Post by lukuz13 on Mar 14, 2011 11:04:26 GMT -5
[This was a RP between myself, GreyBeardHalt, and Thatfallout3guy, adapted for a short story format, Enjoy the tale of epicness]
Having beamed down to this new and unexplored planet, Fallout and Halt found themselves in the middle of a dark world, surrounded by silence, and only moonlight to light their way. Nearby was a small abandoned cabin, partially damaged from unknown sources. As the two scanned the nearby soil and land, they heard a rustle nearby, when they were suddenly attacked by a large pack of Kirin. The beast seemed to be made of several animals all in one, charging the two warriors who promptly cut them down as they charged. Watching their assault fail, the Kirin in the back attempted to flank, butting Fallout in the back as it approached
"Gah! Get away from me you damn things!" Fallout shouted, blasting a large portion of the beasts with an ice blast, before shattering them. Halt was busy fending off charges by quickly slashing the things away with his blade, focusing on defense for the moment before the attack finally stopped. They both listened to the wind whistle in their ear, before they catch the sound of howling off in the distance... when the sound of a tree falling suddenly tore through the black forest, followed by a deep bellowing roar. The moon shown down brightly, so full and ominous, taking up a good portion of the sky, arranged just near the center. Taking a few cautious steps backwards, Halt whispered in a hush
"Something is out there..."
"*Sigh* I know you're right, be ready" Fallout spoke under his breath as the crashing sounds grew louder, the forest unable to hide the sounds echoing out of its depths.
"See, I told ya..." Halt uttered, getting his "told you so" out of the way before contact.
"Wait a full moon and howling... Halt! Get back to back!!!" Fallout shouted suddenly, his sense snapping to him as to the identity of this new found threat, to which Halt obeyed. After he did so, Fallout drew his trusted blade, Skynard, his finger tips giving off a gentle hue of light blue. Halt however, twisted his sword free of its sheath, allowing flame and wind to dance across the blade.
The trees before the two men were suddenly torn down; a bestial creature perched onto of the fallen trucks. The beast seemed to drool as it eyed the men, its saliva dripping viscously down its jaw line onto the truck below, allowing a small, sizzling noise as it ate through the bark and wood. Its body thick and muscular, powerful arms, supplemented by a broad chest, its body covered in a thick, dark brown to black fur, small areas cleared away replaced by scars from battles past, leading down to a pair of legs that, while in no way match the upper torso, still look powerful enough to propel the beast through the air. Deep sadistically red eyes stared out at the two, slack jawed as it growled at them, letting out a loud howl that rocked their ear drums.
"*Gulps* Please tell me that's not what I think it is..." Fallout whispered to Halt in a stunned tone, but he was too late, as the man was already off. Halt quickly shook the howl off and cross slashed the air, sending an X-shape of fire and wind towards the beast.
The attack hits, though the fire seemed to singe its fur and flesh a bit, the wind had no effect visibly...except to piss it off. This time the beast snapped at the two, snarling viciously as its saliva finally burned the tree in half that it stood above. The wolven beast lunged at Halt now, sweeping at him with an enormous clawed hand, the nails tear into him due to its incredible speed despite its size. Seeing his friend in danger, Fallout sprinted and slammed into the beast's side, knocking the thing away from Halt. Rolling once, the beast quickly recovered whipping its head to the side facing Fallout, eyeing him with a bloodlust the man had not seen in a foe in ages. It seemed to roar with the strength of a thousand lions this time, as if renewed fury, lunging at Fallout this time, locking hands with him, its claws digging heavily into his bare hands despite his resistance flesh. Fallout almost screamed at the sudden pain and proximity to the beast, but instead smiled at the thing, grunting full of his forever present confidence.
"Is that all you got?" Fallout grinned now, his palms now shining a brighter blue, as ice slowly crystallized from his hands up the beast's arms, as the ice slowly encroached until it nearly devoured his hands. "HALT YOU'RE UP!!!" Fallout added now, having trapped the beast finally. Halt took the chance and leaped at the beast and slashed multiple times at its chest, relying more on the fire blade to injure and the wind blade to hopefully knock him off balance. The twin attack succeeded for the most part, sending the beast reeling off into the darkness. It doesn't, however, lose its footing entirely, remaining standing as it clinched its fists and flexed its muscles, breaking the ice that enveloped its hands and arms in anger, drooling as it stares at you both, letting out a deep long howl, when it does suddenly hundreds of howls seem to answer, all from the forest as rustling leaves and snapping trees can be heard. It almost smirks, eyeing them both down with hate in its red eyes.
Fallout took the small time out to check Halt and see if he was alright, to which Halt quickly thanked him but shooed him off. Fallout then stood at the ready, watching the forest for movement, whispering.
"Be careful..." Halt simply adds behind him
"I know..." his own body glowing as he took in energy around him.
The forest seemed to come alive suddenly, as leaves could be heard being torn apart, trees falling over and the earth itself shaking as hundreds of smaller beings, though not smaller by much, came to surround them both. As many landed, their weight was enough to rock the earth a bit, bright crimson eyes watched Fallout and Halt from all directions, their bodies similar to the one who called them, however smaller in comparison by far. Then a harsh thud became audible, looking forward, Fallout and Halt saw what it was. Before the two men stood two beasts, instead of one like before, and behind them. The beast behind the first two was much larger, in every way. It towered above many of the others, reaching to one of the trees heights easily... piercing yellow eyes watched their movement out of a thick skull, its face that of a wolf, riddled with scars and blood... its teeth closer to the shape and sharpness of steak knives, curling into its massive maw, barely able to contain them properly. Thick large hands with pointed blades at each finger tip, easily big enough to grasp one of them by the body.
Slowly, the beast let out a loud, dominating roar, the entire horde of beasts swarming Fallout and Halt instantly. Fallout instantly took cover using one of his new techniques, turning into water. As he did so, Halt prepared his own attack, his swords burning a bright red, the flames were as bright as a small sun, and it looked as though a mini-cyclone were surrounding the other blade. He then began spinning around both blades, extending them as he went. He slowly unleashed their power causing a huge wave of flame and wind to surround him. Halt went faster and faster and poured out more and more energy until finally this cyclone of flame and wind cut through almost every beast it touched
The cyclone of death slaughtered many of the smaller wolf creatures, splitting some in two, leaving others with horrid scars on their chest as they desperately fought to stand up again. The range did not quite reach the largest of the beasts, as the "master" stood with his two supporters watching in anger. Gritting its teeth in anger, piercing yellow eyes staring Halt straight through, he barked
"Human! Why do you invade my forests and kill MY People!" It growled in a loud thick voice where every word sounded like a demand. Snarling, the beast licked its over-sized maw before growling to his two "subordinates" "You two! Get ready for battle! I will not have my home invaded while you two show weakness to these OUTSIDERS!!" he roared again, slamming the earth with enough strength to rock the two men that still stood nearby. Returning to the physical word, Fallout interjected
"Wait, THEY ATTACKED US!!!! We were fighting Kirin then next thing we know ugly McAssface is trying to kill us!!!" Fallout finished, questioning this view of "protecting his home" Halt looked to Fallout who quieted down to let him speak, he then glared at the beast coldly
"It was not we who decided to attack two strangers in these woods, who have done no true harm to him. If we are guilty of anything, it is of self defense."
The subordinate Fallout spoke of lunged at him, but the larger one held him down with one claw, snarling at Fallout
"Human! You invade MY Forests, kill MY people, and then accuse us for retaliating?!" it roared angrily at him just as Halt spoke then it seemed to scoff "In self defense? You are the ones who entered these woods on the most holy night for us and you accuse us of wrong when we attempt to drive you away! You slaughter our prey like they are your cattle! How dare you! Human scum, I should have you both strung up and devoured right now!" The massive beast roared, its howl seemed to revive some of the smaller ones that had not entirely died from Halt's blast, calling new ones from the forest until Halt and Fallout became completely surrounded by the growing number of wolves... however they did not attack yet... simply watched them.
"Well we, and by we I mean Halt, may have attacked first, but we had just gotten finished fighting Kirin and couldn't be too certain, as far as stringing us up I am from a different universe, so does that give me diplomatic immunity?" Fallout said in a tone that made it difficult to determine if he was joking or completely serious, motioning to Halt as he spoke. The being seemed to scoff at Fallout "Kirin? You must be referring to our prey, these pathetic beings are our food, and you slaughtered most of our hunt! " The creature snarled, picking up a chuck of mostly destroyed flesh from the battle Fallout and Halt had with the Kirin, and chomped it down, swallowing it no problem before growing at them again "Like this, the flesh will be inedible within the hour!" It then stared at fallout as if actually confused now "Immunity... Do not attempt to confuse me Human! I have learned better then to trust your kind!" Halt held back Fallout for now.
"We came here into your forest to see if there was any native life. We had no idea what we would be facing, so you can imagine our surprise when we see your 'prey' suddenly surround us and attempt to kill us. If we had known that this was your form of food we would have left immediately, but sadly you chose to wait until we were finished slaughtering them all to bring this to our attention." Halt did his best to remain reasonable, attempting to defuse the situation.
The bestial creature roared loudly now, summoning a great deal more allies to his side. Now the horde surrounding the two men was almost black completely with the wolven bodies
"But you didn't human! Instead you killed as you pleased! And now you shall provide us with fresh meat we now lack because of you!" This time it slammed its fists into the earth, rocking it until fissures crept up to them both, then he waved one horrid claw at the men, announcing
"DEVOUR THE SCUM!!!" Just then every single body leaped in unison, almost as if a tsunami was coming down on the men. Fallout quickly summoned a massive wall of ice and sent it outwards, freezing some of the wolves as they leaped and sending others flying back
"Please!!! We can get you more food!!!" Fallout shouted above the howls of the beasts, attempting to convince the leader.
With a portion of the horde is frozen and thrown back, some breaking the ice, others dying within, the remains pounced on fallout, easily swarming him as a thousand teeth bit into his body, a thousand claws tore at his flesh as the leader laugh/snarl
"I have learned to never trust humans! It will always end badly! Better to just kill you all off now, and prevent further harm to my people!" Fallout's hard skin protected him from some of the attacks, though he felt it, leaving many marks over him as he turned into water, slipping away from the swam.
"OK THEN!!! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!!!" Fallout then reformed next to Halt, shouting "KILL ALL OF THEM!!!!" Halt slashed forcefully down, sending walls of flame and wind slamming into the rest of the horde. He then started slashing around like mad sending both fire and wind flying in various directions in a panic, the attacks slicing through some of the horde only to be replaced by new members. Fallout shot blasts of ice and slashed at the wolves with Skynard in an attempt to keep them away. The duo seem to kill thousands of wolven bodies, fur and flesh pile up around them yet they seem to keep coming, when suddenly the leader appears before Halt, grasping hold of him, squeezing him tightly in his grasp, deep almost sick yellow eyes staring into his as he snarls
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE A THREAT TO MY HOME!" it then snapped its jaws, attempting to decapitate Halt, while the subordinates both double teamed fallout, one knocking him into the other's grasp like a volleyball. Halt vanished into mist, escaping his grasp and re-appeared behind him
"You'll find that I'm not like most humans..." Halt whispered before he slashed wildly at the beast's back focusing a large part of his power into those blades. Fallout turned to water, sliding around one of the beasts that had him caught. As he went through one of the beasts, Fallout shouted
"NEITHER AM I!!! TAKE THIS, FALCON PUNCH!!!"Fallout announced his attack, sending the subordinate flying into his comrade in a fiery blaze. "Come and get me cock fags!!!" Halt's blades dug into the beast's wolven flesh, yet he quickly bounded away before much damage could be done, the searing flame wounds on his back take a moment to simmer before he can focus again.
