'The Pit: Hell Frozen Over' - Arc 3, Chapter 3: 'The One Truth' (Closed, Started)

[Fappy]

"I'm think that means we have nothing to worry about."

Lucia shrugged. "They're always like that," she told the big wolf. "I'd know... I used to work with them everyday." She looked towards the door. "Did you know?"

"I was there when they told him." Nikolai replied. His tone was neither apologetic nor defensive. It was simply a statement of fact.

"How did he take it?" she asked. "When he found out, I mean."

Nikolai said nothing for a second, as he recalled back.

"He was... quiet." he told her "But also calm. I think maybe a part of him already knew, I don't know."

They slipped back into silence again for a short time, before Nikolai raised his head to look at her.

"When we fought, Acolyte became one of us." he began to explain. "When I was still in... that place, I had many secrets. For months, I worked for Master. The real Master, not Azrael. He promised me freedom, so I lied when he told me to lie, killed when he told me to kill. Your Orphan was not the first..."

As he went on, Nikolai began to speak through gritted teeth. He had thought The Pit would release it's hold on him the further away he went. However, ever since they had started helping him to think like a Man again, the memories had taken on a new aspect. Pain.

"My Pack were the only ones who knew. They spent every day surrounded by enemies. They worked with them, hunted with them. I am strong, but one word from any of them would have killed me. They kept my secret, so now I keep theirs. That is how it must be."

"We're not in the Pit anymore, Nikolai," Lucia said, looking at him now. "The rules there no longer apply to us. Anything that happened there... none of that matters anymore. It's behind us now."

"It does matter." Nikolai answered firmly. "Acolyte was a Free Man that day. He was my Pack, my brother. I keep his secrets, even from you."

Hunching over, Nikolai buried his knuckles into his scalp in frustration.

"There are many things I want to change, many things that must change... but even then, it does matter. My strength, my friends, my family, all of it comes from that place..."

He took out one of his books, now looking well worn, and rifled through it with his giant thumb.

"For you, that place is just a page that you can tear out and throw away. You can look at parts you like better instead. For me, it is everything, even the good things. Anything else is just... whispers in my head, that don't make sense but won't stop either!"

In a fit of almost infantile frustration, he threw the book across the room, and hung his head.

"You're wrong," Lucia whispered in an emotionless tone. "It is just a page, but I can never just forget about what happened there." Pulling up her shirt to her naval, she showed him her brand. "I will bare the memories of that place for the rest of my life. While my suffering may never compare to yours, I think you overestimate my strength."

Pushing herself to her feet, she walked across the room and picked up the book. "You are more than the place that made you, Nikolai," she told him, looking down at the worn book in her hands.

"What am I then? Nikolai asked desperately, getting to his feet. "Do I want to know why I was sent into that place? That maybe I deserved all of it? Do I want to know what I lost when I became this?"

He walked over to her, and gently held her by the shoulders. Despite being a grown woman, she was hardly half his height. A part of Nikolai couldn't help but see her as being a lot younger than she was.

"I have a family now, and maybe also a home. I want that to be enough. I want to be happy with you, Acolyte, Natalia and all the others. Why won't the whispering stop?"

"Those books you're reading," Lucia began, "books like those help us understand the world we live in. They reflect reality, but they are still fiction. Real life... it's not as poetic as those stories make it out to be." The point she was driving at was harsh, but she felt it had to be made. "Sometimes a person is too damaged to ever fully recover from trauma. It's like... scars on your mind. As if they were etched on your flesh, they can't be mended. What you've been through... no one else could have survived it. You are strong Nikolia, but you are not invincible." She furrowed her brow. "Maybe the whispers will go away someday, but there is no way to be certain. In the end, it's out of your control. What's important is that you don't let it get to you. Remember that you have people that love you and that would do anything for you... and that ultimately the whispers hold no power over you. You are who you want to be. Never let anyone or anything else define who you are."

As Lucia spoke, Nikolai's brow furrowed in the way it did when he was thinking very hard. When she was finished, he simply looked at her and nodded.

"Yes." he said. "Thank you. I'm... sorry."

He hugged her, a little awkwardly, always having to hold back from expressing himself fully. That much would always be a part of his life, inside a body formed to tear flesh and crush bone.

"We should focus on Acolyte." He told her. "He needs to get better. Everything else can wait."

"Couldn't agree more." chimed in the voice of Dr. Elewa, as he now stood outside his office with Acolyte at side. The latter looked dour, but the Doctor's smile made up for the rest of the atmosphere in the room.

"I take it there's good news?" Lucia asked in a hopeful tone.

"The prognosis is still ongoing." Dr. Elewa answered "But there's no reason to fear the worst yet. It's clear to me that you're a..." his eyes lingered on Nikolai's metal leg for a second "resilient bunch. Right now, I'd say a little optimism could go a long way."

Acolyte certainly didn't look optimistic, as he excused himself with a stiff nod of the head, and left.

