Chapter 13

"Do you have everything?"

I suppressed a sigh as Aries once more grabbed me by my shoulders, stepping out of his bed. The fabric of my blue jumper stuck between his claws, his grip was way too tight on one side and gentle on the other. Miranda told me his hands would still be messed up for a while and that it might be even longer until the fur grew back, I used my eyes to trace the old surgical scars on his hands, wrists, and forearms. That was not Miranda's handiwork, they were old but still very visible.

I wonder if they still hurt... You wouldn't tell me would you though, Ringtail? Just shy of a superhero, aren't you...

He looked just as stoic as I always remembered. After all, no injury could keep him down for long.

"I packed everything," I gently tapped his arms, looking him in the eyes as he slowly released my shoulders. He stepped back and leaned against the bed, rubbing his hands gingerly. His eyes darted to the bag next to my feet. "I promise."

"Are you certain you will be unimpeded? I can go to assure-"

"O-ho no the hell you are not," Miranda snapped at him from across the room. Pointing at him, the medic held up a bottle of some medicine, I assumed. "What you are going to do is lay down and rest, incendiary round and burn wounds don't just heal themselves. Doesn't matter how weirdly fast you've been recovering."

"What if I want to leave? How will a scrawny doc like you stop me?"

"I have York guarding the door. You're staying and resting, like it or not. Now lay down, I can see you trying to act like you don't hurt."

Aries reluctantly did as he was told, with visible relief the moment he rested his head on the pillow. The rebel doctor turned her head away, and Aries dug under his pillow, pulling out two small black radios and one of his throwing knives.

I opened my mouth, but he then reached down to his bedside and handed me his short sword. "It's dangerous to go alone."

Miranda walked over and took the radio from Aries's hand, placing it on the bedside table. She held a pill in her hand and stared at him. He looked like he was about to protest, but Miranda placed a canteen in his open hand. Aries scowled darkly at her, but the doctor looked bemused and rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't work on me." She handed the pill to him. "Take it."

Aries sniffed it and turned his nose up to it. I couldn't help but crack a smile. "It's just a painkiller, Aries. I've taken them before. You'll be fine, trust me."

His eyes went from me to the medication, and then back to me, before taking it with the water.

"See, painless," Miranda chuckled at what I could only assume was her attempt at a pun. "Alright, Icarus, scram. I need him to relax so I can redress his wounds, and he won't as long as you're still here."

I secured the sword across my lower waist just like Aries always did: pistol in holster, knife in hand, and backpack on my back. I threw one last look over my shoulder at the ninja being forced to lay down flat. We met eyes one last time before I exited the room, shutting the door behind me.

I'll be back, Aries. I'll be fine.

A tan figure stepped into the peripheral of my vision. I threw a series of punches at it, all of which were blocked until the last two were caught.

"Chill, it's just me, Icarus," York tried to calm me. I tore my hands away and took a step back from him.

"Don't do that- You need to start making yer presence known. Someone big as you is ain't allowed to be that silent."

"I don't know, Aries is pretty light on his feet."

Fair point.

"I'm assuming you heard all that in there- I need you to make sure Aries answers the radio. I'm going... Well, on a hike. Throwin' in some exercise with it too. That radio is the only reason he isn't jumping out of that bed to make sure nothing happens to me."

"Looks like he wanted you to carry some of him with you."

York pointed at the sword on my back. I tapped the handle gently.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess he does," I looked past the tall chupa with a growing smirk.

"I can wake him for it if I need to."

I sighed. "Thanks, York. I'll be back."

Moving past him, I gave his arm a light pat and began jogging for the base exit, nearly slipping past CT who managed to pat my head along the way, and throwing a head nod to Sammy. I rounded a corner nearly running into someone and gave a wide berth to a tall, black-furred chupa with red hair. She looked had two pistols on her, coupled with the fact that I'd never met her before I didn't want to be the focus of whatever she was looking for. She did look familiar though, I couldn't put a finger on it. She carried the same dangerous energy as Aries, the same intense gaze. Not the same badass swords, though. Certainly not the same barely visible smile he had when he was pleased with something.

