by A. R. Crebs
“He’s right you know,” James called out.
Aria’s eyes widened; she scooted forward, pulling her chair with her so she could sit next to the bed James was laying on. His body was hooked to an assortment of wires and machines. One unit was feeding oxygen into his lungs; another was dripping fluids, and a third was filtering his blood. He had a raging blood infection, and if they had waited any longer, many of his vital organs could have shut down. Needless to say, James Clarke looked like death would take him anytime soon. Still, his caramel-brown eyes glistened in the light. He was a fighter. He wasn’t going to let something like a fragmented incendiary burst take him down. It didn’t help calm Aria’s nerves though. She worried about him. He wasn’t young anymore.
Aria grabbed his hand. “Why do you always take his side?” she asked.
Clarke smiled; the tubes in his nose moved slightly as he gave a nasally laugh. “Because he sometimes takes my side.”
“Only when he’s lecturing me,” she pouted.
“Hey! You lecture me nonstop! Let me give it while I can,” Troy interjected.
Aria gave the younger man an ugly face, sticking out her tongue.
“Attractive…” James muttered, pinching her cheek.
Aria smiled.
“You do look tired.” James squeezed her hand.
“I didn’t want to leave your side until I knew for sure you were alright,” Aria said softly. She gave a loud yawn, trying to hide behind the back of her other hand.
“I don’t need you to be risking your health for an old man like me,” he huffed.
“You would do the same for me.” She shrugged.
“Well, now that I am awake and appear to be fine…why don’t you get yourself cleaned up and settle into that rather uncomfortable looking chair for a nap?” He gave a weak laugh, the sound rattling in his chest. It caused him to have a harsh coughing fit, his hand flying to his mouth.
“James! Don’t…don’t laugh.” Aria stood and filled a cup with water.
James quickly composed himself, his white face turning red. After a few slow deep breaths, he had the fit under control. He accepted the offered glass of water and quickly downed the contents.
“I will have to remember to remain serious until I recover,” he grumbled.
“Just don’t say anything. I don’t want you to tear anything. Your lungs are damaged enough; we can’t have you coughing like that. Just rest.” Aria filled up his glass again before heavily dropping into the seat beside the bed.
“Aria. Go shower and take a nap,” Troy grumped.
She glared at him.
“Grayson and I will watch over James.” He gestured toward the bodyguard standing in the corner of the room. “Seriously…you need both desperately!” He plugged his nose.
Aria’s whole body tensed. “I do not!”
“Oh yeah, your attitude and body odor both stink!” He made a face.
Troy knew Aria all too well. He could tell she was exhausted, and who knew how much longer they’d have to rest before they were called to action. She was also prissy when it came to certain things like her appearance and hygiene. Despite spending most of her life in the military, Aria's root behaviors were greatly influenced by the first nine years of her childhood living as an elitist civilian. She had proper tendencies that Troy often made fun of her for.
Aria self-consciously sniffed herself, wrinkling her nose. She eyed Troy, and he gave her a quick nod.
“Gah! I hate you!” She quickly stood from the chair and snagged her luggage.
James gave a smile of approval at Troy, trying not to chuckle.
“I’ll be right back! You come find me if anything happens!” she sassed.
Troy turned in his chair, watching her head for the hallway. “Eh, I could come with you…help you out. Ya know…in case you drop the shampoo or something.”
Aria gave a loud laugh, not even looking back at the man.
Troy cringed, momentarily forgetting James was in the room. He slowly locked eyes with the older man. To his surprise, James looked humored by Troy’s response.
“If you two don’t stop with your antics, I’m going to start laughing, and then you’ll have to find me some new lungs,” James rasped.
“Sorry, sir. I’ll be sure to keep my mouth shut,” Troy murmured sheepishly.
“Ha!” James coughed. “That’s funny.”
Aria smiled as she walked through the sterile hospital. James seemed to be in good spirits, and that was enough to make her giddy. She gave another deep sigh and frowned at herself. The sound was annoying.
‘Thanks, Troy, for making me aware of that,' she thought.
