A Snapshot of
THE X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES by Paul Terry
Cryptids, Biological Anomalies, and Parapsychic Phenomena [4/50]
⤷ [REDACTED] - The Litchfield Project
Tera walks into the barracks like she walks into her home. It this point, it was her second home, a refuge from having to think with her brain and instead thinking with her body- something she was much better at.
The older gaurds nod at her with respect, some smiling, a few waving as she walks to her designated locker, throws her bag in and haphazardly folds her flannel inside, leaving her only in the back tank top she wore underneath and the fur-lined combat boots she always wore.
The barracks was one of the oldest buildings in Sanctuary, though the roof had been replaced twice and walls countless times due to the amount of incidents that involved someone getting thrown through it. The entrance, taking up the first quarter, was lockers to safely keep a gaurds, or in Tera's case, a gaurd in trainings, personal belongings.
The floor was treated, sanded, yet worn wood, the walls a similar material, though lighter and newer, and marked with blade scrapes and posters and dents.
In the middle of the main room was a small arena used for spars, a stone pit carved into the floor with a few wooden bleachers for others to watch, the stone was stained with black marks from oil that had been spilled anywhere from just now to 10 years ago.
The back of the room was a gym, it was open for everyone as like a public exercise room, but usually it was just used by the gaurds to hone reaction time and endurance.
The doors on the left side of the building led to the bunks, where recruits who didn't have thier own personal housing slept, some used it to get away from annoying family, others were just comfortable there. The doors to the right led to the showers, an essential for any extensive gym activity, even in drones. Sweat wasn't a problem for worker drones but dirt and grime and oil getting lodged in joints absolutely were.
Tera sighed and rolled her shoulders, which creaked and groaned like a stuck gear before popping with a hydrolic hiss, and made her way over to a punching bag for a warm up.
She stood in front of it, taking a deep breath and wiping the mental strain of school away, before putting her fists up and getting into stance; her weight on the tips of her feet and ready to dodge.
Another deep breath.
Her fist connects with the punching bag, hard. Sending it flying backwards before it came towards her again, she leaps to the side and hits it again, somehow harder, the metal pole the bag is hanging from vibrates from the force.
A growl forces it's way through her lips as her efforts to wipe away her memories of earlier today creep into her mind again. The screaming, the light, the sweet, sweet smell of warm oil-
Crack!
She hit the bag too hard and it snapped off the pole, sending it into the wall and exploding, sending dried beans absolutely everywhere, and she yelped, startling herself for a moment before sighing and looking up at the ceiling.
“I think maybe you have outpaced our equipment, Chica.” Comes from behind her, which startles her more and she jumps before whirling around.
In front of her is a drone with black hair, tall for a worker drone, and vibrant purple eyelights, he wears a black windbreaker over a brown shirt, silver dog tags, and green cargo pants.
Her face softens. “Hey Nico, sorry about the… uhm…” She gestures weakly at the destroyed bag.
He just laughs. “We have more! Besides… if it breaks like that… it's a good time to replace it anyway.”
If anything, he just seems more concerned over her. “Did you break a finger joint? It looked like you aimed to take revenge on it.”
She rubs the back of her head. “Nah, nah, I'm alright, just got too into it.” She half-smiles, the most she can do at the moment. “I can help clean up though.”
“Yes. Before someone-” As he's speaking, a gaurd runs by too fast and slips on an errant bean, the result is comical, sending them up in the air and then tumbling back on their rump.
Nico and Tera both look at each other, Tera covers her face to try to stop the laugh that wants to tear out, Nico just snorts and then dissolves into laughter, moving over to help the poor drone up. “Are you okay my friend? Ahahah…”
After they are helped up, they brush themselves off and give Tera a look, which she crosses her arms at and growls. Their eyelights hollow and they scamper off.
“I am not sure growling is polite…”
“Neither is staring.”
Nico sighs. “I guess I cannot argue…”
The Barracks door opens, the mood shifts from relaxed to tense in an instant. Nico and Tera look up from their mess.
V walks in with a claw on her hip, gazing out onto the army she'd trained and helped arm over 15 years.
“I don’t hear any training going on in here! Get to it! Unless you wanna die on the wall like the last group!” She barks, and after a flurry of messy salutes, the gaurds in the barracks begin to gather around the small arena to spar or the dummies to practice.
