Chapter 6, Another Predicament…
{Play Awake, from Skyrim, Cart Intro}
[Location, Unknown…]
Tiredness… tiredness was all I remembered, and tiredness is what I feel… Why was I tired? Something about fighting... pain or a… headache of some sort? It was something that I could not put my finger on yet… or more like… Something that I don't want to remember… Why is that I wonder…
It doesn't matter now. I can always think later when I have time to think. As of the moment, I feel some movement or shaking as well as murmurs going on where I am. there was also a sense of a wet morning smell in the air in the middle of a forest…
Wait… was I asleep?
I try to open my eyes to see that I am lying down to see that I am in a wooden cart transport. Along with a green forest with the feeling of Winter that is just around the corner. There were 3 other people who were in the same cart as me, one who was riding beside me was dressed in brown tatters of clothing, of a light-brownish skin, and brown hair. The one across form him was looking of a noble if the fancy clothing meant anything about his appearance. He had a dirty blond hair, and more mysteriously, with a piece of cloth over his mouth. The guy besides him was dressed in blue like uniform, who also had a dirty blond hair as the guy who had his mouth covered for some reason. I sat up straight to get a better view of my surroundings to see that there were more carts like the one I am riding in with the drivers being in a brown leather uniform… But there is an odd sense of familiarity with these people… like I should know them… were they my friends? No... I don't really socialize with other people, and I would definitely know if I had a rich friend… but who are they, really? But a better question is, where am I? I took another look at the person who is across me, who still looked absent minded.
Wait… didn't I play a game like this before? Was it something about becoming a legendary ancient hero to stop the end of the world from happening? No that sounds too generic, and hard to pin point because of the amount of RPG games I've played… let's think, was there a game that was about assassinations? No that was assassin's creed… maybe that one game with the 4 heroes with the legendary weapons…no… that is an anime… what else is there? Something about slaying… drag-…
I instantly knew where we are… and by the nine… I did not want to be here of all places… memories had come rushing back about this place, memories of the events about to unfold, and who were with me.
I was in fucking Skyrim…
The nameless people who I recognized before as strangers, now had names, one of which had a big significance and impact on all of our gaming lives… The man who had the cloth over his mouth, the Nord who was not only a jarl of a fort like city but was also a rising competitor of the position of High King, the ruler of Skyrim, the same man who killed the recent High King in 'fair' combat through 'The Way of the Voice', as well had a thing against the Thalmor, asshole high elves who ban the worship of Talos for some fucking reason for being, well… a human god, which helped cause the war, but they aren't important, the racist asshole was the reason why Skyrim is in a civil war against the Empire, and the Thalmor. That man, Ulfric Stormcloak, who is the leader of the rebellion…
Had absolutely no importance what-so-ever, but it was the man who was sitting next to him… the Nord who has help begun it all, The one, and only… Ralof of Riverwood.
"No…" I whispered.
This caught the attention of Ralof, who looked more attentive to me, as did the other two. He was about to reenact that infamous meme…
"Hey, you! You are finally awake!" Ralof spoke up.
Those words… they are the first step on to all of our adventures to become… Dovahkiin, or for those who don't know of the dragon tongue, Dragonborn…
"No." I slightly spoke up.
"You were trying to pass the borders into Skyrim, right? Right into that Imperial ambush. It was the same as us, and that thief over there!" He gestured to the guy beside me, but I wasn't paying attention as I was about to have another mental breakdown.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I stood up to scream to the skies themselves as my scream echoed through the area.
{Music end}
Gald's (POV)
{Location, Fort Nuel; Area, Entrance}
By the time we had finished our clean up at Korbin's fort of Research, it was already 3 in the afternoon. Korbin did not appear again after he crushed Isaiah's severed head when Isaiah was found alive. Probably for the best if he had to sleep off his rage and recollect himself. The last time I saw him that pissed off, was when Silvis pulled a prank on him that went extremely wrong. From what I heard from the anonymous chatter; Korbin has been getting less sleep when Isaiah was in his custody. Most likely from torturing the poor Dreadnut. If Isaiah's attitude during the battle with the beast was the result from whatever twisted suffering that Isaiah had to go through. Then I need to be careful with him with his damaged psyche.
After we packed up, with Isaiah being with us on the way back to our destination, I asked Eris what happened while she was gone to get Isaiah, she explained how she met him, and how the first encounter went. I was honestly shocked how Isaiah had essentially broken out of his bindings and managed to pin Eris down with a single arm and chain attached to the walls while also figuring out that Eris isn't like the other Darknuts, that would explain the chain in the beginning of the trials. After that they had gotten to where Isaiah cleaned himself up, but it was considerably shortened and with less detail compared to the first part of the story. She was stuttering and shifting during that part for whatever reason. I decided not to push for why she shortened it, as Silvis did, and got punched in the process. So I decided that it was best not to ask.
After that, Isaiah had asked Eris a bunch of questions as did she, Eris asking about getting stronger, and him explaining where he was at, the geographical location in where we were at, and how long Ganondorf was dead… which definitely caught my attention, why did Isaiah want to know about something that he wasn't supposed to even be aware of since he was summoned assuming that he has no knowledge of this world before he was summoned, as Eris said that he had no prior knowledge of the land of Hyrule. So the real question is, why he knows about Ganondorf, and why he cares about him? This just raises more questions about him…
We traveled through the Faron region with no complications along the roads or sights of the Hylian knight patrols thankfully… Today would be a good day to get back to our home, Fort Nuel of the Hylia region. One of our save havens around Hyrule for us. By the time we got there, it was going to be late in the evening, and the moon would soon appear within an hour or 2. When we arrived through the gates, we unpacked our carts, and Eris took off with Isaiah in arms to the infirmary room. I'll check in on them later after we had unpacked our equipment and our horses.
I saw a familiar old face nearing the entrance of the main hall. He was an armored old man who still looks like he is in his late 40s with silver white hair, black eyes, and sharp facial features, who had a White and black armor. This particular man has seen the rising force of the Darknuts for over 200 years… He is one of the Elders of the Round Table, and he is rumored to be the deadliest of all of the Elders…
"...Xivius..." I mumbled under my breath.
