#bulletproof bandits

[bulletproofbandits]

Gravity...

don't mean too much to me...

(redux)

[aleximustd13]

can i have some oc lore pls its cold and im starving

maaaannn you're in for a ride!! ok ok where do i start

my "main" ocs are Russell, Dylan, Frankie & Viktor. together they are the bulletproof bandits and they are my lifeblood. bb is set in the year 2084, between the two towns Rhinestone City and Liberty City, where the first is a post-apocalyptic wasteland and the later is basically a mix between london in orwell's 1984 and neo-tokyo in akira. Russell lives in Rhinestone City with his buddy Dylan, plus a couple of thousands of survivors. the two live day by day making favors for the local gangs, when one day they get sent on a mission in liberty city, where they meet frankie and later on will be joined by viktor. here are their character sheets:

really, i could go on and on and tell you their story word by word but i feel like the topic is so vast i could stay here for hours. go to @bulletproofbandits if you feel like learning more about them!! also i am writing their story and posting it on wattpad <3

ohh and another thing. if you notice any similarities with danger days and the killjoys, believe me when i tell you i didn't do it on purpose lol like, i realized russell is basically party poison wayyyy after i created him. i guess me and gerard have similar minds when it comes to character design (which makes me want to make a comic with them soooo bad MX WAY WHERE ARE YOU WE NEED TO TALK)

my other oc is nuclear cat, my killjoy persona!! i created them a couple of years ago and i'm re-picking them up only now so i'm still building up their story. they're based on me from a few years ago when i had their exact same haircut and dye-job. they live in zone 4 and lost two of their friends in a drac attack, while the third one left the group just before that. NC, now alone, is looking for his ex-friend with the intention of asking him to come back to him, while also looking for new squad members. here's my rp blog for them if you're interested: @nuclearcat-fromthe-dangerzone

okay i think i yapped enough for now!! thank you so much for the ask <333 i love talking about my blorbinos 🥹

[aleximustd13]

sjshdhdjdj im afraid we'll have to wait till the end of the story before this happens

friends to lovers never had a bad track. “scared i’ll ruin what we have” SLAPS. “friendship cuddles while secretly dying inside” BANGER. “teasing each other and holding eye contact for a little too long” KILLS ME. and don’t even get me STARTED on “screaming i love you in the middle of a heated argument.”

[twooftheluckyones]

Howdy. Hope y'all are doing well. Have to say it was great to see Flinky and Ratau included in the Valentine's Day art. That's been a ship in the community that sort of crept up on me and I had never thought of it before but it makes a lot of sense honestly. Therefore, I had some lore questions. Where do Flinky and Ratau fit in your world? How did they first meet and what made them get together? What were some moments they shared? Difficulties? Hobbies (Outside of Knucklebones that is)? Where are they at now? Finally, are they immortal or have they long since died? Thanks again for the great work you both do.

Thank you! It's been a ship that dug into our brain on a whim too! I have to give credit to rabiesram for drawing it and really getting me into the idea of the "Ratau cult", along with a few fics I've read.

That being said, Ratau was never a super great cult leader, even if he was very devoted. He struggled with his own issues, and had a bad habit of gambling away the cult coffers. It didn't help that he knew he was fated to never win and he would eventually be replaced as per the prophecy. Ratau could never really keep a cult together due to the bishops counter-attacks and his own poor leadership, but he was a crafty bandit prior to his service and knew how to get away with things and survive in the shadows. Flinky, Klunko, and Shrumy were members of their band, and the three eventually became Ratau's disciples and close confidants. Time and time again they would be raided and forced to flee, only to pop up somewhere else, ambushing supply convoys, burning important locations, and doing anything to mess with the bishops.

The comradery between them was and still is bulletproof, but Ratau and Flinky drifted closer over the years. One night, while playing a game of drink or dare, Klunko dared them to "stop beating around the fucking bush already." They both decided to drink, much to the laughter of their friends. But that night, they talked, and by the end they were sharing a bedroll in their squalid little camp.

This was all ages ago, now they are nothing but old wizened ex-bandits, enjoying their glory years. It is true they are hundreds of years old, but being a patron of the god of death has its perks. Ratau never hated Narinder, he was and still is devoted to the god, but Narinder was a harsh god for many decades, and their relationship is rocky to say the least. Una certainly enjoys Ratau for his support and aid, and sees him like a fun uncle. They will play knucklebones for hours!

They're fond of gambling, yes, but also hunting, fishing, brewing beer, and they love to participate in Heket's fight club. They may be old dogs, but they still know how to bite!

[soleminisanction]

“I made him bring me, y’know.”

Steph jolted awake, the uncanniness of hearing her own voice make words she’d never spoken jarring down her spine. She was in the Batcave, or rather, in one of the small containment cells that, in her world, would’ve been reserved for when someone was dosed with fear gas or some other unknown substance in the field. She doubted that was their purpose here. 

Her bruised throat throbbed. It ached with pain from the day before, when the man who was and wasn’t Dick—the one who called himself ‘Renegade’—had choked her out during the surprise attack his awful mirrorverse crime family had sprung on their world. She didn’t think anything was broken, or at least not too badly, but it was all so swollen she could barely speak, and what little she could manage was agonizing. 

Her opposite number probably knew that, of course. She sat now on the opposite side of the glass door, mirroring the position Steph had taken against the wall to catch what sleep she could. Their faces were identical, their bodies a perfect match. Their costumes shared a color scheme, though Owl-Spoiler’s had more of a medieval bandit aesthetic overall and considerably more silver, especially the razor sharp silver claw rings she wore over her gloves on all ten fingers. 

These, she drummed against a cocked knee as she continued speaking, keeping up a mocking air of casual conversation. “I’m not exactly standard deployment on these ‘away’ missions. There’s a reason I’m in here, guarding you, instead of out picking fights right now. My talents lie much more in the realm of… subterfuge. Subversion. Spoiling other people’s plans.”

She chuckled at her own joke. Steph pulled her knees in more tightly and hid a scowl behind her crossed arms.

“But I had to be a part of this one. I even spent some of the blackmail I keep in my back pocket to make sure Owlman kept me involved. You want to know why?” The Owl tilted her head onto her shoulder, regarding Steph coldly, her blue eyes icy and unblinking. “It’s because I hate you.” 

The raw truth of the word plunged into Steph’s stomach like a block of ice. Owl-Spoiler rolled up onto one knee and loomed over her counterpart, the gloom of the cave casting her face in shadow. Yet her eyes remained clear, unblinking, as though they were shining. 

“I hated you the moment I saw you. You remind me of him.” 

Didn’t take a genius to guess who she meant. She began to slowly drag her claws down the glass.

“You know the thing I hate most about my father? He cared more about ‘serving and protecting’ total strangers than ever did about his own family. He even made sure they arrested the guys who shot Mom.” The claws dug in, leaving marks in the glass and making their shrieks even louder. “He spent my entire life putting everything and everyone in this miserable, broken, worthless shithole of a city before me, and he wasn’t even doing it for a good reason. He didn’t actually care about people, only that he got to be their hero. That everyone could finally see how good and smart he was.”

Her lips curled and she looked at Steph like she was something disgusting she’d just scraped off the bottom of her boot. “You might have my face. But I can tell: you’re exactly like him.” 