Not as good as my Ringtail.

Shrugging it off, I made my way for the exit, and the now familiar armored figure of Agent Jersey entered as I ran out.

"Hey, Grease- Icarus." I contemplated ignoring her for a moment, but I couldn't. Not after Sampi. I slowed to a stop and turned toward her. The freelancer took her helmet off and stared me down. "I was out there earlier. Heard some shit. Be careful, alright?"

"Did Aries tell you to warn me?" I rested my hand on my handgun. "Cause I got more than enough to defend myself."

Jersey shook her head, and there was this brief sad look before she turned away. "No. Just lookin' out for you, little dude."

"I ‘ppreciate the concern."

I turned away from her, and with that last exchange, I set out.

---

I vaulted over a fallen tree in stride, jumping off a nearby stump and pulling a backflip, landing on hands and feet and crouched low. I missed being outside. Missed stretching my legs. I never thought I would miss Aries' training, yet here I was after completing the workout he always had me doing with energy to spare. The sun shone down bright but not uncomfortably hot, perfect weather. A light crosswind cooled me. I peered ahead of me at a small hill, and continuing over it a narrow river ran through.

This is a good spot.

I sat down and took the bag off my back, setting it down gently before taking out the items inside: a thermos, a blackened hardened clay cup, and an incense candle. I removed my radio from my chest pocket and began scanning for the frequency that Wash had assigned us, I shook my head still feeling disbelief. Once I found it, I clicked a few times to signal that I was there.

"Enjoying the sun?" York's voice crackled through, sounding somehow more chipper than usual in a whisper.

"Yeah, where's Aries?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. It twitched when the chupa on the other end chuckled. "What's so funny? What's going on?"

"You'll see, gimme a sec." I could hear York open a door and walk for a bit. I couldn't understand why he was being quiet. "Well- you can't see it, but Aries is passed out right now, holding his pillow."

A thought shot its way to the front of my mind, and I mentally shot it down immediately. "I... Could you wake him?"

"Aw, fine. I'm taking pictures next time, though."

Not if I do it first.

I was left in silence for several moments before I was greeted with a deeper-than-normal version of Aries's voice that sent a shiver up my spine. "Hey, Icarus. You made it safely?"

He yawned quietly. It took me a moment to gather my words and make my tail lay still. "Yes. I even did our exercise routine."

"That's... great." Aries let out an amused hum. When I closed my eyes, I could practically see the smile on his face. "I forgot to- oh. Heh. I must have made it and forgot. You should pour yours now."

York must have made his tea for him. This is cute- but Aries is in no condition to work with fire. He somehow sounded formal, but sounded like he was out of it entirely. Must be a hell of a painkiller.

I did as I was told to, pouring from the thermos. I was surprised to find the liquid was still decently hot. I needed to get one of those for myself.

"I poured about halfway."

"Mhm."

I took a quiet sip. The tea was bitter, but I felt more attentive somehow. It didn't taste too bad, either. "Aries, is there a reason you always make the same tea? I like it, but you make the same one the same way all'a time."

Aries mumbled, sounding very grim, "I do it... I do it so I don't forget them. It was the one I remember when it happened... The smell so clear... Burned into my memory. Byte used to love tea."

"I didn't mean to pry."

"I..." There was a sound of something clattering to the floor. Aries sounded sick. "I... I think I'll talk to you later Icarus. I... The room's spinning..."

"Okay, you should probably just rest okay," Aries' voice grew distant beyond York's much closer voice, he must have taken the radio from him. "Icarus, I'll make sure he gets back to sleep. Get back safe okay?"

The radio went dead, and I was alone in the wilderness. My body was glued to the spot, but my mind might as well have been doing loops around Sirca.

What was that? Who or what is Bite? Did I ask too deep of a question?

There was nothing I could do about those questions right now, just hope that he would be fine when I got back. I packed up the things I had taken out and began to just march off in a random direction, I needed to do something to get that off my mind for a while. Hopping the small stream, I continued on through the woods jumping over another stump. I forced myself to just keep walking and ignore the pit in my stomach. My arm swung back and my hand grazed the handle of the sword on my back. An idea sprouted instantly and my hands reacted faster than my brain, the sword was in my hands. Unlike every other time I ever held it, it felt lighter than air and my practice swings cut through just as easily with just as little resistance.

