Joining Night Raid
Tatsumi knelt down at the recently buried graves of his best friends, the ones he has known since childhood. A forlorn expression remained on his face as he continued to stare at their gravestones. No words were said, as he remembered the simpler times, the times when they fantasized about making it big in the army and earning so much money.
He still remembered the words they shared during their times at home.
"The three of us vow to die at the same time!"
"Yeah! We'll make it in big in the Capital and earn our fortune!"
"Then we'll save our dirt poor town!"
Tatsumi sighed as those memories flooded through his mind. "That's what we said, but now...I'm all that's left."
It's been three days since the assassins from Night Raid took him to their base, which turned out to be a large building that was connected to an even larger cliff. The assassins left Tatsumi alone for those three days, giving him time to himself to mourn the loss of his best friends, which he was pretty grateful for. Still, they were going to expect an answer from him on whether he would join Night Raid or not.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Tatsumi."Venom said within Tatsumi's mind."Losing those you care about can be very hard."
"What do you know about loss?" Tatsumi said bitterly. "I'm a an actual person, while you're just an alien pile of goop using my body as your personal carriage.
"...I am only going to take that, because you are hurting right now."Venom said simply.
Tatsumi sighed as he may have gone too far with that. "Sorry, I know you're just trying to cheer me up." Tatsumi said. Right now he's just got a lot on his mind, particularly of the current state he's found himself in. "Just how did we end up on this situation?"
"In my opinion, I think we've landed in paradise."Venom said.
BOING!
"Speaking of paradise..."
"GAH!" Tatsumi leapt back from his spot as he felt two large and soft orbs plopped on his head. He looked to see Leone standing there with her cheeky smile on her face. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Don't mope around forever. It's already been three days." Leone said. "Have you made up your mind if your going to join Night Raid?"
"Yes!"Venom exclaimed jovially.
"I still haven't decided yet." Tatsumi said honestly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh, come on!"Venom said with a scoff.
"Oh, come on." Leone said flirtatiously as she stood next to Tatsumi and leaned in, causing her breast to be close to Tatsumi's face, which made him blush slightly. "From what I saw, you definitely have what it takes to be an assassin, especially since you turned into a monster during the last job."
"It's not that I don't think I can do it." Tatsumi said as he looked down with a slight depressed look on his face. "It's just that...I never asked for it, but now it seems like I don't have a choice."
Leone looked at Tatsumi with a frown, as she can see that he's been having a rough week, as she's seen that look on her and her comrade's faces many times. So, with her cheeky smile returning, she wrapped her arm tightly around Tatsumi's neck and started pulling him away. "Well, how about you just let your big sis, Leone, show you around the hideout?!" Leone asked with a large smile as she dragged Tatsumi away.
"Hey, would you knock it off!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he grasped on to her arm and managed to get out of her grasp. "You can stop dragging me, you know?"
Leone looked her arm and at Tatsumi in slight surprise. "Wow, you're pretty strong." Leone said, before her smile turned a bit sultry. "Young and cute, a capable fighter, and some strength to boot? You just keep getting more and more interesting."
The look she gave him caused Tatsumi to blush and shiver slightly, unsure of how to take it. Venom, however, if he was physically there hje would be grinning up a storm.
"Well, seems you may have a shot with her."Venom teased.
'Shut it!' Tatsumi said as he walked forward back to the base, with Leone laughing while following right behind him.
"So, you plan on telling them about me anytime soon?"Venom asked.
'Only when every one of these assassins are gathered. I remembered in passing about them saying they have a boss, so I think telling them about you when they're all together can save us some trouble.' Tatsumi said in his mind.
"Fine, but I hope it's soon, because I am sick of keeping quiet these past few days."Venom said with a grumble.
"Just to let you know, our base is located about 10 KM north from the capital, and in the mountains." Leone added.
"Yeah, and a little too out in the open!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he looked at their huge base in disbelief. "What kind of assassins are you people?!"
