43 End of the Barrel

Parc flexed his muscles getting the ice around him to crack and crunch, pieces falling to the ground around him in large and small chunks alike, leaving only a few still clung to his hair and clothing. Cupping his hands together, he blew warm air into them to warm up the bright red fingers.

"Am I the only one feeling cold in here or what?" He looked up to the three Jaegers with a smirk. Pressing his hand into the ground he used it to help push himself up to his feet, his bones cracking all the way up, "fuck me…" he groaned twisting his torso left and right to pop his spine of his stiffness.

Wave looked to be cautious, sharing a look with Bols before refocusing on Parc who has squeezing one arm between his elbows.

"What? No one want to talk to the assassin?" He asked half jestingly while keeping a very close eye on Seryu who looked about a second away from committing homicide. "Understandable," he shrugged, finally able to look around the room he'd been thrown into, which looked like a generic, if not quite 'modern' prison cell with a nice fluffy bed on one side and nowhere to do his business on the other.

"Now, I'm guessing you all aren't willing to let me go?"

"Yeah- no," Wave shook his head, raising a brow, unable to properly determine what to think of Parc up close.

"Also, understandable. I'd also be terrified of pissing Esdeath by letting her pincushion go free."

'pincushion?' Wave thought to himself. His thought apparently worn on his sleeve.

"Esdeath likes to play pin the icicle on the spinal column with me when she's not busy giving me frostbite. Or forcing me into near life and death fights with her soldiers. Did you know that apparently all of them see her as a god? It's really weird and borderline cult like. Were she not so insane, I'd even consider it hot. A lady who everyone believe a god," he chuckled. He considered her hot… cool? One of the above, anyways."

None of the Jaegers said anything, once again sharing looks, except Seryu who was still seething. Her dog growling even more so than her.

"Anyone?" Parc called out to them, "I feel like I'm the only one talking here. I've been defrosted for five minutes already. You three are terrible hosts."

Wave blinked, "could you just stop talking for a moment."

"Fuck no. I feel like a popsicle, talking's helping warm me up. So you're going to have to deal with chatty me while I warm up and dry off," he flicked his hand, sending a splatter of water along the ground. "You wouldn't happen to have any spare clothing for me would you? I'd like to get out of this all."

"You know you don't give off the feeling of elite trained assassin, right?" Wave said.

"And you don't give off the feeling of military soldier in a corrupt empire that's intent on destroying the lives of civilians." Parc smirked as he saw Wave stand dumbfounded. "Let's just call it even Wave."

To that, Wave frowned, "so you know my name."

"And his, Bols right?" Bols nodded, "and hers," he nodded his head in the direction of Seryu. "Actually, out of all of the Jaegers I know her the best. As well as her boyfriend. By the way," he locked onto the seething girl, "how is Tatsumi, haven't seen him in a while. Still dealing with life as an Imperial Enforcer?"

Seryu flinched, her anger giving way to surprise, before returning swiftly to anger. "Shut up." She growled.

"I believe I already said that talking is warming me up." He retorted ignoring her comment. "Oh, that reminds me, Seryu. Do you mind if I punch you? Just once? With a knife? Preferably in the shoulder near the heart like where you shot Sheele using your little mouth cannon." Cracking his knuckles, Parc put the Jaegers on edge Wave and Bols gripping their Teigu tighter.

Giving them a dumb look Parc said, "what, I'm asking for permission first. Though, I don't mind being little forceful if I have to be."

He knew it was likely a poor idea to be antagonizing these three. He just honestly didn't care, it was fun. Plus, if they did do anything and Esdeath got really angry and made use of the 'death' part of her name, that'd mean one less Jaeger to deal with in the future.

Waving his left hand through the air he materialized his teigu. Keeping the palm facing towards them with a toothy grin. Their eyes sharpening, or at least he thought so, he couldn't tell with Bols due to his whole full faced mask.

"You won't survive if you try to fight us all at once." Wave determined.

Parc squinted at him, looking to his gauntlet, "oh, would you look at that, I 'accidentally' awakened my teigu." He deactivated it, "sorry about that. Feeling a little antsy after being abducted by my crazy psychopathic wannabe girlfriend… or is it wife… I really have no idea what she plans to do with me." He shrugged turning to the bed, making short stride to it while unbuttoning his vest, throwing the damp fabric to the side before moving onto the rest of his clothes.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE'S A GIRL HERE!" Wave shouted as Parc pulled his pants and underwear down, showing off his toned butt to the group.

Tilting his head to them snorted, "and? She wouldn't be the first to see me naked." He threw his clothing to the ground before seating himself on the bed, crossing his legs just enough to keep his package out of the limelight. "Get me some dry clothing, and I'll happily put it on. But right now, I really don't feel like feeling like a sponge in the middle of the Atlantic… uh… northern seas,' he corrected his earth terms with this world terms.

Once again Wave could only draw a blank at the eccentric Night Raider in front of him. Trying to reason that he was an elite assassin and not some shameless gigolo Esdeath grew a fancy to.

"Plus, if she didn't like what she was seeing, she'd have looked away by now. Instead…" he looked to Seryu, who stared unblushingly right at his face, "…she's trying to stare me to death. Which, all credit to her, I understand. First Ogre, now Stylish. Must feel like the worlds out to get you, doesn't it?" He had faint memories of Seryu and her insanity stemming from her repeated losses of loved ones and general fanaticism with 'justice.'

"Shut. Up." She growled, her voice growing hoarser and more demonic. Koro's body slowly growing in size until he dwarfed even Bols. "You don't know anything you vile monster!" She roared, stomping her foot down, just inches away from rushing him and giving Koro a nice midday meal.