"Ah Gald, my favorite General, how was the last exhibition of the last experiment of Korbin's Dreadnut project? Was it a failure like those before it?" Xivius asked with a bit of a false pretense of a greeting.
I didn't like him, or any of the other elders except for maybe Elder Tyke, but I respected their power… if I didn't… well, I would be dead for challenging them to an overrule for being ignorant of what they are capable of.
"It was a success for the last subject, but he is in bad condition after the fight with the beast, but should make a full recovery after proper rest in the infirmary room." I spoke reporting the incident.
"I see… wait really? Huh… And here I thought that Korbin was a worthless asset, but in the end, I guess he was somewhat useful, I will meet this new recruit now." Xivius had begun walking to towards the fort entrance.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to do that now sir." I spoke out making him stop.
"Why is that General Gald?" Xivius had turned with a slight annoyance in his voice.
I cannot let Isaiah meet up with Xivius until I explain to him what he is dealing with, knowing the brash behavior, he will almost certainly cause him to suffer the consequences with acting against an Elder.
"He is currently unconscious from battle, and you going there will only waste your time by going there. I would suggest that you meet him after breakfast when he is in a better condition." I calmly stated my reason.
The Elder Darknut took a long look at me before sighing.
"(sigh) I guess you have a point there. Fine, after breakfast, he will meet with me in the meeting room, after that, I will take off back to the others to notify them of the good news of the development of the ultimate Darknut. But for now, I will head off to my guest room quarters." Xivius walked away.
As soon as Xivius left, Gald let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. It was always stressful talking to the Elders, especially Xivius. Even among the Elders, he is said to be the most unpredictable time bomb, one moment he is docile, the next, he is on a rampage. To make things worse, he has a mix fighting style which includes copying techniques after a few moments of fighting an opponent, using dirty tactics, and even rumors of him utilizing magic. A real monster of an opponent to face off against.
But I have only heard stories of his mad changes from other older Darknuts and Elder Tyke. I like to be more on the careful side, and best assume for the worst, then regret it later. After all, I have lost enough friends when I was too careless with my actions, and even more so when everything was too late to fix.
But that was in the past, and I am more in control of my emotions and rash actions. Though I still can't get a read on Xivius or his intentions.
"For now, I will leave it at that, I better check up on Isaiah and Eris. Wait, where is Silvis?" Gald spoke his mind aloud.
Silvis's (POV)
[Location, Fort Nuel; Area, Mess Hall]
After a long day of working, it is time for the hard workers to get their energy back, and how is that done? By skipping out on unpacking and pestering the cook for food of course!
"Oi, Henry! Dinner ready yet? I am starving!" I looked around to the kitchen area to see Henry, our main cook, and one of the very few Darknuts who is like us.
Henry is a dark haired Darknut who has a who had a talent for cooking, and always seen in the kitchen washing dishes, cooking for the fort, or cooking up new ideas for the next meal. Henry is a busy person who always puts his best foot forward, and makes it so that every Darknut has the energy to make it to tomorrow.
"Silvis... You keep bothering me, and I will make sure you will get HALF A MEAL!" An angry brown headed Darknut wearing a 'kiss the cook' apron yelled back. "And what did you do with my other aprons!? You know I hate your pranks that involve with any of my favorite pass time!" Henry continued to scold me.
"Aww, come on man, your cooking is the best! Don't do me in like that!" I begged the cook.
When I say best cooking, I really mean that, I bet my entire savings that if he could go to the annual cooking tournament held in Hyrule castle town, he could definitely win first place every time. His cooking is legendary, and I have high standards of good food because of Henry. I even made the apron as a partial joke to him before we left for the final Dreadnut experiment.
"Give my other aprons back, then I'll let you off with a warning this time, but next time you won't get off as easy!" He turned back to his many cooking pots, one of which had his famous Spicy Beef Stew with Carrots. One of my personal favorites of his many dishes.
"Yes sir!" I saluted Henry before making my way around the corner stopping to hear Henry mumble something.
"…Your lucky I somewhat like the apron…" I heard him begrudgingly accept it, which made me chuckle a bit before heading off to get his aprons which I stashed in the nearby food/spices storage room.
As I made my way back, I remembered that Isaiah must have been hungry from all of the fighting he had been doing. I know I would be, though I can't help but think what he must be going through right now.
"Did you get my aprons back yet?" I heard Henry's voice as I reentered the kitchen.
"Yeah… here they are, where do you want me to put them?" I asked Henry.
"Where you took them off before you replaced them with this abomination you call an apron." Henry snarky replied.
"Oh, don't be like that, you know you love it deep down inside!" I laughed as I placed them back in the clothing area.
He huffed before adding the lids for the food to slowly cook, Before cleaning up his stations.
"…Henry, can I ask a favor?" I slowly asked.
"No, you can't have seconds." He swiftly replied.
"No, not this time, it's a different matter for someone else, you know the Dreadnut project?"
"…What about it?" He asked before washing his used utensils in the sink.
"Long story short, it was a success, but the guy is unconscious from the overstress from the trial. He is currently in the infirmary, and should probably be extremely hungry, could you make him something really quick?"
Henry took a good long look at me before giving in.
"…Fine, but if you eat his food, then I will not make the potato stew that you love so much for a week, and I will be expecting a thank you from him personally… Is that understood, Silvis?" Henry pointed a soapy knife at me with a sharp glare from his eyes.
"Of course sir!" I saluted happily.
Henry made a big sandwich that had thick beef and ham slices with lettuce. I was tempted to eat it, but not having my potatoes was almost like a death sentence.
I sadly can't risk it.
"Alright, here is his sandwich, tell him to get well soon for me. Oh, and dinner should be ready in about 15-20 minutes." Henry waved off.
As I took the plate. I walked out the mess hall to the infirmary as my destination. I looked ahead to see Eris coming to the mess hall.
"Ah, Eris! Is Isaiah up yet, or is he still unconscious?" I asked.
"No, I just left, I was going to the mess hall for a bite to eat, what is Henry making?" I could see her daydreaming of all of the food that she had.
