#some clone straight up forgetting who they are as soon as they leave the shadow tower?? HIS WRITING IS THIS FIRE???

[alkeneater]

Bro i want to integrate the Severance into my clone high au so badly i already explained it to my fp and it sounds like a great idea

But there's one little thing... it will make my comics irrelevant.... it will change the plot slightly....

i can't work on the comic anyways it's getting too hard lately bc of my mental condition soooo WE'RE SLIGHTLY CHANGING AND EXTENDING MY AU TO MAKE IT COOLER

but the price is... no more comic </3 sorrey.... (lmao like anyone cares) i will probably make a visual novel tho.... someday.... when i feel like the au is ready...

anyways stay tuned anddddd don't be afraid to ask questions about my AU i'd be very happy to answer them!!

[the-silentium]

Bloodhound

Masterlist - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Fors is an Original planet. I do not give permission to people to use it for their own fics, the planet, the animals, the Nightmares, the lore or anything related to Fors. Thank you.

Pairing: Bad Batch x Reader

Words: 5172 words

Warnings: Blood, gore, curse, monsters, ANGST.

A/N: Yessss two chaps in two days!! Thanks to every single one of you who left comments and kuddos on the previous chap. You're all awesome 💜

**Also! Words in bold are words said in French, which means the clones can't understand it. I stopped writing the French in actual French for you guys, it'll be more useful in the future.**

Taglist:  @haloangel391​ / @lightning-wolffe​ / @cherrydemon5​ / @and-claudia​ / @clone-rambles​ / @mandaloriandin​ / @lackofhonor / @gaymasonjar

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//25 minutes earlier//

"That's not him! Guys!" You yelled in the comlink you fished in your pocket in a haste, almost making yourself trip when you pulled on the fabric of your pants at the same time.

The gap separating you from them was increasing more and more with each step they took. Damn their long legs and commando training, you weren't made to chase this kind of prey!

"I know his voice Y/N! That's him!" Wrecker was too damn sure of himself, his confidence affecting his brothers' judgment as well. 

It didn't take long for rule number one to be thrown overboard and surprisingly it wasn't by the one you expected, no offense Techie. 

"Stay under the trees!"

This couldn't be happening. They were all running headfirst to their deaths. According to the lore, Venustes didn't affect more than one person at a time. You couldn't know for sure if the lore was reliable or if the other three were following out of concern for the fake 99, but they had to snap out of their own mind trap soon or else they would all be dragged down. 

"H-" A clawed hand appeared inches from your face, cutting short your attempt to call out for your sergeant. 

Instinctively, you threw your body to the ground to avoid getting grabbed by the head and ultimately being crushed like a berry in its grasp and crawled to continue running. Alas, the Algax wasn't as dumb as you thought, his other hand swiftly reached forward to stab your right thigh with one of its fingers, preventing you from escaping. 

Your screams of pain were muffled by the hand pinning your face to the dirt, waiting before your lungs were empty of any air to lace its long sharp digits around your torso. The feeling barely registered through the thick fog of pain coming from your thigh. 

Your first instinct was to yell at the top of your lungs for help, maybe your distress would get them out of their haze, saving their lives as well as yours, but you quickly found out that your lungs were empty and unable to expand to receive more oxygen. 

The lack of air in your system mixed with the agonizing pain from the retreating talon in your thigh almost knocked you unconscious. You could feel your blood escaping your wound to drip down your legs and nourish the ground under your suspended form. 

It leaned closer, a low crackling sound escaped the slits on its temples. With considerable efforts, your good leg moved up to push against its torso to keep its horrifying face away from yours, the up-close view causing more tears to gather in your eyes. 

Fear and the lack of oxygen quickly took over your body in the form of violent shivers shooking your whole frame. The building pressure encompassing you once more was excruciating, your bow laid on the ground out of reach while your arms were pinned down along your sides, keeping you from stabbing your way out of the situation. 

All you could do was scream in your head out of pain and fear, waiting until your bones gave up under the tightening grasp to pierce your organs and kill you slowly. The boys seemed way too entranced to come to your aid, leaving you to feel as miserable as when you were hunting for the village, without back up and entirely alone. If you were lucky, you'd die alone without another beast feasting on your still alive-but-unable-to-move self. This would be a nice death, as horrible as it sounded. 

You hoped the boys would survive though. Even if they apparently totally forgot that you were there. Not that this came to you as a surprise. People who gravitate around you for some time always tend to go away on their own, leaving you behind just like the clones. But you couldn't hate them for it, your heart already knew it was coming and had prepared itself for this right moment. 

After all, they had to lie to their chain of command and train a primitive idiot how to fly a ship, they were trapped on this infernal planet once again because you nearly died and they hadn't seen the Shinehorn sneaking its way into their ship, being too busy fussing over your comatose self. Oh and let's not forget that you ended an innocent's life right in front of them without warning. It was only a matter of time before they left. 

Plus, if they were so desperate to meet this 99, it surely meant that he was highly special to them whereas you were the newbie, so no you weren't mad. You merely wished you had someone who could make you forget everything around like this 99. It seemed nice to have someone that important.  

And finally, if you died maybe you would find a way to come back to haunt them. This could be fun, you could mess with Crosshair's rifle, disturb Tech while he was tweaking with his prototypes, pushing Wrecker around to your liking because he couldn't possibly defend himself against you anymore and most important of all, you could mess with Hunter by constantly untying his goddamn bandana. It would drive them all mad, you knew it. 

After some thoughts, you knew they would make it off this planet alive. Together they had a good chance. Hunter's acute senses along with their brains and elite commando training gave them an advantage the natives never had. Hopefully, they would stay in these parts of the jungle until daylight, where they knew how to deal with the monsters living around. 

Yeah... Good luck guys. 

