Promise
POV Sword
Imma be real, this place is absolute trash.
Yes. The Cave Skats are shitty, the prehistoric monsters are stupid, the air is fucking hot, and the Facility is the Facility.
That makes this place shit, not trash.
Tavin handles that.
"YoU aRe WeAk As FuCk," he'd said. "I wIlL tRaIn YoU!"
He is a good teacher. He's too good of a teacher.
This guy is the epitome of coach energy.
"1,000 LAPS AROUND THIS OUTCROP!! NOW!"
"MOVE IT OR DIE, PRINCESS!!"
"GET THE FUCK UP! WE'VE BARELY GOTTEN STARTED!!!!"
"HEEEEEEELP!!"
That was Artee.
"NO MORE!!!"
That was also Artee.
"I FUCKING QUIT!!"
You guessed it, Artee.
We can handle the 'exercises' easy enough - like lifting, running, routines. It's the combat training that gets us the most.
It's essentially a one-sided Tavin beatdown to… what was it again?
Ah right.
'Build experience fighting people'.
'Train endurance'.
'So Tavin can get a good look at us' or whatever that meant.
"Fuck," Artee groans when I collapse next to him for a break. "Train endurance my ass. I bet that old man just gets off on bullying the younger generation."
"Dude, he's only so many years older than us," I pant, sweat running down my face in rivers. "But yeah, this is torture."
"Tell me about it," Nyx groans from the floor, half-asleep.
I watch Elemental continue to spar, getting tossed to the ground in a cloud of dust every few seconds but getting up practically instantly. Almost forgot, he ain't exactly human either. Where did these kinds of people even come from? I mean Tavin I get, with his veteran stuff and all, but seriously…
…what do you have to do NOT on a battlefield to become like Elemental?
I keep watching the fight. Elemental's circling Tavin, feet skidding along the ground expertly, attacking low as usual, occasionally aiming high to try catch Tavin off guard. Pivoting, swinging, swaying - and even fighting dirty which he hates - none of it works.
Every time, Tavin joint-locks him or strikes through his guard - no matter how solid it is.
There's something about how he fights us - yes, as a soldier he was long drugged up on all sorts of elixirs and strengthening serums, so it's natural his physicals would be far greater - but there's something else.
There's something else I really can't lay a finger on.
"Sword!!" he calls, clapping his hands. "Break time's over. Get your ass back here!"
I grumble, but sit up and jog over anyway (the alternative is death).
"So what are we doing?" I ask. "More sparring?"
"I'm getting predictable," Tavin admits.
"Fuck this."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Then shut it and come at me."
I take a deep breath, glance at Elemental next to me, nod at each other, then we attack him at the same time.
At least once, I wanna punch his face at least once.
It would be a miracle from Anastasia if I'm able to hit him.
I need to think. Tavin's style has a pattern - he always attacks.
When I attack, he attacks me before I can hit him, or locks my knee or elbow. If there's a choice between hitting or blocking, he'll always choose to bash me on the nose - don't know if that's spite or not.
It feels like he's optimized for killing.
There are no wasted movements, just quick, deadly, precise strikes. I'm trying to read him, but no matter how I feint, play unpredictable or try funky tactics he just one-taps me instantly, almost effortlessly.
For the fiftieth time, I get laid, and my back slams painfully against the stone ground.
"Holy hell," I grunt as Tavin pulls me to my feet again.
"Want another break?" he asks. "It's been nearly half an hour."
"No, let's keep going."
"Are you sure?"
"Tell you what," I say. "Pull out the hatchet and knife. Let's have a proper one on one."
Everyone stares at me.
"He's gone crazy," Artee gawks.
"Overconfidence…" Elemental mutters.
"Don't hold back," I tell Tavin.
"Sword, are you really sure about this?" he asks again.
"Let's go."
I draw my dual swords. Tavin unhooks his weapons uncertainly and assumes his regular stance - hatchet in the front in reverse grip, knife back by his waste, pointed right at me. Right foot forwards to support the hatchet, weight leant strangely on the left leg. Slightly curved posture but poised to strike at any time.
I don't know why but Tavin seems to be able to make this awkward position work. I try it out quickly, but I can't hold my balance.
Balance. Krim's stance focuses heavily on balance since it's imperative for launching kicks to have balance. Wouldn't I be overpowered if I fuse Krim's stance with Tavin's?
I shift my feet, raise my guard slightly, shortswords in reverse grip. It feels even more awkward, and my face feels hot as Tavin stares at me, eyebrow raised.
Elemental's even leaning forwards to get a better look at my shitty pose.
"Ready?" I croak.
"Yeah."
I kick off the ground and lunge. I'm sure that whatever I do, Tavin will counter anyway - so I'll just fucking go for it.
STRAIGHT FOR THE NE-
A huge force slams me full in the face, and I feel myself suddenly go airborne. I hit the ground and skid painfully for a bit. The whole front of my skull rings with pain, and my nose feels like it's been smashed in.
"Ub," I groan. "Wha…?"
Artee and Nyx burst out laughing.
"TWO SECONDS!!" Artee shrieks. "You lasted TWO SECONDS!!"
"Like you could do any better!" Nyx slaps him in the forehead, but she's still laughing her head off nonetheless.
I lie there on the ground with my broken nose, blood running down my jaw and vision swimming.