"Main dish is Spicy Beef with Carrots. Look forward to it!" I raised a thumbs up, as Eris looked as excited as I did.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
We heard a chilling Scream in the direction of the infirmary room… that can't be good.
Eris's (POV)
[Location, Fort Nuel; Area, Infirmary]
Carrying Isaiah to the infirmary was one of the last things on my mind after he had completed the trials, I would have thought that he would have passed with almost no effort when I first seen a glimpse of his skills, but I guess not everyone is perfect and I still have a long way to go on being strong. Though… it was a terrifying sight to see him go up against that monster, what the hell even was that thing?! It uses fire based magical abilities and has a wide range skill with weaponry… and Isaiah was barely able to fend it off with multiple close calls. He would be my best bet in order to get stronger, and maybe I'll pick up on a few tricks like he did? Who knows!
As I open the doors to the infirmary, I had placed him down on a bed with a flower vase next to it. I placed him down onto the bed and pulled the bed cover over him.
I took a long look at Isaiah, who was just barely breathing. He was so light throughout the time I carried him. Memories had flashed back to the nightmarish holding that Isaiah was in… it just seems… unreal now.
He looks… so weak… nothing compared to the first time I had met him. 'Was he going to be ok' is what I want to know.
[Knock knock]
I turned to see the open doors of the room with an older person there. I felt my nerves spike up with dread. It was one of the Elders, Xivius who was standing there.
"Oh, the Dreadnut has company already? I'll just go then." Xivius had turned to leave.
"Oh no sir! I-I just got here, he is still asleep, if you want to see him physically." No wait-WHAT THE FUCK AM I SAYING?! Elders in general are bad news, especially right now when I am not mentally prepared! Remember what Gald said, control your breathing, and stand at attention. You will be fine.
"Well, if you insist. I'll just be in and out. My old bones aren't what they used to be, and it is almost time for my nap." The Elder casually said. Normally, I would let my guard down, but I know better, like Gald said, 'First to falter, first to go down.'. The Elder walked over to Isaiah to get a look at him in his weakened form.
"…This… this is the Dreadnut that killed the beast?" Xivius sounded almost shocked. "He looks like he would have trouble to even slay a Bokoblin! You, you were at the trials of the Dreadnut project, were you not? Explain this!" Xivius began to raise his voice.
The sudden change of his personality was too sudden, it caught me off guard.
"I-I'm sorry sir, I don't know the details of-" I tried to explain.
"You were a part of the expedition team, were you not?" He interrupted me.
"Y-Yes sir, b-but-" I once again tried to talk.
"You were there to view the trials, were you not?!" He was increasing his aggression and voice, once again interrupting me.
"Y-Yes sir, but the thing is-" I was really trying to explain to him why, but his persistence in breaking my mental shell was waning fast.
"THEN WHY DOES THE WEAKLING LOOK LIKE HE HAD LOST!?" He was officially yelling, and it was loud enough to shake my core.
"I can explain that…" a familiar voice stopped the thought process of the elder as he looked to the origins of the voice. Gald was here.
"The reason why he looks like that is because of what Korbin did to him the past month. And he still managed to complete the trials, despite being in that condition." Gald finished as he walked into the room.
The air so was tense, I thought I forgot to breathe for a moment.
"…Ok then, I guess I will grab a bite to eat, then turn in for tonight. I would like a report of the details for tomorrow morning after breakfast." He exited the room, and a moment passed before I fell on my knees breathing in from the pressure released.
The look in the elder's eyes were absolutely terrifying. If looks could kill, I would be dead 10 times over.
Gald had have me a hand up as I got control of my breathing. Holy shit was that not intense, Gald wasn't lying when he said that I should keep my guard up around the Elders.
"You alright Eris?" Gald asked me.
I nodded in response.
"Go and get a bite to eat, I am sure that Henry has something good at the mess hall to take your mind off of this. I'll take watch over Isaiah until he wakes up." Gald put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, as he grabbed a seat near Isaiah.
"Alright General Gald." I replied before exiting the infirmary room.
As I headed towards the mess hall, I ran into Silvis, who was holding a sandwich plate.
"Ah, Eris! Is Isaiah up yet, or is he still unconscious?" Silvis asked.
"No, I just left, I was going to the mess hall for a bite to eat, what is Henry making?" I asked with a bit of drool leaking from my mouth from imagining the delicious food that he could possibly be making.
"Main dish is Spicy Beef with Carrots. Look forward to it!" Silvis raised a thumbs up as I pumped myself for another tasty dish to eat.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
We heard a chilling Scream in the direction of the infirmary room… that can't be good.
"What the hell was that?!" We both asked while going back to the Infirmary.
Isaiah's [POV]
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I felt myself scream out of the total nightmare of going through quest after quest of being everyone's' errand boy, going around doing pointless shit, cleaning out hoards zombies and bandits, dealing with the Thalmor assholes who assume bullshit because they think they are better in general, settling the war with both losing sides with the Thalmor waiting for the victor at the end. Not to mention the vampire menus rising up to cause even more havoc as the Dawnguard try to rise against them. And don't get me started with fucking Miraak, that damned fuckboy, taking dragon souls making life hell early in the game with his bullshit and what not.
As I began to breath in an out trying to regain my breathing as I quickly recognized where I belong…
"Wait… I'm not dead?" I spoke aloud for someone to surprisingly answer.
"No, you are alive and well, Isaiah." The voice made me jump as turned my head to the person next to me.
It was a golden Darknut… I was on high alert, a high-ranking person, the obvious leader in charge. Shit… talk about out of the frying pan, and into the fire.
"…Where am I?" I asked looking around, spotting a vase with flowers in it next to my bed.
"You are in my fort of operations, Fort Nuel, a safe haven for us, around the Hylia region, in case you were wondering."
"…What happens now?" I already know the answer to that question, and I know what to do, but the real question is, where?
"You are now in our custody, but-" The golden Darknut was still talking, but I tuned him out… that was all the information I need to know, and I know what is going to happen next… after all, I was Korbin's toy before.
I will NEVER let that happen to me again.