Eyes closed, you waited for the inevitable snaps of your bones. It resonated between the trees, sickening and disgusting you to the core, but you weren't flooded under any more pain than the one radiating from your thigh. Instead, you felt nauseous for a whole second when you were once again thrown away, landing on the ground harshly. 

Your body rolled on the dirt, bouncing a couple of times under the force of impact. For as far as you remembered there wasn't a single time in your life when you've been thrown around as much as tonight. This was getting tiring and it’s been dark for only a bit more than two hours. Lucky you. 

Still laying on your back, you breathed erratically to provide the much-needed oxygen to your organs, watching upside down the Algax receiving a second arrow to the head, effectively scaring it away. 

A hunter. You were saved. You were fine. 

Huffing, your body went limp at the lack of imminent danger and talons menacing your life. Maybe you could rest-

"Shit. She's really alive?" A hunter you recognized as Farlan walked out of the shadows to slowly approach your form like you were a trapped animal. 

"So it's true then. It's your fault they're back." Another Hunter spat, literally, missing your face by an inch. Kerth never liked you, obviously. 

You would have liked to say that those were the hunters you desperately wanted to come and rescue you, but then it would be a lie. None of them appreciated your presence even slightly so they all meant the same thing. This will be a drag. 

"Now, who's back? And why is it always my fault?" You pushed on your forearm to sit straight, grunting at the pain in your right leg. 

Shit. The hole left by the talon wasn't big, approximately two inches wide, but it was bleeding profusely. It was sickening to be able to see the ground through your flesh so you opted to keep pressure on the wound with your hands, camouflaging the hole like it wasn't even there. If only the pain could disappear as easily...

"The nightmares. They're back because you're still alive." Kerth pulled a piece of gauze from a pocket on his belt, the sight of the medical supply pulled a relieved sigh out of you. 

Wait what?

"So the council wants a word." He said with so much venom that your heart skipped a beat. This wasn't good. At. All. 

Before you could react, the gauze found its way in your mouth, quickly followed by an irritating rope that despite your weak thrashing around got attached behind your head. 

You were brutally pushed onto your belly, hands pulled behind your back to be attached tightly with skillful fingers. A muffled scream escaped your mouth when a knee pressed onto your wounded thigh, tears joining your blood on the dirt. 

"Because of you, I've lost friends tonight. I'll make sure to pay you a visit once the council is done with your stupid ass." He growled in your ear. 

Oh, you were so dead. Your bet was on the council, but if by some miracle they weren't the one to put an end to your life, then Kerth was the next bet. Maybe you shouldn't have sabotaged his weapons the day of the hunt competition. Or put some poison ivy in his hunting clothes. Or laugh whole-heartedly when he got shit on by a Furant during his ceremonial speech in front of the whole village. Or… one of the numerous pranks you pulled on him for payback of his daily shitty attitude towards you.

Farlan was the one to pull you up and push you forward, leaving the job to spot the monsters to Kerth. The thought of running or fighting was completely futile. You wouldn't run very far with your untreated leg, there was the possibility that they would shoot you down out of spite too. They seemed very fed up at you for some reason. How could you be the cause of the nightmares reappearing? Also, they were gone? Since when?!

This was getting weirder and weirder. 

_________________

//Present - 10:48 pm//

"I got her position. She's close” The corners of Wrecker’s lips lifted slightly. They could track you, everything would be fine from here. You weren’t lost. “and unmoving." The whispered last words rang loud and clear in all the clones' ears.

Wrecker's breath wasn't the only one to abruptly stop. 

The smile quickly left his face, as well as a majority of his blood. You couldn’t be dead. This couldn’t be happening. 

“Where?” Hunter’s hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly around his blaster,

“700 meters that way.” He pointed deeper into the jungle, where they all came from. 

A weight fell on his stomach and he had to force a deep breath in. You hadn’t made it out of the jungle with them. They had outrun you and left you behind on your own. 

Without a word Hunter took the lead, Tech following right behind with Crosshair on his heels. Wrecker took a single second to gulp down his guilt and shake his arms lightly to regain feeling in his body and not worsen his wounds. He followed silently behind the group, squinting attentively to discern the shadows with his half working equipment.

“300 meters.”

You were resourceful. You knew your planet like the back of your hand. There was no way you were dead. 

“100.”

Please 99. Don’t let her be dead.

Crosshair stumbled on Tech as the brown-haired clone abruptly stopped, looking around like he was searching for something. With a step forward, Tech crouched to grab a small object on the ground to show it to the rest of them. 

“Kriff!” Hunter punched a nearby tree, exhausted by this succession of ill-fated events. There in Tech’s hand was your comlink, their only way of locating you on this living prison that was this planet. 

Wrecker held onto the last hope he had. There wasn’t any blood, you could still be fine. Maybe you’d dropped your comlink while running away. 

“Hunter.” Crosshair’s voice was unsettling. His usual dry snarky self was replaced by a more small and scared tone that the soldier hadn’t heard in a while. “That’s a lot of blood.” 

And it was. The puddle was big enough and it looked like you'd struggled quite a bit in it too.

The world was spinning. He knew battalions lost men every time they went out on missions. It was a common occurrence for soldiers to die and the remaining ones had to suck it up ad continue the fight. But Wrecker wasn’t used to this. From the very beginning, they were the four of them, surviving each mission thrown their way to fight another day. He never got attached to anyone out of his Batch but you and losing his first comrade in the field hit him hard. 

Sure, the death of 99 left him in crumbles but with you it was different. He was supposed to have your back just like you had his. You saved his life and he didn’t save yours. 

As his eyes fell to the ground in shame, he noticed a small object at the tip of his boot. 

“Tech.” He called, as he raised back up with your earbud in hand.

“So we can’t contact her, she can’t contact us, she’s unarmed and wounded.” Crosshair resumed the situation, your bloody bow, and quiver in hand. "If she's not dead, she'll be soon." 