What just happened?
I feel like I've just had my brains scrambled. Did he kick me? Or punch me?
Tavin says nothing, and neither does Elemental. Artee's still howling.
"TWO-SECOND SWORD!! HAHAHA- TWO-SECOND SWORD!! Y'know that's actually a pretty cool name?"
"It would be if it meant that he could take anyone down in two seconds," Nyx nods. "And not that he got laid by Tavin's elbow in two seconds."
Elbow…?
I tilt my head upwards, ever so slightly, just in time to see Tavin lower his arm, elbow poised outwards.
"Deadass laid me with an elbow?" I ask, voice shaky.
Tavin's looking at me strangely. Maybe he's just disappointed in me.
"Sword, get up," he tells me. "When you can. And… show me that stance again…?"
"Stance?"
"The stance you took just now."
"You mean that awkward hybrid thing?"
"Awkward…?"
Tavin shoots a glance at Elemental, who nods.
When I can get up again, I do as I'm told and show them my weird Krim-Tavin (Kravin?) stance.
Tavin examines it for a long while. Then he asks,
"Where did you learn this?"
"What do you mean? I just looked at you and Krim, and then thought if I stuck them together it'd be cool."
"…right."
"That's impressive," Elemental tells me.
I'm confused.
"What? Getting put on my ass?"
"No. That's a pretty unique stance."
"Quit making me fun of me man."
Before we can say anything else, a screech echoes through the cavern somewhere nearby.
Artee stops laughing.
"Let's get moving," Tavin decides. "It was a miracle we were even able to find this sheltered spot to rest for a bit without the Facility throwing problems at us."
We do as we're told, gathering up our stuff and jogging across the rocks.
***
For the last few 'days', we've just been doing the same repetitive thing. We jog across the rocky plateau, encounter creatures, running from monsters, find somewhere sheltered to rest and recuperate, then repeat.
We've avoided all fights for the sake of stamina, but that also means we haven't been able to eat anything to make ourselves stronger.
Basically, it was already a total shitfest, without my new nickname.
"Two-second Sword," Artee grins. "You know, it has a nice ring to it."
"It's catchy," Nyx nods.
I quicken my pace and leave them in the dust, ears burning. Those two definitely ain't gonna drop that anytime soon - but what pisses me off the most is that neither of them would've lasted longer against Tavin anyway.
I find myself speed-walking alongside Elemental, barely keeping up with his stride. Tavin's jogging far in front, showing off.
I bob at 004's elbow awkwardly. This feels like the kind of moment when I get to have a deep conversation with him. He was, after all, the second person I met in this place - but we don't really feel like friends. Comrades, colleagues, sure. I would love to call us best buds, but there's this odd feeling that that's not a mutual feeling.
"So uh, 004," I venture, searching my rotting brain for a topic. "What did you do… before this?"
The classic.
"…nothing much," he mumbles. "I was living a whole other life."
"We can all relate," I nod vigorously. "What kind of life was it?"
"The good kind."
"Girlfriend?" I nudge him.
"Yes."
"Yeah thought s- WHAT!?" I stop and stare, and he stops too.
I gawp at him.
"YOU were HOOKED UP!? YOU!?!"
His face goes cloudy.
"Watch it."
"Yeah, my bad. I just didn't expect your pessimistic ass to get a girl-"
"Watch it."
"Right. You uh, wanna tell me about here?"
"No."
"Did you break up? Or we you planning on… developing?"
004 sighs, but he doesn't sound annoyed. His face still hasn't changed, still emotionless and blank.
"I feel like I woke up in another world. It took me a while to come to terms with it but… I can't go back."
He clenches his fist.
"This place is my home now."
I pause briefly. Did he already give up on going home? How can he give up on his whole other self so quickly and easily?
Part of me wonders if anything even matters to this guy. I wonder if he even feels joy, happiness, sadness, and all those other things. I kind of pity him.
In a way, he sort of seems like… a sad… pointless existence.
"Elemental," I say. "I don't know about you, but, surely, there's something you still cling on to, right? Something you still care about. Someone waiting for you to come home. Someone you'd die for?"
Silence.
"I'm sure there is - your mum, dad, friends, girlfriend - with pictures of you up on their wall. Can you really let this place get to you that easily? Just cuz it yells you're no one does that mean you are?"
I reach over and prod his chest, somewhere his heart should be. He doesn't react.
"You might've lost your name, all of us have. But that doesn't make you any less of a - of a you. Everything else - your personality, the people who cherish you - are still there. It's not gone. So… this is just me yapping but, don't act like it's all gone. If you do, you might as well be dead."
My throat feels dry from the monologue. I cough, then glance over at him to see if there's any reaction, and I feel my heart start to thump when I notice tiny twitches in the corners of his mouth.
When he speaks, his voice cracks.
Ever so slightly.
"Not here. There is nobody… here."
…I guess that makes sense, but I can't help but be offended he practically called me a nobody. But then… I do understand.
It'll be fine. Elemental's tough as nails anyhow - I'm sure he at least won't let it get to his head and slow him down in combat. He'll get over it.
I guess I was also half talking to myself - I needed to hear that. Remind myself that Nari's still out there. She'd be long off school by now. Caesar. All the other guys I'm friends with…
Sword? To heck with that. I am Reid Russell, and always will be.
I won't ever, ever, change.