Hello everyone and welcome back to HellFall!
Here we are, chapter 100! Can you believe it?
On another note, here's another chapter. Might be interesting for some of you. Enjoy!
There had been a huge burst of flame on the rooftop of the library after Ruby had climbed up, so I decided to follow her and make sure everything was okay.
The firestorm cleared shortly after, giving way too heavy rain. I couldn't see too far ahead of me through the dense water, maybe a few feet or so.
I picked my way through piles of Heishi bodies, glad that I didn't see anyone that didn't look identical among the dead.
I scaled the library wall, reaching the top with my weapon drawn. I scanned the rooftop, seeing Cinder's bloody body on one side. She was on her knees, but her head drooped down and her shoulders slumped. One might think she just looked exhausted, but the ever increasing pool of blood forming around her said otherwise. That, and the gaping hole in her gut. She was definitely dead.
On the other side I saw Ruby, laying on the ground and crying softly.
"Ruby!" I called, running to her. She glanced up, then went back to crying. "What is it? What happened?"
Between sobs she explained it to me, "Roy died to save me" She replied.
Now I felt like crying. "What?" I asked.
"I tried to help him," she started, "but she almost killed me, and he got in the way"
I fell to my knees and stared down at the ground. We lost one, Roy. Why did it have to be Roy? I wondered.
Oddly enough, I didn't cry. I held it together. Instead I found myself understanding Roy. He knew he was an android, and he knew Ruby was a human, so he decided it was worth it to sacrifice himself. That's what I figured anyway, and decided that it wasn't worth crying over. He wouldn't want that.
I placed my hand on her shoulder and leaned forward. "It'll be okay" I said, knowing that it wasn't entirely true, but regardless confident that we'd win this fight.
She finally started to stop crying. She looked at me with sad eyes reddened from the tears, then nodded.
"Can you help me up?" She asked.
"Of course" I replied, reaching under her and wrapping my hand around her side to lift her into a upright position. It was at this point that I noticed the pool of blood surrounding her.
"Ruby, are you injured?" I asked, realizing it as soon as I'd said it. Her right forearm had been cut off, but it was mostly healed by now.
"Oh, yeah," she replied, sniffing, "just a dumb mistake. Don't worry, I barely feel it"
"But, your arm…" I trailed off, not sure how to finish that statement.
"At least I'm still alive." She pointed out, "Better this than that"
I was surprised. A moment ago she'd been bawling her eyes out, and the next she was accepting this horrible reality. She'd be able to replace it mechanically, yes, but robotic limbs were expensive and not as reliable as a real arm.
"We should get you back to the base for medical help" I said.
"I'm fine, Grizzly. Don't worry" She said.
"No," I retorted, "you can't fight like that regardless. You only have one arm, and you've lost a lot of blood. I'll get you back"
"Fair enough" She replied, standing and sheathing her scythe on the small of her back.
"Can you walk okay?" I asked.
"Yes" she replied, standing. After a moment of wobbling, she straightened.
"Alright, let's go" I said, leaping off the rooftop. She followed close behind, and together we made our way through the city.
Most every Heishi was dead at this point.
"You've been busy" Ruby remarked as we ran, observing the dead bodies.
"Yeah well, I had help" I said simply.
As expected, we wouldn't reach the base without opposition. This, however, came in the form of Rocco Trask. It was a clone of him, or so I assumed.
"Say, I recognize you." He said, smiling at me, "I fought you in the dark, remember? In my old base, when-"
I cut him off, "I remember. You don't need to remind me, mom"
"Snarky." he remarked. Four thin blades stretched out from his wrist as he took up a battle stance. "What do you say? Rematch? Let's see if you're any better"
I knew I couldn't beat him, but I had no choice now.
"You should go, Ruby." I said, "Now"
"I know you can't beat this guy," she replied, "I'm staying. Besides, what if I run into another along the way?"
"You'll get in the way." I persisted, "He can use you against me"
"Or you can use me against him"
"This isn't an argument," I retorted firmly, "I'm telling you to run. Run and hope that you don't find anyone along the way"
She seemed surprised by my response, but still left, however reluctantly.
"That's no way to treat your lady" Rocco said.
I didn't respond, instead I took up a battle stance.
He smirked, then charged. I sidestepped, swinging Barbed Gustav in a wide, low, two-handed swipe. I hit his ankles, causing him to trip. I leapt onto his back, stabbing the back of his neck and twisting the blade back and forth, hoping to kill him quickly.
He rolled over, crushing me under his weight and standing. His aura regenerated his neck as he turned around, facing me on the ground.
"Is that you best you got?" He asked. I hated that he liked to talk so much during a fight.
Slowly I stood, readying to fight again. I wasn't at my best thanks to the earlier fighting, and even at my best I couldn't kill this guy. But I had to at least hold him off.
I activated my semblance, pinning my attention entirely on him. Yellow flames licked at my eyes and blew away in glowing wisps.
I charged, blade swinging. We exchanged blow after blow, the sound of steel on steel echoing through the air. As we fought I felt my focus dwindling as my aura drained. I wasn't going to win this fight, not a chance.
He sliced open my cheek, drawing blood. It stung, and in my brief moment of weakness he punched me across the face with his blades. I fell to the ground with bloody holes cut into my face. I think one had punctured my eye, because I couldn't see as well anymore.
I stayed where I was, my body too exhausted to move, no matter how much I tried. This was it. I was going to watch him kill me now. Or at least, watch until I actually died. Suddenly my mind swam with that thought. Would I be able to watch him kill me, or would I just die? It was an interesting concept that I'd never heard of anyone thinking about.
As the thought passed I realized that he was very close now. I shut my eye, deciding that I didn't want to find out if I could see myself die.
"Remember when I killed you?" I heard a familiar voice. I opened my eye and saw a less familiar figure. He was dressed in black and yellow striped armor, with the same colored and patterned hood over his head.
Rocco's feet shuffled until he faced the man. "Who're you?" He asked.
The man lifted his hood, revealing his face. It was Lleu Thunder.
Rocco paused, "No, I don't believe I do. Please remind me"
"That's the plan" Thunder said, hefting the assault rifle in his hand onto his shoulder.
"Scratch that" Rocco said. I couldn't see his face, but I assumed that he was smiling.
Thunder gripped his gun in both hands and aimed right at Rocco. He squeezed the trigger, loosing multiple bullets, most every one bouncing off his opponent's aura.
When the gun clicked to signal the clip's emptiness Rocco shrugged, "Ya done?" He asked.
The empty magazine dropped from the gun onto the ground. He gripped the stock and rested it on his shoulder. The stock folded outwards, extending the length of the gun. Pieces of steel rolled out from the bottom of the barrel, each piece loosely connected. They formed a long, slender blade at the tip of the barrel. The blade curved downwards slightly. I saw now that it was a scythe.
"Nope" He replied, charging suddenly. He moved in a ferocious way, his broad shoulders swaying back and forth as he ran. It was terrifying to witness and made him look just that much broader.
Rocco raised his armadillo hand, blocking the staff of the scythe as it collided. The blade, however, pierced straight through the man's neck. Blood drizzled down, soaking into his clothing.
Thunder yanked his scythe forward, ripping Rocco's neck clean open at the front. Blood flew out, splattering across the ground. He coughed, choked, and, unable to breathe, died, falling to his knees.
Thunder watched Rocco for a moment, then looked to me. I blinked slowly, shocked but unable to show it on my face.
The military commander picked me up with his free arm and put my over his shoulder. "Ruby said you'd need my help." He said, turning and walking in the direction of the base. "Looks like you both need it"