I'm so stoked right now this fic has officially hit 45,000 words (including the the stuff you guys haven't seen yet)! !
Like! That is such a huge deal for me! I'm so excited, and its safe to say without you guys I would've let interest in writing this fic long before this point, so thank you all! ! And I hope you'll all continue to enjoy it.
Also...
Have a great day!
"You ready?" You ask War, casually nodding towards the hammer. You're sure he's noticed the gun clutched in your hand, and he's just a bit wearier than you remember him being as he tries to grab the... Weapon? Tool? You don't know what to call it.
"Come on! What are you waiting for!?" Shadow hisses.
You expect it, but that doesn't stop you from flinching when Ulthane begins, "You plan on usin them hands ever again..." War draws ChaosEater and yanks you off to the side, the sound prompting Ulthane to lazily glance up, "You'd best not go touchin that what ain't yers."
You remember this cutscene. But... He fuckin kick flips a car and you're not quite sure how to describe how terrifying and awesome it is.Your eyes go wide in amazement even as he moves threateningly closer.
"Ulthane." War greets, resting his sword on his shoulder. You anxiously shift closer to his side and he immediately shields you with his free hand as if its the most natural thing in the world and you're almost too surprised to notice Ulthane.
"You know me, but I don't know you. And I don't take kindly to strangers. Especially the uninvited kind." His gaze moves to Shadow, and it floats backwards. Wimp. "And maybe who you are don't matter as much as what you want."
"I've come for the Black Hammer." War responds calmly.
Ulthane laughs, "Really now!? Well, you're welcome to give it another go." He makes a vague motion to the hammer and begins to walk away. "But besides that, I best not catch you around here again."
War shoots you a look and you nod. Yes. You're right.
"It's you." He says confidently, and both Shadow and you make to leave.
"What was that?" The Maker growls. A clear challenge.
"The Black Hammer. It's you." War restates.
Shadow escapes into its gauntlet while you settle for the far wall, where the candle... Things are set up. You're careful not to get too close to the, though, seeing as they are on fire. You have to wonder if they're made of some kind of magic. Or maybe Ulthane has an obsessive candle making thing and is constantly replacing them.
Either way its weird as hell.
Although you will admit they smell nice. Like lavender and charcoal and something you can't remember the name of. You bite down on your lip as you try to figure it out, purposely ignoring the smack down currently being held about ten yards away.
All thoughts of candle scents go flying out the window when you hear wing beats. You press yourself against the door, trying to be inconspicuous as possible. One hand moves to your halberd pole while the other holds you gun. Angels have weaker hides, but they wear armor. Make your shot count.
"I ain't been tagged like that in years!" Ulthane laughs, apparently completely oblivious. Figuring they can't hear over War kicking ass, you let it slide.
And the lightning bolt certainly gets their attention.
"One hundred years..." Uriel starts, descending onto a car right between War and yourself. And the door, you suppose. The former makes you more anxious though. Thankfully no angel seems to have noticed your presence yet.
"Since the day Abbadon was taken from us." You roll your eyes. "I have prayed for this moment." Uriel says, pointing her blade at War.
Who do angels even pray to? God? Each other? You frown, watching Ulthane pull away. For being a huge guy, he sure can move. He scales the nearest building with apparent ease while Uriel goes through her usual speech, his hammer in one hand.
How the hell?
"For your crimes, I would see you tried at the White City. But until the world is freed of the Destroyer, its gates are closed to us. Justice will not wait. I sentence you here and now." She really should've seen War's block coming. She blew her chance at a sneak attack attack all.
Your hands fly up to protect yourself as the hammer comes crashing down (you're almost positive you get bled on anyway). Uriel is sent a fair amount backwards by the shockwave, and once again you try to press yourself into the door. Don't notice me.
"Yer justice can wait til we're done with our scrap, missy. There's no sport in jumpin into a tussle that don't involve you. Go on! Fly away, pigeons! 'Fore I pluck ya!" Ulthane yells.
You can't help but laugh, smothering the noise with your gun free hand. Oh, Ulthane. I would trust you to build a universe.
Uriel twirls in place, her gold eyes fixating on you. "The human." She says slowly. Her gaze flickers in War's direction before returning to you. He's still focused on the angel accusing Ulthane of blasphemy.
Oh, fuck.
"Don't." You warn, aiming between her eyes.
She appears undaunted and simply flits closer, watching you with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "What are you doing here? Humanity was slaughtered. And helping that? You know he's the reason you're alone."
First of all, that's no way to greet somebody. And second, that was straight up rude. You want to shoot her then and there, but your hands are shaking and you know you'd miss. "He's the reason I'm here." You hiss, tilting your head up proudly. "I'm an Advisor, and I'm telling you, War is not the enemy."
"An Advisor," She tilts her head and smiles amusedly. "Is that the 'title' they've given you? What do you have that benefits the Horsemen?"
