#FUCK did i keep its axis similar to earth or was it more tilted i was thinkin bout this while writing my hcs for SUNS AURGH I FORGOR

[spotsupstuff]

okay so MAYBE making a headcanon heavy world map for RW is Not the most simplest thing under the sun i could've come up, AlRight I Get It. i admitted it on social media can i stop thinkin about the terrain now

[ulqueleleh]

“Feelings I didn’t know I had” (James and Keith week 2018)

*Cries* Jaith! Jaith! Jaith...!

Written for @jamesandkeith week.

Each day is part of the same story! I recommend to read from the first part, but you can read which ever you want!!!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (You are here) | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Day 8

Day 3: Earth/Sky/Space | James/Keith | 1.2k words | T | On AO3

It was very difficult to meet his eyes. Mostly because the only thing he actually tried to find in them was the darkness of lust that dizzied him. Or the spark of light and hope that he liked to imagine in them. It was so difficult when he always saw them clouded and unfocused, looking down at him with gasps were shaped as his name.

The dreams didn’t stop to torture him every single night. In any case, they were worse than the last one, being more intense, more realistic. So much that he always woke up shivering in the orgasm, his lips murmuring Keith’s name as if it was a mantra.

His perspective changed drastically.

He couldn’t focus on the meetings when he was in the same room as him. He couldn’t stop feeling a weird attraction to the place he was seated. He couldn’t help shoot gazes in his direction and shift in his place what his mind made up to keep him entertained the night before.

It was torture.

And the only thing he could actually do to escape from it was fly.

He adjusted the control one more time, growling at the pull to his fingers, and let the MFE Fighter fall free through the sky, closing his eyes a moment to feel the adrenaline from the free fall; his stomach turning upside down, his mind going light-headed, the rush of blood in his veins beating his heart harder, his ears deafening because of the constant alarm going off.

It was the only way he could get away from his thoughts. From his needs. From his wishes.  

From Keith.

“James.”

He scrunched his nose in anger and swallowed up the insult that automatically formed in his tongue, opening his eyes and stabilizing the MFE with a movement.

“Kinkade” he murmured, and resented that it sounded as a warning.

“Your motor isn’t going to last with that stunts you’re pulling off”, Kinkade explained through the private comms, his serious tone sounding like a scold, “You’re being too careless.”

James scoffed, lowering the speed of the turbines and falling to the level Kinkade’s MFE fighter was.

“I’m not being that careless” he excused himself glancing to the data and lifting an eyebrow at a number out of place, “You don’t have to worry.”

“I’ve seen you do that free fall too many times these pasts tests, James” Kinkade commented, “Three times only in this training.”

James rolled his eyes, and hearing Kinkade’s sigh made him know he too was exasperated.

“Evasive maneuvers?” he asked looking to the MFE next to his.

“James...” he heard him try to scold him, but James could hear his smile.

“Catch me if you can, Ryan.”

He accelerated abruptly, leaving his breath in the air behind him with all those filthy thoughts.

He turned nimbly through the clouds, lowering enough to lift dirt from the desert canyons, and he let himself go with the movements, focusing only the needed to not crash. He smiled when he saw Kinkade’s MFE fighter being his shadow, following up and imitating all his moves with precision.

He thought of losing him in a turn, and he put the speed at its maximum, disappearing in a whisper of air.

“James!”

He squinted, blocking out all the scolds Kinkade was trying to make him listen to and focused on dodging all the rocks that threatened to destroy his vehicle, enjoying the speed and adrenaline that only those planes could give to him. He laughed, deafening all the noises that the MFE fighter did in a struggle to follow his commands, and he turned swiftly into a fissure in the canyon wall, twirling and avoiding the rocks and sharp twists that could crash him if he weren’t that skilled.

But even if he wanted to ignore everything the reality tried to put in front of him, even when he wanted to escape every single thing his mind thought in his loneliness for some minutes, the noisy alarm ringing in his ears and the blinking red light blinding his eyes, made him go face to dirt too fast.

Quite literally.

The MFE fighter turned slightly into another direction that he commanded to, and that minimum rotation in the axis took away all his control over his stunts. He cursed trying to get the plane out of the canyons carelessly, and a little hit to the end of one wing with the edge of a rock tilted completely the cabin, the crystal in front of him going directly against the sand.

