FicWad

*A/N: Sorry this chapter’s so late. This one and another I have written up may be the last for a couple weeks so.

I made this chapter extra long just for you guys! This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written. It’s full of suspense. Well to me it is. I tried to keep you, and the characters, on their toes.

Also, school starts the 6th for me....woo hoo.....

Apocalyto, who has been waiting ever so patiently, you’ll probably come in at the end of this chapter.

Oh yeah, we lost a tree in our backyard too Irene. It fell right across our creek.

I think I’ll name it Steve.

Then the stupid plumbers accidentally cut our well line trying to hook up public water to our house (which is complete B.S. They county FORCED us to switch). And apparently one of our upstairs toilets broke a pipe or something, so that flooded (there was nothing in it thank God). Now our kitchen ceiling is soaked and cracked from the water leaking down, and our hardwood kitchen floor is wet/potentially ruined.

So, anything else you’d like to throw at me?

Also, I am so screwed in so many ways right now. Writing and work is all I have to keep my sanity. I may have spontaneous outburst in the story, or just very long hiatus’s.

Me vs. the World by Halo Friendlies - story of my life right now.


Chapter Ten: It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish


Corpse and her team walked for a while until they were in front of the Battery City gates. They walked the walls surrounding the city until they came to the dump. Thankfully, that was only surrounded by a strong chain link fence.

Corpse examined the fence.

A couple yards away from the dump, Sunny was doubled over as her stomach divorced her food. Toxic ran over and held her hair back for her.

“What is that God awful stench?” Sunny asked as she wiped her mouth, “and how are you guys not puking your guts out?”

“We have strong stomachs?” said Corpse with a shrug.

“For such neat freaks it’s hard to believe the dump is this bad,” said Toxic in disbelief.

Elder nodded.

“What now?” Sunny asked once they reached the door.

“Now, we wait,” said Corpse, her eyes scanning the night.

And wait they did. They were sitting at that fence, bored out of their skulls, for about an hour or two.

“FINALLY!” Sunny all but screamed when they finally saw the approaching figures of Cyanide and Cigarette Kiss.

“What now?” Toxic asked.

“The hard part,” said Cigarette Kiss with a smile.

“Our contact, Apocalyto, came down here a couple days ago and made a hole in this fence for us to squeeze through,” said Cyanide.

“That’s stupid,” said Corpse, “She couldn’t just wait for us here and let us in?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” said Cyanide devilishly.

He walked the length of the fence until he found it.

“A-HA! Here it is!” he cried triumphantly.

“Good job Sherlock,” Corpse said, rolling her eyes.

“It looks like we’re going to have to throw our bags over,” said Toxic eyeing the fence. It was about twelve to fifteen feet high.

And so they did. One by one they tossed their bags over the fence, careful not to let them land on any trash.

“Ladies first,” said Cigarette Kiss, gesturing with his hands.

“My pleasure,” said Toxic. She kneeled on the ground. “This is gonna be a tight squeeze.”

You’re telling me! Elder Soul wrote.

“That’s why I brought these,” said Cyanide as he picked up some wire cutters that were previously on the ground next to him.

“Won’t they notice if half their fence is cut in half?” Sunny asked.

He looked at her skeptically, “Would you come down here if you didn’t have to?” He picked up the wire cutters and started cutting.

“That's kind of loud, don’t you think?” Corpse asked.

“Only a few more,” said Cyanide, wiping some sweat away.

Once he was done cutting, the team went through on their hands and knees one by one.

“Awww, these are my good jeans!” Sunny whined.

“Does it matter?” Cigarette Kiss asked, “We’re just going to change later.”

Sunny stuck her tongue out at him, and then disappeared through the fence.

Once they were on the other side they picked up their bags. Cyanide hurled the wire cutters as far away as he could. They weren't concerned about finger prints or any of that. They hoped that by the time BL/ind noticed they were in the city, it'd be too late.

“Now,” said Corpse, “To get out of this dump.”

Toxic gagged. Corpse lifter her bandanna over her mouth and nose, the others that were fortunate enough to have a bandanna or scarf followed suit. They hurried through the dump, they occasionally had a run in with a drac, but disposed of them easily. Off in the distance they could hear machine’s hard at work.

They stopped once they reached the main entrance.

"Damn it!" said Cyanide looking at the entrance, "toll booth...."

I'll handle it," said Sunny.

She walked up to the toll booth and burst through the door. She grabbed the dracs head slammed it down on the control panel, knocking it unconscious. She dusted off her hands, and then looked over her work approvingly. Sunny gave the team a thumbs up from the toll booth and pressed a button to open the gates. Once they were on the other side of the fence, they quietly shut it.

