The Lounge is a fabled site. While most dwellers within the Foundation are very much aware of its existence, only a chosen few know of its whereabouts. Headquarters for Mob's organization, its members often find themselves squatting in its venue.
Situated in a secluded corner of the Lab, deep below the main floors, the Lounge can never rest. There are always members of the Family enjoying its resources and its infrastructure. Today, however, was one of the rarer ones. The Dons are all present.
Enjoying the rich liquors stashed throughout this den, both Frostbite and Alloy were past their intoxication limits. Scope, however, was perfectly fine, even after outdrinking both of them combined.
"You kids drink more often than I do, and you still can't handle your booze."
"Shut yo ass up."
"Yeah, what he said."
"You just proved my point."
Scope scoffed at their drunken rebuttal.
"We're celebrationing, dumbass. No negative shit."
"That's right, celebrationing."
"Is that so? Do tell me then, Alloy, what are we celebra- uh.. tioning?"
"Well, duh! Boss' super master plan!"
"Woah, woah, alright, alright. Don't go saying too much, I get it. My bad."
Other than the Dons, the other members of the Family had limited insight into Mob's strategies. Thankfully, those members present in the vicinity are too busy to pay them close attention. Most of them learned the hard way not to disturb any of the upper echelon's trio.
"Didn't think that would be something you guys would be celebrating. I thought maybe you guys started dating again or something."
"Never."
"Kill me instead."
"Then again, you guys don't need any real reason to drink. Any minor event will do."
"Nuh huh. This is a big thing, bro. We'll soon be able to kiss this senile piece of shit goodbye."
"Yeah, sure, Frost. That still won't happen for a while."
"Doesn't matter. Soon enough, Doc will fall, and the Foundation will too. And I! The legendary Frostbite, the Harbinger of Barren Landscapes, will overthrow the Commanders and even the Pioneers, and I will become the strongest soldier eve-!"
"Man, shut your corny ass up. Ain't no way this is gonna happen!"
"And that's why I can't stand your face, you wench! Can't even let a man dream. I'm a sensitive guy, you know that!"
"Oh, that I know. Always wanting to cuddle up after I let you hit-"
"Aaand here's my cue. This turned into something I don't want to be a part of anymore, so I'm just gonna head out real quic-"
"Yo."
Dead silence. The crowded commotion immediately seized the instant the crew heard an unfamiliar voice. Confidently walking into hostile territory, Nuke was fearless. Or so she seemed on the surface, even though she could feel the oppressive atmosphere penetrating her.
Following behind her were her trusted teammates, Lunchbox and Kage, neither of them as assertive as she was. She did not proceed far into their territory when a handful of crew members circled her.
"Woah there, girl."
"Where exactly do you think you're going?"
"None of your business."
"I beg to differ."
"You're on our turf, so. It is our matter."
"How did you find this place?"
"Did you think you could just walk in here?"
"Yep. And I did, didn't I?"
"Pretty face got an attitude on her, too."
"Guess we'll have to teach you a lesson."
"Hands off, you creeps. Leave her alone."
Scope jumped out of his stool, and the crowd rapidly broke out as he walked through them. He stopped in front of the intruder, towering over her easily, looking down at her.
"You are?"
"Nuke."
"Nuke. Hm."
The Don nonchalantly lit up a cigarette, taking a large hit before blowing out a cloud of smoke in her face. Nuke closed her eyes, scoffing with a grin on her face. Acknowledging his oppressive stance without faltering at it.
"And why are you here?"
"No educated guess? If I heard of this place and was able to find it, you must know what that means."
"Hm. It is true that you shouldn't be able to get that kind of information if you were not seriously considered to be a new implementation to the team by a higher-up."
"Look at you go. Figuring it all out on your own."
"But you seem pretty clever. I wouldn't doubt you found this place on your own and plan to crash our little party."
"My. I could never."
"Hold on now. I know this chick. And these guys, too."
Frostbite barely stumble his way to them, pointing his finger at her face, his intoxicated breath burning her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah! I kicked her ass."
"Oh, really. Maybe that's why she's here, then. Here for revenge, girlie?"
Alloy was starving for drama.
"Down the line, I do intend to put this dumbass back in his place, yes. But no. I'm here to enroll. We are."
"You guys? Join us?"
"What about it?"
Lunchbox gained some sudden courage from the sidelines. Which died immediately, once the entire room imploded into laughter. Kage, however, was not afflicted.
"What's so funny?"
"You, my guy. You and your buddies."
"What about you prove it?"
