Chapter 7: Parties and Pirates

So I'm a little crazy, what's the big deal? If you had to deal with with what I've seen you probably would've went insane a long, long time ago. If it means anything, I find you narcissistic, overbearing, and a general pain in the ass. Listen for all I have done I have done it for the protection of Remnant, which is a lot more than what you can say. I kill so those who cannot fight back are given a fighting chance. While many souls are extinguished by my flames (there is a logic there I'm just not finding it yet) I have kept the playing field level. That is what I must do, you cannot have one side more powerful than the other, that is how wars start and lives are ended. Sincerely from the gamemaster, The Welder.

I woke up with a massive ass headache throbbing in my head. Note to self:never to drink that many shots of whiskey again, I thought groggily trying to lift my body. The bottle used in last night's drinking session was spilled on the floor, not that it mattered since most of it was gone. I was a tad bit sad the fool who I took it from was one of my targets and I would never get a chance for a new one since it was a one of a kind brew called the 'Grimm Slayer'. I refrained from putting my usual headwear since the goggles would be hell on my eyes. Trying to focus I noticed that Takeda sent me a message while I was away with my previous endeavor. Welder I need your help, it started over our secure line, I'm in Atlas and I need you to hurry. I can't explain it right now because I'm not sure if it's safe to do so (was he doubting my technological prowess). Please come soon. I began to work to replace the explosives used in the blast in the cave which took most of the day as the calculations for making the explosive substance was very touchy (one false move and the only thing left of me would be the stool I'm sitting on and maybe the hat because reasons). It wasn't quite nightfall when I emerged from the warehouse I called home and sealed the door to make it as if no one had inhabited there since the year it was made. Getting to Atlas would be the tricky, being located in Vale had some perks but getting to Menagerie, Mistral, or Atlas was always a challenge. I used to be able to sneak aboard a flight but when I didn't pack a way to ease my falling down at high altitude I realized it isn't for me. So it would be by boat (dear god), to the sea I will travel to Atlas and possibly be eaten by a fish (there are worse ways to go I guess like being hunted by your ex-wife).

The ship was an Atlasian cruise ship. There must have been a party going on because the amount of military and black tie wearing guest was immense. They were still loading as I cloaked behind the guards who were waving hand held metal detectors around the party goers. As I passed by one it went off triggering the different sound and the guard pointed at the elderly man who was then taken aside and patted down. Surprisingly they found a crap ton of coins, a scroll, and a military dagger that looked like something used when they still fought on horseback. Trying to avoid as much personnel as possible I sped up my walking pace positioning my body in and out between people. I waited for a guest to open the main door as seeing a door open by itself might send a few spiritual people to create a scene. Before the steel door closed I got a hand on it and slowly closed it trying to be as discreet as possible. A large hallway with wooden floors lined the pathway with multiple doors marked with numbers were spaced to the end. Another door was up ahead so I followed an older gentleman with his maybe thirty year old something wife (what a gold digger) so I didn't have to wait to get in. As you approached the door you could hear music, not the good kind but symphony music. The door opened and when I slipped through the crack a large gold ballroom showed itself. At the far end of the ship was a small group with a piano, a few violins, violas, a cello, and bass. They played that type of symphony music that has no right to be played anymore because time moved on from that kind. I don't know what the ids listen to these days but I certainly know it isn't that. Off to the sides were ornate round tables with couples and individuals talking about, I'm going to assume, their investments or who they're suing. Waiters in white button shirts and black vest walked around with an assortment of drinks that after last night made my stomach turn on its head (if stomachs had those). The lights in the room were infuriating, large, and needlessly bright, and that was with my goggles on. At the four corners and along the edge were Atlas military personnel standing at attention looking straight and not at the party. On their back were their tried and true white rifles, and their holsters were the standard issue pistol which I found to be quite cumbersome to fire, but what do I know I use welding torches for weapons. Nothing out of the ordinary just a regular party cruise down to Atlas. Maybe Ironwood would be on here as well, I joked to myself and then sat at the farthest table from the front.

The boat slowly began to take its course on the ocean letting the waves bobble the vessel. With no one in particular to kill I just kind of rested and let my eyes stayed close for a while. I heard a sudden shut of the door with more footsteps than one person should give off and a sort of harsh, but quiet conversation.