Aching throat or no, Steph lifted her head to snap back, to shut the bitch and her bullshit down, but before she could form the words Spoiler slammed her fist into the glass barrier so hard it startled Steph into lurching back. 

“Don’t try to deny it!” the Owl snarled. “I know you. I am you.” 

Stephanie stared at herself, at this twisted reflection with only a pane of bulletproof glass between them, and tried to tell herself that it—she—didn’t know what she was talking about. That it was all a trick, a lie, a mistake.

The Owl regarded her coldly for a moment more, then sniffed and rose to her feet. 

“I’m probably too narcissistic to actually kill you. But trust me, when I get the okay, I’m going to make you wish you were dead.” She adjusted her cape and turned on her heel, leaving Steph with a dismissive little finger-wriggle of farewell. “Don’t get too comfortable. The boys’ll be home any time now.”

---

(Why yes I am still thinking about the better version of Earth-3 Steph that could've been, as if it wasn't obvious.)

[weirdsatellites]

SIGINT #68611 from FalconSAT-8 (TS/SCI) 1. Maw of Snowmen 2. Bulletproof Clowns 3. Boundless Bandit Bridge

[blurban-form]

I’m guessing items like this sticker of Bandit with a bazooka and a bulletproof vest are why Bluey’s lawyers have been cracking down on homemade Etsy Bluey stuff.

[arnold-layne]

my writing stats 2023

nobody asked for this, but i'm doing it anyway, because i kept the tracker the whole fucking year and i might as well get something out of it

Total: 58000 words (i didn't do it on purpose i promise) Goal: 72800 words (200 words a day)

By month January: 5611 February: 7791 March: 1168 (i just started dating my bf and we had other business to occupy ourselves with) April: 3460 May: 5126 (nice wc considering i had exams for like half the month) June: 6468 (again nice, because exams and thesis presentation) July: 6609 August: 7240 September: 8169 (the most productive. i still had a will to live) October: 5883 November: 475 (depression kicking in yea) December: 0 (depression intensifies)

By days of the week: Monday: 7252 Tuesday: 7191 Wednesday: 6353 Thursday: 10586 (had little homework that day) Friday: 6603 Saturday: 7753 Sunday: 12262 (self-explanatory)

Stories posted: in darkness shall you be reborn: 7 new chapters as we were falling: 9 chapters the weavers: 3 chapters bulletproof bandits by @glamourizedcocaine: idk but there were like 7k words

can't name exact word counts for all the works but i sure know most of it were the weavers, then as we were falling, then in darkness shall you be reborn, then bulletproof bandits

overall: i didn't hit my goal, but i'm still pretty pleased with my progress. it was a rather productive writing year and i had a lot of fun and only started one new story, which is remarkable

i used this tracker, but i can't find the original post with its creator :(

[aleximustd13]

DUDE I AM AT A LOSS FOR WORDS THIS IS AMAZING

@awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands @arnold-layne LOOK AT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girl that is NOT bisexual lighting!!! You're being pulled over!!!

anyways I made a brush for drawing dreadlocks and used @x-s-t-i-t-c-h-e-s-x 's character Dylan to test it

[bulletproofbandits]

Thinkin'...

Ref pic under the cut

[aleximustd13]

bulletproof bandits on this chart NOW

Here you go bestie <3

As you can see i love them all and equal amount

[manda-kat]

Writing about my stupid, mustachioed OC (Dagney) and his introduction scene shows the following events:

He is a bandit intercepting a carriage filled with money. (The country he is in is underdeveloped, not medieval. Carriages are just the best option)

He stealthily halts the carriage without the guards realizing they are in an ambush

He then ruins this advantage by just waltzing up to the guards and striking up a conversation out of pure arrogance

He gives the guards time to recognize him as a wanted criminal and even brags about his infamous nature

He proceeds to use his powers (which is a pocket dimension he fills with guns) to summon a bunch of weapons to wipe out the guards (nonlethally)

He steals a horse

He proves that his powers make him virtually bulletproof and capable of firing bullets back at other people

He faces off against the captain of the guard and intimidates him into calling off his men

He demands the guards give him all the money and their weapons

He proceeds to gloat about his powers and skill and also insult the captain directly, questioning his capability as a leader and blaming connections for why the captain is employed at all

Only once everybody thoroughly hates him, his body fails him and the result of him overusing his powers leaves him in incredible pain and unable to fight or flee.

He throws up on one of the guards

He is arrested and the story actually begins

[awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands]

Always reblogging the sexiest fic on here. AND WE GET IT FOR FREE!

Genre: Action/adventure; futuristic/post-apocalyptic

Summary: Russell, a hard-to-not-love bastard, has a destructive power that activates when he's in times of high stress and makes him go on a murderous spree, thirsty for blood. Dylan, his best friend, is stronger than most, and is a chaotic ray of sunshine. They live in Rhinestone City, a dilapidated town where there has been a power plant incident and they earn their living by doing favors to the local gangs, getting constantly in trouble. One day, the most infamous gang leader around sends Russell and Dylan on a dangerous mission: deliver a special package to Liberty City, a place where everything is utopic and hyper-technologic, but nothing is as it seems...

Warnings: violence & gore, smut, drinking & smoking, (mutant) animal violence

Wattpad

Italian translation

On the Run (very old piece i wrote as exercise, back when this concept didnt even have a name)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

[betaot4]

thursday snippet <3

it's style this time!!! thanks so much for the tag @foursaints i've been working diligently on this fic and it's kind of been stressing me out. this feels like i'm getting some... recognition for my efforts lmao

“I want to play a different game today,” said Kyle as he stomped towards Stan, harsh footsteps digging trenches into the fresh snow. “Why don’t you be a bandit, and I’ll be the Sheriff, and I can try and stop you from robbing the saloon.” Most days Stan was Kyle’s partner in crime-stopping, Sheriff Marsh. “What, so I’m a shitty partner?” Stan was tired. Using his gloved hand, he dusted fresh powder off a rock so he could sit without getting his ass wet. The revolver was becoming a nuisance in his grasp; he threw it down into the snow and shoved his fists in his jacket pocket.  “No! You can be the Sheriff if you want. I don’t really care.” Stan knew Kyle well enough to sense that he did care. It had been difficult over the past few months to get him to take that damn vest off. Stan was mystified by it, the procurement of power through an article of clothing, and the way Cartman only seemed to be intimidated by Kyle when he was wearing it. Thin and cheaply-riveted leather might as well have been a bulletproof vest. Stan looked to the toy gun at his feet. Perhaps Kyle was trying to share his newfound empowerment with him and that was the purpose of the gift. He looked so free when they played these games, running around and asserting his jurisdiction over their imaginary outlaws. “It’s okay. The vest doesn’t fit me anyways.” They had tried once to put it on him but couldn’t stretch it over the span of Stan’s back. Fresh off of Kyle it was warm, and Stan thought about how warm it would be now, immersed in Kyle’s coat, sweat-tinged, drowning in his body heat, and felt regretful for how early his shoulders had broadened. 

this snippet is from a fic i'm writing for an exchange so i really hope the recipient doesn't see it. tagging @ladygreige MY WIFE and @turnabtsisters/@deadkennys THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME TAG YOU GUYS lol i can't wait to see what you come up with... it can be for any fandom obviously (or none at all)

[kallard]

The Death of Innocence

For thin is the veil betwixt man and the godless deep. The skies are haunted by that which it were madness to know; and strange abominations pass evermore between earth and moon and athwart the galaxies. Unnameable things have come to us in alien horror and will come again. And the evil of the stars is not as the evil of earth.

