"Sub-Commander, you're here. I didn't realize you had removed yourself from the battlefield to join us," Nile said without a quiver before saluting my brother and me.
"Oh shut up Nile, get over here, you bumbling idiot," with a loud laugh, Renton grabbed Nile in a headlock before roughly rubbing the teenager's head in a noogie.
"R…rennn…Renton stoppp," Nile pleaded with tears forming in his eyes, which made Renton laugh even harder, but understanding now wasn't the time to mess around, he released the very flustered Nile before the young man had a mental breakdown.
"Oh, so now I'm just Renton. What happened to Sub-Commander?" Snickering at Nile's expense, Renton flinched upon feeling my oppressive gaze as if saying, "Knock it off."
"Ok, ok, give the kid a break." Heaving a sigh, I couldn't help but think that things almost felt normal for a second, but we all jousted back into reality when our happy moment was disturbed by Kris waking up.
"Dean, what happened?" in a groggy voice, Kris sat up and looked from me to Nile and Renton before observing her surroundings and reclining on her bed.
"Hm, medical ward, Dean's in a bed, I'm in a bed, let me guess; he killed Balto for me, then Jimmy started tripping, so he killed him too," nodding her head and believing she had come to the most realistic conclusion, Kris spoke matter of factly but was interjected by Renton.
"CLOSE, but no, Jimbo is still alive; Balto ate one of those sick knives to the chest, and his condition is unconfirmed," Renton stated with a shrug of his shoulders and making a stabbing motion like using a knife, causing Kris to stare at me as if I were an imposter.
When she couldn't confirm if I were really me and not a fake, Kris turned her beautiful eyes back to Renton in confusion.
"Don't look at me, I honestly thought he would kill both those morons too, but nope, he beat them within an inch of life before healing you up. Hey, you aren't getting soft on us now, are you, Dean?" Renton let loose a loud laugh causing Kris to frown harder.
"Sigh, it seems Ren and I are of the same mind; it's too weird. Are we sure he isn't an imposter; the old Dean would have obliterated both of them and taken out half the bunker in the process." Kris gave me a worried look but soon dismissed her imposter theory as, with a single glance, she could see the worry and affection in my eyes, which was more than enough to confirm my identity.
Although I didn't know it at the time, apparently, and still to this day, I have a habit of looking at Kris as if she is the only person in the world. I don't remember exactly when she changed from a crush to the woman of my dreams…scratch that; I do, but that is a story for later.
"Uh…g..guys, we have a bigger issue here." Breaking up the small reunion between Renton, Kris, and me, Nile's nervous voice pulled our attention.
"Tt..the Council of Elders has stated that since Dean brutalized one of their Commanders and mortally wounded the other, he and Kris are sentenced to death." Nile nervously stated out loud.
I looked at all three of my advisors and just shrugged.
"To be honest, when isn't someone trying to kill us? Nile, I need you to negotiate a summons with the elders to see if we can't tell our sides of the story and bypass Jimmy and Balto." Dismissing the looming threat of execution, I began issuing tasks.
"Kris, I need you to get one of our healers to help out with Balto's condition, preferably Aldo, since he's quiet and will know better than to speak against us. Lastly," I turned my attention with a devilish grin on my non-bearded face.
"Heyyyyy, little brother… you wanna go tortu…I mean, scare some fools who are overstepping their bounds?" I said while trying to hold back a sadistic laugh. My words brought a massive, twisted smile to Renton's face, similar to mine.
His new beard transformed his once professional face into that of some crazed Viking, which I knew would work in our favor. Honestly, the new facial hair started to throw me off a bit each time I looked at him, but if it worked on me, it should work on anyone.
"Alright, then it's decided. Let's get to work. We still have an entire faction to change the opinion of and not a lot of time before we get executed…again."
"Uhh…am I the only one who thinks sending the Ragnarok Brothers into a room full of old people terrified of them because one of them nearly killed their two highest-ranking officials, and the second one has one of the highest kill counts in history, is a bad idea?" Staring at his feet and shaking his head in worry, Nile mumbled.
Thanks to being Gold Ranks, Renton, Kris, and I heard what he said, but an unspoken agreement had formed between us, and we just ignored him; after all, Nile was our residential pessimist.
With a smirk, I hopped out of bed, walked over to Kris, and gave her a good once-over to ensure she was correctly healed. Then, spinning on my heels, I walked past the still-mumbling Nile, approached the door, and left the medical ward.
Unlike me, who treated Nile like air, Renton was a bit rougher around the edges. As he walked passed Nile, he shoved him aside and said, "Outta my way, nerd," causing Nile to make a disgruntled noise and flail his arms around to stop himself from falling.
Luckily, Kris appeared before he could hit the ground and caught Nile so he didn't crumple. Renton was several times larger than the thin teenage Nile, and his Ability was more of the support type, so it wasn't like he even stood a chance from the beginning.
Heaving a sigh, Kris became a big sister in a flash and dusted Nile off before calming him down.
"You know how he is, Nile; Ren is a bit of a meathead, don't let it get you down; plus, with the brothers united, it should be those Old fogeys who are running, not us." With that said, she joined Renton and me at the door.
With our plan set in stone and my orders issued, It was just a matter of putting it into action. There were only two ways it could go, Pass or Fail, either we succeeded and convinced the Council we weren't in the wrong, and we got to walk away without a struggle, or we failed, and a battle ensued.
Glancing to my right and meeting my brother's eyes, I smirked and held up my arm at a right angle, with my hand balled into a fist.
"Heh," with a small laugh, he matched me, and we tapped knuckles.
"Rise and Shine; it's Ragna-Bro's time," we both said in unison, with a cheesy smile.
From the moment we got our new title, our old saying was retired, and we started using this new one. Sure, it was cringy, but oddly enough, it helped get our minds in the right place; the only downside was…
"Kyaaaa, they said it hehe. Dawww, isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever seen," every time she heard our saying, Kris would lose her shit and turn from the ice queen Viper lady into a stupid fangirl whose teasing knew no end.
"The Fairaday Brothers, Reunited at long last, with their beloved big sister KRIS THE VIPER! It almost brings a tear to my eye." Rushing up between us and throwing her arms over our shoulders, Kris jumped up and kissed both our cheeks for, as she claims, "sisterly encouragement."
"Shut up, Kris, you're ruining the moment," I responded with a slight blush of embarrassment.
Seeing my blushing cheeks, She just laughed at me, leaned forward, and had to stand on her tiptoes to plant another sloppy kiss on my cheek.
"Oh hush, you love me, and you know it," Kris said in a teasing yet flirty tone.
"Yeah, I do, so how about you warm my bed tonight?" I retorted, rising to the occasion and feeling bolder than usual.
"Oh, maybe I will then, so long as you nut inside my womb a few times to knock me up. I've been dying to have a little blond-haired, blue-eyed baby for years." Without skipping a beat, Kris instantly countered my bluff; her flirting increased to new levels causing me to give her a horrified look.
"VULGAR WOMAN, UNHAND ME AND MY OLDER BROTHER THIS INSTANT; I WON'T LET HIM FALL VICTIM TO YOUR SUCCUBUS CLUTCHES!" Slipping out of her grasp, Renton caught my arm and dragged me away from Kris, then stood protectively before me and shouted.
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