Sunset ^beta

"This cannot be happening."

"Kaga-"

"Am I in hell? I was already in hell, but did I die again and end up in an even worse hell? You're still here, so it's absolutely still some kind of hell."

"Kagam-"

"No. You, shut up. Be quiet. I can't deal with this AND you right now. In fact, I can't deal with LOTS of things in this idiotic wasteland-"

Elpida sighed, ceasing to attempt an interruption while Kagami paced with a manic energy around the small room they were stuck in. Kagami's frustrated rant continued to grow in volume as Elpida double-checked their status, more out of a need to do something with herself than any way to affect their confinement. 

The basement room was completely blocked off from the outside by still-settling rubble that she'd deemed too risky to shift without a better idea of the structural integrity. It was something the rest of their cohort on the outside was hurriedly inspecting, scratchy updates that had been coming in every few minutes through her headset, now radio silent until there was a more pressing update. It seemed Pheiri and company would bear most of the difficulties in extricating the pair who'd been unable to get out of the building before it's complete collapse. Well- Elpida had gotten out in a mad dash, Vicky in her arms (flushed, clearly embarrassed) and gently set down before she'd run back in with the intent of doing the same to Kagami. Unfortunately their drone-wielding comrade had wedged herself deep in the bowels of the basement, even as the creaking of the failing supports of the floors above grew in volume. It had taken precious time to pull her by her cybernetic thighs out of the machinery and get her to her feet- spent time that had given the pair a view of the doorway filling with twisted iron and concrete as the building collapsed around them. 

Thankfully, despite the dust that seemed to be shaken loose, the ceiling had held. Small mercies, as far as Kagami was concerned. Her rant about their circumstances had meandered enough that Elpida couldn't quite track what exactly she was angry about at this point.

"-and that's even without mentioning the frankly SHAMELESS way you seemed to feel content to lay hands on me. I know the debauchery you get up to with the rest of your 'cadre', past and current, but don't you DARE conclude any right to my-"

Ah, it was about her again. Familiar enough ground that Elpida tuned it out once more, distracted by the overjoyed cackling of Howl in the back of her head. 

Jeeze, Elps, she REALLY needs to get off. Some of that shit she's got stewing in her head is filthy! I'm not convinced she hasn't been thinking about some of this for weeks, at least. She was even shaking her ass when we ran in! Howl's voice was a comfort, even without anything useful to contribute (Hey!) and a useful distraction from Kagami's seemingly tireless lungs and ability to find fault with every aspect of Elpida's leadership.

But Howl's teasing did spark a synapse in Elpida's zombie brain.

"Kagami, hold- what were you doing stuck in a washing machine?"

The rant halted in an instant, Kagami's eyes finally meeting Elpida's own for the first time since they'd gotten into this situation. An answer wasn't forthcoming immediately, but Elpida's face maintained an expressionless mask and waited. Eventually, Kagami broke her gaze away, grumbling to herself.

"Isn't important."

"Kagami." Elpida's voice took on a colder tone. Normally, Kagami's standoffishness and paranoia were more than tolerable- she was one of hers, and deserved the respect and trust she'd give any other in her crew. But this wasn't the usual wriggling out of conversations that the cadres little snake favored. There was a bitter undercurrent of shame and loathing in those two words. The type of emotion that if allowed to fester could only harm Kagami. 

"Hmph? Commander, truly-"

"No, it was important to you- important enough to risk yourself recovering it.  You could hear the building beginning to collapse and did something risky that would exacerbate your chronic pain instead of leaving it behind." As she spoke, an idea sparked at the back of Elpida's mind, a slow realization as to one of the only things of value that Kagami might go through the effort of seeking out. 

Kagami seemed to pick up on her Commanders understanding, eyes sliding away once again as she twisted away, face scrunching while straining to compose herself enough to respond, tone growing thicker with self-disgust as she spoke.

"It was a drone. One of a somewhat familiar make, jammed into the back of the machinery and forgotten, hidden. But- it was trapped. Probably threaded wires connected to some small heat charges throughout the building as a trap for someone who noticed and tried to initiate a handshake with it. Probably some zombie set it up and got killed somewhere else, so it never got set off. I... I had hoped to be able to stop the process before it got too far, but it burnt itself out completely upon initial activation. Nothing. It's nothing useful, anymore. Nothing important." 