/
Leone took Tatsumi on a tour of the base and they eventually came upon what Leone called the meeting room. Sitting at the table all by herself while reading a book was the purple haired, cheongsam dress and glasses wearing assassin, who looked at the two of them curiously. "Huh? He hasn't committed to joining us yet?" The girl asked curiously.
"Afraid not, Sheele." Leone said as she patted Tatsumi on the head, much to his annoyance. "I was hoping you could give him some words of encouragement."
"Hmmm..." Sheele hummed in thought before addressing him. "Well, now that you know the location of our base, you should know that you'll be killed if you don't join us."
"Understandable. I would actually do the same thing."Venom said casually.
'Who asked you?!' Tatsumi thought as he deadpanned at the girl with sweat on his head. "Wow, that was so encouraging that I'm nearly bursting with excitement."
"You'd best think it over." Sheele said simply before going back to reading her book. Curious, Tatsumi glanced at the title of the book and read "Don't Be an Airhead."
'I knew t. They're all nuts.' Tatsumi thought with a deadpanned look.
'Are they master assassins, or a circus act.'Venom thought as he wanted to join a group of lethal killing machines, not a bunch of clowns.
"Hold it, Leone!" Everyone looked to see the pink-haired twin tailed assassin girl glaring at everyone, more specifically at Tatsumi. "What's he doing in our secret hideout?!"
"He's one of us, Mine." Leone said simply.
"Not yet, he isn't! The boss hasn't given you the go ahead, yet!" Mine exclaimed as she then studied Tatsumi for a brief moment, before turning her head in a dismissive matter. "He's unqualified."
"WHAT?!/WHAT?!" Both Tatsumi and Venom exclaimed at her remark.
"He doesn't have the air of someone who can do the jobs like we professionals." Mine continued to say. "I can read it on his face."
"Once she sees us in action, then she'll be singing a different tune."Venom said angrily."Plus, he high pitched voice is starting to annoy me."
"Yeah, that voice is kind of annoying." Tatsumi mumbled, but unfortunately, MIne was able to hear him.
"What did you say?!" Mine exclaimed angrily as she butted head with Tatsumi. "Say that to my face, you country hick!"
"Maybe I will, you spoiled little princess!" Tatsumi exclaimed right back.
"Baby-faced amateur!" Mine yelled back.
"Little Miss Washboard!" Tatsumi yelled back, but instantly regretted it as he cringed at the fiery enraged look in Mine's eyes.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Mine exclaimed with a large blush on her cheeks as she suddenly decked Tatsumi in the face.
"Yeah, you deserved that one."Venom said before having a cheeky look within Tatsumi's mind."Though, you were the one who was staring at her chest to begin with."
'Shut up!' Tatsumi exclaimed angrily in his head.
"Well, nice to see those two getting along." Leone said with a wide smile.
"I guess we can call it that." Sheele said as she watched all this with a sweat drop on her head.
/
The next area Leone showed him was the training grounds, where all members of Night Raid train to hone their skills in combat and killing prowess. To be a master assassin, one must constantly perfect their craft, in case they want to ensure their survival and the success of killing the target.
In the middle of the training ground, however, was a large man with big muscles and whose hair is combed back in a heart-shaped pattern. He was twirling around and slicing the air with a very large spear with ease.
"This training ground is good for us to with work out, or blow off some steam." Leone said as she looked at the man. "The one who's working up a sweat over there is Bulat, one of our strongest members."
"Wow, he really is strong." Tatsumi said in amazement from Bulat's skills
"Let me go toe-to-toe with him and I'll be the judge of that."Venom said dismissively, as he could obviously do the exact same thing this human was doing.
Bulat stopped twirling the spear and looked at the two spectators. "Hey, Leone, and you're the kid from last night, right?"
"How do you who I am?" Tatsumi asked in surprise.
Oh, that's right, you haven't seen me like this. I was the guy in the armor." Bulat reminded as he walked up and held out his hand for Tatsumi to shake. "Name's Bulat, and it's nice to meet a potential recruit."