"Listen we received reports of another ship beginning to tail us," the soldier quietly hissed, "we are not to tell any of the passengers of this! Only we can know and if it gets worse then we'll get them into their cabins and lock the doors. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The other soldier responded with a quiet shout.

Interesting, I thought, never had to against pirates, or whatever they think they are, but I might have to call them pirates just for old times sake. The party seemed to go on for hours but you could tell the boat had picked up its pace over time, perhaps they were scared (oh goody). The usual trip to Atlas by boat was maybe a day to two days (maybe more) depending on who you took it with. The poorer the faster the trip, the richer the more you could enjoy going to what I preferred to call the Frozen Wasteland, but it will probably take about one and half by looking out the convenient port side window showing the waves hitting the boat in retaliation for crossing their sacred waters. I noticed a shadow from afar, well not really that afar more like 'umm should it be that close', coming closer. I couldn't tell it was a boat or not because by the way it was facing us it was coming at a perpendicular angle so all you could see in the darkest of night was possibly the front of the ship. A small flash came from the the right side of the shadowy mass with a small sound that was nearly impossible to hear due to an out of tune note on one the violins which physically hurt me. It caught my attention and when I turned back to the window I saw a small greyish ball came closer to the window I was so happened to be looking at. Ah, son of a bi-, I thought before quickly ducking underneath the table. A cannon ball, roughly the size of bowling ball, penetrated our vessel like a vaccination on skin. The sound of breaking metal, wood, metal and glass caught the attention of everybody in the room. Multiple soldiers came from all sides of the room rushing passengers out. Meanwhile I was covered with splinters and metal shards so if I moved I would blow my cover (literally even). My motivation to move suddenly took a turn when I heard a second shot come from the ship which was now in better view. Quickly I rolled and got back up brushing myself off so now one was going to question why a piece of a two by four was floating in midair. The second cannonball ripped a hole next to the where the previous one was taking an Atlasian soldier with (I honestly don't want to describe what was left). The sound of waves crashing up against the ship and the sound of an alarm were the only things that could be heard till a soldier came on over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he started, "please report to your rooms, we asking for your cooperation in this difficult situation so the quicker you help us the quicker we can get you to Atlas."

Let me just say this one little factoid that we all know is true but whenever we are put in that situation we always do this. Never say 'please remain calm' (it doesn't help when people aren't currently calm) because chances are if need a reason to stay calm we probably shouldn't be calm. Like for instance there is a god forsaken pirate ship in modern day times coming at us with cannonballs. You would think that after making a way to transform weapons into other weapons, have literal magic in the form of crystals, and laser weapons we could make a freakin' force field to deflect ballistic projectiles. But no we had to find a way to make robot soldiers (nice job Ironwood, glad to know where your priorities are). The vessel began to make its turn onto its broadside. Large metal planks shot out of the side punching its way into the hull of our vessel. Looking through the hole the ship was about a third of the size of a large Atlasian battleship (you know the big ones in the sky) with scrapes and scratches along the side. Something was written across it but I couldn't tell. I Could read the first word and it said 'Silver' but the other word was too shrouded for me to read it. Lights came from the hull of the 'Silver whatever' illuminating the planks and the second word: 'Amethyst'. The 'Silver Amethyst' I won't lie that's a good name. The sound of boots walking across the planks caught mine, and the soldier's, attention. The soldiers stood in a defensive perimeter while I stood off to the side where the first cannonball made its entrance. A large group of what should be considered modern pirates walked through the holes. When I say 'modern pirates' I mean they had pieces of armor, mechanical limbs and pieces, decent looking swords at their sides, and no parrots (I will admit though I'm a little disappointed in the lack of parrots). What I assume to be the captain walked in last with his facial expression that was smug and egotistical with a large smile. He was tall with a full goatee just to prove he was villainous. A long crimson coat with silver lining and buttons covered most of his body. On his head was a traditional pirate hat with red fur lining the inside of the brim. The long sleeves seemed to cover most of his hands leaving only his fingers to be seen. His leg appeared to be mechanical along with a mechanical eye that glowed a bright orange going into a darker the red as it got closer to the outside edge.

He raised his arms and then with a big shout said. "Well boys this is it, the motherload!" His voice seemed used to yelling as he had no problem in announcing their arrival. "Now before we plunder this yon ship, why don't we see if they want mercy. Which one is the 'leader' of this band of poor land-lubbers?" he said with a slight growl at the word 'mercy' and 'land-lubbers'.

