#a highly efficient punching bag that hides back

[theshatteredrose]

Relic Keepers: Awakening of the Red Lily (Chapter 17) - Original Fiction

AN: Since I’ve decided that this year I’m going full force into self-indulgence with my writing, future chapters are going to be fun :3c Anyway, please enjoy~

Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FictionPress

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Chapter 17:

Eishirou glanced around at the darkness around them nervously. Yet, no matter where he looked or how hard he squinted, he couldn’t see a thing. He hadn’t realised how dark night could be. He truly could not see a thing beyond the campfire’s glow.

From the incoherent grumbling heard from Zayne, it was safe to assume that he couldn’t see anything around them either.

It was hard to describe just how dark it truly was. There was no ambient light from the city. The sky was overcast, hiding the moon. Their only source of illumination was from the campfire. And its light could only reach so far.

They were like a ship in an endless pitch-black sea.

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to camp on a peak in front of a tall white building. Though, with how dark everything was, camping anywhere in these woods would be dangerous. They were going to stand out anyway. Even in the tunnels.

“Move toward the tent,” Zayne instructed quietly.

“Ok,” Eishirou replied simply.

He turned on his heel and moved slowly so not to draw attention to himself. He pulled back the flap of the tent and looked inside. Mikiel hadn’t moved and it was probably for the best. He was worried about having to move him, though. The guy was more muscular and taller than he was.

There was no way Eishirou would be able to carry him. He wouldn’t even be able to lift him. Not a dead weight like that.

He crouched down in the opening of the tent and turned his attention outside. The only thing he could do was to wait for instructions. And be ready to either run or to heal. Maybe both at the same time. Which he hoped he wouldn’t have to do.

Be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.

Zayne quickly but quietly walked over to Leon as he slept haphazardly on the ground. He nudged him in the side with his foot. Leon snorted quietly as he startled to semi-consciousness. He blinked blearily as he turned his head toward Zayne.

“We’re surrounded,” Zayne said simply. “Wake the others.”

Leon snapped into full wakefulness in that instant. He didn’t ask any questions. He just quietly leapt to his feet and set about waking the others. As he did that, Zayne focused his attention back at the darkness around them. He paced close to where the tent was, his movements slow, his back tense. He gripped his holsters tightly, ready to summon them for battle at a moment’s notice.

Eishirou tried to suppress a wince when he heard another noise. The distinct sound of breaking of a tree limb. And it was louder than previous noises. Which meant that whoever or whatever was making all the noise was moving closer.

And they still couldn’t see a thing.

But it was pretty clear that whatever was out there could see them.

The entire Team 3 stood in a circle around the campsite. And they were silent. From what he had witnessed previously, they enjoyed sharing a quip or two while anticipating battle. But they were seriously silent. Postures tense, mana holsters fully charged, and their gazes focused entirely on the darkness around them.

Man, he really hated the stifling silence and anticipation that hung in the air.

He’d say ‘just get it over with’ but he’d prefer the ShadowDwellers just leaving them alone. Though, that was highly unlikely.

A loud crack suddenly resounded through the silence. That sound was that of a felled tree. And it was close. Tatsu, the Elite closest to the sound, immediately whipped around and raised his mana guns. He fired two shots into the darkness, momentarily lightening up the area.

They caught a glimpse of tall shadowy creature before the light faded. A loud shriek was heard immediately afterwards, indicating that not only had the shots allowed them a glimpse into the darkness, it also took out the very creature they had seen.

One ShadowDweller down, who knows how many more.

But at least they knew what kind of ShadowDwellers they were dealing with; Scorpions. They were something Zayne and his teammates had encountered before. And those ShadowDwellers were likely to be the ones making all the noise.

And yet, that didn’t quite sit right. From their previous interactions, these ShadowDwellers didn’t care how much noise they made. They were ambush predators, sure. But they reckless. They weren’t shy about crashing into or onto the battlefield.

“Here they come,” Ernesta warned.

As soon as those words left her lips, several towering Scorpions scuttled into the light of the campfire. Pincers snapping, tails flailing, and uttering high-pitched shrieks of anger. They were agitated by something. And it was likely that they wouldn’t stop fighting until they found whatever that was.

“Remember; we must protect Eishirou and Mikiel, no matter what!” Ernesta commanded.

The team then launched themselves into battle against the ShadowDwellers.

It was always so awe-inspiring watching Elites in battle. Their movements were sleek and slick. Ernesta was rather sophisticated in her movements and motions. She retained the placid smile, even as she sliced through the ShadowDwellers with ease.

Tatsu was incredibly efficient in his attacks. His aim impeccable; never missing. Not once. Each shot was straight to the weak point. Taking out the ShadowDweller from a distance. Everything he did appeared so effortless. The smirk he wore on his lips indicated that he knew he very confident in his skills.

Leon was a brawler and seemed to enjoy the thrill of battle. He was extremely powerful, though. Just punching through the ShadowDwellers with little to no resistance. He was quite a big man, his muscles obvious and maybe even bulky. But he was quick on his feet; avoiding all attacks.

It was always so disconcerting watching Rinka engage in battle. She struck down any and every ShadowDweller in her path without mercy. Normally she was shy, quiet, and rather meek. But the moment she entered battle, she became cold, ruthless, and fierce. He wouldn’t say she had a split personality. But there were definitely two sides to her.

Zayne seemed to be a combination of all four. He was agile, strong, efficient, and brutal should he need to be. He would…adapt to the changing situation. Fall back from battle when necessary. Lunging forward with a barrage of attacks at the right time. Attacking efficiently, taking out the foe’s dangerous limbs and claws.

However, no matter what method of attack Zayne used, he never strayed too far from the tent. And ultimately from Eishirou. He always, always made sure to put himself between Eishirou and the advancing ShadowDwellers.

Eishirou still found himself instinctively ducking whenever a ShadowDweller ventured too close. They were always swiftly defeated by Zayne, but he still couldn’t prevent a grimace.

Things were getting really rowdy. And there were a lot of them.

Eishirou turned away from the sight just to snatch up his tablet and his carry bag. He lifted the strap of his back over his head and rested it on his shoulder. He best get himself ready to move. For any reason.

“This is getting ridiculous!” Leon complained. “Are they drawn to the fire? Or the tent?”

They…did seem to focus in on where the tent was located. Why, though? Were they after Mikiel? Again, why?

“Eishirou! Try opening the door!” Zayne suddenly shouted.

Eishirou blinked. To the lighthouse?

“R-right!”

He really was not in the best position to stop and ask questions. He just assumed that Zayne wanted him and Mikiel in the lighthouse for their protection. It was, after all, far sturdier than a nylon tent.

If he could open the door, that was.

Eishirou ran straight for the door, trusting Zayne to ensure that none of the ShadowDwellers followed him. He skidded to a halt in front of the stone white door and plunged his hand into his back pocket. He wrapped his hand around the white triangular object and pulled it out.

There really wasn’t time for hesitancy. Eishirou took a second to examine the small keyhole just so he could ensure he inserted the key properly.

He then slid the key into the opening.

Before he could press it all the way in, it seemed to pull itself in automatically. There was a rather telling ‘click’ when the key disappeared into the keyhole. Suddenly, a neon green light filtered out, skittering across the stone door, creating eccentric designs that Eishirou found mildly familiar.

He was unable to read any of them, however, as the light moved too quickly.

Small flakes of stone began to break away, revealing dark-grey stone underneath. And upon that was another eccentric feature.

Eight dots. Four colours. They sat on a stone grid.

It was…a puzzle?

He placed his hand against the door and attempted to search for a recording. Soon, instructions bounded around in his head.

He needed to…connect the coloured dots within the grid. Red to red. Yellow to yellow. Blue to blue. And green to green. But the paths could not touch or overlap. And he had to fill in all the squares. That was what he felt he needed to do.

Well, he had better find out whether or not he was right. And he had better do it fast!

He placed his finger on the yellow dot and then slowly traced a path that would link it to the other. As he trailed his fingertip across the stone, the grids he moved across turned yellow, too. The same occurred as he linked the other coloured dots, the grids shimmering the same colours as the dots that linked them.

It took some finicking, but Eishirou was able to find a way to link the four different colours to each other while the paths crossing.

The moment he linked the last colour, the stone door unexpectedly trembled. A grinding noise was heard as the tremors grew in ferocity.

The door then shuddered to the side, grinding loudly as it slid on an unseen track.

It opened…?

Eishirou spun around and immediately searched for Zayne amongst the chaos. “It’s open!”

“Good!” Despite the distance between them, Eishirou could see that Zayne wore a half smile of satisfaction. “Leon, get Mikiel and take him inside!”

Leon was momentarily startled by the response. “R-right!” But he didn’t argue. He spun on his heel and immediately raced over to the tent. It took a few frustrating moments to get through the tent and to Mikiel. And then to heft him onto his shoulder.

Thankfully, Leon’s physical strength was exceptional. He was able to get Mikiel over his shoulder and keep him there with a single arm. As soon as Leon got Mikiel out of the tent, a ShadowDweller suddenly appeared and trampled it.

Eishirou smothered a wince. He was glad he had the foresight to gather his own belongings from the tent before that happened. And, of course, he was thankful he wasn’t inside!

He stepped to the side as Leon darted past him and into the lighthouse. Leon stopped a couple of feet inside and did a quick surveillance of the area. When he lowered himself to his knees and lifted Mikiel off of his shoulder, Eishirou assumed that the coast was clear.

So, he made his way inside, too. And over to where Leon had lowered Mikiel to the floor. He attempted to help him, though all he could really do was to cradle Mikiel’s head as Leon laid him down on the floor.

Ugh, he was right. There was no way he’d be able to lift Mikiel by himself!

“Be right back,” Leon said simply as he jumped to his feet and darted back outside.

Eishirou rested Mikiel’s head on his lap and offered him a small bit of healing. It was pitch-black inside. The only source of light was from the campfire.