"You two may not be my patients, but I strongly suggest you relax for the rest of the day." the doctor continued. It's not often we throw parties around here, but when we do, they're usually nights to remember."

Lucia watched with a frown as Acolyte wandered off. "You won't get any argument from me," she told the doctor. "I could probably sleep for a week straight at this rate."

"Well, rest is good, but I wouldn't want you to miss all the fun." he replied with a wink.

Nikolai suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, though he didn't quite understand why.

"Anyway..." Dr. Elewa continued, slightly more serious. "You should go and catch up with your friend first. It is mostly good news so far, I can assure you. However, when it comes to these sorts of things, even the good news can be a lot to process."

"I'll do my part," she promised him. "Doesn't take much from me to make that idiot grin. Thank you, Doctor." She smiled and nodded as she walked by at a brisk pace. Hopefully he hadn't gotten too far already.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

General Hammond was waiting in the Atrium, as the remainder of Venture Horizon's support staff were delivered to him. The elevator platform he stood on, surrounded by armed guards, served as a raised dais as the roughly two dozen men and women were lined up, shivering, on the concrete below.

"When we liberated this facility..." Hammond began, his deep voice echoing around the sunken cylinder with no aid needed from a microphone or loud-speaker. "it was the belief of many of my men that we should eradicate any trace of the previous occupiers, in order to ensure our authority. They would have, at no more than a word from me, gladly lined you all up in this place and shot you; or worse, they would have thrown you in with the subterranean population who's incarceration here you collaborated with, and left the pleasure of dealing with you to them."

The few lines on Hammond's face were deep and stern, as he surveyed the small crowd before him with a look of serene disgust.

"I chose differently. For those non-combatants who surrendered peacefully, I elected to spare your lives. More than that, provided you assisted our forces in the same way that you once served Venture Horizon, I refused to confine you. I treated your injuries, and extended to you the fullest extent of hospitality that military honour could allow. I chose to lead by example, and to set a new precedent from the previous gang of mercenaries and bloodthirsty thugs, to whom it now appears your loyalty runs so deep."

All around them, Hammond's soldiers prowled like hungry jackals. They were disciplined enough to say silent, but their eyes were all they needed to convey their hatred.

"Be they one or many, a portion of you have chosen to take advantage of my mercy..." he continued "and so I have been left with no choice but to rescind it. You will now all be held in the Upper Levels for interrogation, until I can ascertain exactly who was complicit. Even now, I promise to spare any others among you who choose to co-operate with me fully, though I cannot promise to return your comforts to you. However, one way or another, I will find those responsible, and they will pay the highest price. To those people, I have only one thing to say..." An ugly smirk passed over the General's face "You have failed. Thwarting me has changed nothing. You are struggling against forces magnitudes above your comprehension, and even a hundred petty, pitiful victories against me would provide you with no more hope than you had before. Soon you will be dead, as will your co-conspirators, and you will have died in vain."

With nothing more to say, Hammond waved his hand in dismissal, and the prisoners were taken below.

=========================================================================================================================

A few kilometres further inland from the main camp, and the parched, ochre soil and forlorn tufts of grass on the island were replaced by rich jungle. The air was humid, and the gathering party had to hack their way through the undergrowth with machetes that Christa had provided for them. For the first time, Judah had been allowed one for herself, though Christa was keeping her close.

Natalia was at the front of the column with her. Even as she sweated profusely in the unfamiliar climate, her strength made short work of the vines and bushed that blocked their path. Christa had brought her along for her eyes as well, to help spot their prize and, if it came to it, danger. Privately, Natalia thought that without her rifle her purpose there was largely window-dressing, though she appreciated having something to do regardless. Besides, as keen as her senses were, Natalia was a stranger to this place. It was Christa that knew what to look for, and anything potentially lurking in the trees or on the forest floor would likely get the drop on Natalia.

Christa was in high spirits though, and somehow that made Natalia feel more at ease despite herself. She smiled at Judah who walked beside her, and tried to spark some conversation.

"When did you come to this place?" she asked in her thickly accented tones.

=========================================================================================================================

They were ready, and on the makeshift landing pad at the FOB, the VTOL was warming up systems. Now fully kitted up, Yu ran some final diagnostics on the Vampire suit. He took operations seriously, all the more so the riskier they were, but still a part of him couldn't help but feel like a kid in a candy store as he ignited the propulsion system, and he rose almost effortlessly three feet in the air, the aero-stabilisers and smaller jets keeping him level with a remarkably quiet, but still intimidating whine. Smiling beneath his helmet, he lowered himself down gently.

Chen would be so jealous of this...

"Didn't get the chance to ask before..." he said, approaching Selena, who was looking sternly at her electronic notepad. "Those co-ordinates that you found in the Colonel's files, do they mean anything to you?"

Selena looked troubled.

"I have a hunch." she told him "But for once I hope I'm wrong."

"Oh?" Yu folded his arms sceptically. "You wanna elaborate?"