"Kagami-"

"Commander, I made a mistake. Put Vi- all of us in danger, and it was stupid. I was stupid. I 'pulled a you', even. I don't want to talk about it yet. No stupid feel-good pep talks about Telokopolis, please." Her attempt at bitterness didn't carry the usual venom, all of her frustration turning inward. 

Let me at her. Not the type of girl you can gently comfort and seduce back from the edge, Commander. Howl's request was reasonable enough, and it took only a slight mental nod for her to slide into control.

"Heyyy, Moon girl. Everyone in the cadre makes mistakes." The room filled with the sound of her shifting steps, confident and full of swagger, tapping against the floor as Howl got up in her face, recognition lighting up Kagami's eyes.

"Howl? That's-" And then she was interrupted by a sudden grip at her collar, forced back and slammed against the wall, letting out a little "Eep!" at the unexpected violence.

"But this is a fuck-up. A biiiiig fucking fuck-up. You're lucky nobody got badly hurt, and you're EXTREMELY lucky your Commander didn't get crushed running back in to rescue your metal ass, nice as it may be." Howl's voice was a low growl, Elpida's face contorted into a raw fury that felt unfamiliar.  "But hey, no biggie, you 'pulled an Elps', right? Just one strike against the dozens everyone else has made, yeah? Because you're the precious little Moon girl, looking down from your eyes in the sky?"

Kagami was shaking gently in the grip of the taller woman, hands instinctively grasping at her arm, mouth flapping uselessly in shocked silence. Howl leaned in closer, lips inches from Kagami's. 

"That's what you're telling yourself right now, and guess what- it doesn't feel very fucking good, huh? Still fucking sucks. You had a plan, kept it to yourself, let people down, nearly got Vicky killed-" This drew a bigger flinch from Kagami. "-so you and me, we're gonna do something different. Something to really get rid of that poison in your gut." 

Howl leaned closer to Kagami, the woman freezing completely in a shocked, unmoving silence- hot breath against her lips, the cold eyes of Elpida's sister looking into hers, the staring contest finally interrupted by a soft "boo" that drew another flinch from Kagami before Howl finally let her go and stepped back, smirk on her face. 

I wasn't totally convinced you weren't going to kiss or headbutt her. Elpida's musing broke the silence in her own head.

Psh, get your mind outta the gutter. Maybe later you can do both. Hah!

But you're the one who... Ugh. Whatever.

Kagami's red flush (embarrassment and fury smearing together) seemed burnt into her face, her entire body shaking with anger as she took an unsteady step forward, struggling to respond. "That's- You're- I can't- I can't shrug this off. I-I have to interrogate how I fucked up, run simulations, program better viruses and handshake protocols, I'm not some meatbrained paleo."

Howl chuckled, shrugging, ending it with a little flex, as if raring to pounce. "Then you can do all that later with your ass sat down in the comfort of Pheiri. Right here, right now, you're gonna take your anger out on someone other than yourself."

Kagami's emotional flux was stunned to a stop once more, grimacing and trying to recover herself. "I just said I'm not some paleo dirt-eater, I don't want to hit you, Howl, I want actual results. Which means I need to focus and-"

"Right, riiiight, you've got a soft spot for me, yeah?" She gave a wink, confident and easy grin on her sister's face. "You'd hit Elps, though, right? Promise it'd be good for you, Moon gal or not." 

"That's absurd, I-I don't think I could hurt either of you even if I tried."

Without a word or confirmation, Howl slipped back into the back of Elpida's mind, blinking as her body became her own once more, standing a bit straighter. "You could give it your best shot."

"Commander!?" Kagami's voice lifted an octave, uncertainty in her expression.

"This isn't a fight, I'm not going to hit you back or do anything other than take it." She spread her arms, Elpida's eyes calm and focused on Kagami's straying gaze. "Think of it like, what, the duck protocol? The thing you mentioned to Pheiri once, trying to get into his software." 

Kagami's growing expression of disbelief morphed into complete noncomprehension, finally reaching understanding and snorting. "Ha! You'd make a poor duck, Commander."

"...Quack?" She tried, giving a weak smile.

"Rubber ducks are more intelligent." Kagami rolled her eyes, but didn't return to stewing and getting in her own head. Instead, her gaze rolled up and down the woman before her, clad in the simple armored tomb coat and pants they had in surplus. 