"There's no way she'd run deeper into the jungle wounded and without her bow. It's suicide." Hunter tore his gaze from the large puddle at his feet to follow sparse dark spots staining the grass to their right. "It could be a new critter that doesn't kill right away or she found someone or something else to protect her." 

So there was a possibility that you weren't dead. Wrecker felt relieved that his brother came to that conclusion, his own mind was working in slow motion, too distressed at his feelings to allow him to concentrate and think. 

"Whatever it is, we'll find her." 

Even if the words weren't meant to reassure him, Wrecker felt more at ease knowing that they had a way to track you and that you were possibly safe with someone or something. All he hoped now was that you were alive long enough for them to find you and that ultimately, you'd forgive him. 

Wrecker rushed behind his brothers who followed the trail, jogging at a steady rhythm, slow enough to be able to detect the monsters that might target them but fast enough that they would catch up to you at some point. 

It didn't take long for the first Algax to cut their road, the shy creature poking its terrifying head from behind a large trunk as soon as it heard them approach.

Wrecker tensed, already gripping the handle of his blaster with his left hand despite the knowledge that his weapon was useless against them. Having his blaster in hand, even if it wasn't the right one, gave him a sense of security. 

The dark blue creature didn't have time to lift its hand to reach for them that an arrow flew right into the trunk next to its head. The beast hissed, its long fingers hitting the arrow in anger before moving out of its hiding spot to engage the group. 

"Damn thing." Crosshair growled, at the bow in his hand or at the beast, Wrecker didn't know. All he knew was that he almost cheered when his brother managed to scare the beast away with two arrows piercing its chest. 

"Nice work." Tech approved, light sticks in hand instead of his blasters. 

"You were right. It is primitive." Crosshair growled, following Hunter who resumed the tracking of your blood on the ground. 

"I'm always right." He chirped, eyes scanning the shadows. 

"Debatable." His brother scoffed back. 

"Wrecker." Hunter called from the front, eyes quickly darting forward when he caught his brother's eyes. "Let your blaster. Take your blade." 

"Okay." Against his best instinct, the clone let go of his DC-17, letting it fall on the jungle floor to grab his vibroblade in a firm grip. The blade felt weird in his left hand but it would do. Knives worked on those things, he was still safe. 

The surroundings were calm for a while, and the more time they spent no crossing path with any monster, the more the tension built between them. Apprehension kept them on their toes, eating away at their nerves slowly. 

The next Algax they encountered stood tall in their way like he was challenging them to jump at it. Maybe they were used to being at the top of the food chain, just like the clones were used to being at the top of their game. Regrettably, the clones were in way over their head on this planet but they would make sure that they weren't the only ones.

Instead of slowing down, Hunter charged at the Algax, stopping only when the sharp metal of his vibroblade was deeply set into the monster's chest. 

Wrecker waited for a screech, for the creature to start thrashing around or flee like the one that fell down a tree with you. Seconds passed and the Algax lifted its arms like nothing happened, like there wasn't a long knife jabbed in its thorax and made a move to grab the sergeant who swiftly jumped away, blade still in hand. 

"What?!" Hunter exclaimed, facing the creature once again. 

An arrow in the head managed to get the desired effect, the tall beast running away in its signature hiss. 

"Why didn't it work? Her knife worked on them!" Hunter was getting more and more on edge. 

"Maybe it could be because our technology is too advanced or because our equipment is not native." Tech remarked. "It is logical in a sense. This planet created its own rules to protect itself from invaders, so it may have created a sort of protection against anything exterior to its own resources."

"It is possible?" Wrecker found it quite hard to believe. A planet controlling what could kill or not? Blasters could kill anything!

"The planet changes beliefs in the real thing. Yeah I think it's possible." He deadpanned with an eye roll.

Suddenly, the vibroblade in Wrecker's hand didn't provide the same sense of security as before. All their hope resided in Crosshair and Tech's hands. 7 arrows and 3 light sticks. Talk about limited resources. If only he had his backpack containing all his explosives, he could get something done. 

Too deep in thought, Wrecker didn't notice the wall of dirt right in front of them until he almost rammed into it. They were back to their landmark. 

"We missed each other." Hunter growled in frustration at the sight of the blood splatters leaving the safety of the trees to disappear under the waterfall. 

Wrecker understood immediately, his own frustration building in his chest. They entered the jungle and you got out of it. Maker knew Wrecker was used to bad timing but this was a new low. Fate was laughing right in their faces. 

Cautiously, they left the dense vegetation to venture into the open area where Wrecker almost became bird food. His eyes were fixed in the open sky, some stars were visible through the small clouds. The bright moon wasn't at its highest yet, Wrecker estimated that there was another hour before the satellite reached its peak. 

The provided light allowed him to relax the muscles around his eyes. He hasn't been squinting for long that the beginning of a headache started to form in his skull. 

As they neared the wet dirt, three sets of footprints were easily distinguishable in the wet dirt. The spacing told them that none of you were running. If nothing was chasing you, then why weren't you patched up?

"We have to find her quick." Crosshair spat what every brother thought quietly. 

If you were with people that didn't patch you up and had plenty of time to do so then they weren't on your side. Even without medical supplies, they should have been able to stop the bleeding one way or the other.

"Stay close." Hunter called, venturing closer to the waterfall where your blood disappeared. 

With each step forward, the sound of the waterfall hitting the river below became more and more deafening. The sound was assaulting his ears to a point where he almost ripped his helmet off to cover his ears. He managed to hold on, focussing instead on his leader who clearly had more problems than him. 

Hunter had removed his own helmet to pass it on to Tech in hope of covering some of the uproars with his hands. The relief must not have been enough for his arms began to shake, his hands pushing firmly against the sides of his head.  