"What now?" Corpse asked looking at Cyanide expectantly, "After all, this is your plan."

He looked at her, "Right, now the next thing on our list is to get appropriate attire."

"We couldn't have just stolen the dracs clothes?" Cigarette Kiss asked pointedly.

Cyanide looked at him angrily, "No."

"Fine," Cigarette Kiss said defiantly, "Where do we get new clothes then?"

"Store."

They walked/ran through the city. They kept to back alleys and rooftops, avoiding street lights.

"How much farther?" Sunny finally whispered.

"Only about a block," said Cyanide.

They walked on.

Finally they came to a stop outside the department store. Cyanide got out his handy lock picker. They were in within minutes. Once inside, they disabled the alarm and security cameras, then went to find "civilian" clothing in their size.

"Ugh, these are so ugly!" Sunny exclaimed.

"Yeah," Corpse agreed, "Why can't I just keep these pants on?" she pouted, gesturing to her skinny jeans.

"Darling, in Battery City they're not a fashion statement, they're a death wish," Cyanide stated.

She grumpily pulled a uniform on.

Ten minutes later they were all dressed. They stuffed their previous outfits into their bags.

This is where they ran into a dilemma. Corpse, Cigarette Kiss, and Elder Soul were the only ones who still had their natural hair color. Corpse groaned. They had gotten so far for what? Something as petty as hair color to stop them. She looked around, struck with an idea. Suddenly she ran over to a display table.

"What are ya doing boss?" Sunny asked, following her.

"BL/ind work hats," she said, picking three up.

Cyanide eagerly took one, while Sunny and Toxic hesitated.

"Well come on!" said Corpse impatiently, shoving the hats at them.

They put their hair up in a tight bun, and then pulled a hat on. The girls took a moment to examine themselves in the mirror in the back while the boys waited impatiently by the door.

"God, I need a shower," Sunny said, disgusted.

The other girls agreed.

“My hair feels disgusting. I may just chop it all off!” Toxic exclaimed.

“NO!” Sunny protested, “I LOVE your hair!”

“Thanks,” Toxic said sheepishly as she examined her hair in the mirror.

"I haven't worn this uniform in a while!" Corpse exclaimed, fingering the material.

"Same," Toxic said.

"It's not a freaking beauty pageant! COME ON!" Cigarette Kiss was getting irritated.

The girls sighed then met up with the boys.

The killjoys once again enabled the cameras and alarm, then silently left the store, locking the door behind them. Once they were back on the streets Cyanide pulled out a Battery City map.

"I thought you'd have that thing memorized by now," Corpse said.

"Nope," he replied not even looking up, "Okay, we need to get to the center of the city without being seen."

"Good thing it's like, two in the morning..." Sunny said.

Cyanide put the map away and then they were off again.

They ran for four blocks straight, until Elder and Cigarette Kiss stopped for a break.

Cigarette Kiss was hunched over, his hands on his knees, "I...haven't run...that far...in...a while...” he wheezed.

Elder nodded in agreement.

"Must be all those cigarettes," Toxic said to Cig, mockingly.

He panted, and then gave her a thumbs up, nodding his head.

After a moment or two they started running again. This time they nearly got caught by a patrol squad. They sank back into the nearest wall, flattening themselves against it.

No one dared even breathe.

Thankfully, the dracs went right past them. When they were far enough away, everyone breathed again. The team sped off. They came to a small alleyway, barely wide enough to let one person squeeze through. They stared in disbelief.

"You're kidding me," Toxic said.

Cyanide checked the map.

"Nope, this is what Apocalyto marked," he said, “It’s either this or we go around the whole neighborhood.”

"Obviously this chick wants to kill us," Sunny said.

The team wearily eyed the alley again.

“Will you be able to fit?” Toxic asked Elder.

He eyed the alleyway. He turned sideways and experimentally shimmied in. He barely fit.

"Anyone claustrophobic?" Corpse asked.

She was met with silence.

"Good," she said curtly.

Corpse took her backpack off and held it at her side. The others followed suit.

She took a deep breath, sucked in, then walked sideways down the alley. It was excruciatingly slow, but she wasn’t getting stuck yet. Her back and chest were pressed tightly against the walls of the two buildings. She cursed. The back of her jacket was so getting scuffed up. She craned her neck to look back at her team and motioned for them to follow.

They came in one by one.

Sunny was after Corpse, followed by Toxic, then Cyanide, then Cigarette Kiss, with Elder bringing up the rear. The alleyway wasn’t long thankfully, about fifty feet maximum.