"I don't know anything?" Parc smirked, "tell me, Seryu, how many people has Ogre put to death?" He leaned forward, resting his chin on his palm, "how many men? How many women? What about the children he had killed? the people he framed? The murders he let go by? What about when he himself decided to go about raping girls and got off scot free?"

Seryu's teeth ground against each other. Besides her Wave and Bols were panicking. They could see her on the verge of breaking down and kill Parc. Which would not end well for any of them. "Seryu, calm down." Wave quickly ran in front of her to break her line of sight of Parc.

"SHUT UP!" Seryu grabbed Wave's shoulder, throwing him to the side as she stomped towards Parc, Koro looming behind her. Parc just calmly staring her in her insane eyes. "You don't know anything about captain Ogre you detestable vermin!"

Parc sighed, this was bound to be a stupid place to go with Seryu, but why not go all the way, "do you know why Ogre had to die, Seryu?"

Seryu's eyes dilated, "don't you dare talk about captain Ogre or I will kill you know so god help me!"

"We were hired to. See, Ogre had this little side gig as the capitals resident crime fixer. Had everyone bowing tooth and nail to him. Do a crime here, the guy over there gets the noose. Slaughter a family and have your way the girls? Well, guess what, a baker on the other side of the city get the honour of getting executed instead." Parc kept his tone sharp and piercing, watching with a neutral expression as Seryu fumed.

"CAPTAIN OGRE WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING SO DESPICABLE!" Seryu screamed, her face contorting to insanity, "CAPTAIN OGRE HAS ONLY EVER APPREHENDED THE UNJUST! HE GAVE THEM EXACTLY WHAT THEY DESERVE!"

Parc wiped his cheek of Seryu's spittle. "I pity you, Seryu. I don't know much about your parents. But I do understand your love for Ogre and Stylish. One taught you everything you know. The other gave you those little arms of yours," he recalled a little excerpt he'd skimmed over in Seryu and Stylish's reports.

"Now both are dead and gone. And the worlds a better place for it." He pushed himself further onto the bed, grabbing the sheet and pulled it over himself to help warm up.

A dark cloud lingered around Seryu, "Koro… Number seven," she growled raising her arm up.

Her 'dog' lunged towards her, it's mouth opening to reveal rows of jagged teeth that closed in around her arm. Crunching noises coming from it as its jaw cracked against the metal. Soon opening its mouth and pulling back. A long, rifle now in the place of Seryu's arm.

Clunking of metal filled the air as she pointed the opening to Parc's head.

"SERYU!" Wave yelled, rushing towards her to stop her.

"DIE!"

Parc's eyes fluttered to the doorway just as a bright light rose within the barrel of what Seryu called number seven. Noticing a flutter of snowflakes just outside the door.

Snorting he turned back to Seryu, looking her dead in the eyes, smirking as ice began to form around the muzzle, blocking the impending cannon like bullet with enough strength that the pressure within it caused the metal to bulge out with snapping metal and fire engulfing Seryu's body, sending her flying backward's crashing against the wall with a gasp.

"W-what?" Seryu coughed as she tried to push herself up with one arm. Only for someone to step on her head and grind her face into the floor.

"My orders were to ensure Parc didn't escape. Not kill him." Seryu's body jolted at the familiar voice of Esdeath above her, "I'm disappointed in you Seryu," she shivered even more, "you were trained to follow orders. Yet here you go against them. Is your loyalty to the Empire just a farce?"

"N-no-!" Ice grew around Seryu's mouth as Koro lunged towards Esdeath, displeased that it's master was being hurt. Esdeath didn't even look back to it as she summoned a pillar of ice to swallow Koro whole, freezing it in place like a statue.

"I didn't give you permission to speak." Esdeath raised her cold eyes to Wave and Bols, "and you two. I'm just as disappointed, if not more so. Seryu's little break is reasonable after all she's been through. But you two doing nothing is a worrying display. You could have easily prevented this from escalating, and yet, you did nothing."

"I'm sorry, General. I have no excuses, I will take any punishment you deem fit without complaint," Bols rubbed the back of his masked head and bowed.

Wave opened his mouth to say something, but only a squeak fell from him as Esdeath's death glare shut him up.

"Bols, Wave, Seryu," her gaze moved between the three, still grinding her heel into Seryu's head, "you are all to return to your dorms for the day. I expect you all within the training room by midday tomorrow for punishment. Am I understood?"

"Yes, General," Bols bowed once again as Wave just nodded his head. Beneath her heel Seryu doing the same.

Pulling her heel from Seryu's head, it clacked against the ground, a sign for Seryu to start pushing herself up onto her knees while Esdeath shattered the ice around Koro who stayed in his activated mode.

"Koro. I need my arm back." She downtroddenly said, getting Koro to once again bite her stumber arm to get her mechanical one back. Number seven all but shards of metal on the ground. Standing, She walked towards Wave and Bols.

"Seryu," Esdeath called to her, "so long as you are with me, I promise to put down every one of Night Raid."

Seryu's steps hesitated for just a single second before she muttered, "thank you…" the tears she had been holding back all day finally coming free just as she left Parc's cell.

Seeing them gone, Esdeath turned her focus onto Parc, her expression softening enough that a slight blush formed on her pale cheeks at the sight of him naked bar a sheet hanging over his shoulders.

Meeting her eyes, Parc shivered even more, fearful at the slight, lustful tint to them. "Uh, Esdeath," he nodded to her.

She smiled, her strides long and holding utmost confidence, bringing herself to just before him, "Parc," she raised her hands up, cupping his cheeks in them while leaning down closer to him. Her lips just about millimetres away from his, her breath stroking against his cold skin.

"Don't taunt my pets, Parc." She said in a voice as cold as ice, pain searing through his cheeks where Esdeath's fingertips touched his skin.

***

**********

***

Big thanks to FBI_B1TCH for the donation!