Living Weapons: Eclipse (Rewrite!) [Book Three of the IGU]

Chapter Two: Survivors

Large stacks of books were scattered around in a small dark room. An elongated light on the ceiling flickered several times until it decided to remain on as the sound of banging on a metal door was heard.

"Hey!" Arkham's voice was barely audible from the other side. "Zero, time to get up! It's morning already!"

With the light shining down on the room with books scattered everywhere to the point that the bed could not be seen, Zero stretched his arms out and slowly sat up, causing some of the books to slide off and join the rest of the muddle. The white-haired boy rubbed his eyes and hopped off his bed. Still half-asleep, he accidentally tripped on one of the stacks and fell with a loud thud.

Outside of the room, Arkham took a deep sigh, "Why's he always like this after a mission?" He glanced to the side and saw a young woman dressed in a striped white blouse and black jeans, glaring at him while her arms were crossed. "Mornin' beautiful." His attempt at flirting was met with a look of disgust. "W-wait, Gabby, I know what you're going to—"

In a single, swift motion, Gabriella kneed Arkham in the crotch. He fell to the floor and let out a high-pitched "why?" as he could barely keep his gaze on her.

"Even though we're almost the same age" —she brushed her long, black hair to the side and glared down at him with her piercing, violet eyes— "I already warned you the first couple times, yet you always continue this behavior." She walked away and down the long, arched corridor.

Even when he was knocked down, Arkham couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Two others walked by and stopped near him. One was an older man in his late twenties and a seemingly little girl staring down at him.

"If he's dead, we can finally get rid of him, right?" The young girl had a mischevious grin as she glanced between Arkham and the older man. She pushed up her glasses and pulled back the sleeves of her gray sweater, poking at Arkham to check if he's still breathing. "Damn."

"Hey, Arkham." The older man helped him to his feet. "Let me guess..."

"It was Gabriella," the guys said in unison.

Arkham leaned back against the concrete wall. "Thanks, Ven" —he glared at the little girl— "and you can go to hell, QT."

Ven crossed his arms and sighed. The stubble of facial hair showed his age more so than the others and he wore a gray and green windbreaker accompanied with baggy blue pants. "You're still aiming for her? By now any man would've given up after the amount of abuse you went through."

QT shrugged and pocketed her hands, "Maybe he took some brain damage or he's just a masochist," she suggested, causing Arkham to give her an irritated look. "Relax, 'tis but a flesh wound," she said with a smug.

"You're so goddamn lucky you look like a kid," Arkham looked away.

The reinforced metal door to Zero's room opened and the mess behind him could be seen for a second as he stepped out as it closed behind him. He glanced between the duo and his partner. "I'm assuming—"

"You don't need to." Arkham stepped forward as his legs trembled. "You already know."

Ven lent his shoulder to Arkham, "You'll recover by the time we get to training grounds."

"Thanks," he said with a cheeky grin. "So, gonna keep cheering me on, huh?"

"No," Ven answered with a stoic expression. "I just pity you... a lot."

Arkham looked at him with a puzzled look as QT struggled to stifle her laughter. Zero, on the other hand, was indifferent to the entire ordeal.

***