(The following contains subject material that may be triggering to some. Themes included are graphic and intense violence, horrific imagery and death. Read at your own discretion.)

The day was like any other. Yuki found herself bored and alone in the Quicksands, having gotten tired of daydreaming all day. She let out a soft sigh and spun around and marched over to the Leve quest board. The Raen smiled as she looked over the quests, hoping to find something exciting. For the most part it looked like simple jobs, dispatching a rambunctious monster or guarding a caravan during their travels.

Nothing leapt out at her, so Yuki keep looking. She scanned over the paperwork, humming softly to herself. It was at that moment someone approached the board and tacked a few loose pieces of paper to the board and wandered off. Yuki peered at these new jobs and one in particular stood out to her.

A village in eastern Thanalan was experiencing a series of attacks at night by unknown assailants. Yuki looked over the paper and reached up to snatch it before someone else did. She took the paper and folded it up, reaching up to tap one of three linkpearls affixed to her left horn.

“Julia!” Yuki said into the linkpearl. “Hey, I was bored and was wondering if you wanted to come do a Leve quest with me.”

There was a long pause, which Yuki took with a smile, knowing it would take her friend a moment to get back to her.

“Oh, you will? Perfect! Meet me in Ul’dah and bring your gear. By the looks of the quest, we’ll be facing off against some nasty guys. I’m expecting it to be some bandits, so nothing too wild. Hopefully.”

Another long pause.

“Okay! I’ll see you in a little bit then.”

And with that, Yuki lowered her arm and smiled at the paper in her hand. She folded it in half and slipped it into a pocket. With that taken care of, the Raen walked back to her usual spot at the Quicksands and waited for Julia to arrive. While waiting, an idea sprung to mind and she was once more reaching up to tap her linkpearl.

“Matt! Good afternoon!”

A brief pause.

“Nothing much. Question for you! Are you bored of studying? Well, if you are, Julia and I are going to be doing a Leve quest out in Eastern Thanalan. There’s a village under siege by unknown attackers, so we’re going to figure out what’s going on. Interested?”

Yet another pause, this time Yuki smiling at what she heard on the opposite end of the linkpearl.

“Perfect! The village is located in the northern part of Eastern Thanalan. You shouldn’t miss it. Bring your gear and let’s fight some bad guys!”

Yuki smiled as she listened to her brother’s reply on the other end, said goodbye and let her arm drop back down to her side. She took in a deep breath and smiled as she exhaled slowly, excited for what was to come. It had been a while since she had last went on a job, nevermind with friends. It was going to be an exciting night for sure.

------

The sun had begun to set over Eastern Thanalan just as Yuki and Julia arrived at the village in question. Julia wore her bulletproof vest over her usual business suit, sans the jacket. She had two pistols strapped to her thighs, one on each side and in her hand Julia held a semi-automatic rifle. Yuki had changed into something more comfortable, a pair of slacks and a hoodie, under which lay a bulletproof vest gifted to her by Julia. As usual Yuki was armed with her two swords, one with an edge and the other without.

Upon arriving at the village, Yuki started walking in the direction of the tavern, the point where she was to meet with her contact. She pushed past the swinging double doors and stepped into the dimly lit tavern. A handful of men and women sat at the tables, talking quietly among themselves. Seated at one of the tables was an elderly man with long white hair pulled into a loose ponytail. His clothing was clean, but old with several patched up holes.

Yuki approached his table and waved hello before saying, “Good evening! Are you the village elder?”

The man looked up at the Raen and his heavily armed friend and smiled. He gestured at the three empty chairs, two of which were now occupied by Yuki and Julia. Julia set her rifle down on the table and ordered a glass of water while Yuki did all the talking.

“Yeah, that’s me. I take it you two lovely ladies are here to deal with our little problem?” the man asked with a soft smile before taking a sip of a large mug of ale.

“Yeah! That’s us. Do you mind telling us more about your situation? The quest wasn’t very detailed, just said your village was under attack at nighttime,” Yuki said, stealing Julia’s glass of water to take a small sip before giving it back with a smirk.

“Perfect. And yes, I’ll do my best to tell you everything that I know,” the old man started. “The attacks started a couple days ago. We thought after the first night they were done, but on the second night they came back and kidnapped a few people. On the third night we prayed for it to be over, only to be attacked again. Please, you have to help us. At the rate that they’re taking my people, we’ll have no one left by the end of the week. You have to do something to stop these people.”

“Don’t worry,” Yuki said, reaching out and placing her hand over the old man’s. “We’ll take care of the problem. Julia and I are here to help.”

The old man smiled at Yuki and used his free hand to pat the back of hers.

“I knew I could count on the Adventurer’s Guild. Thank you ladies. If there’s anything any of us can do to help, please let us know.”

“Well,” Julia chimed in after taking a swig of water. “For starters you all should go home and lock your doors and windows. Stay indoors until we give the all clear.”

“Good idea,” the old man said, taking one final swig of his ale before rising to his feet. He looked to the other patrons and told them, “Come on folks. Time to go home. Lock your doors and windows and these two fine women will be taking care of our problem.”

Everyone in the tavern looked up at the old man and nodded, silently getting up and returning to their homes. Yuki watched as they all filed out, the tavern staff included. In a couple minutes the tavern was empty, save for Yuki and Julia. The two women looked at each other before rising to their feet and striding out of the tavern to ready themselves for what was to come.

------

The sky above the village was dark and starless, as if the clouds had swallowed them whole. There was no bright moon hanging in the sky, despite tonight being a full moon. Julia hadn’t seen any cloud cover since sundown, so the lack of stars was unnerving. She looked up at the sky with a frown on her face, feeling as if something horrible was going to happen tonight.

It was on the third hour after nightfall that the attack began. At first the two women saw and heard nothing, the next there was the sound of breaking glass and a woman screaming bloody murder. Yuki was the first to jump to her feet, running over in the direction of the sound. She came to a halt upon seeing a crowd of people swarming one of the houses, several of them climbing into the building through broken windows.

“HEY!” Yuki shouted at the group as Julia arrived at her side. “That’s enough! Cease your activities or we will be forced to act.”

The group ignored her and continued their assault on the house. A decrepit old man crawled in through a window and vanished into the interior, the screaming growing more persistent. Julia raised her rifle and fired off a warning shot, which was largely ignored by most of the group. But, two people peeled out of the swarm and shuffled towards Yuki and Julia, arms outstretched.

“Back up!” Julia warned as she fired a round into the ground at the feet of the oncoming attackers. “That’s your only warning!”

Yuki frowned and drew her sword in one fluid motion, choosing her blade-less sword. She held the weapon with both hands, her grip firm. One of the two attacks began to stumble over towards her, his movements slow and jerky, almost as if he was being controlled against his will. His outstretched hands grasped at the air, opening and closing as he drew closer to Yuki.

“This is your final warning,” Yuki told the man.

It wasn’t until the man stumbled into the light spilling out of the cabin that Yuki saw how deformed this person really was. Half of his face was missing, as if something had chewed it right off his skull, exposing raw muscles to the world. Yuki swallowed back her fear and charged forward, swinging with her sword. The weapon collided into the head of the man, causing him to tumble over sideways.

