CHAPTER 3
Quick note: This chapter has a little more bad words and stuff, and some violence. I'm catering to a few different audiences here. Keep reading, and you'll reach a more happy time later in this chapter! This chapter is gonna be friggin long!
Her hive was a small little abode. It looked like a small hut that a fairy would inhabit. When she was just a little wriggler, she had quite a lot of fun designing it with her Lusus. She felt it matched her and her lusus' personality very well. Small, cute, but deadly when it wanted to be. Underneath her hive, underground, lay a mansion of arsenal, ranging from long range missiles and rifles to slingshots and rubber-band guns. It even had a separate room just for her lusus' collars.
Her lusus was a unique one. Its name was Bec. It was rather small and docile, but packed a punch when it needed to. Together with her army's arsenal, she was normally able to fight off the hazing of Common Bloods because of her mutant caste.
But that was all. Common Bloods.
Noble Bloods were a different story. A story she had never had to face until today. Now, in the arms of a Noble Blood stranger, covered head to toe in brown and green blood, with a shattered ankle, bruises all over her body, a splitting headache, blurry vision, and no ammunition, a group of ten Nobles stand in front of her hive, each proudly bearing the purple Capricorn sign, each wielding a weapon, each with their lusus in tow, teeth bared.
Jade's face blanched as her jaw clamped shut. Gog! I'm such an idiot! she thought, digging her nails into Gamzee's arm. How could she fall for such a trick? An abnormally large lusus, saved by a Noble, carried to her hive. Ten Nobles quietly waiting...
Her mind reeled as she began to speed through all her chances of survival.
If I call Bec, we can be out of this area before they know what happened... She thought. She inhaled quietly, ready to call, but then she noticed it.
In front of the nobles.
Covered in that familiar blue blood.
It's fur matted, ears limp.
It whines.
"BEC!" She cried, leaning forward, surprising Gamzee. He topples forward along with her, trying to keep his balance as she struggles to reach her fallen companion.
The Nobles attacked. Taking the one moment of weakness, they released their lusus', following quietly behind as the lusus' bound onward. Gamzee turns his head, and seeing the lusus' charging, frowns. He re-adjusts his grasp on Jade, now carrying her like a football, and lopes back.
"No mother-fucking way you're taking my new toy from me, you mother-fucking Lusus'!" He reaches into his pocket, lightly touching his sylladex. The world flashes in front of them as the sylladex opens, releasing its miracle glowing flashes. The Lusus' recoil as if struck with a flash bomb. He stares at the lights for a moment, completely mesmerized, but after a few seconds, remembers what's going on, and reaches out to the cards hidden in the light. He touches the one he wants, releasing it on the battlefield.
The Miracle Powder explodes out of the card, flying in all directions, refracting the light from his Miracle Deck, blinding everyone in the vicinity. He laughs, giddy, and moves into action.
Jade, still in his arms, blind and still in shock, doesn't clue in to what's going on until she is leaning against the wall of her hive, Bec's almost lifeless body next to her, Gamzee standing in front of her, wielding two juggling pins. He spins them around his hands, licking the glitter off his lips, still smiling.
It was then she realized her mistake. Gamzee was not part of the trap. He was just a weird juggalo troll traversing the forest when he came upon a damsel in distress. He was her lucky strike on a very unlucky day.
His sylladex resets as the powder slowly settles. The battlefield loses its blinding illumination, and the nobles' forms slowly become more clear.
They're pissed.
A few of them-the younger looking ones- spit on the ground, glaring at Gamzee, grumbling things like "Dishonorable High Blood," and "Sopor Idiot," but most of them just stare, crouched, frowning.
One, the oldest of the ten, hisses, "Gamzee! What are you doing! We understand your disbelief in the caste, but that... thing... is a mutant. You know our job. The Mutant Purge has been going on for 2 sweeps now. She is one of the last ones standing. The only reason we haven't found her so far is because of her stupid... What kind of fucking lusus is that thing anyway?" Bec whines in response.