"Captain!" One of the other angels yells, interrupting your snappy reply.
Ulthane's hammer comes down directly where Uriel was only milliseconds before, and you're yanked into what could almost be called a hug by your Horseman. Your forehead cracks against one of the metal bits adorning him, but you're too thankful to be away from Uriel to think much of it.
You tilt you face up to look at him, unsurprised by the irritated expression. "You consider that cautious?" He prompts. You have the decency to look sheepish, at least.
"Come on, stranger!" Ulthane orders, pausing before adding, "The little one too."
Little one. Is that your destined nickname? You feel a laugh bubbling in your throat as you pull away from War, and you flash the Old One a smile as you slip between the heavy doors.
"So, who's winning?" You ask, looking up at the sky.
It's only a matter of seconds before more angels descend, and Ulthane smugly says, "Six to eight."
You keep away from the middle of the fight, only shooting when one tries to hit War with their lightning or you spot one without a helmet. Damn angels, so heavily armored. When you do find one without proper headgear, it falls right out of the sky when you shoot and War finishes it off.
"Does that count as half or do I get full points?" You ask, honestly interested in their response.
War just shakes his head, while Ulthane pauses his slaughter to laugh. "I'd say halfa one."
You smile and your halberd makes a pleased hum. This makes you smile even brighter. "You didn't even do anything," You say, pulling it off your back. "Slacker."
The hum becomes more dramatic and violent. "Oh." Is all you can mange for a second. Right... Nephilim weapon. "Blood thirsty" is to be expected. Well.
The next time an angel gets near (shoved over here by a particularly rough hit from War), you don't hesitate to slash away at it.
War is glaring when you glance up, but the angel is dead and your weapon is sparkling brilliantly. You mouth the word 'sorry', only for Ulthane to yell the two of you over the the next door. "Twelve to nine, and one and a half." He says as you dart ahead.
You would be pleased, but War is still scowling and you know that'll be a pain in the ass later. 'What did I say, Advisor?' Ugh.
This round, you do a much better job of staying out of the fray, and only shoot once. Afterwards Ulthane moves to the ledge, and grins wickedly. "Come on, stranger. You first."
War seems to have no problem trusting the Maker to throw him across the gap and into the gap, while you could not by any more uncomfortable. The Horseman goes flying out of sight in a graceful arch, leaving you staring at Ulthane with wide eyes.
He grins and holds out his large hand. "Well?"
"I..." You start, trying to come up with an excuse. "Okay." You finally sigh. Carefully stepping onto his palm and mentally preparing yourself. Just remember what Fury taught yo-
"Hey! Hope you can catch!" Ulthane yells at War, sending you hurtling through the air.
Oh god oh god oh godohgod. You don't even have enough time to scream between trying to properly angle yourself and attempting to scrounge up that light of yours. Just in case.
You've only just begun to feel the warmth when War catches you, and although metal isn't the nicest of materials to land in, you're extremely thankful. You press close to the Horseman as you get your bearings, shivering with a strange mixture of fear and excitement.
You should really be used to being thrown through the air at this point, but it never fails to mess you up.
He sighs, very carefully setting your trembling form down (hey!) on the floor. "Angels." War says, seeing your expression. It takes you a second to realize your eyes are watering.
"It's just- shock." You stumble over your words as he turns to the enemies.
Oh jeez. You know logically a few stray tears won't change War's opinion of you, but that doesn't stop you from being embarrassed.
You get the feeling its going to be a long day.
"Tired?" War asks, his voice betraying amusement.
"Exhausted." You can't see his face from your usual spot on his back, but you lazily smile anyway. He seemed startled when you asked, but after explaining there's no more Hellguard peeps he let you up. He also didn't understand your pun, which is a tragedy.
"What're you doin here anyway?" Ulthane asks, casting you a curious glance. He seemed to stay nearby after the last angels were killed (War won by a total of three angels and you obviously came in last with three and a half) just to chat, which you don't think he did in game. Granted, it's a rather large hill. You can't imagine even him jumping up the side.
"Me? I'm an Advisor. I make the game-plan and whatnot. Council's got me on a leash." You move one hand to rattle your belt, although the effect is lost by a yawn. Damn game made the travel time seem so quick. And maybe it is! For a Horseman. "War..."
"I know. You must rest before we take the next Chosen's heart." His free hand moves up, and for a split second you think he's gonna affectionately pat your head, but he simply repositions your grip on him. "Humans." He adds on grumpily, as if he's trying to make up for caring for you.
You all but melt.
"Yer not a human." Ulthane scoffs, his eyes narrowing.
You raise an eyebrow, tilting your face towards him curiously. "Huh?"
"Not fully at least." He makes a face. "Who made you? Was it that demon again?"
