The War (DergTheDergon x Myla)

[Myla]

Dexter nods tense and presses his lips together, but acts like he's okay, "No, it's fine. It's whatever." He hasn't seen his father in years. More than likely he's still going to treat him like a traitor and he wasn't looking forward to it. If that's the case than his father would try to convince him to fight in the war again and he definitely doesn't want to. The only person who could convince him might be Sasha, but otherwise no else would do so.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha sighed again at Dexter's less-than-enthusiastic answer. It was clearly not fine, but she didn't say anything... she didn't need to. It was probably clear from her sigh and her silence that she knew it was troubling him. He still seemed tense after quite a while though, and Sasha didn't like seeing him like this. In order to help him, Sasha found herself acting sort of out of character for her, not usually being the touchy-feely type. She took her arms and moved them from around his neck to under his shoulders and around his chest, then laid her head on his shoulder. If he expressed that it was uncomfortable, she would stop but for now she was essentially hugging him from behind. She actually liked this, it felt comfortable to her at least. She found herself letting out a deep breath and relaxing a bit, breathing in the scent of his shirt for a moment. If he asked what she was doing this for, he'd tell him it felt comfortable. No need to tell him she was really doing it for his comfort, as he'd probably figure that out on his own. If she felt him release the tension in his back she'd smile warmly into his shoulder, feeling like she did a good job.


Either way, the two would reach the base rather soon. It was up on a hill, guarded by two soldiers and had a camouflaged entrance in the hillside. Sasha would get down off of Dexter's shoulders and approach the guards, yielding from having their weapons drawn because she had changed back into her uniform before they left Dexter's house earlier. She exaplined her situation, showed them her dogtags and they let her and Dexter in. Walking through the door and into the metal structure on the inside, the gaurds led the mtowards the qaurters where there were a couple of extra beds available. They passed a sergeant discussing with his commander about things. Sasha looked over Dexter's face as they passed, judging by his reaction weather said sergeant was his father or not.

 

[Myla]

Dexter takes comfort from her hug being a bit more at ease. After a few minutes his body becomes less and less tense and Dexter says softly , "Thank you, I needed that." Dexter likes the feeling of her arms wrapped around him, she felt soft against him. As continued walking, Dexter tried to shove his father out of his head, but it just wasn't working. He'll try to think about anything or anyone, he tries to focus his head on counting trees, listening to Sasha breath, to singing random songs in his head, but nothing, Dexter kept thinking back to his dad. To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie. Yes, he wasnt tense, but he could feel his axiety rise.


Dexter stops the momment he walks in when he recognizes the chesnut colored hair that matches his hair and the brown eyes he didnt inherit. His face becomes blank and neutral upon seeing his father. With a Russian accent his father looks at him and says, "Dexter, is that you my boy?" Dexter presses his lips together, but nods. Face to face they just stare at each other until his father asks, "Finally joining the war?" Dexter glares with his voice becoming ice cold, "No, Alec." His father glares back, "Don't disrespect me and then why the hell are you here?"

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha smiled warmly into Dexter's shoulder as he told her that her impromptu hug was helped him. In his words, he needed it. Sasha's heartbeat rose a bit at those words, as it seemed to be a sign he was attracted to her. Throughout the trip, she could tell something was still bothering him, namely the prospect of running into his father at the base, but Sasha was glad she was able to help alleviate his tension at least a little. Sasha finally took her head out of the clouds when they finally came upon the base.


Sasha froze the moment Dexter did, looking back and forth between him and the general, and frowned towards Dexter in a statement of empathy for the unpleasant conversation he was most likely about to have. Sasha stood by his side, Saluting the general only to be ignored as he dressed his son. Pressingh er lips into a straight line, she listened as the general said words that infuriated her about as much as it probably did Dexter. He had no business imposing a way of life onto his son n Sasha's eyes, but out of respect she didn't mention that and clamly adressed the general after he asked why Dexter was here. "I led him here sir, not to be enlisted but to take refuge... and get myself reinstated. Spec Ops agent Sasha Xiang, sir... your son saved my life." @Myla

 

[Myla]

Alex just glared at his son, "Tinkering is a boy's job. Medical stuff is a woman's job, but a soldier is a man's job and you need to man up."