The Atlasian soldiers looked around not quite in confusion but more or less in panic turning their heads back and forth in their defensive position. From the back a single soldier stood up that appeared much different from the typical Atlas recruit. This person wore the usual soldier garb (knee pads, chest plate, arm guards) but was colored with a brown instead of the blue or red (or is it red or blue). The helmet design was much different with the right side, where the eye would be located, having a triangular shape with multiple lenses that seemed to cycle through and switch between each other. "I am the leader," the soldier replied with a feminine voice. The feminine voice caught me off guard but as I looked closer you could see the chest plate was made to accommodate the more (my apologies in advance) feminine parts of the soldier.

The pirate captain began to chuckle and look to his men. "Well I didn't know we had lass on board this vessel." He paused taking off his hat revealing a bandanna covering his hair and then bowing in respect with what seemed to be his trademark growl after ever break, "my apologies may I possibly see your face and ask who is Captain Andrew Silver talking to?"

The female soldier sighed with great exasperation and began to remove the helmet. After jerking it from side to side the helmet came off revealing the woman's face. She had fair skin with little blemishes except for the red marks the helmet left. .Her eyes were a green hazel mix that had a 'are you serious look'. She shook out her hair which was actually made of blue feathers that went down to her shoulders. So she is a faunas, interesting, I thought staying in my cloaked position which was beginning to get mentally draining. "I am Captain Petra Hamelin, Special Atlas Operative."

"Oh what a beautiful woman we have here boys," he chuckled followed by the rest of the crew chuckling till he raised a fist silencing them all, "well Miss Petra I have one simple thing to ask you."

"Oh yeah like what," she retorted in a dry irritated voice.

"I just want the valuables of all the crew on board and take some of you a prisoner," Captain Silver answered in such a calm mannered it appeared this wasn't his first rodeo.

"And what makes you think I'm going to do that? Apparently too many years at sea have washed your brain away," she jokingly stated followed by chuckling from the other soldiers.

That got to the pirate leader as he pulled a flintlock pistol (or at least a flintlock in design) and rested the barrel on the side of his hat's brim. "You know I can easily just walk away and blow this crappy ship to bits and loot the bodies once I leave," he seriously noted while scanning the room, "or I can let you lot live and we can be on our merry way." He turned to the room looking at the soldiers and passed over me. He then did a double take and squinted at me. Aw shit, I thought bringing out my remote detonator twisting the knob. "Well, well it seems we have an unexpected spectator," Silver announced aiming his pistol at me and pulling the trigger. The pistol spit out a small blob of fire dust in the form of a bullet. Stepping to the side the fiery ball erupted and tore through the table and chair behind me while I couldn't hold my cloak any longer and it flashed between me and the cloak many times before fully revealing me.

I stood holding my detonator in my left hand while surveying the room with Miss Petra Hemlin surprised. "Why hello there," I greeted them.

Captain silver began to laugh hysterically soon regaining his composure after still leaning on what appeared his first mate who's arms were the size of tree trunks. "Greetings there," doing the same thing with his hat he did before, "might I ask who has the honor of meeting Captain Silver?"

"I am-" I began.

I was suddenly cut off by Miss Hamelin who had put her helmet back on: "That is The Welder, a cold-blooded killer."

I looked at her straight where her eyes should be and stared. "I was going to introduce myself before I was rudely interrupted but yes I am The Welder. And I prefer the term 'Hitman for hire'. Cold-blooded killer makes me sound like I have no humanity."

Both captain were looking at me now with one face obviously disgusted and the other half hidden but with her mouth you could probably tell she was sneering. The pirate captain was the first to speak. "You know," he said pointing his pistol back at me in a cold twisted tone, "I can tell by the way she was talking i bet someone would pay me a lot of Lien if I brought your cold dead corpse to them."

Petra then pulled a large sniper rifle out from the table she was using for cover. It had the basics of a sniper rifle but the end was more rigid with the butt of it being the only curved part on it. On the barrel were, what looked like, hand grips that contrasted with the grey with black outlines with a lighter grey finger indents. She then pointed it at Andrew looking down the sights with one of her lenses switching into a better position. "You won't lay a hand on him. If anyone is going to take The Welder in it's going to be the military."

We stood in a triangle: Andrew was pointing at me, Petra pointing at Andrew, and me standing getting ready to push the 'fun button' (but maybe I should give them a choice before we go on the eleven o'clock news). "Here is how it is going to go," I announced undoing the ties that held my trenchcoat together revealing a line of live explosives, "you shoot me and we all go up in a blaze of glory. Ah I love this, it's a perfect Mistrallan Standoff."