Aria entered the ladies’ washroom, lazily heaving her luggage onto a bench inside one of the private showers. She groaned, rubbing her tense shoulders as she closed the door of her section with the swing of the hip. Yes, a warm shower sounded very nice.
Snapping open her suitcase, she rifled through the things–sweaters, tank tops, jeans, shorts, bras, underwear…even the lacy kind, and a swimsuit. Sure enough, Aren had packed as if she were going on an extended vacation. Aria dug out her toothbrush and her comb; she even found a bottle of her favorite perfume. Aren had thought of everything. Pawing through the case a couple moments longer, Aria scoffed. Well, almost everything. Aren forgot one basic necessity for a woman–her feminine products. Aria pondered a few seconds. What the hell day was it? How long was it since the last time? She shrugged. Despite Troy’s belief that Aria was a bit prissy, she didn’t have a knack for womanly things such as makeup, fancy hairdos, or something as simple as a mental calendar to remember ‘that time of the month.’ Oh well, it wasn't as if she needed them now, but when the time came, she’d be sure to send Troy and Aren to the market to pick up some of the essential items. The thought made her laugh.
Removing her clothing, Aria shivered in the cold. She quickly started the shower, picking at a few of the buttons and switches on the wall panel to select her preferred shampoo, body soap, and lotion. Once the water was at the right temperature, she slid under the pelting fall. She gave a moan. The water was warm and gave her a light massage. Oh yes, she could get used to this. Taking a mental note of the brand name scrawled across the selection panel, Aria thought about how she’d like to remodel her bathroom to make room for something as luxurious as this. It surprised her Saray even had a facility like this inside the hospital. Outside, the whole city seemed rather rundown. Her thoughts traveled to Kovacevic and how dirty he looked upon their arrival. Perhaps fancy showers were considered to be a necessity in a land full of sandstorms and endless war that covered the city in a cloud of dust and debris. Aria shuddered. Why the hell was she thinking about Kovacevic while she was in the shower? She could almost hear his sinister chuckle.
Aria’s brow furrowed.
‘Wait a minute…’ she thought.
Aria pulled her head to the side away from the gushing water. Sure enough, she could hear whispering and quiet laughter. She spun around, catching a head dart down behind the privacy of her shower door. She gasped, covering herself.
“Kovacevic!” she snarled.
Stamping forward, Aria wrenched open the door, not caring to cover herself up.
“Is this what you wanted to see, you pervy old man?!” she growled. She gave another gasp as she heard another man shriek. “A-Aren?!”
Standing in front of her was Kovacevic waggling his eyebrows as he chomped on a cigar. Beside him was Aren; his back quickly turned to her as a hand covered his eyes. Aria grabbed Kovacevic’s arm, pulling him around into a headlock, covering his eyes with her hands. The man gave a small laugh, relishing in the feel of her wet chest against his back.
“Miss…Miss…Aria!” Aren stuttered. “My, my apologies, ma’am! We have an important meeting to attend ASAP, and Troy said you were in the showers. We, I…we, uh….” Aren looked over his shoulder and made another squeak as he saw Aria still standing in the nude, using Kovacevic as cover. He quickly shielded his eyes
. “I tried to stop him. I really did.”
“Uh huh,” she muttered doubtfully. Giving Kovacevic a rough shove toward Aren, Aria slid back into her shower room, slamming the door behind her. “Give me a few more minutes; I’m almost finished,” she called over the sound of the rushing water.
“Y-Yes, ma’am,” Aren meekly said.
“Need any hel–” Kovacevic started.
“No! Get out!” Aria screamed.
She could hear the loud shuffling of the men’s boots as they ran out of the bathroom, their whispers and laughs echoing against the walls.
“Last time I listen to you,” Kovacevic grumbled. Aren’s protests were cut short by the closing doors.
Aria rolled her eyes, heaving another one of her irritated sighs.
Although the shower was warm and inviting, and Aria’s relaxation was cut short, she couldn’t wait to go back out on the field. She could primp and prime herself once the war was over.
Turning the shower off, Aria quickly dried herself under the heating unit. Warm air whooshed around her, blowing through her hair. She threw on her typical military garb, ran a brush through her locks, and frowned at her reflection in the mirror. The heating element had fluffed her hair out like a wild mane. After a few failed attempts at smoothing the black and blue tresses, Aria gave up and gathered her luggage, stomping out the door.
