The Renegade

Chapter 19: The Blood of the Covenant

    Mike blinked. Did he hear that correctly? It was one thing to do it to them, it was another thing entirely to do it to the whole country.
    "Yeah. They said something about a cure?" Ulysses sighs heavily.
    "Yeah. Little shits probably have something up their sleeves."
    "No doubt," Kylee says with a shaky breath. She stands up confidently, looking at hee teammates. "For right now, the best thing to do is to get used to your new powers and... features."
    "So we train?" Jenna asks skeptically.
    "Yes."
    "That's a splendid idea," Ulysses cuts in. "If you all don't mind, I will be joining you."
    Kylee nods, answering for all of them. They head down the hall again towards the training room. Mike seems to pause, recalling how Belle once said something about the faint smell of pumpkin in the metallic halls. He supposed since he was so used to it, he hadn't really noticed. He chuckles, realizing how fast time flies. In the midst of this, he doesn't hear a concerned friend call out his name until their hand lands on his shoulder.
    "-ike. Mike."
    He looks up and sees Nikki's concerned face. He pauses before he answers, to which he says "Yeah?"
    "You okay?"
    He nods.
    Her eyebrows knit together, worried. She searched his face for any tell-tale sign of lying. Though she knew for certain that he was. She knew him too well.
    After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he shrugs off her hand and they both walk into the training room. "Well. Uh. Mia, Belle. Us three will have to learn how to fly with our wings I guess? So try that maybe. For right now, no one else do anything. And be alert. In case something is to go wrong." A bead of sweat seemingly drips down her forehead and onto Kylee's neck as she spoke and she pulled Belle and Mia aside. Kylee didn't know the first thing about flying, hoping one of the two could indulge her. Mike and Nikki sat in the corner while the others stood against the wall.
    Suddenly, the doors burst open.

    The sight before his eyes was most certainly pitiful. Kylee was hovering in the air, tethered down with nothing besides Belle and Mia. Thanks to his near solitary confinement, Jeff had no idea why everyone looked so different. Why Belle, Mia, and Kylee had wings (of different veriaties, therefore). And why Ulysses and Schiffs both had scales (again, of different veriaties). Et cetera. Being that Jeff hadn't looked in a mirror for a long while, he himself hadn't noticed the new features sprouted on his skin. He did, however, notice the others that were sitting or standing along the wall, looking on with concern. But as soon as he bursts through the door, almost everyone looks to him. Nikki and Mike run up to him.
    Jeff accepts Nikki's embrace, nearly falling backwards. He feels Nikki freeze, and she slowly pulls away. Mike turns to Nikki with a look of curiosity in his eyes.
    Nikki just chuckled. "How the hell?"
    Both Jeff and Mike raise an eyebrow and Nikki continues. "How the hell did they turn your whole back into a block of plastic?"

    After getting his skin (literally) ripped from his back, Jeff had been taken to the infirmary. Where they could do nothing more but replace the loss with a flexible plastic of some kind. It was supposed to be more supportive and protective then regular flesh, which made it much more horrifying. But that's besides the point. Jeff was back, and he was fine.
    After a while, Kylee had made her descent to the ground where she walked over to greet Jeff.
    She paused to examine his complexion. He didn't seem too different, besides the sickly grey hue of his skin. She raised an eye brow at him, and he just shrugs. "What?"
    Kylee shakes her head. "For right now, nothing. Just... go sit over there, until further notice." Nikki grasps Jeff's arm and pulls him along with her and Mike along the wall.
    "So what's up?" Nikki asks Jeff lightly, "We haven't seen you for a while."
    "Not much. All I ever really did in that room was watch old t.v. shows from before the war and news casts." He shrugs, his eyes darting away, having a look of longing in them.
     At that very moment, both Nikki and Mike had realized that the last time he was with them was before all of hell broke loose. Before Riley died, before Belle ran away. Before more death. And now this. They couldn't imagine what was going through his head, at the moment. Mike gave him a soft smile and placed his hand on his shoulder. Jeff's eyes snap expectantly to Mike, awaiting for him to say something. Mike catches on and clears his throat.
    "If you need to talk. About anything... Nikki and I are here."
    Jeff nods and leans his head back against the wall. "Thanks."
    And they sat there. In content in the calm silence, besides the wails coming from the three winged girls at the center of the room.

    Once Kylee had gotten used to flying (and properly landing on both of her feet), she then helped Mia, then Belle. It took trial, and error (and about an hour), but they got it done. All three girls faces were flushed and sweat dripped down their faces and soaked their clothes. And then they were all in a pile in the middle of the floor, cackling. What an odd sight.
    Kylee composes herself -as much as she can- and stands up. Stiffling her laughter, she announces, "Alright. We have to get on with this."

    Mike had seemingly blacked out. Thinking about his comrades. His friends on the other side. He loved his friends, his family. The fact that they weren't connected by blood didn't phase him at all. He didn't shy away from calling them his family. Just as they did, in turn. Though he knew the saying. "Blood is thicker than water." He still didnt care. Being that they fight side-by-side for months on end, it's understandable how close they were. Though he was closer to some than he was to others. Mike thought back. Back before the chair. Back before when the flesh on Jeff's back was actually there. Back when Belle didn't have wings, when Nikki didn't have pointed ears. Back when Riley was alive. Mike stiffened at the thought of her.
    The whole day Riley died had been weird. More appropriately, Riley had been weird. He honest-to-goodness couldn't recall what they were even fighting about that day. Something stupid. Something that could have been easily avoided. He didn't want to shout at Riley, but he felt like it was a defense maneuver, of sorts. He just remembers going off to the side with her, and things escalating quickly after that. He had no idea what he did to incite such actions. And he, of course, blamed himself. Belle would go on to scold him multiple times about this, as she had before. He wouldn't listen, normally. And would continue on saying such nosenses about himself. Only this one time - before Belle had ran away, and before Riley died, and before the Reapers scythe had brought down it's wrath upon their lives- Belle had seemed to gotten through to him. He stared at her, dumbfounded.
    "You can't help someone, like you want to so desperately, if you cant even help yourself."
    Mike contemplated what she said since. He's been trying so hard. Virtually, they all have. But Mike had a feeling he was pushing himself too much. To which he didn't care, of course. Mike seemed to be one of the people to put other people's needs above his own. He'd be the one to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Well, him and Jeff, that is. And they all knew it.

    "Mike?"
    Mike blinked and looked up to Riley.
    "R-Riley...?"
    "It's okay Mike, I'm here now."
    Riley threw her arms around Mike's neck and he froze. Riley drew away and wiped tears dripping down his cheek. "Please don't cry."
    "Riley... I-I thought you were dead?"
    Her face scrunched. "Mike, Riley is dead."