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This whole plan of Richtofen’s was getting a lot rougher the further they got into this.
After he had thoroughly hidden how much he wanted to scream and cry when he killed his other self, Dempsey didn’t exactly have many ideas on how to cope. One of them, as always, was insulting Richtofen any chance he got, but that got quite stale. He tried yelling at Nikolai for a little bit, but the Russian wasn’t at fault for anything. Takeo made some concoction resembling tea to soothe everyone’s nerves, and Dempsey decided that drinking tea was better than yelling to the world about how unfair everything was.
The tea table was set in the courtyard, with Richtofen holding the odd little ball of golden horror firm in his palm, Nikolai cleaning his goggles and drinking the tea swiftly, while Takeo was helping Dempsey create some sort of grave. If Dempsey could, he would bawl until he couldn’t bawl no more--make the world know how much they broke the soldier he was. He didn’t make a sound however, simply staring into the dead face of himself.
Then, they had to go. They cleaned up their surroundings in the old German castle, and Dempsey took his time to look over his corpse held in the frozen pod in the courtyard one last time. The way frost on the glass laid itself down with small layers of snow left Dempsey acutely aware that his body would not be mourned like an American Marine. The only comfort was the gun pile he laid beside himself with Takeo’s assistance, with a carving in the castle wall he wrote meticulously in his English and Spanish tongue.
“...I did not know that you spoke more than English, Dempsey,” Nikolai would mumble, peering over the odd grave with a hum. Nikolai was unfamiliar with the language, clear by how he didn’t exactly know what to do with the unfamiliar writing.
“My Pops made sure I knew enough to get around. Habla con orgullo, hasta que no puedas más, he’d say,” Dempsey laughed awkwardly at the feelings of tightness in his chest. Nikolai stared for at least a heartbeat, not comprehending a single word stated. Takeo as well, from what Dempsey could see from the samurai turning to face him after talking with Richtofen. Dempsey cleared his throat, “It means something like… ‘Speak with pride,’ I dunno.”
“Hm, a good notion. Well, come on then. We have our next destination to get to,” Richtofen would nudge his head to the side as he held the summoning key tight, lifting it up high to open a portal. Dempsey could feel himself flinch as he remembered when that crazed bastard had lifted him with its odd power, but impact never came to hold him tight. The only force he did feel was a pat on his back from Nikolai. He followed behind Takeo’s loyal steps, and let the world around them change to a different one.
It was weird, how Richtofen quickly got apprehended by a soldier before Dempsey was even fully through the portal--leaving Takeo to try pulling out his katana before the soldier could get the magic eight ball from Richtofen’s hand. Dempsey, the next one to fully exit the portal, quickly rushed forward with his fist held back, only to be knocked off his feet and backwards by a bump of the floor below him. His shoulder hit the floor, leaving him to roll over with a groan, only for another bump to rustle him. He barely held in his vomit, peering up from his dizzy fit. He could see how Richtofen was screeching in his mother tongue at the soldiers, how Takeo was clashing swords till they sparked.
It was raining, now that Dempsey realised that his body was getting soaked. Not only that--they were on a boat. The realisation and the tilting of the boat made Dempsey want to vomit even more. Marines or not, the sea was not great. He leaned up on his elbow, only for Nikolai to be the one unable to hold in his guts one he was through the portal. The bile slid across the slick wood of the deck like a blob of ooze, leaving Dempsey to gag. Dempsey got up to his knees, slow and steady, only to be pulled up with a knife--no--sword to his neck. Dempsey held his breath and closed his eyes, taking in the fishy smell of the ocean around them, and the sounds of Takeo’s sword hitting the ground.
“やめて！降伏 !” The foreign words weren’t of Takeo’s voice for once, making Dempsey creak one eye open. It was at that moment that he realised what the boat was that they were on, one of Japan. The rising sun.
“我々はあなたに降伏します,” Takeo’s voice wasn’t as calm as Dempsey often heard it when the other spoke his language, making Dempsey perk up fully and recognize that the soldiers had stopped their attack on them. Just in time too seemingly, as Richtofen had been holding his arm up high over the Japanese soldiers to use his natural height as protection, only to have a katana ready to be swung right at his jugular. The German held his head high and the ball even higher, his tall frame practically being climbed upon by the Japanese soldiers to get the treasure. Dempsey would laugh, if it weren’t for the fact that Richtofen was about to die. Oh, and himself, actually, now that he recognized the sword at his neck was digging in.
“あなたは日本から来たのですか？” The question in the soldier’s voice was the only part of the language that Dempsey understood, and even as he was shuffled side by side with his comrades with their arms held behind them, Dempsey could not read whether or not they were going to be killed or survive this. Takeo, being the only one to speak Japanese, was their lifeline, and as Nikolai regained his composure, Dempsey only nervously held his breath.
“はい、そうです、” Takeo hummed the response, before clicking his tongue to reply in English to his friends. He sighed, “They are soldiers like me, for the Emperor,” Takeo’s words would be cut short as he felt the man in front of him, presumably the captain, jab him with his sword as a threat.
“皇帝のことを言ってるの？！” the anger from the foreign soldier’s voice was enough for Dempsey to shut his eyes tight with the growing headache he had after falling flat on his ass earlier, groaning at the noise. When he reopened his eyes, he could see Takeo was staring into the very soul of his fellow soldier, even as the questioning continued. Even so, “彼と何の用事があるのですか？” The aggression did not subside.
“私は皇帝に仕えています、” Takeo replied smoothly. There was a heartbeat where Dempsey felt the guard that he was held by twitch. The one speaking to Takeo would lift his arm, holding the golden ball that Richtofen’s eyes seemed distraught to see in someone else’ grasp. Dempsey would stop listening for now, the ringing in his ears focussing on the sound of the rushing water and the waves. The boat would rock again against the power of the storm. The American would keep his gaze locked distantly onto Takeo, but his mind was distracted as he felt the cold damp water bouncing off his leather jacket, staining into his pants, and squelching against his combat boots.