He was able to turn off the motor before the collision and avoided to crash mortally in the relatively soft surface of the desert, but, even when the blinking red light stopped flashing to his face, the noisy alarms didn’t stop.

He breathed for a moment, his heart beating so loud that could die down the alarm, and far away he could hear Kinkade’s voice, panicked and asking over and over for a signal of life.

“I’m okay. Relax” he groaned finding the button that would open the hatch and let him out of the vehicle, “I told you to shut up.”

Kinkade stuttered a little, and his complains kept going louder and harsher. James rolled his eyes and jumped out of the plane, getting off his helmet roughly and throwing it to the ground just to make him shut the fuck up.

“Shit” he cursed holding his head and looking back at his MFE fighter for any severe damage while he felt Kinkade’s MFE land in a secure distance. He could hear Leifsdottir and Rizavi asking what happened from his helmet but he didn’t care to answer.

Iverson was going to kill him.

He endured the scolding with no words to defend himself, his head hanging from his shoulders and his expression drowned in deception. He could feel everyone stare at him with pity while Iverson vent out at him about every single stupid action he did in every training since a while ago. And just when Iverson scolded Kinkade because he wasn’t firmer with his orders to stop him, James felt nauseous, tightening his fists and closing his eyes in impotence.

Not only he affected his perfect record, but he affected too his team’s, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the irony in the situation, because Keith did exactly that in their days as cadets. At least he actually cared about his team.

“Am I clear, Official Griffin?”

He inhaled deeply and he tried to hide his frustration.

“Yes, sir.”

Something in the peripheric moved and he forgot Iverson was still scolding him when he saw the violet eyes.

He looked at him from a side, his feet directed to the hangar the lions were, and James blamed his terrible luck at being scolded just when Keith decided to go to fly his lion. He saw his mouth tight in something really similar to pity, and he forced himself to take off his eyes from him, putting it in the ground again to focus on the orders Iverson was giving him.

He almost whiplashed himself at one.

“W-what?”

“You heard me clearly, Official” he spitted, “The damage to your MFE wasn’t several and it’ll be fixed in a couple of days. But your incompetence and immaturity in these last days don’t deserve just a warning.”

He felt his blood run cold.

“You’re suspended from the flight test until further notice.”

Shit.

[renaroo]

Recovery None (57/61)

Disclaimer: Red vs Blue and related characters are the property of Rooster Teeth. Warnings: Language, Canon-typically violence, Psychological torture & manipulation, Mentions of gore, Character death, Minor Sexual content Pairings: Kaikaina/South, Gimmons Rating: T Synopsis: [Canon Divergence AU] When the Mother of Invention crashed, Project Freelancer was in shambles, its surviving agents scattered, its equipment stolen, and an impending investigation into the crash from the UNSC was on the horizon. To regain control of the deeply corrupted program, the Director established a new unit from his remaining supplies – the Recovery Unit.

Three former Freelancers were chosen for particular tasks: Zero is to hunt down and destroy the Meta, One is to investigate and recover stolen or missing equipment, and Two is to take down AWOL former agents.

Of course, no one’s motivations are what they seem…

A/N: There is an abrupt tonal shift that can only happen in Blood Gulch and a few other surprises in this chapter I think everyone’s going to appreciate since I’ve been asked about them for more than a few chapters now ; ) But to anyone still wondering, yes, I’m keeping the limited narration for Two chapters down to just South’s POV now. No one will be taking North’s place for the remainder of the fic (which isn’t that much more OH MY GOSH HOW ARE WE FOUR CHAPTERS FROM THE END) 

Special thanks to @secretlystephaniebrown, @analiarvb, @notatroll7, @every-survival, @icefrozenover, @washingtonstub, @a-taller-tale, @freshzombiewriter, Yin, irismon, DuchessPoint, and Linni for the feedback!

Recovery Two XVII: Sisters

She still didn’t know what she was doing. 

South stood to lose everything and yet all she could think was how hollow of a threat that truly was to her. Everything meant so little when, collectively, she possessed truly nothing of value. Not anymore. 