"I don't have anything to give you a better idea of what we might face when we get there, if that's what you're after." She replied "You just... you hear a lot of rumours in my line of work. A lot of the time they're pure fantasy, sometimes they're not... and sometimes, the truth is worse than anyone could imagine."

She was silent fro a few seconds, before clearing her throat and getting to her feet.

"The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll know for sure. It's time to saddle up."

"Yes ma'am." Yu replied. On that much, they were in agreement.

========================================================================================================

"I should get my boys to cut your balls off for even so much as walking in here Chen, never mind bringing the likes of them with you."

"Well, I can already think of several ways this could be going better..." Chen sighed as he put his hands up, sending a sideways glance the way of Neil and Luka, that said plainly 'Just let me do the talking here fellas. At least, you know, to begin with...'

"But first..." One-Ear continued, leering at them "I wanna know what you fuckers were doing sneaking around our turf, before we caught you."

"Caught?" Chen's smile was far too confident for a man with the business end of a gun-barrel an inch from his forehead "That's an interesting choice of words."

One-Ear growled, and cocked the hammer back on his Colt to assert his dominance, though his curiosity (and a secret, though no small degree of fear for the people before him) stayed his trigger finger.

"The Snakeheads got cacked right out of the gate three months ago." he snarled "No-one wears those tats proudly round here any more... except you and your brother. Where is he, anyway? Dead?"

"He's on vacation." Chen shot back "The friendly, personable one stayed behind to talk. Now, you wanna get you dick out of my face so we can do that?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Barrows watched from the sidelines as Hammond jacked one off for his ego. Ham had never been a subtle kind of man, not that barrows minded, it made a nice change of pace to the usual kind of freaks and spazdicks this job usually attracted but right now it wasn't doing a great job of things. Maybe for some of the civilian types the folks but the real trouble makers had proven themselves to be just as psychotic as the self styled freedom fighters they were facing off against. The Songbirds needed to start popping kneecaps right quick or no one that mattered was going to take this seriously.

Hell, Barrows himself couldn't even take this seriously anymore! Their boys had gone from big dogs on campus to being made to look like a bunch of virgin hookers. Ripe and ready for exploiting. Morale was getting lower by the hour it seemed and it felt like half their troops were forgetting how to reload on their own. Damn thing was a shambles.

'Why couldn't we get a bunch of fucking ninjas, where do I put a request in for those?'

He'd been watching the staff they'd gathered while Hammy gave his speech. Some nervous looks here and there, a few nervous beads of sweat and people glancing to those on either side of them. That was the usual stuff though, stuff you'd expect in a situation like this. If there were tells being told here it was beyond Barrows' powers of observation to see them. Anyway they were getting herded away now. Off into the dark. How many would come out intact, if at all, he wondered.

Barrows lagged behind the rest, not making any arsey remarks this time. Among the crowd he saw the bartender woman and the boy she kept around. Barrows assumed he was her pet of some kind. He staid behind for a moment and looked up at Hammond behind his wall of guns and muscle. For a second it felt like Barrows let his usual mask of arrogance slip, maybe Hammond let his official persona go too, Barrows wasn't sure. But it felt kind of honest, maybe. Either way, they both knew they were deep in the shit here. Things had to get extreme and soon.

 

[Rufio's Ghost]

"When did you come to this place?"

"Who, me?" Judah asked, shifting her full attention to Natalia, "I don't know. I've pretty much always been here."

Lowering her machete she added, "What about you? Where do you come from?"

She stopped slicing away at the foliage, knowing that the task at hand would only distract her from the woman's answer.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Abigail watched from the bottom of the Atrium with the other remaining Venture Horizon personnel as General Hammond gave his speech as to what was going to happen now, interrogation, which would probably lead to eventual torture if they weren't getting results. Throughout all this, Abigail had her arms crossed over her chest as she gauged the reactions of the others. Many of course were visibly frightened, and she was sure one or two had actually peed them given the smell; Abigail meanwhile tried to remain calm given the circumstances, though there was a part of her that was fearful of what was to come.

Zachary was standing next to her, and he like many of the others was shaking. Abigail saw this and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and tried to give a reassuring smile without visibly showing it.

"Calm yourself Zach. These guys can sense fear, it shows them which ones to pick first, which ones will be the easiest to crack under pressure. Just relax and breathe." She whispered into his ear.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Lewis got a feel for the armored suit, moving his limbs with surprising alacrity. He had never felt so powerful and strong before. He wondered if this what medieval knights felt whenever they donned their suits of armor. In fact, that is what Lewis felt in his head. He felt like a knight riding off into battle and towards some vestige of chivalry remaining left in this world but he knew better. He activated the cloak, disappearing and reappearing in mere seconds although he was told that his invisibility would not last forever as it would put a strain on the suit's delicate power supply.

Aggie, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She wouldn't stop giggling or whispering to herself. Lewis couldn't understand what she was saying but it felt good to see her somewhat happy yet she was also riding into battle with them in a suit impossible to ignore. He was a bit worried, especially to how the enemy forces would react. They might have never had to deal with this kind of force before but the enemy was a crafty bunch. Then, she became silent when Selena spoke up.