“There. They’re in a safer location,” Zayne stated.

“Very well,” Ernesta was heard uttering in return. “We must ensure that no ShadowDweller enters the lighthouse.”

He couldn’t see anything around him. He couldn’t tell how big the room was. He could barely see anything that was occurring outside. Just fleeting images of Elites as they darted past.

He could hear all sorts of noises outside, though. The shrieking of ShadowDwellers. The utters of satisfaction or annoyance from Elites. And, of course, the sounds of battle. It was quite unnerving being able to hear everything but unable to see anything.

As unnerving as that was, the sudden silence that fell over the battlefield was frightening.

Eishirou subconsciously held his breath as he stared out the door. He jumped when a figure suddenly stepped in the threshold of the door.

However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he recognised Zayne. “Are they gone?”

Zayne nodded his head as he walked over to stand next to him. To stand guard over him once more. “We’ve defeated them. For now.”

The other members of his team soon entered the lighthouse, too. All of them without injuries. Though, they all appeared rather irritated. Perhaps even baffled.

“I knew we were too out in the open,” Tatsu immediately griped, his usual stoic façade lifting for a moment.

Ernesta uttered a frustrated sigh as she folded her arms across her abdomen. Instead of responding to Tatsu’s comment, she turned and levelled him with a pointed stare. “Help Rinka to bring our belongings inside, too. Make sure you bring lanterns.”

Tatsu’s right eye gave a telling twitch. He, however, did not respond. He simply turned on his heel and stalked out of the lighthouse with Rinka right behind him.

Leon moved forward and unexpectedly crouched down by Mikiel’s side. “How’s he doing?”

Eishirou briefly wondered if Mikiel was a close friend of his as he seemed to be the one who was constantly hovering over him. Instead of prying, he decided the best thing he could was to be honest. Not overly honest, mind. Just…honest enough. If that made sense.

“He’s stable,” Eishirou finally replied. “Unfortunately, he’s fallen into a coma.”

Leon looked over at him. Though he tried to hide it, he was obviously concerned. “That’s bad, right?”

Eishirou tried to give him some reassurance. “Depends. He’s not suffering. It might be his body’s attempt to heal itself.”

That seemed to offer Leon some comfort as he nodded his head idly as his gaze shifted back toward Mikiel. He only lifted his head when Tatsu and Rinka returned with their camping gear. He pushed himself to his feet to take hold of the sleeping bag and then laid it down on the ground next to where Mikiel lay.

Eishirou once again helped Leon to rest Mikiel onto the sleeping bag. While he was unlike to feel anything, being unconscious and all, they still wanted to ensure that he was comfortable. Lying on the cold, hard ground was never pleasant.

As Eishirou checked on Mikiel’s health, the Elites set about setting up bright lanterns around them. The room soon began to brighten, allowing for Eishirou to view their new surroundings.

The interior was expected of that of a lighthouse; a spiralling staircase that was attached to the interior wall and spiralled upwards. The light could only reach so far, so it appeared as if the staircase just disappeared into a dark void. The room that they occupied was likely that of a foyer. Yet, other than a couple of antique tables, there was no other furniture.

“I thought entry into the lighthouse was impossible?” Tatsu suddenly commented. It was framed as a question, but it felt more like an accusation.

Zayne must have felt that way, too, as he turned to send scowl in Tatsu’s direction. “We didn’t say that. Eishirou just needed to do more research.”

That…was half true.

Ernesta turned her attention toward Eishirou and raised a curious eyebrow. “How did you open the door?”

They were suspicious of him. He couldn’t blame them. And in honesty, he was a little…cautious of them in return. Especially of Tatsu. That guy made no attempt to hide his distain for him. And it was hard to read Ernesta at the best of times.

“There was a puzzle that needed to be solved before the door could open,” Eishirou answered simply. He would have to explain more later. But right now, they just needed the quick facts.

That seemed to satisfy Ernesta for now. Though, he doubted Tatsu was satisfied with the answer.

Eishirou resisted the urge to sigh as he reached into his bag and pulled out his communicator. Instead of contacting anyone, he checked the time. And this time he did breathe a sigh. A sigh of relief.

Sunrise was only a couple more hours away.

“Wh-what’s up there?” Rinka suddenly asked as she pointed to the dark void that the stairs disappeared into.

Zayne shrugged casually. “Who knows,” he said simply before he reached down and grabbed EIshirou by the elbow. With a slight tug, he urged him to his feet. “Since we’re here, let’s have a look.”

Eishirou allowed Zayne to help him to his feet. They had a few hours before they had to plan their evacuation. He also couldn’t help but wonder if the ShadowDwellers actually want to get inside, too. He wasn’t sure why he thought of that possibility, but it was quite clear that the ShadowDwellers were agitated and after something.

“Rinka, I need you to stay here,” Ernesta ordered.

Rinka immediately pouted, which was rather unexpected. But it was actually kinda nice to see. She was curious, interested in learning things for herself.

But orders were orders. So, Eishirou sent Rinka an apologetic smile.

“We’ll be quick,” he promised as he followed Zayne to the stairs.

#writblr #young adult #sci-fi fantasy #adventure #Mystery/Suspense #original fiction #relic keepers: awakening of the red lily

[thebonggirll]

Chapter 12 - Crap

Chapter 11

While everyone was busy looking at All Might walking through the entrance of USJ, Y/N took the mean time to manipulate the water and drag Midoriya, Tsuyu and Mineta towards herself using her water quirk. Although this caused the water body to be rough for a moment, all three of them were near Y/N.

They started to run towards Aizawa when they felt a rush of wind and suddenly they realized that they were far away from the villains. Before anyone was even able to see what happened, All Might already beat up the small thugs, took Aizawa and the four students and dropped them to a safe space.

"Everybody back to the entrance. And take Aizawa with you. He doesn't have much time." All Might said and the weird hand villain started muttering in dismay. "No no no no..it wasn't supposed to go this way. He's still fast father. I couldn't even see him when he moved. But he's not as fast as I thought he would be, not as fast as he used to be. I guess it's true afterall - All Might really is getting weaker."

Midoriya started babbling about how he used his strength to punch that brain villain called 'Nomu' but it had zero effects. But All Might smiled back at him in reassurance and said, "Young Midoriya, I've got this!"

They started walking back with Aizawa when All Might started fighting with Nomu. Y/N looked back at them fighting. A part of her was relieved because she knew if anyone could defeat them, it was All Might. But another part of her was worried because she knew that he was at his limit and any kind of engagement in physical fight will result in compromising his health. And she was right as when the dust cleared and Y/N saw how All Might was caught by Nomu with the help of the mist villain - and he wasn't going to get out of that monster's strong grip anytime soon.

"Asui." Midoriya spoke out.

"Yeah, what is it Midoriya?" Tsuyu said, looking at him.

Y/N looked at his face and saw a familiar expression. It usually came when Midoriya stops thinking with his brain and acts irrationally using his instincts. "Midoriya, stop."

"Will you carry Mr. Aizawa for me?"

"Ribbit, sure. But what are you gonna do?" Tsuyu asked.

And before Y/N could stop him, he was already running.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Y/N said and then used her water to move fast and stop him. She did succeed in holding his arm and pushing him away, but what she didn't notice is that the mist villain was right in front of her with an open portal. She was using her quirk to move fast, and now it was definite that she was going to get in the portal if someone didn't stop her.

Y/N looked at Midoriya her arms trying to reach him in desperation. And almost like someone heard her thoughts, a hand push her back as she fell down on the ground, and another hand grabbed the neck armor of the mist villain. "Get the hell out of my way!!" and a blast went off as she recognized the rough voice.

She noticed the ice that made it's way towards the villain that froze Nomu on it's spot. Y/N looked behind her and saw Todoroki who said, "One of your poorly trained thugs said that you're here because you think that you can defeat All Might." All Might jumped out of Nomu's grip in the mean time as Todoroki continued, "The symbol of peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you." Kirishima jumped to attack the hand villain but he got away.

Finally, Y/N looked at Bakugou who knelt in front of her holding the mist villain by his neck on the ground. His other hand was still behind him like the way it was when he pushed her down. Her brain was slowly processing all of the things that happened in just a minute while her heart was beating fast. She snapped out of the daze and looked at him. Ofcourse, Bakugou aimed on taking down the dangerous villain but by the way he, without thinking about anything else, attacked the villain and also put out one of his arm blocking Y/N from any kind of harm. It felt.....felt like he was protecting her.

Like he cared.

The hand villain spoke to the mist villain, "Kurogiri, how could you let this brat get the best of you. You've gotten us into a real jam here."

Bakugou grinned and said, "You got careless dumb villain. It wasn't hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turned into a smoky warp gate. You used that to hide your actual body as a kind of distraction and that's why we missed. But if you didn't have a body, you wouldn't wear this neck armor right? You're not immune to physical attacks if they're well aimed." The mist tried to get up but Bakugou used his quirk and stopped him again, "Don't move. You try anything funny and I'll blow your ass up so bad that they will be piecing you back together for weeks."

"Woah, that doesn't sound very heroic." Kirishima commented.

The hand villain started talking to himself again, "These kids aren't injured, and they captured my two strongest men. Kids these days really are amazing. They make the League of Villains look like amateurs. Can't have that." He turned to the Nomu and called him. And hearing his command, the monster pulled himself out of the portal or what Bakugou called 'warp gate', which resulted in his frozen hand and feet to break off.

But what took everyone by surprise was that Nomu was still moving.

He regenerated as his hands and feet formed again.

"I thought you said his quirk is shock absorption?!" All Might's voice boomed out in confusion.

"I didn't say that this was his only quirk. He also has super regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you on even at 100 percent of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back." The villain's voice sounded amused, "First we need to free our method of escape."