"So you are... But a filthy human is a filthy HUMAN!!" He roared this time, opening his mouth and letting loose a beam of bright white light, the attack surprised Halt, and thus landed a direct hit, sending him flying into the trees (incidentally where the wolfs are coming from...) before turning his attention to fallout noticing that one of the subordinates had been knocked unconscious for now, the remaining one had managed to dodge his friend, before launching at him, the not far behind, slamming one of its enormous claws into fallout's chest just as the leader landed a direct smash to Fallout's face, sending him flying back into the abandoned home nearby. Fallout stood up a little dazed, before announcing in his ever confident yodel
"THE HELL WAS THAT?! YOU NEED YOUR BOYFRIEND TO HELP YOU?!" Fallout now took a defensive stance "COME GET SOME!!!!" Halt got up and heard Fallout's taunts among the blasts and roars
"Oh Friender, he's at it again" Halt sighed to himself, shaking his head as he dashed back into the thick of the fight, carving his way to the leader. The massive leader made his way over to the fallen subordinate, raising one clawed hand above him, before Fallout noticed the full moon still shining bright off to the side, white light seemed to flow into the downed body, as the subordinate slowly got to his feet again, clearly heavily dazed before the beast looked back to Fallout, its yellow eyes piercing the night like no other flashlight, roaring
"Idiot human, you cannot defeat me on my home territory on our holiest of nights!" It announced almost triumphantly, its body seemed to surge with white that arrived from the moon itself, before preparing to launch himself at Fallout, instead getting blindsided by Halt and rolling off into the distance. While this happens, the normal wolf attacks grow fiercer, the smaller wolfs viciously attacking them both, Fallout's skin holding back most of it, but attrition was taking its toll as Halt was growing tired quickly from using his mist so much. Both subordinates go to check on their master after being awakened, who is standing again quickly, roaring into the moonlight, slamming the earth once more
"THERE IS NO END TO THESE ASSHOLES!!!!" Fallout shouted to Halt as he cut through more of the cannon fodder while keeping a close eye on the leader "WE CAN STILL TALK THIS OUT YA KNOW!!”
The leader dashed at speeds hard to fathom, grasping hold of Fallout by the head and viciously slamming him repeatedly into the earth, each slam creating a deeper and deeper crater, as the leader barked a syllable for each slam
"FAR. TOO. LATE. HU. MAN. SCUM!" it announced, before finally releasing him. Fallout turned to water, slipping a few feet away then reforming, as Halt came to his side, ensuring his friend was alright, looking to him.
“Fallout…perhaps we should try talking again?” his tone shaky from the harsh battle. Panting, Fallout looked at Halt, nodding before looking to the leader and saw that they were surrounded.
"I'm sorry, I know you are trying to defend your people, I can understand, you probably have a wife and children don't you? You would give your life to protect them am I correct?" Fallout spoke, now also attempting to defuse the situation as Halt recommended. The large beast halted for a moment, as he did the entire horde almost seemed to follow, his eyes burning a deep yellow as he spoke
"No human, I HAD a wife and child...But YOU took them away from me!" His tone alone seemed to curse, the hate in his eyes seemed to mix with sorrow and anger for the first time since this battle began, before he snapped back to reality "That is how I know not to trust scum like you humans... you take whatever you desire and destroy anything in your way!" Fallout stopped and looked at his Readius, it was still not ready for him and Halt to teleport back home, and would not be for some time.
"Did we kill them? Or did humans kill them? I know what loss feels like, not all humans are as you say. Allow us to leave and we will never bother you again." Fallout now spoke softly, as if whispering to calm the Beast before him. The creature slammed the earth in anger
"I have heard that time and time again human! I know the story... you will leave for a short time only to return with bigger weapons! I have no proof you would return without arms to fight me!" he roared... staring at the men before him, his claws seemed to ache to feel flesh once more.
"What if we were to help you fight the humans? Are they still on this world?" Fallout now propositioned, hoping to find a peaceful solution to this matter Halt nodding quietly behind him.
The leader stared at him for a moment, as if bewildered before slowly answering
"They are human... having walled their society off from us not far away, keeping us away with some strange field we cannot pass without great pain. It only serves to infuriate us all!" he growls before he calmed himself "Why would you assist us in killing your own kind human? Do you have no values of your own species?" Fallout looked at the leader, speaking slowly now
"I have no value for people that do wrong, I fight for making my world a better place for all!! Tell me how did these humans wrong you?" The beast snarls at first before answering
"We were not always a large tribe... back when we were smaller the human's took pleasure in hunting us for sport, ending with most of my family dead... so I lead them back to defend themselves... the human's called us monsters and fled, as slowly our numbers grew until this that you see before you... They have kept us at bay with strange shielding technology that even I cannot penetrate."
"Do you think I could get in and talk to these humans?" Fallout answered quickly. The leader laughed for a quick moment.
“I am sure they would gladly accept another human into their ranks... they would no doubt ask you to prove your worth by slaughtering us... it is how they gain "manhood" there.." The beast motioned to the blood covering Fallout and Halt adding "That shouldn't be a problem in the least however..." Halt looked to his feet with a bit of shame as Fallout clenched his fists, chewing the inside of his cheek before answering.
"I am so sorry for what has happened here, allow us to redeem ourselves and talk to them, can one of you lead us there?" After a long moment of silence, the leader utters a grunting noise to the subordinate that stands to his right. The smaller beast growled in return before lowering its ears in submission and walking to Fallout's side.
"He shall lead you both... do not betray me human, or else your destruction is assured" the beast seemed to hiss as a promise rather than a threat. Fallout and Halt followed the subordinate through the forest, so dark they could hardly believe the thing could see, then just as Fallout felt like the beast was getting lost, the night sky poked through the end of the forest. The being seemed to be unable to speak as it led the two to the top of a hill, overlooking a vibrantly white city, before stopping dead in its tracks, almost as if it ran into a brick wall.
"Thank you, we can go from here." Fallout spoke, as the two made their way down the hill now, unsure of what to expect as they did, the wolf that led him returned to the shadows. As they approached, the men caught the strangest smell of flowers and other exotic plants, looking behind them to see what it was. Before the men was an enormous garden of wolfs bane, mixed with stakes of silver surrounding the entire city like a natural barrier of some sort, the moon shining down from the heavens, reflecting off of the stakes to give the fields a beautiful shine.
"So that's how they keep them away... “Fallout said with a bit of surprise, admiring the beauty of the garden in the shimmering moonlight, the stakes setting off a reflection that lit up the fields even more.
“Quite a beautiful planet is it not?” Halt whispered partially to Fallout as he gazed over the lit fields.
“It really is…” Fallout commented before they continued on their way. The two proceeded now, making their way to the city gate where they were accosted by a young man wearing pure silver armor above a gate who called out to them.
"Stop! Who be you strange sirs... I do not recognize that armor, foreigners? I thought everyone else was dead thanks to those damn wolfs." the man murmured, clearly spilling over with hate. Fallout looked at the man
“We are not from this world; We wish to speak to whoever is in charge please!" The man stared at Fallout in surprise
"Ha! You think I’ll just let you see our king?? You are indeed a foreigner- " he seemed to stop himself, looking down he noticed the scars, blood and fur that soaked the two from the earlier battle.”Whoa wait a minute... are you telling me you two fought off some of those wolves all by yourselves?" the man uttered in surprise now.
"Some?! I must have killed half the damn things!! This is why I wish to speak with your king!!" Fallout spoke, thinking to himself * these people still use kings?* While Halt simply sighed, listening to Fallout take all the credit like always. The man quickly nodded, almost like he suddenly became a fan of Fallout's work, before the gate opened up and the two were introduced to an enormous cityscape, all a deep white of marble mixed with several pots meant especially for wolfs bane, and a stone street leading up to the castle in the back, not many buildings getting much higher than 20 feet except the castle itself of course, which easily towered several hundred feet above the others. Much of the metal work used silver instead of ordinary steel such as lampposts, in building construction, etc. As the two began to walk forward the soldier appeared next to them
"Come with me" he announced, leading them quickly through the crowded streets, past vendors that seemed to sell products made from some beast... all a similar color to the wolves. Slowly, people began to stare at the newcomers, some cautious, others intrigued by their presence. Fallout was used to being escorted through crowds, and greeted them with a smiling face and a wave, though Halt simply walked behind him in silence, naturally preferring to keep a low profile; though the people didn't return the gesture they did maintain a careful watch over the two. As they approached the castle itself, the people became scarce, and more and more soldiers appeared, some beating down beggars that stood to close to the gate, others bringing bags of what seemed to be money to a nearby large warehouse. As the two entered the gates several generals became visible, all in much more extravagant armor then the soldier, and more deadly looking weapons on their backs.
"No weapons past this point. Should you wish to speak to our king, relinquish all arms and armor" the general said in a low, almost monotone voice, holding out his hands. Fallout drew Skynard and looked at it.
"This weapon, is a part of me, I beg you please do not try and use it or bring any harm to it, it is the only thing I have from an old friend." He then handed the general the knife and 'The Bastard' *Not like I'll need them if this gets out of hand' Fallout reminded himself in his mind. Halt nodded softly, relinquishing his swords but carefully watching to where they are taken in case he needed to search them out. Taking the weapons away to a "safe house" one would assume, the two found himself face to face with said "King" a man wearing a long white robe, silver dangling off his person as if an accessory, before raising his hand to the two, motioning the guards to step back.
"What brings you here foreigners? I do not like to be interrupted during this hour “he said fidgeting as the moon shone bright through a nearby window. Halt remained deep in thought, allowing Fallout to take the lead of conversation for now.*Oh God, someone that thinks he's better than the people, this will be fun* Fallout thought to himself, a soft sigh escaping as he spoke.
"Your majesty, I come from a faraway place, and wish to discuss the wolves." At the mere mention of the subject, the King jumped to his feet.
"You wish to speak of the wolves? The only things I want to hear about those beasts is that they have all been gutted and laid out to be devoured by buzzards!" he yelled, his loud, yet feeble voice shaking the room or perhaps himself as he spoke. "Now...unless you are here as bounty hunters I suggest you haul your useless carcasses out of here this instant..." Fallout sighed
"I killed many of them, and regret it, I have talked to them and they say you have wronged them. Where I am from I was a problem solver, and I wish to help with this. So I ask you," Fallout then took a sinister tone. "Who was wronged?" The King looked astonished
"Talked?! You TALKED to those beasts!?!? Do not let them fool you foreigner, they make us sound like the monsters, when it was they who began this whole thing to start with!!" the King seemed to jibber madly at him at first before softly calming his tone again.
"Then tell me your side" Fallout essentially demanded now, growing impatient with the old man, Halt placing a hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm himself.
The King stood still for a moment before sighing, speaking his side
"Back when this kingdom once spanned many lands beyond here... I remember how beautiful it was, before... they came. Some... creatures, began to attack our livestock, our very lifeblood! Can you believe that? The attacks were brutal, and slowly we began to lose our main source of food, before finally we had to strike back. *he paused* We slaughtered those beasts... killed every damn one we saw, but then... one of the last packs we hunted... something changed... the ground lit up, that wolf seemed to ... grow enormous, it destroyed half our hunters... I don't know what the hell that thing was... but it was most definitely not civil... and you tell me it spoke to you? Ridiculous... they deserve nothing less than genocide." The King seemed to finish bitterly; his lips seemed to curl angrily into a scowl now, as he nodded to a nearby guard.
