Laughter and cheers filled the bar, as the Storm troopers celebrated their break. The bar was the size of a regular bar found down at Winter Weir. Storm 01 sat with the agent that invited him and some other of the troopers.
"Wow, I can't believe there's a bar this big on the ship," he ogled.
"Some of us snuck out of the training section and scouted the entire ship. Had to know what we living in," one of the agents stated.
The agent held his badge and pulled it forward. "They gave me Storm 05 even after I graduated first in the academy," he complained.
He looked down at Storm 01's badge and then raised his head to his eyes. "Storm 01 huh? We were certainly in the same training camp, I remember you. The annoying kid that couldn't stop talking and claims he got inspiration."
Storm 01's face remained neutral, but it was obvious he was forcing it. He picked up his lemon drink and took a sip of it. "What's your name?" He asked.
"I'm Percy Blue. And this is my side chick, Sox Code," the agent said, pointing at storm 03.
She frowned at him but he shot her a smile before turning back to Storm 01.
Storm 01 dropped his cup on the table. "Well Percy, I believe you weren't given this code because you don't have the Z cells in you…"
"Z cells my ass man," he chipped. "You were turned into a war machine."
"Please, you wish it were you, Percy."
Percy grinned. "Looks like you still got the spirit to talk shit in you man. I guess I didn't bash your face enough." He leaned back in his chair. "You left the training section when we were being shipped to the underground. What training did they have you do? Clean the toilets here in H.Q?"
Storm 01 clenched his fist and his jaw tightened. He was about to lunge at him, but Sox noticed the atmosphere getting intense and quickly jumped between them.
"Come on guys, calm down. We came here to relax," she started.
"You two have been at each other's neck since you were trainees. You can't keep going like this since you're about to be side by side in battle," one of the other agents said.
Percy puts his hands up. "Yeah well. We would have been on good terms if he wasn't so much of a jerk," he insulted. "We've thrown hands at each other a couple of times, yeah? How many have you won without your girlfriend coming to your rescue?"
He stopped and moved forward to mouth the word. "NONE."
He got what he wanted. Storm 01 knocked down the drinks on the table as he leaped over it to attack Percy. The other agents there held him. He struggled to unhand himself, but they didn't let go.
After a long struggle, he finally calmed down and returned to his seat, glaring at Storm 05 who was laughing mischievously.
"Come on, we can settle this without having to throw hands," an agent there said.
He picked up a bottle of tequila and waved it at them. "Drinks."
Percy turned to Storm 01. "I'm certainly in," he stated.
Sox held Percy's hand as he tried to collect the bottle. "Are you sure about this? We are supposed to be up early tomorrow," she explained.
Percy pulled his hand away. His grin turned even wider.
"I surely don't mind doing it, unless you want to chicken out."
Coco wasn't a fan of alcohol, and his father contributed big to his disliking it. He tried more than just a sip some years back when he first joined the D.H. and it wasn't a pleasant experience. He looked around and found all the other agents looking at him, waiting for his answer.
The two of them quarreled a lot in the past, and storm 01 has never won any without Jesselyn helping him out.
"So?" Percy asked.
"Let's do it."
"Yeah!" The crowd.
He had had enough. When he joined the D.H. he thought he was going to have the luxurious life he use to dream of. But it was no different. The treatment he got from the people at the D.H. during his training years was no different from when he was in Zoda. They also made fun of his name and his body.
But he had it in his mind to end it all. Three years of training as a candidate for the experiment. He believed all the endurance training would have made him stronger and he will be able to have some without losing it. He was determined to win a fight against Percy without any help.
"You don't have to do it," Sox noted.
"I have to," he muttered under his breath.
An agent dropped ten cups and pushed five to Storm 01. He then filled it with the drink they had earlier brought out. Without wasting any time, Percy began to gulp down all the glasses in front of him. The crowd cheered and began to yell out his name.
Storm 01 looked down at the glasses of tequila. He held the glass in his hand, staring at the liquid. As he gazed at it, all he got were memories of his training days.
…
He stood in the middle of the cafeteria in the training compartment with his tray in his hands. As he looked around, his chest began to pound. There were a lot of people there. They were all seated in groups around the different tables.
"Hey, watch where you are going," he said to another trainee that just bumped into him.
The guy stopped and veered around to look at the young Coco. "Are you talking to me?" he questioned.
"Y-you..." he tried to speak but couldn't make out the words.
Two other kids stood behind the guy. They were staring strongly at the young Coco which made him feel overwhelmed.
"Come on Percy. You're not going to fight with a noodle are you?" one of the kids there uttered.
They laughed and were about to leave, but the young Coco called them back.
"I'm not that slim..." the words trail off his lips. They all turned around to look at him.
Percy passed his tray to the kid by his right and inched closer. He had a twisted smile lingering on his lips.
"What did you say?" he challenged.
The young Coco's lips were quivering, and his hands were trembling. "I said... I am not..."
Before he could finish, Percy pummeled his face. It sent the young Coco crashing back into the counter behind him, with the tray pouring all over him.
Everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at them, but no one did a thing. They all just watched as Percy stomped on the young Coco's belly with his feet. Apart from the cooks, there were no guards or anyone above the status of recruit. The two kids behind Percy cracked up as they watched.
"Hey!"
Percy stopped and turned around to see Jesselyn approaching him. He furrowed as she began running.
Jesselyn launched herself at Percy. She knocked him down and continuously punched him in the face. The kids behind quickly called a trooper to stop the fight.
As Jesselyn hits Percy in the face, the young Coco dragged himself up to rest on the counter behind him. He watched in awe as she smashed Percy with her fist.
Gradually, his eyes began to shut.
...
Storm 01 opened his eyes and breathed heavily. He realized he wasn't in the bar where he was about to drink the tequila he had in front of him.
"Where am I?"
...