"It's time to saddle up."

"Yes, ma'am." They both said in unison, ready for the task ahead.

 

[The Funslinger]

When he was out of sight of the others, Acolyte broke into a run, quickly leaving the settlement behind, moving out through the forest. He ran until he could hear the blood pumping in his ears, and eventually came to a halt in a small clearing. Approaching the treeline at the far end of the clearing, he spotted a sapling, slightly taller than he was, with forking branches at shoulder height, like stiff arms. Widening his stance, he started attacking the tree, running through forms and combinations with increasing speed and abandon, so that soon, the sapling was wracked with spasms brought on by his attack.

Acolyte was only aware that he'd been yelling when he took hold of one arm-like branch with his left hand, and struck out with the palm of his right. The branch exploded at where its elbow would have been, and Acolyte's voice faded away. Sinking to his knees, he rested his head against the sapling's trunk and brushed tears from his eyes. A twig broke somewhere behind him. He'd been found.

====================================================================

When he got back to the room he shared with Nahla, Riley sat down on the bed and unbuttoned his shirt. For a while, he just watched her sleep, mulling over what had happened. Eventually though, he leaned down and gently pushed at her shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered. "Wake up."

======================================================================

"The friendly, personable one stayed behind to talk. Now, you wanna get you dick out of my face so we can do that?"

It was at this point that Korovitch broke his silence. He was tired of watching the exercise in pointless machismo.

"This pissing contest is getting us nowhere," he said. Turning to One Ear, he said, "so it's One Ear now, right? You know, I remember the last time we met, you were on the verge of becoming No Ears before we got involved. I assumed that experience might make you want to listen a bit more, but apparently I'm wrong."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"I assumed that experience might make you want to listen a bit more, but apparently I'm wrong."

One-Ear's snarl faltered, but only momentarily, and now the thugs behind him were getting excited. Chen had to work hard not to grimace and shake his head. These guys were as scared of the old Warden as they were of Chen, which was useful, and if One-Ear owed him one then that was a bonus... but dammit, for a guy with so much experience with keeping the Inmates in line, Luka sure as hell didn't understand how inter-Inmate politics worked. He was still thinking like a Warden, but what remained of the chevron's on his sleeve didn't mean shit down here any more. The old regime was gone, and they were all marked men together now. One-Ear could be secretly in love with his fellow scar-faced asshole for all it mattered, but he couldn't afford to show deference to a man in Luka's position, not in front of his boys.

Chen wasn't afraid of One-Ear, but he had no intention of bullying him into joining up either. For this to work, a bargain had to be struck.

"Nobody's pissing on anybody!" he said, nipping the rising tension in the bud. "That's not how this goes down. You know that if we were hear looking for trouble, we'd have started some by now; and we know that if you were really gonna kill us, you'd have tried already."

"Maybe we just wanna keep you alive for General Hammond?" spat One-Ear, taking the bait. "See if the bounty is higher if you're all still breathing..."

"Great plan!" Chen retorted sarcastically. "If you're a real good boy, he might even dress you up in a nice new coat, and let you be his cannon fodder when Venture comes to take this place back, or purge it. Or else what? He'll give you everything you need to live like a king down here? You've seen how thin they're stretching the supplies. Even assuming he's willing to part with any more for the likes of you, just how long do you think you'll get to enjoy it. Come on! You could have joined up the first time he extended the offer, like half your friends did, but you didn't, because you were smart enough to know that was a dumbass idea. You know that the only reason that bastard's playing nice is because he can't afford to fight you. He's hoping he can recruit enough of us to keep the rest from making trouble, while we slowly starve for as long as it takes for him to run out the clock on whatever game he's playing."

One-Ear's eyes darted from Chen, To Luka, then Neil and all around, lingering for a moment on the blade-less sword hilt tucked into Felix's waistband. He looked wrong-footed, but far from swayed.

"And you think we've got a better chance with you, huh?" he asked, keeping up the act of sounding in-charge for his guys. "Scurrying around in these tunnels, waiting to be smoked out?"

Chen smiled. They were only past the first hurdle, but the fact that One-Ear was even asking that question was a good sign.

"You know what we can do." he told the other man "The stakes are high, but if we survive, there's one thing I can offer you that Hammond won't, that he can't..."

"What's that?" They had One-Ear's attention now.

"I'm gonna set you free." said Chen.

========================================================================================================

"Where do you come from?"

It wasn't often that Natalia was invited to reminisce about her life before The Pit. Honestly, she didn't think there was much to tell, but Judah might disagree.

"This place reminds me of where I was born, just a little." Natalia told her. "It was a small village in the middle of the forest. We lived off the land around us, so we had little to do with the outside world." She paused to wipe her brow as she continued to hack her way through the undergrowth. "It is much warmer here though. Where I'm from, the snow was thick even in the summer; and in the winter, the sun would only rise for an hour a day."