Elder looked up at the sky to take his mind off the uncomfortably tight fit. He could see the stars. Elder smiled at this. The stars were his favorite thing about the desert. There were no clouds to hide their beauty.

Ten painstaking minutes later, Corpse finally squeezed out of the alleyway. She drew her ray gun and crouched down next to a dumpster to cover the rest of her team as they came out.

When Sunny arrived seconds later, she took a deep breath and held her abdomen. “Never. Again,” she whispered. She sat down next to Corpse.

Minutes later Toxic waltzed out of the alleyway like it was nothing new. She was so skinny, the tight fit barely affected her.

They heard a commotion coming from the alley. All three girls peered in. Not ten feet from the entrance Cyanide and Cigarette Kiss were bickering.

“STOP PUSHING ME!” Cyanide snapped at Cigarette Kiss.

“You’re not going fast enough!” he whined in return.

“Well, that’s too damn bad!”

Elder was seen rolling his eyes further down.

“If you make me fall, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get back up,” Cyanide said.

“Good!” said Cigarette Kiss as he pushed him.

Cyanide wobbled, “Knock it off!”

“HEY!” Corpse said, as loud as she dared, down the alleyway towards them, “Shut up and get our asses over here!”

Cyanide shot Cigarette Kiss one more glare, and then hurried towards the exit. It took all of Cigarette Kiss’s willpower to not push him.

When Cyanide finally burst through the exit he spun around, waiting for Cigarette Kiss’s arrival. When he finally did appear, Cyanide punched him in the mouth.

“It’s a good thing…we’re friends,” said Cigarette Kiss as he spat out some blood on the ground and wiped his mouth.

“Jerk,” Cyanide said to him.

“Psssh, sticks and stones my friend. Sticks and stones.”

Cyanide humphed then pulled the map out once more, “Okay, the meeting place isn’t far from here. Just a few more blocks.”

“Anymore of those we gotta squeeze through?” asked Sunny as she jerked her thumb towards the alleyway.

“Doesn’t look like it. It’s just smooth sailing from here.”

At that moment, Elder pulled himself out of the alley with a groan.

This made me want to go on a diet. He wrote with a laugh.

“Oh pish posh,” Sunny said, “You’re fine just the way you are.”

The others agreed. They took a short break for water, and then were off again. A couple streets up, the team encountered more dracs. This time it was a group of around seven. They darted into another alley to avoid detection. Seeing there was nowhere to hide, they stood tall and drew their guns.

Cyanide looked at the sky and said a final prayer. That's when he noticed it. He cocked his head questioningly.

It was a fire escape.

He grabbed Corpse's arm and dragged her towards the ladder. She in return grabbed Toxic who motioned to Sunny and Elder. Cigarette Kiss turned around to speak, only to have Toxic clamp a hand over his mouth.

"Shhhhh. They'll hear you," she whispered, gesturing in the direction of the dracs.

Cigarette Kiss merely nodded.

One by one they silently climbed the fire escape. Cig brought up the rear; he anxiously cast glances at the entrance of the alley, ready to fire at will. Seeing they weren't being followed, he turned and headed up after the others.

Once they were all on the roof, they sat down. Corpse walked over to the edge and peered down. She walked the perimeter and checked for enemies down below.

"Careful!" Sunny called to her quietly.

Corpse merely nodded in response. Once she was sure it was safe, she walked back to the group.

What now? Elder wrote.

"I don't know," Cyanide said, "I told Apocalyto to expect us before morning."

"Which is rapidly approaching," Cigarette Kiss said dryly.

Toxic sighed, "We can't camp out up here all night."

"We can walk right into those dracs and alert all of Battery City to our arrival either," Corpse argued.

Cyanide looked around thoughtfully, "These buildings are awfully close to each other, aren't they?"

"Yes why?" Cigarette Kiss said confused, suddenly he understood, "Oh no. Oh no, no, no. You know I hate heights!"

Cyanide smirked devilishly.

"You wanna jump the rooftops?" Corpse asked incredulously, catching on to what he was implying.

Sunny was up in a flash, "YES!" she said enthusiastically.

"NO," Toxic said in return.

"What other option do we have?" Cyanide said, looking at each of them.

-Silence-

"It's settled then."

He checked the map one last time, the moonlight giving him just enough light to see, and walked in the direction they needed to go. Once he hit the edge of the roof, he looked across. The adjacent building was about fifteen feet away. Cyanide did a couple of little stretches to limber up, and then tossed his back pack over to the other roof.

“Good luck!” Sunny said.

