eyo. this is late, and did not have as much progress as I wanted.
per the usual.
Armour: Victide Armour (Ranger)
Weapon: [UNUSABLE]Mandible Bow (Jester Arrows); Arkhalis
Acc(11/11): Band of Regeneration, Amidas Spark, Sailfish Boots, Luxor's Gift, Ocean Crest, Counter Scarf, Crown Jewel, Tsunami in a Bottle, Frog Leg, Aero Stone, Shield of the ocean
The looks she gave them was one of exhaustion.
She wasn't even disappointed. There was no despair, no frustration, no rage. The woman kneeling before them had been beaten and broken so thoroughly, she wasn't just prepared for the worst, she had to learned to expect it. After all, it appeared that everything had gone wrong for her the moment she stepped foot in This Compound.
Poor bitch.
In some ways The Nurse pitied The Spy, but of course, she wasn't going to do anything about it. Although she was an enemy, who could look upon that desolate expression and not be effected in one way or another? The Spy had just barely survived whatever The Dwarf Officer had been doing to her, and now - her reward for much painful endurance was not freedom, no. Instead, she was collapsed on the ground about to get her brains blown out.
(scuff, scuff)
But even such dire circumstances elicited nothing more than a mournful sigh. Had she given up? Had Yharim's Agent resigned herself to fate? Considering her exceeded ragged condition, The Nurse couldn't blame her.
"Nurse, here, hold it tight."
She blinked and returned to the present as The Monster Knight's arm was passed to her. The wayward limb had been thrown free of its board and appeared to flop and strain weakly towards The Compound's west wall. Its infinite vigor must finally be fading, for although it clawed feebly at her, it couldn't break her skin with its nails. It was likewise bleeding and burnt quite grotesquely (The Spy had been carrying it when she walked into the trapped clinic), and its wounds showed no signs of healing.
The Arm aways heals really damn fast. Strange. What happened here? Where's The Demolitioni-... eugh, is that him?!
The Nurse clutched The Arm firmly against her chests as her eyes fell on the pile of bones at her feet. They weren't human bones, no, they were similar but much stouter. The skeleton was scattered in a pile of steaming, necrotic flesh. Red hairs and chunks of fabric were tangled and matted in the disgusting mound of organic refuse, and it carried the scent of an aggressively rotting corpse. It was undoubtedly The Dwarf... or at least, his remains.
fuck!
The Nurse scrunched her nose and gritted her teeth. Over the years (on top of the past week in The crimson-fied Compound), she had grown rather used to the offensive smells a body could emit. Still, whatever had rotted The Demolitionist to this state was far more potent than what was natural. She had no love for The Dwarf officer, in fact, considering The Dwarf was dead-set on dragging The Arms Dealer back to The Resistance from whence he fled, it was beneficial for them that he die... but even so, seeing a man reduced to almost nothing managed to draw a visceral reaction from her. She glared at the pile with hard eyes and twisted her lips into a snarl.
Fucking hell is this shit...
Had The Spy done this? Unlikely, this was clearly the work of some horrible magic - and CC agents typically weren't trained in the arcane. Sometimes they carried magic stored in runes, but considering a solid bump could release the spells - it wasn't ideal for agents who regularly preformed great acrobatic feats as a means of transport. Besides, they only carry runes for a special purpose... I doubt she did this...
So who is the culprit?
There were only a few people in this place, and somebody had obviously cast some very destructive magic on The Demolitionist. The Merchant and The Demolitionist were dead. They weren't suspects. The Sea King was long gone. The Arms Dealer and herself were clearly not the originators of such enchantments... who was left?
The Experiment just arrived... he's got the brain power of a slug - so he didn't do this. that just leaves The Guide... Is The Guide really some evil sorcerer?! Hm...
The Nurse narrowed her eyes and peered into the mist. She held her breath and willed herself to go still as she listened. Earlier, a voice had been calling out - almost angrily - for The Guide. Now, it had devolved into a very soft weeping. She hadn't ever heard The Slayer cry before - even when she was chopping him open, he didn't really seem to feel anything other than mild discomfort. (Later, she ran him through a gauntlet of tests and found he was missing most of his sensory nerves from the eyebrows down.) But now, he was clearly crying... and that meant The Guide was most likely dead. It no longer mattered whether he was an evil sorcerer or not. All that mattered was that she and The Arms Dealer escape before The Slayer finished mourning and turned his rage upon them.
The Arms Dealer seemed to know this. He kept his voice low, but his urgency was clear.
"Listen carefully,"
The Spy simply knelt there with her face cast to the ground. There was a pistol pressed against the base of her neck, but she looked as if she didn't care at all. She simply stared miserably at the writhing grass which had begun to wrap about her legs.
The Arms Dealer's voice seemed inexorably loud in the silent, windless compound. Even the weeping had since ceased.