We all stood in our perfect triangle with the scrub pirates and lowly soldier becoming increasingly nervous. The leaders kept their cool, you could tell these two were good. At the moment when the suspense was at its peak (a moment that in the movies would focus on everybody's eyes) andrew was the first to pull up his flintlock followed by a chuckle. The chuckle became contagious as the pirates laughed, then the soldiers with Petra pulling up the rifle, and finally me switching the knob to off and the blinking red lights turned off. We chuckled for a short time until suddenly we all went back into our stances. Pistols and rifles went back to their previous positions and blinking red lights were blinking again. "Now listen here!" andrew yelled, "if anyone is going to win it's going to be me!"

"What?" I questioned, "you can't just say things and then they happen. Plus I have enough explosives to sink us before you can reach your ship."

"You can try but no one is going to blow themselves up when they obviously have somewhere to go!" The captain exclaimed before firing his pistol.

Dammit he called my bluff, I thought before jumping back turning off the explosives in the process. Through the explosion I heard an 'Open Fire' from Petra. The sound of bullets rang throughout the once pristine ballroom. I honestly didn't know who to fight for as soldiers and pirates clashed. Petra stayed at the back taking pot shots and then quickly taking cover while Captain Silver stayed at the front pulling a cutlass from the other side of his body and taking the fight to the soldiers. After some contemplation I looked at both sides and charged the pirates after Reason A & 2 were set ablaze. I caught a pirate off guard and elbowed his face in then uppercut another with the poor unfortunate soul getting singed by Reason 2. After the flank of the pirates began to collapse they retreated to the holes made by their entrance and scattered to the edge of the deck. Andrew then shot at the walls above and forced rubble to block the way forward. I tried to run in before they closed but before I could my body naturally wanted to stay alive and forced me to stop before it caved in. I then heard the sound of clips and weapons clicking and I turned to see possibly every single gun from Atlas pointed at me. I then looked at Miss Hamelin and smiled beneath my scarf.

"Miss Hamelin I have an offer for you," I said giving a courtesy bow.

"And why should I listen to you?" She said looking through her sniper scope.

"I have personal business to attend to in Atlas and I would very much not like to swim there. So if I help you get rid of your pirate problem then I ask you to give me safe travel to Atlas. You may even put me in handcuffs if you so desire."

She pulled her head away from her rifle and began to contemplate with herself turning her head back and forth going over her options.

"Think about it," I interjected, "you: Petra Hamelin, will have captured The Welder the most feared criminal in all of Remnant. Think of the glory, the fame, the respect, think of the inspiration you would be to all the faunas children of Remnant."

I knew the last one struck a chord and everybody knew it. Being a faunas was tough enough but being a faunas in the Atlasian military seemed like one of the toughest things to to overcome, and I'm a (quote) 'cold-blooded killer'. "How do I know you won't just run off the moment we land in Atlas?"

"Do you wish for me to stay? We are negotiating my contract for this job all you have to do is say: 'I want you to stay in my eyesight at all times'."

"Then fine," she said, "I want you to stay by my side at all times, you will not run and you will not go off unless I say so. Is that understood?"

"Of course. Now do we have a deal?"

"Fine Welder, we have a deal."

This didn't sit will with the some of the soldiers as I walked over to shake her hand. Still defensive she was reluctant but after I stood with my hand out she decided to give a hearty shake. Soon the rest of the soldiers lifted their guns up and stood back up from their kneeling position.

"So what now?" Asked one of the non-descript soldiers asked.

"Well their ship hasn't left yet," Petra announced as one of the three lenses rotates into the center position, "so I would say they are still on the ship."

At that moment the ship suddenly jerked forward causing everybody to get off balance. Then a screech came through the speaker. "Listen up gentlemen, and ladies," it was Cpt. Silver's voice which seemed even more annoying in stereo, "you either hand me the booty aboard the ship or we blow it to smithereens! I will give you thirty minutes to do so and meet me at the bow if the ship."

"Any plans Welder?" Petra asked me leaning on her rifle.

Hmm we could-no that wouldn't work no they couldn't be that dumb, but it could possibly work with a little wordplay, I thought going over the many ways which it could end with either I get out alone, but alive, I could get shot, or we could all die either way someone gets shot or killed. "Okay here's what we're going to do…."