Meanwhile, Julia took aim with her rifle and fired a single round into the chest of the man shuffling towards her. The man was pushed back by the force of the impact but otherwise did not stop his advance. Julia aimed down and put a round into his left knee. The bullet tore through bone and sinew alike, blowing out the back of the man’s knee and shattering the joint. Despite this, the man pressed on, hunger in his dead eyes.

While Yuki and Julia were squaring off with their own targets, the swarm was busy dragging people out of the cabin. The old man Yuki had spoken to earlier shouted as he was pulled out of his house and into the night, kicking and screaming. A women, whom could easily be his wife, hollered as she was dragged out into the desert, never to be seen again.

Yuki watched as her attacker righted himself and charged towards her with outstretched hands. He grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned into bite Yuki’s neck, only to be headbutted. Yuki shoved hard and swung her weapon at the man’s head. She hit it with a soft thump and the man fell over sideways.

Meanwhile, Julia blew out the man’s other knee, finally halting his advance. She approached him, placed the barrel of her rifle against his head and squeezed the trigger. The gun belched fire and lead as the back of the man’s head exploded, showering the area behind him with gray matter and blood. His body tumbled over sideways, lay still for a moment before it got back up, slowing dragging itself back up to its feet.

Upon seeing this, Julia reached down onto her utility belt and removed a single grenade. She pulled the pin and the lever flew off. Julia took the explosive, grabbed the man’s hand and shoved it into it before pushing him back several feet. The grenade went off as Julia ducked down, covering her head as the explosion tore off the man’s arm and took out half of his upper torso. This seemed to be enough to end the abomination’s advance and the body fell over and finally lay still.

The seemingly undead man rose back to his feet and started stumbling towards Yuki once more. When she saw how much it took to take down Julia’s target, Yuki knew her blunted sword wasn’t going to be enough for this fight. So, she sheathed it as quickly as she could and drew her other sword.

Now that she was properly armed, Yuki took her sword and performed a downward slash. The blade cut through flesh with ease, causing the man’s internal organs to spill out of his chest, hitting the ground with a wet slap. Yuki made a face of disgust as the smell hit her, smelling like week old rotting corpse. Without wasting any time, Yuki brought her sword up and quickly cut the man’s head off before slashing his arms off and driving the blade into his heart. The man’s body tumbled over and fell to the ground, unmoving.

In the time that it took Yuki and Julia to clear out just two of the zombies the rest of the group had moved onto the next house. Glass shattered and a woman screamed bloody murder as she was dragged out of her house. But, rather than taking her into the desert, the crowd tore her apart and ate the remains, creating a huge bloody mess.

Julia raised her rifle and fired four times into the crowd, but was unable to drop anyone from the group. Before she could fire off around round, something emerged from the gloom of night. A man, impossibly tall stepped out of the dark.

His body was devoid of skin, raw muscles visible throughout his entire body. He stood roughly seven feet tall with long, thin limbs that ended in wicked claws and curved talons. His face lacked all features, save for a pair of glowing silver discs. He opened his mouth and hissed before running towards Julia.

The gunfire echoed in the desert and Julia dumped the rest of her magazine into the tall man. Undeterred by this, the tall man continued his advance. Once he was close enough to do so, he swung one large hand at Julia and sent her flying, forcing her to drop her rifle as she flew through the air. A cabin stopped her journey and forced the air of her chest as she hit the wooden wall.

She slid down the wall and groaned in pain, clutching her chest. It felt as if a couple of ribs had been fractured, the pain in her chest was intense and hurt whenever she drew in a breath. Julia struggled to her feet and drew one of her handguns. She took aim and shot a handful of times, the gun spitting out flame with each round fired.

Yuki looked over at the tall man as he flew over towards Julia, his speed far outmatching the former soldier’s reaction time. Once more she was thrown off her feet by a swing of the man’s hand. But this time Julia managed to hold onto her pistol opened fire as she flew through the air. She hit the ground hard and that’s when something registered in the back of Yuki’s mind.

She knew what was happening and who was responsible. It was Him. He was back.

“Julia!” Yuki cried out as she ran over to her friend. “This is bad! We need to regroup and wait for Matt to arrive!”

“I am not backing down from this fight,” Julia muttered as she sat up on the dirt.

“You don’t understand,” Yuki told her, trying to pull Julia by the hand into the desert. She wanted nothing more than to flee the scene, unable to fight back against the fear that had settled into her mind like a sickness.

The tall man was on them in seconds. Rather than going after Julia, the man swept his right arm to from side to side, taking Yuki along with it. She yelped as she hit the ground, her sword clattering to the ground as she came to a rolling stop. Her hand reached out towards her sword and the weapon snapped back into the palm of her hand.

Julia let loose a war cry as she opened fire on the tall man, crawling backwards as she fired. Each bullet slammed into the body of the tall man, unable to stop his advance. He grinned as he flew towards Julia, moving with speed unlike anything Yuki had seen before. She watched in horror as he grabbed her by the neck, brought her up into the air and slammed her back down.

“Julia!” Yuki shouted as she ran towards the tall man.

Before she could get anywhere, a small group of undead shuffled towards her, blocking her path. She snarled and swung her blade from left to right, taking the heads off of each assailant. But, this wasn’t enough to stop them and they continued their journey forward, blood pumping out of their necks.

The tall man collapsed onto Julia and knocked her handgun out of her hand. He then gripped her by the head and hoisted her up off the ground and into the air once more. It was there that he held onto her and applied pressure with both hands, pressing them together as if her head wasn’t even there. Julia screamed in agony as the pain became unbearable.

There was a sickening crunch as Julia’s head was crushed, collapsing in on itself. Blood and brains oozed out of her eyes and ears and the cracks in her skull. The tall man looked down at her with indifference before simply dropping her fresh corpse to the ground. He then turned his sight to Yuki, covered in the blood of her friend.

“BOLD AND STUPID!” a voice boomed from the tall man, its very tone causing the ground to tremble as if it were scared too.

“JULIA, NO!”

Tears streamed down Yuki’s face as she flew forward, propelled forward by a jet of flame coming from her back. She flew through the air and swung her sword, hoping to behead the tall man in one strike. Impossibly enough, the tall man saw the attack coming and raised a single hand. He caught the blade barehanded and held onto it as it dug into his sinewy claw.

Yuki was then picked up and thrown across the village. She went soaring through the air and collided into the group of undead. Over two dozen hands outstretched and grabbed onto her, holding the Raen in place as the tall man approached. He didn’t move with any haste, his stride casual and easygoing. The sword was ripped from Yuki’s hand as she was held in place, unable to break free from the grasp of these abominations.

Just as the tall man approached, a high pitched whine could be heard coming from above. Yuki looked up just in time to watch as an airship came hurtling out of the sky, headed toward the tall man. There was a loud clang as the ship collided with the tall man, taking him with it as it crash landed into the center of the village. The vehicle continued to skid across the dirt, the nose of the ship crashing into a cabin and destroying it.

There was a loud hiss as the boarding ramp was lowered and a figure came flying out with a bestial roar. With the tall man gone and smeared all across the ground, the figure came soaring through the air towards the nearest undead. He slammed into the group holding Yuki hostage, freeing her. It was at that moment that Yuki caught a glimpse of her brother’s face as he tore into the group of zombies.

