I sat down on a tree stump and pulled out my canteen. Cole sat down next to me as I wiped a bit of sweat from my brow. We'd been walking for… fucked if I knew how long. Couple of days? But of course we took time to rest at night, rest is always important. I already had my wrist watch adjusted to the local time. Sun rose at 6 AM and set exactly 12 hours later right on the dot of 6 PM. Night lasts as long as day, 12 hours on the dot. Using the sun's size and the shadows of the trees helped me adjust.
"Revy!" I called out to her as she entered the clearing. She took one step into the clearing and fell to the ground.
Cole chuckled as he took the canteen out of my hand. "Probably a city bitch that got lost in this forest."
I chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right." Picking up the pebble to my left off the ground, I determined the weight and how much force I needed. I threw the pebble and watched as it hit Revy in the back of the neck.
"FUCK!" She screamed as she held her neck. "Shit!" She rolled around in the grass and writhed in pain. "Hurts like hell in a handbasket!"
Cole handed me my canteen and I took a big gulp. "How did you know about that nerve cluster in the back of the neck?" He asked as he played with his curved balisong. It was a beautiful thing that he had. A full 7 inches with sound steel that can cut through an inch of regular steel. A gilded grip that had an insignia he never explained the importance of inscribed on it.
"I didn't. I was aiming for the back of her head." I admitted my mess up.
"Calistria send me to the seven layers of hell!" Revy screamed and Cole visibly flinched.
"Get a memory?" I asked as I took another gulp of water.
"Yeah. Calistria is the goddess of sex and revenge back home." Cole replied as he started flipping his knife around and doing shit that someone who hasn't seen it a million times would be impressed by. "My brother used to worship her a lot."
I rose an eyebrow. "Brother? You never told me you had a brother."
Cole looked away and shrugged. "You never asked."
"Let me guess. Sibling rivalry because he brought home the most fuck buddies?" He grumbled something I couldn't quite make out and then said something along the lines of maybe. I laughed loudly and he punched me in the leg. "Charlie Horse!'
"Good! You fucking jackcunt!" Cole yelled as he stood up. "Now stop being a puss snogger and get up."
I was contemplating on punching him in the dick, but Revy caught my attention. Something was wrong about her, she wasn't squirming around as if she was hurting. She was just lying on the ground and not moving at all. "I think something's wrong with Revy."
Cole looked over to Revy and scoffed. "There's nothing wrong with her, she's just being a… I was gonna say bitch, but that's too true." We both chuckled at that statement.
"Nice one." I stood up and walked over to Revy. Her breathing was slow and she looked to be resting. "Aww, Revy is asleep." I kneeled down next to her and poked her once in the shoulder. She didn't budge. "Huh…" I leaned forward. "Wake up Revy." Didn't budge. "Revy." Same as last attempt. "Hmm… let's try this." I sat down and leaned closer to her. "REVY GET YOUR FUCKIN ASS UP!"
…
…
"HOW!?" Cole shouted from his spot a couple feet away.
"Wow. Bitch is a heavier sleeper than I thought." I grabbed underneath her arms and pulled her to the tree stump.
"Are you sure she's not dead?"
I shook my head and pointed to her chest. "Nah, steady rise and fall. She's asleep."
"What about a drug induced sleep?"
I shook my head a… wait a second. "Wait a second. What?"
"Yeah, those plants over there look to be spreading something."
I looked up to him and drew my attention to where he was pointing. There was a patch of blue flowers that looked to be releasing a concentrated flow of mana. "Whoa. Magic flowers." The mana was super condensed, someone was probably supplying it from another location. I could see the layline going eastward. I put an anti-mana shield around myself and walked over to the flowers. I grabbed a bit of the mana and watched as more replaced it. "Huh, that's new."
I morphed the mana into a ball and started playing around with it. First, I tossed it around between my hands. Extremely stable. Then, I added some of my own mana into it. It absorbed the mana and fused it with itself. Flexible mana? Or dominate mana? Still, not a good sign. Finally, I did the most unhealthy thing I could and absorbed it into my own well of mana.