 

[Rufio's Ghost]

Judah thought about her answer before replying. Would end up like Natalia day? Miles away from her dinky shit hole of a village with a group of badasses? Didn't sound too bad.

"Do you ever miss it? What I mean is, is that why you want to stay here with us?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Barrows joined the closest things to peers he had in this place, giving a slight nod to some of the other songbirds he could actually call 'okay' he scanned the small crowd of prison staff that were gathered before them. They all looked like they were having the worst day possible. Poor sods had no idea how bad it was going to get yet. Barrows walked among their little lines with all the quiet confidence of a predator that knows it can't be stopped or escaped. Not like that wolf among sheep crap, more like when he was watched a nature show and saw a twatty looking bird stroll right up to the penguins and rip their babies apart while all the parents could do was stand there and squawk like helpless little fatties.

That was when he saw his mama penguin fussing over her youngster, whispering just as he passed them by.

"Calm yourself Zach. These guys can sense fear, it shows them which ones to pick first, which ones will be the easiest to crack under pressure. Just relax and breathe."

"Oi, lads!" He barked and clamped a heavy gloved hand down on the top of poor Zach's head. "My fear sense is tingling!" Slowly his hand moved down to between Zach's shoulder blades and he gently but firmly pushed him out of the line, seperating him just a little from the others. "I think we have our first volunteer." His voice went soft and serious there. Play time was over in The Pit.

 

[Fappy]

Nahla stirred in her sleep. Something loud had happened outside.

It was no matter.

She was dreaming about her mother. She was remembering her warm smile, her piercing eyes, her soft skin, her soothing voice...

Her metal hand...

Master?

"Wake up."

Nahla turned over and opened her eyes. She couldn't make out his expression in the darkness, but even so, she could hear the distress in his voice. "Riley?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

"I'm gonna set you free."

Neil couldn't help but chuckle. Not exactly the best timing, but it was born more from nostalgia than cynicism. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Sticks used to promise that to inmates all the time."

Is that a good memory?

He didn't look at him, but he could feel Luka's gaze.

What a stupid thing to say...

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

"I swear he went this direction," Lucia whispered to herself as she turned another corner in search of Acolyte.

How could he have gotten so far already?

After searching outside for a bit she began hearing shouting.

The shit?

She set off in the direction of the sound until she was certain it was him. Was he fighting someone? She picked up the pace and eventually happened upon a tree.

And there he was.

"Acolyte, I... are you alright?" she asked, afraid to get any closer. Clearly he'd come this far to be alone. "D-do you want to talk about it?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Oi, lads!" Barked Barrows as he passed Abigail and Zach, then he clamped a heavy hand down onto Zach's head. "My fear sense is tingling!" His hand then slowly and steadily snaked its way down to between the frightened barkeep's shoulder-blades, and then with a sudden yet gentle push, forced him out of the line, separating Zach from the others. "I think we have our first volunteer."

As this carried on, Abigail was getting more aggravated with Barrows, it starting to show ever so slightly on her face.

"A volunteer for what? With you involved it's hard to tell."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Hammond watched with steely eyes as Barrows picked Zach out of the line, and as Abigail spoke up in his defence. Both were led away to separate cells.

A few minutes later...

After letting her stew for a little while, Hammond arrived at Abigail's new quarters, with Commander Ali at his right hand. If the Commander was troubled by these latest developments, he was doing a very good job of hiding it, and Hammond had more pressing concerns. He hardly needed to break his stride for the guards outside the door to let him in.

His captive was handcuffed to a bare metal chair in the centre of the room. The rest of the space was empty and dark. When standing up, the General towered over her.

"You know, this might be the same hole I let Colonel Lee stew in before he died..." Hammond began, his tone dripping venom "Though truthfully, they all look the same to me."

Leaning down, the General grabbed Abigail by the hair on top of her head, and yanked upward, forcing her to look him right in the eye, their faces only inches apart. His expression was of cold hatred.

"I didn't come here to get a confession out of you. I don't need one." he growled "This isn't a courtroom, and I am already convinced of your guilt. I know Lee took a personal interest in you when he was still in control of the facility; I know you and Selena Hernandez spoke frequently in the days before her escape; and I know that no-one can vouch for your whereabouts at the time the escape took place. As far as I'm concerned, you and your assistant are the only possible accomplices, and I could drag you out to The Hive right now and subject you to whatever slow and undignified death I please, in front of everyone. That is all your silence will buy you."

He let her go, before turning away to face the wall.