I got ready to fight my way out as I took the vase while Gald was talking mid-sentence and slammed the vase into the side of his helmet, then I threw the covers that were on me over him to blind him, stood on top of the bed, and kicked his lower body and kneed him while using my other leg to use his falling body as a jumping board to the exit of this room, ha, too easy, they should have at least had me chained up!
As I busted down the doors, the first thing I saw was the sky turning night, around Dusk if I am right. I looked both ways and saw a pair of Darknuts in the shadows rushing to my location in one direction, damn they work fast!
I took off in a sprint to evade them as I heard the Golden Darknut say something, but I was too far to hear, nor care about what they were saying, I needed to find an exit, NOW!
I could still feel the lingering effects of the weakening of my body, better, but still feel like shit. But I won't let that stop me like when Tiny did. If I want to survive, I need to adapt, or die trying.
As I continued through the halls and turns, I heard bells ring, as heavy footsteps echo rapidly, and from what I can tell, they are definitely heavy metal boots. Oh shit… am I in a Darknut fortress?! This is going to be harder then I thought. As I continue to make my way to an area coming across 4 Darknuts, who instantly drew their swords, I went around them and continued to rush through the halls as more shouting, and more boots are coming after me.
CAN THIS DAY GET ANY WORST?!
I opened a doorway to an opening to what it looks like a courtyard with the gate being on the other side of the field I kicked my running into high gear as I saw the gates of freedom once again.
As I arrived towards the gates, there was movements at the top of the area of the gates, then hearing a switch that lowered the gates right before I could get out.
"DAMN IT ALL!" I yelled to the gates pounding at it in frustration. I looked for another way to get out before looking at an army's worth of Darknuts before me. Armed, and armored to the teeth as they had big ass broadswords and bows pointed at me. 2 familiar figures being with them… Gold and Silver.
"Isaiah, of all of the things that you would do, this was the last thing that I could have imagined you doing. Causing a scene, and getting the entire fort agitated. Are you even listening?!" The Gold armored one spoke up.
"…" I said nothing as I continued to look around at the gate for a possible escape route. The gate itself was around 20 feet tall, with a stone foundation and the steel crossed fitted gate like you would see in any steel castle gate. All there is was the overhanging rope with a bucket hanging off of a long 5–6-meter rope near the gate's upper level… 'who the fuck?- I am not going to question it. Thank you shitty luck for making it like that.
I then rushed at the gate and began to climb the grated like gate like a latter as I heard the same guy telling me to stop, but as I jumped off of the gate to grab ahold of the bucket, I heard arrows being fired as I struggled to pull myself up with my arms as arrows began to hit me. I felt a familiar bitter sensation I thought I had forgotten about a long time ago… pain, my sense of pain was coming back, and I didn't like it, even as dull and faded as it was. But I won't let that stop me from climbing, I'll just fling myself over the walls when I get over. As I pulled myself up with more arrows getting inside of me, I saw an old man in a black and white themed armor who pulled me up and launch me off the 20-foot drop, back to the field below as I saw him jump after me.
I landed to the ground with all of the arrows snapping off with the tips being embedded in me. I looked around to see all arrows stopped firing, the soldiers stopped dead in their tracks and backed off… what the hell is going on?! I saw the old man who was approaching me to stomp on me, which I rolled away and tried to get up, which I was kicked away, making me annoyed.
I attempted to get up again, but he ran up to me to knock me down to the ground again…
This old bastard… I can feel the ticks forming on my head.
This old guy prevented my escape, and he is humiliating me!
NO! calm yourself Isaiah! You made it this far, you can kick the cane from this old man, as easy as pie. But he is something else though… who the hell is he…? I look to him to see a smug fucking grin. That's it! Let's play by his rules, if he doesn't want me to get up, then I will make the ground my territory!
"Here I thought you were you might be somewhat special when you tried to climb the rope, but to my disappointment, you are just too weak." The older armored man mocked.
As he once again approached me, I rolled into him catching him by surprise, but he jumped back allowing me to roll onto my feet in a crouching position as we stared at each other. He lost his smile and just stared at me, like he is trying to read me or something. Let's see how he likes being fucked with, as I shot my own smug grin. That ticked him off as he again ran at me.
I didn't get up off of the ground, as a matter of fact, I rolled forward to try to double kick him, but he dodged left of me, which I was still on the ground, so I was able to stop my momentum, and roll left to try to coil around the old man's leg. To his surprise, he was shocked, and I was able to get a lock on his leg as I tried to make him topple over me.
He, to my surprise, was able to lift me with ease, and flicked his leg forward, forcing me to let go as I again rolled away on the ground. As I stopped, I faced him, still on the ground, doing what you might call a 'lazy' pose. I had my head being supported with my hand and one of my legs propped up like I was taking a picture for a magazine at a beach.
The old man just stood there with an annoyed gaze that could give Korbin a run for his money, but I wasn't going to just be the attacker, I won't stoop so low to his level.
"Get Up." the old man told me.
I will go lower…
"Huh? I thought you wanted me to be on the ground, but now you want me up? Dude, make up your mind." I retorted with a heavy amount of sarcasm back at him.
His gaze sharpened, as did his voice did too.
"Get…Up…" He threatened again. He reminded me of Korbin.
"Hey, here is a better idea!" I spoke with a charismatic voice, then I posed a challenge.
"Why don't you make me." I said in a rebellious voice while me still being laid out on the ground.
There was a change in the air, as it started to rain a bit as he pulled his sword out.
"Uh-oh…" I spoke out before he was running towards me.
Ok, risky plan, but it should catch him off guard at the very least.
As he was about to go for a slice I rolled backwards, but before I got to position, I was stabbed through the chest, and hoisted up… this is familiar…
"If you got this far with the beast, than I am more disappointed with it, then I am you." The old man ridiculed me.
"That is the nicest insult that anyone has ever said to me." I taunted.
I wasn't lying.
Before he could reply, I grabbed the cross guard of the sword with one hand, and embedded the sword more into my torso, while also delivering a punch to his face. But much to my surprise, he caught the punch and gripped it tight, slowly twisting my wrist in the opposite direction, and crushing my hand.