If only he could reach for his brother and take some of his pain, Wrecker would do it in a heartbeat. 

"Let's make this quick." Crosshair took the front, his steps taking him behind the waterfall where a tin border of rocks formed a path to the other side.

Tech nodded his head towards Hunter, his hands already full with the sticks and the extra helmet. 

"Got him." Wrecker confirmed. His left hand reached for his brother's pauldron right after sheathing his blade. 

With practiced movements, Wrecker bent to carefully set his pain down, now wasn't the time to listen to his body. 

With slow steps the tank walked on the wet trail of rocks behind the roaring wall of water, his arm tightening slightly around the body on his shoulder. If Hunter reacted Wrecker couldn't hear it. 

The rocks were flat enough that he didn't slip once. The problem appeared on the other side, where the blood trail ended abruptly a couple of feet away from the bank.

"Where to now?" Wrecker asked, still supporting his limp brother. 

"No fucking idea." Crosshair grumbled, visor moving from right to left where the jungle extended as far as his eyes could see in both directions.

Hunter's feet returned to the ground when soft pats disturbed the tall clone carrying him, his hands were at his sides, fingers clenched into fists as he grounded himself through deep breaths. 

"Are you okay?" Wrecker dared to ask, his worry for his family finally escaping him. 

Hunter usually took more time to recover from an overwhelming episode like this one and it was apparent that he still needed time, but he opened his eyes nonetheless, ignoring Wrecker's question to grip onto Tech for support and deeply breathe in, brows furrowed in concentration. 

His head turned in a different direction as the three remaining clones scrutinized the line of trees for signs of a threat. 

"It's faint." Hunter whispered, still deep within himself. "Blood. That way." He pointed at their right before reaching for his helmet in the engineer's hands. 

"You're good to walk?" Tech questioned, watching his C.O. warily. His hands lifted slightly in apprehension that Hunter may faint under the pressure he was forcing on his body.

"Yes." It was weak but firm, leaving no place for discussion, not that either of them would have said anything. They knew what you meant to the sergeant so it was better for their sakes to not put themselves between you and him. 

Back in position, clone force 99 advanced through the trees, their pace building at each passing second. They were almost running when finally they stopped, their boots almost slipping under them in a sticky substance. 

"Karkin' fuck." Hunter cursed, his hands tightening around his vibroblade, eyes glued to the corpse lying at their feet. 

"That was you smelled?" Crosshair pushed the eviscerated loth wolf with the tip of his foot. 

"Ye-"

Screams resonated in the distance, cutting Hunter off. Wrecker's heartbeat loudly in his ears, almost covering the yells of pain under its incessant percussion against his ribcage.

Every single one of the soldiers breathed out in relief at the lack of a female scream. However, they tensed in apprehension as the screams faded and howls filled the air in their place. A new beast was around and they didn't have any idea of how to react to it. Run? Hide? Would the knife work this time? Or the bow? 

"There were two distinct voices. Males." Tech stopped his recon of the surroundings to catch his batch's eyes. "Maybe it's them." 

"Worth a shot." Hunter nodded, already moving in the direction of the screams, although this time he kept a slower pace, fully conscious that they were in unknown territory, charging at unknown beasts. 

The screams weren't too far, but they obviously came from the opposite direction Hunter initially pointed them to. Hopefully, they would find you there, wounded but alive, and he wouldn't beat himself too much for his mistake. 

Despite knowing that they were useless, Wrecker retrieved his vibroblade from its sheath. The need for a weapon in his hand was too great to ignore, every cell of his being felt the danger ahead and wanted to be prepared although he could never really be prepared for anything this planet threw at him. 

He cringed every time a twig broke under his boots, the soft sound resonating in his own ears like the grenades he liked to throw on the battlefield, resonating into the silent jungle to scream their position at anything that dared to listen. Maybe it was paranoïa slowly creeping its way into his brain, using the aftereffect of the corrupted hallucinations he suffered to play around with his senses. 

Just like right now, the more he concentrated to decipher the shadows with his half working helmet, the more strange the forms became. At first, it was spots from his constant squinting, then he saw small blue lights on the horizon, dancing haphazardly around. After a couple of blinks, the pale lights disappeared as fast as they arrived, leading the bald clone to shrug them off as his eyes playing tricks on him. The constant stress was definitely getting a toll on him, and let’s not talk about the two dives into a strong current. Once this night was over and they get back at the Marauder, he’ll sleep for two weeks straight. 

Softs whines could be heard over unnerving growls and occasional barks, quickly catching the group’s attention. 

“Blood.” Hunter informed them over comm, his whisper almost blending with the rustles of leaves in front of them. 

The group halted in their tracks as Hunter raised his fist, Crosshair already had the bow cranked, ready to shoot at whatever alerted their leader. Carefully peeking over Tech’s shoulder, Wrecker craned his neck to the side to see what was happening around the boulder they used as cover.

He could see the posterior of a large animal, jerking successively like it was pulling at something. Disturbing yelps filled the air and the animal fell backward with its prize tightly encased between its teeth. It rolled near their position but was too preoccupied with the bloody arm in its possession to detect the clones observing it. 

Wrecker knew Tech was recording, there was no way he wasn’t. Not when the monster before them had no skin whatsoever to cover its bones. The canine-like monstrosity easily reached Tech’s waist, had no external skin, leaving its bones to shine under the green tint of their night vision, muscles were observable between the ribs and along the joints, but that was it. No skin. 

"If only we could capture one." He muttered to which Hunter answered with a glare under his helmet. 

As it ate, Tech’s appreciative whispers filled the comm, muttering about the extra smaller ribs that circled the abdomen of the monster, keeping its intestines from falling all over the ground and marveling about the movement of each muscle, totally bare for his curious eyes to see and analyze at will. 

