Hullo! Finally Slayer is back-ish. some progress IG? Everything is always longer than planned, and I'm going to stop apologzing for it lmao.
enjoy
The sky above was bland, gray and placid. The rioling gray clouds crowded against each other not letting even a single ray of sunlight stream through. They were dark and puffy - as if heralding a storm - but for many days no storm came. No movement. No rain. No deep rumble of thunder. No sharp cracks of lightning…
The sky was dead, a heavy cloak that silenced everything beneath. The breeze had since gone still and silent. No more wind flowed through the land, stirring the air and bringing freshness to its inhabitants. All that remained in this cursed place was that growing stink that spread persistently throughout this place. It was a miserable, yet fitting, backdrop to the banal chaos beneath.
"Shit!" *Ba-bang*
For what was happening below was like the scrabbling of feral creatures. Dirt, leaves, twigs and blood flew every which way as the clang of wicked steel intermingled with the sharp noises of skin being torn. Animalistic snarls ripped from the throats of human beings as a small cloaked figure engaged in wild, crude combat with The Arms Dealer. All about them rose dark, sickly poplar trees which stood tall and dismissive. The uncaring sky looked down with pale, failing eyes.
Fuck! Fuck… ugh…
And while The Resistance's renown gunsmith struggled to battle off his assailant, she was laying here, retching uselessly in the dirt and doing her damn best not to spew out everything she'd eaten this morning. She clung to the arm (it was squirming violently against her chests) and groaned as she felt a burning pain blooming in her belly where she'd been struck. That wasn't good. She turned her face against the soil to catch a glimpse of their attacker.
… shit right in the liver too… fuck I don't have my kit…
She gritted her teeth and raised her eyes, willing her vision to stop spinning and focus. Who had attacked them?! Who would even be here to attack them? The Slayer perhaps? No… This person had a much smaller frame than he - and The Slayer would rather give his own life than trade his fancy blue cloak for that ratty black one. This… this was someone new, and she squinted before her eyes widened in terror… is that Yharim's golden insigni-
"Dealer! The fucking knife!"
Somehow she found the breath to cry out, and not a moment too soon. This person - either a young teenager or a grown woman (judging by their frame) - had produced a Clandestine Corps standard issue straight razor and lunged to plunge it through the Arms Dealer's outer coat - barely nicking his side as he evaded. He cursed loudly and retaliated with a heavy blow, cracking the base of his rifle sharply against The Spy's skull.
Now, the force of such a blow delivered to the head would easily send just about anyone straight into the traumatic brain injury department, but not so with Yharim's crew of genetically altered zealots. Those freaks had their DNA scrambled so thoroughly, it looked like spaghetti under the microscope (The Nurse momentarily wondered what The Slayer's DNA looked like, before the thought was crowded from her brain). Frankly, she was surprised the CC were even classified as human - because their bodies certainly didn't react in human ways. The Spy shrugged off the terrible blow with nothing but a stagger and a grunt, before catching The Arms Dealer by the arm and hurling him bodily against a tree. He slumped there, momentarily stunned.
"Gghhh…"
The Spy gasped (their voice was surprisingly girlish) and rubbed where she had sustained the blow. The Nurse could see those black gloves fingertips come away wet with blood. Still, The Spy's footsteps remained steady and her movements deft. She plucked up the dagger from the ground and motioned as if to hurl it at The fallen Dealer - who was still struggling for his bearings.
Shit.
A knife thrown with such monster strength could most certainly deal a fatal blow. This Agent was clearly very competent. She wouldn't pass up an opportunity to kill a man who - although he was now defected - looked very much like a Resistance member. The Nurse shouted aloud, desperately searching for the words that would shock a Clandestine Corps agent the most. Perhaps mere utterances could save the life of a man.
The Nurse's voice was shrill and loud in her own ears. She shouted with every bit of outrage and false authority she could muster.
"You fucking traitor! How dare you raise a hand against The King! Have you lost your fucking mind, Agent?!"
"?!"
It worked.
Everything froze. Even sound stood still. The woman went rigid then twisted her neck just a little further than was possible to fix The Nurse with a stare. The Spy's face the very picture of panic and - although most of it was wrapped in that murky black cowl, The Nurse could clearly sense the fear emanating from her. Just a moment ago, those large blue eyes had been glazed over in the heat of battle, it took only an instant for nervousness to creep in. Her blade remained raised in a throwing position, but her attention was entirely focused on The Nurse - or rather, on the accusation of infidelity to her liege. She sounded as panicked as she looked.
"What!? What did you say?! Traitor?!"
"..."
What did she mean? The Nurse hadn't the faintest idea. She scoured her brain for something to keep The Female Spy occupied whilst The Arms Dealer recovered. She dialed up the accusations, unsure as to how The Spy would react.
"Did The Resistance manage to bribe you to attack us!? Only a CC Agent would know about Draedon's secret project!" The Nurse grabbed the squirming arm and held it protectively against herself, "Our first successful reanimation cannot fall into Resistance hands!"
"...what?!"
For a moment, the CC operative looked thoroughly confused. Her stance faltered; her brow knotted beneath her cowl. The soldier types were all like this - so brainwashed into following orders, they tripped when they needed to think for themselves. It was only several short moments before she regained her posture, but that was more than enough for The Arms Dealer to catch his breath and scramble for his firearm.
"no... No! You are the one who has betrayed The King, Head Nurse! Both you and The Cultist bastard!"
The Spy gritted her teeth and glared. Her uncertainty sloughed off and dissolved in the flames of fevered devotion. In her great anger, she neglected to monitor The Arms Dealer (he had picked up one of his innumerable firearms) and lunged at The Nurse, seizing her by the lapels of her muddied blazer and yanking her to her knees. The Spy's face was contorted in rage as drew her knife and pressed the tip against The Nurse's throat. As she hissed, her black cloak billowed about her like the dark wings of death.