And no sooner that he said it, Y/N grabbed Bakugou without thinking. But then there was a huge gust of wind that blew them away.

When Y/N opened her eyes, her arms were around Bakugou from his right side and basically, she was hugging him.

"Kacchan! Where-" Midoriya then looked back and observed both of them. He decided to let it go for the time being and asked, "Kacchan? Woah, it's awesome! Did you dodge him? Oh, maybe Y/N dragged you at the right moment-"

"Shut up, neither did I or she did this, you damn nerd." Bakugou said.

"Then how did you get over here?" Kirishima asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Todoroki said. The cloud of dust cleared in front of them and as expected, it was All Might who pushed Bakugou and Y/N using his quick movements.

"These are kids and you didn't hold back!" All Might said, huffing.

"I didn't have much choice. He was threatening my companion." The villain replied with his hand pointing out towards Midoriya, "Besides these kids are no angel. The plain looking one? He tried to kill me with a maxed out punch. What kind of hero does something like that? You think you can be as violent as you want if you do it for the sake of others. Well you know All Might? That pisses me off. Why do people get to decide that some of the violent acts are heroic and others are villainous, casting judgements on what's good and what's evil. You think you're the symbol of peace? You're just another government sponsored instrument of violence. And violence always breeds more violence. Make sure the world understands that once you're dead."

"You're nothing but a lunatic. Criminals like you always try to make your actions sound noble. But admit it, you're only just doing it because you like it!" All Might said.

"Uh oh." The villain said with a creepy grin on his face again, "He got me figured out. Nomu, Kurogiri, kill him. I'll handle the kids."

Kirishima, Midoriya and Todoroki walked forward ready to fight again.

Bakugou looked at Y/N. And for the first time, he saw her carefully and observed her expression. Y/N was looking over at All Might with her brows furrowed and her mouth lightly open. "Hey, snap out of it." He said "Do you wanna let go of me now or are you still shitting your pants."

Y/N suddenly realized how she was clinging onto him the whole time and jerked off of him in an instant. "I-I'm fine." They got up and got into a stance, ready to fight the villains again when All Might stopped them.

"It's gonna be alright." He said in reassurance, "Just sit back and watch a pro at work."

*Outside USJ*

The fight inside could've really gotten bad if the pro heroes didn't arrive at right time. All Might defeated Nomu and sent him flying outside the dome - no one knows his whereabouts for now. All Might was also at his limit after this and needed backup. Midoriya tried to help but broke his legs off on his attempt to reach quickly and punch Kurogiri. The low level thugs were all arrested and currently, all the students were standing lined up in front of a detective counting the total number of students and whether all of them were here.

"17, 18, 19 and 20. Alright, everyone is here except for that kid who's legs were all messed up." The detective said, "Let's go ahead and get these students to the main campus. They've been through a lot, we don't need to question them right away."

"Detective," Tsuyu called, "What about Mr. Aizawa."

"The bones in his arms are splintered and he has got facial fracturing. Fortunately, there seems no serious brain damage but his orbital floor has been completely destroyed. We have no way of knowing if his eye sight will be like before once he's healed up." The detective informed.

Bakugou was standing and staring at USJ, thinking about Midoriya's speed. He would have been hyper and angry by now if Kirishima didn't stop his train of thoughts.

"Come on man, we are going back to class now!" Kirishima said him and walked away.

"Yeah, yeah I heard him idiot." Bakugou said turning back to join the others when he noticed Y/N standing alone and apart from everyone. Bakugou observed her expression which frankly looked blank but no that was not it. Was she scared out of her wits? Nope.

No, she looked....sad.

"Tch, this dumbass." Bakugou muttered and walked to her. "Are you gonna get your ass to class or do you want to fucking stay here?" He asked.

"Mr. Aizawa." Y/N said in a whisper, "H-he...did you watch how that brain monster beat him?" She turned to face him.

"They are pros Y/N. They deal with this kind of shit every single day." Bakugou said, "Although, you are not. Clearly you don't use your head when it comes to Midoriya." He walked closer to her and growled at her face, "Don't walk on the same path as Midoriya. He's a damn nerd, whereas you're a fucking dumbass."

Y/N's face was getting hotter with each passing moments. She looked away - scared that he will realize she was blushing by his closeness.

A finger brushed her cheek as she flinched at the light stinging feeling.

"You've got a small cut grandma." Bakugou said, chuckling and walked away to join the rest of the class.

Y/N remembered the thorn that scraped her cheek while she was fighting. Her face and ears started changing color to blood red. She looked down at her feet, hoping that she will calm her fast heartbeat that Bakugou caused in seconds before he left, along with the butterflies in stomach.

Ofcourse, that stupid Kyoka was right. This isn't just admiration, is it?

She had a crush on Bakugou.

She had a stupid crush on the most high-tempered narcissist person that she ever met. She wasn't in denial anymore but damn, she was so mad at herself.

Y/N started walking towards her class, her mind focused on just one word.

Crap.

END OF SEASON - I

Chapter 13

SEASON - I

SEASON - II

Ignite

MASTERLIST

#katsuki bakugou #bakugou x reader #mha bakugou #mha bakugo katsuki #my hero academia #my hero academy fanfiction #boku no hero academia #boku no hero imagines

[batteryacidfires]

THAT DUDE JUST REGEW HIS FUCKING ARM OOOOH MY GOD

#a highly efficient punching bag that hides back #BAKUBRO #liveblogging mha

[narukuwrites]

002. Part 3

Words: 2,683 Tags: Merman AU Verse, Slight Angst, Magick and Witchery Summary: Connor and Ralph make their getaway, Markus loses track of time on the reef and when he returns to Jericho he finds out something about what Simon and Lucy have been working on and a prophecy is told.

Authors Note: Well its the next chapter and things are progressing nicely. And don’t worry out two bbs will meet very soon!

The excitement running through him was exhilarating in a way and he had never been so thankful to lay eyes on his friend, Ralph had been in his mother's garden tending to it in a manner that he knew his mother would be proud of. But he had startled his friend and it taken a few moments of explaining as best he could but was mindful of the fact time was steadily counting down - his father would notice his disappearance soon if they didn't leave.

"Ralph we need to go - remember what he planned to go find Jericho.." he said trying to keep his voice calm as Ralph nodded allowing him to continue "I don't want to be here anymore and I want you to come with me. It'll be an adventure.."

"Ralph will come with you yes. Ralph would like to leave here also. Ralph hopes he finds lots of new things..." his friend replied as they both took what they needed to from the hiding place within his mother's garden. He did feel guilty about leaving it like this he knew that his mother would understand. She would want him to do what he could to keep himself safe. What had happened with his father, still made him feel physically ill and he subconsciously wretched the noise causing Ralph to turn and his friend’s hazel eyes gave him a concerned look as they were making their way out of another exit his mother's garden had which wasn't known to anyone other than themselves and his now deceased mother.

"I'm alright really - lets go.," he said before taking Ralph's hand and squeezing it in a reassuring manner to let his friend know he was fine at least for now. Ralph nodded to him in understanding knowing not to press the issue further and both of them continued to swim cautiously through the narrow passages that led from his mother's coral reef garden - a route they'd taken many times in the past to reach the outskirts of the large area that the royal palace. It was the most efficient route to get them far enough away to figure out their next course of action. Jericho wasn’t going to be easy to find, but Connor knew the both of them could.

He would also need to find a way to disguise his royal mark that was still visible on his hipbone and perhaps along the way they could find something to cover it, but for now, they couldn't worry about that and needed to get as much distance between his father and the both of them. He could only imagine how angry his father would be when he realized he was missing and he shuddered to think of how that would affect the kingdom and the council.

While he wasn't particularly fond of what being a monarch and ruler entailed - he knew that there was a dark, almost vicious side to his father. He did feel guilty that others would face his father's wrath but if they understood the situation he was in - surely they'd understand. "Ralph wonder's if everything is alright - do you need to rest..?" his friend's voice asked.

"It's fine really Ralph. I just feel bad for those we've left behind..." he said as they stopped for a brief moment and Connor took this moment to glance around and figure out where they were - before pulling a map out of his bag and pressing it against a nearby smooth edge of rock and unfurling it. "Ralph knows that we shouldn't go back, Ralph has seen how your father looks at you. Ralph doesn't like it but Ralph couldn't do anything.."

Connor at hearing his friends words felt a wave of worry go through him if Ralph had noticed it then perhaps other people in the court had also? And if they had, well they couldn't have done anything about it really... "I don't want to think about that right now please, Ralph we need to focus on finding Jericho - if I remember correctly Jericho is somewhere north of here..?" he asked pointing to an area on the map which was some distance away from them. It would take a few hours to get to at least if they kept at a good pace.

"Ralph remembers yes but, Ralph got something to help. Ralph wanted to make things easier.." the blonde mer replied excitedly before rummaging through his own bag and taking out a bottle of something that held within it a strange, pink glowing liquid. “Is that some kind of potion..?" Connor asked a little confused because he didn't remember them finding anything like that before. What if it was dangerous? What if someone had duped his friend?

"Ralph decided to buy something to help with finding Jericho. Ralph found this, Ralph was told this would lead us to Jericho. Ralph was told it was magick and would help us.."

Well, that did make sense, it wasn't uncommon or unheard of for such things to exist, after all, there were mer were gifted with a variety of abilities and a natural affinity to the art of mer witchery. But where his friend had managed to procure such an item he had no idea, and he would make sure to ask at a later point. And even though it was highly unlikely to do anything he would nevertheless let Ralph try and see what happened.

"Sure, let's give it a go.," he said encouragingly and giving the blond permission to use the item as the blonde mer opened the bottle and let it pour out and it moved in a wholly unnatural manner before it latched onto the map, the pink tendrils grasping onto it before it suddenly covered the entirety of the map before it vanished leaving only a pink glowing point appeared in area that was indeed North but a lot further than either of them had realised. "I didn't think that would actually work, you're amazing Ralph for finding that potion. I hope it didn’t cost you too much.," Connor said hugging his friend suddenly which took the other by surprise but was nevertheless returned.“Ralph was also unsure, but Ralph is happy it worked and Ralph is happy seeing you smile..”