She was still in the canyon, wondering whether it was instinct honed in by years of training or what dwindling sense of self-preservation she still owned, but she had stuck to the shadows, out of sight of all the natives to the canyon, former Freelancers, tanks, and all. 

From a distance, she observed things. And even though he was long dead, it was the closest she had felt to North in years. 

Can I project now? Theta asked. It looks like everyone is leaving anyway. No one’s gonna see me. 

Watching as York and Washington passed through a transporter and Four Seven Niner returned to a Scorpion tank, South narrowed her eyes. “No,” she answered finally. “I don’t need you attracting attention. Either from the mouth breathers here or from the possibility of attracting it.”

Theta sent a shudder through her, from the base of her skull to the tips of her fingers and toes. 

“Stop doing that,” she ordered harshly. “Taking hold of my nervous system.”

Sorry, the AI quickly apologized. But I don’t... it’s not a conscious thing or anything, South. I just feel things. And as long as I’m here, you’ll feel them, too.

She nearly rolled her eyes. “I understand how implantation works! I just... Forget it. I don’t know what the hell I ever wanted with an AI anyway.”

You saw us as advanced tools rewarding the best, and you wanted to be the best, he answered. Now that it’s real and human it feels weird to think of us that way. 

South hardly kept her eyes set on the scene at Blue Base. “Did I ask for a psychoanalysis?”

Not out loud. 

“Well, since you’re suddenly so opinionated, Theta, I’ve got a question for you,” South snapped. “Why are we doing this? Why are we anywhere near this place and not sticking with that plan of replacing an agent of Freelancer and hijacking a ticket off this mudball? What are we doing?”

Going against orders, Theta appeared briefly over her shoulder. “I think you’re interested in that one girl’s big, bouncy boobs.”

“Oh my god, you horny teenager, get out of my brain!” she snarled. 

“I could go to your suit more and leave your implants more vacated if you--”

Before Theta could continue, South held up her hand and silenced him. Her eyes darted toward the gathering in the canyon. Sure enough, Kaikaina was heading her way, practically bouncing with every step. 

Theta snorted. “Bouncing, I put that on your mind.”

“Go dark,” South ordered.

“Why? Kaikaina has seen me before. She’s the only one who does know about me. Because you wouldn’t let me apologize to York like I told you to let me--”

Looking to the AI’s projection directly, South snarled. “Theta, I will use override commands liberally. I’m not North. I’m not playing around with you and giving you uneven footing in this so-called relationship of ours. Go dark.”

For a moment, Theta seemed to resist before dropping his head and shaking his head. “You’re right. You’re not North,” he said almost bitterly before flickering offline.

“Little bastard,” South hissed. She then looked toward Kaikaina just as the woman got within reach of her. 

“How’re you supposed to bodyguard from, like, twenty feet away?” Kaikaina asked breathlessly. “Man. Why’s it so hot in this place? It sucks more dicks than I do.”

“What?” South blinked.

“What?” Kaikaina asked back. 

Exhaling sharply through her nose, South leaned back against the rock she had been spying from. “Do you want me to answer those questions in order?” she asked. 

“Which questions?” Kaikaina asked.

“The ones you asked me,” South clarified impatiently.

The simulation trooper tilted her head. “Uh, yeah. Generally that’s the point of asking someone questions. To get the answers. Man. Are all bodyguards such sticklers for, like, everything?”

Deciding to humor the only minor relationship she had flimsily constructed in the past twenty-four hours, South began listing off on her fingers. “I bodyguard by surveying and assessing situations from a distance then coordinating action from what I see. It’s hot here because of our geographical location and because while the UNSC decided -- on poor faith -- to terraform this rock for sustainable life, ultimately it does not rotate quickly enough on its axis to give similar diurnal and nocturnal habitats like Earth and our other terraformed colony planetoids. Constant sunlight gives this planet a giant-ass-desert in the middle of the sun-baring side and we’re on the outskirts of it. And, finally, I don’t care whether or not other bodyguards are sticklers, because they’re not your bodyguard, I am. And anyone who isn’t me sucks.”

When South had finished, she took a deep breath and then looked expectantly toward Kaikaina. Even fully armored, there was no hiding that blank stare the younger soldier was giving her. 

