Halo: First Contact, Chapter 9: Heartbreak
Halo: First Contact
Chapter 9: Heartbreak
Liam sat on one end of the table he had selected out of the three that were in the mess hall. The other members of the team sat on the opposite side, waiting patiently for him to begin. As he tried to dredge up the will to speak and explain his past actions, he could not help but look at their expressions.
Fox was the most blank, only a small imperceptible frown marring his muzzle. Liam could understand the grimace. The vulpine was an honorable fellow, and he could not see how killing a kid could fit into that. And the truth was it couldn't.
Surprisingly enough, Falco had an understanding expression on his beak. Perhaps the avian knew what he was going through. It was an interesting thing to consider.
Slippy it seemed, refused to meet his eyes, staring at the counter and fiddling with a small piece of tech. Liam had always found the toad's antics heartwarming, and this was the first time he had seen him in a dark mood. It was painful to realize that it was because of him.
He had not talked all that much to Peppy, but he respected the venerable hare. He was a quiet fellow who did not use words often. But he always seemed to have sound advice for the others, and Liam wished that he could partake of some of that wisdom at the moment, he sorely needed it.
Fay was sitting next to Miyu, staring at Liam with such obvious compassion that it almost made him sick. Not because of her, but rather because of himself. How could she have compassion for a man who killed a child in cold blood? Didn't she see the monster inside of him?
Miyu on the other hand, was giving him an odd look, as if studying an ant under a magnifying glass. She had her tail in her lap and was fiddling with it in her paws as he stared at him. She was a friendly tomboyish feline who was not scared with speaking her mind, and he was worried that she had not been the first to say something. At this point he was almost hoping to be scolded, for them to hate him. After all, he deserved their loathing.
And finally there was Krystal. The azure and white tattooed vixen had a small comforting smile, but it was weak, as if she was uncertain as to whether she wanted it to be there. Her opinion was what he was frightened to hear, she was the best thing he had come across since his deployment all those months ago. She made everything up to this point worthwhile, the long boring months of patrol, the sudden war that they had been dumped into, his mortal wound, even the crazy ass suicide mission he still had to do. She was his rock in these untroubled times...and if she rolled away, he would be destroyed by the tempest brewing in his soul.
The silence soon became too much for him and he began to fill the air with painful words, it was like setting a bone. It needed to be done, but that did not make it any less excruciating.
"That time....those short years ago." He started, clearing his throat softly. "I....." He paused, grasping for words. "...My brother was my best friend. He was also my responsibility. I had promised my mother that I would take care of him, which was the only reason she let him join up at such a young age in the first place. I was supposed to protect him, guide him. He was the kindest and most understanding person I have ever known. He was better than me, stronger than me." Liam smiled softly. "Mark should never have been a soldier, but he wanted to follow in his older brother's footsteps. He really wanted to be a doctor...a healer. He was a good kid....a great one." Liam sighed, realizing that he was avoiding the main topic.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that he was important to me. And....and when I saw him there, his corpse, lying in that blood-soaked mud, far from home, never to live the life he was meant to live...I was....broken. It changed me, and not for the better. I was so full of hate." He whispered silently, sapphire eyes gleaming. "I...I will never forgive myself for what I became, for what I did, and continued to do. And I understand if you all feel the same way. I will neve_r forget his face, and the _pleasure I felt when I pulled the trigger, and for all the other times in the weeks that came after. I'll understand if you think I am a monster. I'll understand if you hate me."
"Sometimes....I hate me. And I suppose I am coward for wanting to forget what I did, for hoping that no one would ever have to see what I did." He had turned his head to the table, unable to look at their faces any more. Instead, he gazed into his own diluted expression through the murky steel, his face a mask of sorrow and anguish. They were the only friends beside his fellow helljumpers that he had ever made. And now they knew his dark secret, the evil he had allowed into his soul, forever corrupting it. That was not the last time he had killed without mercy...that he gave no second chances.
With that, he stood up and walked away leaving them to their thoughts, he felt that his very presence was now a plague upon them. Liam sped away to the false sanctuary of his room. Once inside, he stood in the middle of the chamber. And as he stood in the darkness of the place he used to call home, he wretchedly came to a decision.
