Utterly Mad

A lot had happened from this current point in time. A lot of plans Roxanne had had simply didn’t happen; but no one seemed to care or notice, not even the once that involved other people. She had engaged in many other things and helped some people but for some reason that all seemed like a blur. Didn’t really matter, however, as her memory was sharp as ever and whatever this fuzzy feeling was it had gone away now.

Roxanne wondered what Lucy and the gang were up to. Last she saw of them they were camped just outside the fa- walkerville, right. Looking around she notices this wasn’t the place of just a few friends roughing the cataclysm but a rising civilization. She missed the adventure but peace was nice too. Her thoughts wondered back to the previous subject, what about Neo-SoA?

They had probably gone back to the tower. It had surprisingly gone unnoticed by the big factions at play here despite its size and purpose. Guess that fact that most of it was underground helped. Melody had gone with them, Roxanne wondered if she got membership; wondered if she had learned to cope with her “curse”.

That thought brought her back to someone else, Victor; and that in turn the new thing he and Helen were working on. “Wonder how they are going along. I don’t do groups anymore but hey, more power to them.”, Roxanne told herself. Her mind wandered to that little memory curse Victor had and if he had gotten used to it or found a way to fight it back. She had helped get a lot of that back, he at least was able to recognize Helen and their child a while ago and he seemed happy. “Good for you edgelord, you deserve some peace… after all I made you go through. Need another sip!”

To no ones surprised Roxanne was wandering around with a bottle of premium spirit booze drinking straight from the bottle. This one was quite weak but was simple to make. The fact this thing could affect your soul to intoxicate even ghost and spirits would have been a hit if commercialized but Roxanne kept the formula to herself to enjoy; only a few select people new about it.

Yes the carefree spirit walked around drinking and saluting the many working people. Today was a good day all things considered. It was peaceful and quiet until a familiar noise was heard; the handheld two way radio she carried. Roxanne looked at it puzzled before shrugging and answering it. “Hello, Roxanne Eris Luna de Gray speaking!”

There was a slight moment of silence before a deep sigh could be heard. “Seriously? Do you realize how pretentious it is to combine the names of you two into one? What am I saying, you don’t care. Why do I even bother… Anyway, enough of that. This is Victor, need to talk to you ASAP.”

Something was off about all this; Victor didn’t speak like this. Not ever since the incident; no, not where he lost his memories but the one that defined the two of them before the cataclysm even began. Something deep inside Eris’ memories triggered a feeling of uneasiness as this tone and manner of speaking was awfully familiar in a way she didn’t expect to ever hear again.

“Helloooo, why the silence? Did this thing break again?”, Victor asked.

“N-no. Had ours checked a bit ago and it’s in working order. I can hear you clearly.”, Roxanne answered.

Another moment of silence and then he spoke again. “Is that you Eris? I know you are the one speaking now.”

“Yeah, its me… How are you Vic’?”

A small chuckle could be heard from Victor. “Haven’t heard that little pet name in quite a while. So you figured me out huh?”

“Yeah, you are speaking way too casual for my liking. You haven’t been like that ever since… you know… I am sure you can remember now can you?”This time there was a long pause between the two. Eris looked intently at the radio knowing Victor was doing the same.

“Listen, I need to talk to you ok? Come to the woods to that little clearing you like so much, alone… There’s a few things we need to discuss.”

Roxanne stayed silent for a couple moments more before asking her own question. “It’s time isn’t it? Time to have that talk we have been avoiding for over a decade and half… Are you sure?”

“Listen, we have been through a lot this few years. We can’t afford to live in denial for much longer; we have people who care about us now. It’s not like the old days, just you and me against the world. I couldn’t protect you but now I don’t need to. We need to end this Roxanne. We have to.”

The answer was immediate this time, she nodded as she did so. “I know. It’s just so sudden. I’ll be right there so sit tight.”

“Alright, I will… Oh, and Roxanne?”

“Yeah?”, Can you bring me some clothes please?

That caught her off guard. “What do you mean?”

“A little experiment tore my outfit… currently hiding in a bush… please hurry, this is uncomfortable.”

Roxanne gave a hardy laugh at that. Despite everything somethings never change. “I gotcha then. Wonder which dress will look the prettiest on you~”

“I swear to god Roxanne…”

“Which one?”