"Huh?"
Scope seemed to have unexpectedly switched sides. More accurately, choosing chaos, provoking her.
"What? You scared?"
"Fuck no."
"There you have it. What about you guys? Wanna see a show?"
Their answer did not need to be perfectly articulated before they made haste to prepare for a show. As one of the rowdy gore enthusiasts pulled on a creasing lever, the Lounge exhaled life.
The room unwillingly bent its form, pressured by the cloddish mechanism renting its aged skeleton. The centrepiece slowly morphed into a rudimentary arena, fitting for ruffians looking for a quick adrenaline rush. And the masochistic sting of broken ribs.
It is quite spacious, however, once the appliances and squatters are moved out of the way. Only 4 soldiers were left under the spotlight.
"These bitches are lightwork, you better put up a good show, Alloy."
"When have I ever failed you, Frost?"
"Well, actually…-"
"Alright, fellas. Looks like we've got ourselves some top-tier entertainment for the night. So, newbies. We want a clean fist fight. No weapons. No powers, if you can help it. Everything else goes."
"Trying to nerf us?"
"Trust me, that wouldn't make a difference in the slightest. I just like to keep damage on this place to a minimum."
"Fair."
"Are we taking turns or something?"
"Oh, come on. I can take all of you pussies."
"With no due respect, you're fucking hammered."
"Should even it out then."
"Stop arguing with her, Box. Let's just beat her ass up."
"Okay. Sounds like they're ready. I'll call it when I feel like it. Try not to die. Begin!"
The Don gave the launching signal. As this was all so sudden and quite unfamiliar for the group of invaders, their start was lacklustre. Their adversary, however, trampled on the occasion.
Her blood, impressively thinner thanks to her drunken state, was still flowing greatly. She immediately leaped past Nuke and crashed her knuckles right through Lunchbox's jaw. While tactically inefficient to do so, instantly becoming surrounded, her grudge against his comment weighed more than any tactical option. It wasn't even the alcohol that favoured that decision. It was her raw audacity.
Kage was the first one to follow up. While not the best fighter, he compensates with his studious nature. Having seen her form once, he meticulously copied her technique. While the power behind it was far below hers, his execution was flawless.
The Don's dulled senses were still sharp enough to perceive the threat launching itself at her from behind. Like a beast, she rapidly dropped to the ground and used the newfound grounding in her arms to viciously kick the soldier directly in his liver. The brute force of her attack and his forward momentum amplified the power of the blow and instantly knocked him out on his knees.
To her surprise, her leg got stuck before she could withdraw it. Nuke was able to rush in to get a hold of her leg, keeping it tucked under her arm. She then strongly pummeled her fist down right into Alloy's thigh, almost snapping her femur in half.
"Get the fuck off me, bitch!"
The Don kicked herself free and used her upper body strength to somersault back on her own two feet. However, Lunchbox immediately jumped in, grabbing her from behind, pinning her down for his comrades to follow up.
She wasted no time, however, crushing his nose with the back of her skull. She then used him to balance herself back, throwing both her boots forward in the air and stomping Nuke in her sternum as she tried to rush her down.
Everyone was now shuffling on the ground, the homefighter being the first one to stand back up.
"Come on kids. I'm still thirsty."
"The fuck are you doing, Kage? We need you, man."
"Just.. Hold…"
The young soldier's vision was still blurry, his lungs on fire. Even if he wanted to fight through the pain and get back up, his body just wouldn't answer to him. It only took one shot, but he was already out of the fight.
"Look out!"
Alloy was not about to let them converse more than that. The rookies were completely outclassed. By her experience. Her speed. She kept them on their toes, throwing cascades of combos, sloppy in execution, thanks to her intoxicated state, but all the more unpredictable.
Under an uproar of drunken cheers, the intruders were getting utterly trashed. Open wounds, fresh bruises, fractured bones. This wasn't a fight anymore. The referee took notice of that, but still decided to let it play out for a little more. They had to learn the hard way.
"Alright, alright. Enough."
The cheerful commotion rapidly faded into loaded hisses and disagreeing boos.
"Nah, it was just getting good!"
"Bullshit!"
Noticing the crowd's riot and his comrade failing to listen to his call, Scope had to step up. He reached behind his back and pulled out his trusted bow, activating on touch. Quickly and accurately, he shot an arrow at the center of the ring. His shot both blinded the fighters and deafened them with a thundering bang.
"Damn, Scope! Really? Was that necessary?"
"You tell me, Alloy. Didn't look like you were gonna stop, were you?"