My imagination began to take off as I stood across from an imaginary adversary. I twirled the blade, just like I had seen Aries do so many times - at least to the best of my ability. "You dare face me? It is brave. And foolish! My steel is as cold as my homeland- icy as the tundra."

I began to do the equivalent of shadowboxing with a blade, just glad nobody could see me goofing around. The sound of a snapping twig cut through my fantasy, grounding me back in reality. The sword went right back to the sheath and my Automag was out.

Slide racked. Safety off.

I raised the handgun and moved on to the source of the sound, silent as a crypt and tuning out the sounds of nature. I advanced, breaking the treeline, and being met with the sight of houses just past the grassy hill in front of me. Nothing inhabited by chupas, at least not recently. Nature had long reclaimed the homes covered in vines and creepers, some had trees growing through the insides and sticking out through the windows. I lowered my guard a little. Even I had to admit this was a cool find. I could only wonder if I was the first person to discover this place.

"Lucky." I slowly came down the hill, careful not to make any noise. I didn't want to scare out any wildlife. "Just another walk in the woods."

The streets were practically gravel at this point, the plants being oh-so rebellious had broken through and large patches of grass grew out of the spaces. It brought a smile to my face, seeing nature fight back was a guilty pleasure of mine. With every building I passed, I wondered just how expensive living in this small town must have been. There was a massive school I could see from where I stood, at least I assumed it was massive because there was no way I was going to walk through that alone, I was much smarter than that and certainly knew better. The further I walked through, the more I felt like I was being watched. The fur on the back of my neck prickled, to sate my curiosity I turned my head ever so slightly to peek back very slowly. Nothing stood out, no movement, no scope glint, not even any animals. In fact, I hadn't heard a bird chirp since I walked into this town. The realization made me violently uncomfortable but I pressed on down the street until the discomfort hit a high, I dipped off the main road and jogged off onto a side street that was separated by a gate. Getting over it was no problem and the moment I landed on the other side the feeling dissipated.

This must be where some rich fucks used to live. This is excessive. A cozy cabin is good enough.

What probably was manicured lawns now stood as waist-high tall grass, overgrown blooming bushes, and intertwining looming trees. Not eager to have the feeling return again I moved up the dead-end street quickly just observing the exteriors, until I came across one that was scorched across the first floor. The siding was blackened around the shattered windows.

I'm not going in there. We are not going in there. Just turn around and go back to base.

I raised my pistol, and against my better judgment, walked up towards the front door. Unlike the other doors I had seen, this one seemed like it was mostly glass. Glass that had been shattered out a long time ago from the looks of it. Leading with the pistol, I stepped through careful not to break any of the scattered bits of glass. From where I stood, the front door to what remained of a stovetop was scorched black but there were areas on the interior wallpaper that weren't burnt that were speckled with dark spots. Keeping low and quiet I crept into what I figured to be a living room of some kind with a fireplace, given what I could guess happened here it was almost ironic that this room seemed to have the least fire damage. The furniture and flooring were only damaged by time and nature, and my attention was grabbed by the picture frames still sitting on top of the fireplace.

Who would just leave family photos? Surely...

I picked up one. It was a family of three, a mother, a father, and a small kid. The kid was a small grey chupa with big brown eyes and a sweet smile. His eye-length mane lay gently over one of his eyes. "Cute kid. Wonder what the fuck happened here."

I circled my way around the house, finding nothing of real interest until I came around to a flight of stairs. I took the first step and cringed as it creaked loudly in protest. I continued up, keeping my gun ready, but nothing jumped out from the shadows. I hit the top of the stairs, the walls plastered with religious posters and military propaganda. I rolled my eyes.

These people probably forced their kid to join up. Poor kid. Glad my parents protected me from that shit.