Tera and Nico glance at each other as V begins to walk towards them, Nico quickly grabbing a broom from the wall and sweeping up the beans. Throwing a broom in her hand and having her bend down to at least act like she's helping.
“Lets not let the Commander catch us having a chin wag…” Nico comments under his breath, and Tera nods, and begins sweep her mess into the pile.
“Doorman.” V says formally from behind her. “What are you doing?”
“Aun- Ahem, Just cleaning up my own mess boss! Busted a punching bag…” Tera gave a clumsy salute with a dorky grin.
V crosses her arms and looks over the mess. “After you're done, meet me in the courtyard, we're sparing.”
“Aye, Commander.” Tera says, the phrase being drilled into her just like any other gaurd.
Nico sighs in relief. “No wall duty today… I can finish. Then I come watch you kick her butt?” He grins, giving her a wink.
“I doubt it…” Tera grumbles, remembering the last time they spared… her butt was sore when it was all done.
“Not with that attitude!” Nico hypes her up. She appreciates it, really. But reality was going to come knocking in the form of a caution tape wrapped peg leg.
She makes her way through a back door, and out into a fenced in courtyard, the ground coverage only short- well maintained grass.
She looked up at the thick canopy protecting them, the filtered sunlight floating harmlessly down around her.
She then looked at V, picking her teeth with a claw. Until she caught Tera's gaze.
“Ready?”
Tera took a deep breath and rolled he shoulders, ignoring the sound of tearing flesh as she did, and focused on her hands.
Nanites swarmed over her hands, covering them in a thick grey slime before a sword erupts out of it, the nanites settling around her wrist and palm, where there's a glowing yellow eyeball in the center.
It blinks, Tera tries to ignore how fucking weird it feels. She's just glad she can't see out of it.
Her other hand does the same, she crouches.
V pulls put her swords much less creepily, just replacing her hands from the cavity around her wrists, Tera kinda wishes her's wasn't so gross…
“Ready.” She replies. And V sprints forward.
She's so fast to an outsider…she'd be a blur, Tera reacts quickly, her wings unfurling and launching herself in the air.
V swings at nothing, but quickly changes trajectory to meet Tera in the air, she dodges again, though only barley, she hears the wind off the blades directly next to her face.
Tera chases, meeting V blade to blade as she whips around, sparks flying between the metal. Tera grits her teeth, using most of her strength to try and push V off, but it does nothing… it's like the Dissasembly Drone weighs over a ton.
The blades groan. V looks disappointed. “Going to knock you on your ass again.”
Tera growls. “Fuck you…”
V just grins. “What's the matter? Tired of getting thrown to the ground?”
She begins to struggle. V putting all her weight on the swords to try and push her down. Tera feels the heat build in her core, like melting slag.
She snarls as she kicks V as hare as she can in the gut. Which to both their surprise, shoves her hard into the fence.
“There we go!” V grins, but Tera has already begun to rocket forward, V's eyelights go hollow as she's suddenly grabbed and thrown into the air like a ragdoll.
Tera pants, yellow solver symbol flickering onto her visor as she looks up again, and a too-wide smile takes over her face. Before she's screaming up to meet V, preparing to slam her to the ground with all her might.
Instead her tail is grabbed, all the rage dissappears in exchange for dread, and she's hurtling back towards the ground without time to stop herself.
The last thing out of her mouth before she hits the ground is a high pitched. “SHIT!”
Everything goes dark.
“Oh…” Says the voice sharing her head, high, robotic and cold. “How embarrassing…”
A disappointed tusk, like a parent scolding a child. “Try again.”
Tera sucks air into her lungs again, feeling the cool, damp grass tickling her back, the scent of the jungle, the wet ground, and the undertones of treated- aging wood.
Her visor is dark, and cracked, oil oozing from the deep wound, she can't see, but she can feel V applying nanites to her visor.
She makes a sigh as she focuses on seeing through the eyes on her tail- which was always disorienting, because there were six and they all blinked in pairs.
Her tail rises behind V's shoulder, giving her a third person veiw of her own body. Talk about weird.
“Yikes…” She breathed out watching her near shattered visor slowly heal.
Her healing was always slow. And always extremely shit. Her nanites would take thier sweet time stopping the bleeding and then fuck off, leaving her chassis scarred with past injuries.
“Shouldn't scar.” V assured, impatiently waiting for Tera's visor to glue itself back together. “You got closer this time.”
“Still got my ass kicked.”