"I have a gun pointed at the back of your head. When we walk away, I want you to know it's still pointed at you. Don't turn around. Don't move. Make a single noise, and I'll blow your head off. Capiche?"
The slightest of nods.
"Not a sound."
Another nod.
"Nurse, Let's go."
The Arms Dealer took several long steps backwards until he was standing beside her. He motioned with his chin towards the main gate. Understanding his silent cue, she adjusted her bags and turned towards where she recalled the entrance to be. She had been very careful not to lose her place in these opaque mists. Amidas' Castle was behind them. If they walked straight until they hit the wall, The Gate was five metres to the left. With keen eyes, she began to walk across that once-lovingly maintained lawn. The mud stuck to her shoes. The grass twisted about her ankles. How beautiful this place had been just a week ago... now it had turned into a stinking, rotting weed bed.
...
Behind them, The Spy's rapidly disappearing silhouette had yet to move. She wouldn't follow them. Somehow they both knew it. The Slayer has gone silent, but still appeared quite occupied. Nobody was pursuing them yet. Nobody was stopping them.
This is our chance.
Finally, finally they were escaping this place. Her heart raced in anticipation. She knew The Arms Dealer must be feeling the same. How long had it been since they've seen The Sun? The Moon? Green grass? How she longed for it. What she had taken for granted all the years of her life, now seemed like heaven to her.
Almost there... okay.
They reached the wall. It was damp, and upon closer inspection, that wasn't water slicking the gray surfaces. The Nurse turned away in disgust as a rancid coppery scent assaulted her nostrils. Soon enough, she'd never have to see such sickening sights again. The air was thick, muggy but cold. The sun must have set long ago. Would they face zombies once they cleared The Gate? That no longer mattered. The Slayer was a far greater threat than an entire horde of zombies. She would gladly camp the night in a tree if that was what it took to leave this place. She raised her eyes to those gray brick walls which protected them, and imprisoned them. For the last time, she felt the front gate open smoothly against her palms.
We... we're out.
They were outside. They knew the front gate faced north. They needed to go west.
And so they did.
Their breaths held in apprehension as they walked, dearly praying that The Arm, indeed, would allow them to pass through The Barrier. She led, The Arms Dealer followed. The Slayer's limb squirmed frantically against her bosom, straining towards The Compound they had left behind.
They walked the hunting paths, kicking their way through diseased shrubbery and trekking over stones and brittle roots.
They passed The Hideout where 'Big Betty' had been assembled.
They passed the flags The Merchant had erected to mark the borders of The Barrier.
And They kept going
Until the mist became thin.
And the sounds of nighttime cicadas chirped from the trees.
And the gentle breeze rustled the leaves, stirring life in their lungs.
The dark night sky was pierced through with twinkling stars.
They gazed, awestruck, from the crest of the hill as the moon reflected clearly off a lake's shimmering waters.
The air was sweet, so pure she felt she could drink it. Her hands trembled. There was something lodged in her throat that came leaking in grateful tears down her cheeks. Was this real? Perhaps it was a dream. The Nurse covered her mouth and grinned into her palm as the wind danced through her bangs and the lush grass tickled her ankles.
Oh... finally ...
She took several deep breaths before sighing and turning to hook her arm about The Dealers elbow. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. She smiled dopily and stated the obvious.
"We're finally free."
She felt him shift and reach over. She thought he was going to stroke her hair, but instead, he dislodged the severed limb she was holding in a death grip. She made no complaint, but frowned as she watched him.
"What are you doing?"
The Arms Dealer sighed deeply and tied a long rope about the now-docile arm's wrist. It had not struggled much since its regeneration had been halted. The Nurse thought that perhaps it was finally dying. However, when The Arms Dealer dropped it to the floor, it immediately began to scramble as if it'd been struck by lightning. It was a curious thing seeing a severed arm run, but run it did - like some strange three-legged spider, it scurried over the ground in the direction from which they came. It was very obvious that it wished to return to its owner, or at least had some sense by which to track him.
"I'm gonna get rid of this arm, then we'll be free. I don't want to be tracked by The Monster Knight... we can't afford that."
The Nurse blinked, then stepped back to carefully consider the proposition. It was...very likely that The Slayer could track their location. After all, in the same way all of his innards seemed to know where to re-attach, his arm was likewise drawn to the main body. It was only natural that it worked in reverse. It was safe to assume that The Slayer could track his wayward parts.
However, if they left the arm here, would they somehow be drawn back to The Compound because The Slayer was no longer "accompanying" them?
No... nonsense. That's impossible.
The Nurse bit her lip. The chance The Slayer would come after them in search of his arm was almost 100%. He was faster than they. He was stronger; He was better equipped. The only way to survive this game was not to play at all.
I don't want to give him a reason to chase us, but he might follow us for revenge anyway... hm.