"That… was unexpected. But you have to try better than that before ever getting a hit on me." The old man stated.
I tried kicking him, but he was wearing heavy armor, and I can't do much in my weakened state as the sword is already in me… what is there to do?! His crushing grip was getting annoying, looks like I need to break my wrist to do anything.
As I got my hand positioned to break, I had used my other hand to try to punch at an awkward angle, which he moved his head to exactly where I needed it to be. I used all of my strength to break my wrist to get a good elbow bash to his face, but at the last second, he pushed away the sword, and let go of my hand to avoid the surprise attack.
"Damn it!" I mumbled.
There was a good distance away from each other, so I used this time to fix my wrist.
"Well now, you have my sword, I suppose that you have the upper hand now, but at the cost of a broken wrist, and because you are a Dreadnut, it will take some time to regenerate the damage done-"
I flicked my hand forward
[SNAP]
"-for you to…Eh?" The old man seemed stunned about the snapping sound.
I was flexing my recently broken wrist and using the said wrist to grip the sword to pull it out of my chest.
"Huh… last time I saw a Dreadnut, it took him half an hour to recover from each of the trails… but that was nearly half a year ago… I guess investing in Korbin was worth the trouble." The old man voiced out.
He had invested into Korbin. Like he ordered?! WHO IS THIS GUY?!
I know better than to use a sword against a man of this caliber, especially since he seems to be at a higher chain of command then the golden Darknut. This is new information for me. But that can be thought out later. I cannot fight him with the sword as he will just take it back. So the best move is to dispose of it.
I had turned around in a whirling motion for the sword to gain momentum, and I chucked it into the wall nearby. The sword part being embedded.
"Oh? Why did you not use the sword, you would have the advantage against an old man like me." The old man asked.
"I may be hardheaded, but I am not a complete idiot to use a sword against someone who has the entire fort at his command, you are able to fight too well in general, and I assume you would just take back the sword when I will inevitably make a mistake, letting you get it back. So why go through all of that trouble, when we could just duke it out like the days of old?" I responded.
He chuckled. "Is that so? I guess there is more to you then meets the eye."
"What can I say? I am full of surprises." I responded as I got into a battle position.
The rain was increasing, but we did not move, as our eyes were locked with each other. I had taken the chance to analyze my opponent, he is old, he has heavy armor that will slow him down, and most notably, he knows how to fight effectively. So, what are my odds of winning against the old man in hand-to-hand combat? 0%. Absolute domination against me. Reason? I am weakened, and I feel like I cannot take much more damage, and the arrows that are in me are still inside me, broken, but still inside me. so the best course of action, is evasion… as much as I hate to run away, it is my only viable option despite my body telling me to fight to the end with the old man in front of me. I know damn well what my limitations are, and even if I had by some miracle won this fight, I still have an army of Darknuts to deal with, and the Golden Darknut who I took a cheap shot at will probably still be pissed off at me. And he is most likely the second in command here. So my plan is to run to the gate, and essentially do what I did before.
So what are the good and bad news?
Good news, I am near the gate, and I still have enough spunk to at least run a few miles away from the camp. I have a somewhat idea of where to go next to when I escape, the Ordon Village, work as an assistance, and get some money to get enough to travel to Zora's domain to tell them about what will happen, and possibly raise my likability with the Zora's to put in an order for the Zora's tunic.
Bad news, they have an army to chase after me, and most likely horses to run me down if the carriages I saw earlier meant anything. And I doubt that they would just leave me alone even after I lose them. Most likely hunt me down like an evasive bandit leader with a high bounty. And wherever I would go, they would be following right behind me, I don't want to bother the inhabitance especially with the army of Darknuts. Maybe if I was fed, and armed, I could wipe out a good number of them on my own. But that is just speculation.
Better now than never, I would rather take my chances with escaping, and hiding out in the lost woods, after all, I would have an immunity to its mysterious 'lost' magic thanks to Faron.
I broke eye contact, and ran to the gates to climb, I could hear his heavy footsteps, but they are sounding fainter… was he not going to chase me? Doesn't matter, my escape takes priority, and the sooner the better. I jumped to the bucket again, expecting the arrows to again pelt me with arrows, but none came oddly, as I continued to climb the rope, I heard a swishing sound from below. I took a quick look to see the sword I embedded in the wall earlier being flung to me. As the sword once again embedded itself, cutting the rope towards the end, I fell back to the ground.
"DAMN IT!" I screamed out to the heavens and landed to the ground once again with the old man looking down at me with disappoint in his eyes.
"As I thought… you are a runner, not a fighter… a coward who would rather hide then fight."
"…" I couldn't say anything as my vision blurred, I remembered this situation as I did before… when freedom was first shown to me, I just booked for it, as I did just now. First with Tiny, now this old man.
He steps on my face, my head sinking into the soft ground. "You are pathetic, a poor excuse of a Dreadnut, and even more so with poorly displayed combat abilities of an idiot. You are weak." He continued to berate me as my anger had started to grow as he continued to press my head further into the wet dirt.
My anger surges up from the memories. Throughout my entire second life, has been complete living hell for me. I have suffered to the point of not feeling pain and grown stronger from that. I had been put against the odds with the losing hand in my favor and won through sheer willpower with nothing but my wits and what was given to me. Despite all of what I had done, he still has the gall to call me a coward? This old bastard of all people!? He has no idea of what kind of suffering I had been through, what I am STILL going through! And he has the audacity to call ME!? WEAK!?
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME WEAK!"
I grabbed ahold of his foot, and with all of my strength, I raised my legs to get a good kick to his chest plate on him making him stumble backwards, as I got up, I saw the rope and bucket, with the bucket filled halfway with water. I looked to the old Darknut who looked unamused by my statement. I took it and decided to use it as my weapon of choice. I swung the water bucket around getting the momentum up and swung it directly to the Darknut who moved his head out of the way.
"Let's see about this." I said before yanking it back to me, in which he also dodged by ducking as the bucket filled with water passes over him. I predicted this, but did he think that I won't play dirty. As the bucket of water passed over him, it also drenched the head of the unfortunate man. Momentarily blinding his sight with water. As the bucket came back, I whipped it behind me and swung it over head, then I yanked it down with the bucket breaking upon impact with the old man's head.