"Nice to meet you." Tatsumi said as he shook Bulat's hand.
"I'd be careful if I were you." Leone whispered in Tatsumi's ear. "He's gay." This info made Tatsumi nearly face-fault.
"Come on, Leone. Don't give him the wrong idea." Bulat said with a chuckle, before his face began to sparkle for some reason. "At least, not yet."
'We'll, he isn't denying it.' Tatsumi thought to himself.
"Eh, not my type."Venom said dismissively.
/
In the distance, overlooking an empty hot spring in the woods, the green-haired assassin boy hiding in some bushes as he had a perverse look on his face.
"It's almost time for Leone to take her bath." the green haired boy said with a chuckle. "I don't care what the consequences are so long as I get to see her amazing rack."
"Then how about I just break two fingers." Leone said as she popped up from the bushes behind him, causing him to scream in terror. Before he could run away, Leone caught him and started bending his arm back pretty far in painful manner. "Geez, you never learn. Try this stunt again, Lubbock, and I'll be breaking your entire arm off." Leone then turned to smile at Tatsumi as if she wasn't bending someone's arm back. "Anyway, this perv right here is Lubbock."
'She said that so casually.' Tatsumi said as he held a surprise expression on his face.
"Beauty, animal ferocity, and pure strength? She is definitely a worthy mate candidate for us, Tatsumi."Venom said with approval.
'SHUT UP!' Tatsumi exclaimed in his head.
"Next member should be right by the shore." Leone said as she let go of Lubbock, leaving him on the ground groaning in pain.
/
It was a constant trek downhill to where Leone was leading them, but thanks to his enhanced strength and stamina due to Venom, Tatsumi managed to hold out just fine without getting tired.
"The next member's a real beauty, so look forward to it." Leone lightly teased before pointing forward. "You actually met her already. That there's Akame. Pretty cute, huh?"
Tatsumi looked forward and noticed the same black-haired girl with the sword he fought a few nights ago. She was sitting right by the river next to an open fire, cooking a large slab of meat impossible for one person to eat. The moment she saw the two of them, her focused look was directed right at Tatsumi, which made him flinch slightly.
'Cute isn't the word I would use.' Tatsumi thought to himself.
"More like intimidating and frightening...I approve of her as well. So many potential mates for us to choose from."Venom said with a chuckle.
'Terrific. I not have to deal with a brain eating alien in my head, but now he's a pervert.' Tatsumi thought with a groan.
"Just being honest."Venom said like it was obvious.
"Is that an Evil Bird she's eating?" Tatsumi asked in slight amazement at the large slab of meat. "She killed it herself?"
"She's like a feral animal herself." Leone said with a smile.
"Here you go, Leone." Akame said as she passed the busty blonde a little bit of cooked meat. She then stared at Tatsumi for a bit before speaking. "Have you joined our team?"
Tatsumi looked down in thought before speaking back. "I haven't officially joined yet, but in all honesty, it seems most likely that I might."
Akame stared hard at Tatsumi for a brief moment, before she took a small piece of meat from her meal and held it out for him to take. "Normally I wouldn't give you anything, since you're not a full member, but I'll give you just a little bit of my mean since you most likely will join."
'I don't really want a piece.' Tatsumi thought with a sweat drop.
"I do!"Venom said happily as he took control of Tatsumi's body, made him take slab of meat, and then had him chow down on it like an animal.
'Oh, come on! What'd I say about taking control of my body?!' Tatsumi thought angrily as he couldn't talk due to the meat he was chewing on.
"Wow, never seen anyone, but Akame chow down on a piece of meat like that." Leone said in slight surprise before turning to the sword-wielding girl. "So, what's with the large catch?"
"The boss is back." Akame said simply.
"Yo."
All three of them looked to see an adult woman sitting on a chair while eating a roasted leg of the danger beast. She had short silver hair and a single purple eye, due to her other eye being covered by an eyepatch. She wore a black business suit that showed a bit of her well-endowed cleavage, but her most notable feature was that her right arm was a mechanical prosthetic.