She and Troy were caravanned to city hall where Aren and Kovacevic were already in the process of having the large vid coms setup, a video crew running back and forth to prepare for an emergency broadcast. Aria eyed the nervous Aren atop the stage. He was fidgeting while Kovacevic rambled to one of the personnel. The auditorium was full to the brim with civilians and military alike, all murmuring to themselves in curiosity. Whatever Kovacevic had planned, it was big.
“Aria! Troy!” Aren called out, waving the two militants over.
“What is going on?” she asked, feeling scrutinized beneath everyone’s stare.
“We’re about to go live. Kovacevic is going to give a full report…and the feed will be worldwide!” Aren said. His eyes were bugging out.
“What?” Troy asked, amazed. “We’re going to be broadcast all around the world?”
Aren nodded. “Yup! And you and Aria are going to be doing most of the talking.”
“Wha-?! I…I ain’t…I can’t…” Troy stammered.
Aria put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Easy, Troy. Guess that means I’m doing the talking.”
“Kovacevic has released tons of video evidence of the attack on Saray. He plans on letting the entire world know about Walten’s involvement with the demons. He thinks that if we can reveal the truth, he can stop the wars between our allies and Feyette’s armies,” Aren explained.
Aria took a deep breath. “It’s a good idea. I hope it works. Too bad I don’t have the data on my DNAIS.”
Aren tapped his wrist. “Don’t worry about it! I got that all handled. I copied everything, remember? And not only that, but I was able to tap into the security feed in the Underbelly. I’ve got a lot of friends down there. Know the right names and you can get anything. I’ve got the airport feed; the church was still broadcasting when the attacks began, and we even have photographs from the local newspaper! A lot of people died, but those that survived are hiding out in the mines beneath the city. We not only have footage of Feyette’s men killing innocent people, but we have proof that his team was working together with Sapphire’s monsters! It’s too good an opportunity to pass up!” The pilot pulled out a pamphlet from his back pocket. “Also, I was able to work up something with those printing presses in the lower city. We got tons of pamphlets made that reveal the truth about Walten’s involvement. I took what I could from your DNAIS and wrote out a brief explanation of the events starting with the 66th I.R.B. up to the point where I saved your asses from that giant on Ives. It’s been printing for days on end; the sheet's being mailed to every residence in the City of Fountains. If we can’t convince the world, perhaps we can start an uprising against Walten.”
“That’s great, Aren!” Aria exclaimed. She shook his shoulders. “You are the greatest!”
Troy nodded with a stupid smile on his face. “You’re just too good to be true, man.”
Aren rubbed the back of his head; an awkward grin formed. “Um…thanks!”
“’Ey! You kids going to stand there all day?” Kovacevic shouted. “We’re getting ready to broadcast! Git yer asses up ‘ere!”
Aria and Troy quickly hopped up onto the stage. Aria took Kovacevic’s side. He gave her an eye up and down and chuckled quietly. The man behind one of the recording devices started the countdown before they went live.
“Just as I imagined them to be,” Kovacevic muttered lowly. His eyes flickered to Aria’s chest.
“Better remember it, cuz it ain’t happenin’ ever again,” Aria said through closed teeth as she faked a smile.
“Let me buy you a drink later, and perhaps I can persuade you otherwise,” he said, his cigar bobbing between his teeth.
Aria scoffed a laugh. “Nothing could get me drunk enough.”
“We’re live!” shouted the cameraman.
Kovacevic took a step forward, grabbing his cigar. “Ladies and gentlemen, General Kovacevic of Saray here! Sorry to interrupt your fag-tastic television shows about mentally-retarded celebrities, but there are more important things goin’ on in the world.” He puffed on his cigar, looking at the recording droid dead in its zooming eye. “Such as the violent battles threatenin’ to take down the walls of Saray!”
The newsfeed was overrun by images of the war outside Saray’s walls. Feyette’s team relentlessly demolished hordes of Kovacevic’s men and robotic soldiers.
“Those are my men out there…” Kovacevic grumbled.