"Finally! A good hit!" I cheered as I gathered the rope for my next move. He must have been disoriented from the impact, so I went up to him with the rope being whipped out to him.
But to my surprise, he grabbed the rope, and yanked hard, pulling me effortlessly towards him as I was off of my feet flying towards him. He had gripped me by the throat, not only crushed it, causing my to choke a bit, but then slammed me to the ground letting go. He got on top of me and started to beat the ever-living shit out of me with his gauntlets.
I felt my skull break more and more with each blow to my skull, my nose without a doubt broken and crushed, teeth were knocked out of my mouth, and my jaw dislocated a few times for sure, as my sight had slowly got more bloodier and bloodier. I tried to cross my arms to block my face, but he just held my arms to the side as he continued to beat me to oblivion with his other hand.
A minute had passed before I stopped resisting to the inevitable beating. What felt like a remembrance from the past had come back to me. For me time slowed as the punches continued to come full bombardment against me, seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours… and after for what felt like 5 hours, the beatings stopped. I can feel my face restructure with the little energy I have left. I felt a weight off of my chest and heard footsteps stepping away from me…
"So, dinner ready yet?" I heard the old man casually say.
A conversation was going on in the background as I struggled to roll over. I needed to get up, I still have my pride to prove that I am anything but weak. I was still on the ground. I needed to take steps to get up to continue to fight, I'll show him, I'LL SHOW THEM ALL WHO THEY ARE FUCKING WITH!
I moved my legs inward to my body's center of gravity, used my hands to get up off of the ground by pushing… breathing was getting harder, but it doesn't matter, I can worry about that later, I moved my legs to where I can start to rise, but my body screamed at me to stop, I didn't listen, and kept going, rising up to my feet. It was hard to balance with the dizziness beginning to shake me, but I stood my ground, and raise my fists to start round 3.
"…I have not… come this far… to die now…" I took ragged breaths through my pauses.
My hearing was shot, as I could only make out mumbles and a ringing sound. My vison had cleared, and I saw 2 Darknuts coming my way. More damn obstacles.
As one of them began to grab me, I pushed their hands away, and tried to punch one of them, only for my hand to weakly bounce off of their armor as I fell into the other's arms. They both restrained my arms and took me somewhere in the fort. My head was too heavy to hold up, so I let it rest to gather energy to fight back when I get my strength.
…
After a while of dragging, I overheard the 2 goons talk.
"I still can't believe that this guy had actually managed to land a hit against an Elder! I would only have thought the other Generals and the other Elders could actually fight on even grounds." Goon 1 spoke breaking the silence.
"Yeah, especially with how light he is, I am surprised that he had any strength to spare… wait… isn't he malnourished?" Goon 2 asked Goon 1.
"Damn, I think so, even after that beating Elder Xivius gave him, he still stood up. That is some willpower he has… though I wonder why the Elder didn't order us to cut him down and dispose of the body like the rest?" Goon 1 wondered.
"It is probably because he is the only surviving Dreadnut of that ultimate project that General Gald was going to. I mean, look at his face! It is all healed up! Bloodied, but still completely healed!" Goon 2 grabbed my face showing it to the helmet of Goon 1.
'Fuck you.' I mentally cursed.
"Guess you have a point there… I would have to spar with him when he gets his head out of his ass though. Maybe pick up a trick or 2 from him. After all, General Gald did say to spread our fighting skills. And his did manage to land a hit on an Elder in his condition." Goon 1 complemented.
The rest of the conversation was just talk about training and other small talk as we arrived at my destination, a cell… a goddamn cell.
It is like a fucking loop for me!
Imprisonment, fight Eric, catch a breath, fight trials, get knocked out, fight the rest of the trials, catch a breath, fight Tiny, attempt escape, fight Tiny again, get knocked out, attempt escape, fight an old man, and now…imprisonment… again…
Is… is this what my life is now?
Just fighting, failures, and imprisonment?!
I DON'T WANT TO LIVE THIS KIND OF LIFE!
I was tossed into the cell, which had a bed, and small window high up near the ceiling of the room. A reminder of my first cell, except without the massive amounts of blood and piles of flesh.
I felt too week to get up, onto the bed, so I weakly crawled to the nearest corner of the room in the back of the dark cell. I curled up into a ball, and I hoped to whatever god out there to end my miserable cycle of disappointment.
For once, I felt cold, alone, and abandoned.
For once, I lost all faith in myself to continue forward.
For once… I wanted to die.
I closed my eyes for the inevitable cycle to continue for tomorrow.
…And slept…
[15 minutes earlier]
Gald's (POV)
2 minutes has passed after Eris and Xivius had left. and I am left alone with my thoughts, and my questions that I want answered.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
…and my questions keep adding up…
Isaiah had awakened with an ear-piercing scream as he shot up out of bed sweating like he got out of a nightmare. After he caught his breath, looked around to see his new resting place.
"Wait, I'm not dead?" He asked in confusion.
"No, you are alive and well Isaiah." I responded, as he turned his head to me in a surprised motion.
"Where are we?" He asked another question. Looks like my questions can wait, after all, we have all the time we need here in this fort.
"You are in my fort of operations, Fort Nuel, a safe haven for us, around the Hylia region in case you are wondering." I responded in kind.
He questioned Eris about the geography of the land before, so I expect that he would do the same with me, as long as some my questions are answered.
"…What happens now?" He had a darkened look on his face.
I would imagine that he is not too keen on going through what he had been through before. Of course I am a general, and a teacher of many students. He would follow my lead while also becoming stronger to protect himself, and his allies. That is the way I have always thought, that is the way I will teach.
"You are currently in our custody, but there is no need to worry about anything that Korbin put you through, we will treat you like one of us, go through training, and we will eventually get you up to speed in how strong you can-"
I was interrupted mid-sentence by a case being smashed into the side of my helmet, followed by his blanket being thrown on me, then being kicked in the mid-section, which buckled me down. I was then kicked back, and Isaiah did, what I presumed jumped off of my shoulder, and broke down the door to the infirmary.