"They seem to think you are the one that is wrong, and yes they can speak. Well their leader can at least, either way your story does match up, may I return here later after I have talked with their leader?" Fallout summed up his findings, requesting a chance to speak to the wolves again. The king laughed, eyeing Fallout as if nervous
"Speak to their leader? I tell you they are wild animals, you must have had one too many before you went off stumbling into the woods foreigner..." he sighed "Fine... go on your suicide journey if you wish, I do not care" he waved the men off, as their supplies was returned to them. As the two began to leave, Fallout noticed a small woman who seemed to be a servant of some sort, carrying a blue container to the throne room. The two soon made their way back to the forest edge only to find the leader waiting there with his pack.
"He said you attacked them first, that they were the ones wronged, is there any truth to that?" Fallout probed the Leader for information as soon as he returned, Halt standing not far behind listening intently to the explanation. The wolf leader snarled
"Human lies, the time he speaks of my people were leaderless... at least, I was no greater then my kin here “he motioned to the nearby clan unable to speak themselves. " I made a pact that day... with a demon, for the strength and intellect to defend my home before they butchered me and the rest of my clan.... and it worked... I used his power to restore my family... though I had already lost my wife and child... the tribe became my family... and we took revenge on the people that scorned us so... hunting us even thereafter like we were cattle." the leader finished off, the reminiscing leaving him in deep thought, clawing at the earth where he stood in anger.
"So what you're saying is that part of the wolves may have done this while you are leaderless? Then you are both right, and were both wronged, what if I can convince the king to leave you alone? Will you leave any humans that come into these woods alone?" Fallout asked the beast before him, working out a solution in his head as Halt watched in silence, proud of the sudden diplomacy Fallout was exhibiting. The leader took a moment to consider this before looking Fallout over once more.
"These forests are our home... and we protect them no matter the cost... if the humans wish to stay bottled up in there wall then so be it... I would not disturb them there... however I will not tolerate intrusions or slaughter of my people any further..." Fallout nodded, turning and heading with Halt back down the hill to the city, giving the wolf leader a quick bow as they went. On their way back Halt stopped Fallout just outside the throne room
“I think I’ll just wait out here… simply call if you need me.” Halt insisted after a small argument with Fallout, who finally agreed and was once again led to the king.
"I have gotten the wolves to promise not to mess with you; can you promise to leave them alone as well?" Fallout asked the King, having returned with the other end of the bargain. The King scoffed at him, stepping down from his throne only to meet eye to...chest with Fallout.
"You expect me to believe those feral ... things promised you something? Rubbish! I will not allow those things to run free and soil our good planet and I will NOT allow them to keep the ruined villages they destroyed "He shouted now, guards closing in, to ensure his protection, as he eyed Fallout angrily, his eyes oddly a light tinge of yellow before turning around and walking back to the throne, taking a sip from a strange blue container he now had unlike before, the one the servant women had been bringing. Fallout stared at him, he recognized that color from somewhere… then suddenly announced
"You... you're not human!! I know that look!!" Fallout took a slightly defensive stance, not sure what his accusation would bring. The King spun around his eyes shooting open
"Silence you idiot! You know not of what you speak!" he growled, swallowing the contents of the potion at his throne side entirely now, as he gasped for air he seemed to calm down fully, his eyes now a green Fallout did not recognize as the yellow from before" I am NOT one of those infernal devils! Do not insult me so sir." Fallout laughed a little
"Ok so let me get this straight, you're either one of them? Maybe not though, maybe you're the demon that turned their leader into what he is..." Fallout then began to taunt the King with further accusations. A small silence filled the room, when suddenly a servant woman, the one from before, hurried her way inside, handing the King another blue container, which he began to guzzle promptly, the moon shining through the window now brighter than ever, as if demanding attention, sweat could be seen pouring down his face as he took a seat attempting to finish the bottle, motioning his hand as he gasped for air
"Get him out of here! Right this instant!!" Fallout froze the two guards that tried to grab him, making sure not to cause them any harm, he then glared at the King
"You will not be rid of me that easily." The King eyed him angrily, the yellow seemed to fight with the green while the servant women closed a curtain nearby, giving the King a look of ease it seemed as his eyes changed back to green. Responding to their King, the guards ganged up of Fallout, attempting to jerk him out of the room, drawing their weapons as they approached, as they demanded Fallout leave immediately. Fallout took aim and blasted at the curtain with shards of ice, tearing it to bits and tearing into the wall as well, before taking more careful aim and blasting the blue cup away from the King before turning to the guards.
"If you think you can stop me go ahead and try, I promise I won't kill you, but it'll hurt like hell!"
Fallout watches as the window flies open now, which allows the full light from the eternal moon hit the King. He seemed to screech in pain, reaching for his drink just as it is blasted away from his grasp, he cried out, following to where the bluish liquid spilled
"No...No...NO!! What have you done you fool!!!" he cried, desperately trying to lick the substance off the floor, though to no avail as his body violently convulsed, jerking sporadically, when a large bulge appeared on his back, breaking through the white cloth, only to reveal a massive set of wings, similar to a bat, as it happened the "King" screamed in pain, his human hands growing thicker and longer into four pronged claws, similar to his feet, his skin turning a deep scaly red, as his chest burst out of the robe, revealing a deep scar down his body, along with a reptilian tail, his jaw disfiguring until it resembled that of a bat, however its teeth were huge, and its eyes now a glowing lighthouse of yellow, screeching so loudly it cracked the nearby walls all the way up to the ceiling, before the guards seemed to step away, though with that helmet you couldn't see their reaction.
“I knew it!! You're a hypocrite!!! You say those wolves are beasts, YET YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT YOURSELF!!!!” Fallout then looked at the guards “Bring me my gear and get out of here, you cannot handle this thing.” Fallout then allowed ice to begin to flow to his finger tips preparing an attack. The Guards stood still at first, looking at Fallout in surprise, as he suddenly heard them start to laugh
"Why would we assist you against our glorious King human?" one said, while another approached
"We are all so close to glorious transcendence..." one removed their helmet... and Fallout could see, his eyes were glowing a bright crimson, a smirk on the guard’s face so arrogant it sickened Fallout, before the man without his helmet, drew his halberd
“I think we will enjoy offering you up to the master" they spoke as the Bat demon “King” turned to Fallout
"You think I work alone fool?? I RULE THIS CASTLE AND ALLLLLL IN IT "Letting out a sickening laughter that could almost feel the vile words flowing from the beast. Fallout sighed
“I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, well at least I can kill you now without losing any sleep.” Fallout lunged at the arrogant guard and slammed his fist right through his chest and tossed him at the king, missing the agile bat creature and slamming into a wall nearby, disappearing in a puff of smoke, only the armor clanged to the earth below. By now the racket had echoed throughout the hall, where Halt could hear it, holding onto his weapons out here, he watched as guards poured into the chamber, and figured now was the time, dashing for the throne room. Making his way inside, Halt turned to see the guards all were near Fallout, as well as a massive demon creature roared in anger nearby.
“What the hell did I miss??” Halt yelled over the noise, as Fallout laughed a bit responding
“Long story short, Bat demon is the King; the guards are evil, get ready to fight.” Fallout spat out all at once before turning to the “King” and began to ask. “Before I kill you all I have to ask, are there any elves on this plan-” Fallout stopped himself, noticing the servant woman from before had lost the hood covering her head in the chaos, pointed ears now apparent as she ran out of the room.
Being distracted by the woman, Fallout suddenly felt the weight of a freight train slam into his chest, the King had him pinned against the marble wall, thick claws digging into the man’s chest, his toothy grin inches from Fallout's face.
"Elves? Oh I assume you mean those servants of ours? Yes I do believe they called themselves elves before I got here, they make handy servants I admit" He snarled, flapping his wings, dragging Fallout against the marble all the way up the wall before reaching the ceiling and throwing Fallout straight down into the floor, slamming into it hard, denting the marble floor and sending cracks through it, the guards saw that their King had this handled, and looked to Halt, who was watching the scene in a bit of awe.
“Well… that explains a bit...” Halt nodded, answering late, watching the show before he noticed he was beginning to be surrounded.
“THANK YOU FOR THAT YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!!!!” Fallout said with a sadistic grin. Using the anger of hearing that they kept elves as slaves, he stood quickly from the indention in the earth, looking up at the flying demon above him, before crouching slowly then leaping into the air fast.
“My wife is an elf you sunofabitch!” Fallout cried, lunging at the King and adding “FALCON PUNCH!!!!” The attack landed surprising the beast, he snarled at fallout as the energy behind the punch forced them both out the side of the castle, blasting the marble out of the way... and into a 400 foot fall. By now Halt had turned his attention to the guards, wishing his friend the best as he drew his twin blades, fire and wind began to encircle each respectively. The guards surrounded him, the few without helmets watched with glowing crimson eyes the others no doubt did the same under their mask. Finally, one of the guards became impatient and suddenly lunged at Halt who promptly slashed through the soldier easily and went back to the stand-off. The remaining guards were more hesitant now, but Halt could feel their bloodlust. Falling through the air, the King quickly took over, latching his talons into Fallout's flesh and speeding to the ground at around Mach 4, approaching it so fast Fallout didn't have much time before impact, slamming them both through the ground and into what seemed like a sewer system, though it was rather large, the smell gave it away, as the King slammed Fallout into the muck, flying away, the crater in his chest from where Fallout punched visible and bleeding. Back in the throne room, just as the tension was reaching its breaking point for Halt’s situation, that huge crash heard from outside caused soldiers to look quickly towards it. Using that small window of opportunity, Halt quickly dashed and carved through the soldiers, ending in a classic stance. Cutting off the elements, all of the soldiers suddenly burst into blood fountains, many being cut in half. Halt then walked over to the newly formed window and looked down, surveying what Fallout had caused. Wishing his friend the best, Halt turned back around to see a massive troll burst through the courts doors, a few soldiers allowing him in, apparently a last ditch kind of hope. Halt sighed a bit, readying his weapon as the beast made his way closer. Fallout kneeled into the muck in pain, panting heavily, his muscles sore from the fall before slowly drawing himself to his senses once more.
“Oh you are good… BUT I WILL WIN!!!” Fallout launched a blinding flash of ice shards into the Demon’s chest aimed at the crater he had created earlier. The demon cried out in pain, before hissing at him
"FOOLISH HUMAN, I HAVE WORKED MUCH TOO HARD TO GET THIS FAR, YOU WILL NOT STOP ME HERE!!!" as the demon landed in the muck, throwing a claw slamming Fallout into the sewer side, slashing at him, picking him up and slamming him against the stone side over and over again, before grasping hold of him again and taking off straight upwards, blasting another hole through the earth launching upwards into the sky. Halt watched the beast before him, it was massive, skin as thick as a dragon, horns that sprouted from its temples and curled upwards ending in razor sharp points easily as tall as the throne itself as it gurgled in anger at the man, the soldiers that brought it left promptly. Its muscles rippled as it snarled, the sound reverberating through the empty hall. Halt sighed and walked forward, preparing to taunt the thing.
