's bad that we don't have to go out there and try not to get ourselves killed anymore?"
Emiri sighed shortly. "Well maybe it's different for you. Maybe you're happy about it. I mean whatever, I don't blame you if you think you're gonna get killed or whatever. But that's not how it is for me."
"Okay, so how is it for you?" Angel asked, trying to understand and also hoping that keeping Emiri talking would help her keep it together.
"Well it's like..." Emiri thought for a few moments. "It's just how I felt out there, you know? I was feeling more alive out there than I have in ages. It was like the old days when I..." She stopped short before bringing up her killing sprees for Ozzal. "Well it's just been a long time since I've really been able to let loose, you know? And now it's all gone again. Just as I was getting my taste for blood back."
"Well maybe it's healthier that you don't get that taste back," Angel suggested. "I mean you're not a killing machine anymore. You're a person. I doubt any of us wants you to go back to being what you were before. You'd scare the crap out of Samson, for one thing."
"Oh, he's a big boy. Just because I cut him up a little..."
"You're kinda lucky he let you join us after you did that, you know," Angel pointed out.
"But I haven't done anything baaaad since thennnn..."
"Yeah, and we'd kind of like to keep it that way. I mean..." Angel took a deep breath. "I know you are who you are and you know I love ya and all. But we love ya for who you are now, not who you used to be. You're still a badass chica and all that. But you're a lot more than a killer. I mean you've got a lot more going for yourself, so don't think you can't be fabulous just the way you are."
As Angel's words sank in, Emiri suddenly looked like a little girl, curled up amongst the blankets looking up at Angel with soft eyes. She seemed strangely vulnerable, and Angel wondered if she might cry. She was also surprised at herself for saying something so heartfelt.
Then abruptly the moment of zen passed.
"You gonna tell me I'm preeetty and speeeecial and perrrrfect?" Emiri cooed teasingly.
Angel sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're pretty and special. You're not perfect though if you can't manage to drink a little bourbon without acting like a dumbass."
"Awwww," Emiri pouted. "I'll just have to try harder next time. You go get some more bourbon and I'll try again."
"Yeah, sure, next time the liquor truck comes by."
Despite Emiri's snark, she did seem more subdued, and she had a small smile on her face as she snuggled in the blankets.
Angel watched her, quietly amused, until she realized that Emiri had stopped talking.
"Hey, you're not gonna fall asleep in my bed, are you?"
"Maaaaaybeeee..."
"Ugh... At least let me get you back to your room before you pass out."
"Iunno, man, there's not much left of my bed..."
"Well... let me get Kira to take care of you."
"Kira had to go to the infurmry..."
"Well..." Angel weighed her options. Technically they could probably share the bed that night, but if Emiri was going to be barfing - or violent in any way - Angel wasn't sure she wanted to be there. On the other hand, if Emiri was going to be barfing and/or violent, Angel kinda wanted to be there to do damage control. But on the other hand, maybe she could find someone else's room to stay in for the night...
Before she could make a decision, a resolute knock sounded at the door. Kind of hoping it was Kira coming to rescue Emiri, Angel carefully eased herself off the bed, picked up her crutch, and hobbled over to the door. She opened it to find Mustang standing there with a nervous but determined look on his face.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," Angel answered warily.
Mustang took a deep breath and launched into his prepared speech. "Look, I just want to apologize. Sincerely. Not just trying to save face or anything, I know it's too late for that. But you were right about the way I was acting. It was juvenile and stupid, and I don't want you to think that's the way I really am. I've had a lot of time to think about this and I realized what a huge mistake it would be to let something idiotic like this ruin whatever we might have. So... please, I'm asking you to forgive me and let me show you that I'm not a jealous little boy."
Angel didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure she needed to deal with this right now, but she had to admit that it took a lot of guts for him to apologize to her like that.
"Man, you talk too much. Juss go make out or sumthin..." mumbled Emiri.
"...Is there someone in your bed?" Mustang asked, surprised by the interruption.
"Ugh... just Drunky McSmashed," Angel said, crossing her arms and looking back at her inebriated friend.
"That's not my name..." Emiri protested, raising herself up slightly and then immediately flopping back down.
"Oh," Mustang said, still not quite sure what was going on. "...Is she going to be staying with you tonight?"
Angel turned back to him. "Well she's too drunk to go back to her room, apparently, and she may or may not make a mess in here, so I’m still deciding what to do. I didn't invite her for a pajama party, I can tell you that much."
"I see." Mustang thought for a moment. "Is there... any chance you're looking for somewhere else to spend the night?"
