"...We can leave the rest of the details for later."
Duke hummed as he scratched his chin, eyes still scanning the beautiful academy city of Kivotos as the elevator descended. Thousands of different academies full of schoolgirls (who, if Rin was any indication, were admittedly attractive) and only one Duke would've been a dream come true in his younger years, but now all he felt was mounting exhaustion...and he hadn't even started the damn job yet. He was pretty damn great, no bones about it, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. What happened if he was busy with a case and some poor kid slipped through the cracks?
And then there was how he got here in this first place. To have been summoned here with no clues as to how it happened exactly...just what kinda freaky shit was this General Student Council or whatever up to? At least the teleporters those alien bastards were so fond of had a science to them. From the sound of it, this President girl just up and magic'd his ass off Earth and into Kivotos for this gig.
Shit, I might just be overthinkin' things, Duke thought as he pushed off the thin metal railing. Just gotta do what I always do - kick ass and be emotionally available in case anyone needs me.
Hell yeah.
A light ding signaled the end of their ride, Duke politely letting Rin out first before looking at...an empty reception room.
"..."
"...Was there supposed to be somethin' happening here," Duke leaned over to ask her, "or are we just late to the party?"
"No, Duke-sensei, we are not...late to the party," Rin ground out, with such a nakedly thunderous expression on her face that even Duke took a step back. "I was notified that there was to be a collection of pes- ahem, representatives, from the academies' student councils. Doubtlessly, they would have been here to waste their free time and complain to the GSC about the recent issues that have cropped up in the city due to the President's disappearance."
Yeowch. Fuck getting on this girl's bad side. "What kinda problems are we talkin' here, prez?"
"...'Prez'?"
"Well, you're fillin' in for the real president while she's out on her vacay, yeah? So that bumps ya from VP to just P. Congrats, kiddo, try to keep your head out of any scandals for at least one term."
Rin let out a long, tired sigh.
"Right," Duke winced and shook his head sympathetically. "Anyway, about those issues that were poppin' up..."
"Ah, yes. A student under the Federal Corrections Bureau's custody escaped, and with her has come a wave of petty thugs and all the destruction they bring. Oh, and I can't forget the increase in illegal weapon distribution among the districts as well. Two-thousand percent, if the angry letters we have been receiving are to be believed."
Duke hissed, feeling a wave of sympathy as Rin's eyes scrunched close. He'd probably crap his pants if he heard illegal weapons were being tossed around by schoolgirls like candy, but he thanked his lucky stars that his wife filled him in on these kids' inhuman toughness. "And as if things could not simply get any better, vital systems are shutting down across thousands of districts due to our loss of administrative access of Sanctum Tower."
...
"Wait, you mean systems like power."
"Yes."
"And water."
"...Yes."
"Holy shit."
"I'm inclined to agree."
Duke sighed in tune with Rin, and the man made sure to really look at this time. She looked immaculate, of course, but she also subtly wilted with every breath, her eyes had squeezed tight as if they were holding the dam back, and her mouth twitched with a multitude of curses that were surely sitting on her tongue. He didn't know if it was his presence or just the fact that they were in relative solitude, but how she looked now was a far cry from the no-nonsense secretary he thought she looked like before.
The girl was overworked to hell, and that was no way a kid should live.
"Well then," Duke grunted, rolling his neck and cracking his knuckles. "You might not know it, but I'm in my element when things are goin' to hell and back. Don't you worry a hair on that pretty head 'a yours, Rin, because Duke's on the scene and he's just chompin' to get to the fun part."
Rin looked at him incredulously. "Duke-sensei, with all due respect, you are one man. A man who, may I remind you, does not have a halo."
So the halo is where all the bullshit is located, Duke noted. "Thanks for worryin', honest, but a couple of rinky-dink bullets aren't enough to bruise my Ego," he proudly boasted, pounding his broad chest with a fist. "Ol' Sensei might've been outta the fight for a while, but I'll have ya know I rumbled with the best of 'em. Some alien bastards tried fucking with the Earth four times, and lemme tell ya with no exaggeration that I kicked their little grey asses all the way back to Mars each and every time."
Rin looked at the man dubiously. Aliens, her gaze seemed to say, and Duke figured it wasn't really out of her wheelhouse considering the average Jane could eat bullets for breakfast with a grenade on the side. "I shall take your word for it then, Sensei. Before we head out, allow me to explain your new role as the advisor of Schale and radio Momoka to get us transportation to the Schale club room. Of course, I will also be joining you - it is my job."
Duke shrugged. Sounded pretty clear to him, what could pos-
In his defense, he didn't even finish the damn thought earlier and things were still fucked, so it wasn't really his fault.
Rin had managed to explain Schale's formation and purposes, essentially pitting him as some...well, some mini-President, as his wife pretty accurately summed up. He could turn any student in this city into a merc under his command, and that was...neat, he guessed. As neat as drafting schoolgirls to fight with him could be, anyway.