"'Cause I wasn't done with 'em'"
"Looks like they are done with you, though."
The challengers looked awful. One could think they had an unfortunate encounter with a Hollow.
"Told you these guys were a bunch of wusses."
"Alright, Frost, we get it. Now. About you guys."
Scope jumped into the fray to meet with the defeated soldiers, scattered on the floor.
"I'll ask you directly. Think you can still join us?"
"..."
Even though she was out of breath and in too much pain to answer, Nuke would still have nothing to say.
"Now, I'll say this. These dudes don't deserve to be in our ranks. But I might make you a personal offer."
Nuke slowly stood up, spitting blood on the ground, before looking directly at the man.
"I appreciate the thought. But I'm not the type to just move up the ladder and leave people behind."
"Hm. Honourable, are you?"
"Hardly. It's the bare minimum."
"Interesting. Sure. We'll take you lot."
"Huh!? But I just slaughtered them!"
"I know, I know. But that means nothing. You clean up most of our lower ranks already. I just like her sense of camaraderie."
"Funny. Didn't think Mob's gang had a sense of community. How cute."
"That's the thing. We don't. Our guys love individualism. Just a bunch of cocky brats just fending for themselves. Pure chaos."
"Chaos is strong."
"True. But it's also impartial. Destructive, sure. But it goes both ways. It's helping us as much as it's hurting us. A bit of order and solidarity wouldn't be too bad. Might spread around. Catch on, you know."
"If we can all join, then you have yourself a deal."
"Good. I just need to know. Why?"
"I'd be surprised if we are any different than most shitheads here. Doc's slipping. Losing his grip on his Foundation. He mistook fear for obedience. He can only keep the status quo for so long. People are angry. They want change. They have the motivation, they just lack the means. Power. And you guys might just have that."
"Hm. You sound like I made a good decision."
"The best you'll ever make."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We haven't caught up in a while, have we?"
"Was about damn time!"
"Yeah, well. I've been busy. But here, enjoy it. The drinks are on me tonight."
"Hell yeah, man! That's what I'm talking about, big A!"
"Right. Big A. That brings me back to the drilling days."
Rare for the two old friends to enjoy other attire than their usual suits. They didn't hesitate to jump into something more casual when they linked up to get some drinks. Casual seems to have a different definition depending on the bearer, however. While James simply reached for whatever he could get the fastest, Adam clearly cares about his looks.
"Where have you been, man?"
"I told you, J. Busy with work."
"What work? I barely see you around Doc's offices."
"That's.. You know the old man. He likes to have me deal with his errands."
"That is true. Always liked you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means what it means. He's got a liking for you."
"Just 'cause he has me running around on his leash?"
" 'Cause he trusts you."
"Still."
"Why are you embarrassed by that? It's like the coolest thing to be trusted by Doc, man!"
"Do you really believe that?"
"Hell yeah, the fuck you talking about?"
"It's just."
Adam was staring at the bottom of his glass. Reminiscing. Reflecting. Questioning what he should and should not ask. He had to try.
"Tell me, J. Do you think Doc makes mistakes sometimes?"
"I don't know. Never saw him be wrong, really."
"Hm. What would happen if he were wrong about something?"
"What do you mean what would happen? That'd be bad or something."
"But what would you think about that?"
"What are those weird ass questions? Doc is always right. He knows everything. I'm sure he can hear you right now, acting stupid."
"Right."
Unease slowly crept up his spine, now having that thought poisoning his mind.
"Why do you even want to talk about work right now anyway?"
"You're right. My bad on that."
"Damn right. Now let's talk about the real shit."
"Yeah? What's that serious stuff?"
"Bitches, man!"
"Bro, what?"
"Oh, Big A! You always been a player! Even when we were kids at the academy. Girls would not let you catch a break!"
"You know I didn't care about all that!"
"And it would drive me crazy! You were just refusing food on platters while my dumbass was starving."
"Don't sell yourself short, J. You were impressing everyone with your monster strength."
"That is true! I was a menace at my prime!"
"You're still holding up."
"You right. I'm not too bad."
"I'm over here, almost dying every time I try to run a few steps."
"Sounds to me like you've been trying to up that cardio, though.
"Hmm?"
"Come on, dog! People are saying you found yourself an obedient little hooker, huh!"
"What? Who has been saying this stuff?"
"Everyone! And I heard she's one of the heavy hitters, too. Not just some cheap meat. You went for that premium pus-"
"Alright, man. Let's not go there."