"Hmph. This is an utterly moronic suggestion, and d-don't go getting any ideas. This isn't gonna be like that depraved shit you get up to with Howl, or Illyusha, or Pira, or Amina, or-or whoever the fuck else is in any of your disgusting fight-fucking incesteous cadres-" Elpida blinked, resisting the urge to interrupt and clarify the major misunderstanding and trying to focus on Kagami's words past Howl's peals of laughter. "I'm gonna give you a piece of my mind, Commander. So sit down, shut up, listen, and don't fucking complain because you asked for it." 

Elpida nodded, beginning to sit down- and Kagami groaned, gesturing for her to stand up again. "Figure of speech. Just stand there until I'm done with you." 

Straightening back up, Elpida couldn't help but muse at how quickly Kagami's resistance to hitting Howl had faded once she'd been back in the pilots seat.

Jealous? 

No, but it might be something we need to have a talk about. Later. Make sure it won't cause problems in more intensive combat situations.

Real good pillow talk plans, Elps. No wonder you're apparently drowning in pussy.

Keeping a straight face, hands clasped behind her back, Elpida watched as Kagami went back to pacing- more focused, never turning her gaze from her Commander. Her gait was a bit unsteady, slight winces making clear the pain in every step she took. It made Elpida's heart hurt for Kagami, but she knew offering sympathy was perhaps the worst thing she could do in this moment.

Kagami left her line of sight. The audible sound of her feet stomping on the concrete flooring let Elpida track her position, but she was holding to Kagami's command. She expected a shove, perhaps a kick from those cybernetic legs. Instead she heard the sudden sound of metal scraping on metal and then felt a bolt of extreme pain strike her calf, stumbling and hissing as her nerves immediately reacted to numb the area and stabilize her instinctive reactions. Kagami stood over her, thin metallic pipe held in shaking hands, an unsteady grin on her face.

"C'mon, Commander, Pira fucking shot you and you kept moving, a little tap is enough to make you cave? Enough to make you fall to your knees for me? Have I found this super soldiers weakness?" 

Drawing in a shaky breath, Elpida steadied herself, standing up straight despite the sting in her leg, re-clasping her hands behind her back and meeting Kagami's eyes silently. She wore an odd expression, an unusual hunger visible as she lifted the rusted pipe once more, Elpida standing firm and waiting for it to fall.

She saw it coming now, slamming into the flesh of her upper arm, drawing another wince and a slight stumble. Kagami's strength wasn't enough to do much more than bruise, and the pipe was already bent where it had struck her shoulder. But she could see it helping: how Kagami's pain was forgotten with the strikes she laid out. Already panting and working herself up to another blow, muttering under her breath.

"Stupid genetically engineered body." Another swing, striking Elpida's hip. "I bet you can't even feel this." Another to her calf, drawing a soft grunt from her lips. "Paleo incestual pack hunter fucker!" Yet another strike to her calf, grimacing, teeth grit. Painkillers and adrenaline were flowing through her bloodstream, Elpida fighting back trained urges to pin Kagami down and immobilize her arm. "And you spend too much fucking time too fucking close to Vicky!" The fastest follow-up blow yet, slamming into the back of her skull, stars blinking into view as Elpida slumped forward on her hands and knees, growling under her breath and lifting her head to look up at Kagami.

Kagami was drenched in sweat from the amount of physical activity, but her expression seemed clearer than it had been before. Uneven smirk on her lips growing as Elpida unsteadily pulled herself up to rest on her knees, vision already beginning to clear as she noted the pipe bent completely out of shape from the repeated strikes. There was a ringing in Elpida's ears, drowning out the steady, quiet sound of rock and metal echoing as it was shifted outside of the room.

"Fuck, you're built like a tank. Hah- maybe you really are related to Pheiri." 

Elpida couldn't form a coherent response, every muscle in her body tensed, Howl murmuring in her head, keeping her from pouncing on Kagami, sense memories of sparring with her cadre turning into sex on the mats beneath them slowly pushed from her mind. She let out a long, slow breath as she straightened up, finally looking up to hold Kagami's gaze and the expression of shock on her face.

"Oh my god, you're getting off from this."