The fight grew gnarly, but the words began to melt together as Dempsey was pulled and held forwards by the soldiers behind him, in which one of them was breathing down his neck, only increasing his discomfort. Takeo, squinting his eyes, would stare down the groups, and eventually lock eyes with Dempsey to give a comforting look, which was given to each and every one of the group members.
“I am no traitor,” Takeo would state, aggression in his tone, before that badass motherfucker grappled a sword pulled against him and ripped it from their hands, swinging into action. That was the signal, and every man shifted into motion. The golden ball, their key, would roll on the deck and struggle as the boat fought the very water it was designed for. A crash of lightning above, and the rain just kept pouring. Dempsey would whip his body around using its greater size to twist and punch one of the men that held him tight, the soldiers falling to the deck of the boat as it rocked. Dempsey quickly shuffled and ripped another one away from Richtofen, who quickly ran to an oil lamp, grappling it and throwing it onto an assailant.
Dempsey turned his head away as the lamp broke and spread its flames, moving instead to go try and help Nikolai, but the Russian beast was already beating the shit out of those who were dumb enough to try and take him on. A body was thrown into a line of barrels with a clatter. Yeah, he was fine. Moving onto seeing Takeo rip his sword out of two other guys, Dempsey then realised that the golden ball was rolling closer and closer to the edge. In fact, all of them seemed to, when Richtofen threw himself forwards to try and catch the ball. Takeo would move next, Dempsey third, and Nikolai last as the four men hurdled towards the ball. It rolled off the edge, and next thing Dempsey knew…
Well, it hit the water and sank with a faint splash.
Richtofen was about to throw himself off to go after it, but Dempsey did it first. The water, the Marines, were his domain. He felt his body sink into the endless blues, and he watched as the golden ball plummeted deeper and deeper down into the sea. The first movement from Dempsey was to kick his boots off, watching the poor things float to the surface with the absence of his body to weigh them. The next was his pants, thrown off in a thrashing motion that let him free into the cold depth. There was a bright flash of an explosion above the water that made Dempsey aware he was running out of time as the dim blue light on those symbols grew darker as it sank. The boat above had remains of itself spiralling through the water with great speed, and then Dempsey let himself go, feeling his body adapt.
Swimming wasn’t anything Dempsey ever struggled with. Your arms constantly go in a pattern to push yourself further, deeper and deeper. All at the same time, for most, your legs propel you in kicking motions. Deeper, deeper. Then, as you run out of air, you shift directions and go up, up. Dempsey took a watery breath in and out, blowing out the bubbles as his eyes adjusted to the water. He twisted his body, flexing through the flow with skill as his scales glittered against the flames above the storming world of the land. His webbed fingers caught the water, and pushed him further down to chase this ball. Further, further. The light above became dimmer and darker, and he was acutely aware that they were getting too deep, too deep for humans. His tail thrashed and kicked him further down with the guide of his fins, then he swished and twisted through.
Dempsey would drive his body further in like a screw, torpedoing himself, until his hands could finally grip that golden, blue glowing ball. It sent a surge of energy through his arm, similar to being shocked, but his heart didn’t stop. Dempsey took a deep breath, the water entering his mouth, then being filtered out for air to enter his lungs graciously. He gripped on tighter to the golden ball and moved to swim upwards. His head held high, he could see that the ship that moments ago he and his squad had been fighting on, was sinking just like the summoning key he had just saved. If he could watch it hit the bottom, he would take that time and spit on the damn ship.
Reaching the surface wasn’t hard, but finding his boots and pants was. His pants were actually missing now, and while he talked confidently about his commando tendencies, he didn’t actually trust that Richtofen wasn’t, well, y’know how it is. He did find a single boot however, and he hit the surface with a gasp of the fresh, pure oxygen. The American would shake his head aggressively, slicking his hair back to the side now he wasn’t under water, and then, he listened. There were cries and screams from further away, but not in foreign languages, instead, being in English. They were three different tones, all crying for someone. As Dempsey turned and squinted, his eyes were seeing that his group was at least a football field away. He pushed himself forward and let his fins do the work, his tail slicing through the water like butter. Clean, and swift. By the time he got close enough to the boat for the others to see him somewhat clearly, he could see how tired they were. He quietly thanked biology for dark blue scales that would blend into the water around him.
“Dempsey,” Richtofen’s voice called out hoarsely, “Dempsey, you’re alive,” Dempsey could hear the smile in his tired voice. It grew clear to him that they had been crying his name for awhile, and for a moment, he felt quite loved. Enough about that though, he quickly grappled onto the floating boat they were gripping onto for dear life and balanced it, quietly handing over the prize, the summoning key. Richtofen’s greedy hands quickly grasped it and held it like it was precious. To be fair, it was, to him and the universe. Dempsey chuckled faintly and sighed.
“How did you live, Dempsey?” Takeo’s voice was calm enough, but was dry with emotions clearly exchanged. The warrior had a distinct rough voice that came from crying.
“I swam, Tak’, that’s all you gotta do,” Dempsey quietly murmured, shuffling on the boat’s floating surface with a struggle. Nikolai handed over his other boot in a quiet motion, and to Dempsey’s infinite appreciation, the Russian also held his pants, draping them over the boat.
“Well, since you are alive,” Richtofen would eventually clear his throat with a cough, “It would be appreciated if you would help us swim over.”
“Wait, what?” Dempsey scoffed. “Over where?”
“The island,” Takeo pointed his finger to the island, further away, where their little floating hope was slowly inching towards. But not fast enough that it wouldn’t sink.
“Whaddya mean by ‘help swim’, then?” The next question from the American gained him a German trying to cover the mouth of a loudmouth Russian, the hand falling onto the boat however to stay balanced.