Getting to where Jericho apparently would not be easy, if the location on the map was anything to go by. It was still some distance from where they currently were. And they still needed to get as much distance between them and his kingdom they were still within to allow them time and make sure they weren’t tracked or followed. However, they were very close to the border of a neighboring one. And carefully folding the map up and putting it into his bag, Ralph and he carried on. They would at some point need to find a place to rest - but they would do so when they were outside of his kingdom.

--

Markus didn't want to return to the dark, depths just yet but he knew he had to. He was a leader and savior to all who came and sought refuge and even with his three friends helping him - it still took its toll on him. He had spent long enough idling here and with a powerful dive his beautifully sculpted form and the closed curls of his brown hair made its way from the beautiful reef, still covered with the warm ways of the sun and into the deeper, colder depths. Mer's were adapted to easily transition between these changes, just like the many other mammals that they shared and inhabited the ocean with.

When he eventually got back to Jericho he was met with the questioning face of North, and a bemused look from Josh who mouthed at him that he was late. Simon, however, was nowhere to be seen. "Just where did you swim off to..? You know we had to the meeting without you, you ass.." was all the brown haired mermaid before she swam over to him and playfully punched him before adding. "It's a good thing it wasn't anything too serious and that we could deal with on our own.."

That made Markus feel a little bit bad and honestly, he had perhaps gotten a bit too distracted back there up on the reef. But it was something he had needed. And perhaps if he was a little more open about how he'd been feeling as of late they would understand.

"I'm sorry alright, I just needed a little bit longer to think about some things It's been really hard as of late. I would have thought Simon told you where I was." Markus replied in a quiet and tired manner Which of course made both of his friends look at him with worry. But he would be fine, he just needed to get some rest.

"Well he did yes - but he neglected to say how long you would actually be, but never mind you are back now. I was getting a bit worried..." said her voice becoming softer in tone and more motherly. "Where is Simon anyway....?" he asked both of his friends before glancing around and seeing if maybe the blonde was lurking nearby.

"I haven't seen him since we finished the weekly status of Jericho meeting, but he did seem to be in a bit of a hurry to go somewhere," North replied before taking a moment to try to figure out where their blonde mer friend had gone. But it was Josh who told them, in the calm quiet manner he always spoke in.

"He went to see Lucy.." Josh replied as he watched North as she playfully swam circles around the both of them. "I believe Lucy has been making something to help guide those who need to help to Jericho. She and Simon have been working on it for some time now..." Josh said to the both of them which caused North to start abruptly and Markus to furrow his brow.

"I thought we agreed that no magick or witchery would be used in Jericho.," North said shifting uncomfortably at the thought. Although it wasn't expressly forbidden within the walls of Jericho, the art of mer witchery was something that a lot of mer still feared and it was most likely to the terrible stories that they had heard as children. If you misbehaved a dark mermaid would take you away and devour your soul and eat you alive. North, however, had a great fear of it and as such, she had become distressed and it was probably why Simon had chosen not to say anything about it.

"Well I'm sure its nothing to worry about - nevertheless I will look into it. I'll check it out on my own and get back to you both alright..?" Markus said before squeezing North's arm in a reassuring manner and glanced at Josh silently asking him to make sure she was alright whilst he got to the bottom of all of this.

"That sounds good. I'll stay here and make sure North feels better.." Josh replied before carefully taking North to one side and sitting her down. And knowing North was in good friends he made his way to his small, sleeping chamber which was decorated in a myriad of coloured shells, stones and gems and put his bag away safely before heading down into the deeper recesses of Jericho, the natural bioluminescence lighting of fish and organisms, down in these dark depths that made the skeleton of Jericho hauntingly beautiful in its own way.

Lucy was one of the few Siren's, Markus had come across or seen. She had found them during the early days of Jericho she was in rough shape and had to be nursed back to health, which meant having to hunt for human meat, to quicken the recovery process - something Markus didn't regret though because she had stayed with them as thanks and was gifted with the sight to prophesize and see events that had yet to occur. It was due to her that Jericho was where was today. Sirens and mer were related but over time Siren’s had evolved a little differently and instead had the ability to lure and drive humans to their deaths with their beautiful voice and songs. That was how their kind fed and survived but Lucy it seemed was more than happy to adapt to the lifestyle that Jericho adhered to. Later on, he had found out that she was also gifted in the art of mer witchery, and yet not once had she brought any harm to Jericho. No instead she had protected and warded it and had only made it visible to those who truly needed it.

He knocked first before entering her quarters which were filled with a myriad of various tools, books, objects and bottles which he didn’t recognize. But he was sure there were human items within the cornucopia she had here. Markus’ gaze fell upon the figures of Simon and Lucy, his friend was carefully holding a bottle as the siren poured the pink liquid that was glowing brightly into the bottle which was sealed with a cork.  And two pairs of eyes met his Lucy's black eyes and Simon's blue ones. "Hey, I'm not interrupting something am I..?" Markus asked suddenly feeling like he was witnessing something he shouldn't.

"Sit down Markus we are almost finished.." Lucy told him in a voice that made him obey and he sat down as was asked of him. Even though a Siren was at her deadliest when she sang, when she spoke, however, it was still enough to cause many to be under her thrall albeit mildly. Simon it would seem was thankfully not affected by it at all and Markus wondered if it was because he had spent so much time with Lucy, helping her with what she needed or maybe something else entirely.

When all of the bottles had been filled and carefully placed into a large chest which was then closed and sealed. Lucy turned to face Markus and watched as Simon sat next to him and held his hand and pulling Markus from her sway. "You have a question to ask of me...?" Lucy told Markus her voice now having no effect on Markus whilst Simon was acting as a buffer, something he was very grateful for.

"I heard that you were working on something to guide those who seek Jericho and it seems those rumors are true.." Lucy nodded closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and giving Markus her response. "You are correct. But you do not need to worry - it will only work for those who truly believe in your cause and who need your help..." she said a smile gracing her unnaturally beautiful features. "To everyone else, I have made it in such a way that should anyone seek to harm you or what we stand for that they will meet their doom, in death’s sweet embrace.." she said with a smile.

Markus felt a chill go through him at hearing Lucy speak like that. Siren magick was powerful and truthfully he didn't want to know the details or what went into making the potion, I guess that was what he would call it. "Well, that certainly makes me sleep a little easier. I know being here hasn't been easy for you but I appreciate all that you so for us.." Markus said and he genuinely meant that. But what he hadn't expected for her to tell him a prophecy, all of which came true when she spoke them. It had been a long time since she had given him one.

"Someone will come to us Markus and when he does you must be ready. It will be your turning point and will give you the power to claim back what is yours - but be careful lest you be fooled by trickery and lose him forever....."

#novella #fiction #detroit: become human #dbh #rk1000 #markus x connor #conkus #dbh connor #dbh markus #dbh ralph #dbh lucy #dbh north #dbh simon #merman au #merman alternate universe #sirens and mer are related but evolved differently

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 018 [Calming Peppermint]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 3,126

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〈“Did you think that I would surrender easily? That just like that, you were gettin’ rid of me? Is that the way you saw it all go down? I don’t think so.” Simple Plan, “Last One Standing”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

The defeated villains were beginning to stir and decided to try and stop Toshi, but he easily took them down, heading straight toward the broken and battered Aizawa. I kneeled down, looking at the hole in my skin; I could see the muscle tissue.

Toshi turned to us and in the blink of an eye, I felt my body being lifted off the ground. A second later, he put us all down on the ground a safe distance from the two villains. “Everybody, back to the entrance. And take Aizawa with you, he doesn’t have much time!”

I had never heard his voice so full of anger before. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the villains or anger toward himself for not being here. Probably a bit of both.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Ribbit!”

“You saved us, All Might…”

I helped lift Aizawa onto Izuku’s back, the perverted grape holding up his feet up off the ground.

“All Might, you can’t. That brain villain took One for – uh, I smashed him and it didn’t break my arm this time, but he wasn’t fazed at all! He’s too strong!”

“Young Midoriya!” Toshi turned around with a wide smile, a bit forced, in my opinion, and flashed him a peace sign. “I got this!” This reassured the three and they started toward the entrance, but I stayed put. “You, too, young Jen.”

I scoffed. “Not even on a taco’s life, mate.”

“Now is not the time to be stubborn,”

I grinned, squatting down with my hand between my legs to steady myself. “Take the stage, Toshi. I think they’re getting impatient.”

He heaved a deep sigh before turning around and rushing at the big guy, fist poised for attack. “Carolina… SMASH!”

Despite taking the full brunt of the attack, that fuckin’ bird brain wasn’t even fazed by the attack. He tried to grab Toshi but he bent backward to dodge before punching him again. Punch after punch after punch, none of it fazed this fucker.

“Doesn’t even matter where I punch you, does it?”

“That’s because Nomu here has shock absorption, All Might. The only way you’re going to hurt him is to slowly gouge out his flesh. Of course, I don’t think he’ll sit back and let you do that. You’ve finally met your match!”

God, that blue-haired prick is really annoying.

“Thanks for telling me how to beat him!” Toshi grabbed the thing around the waist. “All I have to do is wear him down, then it’s on to you!” He performed a suplex on the thing, slamming his head into the ground. Dust filled the area, a strong gust of wind nearly knocking me back onto my ass.

The smoke cleared and my eyes widened.

“Oh, come on, what kind of cheap move was that?”

That goddamn warp gate! He opened up a portal before the attack, allowing Nomu to appear from the ground under Toshi, his fingers digging into his sides. I could see the blood soaking his white dress shirt.

