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niumiu · 1 year ago

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Hong Lu Almost Died (For Real)

Summary: Hong Lu died outside of Dante's vicinity and his remains are yet to be found. The thought that they could have lost him in a way that was unretrievable made Gregor anxious. Warnings: Gore, Blood, Eye Trauma, Anxiety, Don Quixote Jumpscare

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The first breath that entered his lungs tickled, and sort of stung. He coughed a little as he gasped, learning to breathe again. His heart hammered back to life in his chest.

Gregor sat up.

Everything looked a little fuzzy, blurry and spinning. He patted the ground beside him and his fingers brushed over the familiar frame. He picked up his glasses and cleaned them a little with the fabric of his shirt, then perched them on the bridge of his nose. Suddenly everything looked a lot clearer.

Rodion stretched, Yi Sang looked down at his feet, Sinclair seemed to be a little nauseous as per usual… Dante and Faust spoke over how to best approach their next checkpoint; Meursault and Outis stood nearby them, giving their input on the options. Heathcliff and Ishmael seemed to be lightly conversing about one thing or another. Ryoshu smoked nearby, staring off into the distance.

Gregor blinked.

“Thou art awakened at last!” A familiar voice greeted him, and he almost jumped out of his skin.

“Hah?!” His body jerked into action and he had to physically restrain himself from impaling his fellow sinner, Don Quixote. “Do you have to yell so close to my ear?!”

Don Quixote walked back to Dante without answering his question. Gregor sighed and stood up, stretching his legs. It never felt any easier to come back from the dead, but this time he felt a little more odd than usual.

He walked to Dante, and before he could ask the question on his mind, he heard Meursault say:

“We have found nothing but his hair tie.”

“Thy humble subordinate hath scouted the battlefield, Manager Esquire!” Don Quixote added, “Though mine scouting skills art mighty, there was nothing to be found…”

“As I said, one of the beasts might have run off with the remains.” Outis sighed, ever so annoyed at one thing or another, “I can conduct a proper search,” She eyed Don Quixote before continuing, “If you so desire, Executive Manager.”

<Yes, well… I think both you and Meursault can cover a bigger area in a shorter time— Oh, Gregor.>

“Hey, manager bud. Sorry for bothering and all but…”

“Yes.” Faust cut him off swiftly, “Hong Lu is nowhere to be found.”

“Ah.”

“If you so permit, I shall now begin to search for his remains.” Outis spoke.

“I await your orders, manager.” Meursault added.

There seemed to be a slight worry in Dante’s voice.

The two sinners who had been addressed departed, and without being asked to, Don Quixote gave a quick salute and went off on her way. Probably to do more “scouting”.

Faust gave him a strange look, then excused herself and went back to Mephisto. Only Dante and Gregor remained. They stood still, staring at each other.

<Uh… I’m going to… uhm… talk with Vergilius.>

They quickly left.

The group remained idle and waited for any news of Hong Lu’s whereabouts. Gregor had smoked an entire pack by the time Outis and Meursault showed up again. He stayed somewhere nearby to hear them report to Dante that there were still no signs of Hong Lu anywhere in the near vicinity. Dante dispatched them again.

Gregor stood up and walked away.

He didn’t have anywhere particular in mind to go, his legs just itched for some action. Before he could realize it, he was already running. Cold sweat dripped off his face and a feeling of utter emptiness unsettled him to the core.

After turning at a corner, he saw something on the ground that made him come to a full stop. He was kneeling beside the pool of blood in the blink of an eye. His hands hovered over the blood, still fresh. He had no way of knowing if it belonged to the one he missed the most, but he had a feeling he was on the right path.

He stood on his feet again, paced around the blood puddle in a circle, then went off in a direction. He was never really good at tracking. His specialty was maiming, slicing and killing. Gregor prayed silently to something he didn’t believe in, but wanted to. If only he could find anything that could be used to bring Hong Lu back.

The war had him witness entire battalions being wiped in the blink of an eye, but he still couldn’t get used to seeing somebody he was slightly close to die. Even if they would always be brought back to life— as long as the contract was in effect— it still hurt to see them die. Now as he ran for his life, he refused to face the fact that there was still a way for them to pass away for good. That would be to leave no remains behind.

Gregor tripped pathetically and fell on his side. He thanked the cursed heavens that it wasn’t on his face. Dante wouldn’t want to rewind the glasses unless somebody else died along the way, and then he’d have a headache. Still, his mad chase was forced to a halt by his own clumsiness and incompetence, and he laid on the ground. His body was still but his thoughts were still racing farther than he wanted to. It would hurt if this was the end for Hong Lu. He’d spend every night from there on thinking and wondering what happened to him. Every smoke break, he’d be reminded of his silliness and generally light-hearted foolishness.