The Nurse sighed and propped her hands on her hips. Frankly, she was a little annoyed that their moment of celebration was to be tainted with a logistics conversation concerning a severed arm. Alas, what could she do...
She poked The Arms Dealer in the bicep to punctuate her words.
"You're right. But don't just let it go. Sink it into the lake. I don't know if that Science Experiment re-grew his fucking arm or not, but if he didn't then he'll be crippled, and won't come chasing after us."
"Mhm."
The Arms Dealer made a noise in agreement and, with a mighty yank, The Arm came flying back towards them from within the undergrowth. It was quite a sorry sight as it was dragged from the brush, bruised, burnt, cut and bleeding all over. By the time The Arms Dealer hoisted it up, it hadn't even the energy to smack at him - much less resist when the rope about its wrist was tied to a heavy stone...
And that stone was lobbed over the crag.
Well, goodbye...
The Nurse sighed as she watched the long string rapidly grow taut. The Arm seemed to panic, As if it's somehow knew what was happening. It scrambled and began doing its best to anchor its three fingers in the dirt, but when the pull came, it couldn't hold on. The rope went tight, The Arm snapped a finger then whipped over the ledge and began a freefall.
(scritch, scritch, crack- phwoo.)
As they watched its thrashing form disappear into the depths, they felt as if a great burden had been lifted from their shoulders. They sighed. They grinned. They hugged each other.
And without a backwards glance, The Nurse and The Arms Dealer set their sights westwards, eager to put The Slayer's compound behind them.
They dearly prayed they would never see him again. Not because they hated him, The Slayer himself had done nothing to warrent to their hatred. In fact, he had been the most innocent of them all, doing nothing but to trim grass, perform - essentially - janitorial services and serve as her experimental specimen. (The now-deceased Guide was an entirely different story. Now, only his legacy mattered.)
He had been quite innocent... and, in his eyes, they had wronged him terribly. They had nearly killed him. They had blown his home to bits. They had killed his Guide.
If they every saw him again, surely he would hew them to bits. They both knew this. They were both eager to avoid this fate.
So, they fled West - eating up the ground for many days until an entire continent lay between themselves and The Slayer. Only then did they feel safe. Only then did they breathe easily. 'We have finally cut ourselves free,' was what they thought. 'We have put him behind us,' Was what they believed
But destiny was a strange thing. Once paths converge they become inexorably tangled. Unbeknownst to them, The Nurse and The Arms Dealer would find themselves face to face with The Terrarian far sooner then they would ever have anticipated.
He... he was terrified.
He didn't know what to do anymore.
He didn't know how he was supposed to live.
The Guide was laying on the grass, unmoving. He didn't respond to anything The Terrarian did to him.
Should... should he kill himself?
Should he destroy everything he'd built and go underground to be torn apart by beasts?
Perhaps he'd go back into The Crimson and live amongst the abominations. After all, he too was an abomination. Why not embrace his nature. He could gnash his teeth. He could howl and grovel. He'd go mad. He'd forfeit whatever semblance of humanity he had for the comfort of becoming a mindless animal.
Anything was better than mourning here, over the cold body of his only friend. No, The Guide wasn't just a friend. He was a teacher. He was a trusted companion. He was a stubborn yet nurturing parent. He was everything The Terrarian needed... and now, The Guide was gone.
...
As he stood there, he felt as if all of his insides had been hollowed out. Everything was cold, from the back of his eyes to the marrow in his bones. He was all alone now. He was all alone.
(tap-tap... tap... tap-tap)
Peculiar clicking footsteps. The Terrarian raised his head as a new person's scent reached him. A woman. Badly injured.
He summoned his blade.
(tap...tap-tap)
Why was she approaching him? Had she killed The Guide? He... he'd never forgive the one who had did this. He'd shred them so finely, they'd scatter in the wind.
He bared his teeth.
(tap...tap)
She stumbled into view. A woman with shocking pink hair. She wore grim determination on her face. She flinched with every step she took.
They locked eyes.
And he raised his blade to run her through.
PG: Hey, you said The Guide's your parent?
S: Yes
PG: then the correct way to address him is "Daddy"
S: ... okay.
Guide: No. Please don't.
Guide: Agent, have you been possessed by The Nurse?! You're corrupting power rivals that of The Crimson.
Nurse AD get to take a little break lmao. going to talk about the resistance next chapter, and will probably have Lunatic Cultist info dump. :0 well see. originally I wanted to include the info dump in this chapter, but I got super busy during the weekend.
besides, I think this chapter is already like 3,000 words so eh.
kk much love. sloppy kisses all around. say hi to me in the reviews. also, art is in the discord. I think the link is in the previous chapter.
pretty sure I post most of it to deviantart as well. forget where the link to that is. probably in my bio.