“All of them! Just shut up and come here!”

And that was how a week later, Catnip found herself drafted and on her way to the front lines as a member of Pricetown's regular militia along with half of Pinky's staff. She barely had time to grab a few choice items and say goodbye to her friends before being shuffled into a truck and taken to Camp Frontline where she and the others would be trained. It was while at this camp that Catnip first made the acquaintance of a foul tempered woman her own age by the name of Billy-Jean Dawson. Billy-Jean was the quartermaster by virtue of her expertise in the area of guns. Billy-Jean loved guns. Rifles, pistols, tanks, shotguns, cannons, rockets, bombs, grenades, and especially machine guns and assault rifles. Billy-Jean adored everything machine guns and assault rifles. Catnip would find out during her training that the girl even had body pillows bearing the blueprints of her favorite machine guns. Knowing this, one would think that the two of them would hit it off immediately. An inventor with a deep appreciation for the design of guns and an "ammosexual" woman in charge of maintaining the armory of the town they were both in service to.

No. Not even a little. Catnip liked her but outwardly Billy-Jean found Catnip to be annoying and destructive. An influence of alteration to her world of regularity. Catnip would make suggestions to how an implement could be improved or just work on it herself and Billy-Jean would raise the racks over it. Within a short time, the sound of the quartermaster screaming had become a regular occurrence around Camp Frontline. Building brand new guns from the pieces of others was also a big no no under the roof of Billy-Jeans armory. Her armory was a domain of order and equilibrium just as Catnips garage back home had been to her. Secretly, Billy-Jean thought highly of Catnip. The designs she brought to the quartermaster were excellent and when she was just cleaning and maintaining the implements under her care, Catnip was better than all of the others. The average private, Billy-Jean thought, couldn't be trusted to properly maintain a slam fire shotgun. Catnip though could not only maintain, but manufacture and replace parts with little more than hand tools. Catnip would enjoy it even.

"You can't just cut the barrel off a moist-nugget like that! Get out of my armory! OUT! YOU'VE ALREADY DONE IT!? NOOOO! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!!!" The possum faced woman shrieked, chasing Catnip out of the workshop and out onto the parade field. "It was perfect already! Why did you have to Obrez it!?"

"I need a shorter gun!" Catnip shouted back, risking punishment for insubordination again, "Come on, Obrez are cool! You said so yourself! I can't use a shield and that long nugget anyway!"

"Obrez are only cool when they're made that way in the first place! Not when you ruin a perfectly good rifle to do it!" Billy-Jean screamed indignantly back. The possum mutant was wringing her tail and stomping out to meet Catnip, a sure sign that trouble was coming. Catnip may have liked Billy-Jean and secretly Billy-Jean liked her, but that didn't mean that Billy-Jean wouldn't storm after Catnip and dive on her in a hissing spitting brawl if Catnip displeased her too much and Catnip, who grew up with siblings who expressed their love by getting into brawls, would oblige by fighting back.

"Quartermaster! Private! Just what the flying frying fuck do you two think you're doing!?" Barked a man armor moving to intervene. "You've both been told! Watch your fucking attitude Quartermaster, and cut the antagonistic shit Private!"

Billy-Jean stiffened to attention while Catnip simply glanced around and hunched down sharply to find the source of the sudden verbal assault. "She wasn't being antagonizing, sir, just um..." Billy-Jean began sheepishly.

"What attitude?" Catnip said with a hint of a hiss as she eased up. The face of man who had approached was hidden by a helmet much like those of the warwalkers Catnip had seen back home during the raid on the refugee center and it had taken a detailed explanation for her to understand that the suit was simply that, a suit. Through that Helmet though, it was impossible to see what the man beneath was thinking. His facial expressions completely hidden. If Catnip had known it she would have been a bit perplexed by the knowing grin on the man's face at that moment.

"Nevermind. I have orders for Private Walker and it just so happens she'll be needing a shorter gun anyway. Seems she's saved you the trouble, eh Billy?" The man said authoritatively. Billy-Jean gave some grunt of dissatisfied relent and he went on. "Walker, report to the Shattered Helm Barracks, you're off the regs."

no NO AAA--

firing bean lasers, NOW.

don't mind me, cleaning the cobwebs