“Nice! You were trying to bury him in the concrete so he couldn’t move around anymore. Sorry, that won’t work. Nomu’s as strong as you are, that won’t stop him. Nice work, Kurogiri, we’ve got him just where we want him now.”

Toshi let go of Nomu’s waist, trying to pry his grip from his waist. Should I try and help? But my flames do no damage to that thing, and I risk hurting Toshi in the process. Shit.

“Kurogiri,”

His golden eyes narrowed as his portal started to shrink. “Normally, I wouldn’t want blood and viscera flooding the insides of my warp gates, but I’ll make an exception for a hero as great as you. Since you’re too fast to see with the human eye, Nomu had to restrain you. And once he’s pulled your body halfway through, I’ll squeeze the gate shut! I’m going to enjoy tearing you to pieces!”

My blood started to boil as my quirk activated, but before I could act, a green blur rushed past me.

“I’m coming!” Izuku was rushing toward Toshi.

Dumbass!

The warp appeared in front of him and I sprung forward. My arm wrapped around his waist just as Bakugo appeared, setting off an explosion right in our face. “Get the hell out of my way, Deku! Bitch!”

I grunted, shoving Izuku behind me as Bakugo grabbed the metal piece hidden within the shadow body, pinning him to the ground. The temperature around us dropped, sending a chill down my spine as a stream of ice shot toward Nomu, stopping just before it touched Toshi. What amazing control.

“One of your poorly trained thugs told me you’re here because you think you can kill All Might.”

That goddamn Peppermint. Why do I always feel so calm when his voice reaches my ears? It makes no goddamn sense! What makes this brat so special? I shook my head. No, stay focused, dumbass. This ain’t over yet.

With Nomu frozen, Toshi was able to break free from his grip. A flash of red went straight for Tomura, but the villain dodged, jumping backward. “Man, that was gonna be so cool.”

“Guess I found your body that time, you smoky bastard!” Bakugo grinned.

“The symbol of peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you,” Peppermint announced.

“Kacchan… everyone…” Izuku looked ready to start crying.

I stepped forward, making sure I was standing between Tomura and the boys.

“Kurogiri… how could you let this brat get the best of you? You’ve gotten us into a real jam, here…”

“Heh, you got careless, ya dumb villain! It wasn’t hard to figure you out! Only certain parts of you turn into that smoking warp gate. You use that mist to hide your actual body as a kind of distraction. Thinking that made you safe. That’s why we missed… but if you didn’t have a body, you wouldn’t be wearing this neck armor, right?! You’re not immune to physical attacks if they’re well aimed!”

I glanced back at him. This kid is pretty smart. “Don’t get over-confident, Bakugo.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, bitch! And you – don’t move!” Small explosions came from behind me. “You try anything funny and I’ll blow your ass up so bad they’ll be piecing you back together for weeks!”

My lips twitched up at that. I like this kid’s style.

“That doesn’t sound very heroic…” Red sweatdropped.

“Nomu,”

At this simple command, the creature pulled its body through the gate, its frozen limbs breaking and falling off.

“How is that thing still moving? He’s all messed up!”

I took a defensive stance, hands heating up.

“Stay back, everybody!” Toshi ordered.

Wait… are his limbs regenerating?! Is this bitch Deadpool’s ugly ass cousin?

“What is this? I thought you said his power was shock absorption!” Toshi took a fighting stance, waiting for the enemy’s next move.

“I didn’t say that was his only quirk. He also has super regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you on even at one hundred percent of your power. He’s basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back.”

Modified? Like a human experiment? What the fuck…

“First, we need to free our method of escape. Get ’em, Nomu!”

“Bakugo!” I screamed, turning my body, but Nomu was a lot faster than me.

“Jen!” Toshi screamed my name as he turned and I knew what he wanted.

“I got ’em!” I ignored the pain surging through me, focusing my mind on the spot directly beside the blonde. Toshi was too fast for me to see, but just as I appeared in that spot, Bakugo’s body slammed into mine, making me slide backward. His elbow hit my ribs and I bit back a string of curses, tasting blood on my tongue. The force of Nomu slamming into Toshi created a huge gust of wind. I had to dig my heels into the ground to stay upright, my arms tightening around the boy’s waist.

“Ugh, such force… Kacchan!”

“Stop screaming,” I muttered, shoving the blonde away from me, spitting out the blood onto the ground. Man, that is not a good taste, especially on an empty stomach.

Peppermint sent me a look similar to worry, but I looked away from him, wiping my mouth.

“Woah, that’s awesome! You dodged him!”

“Shut up. No, I didn’t, ya damn nerd.”

“Then how’d you get over here?” Red asked.

“Ya’ll can’t seriously be this fucking dumb,” I muttered.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Peppermint snapped his eyes to the clearing smoke where Toshi stood, coughing. “All Might threw him out of the way, and Winchester caught him.”

“These are kids and you didn’t hold back?” Toshi was sounding angry again.

“I didn’t have much choice. He was threatening my companion. Besides, these kids are no angels! The plain-looking one, he tried to kill me with a maxed out punch. What kind of hero does something like that? You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it’s for the sake of others. Well, you know what, All Might? That pisses me off!”

“Will you shut the fuck up already?” I growled, taking a step forward. “You came here and challenged us and then you wanna talk about violence? You’re whining and bitching like a little kid that got his fucking toy stolen. Grow the fuck up, Tomura!”

“Shut your mouth, Jen Winchester.” He glared at me. “I’ll deal with you after I get done with All Might. Wait your turn.”

“Suck my dick, you blue-haired freak!”

“How vulgar. You may look like your mother, but you certainly didn’t get her personality.” He grinned widely and I felt a presence appear behind me. I turned my body just as Golem snatched the dagger from my waist, slashing the tip of the blade across my stomach and chest in one fluid motion.

“Jen!” Izuku cried, but I lifted my hand, raising a line of fire between them and me.

“Mind your own fuckin’ business, Izuku!” I glared at Golem. “I’ve had about enough of your ugly ass fuckin’ face!” One hand grabbed the wrist holding the dagger while the other hand grabbed his face, my hand engulfed in flame. He screamed in pain, clawing at my wrist. My body beat in time with my heart and I felt my control starting to slip. I’ve been in this form for too long and with my injuries, I can’t hold on much longer. Damn it all to hell!

I cried out, slamming the back of his head against the ground. It didn’t make a crater like Nomu’s had, but the cement still split from the force.

I stood up on shaky legs, my skin burning as I gasped in air. “Oi… Peppermint.”

He blinked, tilting his head. “Me?”

Yes you, you fuckin’ – “Listen carefully. If I lose control… of my quirk. You gotta… you gotta freeze my body, understand?”

“But -”

“Just fucking do it!”

He chewed on his lip for a moment before slowly nodding. “Okay… I will.”

“Good,” Because I don’t think I can hold on much longer. Is this what it feels like when Toshi is fighting to keep his muscled form up?

“Jen-san…” Izuku stepped closer to the fire, which had lowered considerably.

Tomura clicked his tongue. “See what I mean? She just burned the face off of my companion. Why do people get to decide that some violent acts are ‘heroic’ and others are ‘villainous’? Casting judgment as to what’s good and what’s evil. You think you’re the symbol of peace? You’re just another government-sponsored instrument of violence. And violence always breeds more violence. I’ll make sure the world understands that once you’re dead.”

“You’re nothing but a lunatic. Criminals like you always try to make your actions sound noble, but admit it – you’re only doing this because you like it. Isn’t that right?” Toshi responded.

“He’s got me figured out.”

“We’ve got them outnumbered,” Peppermint commented.

“And Kacchan found the mist guy’s weakness.”

“These dudes may act really tough, but we can take ’em all down now with All Might’s help. Heh, let’s do this!”

I glanced back at them with a scowl. “Are you guys mentally stunted or just suicidal? Sorry, but you four ain’t nowhere near strong enough to handle those three villains. You’ll just get in the way.”

“That’s not fair, Winchester! You’re on the same level as us!” Red complained.

“No, she’s stronger than we are,” Peppermint spoke up, his cold eyes meeting mine.

“Don’t attack! Get out of here!” Toshi ordered, glancing back at them.

“You would’ve been in trouble earlier if it weren’t for me, remember? You need our help.” His cold gaze snapped to Toshi.

“I thank you for your assistance, but this is different! It’s gonna be alright. Just sit back and watch a pro at work.”

Toshi… your voice has changed. You sound stronger, more full of life. But how? You’re hurt, and I know you’re struggling to maintain that form right now. What’s your secret? How do you push so goddamn hard and keep going above and beyond? I don’t get it.

“But you’re too hurt… you’re bleeding and you’re almost out of tim -” Izuku caught himself, quickly glancing at the three boys.

Toshi gave him a thumbs up and a signature grin that looked like he just stepped out of Crest White Strips commercial. He turned to me. “Jen, are you okay?”

I let out a slow breath, mindful of my ribs as I squatted down, placing my palms flat on the ground between my legs. “I’m gonna be honest with you here, Tosh, I don’t know how much longer I got in this form.” Slow, steady breaths. Think of happy thoughts, Jen. Like tacos, yeah tacos are gre – my stomach growled painfully and I blanched. Abort, abort, don’t think of tacos!

“I believe in you, young Jen! Just give me a little more time.” He paused as he turned toward the villains. “When this is all over, I will lift the taco ban.”

“Taco ban? What’s that?” Red whispered to the others.

I laughed despite the pain. “Well, shit, Toshi. Why the fuck didn’t you start with that? I woulda fought harder!” I grinned, feeling my palms heating up. The flame wall shot higher before circling around the four boys, trapping them inside.

“H-Hey!”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, bitch?!”

I closed my eyes and hummed, focusing on the sound of the flames. “Don’t get too close, Bakugo, fire is hot.”

“You bitch! Are you fucking working with those guys?! Huh?! Answer me, damn it!”

