Tales From Sirca 16: Last of the Pakk

Aries lay still in the bed, his short blade and Icarus's S7 rifle propped up next to him just in case he needed something he could touch. The cool metal more than likely wouldn't cause any inflammation. Miranda dug out her supplies, it wasn't often she ever got to treat burns this severe. It was even rarer that she had a patient so actively numb to pain, the tan chupa slid over a stool and table before taking a seat herself. The doctor took a moment to tie her mane out of her face and take a look at Aries, he looked spaced out as he always did whenever she gave him the painkillers. His eyes pointed toward the ceiling, darting back and forth as if chasing something she couldn't see.

"Alright, Aries," Miranda started with a sigh, no matter how much she told herself that she wasn't scared of him something in her body seemed to force her to be careful. Like she was afraid he might do something. "I'm gonna reapply medicine and wraps. You shouldn't feel any pain, but let me know if that changes- okay?"

Aries' eyes reflected no recollection of the doctor even speaking, just an empty stare at the ceiling.

"I'll take it as an 'Alright Doc.'"

So she began, slowly and carefully removing the old wraps, taking her time not to rip them off or damage his skin. As expected, Aries was virtually comatose. As she handled his hands the doctor could see jagged and animalistic his claws were, and how recovered his burned skin was. She'd made the comment before in passing but on a closer inspection, she could see that his burns had healed almost completely.

That was impossible.

Aries had sustained severe third-degree burns, and Miranda had thoroughly checked herself. She had other witnesses, although not as qualified.

"You musta been a favorite around the lab. With the way you're healing, I wouldn't be surprised if the hair grows back."

She let out an uncomfortable laugh as applied the burn cream before she finished wrapping his right arm, elbow to the beginning of his claw. She moved over to the left side, grabbing his hand. Curiosity got the better of her and she ran a digit along the bare skin expecting it to feel rough and blistered, she was met with completely smooth and healthy skin. Just like the other arm, she applied the medicine and wrapped his arm up to the claw. The doc began to move away but a vice-grip yanked her back over to the side of the bed. To her horror, Aries had grabbed her wrist and held it tight enough to make her gasp in sudden pain. She gritted her teeth and gently tried to pry his hand open, no dice. It felt like her arm was in a hydraulic press. The doctor swallowed hard and began to think, fast.

"Are," Aries rasped grabbing the attention of Miranda with more than just his hand, she looked up at his face but the raven-maned chupa was still staring at the ceiling, "Are you afraid... Doctor? Do you fear that you can't control me? Do you fear me?"

"W- What," Miranda croaked out. She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the pain, she threw a sideways glance over to her medicine cabinet. "I'm not afraid. I'm not trying to control you."

"Even if you could get to that cabinet, that sawed-off wouldn't kill me ... And you know it... Don't you, Miranda?"

She froze, ice in her veins. There was no possible way he knew there was a shotgun in there, unless he had looked in when she wasn't in the room.

"I'm not the only one like me... Just the last. Nobody else. Just last. Nobody. Just last."

His grip relaxed enough for Miranda to not feel like he was going to snap her arm like a twig, but now she had a mental dilemma.

Was he always able to do this? Are the painkillers actually doing anything? What is he rambling about?

"I only met one other like me. Andrius Pakk. What a confused soul... All he wanted was to live... We aren't meant to live like everyone else... We're a plague... Monsters... But someone has to make the enemy scared of the dark..."

Aries didn't sound sad, somehow Miranda felt Aries just wasn't capable of being sad. He was far too violent, quiet, cold, and calculating like a machine. It was like he was communicating disconnected thoughts that shared a similar theme.

Miranda had an idea, "Why don't you tell me about this Pakk guy?"

"A lot of memories are... static. I put Pakk out of his misery, and I don't-"

The doc thought about speaking but decided to let him keep talking, after all this could be him finally opening up.

"Lupus, muscular build, tall- 7'0. Fur red like fire. Turned black when the light hit just right. Red eyes. I just remember the fighting..." A digit tapped on Miranda's arm with each detail listed.

