(Cain's Journal First Log)
It was near the end of the Dark Age when I joined the City. A century before actually. Lady Efrideet was still around then. She guided me and taught me what it was to be a Hunter. Gonna pause here to explain something Journ, you're called Journ now Journal, my friend, we aren't made into a specific class of Guardian like most Civvies believe. Yes when we are first Raised we are given equipment made from any matter around us based on what we would be more inclined to, but we aren't resurrected a Warlock, remade a Titan, reborn a Hunter. We choose our paths. I chose to become a Hunter because, seeing the Guardians in action in the City? Titans were too bulky, not much for subtle, more suited to running up for a bitchsmack regardless if a nuke is going off in their face, and were always stuck protecting the Wall. Warlocks were too absorbed in their work and too reluctant to leave it, not to mention most say stuff I don't understand half the time. Hunters?
Hunters were free.
Free to go where they pleased.
Free to do as they wanted.
I wanted to be free.
In front of him stood a sea of soon to be corpses. A small distance gave him breathing room. Cain's body ran at the horde and a crackling was heard as his hand lashed out.
A short man was decapitated as Cain's arm slashed an Arc laced spear through his neck.
Cain's body ducked as a buzz-axe flew over his head. His form rolled and a molten gun barked its death knell, dropping the offender.
A familiar mask met his gaze as it flicked across the body.
His body bent back at the waist to avoid a cleaving slash from a black sword. A boot snapped up into the black glass mask and ripped the head off the swordsman, sending it soaring in the air.
Cain's eyes moved onto the next target.
A gun swung to his position as it's wielder made the mistake of standing between Cain's form and the looming stone tower in the distance. Cain's body jumped off the gun and kneed the man in the face hard enough to break his neck with a sickening snap.
His eyes saw a flicker of orange-red hair and hesitated briefly as it saw the pig tails it was done in. His body landed in front of the walking corpse and sent a flat hand through the skull on their shirt and out the back, bloody and dripping. They choked and Cain's arm ripped out and flicked the blood into the eyes of a white-faced enemy. His hands landed two quick jabs to the diaphragm and sternum before a spin kick to the head ended the blinded and choking threat.
A flicker of blue and red snapped into existence on either side as his legs jumped in reflex to two fists swinging at him. His pointed boots lashed out like greased lightning, sparking with Arc as they crushed the skulls of the foolish offenders.
His form landed and swept out a leg and used the recent corpse it tripped to absorb some fire from the surrounding area. His body began to make its way to the tower, paving the path in blood and bodies.
His Light crashed against them like a tidal wave and broke them like a shoddily made hut.
As his body drew close to the tower, Cain's sixth sense yelled for him to move. His body managed to just maneuver out of the way of a burning maul of Solar Light. His arms brought forth a flurry of Void laced blades that buried themselves in the body of the large form that sought to crush him.
A tinkling noise made its presence known as a purple arrow screamed towards his form. Cain's hand flicked a knife at blinding speed towards the source, hearing a dull thump a millisecond later. Covering his hand in Void Light, Cain's hand caught the arrow and spun using its momentum. His arm threw it and sent it through the chest of a Warlock with slicked back white hair that attempted to ambush him. They fell with a small thud.
A fellow Hunter sent its fist soaring for the Exo's throat. The hand was caught in Cain's own and the elbow was snapped with a sound of cracking metal. Cain's body slid under the Hunter's and they were flipped onto their back as their arm was pulled between their legs. Cain's boot stamped out their life with a single fall on their throat, the force separating neck from body.
A flaming blade was swung from behind Cain. His body dropped low on reaction and his hand latched around the wrist of the offender. His boot kicked the Warlock in the side of the knee, forcing the leg to go out of alignment and stretch as it was dislocated. His hand crushed the wrist releasing the sword as his other caught the blade and sliced it through the horizontal middle of the head, separating the dome right at the eye line. Cain's Light was pushed into the blade and kept it going.
His arm swung left and right, unleashing wave after wave of incinerating Solar Light upon his enemies.
His hand grabbed a blonde-haired woman with grease on her arms by her face and formed a grenade that stuck to her head then tossed her.
The explosion was massive.
His arm cleaved a man in furs in half from head to groin.
His eyes didn't even blink as his sword cut down an elderly gray haired woman.
Cain's blade blocked a knife that descended from above. His arms heaved and sent the Hunter flying and his feet stepped out, spun around like a tornado and bisected a blue skinned Titan with one large shoulder guard and then his blade sliced through a purple clad Warlock from hip to shoulder in one swing.
His senses screamed for him to get low and he did. A flaming bullet whizzed by. His Light connected a flaming chain to the blade and he stood and whipped the sword out, though it seemed to try to jerk back at the last moment once the target was revealed. It stuck in the chest cavity of a blue horned Exo with a black cloak. They choked and went down as the flaming blade was torn out of the melted metal.