Your sleepiness disappears, replaced by utmost interest. "I... I don't know? Not Lilith, that's for sure. That would make things real weird, to be honest." You know, because of the I wanna kiss her 'son' thing. "I think I'm from a parallel universe, actually, so maybe something over there? Or something... Bigger than what's in both universes?"
It's nice to talks theories again. War doesn't usually participate when you start speculating about your origins.
"Like what?" Ulthane appears unsettled by the idea.
Your little group as finally reached the end of the trail though, and you wait for him to open the doors before responding, "I know a lot of things I really shouldn't, but that's not one of em." You frown, shifting higher up to look over War's shoulder.
You're unsurprised as Uriel once again glides down from above. "You'll go nowhere, Horseman! You cannot escape your fate. Abaddon will be avenged."
You lean forward and whisper, "She's lying."
War snorts, and moves to unpry your fingers from his armor. "Stay with the Old One."
You, for the probably the first time ever, do exactly as he requests and quietly sit (standing is becoming rather painful) by Ulthane as War fights Uriel. You've gotta admit she's pretty gutsy, trying to take on one of the Riders singlehandedly. They're both extremely honorable people though. War's all proper when it comes to picking fights. Fury is the same, she only kills those she sees as deserving. Strife and Death are sorta... Ambiguous.
You sigh in relief when Uriel is flown away, while Ulthane just seems amused. "Ah, could be you really are who you say. Those pigeons seemed mighty convinced and you got them vouching for ya-" He nods towards yourself, and you grin. "But I ain't so sure. So once again, you know me, but I still," He slams the hammer down (which you most certainly expect and do not flinch because of), "Don't know you."
War seems less than concerned. "The Griever's Lair."
"...The Griever's beyond here." Ulthane seems to make some sort of decision, and leads the two of you over to the door, "Had to seal these passages up tight to keep her pets outta my yard. Little bastards kept droppin by uninvited, taking things what don't belong to 'em." Ulthane shoves War away, and you have never seen the Horseman look so offended.
You press your lips together to keep from laughing, bringing you hand up to your mouth. Fuck, that's cute.
Sometimes you find it very hard to believe he's the embodiment of warfare, especially when he looks like an irritated kitten, glaring at the Maker vehemently. "I am who I claim to be," He says, eyes narrowing.
"You kill that Griever. You make it back out 'o that hole at all, that'll be proof enough." Ulthane decides, opening the door up.
You hesitate, glancing between Ulthane and War anxiously. The Horseman doesn't even check to make sure you're coming, apparently expecting it.
You sigh.
"Then, I promise, we'll have words." Ulthane finishes as you enter the lair. "Now, get offa my property! Before more pigeons come lookin to crap in me yard."
Shaking your head, you quip, "What a way with words he has."
"The Old Ones aren't known for their tact." War responds, pausing when you grab at his pauldron. He raises an eyebrow.
"I'm tired." You say, as un-whiney as you can manage.
War smirks. "What do you want me to do then, Advisor?"
You blink. Is... Is he teasing me? Your lips twist into a smile despite your annoyance. "War, come on." You say, shifting your weight from one foot to the other.
He remains silent, simply watching you with those unnervingly bright eyes and smug grin. You would be more excited by the fact he's actually smiling if it weren't at your expense.
"...carry me." Your voice is barely audible and you've resorted to looking at the cracks in the floor, but you know War is proud of himself. He scoops you up without any more delay, and begins the long, long trec over the the main area.
Once he jumps down and you hear water all around you, it becomes much harder to keep your eyes open. It's just so calming.
"Advisor." War says. "Stay awake."
"You broke your promise." You answer lamely. You don't need to open your eyes to see the scowl, but he doesn't disagree either.
You're on the edge of sleep by the time War makes it to the main area, but the smell instantly banishes any plans of a catnap. Your nose wrinkles immediately. "Put me down." You request, words slurred together with tiredness.
War sets you down with a snort, one clawed hand resting on your hip just a bit longer than you think is necessary. "Are you certain you're well?" He asks.
"'M fine." You wave off his concerns, moving to use your halberd as a walking stick. "I'll stay here for now though. Have fun."
He raises a single eyebrow, "With?"
"The Griever, obviously. Any good hostess will greet their guests." You joke.
He exhales loudly, and you turn your attention to your backpack. It'll take him a few minutes to scare her off, right? Surely that's long enough for you to fix yourself a quick dinner and chug a water bottle full of pink lemonade. Bless whoever made those insta packets of water flavoring.
The seal goes up as you shake your water, painting the walls a violent red. Only slightly more orange than War's cape-thing. He must really like red, although you suppose that could just be because of his 'theme.'
He did say 'yellow' back at Tiamat's place though... Your eyes narrow as you recall the strange remark.
Huh.