Dexter scowls sarcastically, "Man up! Yes, because going out there risking my life everyday is a way to 'man up!'" Dexter takes a step towards Alec, "Since we are talking about 'manning up,' how about you do it first. Maybe instead of kicking out your soon and moving his family away making live for the oncoming years out on the streets along, maybe you should've listened. Maybe you should've accepted the fact that I rather be a inventor or a doctor. Maybe you should've left the choice up to me on what I wanted to be! Because you know what? It's my damn life and I make the fucking decisions for it!"


Alec points his finger at him growling taking a step closer to him being face to face with his son, "Shut the hell up! I taught you all the lessons you needed to learn this life to survive! You should be grateful, you bastard. The least you could do is to fight in the war and not be a damn traitor! After all the things I taught you and all the time I wasted on you, you could at least make your father proud, but no! You become a damn coward and refused to join, do you know how embarrassing that is for me?"


Dexter scowls, "I don't give a fuck about how embarrassing it is for you. It's my life and my choices."


Alec hears Sasha and scowls, "He may have saved your life, soldier, but he's still a coward for not fighting for his country."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha stood there, arms crossed as the altercation between father and son raged on. She was barely able to resist rolling her eyes at Alec as he commented on her job apparently being a "man's Job." Even in this day and age, sexism still remains strong. He most likely didn't mean it as a jab at all women soldiers, but saying that in front of a female Spec Ops agent, not to mention arguing so heatedly in front of so many of his comrades,was extremely inappropriate behavior for a man of his rank. Sasha could already see why there was such bad blood between Dexter and Alec... Dexter was a good man, but his Father, sadly, seemed to be quite the opposite. Sasha stood quietly next to Dexter, annoyance apparent on her face, and at the pointwhere Alec turns to her, she frowned for a moment before looking him straight in the eyes with a neutral expression. "With all due respect Sir, by law in this situation he is not required to join. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to settle into our new quarters." With that, Sasha and Dexter began to walk away, Sasha ignoring any of Alec's further remarks and talking o distract Dexter from the same. "I certainly see why your attitude towards him is the way it is... anyway, once I get reinstated they're probably going to redeploy me. I... I want you to come with me. I can pull a few favors around here so you can do so without joining the military. It's be dangerous so you don't have to come but... I feel the need to be out there fighting again, and I'd feel safer if you were there with me." Sasha looked Dexter to the eyes, a pleading look in her own eyes, hoping that Dexter would agree.

 

[Myla]

Dexter walks away with Sasha before his father had any chance to comment something else. Dexter glares at the wall, "He is really something else, isn't he? Don't even know why I still consider him my father since these past couple of years he's been treating me like shit." Dexter rubs his head feeling an oncoming headache thats gonna become a margrain pretty soon, "He frustrates me so much." The first thoughts Dexter has were involved with axiety, If she fights and gets hurt... Dexter nods automatically agreeing not wanting to be away from her side, "But why do you want to fight again?"

 

[DergTheDergon]

"Yeah, he really is..." Sasha replied in an exasperated tone. "He may be a sergeant but he doesn't really act like one... he acts like an entitled ,spoiled brat if you ask me."Seeing that Dexter really didn't want to continue talking about his Father, Sasha then dropped the subject. Sasha rubbed his back gently as he rubbed his head, hoping to de-stress him a bit as he thought about her proposal. Of course, Dexter nodded... she had a feeling he'd agree anyway, but still found herself anxious for his answer and relieved greatly when she gave it.