“That shadow guy did know her name…”

I knew you were a dumbass, Bakugo, but come on. I take back what I said about you being smart! Shit, my concentration is slipping…

“You’re wrong. She’s trying to protect us by preventing us from getting involved.”

Calm spread over me and my arms stopped shaking. Damn, this is gonna be embarrassing, but I need the help. “Oi, Peppermint.”

“My name is Todoroki Shoto,”

“That’s great. Don’t care. Just keep talkin’, will ya?”

“…what?”

“Every time my body starts to shake, say something to me.”

I could hear him shift behind me. “Why?”

For fuck’s sake. “Just fucking do it!” I started coughing, blood splattering onto the ground. Fu~ck, my whole body is hurting. It’s getting harder to breathe. I hope my rib doesn’t puncture my fucking lungs.

“What… should I say?”

“I don’t fucking care,” I groaned, lowering my throbbing head. “Your voice keeps me calm and I can’t afford to lose control here, not now!”

“Hah?! What kind of stupid excuse is that?!”

“Bakugo, I swear to the ruler of hell if you don’t shut up – your voice has the opposite effect!”

“Burn…”

“Shut up, shitty hair!”

“I’ve had enough of this. Nomu, Kurogiri, kill him. I’ll deal with Jen Winchester and the children.”

“Like hell, you will, bastard,” I growled, standing up.

“Let’s clear this level and go home.”

“Heads up, Winchester!” Red yelled as Tomura rushed toward me. I grabbed the dagger from the ground, taking a defensive stance. Let’s see if I can’t create some friends to help me out here.

“Flaming creation!” I yelled, sweeping my left hand through the air. The temperature around me rose as fire spread out around me, forming and molding to take the shape of two flaming tigers on either side of me. Before we could even get close to one another, an overwhelming aura flooded my senses, stopping Tomura in his tracks.

Toshi rushed at Nomu, their fists colliding. The blast sent Tomura flying backward and I fell to my knees, the tigers jumping in front of me to shield me from the force.

“Weren’t you listening? One of his powers is shock absorption.”

“Yeah, and what about it?” They matched each other’s punches, going inhumanly fast, their arms nothing but a blur. How the fuck can they move that fast? My eyes can’t follow them at all. The force coming from the two blew out my flames, the tigers turning to smoke as they fizzled out, but it didn’t matter, the boys were unable to stand.

“Whoah, they’re… so fast!” Red slid back against the ground.

“No, I can’t get near them!” Kurogiri cried.

“He said your quirk was only shock absorption, not nullification,” Toshi commented. “That means there’s a limit to what you can take, right?! So, you were made to fight me, huh, big guy? If you can really withstand me firing at one hundred percent of my power, then I’ll have to go beyond that and force you to surrender!”

Holy fucking tap-dancing tacos, are you even human, Toshi?

He sent Nomu flying into the air before giving chase. “A real hero will always find a way for justice to be served!” He grabbed Nomu mid-air, turning his body in a circle before using the force to slam him down to the earth, the ground shattering beneath him. “Now, for a lesson. You may have heard these words before, but I’ll teach you what they really mean. Go beyond…” he cocked his arm back and I felt a wave of stifling power coming from him. “Plus…” his fist slammed into Nomu’s stomach. “…ULTRA!!”

Nomu went flying, slamming into the ceiling of the dome. The lights exploded around him as his body broke through the glass, the entire dome shaking from the sheer force of the blow.

“That was like the finishing move in a video game… He beat the shock absorption right out of him! I’ve never seen that kind of brute strength.”

“Imagine having power like that… He must have been punching that guy so fast he couldn’t regenerate…”

Goddamn, Toshi.

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#rise above it #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #anime #mha #bnha #series #writing #creative writing #writeblr #scenario #scenarios #anime scenarios #anime scenario #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfics #anime fanfic #anime fanfics #first person #oc #original character

[lronhusbands]

Idk what to call this

Excerpts from a Sam-centric fic that I don’t know how to finish

--

To Tony’s surprise it’s Sam who shows up to the compound hardly a month after the proclaimed Civil War. He doesn’t know why he lets Sam in without hesitating. Maybe it’s because Sam asked about Rhodey, or maybe because Sam knew that Tony went to Siberia as a friend… maybe it was a mix of the two.

“I’m not here to fight,”

Tony looked up to see Sam. It was the middle of the night and they were in the kitchen.

“I didn’t think you were,” Tony said tiredly.

He was tired all the time lately. Between fixing the Accords, fixing SI’s reputation, trying to find a better brace design for Rhodey’s legs, and now Peter- there was always so much to do.

“I wanted to apologize,”

That caught Tony off guard. If anything he assumed he should be the one apologizing for what happened in Siberia.

“What for?”

“If I had known what Steve was going to do- or what he’d done. I don’t think I would have told you,”

Tony rubbed at his eyes sleepily. He didn’t want to hear that.

“I would have figured it out anyway. Rogers can’t hide from FRIDAY,” Tony replied.

“You still shouldn’t have found out like that,” Sam pressed.

That was actually something Tony could agree with. Tony didn’t make the best decisions in the whole world but at least he could say that he hadn’t kept something like that from someone for two years. God he was still angry.

“Well you’re not wrong,”

Tony knew he didn’t succeed in keeping the bitterness out of his voice. Sam rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well… goodnight I guess,”

Tony watched him walk away. He finished off the last of his coffee and set the mug in the sink. He needed to try and sleep.

--

Every time Sam looked at Rhodey he couldn’t help but feel guilty. Rhodey took the hit. Even if he didn’t mean to. Rhodey took the hit and was partially paralyzed now. Sam wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t even know how to ask or if they would even accept his help.

--

“He doesn’t blame you,”

Sam turned away from the punching bag. Rhodey was in the room. Sam clenched his fists for a moment but didn’t say anything.

“He blames Rogers and Barnes, and himself usually,”

“But I told him,”

“Tony would have found out anyway,” Rhodey said.

“Why do I feel like I did the wrong thing? Why do I feel like I was on the wrong side? I’ve fought wars, I’ve seen too much. I thought… Cap’s gotta know what he’s doing so I followed him…”

“There’s no right side with any of this,” Rhodey responded.

“It’s ugly and it fucking sucks,”

--

“Do you know where we were?” Sam asked.

They were all in the kitchen. Tony was leaning against the counter, popping blueberries into his mouth. Sam didn’t know where he got those because when he last checked the contents of the fridge there were no blueberries. And he’d checked no less than ten minutes ago.

Tony shot him a very unimpressed look.

“Of course I know! T’challa has to talk to someone about Captain Go-Fuck-Yourself,” Tony replied.

“Really?” Sam egged with a soft smile.

“He’s surprisingly petty for a King,”

Sam smiled at that.

“He only let us stay there cause he felt bad for what he did to Barnes,”

Tony scowled.

“I know exactly what he’s doing,”

“Oh you got him worked up,” Rhodey said with a fond smile.

“Let’s trust the guy who y’know actively tried to kill Barnes multiple times but when your teammate tries to help you, you betray him, fuck that guy,” Tony growled.

“And how in the shitfuck is going into cryo supposed to help him? He doesn’t even think does he? I’m a fucking genius! I have the Brain… what did I call it honey bear?”

“BARF,” Rhodey replied with ease.

“Why did I call it that?”

Rhodey shrugged.

“BARF?” Sam asked.

“It’s a brain thing, hijacks the hippocampus to project painful memories so you can manipulate them and change them to help you start and try to get over it. It could’ve helped Barnes but no I can’t be trusted for shit now,” Tony said.

Sam didn’t say anything. Steve had kept a lot of things from him- from all of them. If Sam hadn’t gotten so damn tired of Steve moping around about his boyfriend, he might never have left and might never have gone back to the Compound.

--

It was a surprise when Vision came. Tony didn’t think he’d see the android for a while.

“I thought you’d be with Wanda,”

“We had some… things we needed to discuss,” Vision replied.

Tony raised an eyebrow.

“I wished to discuss her choices in the so called Civil War. She could not give me appropriate answers,”

All business as usual.

“I grew weary, I wanted to come home,”

Sam watched a smile grow on Tony’s face.

“How was Wakanda then, Viz?”

“Remarkable. While it is a highly advanced and highly efficient nation, their technologies have nothing on yours,”

Tony looked stunned for all of half a second.

“Ah well… I had help a lot, I’m not that special,” Tony said.

--

The Spiderkid came around every once and a while. He always had a mask on. He seemed to avoid Sam a lot. Sam didn’t mind that at all, he was still getting used to the freakishly strong tiny human.

“He freaks me out,” Sam said.

“He’s harmless,” Rhodey replied.

Sam glared at him through the side of his eyes.

“Is he?”

A smile crossed Rhodey’s face.

“He’s a good kid, young but… he’s good,”

--

“You think he’s too young,”

“Yes,” Sam said in all honestly.

Tony looked at him for a moment before returning his attention to the spiderling who was dodging shots from Vision.

“I needed help. I found him and I figured… I could help him. He’s a fucking kid. I thought if I could help him… give him a new… better suit and helped train him I could help prepare him for this fucking shitstorm. I want him to be better, to do better,”

Better than me. Sam heard the words clearly. He looked at Tony again. There was so much he didn’t know.

--

“What if I wanted to sign the Accords?”

The minute Sam said ‘accords’, Tony tensed up, there was a weariness that hadn’t been there since Civil War.

“You’d have to read them first. Then if you want to you can amend them. After that I’ll send them to T’challa. He’s got better lawyers down there,” Tony said.

Amend them?

“We can amend them?” Sam asked.

Tony looked so tired.

“I tried to tell Steve that if he would just sign them… I could amend them so they weren’t so shitty. I don’t like them any more than anyone else does but they’re necessary. Steve wouldn’t listen to me,”

--

Natasha showed up one evening like it was her god given right to be on the Compound. It was clear Tony didn’t want her there.