"Ha, I've seen trolls fiercer than you when I go on a forum sight. What are you gonna do? Ask me if I'm mad? Jelly? Come on you giant sack of muscle! SPEAK!" The troll roared in anger, seeming to understand Halt and slammed its fist down, creating two small craters in the marble. Halt activated his swords again, but not in time to dodge the swinging arm of the beast, which slammed into its fist into him, launching him through the air but just as Halt was about to hit the wall, he vanished into mist. Halt then reformed a couple of feet away smirking
"Heh, your fast....but I bet I'm faster!" At the last word left his lips, Halt dashed forward like lightning, disappearing from sight, than reappearing above the troll's head, which bellowed in bewilderment, looking around for Halt. Halt suddenly slammed both of his blades straight through the beast's horns and trying to pierce its head only to fail to pierce the thick hide. The monster immediately roared in rage, grabbing Halt by the foot and slammed him into the marble floor, slinging him off into the distance. Halt flipped in midair and landed on his feet, sliding a bit on the marble, woozy and regaining his senses quickly from the attack. Halt launched into another dash, but the beast recognized the pattern, quickly clotheslining Halt just as he was about to get behind the beast. Taken by surprise, Halt slammed to the ground, a crack appearing where his head hit. Having Halt right where he wanted him, the troll lifted its huge arms and attempted to crush him like a grape. Just before the crushing fists connected, Halt rolled out of the way and threw his fire sword straight at the troll's right eye. The sword pierced through the soft tissue with an audible 'squelch' sending the troll into a rant of pain, grabbing the sword as if it were a toothpick and throwing it across the room, as it slid on the marble into the wall. Quickly Halt summoned a bit of wind with his remaining blade, bringing the lost sword back to him just as the troll recovered. The beast, now with one eye closed, growled in almost silent rage, as it quickly picked up a chunk of the marble and threw it at Halt with all its bulging strength. Halt attempted to roll to safety, but part of the chuck slammed against his leg, sending him spinning to the ground once more. Scrambling to get up from the ground, Halt put his two sword hilts together and quickly started spinning them around, creating a cyclone of fire tunneling its way to the creature. The flames scorched at the troll and it roared, not in pain, but in annoyance as it quickly swiped at the air, putting out the flames. Halt was panting with exhaustion now, pushing himself to continue now, though unfortunately the troll saw his weakness and started to exploit it, charging at him forcing him to dodge, expending even more energy. Eventually Halt had had it, equipping his gauntlets and grieves he kept for an emergency while the troll was recovering from its last charge. Halt pulled his arm back and started to build up power, just as the troll began to charge again. When he finally got just close enough, Halt unleashed all his remaining energy and slammed it straight into the beast’s chest/neck. The blast sent a shockwave throughout the room, sending cracks through the marble only adding to the devastation the room had already suffered. Time seemed to slow down for Halt, as the attack finished connecting, launching the being back with the force of a massive cannon blast, slamming into the wall crashing through it and sending the troll falling down onto the main room of the castle nearby, traces of blood left behind at the exit point. All the energy drained from his body, Halt fell to the ground with a thud, dropping something he had grabbed by accident during the fight, as his muscles relaxed, the troll tooth rolled onto the marble floor. As Halt’s fight drew to a close, the demon and Fallout had continued their own battle in the air, the demon dropping Fallout from high only to fly by and slam into him, lifting him again only to repeat, however Fallout refused to give up, grabbing hold of the demon when he flew by and staying out of danger. Finally the demon had had enough, grasping Fallout by the throat, he flew upwards as fast as he could, reaching high enough much of the landscape was visible, the eternal moon lighting the land in a white hue that could bring one to tears. Just as the two reached the height of their flight, Fallout grasped hold of the King’s wrist, shouting
“JUST WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?! I AM NOT GOING TO LOSE TO SOME TWO BIT DEMON LIKE YOU!! I AM THE LAST HOPE FOR HUMANITY!!! I AM THE RANGER OF THE WASTES!!! I AM THE COMMANDER OF THE TERRAN STARSHIP COMMAND!!!!! MY NAME IS FALLOUT L. WANDERER!!!!! AND I AM GOING TO FINISH YOU HERE AND NOW!!!!” Fallout then forced ice around the claw that held him in place, as it shot up the demon’s arm it froze his wings as it went, the extreme cold of the high sky strengthening it, as the king started to freeze.
The King seemed shocked, the flight suddenly began to slow down, his wings were no longer capable of flapping, though Fallout was still frozen in his hand, the claws digging deep, before they began to descend, falling faster and faster, as the King struggled to release himself from the ice, Fallout’s punch attack suddenly connected with Fallout shouting at the top of his lungs.
“SUPREME FALCONE PAWNCH!!!!!!!!!!” shattering the ice as Fallout launched the demon directly towards the earth, the attack making the wind whip by so fast it cut at them both, before finally....impact. The force of the landing was great, rocking the landscape, sending fissures cracking through the entire city, the building the two landed on collapsed in on itself as Fallout launched the King through several layers of rock and stone until they finally landed into a deep underground pit, onto a large rock surrounded by a sea of bubbling lava. Fallout was drained; most of his energy spent in that last attack as the Demon tossed him aside, rolling off onto the rock... the gaping hole in the demon’s chest making it difficult for him to stand as he slowly did so, attempting to speak...
" You....you have ruined...everything...you stupid...filthy...human.." it struggled, the wings torn so it can no longer fly... yet his presence was not yet harmless... he was greatly diminished in power. Fallout panted deeply, standing claw marks over his body bleeding heavily, as sweat pouring down his forehead from the lava pit and general fatigue… as Skynard slowly came to his hand.
“Before I finish this tell me, who are you? WHAT are you?!” The demon looked up at him, chuckling, coughing up what Fallout assumed "blood" was for demons
"Who...am I? You wish to add me to your list of defeated foes eh? "Again he attempted to laugh and only succeeded in coughing up more blood... before slowly be began” I... am Quilix... the demon of the moon... one of the most powerful forces on this planet...a high tier demon at that..." he sounded as if he was gloating, though the damage made it hard to hear. "I... I was the one...who granted that wolf his wish... and I took over the human's domain in return... it was....part of the deal... MY bargain... was to own the human's as I pleased, and let him have the strength to fight those off at took his family..." he chuckled again...” A foolish waste of a soul as so many do...but I took the contract... and look at the results" he held out his demonic hand showing a great deal of blood" My contract... was broken by that...mongrel…by YOU!” Quilix coughed as he yelled, struggling to point accusingly at the man. Fallout slowly took a breath before clinching his teeth, speaking.
“That mongrel…” Fallout panted “IS MORE HUMAN THAN YOU!!!” As he then tossed Skynard right at Quilix “Sweet dreams...”
The blade pierced Quilix in the throat, causing him to screech in pain, stumbling back to the edge of the rocky outcropping... calling out to Fallout
"He will betray you too! All he cares about are his own desires!" He managed, the ledge giving way under his weight, as he fell into the lava below, the sea splashed, as the greedy heat began slowly swallowing him up, the screams so horrible, as if thousands of children were being tortured, as the heat ate away at the demonic flesh, melting it to bone as he disappeared beneath the heat. Just as Fallout felt triumphant he felt the earth quake as rocks began to fall, stalagmites falling down and piercing the lava, causing further splashes...the cavern...was caving in... Fallout acted quickly and tried to make a ladder from ice, but it melted away before he could from it. Skynard returned to Fallout’s hand as he decided to do this the old fashioned way, jumping onto the falling debris. He leapt higher and higher until he was far enough away from the heat to use his ice. He dragged himself up and up through the hole he had created his powers about to give way at any moment. Fallout barely escaped the hole as steam and rock shot through it, shooting Fallout high into the air, and landing him directly in front of a small group of soldiers, likely the last few remaining as they drew their weapons... but suddenly... they fell to their knees and collapsed on the earth, the armor now hollow as if the people in the armor never existed, wisps the only thing escaping the armor now.
“What the fuck?!” Fallout then looked to the crowd of people, not sure what to expect. The people had mixed reactions, some ran in fear of the man covered in scars and blood, others ran up questioning him many things he couldn't understand all at once, others....mourning loved ones that perhaps worked with the military... now no longer existing. Fallout stood on a crate and addressed the crowd
“Your 'King' was a demon in disguise, and these guards were puppets for him. I am truly sorry for any loss, but I had no choice. Now, do any of you know where the slaves are held, as well as my partner, Halt?”
The crowd clamored on at Fallout, some shouted in anger, and one woman even attempted to hit him, only harming her own hand at the loss of her husband and son apparently from her words, though it was mostly obscured with sobs, before finally one man approached Fallout
"Slaves... if you meant the servants, they are all in the castle... no one out here ever had need for servants... the king made us all work for a living, and as for your friend I remember hearing a lot of sounds from inside after the explosion near the castle… and the King...he was ... a demon you say?" he obviously questioned Fallout’s logic but still helped his search nevertheless.
“Well I apologize, but I must go to the forest. I will be back soon, until then please stay calm. Things will get better I promise, on and if you see my friend Halt *Fallout paused with a smirk, adding* Tell I said to get off his lazy ass this instant.” Fallout then ran into the forest and searched for the wolf leader, calling out.
“Quilix is dead!” Fallout arrived at the forest only to see the wolves now were far less organized... most all of them were but the size of a normal wolf now, as the leader, seriously decreased in size, sat nearby watching his approach
"Human... you have killed the one who gave me the ability to speak to begin with... I do not have long before I revert to dust..." Fallout ran over to him.
“He said you would betray me, I hope that is not true, but what will your pack do without you?” He stared up at Fallout a small smirk crossing that wolven face, a smile Fallout wasn't use to seeing
"Ah...human, I am hundreds of years old... my pack will live on with my memory... Quilix turned that pact against me... I knew this would happen if I allowed you to kill him... Though I admit... I held no actual hope you would succeed..." he seemed to chuckle, before continuing "No human... I... I thank you for your...assistance in this matter..." Fallout stood up and saluted him
“I will never forget you...” Fallout laughed a bit. “I helped you out like this and I don't even know your name, what is it?” The wolven man stared up at him, a small smile still on his face as he nodded
"I am... Wordrel... “He whispered as his body slowly seemed to vanish, dust taking his place. “Please...ensure my pack has a safe home... It is all my spirit desires..." as he said this he began to fade into nothingness. As Fallout watched, he couldn't help but notice a single tear slid down his cheek.
“I'll never forget you, Wordrel.” Fallout then looked to the other wolves. “You all will be forever safe here, I promise.”
The wolves began to howl at the eternal moon of this planet, their howls carrying like a song across the sky as Fallout made his way back, the stars for the first time seeming visible and brighter than ever before. Fallout then ran back into town and walked to the man who had helped him earlier, noticing his friend Halt was leaning against a wall nearby, chatting with some doctor who apparently had checked him out.
“Looks like you all are in need of new leadership.”As Fallout asked the man nodded slightly
"I... suppose, our previous King was... harsh..." he seemed hesitant, not surprisingly, but he nodded along with Fallout as he spoke.
“Well then, allow me.”
The next week or so the TSC had moved into the new town, and all was well, Fallout then walked to the man who had helped him.