You shrug it off after a moment and return to scarfing down your meal, which mostly consists of uber healthy and not likely to spoil 'super foods'. Strife got a little too into planning your journey, if you're honest. He does seem the most knowledgable about human things though, while Death is apathetic at best and Fury is thoroughly baffled.
She tried to make up for her confusion by wholeheartedly throwing herself into helping you cook, which ended horribly and only succeeded in making her feel worse. Strife wasn't too happy either, because he actually enjoys human food.
The Horsemen of the Apocalypse really shouldn't be so goddamn cute, honestly. It's just not fair.
You're packing back up when War returns, Shadow hissing about finding her again. You wait until it retreats again to ask, "Looks fun, right?"
"Those crystals." He replies, tilting his head. "You mentioned a weapon that could break them."
War is no fool. You nod. "It's farther in the dungeon. It's a gauntlet of somesor- I forgot to ask Ulthane for gloves." Holding up your noticeably bare hands, you pout. "And this place is full of demonic growth." You shudder dramatically, already dreading it.
"And water, it seems." He says lightly. Light for War, at least.
"Do your Horseman sense tell you that, or did I mention it?" Swinging your back pack on, you begin moving on ahead.
"I can hear it." He says, following your lead.
It takes you a second. How the fuck? How over powered are nephilim? "...So, Horseman sense, technically." You take a moment to enjoy the scenery before actually proceeding, purposely neglecting the angel corpses.
Right or left? You think right is first... "There's a chest behind the clock." You tell him, still trying to decide. Eventually you just go with your gut and choose right.
Throwing the doors open, you're met with a huge wall of demonic growth, underneath which looks like steaming water.
"Fuck."
You turn your glare onto the Horseman when he approaches, and he blinks. "Advisor?" You point to the hallway and War's lips twitch, an obvious don't smile movement.
"I hate the Griever and everything she stands for." You snap.
War's claws nudge your shoulder blade when you don't immediately begin to climb, but he doesn't verbally tell you to get a move on and you're thankful. Digging your fingers into the slimy, disgusting mess is unpleasant enough without being scolded.
It isn't until you manage to get all the way to the gap that you find yourself wondering how the hell you're going to do this. You can't both jump and get a grip on the growth before gravity takes its toll.
"Don't move." War sighs, obviously noticing the problem.
A clawed hand snakes around your prone form and you go completely rigid.
He's big enough that he doesn't touch you at all as he passes over you and makes the jump you can't, but it's... It is enough to render you useless. You can feel a red hot blush crawl up your neck and face, and you're positive that does not escape War's notice.
He holds out his hand, and you get the picture.
"Ohhhh." You nod, biting down on your lip. Okay, just... You go for it.
There's barely a pause between the jump and War's arm wrapping around your waist, and for that you're thankful. He doesn't seem to have an issue with holding you up either, but you try to get a grip as soon as possible for your sake.
He releases his hold when he's sure you're relatively stable, and the two of you continue on in silence. The 'main' room is bigger than you remember from the game, practically gymnasium sized but taller.
"There's a switch over there that triggers the fire." You tell War absently, staring down at the water. You can't see the bottom despite its clarity.
You hear him take a few steps and then a loud splash, so you figure he's already on top of it. Just like he was on top of us, eyyy? some part of you laughs. Your eyes go wide. Dammit.
Gotta work on being more lowkey, you decide, pressing a hand to your burning cheek. Gotta work on that... Magic light too.
You hold your hands out in front of yourself and try to concentrate on the light. Nothin.
What do they always say in those magic shows? Visualize it? You try that too, and a spark goes off between your forefingers. Or a lightning bolt, more appropriately. Not unlike the angel's, although yours is more of a washed out peach color. Theirs is just gold.
"Oh my god." Who fuckin knew?
You try again, wanting to figure out how to do the blanket thing you did back at the cathedral. the one that protected you from the fall, and you suspect, kept Tiamat from straight up slashing you in half.
It just sparks irritably, now much more pronounced. As if its saying try and make me.
You really should've expected this. You would do the exact same thing if someone wanted you to play defense without a dire need.
Well... At least with all the swimming War will have to do without you, there's plenty of time for you to practice. If only you had opted to stay in the front room, where there's no bugs. This place does smell nicer though, without the acrid scent of decomposition. It can't be healthy to breathe in that air.
You can add that to the growing list of "Things I never thought I would have to worry about".
Right next to War and his Crossblade flying dangerously close to your outstretched hands. Making a loud, ridiculously unattractive squawking noise, your light envelops you in an instant.
"War!" You yell, only met by laughter.
War. Laughing.
You're too startled to maintain your angry act, and War looks just as shocked when it catches up (along with the Crossblade). His eyes brighten like they did when Tiamat fell, and you think maybe that's the Horseman equivalent of pupils dilating.
You slowly bring your hands up to your mouth, your smile a mile wide.
Oh, you could definitely get used to that.