Petra and I approached the bow of the ship as waves crashed upon the hull. We were both carrying large sacks that covered what the contents were. Captain Silver was facing the open ocean and I would've charged him bit his humongous first mate was standing beside him. The man was massive with massive forearms. His bald dark skinned head was full of gold piercings on his ears, nose, mouth, and eyelid. On his hands were not necessarily brass knuckles (because brass knuckles would've been more conservative conservative) but more like 'brass gauntlets. The captain took off his hat and held it behind his back letting the end of bandanna get whipped by the wind.

"Along time ago," he began, his voice was much calmer, "my father said something very important to me. 'Son you want respect you have to earn it, show you have what it takes to lead'. It was quite funny, who knew that his son would lead a mutiny to get rid of my old man to take control of the crew. If only he knew." He finished with a quick chuckle then turned to us. "Ahh you have brought me my treasures! Why don't you be good people and hand them over?"

I raised my hand barely above my waist and Andrew's smile then dissipated. "Hold on for a moment."

Petra then took the reigns as per our plan dictated. "We decided to play a small game."

"Oh," Andrew said quizzically, "and what kind of game are we playing? Vermin Trap? Evidence? Maybe Apologies?"

"No," the faunas soldier said taking my sack and lifting them both forward, "in one of these contains the contents you desire. The other has some of The Welders explosives. You can choose one and The Welder will press the detonator and we will see what happens. If you choose right then we are blown to bits. But if you chose poorly then you better hope that the timer for those explosives go off takes a while.

Petra then walked into a median distance from the two group and put both sacks on the ground and walked to my side. I then pulled out the detonator and set it to 'All da Bombs' option. The captain slowly walked and inspected the bags by peering at all sides then making his decision grabbing one of the sacks then Petra grabbed the one left. I pressed the big red button and our sack began to glow bright red and flashed, we had the bombs.

"Ha!" Captain Silver triumphantly laughed, "You fools enjoy being fish food!"

"There is one issue with your gloating," I told the laughing captain.

"Oh and what would that be Welder?" The captain sain in a mocking tone throwing the sack over his shoulder.

"Well," Petra said scratching her chin, "just because one sack had the contents did not mean we put all the contents in that one sack and vice versa."

"What are you saying woman?" Andrew hissed.

"It means that both sacks had treasure and explosives," I interjected, "think of it as a very dangerous chex mix."

Captain Silver then looked at his sack as small little red blips came from inside the bag. He quickly tossed the bag overboard as I kicked ours the same direction. The sea then sprayed water in retaliation for sending such a vile thing into its midst. Captain Andrew Silver then glared at us pulling his flintlock and his cutlass out, his first mate then slammed the knuckles of his gauntlets together. Petra pulled out her rifle from her back holster for it and looked down the aimed sights.

"You know I don't think that will much good in a close quarters fight Miss Hamelin," I told her bringing Reason A & 2 back to life.

"Oh don't worry," she replied flicking a switch and grabbing it by the hand grips of the barrel, "just wait and see."

The butt of the gun and the trigger shifted and compacted then shift to let out a large cleaver blade shot out from where she puts her arm when in gun form. The trigger had disappeared and the once cumbersome sniper rifle had turned into a deadly weapon. That's kind of badass,I thought to myself nodding in approval.

The brute charged and raised one of his monstrous fist that looked like the size of a manhole cover. In response I took him on since I thought Petra would have a hell of a time dealing dodging while holding that large cleaver blade. I grabbed the hand with both my fists and I strained to keep his hand held as the brute tried to shove me into the ground like a nail. I then felt a two feet leap on and off me as Petra spun forward whacking the first mate off balance giving me the room to lift him off me leading to a kick knocking the first mate to the floor. Petra raised her weapon up while she was still in the air bringing down only to be parried by Silver's cutlass. She swung low at his feet making jump like those games you would play with a jump rope. Only this was no game he took a point blank shot only to barely miss as a piece of the hull was shot off. Silver did a downward strike with his sword where Petra had to take the hit but she had aura like most of us warriors. Stunned for a second or two she did a two hundred and seventy degree turn with one hand on her weapon causing so much momentum that when Andrew parried the hit it sent him into the ship's siding. While those two continued the fight I was busy trying not to get flattened into a frisbee. He may have been strong but he was slow. So when he missed I would go in for a few singing punches. The main issue was this guy had really tough skin with more muscles than a gym giving out free steroids so it did virtually nothing. I got an idea and waited till he did a downward jab at the ground to get me off balance. With a quick hop the wooden deck below had a big crater with many splinters. I put my torches onto his metal gauntlets and the as he tried to pick up his fist I elbowed him in the nose. Soon the pain became unbearable and he released the heated gauntlet shouting in pain with many obscenities. He then swung madly at my face where with a small movement under his tree trunk like arms. I gave a singeing uppercut that burned his chin whiskers and seemed to incapacitate him. When I took a deep breath Petra was thrown into me catching me by surprise with her cleaver being knocked away switching itself back into its sniper form. Petra got back up but was tired and reached for the rifle while she got off of me. Andrew then pointed his flintlock at the two of us. He was furious, hatred filled his eyes and his breathing heavy.

