Kwai kwai nidobak! I have to be honest; your reviews are starting to get very entertaining when it comes to the new Guardians. I'm actually rather impressed at how creative you guys are with how the Guardians die. I'm also amazed that this story already has about 50 reviews and this story isn't even close to the halfway point yet. I'm planning for this story to be longer than my past stories and your reviews and support give me a lot of encouragement. Thank you and remember to leave a review or send me a PM!
Chapter 7: You're on my Blacklist
Tamhigan stared at Snö with wide eyes behind his mask. He was horrified to see that the child he just helped was lying dead on the ground and that she was holding the locket he retrieved for the kid. He growled furiously and got in a combat stance, making the Ice Guardian roll her eyes.
"This child wasn't the person you thought he was. Those 'thieves' you just killed were his parents. He ran away about a week ago because his parents wanted him to attend the Temple and he didn't want to. His mother just finished explaining the situation to me before you slaughtered them. I'm guessing the kid asked you to steal this locket so he could sell it for money." Snö explained calmly.
The post-apocalyptic dragon's mouth was wide open in shock behind his mask. He felt betrayed that the kid would use him like that. Throughout his entire life, he's never had to worry about a child stabbing him in the back until now.
"The kid was known for being anti-social and a spoiled brat in general. I bet he was about to go to Warfang and blame you for the crime." the Ice Guardian continued casually as she looked at the locket in her paw. "I wonder how much this thing is worth." she mumbled under her breath.
Tamhigan couldn't even find the words to speak after she said that. He wanted to stab the Guardian in the jugular for killing the child, but he also felt anger towards the kid for tricking him into killing two innocent people for no reason. Yes, he's killed people in the past, but he always had a good reason for it; whether the victims were guilty of murder themselves or if they raped someone. And killing a child was WAY too far in his opinion. The ice Guardian seemed to sense his conflicting thoughts by his body movements and cleared her throat.
"Tell you what. You keep quiet about all of this and I'll make sure you won't get prosecuted for two counts of murder. I'll have Jord handle the bodies and you'll be in the clear." Snö explained to him as she spun the gold locket around on her talon.
"Damn you." the masked dragon growled angrily before he ran off to his apartment.
The traumatized dragon ignored her calls to come back and ran down the dirt road as fast as he could. He kept on running until he made it to apartment three and he burst through the door. He slammed the door shut behind him and locked it before he sat down on the seating pillow.
"What the fuck is wrong with this place?" Tamhigan thought aloud as he shakily rested his front paws on his masked face.
Many thoughts ran through the Native American's head at that point. Were the other Guardians as fucked up as Snö? How long has this madness been going on? Did that kid run away because he knew how bad it was here? So many questions and yet no answers. He then realized something important. He wasn't a man to believe in fate, but he somehow knew that there was a reason why he was brought back from his eternal sleep.
Tamhigan calmly lowered his paws with a heavy frown behind his mask. He needed to do something to at least make it tolerable to live here. But first, he had to learn more about his new enemies. The last thing he needed was to run into a possible warzone without any knowledge on his targets.
Tamhigan stood up and walked over to his apartment's desk that was most likely meant for schoolwork. He sat down again and took out a blank sheet of paper. Using the metal paw of his, he grabbed a quill. It took a moment for him to recall their names, but one by one, he wrote down the names of the Guardians as well as a rough sketch of their faces above each name.
"Mörker, Snö, Jord, Vind, Stöt, Brand, Orm, and Rädsla." he read his sloppy writing aloud and he looked over their drawn faces.
He decided to start his investigation with Mörker because he remembered the Guardian of Shadow lived in a nearby cave. It would arouse less suspicion and it would be safer on his part. He also decided to start his personal mission at nights so he could sneak around more easily.
Now that Tamhigan had a plan, he just needed to wait for night to arrive so he could enact his plans. He wasn't sure what he should do until then exactly, but he didn't want to simply sit on his ass all day.
His head snapped to attention when he heard a knock at the door and he quickly stood up. He slowly walked over to the door and looked through the door's peephole to see that Stöt was patiently waiting on the other end.
The post-apocalyptic dragon was now at full alert and he flexed his metal claws. With a deep breath to calm his nerves, he unlocked the door and slowly opened it.
"Greetings, Tamhigan. Snö told me that there was a little incident earlier." the Electric Guardian started calmly and without emotion.
"Nothing happened." the black dragon denied with just as much enthusiasm.
"You don't have to lie to me; I'm a very understanding dragon. I know how accidents happen and how we sometimes let people die." Stöt assured with a straight face. "Have you decided whether you'll stay here as a student yet?" he asked casually, changing the subject.