His body leapt out of the way and the blade was pulled back to his waiting grip as a Nova Bomb was sent his way from a black helmeted, white robed Warlock. Cain's Light reached out and pulled, moving him out of its path. The Warlock was on him in an instant and was quickly joined by a red haired heterochromic Titan coming at him from the side with a fist of dangerously sparking Arc. A Human Hunter with black hair and eyes the color of flames fired a sniper shot from her vantage point, forcing his body to stumble as it gained a new hole. An Exo in robes snuck up with a sword held low, invisible to the naked and untrained eye.
Cain's sword was buried in the Warlock's chest and his arms drove the dying Lightbearer to the ground. Cain's body utilized its dexterity to dodge the fist that came by twisting out of the way using the blade as a balance. His legs kicked up and turned him upside down. The momentum carried his body forward and the sword was ripped out of the cadaver and sliced off the arm of the Titan as they passed by. Cain's feet landed on the ground with nary a sound. His torso turned and threw the sword like a frisbee. Its destination was found as it cut through the armor of the behemoth and buried itself in his spine right above the central point of the back and out the front of the Titan's chest. The living mountain fell with a loud thud and a choked cry. His body turned to the cloaked Warlock right before it struck with a single edged sword and sent a hand through its chest, then ripped it out the side causing the soon to be corpse to fall. His foot caught the blade's hilt as it was sent flying through the air and pinned the female Hunter to the stone with a small flick of his foot.
Cain's form turned to continue his war path to the tower when his body froze at the next opponents.
There were only two left between him and the tower.
One was a Warlock with fiery orange hair and green eyes and the other was a Hunter with deep blue eyes and gravity defying brown hair. Cain's body twitched as it struggled to move to reach the obstacles to the tower but it could not.
Cain would not allow it to.
The two ran towards him with Light blazing and his vision went black.
Cain's eyes blinked on as he stared at the ceiling of his home in Sanctuary, sitting up and having a minor moment of fight or flight. Eventually he calmed himself. 'It's been decades. Why did I have that damn dream...' he thought as he searched for an answer in the white ceiling.
All Exos had the dream. Some were lucky and it was a peaceful, lonely walk.
Others...were not so lucky, and Cain was never a lucky sort.
Cain looked outside, it was early in the morning based on the dark midnight sky that met his sight. Cain rested his arms behind his head as he laid there, thinking.
He would not get back to sleep that night.
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
Jack had been quiet in the week and a half following the arrival of the War Hounds. The time had not been spent idly on the Lightbearers' end however. They had scoured Pandora, studied its history and met with various leads on Jack.
Their efforts bore fruit.
"We have a lead," Sevin stated, entering Cain's home once allowed.
"Well don't keep me in suspense. Whatcha got Sev?"
"He has a girlfriend."
"Oh?" Now this was interesting.
The Hunter nodded. "Names Nisha. She is the Sheriff/Mayor of Lynchwood. Meriff if you would."
"I wouldn't."
There was a brief pause as Sevin's attempt at a pun seemed to not register. He continued with a mental sigh, his Ghost giving him moral support. "Regardless she runs the place very strictly. Lynchwood is an accurate name. Every law is punishable by death."
"I see. Well. We will have to pay her a visit then won't we? But we are going to see how she is first before we shoot. Got it?"
Sevin nodded.
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
Gaige flopped facedown onto the couch in Lilith's abode. She screamed into the cushion and beat her fists against the cloth covered comfort.
The red haired Siren peered out from a corner that led into the kitchen. She was wearing an apron that read 'Do not pun the cook' with a quick scrawl on the side of 'This means you Cain.' "Went to talk to Birdman?"
"Mhmm." Came the mumbled groan.
"Tried to talk to him about feelingsly shit?"
The flopped Gaige mumbled again in agreement. "Mhm.."
"And he, as usual, was denser than concrete?"
"Mhm..."
Lilith chuckled and walked over. She patted Gaige's shoulder and the Mechnomancer sat up and Lillith sat down. "Why can't he see it? I know I'm not exactly subtle so what is it? Am I too annoying? Am I too short? Is it my arm?" The girl shook her head, "No he has the same thing so thats not the issue," she looked down and placed her hands on her chest. "Are my boobs too small? Is my butt too small? Does he not like short hair? Am I not cute enough? Too cute?" Gaige interrupted her ramble with a gasp. "Is he gay? I mean no issue there he's still one cool guy-" her ranting ramble was stopped by Lilith's finger being pressed to her lips.
The girl tried to continue despite the blockage.