Gamzee's eyes widen as his jaw drops. He speaks, his voice surprised, but calm. "Shit, man. You're one mother fucking asshole. How bout' you just turn around, walk away, and leave my new moirail alone?"
Jade's jaw drops in turn, and she opens her mouth to protest, but quickly realizes that now is not the best of times... She pulls out a piece of string, and wraps it around her pinky, tying it in a small bow, pulling it tight.
The lead High Blood blinks in surprise, and his face slowly gains a purplish hue as his anger boils. "Your... MOIRAIL? Fuck this. I'm done with your sopor slime infested bullshit." His head tilts slightly as he addresses his posse, "Target changed. Kill both of them."
Without another word, the attack begins again. The High Bloods progress onward, wielding their respective weapons, all charging straight toward Gamzee. The lusus' follow suit, charging behind. Gamzee's smile returns to his face as lopes up to meet them full force, and bludgeons the first lusus across the head, sending it flying backward into a tree. He kicks a High Blood shortly after, sending him flying into the lusus now limp on the ground.
By this time, the rest have gotten to Gamzee's position, and begin to attack him simultaneously. He holds them off quite well, but was gaining no ground. In fact, he was slowly losing his footing as they pushed him further and further into a corner.
Jade swallows. He's strong, but there are 18 of them total! 9 lusus, 9 trolls. I need to help! Her mind reeled for a few moments, but her body already knew what to do. She began to drag herself through the door of her hive, her broken ankle limply falling behind. After a short while, she reaches her transportalizer, and it sends her down. When she reaches her destination, she smiles. Struggling to stand on her good foot, she hobbles over to her favorite case, pulling out the only other companion she has besides Bec.
A Girl's Best Friend.
Her smile widens as she cocks the gun, placing it in her strife syllabus. She stops for one more moment, and looks in her artillery case. She reaches in, and pulls out an ordinary rifle. She bends down, resting it against her bad leg, and pulls out a long string from her pocket. She wraps the string around the gun and her leg, holding it tight against her skin.
Eh. It'll work. I never thought I'd use my rifle as a leg brace, though... With that last thought, and a new walking apparatus stuck to her leg, she more confidently stumbles back to the transportalizer.
This time, it takes her to the roof.
She staggers to the edge of the roof, plopping to the ground and pulling out her gun. She takes a few moments to survey the damage done while she was gone.
2 lusus, 8 trolls. It seemed the first troll had survived impact, and was now back in the fight, albeit quite handicapped. It was a different troll that seemed to be torn limb from limb, some body parts hanging from the branches of surrounding trees.
Jade was impressed. In a matter of 2 minutes, Gamzee had taken out one troll, and 7 more lusus, and was now going for an 8th, all while battling off the progression of the other High Bloods.
But she could tell he was wearing out. The juggling pins, although painted with blood, were spinning in his hands much slower, and his own footing seemed more clumsy. She knew he wouldn't last much longer.
At least, without help.
She smiled slightly, resting her trusty gun in front of her, and staring through the scope.
She inhaled.
BANG!
A troll immediately fell, blood pouring from the new found hole in his think pan. She took no time to celebrate victory as she aimed again, taking out a second, third, and fourth troll in a matter of 30 seconds. (During this time, Gamzee had successfully dispatched the remaining lusus by grabbing both of their heads, and slamming them together, shouting something along the lines of "I now pronounce you Lusus and wife! You may kiss the monster!") The remaining trolls, after the fourth shooting, took notice of the new threat. Two of the remaining four reverted their course, now sprinting toward her. With the pull of a trigger, one of them fell, and she turned the gun to aim at the second.
She stared through the scope.
Too close. Too close! TOO CLOSE!
The troll kicked the gun, slamming the scope into her eye, and sending her skidding across the roof. She stopped, her head hanging off the edge of the roof, and quickly swung her gun toward the troll. He was inches from her, his hand wrapped around barrel of her gun, tilting it away from him.