He would have to leave.
Liam could not bear to look any of them in the eyes anymore, especially Krystal. No doubt she knew everything, how he had felt when he had murdered. How could you love someone who took satisfaction in spilling blood and ending lives? The answer was you didn't.
Liam tore open his duffle bag with self-loathing ferocity, spilling its contents across the room in his resentment. With a groan he kneeled down to pick up the scattered insides. And when he wrapped his gloves around the medals he had earned for his faithful and honorable service, he felt the need to vomit. Not only had he gone unpunished for his actions, he had been rewarded! They had given him a medal, the Legion of Honor no less! That was humanity's highest decoration! And they had given it to him for what he did.
The other medals were understandable. In his reckless hate he had finally succumbed to an attack, was shot in the chest, and taken captive by the insurrectionists. They had figured out who he was, and were quite pleased to make him feel the suffering he had caused. Even as he looked back, he could not help but feel that he deserved what they did to him, the week of torture and abuse. At one point he had hoped that they would kill him, and he would be punished for his darkness. But before they did, he was rescued...by the spartan no less. It would seem that the Master Chief had discovered his where a bouts and came to save him. If the spartan had been expecting thanks, he had not received it.
Liam packed the last of his belongings into his bag, some clothes he had out lying on the floor and the few health care products he left in the bathroom. When he was done, he sat on the foot of his bed with the bag in his lap, helmet sitting atop. And he was about to call the admiral when his door opened condemningly.
Reluctantly, he raised his head to see who had entered and was not enthused to see Krystal standing in the doorway, the last person he wanted to see at the moment. She had an unreadable expression adorning her muzzle and had her thick and fuzzy tail folded in her paws neatly.
For the first time in a very long time, Liam was truly afraid. He slammed his gaze down and refused to look up at her or meet her beautiful emerald eyes, heart hammering in his chest. The man felt as if he was a French revolutionary from thousands of years in earth's past, marching up to the infamous guillotine of olden times.
Soon, he saw her sandal clad paws stride to stand a foot or so away from him. Liam was almost shaking visibly with dread when he felt a velvety soft paw land on his shoulder, the sheathed claws lightly pressing into his uniform and freezing him up like a man trapped in ice. When he did not lift his gaze to meet hers she did it for him, wrapping her other paw on his chin and lifting it with a gentle softness that confused him. Was she not here to beret him? To yell and scream and call him monster, butcher, beast and all the other names he had called himself for all of these years?
When his cobalt blue eyes met her emerald green spheres, he felt as if he was being judged, a man on trial, guilty for his crimes and sentenced to death.
And so as you would understand, he was quite properly confused and flabbergasted when she kissed him passionately, wrapping her narrow muzzle around his lips.
When she pulled away a few minutes later, he stared at her in bewilderment. "Why?" He demanded. How could she still even want to see him, let alone desire a kiss?
"Because I love you." She answered simply. "And although you are not a saint, you are still a good man, even if you no longer believe that." She spoke softly but firmly, like a club, swaddled in cushions.
Liam shook his head in denial and retorted with a harsh self-repugnance. "No, the good man I used to be perished on that world. I may act like it now, but deep down; I fear I am still that...creature...that I allowed myself to become. It will always be in there, festering in the darkness of my soul."
Krystal smiled and kissed his brow lovingly, fuzzy lips brushing softly against him. "Don't be stupid. You are not some monster, you're just a man who was hurt, and he expressed it the way any other soldier could. I understand that, and you, more than you will ever know. Unless you forgot, I can read minds. I know what really goes on in there." She tapped his forehead with a claw and chuckled throatily, eliciting a frail smile from the human. "Perhaps better than you do yourself."
"I...but...he was just a kid!" Liam countered angrily.
"That child was trying to kill you and your fellow soldiers, sometimes there is no easy solution to a situation. And while I do not approve of what you did, I can understand it." The vixen replied sagely, sitting down beside him and compacting her tail into her lap.
Her words made sense to Liam and it made him think that she may, possibly, be right. But even if she was there remained a single huge problem presenting itself.