"What I don't know, is how you got them past my forces and on to the surface, and what they plan to do next. I have some of my men ransacking that little watering hole of yours right now, but so far they have found nothing. If I have to, I will permanently station an entire platoon there to prevent anyone else from getting out, but I don't want to leave anything to chance. There are still people inside this place who are working against me, and you are going to tell me who, and what resources they possess. If you do that, then I may still find some small measure of mercy for you and your friend. However, my patience is limited, so I want you to consider this carefully before you answer my questions. Whatever your co-conspirators told you, whatever loyalty they inspired in you, has only led you to this. They escaped, leaving you behind to take the fall, knowing it was almost certainly a death sentence. They will fail, and you owe them nothing now. What I ask of you will save your life, where they asked you to risk it in the first place. You are not a soldier, so don't pretend to me that you want to be a martyr to their cause; and even if you do, nobody has trained you to resist interrogation. I suspect either you or your friend will break long before I have the opportunity to get truly unpleasant, but even so, you have no reason not to make this easy on yourself."

With that, he gestured for the guards to open the cell and let him out.

"I believe you and Commander Ali are already acquainted." he said, as he stood in the threshold "I leave you in his capable hands for now, while Mr. Barrows works on your friend. Think about what I've said. In the mean time, I have an announcement to make."

====================================================================================================================================

"Sticks used to promise that to inmates all the time."

This time, Chen had to try not to groan out loud.

'Lee, were these clowns really the best help you could find?!'

One-Ear was still visibly tempted by the offer, but he wasn't above jumping on Neil's words to make himself look stronger.

"Yeah. I remember..." he scowled "So why should we believe you any more than we believed the last guy Chen? What did you and your brother promise the Snakehead bosses before you stabbed them in the back, huh?"

"Inmates are so fucking dense sometimes..." Chen sighed, pointing angrily to his tattooed chest before anyone could bristle at his words too hard. "You see this?! You know what this means?! Jack Shit is what it means! All you people used to go on about honour and brotherhood like you don't even know where you are. Well, you think a man's your brother just because he lets you doodle on his chest? I have a brother, and nobody else means a damn thing to me any more! I'm not asking you to be my friend or my ally. I'm asking you to do what your told for five minutes, and if you do, you might just get out of here alive. After that, you cease to be my fucking problem! The gangs are finished! The Wardens are finished! Venture will find it easier to replace you than to chase you down, so if you're smart you'll go straight so you don't get caught and thrown back in here. That's your business though, and if you want that chance at all, you'll follow my lead."

One-Eye's retort was cut off by the high-pitched whine of the loudspeakers synching up. A moment later, General Hammond's voice boomed through the tunnels.

Attention! This is your new Warden in Chief speaking. Moment's ago, elements within this facility still loyal to the Venture Horizon oppressors attempted to orchestrate an escape. They failed. All the conspirators have been captured or killed. I have a message for anyone still inside also harbouring plans of insurrection... If you don't want more to die, then you will all turn yourselves over to my forces in the next twenty-four hours. Any Inmates aware of the whereabouts of any hostile forces? Come forward, and you will be rewarded. That is all.

"Looks like your hand just folded, Chen." One-Ear sneered. "What d'we do with you now?"

Chen eyes narrowed, and he didn't flinch at the looks on the faces before him.

"Hammond's bluffing." he replied, sounding completely confident "They got out. We would have heard about it before now if they hadn't."

"And if you're wrong?" One-Ear said. Before he had time to speculate however, Chen had already lashed out with a kick, knocking the gun clean out of One-Ear's hand. The other's brought their weapons up, but Chen pistol was already shoved up under One-Ear's chin.

"If I'm wrong..." Chen snarled through gritted teeth "Then my brother is either dead or being tortured, and you don't wanna be standing between me or the person responsible. I'll take every one of your fucking guys if I have to. This isn't a negotiation any more, and you're out of time to think it over. What's it gonna be?"

====================================================================================================================================

"Do you ever miss it? What I mean is, is that why you want to stay here with us?"

"The place I grew up... it wasn't so much like a family as this place is." Natalia answered "It's not like I hated it there, but, when the time came for me to choose my own way, I didn't really want to stay. I wandered, looking for work so I could eat. I was best at hunting, and I soon found out that hunting men is easier and pays better than hunting deer and bear, so that's what I did, and for a long time I didn't really care who or why, until I got on the wrong side of some very bad people, and the tables were turned..."

Natalia's jaw was set, and she shook her head a little to clear it before carrying on with her work.

"We come here now because people like us... maybe we learned how to survive too well, and maybe now we're not supposed to be around normal people any more." She glanced awkwardly at Judah "No offence."

====================================================================================================================================

"Yes, ma'am."

The whine of the engines increased, and snow whipped around the fuselage as the VTOL began to take off. Sitting in the cargo hold, Selena looked around at the people who were following her lead. It was hard not to feel hopeless in the face of what they were up against, but when they reached their destination, there would be no more room for doubt. They would have to face whatever they met head on.

"I know we might not seem like anybodies definition of a team right now," she began "And I know none of you asked to be caught up in the middle of all this. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. 'Fish out of water' doesn't even begin to describe it right about now, but we don't have a choice. Something bigger then all of us is stirring up, and it's up to us to put it right."

