Pain Purity and Apocalypse

Chapter 6: Break the Rules and You Die

Sunday, May 6, 1993
(Location: RORO: Undisclosed)

The day is hot, and the ash cakes Trinity's white sneakers as she makes her way across the desert terrain, leading to RORO's underground base. A single, square, concrete slab presses into the dry soil.

"I'm happy you can walk again, Trinity, it makes keeping you safe much easier."
"Thanks, Sebastian, but unfortunately I'm less than comfortable or happy right now."
"That's understandable, the loss of your parents—" She stops him, not wanting to hear more pity.

"Yes, the loss of my parents is devastating, but... That's not what bothers me the most." She walks a few steps ahead of the General, and stares down at the slab. As Sebastian approaches, the entire surface is covered in white, glowing latin scripture. He raises his hands, and the entire structure lifts off the ground, sending billows of dust flying. Where the slab sat, a large, wood stairway descends into blackness.

"What bothers me the most is what Lucifer did to my dad. I can't even imagine how he convinced my mom to let him sign the rights to RORO, over to him. Thinking about it, he never even told her he couldn't." She kicks a rock hard, watching it roll across the dirt a few steps away.

"Trinity, there's nothing we can do about that right now, it's not the most important issue."
She snaps her head around, glaring with those emerald eyes gleaming.

"I know, you don't have to remind me about the current crisis, and I'm allowed to complain because I have a lot to complain about."
She marches down the steps, disappearing into the darkness below.

That girl is strong, I'll give her that. Though, she's not shedding as many tears as one might think she should, must be shock. She hasn't had time to let herself grieve.

Sebastian joins her down into the base, and vanishes as well. Little do they know, two intruders follow from behind.

***
    Lining the dark, cobblestone walls are the death scythes that belonged to RORO's former members. The more steps they descend, the taller the walls around them become, and the more death scythes line in rows. A bit of light creeps through the darkness through small cracks. For Sebastian, darkness is not much of a problem, his red eyes give him night vision. Not till Trinity and the General take the final step, does the light fully come into view. Two iron doors stand between them, and the entrance to RORO. Above the doors, a round, metallic red security camera comes to life.

"Ah, Trinity, welcome to RORO!... Oh, and my condolences for your parental units."

A jovial, robotic, male voice comes through the speaker on its side.

"Thanks, Rio, it's good to see you too." She waves up at the small bot.

"Wonderful!— unless of course, you're an imposter— I will have to kill you on the spot—"
Sebastian pulls a black-leather wallet out of the back pocket of his suit pants. In metallic red letters, the silver badge reads:
R.O.R.O 🌟 G🌟

This is the badge RORO's General carries. Other badges have the letter E, for elite, R, for recruit, C, for captain, L, for lieutenant, and so forth. Rio's camera blinks, scans the badge with a green light that moves vertical, then horizontal, and nods.

"Good, it's you, feel free to head inside now! And you as well, Trinity Augustine!"
The doors fly open, crashing against the wall. Pieces of stone crumble to the floor.

"Rio, I told you to get that bug fixed!"
A harsh female voice barks from within. Trinity and Sebastian walk through the doors, the left one falls off its hinges, just as they cross the threshold. Inside, the ceiling is much shorter than the walkway down. To the left, a hanging light illuminates a set of seven tables, each is filled with Demons and Reapers, in RORO military attire, playing cards. To the right are three hallways with doors upon doors down the stone walls. A red carpet rolls down the centre of each. Round lights line each section where a door doesn't stand.