While he was busy tearing apart the undead, Yuki watched as Julia’s body started to twitch. It sat upright, despite her head having been crushed and looked in Yuki’s general direction. An eyeball dangled from the socket, the other one glaring at the Raen.

It was at that moment that something emerged from the gloom of night, shrouded in darkness. Its mere presence alone felt as if Yuki was overcome with dread and fear. She was unable to move as a figure strode into the center of the village.

The figure was more of a silhouette than a man. Like the tall man, it was impossibly tall, nearly seven feet tall in total. It had the same thin, long arms that ended in claws and talons. The fingers were long enough that he could easily wrap his hand around someone’s head. Rather than having bodily features, the figure was shrouded in shadows. Pinpricks of light were visible in its body, like looking up at a star filled sky. A pair of silver discs hovered in the place of eyes, watching Matthias tear through its creations with indifference.

It turned its head and watched as Julia rose to her feet, body twitching and convulsing as it moved. Julia groaned as she hunched over backward, arms dangling at her sides. Impossibly enough her body started to split and tear with the awful sound of tearing flesh. Her torso split open, ribs snapping in two as they rearranged themselves.

Rather than falling out, Julia’s internal organs twisted and warped into sickening tentacles that hungrily lashed at the air, slick and slimy. Her arms bent the wrong way and a pair of curved blades shot forth from the wreckage. She let loose a horrifying cry and charged at Yuki, bone-like blades raised and poised to strike.

Yuki yelped and stumbled backward several feet, narrowing dodging the creature’s attack. She held out her right hand and called her sword back to her, the weapon flying through the air and landing smack dab in the palm of the Raen’s hand. Just as the blade met her hand, the monster that was Julia roared once more and ran forward, blades swiping at the air blindly as the tentacles lashed out. Yuki brought her sword up just in time to meet the two curved blades.

But the creature was stronger than she was and with little effort, the creature pushed back against Yuki’s defenses. Despite this, Yuki pressed on and pushed against the monster, snarling as she put every ounce of strength into her arms. She shoved her weapon forward, shoving the creature backward a foot in the process.

Yuki’s blade was swung through the air, only to be stopped by one of the curved blades. And then something impossible happened. Yuki’s blade was suddenly alight with fire, flames licking the cold steel as it was swung through the air. There was a whoosh as the blade cut through the air, cleaving off one of Julia’s hands in the process. The blade went flying off into the night, vanishing into the dark as blood pumped out of the stump.

With flaming sword in hand, Yuki charged forward as tears streamed down her cheeks. Unable to mourn the loss of her friend, Yuki was now forced to cut down what was left of her. She knew without a doubt that this moment would stick with her for the rest of her natural life. The Raen shuddered at the thought as she cut downward with her sword, cutting a line diagonally down Julia’s ruined form.

Several tentacles hit the ground and writhed around in the dirt as the fight continued. Julia was quick, but Yuki’s speed easily outmatched the monster’s. She blocked off a double strike by the blades and managed to cut one of them off with a sword stroke to the right. The limb hit the ground with a dull thump and violently twitched, like a fish out of water.

There was the clash of steel as the other blade crashed into Yuki’s, sending a spray of sparks in every direction. The flaming blade bit into the abomination’s curved weapon before cutting it in two. Despite this, the creature continued its attack, using whatever it could in an attempt to best Yuki. It made these awful gurgling noises as it moved, growing slower and slower with each blow Yuki landed. It didn’t take long for the Raen to overcome the beast by chopping off its other arm and one of its legs. The abomination hit the ground and howled before Yuki cleaved it in two with a single cut across its torso. It was at that moment that the beast fell still, defeated.

Meanwhile, while this was all happening, Matthias was tearing into the undead like they were paper. His clawed hands tore through flesh like a warm knife slicing through butter. He tore entire limbs off and would use them as weapons, bashing skulls open and crushing rib cages with a heavy boot. He had a look of determination on his face as he tore through the zombies, eager to put an end to this fight, ready to go after the real threat.

The figure stood there in the center of the village, watching all of this transpire. It watched as Matthias ripped and tore through a small army of undead while Yuki chopped up what was left of Julia. If it had lips, it would be smiling.

“Very good you two,” the figure said when both Yuki and Matthias were done with their respective targets. “I’m impressed.”

“You’re next,” Matthias grumbled as he broke into a sprint, headed right towards the figure.

It held out a hand and before the man could get any closer, put an end to his advance. Something gripped him and hoisted him up off the ground and held him in the air, pinning his arms to his sides. Snarling and spitting, Matthias tried to free himself from the invisible threat, yellow eyes narrowed with fury.

Now it was Yuki’s turn to charge forward but like her brother, was caught by an invisible hand and lifted up off the ground. The figure continued to stand there, watching as the two would be heroes struggled to free themselves.

“How amusing you both are,” the figure said, its voice calm and collected, but held a hint of dread. “I could watch you two all night, but alas, I have grown tired of watching you struggle against the wind.”

“What are you doing?” Yuki demanded. “Release us!”

“Ever the fighter, aren’t you?” the figure taunted.

“You’ll pay for what you did you Julia!” Matthias hollered as he strained against his binds. “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

“Give me your anger, Matthias! Let it boil to the surface. Let your fury flow freely! Anger begets anger! Come on, show me your rage!”

Whatever was holding Matthias wasn’t strong enough, as he tore through the invisible bindings. He snarled as he dropped down to the ground before charging forward. Just as he was about to make contact, something hit him hard and sent him flying across the village square. He hit the ground hard and rolled so that he slid back on his knees. Jumping back up to his feet, Matthias flung himself forward once more, ready to tear this thing apart.

The figure however, just stood there, indifferent to the man’s anger. It stepped out of the way of each attack, almost as if it was reading Matthias’ mind to see where he would be coming from. No matter how hard he pressed on, the figure was faster than we was, dipping and dodging out of the way with sickening ease.

Yuki was powerless to watch as her brother tore through the air, shredding the air with his claws. She watched as he shot forward, moving faster than she’d ever seen him move before. Each attack carried enough force to shatter bones, but no matter how much he tried, he simply couldn’t land a blow. The figure far exceeded his skills, taunting him as it dodged out of the way.

“I grow tired of these games,” the figure said, its voice taken on a sinister tone, laced with fury.

Matthias grunted as something hit him hard and sent him flying through the air. He crashed through a cabin wall and came to a halt just as he was about to burst through the opposite end of the house. He groaned as he lay there, stunned for the moment.

“We’re not done here!” Yuki told the figure. “You’re going to pay for what you did to my friend.”

“Your brother said the same thing, and now he lies broken in the rubble of a house,” the figure said as the house Matthias was in collapsed in on itself. “What can you do that he can’t, hmm? Are you going to strike me with your sword? Curse my name and defiantly fight against your own fate?”

“I won’t rest until you’re dead,” Yuki told the figure, her tone serious. “I will not stop fighting you. That I can promise.”

“Good, then you’ll join your friend in death.”

The figure then just faded out of existence as if it were never there in the first place. Yuki fell to the ground with a grunt while Matthias drug himself out of the ruins of the cabin. He crawled out of the rubble and looked at his sister, watching as she walked over to the remains of Julia. She dropped down to her knees, covered her face and wept.

