Cave Story - Chapter 9 - Weakness
#8 of Cave Story- If Quote wasn't there...
A cold wind swept through the room, circled about Ace. It pierced through Ace's clothing, seeped into his skin, and filled him with a sense of dread. He shivered, closing his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself in a dull attempt to shield himself from the cold. The darkness crept across the floor, enveloped his body, captured him in it's deadly embrace. He felt weightless, as if he was about to fall, and did nothing to stop it.
"Ace?!" Sue's shocked tone shattered Ace's reality. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor, his head throbbing painfully. Sue knelt next to him, cradled his head into her lap.
"Hi." He smiled up at her, in hopes of chasing away her worried expression.
"You're bleeding, Ace." Sue lifted Ace's jacket. She was horrified, his entire shoulder was covered in a thick layer of coagulating blood. It clung to his skin and fur, coated the underside of his jacket. Sue gasped, she could see inside the gash on his shoulder. She faced away from him in the nick of time, anymore and she would have lost her lunch.
"Whoops. Ha ha, I forgot." Ace's lighthearted attitude annoyed her. He acted as if he wasn't even hurt. "Help me out of my jacket."
Sue struggled to keep herself from staring at Ace's wound as she helped peel away his clothing. As careful as she was, she still got blood on her hands. She stared down at her white paws, bloodstained, and it horrified her. Just when she thought she was going to lose it, Ace reached out and grabbed her wrists, wiping her hands with a clean portion of his messy jacket.
"Sorry, that's the best I can do." He spoke softly to her, looking up at her with his emerald eyes. It was such an unusual color, almost mesmerizing. "Everything will be alright, I promise." He smiled again. Her heart lifted and she found herself weakly smiling in return. He was so reassuring and even though he was bleeding all over the floor, he still concerned himself with her well being.
"Now, could you get me the kit from outta that box?" He lifted his hand, pointing towards a cabinet set right next to the door, with word 'Emergency' painted in big red letters on it. She stood and turned, her face flushing again. Who was this guy?! How could anyone resist him?! He was so very kind.
Ace sighed softly, laying his head flat on the floor. He closed his eyes for a moment. His wound didn't anymore - and it frightened him. Images from long ago ran through his mind, rage, blood, pain... then nothing, just darkness. He opened his eyes, relieved to see the ceiling. He turned his head to look at Sue, from his position on the floor, he was able to see underneath her dress. A smile crept across his face and he chuckled. Sue had a really cute behind. When he was satisfied, he propped his back against the wall, sitting upright.
Sue opened the 'Emergency' case and yelped in surprise. A large gun fell from the case and clattered to the floor. She lept backwards, as if it was going to attack her. Curious, she reached down to pick it up. Ace laughed softly.
"It's a Grenade Launcher. I'm gonna need that too."
"Oh." Sue took a moment to wonder exactly why there was a weapon stuffed away with a First Aid kit, she quickly realized there was a giant monster egg sitting behind her and if anything went wrong, someone was going to end up injured. She brought the two back to Ace then squatted beside him.
"Give me your hand."
"What?" Hesitantly, Sue reached a hand out to Ace. He cupped her hand, pulled his gun from it's holster and set it into her paw. He closed her fingers around the grip. "Ace...?" She was confused, what exactly did he want for her to do with it?
"Sue, take this. I want you to head back to the village."
"But, Ace, what about you? You're hurt, I can't leave you like this."
"I'll be fine, trust me." He smiled at her again, "I want you to go back to the village. It's safer there... and just in case, I want you to take my gun. I don't know what's crawling around in here."
Sue sighed loudly and she reluctantly stood, "But Ace - "
"If something attacks us, I won't be able to protect you again." He said sternly, reaching out for the grenade launcher. He picked it up, waving it back and forth in the air. "I'll be fine Sue, you won't need to worry about me. I've got this." He chuckled softly.
She turned to leave, but just as she was about to step out the door, he called to her.
"Oh! And, I'll be needing my gun back, so take care of it." She wasn't expecting to use it. She glanced back at him one last time, then stepped out, leaving him alone to his thoughts. He sighed again, leaning his head back against the wall. He felt so tired. He just wanted to fall asleep there and never wake up. But he knew Toroko was waiting for him. Somewhere. He groaned, grabbing the First Aid kit off the floor and plopping it in his lap. He opened it and there was everything he'd ever need to patch himself up. He hummed quietly to himself, as if he was tending a simple cut, not a missing chunk of his shoulder.
"Such a lonely day..."