The screen flickered to reveal warfare in Roma and Cherno. All around the scenes were debris and dead soldiers.
“And those are the dying soldiers of Roma and Cherno!” he added.
Images slid by one after another of screaming civilians, children lying beneath crumbled buildings, and heavy mechs destroying anyone and everything in its path.
“Looks like Feyette’s men didn’t get the memo on the rules of warfare. Those are innocent people out there…dying.” Kovacevic stepped back, holding a hand out to Aria, Troy, and Aren. “But it’s not just my men and my allies out there dying. Looks like Walten’s private military also has a beef with his own people of Fountains!”
Aria took a step forward as Aren clicked away at his DNAIS, pulling up numerous projections.
Aria cleared her throat. “That’s correct. Cherno had nothing to do with the attack on the Underbelly. Neither did Saray nor Roma. I was there the day the Underbelly was destroyed. In fact, Walten had sent Feyette’s team on a search and destroy mission. He wanted me and Troy dead,” Aria said. Troy nodded beside her. “He wanted to capture Dovian, the last Sorcēarian, to clone his DNA in order to create an invincible army to wipe out his competitors. Not only that, but Walten had plans to kidnap our friend, Ivory, who was a citizen of the Underbelly. Turns out, over the years, Walten’s been stealing corpses from the Underbelly and using them to create biomechanical androids!”
The room thundered with gasps and low murmurs.
“All the people of the Underbelly have been receiving urns full of dust, not the ashes of their loved ones!” Aria shouted.
“Where’s the proof?!” someone shouted from the back of the room.
Aria frowned. “You want your proof?! Here’s your damn proof!” She turned to Aren, signaling to him.
The pilot expanded one of the projections, the footage revealing the Underbelly of Fountains. It started in the midst of the chaos, Feyette’s men already unleashing war upon the city’s civilians. Some of the citizens had their own weapons. Others were running for cover but were mercilessly gunned down. Somewhere a frag was thrown, sending the video feed into static. Aren quickly enlarged a different projection, one that revealed the area near the church.
The Soldiers of God were fighting, trying to rescue as many people as possible–mostly children. A flanking group of the elite fighters were charging Feyette’s team at the edge of the airport. From around one of the corners were Aria and her team filtering into the facility, the citizens of the Underbelly covering for them.
“They helped us all,” Aria said quietly. “The people of the Underbelly sacrificed themselves to save us.”
Aren pulled up another image. Most of the feed he hadn’t gotten a chance to look over. He had caught a few critical moments and had the battle scenes prepared, but he hadn’t bothered censoring or picking and choosing particular segments. Any amount of the feed was shocking enough, but this particular section hit home with him.
“At the start of it all, Feyette and his men were after us,” Aria said.
The images revealed the restaurant in which Ivory had hidden after she had met her sister, Fiona, and had her mental breakdown. The cameras caught imagery of Feyette’s military rushing to the front of the building. A few seconds later, thanks to Dovian's powers, the side wall had exploded outward. Something blocked one side of the camera–a sniper from the rooftops. He waited until Aria, Troy, Ivory, Fiona, and Dovian were all out of the building and then fired one blast. The round hit Fiona square in the chest, killing her instantly.
Aren made a sound, his hand flying to grip his chest. Was he being affected by the feed as well? Aria looked at him from the corner of her eye. She admitted; it was shocking seeing it all, even after living through it. But she was surprised to see tears streaming down Aren’s face. It all worked out for her and her team as the auditorium filled with more sounds of fury. The recording droid moved across the stage, catching Aren’s distress. He quickly wiped a sleeve across his face, hardening his demeanor.
“Feyette had Fiona killed without a moment’s thought,” Troy spoke up. “Turns out she was Ivory’s sister, and he didn’t want her interfering. That blonde woman….” He pointed as Aren quickly composed himself and zoomed in on Ivory, who was screaming. She reached out for her dead sister while Dovian tried his best to pull her away from the corpse. “That is Ivory. She is an Underbelly citizen who was murdered a year ago. Her body was taken by Bio-Tech Military Corporation and given to Dr. Camery. He turned her into a biomechanical android!”