Elpida opened her mouth, to- defend herself? Explain? only for Kagami to hiss, pipe dropping with a clatter as she pointed.

"Quiet! Shut up! Like I said! I'm in charge! I don't give a shit! It's not about you!" 

She saw it coming, but didn't attempt to move out of the way as the metallic strength of Kagami's foot dug into her gut, forcing her to slump forwards again, wheezing. Spittle dripped from her lips, struggling to compose herself, another kick making her fall in an undignified heap on the floor, rolling onto her back.

Kagami let her foot rest on Elpida's stomach, breathing heavily and pressing the full weight of her body down to draw another groan from her Commander. There was a strange hunger in her eyes again, Elpida blinking and trying to focus as Kagami fell to a kneel, letting her knee jam into Elpida's already bruised gut, hissing as she leaned in, long black hair brushing against Elpida's cheeks. 

"I-I liked you best right after you woke up from dying for the first time, outside the tomb. When your heart was too fucking damaged for you to even get a sentence out without coughing. And I still didn't like you much at all."

Any attempt at a reply was cut off by a harsh press into her gut, forcing a weak whine from Elpida. Kagami seemed overjoyed in her victory, leaning in closer, grabbing at her collar in a vengeance for Howl's move on her. 

"Piece-of-shit-jock-wife-stealing-meathead-paleo-sister-fucking-piece-of-SHIT!" She took a breath, gathered herself, and spit on Elpida's cheek. Elpida froze, stunned completely as Kagami leaned even closer, their lips brushing for only a moment before she felt a sharp pain- hissing as Kagami's teeth drew blood from her lower lip, the taste of iron filling her mouth. Kagami's knee dug into her stomach even more, Elpida's vision blurring for a few moments. Kagami pulled back, a smear of blood on her much-less-confident smile as she slowly and uncomfortably returned to a standing position.

Kagami managed one more unsteady kick to Elpida's stomach, gasping for breath as she stepped back, staring at her Commander in a heap on the floor before her.

They both sat there, panting, recovering their breath, staring at each other between bouts of coughing. Kagami sighed, gingerly lowering herself down to sit with a groan. 

"Fuck, this is exhausting. How do you do this kinda shit for hours?" 

Elpida couldn't resist a soft laugh, wincing at the pain in her stomach as she pulled herself into a similar sitting position. She opened her mouth, hesitating until Kagami rolled her eyes, gesturing for her to speak.

"You know, we...we could do some stamina-building exercises if you'd like." An expression of disgust grew on Kagami's face, and Elpida hurried to clarify, "Jogging! Burpees! Cardio! When we were first heading towards Thirteen, I noticed you were lagging behind in the evenings. Just an idea."

Kagami let out a huff of protest, hand lifting to wave off the suggestion. "Nah, I'll stick to my lab. I'll let the born-and-bred jocks have their niche. It's your beak shape."

Elpida didn't question the turn of phrase, adrenaline fading completely as she took a long, slow breath. Howl purred in the back of her mind.

Not too bad, Commander. Got her mind off it and worked out at least some of her feelings about you.

I really think I should explain I'm not having sex with anyone she brought up earlier. Except you, Howl, I'm sorry.

Nah, that's just gonna make her more insufferable when you eventually do.

Hrm. Elpida snorted, slowly pulling herself up to her feet. Her body was a bit sore, her lip was split, and there would definitely be a lump at the back of her head for a few days, but that was an easy price to pay for Kagami's peace. She didn't offer her a hand yet, waiting for Kagami's heavy breathing to gradually steady before extending her arm. Outside, the sound of stone being shifted aside was growing louder, a sign of Victoria leading the excavation efforts and getting closer to freeing them.

Kagami accepted, grunting as she was pulled to her feet. She grumbled a bit more, running a hand through her hair, wiping all signs of blood from her mouth, and recentering herself, regaining her composure as if nothing at all had transpired. She glanced up at Elpida, eyes drifting over the places she'd surely left bruises and the clear smear of blood across her lip and chin, grimacing a bit.

"If anyone asks-"

"I fell down the stairs." Elpida and Howl winked.

Kagami snorted, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning against a wall and waiting impatiently with a slight smile on her face.

It wasn't too much longer before they got rescued, both waving off worried companions as Elpida and Kagami limped back to the safety and comfort of Pheiri.