He walked backwards about ten feet.

“Don’t die,” Corpse said.

He took a deep breath and said his prayers.

Toxic waved. Elder nodded at him.

“See you on the other side,” Cyanide said, looking at each of them in turn. He then ran full speed towards the side of the building and-

The key to not plummeting to your doom is to keep your speed. Don’t hesitate or pull back at the last minute.

-once he hit the ledge, he jumped. He stretched out his arms and reached for the ledge. It felt like an eternity.

The team held their breath and watched.

Finally, his outstretched fingertips found the edge of the roof.

He caught himself.

Cyanide looked down; he was dangling three stories in the air.

He quickly looked back up.

Taking a much needed breath, he heaved himself onto the roof. Once he got one leg over the side he hauled the rest of himself over.

“YAY!” Sunny silently cheered from the other rooftop.

Corpse looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Who’s next?” Cyanide softly called across to them. In the moonlight you could see the adrenaline was still pumping through his veins.

“I’ll go,” Corpse said. She tossed her bag over to Cyanide who easily caught it. She stepped back about ten feet took a deep breath. Even in the wake of death her face looked calm and serene. She ran full speed towards the ledge and jumped. She cleared the ledge of the adjacent roof and landed hard on the top of it.

“You okay?” Cyanide asked as he walked over to her, his voice full of concern.

“Yeah, just peachy,” she said as she sat up, dusting off her jacket.

Together they walked back to the ledge.

Sunny was up. She walked backwards until she found a distance she felt comfortable with. She then ran full speed towards the ledge, jumping off at the last minute. She landed on the very edge of the roof. Sunny tried to get up, but lost her balance and began to fall backwards.

She saw her life flash before her eyes.

Just then, two pairs of hands grabbed her and hauled her back onto the roof.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” she said to Cyanide and Corpse over and over again.

Once they made sure she was okay, they looked across. Toxic was already in midair coming straight for them. Cyanide and Corpse moved to the side to avoid her colliding into them. She landed on the roof with a grunt. She stood up and dusted her pants off.

The three of them looked across the rooftop. Cigarette Kiss looked back at them, his eyes full of cockiness. He cracked his neck, and then ran at the ledge, his trench coat billowing majestically behind him. He crossed the distance between the two roofs with ease.

“I give that a ten!” Sunny said.

He scoffed.

She stuck her tongue out in response.

They all looked over at Elder. He was looking nervous.

“COME ON ELDER, YOU CAN MAKE IT!” Sunny cried.

"You got this, Elder!" Cyanide shouted encouragingly.

“You can do it!” Corpse and Toxic said in unison.

“Yay,” Cigarette Kiss said “enthusiastically”.

Elder looked at them, a glint of fear was in his eyes. He took a breath, and then ran forwards. His hands grazed the ledge.

Then…..

he fell.

“NO!” The five of them shouted at once.

They looked over the ledge cautiously, fearful for what they may see.

Once they looked, the all sighed with relief. Elder was hanging onto a windowsill below them. Cyanide dashed over to his bag and pulled a length of rope out. He threw some down to Elder, the other four picking up the slack behind him. Elder grabbed on and let go of the windowsill. Cyanide braced his feet on the ledge, which was raised about a foot from the actual roof.

Behind him, the rest of the team pulled with all their might. Ten extremely strenuous minutes later, Elder was safe on the rooftop, and the rest of the team was sitting down in exhaustion.

“How many more of those do we have to jump again?” Corpse asked.

Cyanide laughed, “Many more.”

About thirty minutes of extreme roof jumping later, the team came to one roof that was too far away from the other.

“Damn.” Toxic said.

“I bet all this excitement made you forget about the cigarettes,” Cigarette Kiss taunted.

“Shut up,” she shot back.

“Hey guys, this roof has a fire escape, conveniently.” Corpse said, looking down the side.

“Thank God! Anymore roof jumping and I’d have died!” Sunny said.

They six of them descended the fire escape. Once on solid ground again, Cyanide pulled out the map. “The rendezvous point isn’t far from here.”