"But what about the others, surely they hate me now?" Liam muttered sadly. It had to be true, there was no way they could like him at this point.
She shook her muzzle. "No one hates you; we know who you really are. And nothing is going to make us believe otherwise. We have known you for a long time now, and we all are your friends. It will take a little while for things to go back to normal. But I am sure that in a month or so they will." She spoke with such confidence that it hurt Liam's core. He did not have months to let the wounds heal. In a week or so, he would be heading out on his assignment, with a dismally small margin for success, and an even slighter one for survival.
"You're right Krystal. In time things will go back to normal. But for now, I think I want to be alone, for a little while. Have some time to settle down."
She black lips curled into an almost untraceable frown; hurt that he wanted to be alone, but she understood. With a graceful dip of her head, the vixen lithely rose from her perch next to him and strolled out of the room. With one last supportive glance back, she closed the door behind her.
The weak smile he had been imposing onto his face dropped instantly. He disguised his deeper thoughts and emotions from her, because down inside, he was depressed. She still thought that it was all going to work out. And while they knew about his past and were possibly willing to accept it, only two knew about his upcoming task, the one that bore down on him heavily every day and the pressure could only mount.
He was too strong to crack in front of them, but alone he could let his despair out. The human fell back on to the bed and closed his eyes, doing his best to fall asleep. It would not work, and he was far from happy. This was something he would have to deal with by himself.
And it would not be a tranquil task.
Cornerian Capital Building, Prime Minister's private office...
Mathias sat in a luxurious arm chair before the mighty wooden desk that Sanders currently occupied behind, on an equally well-appointed chair. He and the minister had been settling matters concerning their alliance while the ever enthusiastic Lieutenant General Dante took the other human captains on a very excitable tour of the capital. It was easy to believe that he was having more fun than any of them. That dog was quite the energetic fellow.
"If you agree to our terms, effective immediately, the UNSC and UEG will consider your people allies. We will acknowledge your sovereignty over this system and renounce Venom as an opposing faction. Additionally, you will receive martial backing in dealing with them." Mathias laid this down to the minister resolutely.
Sanders had a focused expression ornamenting his muzzle and he picked up the thick sheaf of papers that Mathias had drawn up. His feline eyes scanned the documents with a slight uncertainty. "Your terms are a little...steep Mathias, scientific trade, medical research, and military technology, just to start it off?" The lion set down the papers and looked up at the admiral heavily and his left ear twitched slightly as he brought his paws together on the desk. "This is quite a lot you are asking of my people. What can you provide that would make this a little more uniform?"
Mathias frowned and scratched his chin. "That is all I can guarantee at the moment. Anything else is not within my rights to offer. I can only promise things from our military. If you want more, that will have to wait until the UEG reps arrive. They are the ones who can discuss in more detail. They can meet any other demands you may need and will be better suited for this. The most I can offer is the full support of my fleet and more training for your soldiers."
Sanders nodded his furred head and his tongue flashed to wipe his impressive fangs. "At the most I can provide in return until they arrive are medical research and perhaps some small start to our shielding technology. The rest will have to be postponed. I'm sorry, but my people come first."
Mathias furrowed his brow before responding. "I can understand that, and my fleet will still deliver our assistance. The UEG representatives will be in system in no more than three days so they can deal with this in greater detail. I'm just a soldier, and am not suited for this kind of political maneuvering." The admiral chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"That is acceptable, I can understand your position and I appreciate all you have done so far." The lion's chair wheeled backwards and Sanders rose up, Mathias following suit. "As for the promised trade, I will have my science advisor prepare a group of our finest researchers."
"That sounds suitable; we have some of our own scientifically minded individuals that came with the expedition. I'm certain that they would be thrilled to work alongside a new race." Mathias shook the lion's paw, accepting the deal.
Honestly he had not expected it to go that well. He had put most of that stuff in as a screen to get a gauge on how Sanders would react to further requests. And from the looks of it, the lion had a level head. He had been hoping to at least land some weapons tech, but he was satisfied to receive medical researchers. And shields sounded more than promising. He would have to write a report on this and deliver it to the reps before they head down planetside. After that, he could go back to his real job and leave all this yammering to the professionals.