I felt the two sources fight for dominance inside me. Twisting and twirling and overpowering each other. It was as painful as having a shank to the kidneys. I was probably having a spasm on the ground and Cole was probably hanging over me. The fight felt like it had gone on for a few hours until the flower's mana just gave up and mixed with my mana. The pain subsided and I opened my eyes.
I was right. Cole was kneeling next to me with a concerned look on his face as I was sprawled out on the floor. "Gurren?" He asked, his voice softer than usual. "Gurren, are you okay?"
I tried to say something, but I couldn't think of anything reassuring so I just nodded and gave a thumbs up.
The ghastly image of Alexander the great stood next to my prone form. "Morning boss. Fucking with your own body again?" He asked.
You know it Jimmy.
"Are you going to pull another stunt like that soon?" He squatted down next to me.
Probably. How have y'all been? Cole offered me a hand up and I accepted it. "Thanks homie."
"No problem G." Cole replied.
"Nikki and Al are fighting again. Nothing new." Jimmy responded to my question.
Tell them to kiss and make up or I'm going to come in there and stab them both. I put a hand on Cole's shoulder. "We should get Revy and start heading out." I looked over to Jimmy and saw that he had already disappeared.
"Alright, you gonna carry her?" He asked. I just laughed and tugged at the leather collar around his neck. He sighed and nodded. "Yes sir."
"Good boy." I said and noticed a bit of the flower's mana on his shoulder. "Hold up." I used my other hand and absorbed it, this time not having a war inside myself. "Alright you're good. Go get Revy."
I held up a fist. "Hold." There was a fallen tree in the road we were following. It was obvious why the tree was there. Cole put down Revy and drew his guns. I pulled my rifle off my shoulder and we got back to back.
"AMBUSH!" We shouted simultaneously. Out of the trees came a whole platoon of Diamond Dogs, Revy told us what her species was the first day we met, that were clad in armor and wielding swords. They stepped up a few meters in front of us and made a circle.
I heard slow clapping and looked to my left. There was a pit bull Diamond Dog that wore a black leather vest, a chest holster with a flintlock pistol in it, and golden necklace with a star pendant connected. "Congratulations, you detected our trap." His voice was as ugly as his face was and had a distinct Asian accent.
"Hey KT, did you order ugly bitches to beat the shit out of?" I asked with a smirk on my face.
The leader barked at me and pulled his pistol. "Drop everything on you and we'll let you live, ape."
"Ape? Oh ho ho ho, I'm gonna have fun beating the absolute fuck out of you, bitch." I replied and put down my rifle. "Cole, no guns."
"Knives?" Cole asked as he holstered his SMGs.
I started walking up towards the leader. "Not even knives."
The leader pointed his pistol at me. "Stay back!"
"What are you gonna do? Shoot me?" I laughed at my own joke. "If you're gonna do it, do it now." I taunted. "Come on, do it right now. Shoot me in the heart. Shoot me!" I grabbed the barrel of his pistol and put it to my chest. "SHOOT ME, PUSSY!"
The leader smirked. "If you really wish to die." He pulled the trigger and let the gun go off. The gunpowder inside exploded and sent the bullet flying into my chest, but stopped right outside my jacket. We both stood there, the leader's smile growing by the second. I backed away from him and let the bullet fall out of the gun. His smile was lost as mine grew. Unzipping my jacket, I unveiled my first line of defense.
"Bullet proof vest, bitch." I swung a fist and decked him in the jaw. He was knocked out cold and on the ground in the matter of a second. I shook the pussy off my hand. "Weak little bitch." I looked around at the rest of the bandits. "Anyone else looking to get fucked up?"
There was a breach on the other side of the circle and out stepped a big beefy Rottweiler. He growled and punched a fist into his hand. "Ready to die?" He asked in a voice that reminded me of the arbiter from Halo Wars.