"Fine fine. We won't be getting one of those perfect study specimens." He grumbled, reporting his gaze to the organism that crunched the humerus with only moderate difficulty. "Fascinating." 

"No, it's not." Crosshair elbowed Hunter who redirected his gaze to a hollow tree where a figure was shivering, hidden in the darkness. 

"That's her." He confirmed, the sniper's impeccable sight was not to be doubted.

"Why aren't they attacking her?" Wrecker questioned, puzzled. 

Two other beasts were walking only steps away from your poor hiding spot, ignoring you totally despite acknowledging your presence with occasional glances towards you.

"I have some theories but they are all shots in the dark." Tech answered when he realized that they were all waiting for his highlights. 

"That's just perfect." Crosshair growled. 

The tall clone counted 4 of them, walking between two bodies to tear at the flesh and stain their white skulls with fresh blood. 

He wondered if his brute strength would be enough to smash their bones if needed when he noticed you slowly standing up, hands behind your body to steady yourself against the trunk. 

"Maybe she could come here instead of us going there." Wrecker pointed out. If only he could catch your attention without catching theirs. "Tech. Do you still have your laser?" 

The toy they kept around to annoy Crosshair whenever he was too relaxed on leave could be more useful than its original purpose.

Wrecker was amazed at how unafraid of the canines you were, standing next to one of them to pull at the bow on one of the beheaded corpses with your foot.

"Good idea." Tech walked to the other side of the rock where he could have a clear view of your limping form, slowly making your way toward one of the dead bodies. 

"She's tied up." Remarked Hunter, his voice merely above a whisper but frightening nonetheless. Your aggressors should be glad that the dogs got them first.

Crosshair had the creature in his aim, an arrow already pointed at its head if it dared to make a move in your direction. 

At one point the bow got stuck, the snapping mouth of the monster next to you was deeply buried into the open chest of what once was a man, blocking your progression toward the shoulders.

Wrecker's breath blocked in his throat and Crosshair cursed under his breath as they saw you tentatively poke the skull of the monster with a very shaky foot before almost falling on your ass with a muffled yelp at how quickly you moved it back when the big bony dog jerked its head up to look at you. 

Your wide eyes stared back at it until it lost interest and moved further down the body to nib at some abdominal organs. Quickly you pulled out the bow with your foot, head tilted down to your chest to look at your work.

Tech used this moment to point the red laser at your chest, immediately catching your attention by moving it from side to side. Wrecker grinned as your head lifted in their direction, eyes wide in surprise. You spotted them in seconds, maybe because Wrecker was waving. 

Words were muffled by the rope around your mouth, but the wild shaking of your head was clear. Even with only a half functioning helmet, Wrecker could read the fear in your gaze. 

Tech couldn't close the light fast enough. One skull turned at the source of the small brightness. As soon as it spotted them, earsplitting yaps covered the snarls of the feasting animals, catching the pack’s attention simultaneously. Soon 4 pairs of predatory red eyes stared at them, their maws chattering in anticipation.

[the-dragons-knight]

WoLtober 2020

Day #6) Common Ground

Revenge - ‘to take vengeance for; inflict punishment for; avenge’

<Warning: Some Heavenward MSQ and Shadowbringers MSQ spoilers>

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“Do you really expect us to believe that your objective has suddenly changed?”

The tension was thick about all of them as the Scions and the Warrior of Light stared at the Garlean founder, the Ascian, Emet-Selch, that stood before them. Katsum had been the first to since him, yet even so, she had not said a word. Only a deep glare spoke of what she was thinking, and the twitch of the muscles in her hands. So much sorrow had been wrought by the hands of this man and his empire, and to think he was standing as if he were superior to them as he was now. It made her blood boil. She steeled herself however and let the others speak as she wanted a reason to strike, an opening that gave no question of why she moved. The miqo’te would not give him the pleasure of acting without cause and mindless violence. It would only make everything the Garleans said of her true.

Emet-Selch turned to Alphinaud and shrugged nonchalantly, “Nay, our objective is ever the same. Though I dare say you do not know our motive,” His gaze shifted to Thancred who was still poised to attack with his hand on his gunblade, meeting the white-hiared Hyur’s glare with a tired sigh, “A war waged without knowledge of the enemy is no war—it is mere bloodletting. Just once...may we not seek to find common ground?”

Common...ground...

The words echoed in Katsum’s ears as her fur stood on end.

Common...ground…

Memories flooded her mind of her home in flames, of the night her island was lost to her forever. She could still hear the screams of her people as her father rushed her through the castle town square, could still feel the heat of the burning houses and see the Garlean soldiers in the distance, growing ever closer as they laid waste to the kingdom. For an instant, nothing moved, like the world had frozen in time, and then in the next moment, Katsum stepped forward.

SMACK

The blonde miqo'te blinked to find herself standing in front of the Ascian now, her hand raised in front of her while Emet-Selch’s head was thrown to the side, his cheek beginning to glow red from the blow of her slap. Her eyes widened as he lifted a hand to his face and looked back at her with wide eyes of his own, probably wondering as she was how she had moved so quickly where he didn't have time to fade away.

“Don’t...you dare...speak of common ground to me...” Katsum’s body shook with rage as she forced the words through her clenched teeth, her ears folding back and tail lashing as she hissed, “Did you speak of common ground to the Draic people that night? As they screamed and ran from their burning homes, trying to escape the approaching soldiers? Were they offered the same corporation when the airships and magitek descended upon them to destroy their beloved homeland all for the sake of conquest!? Where was their common ground?!”

The paladin’s voice echoed about the plaza, rendering all into silence. Katsum’s lungs heaved with her rage, her muscles and fingers trembling. She had only known such anger once when Aymeric had nearly been assassinated, and even then, it was more fear she’d lost him than true anger, but this...this was pure and unbridled rage. She could feel Raihogg’s aether beginning to brighten the gem of her necklace, her anger unconsciously calling the dragon to her side.