I refocused on the hall and froze in place, one of the doors was already open. I closed on it quickly and swung into the room ready to shoot only to find it void of life. In fact, the windows were still intact, and plants hadn't quite found their way into this part of the home. It was a kid's bedroom without a doubt, although much different from what I grew up with. Omega patterned sheets on the bed, a Blue Army poster on the wall, school books lined up on wall-mounted shelves, study desk across from the bed. What wasn't typical was the mounted saber on the wall just above the bed, it looked like there originally had been two but the other was nowhere to be found. Above the mounted saber was a picture of the same chupa from the photo downstairs, this time in full gear for fencing- a saber in one hand and helmet in the other with a vibrant smile on his face and his mother standing behind him holding a trophy. I felt my body tense up.

No... No fucking way...

The kid's tail was wrapped around his waist. The tail had a band of very distinct bright blue fur.

The story... It's real- it's real. Holy shit- it's fucking real-

I thought back on that day Aries and I had first met- the story he recounted- then the audio file I had downloaded from a scientist's vandalized terminal.

But the place we found was nowhere near here- the only way this could have happened that way is if the site was near... Nearby...

I walked over to the window and looked out. It was distant, but a good walking distance away stood a building. It was a long shot that this would even be what I was now hunting for, but I was too invested to give up at this point. I snatched the photo off the wall stuffing it in my bag and carefully affixed the saber just above Aries' sword.

What was that old saying about curiosity? Good thing I'm not a cat.

It took me virtually no time to scurry the distance from Aries's former home to the road leading up to the decrepit hospital- or really, what was left of the road. The lettering on the sign out front had faded long ago to the effects of time, but the thing that puzzled me was that it looked like a regular hospital. I took a deep breath and made way for the torn-off doors with my gun raised, building was almost untouched by the nearby nature as if the flora was afraid to get near the place.

That's a bad omen if I ever seent' it.

I stopped and listened one more time, focusing hard on anything that might be near. Nothing. Not even insects chirping. A terrible feeling conspired in my stomach but I smashed it down, fear could wait. I peered inside, the halls were virtually pitched black ten feet past the entrance as if the light refused to go further. From what I could see there were bloody prints all over the floor, some big but most were child-sized. I flicked on my pistol-mounted flashlight and drew the throwing knife from my pocket, I straightened my shooting arm and laid it on top of my other arm holding the knife. Something I had picked up from HADES training. My light cut through the darkness and cast long shadows on doorways and overturned debris in the hall, for the first time today I hoped it stayed silent. My body felt heavy but I forced it to walk down the bloodied halls covered in handprints, footprints, and bullet holes.

What the fuck.

I turned a corner and stumbled over a small hard object that felt kind of like a rock, pointed the flashlight down, and regretted it. A skull with no jaw sat at the corner I turned, just ahead of me was what I believed to be what remained of its body. At least that's what I thought at first but the skeleton seemed too big and so did the clothes, I lifted my head back up and my stomach sank. The hall was littered with skeletons and clothes like a mausoleum, I continued down and turned another corner. More remains up and down the hall some wearing HADES armor and others wearing some I couldn't recognize, rifles and shell casings all over the place.

Surely some children couldn't have done this. Especially not...

I was conflicted. Everything I now knew pointed to Aries being the child from that photo-

Hope Song.

But...

I shook my head. This is something that I would have to talk about in person with him- maybe come back with him and York, so the three of us can talk about it. I still pressed on, until I came to a metal door with deep scratch marks on it. The deep scratches reminded me of the lab I got my armor from, the lab where I was- My mind raced for a moment. I never found out what they injected me with.

Focus, Icarus. You're losing your nerve. Hunters stay cool. Stay frosty.

I took a deep, quiet breath. There was no way to know what was given to me; the guys who did it are dead. I could only hope there were no negative side effects.

I pushed the door open with my foot and pointed the light inside. The walls were covered in words written in a darkened liquid that I could very easily guess what it was, I leaned in and it was even written on the time-yellowed bedsheets.

No hope. We are monsters.

Those two sentences were wrapped wall-to-wall over and over. I stepped back and continued my way down the hall having seen enough of that for today, the further I walked in the more I wanted to turn back. That was until I could see the end of the hall. It split like a four-way intersection, but the way forward came to a dead stop, with a door laying on the floor as if it had been kicked off the hinges outward. On the back of it was a symbol I had familiarized myself with a long time ago.