“The doctor can’t swim,” Nikolai would quickly pipe up, leaving Takeo to roll his eyes as Richtofen tried to perk himself up to argue. The piece they floated on however would rock, leaving Richtofen gripping onto the floating raft for dear life, his nails digging into the wet wood.
“How does a German scientist, part time military doctor, not know how to swim,” Tank would stifle a laugh, earning an angered groan from Richtofen that he enjoyed quite a bit. Regardless, Takeo would hold his humour as Nikolai snickered under his breath. Dempsey would shake his head now, “you both can swim ahead now, we’ll catch up.”
“Right, see you shortly, Dempsey,” Takeo hummed, “but don’t disappear under the water again.”
“I might, only if it's to save dickface over here,” Dempsey would grin at the irritated expression Richtofen would continue to fester. The two other heroes would shift off of the boat and begin to swim. Smooth motions, arms pulling them through the water as their legs kicked. Dempsey waited for them to be a little further on, before turning to Richtofen again, who was still clawing his way into the wooden boat that floated. His body, just as tall as Dempsey’s, was scrunched up and awkwardly hooked into the raft.
“Don’t just look at me,” Richtofen snapped, gritting his teeth and slicking his wet hair to the side.
“Right--okay, can you even doggy paddle,” Dempsey would have to be careful with this. Humans swam with their legs, and yes, he got into the marines, he still didn’t swim with his legs very happily. Fins were naturally his strong suit, and as his tail flicked below him, he was acutely aware of how hard teaching Richtofen would be.
“Well- yes, but,” Edward’s tone grew strong, but quieted down as he finished the second half, “I don’t like water. It upsets me.”
“You’re hydrophobic,” Dempsey clarified, giving a flick of his wet hand towards Ed, who flinched and growled at Dempsey like an animal, which was laughable. The doctor would flinch hard enough to rock his lifeline, and he jumped in the water to try and get more grip on the boat, only for it to flip, and knock Edward under. Dempsey would note that despite being very easy to drown, Richtofen would never let go of that glowing ball he loved so much. Idiot. The Marine would barely have to swim down to pick Richtofen’s body back up by the collar of his shirt and watched as the German closed his eyes shut, spitting water out, flailing, and blowing his nose of the salt water. The boat, from what Dempsey could see, had flipped with water inside of it, and sank.
“Dempsey du verdammter Idiot ,” Richtofen screeched, though his eyes would not open. The American would admittedly cackle, but continue to hold up Richtofen, this time under the arms. Said arms would splash and aggressively hit the water as if it were an enemy. Dempsey squished him closer to his torso to attempt to soothe, but Richtofen flailed still, “where is the boat? Where is it!?”
“Sank. Quit moving so much, there’s no wonder you can’t swim if this is how you’re moving,” Dempsey would grunt and pull up on Richtofen to balance him more, tail struggling to hold the weight all on its own as it flowed effortlessly down below. Dempsey breathed deeply, “Open your eyes.”
“There’s water in them, Dies ist Salzwasser , I am not opening them,” the firmness of the German admittedly ticked off Dempsey, but he didn’t say anything on it. Dempsey lost sight of Takeo and Nikolai, their forms too small to see by now, and as such, he sighed.
“Okay then, well, I’m going to put you on my back, but you have to help yourself get on,” Tank would shuffle Edward’s body to be less close to his chest and allow the other to have more movement. He would guide the other towards his back, and Richtofen was silent as he nervously crawled, eyes shut tight, and his wet, wrinkled hands struggling to find where to go. God this was awkward. Dempsey could feel the doctor’s hands, which had traced over his skin to find wounds, dance across his jacket to find a good place to grip, before pulling on it to tilt his direction in the water.
“Good work, you’re doing good,” Dempsey would murmur softly, trying to inch Richtofen just a little more, until the man found his shoulders and let both hands rest on them. Then, Dempsey pulled him up, and grunted.
“This is humiliating,” Richtofen would mumble, “I thought swimming lessons at age fifteen was bad, but this, this is new lows.”
“You took swimming lessons when you were fifteen and you still can’t swim,” Dempsey snickered as his tail slowly propelled them towards the island. It was kind of like being taken on a roadtrip with his Dad, where he had to come up with creative conversation topics to get him to ramble and pass the time. Sometimes it would be hard to find a conversation topic other than cars, but when he found out more about how his Pops had found his Mother, well, those were good times.
“I’ve never learned to swim. Nobody in my family can swim, it is just not a thing we do,” Richtofen would gruffly say, tone still bitter. Dempsey sloshed in the sea a moment and took a big swish through it, pushing forwards and giving a comforted squeeze to Richtofen, who still had his eyes screwed shut.
“If it weren’t for my Mom knowing how to swim, my Dad would’a been a dead man, to be fair,” Dempsey snickered, “Pops didn’t like swimming until he met my Ma.”
“You do not speak often of your family, Dempsey, let alone your Mother,” Edward would hum. Dempsey didn’t say anything in response for a moment as he pressed himself forwards in the water. The slow pace was painful, but he didn’t say anything ill to Richtofen.
“She’s a rough spot, Doc,” Tank would sigh and begin to move his arms to speed up the swimming process, whereas Richtofen tightened his fearful wrap around Dempsey’s neck and held onto his soaked jacket with the one hand not holding onto the summoning key.
“Did you lack her in your life, much? Not that you have to answer, Dempsey, I only ask for… relation. Things in common,” Richtofen’s voice made Dempsey ache. He swam forwards just a couple more feet before he had an answer.
“If it means so much to you, Doc,” Dempsey would hesitate, and swim a little further, “I don't have problems with her. She’s just hard to reach,” that was a good enough answer, and Dempsey would sigh, continuing to swim as Richtofen got comfortable enough to wrap his legs around his waist. It was easier to swim once Richtofen stopped his squirming, and it grew into a comfortable, rainy silence, broken only by the crashing of the waves occasionally.