Emet-Selch watched her, looking her over carefully as he took a step or two back away from her. When his eyes settled on the dimly glowing dragon’s eye gem around her neck, he seemed to understand, “The child queen who escaped the siege...so this is where you have been all this time.” He stood straight again, he face blank as he added, “Lahabrea had been so sure he would succeed, and to think you slipped so easily right through his fingers.”

The knightess bared her fangs as she started to move, but a card flew over her shoulder and hit the Ascian before her, the clone disappearing in a cloud of shadow.

Urianger’s voice rang clear in her ears, “Thou hast delivered thy proposal, and we would not dismiss it outright. If I may offer thee counsel, however: to make thy case via a clone of illusion reflecteth poorly upon thy sincerity. Let alone to upset the warrior of light.”

“My apologies,” Her ears perked to hear the Ascian speaking from further behind the Scions, “You will forgive me if I am not entirely at ease in the presence of a famed Ascian-slayer. I felt it only prudent to take precautions,” Katsum refused to turn to look back at him, yet she felt his gaze burning into her skin, “And it seems that I made a good choice. ‘Twas quite an unexpected surprise for you to move so quickly and manage to strike me, yet now knowing who you are, it does not surprise me. The Draic people always were quite the strong-willed and unexpectedly talented sort.” Katsum glued herself to the floor, closing her eyes to try and calm the raging storm in her heart.

“Nonetheless,” Finally, she felt the burning of his eyes leave her back as Emet continued, “Your counsel is duly noted. I take my leave, friends. Rest assured...we shall meet again soon...” And with that, she heard him fade into the shadows and disappear.

While she was glad he was gone, Katsum felt no relief as her body trembled, a few warm tears trickling down her face as they had escaped the corners of her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, her eyes turning to see Alphinaud looking at her sadly.

“A bloody Ascian speaking of common ground like equals when he speaks so nonchalantly about the destruction of someone’s homeland and people,” Alisaie fumed behind her brother, shaking her head with a glare of her own directed at the floor, “It’s sickening.”

“Indeed, however, I am afraid there was some truth to his words,” Urianger mumbled.

“We will talk on that later,” Thancred mused, coming into Katsum’s view as he laid a hand on her other shoulder, making her look up at him to see him smiling a little, “For now, you must rest. I am sure your battle with Titania has left you exhausted, and this encounter surely did not help.”

While her body still shook, the mention of tiredness reminded her of the fatigue she felt on the way back from Il Mheg, where she almost faltered and fell into the twins, “Yes...yes you’re right.”

Alphinaud nodded, “Come, Alisaie and I will make sure you get to the Pendants without faltering.” Katsum nodded to him, unable to bring herself to protest tonight.

“Rest well, Katsum,” Minfilla peeked around Thancred’s side, a sad smile on her face, “May you have sweet dreams.”

Katsum weakly smiled, “Thank you, I will try.”

With a tug on her gloves from the twins, she followed their pull, letting them walk on either side of her to make sure she made it safely to her chambers for some well deserved rest in hopes to forget about a certain Ascian at least for now.

[solitaria-fantasma]

((Session 10 highlights, go!))

Fake Lord Hassan confirmed for “The Shadow” bandit we saw a bounty for waaaaay back in the early sessions.

We also found a set of money printing plates in the pile, so let’s add forgery to the long list of crimes committed here.

We also found (3) Potions of Speed, several boxes of (100) ‘mysteriously’ enchanted arrows, a silvered dagger, and a silvered mace.

I am rushing back and forth between taking notes and cooking a depression meal on mute and Google Docs is lagging HARD to update this 40 page document.

We wrapped up this arc of the story, and left the country to head on home!

We escorted Colette back to her homeland, and as thanks, she gave the party her blue Cloak of Protection.

I voted for it to go to Mountain, on the grounds that he is also blue, and it would match his color scheme….also he has the lowest AC of the party bc his player never upgraded his armor.

The rest of the party couldn’t decide, though, so the cloak went into storage as we traveled onward.

“So you all travel back to Phwie. You bond, and your hearts grow five sizes.”

We brought the magical dowry chest back to Lady Rose, and gave her the first key we’d found. She pulled out the other key and opened the chest in front of us.

Inside the chest was a tiny clockwork dragonling. It had been intended as a companion for Clarrissa when she was far from home, but Lady Rose gave it to the party, instead, as a tribute to her daughter who had always wanted an adventure.

This tiny dragon saw Udaji (a bigger dragon), decided “that must be my mom!”, and curled up on her flower crown.

Udaji had a sudden understanding of how her father felt when she hatched, cried, and was made its caretaker.

If we feed it metals, it gives us money, and it can also light small flames, and curl up into a pocket-watch form to hide.

It’s a tiny Transformer and I love them.

I’m going to name this clockwork dragonling “Filigree” and nobody can stop me.

The DM approved. ‘Filigree’ it is.

We head back out into town, and find out from the artificer we made a delivery to earlier that Maxine Von Trikona has been asking about us.

As soon as we seemed receptive to seeing Von Trikona again, she teleported our entire party - animals and all - right to her.

She tells us that she’s having a problem with her apprentice, Humphrey - he’s been going off to those ruins we first found him in and doing gods know what, and she wants us to drag him back.

We’re rich now and the reward isn’t super huge, but we’re still on good terms, and still owe Humphrey a semi-apology for stabbing him and only barely healing him in time, so we took the job.

We went back to the ruins where this whole campaign started, and found resurrected bandits waiting for us.

The DM had us roll for Perception and Udaji shattered all her records with a 16, allowing her to hear the muffled screams of some poor captive somewhere within the ruins.

We walked into a trap and every single one of us failed the Will save.

We blacked out, and woke up in a different room, tied up on an arcane circle as our life force was slowly siphoned away from us.