"You put up a good fight ya filthy landlubbers," he said, "but that all ends here!"

In an instance I had to make a decision. Oh god I can't believe I'm really going to do this, I thought to myself seeing the only possible solution that could come of this. I leapt in front of the shot and the the bullet struck my left arm. I landed on my right side thankfully but the pain of being shot still was painful (wasn't the first time either). This gave Petra, however, time to grab her sniper rifle and take a quick shot at Silver. The shot echoes throughout the ship as for a second Andrew was quiet then screamed in immense pain holding his mechanical eye with took the brunt of the shot before it ricochet.

"You bitch!" He yelled as sparks flew out between his fingers dropping his flintlock in the process, "You whore! You filthy piece of shit! Do you realize what I or who I had to go for to get this eye?!"

"Let me guess your dad?" she questioned as she was able to aim directly at the disheveled pirate captain.

He didn't say anything, he did growl but that doesn't count, his real eye was red and in tears the shot also awoke the first mate who quickly grabbed the captain and made a run towards the ship which receded the gang planks. Petra began to take a few shots at them but missed them and soon 'The Silver Amethyst' took off back into the shadows of night and soon to be morning.

"Let them run," I grunted standing back up, "they have nothing they want now."

She still looked in their direction for a while and then collapsed laying on her knees breathing heavily. Petra then looked at me and then stood back up. "We have to get you a hospital!" She announced as she stared at my bullet wound. The bullet still was embedded in my arm but I could see the slug and began to contemplate my options.

"Sure," I sarcastically remarked, "let's send me to the hospital and why don't we then just have them give me a lethal injection! Because if I go in I will not be coming out, especially in Atlas!"

"Well what do you think you have to do?"

I looked the gauntlet left behind and tore a flanged piece off. Looking at the sharp and pointed end I looked back at my wound and gave a sinister laugh. When in Vacuo, I thought as I jabbed the piece of metal into my skin. I began to scoop out the slug quickly and I don't think I've done anything more painful. Petra was so horrified she looked away and covered her ears as I began to scream in pure pain. The slug clinked to the ground and as my other hand trembled I reactivated Reason 2 and with a quivering finger combination I held it in place as I cauterized the hole in my skin. Two things can staunch the flow of blood: time and fire. I don't have time. When the blood stopped flowing I turned off my torch and fell to my knees. My breathing became more normal one the pain had toned itself down, my nerves however were still screaming. Petra came to my good and helped lift me up.

"Come on let's get you to a bed."

She laid me down in a cabin that was meant for her but when the crew, soldiers, and passengers saw her leave her cabin she was regarded as a hero for saving everybody. They couldn't fathom how she did it all alone. The soldiers knew but they weren't going to tell how a criminal bested a group of pirates with a lot of gold and explosives. I rested my head up against the pillow and let myself fall asleep. Takeda be safe, I'm coming, were my final thoughts when I drifted into my slumber….

-Meanwhile in Atlas from the perspective of a female resident-

There was a knock at my door at the most ridiculous hour. It kept pounding and pounding with each knock getting louder. Tying my bathrobe together I wiped my eye and turned on a light. "Who in their right mind would be knocking at this hour?" I said under my breath. I opened the door to see a man in armor leaning up against the guardrail, his arms bloody and battered. Chains were wrapped around his arms and he looked like warrior from eons ago. Where I assumed his eyes were behind his visor came a single streak of bright red blood.

He collapsed after struggling to say a single word then like clockwork the rain came in the words still burned in my mind

"H-he-h-help me."