A loud yawn escaped Terra, who was hanging off the bed, slouched over. As he opened his eyes, he was met with the usual shack he's used to, with Vio sleeping soundly above his mattress, curled up in a tiny hammock. Needless to say, he was hungover. A panging pain etched from temple to temple on his head, making him groan in frustration.
Somehow crawling out of bed, he staggered up to his feet, stretching fully.
"Another day, another dollar..." he mumbled to himself, slowly stepping his way to a small room off to the side. A jury-rigged shower, using water from the nearby hotel and stolen amenities from the corner store. Just enough to clean himself up and get by.
The water was cold, but doable. Ivory soap, shampoo, conditioner— all just enough before running out. A long sigh escaped him, as he dried himself off with a tiny rag, and let the rest air dry upon putting on his normal clothes. They were clearly too big for him, but it's alright enough.
He walked back out to the main room, poking the hammock Vio had been sleeping in.
"Yo. Yo. Yoooooo." he kept slurring out, his eyes squinting from the pain in his head. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake uppppp. Wa—"
He was promptly shut up with a magical smack to the head, making him hiss out a pained groan.
"Five more minutes...! Jeez!" Vio quickly barked out, holding her fist up. "How the hell are you going to get Celeste if you wake up women like that?!"
Terra stood back up, letting out a sigh.
"Whatever. Ughh... C'mon, we have to go to work."
"Hrrrmmhhhh..."
Vio turned away, hiding her face from Terra in hopes he would walk away.
"...Fine, I'll tell Pierce you don't want any tea." Terra nonchalantly said, waving as he walked away. It was then that he immediately felt Vio land on his shoulder, holding on to his shirt tightly. "Mm...?"
"Onward! To the precinct!" she suddenly said with a sparkle in her eyes, making Terra look at her with a little grin. "What's with that face...?"
"You sure love that stuff. Heh."
"Silence!!"
. . .
Terra immediately made his way to where he saw Celeste and Netz duelling before, to see it was now filled with Plague Doctors, sparring one another. Such a sight gave this surging feeling in his veins, as if... he were doing something wrong. Visions of him desperately trying to fight the others in the ship replayed in his mind repeatedly.
"If I had been stronger, maybe I could've done something more..." he thought to himself, seeing the other members of Asclepius Squadron Four injured in his subconscious. "I could've handled everything myself, if I was just... stronger."
It's just then that Joker walks up to him, placing a hand on Terra's head while letting out a laugh.
"There ya are, lil homie! How's everything going?" he asked, watching the Plague Doctor officers training below alongside Terra. "Watching the other squads train, eh?"
"Hangover... Head hurts..." is all Terra could reply with, grumbling slightly.
Joker let out a long hum, before suddenly slapping Terra's back reassuringly, getting a big smile.
"Hey now, I thought you could handle that liquor better! C'mon, I'm all bones and can handle it better than you kid!"
Terra barely reacted to the smack, letting out a low groan while rubbing his head instead.
"...Mm. Look, you ever use your Pressure to help with that?"
"Pressure? You mean like that power that comes from your Arcane?" Terra asked, glancing back at Joker.
"The very same, homie. Look, I'll keep it a-hundred with ya. Your Pressure is crazy high for someone who ain't got an Arcane. The fact you ain't been trained with it either? Crazy shit. Now looky here, you wanna learn how to control that Pressure of yours, huh? Want me to give ya some pointers?"
Joker stood with his hands atop his cane, leaning down over it to look down at Terra, the little beads of blue light in his eyes shimmering with curiosity. Terra couldn't afford to pass this opportunity. To become worthy of being a Plague Doctor... It means he will be one step closer to his "true justice". To save Celeste one day.
Terra looked up at Joker, seemingly getting a now determined furrow in his brows, grinning. The hangover continued to pang in his head, but now his will to train overshadowed it.
"Give me everything you got, Joker."
With that, the sharp-dressed skeleton man let out a high-pitched snicker, nodding.
"Let's get it on!"
. . .