"Welcome back, boss. Did you bring me anything?" Leone asked with a wide grin. However, that grin quickly turned into fear when she noticed the look the boss was giving her.
"Leone, is it true that you exceeded the operation time on that job three days ago?" The Boss said in a calm, yet dangerous, tone as she flexed her mechanical arm. Leone knew what was coming next, so she tried hightailing it out of there, but didn't get far as the boss shot her hand out like a grappling hook and grabbed onto her by the shoulder, before pulling her back. "It's not good to enjoy fighting a strong opponent too much. We'll have to do something about that bad habit of yours."
"Okay! Okay! Just stop pulling at me!" Leone cried out in pain.
"By the way, who's this young boy?" The Boss asked as she looked at Tatsumi curiously.
"Right, you haven't met yet." Leone said as she patted Tatsumi on he shoulder. "This here is Tatsumi, and I'm nominating him to join our team."
"Is that right?" The Boss asked as she stared hard at Tatsumi, making him slightly uncomfortable and sweat a little. "Does he show promise?"
"Oh, you have no idea." Leone said cryptically. She still remembered the scene of him turning into that creature and eating that girl's head off during the mission, which was a little unsettling at first, but she can tell he was assassin material. "He's a little hesitant, but he says that he'll most likely join us."
"If it makes you feel better, it pays well." Akame spoke up.
"Wait, so killing people here is like a part-time job?!" Tatsumi exclaimed.
"We get to eat brains and earn some money?! This is turning out to be the best gig ever!"Venom cheered.
'What would a pile of alien goop like you want with money?' Tatsumi thought to Venom.
"Very well, then." The Boss said as she got up and threw a coat with the Night Raid logo over her shoulders. "Akame, gather the others in the meeting room. I want to hear every detail about the outcome of the last mission, along with this boy."
/
So, all the members of Night Raid gathered in the meeting room with Najenda the only one sitting on a chair while smoking a cigarette, with Tatsumi being at the center of it. The main members of Night Raid explained the full details of the mission and about the horrors those rich family did, while saying how they eliminated all the targets. However, the report took a strange turn when it came time for Tatsumi to explain that he was the one who finished the last target off, but he had to tell them about how he did it...
He had to tell them about Venom.
Needless to say, everyone with in the group had their own varying expressions from Tatsumi's explanation on how he met Venom, and the things he's done while bonded to him. Leone and Akame were shocked by what they heard, though they were more inclined to believe it as they witnessed his transformation into the creature firsthand. Bulat and the Boss' expression were mainly stoic as they took in all the information given and tried to assess it, as they didn't see any hint of deceit from the young boy. Sheele was mainly just confused, as most of the stuff pertaining Venom went slightly over her head. The only ones were purely skeptical about all of this was Mine and Lubbock.
"Oh, please." Mine said in pure doubt with a condescending smirk. "You expect us to believe that you've got some goop from outer space that gives you powers? How dumb to you expect us to be."
"Yeah, man, that all sounds like something someone would make up if they're drunk or on something." Lubbock said, just as skeptical.
Hey, you don't have to take my word for it, take his." Tatsumi said with a shrug. 'Alright, Venom, you can come out now.'
"Finally."Venom said as black tendrils started to extend from Tatsumi's shoulder and the end took the form of Venom's head. This action caused everyone to gasp in shock at what they were seeing, with only Najenda being the most calm of the bunch, though her eyes still narrowed. "Hello, Night Raid. So nice to meet you all face to face."
"...Holy shit." Lubbock muttered in shock.
"What the hell?!" Mine exclaimed in disbelief.
"Damn, you weren't kidding." Bulat said in equal surprise.
"Told you guys this kid was special." Leone said with a smirk, though she still sweated a bit from the surprise of seeing the creature.
"So, still think we're just made up?" Venom asked sarcastically.