“Yeah, okay, sure,” she finally responded with a fully body shrug. “Hey, if you’re my bodyguard, should’t you be calling me, like ma’am and stuff? Like making me sandwiches and opening the door when it rings?”

“I’m not a butler, I just save your life,” South replied. “Do you want to be called ‘ma’am’, you’re like... twelve.”

“Uh, I’m an adult. I’m Nineteen, so suck it,” Kai responded. “And I guess I don’t like when other people say ma’am because my mom was a ma’am or a sir if someone was being an asshole about her beard. But when you say it, your voice is, like, all husky and heavy and it’s really hot. So if you want to call me ma’am I’d be down with it.”

“What,” South replied.

“What?” Kai asked back.

“You know what, it really doesn’t matter,” South replied lowly. “Honestly, I’m beginning to think if anything matters right now. And I’m having a hard time finding any evidence that it does.”

“Wow, that’s dark,” Kai responded, crossing her arms. 

“I’m a tortured soul, didn’t you know?” South replied sarcastically. 

“You’re bitchy, it’s kinda hot,” Kai announced, leaning against the rock as well, close enough to brush arms with South. 

“What are you doing?” South demanded. 

“Waiting for you to get over yourself,” Kaikaina shrugged. “Or for you to bodyguard me from something epic. I must be super important for them to give me the best Freelancer for a bodyguard.”

Surprised, South turned and looked at Kai. “I never said I was the best.”

“You don’t have to, you’re a complete hardass and you talked circles around those guys back at the other base,” Kaikaina explained. “Obviously my Freelancer is the best one.”

“Your,” South remarked with a scoff. Despite herself, though, she had a smile. “Yeah, guess you’re right.”

“I know I ma, I always guessed people’s weights right at the circus,” Kai shrugged. “I’m a good judge of character like that.”

South smirked at her. “Obviously.” She then took pause and turned entirely toward Kaikaina. “So what was the deal down there? Why did the Reds split up?”

"Oh, I dunno,” Kaikaina shrugged. “Some of them wanted to follow the space cop to go after some movie director? And that other Freelancer went with him, which makes me think -- a pirate, a guy with a funny accent, and a cop all going to find a director? Total porno. I’d watch it.”

South felt her blood cool in her veins and she grew more alert. 

Him, Theta hissed in her mind. 

“The Director?” South questioned, hardly able to find words. 

“Right, so they went through that portal thingy, but my bro said fuck thaaaaat because it was dangerous or something. Or he’s like still pretending to be in a closet, to which I’m like, Bro, that guy Simmons is, like, hanging off of you. What the fuck. Closet door’s knocked down, Bro,” Kai continued. “So they’re here along with the cool guy in lightish-red armor--”

“The pink armor,” South corrected automatically.

“Shhh don’t be rude, I can’t tell the difference,” Kaikaina hushed her. “Anyway, so they’re all here in Blue Base where I’m here to paaaaarty but mostly I want to watch the one Blue guy give birth. I’ve never seen a dude do it before. But now that they’re doing it, I bet you no one’s going to say shit about me getting a seventh abortion.”

“What,” South said before she could catch herself.

“It’s the way dudes work. Totally. Trust me,” Kai said with a flip of her wrist. “And then the doctor guy is totally weird and says he has to give me a physical as soon as he’s done with the medical breakthrough of his lifetime. Whatever that means.”

“Sounds like he wants in your pants,” South replied without a second’s thought. 

“That’s what I think which is like... c’mon. Better pickup lines, dude, but eh. I’ll get naked.”

“Why would you need to get naked for a physical?” South demanded. 

“Why would I not?” she fired back. “You’re so weird. And thirsty.”

“I’m not--” South snapped her mouth shut before the conversation could carry on further. “It doesn’t matter.”

Because we need to go after the Director. No one’s more responsible for North’s death than him, Theta growled uncharacteristically in her mind. 

South felt the rage building within her, but she looked at Kaikaina instead. 

She felt the tug of resistance in her mind, but South pushed off the rock and glanced toward Kaikaina. “Okay, I’m curious. Show me this guy giving birth. What’s he going to do? Squeeze it out his dick or...?”

