Hello everyone and welcome back to HellFall!
Well I hope everyone's had a lovely weekend. I know I did.
This is a longer one, so I'll get right into it.
Cerberus had his gun pointed right at Dennis's brain. No one moved for fear of what the large man might do if we did so.
Gazini didn't hesitate.
"Whoa, whoa!" He called, running forward, "Cerberus, put the gun down!" He went to stand beside them, staring Cerberus in the face.
The large man didn't flinch, he tensed and I could tell that he was about to pull the trigger.
Gazini slapped his hand downwards as he fired, blowing a hole in the floor.
"Cerberus!" He called, "What the hell?!"
He turned a hard gaze on Gazini, who gulped nervously but held his ground.
"He's one of them" He said simply.
"I know," Gazini replied, "He's on our side, trust me"
"How can you trust that scum?" He demanded.
"I know that's how you see them, but Dennis is good. He's on our side"
"How can you trust him?" Cerberus asked again, his voice revealing a mixture of tension and anger.
"He gave us info." Gazini replied, "Is that not enough?"
Cerberus paused, then let out a sigh and turned around, walked a few paces, then settled against a nearby wall.
After a brief pause Gazini loosened up and went to stand in a better position of authority, "Alright, looks like everyone's here." He said, "So let's begin.
"We're going to Cor Village today. Apparently some of these HellFall guys have been hiding out there. Octavia Strom knows where to go, so she'll lead the way for us. We've also received info telling us that a particular weapon is there. A machine that can remove your semblance. I suggest you avoid any big metal objects, just to be safe.
"The plan is simple; we head in there and investigate. Look for info, anything that looks helpful. With any luck no one is there and no one gets hurt.
"I will divide everyone into teams of four. Team WRGE is already made, with Wintanweorth leading Roy, Grizzly, and Ember. Octavia will lead Azure, Dennis, and Cerberus" At this he cast a look at Cerberus, who didn't appear to be happy. Fortunately he didn't do anything at hearing this. Gazini returned his attention to us, "And I will be in my team, PHGG, with Petunia, Hail, and Steam. Any questions?"
"Yeah, who's leading our team?" Hail asked.
"I figured I will." He replied, "I'm leading this operation, after all"
"Is it really such a good idea to put those two together?" Azure asked, gesturing to Dennis and Cerberus.
"No," He replied, "I realize that now. But I'm relying on you guys to make sure nothing goes wrong with them. Got it?"
Azure nodded slowly. Her face portrayed fear and a hint of anxiety, and I wondered if she'd be able to stand up to Cerberus if the need arose.
"Anything else?" Gazini asked, looking around, "Good. Get ready, kiddies, we're leaving right away"
"What about the food?" Petunia asked.
"Hm?" He asked, "Oh, right. Everyone grab something to eat if you're hungry"
Everyone stood, a handful of people going for the kitchen. I didn't because I knew that if we were riding in a helicopter I'd puke.
"Not hungry?" Grizzly asked as he stuffed his face on the helicopter. It was quite large, unsurprisingly. There were twelve of us getting on.
"I'll puke all over my suit if I eat anything now" I replied, feeling sick just by sitting on the flying vehicle, despite the fact that it was both grounded and stationary.
"Don't like heights?" He asked.
"I don't like moving without control of what's moving me" I replied.
"And heights"
"Yes"
Ember sat down with us, followed by Roy.
"How are you guys feeling about this?" I asked.
Oddly enough, no one spoke, but instead just nodded.
"I hope I don't die" Grizzly said simply upon noticing the lack of sound.
"Same" Ember seconded.
"I also feel that" Roy added.
"That's great" I said.
"Get in, guys, we're flying in five!" Gazini called, exiting the house with a sandwich in hand.
Petunia climbed into the pilot's cockpit and started to put on the headphones. At first I was surprised, but remembered that she was the one who brought it in the first place so she'd have to know how to fly it.
"Does anyone else know how to fly one of these?" Petunia asked, turning around to look at us.
"I do" Roy said, turning to look at her.
She gestured to the front seat beside her, "Strap in, then. You're my co-pilot"
Roy squeezed past the two front seats and sat down, placing the headphones on his own head and moving the attached microphone down to his mouth.
By now everyone was in the helicopter, seated and strapped in. Gazini slammed the door shut, plunging the back half of the interior into darkness. The light from the windshield kept the front half lit.