The lion released Mathia's hand from his large tawny paws, stepping out from behind his extensive wooden desk wielding a fang filled smile. "Excellent! I am glad we could come to some sort of arrangement."
Sanders led the way out of his office, hammering out the details as they walked down the marble hallways of the capital building. They entered the rotunda and Mathias spied out his captains. The three uniform clad officers were standing by the doors to the outside. Thomas had a small smirk and Mira was smiling blatantly as they watched an overwhelmed Cornelias try to give Dante an abridged history of humanity. By the look of the young captain's face, he was not doing well. As Sanders and Mathias closed in, they could hear the captain floundering.
"I....well uh...." He looked around for help and received no support from his colleagues, but he visibly relaxed when his roving eyes landed on the admiral. "Perhaps we could talk later, the admiral is here and I'm sure he needs me for something?" The fledgling captain looked to his superior hopefully.
Dante frowned disappointedly.
Mathias looked to Cornelias and felt a little juvenile. "No, can't say I have anything for you. In fact, why don't you spend the rest of the day answering the Lieutenant General's questions? It would be good for him to understand us."
Dante's muzzle exploded into a wide open grin and his tail began to vibrate with excitement.
Sadly, Cornelias did not look nearly as exuberant, giving the captain a subtle, horror filled expression. Thomas chuckled quietly and Mira could not keep up smirk from her pert lips. Mathias was mentally grinning like a child.
Dante, turned back to Cornelias, brown eyes filled with curiosity and he began to once more swarm the unprepared captain with questions, both inane and hard to answer. Abandoning him to his fate Mathias, Thomas, Mira, and Sanders left. The small group traveled a short distance to a large room at the far side of the domed building. They still had many things to iron out in the coming days.
They had to formally announce their alliance with the Cornerians and Mathias needed to find out what he was going to do with his fleet.
Venom, underground headquarters, six days later....
A very upset primate sat on his throne like chair, watching the news for the hundredth time in the past six days. His hands were wrapped around the rests of his chair and it creaked dangerously in his harsh grasp.
There were two news casters on the screen, one a female leopard and the other a male Doberman. The leopardess was speaking with a smile. "It has been six days since the recently discovered human race offered a pact of friendship and mutual alliance with the cornerian government. It has only been a month and a half since they appeared without warning on the fringe of Papetoon and took part in repelling the invasion. Since then they have been in talks with Prime Minister Sanders and only recently affirmed their coalition with an announcement by one of their representatives."
The screen soon changed to show a huge gathering inside a massive conference room. There was a human in a well-trimmed blue and gold uniform. He had short blonde hair and hazel eyes. The man was clean shaven and stood in front of the pulpit facing the crowd of cornerian reporters. Occasionally, the white walled room was lit up by the flashes of cameras. The human cleared his throat and began to speak. On the screen under him, his name was in bold, UEG representative Charles Bradly. "Today is a most monumental one. It marks the first significant step to a peaceful and prosperous collaboration between our two governments, indeed...our two people." The man spoke charismatically and confidently, standing behind him was Sanders and a immaculately dressed General Pepper. "When I was told about this discovery, I will admit I was afraid. Humanity has always been fearful of the unknown and plagued by uncertainty. And if there is anything mysterious and uncertain, it is the discovery of the fact, that we were indeed...not alone. But, we were incredibly lucky to find a race such as you. And I am filled with hope that we will coexist together in harmony and strength, despite our vast differences."
The man prattled on for another hour, in which Oikonny had seen many times before. With a disgusted scowl, the ape shut off the screen and tossed the remote across the room to shatter on the far wall.
Things had not been shifting in favor of the venom. With the arrival of these...humans, the situation began to rapidly decline. Almost hours after they made their announcement, the human fleet moved to the farthest world under venomian control, Eladard.
Eladard was a vital to venom's continued might. It held a massive industrious shipyard in orbit and was sprawled with factories producing countless war machines. There was a modest fleet garrisoned over that world, two battleships, fifteen cruisers, a carrier, and a network of orbital defenses. The cornerians would never have been able to take it without horrendous casualties.