Terra stood within the white training room, inspecting his surroundings. A massive cube of a room, with pillars sticking out perfectly symmetrically from the bottom up to around seven-feet up. Perfect for cover. Besides that, along the wall where the door they entered from was, laid a line of simple wooden weaponry from all of imagination. Spears, swords, staves, sai, gauntlets, nunchucks, pellet guns, shields— everything. Seeing such an array of equipment made Terra stand in awe, looking at all of them, before a tall, almost Olympian-built man approached him, crossing his arms.
"Are you that new Plague Doctor I heard about?" he asked, his bushy brows narrowing enough to almost cover the man's eyes.
Terra turned to look at him, then slowly raised his head to finally look him in the eye. He was at least seven-feet tall, tan-skinned, with spiky dark-green hair. His eyes were magenta in hue, and incredibly intimidating, if his stature wasn't enough already.
"You don't seem like much physically... How confident are you in your strength?"
Terra stared at him for a moment, then slowly leaned over to Joker, whispering to him.
"Who is this guy?!" he asked, sweating bullets, "He feels like he's gonna kill me, the way he's staring! It's creeping me out!"
Joker snorted, then pushed Terra forward with a noticable smile.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"He's stronger than he looks! Just needs some skill under his belt his all."
Terra snapped back at Joker, pointing at him with the angriest expression he could manage. However, before he could mutter a word... the large man placed his hand on Terra's shoulder, basically covering it completely from it's size.
"Strong, but lacks direction? Mm... No good." he stated, suddenly picking Terra up by the collar of his shirt, staring at him with a sinister glare. "How long should I train him for...?"
"Oh uhh... Give or take a week or so." Joker answered, turning away and waving off as he walked out of the room. "We got missions starting after then, so it's best if we train up until that time comes. Make sure that cat's got a killer's stare, eh?"
"It will be my pleasure."
With that, Terra reached out to Joker, to see the door close behind him. His last hope, leaving him behind so suddenly. It's then he nervously glanced over at the tall man, gulping.
"What's uhh... What's your name?"
"Bubbles." the man simply replied, staring back at him with the intensity of a magnitude five earthquake.
"B-B... Buh—?"
"ARE YOU READY TO TRAIN, SHRIMP?! DROP DOWN AND GIVE ME FOUR-THOUDAND DAMMIT!!"
With that thunderous roar — somehow worse than a drill sergeant — Bubbles then threw Terra across the room and stood tall once again, crossing his arms. Each step shook the room as he followed Terra's tumbling body, making the other Plague Doctors watch while snickering and laughing to themselves.
"AGH!! I JUST GOT BACK FROM THE HOSPITAL, YOU—!!" Terra cried out, before Bubbles stepped down on his chest, staring down at him with the light hiding his face. Terra quickly shut up, sweating once again.
"I said... GIVE ME FOUR-THOUDAND, NOW!! THAT'S TODAY, YOU WORTHLESS PRICK!!"
Without anymore delay, Terra immediately began to do push-ups after Bubbles let him freely move, not wanting to anger the strong man anymore. This trainer didn't forget his other trainees it seemed, glancing over at the other Plague Doctors, making them all begin to train once again to avoid eye-contact. Once the coast was clear, Bubbles looked again at Terra, grumbling lowly.
"I swear to all that is holy and damned in this world... Not one Plague Doctor in this facility will be weak. We have a mission, and I WON'T TOLERATE FRAGILE SHIT STAINS LIKE YOU!! KEEP GOING LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, CAUSE IT JUST MIGHT, YOU WORTHLESS MUTT!!"
Wanting the screaming to end, Terra just held strong as much as he could, doing push-up after push-up, seemingly losing count awhile ago. "As long as I do enough" he thought, "Then I will be safe... This guy is a psychopath!!"
. . .
Vio enjoyed some big sips of Pierce's nigh perfect warm lemon tea, making a happy sigh after finishing a gulp.
"You have the best tea I have ever had!" she exclaimed, looking up at Pierce with an innocent smile. "I know that is not saying much, since I am homeless... but it is well appreciated!"
Pierce hummed to himself while writing documents with a typewriter, before suddenly stopping his typing, peeking his eye toward the fae.
"Homeless?" he repeated, scowling slightly. "What do you mean homeless? Were you two not compensated for your mission like the others?"