I walked into the middle of the circle and patted Cole on the shoulder. "Tag, you're out." He nodded and walked over to the leader. "Alright big guy. This is our fight, but we do it my way." I took off my jacket and dual shoulder holsters before taking off my bullet proof vest. "No weapons, no backup, and circle of death. One of us gets too close to being knocked out of the circle, we get pushed back in."
He laughed and nodded. "Assigning rules to a fight to the death? You speak as if you're gonna win."
I got into a boxing stance and let him step up to the plate. "I just like to make things interesting."
We were five feet from each other and Cole spoke up. "Alright! This fight will be a one round fight between Gurren Artren, the defender, and Big Beefy, the challenger! Any fighting style is allowed, any hit is a valid hit, and winner chooses loser's fate! We, the audience, cannot aid either side! If someone does, they are to be executed by me! Fighters! Fuck each other up!"
"Thanks Cole, but no one really gives a fuck about rules right now." I said as I tossed him my stuff.
He caught it and put it next to him. "Piss off, just kick his ass."
"Planning on it homie." Letting the big guy rush me, I side stepped and slammed my shin into his stomach. The whole world faded around us and all I saw was him and me. Music flowed through my head, a song that started slow but I knew was going to pick up. Big Beefy grabbed my leg and pulled me into the air. Grabbing his head, I quickly twisted to get out of his grip. I pulled his head down with me and brought my knee up to meet it. His teeth clacked together as the sound of his jaw breaking rang out.
I pushed him away from me and waited for him to regain his bearings. "You're strong, but you're slow as fuck." I shouted as he shook the daze out of his head. He roared loudly and charged again. This time, I charged him back but instead of meeting him I sidestepped, grabbed him by his neck, and jumped forward. Bringing us both to the ground. I rolled to the left to avoid his grasp and got back to my feet. Beefy got back to his feet as well and the next thing he did took me by surprise. He got into a defensive stance. "Putting me on offense? So be it." I ran at him again and stepped to his right. Grabbing his arm, I swung around and was able to get my legs around his neck.
I just started wailing on him. Punch after punch to his skull as he tried to claw me off. I tightened my grip around his neck and started elbowing him until I could see blood. He lost consciousness almost immediately after and fell to the ground.
The world around me faded back into existence. "Finish Him!" I heard someone shout. I didn't recognize the voice, but it spoke to me unlike any other. I wanted to follow what it said and rip the guy's head off, but my better judgement said I could use a pawn for when I become King.
"No." I whispered and unwrapped my legs from Big Beefy's neck. Standing up, I took a look around. All the bandits stood in stunned silence as Cole had a cocky smile on his face. Revy had woken up some time earlier and was hanging off of Cole. She was probably looking at me in a new light.
Cole started to clap. "Ha ha! That's my nigga! Kickin ass and taking names! Now finish the show and let's get goin."
I looked down at Big Beefy and shook my head. "I can't kill him. He'll be needed later. Reach into my jacket and get a spare collar." Cole did as told and reached into one of my jacket pockets to grab one of the collars. He tossed me one and I secured it around Big Beefy's neck. "He's my new bitch."
"Does this mean I can take this off?" Cole asked, tugging at the collar around his neck.
"No, the bet is still going on." I replied as I hooked my hands under Big Beefy's arms and dragged him to Cole. "Morning Revy." I said as I passed by her.
"H-Hey..." She greeted in a quiet voice.
I dropped Big Beefy and put all my gear on. After zipping up my jacket, I looked to the bandits as they stood in front of us. "Anyone else wanna get their ass kicked?"
They all took a knee before me and bowed their heads. The one closest to us spoke up. "You have defeated our Alpha, we serve you now." In Japanese.
I looked to Cole, he shrugged. I looked to Revy, she smiled. "Sweet, we have our own little band of misfits."
"Revy, what do they mean I beat their Alpha? Alpha as in these bandits are a pack and pistol McGee is their leader?" I asked, not really sure what to do.
Revy shook her head. "Nah, he must have been the Beta. Diamond Dogs have the pack mindset, you take out the Alpha and you become the Alpha."