“Hey, I'm going to have to go soon, and this town needs a mayor while I'm not here. Since you helped so much I would like to offer this position to you, do you accept?” The man seemed surprised, he looked over at Fallout
"I... I suppose sir, I mean, I’ve never governed before but with a little time I would do my best to make you proud" he announced, now aware of Fallout's position as a leader. Before he nodded a bit "But err...sir, what do we do about the wolves? As we began to rebuild, we have seen a lot of them outside the city recently...” Fallout laughed and patted him on the back. “Those wolves are not to be harmed, and you are to stay away from the forest. That is their home. “Fallout then looked at the forest line. “I made a promise to a friend that they would be kept safe.” The man nodded quickly, jotting down a few notes as they spoke, then there, on the eternal night planet, when the moon was at its fullest, the most beautiful and haunting song can be heard from the forest... as ever all of its inhabitants sang as one, the tune rising and falling the entire cycle before the moon began its new phase again
Broken Contract
Having beamed down to this new and unexplored planet, Fallout and Halt found themselves in the middle of a dark world, surrounded by silence, and only moonlight to light their way. Nearby was a small abandoned cabin, partially damaged from unknown sources. As the two scanned the nearby soil and land, they heard a rustle nearby, when they were suddenly attacked by a large pack of Kirin. The beast seemed to be made of several animals all in one, charging the two warriors who promptly cut them down as they charged. Watching their assault fail, the Kirin in the back attempted to flank, butting Fallout in the back as it approached
"Gah! Get away from me you damn things!" Fallout shouted, blasting a large portion of the beasts with an ice blast, before shattering them. Halt was busy fending off charges by quickly slashing the things away with his blade, focusing on defense for the moment before the attack finally stopped. They both listened to the wind whistle in their ear, before they catch the sound of howling off in the distance... when the sound of a tree falling suddenly tore through the black forest, followed by a deep bellowing roar. The moon shown down brightly, so full and ominous, taking up a good portion of the sky, arranged just near the center. Taking a few cautious steps backwards, Halt whispered in a hush
"Something is out there..."
"*Sigh* I know you're right, be ready" Fallout spoke under his breath as the crashing sounds grew louder, the forest unable to hide the sounds echoing out of its depths.
"See, I told ya..." Halt uttered, getting his "told you so" out of the way before contact.
"Wait a full moon and howling... Halt! Get back to back!!!" Fallout shouted suddenly, his sense snapping to him as to the identity of this new found threat, to which Halt obeyed. After he did so, Fallout drew his trusted blade, Skynard, his finger tips giving off a gentle hue of light blue. Halt however, twisted his sword free of its sheath, allowing flame and wind to dance across the blade.
The trees before the two men were suddenly torn down; a bestial creature perched onto of the fallen trucks. The beast seemed to drool as it eyed the men, its saliva dripping viscously down its jaw line onto the truck below, allowing a small, sizzling noise as it ate through the bark and wood. Its body thick and muscular, powerful arms, supplemented by a broad chest, its body covered in a thick, dark brown to black fur, small areas cleared away replaced by scars from battles past, leading down to a pair of legs that, while in no way match the upper torso, still look powerful enough to propel the beast through the air. Deep sadistically red eyes stared out at the two, slack jawed as it growled at them, letting out a loud howl that rocked their ear drums.
"*Gulps* Please tell me that's not what I think it is..." Fallout whispered to Halt in a stunned tone, but he was too late, as the man was already off. Halt quickly shook the howl off and cross slashed the air, sending an X-shape of fire and wind towards the beast.
The attack hits, though the fire seemed to singe its fur and flesh a bit, the wind had no effect visibly...except to piss it off. This time the beast snapped at the two, snarling viciously as its saliva finally burned the tree in half that it stood above. The wolven beast lunged at Halt now, sweeping at him with an enormous clawed hand, the nails tear into him due to its incredible speed despite its size. Seeing his friend in danger, Fallout sprinted and slammed into the beast's side, knocking the thing away from Halt. Rolling once, the beast quickly recovered whipping its head to the side facing Fallout, eyeing him with a bloodlust the man had not seen in a foe in ages. It seemed to roar with the strength of a thousand lions this time, as if renewed fury, lunging at Fallout this time, locking hands with him, its claws digging heavily into his bare hands despite his resistance flesh. Fallout almost screamed at the sudden pain and proximity to the beast, but instead smiled at the thing, grunting full of his forever present confidence.
"Is that all you got?" Fallout grinned now, his palms now shining a brighter blue, as ice slowly crystallized from his hands up the beast's arms, as the ice slowly encroached until it nearly devoured his hands. "HALT YOU'RE UP!!!" Fallout added now, having trapped the beast finally. Halt took the chance and leaped at the beast and slashed multiple times at its chest, relying more on the fire blade to injure and the wind blade to hopefully knock him off balance. The twin attack succeeded for the most part, sending the beast reeling off into the darkness. It doesn't, however, lose its footing entirely, remaining standing as it clinched its fists and flexed its muscles, breaking the ice that enveloped its hands and arms in anger, drooling as it stares at you both, letting out a deep long howl, when it does suddenly hundreds of howls seem to answer, all from the forest as rustling leaves and snapping trees can be heard. It almost smirks, eyeing them both down with hate in its red eyes.
Fallout took the small time out to check Halt and see if he was alright, to which Halt quickly thanked him but shooed him off. Fallout then stood at the ready, watching the forest for movement, whispering.
"Be careful..." Halt simply adds behind him
"I know..." his own body glowing as he took in energy around him.
The forest seemed to come alive suddenly, as leaves could be heard being torn apart, trees falling over and the earth itself shaking as hundreds of smaller beings, though not smaller by much, came to surround them both. As many landed, their weight was enough to rock the earth a bit, bright crimson eyes watched Fallout and Halt from all directions, their bodies similar to the one who called them, however smaller in comparison by far. Then a harsh thud became audible, looking forward, Fallout and Halt saw what it was. Before the two men stood two beasts, instead of one like before, and behind them. The beast behind the first two was much larger, in every way. It towered above many of the others, reaching to one of the trees heights easily... piercing yellow eyes watched their movement out of a thick skull, its face that of a wolf, riddled with scars and blood... its teeth closer to the shape and sharpness of steak knives, curling into its massive maw, barely able to contain them properly. Thick large hands with pointed blades at each finger tip, easily big enough to grasp one of them by the body.
Slowly, the beast let out a loud, dominating roar, the entire horde of beasts swarming Fallout and Halt instantly. Fallout instantly took cover using one of his new techniques, turning into water. As he did so, Halt prepared his own attack, his swords burning a bright red, the flames were as bright as a small sun, and it looked as though a mini-cyclone were surrounding the other blade. He then began spinning around both blades, extending them as he went. He slowly unleashed their power causing a huge wave of flame and wind to surround him. Halt went faster and faster and poured out more and more energy until finally this cyclone of flame and wind cut through almost every beast it touched
The cyclone of death slaughtered many of the smaller wolf creatures, splitting some in two, leaving others with horrid scars on their chest as they desperately fought to stand up again. The range did not quite reach the largest of the beasts, as the "master" stood with his two supporters watching in anger. Gritting its teeth in anger, piercing yellow eyes staring Halt straight through, he barked
"Human! Why do you invade my forests and kill MY People!" It growled in a loud thick voice where every word sounded like a demand. Snarling, the beast licked its over-sized maw before growling to his two "subordinates" "You two! Get ready for battle! I will not have my home invaded while you two show weakness to these OUTSIDERS!!" he roared again, slamming the earth with enough strength to rock the two men that still stood nearby. Returning to the physical word, Fallout interjected
"Wait, THEY ATTACKED US!!!! We were fighting Kirin then next thing we know ugly McAssface is trying to kill us!!!" Fallout finished, questioning this view of "protecting his home" Halt looked to Fallout who quieted down to let him speak, he then glared at the beast coldly
"It was not we who decided to attack two strangers in these woods, who have done no true harm to him. If we are guilty of anything, it is of self defense."
The subordinate Fallout spoke of lunged at him, but the larger one held him down with one claw, snarling at Fallout
"Human! You invade MY Forests, kill MY people, and then accuse us for retaliating?!" it roared angrily at him just as Halt spoke then it seemed to scoff "In self defense? You are the ones who entered these woods on the most holy night for us and you accuse us of wrong when we attempt to drive you away! You slaughter our prey like they are your cattle! How dare you! Human scum, I should have you both strung up and devoured right now!" The massive beast roared, its howl seemed to revive some of the smaller ones that had not entirely died from Halt's blast, calling new ones from the forest until Halt and Fallout became completely surrounded by the growing number of wolves... however they did not attack yet... simply watched them.
"Well we, and by we I mean Halt, may have attacked first, but we had just gotten finished fighting Kirin and couldn't be too certain, as far as stringing us up I am from a different universe, so does that give me diplomatic immunity?" Fallout said in a tone that made it difficult to determine if he was joking or completely serious, motioning to Halt as he spoke. The being seemed to scoff at Fallout "Kirin? You must be referring to our prey, these pathetic beings are our food, and you slaughtered most of our hunt! " The creature snarled, picking up a chuck of mostly destroyed flesh from the battle Fallout and Halt had with the Kirin, and chomped it down, swallowing it no problem before growing at them again "Like this, the flesh will be inedible within the hour!" It then stared at fallout as if actually confused now "Immunity... Do not attempt to confuse me Human! I have learned better then to trust your kind!" Halt held back Fallout for now.
"We came here into your forest to see if there was any native life. We had no idea what we would be facing, so you can imagine our surprise when we see your 'prey' suddenly surround us and attempt to kill us. If we had known that this was your form of food we would have left immediately, but sadly you chose to wait until we were finished slaughtering them all to bring this to our attention." Halt did his best to remain reasonable, attempting to defuse the situation.
The bestial creature roared loudly now, summoning a great deal more allies to his side. Now the horde surrounding the two men was almost black completely with the wolven bodies
"But you didn't human! Instead you killed as you pleased! And now you shall provide us with fresh meat we now lack because of you!" This time it slammed its fists into the earth, rocking it until fissures crept up to them both, then he waved one horrid claw at the men, announcing
"DEVOUR THE SCUM!!!" Just then every single body leaped in unison, almost as if a tsunami was coming down on the men. Fallout quickly summoned a massive wall of ice and sent it outwards, freezing some of the wolves as they leaped and sending others flying back
"Please!!! We can get you more food!!!" Fallout shouted above the howls of the beasts, attempting to convince the leader.
With a portion of the horde is frozen and thrown back, some breaking the ice, others dying within, the remains pounced on fallout, easily swarming him as a thousand teeth bit into his body, a thousand claws tore at his flesh as the leader laugh/snarl
"I have learned to never trust humans! It will always end badly! Better to just kill you all off now, and prevent further harm to my people!" Fallout's hard skin protected him from some of the attacks, though he felt it, leaving many marks over him as he turned into water, slipping away from the swam.
"OK THEN!!! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!!!" Fallout then reformed next to Halt, shouting "KILL ALL OF THEM!!!!" Halt slashed forcefully down, sending walls of flame and wind slamming into the rest of the horde. He then started slashing around like mad sending both fire and wind flying in various directions in a panic, the attacks slicing through some of the horde only to be replaced by new members. Fallout shot blasts of ice and slashed at the wolves with Skynard in an attempt to keep them away. The duo seem to kill thousands of wolven bodies, fur and flesh pile up around them yet they seem to keep coming, when suddenly the leader appears before Halt, grasping hold of him, squeezing him tightly in his grasp, deep almost sick yellow eyes staring into his as he snarls
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE A THREAT TO MY HOME!" it then snapped its jaws, attempting to decapitate Halt, while the subordinates both double teamed fallout, one knocking him into the other's grasp like a volleyball. Halt vanished into mist, escaping his grasp and re-appeared behind him
"You'll find that I'm not like most humans..." Halt whispered before he slashed wildly at the beast's back focusing a large part of his power into those blades. Fallout turned to water, sliding around one of the beasts that had him caught. As he went through one of the beasts, Fallout shouted
"NEITHER AM I!!! TAKE THIS, FALCON PUNCH!!!"Fallout announced his attack, sending the subordinate flying into his comrade in a fiery blaze. "Come and get me cock fags!!!" Halt's blades dug into the beast's wolven flesh, yet he quickly bounded away before much damage could be done, the searing flame wounds on his back take a moment to simmer before he can focus again.