His next question caused her brow to furrow. He's explained this to him before... was it really so hard for him to understand? "I just... feel this duty to my country, to my family, to my comrades, as long as I'm alive to keep fighting. The enemy has taken so much from me and everyone I hold dear that I just can't bring myself to sit down and do nothing to fight against them." @Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter sighs, but without thinking about it, he turns around and holds Sasha against him, "I know, I'm sorry. It's difficult for me to process this." Laying his chin on her hair, Dexter talks softly, "I dunno if I only care about you just because you're my comrade..." He pauses for a second before admitting out loud, "I think it's because I'm starting to like you in a different way. I think I'm developing feelings for you making this hard for me to like the idea of you wanting to fight." Dexter hasn't felt any attraction toward any woman in years, probably since his freshman year in high school when he had his first girlfriend, but that was just puppy love. This was something else. Dexter shakes his head, "I may never understand, but the one thing I do understand is that I want to be by your side. You fight out there, then I'm joining as well. You stay, I stay. You decide to leave this base and go to another one, I follow you." Dexter sighs, "I care about you and I'm not willing to give you up. I will probably ask over and over about why you can't just stay safe with me or why you have to go out there to fight, but please do understand, I mean it with the best of intentions."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha was taken by surprise, and her feelings, as Dexter embraced her. After the initial shock faded, Sasha found herself resting her cheek against his chest, breathing deeply and relaxing a little as she gently closed her arms around his back. Her heart beat faster, her mouth growing dryer the more he spoke. It was almost as though she'd been waiting for him to say something like this, as she felt so relieved at his words, but she hadn't consciously thought about that sort of thing. She found herself silently listening to his words, her grip tightening on his bac and tears welling in her eyes, before speaking up once more. "Dexter, I.... I care about you too.... very much..." she confessed while blushing. "I understand... I won't go out of my way to point it out anymore... I find it sweet how much you're looking out for me." She stayed there, holding him until the very moment he pulled away.


@Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter sighs and stays holding her tight against his chest, "If you're rejoining the war, then I am too because there's no way in hell would I let you go fight out in the battle field while I stay in the sidelines. If could protect you out in the battle field, then I am going to definitely do it. You're duty may be to them, but mine is to you." Even though, Dexter hates the war, he's come to accept the fact that if Sasha is going join, he gonna have to do so as well. He'll take a bullet for if he has to, metaphorically speaking and physically speaking. "If I'm joining, I will have to go talk to my father."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha listened intently to Dexter's words, smiling a bit as he spoke so chivalrously, so bravely, insisting that he be her knight in shining armor. As a young girl, Sasha didn't like it when boys acted this way towards her... but as soon as she joined the army, the ever-person-for-themselves attitude that's often implied in war, especially among Special Ops agents like herself, began to wear on her. She began longing for at least one person that she can be comfortable relying on every once in a while... the hardships of war cannot be braved alone, and she learned that all too quickly with the loss of her unit, her closest friend among them.


Sasha found herself frowning a bit as Dexter said he'd have to talk to his father. She sighed, stepping back a bit and looking up into his eyes. "Yeah... I suppose you will to be honest. If I could help you avoid it I would but, nothing like this gets past a sergeant. I'll be there, right beside you. You won't face him alone. That much I can promise." Sasha smiled at him, then lifted her hand up to brush the side of Dexter's face gently. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a guard's gaze over them as he patrolled down the walkway, and she quickly lowered her hands in embarrassment. "Umm... we should find those quarters of ours and drop our stuff off," she said with a blush, before walking of and beginning to do just that. @Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter leans his face against Sasha's hand, "I would like you to be there with me when I tell him, it helps a lot to have you around me." Dexter looks at her confused when she drops her hand, but follows her, "How about we tell him tomorrow and tonight we get a good night's sleep since we both need some rest. We were both walking for a while and it's better to deal with my father with a well-rested head." Arriving at the quarters, Dexter lays his bag on the floor next to the wall, "Besides, it would do us some good to not worry about that stuff for now."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha nods. "Of course. No way in hell I'd make you do that alone." She smiles at him, then nods again at his next suggestion. "It's like you read my mind." She followed him, taking his hand when she was sure that the coast was clear. It wasn't as though she dreaded being seen showing affection towards him, but in a military base it's considered bad conduct and could have consequences for both of them... including quite a stern lecture from Sargent Alec most likely. Once they got into the Soldier's quarters, a small room with no one in it right now, though possibly some soldiers milling about and going to sleep in the next few hours, Sasha lays her bag on the floor and sits down on a nearby unclaimed bunk bed, laying down. "Yeah... try not to worry so much you can't fall asleep, pleas,e' she said with a concerned tone of voice. "For the record... I... kind of want to sleep like we did back in your house... together... but that's a bad idea here. The beds are small and... it's against conduct. If we do end up having the chance a few nights from now though, which we might... I intend to take it." She said with a bit of a smile.


@Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter shakes his head, "I'm always worried, but don't worry, I'll eventually get some sleep even if it's late or not." Dexter lays in an untaken bed with his arms behind his head and grins lazily, "If it weren't for you and the respect you have towards the military rules, I would say fuck it and continue to let you sleep in my bed. It would be worth whatever consequences we receive for that. However, I do promise to let you do so the first chance we get to unless you wish to bend the rules?"As Dexter was about to open his mouth to talk again, there was a loud boom and few others following that one that made the building shake, "What the hell.." Dexter gets up, "Wait here, imma go check it out." As go goes out he sees soldiers rushing out with guns in their arms. Dexter grabs one by the arm stopping him, "What's going on?" The soldier jerk his arm out of the hols and keeps going, but yells out we're being invaded. "Shit!" He rushes back into the quarters to Sasha, "We're being invaded.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha blushes, looking down and seeming to consider Dexter's offer. She really wanted to be close to him, and they'd only be here for a couple days or so anyway, not much chance of being caught and reprimanded. Then, just as she was anticipating Dexter's next words, the alarm sounded. Sina gasped in a panic, getting up from her bed. 'Had there been an attack?' She thought in shock. She had a bad feeling they wouldn't be able to rest anytime soon, and that things were about to suddenly get a whole lot worse. She reluctantly nodded to Dexter at his words, not all that ahppy about him going off on his own in a situation like this, but there was no time to argue. While Dexter was out of the room, Sasha sighed and began getting her weapons back out and ready just in case they were needed. Just a moment later, Dexter came back with the last news Sasha wanted to here right now, confirming her fears. "I figured that... the alarms don't go off around here for anything less. Follow me." Without waiting for an answer, Sasha stepped in front of him, gun raised, and peeked around the corner before motioning for Dexter to follow her with her left hand. Returning the hand to keep a firm, dual-handed drip on her pistol, she began advancing, looking for any enemies ahead. She knew this place better than Dexter did, and had a safer way to retaliate against enemy gunfire. So, she took it upon herself to take the lead for now.


@Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter goes over to his bag getting one of the grenades that Sasha gave him earlier and a knife he keeps hidden in case anything happens where he would need to use it. Before Sasha goes out there, Dexter grabs her hand and looks straight into her eyes concerned, "Be careful, stay safe. I want you all in one piece." He kisses her head before they go out there. Dexter reluctantly let's her take the lead, but becomes ready to push her behind him if needed. As they start heading towards the loud booms, Dexter sudden feels someone hit his right shoulder with the blunt end of a gun causing him to drop his knife. Wincing, Dexter becomes quick to fight back and sharply shoves his elbow back into the man's rib cage, making him stumble. He gets the first two punches in, but the man strikes back punching him in the side catching Dexter off balance. Using this to his advantage, the man grab him in a choke-hold trying to strangle Dexter. Struggling with strong hold the man has on him, Dexter quickly reacts by throwing his head back causing the man to fall on his back onto the floor groaning in pain on the verge of passing out from the strong blow to his head from Dexter. He punches the man a few more times to ensure that he won't wake up anytime soon Dexter shakes his head, but whispers quickly to Sasha, "We need to keep going. The enemy is inside and not too far away."