…What in the name of Din just happened...?
As I turned over to take off the blanket, I heard 2 distinct voices coming from the direction of the broken door. Eris and Silvis came in. Wait, why does Silvis have a sandwich?
"General Gald, are you ok?!" Eris yelled frantically as she tried to help me up off of the ground.
"Gald, what happened? Who did this, and where is... no... don't tell me." Silvis was already concluding.
"Yes, Isaiah attacked me, and escaped." I answered.
"Why would Isaiah do that?!" Silvis started to get angry.
"I don't know, I need to from him, but we need to get him first before-"
"AN ENEMY HAS INFILTRATED THE BASE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL." The bells were ringing throughout the fort, and they were already hearing the thundering footsteps of the entire fort's troops searching the fort for the intruder…
"-…Everyone gets the wrong idea…" I sighed…
"Ok you two, you know the drill." I said while going out the door with them following me.
If I had a hunch of where he would be, it would be near the gate entrance. He wanted freedom back in the trials, so I would imagine the confusion that he would mistake us as Korbin's 'associates'.
When we found Isaiah, he was at the gates of the fort.
"DAMN IT ALL!" I heard Isaiah scream aloud while pounding on the gate.
Damn, he must be really pissed off, but he isn't the only one here that is angry.
"Isaiah, of all of the things that you would do, this was the last thing that I could have imagined you doing. Causing a scene, and getting the entire fort agitated. Are you even listening?!" I shouted to him.
Isaiah just looked at the gate, and started to climb it, what could he possibly do by climbing the gate-there is a bucket hanging…
"…Silvis…" I spoke with annoyance.
"…Yeah?" he responded meekly.
"You are going to clean up your pranks after all of this is over, tomorrow morning, then we will be sparing for the next 3 hours, with no breaks." I scolded Silvis.
"ERK!? Y-Yes sir…" he sounded downcast.
"ARCHERS! Take aim, and fire at will! Do not let him escape!" I ordered. Arrows were sent flying through the air with most of them missing their target by up to a meter… we are going to fix that by adding more archery training to the training schedule for them, this is unacceptable.
Isaiah had climbed higher and higher to the railing, then a figure had appeared grabbing Isaiah, and launching him back to the ground, the figure jumping after Isaiah shortly after.
As the figure landed, he was revealed to be Xivius… my blood went cold…
"…Oh-no…" As I saw Xivius go up to Isaiah to step on his body, for him to move out of the way to get up, in which, Xivius had kicked Isaiah away. Isaiah tried to get up again, but the same was resulted as he was kicked away again. He was clearly frustrated, but what he did next completely shocked us all, as Xivius was going for another kick, Isaiah rolled underneath, making him jump back.
Xivius… retreated…?
I mean, I would understand why, it was an unexpected move, but for an Elder? I would have thought that they have seen many things, they were the peak of strength and knowledge. But for Xivius to jump back… made him seem beatable, a moment of weakness, one would say. which is extremely rare in a veteran, even more so for an Elder.
To top things off, Isaiah even had the balls to smirk at Xivius, which no doubt pissed him off. He ran to Isaiah, who just stuck to the ground… what is he doing? He had rolled forward to Xivius attempting to kick him, but dodged to the side of Isaiah, as he attempted another stomp on Isaiah. But to our surprise, Isaiah latched onto his leg.
The fool was crazy to do that, as he was sent flying by a swift kick towards the gate. He landed rolling into a strange pose as if he wasn't taking the Elder seriously. Isaiah hasn't landed a single attack, yet he looks confident. Almost cocky.
"Get up." Xivius finally spoke.
"Huh? I thought you wanted me on the ground, now you want me up? Dude, make up your mind." Isaiah responded with the heavy use of sarcasm… Is he asking for a Deathwish?!
"Get… Up…" I could hear the venom in his voice, this won't end too well for Isaiah.
And then when I thought it couldn't get much worse, it did.
"Hey, I have a better idea!" Isaiah had spoke with a happy voice.
Isaiah, for the love of the Gods, don't you dare-
"Why don't you make me?" I could hear the unbearable silence that deafen all of us as the rain began to fall.
He not only challenged an Elder, but he also managed pissed off the most unstable one.
Xivius drew his sword, and charged at Isaiah, who got impaled and lifted up by the sword not long after.
They had a small chat, before Isaiah embedded the rest of the sword into himself and tried to punch Xivius. A clever move, but Xivius caught it, and was using his hand against him by twisting it. Ouch, that has got to hurt.
But again to our surprise, Isaiah had attempted to punch the Elder with his free hand, but failed, but what we didn't even think of, was the fact that he just used his captured hand, and broke it, letting himself use his elbow to try to hit him.
Xivius had let go of his sword and jumped back a few meters away from Isaiah.
Was Isaiah was pushing back an Elder? Xivius of all people?!
Granted, he is not in good shape, but a push, is still a push!
Xivius had a small conversation with Isaiah, as he fixed his wrist with almost no problem and pulled out the sword. And the next thing he did was chuck the sword into the wall.
That was a smart move, Xivius is one of the best at hand-to-hand combat, and is almost certain to get the sword, I would have done the same.
As Isaiah had readied his stance to fight Xivius hand-to-hand, Xivius also took a stance against Isaiah. A few moments pass as the rain falls harder and harder. Then Isaiah rushed to the gates to climb it again… was he still intending on escaping? There are not a lot of places to retreat to, even less since we have horses to quickly catch up to him.
But to our shock, Xivius darted off towards his sword, yanked it out, and flung it to the top of the rope which Isaiah was climbing, cutting it, making Isaiah fall to the ground again and again, cursing at the sky.
"DAMN IT!"
Xivius had began to berate Isaiah, calling him a coward, a runner, but most notably, he called him weak…
Isaiah is anything but weak, sure, he runs away, but he plans ahead, to get himself into a better position, like with the Beast from Korbin's arena. Isaiah fought almost evenly against the beast. If only Xivius knew…
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME WEAK!" Isaiah had roared out in fury as he grabbed Xivius's leg and got a good kick in his mid-section.