The humans had steamrolled over his defenses.
One battleship, leaking coolant and bodies, had crawled back to venom. They told of the experienced human ships, strange weapons, and superior tactics. The over confident commander had thought that the human's weapons were inferior. However, this UNSC had long ranged guns, the equivalent of space borne sniper rifles.
These deadly cannons had picked the venomian fleet apart.
After that, they launched a full blown invasion, using mass fighter assaults, heavy armor, and orbital artillery to level any installation that could oppose them. After that, they deployed thousands of soldiers backed by massive treaded battle tanks. It was a brutal war that lasted for two entire days, but the ending was clear the minute the human fleet jumped in with their damn portals.
Now Oikonny had one less planet under his control. He had only one hope left to repel these humans...the project. Once it was complete, he should be able to strike back at these arrogant humans and their foreign technology.
It was most unfortunate that his best strategist was no longer on Venom. But, Kalessin Agornin was busy rallying a fleet over Titania. That was the last military stronghold he possessed, it had the only other shipyard besides the one floating over Venom itself. Yet he was confident that as long as Kalessin was there, it would not fall. He needed that lizard to supervise the creation of his next fleet.
Jerric was busy training the next wave of troops in Venistad half a continent away, trying to get Venom's troops on par with the human marines and to stand a chance against these...helljumpers as they were called. He had only heard fleeting words about these shock troopers and he was wary of them, falling from the skies in one man pods....pure insanity!
The only advisor still in the headquarters was Archedon; the old snake was tirelessly working to have the project ready as soon as possible. The human's attack had only furthered the need for it to be complete. The first prototype was only days from deployment, and Oikonny was curious to see how it preformed.
With a scowl, Oikonny stood up from his throne and stormed out of the room. The ape was going to be very busy in the days to come. He had plans to form and vengeance to take. He will get that planet back...and more.
The Great Fox....
Things were tense aboard the ship. Liam had been withdrawn for the past six days, and had talked with them sparsely. Each interaction was short and to the point. Even Krystal had a hard time getting him to speak. No one could figure out what was wrong. They had all accepted him for who he was, in spite of his past. So they were all confused as to what was wrong with him...at least almost all of them.
Miyu and Fay knew that tomorrow was the day that he would be leaving. And perhaps would never be coming back. They had not told anyone yet, either too afraid or uncertain as to what anyone could do. And they really didn't fancy having to tell Krystal. They had no idea how the already distraught vixen would handle this development.
But as the day winded down and the final one dawned and Liam was maybe an hour or so away from leaving with no progress made in getting him to talk, they figured that they would have to tell her...and soon. Both the Lynx and the spaniel were sitting in the rec room, talking to each other quietly when Krystal trudged in and collapsed onto the couch by the TV with a depressed sigh.
Her tail sat limply at her side and the vixen's proud ears were drooped to the side listlessly. She could not understand what was happening to Liam, he had seemed to be fine after the talk, but he only worsened as the days went by. Now she could not even get him to speak to her. He just sat on his bed holding that datapad and staring at its contents morosely. No longer did he laugh with her, play with her...love her. It would seem that he was completely consumed by something. And while she tried to get him to open up, she was rebuked by his stone walled heart.
Krystal felt like crying.
She looked to her left slowly and saw Miyu and Fay talking with each other. Perhaps she needed to talk to her friends; maybe they could cheer up her fragile demeanor. With another sigh, Krystal got up from the couch and walked over to sit next to them. She looked to them both with a frown.
"Hi Krystal." Miyu greeted, giving Fay a quick look loaded with something.
"How are you holding up?" Fay asked, voice layered thick with concern as she placed one of her paws over Krystal's.
"I'm not, something's wrong with my Liam. And I can't figure it out. He doesn't do anything; he just sits in his room staring at that stupid pad with a sad grimace. He won't even speak to me anymore!" Krystal growled angrily, but her anger soon diminished and she just let her head fall. "I don't know what's wrong. Is it something I did?" She asked, looking up to her friends desperately.
"No!" Fay barked before calming down. "It's not you, it's just..." She looked to Miyu for support.