"So it is true? My guy's been hauling the best slut in town and hasn't been sharing with the bros. How much are you paying?"
"Just let it go, dude. You're drunk."
"Nah, come on now. You know I've got to make fun of you for not sharing. At least the scraps aren't so bad either. Surprising you went with the older model."
"What?"
"I mean, we can't let you have all the fun now, can we? She's got some fresh little bubs following her path. Quite the attractions these girls. High deman-"
"I'm not doing this. Pay for your drinks."
"Oh fuck off, dude. Really? That's fucking cheap. I was messing around."
The tall man stormed out of the bar, a distasteful and bitter taste at the back of his throat. It did not mix well with the burn of alcohol.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why does this keep happening?"
Ace's and Slash's team was drowning in a sea of Hollows. The infinite waves of the crawling demons were slowly but surely overwhelming the rookies. Tactics rapidly left the vicinity as sheer firepower was needed in order to solely survive this crushing threat; Savvy and Rouge both had to step up into the fray to lower the load on the strike team.
"You hanging in there, Boss?"
Rouge's sarcasm does not waver in the face of evil. Savvy was too busy to process it, though.
"Barely. I might need another boost soon."
"You've already injected a bunch. I don't know if it's a good idea. I haven't tested the limit yet. It's my last vial, too."
"Fuck. Keep it. We might need it lat-"
"MOVE!"
Thanks to her primal reaction time, Savvy was able to duck at the perfect time before a metal bat absolutely bashed her cranium. The rod instead smashed through a ferocious beast whose sharpened fangs were about to eat through the young strategist's flesh.
"You good?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Yo, Jab! Let's clean this shit up!"
"Huh?"
Besides Mute, who was putting in the most work, The Illusionist had been showing her crew why she's a Commander. With Slash being adamant in refusing to step in until the very last instant, Ace decided it was time to wrap this up. With just a shout and some eye contact, they instinctively synced up. With a strangely beautiful rhythm, absurd in contrast amidst this gory chaos, the two soldiers pushed onward, united, ripping through dozens of crawling beasts.
While having barely any practice, they worked off of each other perfectly. Jab using the perfect openings Ace was giving him with her acute long-range attacks. At the same time, Ace was using Jab's sturdy frame to jump off of and somersault freely within the warzone, gaining advantage in her positioning.
Jab's metallic bat was smashing through the rabid Hollows with brute force as Ace was unloading her versatile arsenal with baffling precision. Their spontaneous symbiosis proved to be surprisingly efficient, impressing the rest of the group. After being lost in a hopeless pit for so long, this outbreak rejuvenated their heart, now gaining little but precious terrain.
The duo then unknowingly entered a trance, their joined power now entering overdrive. The Illusionist threw a series of sturdy beads towards her partner. Under a roar, the drunken warrior accurately hit all of them with immense strength using his weapon, morphing them into horrifying death bringers.
With his arm fully strengthened, his weight precisely shifted, Jab's bat was shooting iron bullets, hitting enemies with two waves. The bead would firstly rip apart everything in its path with lethal silence, before sound and a violent shockwave followed suit to finish reaping the demons.
The different tints of their auras were charmingly dancing and flowing around them, softly merging to give off a totally new shade. With increasingly more and more momentum by the second, they fairly easily succeeded in cleaning up the ghoulish flock. Exhausted, they stood next to each other, panting, waiting to see if any more would jump out of the shadows.
"Did we do it?"
"Sure hope so."
"Damn. Could have left some for the rest of us."
"What the hell was even that?"
The squad slowly came back to their senses as adrenaline wore off.
"Don't worry. I don't intend to lift a finger for the rest of the mission."
Jab felt like he did more than his share of the work.
"That's just great, knowing we still need to find our actual target."
Savvy wasn't fully relieved yet, not until she completed her assignment.
"Don't worry, Blondie, I'll take care of the big boy myself."
"Hahaha! That's right, you will! You're not a student of mine for no reason. Now, onwards my team!"
The Shogun finally left his static stance to press onward, deeper into these dark tunnels. Akuma and Spike, as the defense corps, are opening the march, installing light sources as they do so. Having already covered a long distance, they are well aware of how close they are getting to their target.
While they are all worn out from their last fray, taking time to rest could be beneficial. But it seems none of them plan to stay out here more than they need to. These cold yet humid caves will never not be unwelcoming.
Suddenly, Mute lifted his dagger. Used to it by now, the squad knows what that means. He can sense the threat not very far from their position. And as per usual, he was right. Slowly approaching, a large Hollow walked out of the darkness in front of them. Its movement erratic, almost puppet-like, the fiend quickly changed the tone of the party.