“...Mine is hard to reach too, Dempsey. Just, a little too hard,” Richtofen would murmur comfortingly, “I’m glad she’s still there, for you to come back to after this life.”
“I sure hope so. My Pops was always there for her, so he better be now,” Dempsey gave a light laugh, more to himself, and pressed forwards, fins tirelessly pushing him and Richtofen closer to the island. If it weren’t for the deadweight, Dempsey would already be there, but for now, they were a little over halfway from their sinking spot.
“...Dempsey,” Richtofen would murmur again, making an eye rubbing motion, though from what Dempsey could understand, he did not open his eyes yet. Dempsey let out a grunt of acknowledgement, moving a little quicker through the water to get out of the conversations that would come from this trip. The doctor hummed, “I thank you.”
“...You’re welcome, Doc,” As simple as the reply was, Dempsey felt it said enough for himself when Richtofen shut up for the rest of the swimming.
When the shore was easy to reach, he inched Richtofen off from his back, making sure the man could stand up in the water. It was hard to accomplish, not just because Richtofen thought he was going to drown at the mere prospect of being put into the water by himself, but because Dempsey didn’t want to reveal more of himself to the eyes of the world. The blue scales were beginning to twinkle against the shallower water. Richtofen only now had opened his eyes, and while he didn’t see the fishy tail of Dempsey from the refusal to even look down at the water, it wouldn’t be long until the other two would come to the sound of protesting.
“Doc, I got you this far, get up on your own,” Dempsey scoffed, thrashing against the squirming motions and desperate grasps for life onto his jacket from Edward. The German, fighting as if he were a fly against a venus trap, would grapple himself with a war cry, kicking his legs and splashing.
" Nein, Dempsey! Bringen Sie mich an Land, bevor Sie mich abservieren! Dempsey,” The cries of the German language from Edward’s mouth was a good sign that Tank would not win this fight through persuasion, but he would sure as hell try. His arms would grip onto Richtofen’s hips, giving a lifting motion that at first gave the doctor a false hope, and then, Dempsey bent his arms to grab the German under the knees and by his back like a bride, and twisted his waist, using all his strength to whip Richtofen’s weight off of him, and into the water. Hey, for being in water, it wasn’t a bad throw by any means. The splash was loud, and the cry of horror was even moreso.
“DEMPSEY! Don’t leave me here,” Richtofen would dramatically choke, using his legs to kick himself up out of the water, clearly proving Dempsey’s point that he would be fine. He could touch the floor for Christ's sake!
“Fuck off Doc, get out of the water yourself, I need some ‘me’ time to get some damn clothes on,” Dempsey screeched as he watched the Doctor’s head come up with a hurried cough and wipe of his now watery eyes.
“DEMPSEY!”
“Fuck off,” maybe it was rude, but Tank dipped the rest of himself under the water and swam to a different side of the island hurriedly, leaving the Doctor to find the sandy goodness of the island himself.
“Oh, that little bastard,” Edward scoffed, feeling around in the water and keeping his eyes perfectly shut, spitting out water and making a sniffing sound to spit out snot. He felt disgusting for doing it, but he needed to get the awful taste of saltwater out of his system. Water dribbled out from his ears, and as soon as he could feel the water at his waist begin to lower, he kept climbing the bank of the shore to that direction.
“There he is,” the comforting voice of Takeo came to him, and really, he could not feel happier with a Japanese soldier grabbing him and pulling him up. Mostly because Takeo was on his side, and also, because he felt like he was a wet cat. He kept his eyes shut as the soldier lifted him, and presumably from the bigger hands, Nikolai helped Takeo’s shorter frame lift Richtofen’s taller one out from the water silently.
“What about Dempsey?” A simple question from Nikolai, one that left Richtofen fuming. Without any prompting, he quickly cut to his anger.
“That Arschloch threw me into the water,” Richtofen scoffed, feeling at the sand on his palms and grunting, lifting himself up with his arms and wiping his eyes with the less sandy back of the hand. Takeo sighed disappointedly and Richtofen could feel those gentle hands checking him over for any wounds. Nikolai on the other hand, snickered for a moment.
“You are fine, Richtofen,” Takeo would eventually confirm, and as Richtofen opened his eyes, finally, he could see that… Dempsey wasn’t even here yet! That dickhead! That absolute bastard! Why, Richtofen might as well kill him when they find him! Takeo would cut off the thought by pulling out his pistol with a click, shooting over Richtofen’s shoulder, and as the German looked over as well, there was Nikolai right beside where the shot had gone to, where a zombie now collapsed onto its face, which was now gone in a mist of red.
“With all due respect Takeo, please do not shoot so closeby,” Richtofen murmured, getting up to his feet with a struggle, and wringing out his hair to slick it to the side. Nikolai gave a gruff hum and didn’t say anything in response, only pulling his own pistol out from his inner jacket pocket, shaking some water off it and loading the magazine with a click.
“I do not admire bullets when they are in my body,” Nikolai added with a sour tone, quickly leaning against Takeo’s back now as they readied to fight together. Despite everything, they were still comrades, even if they were bickering like kids. Richtofen would grunt and lean himself up against Nikolai’s sturdy frame to get a balance, then pulled back the hammer to ready a shot to another approaching body.
“Do you believe Dempsey will find us, Richtofen,” Takeo would click another magazine into the pistol and sniff the dampened air.
“I would hope if he is to fall un’to the floor, he will yell. Until that point, I would not worry for our Marine,” Richtofen scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically.