[julia-catilina]

The Death of Innocence

For thin is the veil betwixt man and the godless deep. The skies are haunted by that which it were madness to know; and strange abominations pass evermore between earth and moon and athwart the galaxies. Unnameable things have come to us in alien horror and will come again. And the evil of the stars is not as the evil of earth.

(The following contains subject material that may be triggering to some. Themes included are graphic and intense violence, horrific imagery and death. Read at your own discretion.)

The day was like any other. Yuki found herself bored and alone in the Quicksands, having gotten tired of daydreaming all day. She let out a soft sigh and spun around and marched over to the Leve quest board. The Raen smiled as she looked over the quests, hoping to find something exciting. For the most part it looked like simple jobs, dispatching a rambunctious monster or guarding a caravan during their travels.

Nothing leapt out at her, so Yuki keep looking. She scanned over the paperwork, humming softly to herself. It was at that moment someone approached the board and tacked a few loose pieces of paper to the board and wandered off. Yuki peered at these new jobs and one in particular stood out to her.

A village in eastern Thanalan was experiencing a series of attacks at night by unknown assailants. Yuki looked over the paper and reached up to snatch it before someone else did. She took the paper and folded it up, reaching up to tap one of three linkpearls affixed to her left horn.

“Julia!” Yuki said into the linkpearl. “Hey, I was bored and was wondering if you wanted to come do a Leve quest with me.”

There was a long pause, which Yuki took with a smile, knowing it would take her friend a moment to get back to her.

“Oh, you will? Perfect! Meet me in Ul’dah and bring your gear. By the looks of the quest, we’ll be facing off against some nasty guys. I’m expecting it to be some bandits, so nothing too wild. Hopefully.”

Another long pause.

“Okay! I’ll see you in a little bit then.”

And with that, Yuki lowered her arm and smiled at the paper in her hand. She folded it in half and slipped it into a pocket. With that taken care of, the Raen walked back to her usual spot at the Quicksands and waited for Julia to arrive. While waiting, an idea sprung to mind and she was once more reaching up to tap her linkpearl.

“Matt! Good afternoon!”

A brief pause.

“Nothing much. Question for you! Are you bored of studying? Well, if you are, Julia and I are going to be doing a Leve quest out in Eastern Thanalan. There’s a village under siege by unknown attackers, so we’re going to figure out what’s going on. Interested?”

Yet another pause, this time Yuki smiling at what she heard on the opposite end of the linkpearl.

“Perfect! The village is located in the northern part of Eastern Thanalan. You shouldn’t miss it. Bring your gear and let’s fight some bad guys!”

Yuki smiled as she listened to her brother’s reply on the other end, said goodbye and let her arm drop back down to her side. She took in a deep breath and smiled as she exhaled slowly, excited for what was to come. It had been a while since she had last went on a job, nevermind with friends. It was going to be an exciting night for sure.

------

The sun had begun to set over Eastern Thanalan just as Yuki and Julia arrived at the village in question. Julia wore her bulletproof vest over her usual business suit, sans the jacket. She had two pistols strapped to her thighs, one on each side and in her hand Julia held a semi-automatic rifle. Yuki had changed into something more comfortable, a pair of slacks and a hoodie, under which lay a bulletproof vest gifted to her by Julia. As usual Yuki was armed with her two swords, one with an edge and the other without.

Upon arriving at the village, Yuki started walking in the direction of the tavern, the point where she was to meet with her contact. She pushed past the swinging double doors and stepped into the dimly lit tavern. A handful of men and women sat at the tables, talking quietly among themselves. Seated at one of the tables was an elderly man with long white hair pulled into a loose ponytail. His clothing was clean, but old with several patched up holes.

Yuki approached his table and waved hello before saying, “Good evening! Are you the village elder?”

The man looked up at the Raen and his heavily armed friend and smiled. He gestured at the three empty chairs, two of which were now occupied by Yuki and Julia. Julia set her rifle down on the table and ordered a glass of water while Yuki did all the talking.

“Yeah, that’s me. I take it you two lovely ladies are here to deal with our little problem?” the man asked with a soft smile before taking a sip of a large mug of ale.

“Yeah! That’s us. Do you mind telling us more about your situation? The quest wasn’t very detailed, just said your village was under attack at nighttime,” Yuki said, stealing Julia’s glass of water to take a small sip before giving it back with a smirk.

“Perfect. And yes, I’ll do my best to tell you everything that I know,” the old man started. “The attacks started a couple days ago. We thought after the first night they were done, but on the second night they came back and kidnapped a few people. On the third night we prayed for it to be over, only to be attacked again. Please, you have to help us. At the rate that they’re taking my people, we’ll have no one left by the end of the week. You have to do something to stop these people.”

“Don’t worry,” Yuki said, reaching out and placing her hand over the old man’s. “We’ll take care of the problem. Julia and I are here to help.”

The old man smiled at Yuki and used his free hand to pat the back of hers.

“I knew I could count on the Adventurer’s Guild. Thank you ladies. If there’s anything any of us can do to help, please let us know.”

“Well,” Julia chimed in after taking a swig of water. “For starters you all should go home and lock your doors and windows. Stay indoors until we give the all clear.”

“Good idea,” the old man said, taking one final swig of his ale before rising to his feet. He looked to the other patrons and told them, “Come on folks. Time to go home. Lock your doors and windows and these two fine women will be taking care of our problem.”

Everyone in the tavern looked up at the old man and nodded, silently getting up and returning to their homes. Yuki watched as they all filed out, the tavern staff included. In a couple minutes the tavern was empty, save for Yuki and Julia. The two women looked at each other before rising to their feet and striding out of the tavern to ready themselves for what was to come.

------

The sky above the village was dark and starless, as if the clouds had swallowed them whole. There was no bright moon hanging in the sky, despite tonight being a full moon. Julia hadn’t seen any cloud cover since sundown, so the lack of stars was unnerving. She looked up at the sky with a frown on her face, feeling as if something horrible was going to happen tonight.

It was on the third hour after nightfall that the attack began. At first the two women saw and heard nothing, the next there was the sound of breaking glass and a woman screaming bloody murder. Yuki was the first to jump to her feet, running over in the direction of the sound. She came to a halt upon seeing a crowd of people swarming one of the houses, several of them climbing into the building through broken windows.

“HEY!” Yuki shouted at the group as Julia arrived at her side. “That’s enough! Cease your activities or we will be forced to act.”

The group ignored her and continued their assault on the house. A decrepit old man crawled in through a window and vanished into the interior, the screaming growing more persistent. Julia raised her rifle and fired off a warning shot, which was largely ignored by most of the group. But, two people peeled out of the swarm and shuffled towards Yuki and Julia, arms outstretched.

“Back up!” Julia warned as she fired a round into the ground at the feet of the oncoming attackers. “That’s your only warning!”

Yuki frowned and drew her sword in one fluid motion, choosing her blade-less sword. She held the weapon with both hands, her grip firm. One of the two attacks began to stumble over towards her, his movements slow and jerky, almost as if he was being controlled against his will. His outstretched hands grasped at the air, opening and closing as he drew closer to Yuki.

“This is your final warning,” Yuki told the man.

It wasn’t until the man stumbled into the light spilling out of the cabin that Yuki saw how deformed this person really was. Half of his face was missing, as if something had chewed it right off his skull, exposing raw muscles to the world. Yuki swallowed back her fear and charged forward, swinging with her sword. The weapon collided into the head of the man, causing him to tumble over sideways.