“Cesearean,” Kai answered, beginning to lead South toward the Base. 

“What a wimp,” South remarked. “Women have been doing this shit forever.”

“I told you! That’s how dudes are!” Kai laughed, reaching over and grabbing South’s arm as she continued to guide her. 

But North-- Theta began to fight back angrily. 

We’re going after the Director for me, South informed the AI, grabbing Kai’s arm back as they walked along. North is dead. Doing things for him isn’t going to bring him back. So when we cut the Director’s goddamn throat it’ll be for everything, and that’s what I’m going to do. 

Theta’s buzzing in her mind took up a dangerous tempo. When isn’t it about you!?

Clutching Kai tighter, South scowled. This, you little bastard. This is not for me. North wanted us to live. Going after the Director? That’s a good chance of death. So we’re going to give North what he wanted first. Live a little. 

Placated, Theta’s humming returned to its normal rhythm. 

*

Inside of the base, South nearly had to do a double take to make certain that they hadn’t somehow ended up back at Red Base since the interiors were absolutely identical in a very real, very haunting sort of way. 

If it weren’t for the blue accents and flag, there wouldn’t have been any difference at all. 

The orange armored Red who Kaikaina had said was her brother was standing at the center of the flag room with a cigarette between his teeth. He was staring at the flag almost dully. 

“Yo, Broooooo!” Kaikaina yelled out, bounding over toward him. “Why aren’t you watching the dude giving birth? Like isn’t it supposed to be amazing or something? Like where is it gonna even come from?”

“Squeeze it out his dick, that’d almost be anatomical justice,” South couldn’t help but add. 

Ow, yeesh, Theta muttered.

Oh, like you have a real one, South admonished him.

“Won’t be the biggest thing I’ve seen come out of one,” Kai shrugged.

“What?” her brother said at the same time as South. 

“Whatever, it’s not amazing,” her brother said, pulling his cigarette from his mouth. “Amazing is this goddamn thing right here.”

He waved toward the blue flag and forced South and Kaikaina to take more note of it. They watched it flutter slightly, which confused South almost as much as the moon landing footage because there didn’t seem to be a draft in the base. 

“That’s not amazing, it’s fucking boring,” Kai groaned. 

“No, it’s not,” Grif said, pointing his cigarette toward the flag. “Good men over the years have died over this stupid thing -- died just to stand in this room and try to get it from Blues. Or the other way around.”

South looked between the two simulation troopers quietly. She felt... something at that point. Not guilt, not anything truly personal. But she felt...

Sympathy, Theta offered.

Gross, South replied. My brother just died, what the fuck do I have to sympathize over simulation troopers for? They’re not even smart enough to figure out this whole thing was fake.

Well, neither were Freelancers until the very end, Theta reminded her.

Taking a sharp breath, South pt her hands on her hips and shook her head. It felt like pulling teeth, but she tried all the same. “I’m... sorry. That you lost people over something so stupid as a flag.”

He turned and looked at her utterly bewildered. “What? God, no. Red Team hasn’t lost anyone over the stupid flag.” He threw down his cigarette and stomped it out before grabbing for his helmet. “I mean I’ve lost half my internal organs and Simmons is half a robot, but not even fucking Donut died over the stupid flag and he managed to get the damn thing. ‘Sides, I said good people. That’s obviously not anyone in this canyon.”

South watched as he put his helmet on. “You’re going to make me regret protecting your sister, aren’t you?” she asked plainly.

“Knowing my sister, she’s made headway on that cause already,” Grif shrugged. 

Almost immediately, South opened her mouth to defend Kaikaina’s honor when she realized that the younger woman wasn’t even in the room with them anymore. “Dammit,” she hissed before taking off toward the hall.

It took a bit of searching but soon enough South came across Kaikaina walking down the hall humming to herself.

“Earlier when you were getting onto me for not being close enough to bodyguard you,” South said as she caught up to Kai’s side, “generally that’s a two way street.”

“Pfft, I’m in Blue Base now. I’m Blue Safe. Whoohoo! Go Blue!” she said in response. “Hey, where’s the little gray dude over your shoulder? I bet he’d like to see me naked for a physical.”