“Ms. Romanoff!” Vision greeted.

“Hey Vision,” Natasha responded with an easy smile.

“I’m afraid I have to escort you off the premise,”

The smile fell from her face.

“Excuse me?”

Vision pulled her to her feet with ease.

“The Compound, and Mr. Stark’s Tower are currently off limits for all those on Team Cap,” Vision stated.

Natasha gaped at him. Vision pushed her toward the door as Tony rounded into the room, he was on his StarkPad.

“Stark!” Natasha called.

Tony looked up sharply. His cold gaze flicked to Natasha and then to Vision.

“Ms. Romanoff, thank you for reminding me to recalibrate FRIDAY’s security code,” Tony said with a curt nod.

“FRIDAY, if we could strip Ms. Romanoff’s access to the Compound and alert me if she tries to get on the premise again,” Tony said.

“Stark what the fuck?”

“You shouldn’t have left Wakanda, Ms. Romanoff. I’m sure you were more welcome there,”

Tony nodded once more and continued on his way. He was furious. How dare she think she could just come back to the Compound like nothing had happened.

--

“My parents aren't just dead now. My mom isn't just dead now. They were murdered. By Steve’s best friend and he didn't… he knew for two years and didn't tell me. Why didn't he tell me? Was I not enough?”

#my writing #therhodeynet #Sam Wilson #Tony Stark #James Rhodes #Vision #Peter Parker #Natasha Romanoff #NOT STEVE FRIENDLY #fan fic #marvel #this is literally my first time writing something like this #I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO WRITE SAM

[falloutpnp]

Session 13

GM Note: Here comes a new player! For the sake of continuity, the character of Curt (Jakob) has been with the party since the beginning.

Reade’s radio crackles to life as Pandora informs the Sergeant of Auden’s well being, much to her relief. Their elation is suddenly grounds when Pandora remembers the ACU soldier she had previous… crippled. Reade orders Billy and Curt to check in on the enemy and, if necessary, put him down. The Sergeant also orders Balint to prepare to follow her en route to Auden’s location.

Outside, in cold darkness, Winston tinkers around with Lotta’s remains. After several attempts, the mechanic is able to repair and reboot the robot back to life. Although the work is essentially a patch job (the robot is basically held together with glue and duct tape) Lotta is able to regain function of most of its systems. Its IR sensor, however, is beyond Winston’s repair. When playfully asked by Reade how does it feel for the robot to be brought back from the ‘dead’, Lotta pontificates a semi-philosophical speech about how it was never alive in the first place. It’s lost on Reade who just gives the robot a simple nod and thumbs up.

Meanwhile, Billy and Curt make their way through into the Administration offices where Pandora had previously faced an ACU soldier. They fail to overhear the faint murmuring coming from the darkness; instead, they see a trail of blood leading into one of the offices As they enter the Facility Manager's office, a sluggish punch swipes through the air, narrowly missing Billy’s face by an inch. The wounded ACU soldier enters into a brief tussle. Curt furrows his brow, pulls out his pistol and attempts to shoot the soldier in the leg. He misses but the shot is enough force the soldier into submission. The two mercenaries notice the injured man is holding onto a large radio handset.

Reade, who is about to make her way towards Auden’s location, hears Curt’s shot. She tells Balint to go on ahead while she investigates. When she arrives, Billy and Curt inform her of the situation. After some initial interrogation, the Sergeant pushes the soldier - Subteniente Vargas - for answers about the radio. Vargas simply avoids her questions by flippantly stating that he has nothing valuable to share. Reade passes Billy some duct tape and orders him to bind Vargas and take him to the captured ACU Major. The shortly drag him off back to the reception area.

Meanwhile, Charles begins to fiddle and mess around with the facility’s power management system. Despite his rudimentary understanding of electronics, the mercenary fiddles around with the fuse box and miraculously manages to restore power to the building. Lights begin to floor the corridors once more, much to everyone’s rejoyce. Charles decides to take the opportunity to explore the rest of the facility. He eventually stumbles room secured with a thick, iron bar cage door, labeled as the store room. Through the bars, he spots a large, opened wooden crate with a set of heavy footprints leading out of the room and down the corridor he had just wandered through. Charles manages to pick the lock and walks inside for a closer inspection. Spray painted in red with large, menacing letters is the word ‘RAVAGER’. Puzzled, Charles is about to report his findings when he discovers a cache of landmines, grenades and ammunition. The delusional schizophrenic’s eyes widen with delight…

Reade finally manages to meet with Pandora and Auden. A relieved Schuster shares a tender moment with Auden as Balint works to heal her to the best of his abilities. The doctor is able to heal her broken legs but is unable to heal her arms. Though she is still uncomfortable with pain, the Lieutenant is thankful for Balint’s hard work. Focusing, Auden’s memory flickers back to the beginning of Operation Moonshield. She recalls the series of events previously explained by Schuster up until her capture. After Fenton and Condor were executed, Auden was severely beaten and dragged to Wessex. As they transported her, Auden caught a glimpse of the soldiers taking Condor’s comms equipment and Fenton’s pipboy. Eventually she would discover the truth about behind the rumours of the highly advanced encryption technology: it was a hoax concocted by the ACU to lure out NCR mercenaries. They had heard that the NCR had employed freelance mercenary units to take on ‘high risk and rewards’ tasks and wanted to see what they were made of. In the process, they managed to accomplish three goals:

Capture an NCR mercenary

Investigate/hack the stolen equipment (Fenton’s Pipboy and Condor’s tech)

Field test the Ravager

A baffled Reade asks what is this ‘Ravager’, to which Auden reveals to be an experimental ACU power armour suit. Worried, the Sergeant immediately asks if Pandora’s lance encountered the Ravager. The lance leader shakes her head. Reade suddenly realises that Vargas must have contacted enemy reinforcements - including the experimental Ravager. She then contacts Jack over the radio and tells him to force Vargas to spill the beans.

Realising that they must have figured something out, Vargas spits blood in Jack’s face and tells him to fuck off. The unperturbed Jack removes a handkerchief from his top pocket and charismatically wipes the stain from his cheek as he nods for Curt to drag Vargas away. The muscle bound merc yanks at Vargas’ neck and heaves him into another room where he is swiftly beaten senseless. As the sound of wet, bloodied punches echoes through the facility, The ACU Major immediately begins to talk. He tells Jack that he will reveal more information if he is promised to be treated appropriately as a prisoner of war under NCR custody. Jack lies and says ‘sure thing’ without consulting Reade. The Major’s wily senses kick in and he asks for Reade’s promise on the matter.

Unamused, Reade marches back to their location and tells the ACU Major that he is in no position to make demands. He nervously swallows but says that he is prepared to accept his fate. Reade cuts him off and barks at the ACU Major to tell her everything he knows about the Ravager. The enemy officer finally comes clean and explains that it is an experimental power armour that was being field tested. They wanted to know how efficient of a killing machine it was. Satisfied with his answers, Reade presses the Major for answers about Vargas’ radio call. A sly smirk spreads across his face as he explains that Reade and her unit will need to keep him alive to bargain for their lives. The ACU Major promises that they will be treated fairly and will be dealt with… honourably if they surrender. He estimates that the Ravager squad will return to Wessex within the next 5 to 10 minutes. Reade coldly tells the ACU Major that they’ll need a fucking army to stop them. She swiftly boots him in the face, rendering him unconscious.

Knowing that they are racing against the clock, Reade orders The Misfits to prepare for battle. Charles confidently strolls in and reveals the bounty of weapons and ammunition he discovered in the store room. The Misfits divide it between themselves. Reade then orders the following:

Sasha is to plant landmines around the facility entrance.

Curt will tie up Vargas and leave him outside with a landmine planted next to him.

Everyone is to take defensive positions and shoot out through the bunker windows.

Charles and Schuster will take up sniping positions in the radar tower dishes.

Auden will hide until the coast is clear.

While Curt is outside gagging and securing Vargas outside, he catches a glimpse of Reade setting up an emergency beacon. She contacts Maxwell on a secure line and informs him about the situation. The Phoenix Corporation leader delivers some bad news; bad weather has hit The Boneyard. They will arrive in 20 minutes. He tells Reade to stall for as much time as possible.

When Charles and Schuster reach the large radar farm, he gives him some .223 rounds and wishes him good luck. They split up, climbing separate towers in order to get maximum view of their surroundings. The large radar dish Charles finds himself in shows the tell-tale signs of habitation. A tattered sleeping bag lies on the flattest part of the dish with a few empty cans of food scattered around. As the dish bends, forming a ‘wall’ to this unique home, Charles spots a several pictures of pin-up girls plastered around to give the place some decoration. He takes a few to add to his private collection. As he pockets the pictures, he also catches glimpse of what appears to be an make-fix emergency escape rope. The rope, made from high tension fibres, is rigged to a pulley wheel and a large counterweight, allowing for someone to quickly and carefully lower themselves to the ground. Before he has time to test it, however, Schuster radios through to tell alert everyone to the approaching enemy.

The Ravager squad, comprised for 10 or so soldiers, marches towards Wessex. Leading them is a man wearing what appears to be the Ravager power armour. The suit, comprised of a menacing set of protective metal that completely encases the soldier, is outfitted with what appears to be a large set of spring loaded machete sized blades that are retracted on the left arm and a threatening heavy machine gun. The Ravager halts the squad 50 or so meters away from the facility.

Reade tells Jack to stall the enemy for as long as possible. After an awkward start, in which Jack asks if anyone ‘habla Ingles?’, he manages to start a dialog with the English speaking leader. The leader immediately orders The Misfits to release their superior officer and surrender to the ACU. Jack lies and says the situation is a complete misunderstanding. He asks the ACU soldier to remove his armour because it scares him. Miraculously, the soldier buys his lie but refuses to remove his armour. Instead, he decides to ‘ease the tension’ but removing his helmet to discuss things ‘man-to-man’.