"It talks?!" Mine exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's getting him to shut up that's the challenge." Tatsumi said with a groan.
"I take it you all have questions about all of this, more specifically, about me." Venom stated.
"You would assume correctly." Najenda said as she got over her shock, and stared at Venom with a critical look. "Venom, was it, perhaps you can go into detail about just what you are."
"Seems fair." Venom said before going into detail. "I am part of a race known as the Klyntars. Our planet is light years from yours, and we travel across the stars finding other worlds. When we do find a planet, our bodies are unable to survive in an oxygen-rich environment, so we must take a host in order to survive, and in return our host becomes stronger, faster, and so much more. Complete symbiosis."
"Sym...Symbi...osis?" Sheele muttered in confusion. "I don't get it."
"It means that both beings, in this case Tatsumi and Venom, form a mutually beneficial partnership where both of them can survive." Bulat explains to the resident airhead. "Both of them provides the other with something they need, and in return they aid each other."
"It's not as great as you make it sound." Tatsumi said with a groan, but all of a sudden, his arm got coated with the black substance before it punched him out of nowhere. "OW!"
"Quit complaining. This is obviously the best thing to have ever happened to you!" Venom exclaimed as he got in Tatsumi's face.
"Like I'm gonna take the word of a parasite!" Tatsumi exclaimed with a glare.
"PARASITE?!" Venom exclaimed angrily as multiple black tendrils shot out of Tatsumi's back and attached to the ceiling, before yanking him up and slamming him multiple times on it. After the fifth time, the tendrils let go and caused Tatsumi to comically drop back on to the floor.
"Ugh..." Tatsumi groaned as he got back up to his feet.
"Never call me a parasite." Venom sneered.
"You sure this is...beneficial for them?" Lubbock asked Bulat with a weirded-out expression.
"Well...I've seen stranger teams." Bulat replied with a sweat drop.
"And you want this guy to join us?" Mine asked Leone sarcastically.
"Well, he still has potential." Leone said with a chuckle.
"They ate the targets head." Akame said simply.
"What?!" Lubbock and Mine both exclaimed at the same time, with Bulat and Sheele looking shocked at this. The Boss still kept a stoic look as she continued to visually judge the human/symbiote duo.
"Why would you do that?!" Lubbock asked.
"Simple really; fuel in the tank. I may have a host, but in order to continue on I need to feed on brains." Venom explained.
"Yeah, and I have to witness it." Tatsumi said with a slight shiver.
"So, are you going to feed on us?" Bulat asked with a light glare, causing everyone to be on edge.
"Now why would I want to eat the brains of those who will become our future teammates?" Venom asked with a chuckle. "Since we're all going to be assassins, that means targets, and targets mean plenty of brains to go around."
"But why do you need brains specifically?" Sheele asked.
"The human has a special chemical in it, called phenethylamine, and it's what I need to survive. I'm sure that there are other things on this planet that may possess it, but until we find it, it's going to be brains galore for me." Venom said with slight glee.
"Yippee." Tatsumi deadpanned.
"Well, as informative as this is, there is still something vital that you haven't told us yet." The Boss said with her hands folded and gave the two of them a critical look, aging the host and symbiotes attention. "You told us what you are, Venom, but what exactly are you doing here on our planet?"
Venom said nothing as he glanced at every human in the room, who gave him either a curious or critical look on their faces. Even Tatsumi looked at him with the same expression, as he knows what his goal on this planet was, but now why he was even here to begin with.
"To understand why I am not on my home planet and here on this one, you will first have to understand our past. How the Klyntars came to be. It is a tale that I will have to simplify, as 80 billion light years of knowledge collected between symbiotes across the universe would explode your tiny little brains." Venom said.
"What? You saying were dumb or something?" Mine said a little offended.
"Compared to some other species across the universe? Yes." Venom said simply, causing Mine to growl in anger.
"Just tell us the important things you can share." The Boss said.