Meanwhile, Julia took aim with her rifle and fired a single round into the chest of the man shuffling towards her. The man was pushed back by the force of the impact but otherwise did not stop his advance. Julia aimed down and put a round into his left knee. The bullet tore through bone and sinew alike, blowing out the back of the man’s knee and shattering the joint. Despite this, the man pressed on, hunger in his dead eyes.

While Yuki and Julia were squaring off with their own targets, the swarm was busy dragging people out of the cabin. The old man Yuki had spoken to earlier shouted as he was pulled out of his house and into the night, kicking and screaming. A women, whom could easily be his wife, hollered as she was dragged out into the desert, never to be seen again.

Yuki watched as her attacker righted himself and charged towards her with outstretched hands. He grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned into bite Yuki’s neck, only to be headbutted. Yuki shoved hard and swung her weapon at the man’s head. She hit it with a soft thump and the man fell over sideways.

Meanwhile, Julia blew out the man’s other knee, finally halting his advance. She approached him, placed the barrel of her rifle against his head and squeezed the trigger. The gun belched fire and lead as the back of the man’s head exploded, showering the area behind him with gray matter and blood. His body tumbled over sideways, lay still for a moment before it got back up, slowing dragging itself back up to its feet.

Upon seeing this, Julia reached down onto her utility belt and removed a single grenade. She pulled the pin and the lever flew off. Julia took the explosive, grabbed the man’s hand and shoved it into it before pushing him back several feet. The grenade went off as Julia ducked down, covering her head as the explosion tore off the man’s arm and took out half of his upper torso. This seemed to be enough to end the abomination’s advance and the body fell over and finally lay still.

The seemingly undead man rose back to his feet and started stumbling towards Yuki once more. When she saw how much it took to take down Julia’s target, Yuki knew her blunted sword wasn’t going to be enough for this fight. So, she sheathed it as quickly as she could and drew her other sword.

Now that she was properly armed, Yuki took her sword and performed a downward slash. The blade cut through flesh with ease, causing the man’s internal organs to spill out of his chest, hitting the ground with a wet slap. Yuki made a face of disgust as the smell hit her, smelling like week old rotting corpse. Without wasting any time, Yuki brought her sword up and quickly cut the man’s head off before slashing his arms off and driving the blade into his heart. The man’s body tumbled over and fell to the ground, unmoving.

In the time that it took Yuki and Julia to clear out just two of the zombies the rest of the group had moved onto the next house. Glass shattered and a woman screamed bloody murder as she was dragged out of her house. But, rather than taking her into the desert, the crowd tore her apart and ate the remains, creating a huge bloody mess.

Julia raised her rifle and fired four times into the crowd, but was unable to drop anyone from the group. Before she could fire off around round, something emerged from the gloom of night. A man, impossibly tall stepped out of the dark.

His body was devoid of skin, raw muscles visible throughout his entire body. He stood roughly seven feet tall with long, thin limbs that ended in wicked claws and curved talons. His face lacked all features, save for a pair of glowing silver discs. He opened his mouth and hissed before running towards Julia.

The gunfire echoed in the desert and Julia dumped the rest of her magazine into the tall man. Undeterred by this, the tall man continued his advance. Once he was close enough to do so, he swung one large hand at Julia and sent her flying, forcing her to drop her rifle as she flew through the air. A cabin stopped her journey and forced the air of her chest as she hit the wooden wall.

She slid down the wall and groaned in pain, clutching her chest. It felt as if a couple of ribs had been fractured, the pain in her chest was intense and hurt whenever she drew in a breath. Julia struggled to her feet and drew one of her handguns. She took aim and shot a handful of times, the gun spitting out flame with each round fired.

Yuki looked over at the tall man as he flew over towards Julia, his speed far outmatching the former soldier’s reaction time. Once more she was thrown off her feet by a swing of the man’s hand. But this time Julia managed to hold onto her pistol opened fire as she flew through the air. She hit the ground hard and that’s when something registered in the back of Yuki’s mind.

She knew what was happening and who was responsible. It was Him. He was back.

“Julia!” Yuki cried out as she ran over to her friend. “This is bad! We need to regroup and wait for Matt to arrive!”

“I am not backing down from this fight,” Julia muttered as she sat up on the dirt.

“You don’t understand,” Yuki told her, trying to pull Julia by the hand into the desert. She wanted nothing more than to flee the scene, unable to fight back against the fear that had settled into her mind like a sickness.

The tall man was on them in seconds. Rather than going after Julia, the man swept his right arm to from side to side, taking Yuki along with it. She yelped as she hit the ground, her sword clattering to the ground as she came to a rolling stop. Her hand reached out towards her sword and the weapon snapped back into the palm of her hand.

Julia let loose a war cry as she opened fire on the tall man, crawling backwards as she fired. Each bullet slammed into the body of the tall man, unable to stop his advance. He grinned as he flew towards Julia, moving with speed unlike anything Yuki had seen before. She watched in horror as he grabbed her by the neck, brought her up into the air and slammed her back down.

“Julia!” Yuki shouted as she ran towards the tall man.

Before she could get anywhere, a small group of undead shuffled towards her, blocking her path. She snarled and swung her blade from left to right, taking the heads off of each assailant. But, this wasn’t enough to stop them and they continued their journey forward, blood pumping out of their necks.

The tall man collapsed onto Julia and knocked her handgun out of her hand. He then gripped her by the head and hoisted her up off the ground and into the air once more. It was there that he held onto her and applied pressure with both hands, pressing them together as if her head wasn’t even there. Julia screamed in agony as the pain became unbearable.

There was a sickening crunch as Julia’s head was crushed, collapsing in on itself. Blood and brains oozed out of her eyes and ears and the cracks in her skull. The tall man looked down at her with indifference before simply dropping her fresh corpse to the ground. He then turned his sight to Yuki, covered in the blood of her friend.

“BOLD AND STUPID!” a voice boomed from the tall man, its very tone causing the ground to tremble as if it were scared too.

“JULIA, NO!”

Tears streamed down Yuki’s face as she flew forward, propelled forward by a jet of flame coming from her back. She flew through the air and swung her sword, hoping to behead the tall man in one strike. Impossibly enough, the tall man saw the attack coming and raised a single hand. He caught the blade barehanded and held onto it as it dug into his sinewy claw.

Yuki was then picked up and thrown across the village. She went soaring through the air and collided into the group of undead. Over two dozen hands outstretched and grabbed onto her, holding the Raen in place as the tall man approached. He didn’t move with any haste, his stride casual and easygoing. The sword was ripped from Yuki’s hand as she was held in place, unable to break free from the grasp of these abominations.

Just as the tall man approached, a high pitched whine could be heard coming from above. Yuki looked up just in time to watch as an airship came hurtling out of the sky, headed toward the tall man. There was a loud clang as the ship collided with the tall man, taking him with it as it crash landed into the center of the village. The vehicle continued to skid across the dirt, the nose of the ship crashing into a cabin and destroying it.

There was a loud hiss as the boarding ramp was lowered and a figure came flying out with a bestial roar. With the tall man gone and smeared all across the ground, the figure came soaring through the air towards the nearest undead. He slammed into the group holding Yuki hostage, freeing her. It was at that moment that Yuki caught a glimpse of her brother’s face as he tore into the group of zombies.