"Yeah I have. I'm getting the fuck out of this place as soon as I can." Tamhigan replied bitterly, just barely stopping himself from growling.
"Shame." the older electric dragon stated as his frown deepened a little. "Just know this. I'm in charge of the Temple. It doesn't matter how famous you are. You tell me everything you're doing or planning as long as you stay here. Do we understand one another?" he informed deathly serious.
"Yes." the heavily scarred dragon answered with a glare behind his mask.
The Electric Guardian nodded and he visibly calmed down. He stood up straight and walked off without even saying farewell or anything like that. Tamhigan just shook his head before he closed the door and locked it.
"Hündin." Tamhigan growled in German as he walked over to the desk again and sat down on the seating pillow in front of it.
The masked dragon looked over at the window and growled when he saw that it was only midday. He really wanted to get to work immediately, but starting in broad daylight would be unwise. He also realized that he was hungry and he was all out of sandwiches that Frost made for him. That meant that he could either hunt in the swamps, or go to the Temple cafeteria. He didn't like either because he was a scavenger and wasn't good at hunting, and he didn't want to be surrounded by fans again.
Without many options, he chose the cafeteria. The black scaled electric dragon sighed heavily as he stood up and walked over to the door again. He unlocked the door and walked out of the apartment. He kept his head down as he exited the building and made his way into the Temple. While he wandering down the halls, he noticed that the classrooms were completely empty and no one was in the halls. He didn't think too much of this and continued on his way.
Tamhigan made his way to the cafeteria and noticed that all the students were eating lunch, explaining why the rest of the Temple was empty. All the students immediately looked up at him when he entered and he groaned. As if planned, the room erupted in cheers, whistles and shouting. Many of the students wanted him to sit at their table, but he just ignored them. He made his way to the counter that was serving the food and the lunch lady, a mole, looked at him with an excited smile.
"What can I get for you today, hero?" the elderly mole asked politely with a slight bow of respect.
"Anything, I really don't give a fuck." the black dragon replied with obvious annoyance.
The lunch lady was a little taken aback by his wording and bitter attitude. She nodded regardless and gave him a tray with some chicken on it. Tamhigan nodded in thanks as he took the tray on his back, keeping it steady with his wings, and walked away. He noticed that everyone was trying to clear a space for him, but he didn't want to sit with any of them. He noticed an empty table in the corner and walked over to it, wanting to be alone. Almost immediately after he sat down though, a bunch of girls sprinted over to his table and sat down around him, filling all of the empty spaces.
"So, you're the great Tamhigan eh? You're a lot cuter than the history books depicted you." an attractive fire dragoness started as all the females leaned closer to him, making him very uncomfortable.
The post-apocalyptic dragon just sighed and raised his mask over his mouth so he could eat. The girls were a little disappointed that they couldn't see his full face, but they were just happy to be in his presence. Some students at the other tables scoffed though. They were either jealous, skeptical that he was the real Tamhigan, or annoyed that he was famous.
Tamhigan ignored all of them and silently started to eat his chicken. The girls kept saying how great it was to meet them and some even went into detail about their fantasies about him, but he just blocked it all out. He just wanted to finish eating quickly so he could go back to his apartment.
This went on for a few minutes until he finished eating and he lowered his gas mask again. He stood up to put his tray away, but a small earth dragon with glasses snatched the tray up.
"Let me take care of that for you." the child said cheerfully before he ran off to place the tray on the pile of used trays.
Tamhigan was thankful for the assistance even though he wanted to do it himself. He didn't voice his opinion though and started walking towards the exit. He stopped however when a wall of students blacked him and a bunch of dragonesses rubbed their sides against him.
"Don't go yet. We like having you around." an ice dragoness said cheerfully with a soft purr.
"I want to be alone." the masked dragon stated emotionlessly and he tried to move, but the girls held him in place.
"But we want you heeere." a poison dragoness whined as the girls got even closer.
Just when Tamhigan was about to force his way away from everyone the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Everyone groaned in annoyance from this and hesitantly walked out, leaving the post-apocalyptic dragon be. Not wanting to push his luck, he shrouded himself in shadows and made his way back to the apartment building.
It wasn't until he reached his apartment that he materialized again and he walked into his living space. He made sure to lock the door after he closed it behind him and he sighed heavily. He didn't know why, but he felt himself get very tired all of a sudden and he even felt a little woozy.
Figuring that sleep was the best option would be to get some sleep, the black dragon steadily walked into the bedroom. He didn't even bother to remove his sling or gas mask and he layed down on the sleeping pillow. He pulled the blanket over his body and closed his eyes to take a nap.