Dempsey grunted as he used his broad, stronger arm strength to pull himself up onto a rock that overhung the open sea. His heavy fish tail would flail around until he caught a bit of it onto another part of the ledge, using it to push himself high enough to sit on the rock comfortably. His jacket stuck to him with dampness, until he peeled it away from his body and let himself dry out against the fading rainstorm.
There was an odd sense of pride, watching how the moonlight would make his scaled parts of his body shine into a colour of what appeared to be silver. Yet, when he covered the light, his scales would continue to be a deep blue. He smiled slightly at what gift nature had given him, before sighing tiredly. He would have to get reasonably dry to get his body comfortable enough to go back to having legs. He flicked water off his tanned skin and sighed, crossing his arms now. Dempsey grunted, drying slowly. This was significantly easier with a towel.
The tranquillity of drying didn’t stay for long as a familiar high pitched whine erupted from behind him, and Dempsey quickly pulled his gun out from his jacket, shaking the water out and pulling the trigger to shoot, but the click was pathetic, and nothing fired. The next protection was his knife, which he quickly hopped forwards and stabbed the blade into the leg of the zombie, pulled it back out as the beast fell onto its knees, and stabbed again to finish the job before he ended up with a bite in his shoulder. Hurriedly, Dempsey unlocked the magazine from its hold and shook more water out, watching the white salt crystallise as he put a new magazine into the gun and pulled the trigger again.
This time, it shot with a bang, even if the flash was pathetic, it meant that at least the gun could shoot with fresh powder in it. Dempsey sighed with quick relief and threw the corpse that rotted away from himself, sniffing the damp air again. Another groan notified Dempsey of more zombies, and as he looked up, he quickly recognized that this probably wasn’t the best place to park his trunk.
“Fuck,” It was a simple recognition of his shit position, before he pulled back the hammer and shot again, and again. The shots were inaccurate, his arms would hold steady but the bullet would sink into the chest or miss the head entirely. Dempsey shrieked, “freaksacks! Fuck,” sure, they wobbled with uneven slow steps for now, but he knew that these creatures could run when they wanted. Dempsey would grab his pistol and his knife quickly, searching for a grenade but finding none on his jacket anymore. He looked up, seeing the closing of his movement space, and in spite of feeling himself getting dry, he shuffled back to the edge of the rock.
That was of course, until a shot emptied the borrowed life from the zombies’ eyes, each one dropping with a hole through their head. A splatter of crimson, and a drop of the cadaver, and Dempsey was staring face to face with Takeo. Dempsey held his breath.
“Dempsey, you do seem to be in need of a hand, hm? Aha, sorry,” Takeo would grin crookedly, wandering over in a smooth motion, although quickly recognizing that Dempsey wasn’t only shirtless, but pantless. Takeo would pause, then quickly look away. Dempsey couldn’t be more thankful for Takeo’s unwavering respect to people. The Japanese soldier would clear his throat awkwardly, “I apologise, I did not realise you were not dressed.”
“You’re fine Tak’, just look away for a bit longer,” Dempsey bit his lip awkwardly and moved back to trying to dry off, pulling himself away from the ocean again now that he had some sort of cover. The storm that was leaving the area crackled distantly, only reminding Dempsey that this was going to be hard when the air was so humid. There was hesitation, before he chewed his lip to then let it go. The habit needed to be tamed for now, while he got his ducks in a row.
“Dempsey, are you dressed now?” Takeo asked nervously, clearly flustered in his tone, and if Dempsey could guess, his face was red with embarrassment. Poor Takeo.
“N-No,” the stuttering wasn’t intended, and Tank internally thought of punching the rock he sat on, “Takeo, would you be super freaked out if I trusted you with a big secret just now? Right here,” that sounded even worse! A secret, where he’s out here being entirely naked.
“What do you mean, Dempsey? If this is about your other self, I’m open to listening,” Takeo murmured, taking a peek over his shoulder to give a glance of encouragement, but upon seeing Dempsey’s shirtless body again, he looked away just as quickly.
“Well, no--! I just--! Gah, I need you to keep me hidden from the other two. You like fish, right? Well,” Tank would pause, thinking carefully. There wasn’t any real way to continue a conversation like that. The Marine hummed, “Just turn around and look at me. I’m not… I’m not entirely naked, I just need you to look.”
Takeo didn’t turn around right away, but he gave a brief nod that Dempsey could see. Trusting their very well trained Japanese warrior with looking at his very fishy secret was maybe a bit laughable in a way, but if Dempsey thought about it, it was easier like this anyways. Richtofen would want to find out more, especially if his other counterpart was any sign of his behaviour towards interesting monstrous things. Freak. Whereas to Nikolai finding out, well, he didn’t exactly know, but Nikolai was a good guy, just maybe not as understanding and calm as Takeo was. Eventually, the Japanese man would turn his head, until his brown eyes settled upon the American.
“...You are being eaten by a fish?” Takeo tilted his head, quickly rushing over now, with his katana drawn in preparation to slice apart said fish.
“No--No I’m fine, don’t you put that sword to my tail,” Dempsey quickly chuckled nervously, shuffling his legs away, “Listen, Tak’, this is apart of my body,” He quickly murmured, giving the warrior a comforting pat on the shoulder as the Japanese man lowered himself onto his knees to check Dempsey’s body. A caring hand trailed over the scales a minute as they would fade into the top half of Dempsey’s torso, leaving the American awkwardly watching and flexing his muscles away from the ticklish feeling.
“I believe I understand then. If this is you, Dempsey, then why fear the others?” Takeo would blink slowly, getting no response from Tank at first. Then, the American gave a light shrug, flicking more water off his tail.
“It’s not exactly normal, Takeo,” Dempsey raised an eyebrow.
“None of us truly are normal, especially in our group, Dempsey,” Takeo countered quietly, sitting himself down and reaching into Dempsey’s jacket pocket a moment. Dempsey watched gently.