"Gaige. Shut up and listen." Lilith commanded. "First off, I can guarantee you Cain is not gay." Gaige moved her mouth to speak but was shushed. "I know because we slept together." The look of betrayal the young woman sent was very heated. "Oh don't be like that I didn't even know you then and it just...happened." she wisely did not continue and instead went to clear her throat when Gaige's glare seemed to be trying to do it's best to kill her. "He had helped me when this group of bandits had me dead to rights. Helped me heal up and stayed around for a while. And you've seen how he is. If Roland wasn't around I would have seen how things went...regardless," the Siren gave a smile and laid a hand on Gaige's shoulder. "Just be patient and wait for your moment then make it so obvious even he notices. Burn bright 'Firecracker' and light up the guy's world. God knows he needs it." She finished with a small chuckle.
"You seem to know more about him than you let on. Please tell me?" The puppy eyes were in full effect but Lilith shook her head.
"His secrets are not mine to tell G. He'll tell you I'm sure. You just gotta prove worthy of that. Hup-hup-hup! Before you say anything. Its not that he doesn't trust you. Some things require a deeper level of trust and should come from the source." Lilith amended as she had seen Gaige attempt to interrupt again.
The girl sighed and nodded. "I'll do my best."
"...Would playing a round of Dahl Vs Atlas make you feel better?" At the mention of the fighting game Gaige's eyes lit up.
"Yes! You're goin down Lilly!"
"Oh bring it scraphead!"
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
Cain arrived at the town after being given an nav point from Sevin.
Since he had arrived during the day, he decided to do some recon of the town before he staked out his target.
He had changed his attire to something much less associated with his person. With the hologram in place, Cain adopted a black leather jacket that had the hunter sigil in a dark crimson on the right collar flap with a bandolier that held multiple knives stored on top. Under the jacket his chest was wrapped in bandages. The right sleeve was gone leaving his metal arm shown. He had dark gray, worn, military cargo pants held up by a pair of belts with bullets and the Hunter sigil proudly displayed on the buckle. His feet were clad in combat boots.
Walking around, he saw a small doghouse. Approaching it, a small, neon pink skagg pup came out. The eyes of the Nighthawk grew wide.
No
Fucking
Way.
'Al?'
'Yes?'
'You can do a material/DNA scan right?'
His Ghost was silent for a moment. '...Yeeeees. Why?'
'Look.'
The Light materialized and flew over close the skagg. "You don't think...?" Cain nodded that he did indeed think...sometimes. Alastor sighed and scanned. The results confirmed what they had initially thought.
Dingles had a baby.
Cain immediately ran towards the baby with arms open. "Grandson!" He cheered. The pup's head picked up.
Why was there a person running at it who smelled of metal, gunpowder and...mother?
The skagg became excited and ran towards the figure and began eagerly sniffing them.
Cain knelt and held out a hand. The skagg sniffed it then a tongue hung out of it's tri-flapped mouth. He scratched under its chin and pet its head. "Who's a good little skagg? Who's a cute boy? You are, yes you are!" Cain spoke to the skagg in a baby voice he had seen people use on the children and few animals that were in the City.
The skagg rolled onto it's back and exposed its stomach.
Cain immediately pet it.
"Al."
"Yes?"
"We gotta postpone the mission."
"Wh...no. No. No! This skagg can come back with us after!"
"Butttt Allllllll, he could get hurt if a fight breaks out. Just look at his widdle self! He's sho cute," Cain showered the pup with affection through vigorous pets. "Yes you are!"
"Cain!"
He groaned. "Ughhh! Fineee! But if he gets hurt I blame you."
"I can live with that."
Cain looked back at the son of Dingles. "Alright little buddy. You gotta stay here for now okay? Later we will take you to your momma." The skagg seemed put out but reluctantly went back to its little house. Cain went to a saloon and 'found' some meat, see had Alastor transmat it while he chatted up the barkeep, and put it in the bowl of the pup.
Thus began their reconnaissance of Lynchwood.
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
It was night.
He sat crouched on a higher point of the city, looking out over it. 'The town was rowdy, always was, the overlawed reveling in lawlessness, but Officer Nighthawk was on the-' "OW!" Cain hissed as Alastor rammed his head. "What was that for?!" Cain whispered as he held his head in pain.
Alastor's 'eye' was half lidded in disappointment and annoyance. 'You were doing Officer Nighthawk again. Don't.'
'...His partner never understood Officer Nighthawk but he knew Deputy Al would come around.'
Alastor stared at his Guardian for a good, long, long, long while. Then he slowly turned and flew off.
Cain scoffed.
Buzzkill.
He sat atop the building and continued his reconnaissance for hours until his target exited her home to do her rounds of the town.
The cowboy hatted woman stepped out and he whistled. She was attractive. But that scowl was no bueno on that face, the Hunter thought.
The Nighthawk smirked as he watched his target, slowly gleaning information on her.
For a Sunday night it was going well.