Reed was indeed plastered. While the bright lights of the city made a patchwork of the dark night sky above; dozens of cultivator cadets had descended on a Naval bar in the downtown area of the capital. Inside, amid rowdy northerners and rambunctious westerners, the majority of the members of Squads 1, 2, and 3 sat in a large booth, drinks in hand, an increasing number of empty mugs on the table.
Considering that he had been attacked in a park and nearly lost his life the last time he went out drinking downtown, Isaac decided to take it slow this time. Dan Turner did as well, swirling the same Arcadian whiskey around in his glass for the last half hour. Mackenzie stood off to the side, just on her second glass of wine; her cheeks were already flushed, but she must've had enough self-control to recognize this. She remained quiet throughout the night, looking at her reflection in the purple liquid.
Isaac joined Demetrius in cheering for the ongoing competition at their table. An array of empty shot-glasses surrounded Reed and Oksana and there were more to come. Reed’s eyes drooped as she finished another round, weakly setting it back down on the table afterwards. When Isaac clapped for her, she tensed up from the noise and ended up running her hand through Lynn’s blonde hair. The poor girl’s head had been glued to the table after she passed out next to Reed.
Little Oksana the snake peered out from Oksana’s hair now that the ball was in her court. With her bored, vacant eyes, she downed another shot with ease. Demetrius let out huge cheers for his fellow member of Squad 1, his booming voice bouncing around the noisy, crowded bar. During their movie outing, Oksana drank little; he didn’t expect her to be this good at a drinking competition.
That’s because she wasn’t. After a few blinks of her heavy eyelids, she slumped forward, knocking away the empty shot-glasses as she fell unconscious. Demetrius patted her on the back while Little Oksana let out a hiss of disapproval in her ear before sympathetically licking its fallen owner's face. Reed let out a little cheer of victory and then rubbed her eyes with tired hands.
Isaac’s eyes widened.
This is my chance!
Sitting to her side, he reached behind her back and touched her on the opposite shoulder. He fully expected her to look the other way; instead, she didn’t even react. She just slumped down a little in the booth, a hand rubbing her stomach. Her eyes glazed over and time seemed to slow down.
With a sigh, Isaac helped her out of the booth. Putting her arm around his shoulder and his own hand on her waist, he walked her out of the bar, ignoring the hooting and hollering of the northern cadets as he passed. He heard one of them congratulating him on bagging a Reed; he just shook his head and chuckled.
The lights of downtown nearly blinded Isaac as he stepped outside. And if they did that much damage to him, it certainly must’ve been worse for Reed. Even she recognized the danger and put a hand over her mouth as the two stumbled into a back-alley. A spot next to an overflowing dumpster did the trick. Isaac held her hair back as she crouched down and, via her mouth, ejected tonight's alcohol with extreme prejudice. Someone as small as her probably (definitely) shouldn’t have drank that much, but she made a promise to do just that yesterday, and Reed tended to keep promises of that nature.
When she was done, Isaac helped her back to her feet. She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her crimson bomber jacket; no greatcoat this time, since the greatcoat held the spiral-and-anchor symbol of the Cultivator Marines Corps, and nobody should be upchucking in an alleyway while bearing that symbol. When they returned to the bar, a figure approached them, the familiar of gum bubbles popping echoing around the street.
Babs stopped under a white streetlight, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket, an easy-going smile on her face. Reed immediately bounded over to her and hugged her, wrapping her arms tightly around her back. Babs glanced over at Isaac with a knowing look; Isaac could only let out another chuckle. But then he frowned; when Babs put her own arms around her, her left hand was heavily covered in bandages.
“We gotta drink more often,” Reed slurred. “As your squad leader, I need to do a better job about that.”
“You’re doing alright,” Babs cooed. Since she was taller, she looked down at Reed like an older sister would, gently patting her unkempt brunette hair.
The pair of sisters separated and Reed nodded toward the bar. “I need another drink.”
“I’ll join you in a minute. Can we talk, Isaac?” A slight breeze went through the air; autumn had almost given way to winter. In fact, the year was almost over, with little more than a month left until Supreme Commander Pulaski ushered in 2502 with a grand ceremony downtown. No doubt, the cadets would return to this bar that night, and no doubt Isaac would be holding Reed’s hair as she went through the same song and dance.
But first, Babs wanted to talk with Isaac outside the bar.
Reed looked back and forth between her squadmates, eyeing Babs with a lingering gaze that made her face turn scarlet. “Wh-what?”
“Heh. Heh heh heh.” With that amused laughter, Reed took her leave. The warmth and sounds of the bar briefly drifted into the street until the bouncer closed the door behind her, leaving just Isaac and Babs among the cold and bright lights.
The bandages on Babs’ hand stuck out like a sore thumb. She gestured with her towards the main avenue. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”
With a sense of deja vu, Isaac once again joined a friend in roaming Narragansett in the wee hours of the night. Well, it wasn’t midnight yet, and Babs only brought them a few blocks over until they arrived at the harbor. On a smooth sidewalk overlooking the bay, Babs brought them below a white streetlight. Given that this was in the opposite direction of downtown, the area was quiet, with very few people nearby, if any. Only the gentle lapping of waves and the distant noises of the city provided them with company.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Sorry for being late. Looks like Reed’s already having fun.” Babs smirked for a moment, then her expression changed into a proud smile. When she held out her bandaged hand, Isaac couldn’t help but step forward towards her in concern. Bandages only covered four of her fingertips - because she only had four fingertips. The top of her pinky finger simply wasn’t there anymore.