V chuckled. “You're 17. You'll be getting your ass kicked for awhile yet.”
Tera just crossed her arms at that. “Bite me.”
After her visor comes back online, she's handed a sports bottle with oil, which she gladly takes and chugs, feeling her internal heat ticking down.
V sits next to her on a bench at the entrance to the courtyard. “Nice kick, just watch where your tail is at all times… or it could get grabbed.”
Tera sighs. “Yeah… got too into trying to get revenge for all the times you've bruised my metal butt.”
V half-grins. “That's coming… can't wait.”
She ruffles her hair and stretches, pouncing on top of the fence and giving a tired and half assed salute. “You're dismissed, no patrol for today. Your butts been kicked enough.”
Tera salutes back and stretches, trying to relive the tension in her back but failing when it just seems to tighten.
She looks outside the fence.
Nico waves at her with a big smile on his face. She can't help but smile back. He gives her a thumbs up. She chuckles.
He's done the liberty of gathering her things for her, her school bag and flannel overshirt, which she graciously takes as soon as she clambers over the the fence like a goblin.
“Thanks man…”
“No problemo. You did well.”
“Could do better…” Tera murmured back, slipping back on the flannel and adjusting the collar. Nico takes over her her, grabbing it and straighting the shirt collar around her neck.
“You are actively getting better, you are not stagnant. You should be very happy at your progress. I am. I am very proud.” He beams, dusting off the front of the shirt before stepping back. “Do not push yourself to be great… you will get there when you get there.”
Tera just looks at the ground before opening her wings. “I'll see you tomorrow Nico.”
We’re wrapping up TAZ: Amnesty and I wanted to throw together a quick little headcanon/fic of what I think preceded the Hornets visiting Amnesty Lodge!
When Jake leaves the Hornets, things change. Hollis is relatively cool and reserved by nature but for weeks after Jake leaves their leadership style becomes borderline vicious, and they lash out at their crew as they push them harder.
They aren’t blind to Keith’s obvious infatuation. It’s almost endearing. Perhaps that’s why one night, after a particularly grueling stunt session they open their front door to see Keith about to knock, red faced. Before they can say anything Keith blurts out, “I know you and Jake were more than friends! I know it hurt when he left and that you’re still hurting and I thought-” And here he seems to second guess himself, looking as though he wants to melt into the floor. “I wondered if there was anything I could do to help with that.”
Hollis is a little shaken, though from their face you’d never know it. It takes just a moment before they’re smiling and they say, “Now why would you offer a thing like that?”
There is a danger that Keith doesn’t see, too busy staring bashfully at his own shoelaces and trying to be tough as he says, “Because uh... y’know. I love you. I could be good to you. Better than Jake.”
The words are barely out of Keith’s mouth when that cruel, brittle edge that’s been chafing Hollis snaps and they kiss him too hard, dragging him inside.
They don’t let him sleep there that first night, after a brutal and desperate fucking, but soon after Keith is promoted to lieutenant and becomes Hollis’ confidant. Still, Hollis keeps him at arm’s length with vague words of affection; just enough to keep him utterly devoted.
Then they see Jake again on that fucking mountain with some random girl and Keith won’t fucking shut UP and it’s all Hollis can do to keep from screaming as they smile that immaculate smile of theirs. They barely hold it together that night at the Hornet’s nest, buying their crew a round before fishing through their jacket for something to smoke. They just want to lash out and hurt something but Goddammit taking a drag will have to fucking do.
But Keith.
Oh sweet, stupid Keith with all his posturing and bravado- he just has to say, “Besides, I’m better than Jake Coolice in every way!” Just this side of too loudly and Hollis’ smile becomes something just a little colder, a little more cruel as they muse, “That’s cute Keith, but let’s be realistic. You were never as good as him on the slopes and you were never as good as him in my bed.” And that din that usually fills their favorite bar goes quiet as Hollis pulls out a lighter and head outside.
They hate themself for saying it, hate the crestfallen, humiliated look on Keith’s face as they walk away. They don’t stop at the parking lot. Fuck that. They get on their bike and drive home and fucking cry in a way they haven’t since the first night Jake left.
Keith doesn’t come over that night and Hollis is grateful, figuring this whole dalliance between them is over.
Surprisingly, the next day it’s as though nothing has changed. Keith still showboats and none of the Hornets kick up a fuss or even bring up the previous night. Hollis relaxes and resumes business as usual, but that night, Keith is back at their door, scuffing the ground with his boot.