They walked out of the alley way and onto a deserted street. Cyanide hesitantly looked left, then right. The six of them stayed out of street lights and blended into the night.

~~~~

The rest of their walk to the rendezvous point went by smoothly. When they finally got to their destination, Cyanide pocketed the map and looked around. It was an abandoned basketball court.

“She was supposed to be here…..”

“She is,” a voice said from the darkness. The six of them whipped around. A figure emerged from the darkness; she seemed to have been leaning against the net. Once she was fully under a street light, they looked at her. The girl/woman in front of them was probably around the age of twenty. She was of average height with long, wavy brown hair. She had pale skin and piercing blue eyes.

“Nice to meet you, the name’s Apocalyto,” she said to the team. She then looked at Cyanide, “It’s so nice to see you again!” They briefly hugged. That created an air of tension-most of the tension radiating from Corpse.

Cyanide addressed the rest of them, “This is my contact.”

“I can see that,” Corpse said.

“Who are all of you?” Apocalyto asked.

“Chemical Corpse,” Corpse said, walking towards her to shake her hand.

“Toxic bite, Rusty Sunshine, Elder soul, and Cigarette Kiss,” she said pointing to each person in turn, “You can call us a nickname if you’d like though.”

“Pleasure to have you!” Apocalyto said.

“She offered to hide us in her safe house until we re-group and make our move,” Cyanide said.

“Yes, I try to help any killjoy I can.”

“Is it true you’re dating Kobra Kid?” Sunny asked excitedly.

“Sunny!” Toxic scolded.

Apocalyto laughed. She turned around, “Follow me.”

“Sooo...is that a yes?” Sunny asked, confused.

~~~~

Apocalyto led them down yet another alleyway. They arrived at a huge dumpster. The team looked at her, puzzled.

“It’s the entry to the hideout,” she said merrily.

“Oh….” Corpse said.

Apocalyto walked over to the side and pulled a panel out, revealing a tunnel. On further inspection, a ladder could be seen leading downwards.

“Whoa...” the six of them said. One by one they descended the ladder, Apocalyto’s flashlight was their only guide. Once they reached the bottom they came to a steel door with a pass code control panel next to it. Apocalyto punched in a long series of numbers and letters until finally, the door opened.

Once inside, the team looked around. The place was surprisingly neat and high tech under the circumstances. Apocalyto turned around and locked the door once more. Sunny died and went to technology heaven. All Apocalyto’s fancy computers had her turned on. Corpse was amazed at how big the room was. It had to be as big as a couple basements.

Apocalyto looked around the place lovingly, “Welcome to my humble abode!”

“This place is awesome!” said Cigarette Kiss as he flopped down on the couch.

“So,” said Apocalyto as she sat down in an armchair, “Since we’re going to be living together for a couple days, might as well get to know each other!”

The rest of the team sat down in a circle.

“STORY TIME!” Sunny said.

“Who wants to go first?” Toxic asked.

“Let’s go by age,” Corpse offered.

And so they did. One by one they told their stories.

Once it got to Elder, he relied on the rest of his team to tell his story for him, butting in occasionally if they left something out. Apocalyto was very sympathetic of Elder.

When it was Cigarette Kiss’s turn, he politely declined.

“A man of mystery I see,” Apocalyto said.

“Yes.”

“Fine, keep your secrets,” she replied.

“What about you?” Sunny asked.

“Me? Well, were do I start? I was ten when all this chaos started. I had parents and a brother. Once BL/ind took over my parents didn’t support it one bit. They took my brother and tried to escape the city. They piled all their belongings into the car and off we drove. We didn’t get that far though. The dracs were on our tail within minutes. My dad was a good driver. He weaved in and out of traffic and shook some dracs off our tail."

"We were so close to the entrance, so so close. Then a police car pulled out in front of us. We were going so fast though, we plowed right through it and into an oncoming car. We rolled-tumbled over the bridged and onto the highway below. My parents and my brother died. I don’t understand why I was spared,” Apocalyto was silently crying. Sunny offered her a tissue.

She politely took it and pulled a photograph out of her pocket. She held it up; it was of a young boy.

“That’s your brother I’m guessing,” Corpse said quietly.

Apocalyto nodded.

“What happened next?” Toxic asked intrigued.

Once she regained herself, she began talking again, “I was rushed to the BC hospital. Since I was only a kid, they decided to spare me. The day I was released I hijacked a car. My dad showed me how to hot wire one long ago. Did I mention he was an ex-convict? He had ten years in the slammer. Once he got out, he was a totally new person!”

“Wow,” the six of them said.

“I ran into the Zones. There I met Kobra Kid. He introduced me to his brother, who introduced me to the rest of the team. Back then they weren’t as famous as they are now. We slowly drifted apart over the years. They stop by occasionally though.”

“So, you aren’t dating him?” Sunny asked, "Just for clarification."

Apocalyto laughed again.

Cigarette Kiss was lazily looking around the room when he saw it…..

*A/N: Well….this was rather long…I have the next chapter already written. It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever written by far!

Oh yeah, if you actually read my authors notes put the codeword, Smurf, in a review.

-Alex