“Well, I get that part,” Dempsey murmured softly, “I mean, who gets to be an interdimensional traveller from the great war?”
“That, and Richtofen has preserved a brain in a machine,” Takeo would add softly, eventually pulling something out from Dempsey’s jacket and beginning to dry it on his shirt, to flick it open. Dempsey’s beloved lighter would quickly be flicked to life and gently held near his lower torso. A silent hum of thankfulness came from Dempsey, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“Not to mention the soul harvest,” Dempsey cleared his throat awkwardly. Takeo sighed deeply at that, holding the flame a bit tighter.
“Yes, that is definitely odd,” Takeo would murmur, blinking gently, “Richtofen spoke of a message from the Emperor that will find me soon. I ache to know how he is doing, in any universe, or in any time,” Takeo would quietly admit the feelings, then moved on to watching as the scales began to retract into Dempsey’s body, seemingly with slight pain as Dempsey bit his lip and hissed. Takeo was about to pull the flame away, but Dempsey grabbed his hand.
“No, no it’s fine Tak’, it’s got to happen someway or another,” Tank muttered, then groaned as his body writhed. Takeo frowned and squeezed onto Dempsey’s shoulder for comfort, looking away as the merged legs split apart again. Not to mention the fact Dempsey was still very much naked, fishy or not.
“...Tell me when I can look,” Takeo whispered, getting up and handing the lighter back to the Marine, who hummed in affirmation. Pulling sounds and zipping, clipping, grunting, and it was presumably a painful experience. Eventually, Dempsey would have his pants on, dampened but safe to hold his body apart from switching in the wetness,
There was a moment where Dempsey stared at his feet now, flexing them testingly as the last of the scales slotted back into his skin to hide themselves, and he made sure to pull one away from his skin that wouldn’t retract properly. With a gentle hiss, he slipped on his damp socks and boots, to finally turn towards Takeo, who was still turned away respectfully. The Japanese man was none the wiser to anything, simply holding his gun high to watch for any enemies.
“I’m done now, Tak’. Thanks,” Dempsey cleared his throat awkwardly, slipping on his shirt as he spoke with a cold shiver in the cold. Takeo would turn around slowly and nod, a silent acknowledgement that was quickly broken by a gunshot slipping right beside Dempsey’s head. The American would flinch, seeing the flash from Takeo’s gun and as he turned around to see the body of a freak bag collapse beside him, he couldn’t help but scream prematurely.
“God damn you Takeo! Quit shooting so fucking close to everyone’s skulls!”
“I have never missed and hit any of you,” Takeo would remind politely. Dempsey scoffed, crossing his arms as he got up to his feet to kick away the dead body, slipping on his jacket and putting his lighter away as if it were a fragile piece of glass. In contrast, he picked up his gun and knife with no real love, simply brandishing the knife and reloading his pistol.
“Oh, yeah, remind me to say ‘origami,’ brother Takeo,” Tank would give a toothy grin to the Japanese soldier, who did not acknowledge his words vocally, but visibly cringed with the crease of an eye. A few more gunshots, and Takeo was moving back into badass mode, leaving room for Dempsey to follow through.
“Nikolai and The Doctor are waiting for you at our found shelter. Move swiftly, Dempsey,” Takeo’s voice was calm and collected, as if Dempsey hadn’t just insulted his language five seconds earlier, and really, it was moments like these he appreciated Takeo most.
Okay, no, he appreciated Takeo most in moments like these, where he really did think about his previous actions and wonder; why did I do that? Dempsey hid behind the shortest frame of Takeo with his broadest one, essentially using Takeo as a human shield as Richtofen was being held back with almost no effort by Nikolai. Nikolai, with all his strength in his short muscled body, was holding Richtofen’s lanky one by the waist, leaving Richtofen’s long arms and legs constantly lashing at his swimming instructor, ‘Tank’ Dempsey.
“Dempsey! You ever dare to throw me in the water again, by gods I will kill you! I will murder you and your entire multiverse of copies. Ich meine es ernst, Dempsey , ich meine, was ich sage! Dempsey,” Richtofen’s venomous tone mixed with the comedic way he was being held back, left Dempsey unsure of if he was supposed to really take this seriously or not. Takeo, on the other hand, was simply being the coolant for the meltdown.
“Doctor, I can assure you, Dempsey had good reason. I have talked with him about his behaviour,” Takeo was soft, but firm in every word he said, trying to soothe the German who continued to throw his tantrum.
“What good reason does he have to throw me into the water?! I can drown, Takeo,” Edward would flick his head up violently to look up at Dempsey, those furious mismatched eyes piercing right into the very soul of the American. The way the thin black strands of hair fell across his face in the damp air made them stick in points to his skin, and one could admire how he could be mistaken for some horror movie girl. Glowing light box? Ah, knock it off Tank, it’s too early for you to know that reference.
“Well, Dempsey was very tired after swimming after your summoning key,” Takeo would nudge towards the golden ball, which was currently held by a pile of sand to make sure it did not roll while they argued.
“Mm, he does have a point, Richtofen,” Nikolai would grunt, the name of the German rolling off his Russian tongue with its usual distaste. Richtofen flailed again for good measure, kicking his legs and letting out a roar to aim for Dempsey over Takeo’s shoulder. Takeo grabbed his ankle before it hit his eye.
“Ay, knock it off Doc! Takeo might start landing shots into us if he loses an eye,” Tank scoffed.
“Then apologise for throwing me in the ocean!”
“I’m not sorry, maybe you should learn to goddamn swim!”
“ Nien ! Ich werde mich ertränken! Would you want a dead doctor? Hm?!”
“ ¡Ay, no es mi culpar que no sepas nadar, idiota!”