"So you are... But a filthy human is a filthy HUMAN!!" He roared this time, opening his mouth and letting loose a beam of bright white light, the attack surprised Halt, and thus landed a direct hit, sending him flying into the trees (incidentally where the wolfs are coming from...) before turning his attention to fallout noticing that one of the subordinates had been knocked unconscious for now, the remaining one had managed to dodge his friend, before launching at him, the not far behind, slamming one of its enormous claws into fallout's chest just as the leader landed a direct smash to Fallout's face, sending him flying back into the abandoned home nearby. Fallout stood up a little dazed, before announcing in his ever confident yodel
"THE HELL WAS THAT?! YOU NEED YOUR BOYFRIEND TO HELP YOU?!" Fallout now took a defensive stance "COME GET SOME!!!!" Halt got up and heard Fallout's taunts among the blasts and roars
"Oh Friender, he's at it again" Halt sighed to himself, shaking his head as he dashed back into the thick of the fight, carving his way to the leader. The massive leader made his way over to the fallen subordinate, raising one clawed hand above him, before Fallout noticed the full moon still shining bright off to the side, white light seemed to flow into the downed body, as the subordinate slowly got to his feet again, clearly heavily dazed before the beast looked back to Fallout, its yellow eyes piercing the night like no other flashlight, roaring
"Idiot human, you cannot defeat me on my home territory on our holiest of nights!" It announced almost triumphantly, its body seemed to surge with white that arrived from the moon itself, before preparing to launch himself at Fallout, instead getting blindsided by Halt and rolling off into the distance. While this happens, the normal wolf attacks grow fiercer, the smaller wolfs viciously attacking them both, Fallout's skin holding back most of it, but attrition was taking its toll as Halt was growing tired quickly from using his mist so much. Both subordinates go to check on their master after being awakened, who is standing again quickly, roaring into the moonlight, slamming the earth once more
"THERE IS NO END TO THESE ASSHOLES!!!!" Fallout shouted to Halt as he cut through more of the cannon fodder while keeping a close eye on the leader "WE CAN STILL TALK THIS OUT YA KNOW!!”
The leader dashed at speeds hard to fathom, grasping hold of Fallout by the head and viciously slamming him repeatedly into the earth, each slam creating a deeper and deeper crater, as the leader barked a syllable for each slam
"FAR. TOO. LATE. HU. MAN. SCUM!" it announced, before finally releasing him. Fallout turned to water, slipping a few feet away then reforming, as Halt came to his side, ensuring his friend was alright, looking to him.
“Fallout…perhaps we should try talking again?” his tone shaky from the harsh battle. Panting, Fallout looked at Halt, nodding before looking to the leader and saw that they were surrounded.
"I'm sorry, I know you are trying to defend your people, I can understand, you probably have a wife and children don't you? You would give your life to protect them am I correct?" Fallout spoke, now also attempting to defuse the situation as Halt recommended. The large beast halted for a moment, as he did the entire horde almost seemed to follow, his eyes burning a deep yellow as he spoke
"No human, I HAD a wife and child...But YOU took them away from me!" His tone alone seemed to curse, the hate in his eyes seemed to mix with sorrow and anger for the first time since this battle began, before he snapped back to reality "That is how I know not to trust scum like you humans... you take whatever you desire and destroy anything in your way!" Fallout stopped and looked at his Readius, it was still not ready for him and Halt to teleport back home, and would not be for some time.
"Did we kill them? Or did humans kill them? I know what loss feels like, not all humans are as you say. Allow us to leave and we will never bother you again." Fallout now spoke softly, as if whispering to calm the Beast before him. The creature slammed the earth in anger
"I have heard that time and time again human! I know the story... you will leave for a short time only to return with bigger weapons! I have no proof you would return without arms to fight me!" he roared... staring at the men before him, his claws seemed to ache to feel flesh once more.
"What if we were to help you fight the humans? Are they still on this world?" Fallout now propositioned, hoping to find a peaceful solution to this matter Halt nodding quietly behind him.
The leader stared at him for a moment, as if bewildered before slowly answering
"They are human... having walled their society off from us not far away, keeping us away with some strange field we cannot pass without great pain. It only serves to infuriate us all!" he growls before he calmed himself "Why would you assist us in killing your own kind human? Do you have no values of your own species?" Fallout looked at the leader, speaking slowly now
"I have no value for people that do wrong, I fight for making my world a better place for all!! Tell me how did these humans wrong you?" The beast snarls at first before answering
"We were not always a large tribe... back when we were smaller the human's took pleasure in hunting us for sport, ending with most of my family dead... so I lead them back to defend themselves... the human's called us monsters and fled, as slowly our numbers grew until this that you see before you... They have kept us at bay with strange shielding technology that even I cannot penetrate."
"Do you think I could get in and talk to these humans?" Fallout answered quickly. The leader laughed for a quick moment.
“I am sure they would gladly accept another human into their ranks... they would no doubt ask you to prove your worth by slaughtering us... it is how they gain "manhood" there.." The beast motioned to the blood covering Fallout and Halt adding "That shouldn't be a problem in the least however..." Halt looked to his feet with a bit of shame as Fallout clenched his fists, chewing the inside of his cheek before answering.
"I am so sorry for what has happened here, allow us to redeem ourselves and talk to them, can one of you lead us there?" After a long moment of silence, the leader utters a grunting noise to the subordinate that stands to his right. The smaller beast growled in return before lowering its ears in submission and walking to Fallout's side.
"He shall lead you both... do not betray me human, or else your destruction is assured" the beast seemed to hiss as a promise rather than a threat. Fallout and Halt followed the subordinate through the forest, so dark they could hardly believe the thing could see, then just as Fallout felt like the beast was getting lost, the night sky poked through the end of the forest. The being seemed to be unable to speak as it led the two to the top of a hill, overlooking a vibrantly white city, before stopping dead in its tracks, almost as if it ran into a brick wall.
"Thank you, we can go from here." Fallout spoke, as the two made their way down the hill now, unsure of what to expect as they did, the wolf that led him returned to the shadows. As they approached, the men caught the strangest smell of flowers and other exotic plants, looking behind them to see what it was. Before the men was an enormous garden of wolfs bane, mixed with stakes of silver surrounding the entire city like a natural barrier of some sort, the moon shining down from the heavens, reflecting off of the stakes to give the fields a beautiful shine.
"So that's how they keep them away... “Fallout said with a bit of surprise, admiring the beauty of the garden in the shimmering moonlight, the stakes setting off a reflection that lit up the fields even more.
“Quite a beautiful planet is it not?” Halt whispered partially to Fallout as he gazed over the lit fields.
“It really is…” Fallout commented before they continued on their way. The two proceeded now, making their way to the city gate where they were accosted by a young man wearing pure silver armor above a gate who called out to them.
"Stop! Who be you strange sirs... I do not recognize that armor, foreigners? I thought everyone else was dead thanks to those damn wolfs." the man murmured, clearly spilling over with hate. Fallout looked at the man
“We are not from this world; We wish to speak to whoever is in charge please!" The man stared at Fallout in surprise
"Ha! You think I’ll just let you see our king?? You are indeed a foreigner- " he seemed to stop himself, looking down he noticed the scars, blood and fur that soaked the two from the earlier battle.”Whoa wait a minute... are you telling me you two fought off some of those wolves all by yourselves?" the man uttered in surprise now.
"Some?! I must have killed half the damn things!! This is why I wish to speak with your king!!" Fallout spoke, thinking to himself * these people still use kings?* While Halt simply sighed, listening to Fallout take all the credit like always. The man quickly nodded, almost like he suddenly became a fan of Fallout's work, before the gate opened up and the two were introduced to an enormous cityscape, all a deep white of marble mixed with several pots meant especially for wolfs bane, and a stone street leading up to the castle in the back, not many buildings getting much higher than 20 feet except the castle itself of course, which easily towered several hundred feet above the others. Much of the metal work used silver instead of ordinary steel such as lampposts, in building construction, etc. As the two began to walk forward the soldier appeared next to them
"Come with me" he announced, leading them quickly through the crowded streets, past vendors that seemed to sell products made from some beast... all a similar color to the wolves. Slowly, people began to stare at the newcomers, some cautious, others intrigued by their presence. Fallout was used to being escorted through crowds, and greeted them with a smiling face and a wave, though Halt simply walked behind him in silence, naturally preferring to keep a low profile; though the people didn't return the gesture they did maintain a careful watch over the two. As they approached the castle itself, the people became scarce, and more and more soldiers appeared, some beating down beggars that stood to close to the gate, others bringing bags of what seemed to be money to a nearby large warehouse. As the two entered the gates several generals became visible, all in much more extravagant armor then the soldier, and more deadly looking weapons on their backs.
"No weapons past this point. Should you wish to speak to our king, relinquish all arms and armor" the general said in a low, almost monotone voice, holding out his hands. Fallout drew Skynard and looked at it.
"This weapon, is a part of me, I beg you please do not try and use it or bring any harm to it, it is the only thing I have from an old friend." He then handed the general the knife and 'The Bastard' *Not like I'll need them if this gets out of hand' Fallout reminded himself in his mind. Halt nodded softly, relinquishing his swords but carefully watching to where they are taken in case he needed to search them out. Taking the weapons away to a "safe house" one would assume, the two found himself face to face with said "King" a man wearing a long white robe, silver dangling off his person as if an accessory, before raising his hand to the two, motioning the guards to step back.
"What brings you here foreigners? I do not like to be interrupted during this hour “he said fidgeting as the moon shone bright through a nearby window. Halt remained deep in thought, allowing Fallout to take the lead of conversation for now.*Oh God, someone that thinks he's better than the people, this will be fun* Fallout thought to himself, a soft sigh escaping as he spoke.
"Your majesty, I come from a faraway place, and wish to discuss the wolves." At the mere mention of the subject, the King jumped to his feet.
"You wish to speak of the wolves? The only things I want to hear about those beasts is that they have all been gutted and laid out to be devoured by buzzards!" he yelled, his loud, yet feeble voice shaking the room or perhaps himself as he spoke. "Now...unless you are here as bounty hunters I suggest you haul your useless carcasses out of here this instant..." Fallout sighed
"I killed many of them, and regret it, I have talked to them and they say you have wronged them. Where I am from I was a problem solver, and I wish to help with this. So I ask you," Fallout then took a sinister tone. "Who was wronged?" The King looked astonished
"Talked?! You TALKED to those beasts!?!? Do not let them fool you foreigner, they make us sound like the monsters, when it was they who began this whole thing to start with!!" the King seemed to jibber madly at him at first before softly calming his tone again.
"Then tell me your side" Fallout essentially demanded now, growing impatient with the old man, Halt placing a hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm himself.
The King stood still for a moment before sighing, speaking his side
"Back when this kingdom once spanned many lands beyond here... I remember how beautiful it was, before... they came. Some... creatures, began to attack our livestock, our very lifeblood! Can you believe that? The attacks were brutal, and slowly we began to lose our main source of food, before finally we had to strike back. *he paused* We slaughtered those beasts... killed every damn one we saw, but then... one of the last packs we hunted... something changed... the ground lit up, that wolf seemed to ... grow enormous, it destroyed half our hunters... I don't know what the hell that thing was... but it was most definitely not civil... and you tell me it spoke to you? Ridiculous... they deserve nothing less than genocide." The King seemed to finish bitterly; his lips seemed to curl angrily into a scowl now, as he nodded to a nearby guard.