"What's right?" Yu asked, his tone more sombre than confrontational. He looked up at her. "I followed the Colonel because I trusted him, and I owed him, but I'm not loyal to Venture. After we stop whatever's coming, assuming we can, what happens next? Are you just going to go back to your desk and get to work clearing up their mess? With all due respect Ma'am, I think we have a right to know just what the stakes are here from all sides."

Selena was silent for several seconds, before she hung her head.

"I don't know." She admitted "For once, I can't see that far ahead. I hope the picture will become clearer once we know exactly what we're up against. However, I'm not here to manipulate you. I'm not going to make any promises just to make you feel better. First, we stop the Songbirds, then whatever happens next, happens next. Right now, I'm done keeping secrets and playing games. Hopefully, that's enough, because it's all I can offer."

 

[Rufio's Ghost]

"None taken" Judah replied nonchalantly as she resumed cutting through the underbrush. The sound of the breaking branches would be enough to conceal their conversation from those nearby.

'Some very bad people? I guess hunting people doesn't count as bein' a very bad person, just a regular one.'

Judah lowered her voice, "So... who were they? What'dya do to get on their bad side?"

So what if it was direct, she was getting tired of all the sidestepping anyhow. Natalia seemed more willing to talk about her past than any of the other so called 'free men'. It was better to take advantage of her openness while she was split from her pack.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Abigail knew that her defence wasn't exactly going to cut it, but it didn't hurt to try at least. As if on cue, Abigail could feel a whack across the back of the head, sending her to the floor and knocking her out almost instantaneously. Last thing she saw before passing out completely was the image of Zach being led away, probably to a cell for interrogation.

An unprecedented amount of time later, Abigail woke with a headache to find herself handcuffed on both arms to a bare metal framed chair in the centre of a dank, depressing and featureless looking room; Abigail assumed it was featureless though given how she could barely see past her immediate area, the only light source coming from a flickering bulb above her. She tested the cuffs they had used on her a few times to test their strength; surprise surprise she could barely budge them.

Not too long after she awoke, the door opened to reveal General Hammond and Commander Ali right behind him, both of whom towered above Abigail like giants.

"You know, this might be the same hole I let Colonel Lee stew in before he died..." Hammond began, his tone dripping with a seething rage and bitterness "Though truthfully, they all look the same to me."

"Of course it would, grey featureless walls stacked upon grey featureless walls would drive anyone mad." Abigail thought to herself as Hammond approached, grabbing Abigail by the hair, his immense strength leaving Abigail standing on the tips of her toes as she forced her to look directly into his cold eyes.

Hammond went on to say that he already knew both Abigail and Zach were guilty of assisting the others in the recent escape attempt, and that he could just as easily drag the pair of them down to the lower levels and subject them both to whatever degrading form of death he deemed appropriate if either of them kept quiet; which given the circumstances would likely be a slow and painful one.

Despite having evidence, Hammond was still unsure how exactly the pair of them managed to get the group past his soldiers, and that he had a platoon stationed inside the bar to prevent anyone else getting in or out. However, in a cruel sense of decency, Hammond mentioned that he may find a shred of mercy for Abigail and Zach if they spilled the beans on who else was left to oppose him.

Abigail, albeit silently, did agree with the General when he said that she was a fall guy for the others, made to take the hit and bear the consequences of their actions. It did make Abigail think on whether or not the others actually thought what would happen to her or the others after they escaped. Perhaps they did and never mentioned it. Hammond finished his speech by saying that if things took too long, he'd have to resort to more unpleasant measures.

When he was done, Hammond let go of Abigail, though the angle in which he held her made the chair fall on its side.

"I believe you and Commander Ali are already acquainted." Hammond said as he stood in the threshold of the cell. "I leave you in his capable hands for now, while Mr. Barrows works on your friend. Think about what I've said. In the mean time, I have an announcement to make." With that he left the room, leaving the pair in dead silence as Abigail looked at Ali from her new position on the floor.

A few minutes later, Hammond had made his announcement with Abigail able to hear it due to a speaker outside. She didn't exactly know what to think of it entirely, though she hedged her bets on it being a bluff to draw out the last few members of the resistance. When it was over, Abigail began to talk.

"I don't suppose you could help me up Ali? I mean I would do it myself, but I appear to be in a bit of a bind at the moment." Abigail remarked, furthering her point by rattling on the cuffs a couple of times.

 

[Dogmatic99]

No one bothered to chain Zach up or anything. Given his situation and who his jailers were it wasn't like he was going anywhere soon. Barrows had taken his jacket off and gone down to the short sleeved t-shirt underneath, revealing the mishmash of ink work that laced his arms. He sat down opposite Zach with an undignified clomp.

"Look Zachey, I'm not gunna bullshit you. You know why you're here and you can guess what my bosses want me to do to you." He drawled looking over at the young barman. Christ how old was this kid? He looked too fresh to be working in a place like this.

'Job prospects back home couldn't have been that bad could they lad? I've seen uglier boys rent themselves out.'