“Stop arguing, you’re making Nikolai feel like a therapist,” Nikolai’s groaned, rolling his eyes and dropping Richtofen now that his balance was ruined from the kicking motion, a cloud of the sand piling up, and the doctor hurriedly getting onto his knees. Dempsey gripped on Takeo’s shoulder and leaned down as a shield, only for the warrior to wriggle his way out of being a middle man.
“Dempsey,” Edward started speaking with a cough of sand in his throat, “to make it up to me, let me throw you into the water,” the German’s eyes settled onto Dempsey’s as he got to his feet, the two men staring eye to eye. Dempsey at first wanted to laugh, but once he saw the seriousness in Richtofen’s eyes, he gave up on mocking the Doctor. They needed to get this mission done, but they also needed Richtofen to quit being a piss baby.
“Fine,” Dempsey started, only for a flash of yellow, the bang of a gun, and both Dempsey and Richtofen flinching to peer to the side, but there was no zombie collapsing, just a bullet hole being swallowed by the tide. The two would move to stare down at Takeo with their own feral anger, but the Japanese soldier simply smirked.
“There wasn’t even a fucking zombie that time Tak’, what the fuck,” Dempsey scowled, to be quickly backed up by Richtofen.
“I didn't even hit your eyes, are you blind?!”
“いや、but it got you to stop fighting,” Takeo would hum, getting a surprisingly good laugh out of Nikolai, who stood beside him with one arm balanced on his shoulder, giggling. Finally, the two bonded over nearly shooting the other two members of their team. Dempsey scoffed.
“Продолжаем, we have other priorities,” there was a moment where Nikolai grinned towards Takeo, before going back to saying nothing to nobody. Tank grumbled, and quietly, Richtofen would follow, grabbing the golden ball and walking with the other two as guides. If anyone knew anything about this place, it was Takeo, but there was still uncertainty from even him. The old rising sun flags were tattered, and as always, Dempsey understood that wherever they went as a group, the world was ruined by that little girl Richtofen knew as Samantha.
Fuckin bitch.
Camp was set up rather hastily. There was a zombie tied up, similar to how they had done at the last spot, and Takeo’s skillful hands made the knots so tight, Dempsey wondered if the zombie could even feel the remains of its arms. It was tied to a poll, far enough away from the group that they could sleep with one man staying up as watch.
The facility was covered in spiderwebs, and vines, and in an odd way, Dempsey thought it was pretty. That was until pollen got into his lungs and he remembered that choking hazards were more than just for kids toys and branded figures. Hm, maybe it's still a bit early for him to know that. Not that Tank cared.
Beds wise, they weren’t exactly the most comforting creations. Takeo took flags where he could find them, grieved for the fact he was defacing his country, and handed them over as little blankets. It had to be Takeo who did it, because if any of them even thought of ripping down a flag, Takeo looked like one of those feral demon dogs about to rip out his throat. Otherwise, it was just like the last place.
Richtofen continued to deny himself sleep until he was forced to lay down on one of the rafts they found and used as an air mattress. Nikolai made sure to tuck him in extra good too. Softy. Which now left Dempsey to sit with Takeo and Nikolai in a pained silence. Takeo, sharpening his blade and cleaning it with a torn cloth, and Nikolai watching as Dempsey thought of his next move in Tic-Tac-Toe.
“Dempsey, if I did not know, I would think you are about to give up,” Nikolai grinned cheekily, getting a scoff from the American Marine. Ever since he had taught Nikolai what Tic-Tac-Toe was and how to play it, the Russian seemed to think he was the greatest player ever! Well, neither of them were better than the other, because they always tied. Nikolai just had better bragging rights because he beat Takeo once.
“Oh, get off of it Nikolai, I’m not gonna give up,” Dempsey smiled faintly as he made an uneven circle with his knife into the block of wood they had found and been carving into. Nikolai quickly, without hesitation, made an X, passing it over to Dempsey again for the American to make the final mark, making it a tie once again. Nikolai groaned in boredom.
“Takeo is much more fun to play against than you are, Dempsey,” Nikolai would murmur.
“That’s because Takeo doesn’t care if he wins or loses at this… Sorry, how did you phrase it, Tak’?”
“Frivolous gamble game,” Takeo would hum, a hint of amusement in his tone as Dempsey snapped his finger and hummed.
“Yeah, Frivo-lu-lous,” A grin of pride on Dempsey’s face, even as Nikolai and Takeo laughed, could never falter. Richtofen stirred, giving the trio a moment to pause and hold their breaths, until the German Doctor went back to comfortably snoring. Perfect.
“I still do not understand why you threw Richtofen into the water. While I would have likely done the same, I would not have left him,” Nikolai murmured, his tone lower now to not awake the sleeping beauty. A long snore hit the air, and then Dempsey sighed in a slight admittance of guilt.
“Well, It’s just… It’s just…” Dempsey bit his lip and tried to find the words, but nothing came out besides awkward stutters. Takeo slowly turned around as he moved his Katana into its sheath, and simply patted Nikolai on the back, perking up his attention. Takeo would hand over a small item, one Dempsey could not see, and Nikolai would look over it thoughtfully.
“Dempsey is just a bit different. We should not pry on it until he’s ready to tell you,” Takeo would say gently, meeting his brown eyes with Dempsey’s, leaving the room silent for a minute.
“Is he gay?” The Russian looked up towards Dempsey, “You’re gay? I don’t really care if you’re gay, Dempsey,” Nikolai would shrug his shoulders, leaving Dempsey flustered and Takeo laughing his ass off. Richtofen’s snoring paused. The American would grit his teeth and try his best to hold himself off, but he bursted out.
“No, Nikolai I’m not a fuckin’ man kisser! I like chicks,” Dempsey scoffed, raising his arms and pointing at Nikolai and Takeo with each one for good measure, “I swim like a fish, is that what you want to hear? I ain’t gay!”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the greatest reply, because Nikolai tilted his head in genuine confusion, Takeo continued to laugh, and Richtofen was slowly pulling the layers of flags off his body to stare at the trio with squinted eyes. Those mismatched irises made sure to bounce between staring at Dempsey, then Takeo, then Nikolai, and then, Dempsey again.