“I’m here,” Theta announced, popping up over South’s shoulder.

“Off!” South ordered. She glared at Theta until he complied and then she looked back to her charge. “Theta is like a secret weapon. We don’t flaunt him around because that’d ruin the surprise.”

“We as in me?” Kai asked.

“What?” South asked in return.

“You always say we. Are you talking about me? Should I keep Theta a secret too? Like, he’s my secret, too? Which is cool. I’m great at secrets. Except when I accidentally tell them. Which doesn’t happen a lot. Don’t call anybody from high school. They’re fucking liar bitches.”

The realization of the we cut through South. She screwed her eyes shut, hardly listening to Kaikaina’s words as they carried forward. 

Live. Survive. Live. Survive. Don’t think about--

“She meant North,” Theta said, appearing over South’s other shoulder, closer to Kai. “Our brother. He... He died.”

Kai put her hands over her chest, letting out a small gasp. “Why didn’t you tell me you lost your brother? I’m so sorry! Losing my brother would be the worst thing that ever happened to me. Even if he’s an annoying bastard and treats me like a baby who hasn’t fucked the whole football team already.” She paused and looked mortified for a moment. “Did he die going after the flag? Did Dex offend you? I’ll go beat him up for you.”

"He didn’t die over a flag,” South said lowly. “He died over something more stupid... He died counting on me.”

Kai looked at South. “That’s not stupid. That’s... I think that’s something brothers and sisters would always be willing to die for. For the brother or sister, I mean.” She hugged herself. “I enlisted because I wanted to see my brother again. He was drafted because he chose to take care of me instead of going to school and so he couldn’t get out of it. And then he sent all his paychecks back to me at home. Because that’s what he does. He takes care of me. And I want to do the same back. Even if it means dying over a stupid flag.”

South stopped, her head was pounding and her vision blurring. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and rested her shoulder against the near hallway wall to keep her balance. 

“I wish it were true. I wish siblings were always willing to die for each other,” South said. “Maybe then it would’ve been me instead of him... I always thought, being a twin was... a hard thing. Everyone always finds a way to put you together. Even in the program. It’s like you’re not considered two people. Even when we were kids, our parents dressed us alike, and when we joined p and got sent to the program, they stuck us together. People thought we were special somehow, I suppose. I used to hate that. All I ever wanted was to have my own life. My own respect. And here I am now... just wondering how I’m gonna live without him.” She waved to the base around them. “I don’t even know where I fucking am anymore or what I’m doing. Not except getting back at all the fuckers responsible for this in the first place.”

“Yeah,” Kai said. “And being an extremely shitty pretend bodyguard.”

South looked up to Kaikaina, tears streaming down her face. Kaikaina was already meeting her gaze. 

They kept silent for a moment, South feeling like she had gutted herself and left everything bare, right there on the canyon base’s floor. 

Then, unexpectedly, she burst out with a laugh, a grin. Even when she covered her mouth she couldn’t help the choking laughter that came out from her. 

Joining in the laughter, Kaikaina moved in closer and pulled South into a hug. South didn’t return it, but she continued to laugh.

Laugh until there were blood curdling screams echoing through the base.

Quickly releasing each other, South and Kaikaina looked around for the source of the screaming. South automatically pulled out her sidearm and cocked it, causing Kaikaina to jump back in even more surprise. 

“Whoa, did you have that hiding somewhere or were you that happy to hug me?” Kai joked.

“Stop making me laugh,” South snorted.

"Kaikaina!” Grif came running from the flag room only to stumble to a stop just short of the two women and put his hands on his knees. He was gulping down air like it was a new drug. “I thought... whoo! Running... still... sucks... I thought you were.... screaming... I’m gonna die... running... someday... maybe today...”

“Why would I be screaming?” Kaikaina asked with a shrug. “I’ve got a terrible bodyguard taking care of me, Big Bro. Don’t be fucking stupid.”

South couldn’t help but silently agree and holstered her weapon.

“Plus, if anyone’s screaming, it’s probably the dude shoving a baby through his dick,” Kai continued.

“You know I was joking when I mentioned that, right?” South asked.

