"No Life 'Til Leather"

"Whiplash"

That stench.

Why this disgusting reek had the audacity to waft around the air, no one knew. Not him, not the disgruntled powers above, not the marble pawns back at home, not even the red-headed girl from his memories. Not even the man to his left, as the two of them sat behind a pile of rubble and toppled ruins, awaiting an idea to strike his idiotic brain. The smell slowly permeated the entire perimeter, it bit their exposed skin and filled any ears willing to listen with the treacherous whisper of a corpse’s last will - the dead angels’ revenge, the devil’s demise. A little gray cat sat next to his “officer in charge”, dumbfounded and shocked to the very core. Blood was all he could see. Waterfalls of red cascaded from his hands, pouring out from his very own veins, yet foreign and unknown. Golden blood of angels soaked his bleak uniform thoroughly and through - even the mightiest of Mother Nature’s showers could not bathe him in as much dirt-water as this massacre did in the blood of his very own brethren. Smoke oozed from the gum-clad barrel of his gun; it cried for more. More ammunition shoved down its throat, more targets set before its eye-lense, more blood splattered all over its steel hide and more soul-candles to snuff out with each trigger pull and controlled ori-explosion. It did not care whether the creature in front was friendly or not. Ally or foe, they were all just meat for the endless grinder, fertilizer for Mother Earth’s beautiful garden that was Terra. The kitten would sit and ponder the situation for hours on end, if not for his eager lieutenant, the hetman of chaos and destruction who sat half bent over a corner, hungrily observing the battlefield and waiting for a moment to strike. A moment to join in on the fun and tear a few Laterans apart, maybe crack open a skull or two, anything before his very own existence dissipates into the spirit of war, present all around. Grabbing the boy’s arm, W pulled him from that pitiful, endless stream of worries. Andy immediately regained his sense of hearing, and his ears welcomed the orchestra of gunshots and screams with arms wide open. His own rifle would never betray those poor ear-canals of his in such a way. No, Vinny’s integral suppressor promised each victim a peaceful and quiet death.

“Lawboy, you there? Woo-hoo, Lawbooooy~?” The feral man whistled and warbled. The gray cat couldn’t react, couldn’t focus on anything but his own heritage being slowly yet surely ripped away from him with each passing second. W slapped him across the face.

“O-Ow?!” Andy wailed in protest. The burning sensation on his cheek required some thorough rubbing, so his right hand let go of the rifle and got right on it. “What the hell’s wr-...?”

“Those two lovebirds are probably far from here by now…” He murmured and pulled on the leather belt weighing across his chest. The grenades all tink’d and clanked like ornaments on a christmas tree. “ The rest, too. They’re not coming back, that’s for damn sure. Freeloading bunch, heh.”

Despite the fact that most, if not all, “colleagues” had left them to rot and ran towards the meek glimmer of safety, W didn’t seem too phased. He’s seen mercs, he’s lived with mercs, he’s been a merc for Law knows how long. Hell, he’d do the same. Having readjusted the belt to his liking, he turned back towards the boy and let out an excited breath.

“... - C’mon, you’re gonna cover me and I’ll draw their attention, yeah?” W revealed his grand plan, keeping a wide, toothy grin planted over that stupid mug of his. For the first time in forever, a hint of uncertainty and worry creeped somewhere in between his usual confidence and that unhinged eagerness. Now, though, his eyes clearly displayed something more. A sense of acknowledgment of the genuine danger they were in; maybe even a certain worry - not for himself, tough. Not his, but the boy’s safety.

“You wanna rush out onto the field?” Andy asked in disbelief. They barely made it out of the bunker with their heads intact. Taking a mindless jog through no man’s land seemed like a sure way to lose one’s thoughts forever.