While he was busy tearing apart the undead, Yuki watched as Julia’s body started to twitch. It sat upright, despite her head having been crushed and looked in Yuki’s general direction. An eyeball dangled from the socket, the other one glaring at the Raen.

It was at that moment that something emerged from the gloom of night, shrouded in darkness. Its mere presence alone felt as if Yuki was overcome with dread and fear. She was unable to move as a figure strode into the center of the village.

The figure was more of a silhouette than a man. Like the tall man, it was impossibly tall, nearly seven feet tall in total. It had the same thin, long arms that ended in claws and talons. The fingers were long enough that he could easily wrap his hand around someone’s head. Rather than having bodily features, the figure was shrouded in shadows. Pinpricks of light were visible in its body, like looking up at a star filled sky. A pair of silver discs hovered in the place of eyes, watching Matthias tear through its creations with indifference.

It turned its head and watched as Julia rose to her feet, body twitching and convulsing as it moved. Julia groaned as she hunched over backward, arms dangling at her sides. Impossibly enough her body started to split and tear with the awful sound of tearing flesh. Her torso split open, ribs snapping in two as they rearranged themselves.

Rather than falling out, Julia’s internal organs twisted and warped into sickening tentacles that hungrily lashed at the air, slick and slimy. Her arms bent the wrong way and a pair of curved blades shot forth from the wreckage. She let loose a horrifying cry and charged at Yuki, bone-like blades raised and poised to strike.

Yuki yelped and stumbled backward several feet, narrowing dodging the creature’s attack. She held out her right hand and called her sword back to her, the weapon flying through the air and landing smack dab in the palm of the Raen’s hand. Just as the blade met her hand, the monster that was Julia roared once more and ran forward, blades swiping at the air blindly as the tentacles lashed out. Yuki brought her sword up just in time to meet the two curved blades.

But the creature was stronger than she was and with little effort, the creature pushed back against Yuki’s defenses. Despite this, Yuki pressed on and pushed against the monster, snarling as she put every ounce of strength into her arms. She shoved her weapon forward, shoving the creature backward a foot in the process.

Yuki’s blade was swung through the air, only to be stopped by one of the curved blades. And then something impossible happened. Yuki’s blade was suddenly alight with fire, flames licking the cold steel as it was swung through the air. There was a whoosh as the blade cut through the air, cleaving off one of Julia’s hands in the process. The blade went flying off into the night, vanishing into the dark as blood pumped out of the stump.

With flaming sword in hand, Yuki charged forward as tears streamed down her cheeks. Unable to mourn the loss of her friend, Yuki was now forced to cut down what was left of her. She knew without a doubt that this moment would stick with her for the rest of her natural life. The Raen shuddered at the thought as she cut downward with her sword, cutting a line diagonally down Julia’s ruined form.

Several tentacles hit the ground and writhed around in the dirt as the fight continued. Julia was quick, but Yuki’s speed easily outmatched the monster’s. She blocked off a double strike by the blades and managed to cut one of them off with a sword stroke to the right. The limb hit the ground with a dull thump and violently twitched, like a fish out of water.

There was the clash of steel as the other blade crashed into Yuki’s, sending a spray of sparks in every direction. The flaming blade bit into the abomination’s curved weapon before cutting it in two. Despite this, the creature continued its attack, using whatever it could in an attempt to best Yuki. It made these awful gurgling noises as it moved, growing slower and slower with each blow Yuki landed. It didn’t take long for the Raen to overcome the beast by chopping off its other arm and one of its legs. The abomination hit the ground and howled before Yuki cleaved it in two with a single cut across its torso. It was at that moment that the beast fell still, defeated.

Meanwhile, while this was all happening, Matthias was tearing into the undead like they were paper. His clawed hands tore through flesh like a warm knife slicing through butter. He tore entire limbs off and would use them as weapons, bashing skulls open and crushing rib cages with a heavy boot. He had a look of determination on his face as he tore through the zombies, eager to put an end to this fight, ready to go after the real threat.

The figure stood there in the center of the village, watching all of this transpire. It watched as Matthias ripped and tore through a small army of undead while Yuki chopped up what was left of Julia. If it had lips, it would be smiling.

“Very good you two,” the figure said when both Yuki and Matthias were done with their respective targets. “I’m impressed.”

“You’re next,” Matthias grumbled as he broke into a sprint, headed right towards the figure.

It held out a hand and before the man could get any closer, put an end to his advance. Something gripped him and hoisted him up off the ground and held him in the air, pinning his arms to his sides. Snarling and spitting, Matthias tried to free himself from the invisible threat, yellow eyes narrowed with fury.

Now it was Yuki’s turn to charge forward but like her brother, was caught by an invisible hand and lifted up off the ground. The figure continued to stand there, watching as the two would be heroes struggled to free themselves.

“How amusing you both are,” the figure said, its voice calm and collected, but held a hint of dread. “I could watch you two all night, but alas, I have grown tired of watching you struggle against the wind.”

“What are you doing?” Yuki demanded. “Release us!”

“Ever the fighter, aren’t you?” the figure taunted.

“You’ll pay for what you did you Julia!” Matthias hollered as he strained against his binds. “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

“Give me your anger, Matthias! Let it boil to the surface. Let your fury flow freely! Anger begets anger! Come on, show me your rage!”

Whatever was holding Matthias wasn’t strong enough, as he tore through the invisible bindings. He snarled as he dropped down to the ground before charging forward. Just as he was about to make contact, something hit him hard and sent him flying across the village square. He hit the ground hard and rolled so that he slid back on his knees. Jumping back up to his feet, Matthias flung himself forward once more, ready to tear this thing apart.

The figure however, just stood there, indifferent to the man’s anger. It stepped out of the way of each attack, almost as if it was reading Matthias’ mind to see where he would be coming from. No matter how hard he pressed on, the figure was faster than we was, dipping and dodging out of the way with sickening ease.

Yuki was powerless to watch as her brother tore through the air, shredding the air with his claws. She watched as he shot forward, moving faster than she’d ever seen him move before. Each attack carried enough force to shatter bones, but no matter how much he tried, he simply couldn’t land a blow. The figure far exceeded his skills, taunting him as it dodged out of the way.

“I grow tired of these games,” the figure said, its voice taken on a sinister tone, laced with fury.

Matthias grunted as something hit him hard and sent him flying through the air. He crashed through a cabin wall and came to a halt just as he was about to burst through the opposite end of the house. He groaned as he lay there, stunned for the moment.

“We’re not done here!” Yuki told the figure. “You’re going to pay for what you did to my friend.”

“Your brother said the same thing, and now he lies broken in the rubble of a house,” the figure said as the house Matthias was in collapsed in on itself. “What can you do that he can’t, hmm? Are you going to strike me with your sword? Curse my name and defiantly fight against your own fate?”

“I won’t rest until you’re dead,” Yuki told the figure, her tone serious. “I will not stop fighting you. That I can promise.”

“Good, then you’ll join your friend in death.”

The figure then just faded out of existence as if it were never there in the first place. Yuki fell to the ground with a grunt while Matthias drug himself out of the ruins of the cabin. He crawled out of the rubble and looked at his sister, watching as she walked over to the remains of Julia. She dropped down to her knees, covered her face and wept.