“What are you doing here?“ Hollis asks, too thrown to keep up the pretense. “Didn’t you get the message yesterday?“
Keith tenses, swallows and meets Hollis’ eyes resolutely. “I know I’m not as good as him.” He admits softly, “But I’m not gonna stop trying.”
Hollis pinches the bridge of their nose, not wanting to show Keith how close they are to breaking down and taking their Lieutenant with them. “Why? Don’t you get it? I’m not nice, I’m not kind, and I’m not fucking interested! Jesus Keith you can’t actually be this stupid!”
They can see Keith struggling to maintain eye contact, despite how hurt he looks as he says, “I don’t care. You’re still sad and I still love you, so even if you never feel the same... Even if you’re still sick over Jake, I want to make things better for you. That’s not gonna change.”
Hollis doesn’t know what to say. They’re exhausted with this whole business already but they go back inside and leave the door open behind them, calling, “Fine. Do what you want.”
So Keith does. He stays by Hollis’ side and dotes on them and Hollis can’t fathom it but more and more they find themselves expecting to see that goofy smile when they wake up. The smell of burning pancakes and the sight of a slightly disheveled mohawk hunched over the stove, cursing a blue streak. The idea of Keith being anywhere but by their side would be laughable-- if it weren’t so fucking terrifying.
Time passes however, and little by little Hollis gives into the idea that this is their normal now. It’s a good fucking normal.
Then comes that night.
It’s the night where everything charmingly spooky about the town becomes truly horrific. Hollis doesn’t know why they can sense what’s about to happen when the blonde woman walks passed them into the Hornet’s Nest. Everything feels numb, the kind of sinking slow motion that one might experience in a dream as they rush into the bar to witness the carnage. Everything stops for a split second when they see Keith face down on the ground, then the sound rushes back into their ears as they grab the bat in a moment of pure adrenaline.
They’ve already screamed orders to Bevin about calling an ambulance as they jump on their bike to tear after the thing. They didn’t check on Keith. Couldn’t. There had been blood everywhere and if- they screech to a halt in the clearing, looking around frantically for the beast that outpaced them. Nothing. Nothing.
Keith wakes in a hospital bed with Hollis snoozing awkwardly in a hospital chair, well past visiting hours by the way the sky outside is beginning to lighten.
Hollis wakes to Keith sobbing.
It takes some time, but finally Hollis is able to make out Keith’s confession, and Keith tells them everything. Something stretches tighter and tighter in Hollis’ chest as the tears roll down Keith’s face, fear evident in his eyes. It’s when he cries, “It’s all my fault, if I’d only told everyone earlier-” that that hideous feeling in Hollis’ chest snaps. They take Keith’s face in their hands and kiss him.
“Listen to me.“ They hiss, “Nothing is going to fucking hurt you again, do you understand me?“ They kiss his forehead, “No monster,“ His eyes, “No woman with fire powers,“ His lips, “Not even the Goddamn Mothman. Do you know why?“ They pull back just so that Keith can see the most terrifying, open smile they’ve ever given. “Because we’re the Hornets, and it’s time to show this town that I’m the scariest thing out there.“
They get up then and stretch until their back pops. “Get some rest, Keith. I’m going to round everybody up, so be ready for tonight. We’ve got a message to deliver... and then my Dear? We’ve got a monster to kill.”
Hollis is not a soft person, never has been, but Keith knows that with that little exchange-- well, ‘I love you’ comes in many forms.
((Hey guys! So this is my new tumblr account, since my old one is so bogged down with unnecessary stuff. I’ll be moving all my toons over here as I consolidate their stories so that they are more easily readable. Please bear with me.
In the meantime, I’ll get to posting character sheets as I get the character blogs up and running. I’d very much appreciate follows and reblogs to help spread my new main blog name. Once all my characters are up and running, I’ll turn the old tumblr into an archive, in case there’s something I need to reference.
all right, gang! So I’m back! We got power yesterday AND the internet was still intact. Life is pretty good - and a heck of a lot cooler with A/C now. So I’m going to be catching p and I’ll get to those lovely notes in my inbox within the next couple of days if all goes well. Also, hey! Have some stormy pictures.
no damage to the house. Just lost a lot of our trees (and the gazebo and a good section of our fence). Fizz was VERY disgruntled bun and spent the entire storm under teh bed at my hotel where we were riding it out.