Then she called up Momoka and things went to shit fast.
Momoka, defying every preconceived notion he had of the GSC, actually just didn't fucking care enough to send them anything. No helicopter, no jeep, not even a goddamn bike was offered to them before her fucking food delivery came...which Duke didn't understand, as the city was currently a shithole and who the hell had the time to deliver here anyway.
In any case it really was just the two of them meant to hoof it through a district teeming with heavily armed delinquents to get to the outskirts, which had not only a highly infamous criminal but even more goddamn delinquents on top of it. It was no wonder that as soon as the call dropped, Rin's face immediately went through a spectrum of confusion, blank nothingness, all-consuming rage, and crushing grief before her face dropped into her hands, and she dropped herself into an armchair not too far away.
And so Duke was alone, which was actually preferable were it not for the quietly sniffling girl next to him.
"Hey, Rin? I wasn't fucking around earlier, I really can head out 'n fix all this for us," Duke gently broke the silence as he bent down with a grunt, placing a hand on her back. "But, uh, let's talk about you first. How you holdin' up, kid?"
Duke cringed at posing such a stupid fucking question. Of course she wasn't doing good, and it took a few tense minutes before Rin even breathed. "I just...I don't know what to do, Sensei. The President, she was...almost perfect," Rin chuckled, a sad sound. "Compared to that, I'm..."
An ashamed blush raged across her face as Rin's gaze dropped to the floor, unshed tears pooling up in her eyes. "It took days after her disappearance for things to go to...to..."
"Shit?"
"Yes, Sensei," Rin giggled, weak yet real. "Things really did go to shit. And I don't know if I can fix it. Nobody trusts the GSC, nobody listens to my advice and orders...can I even follow in her footsteps?"
Duke let out a heavy sigh and adjusted his shades. Wasn't that the million-dollar question on everyone's mind? Dad, mom, a brother, a sister...hell, failing that, a mentor or a celebrity. Most everyone had someone they looked up to, and doing wrong by them felt like a real kick to the nuts.
"I know the city's goin' to hell, but you mind if I share a story with you real quick?"
"Eh? Ah...sure?"
Getting back up, Duke sauntered over to a nearby sofa and plopped himself down in it. "Back when Duke Nukem wasn't a name the ladies loved and the guys envied, I was just some bargain bin soldier in the US military with a pink hoodie an' a dream."
"US...?" Rin muttered, wiping her eyes.
"Serve my country, serve my people, make that piece of shit dad I had regret the day he walked out on Ma. Simple dreams, really. Then some fuck named Dr. Proton rolled up with an army of...ah shit, what'd he call 'em...? Techbots, that's it. He rolled up with his army of Techbots, and things went to hell real quick. A whole city destroyed 'n everything."
Damn, Duke thought as he leaned back. If I was still in the smokin' business, a Big Tony would be perfect right about now.
"But lemme get to the point, since we don't got all day. After I put Proton in the ground, people started expectin' things from me. A whole lot of people and a whole lot of things, that I as a young man had no right to promise 'em. But I was good at my job, I could stomp ass all day if I had to and look good doin' it, and the fame kept comin'. Then the fall from grace happened, and...well, I don't think you'll follow in my footsteps like that, Rin."
Duke sighed then, running a hand over his face, and Rin found that he did look a lot older when he did that. Suddenly standing up, Duke walked over to Rin and, after some initial hesitation, raised a hand and gently pat her head.
"You're not alone here. I'm sure these goons in the GSC just need a little shapin' up, and you've got Duke-sensei here to make sure these little problems stay little. I promise kiddo, I'll be here for you."
Baby...I'll save 'em all this time, Duke promised to himself. Every last one.
"If it were anyone else...I'd say you were lying for sure," Rin quietly admitted, pointed ears twitching as Duke rubbed her head. Cute. "Fine then. If you say you're no stranger to a firefight then I'll believe you, Sensei. The Armory should still be stocked, let's prepare and get ready for a ground assault."
Duke smirked, taking his hand off her head...and noting the way she had to consciously stop herself from leaning back into it. He had to reiterate it: cute.
No damn wonder his wife had fallen for these little brats.
"That's what I'm talkin' about. If we ain't late to the party, then let's bring it to them!"
Let it be said that in his older age, Duke Nukem was not a picky man. If it had a trigger and it could fire something kill-y, he'd put his hands on it like it was a sex scandal.
...
Alright, maybe that one wouldn't leave the workshop. What he did leave with was a veritable armory on his back - an M4A1 fitted with an ACOG in one hand, a Benelli SUPERNOVA Tactical slung casually over his other shoulder, and the ever-reliable M9 strapped to a holster on his thigh.
"Damn, I must've been a good boy this Christmas," Duke chuckled, still appreciating that factory-new smell of his new best friends. Rin, seeing him geared the fuck out, raised an eyebrow.