Tamhigan groaned quietly as his eyes fluttered open to see a cloudy sky through the lens of his gas mask. He quickly realized that he was having a vision again and that he was in his human form. He was a little afraid to, but he lifted his right up and was a little surprised to see that his hand was mechanical just like his new paw.
Jack lowered his biomechanical hand and sat up to see that he was on a sandy beach. He turned his head to look at the water and saw that there were various World War II battleships floating in the water. There were also fighter planes performing their practice flights in the sky. The masked human watched them fly through the cloudy skies with much interest and he didn't even notice a man standing directly behind him.
"Quite the sight; isn't it?" a familiar voice commented.
Jack immediately bolted up and whirled around to see his great-grandfather standing before him with a smirk.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Dylan apologized with a chuckle. "I like the robot hand you got there." he commented when he noticed his great-grandson's biomechanical appendage.
"Thanks… why did you bring me here?" the masked human asked quietly, wanting to get some answers.
"I wanted to talk you about those sorry excuses for Guardians." the soldier replied much more seriously than before. "I don't know too much about them, but I think I can learn why they do the things they do if you give me time. If it gets to the point where you are forced to kill any of them, I will tell you why they did the things they did." he explained.
Jack nodded in understanding and thankfulness. He preferred to know why people do the things they do because he couldn't understand why the Ku Klux Klan hated non-whites so much. He couldn't fathom why anyone would resort to killing others for no reason. He was brought out of his thoughts when his great-grandfather cleared his throat.
"That's all that I wanted to tell you, but I believe the Chronicler wants to speak with you as well." the Code Talker spoke much more relaxed than the last time he talked.
The masked human recalled hearing about the Chronicler when his family was still alive. He never met the dragon before and he never thought he would until now. He couldn't understand why someone like the Chronicler would want to talk to a man like him or why he had to do all this shit in the first place.
"I'll make it easier for you and help you transition to the White Isle." Dylan offered and the world began to glow brightly just after he said that.
Before Jack could do anything or say a word, the brightness just became brighter and brighter, making him use his right arm to shield his eyes. The light got so bright that he even had to close his eyes and he started to feel like he was standing on something else…
Jack had his eyes closed for awhile, but he was still awake. He felt like he was in a different environment. Taking a chance, he slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arm so he could look around.
The masked native looked around to see that he was in some kind of old looking library with a large hourglass in the center of the room. The floor looked like it was made of marble and the bookshelves were full of what looked like thousands of books.
The room was quite the sight in Jack's opinion and he was purely amazed by the amount of books. He just wished he could read better so he could understand what the books had within. He was brought out of his thoughts however when he heard footsteps behind him. Acting on instinct, he unsheathed his cold steel tomahawk with his metal appendage while he unholstered his Ruger SR9 pistol with his left hand. He then whirled around with his weapons at the ready.
"Relax, young one. I am a friend." a large blue dragon soothed that was standing a few feet away from the human dressed in black.
The Native American man quickly remembered what his great-grandfather told him earlier and visibly relaxed. He holstered his pistol, but he kept his tomahawk out as a precaution, although it was mostly just to make him feel safer.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ignitus, but most dragons refer to me as the Chronicler." the ex-Fire Guardian greeted with a bow of respect.
Jack didn't reply and simply nodded in greeting. The dragon respected his silence and cleared his throat to speak again.
"I am aware that you wish to fight against the current Guardians and I don't blame you in the slightest. They've done disgusting acts that make me sick to my stomach. However, I must warn you, the Guardians are powerful dragons and are masters of their respected element. They also have certain connections that would make life very difficult for you if you choose this path. Are you sure you wish to carry these burdens?" Ignitus explained and asked the last sentence.
He wasn't trying to deter Jack, he just wanted to make sure that he was responsible and determined enough to perform what seemed like the impossible. Jack was in deep thought however. His survival instincts were screaming for him to just ignore the Guardians and move on, but this conscience was telling him to stop those monsters who call themselves Guardians.
"The only thing that can kill a monster… is another monster." Jack spoke finally and he had a look of determination behind his gas mask.
The Chronicler didn't' like his wording, but he understood the meaning. He nodded in understanding and sat down on his hunches.
"Very well. The path ahead of you will be a difficult, but if anyone can handle these pressures, it's you. Just remember, you're not alone anymore. There are people who share your opinions and will help you." he told the human with a warm smile.
The world began to glow brightly after Ignitus said that and Jack began to feel woozy again. He wobbled in place a little as he got more and more tired until he finally fell over. He didn't even feel a ground and his world faded to black as he woke up.
This is a thank you to Admiralkirk for giving me a few small plot ideas for this chapter. Read his stories n' shit because they're good.