Project Freelancer. Aries always brought it up in passing. I'd kill to have him here to explain it to me now, in that even tone he always does and the eye contact.

I stared down into the darkness past the steel door flat on the floor into the doorway that led down, I took a few hesitant steps toward and stood at the top of a dark staircase.

I'm not really going to go down there, am I?

I descended the stairs quickly. My foot landed on something awkwardly in the darkness and I fell forward, tumbling down the stairs. I lost my grip on the pistol and knife as I felt myself beginning to lean too far forward. I sprang forward into the dark, hoping there were no more stairs. The floor met my feet hard, and I skid across the floor having to brace myself with an arm, it hurt but it was a hell of a lot better than falling on my face. The gun and knife clattered loudly nearby, the element of surprise on whatever might be lurking was gone now. Luckily the gun had not landed too far, the flashlight was pointing in my direction. I stood up and jogged over, scooping it up and inspecting it for damage. Nothing but light scuffs, I shined the light around the area but the knife was nowhere to be found. That was Aries' knife that he gave to me. I wasn't going to leave without that knife.

The fuck? Did it just get up and walk away?

I opened my mouth to curse, but the scribbling sound of something on a paper-like surface caught my attention, someone was down here after all. I turned off my light, following the sound until it felt like it was right next to me.

Whoever or whatever stole my knife is dead meat.

I flicked on the flashlight and jumped out from my cover... Only to find a messenger bag full of books and a candle that was still burning away. In fact, it looked as if it had just been lit, because the wax hadn't even started melting yet. Yet, there was no knife.

I knelt down and pulled out one of the books inside the bag, the one I grabbed was relatively small. Before I could crack it open, I heard a noise behind me. I spun around dropping it and pointing my gun at the source.

Is that...

What I could only describe as a bat person stood before me in the glare of my flashlight, wearing a hot pink dress shawl shirt thing and gold-rimmed glasses. Its tan fur and light brown mane seemed to glow in the light while the dark blue-purple-looking webbing of its wings seemed to scatter it behind him. They covered their eyes briefly and in their off-hand, I spotted Aries' throwing knife. My throwing knife.

"Goodness, that's bright. Could you point that away from my face?" he asked in an almost polite-sounding tone. "You don't mind if I look at this, do you? The design is very familiar."

I felt a scream building in my body until it forced itself out of my throat in a voice I didn't even recognize. "BAT!"

I opened fire blindly with a terror I'd never felt before. Halfway through shooting, my flashlight cut out and my mind reeled with terror as I dumped the magazine into the noisy darkness. Something large and fluffy latched onto the back of my head and I screamed. Another voice joined me in an unintentional chorus of screaming terror.

"Stop shooting! Ceasefire! I surrender! Don't you speak common?!"

My light finally decided to function again, and the bat was on the floor in front of me, holding his bookbag against his chest and hyperventilating. I pointed the gun at him at feverishly pulled the trigger huffing and puffing the same until I realized the slide was locked back and nothing was happening. Once the empty clicks began registering in my mind, terror ebbed quickly, and I realized I wasn't under attack. He held the books away from me as if they mattered more than he did.

"Are you... Are you going to stop shooting... You..."

"You're a bat," I murmured, somehow laughing in disbelief. "A talking bat. There's a bat talking to me and I'm talking back to him. My mom would have a fucking conniption if she could see me right now."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's wrong with bats?"

"I don't know. She told me never talk to them- but I was like- why would I talk to a bat? Why the fuck am I telling you this? Where's my goddamn knife?"

"Oh, my bad." He fished it out from his bag and gently laid it on the floor. "I just wanted to look at it."

"Oh yeah," I said dubiously, "You look... You look with your eyes, not with your hand- claw- things. You're supposed to ask first."

"I did. You shot at me."

"Oh... Right."

There was an awkward beat of silence.

"Well, that still doesn't tell me what you're doing here."

"I- I feel that could go both ways- I mean, why would someone like you be wandering around abandoned places in the dark? Granted I was doing the same thing but- hm. I guess it is weirder on my end."