"I personally chased that dwarven rat officer into the barrier spell! This is Draedon's Lab you say? Well in that case, it must have been overrun by those Resistance worms - and you are working with them, Head Nurse! You dare call me a traitor?! Confess all and I grant you a quick deat-"
*Ka-chik*
The Spy froze mid sentence. Both she and The Nurse turned to stare as The Arms Dealer pointed what looked to be a tremendous rifle at them. The man himself looked thoroughly battered, but the hard glint of determination reflected in his eyes. His face was twisted in a snarl, but he didn't speak.
He simply pulled the trigger.
It's not here.
Not amongst the monster's remains. Not caught in the dark thorns. Not buried amongst the corpses nor the debris. It was nowhere to be found.
...
Yet, he continued hacking clumsily away at the bushes. Clearing the ground and hoping, praying to find his missing arm scuttling there. With every square meter he revealed, the further his spirits sank. The further the pale sun inched across the sky, the deeper despair lodged in his bones. Crimson monstrosities milled about him - focused upon him, yet confused with him. They were unsure whether he was truly one of them or not; they poked and prodded at him incessantly. As The Terrarian gazed upon his newfound companions, tolerating their mistrations for fear of revealing himself, he too wondered the same.
I couldn't even be mistaken for a man…
Look at him now! What semblance of humanity was left? This trial was far too heavy for him to bear. He had cast aside his dignity as he crawled his way to the bookhouse. To survive, he had cried with his face in the dirt. At the time, he couldn't imagine a greater disgrace… but fate's cruel hand demanded it from him, and now, much more.
...
Because he could no longer live up to his namesake. As he struggled, he felt as if his very identity was being torn from him. 'The Slayer'? What a farce. After many, many hours of struggling to kill even a few of these aberrant creatures, The Terrarian had done the unthinkable. That armour he always kept impeccably clean? With his own hand, he smeared it in viscera - covering himself in the dreadful scent of The Crimson. His winter cloak, likewise. His hair, his face - he dressed himself in the remains of Crimeras and Face Monsters until he could feel the weight of foreign flesh closing upon him like a second skin. Only then, when he had laid aside everything, was he able to trudged amongst the creatures. His eyes watering with the smell, his heart heavy and his flesh drenched in gore.
Yet… it was all for nothing.
For the sun was setting. He hadn't found his arm.
He had become worthless with no remedy.
It was time for him to return to The Compound.
And perhaps, this time they'd finish killing him.
Shit, Shit!
She cursed herself. Sinking her nails into that stupid squirming arm she had managed to snatch from The Head Nurse as she fled the rain of bullets. That 'Dealer' character… ack! Whoever knew The Resistance had a man who could take on a CC Agent on his own!? How many years had it been since she was bested in battle by a mere man! Inconceivable!
"Oh… lord Yharim… "
She gritted her teeth and lurched forward, pressing her forehead firmly against the bough of a high tree as she pushed her palm against the worst of the bullet wounds. She felt her uniform's black fabric sag as it soaked full of blood. The 'Dealer' had shot twice, and both rounds had hit her. One went straight through her navel, the other skimmed her shoulder and destroyed her communications equipment. How stupid of her! She should have killed him immediately, but the Head Nurse's accusation unbalanced her in that critical moment.
I'll kill them… I'll kill them both…
She gasped and squinted her eyes shut as she shakily bound the bandages tight. She needed to push through the pain. She could do it. She'd dealt with much worse. The more she suffered now, the more glory she was due when she finally returned - successful - to the Capitol. Just the mental image of the King praising her, acknowledging her, was more than enough to keep her going.
Phew…
There was little time… She had seen The Dealer and The Nurse heading back in the direction of The Compound. The Nurse would have known immediately that she had been poisoned, and was likely returning to treat herself and alert the rest of her allies. If The Spy wanted to accomplish any of her grand plans, she needed to act quickly.
Ugh…
Her bleeding would stop within the hour. The moment she could move, she would begin her infiltration. A glorious personal crusade in the name of the great king. Despite her hardship, she couldn't help but smile. Her most important mission began now.
Demolitionist: Oy, Sea King, What do ya call a fish with no eye?
Amidas: Stygichthys typhlops
D:...
D:... fsh
A:...
Amidas: "Spycheck!"
Demo: *throws molotov at the Guide*
Guide: "OH HELL OH MY GOD WHAT THE FU-"
Demo: "That GUIDE is a SPY!"
Guide: *on fire, SCREAMING*
Amidas: "And now, gentlemen, I bid you adieu-"
*The Wall of Flesh has awoken!*
-RevSaint
Notes: You think Ammy would like Dad Jokes? I mean, he's probaby old enough to be a great great grandpa. Also, uh, its a really small thing I notes with The Nurse talking to the arms dealer like, two chapters ago? right before AD asks Nurse to take arm on a walk. Nurse mentions having two of T's fingers in worm jars lmao. I was gonna introduce it earlier, but now I think it might have been better for them just to cut the fingers off so nobody's confused. still - Later, when we find fingers in jars, that's where it's from. Not that anyone cares. Consistancy is meh.
Also Slayer isn't doing an awful lot of slaying. tbh, The Arms Dealer is such a badass. he's just a normal dude, but he's fighting a Terrarian and one of Yharim's spies. tbh I feel like he'd be a great MC. Imagine being an NPC fighting the Terrarian in game? like boi you are screwed.
Slayer is going through like... his second existential crisis in two weeks
aight frens. love yall
Also- WOF is gonna be fun lmao