The feline knew what the look meant and she guessed that it was either now or never. Miyu cleared her throat and nervously began to play with the golden loop in her left ear. "It's not yours or anyone of our faults. But rather something that Liam has to deal with. Do you remember when he was in my room and he talked about that pad?"
Krystal nodded slowly. She faintly remembered it, more concerned at the time with her desires. "I do, he told you not to tell anyone." The blue vixen began to feel a heavy sense of foreboding in her breast.
Miyu smiled weakly and her ear twitched nervously. "Yeah that. Well, what was one that pad was really, really important."
"Tell me everything." Krystal demanded with a flash of anger in her eyes.
******
Liam stood in the center of his room, strapping his right bracer onto his armor forcefully. He had a forbidding expression on his pale face. The helljumper had just received the call from Mathias moments ago; the prowler had been allowed to dock with the starport and the mission was ready to begin. Even now, workers would soon arrive to unload the equipment onto the small stealth craft and he would board it to his most likely final destination.
He looked around his room with and his grimace darkened. This had been the best chapter of his life; he had made amazing friends and even found the love of his life. But it would seem that this chapter was coming to a close and the novel would be reaching its culmination.
The ODST holstered his pair of silenced magnums and made sure that all the straps, buckles, and clips were seen to, and that he had enough ammo for the two weapons. 'I should look nice for my funeral.' He thought releasing an ugly chuckle that polluted the chamber with its spite.
It was his hope that he could slip out before Krystal was none the wiser. It would be much too painful for him to have to say goodbye to her, he doubted he even had the strength to. As he readied to leave, he could not help but think about her gentle voice, velvety fur, breathtakingly beautiful emerald eyes, and her compassionate depth. 'She was much too good for me.' Liam exhaled heavily with unspent heartache.
Liam grabbed his mirrored helmet and put in the crook of his left arm. The dock workers were probably already unloading his gear. With one last look at his room he turned his door. The helljumper pressed the button to the side and it whispered open. He was going to step outside, but there was a blue furred obstruction in the way.
And it looked far from pleased.
Krystal, his blue vixen, was blocking his exit, fur bristled, ears flicking angrily, tail whipping back and forth, and an exceedingly pissed off expression lighting up her muzzle heatedly. Her jade green eyes blazed with indignation and with what looked like unshed tears. She advanced on him, rapping a thick, sharp claw onto his breastplate emphatically, scratching the armor's paint and pushing him back into his room. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" She snarled angrily tapping his armor roughly with a claw on every syllable.
He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, it looked like Miyu and Fay had blabbed. He was not angry at them though. He imagined it would be hard to keep a secret and was surprised that they managed for so long...although...the timing left much to be desired.
Liam sighed. "I didn't want you to worry." He responded slowly and deliberately.
She scoffed and managed to roll her eyes with disdain. "So you just wanted to leave without me even knowing? What kind of shitty plan is that?" She demanded hotly, surprising him when she used language. She never used language. He must have really pissed her off. "So instead of telling me this a week ago, you just brooded in your room and wouldn't even speak to me!?"
"There was nothing you could have done. And it would only have hurt you." Liam defended his actions.
Krystal let a single tear fall down her muzzle. "Well you know what Liam, it still hurt!" She all but screamed at him in a supervising volume. The vixen was close to tears now. "You wouldn't talk to me...you wouldn't even look at me...for days! You think that didn't hurt?" She demanded miserably, turning away from him. "The one you loved just ignored you, seemingly like you didn't exist, like you were nothing!"
"I...." Liam fumbled for words. But the truth was...she was right. He wasn't trying to protect her; he was trying to protect himself. It was easier to ignore and then fade away. It helped prevent the pain...at least for him. But all he really managed to do was hurt Krystal, the most important person left in his life besides his family. "I'm....sorry...Krystal." Liam said softly.
But she was too dismayed at the moment to listen to what he had to say to her. "NO, you don't get to just apologize and brush it off. You don't get to drop it like it was nothing. It wasn't nothing!" She took a deep breath as her shoulder's shook.
Liam could hear her crying, and he realized that he fucked up...and bad. He had hurt her, deeply, and it hurt him to know that all this pain was because of him, because he was stupid. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was hurt her...he would have rather died than cause her pain, but in his foolish ignorance, he had done just that. "I...forgive me...please." He beseeched her.