He smiled, tilting his head. It was the old one. The Lead High Blood. His purple eyes were crazed as he jerked his hand upward, ripping the gun from her grasp. "Too close for you, huh? Can't shoot me now, huh? Tch! Mutants. Useless." He lifted his foot off the ground, and with incomparable speed, slammed it into her chest, pinning her to the roof. He shoved the barrel of the gun into her mouth, sneering. "Useless, and weak." He pulled the trigger.
"Click."
Jade smiled.
"Click Click Click."
She lifted her hand from where it calmly rested by her side, swinging her gun's magazine back and forth. The remaining bullets tumble out, scattering across the roof, and she chucks the metal cartridge at his face. It lands with a satisfying thud straight on his nose, jerking his head back. She takes this chance to wrap her arms around his leg, twisting it to the side as she lifts her good foot, kicking him in the back. He topples forward, tumbling over the edge of the roof. The barrel of the gun removes itself from her mouth as he falls, and she quickly spins around, following him over the edge.
As they fall downward, she twists and spins through the air until she is positioned just as she wants. she bends her knee, aiming her bad foot straight at the head of the Lead High Blood. Her finger lightly touches the trigger of her leg brace.
BANG!
At such a close range, his head practically explodes. Moments later, his limp body hits the ground, and she realizes the fatal flaw of her perfectly executed plan.
She was falling.
Oh for Gog's sake!
She closed her eyes, preparing for impact. It came from the side instead, her momentum changing from "down" to "Left." She opened her eyes to see Gamzee smiling at her as he slowly trots to a stop.
He speaks as he sets her on the ground, "Shit, man. You're fucking deadly with a gun! That was a mother fucking miracle right there. I tell you! 6 trolls in 3 mother fucking minutes!"
Jade relaxed in the grass, finally allowing herself to breathe again. "Oh come on. You took out 10 lusus, and 4 trolls. I'm not good at all compared to you!" She closed her eyes, enjoying the silence after such a battle. Her ears twitch slightly at the sound of Gamzee plopping down next to her, folding his legs under him.
"Yeah. But I thought you were a mother fucking lame ass after what happened with that lusus in the forest. Guess I was wrong."
Jade sighs. "I was just out of bullets. I suck at hand to hand and close range."
"Oh. Yeah..." They fell silent for a while. Gamzee then spoke up again, "Oh, by the way, what is that string you put on your pinky earlier?"
Jade looks down at her hand, and, seeing the string, remembers. She jerks up to a sitting position, staring accusingly at Gamzee. "MOIRAIL! Since when! How did I become you Moirail? We've known eachother for, like, 30 minutes!"
Gamzee stares at her for a moment, and then smiles wide. "Well, I don't have a moirail, and I know you don't. So I thought, 'hey! Why not!' so you're my moirail now!" He beamed at her as if he had just found his long lost older sister. She glared at him.
"I do not fill my quadrants so easily. I barely know you! I refuse. Find a different moirail. Or at least prove to me that you're worth a space in my quadrant!" She crossed her arms, nodding her head in satisfaction at her "telling off." Gamzee frowned.
"I saved your life." He said, attempting to persuade her.
She did not fall for it. "And I saved yours. You wouldn't have been able to take all 8 trolls."
"I carried you all the way home." He countered again.
"Like a potato sack!" She spat.
He frowned again. "So... I have to prove to you somehow that I am worthy of a space in your quadrant?"
"No duh!"
"hmm... OH!" He suddenly stands up, jumping into the air, and then placing his hands on his hips. "I understand now! You want to come with me so I can prove to you this stuff! Why didn't you just ask? You were just lonely! I get it! Well then, go pack up your stuff! I'll get your lusus." He trots away toward her hive as she sits there, dumbstruck.
"Wait... WHAT?"