Reade orders Charles to take the shot. The round slices through the air and glances his temple, causing the Ravager to fall to his knees. The rest of the ACU soldiers whip their rifles towards Charles’ position and open fire. Bullets perforate and frantically dance around the sniper’s position, peppering him with hot lead and debris. He is severely injured and rolls into better cover. Hearing Charles’ pained cries over the radio, The Misfits open fire on the ACU soldiers, catching them by surprise. Several of them are hit during the barrage, resulting in the soldiers quickly pop smoke grenades which flood their positions with swirling plumes of red smoke.

Although the thick smoke masks their presence, two of the enemy soldiers are caught by Schuster making their way around the side of the facility. The sniper trains his sights on their position and fires a single, silenced shot. The round pierces the lung of its target, causing the man to fall to the ground, choking for air. Having regained his determination through a sheer lust for revenge, Charles crawls back to his firing position, takes aim and squeezes the trigger. A split second later, there’s the sound of a loud, wet thwack, followed by the banshee like howls of the severely injured ACU combatant. He stumbles around, clutching at his face as blood and fluid - thick and stringy like egg yolks - pours from his eye holes. Both soldiers manage to drag themselves back into the cover of smoke.

At the same time, through the vail of the red smoke, a thunderous explosion erupts. Through their scopes, Schuster and Charles catch glimpse of hot meaty chunks of human flesh soaring into the air. They begin to grasp the situation: the mine next to Vargas has exploded, taking - by their estimation - the lives of Vargas plus one.

Through the thin, bunker glass, a vigilant Billy spots an ACU soldier in a ghillie suit crawling to the rear side of the facility. Billy radios Schuster for sniper support and the two open fire on the enemy. Both barrages of fire miss, kicking up dust and dirt.

Strolling confidently towards the facility's front door, the mighty Ravager soldier draws his chain gun and opens fire at the thick steel bulkhead. The rounds pierce through the metal and although it puts up a struggle, the door is eventually torn down. Although Winston and Jack are hopeful in the landmine taking out the power armour, the enemy spots and casually steps over it. The Ravager leader orders one of the soldiers to disable it as he makes his way down the stairs. Jack and Winston realise they are cornered.

Meanwhile, Lotta, Reade and Pandora spot the outlines of two additional ACU soldiers walking past their windows. They wait for a moment before ambushing them and opening fire. The soldiers roll out of harm’s way, and the group enters into a fierce gun fight.Frustrated with his inability to get a good angle on the enemy, Curt decides to blow a hole in the wall with a grenade so that he can charge in with his heavy machine gun. He plants the explosive next to what he perceives to be a weakness in the structure and runs for cover. The grenade shatters the centuries old wall, granting Curt a narrow passage to the outside.

Knowing that there is one landmine at the bottom of the steps, Jack decides to pull out of cover and fire at the bomb in the hopes of destroying the power armour. He misses, much to his dread and the Ravager’s delight.

Meanwhile, Billy’s gun fight with the ghillied ACU soldier has intensified. Both utilising the cover to their advantage, the pair exchange a barrage of deadly shotgun and machine gun fire until Billy is eventually hit in the shoulder. Unable to contain himself, Charles sends a volley of bullets in the enemy’s direction, forcing him out of cover. Realising he doesn’t have any further options, the ghillied soldier rushes to the bunker wall and plants a C4 charge. He radios something through to his team mates - something that momentarily ceases the gun fire from all sides. The pause in combat immediately sets off Reade’s battle sense and she orders everyone to get into cover.

Outside, several C4 detonations sound off around the facility. A hole in the wall is created near Billy’s position at the rear of the facility; the windows near Reade, Pandora and Lotta is blown through; and - surprisingly - the outer wall to the bathroom where Winston and Jack are positioned is torn open by the lung shot soldier Schuster had previously shot at.

Realising his options are limited, Winston cracks open a vent shaft door and begins to crawl away, leaving Shady behind. Wanting to buy time for everyone, Jack decides to shoot at the landmine one more time. He calls out to the Ravager and, in a spectacular display of lofty arrogance, decides to tell a joke.

“Why did the Mexican cross the border?” He leaps out of cover, swings his magnum revolver in the Ravager’s direction and pulls the trigger. The magnum round blasts out of the barrel and burrows itself into the explosive device right next to the Ravager’s feet. It explodes, blossoming into a fireball of death and slicing, white-hot shrapnel. “Because he wanted to blow up!” Jack delivers the flippant punchline just in time to see the Ravager step out of the flames. Although the power armour was indeed damaged, it was not enough to render the enemy incapacitated. The menacing Ravager walks towards Jack and offers a joke of his own.

“Why did the gringo cross the Ravager?” Suddenly, the large machete sized blades sprint forward him the suit’s left arm, forming a set of ferocious claws. “Because he wanted to be torn to pieces.” Unable to think of a snappy retort, Jack turns tail and flees through the bathroom.

Unable to get a sight on the enemy, Charles decides to take a risk and use the emergency pull system to quickly lower himself to the ground. Luckily, the hastily strung together pulley and counterweight hold together, the sniper descends to the ground quickly and carefully. At the same time, Billy finally defeats the ghillied soldier when he blasts him with a double barrel load of buckshot. The enemy’s ribcage explodes in a flash of red gore. An injured Billy stands triumphantly over his fallen enemy.

With the enemy in his sights, Curt lays down on the ground and deploys his heavy machine gun. He sends a volley of .50 cal rounds at the soldiers near Reade’s position. The rounds dance around their targets, narrowly missing them. However, much to Curt’s shock and confusion, the enemy suddenly explode into red clouds of bloody mists, resulting in one of them losing and arm and leg while the other outright dies. At the same time, Reade tells everyone to hit the deck and take cover. In the far distance, the Vertibird opens fire again from a side mounted chain gun on the two ACU soldiers’ position, resulting in total fatalities.

The Vertibird swings towards the other side of the facility and rains down white hot fury on the blinded and lung shot ACU soldiers, sending limbs and whimpering screams into the night sky. Sensing safety, Jack takes a running jump at the hole in the bathroom and scrambles outside. Hot in his heals, the Ravager stampedes through the opening and is about to take fire on Jack. Through a masterful stroke of marksmanship, Charles is able to deliver a precise shot to the power armour’s visor, shattering it and exposing part of the ACU soldier’s face.  

Quickly registering what has just happened, Jack spins on his heels, points his revolver at the Ravager’s exposed face and pulls the trigger. The soldier’s sharpened senses kick in and he reflexively rolls away from the shot. It glances off his forehead and ricochets of what remains of his helmet. Stricken with panic, Jack runs for his life. The Vertibird moves in and gives the gunner enough of an angle to pivot the mounted machine gun into position. Although the Ravager is unable to shoot at the Vertibird, he decides to take out his fury on the fleeing Jack. His chain gun spins into life and a flurry of 5mm rounds cut through Jack, severely wounding him. Jack crumbles to the floor but is still alive to turn on his side and look into the eyes of the inflictor of his impending demise. Instead of outright killing him, the Ravager points his gun to the sky and attempts to shoot down the Vertibird. However, at the last second, his vision snaps onto an encroaching Charles who has fired a final round from his sniper rifle. The Ravager soldier to let out a shocked, fear stricken gasp before the round smashes into his exposed head. He falls to the floor as blood and brain matter oozes from his wound.

The Misfits are finally victorious in their battle against the ACU Ravager forces.

As Hobson lands the Vertibird, it is revealed that Major Maxwell was the gunner. He removes himself from the mounted turret harness and rushes to Jack. The silver tongued merc manages to sit himself up before giving his commanding officer a thumbs up. Maxwell tells him he did a good job and offers him a Yak 42 cigar. The rest of the team radios through that they’re okay before rendezvousing at the facility entrance. Maxwell and Hobson inspect the remains of the Ravager power armour. The Major finds it troubling that the enemy has access to such technology. He and Blythe had never dreamt that the ACU could outdo the Enclave in terms of weaponry on this scale. Reade soon meets with Maxwell and informs him about the situation and the ACU true purpose at Wessex. The Major is relieved to hear that Auden and Schuster are alive but is devastated by the news of Condor and Fenton’s passing. He swears to honour their names before ordering The Misfits to retrieve the stolen Pipboy and comms tech. At the same time, Curt presents Maxwell with the captured ACU Major.

The ACU officer nervously looks at Maxwell and asks to negotiate. The Phoenix Corporation leader coldly informs him that he can negotiate with the NCR. The Misfits carry him off to the Vertibird as Hobson radios Blythe to arrange for NCR military police to be on standby at HQ. After securing the last of the looted ACU equipment, the team finally set off home.

The sun begins to rise on a new day as the Vertibird carries The Misfits back to HQ. Although they encounter some turbulence, the journey gives time for reflection on a hard night’s work. The Vertibird carefully maneuvers into the HQ’s courtyard, where a pair of NCR MPs flank Mr Blythe. The civil servant congratulates the team on a job well done before the MPs cart the ACU officer off into the back of an armoured truck. The enemy officer takes one last fearful glance at the Misfits before the truck doors slam shut.

The mood is cut short when Charles makes another passing comment about the bullet ration. Blythe playfully dismisses it and says that his comments have been noted. As the weary team make their way into HQ, Blythe informs Jack that there is a visitor waiting for him in the lobby.

Curiously, Jack Shady cautiously enters the lobby to discover a young, slender woman holding hands with a small girl. The young lady’s face immediately brightens up when she spots him.

“Jack Shady… it’s been a long time. It’s me, Molly. Molly Hull. And this, Jack, is our daughter…”

A rock forms inside of Jack’s stomach as Charles snorts out a mocking laugh.

#fallout #fallout1 #fallout2 #fallout 3 #fallout 4 #fallout tactics #fallout pnp #falloutpnp