Liam reached out to touch her, to wrap her up in a hug, to try and show her that he was truly repentant. He wanted her to know that she meant more to him than life itself. That he wanted to make it up to her in any and every way he could.
Just as his gloved hand touched her trembling shoulder she blindly lashed out at him, claws bared and with a loud snarl.
A lance of agony enveloped the entire left lateral of his head as her paw smashed into his cheek with the force of her uncontained fury, staggering him and sending his ear ringing. He could feel four yawning lacerations just below his eye and one higher up on his eyebrow. Almost immediately, he could feel streaks of burning liquid cascade down his face to pool up around the collar of his breastplate and there was a deep seated ache in his skull. Quietly, he brought his gloved hand to try and staunch the flow of blood, and without a word, the soldier grabbed the rest of his things and departed the room.
Outside, Miyu and Fay were standing in the hallway and when they saw his face they gasped in shock and horror. Liam was too furious and dismayed to care and stormed past them in a silent and pitiful rage.
He had failed her, just as he failed his family and now he was reaping what he had sowed. As he marched down the corridor, he bumped into Fox who had been looking for him. "Hey Liam, there are some guys outside loo...." Fox stopped and petered off after he saw his friend's face. "Holy shit! What happened?" He demanded worriedly.
"Everything...farewell Fox." Liam replied hoarsely, voice infested with many emotions, rage, anguish, desolation, and despair to name a few. He shouldered past the bewildered vulpine and took the elevator he had emerged from, pressing the button and closing it behind him. From there the only thing accompanying him was silence and his crimson blood, spilt by the one he had loved.
******
Meanwhile Krystal stood in his room. The cerulean vixen's thoughts were blinded by anger and sorrow. She had retreated into herself at one point and everything became hazy and she couldn't tell what was going on. Her mind had been so troubled that she lost control of herself. It was not until she was shaken by two pairs of paws that reality reasserted itself.
"Krystal, what did you do?!" She heard Miyu demand angrily.
Fay was standing next to her with an unbelieving muzzle hanging open.
'Wha-what?" She asked in confusion, shaking her head and clearing her thoughts. She searched her surrounding and was worried when she did not see Liam. "Where is Liam!?" She asked in a panicky tone, looking around desperately. The last thing she remembered was turning her back on him, full of anger and pain, and then everything went all fuzzy in her head after that.
'He just stormed away with a fucked up face, bleeding everywhere. What did you do?" Miyu hissed. She was not sure what had happened but she did not like the look on Liam's bleeding visage.
It had frightened her.
Krystal was baffled until she felt a hot and thick wet substance coating her right paw. She brought it up to see what it was and her eyes widened in abject terror. There was a vibrant layer of bright ruby red blood dousing her paw and she could see bits of skin under her claws. There was only one source it could have vented from.
Liam.
"What did I do?" She asked herself in a horrified whisper. Slowly the recent events came back to her. He had asked, no begged, for her forgiveness and she had...hit him. Why had she done that? She did not want to. 'Oh god..." She mumbled, pushing past Miyu and Fay, running past a confused Fox and slamming into the elevator. She pressed the button rapidly with her bloodied paw, needing it to go faster. As it was opening she shoved herself inside, pressing the hanger bay button with a pain filled passion.
Every second it took to open was agonizing to the vixen and when it did, she rushed outside. It was empty; all of Liam's equipment was gone. There was a loud noise and she turned her attention to a small green and white dropship, with a lone figure walking up the ramp, clutching the left side of their face. Blood was freely running down their armor and there was a small pool leading from the elevator over to the ship.
"LIAM!" She shouted desperately, hoping to stop him.
The man turned around, hand pulled away from his face. There were five terrible wounds disfiguring the left side of his face and the blood was running rampantly. He frowned dejectedly, quickly turning into a painful grimace. Then, he swiftly shouldered his bag and thundered up the ramp, which closed behind him with a final bang.
The ship's engines drowned out Krystal's sorrow as it shot off into the light of the mid-afternoon sun.