"They seem to think you are the one that is wrong, and yes they can speak. Well their leader can at least, either way your story does match up, may I return here later after I have talked with their leader?" Fallout summed up his findings, requesting a chance to speak to the wolves again. The king laughed, eyeing Fallout as if nervous
"Speak to their leader? I tell you they are wild animals, you must have had one too many before you went off stumbling into the woods foreigner..." he sighed "Fine... go on your suicide journey if you wish, I do not care" he waved the men off, as their supplies was returned to them. As the two began to leave, Fallout noticed a small woman who seemed to be a servant of some sort, carrying a blue container to the throne room. The two soon made their way back to the forest edge only to find the leader waiting there with his pack.
"He said you attacked them first, that they were the ones wronged, is there any truth to that?" Fallout probed the Leader for information as soon as he returned, Halt standing not far behind listening intently to the explanation. The wolf leader snarled
"Human lies, the time he speaks of my people were leaderless... at least, I was no greater then my kin here “he motioned to the nearby clan unable to speak themselves. " I made a pact that day... with a demon, for the strength and intellect to defend my home before they butchered me and the rest of my clan.... and it worked... I used his power to restore my family... though I had already lost my wife and child... the tribe became my family... and we took revenge on the people that scorned us so... hunting us even thereafter like we were cattle." the leader finished off, the reminiscing leaving him in deep thought, clawing at the earth where he stood in anger.
"So what you're saying is that part of the wolves may have done this while you are leaderless? Then you are both right, and were both wronged, what if I can convince the king to leave you alone? Will you leave any humans that come into these woods alone?" Fallout asked the beast before him, working out a solution in his head as Halt watched in silence, proud of the sudden diplomacy Fallout was exhibiting. The leader took a moment to consider this before looking Fallout over once more.
"These forests are our home... and we protect them no matter the cost... if the humans wish to stay bottled up in there wall then so be it... I would not disturb them there... however I will not tolerate intrusions or slaughter of my people any further..." Fallout nodded, turning and heading with Halt back down the hill to the city, giving the wolf leader a quick bow as they went. On their way back Halt stopped Fallout just outside the throne room
“I think I’ll just wait out here… simply call if you need me.” Halt insisted after a small argument with Fallout, who finally agreed and was once again led to the king.
"I have gotten the wolves to promise not to mess with you; can you promise to leave them alone as well?" Fallout asked the King, having returned with the other end of the bargain. The King scoffed at him, stepping down from his throne only to meet eye to...chest with Fallout.
"You expect me to believe those feral ... things promised you something? Rubbish! I will not allow those things to run free and soil our good planet and I will NOT allow them to keep the ruined villages they destroyed "He shouted now, guards closing in, to ensure his protection, as he eyed Fallout angrily, his eyes oddly a light tinge of yellow before turning around and walking back to the throne, taking a sip from a strange blue container he now had unlike before, the one the servant women had been bringing. Fallout stared at him, he recognized that color from somewhere… then suddenly announced
"You... you're not human!! I know that look!!" Fallout took a slightly defensive stance, not sure what his accusation would bring. The King spun around his eyes shooting open
"Silence you idiot! You know not of what you speak!" he growled, swallowing the contents of the potion at his throne side entirely now, as he gasped for air he seemed to calm down fully, his eyes now a green Fallout did not recognize as the yellow from before" I am NOT one of those infernal devils! Do not insult me so sir." Fallout laughed a little
"Ok so let me get this straight, you're either one of them? Maybe not though, maybe you're the demon that turned their leader into what he is..." Fallout then began to taunt the King with further accusations. A small silence filled the room, when suddenly a servant woman, the one from before, hurried her way inside, handing the King another blue container, which he began to guzzle promptly, the moon shining through the window now brighter than ever, as if demanding attention, sweat could be seen pouring down his face as he took a seat attempting to finish the bottle, motioning his hand as he gasped for air
"Get him out of here! Right this instant!!" Fallout froze the two guards that tried to grab him, making sure not to cause them any harm, he then glared at the King
"You will not be rid of me that easily." The King eyed him angrily, the yellow seemed to fight with the green while the servant women closed a curtain nearby, giving the King a look of ease it seemed as his eyes changed back to green. Responding to their King, the guards ganged up of Fallout, attempting to jerk him out of the room, drawing their weapons as they approached, as they demanded Fallout leave immediately. Fallout took aim and blasted at the curtain with shards of ice, tearing it to bits and tearing into the wall as well, before taking more careful aim and blasting the blue cup away from the King before turning to the guards.
"If you think you can stop me go ahead and try, I promise I won't kill you, but it'll hurt like hell!"
Fallout watches as the window flies open now, which allows the full light from the eternal moon hit the King. He seemed to screech in pain, reaching for his drink just as it is blasted away from his grasp, he cried out, following to where the bluish liquid spilled
"No...No...NO!! What have you done you fool!!!" he cried, desperately trying to lick the substance off the floor, though to no avail as his body violently convulsed, jerking sporadically, when a large bulge appeared on his back, breaking through the white cloth, only to reveal a massive set of wings, similar to a bat, as it happened the "King" screamed in pain, his human hands growing thicker and longer into four pronged claws, similar to his feet, his skin turning a deep scaly red, as his chest burst out of the robe, revealing a deep scar down his body, along with a reptilian tail, his jaw disfiguring until it resembled that of a bat, however its teeth were huge, and its eyes now a glowing lighthouse of yellow, screeching so loudly it cracked the nearby walls all the way up to the ceiling, before the guards seemed to step away, though with that helmet you couldn't see their reaction.
“I knew it!! You're a hypocrite!!! You say those wolves are beasts, YET YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT YOURSELF!!!!” Fallout then looked at the guards “Bring me my gear and get out of here, you cannot handle this thing.” Fallout then allowed ice to begin to flow to his finger tips preparing an attack. The Guards stood still at first, looking at Fallout in surprise, as he suddenly heard them start to laugh
"Why would we assist you against our glorious King human?" one said, while another approached
"We are all so close to glorious transcendence..." one removed their helmet... and Fallout could see, his eyes were glowing a bright crimson, a smirk on the guard’s face so arrogant it sickened Fallout, before the man without his helmet, drew his halberd
“I think we will enjoy offering you up to the master" they spoke as the Bat demon “King” turned to Fallout
"You think I work alone fool?? I RULE THIS CASTLE AND ALLLLLL IN IT "Letting out a sickening laughter that could almost feel the vile words flowing from the beast. Fallout sighed
“I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, well at least I can kill you now without losing any sleep.” Fallout lunged at the arrogant guard and slammed his fist right through his chest and tossed him at the king, missing the agile bat creature and slamming into a wall nearby, disappearing in a puff of smoke, only the armor clanged to the earth below. By now the racket had echoed throughout the hall, where Halt could hear it, holding onto his weapons out here, he watched as guards poured into the chamber, and figured now was the time, dashing for the throne room. Making his way inside, Halt turned to see the guards all were near Fallout, as well as a massive demon creature roared in anger nearby.
“What the hell did I miss??” Halt yelled over the noise, as Fallout laughed a bit responding
“Long story short, Bat demon is the King; the guards are evil, get ready to fight.” Fallout spat out all at once before turning to the “King” and began to ask. “Before I kill you all I have to ask, are there any elves on this plan-” Fallout stopped himself, noticing the servant woman from before had lost the hood covering her head in the chaos, pointed ears now apparent as she ran out of the room.
Being distracted by the woman, Fallout suddenly felt the weight of a freight train slam into his chest, the King had him pinned against the marble wall, thick claws digging into the man’s chest, his toothy grin inches from Fallout's face.
"Elves? Oh I assume you mean those servants of ours? Yes I do believe they called themselves elves before I got here, they make handy servants I admit" He snarled, flapping his wings, dragging Fallout against the marble all the way up the wall before reaching the ceiling and throwing Fallout straight down into the floor, slamming into it hard, denting the marble floor and sending cracks through it, the guards saw that their King had this handled, and looked to Halt, who was watching the scene in a bit of awe.
“Well… that explains a bit...” Halt nodded, answering late, watching the show before he noticed he was beginning to be surrounded.
“THANK YOU FOR THAT YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!!!!” Fallout said with a sadistic grin. Using the anger of hearing that they kept elves as slaves, he stood quickly from the indention in the earth, looking up at the flying demon above him, before crouching slowly then leaping into the air fast.
“My wife is an elf you sunofabitch!” Fallout cried, lunging at the King and adding “FALCON PUNCH!!!!” The attack landed surprising the beast, he snarled at fallout as the energy behind the punch forced them both out the side of the castle, blasting the marble out of the way... and into a 400 foot fall. By now Halt had turned his attention to the guards, wishing his friend the best as he drew his twin blades, fire and wind began to encircle each respectively. The guards surrounded him, the few without helmets watched with glowing crimson eyes the others no doubt did the same under their mask. Finally, one of the guards became impatient and suddenly lunged at Halt who promptly slashed through the soldier easily and went back to the stand-off. The remaining guards were more hesitant now, but Halt could feel their bloodlust. Falling through the air, the King quickly took over, latching his talons into Fallout's flesh and speeding to the ground at around Mach 4, approaching it so fast Fallout didn't have much time before impact, slamming them both through the ground and into what seemed like a sewer system, though it was rather large, the smell gave it away, as the King slammed Fallout into the muck, flying away, the crater in his chest from where Fallout punched visible and bleeding. Back in the throne room, just as the tension was reaching its breaking point for Halt’s situation, that huge crash heard from outside caused soldiers to look quickly towards it. Using that small window of opportunity, Halt quickly dashed and carved through the soldiers, ending in a classic stance. Cutting off the elements, all of the soldiers suddenly burst into blood fountains, many being cut in half. Halt then walked over to the newly formed window and looked down, surveying what Fallout had caused. Wishing his friend the best, Halt turned back around to see a massive troll burst through the courts doors, a few soldiers allowing him in, apparently a last ditch kind of hope. Halt sighed a bit, readying his weapon as the beast made his way closer. Fallout kneeled into the muck in pain, panting heavily, his muscles sore from the fall before slowly drawing himself to his senses once more.
“Oh you are good… BUT I WILL WIN!!!” Fallout launched a blinding flash of ice shards into the Demon’s chest aimed at the crater he had created earlier. The demon cried out in pain, before hissing at him
"FOOLISH HUMAN, I HAVE WORKED MUCH TOO HARD TO GET THIS FAR, YOU WILL NOT STOP ME HERE!!!" as the demon landed in the muck, throwing a claw slamming Fallout into the sewer side, slashing at him, picking him up and slamming him against the stone side over and over again, before grasping hold of him again and taking off straight upwards, blasting another hole through the earth launching upwards into the sky. Halt watched the beast before him, it was massive, skin as thick as a dragon, horns that sprouted from its temples and curled upwards ending in razor sharp points easily as tall as the throne itself as it gurgled in anger at the man, the soldiers that brought it left promptly. Its muscles rippled as it snarled, the sound reverberating through the empty hall. Halt sighed and walked forward, preparing to taunt the thing.