"Alright guys, I got this!"
"Nah. You ain't going?"
"What?"
Everyone was surprised by Jab's sudden controlling behaviour, usually known to be more laidback.
"He'll go."
They all carefully looked along the metallic bat, and further to where it was pointing. Jab was holding it directly in Akuma's direction, staring him dead in the eyes.
"... Me?"
The newest addition to the crew was rightfully confused.
"Oh. Yes. You."
"Jab, no. This is not the time."
"Nope. It is the perfect time. Look, it's getting close."
Akuma turned and looked at the approaching threat, uncertain in his abilities to stop it.
"Let's see it. Will you run away again? I need to know if you got our backs or not."
"No. I make the calls, this is stupid."
"Sorry. Don't take it personally, but... I will swing at anybody trying to help him. Hey, look out-"
The Hollow started sprinting on its two legs without warning. Its uncanny and chaotic maneuvers meant enough trouble that Akuma's body instantly took over. The two entities clashed violently, shaking the environment around them. While completely out of his control, Akuma has to step up. And he does.
Weirdly mirroring each other, the two beasts' bodies were moving unpredictably. The Hollow's claws periodically slashed towards Akuma with unfathomable momentum, to which the small figure could easily react to, and bend his body out of harm's way.
As they exchanged ferocious blows, both lacked offensive prowess and were oversaturated in defensive maneuvers, failing to deal any kind of serious damage. The dark monster quickly remedied to this issue, its flesh devouring itself from the inside, purposely shifting for sharper edges. Now fully morphed, the Hollow was wearing a sharp spikey shell.
On the other hand, the Soldier seemed to have no means to counter this sudden change. Subsequently, their battle began to shift against him. The demons' strikes and bites quickly found prey, drawing blood from the young man.
Wait. I'm… Bleeding?
Trapped in his own body, Aluma couldn't help but be baffled at this turn of events. While recently proven to be extremely durable against any kind of pain, this Hollow was able to bypass his defense. This all the more showed how much of a threat it was. No one would have the slightest idea, however, but this enemy was unexpectedly deadlier than they could realize. Akuma's body, however, instantly did. And adapted accordingly.
Instead of creating distance between them and using a defensive approach, it knew it had to be dealt with. And fast. The possessed soldier leaped with animalistic bearing onto his predator and grasped with overwhelming force one of its upper limbs. Using his entire anatomy, he flexed and twisted around until he was able to tear apart the Hollow's sharp arm.
Now holding it as a rudimentary weapon, Akuma was able to go toe to toe with his adversary. Exchanging outstandingly rapid blows, the fight steadily crescendoed into an unprecedented exchange. Confused about how they should be feeling, the bystanders watched as Akuma showed levels of swordsmanship that would even impress the Shogun himself. Levels of weapon-wielding he had no right to be this skillful at.
Still, he was brilliantly moving in this dark cavern, dancing with his mortal enemy. Akuma was improving by the second, learning from the Hollow's gestures, now gaining the upper hand. Suddently, they couldn't tell which one was the monster.
With a sharp and precise movement, the Amnesiac sliced the neck of his opponent, fully severing its head, securing his victory.
There was no celebration. No moment of bliss. Of relief. Just an awkward silence. An eerie air. An unsettling dread. They had won. They had completed their mission. Yet it almost felt like they failed. And none could explain why. That's when Akuma took the reins again.
"Was that it?"
"..."
"..."
"Yeah."
"I think so."
"Ok."
The young man stared at the fleshy sword he was holding. Fully aware of its sharpness. Of the damage it could yield to his body. An answer to pain. To harm. To death. Only now, death felt far. Unwelcomed. He threw Hollow's arm on the damp floor and walked past his group, heading back the way they came from.
"So, uh.. Jab. Happy?"
"Sure."
"I bet you're mad he succeeded."
"Not at all."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. The stronger he is, the better it is for us too, isn't it? I'm not mad at how strong or weak he is. I'm mad at how unreliable he is. Is that so bad? We could get hurt- we did get hurt. We could die."
"Yet you sent him alone. He could've died too."
"I wouldn't have let it go that far."
"Oh really? You're confident you could've jumped in just in time? You saw them fight."
"If I couldn't, Slash would've. Just. Let's get out of here."
As the team was walking back, silently, Jab began to reflect on his behaviour. However, his thoughts were poisoned. By fear. He couldn't point out what it was, but he was certain of it.
Something was wrong.