One day, many years from now, Gregor would be doing anything— maybe brushing his teeth before going to bed— and then he’d see the ghost of a man he no longer remembered the name of in the mirror. Then his chest would ache again.

Gregor sighed and sat up, getting on his feet in no time. He resumed the search, this time no longer running. He bit his bottom lip and looked over, feeling the vague scent of blood in the air and letting it guide him. Eventually he could spot droplets of fresh crimson painting the path for him. The droplets became bigger as he approached their source, and once he turned a corner he found it.

Half of his face had been melted off the bone and the skull behind it showed itself pristine white. The other half had been clawed at, and the eye had been gouged out of its socket, but it was somewhat recognizable. If anything, the nametag on his uniform and the long, dark blue hair gave his identity away. Gregor paused and stared with wide eyes.

He kicked his way through the gore that littered the floor around Hong Lu. The fellow sinner still held his weapon firmly in one trembling hand. His other arm laid by his side, twisted in an unnatural manner. Once Gregor stepped into his personal space, Hong Lu’s body showed reaction. The blade of the spear swung vaguely his way, but Gregor could block it easily with his own mutated arm.

“Hey— Hey! It’s… It’s me.” He said.

Hong Lu froze, then his chest vibrated, and blood gushed out of what probably was his mouth, or somewhere in his neck. It was a miracle that he was even alive. Gregor breathed in shakily and held his colleague’s good hand in his.

“Don’t fret. Dante’s gonna get you patched up in no time, buddy.”

An agonizing whine came out of Hong Lu’s remains. He breathed slow and slower, his conscience beginning to fade away. The wounds must’ve been pretty recent, considering the blood that pooled around him was fresh. He must’ve resisted for far longer than he should’ve. Hong Lu seemed to be delicate, with his rich boy mannerisms, but he was far stronger than he looked. It would still take a while for him to die like that. Gregor could only think about the many times he’d died before, and how slower deaths were always the worst for him.

Hong Lu groaned and squeezed his hand, and he had to swallow dry. He let go of Hong Lu’s hand and raised his palm to gently pet the sinner’s dark hair.

“It’s— It’s going to be alright. I found you, okay? We’re going back to the bus. Don’t worry.”

Gregor let his palm fall to his colleague’s shoulder, squeezed it comfortingly, then gritted his teeth and in a swift move, let his bladed arm sink into Hong Lu’s chest. The sinner’s body jerked in surprise, and his good hand flew up to squeeze Gregor’s wrist for a few seconds, before it lost its grip and fell back to the ground. Gregor breathed in and out, slowly and shakily. Once he recognized Hong Lu was properly dead, he pulled his bladed arm out of the wound. Blood gushed out and Hong Lu’s body deflated like a plush that lost its filling.

It hurt, but Gregor knew he had to die regardless for the rewind to work properly. He stood up and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in through his nose and breathing out of his mouth. He managed to somewhat calm himself down, but not enough. If only he hadn’t smoked all his cigarettes earlier…

There was no use crying about that now. He swung Hong Lu’s body over one shoulder, grabbed the halberd off the ground and made his way back to the bus. He was somewhat worried he’d have trouble finding his way back, considering he ran around without really knowing which direction he was going. Still, the bigger of his concerns now rested its weight on his shoulder, so he knew he’d had to find the way back.

Gregor gritted his teeth and put his entire focus on it.

Later that night they'd finally reached the checkpoint, albeit many hours later than planned. Of course Vergilius had given an earful to both Hong Lu and Dante, and while the Executive Manager seemed to be almost sulking, Hong Lu was simply quieter than usual. Gregor was honestly just glad he was alive in the end.

"Thanks for not giving up on me." Hong Lu jumpscared Gregor by entering his room right behind him.

"Wha— ah!?"

"That was kind of you. Dying that slow was really not fun!"

"Uh... uhm... I don't think any kind of death is fun but... you're welcome?"

Hong Lu smiled brightly at him.

"Just don't run off like that ever again, okay?"

Hong Lu nodded. "Okay! Do you want to come over and have me wash your hair?"

Normally Gregor would've said no. He felt sort of bad that Hong Lu was wasting expensive products on him but... He'd feel a little off if he didn't spend a few more hours around his fellow sinner. It was true that Hong Lu hadn't been lost after all, but his mind was still digesting the frightful experience.

"Okay, I'll accept, but only this once."

"Yay!" Hong Lu caught him by the sleeve of his shirt and without asking twice, dragged him to his room in the corridor.

It was a little silly, but Gregor was really relieved this airheaded idiot was still alive. He let himself be dragged around with a little smile on his lips.

#limbus company #hongreg #limbus hong lu #limbus gregor #and everybody else is minor to it #beta reader? get that omegaverse shit out of my face #jack ficlets

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