He then got up to grab the bucket that was cut down from him, and swung it like a weapon towards Xivius, who moved his head, and as it came back to Isaiah from behind Xivius, he ducked, evading the bucket, but not what it was holding. Water spilled out all over his head, as Isaiah had swung the bucket behind him and smashed the bucket over Xivius's head.
"Finally! A good hit!" Isaiah cheered.
I was speechless. I know Isaiah is full of surprises, but this had to be one of the most surprising accomplishment I have seen yet. He actually managed to land a solid hit on Xivius. I would have never thought to use water to momentarily blind an enemy to then go for a counter attack, a simple, yet brilliant way to combat your enemy.
The small victory didn't last, as Isaiah tried to lay another attack with the rope, but Xivius caught it, and yanked Isaiah over to him, and grabbed Isaiah's throat, and crushed it, spilling blood, and slamming him down into the ground, got on him, and continuously started to punch him. It was bloody, and bits of bone, teeth, and flesh flew with each punch. Isaiah tried to defend himself, but after a minute, he just gave up resisting as Xivius continued with his brutal attacks. I looked over to Eris to see that even with her armor, she was shaking with fear, anger, or pity, I would not know. I was glad to trust the rumors about Xivius, otherwise, that could have been someone else I knew. All I wanted to know is why Isaiah attacked me out of the blue and tried to escape. But at this rate, I would never get my answers.
Five minutes have passed, and Xivius had just stopped his assault upon Isaiah's head. A bit of his brain was showing as his face was completely deformed. Xivius had got up and walked away from Isaiah.
"So, dinner ready yet?" Xivius casually spoke with blood on his gauntlets, armor and face. It was unnerving.
Henry was present and said that dinner is just about ready.
"Excellent, have someone dispose of the body, we have no need for useless corpses." Xivius began to walk back to the fort.
Right behind him, was Isaiah, struggling to get up. He was bloodied, as his skull regenerated completely healing his head.
"…I have not… come this far… to die now…" He was weakened considerably if the heavy breathing meant anything. Isaiah was shaking with willpower for just trying to stand up, but he kept a sharp glare to Xivius.
Xivius stopped and turned looking impressed with the Dreadnut.
"…On second thought, you two, take him to the dungeon. I have a slight interest in him." Xivius ordered 2 of my men to take Isaiah.
"SIR!" The two Darknuts saluted, and grabbed Isaiah, who tried resisting, but failed, as he is being taken into the fort.
"General Gald, like I said before, I want a full detail report of the experiment, I want no details left out, and I want the report brought to me before I leave, I could care less if you rush or not, but I want it readable. Any and all information about the current Dreadnut is vital for us to know. Are your orders clear?" Xivius ordered.
"Yes, Elder Xivius." I saluted to him.
Xivius nodded and took off to the mess hall for dinner. After seeing what event took place, I lost my appetite.
3rd Person (POV)
With the day nearing its end, many questions had not been answered, Isaiah is again on the brink of death, Gald has a report due by tomorrow, and the sandwich still uneaten. What lies for tomorrow, as the story unfolds? Find out in the next chapter, in A Jester for Fate.
{End of Chapter}
Authors notes.
Wow, already at chapter 6, for those who had taken a deep interest in my story so far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As a beginner author, I feel proud to have gotten this far.
So for anyone who is wondering about why the length of my stories are long, it is because of what I read before. I hate short chapters, and if I would write stories, I would want them to be long, and for this story I have planned out… But if the chapters I am writing are too long, let me know and I might shorten it.
'Looks ahead into the future.'
Oooooo, that is a LONG way to go, NOT including the game story I also have planned out after this one, which is another story entirely, the twilight princess game story I mean, of course some of the parts are going to change, like the Zora's Domain part, though I would guess that some of the story would stay the same. Some of the major changes would be the interactions with some of the side characters. One of the more major ones being Zelda, Telma, and the Kakariko village and the Gorons, and of course, Link. There will be more changes with the story because of the characters I have added, and no, I won't give out any spoilers, so no dice, even if you tempt me with the sweet promise of friendship.
But that is enough about me and my story, lets talk about me and my story! But with QUESTIONS!
Also side note, Xivius is pronounced (Zee-Vee-us) kinda simple if you ask me or think about it.
Question 1; Why did Isaiah not die after the beating that Xivius gave. Was he not already close to death with Tiny?
Answer- HEY! That is 2 questions! But jokes aside, after the resting Isaiah got, he regained some 'energy', not much, but enough to just barely tank out Xivius's attacks. That and the willpower he has also played a huge part.
Question 2; When will Isaiah stop being everyone's bitch?
"HEY! I take offence to that!" Isaiah, the alternative version of me yelled out from the cell he was in.
Answer-This will probably be the last that he will be in this situation for a while, he needs a strong motivation or a reason to get stronger to survive in this world, or in his case, he has 3, Korbin, Ralios, and Xivius.
Question 3; Why did Isaiah attack Gald? Wasn't he a good character?
Answer- it is self-explanatory why Isaiah would not trust any of the 'Soldiers of darkness.'
Final Question, Why the fuck is with the Skyrim innuendo in a Legend of Zelda Fan Fiction?
Final Answer- …Memes…
Oh, before I end the notes, I will ask of you 3 things.
1; Aside from the Skyrim bit, there is a reference that I had hidden a quote from a game, if you find it, and can guess it, I will be happy. As for a hint… well… the most basic and probably most obvious one that I would give you is the word, "Zombie" and that it comes from a sequel of a game. And who says it, is probably the most lovable asshole in a white suit who could be the walking definition of sarcasm. Good luck.
2; On a scale of 1-10, How good is Isaiah's catch phrase? By that, how well does it fit his character? With 1 being god awful and 10 being a perfect fit, also, I hope I am not ripping off anyone from a movie or comic book series, I thought about this on my own.
"What can I say? I am full of surprises."
3; Who is your favorite character so far? I am curious to see what I am doing right for likability for the characters I have put out so far.
But with that out of the way, I will end this author's notes. I hope I answered some questions, and hope you guys have a great day, this is RedTokyo95, signing out.
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