"Flying in three…two…one" Petunia said.
And just like that, the helicopter lifted into the air.
The flight wasn't too eventful. We could barely see anything through the windshield, save for the sky, which never seemed to change.
As far as conversation went, I was too busy keeping anything material from leaving my mouth to talk. A few words were exchanged here and there, but nothing that I'd remember in an hour.
Thankfully I didn't puke while we flew. When we landed I almost did, but sucked it up.
"You okay?" Ember asked when she saw me gagging.
"Yeah" I replied, trying to keep the partially digested food in my stomach.
"Alright Octavia, lead the way!" Gazini called.
She set off running, past the small houses and people who greeted her with surprise.
We followed after her, and as we passed the locals I heard them whisper:
"It's the Violet Demon" "It's her" "She's back" "What's she doing here?"
I mostly tried to ignore them. It was a little eerie considering the setting and my building fear of what was to come.
We ran down a long dust path surrounded on either side by jagged rocks jutting into the air, some big, some not.
At the very end of the path was a dead end. Octavia took her hammer in hand and swung it into one of the bigger rocks before us. It crumpled, but didn't break. She swung again, this time smashing a rectangular hole straight through it. The sound of clattering echoed out from the rock. It appeared that she'd broken down a hidden door.
"They probably already know we're here" She said, then without another word dropped into the rock. We all followed suit, most of us taking the ladder that stretched all the way down.
The room we now stood in was circular with a low ceiling. The only light came from above. There didn't appear to be any doors around to edges.
"Alright," Gazini started, "Octavia, do you remember where the doors are?"
"I don't," she replied, "I got knocked out and taken elsewhere. I have no idea where the doors could be"
"Alright. I'm sure you all can figure this out, but split up, go looking for a door of some kind" He announced.
I regrouped with my team and we scoured the walls. They were made of rough brown rock. Grizzly dragged his hand across it as we walked, likely hoping to find some kind of switch or button. No such thing presented itself.
We looked for at least thirty minutes, but found nothing. The floor was grated, but we'd already tried pulling it out of the ground. Nothing seemed to be working.
"Are you sure it was here?" Gazini asked.
"Positive" Octavia replied, running her hand along the ceiling.
The minutes dragged by, eventually transforming into an hour. Still nothing.
There was a loud crunching noise coming from nearby. But from where exactly, I didn't know.
"Earthquake?" Grizzly asked.
"Maybe" I said.
On the other side of the room I saw the wall slide into itself, revealing a group of men in dark cloaks, their faces obscured.
I felt Grizzly clutch my sleeve. He was shaking, and I got the feeling he'd seen these guys before.
They each drew weapons similar to that of Dennis's, a katana that could extend and bend like a whip, as well as shoot a bullet out from the tip. At least I assumed that they did the same. They looked that way.
There were at least fifteen of them, all filing out through the newly opened doorway in groups of two.
As the surprise of the sudden entry of the men faded everyone drew their weapons. I reached up and drew Reitō no Fukushū from its sheath on my back and took up a battle stance.
"There's eighteen of them." Roy whispered, "And twelve of us. Shouldn't be too hard"
"Careful everyone, these are Heishi" Dennis said.
The Heishi layered themselves along the wall, surrounding us completely. As they finished circling the doors sealed themselves together, leaving no mark that they'd ever been there.
I stood between my teammates, having turned completely around to face the closest Heishi. They stood, identical in stance and appearance, their blades raised and gripped in both hands.
All was silent for the longest of times. I could feel myself breathing. My throat grew dry. A single bead of sweat dribbled down my forehead, over my nose, and dropped off to the ground below.
All the Heishi took one synchronized step forward, setting our entire group off immediately. Everyone charged at their targets, guns blazing, swords swinging.
What happened next was a blur of red and silver.
When I backed away, panting, I saw what we'd done. The Heishi were dead all around us, dismembered, stained with their own blood, some barely recognizable. Reitō no Fukushū was coated in a layer of crimson, with the silver barely shining through.
I reached up to wipe my forehead, smearing warm blood across my fingers in the process.