“No. Dude, I’ve never seen a guy do this before! You can’t joke with me about things like that. Totes thought you were being real,” Kai replied. 

“Well, there’s only one thing for us to do,” South said, leading them toward the origin of the screams. “Let’s go and watch this freakshow for ourselves.”

“Fuck yes!” Kai cried out, nearly skipping by South’s side as her brother followed up behind them, still panting and holding his sides like he had pulled something. 

“That’s it, Tucker! Just a few more breaths...” some far too calm voice was saying as they rounded the corner into the medical room.

“This is awesome!” Donut cried out. 

South wasn’t sure what she was expecting and Theta’s curiosity was definitely getting the better of her at that point. But it became clear that Kaikaina and her brother also didn’t know what to expect because the moment they caught sight of the cesarean being performed with a reptilian headed creature reaching out of a live human, bloody and letting out a long series of terrible noises, the three of them plus Theta gave out a unified scream of horror and backed away before taking off. 

*

The three of them sat on the top of Blue Base, legs hanging over the side, each busily puffing a cigarette. A Red, a Blue, and a Freelancer -- it was the start of a new, terrible bar joke. 

“Welp,” Grif said, flicking the butt of his cigarette over the edge. “Never unseeing that.”

“And that’s why I always go with the abortion,” Kai sighed.

“What,” South and Grif echoed. 

Theta sat on South’s shoulder, head propped up on his hands. “Wish I could have a cigarette.”

“No you don’t,” South said. “Also, I told you to stop showing yourself to everyone.”

“What? I’m not going to be the weirdest thing Kaikaina’s brother has seen today,” Theta pointed out. “We just saw--”

“We know!” they all yelled at once. 

“There you guys are!!! Wanted to let you all know that Tucker’s doing okay! Or at least he’s unconscious and no longer screaming, and the cute doctor says that’s okay!” Donut called out, climbing to the top of the base with a certain amount of pep in his stride. “Grif! You shouldn’t be smoking! It really irritates Simmons that you’re ruining his lungs.”

“Like I give a shit,” Grif replied.

“Ohhh, is Simmons’ first name Richard?” Kai questioned, leaning over South’s lap to get more in her brother’s face. 

Donut stopped and tilted his head to the side. “Oh. I don’t know Simmons’ first name. Is it?”

“You know his first name is Dick,” Grif snapped at Donut. “I know you’ve heard me call him that before.”

Holding up his hands, Donut shook his head. “I so did not know! This changes so many conversations we’ve had!”

“What the-- yeah it better!” Grif snapped. 

“Not if we go by the letters you sent home it doesn’t,” Kaikaina sang.

“Oh, letters? Do tell!” Donut cried out excitedly.

Theta looked to South before flickering out. 

South didn’t have to ask -- she knew what that look meant. Felt what it meant deep within her own bones. She stood up and threw her own cigarette off the side of the base before putting her helmet on. 

The bickering simulation troopers all looked to her in surprise. 

“What’re you doing South?” Kai asked. 

“Remember how my brother’s dead?” she asked lowly, sobering up Grif and Donut rather quickly. “I’m going to go see someone who holds some of the responsibility for that fact. And will probably either accidentally help my former fellow Freelancers or end up getting them all killed. Either way, I figure it’s a hoo-ra I wouldn’t want to miss.”

“Who’s gonna be my fake bodyguard then?” Kai asked, getting to her feet. 

“I’d recommend it not being the guy who had an alien rip itself out of his stomach,” South suggested. “Who knows. That tank seems fairly reliable.”

Donut and Grif looked awkwardly at each other. 

“Well, I prefer you and I think you going by yourself is dumb,” Kaikaina argued. 

“Wouldn’t be the first stupid thing I’ve done,” South joked.

With a bit of a smile, Kai punched South’s shoulder hard. “Well, don’t die. I’d like the honor of being the last stupid thing you do.”

South’s mouth dropped open and she felt her face light up, but her brain -- outside of Theta’s laughter -- had stopped for all intents and purposes. She shook herself from head to toe before walking toward the transporter. “O-okay then.”

Grif just looked back and forth between his sister and South. “What the fuck just happened?”

“I don’t know, but I liked it,” Donut cheered.