Cole and I laughed. "Survival of the fittest! Just like old times, right Cole?" I held a fist out to him.
He bumped it and nodded. "Feels like it."
I turned to the dog in front of us and nudged him with my foot. "Look at me as I speak to you." I ordered in Japanese and they all looked up to me. "All of you, are now my bitches. You do what I say, when I say it, or you have your throat slit open by Cole." I pointed to Cole and he drew his sword. I watched one of the dogs in the back row scoff. I moved around the group and grabbed him by the back of the neck. "You doubt me, bitch?"
He tried to spit in my face but I moved out of the way and let it fly past me. "Go to Tartarus."
I laughed in his face and dragged him to the front of the kneeling dogs. "This." I tossed him to the ground and kicked him in the side. "This is what we do to people who doubt us." Ripping the armor off the dog and disarming him, I gave Cole a nod. "It's fuck what they say." Cole removed his Yukata and was wearing the black jumpsuit he liked to wear underneath.
Cole looked at the dog and kicked him in his side. "On your knees! It'll be easier for you to suck me off that way." All the dogs looked at Cole with shocked looks on their faces. "Oh, so you'd rather die than suck my dick? Your choice." Cole grabbed his sword and drew it. He swung but stopped right before he cut the dog's head off.
"Let this be a warning." I started. "You disrespect me or my Beta," I patted Cole on the shoulder "we'll either force you to suck our dicks or we'll chop your head off." I shrugged and Cole chuckled. "Maybe we'll do both." Cole put his sword away and I sent one last kick to the dog's side. "We go to where you fuckin idiots have a camp set up and stay there for the night. In the morning, we head out to the closest civilization." I switched back to English and turned to Revy. "Shall we?"
She shifted her weight to her right foot and looked at me uneasily. "You're a demon, dude."
I grinned and put my arm around her. "I like to think of myself as an incubus."
Revy scoffed. "With the way you threaten rape, you sure do fit the description."
I leaned in and whispered into her ear. "Threaten someone with anything that involves them dying or having nonconsensual sex and they'll become your puppets. Use them both at the same time, and they'll never want to doubt you." I looked around as the dogs got ready to leave. "And none of these dogs are gay, so they won't have the desire to suck dick any time soon." By the time I looked back at him, Cole had already but his Yukata back on and was securing his sword to his waist.
He turned to me with a frown on his face. "This blows."
"What's wrong Cole? Were you hoping you got your dick sucked?" I asked with a smile on my face.
Cole punched me in my arm. "Yes! As soon as you ripped his armor off, I was hoping you'd let me fuck him as well!"
I noticed one of the dogs shudder at that statement and I removed my arm from around Revy. "You!" He looked at me before looking away quickly. "So you do understand English?" The dog nodded, not looking me in the eye. I grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground. The bottom of my boot met the back of his neck. "You will look at me when I speak to you!" I kicked him on his side and then pushed him on his back. "You speak English?"
He didn't say anything so I kicked him in the side. "Habla fucking Inglés?" Still nothing so I kicked him again. "ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER! DO!? YOU!? SPEAK IT!?"
"Y-Yes." I heard him in a whisper so soft that I'm surprised I even heard it.
I chuckled. "Yeah?"
He nodded. "Y-Yes." He then coughed up some blood.
"Well this all could have been avoided if you'd just say yes." I kicked him in the side again. "Dumbass." I walked back over to Cole and Revy. "Fuckin retards.
"Was that really necessary?" Revy asked uneasily.
"Sorry about this Revy." I switched over to Japanese. "Do you doubt me?!" That caught all the dog's attention. "Do you doubt how I run my pack?!"
Revy's eyes went wide with fear and she started speaking in Japanese. "No, no no no, I don't doubt you!"
I backhanded Revy in the face and flinched internally. "I've known you longer than I've known these fools, I will be lenient with you for now! Anymore talk like that and I'll have you beheaded!" I subtly winked to Revy and she returned one that I almost missed. I turned to the dogs. "Take us to camp, right now!"