 

[DergTheDergon]

She looks towards Dexter in wide-eyed surprised as he grabs her hand, looking into his eyes and feeling a little mesmerized to be honest, he had beautiful eyes. She blushed a little as he kissed her head, then nodded. "I will. That goes for you two, y'know," She smirked a little at him, then pulled away and began taking the lead. She heard something troubling behind her, like someone trying to sneak up on them, as they headed through the base, the alarm still going off. Sharply turning around, she saw the man sneaking up behind Dexter and began to say "watch ou-" but it was too late. Sasha found herself watching the fight, hoping Dexter didn't get hurt and not being as focused on watching her own back as she perhaps should've been. Once Dexter had won, Sasha felt a sudden relief and calmness about her. She nodded, then began to feel another troubling presence behind her. She turned that direction, gun facing an enemy soldier just like she feared, just when he shot at her, the bullet zipping right past her head and grazing her hair, causing a few strands to fall off. Having been in these kinds of situations before, her mind razor-focused on aiming that the enemy's chest with her pistol. One shot, and he fell to the ground. Another came around the corner, aiming at her, .but she was already anticipating that. They wouldn't send just one grunt after a uniformed spec ops soldier. Both of them dropped like flies, and she then found herself looking behind her to Dexter. "You alright?" The bullet's trajectory looked like it couldn't have hit him, but Sasha needed to make sure he was okay. The moment she received an answer, of course if it was a relieving one and not saying he was injued or anything, Sasha would motion for him to follow her and keep moving.

 

[Myla]

Dexter keeps moving behind Sasha, but whispers, "Yeah, I'm good. There would be a few bruises in the morning, but nothing I can't handle." As they keep walking Dexter gets an idea seeing a small door to the escape route and whispers again, "These halls seem to be the first place they keep checking, how about we go through the escape routes. If we could make it outside, we would be of a greater help to others than going through the hallways. We would be able to see more and suspect less surprise attacks, but it could be risky.. We might see more soldiers, but at least we could see them coming and have the chance to fight back before they kill us." At that moment the lights start flickering, "That means they made it to the supply. There's a good chance they could see us, shoot any and all cameras. We need to go before they completely shut off the lights making us a more vulnerable target or before they see us through the cameras and decide to shoot us up."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha nods at his suggestion. "Good idea," she whispered back at him, "you're right, it's risky, but if we can take more of their forces out that way, they'll be less likely to surprise us and overwhelm the others." Sasha carefully makes her way through the halls to the emergency exits, speaking no more but nodding in agreement with his other suggestions. Soldier or no, Dexter seemed to be very adept at coming up strategies for situations like this that Sasha may have never thought of. She shot every security camera she spotted along the way, eventually making it outside through the escape routes. Outside, they spotted a sizable number of troops, a couple squads or so, still waiting to go in. "Still got those grenades, Dex?" Sasha whispered to him. "You could blow most of those bastards to high heaven with that arm of yours." Pistol trained on the remaining forces, she breathed deeply to calm her nerves, training her aim on the nearest enemy soldier just in case they were spotted while she was waiting for his response.


@Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter grins and nods having an idea, "Hell yeah I do, but here's what we're gonna do." He brings her along with him behind a few fallen trees that have over grown bushes and moss covering it. He points at the scatter soldiers, "We only have a few grenades, but all the soldiers are scattered. The closer they're together the better. If I'm correct, a human's first instinct is to take cover or fight back. Here's the part that may cause you to call me a nutjob... Shoot at the soldiers, they'll either huddle together, start charging towards us or... shoot at us. It's risky, I know, but if they huddle together we could hit more.. If they charge towards us, we could still hit a lot more with the grenade and send a few flying off... If they start shooting, take cover and be on the move. The tree could stop a few bullets, but only from a few certain angles. " Dexter sighs, "I know I sound like a nut job, but it might work and we're low on options."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha furrows her eyebrows inquisitively towards Dexter, wondering what his sudden idea might be. Her eyes widened at his plan... it sure did sound insane, but.... it may be the most effective way to get rid of them if it works. After staring at him in astonishment for A few moments, Sasha finally spoke up quietly. "Dexter... you don't sound as much like a nutjob to me as a goddamn genius right now. I like how think... I've been in worse situations then that many soldiers shooting at me so... it's worth a shot. Or several." She winked at him. Sasha had her own hidden "Nutjob" within her, and Dexter was bringing it out right now with his crazy plan. "Alright, get ready." She snuck back over to her cover from earlier and unloaded at thier forces for a few moments. The soldiers freak out, looked around, and fortunately began huddling together, aiming thier guns in her Direction. "Now , Dex," Sasha whispered, getting down and covering her ears to prepare herself for the blast.