"I approve of how utilitarian your choices are, Duke-sensei, but where exactly is the ammo for all those guns?"
"I've got 'em stored away somewhere safe, don't you worry."
Rin squinted. "Where would y-"
"Ah, you reminded me of a fundamental rule though, one wep at a time...like the good ol' days."
Duke casually slid the SUPERNOVA into his pocket barrel-first, the shotgun disappearing into it like it was a piece of gum.
"-ou what."
Duke tilted his head. "What?"
"How did...?" Rin gestured to his pocket. "What- where did- the shotgun?"
"Inventory," Duke answered, still casually relaxed. He pulled out a shotgun shell for demonstration out of the same pocket. "Neat bonus for being part of the old guard, and even most 'a the new guard, is that you don't gotta explain shit if they don't wanna hear it."
Mouth opening and closing, Rin grasped at the air like a baby before throwing her hands up with an aggravated 'okay'. Duke, not getting exactly what was twisting her panties, just let her do her thing as he stood stock still.
"I'll just meet you in the lobby, Duke-sensei. I'm sure everything will make sense then," she muttered, briskly walking down the hallway. Looking to the gate guard, who stayed dead asleep and snoring in her chair, he shrugged and made to follow her.
My first op in a long-ass time, Duke thought to himself as he strode down the corridor and past the curious-lash-concerned desk jockeys ferrying papers and coffee around the offices. And I'm gearin' up to wage war on dropouts and deadbeats.
...Eh. He liked that the stakes were lower this time. An open-shut case like this would've been music to his ears if he were still in the biz back home; he'd be able to hurry back to his wife in no time flat.
"Here's hopin' I don't fuck this up for the both of us, babe," Duke muttered. Walking up to Rin, they simply nodded to each other and began to walk towards the door together.
Hail-
Duke geared up to kick the door open with a wild grin, completely missing Rin's panicked expression.
-to the-
"No, no, Sensei! There's someone-!"
"Wait, really? Oh fuck, oh shit, abort-!"
Too late. Duke's foot continued to sail towards the door as if controlled by an unseen force, prying the door open with a mighty slam and rebounding off some poor sod's face. It sent her flying back a couple of feet before she slammed into a light post hard enough to dent the fucking thing with a soul-sucking twang. Its life mercifully ended soon after, flickering off for a final time in what was assuredly great agony.
Duke quickly took stock of the situation as his soul shat a brick.
Three girls remained, all of them near unresponsive in pure shock. A short girl in a purple military uniform timidly clutching her shotgun, another short girl with white hair and pointed ears like Rin's, and a girl with a black stripe through her white hair who looked like the world's cutest lil' goth.
And then there was the girl he inadvertently kicked, who was dressed in some mob-boss-slash-office-woman uniform. Her coat having blown off by the impact, she laid on the ground gurgling and whimpering, her halo flickering on and off.
"Ohhh shit."
"Y-You, Lady Aru, k-kick," Tiny Purple babbled, a haze descending over her purple eyes. "Unforgiveable...unforgiveable...UNFORGIVEABLE!"
"Double shit."
"GRAAAH!" the girl roared, flicking her shotgun up.
So much for not fucking up, Nukem.
"Shove it up your ass!"
"GAAAAAAAUGH!" Tiny Purple roared, slam-firing her shotgun fasting than an assault rifle through the power of sheer psychotic rage alone. "YOU DIRTY ADULT! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE NOW!"
"No, kid, wait! I was responding to- I- fucking goddamnit-!"
As Duke continued to weave around her shotgun fire, running and diving like his life depended on it, he wondered if his wife was having the time of her unlife watching him right now.
A/N: And so ends another chapter in (the beginning of) Duke's sorry tale.
I love exploring characters. I love adding new dimensions, expounding on previous ones, and just in general giving depth and motivation to the characters I write to make them feel 'real'. Of course, whether I do so correctly (and in line with canon...) is debatable, but I think giving Rin's issues with the GSC and Duke's backstory a little meat isn't a bad thing. I actually really loved typing this chapter out...over the course of several hours and a few trips on the bus (seriously people, it's called deodorant).
Rin isn't perfect, and neither is Duke. Duke has a wealth of experience that he can fumble to try and pass onto the students of Kivotos...only like 40% of it is actually usable, but still. He wants to help, and he somehow did. Yay! Too bad he just gave someone awfully familiar brain damage and has to deal with her royally pissed intern and (maybe) the rest of her employees. Nay!
Anyway, the real retaking of Schale happens next chapter, I just wanted to establish the relationship between Rin and Duke-sensei here and not wait until like Chapter F to do it. What will happen to Duke and Rin? Will they get game-ended by Mysterious Heroine H? Will Rin get to show off her fancy GSC tricks and rebound a bullet five times into someone's skull? Will I actually lose the plot and take more than half a year to upload chapter 3? Probably not!
Leave some feedback, love to hear it, see you guys later!