“I came late because I was unlocking an Art,” she explained in a tender voice. “That’s why I rushed toward Circuit 2A after unlocking my |Winds of Change| ranged attack. The Art I just learned, |Whirlwind Reaper|, can only be unlocked at Circuit 2 or above.” She looked down at her missing fingertip. “It exacts a toll, too. And it’s only effective against those at equal or lower circuits than me. But it’s worth it. I can grow the fingertip back by the end of the week.”
She stepped away from Isaac and the streetlamp, back into darkness. “Isaac, throw an |Eightfold Fist| at me. I want to see how effective the Art is.”
“Worth it?” Isaac questioned. “But your finger-”
“Trust me.” Babs rummaged through her jacket. “Once I activate the Art, attack me.”
Moonlight reflected off the dagger in her hand. With a simple grimace on her face, she twirled the knife around and sliced the tip of her ring finger completely off. The fingertip sailed away into the bobbing waters of the ocean. Isaac was too shocked to say anything, but then red lights sparked up and down Babs until they exploded upwards in a flash of light. They raced toward the streetlamp and blew through the bulb, sending shards of glass down onto the street and covered Isaac in darkness. An aura emanated from Babs, and Isaac felt gripped by the thunderous power of storm winds.
Babs gestured with her head. Still in disbelief, Isaac activated his own cultivation power and stepped forward. While she stood there with a confident smile, Isaac let his punch fly-
And it immediately got blocked. The raging, invisible winds around Babs completely deflected Isaac’s punch. He tried another - no dice. He stepped forward and tried again, but the |Whirlwind Reaper| knocked even his heaviest punches away. With one last trick up his sleeve, Isaac punched with all his might and activated the |Fist of Anji| right as he made contact with the wind shield. The yellow lights illuminated both of them, and then electric shocks blew past Isaac as the shield deflected them entirely.
Catching his breath, Isaac ended his assault. Babs ended the shield, then looked down at her hand with gentle eyes. In contrast to the raging storm that just swirled around her, Babs looked vulnerable and spoke quietly. “For the price of a fingertip, I can activate a windshield that can repel any attack towards me. It only works for a few minutes, but in the heat of battle, a fingertip will just be a small price to pay."
"Where did you learn something like that?"
But in that darkness, before she could answer, Isaac heard blood slowly dripping down onto the sidewalk. Using sparks in his hand for light, he held her wounded hand. Despite the cold, the Rddhi usage made her hand warm to the touch, like a hearth in a cozy home during a blizzard. Isaac wrapped her ring finger with a handkerchief to stop the bleeding.
“You don’t need to hurt yourself in battle,” Isaac told her. “If you need a shield, that’s what we’re here for.”
“Isaac, you’re holding my hand.”
He hadn’t even realized it. Rather than let go, she slipped her fingers around his. They, too, burned warmly, and maybe not just from the Rddhi usage. Babs kept her hand there for a moment as she looked out towards the bay.
The waves rolled slowly. The few stars overhead shone quietly. The night ambled along peacefully.
Babs withdrew her hand slowly and reluctantly, though the warmth lingered in Isaac after she let go. She rested her palms on the metal railing over the bay. “Reed almost died during our first mission. Kieran died during our most recent one. We spoke with Stockham about the conspiracy, so no doubt we’ll be going on many more. I just got this bad feeling inside me that the next one may be our last. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s you, maybe it’s Reed, maybe it’s any one of our friends. So, if I have to cut off a fingertip to keep someone from dying, I’ll do it.” She tightened her bloodied fist. “I’ll do anything to keep the people I love from dying and suffering. I told you a thousand times, Isaac, but I fight for justice.”
She turned to face him, resting her back on the railing. “Remember when we fought Jackson? He told us that, as long as we fight for our ideals rather than material gain, we’d be fighting our battles forever. If I had to cut off a thousand fingers or lose a thousand friends in that endless fight, as long as it’s to make a better world, I’ll do it.” But then she let out a sigh, a broken one that almost mixed with a sob. “But I’ve only lost two fingers and a single friend, and it hurts like hell. I don’t want to lose anymore, but I know I’m going to.”
The breeze came again. Babs wiped her eyes. “But that’s just the way it is.” She held back a whimper, then looked at Isaac. “If one of us were to die in our next mission, I just want to say something to you now. First, I admire you, Isaac. Your strength gives me strength, too. I wouldn’t be here today without your help. And second-”
She took a step forward. “The survivor needs to carry on the other’s dream of changing this country. If I die, don’t give up. And if you die, I won’t give up, either. We need to keep going to the end and then some.”
When Isaac gazed at her, her face took on a scarlet hue again. “I-Isaac?”
“There’s one flaw in your proposal. I don’t plan on letting anyone die again. Especially nobody in this squad or any of my friends.”
He extended his hand. “For change, remember? Until the end.”
After a moment, she smiled back at him. When she took his hand, Isaac felt the warmth rush down all the way into his heart, circling back around until it extended into his fingers.
“Until the end.”
----------------------------------------
Well, of course, Isaac and Babs drank like fish after that. When they stumbled back to base, Isaac waved goodbye to his friends and crashed right into his bed. The whole bedroom spun, but Isaac had a nice canteen of water to keep him company.
But then somebody knocked on his door. The raspy sound thundered through his eardrums like a hammer against steel. When the knocking continued, he wanted to throw his pillow towards the source of the sound. Instead, with a sigh, he bumbled towards the door and looked through the keyhole.
Lynn stood outside, skittishly tapping her fingers together. Her breath condensed in front of her face. Upon opening the door, she nearly yelped in surprise.
“Lynn?”
With an uncomfortable amount of tottering and teetering, it took a moment for Lynn to finally speak.
“Isaac…there’s something I need to tell you.”