Angel felt her cheeks involuntarily redden. They both knew the implications of what he was asking. At one point in her life, she would have given him a saucy smile, closed the door behind her, and congratulated herself on her choice of lacy underthings for the day. But now... she felt a strange sort of reluctance to throw herself into this man's bed.
"Wooooo you go girrrl, hit dat..." Emiri encouraged.
"You're not helping, you know," Angel said over her shoulder.
She looked back at Mustang, who was looking at her hopefully, and sighed. "Look, Roy, I really do appreciate you coming here to tell me all that stuff. You're right, what happened the other day was stupid, and if we can get past it that's great. For right now, though, I think..." She paused and looked back at Emiri, and made up her mind. "I think I'd better stay here and keep babysitting. I might have to make her sleep on the floor, but I'll make it work."
"I'm not sleeping on the floor," Emiri objected.
"I understand," Mustang said. "Duty calls, especially for a friend." Then something occurred to him. "Um... she is just your friend, right?"
Angel definitely didn't need to be reminded of the awkwardness surrounding his awareness of her attraction to the fair sex. "Yes, we're just friends. There's nothing going on here."
"Are you suuuuure~?" Emiri purred mischievously.
"Oh, quiet, before I shove you out of the bed," Angel snapped.
Fortunately Mustang just laughed. "Well you two have fun, and... I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Angel said, kind of relieved that he seemed to be in a relatively non-angsty mood.
She watched him walk down the hallway, and then sighed and closed the door.
"You must really not want me to barf on your bed," Emiri said.
"Yeah, we'll go with that," Angel replied, not really wanting to get into a big relationship discussion with a snarky drunk.
Fortunately Emiri didn't seem inclined to mess with her about it. "I promise next time I won't get in the way of sexytime," she said, sounding kind of guilty.
"Don't worry about it," Angel said, limping back to the bed. She regarded the situation for a moment.
"Okay, you get this," she said, picking up a trash can and putting it on the floor next to Emiri's head. "And I... get this." She yanked out a comforter, which had been gathered up at the foot of the bed.
"You sure you don't want to just share?" Emiri asked. "I promise I won't kick you... too much."
Angel gave her a disapproving look. "I just got shot in the hip. I don't think I need to get kicked too."
As Angel looked around for a place to settle on the floor, Emiri stuck her lip out, realizing that she had failed to consider her friend's injury.
Abruptly Emiri hoisted herself out of the bed, tottering a little, and marched over to Angel.
"Gimme dat," she said, grabbing the comforter. Before Angel could react, Emiri was making her own little blanket nest in the corner, and then she curled herself up again.
"See I'mma good friend too," Emiri said proudly. "Now go to bed."
With a shake of her head - and after relocating the trash can next to Emiri again - Angel did just that. Just for good measure she tossed an extra pillow in Emiri's direction.
She turned off the lamp next to the bed, and as she settled in it occurred to her that it was a little bit early to be calling it a night. But if Emiri felt like going to sleep already, then it probably wasn't a terrible thing to get some extra rest.
She stayed awake for a while, though, thinking about the developments of the last few days. She wasn't even sure how to feel about Roy now. Things just seemed to get more and more awkward with him. At least things were starting to look up now, even if she wasn't quite ready to jump into bed with him. Of course things would be a lot simpler if all she cared about was getting into bed with him.
"Dammit, apparently I've changed too," Angel muttered to herself. But the more she thought about it, especially in light of her conversation with Emiri earlier, the more she thought that might be okay.
Chapter 50 author's notes:
Recurring characters:
Samson Monroe - MasterSamson
Clarice Rowe - QueenoftheDorks
Hikki Follet - Kohikki
Michelle Ozzal - Mike Lazzo
General Bernice Zoltron - SwimMod_Beezo
Sam Champlan - SamuraiChamplooFan
Lucille "Cille" Compton - Cille
Eric Ominae - OMNI-Enforcer
Roxie Goldsmith - anime_goddess05
*Father John Sadar - FurionTassadar
Raef Compton - Maenos
*Larry Zorin - LAZY17
Foley S. Goode - Foley_is_Good_149
Kaia Namek - namek_kaia
Angel Sarcasta - mgangel1124
Emiri - _Boxers_
Kenzou Tenma - Monster
Izuru Kira - Bleach
Major Makina - Deadman Wonderland
Kenpachi Zaraki - Bleach
Mugen - Samurai Champloo
Kamina - Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
Kenshin Himura - Rurouni Kenshin
Joseph "Jojo" Joestar - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Aoi - Ghost in the Shell
Elian - s-CRY-ed
Roy Mustang - Fullmetal Alchemist
Straight Cougar - s-CRY-ed
*Characters marked with an asterisk are mentioned in this chapter but do not have an active role in the story.