"I meant here. Don't bats live underground or in caves or something?"

"Yep." He pushed up his glasses. "Big caves. They're very nice. You could probably visit. Apart from the noise- I'd kill for a quiet minute to just sit and read. Maybe a little bit of research."

"Why were you in this hospital?"

"Oh! That's easy. I wanted to learn what one of your hospitals looks like." A big smile spread across his face, as if he'd forgotten that he had just been shot at. His brown eyes were full of joy as he talked. "I've been out for a few days now, the plant life is fantastic. I've taken so many notes- a few sketches of the area. I will say that it is strange that you keep carcasses inside the place of healing- and firearms. It has allowed me to study some of your bone structure, however. But that might be just cultural. I just need to get back home to my office and document my, uh, findings!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong..." I took a deep breath and cooled my nerves. "You don't seem like the outdoorsy type. Or the type that should be out alone."

"I usually have someone go out for me. But I felt I could do it myself this time. I couldn't have gone far, anyhow."

"Let me run back what you just told me. You been out for a few days. Days."

"That's right."

"Moving non-stop, only stopping to sleep or eat?"

"Well, sleeping wastes time I could use discovering things."

"Did you even tell anyone you were leaving?"

I looked at him with narrowed eyes, and the smile dropped from his muzzle as his mouth formed a small ‘o' shape. "Oh."

How can someone be so absent-minded?

"Yer work got you that sucked in that you just forgot?" I asked, irritated. "You know your people are probably looking for you, right?"

"Well- Well- uh- We can just find Andee," he said with a glimmer of hope. "He always knows what to do."

"Wait a minute, you know Andee?"

"Well, yeah."

"Alright then, taking you to Aries. He's met him more than a few times. I can't say I know what he looks like, though. Come with me, let's get the fuck out of this dungeon."

"Who's Aries?"

I cringed as I felt the bat climb up my back and into my bag, and I marched my way out the same way I came in. "Aries... Is nothing short of amazing. He's the only chupa I know who could slice a man's head off, then gently touch someone with his soft grip, right before shooting them a roguish smile that you can't help but trust."

"So he's your boyfriend."

My whole body felt like it was on fire, and it wasn't because I stepped back out into the daylight. "Okay! Listen here, bucko! He is- we are not- I- Don't you get too comfortable, ya hear? I am handing you straight off to Andee!"

"Your body temperature rose, which usually correlates with lying and embarrassment-"

"Can it, professor! What is your name anyway?"

"Well, everyone calls me Milo for short-"

"Great, 'cause I ain't calling you the long version. Now, Milo, not another peep unless I ask you somethin'."

"Ah, being quiet is a specialty of mine-"

"Milo."

"Right. Sorry."

Fuck sake, now I'm babysitting this nerd. Looking after a bat. Sounds weird just thinking it.

I started to look back to the area I had walked through to get here and remembered that feeling of being watched, I did not want that experience again. I looked at the nearby woods on my left, I could just cut around the town. It would probably take a while but I would avoid that area. I nearly followed through on that, when the sound of an approaching engine put me on alert. It grew louder and louder, until an armored Agent Jersey on a mongoose crashed through the brush.

"Figured you might need a ride, Grease." Jersey patted her ride. "Headed my way?"

"How did you find-"

"I had nothing better to do, so I followed you out here to make sure nothing happened to you. I know how that sounds."

"You don't think this might have been a little weird in hindsight?"

"Look, do you want the ride or not? You can walk back to base for all I care, I'm not above being an asshole, dude."

"Alright, alright! Thank you for looking out for me, Jersey."

"See, that's all I was askin' for."

"Is she your mother?" The bat whispered from in the bag.

"Hell no," I mumbled, almost offended.

"Sister?"

"Ew."

"Friend?"

"That's a work in progress, Milo. Now quiet."

"Icarus, why are you talking to yourself?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just thinking out loud. Got a lot on my mind."

"Nice saber."

Red vs Blue © Rooster Teeth. Halo © 343 Industries. Concept by Myshu, assisted by The Department of Chupapology.