Vio looked up to the ceiling, thinking it over, before shaking her head.
"No. I would remember if we were given money, since I regulate it for Terra and myself." she explained, kicking her legs up one at a time off the edge of the table. "I tried to tell my brother about spending too much at the casino a long time ago, but he continued to gamble. A lucky streak, you could say. That is where Basilis and his entourage came in, you see."
She sighed, laying back on the table and scratching her head.
"In a strange way, I have to thank the Rat. Without his interception, Terra would never have met any of you. Including his new crush."
The commissioner chuckled, continuing to type away.
"Crush? Ah, you mean my adoptive daughter." Pierce said, smiling softly. "Celeste is... quite the hard shell to crack. She even burned me every once and awhile when I took her in, for her hatred for people was astounding. All they did was hurt her, you see... If I did not find her, she'd be... well, one must say that hindsight is twenty-twenty."
He stopped typing once again, taking a sip of his tea.
"He's been getting along with the others as well, it seems. Besides Netz. Though... that is the usual."
Vio let out a giggle, flying up to land on Pierce's shoulder.
"You gave us some friendly faces to work with... It is truly a blessing." she said with a warm smile, "Something away from crime. To live in the moment, and to experience new things for the first time... It is what makes the present such a gift to us."
Pierce gripped his tea cup tighter for a slight moment. Vio noticed this, looking down at his hand curiously.
"Mr. Jackson...?"
He let out a sigh, nodding reassuringly.
"The present... Escapes me, sometimes. Your counsel is warmly welcomed, regarding that topic."
Pierce then held Vio's teacup up to her, his face kind, with... a slight sadness behind it.
"Do best to keep me on track, dear Vio."
The blue fae took a sip of her tea, letting out a little hiccup and giggle.
"It is an honour, commissioner!~ Ah... I wonder how Terra is doing right now."
Pierce hummed slightly, beginning to type again nonchalantly.
"Probably something rather ludicrous, yes?"
. . .
"I WON'T LEARN ANYTHING LIKE THIS!"
"YOU AREN'T DOING DEADLIFTS CORRECTLY! DO IT AGAIN, DUMBASS!!"
"NO! I NEED COMBAT TRAINING, NOT... WHATEVER THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE!!"
The two yelled back and forth at one another, Terra looking as though he was dunked into a water tank from how much sweat was on him. The other officers looked back and forth at whoever was speaking at the time, as if watching a tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth. Finally, Terra dropped his weights on the ground, cracking his neck.
"LOOK, I NEED TRAINING! NOT A WORKOUT! I DO THAT ALREADY, MAN!!"
Bubbles growled, pointing at him and snapping.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN MY TRAINING REGIMENT?! FINE, I'LL SHOW YOU THE EXTENT OF TRUE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE!!" he yelled out, then pointing at the officers. "EVERYONE! COMBAT PROTOCOL!! GET INTO POSITION, ON THE FUCKIN DOUBLE!!"
With that, every single officer immediately formed a line in front of Terra, standing tall like soldiers, and with their training weapons in hand. Terra looked at them surprised, stepping back slightly.
"W-What...?!" he simply stuttered out, trying to process what's happening.
"YOU WANTED TO TRAIN?! THEN ENJOY A BEAT DOWN FOR SOME RESPECT!!" Bubbles shouted with a vein prodding in his temple, waving his hand with a commanding yell. "MEN, WOMEN, AND EVERYONE WHO TRAINS UNDER THE NAME OF BUB RICHARDS... SHOW THIS DELINQUENT WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE DISCIPLINE!!"
The glares of the officers was particularly sinister, as if they've been waiting a long time to fight someone... Needless to say, Terra was intimidated, gulping slightly while raising his fists on instinct. Before he could get a word out, they all charged at him with bloodlust, making him let out a cry of fear.
"YAAAAAAA—!!!"
Terra evades the first wave of attacks just barely, ducking under a swing from a bat, jumping over someone going for a gut-stab with a pole, and spinning around a downward slash from a wooden sword. His movements surprised Bubbles, not expecting such finesse from the newest officer.