---

Aries stood over the dead blue soldiers huffing, not from exertion but sheer hatred. Rain jumped off the tips of his void black mane that flopped over his burning yellow eyes, it fell down to the makeshift sword in his hand washing the blood and running it off into the dirt. A hastily broken off, welded, and edge-sharpened scrap metal blade. The handle was an equally hastily cut thick piece of metal crossbar wrapped in electrical tape, the sticky side covered in a thick layer of sand. To any living onlooker, this slapdash mishmash of a metal sword would look unwieldy but Aries handled it with ease and it held together well. He had thinned it out to almost resemble a long curved blade, cut and pierced just as good as one too.

The midnight chupa bent down over his handiwork, he placed the handle of the blade in his mouth to free his hands. He went to work with the four bodies at his feet, turning over bodies, shoving away rifles, only stopping to rifle through the contents of one of their battle packs. His tail twitched erratically as he looked, only matched by his rapid eye movement. The black chupa tapped his straight jacket before pushing his dingy brown cloak back behind his shoulders as he hunkered down over the mutilated corpses. A pleased growl escaped his muzzle before he went for the soldier's canteen, forcing the top off and taking a whiff. He threw his head back, chugging the contents before tossing it off to the side. It should have hit the muddy ground with a soft thunk, but instead clanked against something metal and solid.

"Step, back- From the bodies. Ban-dit," An unnatural voice not so much called out but spoke just loud enough over the rain to catch Aries' attention. It was electronic. His head turned and he was met with a peculiar sight. A tall chupa in denim and cobalt blue armor stood a few meters away, fists balled up. A small hunting knife was strapped to his hip. A crimson tail stuck out the back of the armor and stayed steady behind him, swaying carefully in the windy downpour. "I do not wish to have- TO- hurt you- Were-wolf. I do not wish to hurt any-one."

Aries cautiously rose to a standing posture, nobody had ever spoken to him like that and even fewer ever knew he was a werewolf. There was only one logical conclusion in his mind, he took the handle out of his mouth and dropped the battle pack on the ground. "Why are you wearing that armor, emono? Ta algoissda."

The last bit of gibberish was almost whispered but the other chupa still heard it, as if he wasn't aware of how loudly or quietly he spoke.

"This-"

"-Is the property of Project Freelancer, and you must know they hate to share. Bu kikai. I know all about their sick fucking game. Maindo dusu - Why would they send one of their specialists after me? They think I'm dead. Unless you're a spy. You're a fucking spy."

Aries pressed a palm to his forehead, squeezing his eyes closed as a migraine wave hammered away at him. He gritted his teeth and snarled until it passed.

"I am not- with any organization. Not a- spy. Calm down, you are being irrational."

"Geojismaljaeng-i ... That armor configuration says otherwise. Qipian. Yes, I recognize it. You're right, no explanation is sufficient..."

Aries began muttering more to himself than to his observer who now held a defensive stance.

"It's just armor. Bandit."

"Tokei dangsin-ui shetou - What are you then? What's with the 'Bandit' talk?"

"That is- none of your business. Step away from the bodies."

"Far as I see it," Aries twirled the sword and got low to the ground, "It's now very much my business."

"It doesn't have to be like this, friend."

"Apparently it does."

"You are making this difficult- very dammed if I do, dammed if I do not. Are you a volunteer? From-"

The cloaked chupa didn't let the armored finish, rushing him with his bladed weapon and opening with a swing for the head. The armored chupa, much to Aries' shock, ducked under it and dove backward rolling to his feet. It was the sword-bearing chupa's turn to advance, this time with a more focused methodology. The sword was brought back for a wide horizontal slice and his opponent was ready or thought he was, Aries took a power step using the forward momentum and leaped in the air planting a double foot kick into the armored chupa's chest. He tumbled through the mud losing his helmet in his efforts to roll back to his feet, Aries landed like a feather and advanced immediately not wanting to even give a moment of space. His face and nearly stark white mane exposed he cocked his fist back and launched it at Aries' chest, the black chupa turned the sword flat and just barely managed to get a second hand on the bladed part to block. He skid back a good meter and caught himself swiping his sword up in a circular motion to strike down, his opponent matching his speed shot his foot out with a standing-high kick knocking the blade from his grip. The sword flipped through the air, but Aries didn't dare look back and the sword was forgotten as it wedged itself into the mud.