The new player is also tied up with us, and their icon is Dr. Strange. I like them already.

Also we got stripped of our armor and weapons and left in just our skivvies. Udaji is upsET but mostly because we’re lying on bloody stonework.

Aaaaand Humphrey is trying to kill us again. I wish I could say I’m surprised.

“I did not consent to this.”

Matthias keeps talking, and Humphrey keeps getting more and more annoyed, but he doesn’t stop the ritual.

I tried to freeze him with my ice breath, since I was tied up right beside him, and RIGHT as I did so, Mountain cloned himself, and charged.

Humphrey ran away like a little bitch, and teleported away with a magic circle, leaving all of us behind.

We got ourselves untied, and realized that Astrid - along with our dogs - is missing.

Oh nO FILIGREE IS MISSING TOO-

The new wizard - Sane - confirms that the portal Humphrey escaped through (though now inactive) is for interplanar travel.

There were a few more people around the circle who didn’t survive....

Udaji came in clutch with the high investigation rolls, and found a trapdoor in one corner of the room, as well as a lot of super-sketchy, nefarious arcane shit.

She grabbed a book of notes that looked pretty fresh. She may not  know what it’s all about, but Von Trikona probably will!

Mountain recognizes the dead bodies as the judge and a guard from the nearby town that we had dragged Humphrey to jail in early in the story for misdemeanor necromancy.

Claus found a strange pendant, but quickly alerts the rest of us not to touch it.

We open the trapdoor instead, and are instantly hit with the smell of rotting bodies. It’s the corpse storage space - chock full of bodies and personal belongings, all strewn around.

We find our stuff, and we find Filigree!! They’re scared, but unharmed!!!

We do not find our dogs, though.

If Humphrey has hurt Burnt Toast and/or Matthias Jr, I will return him to Von Trikona in a coinpurse.

We’re all missing something - Udaji’s Entertainer’s pack, a week’s worth of rations, a healing potion, and candles are gone.

Mountain is missing his leather armor (hah! Now he’ll HAVE to upgrade!) and his warpick.

Matthias is missing his beloved crown, one of his (stolen) luxury pillows, and his quiver (but not his arrows).

Sane found his psionic focus and cape, and doesn’t seem to be missing anything.

Claus also seems to be able to find all his things.

Astrid is still missing.

“Claus will not heal you [Matthias] if you keep stealing shit from the dead bodies he’s giving final rites to!”

Mountain apparently goes commando under his armor, and is not bothered by his lack of proper clothing. The rest of the party is.

“You’re gonna traumatize Udaji! She’s still a minor!”

Claus gave Mountain a cloak from one of the dead bodies purely for the sake of covering up.

Since the corpse room has no exit, we go back upstairs, and try the door instead.

The door is locked, and has no keyhole or handle. Udaji knocks, but no-one answers.

Mountain tries to bash the door down, fails, and takes four points of bludgeoning damage.

We still have the crystals Sane found, and the teleportation circle Humphrey left behind, but the crystals wouldn’t be strong enough to transport one of us out, let alone all of us, so we go back down to the Corpse Room to look around again.

Mountain found a pressure plate, and when he stepped on it, something clicked upstairs.

Claus is single-handedly throwing dead bodies up the trapdoor so that he can take them out of captivity and properly dispose of them.

We make it out the door…..aaaaand it’s a 10ft drop straight down into a hell realm.

Completely unprepared to explore another realm, the party went back inside and tried to get the portal working.

We failed, and after a while of debating amongst ourselves, we bit the bullet, and headed out to explore this weird realm.

The landscape eventually transitions from barren, craggy rock to green, fertile farmlands

There’s a few adults and a few children around, and Mountain goes up to talk to them, COMPLETELY FORGETTING THAT HE’S STILL    M O S T L Y    N A K E D-

I pointed this out in the chat, and the DM had to mute herself, she was laughing so hard.

We tell the adult Tiefling that we were robbed/nearly murdered by a necromancer, and for the sake of their child, they offer Mountain an outfit out of their closet that they weren’t really wearing.

I HAVE REALIZED THAT IT WAS NEVER SPECIFIED IF I LOST/FOUND MY LUTE AND I DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW NOW IF I STILL HAVE IT-

The DM isn’t always looking at the text chat, and my mic is acting weird tonight so I can’t turn it on, so I’m just sitting here sadly as the others progress the story, waiting to hear if Udaji’s family heirloom and prized possession has been lost or not.

The Tiefling farmers tell us that there are a few gates back to our realm relatively nearby, but that the road between them is dangerous.

Our best bet is a semi-permanent gate maintained by a cult of Lythander, and Claus (a cleric of Lythander) perks right up.

The Tiefling farmers give us a very old map, and it turns out that by “relatively nearby”, they mean “on the same continent”.

I STILL HAVE MY LUTE: CONFIRMED!!! Udaji and I feel much better now.

Claus sees that the farmers’ well is a little dry, and uses magic to refill it for them. Suddenly, they’re more willing to give us better deals on trading.

We decide to head for the gate held by the cult of Lythander, and skirt around the magical ‘death zone’ by going through a territory ruled by an ice elemental.

Finally, Udaji’s ice resistance comes in handy!

We need to give a Potion of Darkvision to the wizard bc he’s human and can’t see otherwise, but I’m the one who’s holding it and no-one’s reading the text chat.

We’re starting to chat more than play now, and it’s past 11pm, so we’re probably about done for tonight.