He jumped back away from the onslaught of violence-hungry Plague Doctors, panting slightly from the adrenaline pumping throughout his body.
"C-Can it at least be a one-on-one?! This is extreme!!" Terra asked desperately.
"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO TRAIN THROUGH COMBAT! NOW... PROVE YOURSELF, IF YOU'RE SO CONFIDENT!!"
Terra let out a sigh, sweat trickling down his forehead.
"I can't go a day without getting jumped anymore, huh...?"
With that last input from Terra, the officers suddenly charged at him again, with Terra now rushing in at them the same, letting out a savage war cry!
~ • ~
"Terra...? Terra? Hello?"
A voice echoed in my mind.
"Yoo-hoo! You alright down there?"
"M-mmhh... Huh...?"
When I opened my eyes, I was met with a familiar smile. A beautiful smile.
"There you are! Jeez, you're a heavy sleeper!"
"They kept chasing me... Needed to take a nap..."
"Well, you sure found a good spot! You missed class today!"
I shot up from the shade of the tree I slept under. Looking at my watch, I saw it. Twenty minutes after school.
"You know, you oughta learn how to fight someday!"
"Fight? But... I'm a pacifist."
"The world won't treat ya like one! Sometimes it's alright to fight back, if it's to save yourself or those you love. Right?"
She was right.
"But... They're so strong. I couldn't hope to beat them in a fight."
"I could teach ya!"
"T-Teach me? You sure? I thought your style was... secret."
"My dad won't mind! Besides..."
She placed her hand on my head, ruffling my hair slightly.
"One day, you'll need to learn to protect someone too, right?"
"Yeah... One day. Alright, show me what moves you got!"
Everything went white.
~ • ~
Terra later woke up on the floor, surrounded by the officers that he swore he was just fighting a moment ago. His head was panging with pain; it was worse than the hangover he had in the morning. The Plague Doctors stared down at him with cringing grimaces, and sucking in air through their teeth at the sight of him.
"Agghh... What the...? What happened?" Terra asked, weakly gasping in air as he looked around at everyone.
It's then that Bubbles walked forward, covering the light from the ceiling with his massive silhouette. All Terra could see was the bright hue of his eyes, staring down at him through the dark.
"YOU JUST GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT!!"
Those words echoed in Terra's head, as one of the officers stepped forward with a mirror, holding it up in front of his face.
He was beaten to hell and back. Bruises, welts, cuts, scrapes— everything. To top it off, his left eye was practically swollen shut. That sight made Terra wince, joining them in their cringing.
"Jeez... Y-You guys... did not hold back..." he barely managed to say between heavy gasps, slowly sitting up, surprising everyone. "Guess that means... I have to... get b-better..."
. . .
Meanwhile, somewhere dark and unidentifiable, awoke a beaten man. He had been chained tightly to a wooden chair, left alone to sit in the dimly lit room. The hard cement floor and dangling rope that held the light above him only further made his anxiety flow.
"Where am I... Where am I?! É melhor você me responder!!" the man cried out, tugging at the chains while coughing up blood. The thick flour bag over his head made it all the more hard to breathe, if the broken nose didn't make things worse.
Amidst the silence of the swirling light, came heavy footsteps approaching the beaten man, echoing within the captive's ears.
"You're only alive, cause I willed it." a deep masculine voice stated, coming from the where the footsteps were. "Your life is worth less than the trash in this city. Selling the Plague, and mercilessly killing those who took it. You, and the Plague Doctors."
The captive man shook in his chair, trying to break free desperately. He began to hyperventilate. Every action he attempted as the man approached him only made him get more and more nervous.
"I've been used by both, just to make ends meet. Something as simple as that. No more."
Each step got louder, until the scent of burning flesh filled the room. The captive began to scream, feeling the chains that covered his body beginning to burn with a white hot heat that seared into his body like a brand.
"You're alive, because you serve one purpose in this world. Selling the Plague is not it. So, allow me to give you a proposition you can't pass up."
The deep-voiced man grabbed the captive by the neck, forcing his head up, so that he could speak into his ear.
"You will no longer be a Rat. You will work for a new generation. One free of killers and monsters. How does that sound? Basilis...?"