@Myla

 

[Myla]

Even though this is the worse time for laughs and giggles, he could help, but smile when she calls him Dex. He shakes his head becoming focus again and nods when she says now. He gets up throwing the grenade hard and takes cover as the grenade sends some enemies tumbling onto the ground and causes others to be killed or knocked out. Grabbing Sasha's hand, he starts moving towards a similar, "Come on, let's go . They're disoriented so we could move, but we only have a few seconds!" As they were moving, Dexter notices something, there were too few soldiers there fighting, maybe just 10 or so... There's no bodies laying around and he was sure that they had hundreds of soldiers here, "Did our side...Leave? It doesn't make sense."

 

[DergTheDergon]

Sasha couldn't help but notice a Smirk on Dexter's face when she looked to him, but didn't have time to think about why as she ducked, heard the panicked cries of several enemy soldiers before hearing the loud blast, and sprinted away from the entrance with Dexter after quickly nodding to his wise strategic words. As they moved ,Sasha following Dexter quickly and quietly with her head down, she couldn't helpbut notice the distinct lack of ally soldiers where they were bustling just moments ago. Come the think of it, when they were fighting off the few scouts sneaking around the base there weren't many in the halls either, though to be honest that area of the base was usually pretty deserted. This area, that they were currently going through, was usually bustling with troops though... and it looked like a ghost town right now. "Yeah.... I think they did retreat... but why? That goes entirely against protocol, and it's more easily defensible than the surrounding area... I just don't understand who would've made a call like that..." Sasha kept moving, obviously distressed by this revelation involving her comrades, or sudden lack thereof. After they had doubled back quite a ways, Sasha ducked down and whispered to Dexter. "I hate to hate this but... I think we should clear the hell out of here as soon as we can. We can't fight the rest of them ourselves."


@Myla

 

[Myla]

Dexter nods, "It's extremely strange, my father isn't the type to back off from a battle.." He agrees with Sasha about needing to leave, "I have one last grenade we could use as a divergent to distract them from us escaping and then afterwards we'll run. Later on, we'll figure out where to go." He gestures for her to get down and then counts down quietly before throwing it. He gets up and throws its it hard again. The moment it lands, Dexter is on his feet holding onto Sasha's hand, "Let's go!" As they start running one soldier shoots at Dexter, but fortunately, the bullet doesn't pierce him. However, it does leave a bloody gash where it slid against his shoulder, "Really, that one too! Why does everyone hit the shoulders..." When they get far enough where the enemy can't reach them, Dexter slows down and takes off his shirt to hold it against the bleeding gash wincing. As he does, he notices one of their soldiers down on the ground with his eyes wide open and Dexter goes up to him not recognizing who it was yet.


Putting two fingers against the soldier's neck, he tries to find the pulse, but gets nothing, "No pulse, I think he's dead." Frowning, Dexter closes the soldiers eyes respectfully and tries to find his dog tag. Upon finding it, he sees the soldier was shot in the chest. Wiping off the blood off the tag, he reads out the name, "Stanley McCallen." Reading the name, he realizes who was, "I know why they retreated.. That was dad's best friend,


General McCallen. He runs all plans with dad and helped dad lead his troops." Dexter couldn't recogize him at first since he was covered in dirt, but now, he could clearly see him. He has known Stanley since he was a kid, Stanley was practically his second dad and actually supported his choice on not to join the army. Dexter loved the man like he was family and couldn't believe he was gone. Sighing, Dexter salutes him sadden by his death, but knew the man hated tears so he holds back any tears he has, "Thank you for your service. I'll make sure Vanessa and the kids are in great care, sir." Dexter face stays neutral except for his eyes that are filled with unshed tears and sadness.