"Ha, I've seen trolls fiercer than you when I go on a forum sight. What are you gonna do? Ask me if I'm mad? Jelly? Come on you giant sack of muscle! SPEAK!" The troll roared in anger, seeming to understand Halt and slammed its fist down, creating two small craters in the marble. Halt activated his swords again, but not in time to dodge the swinging arm of the beast, which slammed into its fist into him, launching him through the air but just as Halt was about to hit the wall, he vanished into mist. Halt then reformed a couple of feet away smirking
"Heh, your fast....but I bet I'm faster!" At the last word left his lips, Halt dashed forward like lightning, disappearing from sight, than reappearing above the troll's head, which bellowed in bewilderment, looking around for Halt. Halt suddenly slammed both of his blades straight through the beast's horns and trying to pierce its head only to fail to pierce the thick hide. The monster immediately roared in rage, grabbing Halt by the foot and slammed him into the marble floor, slinging him off into the distance. Halt flipped in midair and landed on his feet, sliding a bit on the marble, woozy and regaining his senses quickly from the attack. Halt launched into another dash, but the beast recognized the pattern, quickly clotheslining Halt just as he was about to get behind the beast. Taken by surprise, Halt slammed to the ground, a crack appearing where his head hit. Having Halt right where he wanted him, the troll lifted its huge arms and attempted to crush him like a grape. Just before the crushing fists connected, Halt rolled out of the way and threw his fire sword straight at the troll's right eye. The sword pierced through the soft tissue with an audible 'squelch' sending the troll into a rant of pain, grabbing the sword as if it were a toothpick and throwing it across the room, as it slid on the marble into the wall. Quickly Halt summoned a bit of wind with his remaining blade, bringing the lost sword back to him just as the troll recovered. The beast, now with one eye closed, growled in almost silent rage, as it quickly picked up a chunk of the marble and threw it at Halt with all its bulging strength. Halt attempted to roll to safety, but part of the chuck slammed against his leg, sending him spinning to the ground once more. Scrambling to get up from the ground, Halt put his two sword hilts together and quickly started spinning them around, creating a cyclone of fire tunneling its way to the creature. The flames scorched at the troll and it roared, not in pain, but in annoyance as it quickly swiped at the air, putting out the flames. Halt was panting with exhaustion now, pushing himself to continue now, though unfortunately the troll saw his weakness and started to exploit it, charging at him forcing him to dodge, expending even more energy. Eventually Halt had had it, equipping his gauntlets and grieves he kept for an emergency while the troll was recovering from its last charge. Halt pulled his arm back and started to build up power, just as the troll began to charge again. When he finally got just close enough, Halt unleashed all his remaining energy and slammed it straight into the beast’s chest/neck. The blast sent a shockwave throughout the room, sending cracks through the marble only adding to the devastation the room had already suffered. Time seemed to slow down for Halt, as the attack finished connecting, launching the being back with the force of a massive cannon blast, slamming into the wall crashing through it and sending the troll falling down onto the main room of the castle nearby, traces of blood left behind at the exit point. All the energy drained from his body, Halt fell to the ground with a thud, dropping something he had grabbed by accident during the fight, as his muscles relaxed, the troll tooth rolled onto the marble floor. As Halt’s fight drew to a close, the demon and Fallout had continued their own battle in the air, the demon dropping Fallout from high only to fly by and slam into him, lifting him again only to repeat, however Fallout refused to give up, grabbing hold of the demon when he flew by and staying out of danger. Finally the demon had had enough, grasping Fallout by the throat, he flew upwards as fast as he could, reaching high enough much of the landscape was visible, the eternal moon lighting the land in a white hue that could bring one to tears. Just as the two reached the height of their flight, Fallout grasped hold of the King’s wrist, shouting
“JUST WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?! I AM NOT GOING TO LOSE TO SOME TWO BIT DEMON LIKE YOU!! I AM THE LAST HOPE FOR HUMANITY!!! I AM THE RANGER OF THE WASTES!!! I AM THE COMMANDER OF THE TERRAN STARSHIP COMMAND!!!!! MY NAME IS FALLOUT L. WANDERER!!!!! AND I AM GOING TO FINISH YOU HERE AND NOW!!!!” Fallout then forced ice around the claw that held him in place, as it shot up the demon’s arm it froze his wings as it went, the extreme cold of the high sky strengthening it, as the king started to freeze.
The King seemed shocked, the flight suddenly began to slow down, his wings were no longer capable of flapping, though Fallout was still frozen in his hand, the claws digging deep, before they began to descend, falling faster and faster, as the King struggled to release himself from the ice, Fallout’s punch attack suddenly connected with Fallout shouting at the top of his lungs.
“SUPREME FALCONE PAWNCH!!!!!!!!!!” shattering the ice as Fallout launched the demon directly towards the earth, the attack making the wind whip by so fast it cut at them both, before finally....impact. The force of the landing was great, rocking the landscape, sending fissures cracking through the entire city, the building the two landed on collapsed in on itself as Fallout launched the King through several layers of rock and stone until they finally landed into a deep underground pit, onto a large rock surrounded by a sea of bubbling lava. Fallout was drained; most of his energy spent in that last attack as the Demon tossed him aside, rolling off onto the rock... the gaping hole in the demon’s chest making it difficult for him to stand as he slowly did so, attempting to speak...
" You....you have ruined...everything...you stupid...filthy...human.." it struggled, the wings torn so it can no longer fly... yet his presence was not yet harmless... he was greatly diminished in power. Fallout panted deeply, standing claw marks over his body bleeding heavily, as sweat pouring down his forehead from the lava pit and general fatigue… as Skynard slowly came to his hand.
“Before I finish this tell me, who are you? WHAT are you?!” The demon looked up at him, chuckling, coughing up what Fallout assumed "blood" was for demons
"Who...am I? You wish to add me to your list of defeated foes eh? "Again he attempted to laugh and only succeeded in coughing up more blood... before slowly be began” I... am Quilix... the demon of the moon... one of the most powerful forces on this planet...a high tier demon at that..." he sounded as if he was gloating, though the damage made it hard to hear. "I... I was the one...who granted that wolf his wish... and I took over the human's domain in return... it was....part of the deal... MY bargain... was to own the human's as I pleased, and let him have the strength to fight those off at took his family..." he chuckled again...” A foolish waste of a soul as so many do...but I took the contract... and look at the results" he held out his demonic hand showing a great deal of blood" My contract... was broken by that...mongrel…by YOU!” Quilix coughed as he yelled, struggling to point accusingly at the man. Fallout slowly took a breath before clinching his teeth, speaking.
“That mongrel…” Fallout panted “IS MORE HUMAN THAN YOU!!!” As he then tossed Skynard right at Quilix “Sweet dreams...”
The blade pierced Quilix in the throat, causing him to screech in pain, stumbling back to the edge of the rocky outcropping... calling out to Fallout
"He will betray you too! All he cares about are his own desires!" He managed, the ledge giving way under his weight, as he fell into the lava below, the sea splashed, as the greedy heat began slowly swallowing him up, the screams so horrible, as if thousands of children were being tortured, as the heat ate away at the demonic flesh, melting it to bone as he disappeared beneath the heat. Just as Fallout felt triumphant he felt the earth quake as rocks began to fall, stalagmites falling down and piercing the lava, causing further splashes...the cavern...was caving in... Fallout acted quickly and tried to make a ladder from ice, but it melted away before he could from it. Skynard returned to Fallout’s hand as he decided to do this the old fashioned way, jumping onto the falling debris. He leapt higher and higher until he was far enough away from the heat to use his ice. He dragged himself up and up through the hole he had created his powers about to give way at any moment. Fallout barely escaped the hole as steam and rock shot through it, shooting Fallout high into the air, and landing him directly in front of a small group of soldiers, likely the last few remaining as they drew their weapons... but suddenly... they fell to their knees and collapsed on the earth, the armor now hollow as if the people in the armor never existed, wisps the only thing escaping the armor now.
“What the fuck?!” Fallout then looked to the crowd of people, not sure what to expect. The people had mixed reactions, some ran in fear of the man covered in scars and blood, others ran up questioning him many things he couldn't understand all at once, others....mourning loved ones that perhaps worked with the military... now no longer existing. Fallout stood on a crate and addressed the crowd
“Your 'King' was a demon in disguise, and these guards were puppets for him. I am truly sorry for any loss, but I had no choice. Now, do any of you know where the slaves are held, as well as my partner, Halt?”
The crowd clamored on at Fallout, some shouted in anger, and one woman even attempted to hit him, only harming her own hand at the loss of her husband and son apparently from her words, though it was mostly obscured with sobs, before finally one man approached Fallout
"Slaves... if you meant the servants, they are all in the castle... no one out here ever had need for servants... the king made us all work for a living, and as for your friend I remember hearing a lot of sounds from inside after the explosion near the castle… and the King...he was ... a demon you say?" he obviously questioned Fallout’s logic but still helped his search nevertheless.
“Well I apologize, but I must go to the forest. I will be back soon, until then please stay calm. Things will get better I promise, on and if you see my friend Halt *Fallout paused with a smirk, adding* Tell I said to get off his lazy ass this instant.” Fallout then ran into the forest and searched for the wolf leader, calling out.
“Quilix is dead!” Fallout arrived at the forest only to see the wolves now were far less organized... most all of them were but the size of a normal wolf now, as the leader, seriously decreased in size, sat nearby watching his approach
"Human... you have killed the one who gave me the ability to speak to begin with... I do not have long before I revert to dust..." Fallout ran over to him.
“He said you would betray me, I hope that is not true, but what will your pack do without you?” He stared up at Fallout a small smirk crossing that wolven face, a smile Fallout wasn't use to seeing
"Ah...human, I am hundreds of years old... my pack will live on with my memory... Quilix turned that pact against me... I knew this would happen if I allowed you to kill him... Though I admit... I held no actual hope you would succeed..." he seemed to chuckle, before continuing "No human... I... I thank you for your...assistance in this matter..." Fallout stood up and saluted him
“I will never forget you...” Fallout laughed a bit. “I helped you out like this and I don't even know your name, what is it?” The wolven man stared up at him, a small smile still on his face as he nodded
"I am... Wordrel... “He whispered as his body slowly seemed to vanish, dust taking his place. “Please...ensure my pack has a safe home... It is all my spirit desires..." as he said this he began to fade into nothingness. As Fallout watched, he couldn't help but notice a single tear slid down his cheek.
“I'll never forget you, Wordrel.” Fallout then looked to the other wolves. “You all will be forever safe here, I promise.”
The wolves began to howl at the eternal moon of this planet, their howls carrying like a song across the sky as Fallout made his way back, the stars for the first time seeming visible and brighter than ever before. Fallout then ran back into town and walked to the man who had helped him earlier, noticing his friend Halt was leaning against a wall nearby, chatting with some doctor who apparently had checked him out.
“Looks like you all are in need of new leadership.”As Fallout asked the man nodded slightly
"I... suppose, our previous King was... harsh..." he seemed hesitant, not surprisingly, but he nodded along with Fallout as he spoke.
“Well then, allow me.”
The next week or so the TSC had moved into the new town, and all was well, Fallout then walked to the man who had helped him.
“Hey, I'm going to have to go soon, and this town needs a mayor while I'm not here. Since you helped so much I would like to offer this position to you, do you accept?” The man seemed surprised, he looked over at Fallout
"I... I suppose sir, I mean, I’ve never governed before but with a little time I would do my best to make you proud" he announced, now aware of Fallout's position as a leader. Before he nodded a bit "But err...sir, what do we do about the wolves? As we began to rebuild, we have seen a lot of them outside the city recently...” Fallout laughed and patted him on the back. “Those wolves are not to be harmed, and you are to stay away from the forest. That is their home. “Fallout then looked at the forest line. “I made a promise to a friend that they would be kept safe.” The man nodded quickly, jotting down a few notes as they spoke, then there, on the eternal night planet, when the moon was at its fullest, the most beautiful and haunting song can be heard from the forest... as ever all of its inhabitants sang as one, the tune rising and falling the entire cycle before the moon began its new phase again