"Just die," Aries barked landing a clean shot to his stomach, then an uppercut that snapped the other chupa's head skyward.

The cloak-wearing chupa unloaded a flurry of punches on the momentarily exposed body, his opponent recovered and swiped for him. The smaller chupa dove through his legs, well, almost dove through. The other fighter hand a handful of his tail, Aries entrenched his limbs in the mud but his enemy was stronger. The ringtailed chupa was dragged backward and up into the air before being flung clear across the clearing, smashing into and through a small tree back first. Aries hit the mud in a heap.

The other chupa heaved, almost snarling until the weight of what he just did hit. He didn't mean to do that, he didn't want to do that. It was self-defense.

He froze, staring down at his claws. Aries was back on his feet now, when the armored chupa looked up a flying punch met his face. Then an uppercut, right cross, overhead left. He found his senses and began to throw his own combo. Left straight kick, but Aries easily blocked it. There was a new coldness in his eyes. The armored fighter swung a right hook but Aries slapped it wide left, slipping right and scoring a punch straight to the muzzle once more. The smell of blood hit Aries' senses, he was rewarded with the sight of it painting his knuckles and his pupils narrowed.

It was all he needed to see.

Aries charged forward once more, taking a punch in the face. He shrugged it off and began to back his enemy down with a seemingly endless combination of punches and kicks. Every time there might have been an opening to attack, Aries was there to close the avenue. The enemy seemed to be catching a feel for his attack pattern, blocking incoming hits now. He took a deep breath and shoved Aries back expecting him to fall or stumble back far enough for him to have some breathing room. Aries' first few steps were shaky and he took that as time for the last resort, his hand shot to his hip. But the holster was empty. His eyes shot up to catch a glimpse of the metal glinting in the rain as it darted through the air.

---

"...It was a perfect throw. Like it was practiced. Quick end to the fight. It hit him in the windpipe, crushed it... As it turns out, he wasn't trying to- or maybe he didn't want to hurt me. I'll never know. Found out he was not exactly like me." Aries hissed out a small breath, he had let go of Miranda's arm long ago but she still had it propped up as if he still held it in place. "He'd gotten his tongue cut out, he couldn't talk without the helmet. Maybe he was trying to tell me to stop- I'll never know. Records stated his pack had broke containment but most were accounted for and neutralized. Everything learned... came after he was dead."

"That..." Miranda tried to find words but couldn't, what could she say to this?

"What's to stop me from killing someone who I'm not intending to? There are, at best, three people in this entire base that could stop me. Then there's Icarus- If I..."

Aries sat up, hand pressed against his forehead and face shrouded in his mane's shadow.

"Just take a deep breath," Miranda held a hand out toward Aries but didn't dare touch him, the last thing she wanted was to get grabbed again. "I think Icarus knows you wouldn't do it on purpose."

Aries began to mumble quieter and quieter until he was silent once more laying flat, Miranda was perplexed. As much as she wanted to believe that Aries had dueled a tongueless werewolf as it seemed possible, she began to fall back into her logical mind. She had to remind herself that she was listening to the ramblings of an injured, drugged-up schizophrenic. Miranda mentally slapped herself for getting so invested before finishing bandaging his arm. More than likely it was just a figment of his painkiller-induced imagination.

Or maybe this was something someone could look into to confirm.

The doc shook her head, nobody needed to know this. True or not. She did, however, need to consider a stronger painkiller because her arm still hurt from his grip.

Red vs Blue © Rooster Teeth. Halo © 343 Industries. Concept by Myshu, assisted by The Department of Chupapology.