Arrogance

The rest of our day was full of laughter, rough games, and both sub-branches meeting each other for our first time.

Me and the rest of Oceanic Behemoth's staff sat inside the main room within the stronghold. From first appearance, I could tell who was who.

Vital was the Defender, Remedy the Edwards, and Blackout the Warmonger. But despite my efforts to digest my new team, many of my questions still lingered.

While Remedy went on about how great he was, my attention shifted from him to the rest of my new team. Blackout sat straight in his chair, both arms to his side and eyes looked straight up.

Even while sitting, Blackout was still very strict in his posture.

Before I could look around again, Remedy brought up my old team.

"Enough about me," Remedy leaned forward, "what was your former team like?"

I tilted my head towards Remedy, "All of you remind me of Valley Shakers. All we need is just another me to get the complete package."

"Pardon me," Vital interrupted, "we had someone like you. During a recent conflict, they put down their life to hold a point of interest under our command. Unfortunately, we lost her and the point."

"... Seraph... she always believed she had a sibling still alive. A little while before the conflict, she heard about you. And believed you were her sibling. Excuse my heavy language... but... fuck these Forgers..." Remedy's voice tightened up.

Whoever Seraph was, she thought I was her sibling. But her description didn't fit me. I have blue eyes; she had green.

"I'm sorry for this team's loss. On a lighter note, Vital. You remind me a lot of Defender."

They noticed my desire to change the topic. Despite our efforts to move on, Remedy sat quietly with a fist over his mouth.

Vital looked down at herself, "Who is Defender? And why do I remind you of her?"

Her questions caught Remedy's attention, "Hah. Sucks to be someone who doesn't know other DRT staff's names."

"Oh please, I am far too busy nursing my clients back to a complete recovery for your fan-girling over other teams." Vital imedietly fired back.

Both Vital and Remedy began bickering back and forth, trying to explain why they believed each other's work is simple.

I noticed Blackout's tranquil stare. One eye looked down at us. The other looked at something else. Something just out of sight.

Their arguing kept getting louder, they began offending one another and even mocked each other's position.

Remedy began winding a knife and paced the room, figuring what it should penetrate. Until we locked eyes and his smug smile turned sinister.

"You appear to be thrilled of my presence, Remedy?" I questioned his smile.

"I'm so thrilled that I forgot to introduce myself properly. I'm James Culteo. Better known as Remedy, those Forgers claim to be a plague. But it appears like I'm the cure."

Remedy grinned and lowered his wife back into its case. Now up close, I realized how many knives he has stored.

Two rows, stretching from his shoulder down to his hip. It reminded me of a shark's jaw. Even the lined cases seemed to smile at me.

He looks like a good guy. But his eery smile and lazy gaze creeped me out. I turned to look away, then the door of the room swung open.

Specter marched inside. In an arm, he held a map and resources to plot out attacks and strategies.

They gently unfolded the map and carefully placed down four pencils beside it. Specter presented me a map of the region, it was marked and well drawn.

Forger bases and points of interests marked most of the map. Then a large, well drawn out stronghold caught my eye.

"Is this... the Forger's foothold on the region?" I smirked.

"That is correct. Around these parts we don't need scouts to go looking for us, Raider. Your Valley Shaker methods won't help you survive the scorching heat or the power of these Forgers." Specter mimicked a threatening voice.

I laughed and picked up a pencil, "They've held onto you long enough. First, what is my purpose here?"

Specter gently picked up my axe and admired it for a second, before speaking, "You've proven your prowess in battle. We lack a siege leader. And for that we called you, Raider."

"I'm grateful to be here. Before we get into my idea. What is your plan on taking down this stronghold?"

"They have five leaders protecting the stronghold at all times. We plan on taking each out, one at a time. We first want to take down their Watch-men to weaken their response time. Then cripple their health by taking out Miracle. Before we take them down, we pay Controller a visit and regulate their organization."

Specter's voice started to glitch out. When it gave out, the human speaking from inside talked longer before they stopped. During that minimal time frame, I noticed how rough Specter's voice was.

I pondered about their plan. Good ideas all around, but the problem was I wanted to return to Valley Shakers soon. Waiting for an opportunity to strike down a leader sounds like it would take too long.

Especially for someone who wants to return to their 'family.'

"Very solid ideas. But I believe we can handle all five leaders at once." I nearly laughed at how concerned Oceanic Behemoths were about them.

There's no way five leaders pinned with their backs against a wall can defend against DRT staff and soldiers.

Blackout slowly stood up and aimed his stare directly at me. It was uncomfortable getting eye'd down by someone who hasn't said a word since I got here.

Vital quickly stood up and tried to sit Blackout back down. She had a sense of nervousness and fear while trying to calm Blackout. Her arms were shaking and breathing got faster.

"Blackout, you haven't said a thing. I want to hear from you, from anyone, what do we think about my plan?" I couldn't help but laugh at Blackout's dead stare.

Remedy raised his hand and called out, "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. But we'll give it a try, I guess."

Vital began yelling at Specter, "What the hell is he thinking? It's a suicide mission. Specter, tell him!"

Specter stood still, like a tree. Their mask aimed down at the axe and their fingers ran over the engraved "Feral."

"I'm afraid the Raider is in charge of sieges. We can do nothing more than convince him otherwise."

Specter lowered my axe. Both of their hands reached an end of the map and they began rolling it back up again.

Remedy threw his knife at the open door and jumped up to go fetch it. Blackout crossed his arms and kept staring at me. Meanwhile, Vital quickly followed Remedy.

"Have a good day, all of you." Specter announced.

Then, they left me alone in a room with Blackout.