"But me, I'm a nice guy compared to all those other birds out there, I want to keep things clean and civil, Zachey m'boy. So I'm asking you what you know about how those escapees, I want to know what they've got planned and I want to know how they're playing with the electrics in here."

Kid probably knew bugger all, this one was a grunt by the looks of him, nothing more. But they still went through the motions for any shred of info they could get, whiling away the hours until the shit really hit the fan. Who was Hammond kidding? This whole thing had been a farce from the start and he still refused to cut his losses and scarper. What was the point of any of this.

"So you talk to me, Zachey, and you answer like your locked in this room, alone with a fat girl who's promising to blow you right here and now and that no one, NO ONE, will ever find out about it. By which I mean honestly."

 

[The Funslinger]

"What's wrong?"

"I uh..." Riley began. Stopping and clearing his throat awkwardly, he started again. "Talon wants to see you. Dietrich... Dietrich's dead."

========================================================================

"D-do you want to talk about it?"

Samuel froze. He'd been so absorbed in his turmoil that he hadn't heard her approach. "Yeah... no... I don't know. Just... stop calling me that."

========================================================================

"Then my brother is either dead or being tortured, and you don't wanna be standing between me or the person responsible. I'll take every one of your fucking guys if I have to. This isn't a negotiation any more, and you're out of time to think it over. What's it gonna be?"

"Chen's right," Korovitch said. "All I heard just now was, 'I haven't been able to touch these guys and a bunch of them just walked right out of here under my nose. Better get the inmate population to clean up my mess.' The man's desperate, One-Ear. We're under his skin, and you know it."

 

[Fappy]

"Talon wants to see you. Dietrich... Dietrich's dead."

"Dead?! What happened?" Nahla asked. "Who killed him?"

Something was wrong. Riley was far too shaken. After all, he despised Dietrich.

No... did he...?

Her eyes widened.

"Oh, Riley... what did you do?" she said, her voice weak. "Why?"

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

"... Just... stop calling me that."

Lucia looked at her feet and cringed. "Oh, um... I'm sorry," she whispered. "Should I... do you want me to call you Samuel?"

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

"... The man's desperate, One-Ear. We're under his skin, and you know it."

Neil's rifle swayed back-and-forth between the inmates before them. He said nothing, counting on his comrades to do the talking from here on out. His last comment didn't exactly go over very well.

He figured he'd let his weapon speak for him.

 

[The Funslinger]

"Should I... do you want me to call you Samuel?"

"I guess it's the only name I have left," he replied. "But... Sam's fine."

==============================================================================

"Why?"

"He was a traitor," Riley began, but the lie turned to ash in his mouth. "No... well, maybe. He was saying all of this shit, started getting me really fucking angry. I lost it. And then before the guards could kill me for what I did, Talon came out of nowhere. Said he was a traitor and I'd been doing her work. I don't know why, and I don't know why she wants you, but I..." he tailed off, before starting again.

"He was so sure, Nahla. He was so sure she'd never let anything happen to him. But she let something happen, alright. Then she let me walk away. That scares me way more than any of her flayed corpses."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"I don't suppose you could help me up Ali? I mean I would do it myself, but I appear to be in a bit of a bind at the moment."

Ali stared at her for a few moments, confused. There she was again, so casual in the face of such a dire situation. It had been exactly the same when they'd first taken over the facility. Were they underestimating her resolve, or did she just not understand how desperate her situation was.

In the end, he stepped forward and pulled the chair back upright, though he didn't do it gently, before turning away and heading back to his post. When he reached the door, he paused for a second.

"Are you going to give him what he wants?" he blurted out awkwardly, unable to look at her.

=======================================================================================================================================

"So... who were they? What'dya do to get on their bad side?"

"They weren't very different from me to be honest, on the surface at least..." Natalia answered grimly "Mercenaries, a small outfit, but a mean one. Not part of any larger private army, the sort that spend all their lives moving from war to war, fighting for whoever side will pay them, and getting their 'bonuses' from brutalising innocents caught in the crossfire.

A squad of them had ransacked a small village on the coast. They'd heard there were riches there, but they didn't find any, so they raped most of the women and children, just to feel like they hadn't wasted their day. Unlucky for them, there really were riches hidden away in that village, and the survivors were willing to pay me everything they had left to bring them the heads of those worms.

I caught all but one of them, who managed to make it back to the rest of the company and warn them. They were too many then, even for me. I tried to escape but I was caught. They would have all had their turn with me before slitting my throat if I hadn't..."

The look on her face was gruesome now. Her mouth twisted and her face flushed red. She sliced at the vines in her path as if they were mortal enemies.

"I told them where the villagers kept the treasure, in exchange for my life. They went back, took it all, killed everyone and burned the whole place to the ground while I watched in chains. I thought they were going to do the same to me, even after I'd given them what they wanted, but no. They sold me to Venture Horizon as a slave. Even after everything they'd taken, they thought they'd get a nice little bonus from me too."