My team didn't look too great themselves. Ember was covered in small, bloody cuts. Her hands had had some paint scratched off, and the silver color underneath was being revealed. She had one longer scar across her left cheek, and it looked deep. Grizzly was covered in blood. His face, his clothes, everything, covered in blood. Roy was, as expected, fine. A couple bruises here and there, as well as some blood which I assumed wasn't even his. His skin was likely tougher than the average human's, considering his lack of injury.
"Grizzly?" I asked, getting down on one knee, "Are you okay?"
"I'm…fine." he panted, doubling over and puking, "Do I look bad?" He asked after wiping his mouth.
"Yeah" I replied.
"Huh," He said, feeling his face, "I don't feel any cuts" His hand was covered in blood, which I now realized probably wasn't even his own.
"Ember?" I asked, standing, gesturing to her cheek, "That looks bad"
She felt her cheek, accidently pushing her finger through it. "Oh shit!" She gasped, eyes widening, "Oh no, oh…" She withdrew her hand immediately, and I saw tears begin to run down her cheeks.
I placed my hand on her back and leaned in close to her.
"Is everyone okay?!" Gazini called out.
"Ember isn't doing so great" I replied.
He ran over and looked her over, "Oh yeah," he said, "that is bad. It goes through?"
I nodded.
"Okay, um," he looked around, "Azure, come over here, please!" He waved to Azure, who walked over, "Can you tell her what to do about that?"
"About what?" She asked.
"The-" Gazini started, gesturing to his cheek.
Azure turned to Ember, seeing the hole in her cheek.
"Oh, that." She said, "Okay, don't panic; focus your aura on that. It'll heal it as much as it can"
Azure placed her hand on Ember's other shoulder, and I saw a small hole in her palm. I knew that she'd been through something similar, so she was the best for Ember right now.
I looked around, seeing everyone else wasn't doing too great, either. My team and Dennis were looking the worst of all. The turned Heishi had a scar running along his right arm, his sleeve completely torn and barely holding on. It was stained with blood.
Everyone else was covered in blood with a handful of wounds showing through their torn clothing and on their faces. I figured Ember was the worst of all, though.
"Okay guys, we'll rest up a bit!" Gazini called, "Take time to heal yourself, we don't want to head out without as much strength"
"They could send more anytime they wanted!" Octavia called out, the panic quite clear in her voice, "It's pointless waiting around! Let's go!" I couldn't quite understand why she seemed so afraid; she looked fine save for a few wounds here and there.
"Not everyone is doing as great as you, Octavia." Gazini retorted, "Like it or not, everyone needs to catch their breath at the least"
"What if more come?" She asked.
"Then we'll have to fight again. Simple as that" He replied.
Octavia went and sat down against the wall, her face clouded by frustration.
I sat down next to Grizzly, who was leaning against the wall and still trying to catch his breath.
"You sure your fine?" I asked him.
"Yeah." He replied, "Just out of breath"
"Turn around." I said, "Let me look you over"
With a sigh he turned so his back was facing me. Sure enough, he was fine. Perfectly fine, actually. His cloak was a little cut, but nothing went through to his actual skin or even his clothing underneath.
"Alright," I said, "you look okay"
"Thanks"
I looked over at Ember and Azure. Already the scar was starting to heal, but it was obvious that it would mark her face forever.
So there you have it. Maybe a somewhat anti-climatic fight. When I edited it it was a little weird, but it is what it is. I think I was feeling really violent or dark or something when I wrote this, so I wanted to make it kind of dark and quick or something. I don't really know, but whatever. It's still kind of cool.
Also, this is !IMPORTANT! Hopefully I snagged the attention of those who don't read these. Quick side note: please do. These things do contain important information once in a while, and I put effort into these things so it is kind of a respect thing too. Anyways, back to !IMPORTANT! thing. I am running out of chapters. I think that I have two or three left before I have to write more. The thing is, writer's block returned. So just so everyone knows I won't force a chapter if Monday arrives and I don't have something to post. The reason being I want HellFall to be a decent story at the least, and I won't force something simply for the sake of a schedule. Quality over quantity, like I always say. Plus the last time I tried forcing chapters I ended up abandoning the story entirely (this happened 3 times by the way and I don't want to add my longest story on top of that). So yeah, if you don't get a chapter in a little while on the scheduled day, you know why.
Anyways, as usual, favorite, follow, review, tell your friends, tell your enemies, or don't if you don't want to, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.