“The fuck you mean you’re a gay fish? ” Richtofen would say through a yawn, getting the point across perfectly for Nikolai, who then began to laugh with Takeo. Dempsey groaned, moving his left arm to point over Nikolai’s shoulder to the German doctor.
“Go back to sleep, Doc,” Tank grunted, crossing his arms now as he leaned against the wall, making sure to turn his attention away from the three laughing and to focus on the gnawing jaw of the zombie they’d tied up instead. He could feel himself pouting, but he curled his eyebrow to make sure he looked extra pissed, staring at the zombie as its maw clapped open and shut, drooling. If he thought really hard, which he didn’t like to do, he could ignore the laughing and just think it was zombie noise. Eugh, no, that was even worse.
“Dempsey,” the voice that broke him from thought was vaguely accented, and as he turned, he saw Nikolai had moved to sit by him now. The Russian wore a neutral expression as he usually did now, with the scars on his face creasing the skin in a permanent reminder of previous anger. Nikolai clicked his tongue, “I didn’t mean to upset you, if that is what happened. I… I didn’t understand what Takeo had given me.”
“What did he give you? I didn’t see,” Dempsey frowned, biting his tongue as Nikolai reached his gloved hands into his jacket pocket and pulled out a deep blue scale. Dempsey’s deep blue scale. The one he pulled from his foot, and threw aside. Takeo must have picked it up while he was unaware. The scale was sharp at its point, but was a pretty sight.
“I assumed he was alluding to you being gay, not… literally being a fish,” Nikolai laughed lightly with humour.
“I’m not a fish,” Dempsey grunted.
“I know that. What’s the proper word? Fish man,” Nikolai’s thicker accent began to show its head through the nervous talk of dancing around the topic. Dempsey bit his lip, frowning tighter. He wandered his body away from Nikolai’s with a shuffle, moving towards the exit now. He didn’t want this.
“Nik’, as much as I trust you, I can’t when Richtofen’s around us,” Dempsey grumbled, getting to his feet, and adjusting his hair obsessively, slicking his hair to the same side five times before he was satisfied, and wandering away.
“Takeo can watch Richtofen and the hell pig. It is not good to be separated,” Nikolai quickly got up to his own feet, following Dempsey with rough steps. Dempsey paused in his steps, looking down at the shorter man, before grunting, a silent admittance of defeat. He turned around, and shifted his feet to step down the stairs back towards the ocean. From the sound of Nikolai’s powerful steps, he could assume he was being followed.
There was a silence, as the two made their way through the trees, walking along the path that was decorated with blood. The sludge of the swamp stuck to them, but as Dempsey kept walking, his skin itched for the salt water. Nikolai, heavier than Dempsey through pure bone density and muscle, took a longer time to get through the muck, but the American paced himself to be close to the Russian. Using the roots of these forest trees to haul themselves out of the mud, it was only a few more steps until they were back to the sand. By now, it was a dusk morning, and even if the apocalypse always brought with it fog and heavy air, Dempsey took a deep breath and admired what little they could see of the sun.
“Do you miss home, Nikolai?” Dempsey quietly asked, the faint wind blowing into his ears and whistling nature’s greatest tune; peace. So long as that zombie stayed tied to its post, the peace would remain.
“Everyday, Dempsey. I don’t believe any of us don’t miss home,” Nikolai would sniff the dampness of the air and watch the waves crash with his blue eyes, leaving Dempsey to also watch the tidal waves. They crashed into the sand with eagerness, leaving the sand to glitter in the sun once the water fell back. Nikolai hummed, “do you not miss it? Home, wherever you call it?”
“Sometimes, but other times I just kind of think of The Army as home. Technically, you guys are my army,” Dempsey chuckled faintly, deciding to sit himself down on the sand and sighing. Nikolai stayed standing.
“I suppose I can agree,” Nikolai’s voice was distant. Clearly a topic he wouldn’t discuss, and Dempsey wouldn’t pry. Instead, the American simply began unbuckling his boots, and adjusting his pants.
“Richtofen is still a bit of an exception to that whole, ‘you guys are home’ rule,” Tank would cackle, his gravelly voice carrying itself in the wind. Nikolai in response would laugh as well.
“Possibly. He is too tired to give us plans now, leaving Takeo to babysit. How fun,” Nikolai snorted, even if he was being sarcastic, and finally relaxed enough to sit down. Dempsey, pulling his jacket off, crawled to the water and finally began pulling his pants entirely off. Nikolai didn’t care. Why would he? Dempsey and he just went swimming in the mud. He’d do the same, eventually.
“Poor Tak’, always cleaning up after us,” there was something calming about laughing his ass off with Nikolai as his body lit in a faint glow of the sun, scales forming themselves out through the skin, and he quickly dove into the next wave as it took form. Nikolai did not give a shit, until he realised what actually happened. At that point, silence regained the stage, and Nikolai blinked a couple times to process whatever it meant.
“...Is this how you come out as a gay fish?”
That, again, is not what it meant.
“Fuck off, Nikolai,” Dempsey groaned, sinking under the water in a disappointed fashion. How does one tell some secret to Nikolai and not be a victim to his amazing English butchering skills?
“I am just saying what the Doctor said,” Nikolai’s quick defence was met with Dempsey’s genuine cackle.
“There’s your problem!”
This whole plan of Richtofen’s, just ended up in Dempsey revealing his secret to the only other two in their group of four who could swim. And for that, if he ever needed to carry the dumbass on his back over water again, at least he had an excuse to hide himself. So yeah, it was a bit rough, but so were the waves.
Maybe a beach episode instead of an apocalypse would’ve been nice…