[britaisy]

Writing suggestion num.1

@smalltalkerr ‘Tim Drake actually going to Ivy University and becoming the worlds greatest detective (not a superhero literally a detective) and Damian as future Batman’

---------------------

Life has a funny way of proving people wrong. One day your whole being is scorched deep into stone, and then you blink an eye and all of a sudden everything takes a 180 degree, it leaves one able to utter only two simple words: “Well, shit”

When Tim Drake graduated from Ivy University with a criminology degree under his belt after being adamant that the education system was a pile of shit and being certain that whatever university had to offer, he had already learned, that’s exactly what he had said. Well, shit. Of course, he would have never enrolled into university had Bruce Wayne not ‘discreetly’ persuaded him into joining. It had taken many arguments for him to finally accept. They usually started with Tim saying something along the lines of “I am not wasting three years of my life in a leisure programme when I could be doing some real work. These are 1,095 days, Bruce. Lots of days, who’s going to be doing all the investigating work? Damian? He’s far too impatient. Dick is busy with Bludhaven and Jason, well, Jason spends him time with a Superman clone and an Amazon shooting up mob bosses. You need me.”

Bruce would remain calm, his stoic face as unwavering as always, and respond: “You spend your days in the batcave, hardly going out, Alfred is getting concerned, Dick is getting concerned, and frankly so am I. University will help you adjust in society. As for help, you forget, we got Barbara, Duke, Cassandra, Stephanie, Kate.”

“So, you are saying I am useless?”

“I am saying that what you are doing to yourself with lead you to a path that you will not escape from. When was the last time you even took a shower?”

 Those days had been mentally exhausting, one argument piling up on the other until the mere implication of university caved into Tim’s taut nerves. Tim hated to admit it and he would certainly never vocalise it, but Bruce had been right. University had changed him. He was still an incurable introvert with severe caffeine addictions and an unhealthy dose of cynicism, but he had learned a couple of things about people that he would have never learned in the batcave. Besides, the parties had been shockingly fun.  Those mere three years had eventually led him to an entirely different path than the one he had initially planned out for himself. He had been Robin, then the Red Robin and now he was the world’s best private detective, working restlessly in Gotham. Not that bad. Not that bad, at all.

Of course, his occupation meant haphazard working hours. Mostly, he was always working, it could be twelve at night or three in the morning, Tim Drake could be out on the job with a matching coffee cup in hand. It was a good thing he only needed three hours of sleep to recharge. But, he wasn’t the only eccentric with questionable habits in Gotham who worked unorthodox hours. Night time in Gotham still belonged to the one and only Batman. Only Bruce Wayne was no longer the Batman, the round age of seventy had taken its toll even on the stubborn billionaire. After his x-rays begun resembling something out of a sci fi movie, he had retired. Damian Wayne, former assassin, former (annoying) Robin, son of Bruce Wayne was now wearing Batman’s mantle and that was who Tim out to meet tonight.

The man was standing in the alley where he had been told to wait, one hand in the pocket of his long trench coat, the other holding his coffee. He heard the faintest sound of rustling in the wind, a sound that would have gone unnoticed to the untrained ear.

Tim chuckled when he turned around, not the least surprised when he was face to face with Batman.

“Trying to spook me?” he mocked.

“If I had you would have noticed.”

“Touché” Tim smiled.

“I need your help.”

Just like his father, straight onto the point.

“I assumed so.” Tim said, sipping his coffee, waiting for Batman to continue.

Batman fished out some files that he had been hiding under his cape. He handed them over to Tim, the front page was dominated by the blurry, stained picture of a grey-haired severe-looking woman.

“She’s been gone for two months. She’s from the Narrows, but my sources say she used to be an assassin in her younger years, she was even employed by Raz Al Gul, at one point. Father always kept a close eye on her, even though she seemed to be in retirement. All her things are in her flat, but she’s gone, no signs of struggle, either.”

“If she did work for the League of Shadows, wouldn’t you have better access on the case, considering who you are?” Tim asked, though his eyes were solely focused on the woman’s face, despite the dim light provided by a lone lamppost, he was already skimming through the information in the folder.

“The League hasn’t been very accessible to me lately” there was a bitter coldness in his voice. “Seems as if they are hiding something.”

“Hence the name. You are not exactly one of them anymore, Damian.” Tim tore his eyes from the paper to look at him. Despite the mask, Tim could tell the young man was frowning, he had always been more expressive than Mr. Bruce Deadpan Wayne.

“I am no stranger to them, either. I was supposed to be the demon’s head.” He argued

“And you turned that position down once you chose being Batman, which honestly, I am glad you did. It would be a pain in the ass battling with you.”

Damian smirked, satisfied with his words. “That, I agree with. But, back to the point. I need you to find her. I want to know what she’s up to. I would have done it myself, but Gotham is keeping me busy.”

“You know…it’s not bad to admit that I can get this job far more easily done than you. I am the world’s Greatest Detective, after all.” Tim shot him a shit-eating grin.

“Show off.”

Tim laughed. “Anyway, I can get the job done. I’ll need five days, the fancy jet with the espresso maker, some cash, around three thousand dollars, and a new coat” he tucked onto his tacky coat’s collar. “Mine is worn. A detective is only as good as his trench coat.”

“Sure, just make sure you don’t ruin the espresso machine this time.” Batman replied.

“Noted.” He looked back at the picture. “From what I can tell you this far is that this woman was never retired. An assassin who had worked with the League of Shadows would retire in glory in an island and buy an extravagant mansion. She chose the Narrows, an unlikely area, she was living in a poor multiblock. She was hiding, she didn’t want a certain somebody to find her, somebody she really feared. Judging from the fact that her last job was with the League of Shadows, my guess is that somebody there has a grudge against her.”

Tim knew that Batman’s silence meant that what he had said made perfect sense to him.

“When will you be ready to start?” he asked.

“I have to sleep for three hours and then I’ll be good to go.” Tim replied.

“Good.” Batman smiled. “Pleasure doing business with you as always, Drake.”

Tim smiled, the man looked down at his lower pocket, patting himself to find his pad. But, as soon as he looked back, Batman had disappeared into the night.

“Can’t believe the kid got me.”