"Very well then." Venom said with a nod as he began his tale. "Before the universe even existed, there was nothing but a void, and in this void was one being who declared himself emperor and master of it all. A malevolent being that was only named...Knull."
They couldn't really explain, but just hearing the name Knull caused every human to feel a sense of unease and put them on edge. Even the normally stoic and calm Akame couldn't help but tense up from hearing that name, like it was meant to strike fear in all their hears. It felt even worse for Tatsumi, as his connection to Venom allowed him to feel his fear as well, adding it to his own.
"However, Knull's time in the void was interrupted when the Celestials, cosmically powerful living machines, began the creation of the universe itself."
"Our planet was created by...machines?" Sheele asked in awe and disbelief.
"Yes, and Knull was none too pleased by this turn of events. As they continued to create multiple planets and galaxies, and fill them with life, Knull began to retaliate against them for tarnishing his void with it." Venom said.
"If these Celestials are as powerful as you say, then how could Knull even combat them?" Bulat asked.
"Knull created a living sword from his shadow, which he used to sever the head of one of the Celestials. This sword would become the very first of our kind. The first symbiote. All-Black the Necrosword."
This caused all of the occupants' eyes to widen in shock at this information. This one sword was able to kill a being who had the power to create planets? This bit of news made them all feel even more unease.
Akame glanced down at her own sword, as she can't help but feel just a tad bit small, knowing that her sword paled in comparison to what this Necrosword can do.
"This caused all the Celestials to fight back against Knull, and in doing so they cast him back into the void he came from, not knowing that it was his domain."
"Yeah, for giant space machines that create worlds, that was pretty stupid." Mine said, but hushed when Leone elbowed her in the side, as she was invested in this story.
"Knull used the severed head of the Celestial he killed as a forge, empowering his sword and creating a powerful armor with all of the cosmic powers of the Celestial he killed. With this new power he acquired, he waged a single-handed war against the other Celestials, with the full intent of snuffing out the light they had created, by ending the universe itself."
"Despite this power, he was just one being, and his war ended with him being berated and sent to a desolate world where he lost his weapon, but that didn't end his drive to end all life in the universe. Using his power, he created an army of symbiotes with the intent of conquering other planets and consuming entire civilizations."
"And then what happened?" The Boss asked, wanting to get a full scope of how dangerous this situation was, despite it happening so long ago.
Venom was silent for a moment, before he continued. "During this conquest, a powerful symbiote began its invasion on a world, but was met with extreme resistance. The inhabitants of this world created a weapon, one so powerful, it destroyed the symbiote, and in doing so it severed the hive-mind connection between Knull and his symbiote creations. With the hive-mind destroyed, the symbiotes began to bond with benevolent hosts, which taught them honor and nobility, and in doing so they questioned Knull's intentions and eventually rebelled against him."
"Heh, that's what you get when you take away your creations free will." Lubbock said with a smirk, feeling glad that a genocidal maniac like Knull was getting instant karma, from his own kind, no less.
"Countless symbiotes across the galaxy returned from where they were spawned and fought against Knull, but his powers were too great to defeat permanently. Instead, he was imprisoned within a planet made by the bodies of all the symbiotes, sealing away permanently. This planet became the home of my kind, and it became the name of our species as well. Klyntar, the name of my people and our home, in your dialect means 'Cage,' for we keep our god sealed away."
No one said a word, as they were all reeling in by what they just heard. They had just been given a history lesson to put all schools to shame, as they had just learned about how the very universe was created. Still though, the story of this Knull creature, how evil he was, and the fact that he attempted to end all life in existence still rattled them a bit. During their time as assassins, they have seen many despicable and downright evil people within their country, but this being made all of them feel like ants in comparison.
"Well...shit." Lubbock muttered.
"It's just...I've got no words." Leone said, which is odd, as she usually always knew what to say.
"Is all of this true?" Akame asked.
Venom nodded his head as he continued on. "My kind share knowledge through our genetic ancestry. All the knowledge that we obtain is genetically passed down from one generation to the next, all the way back to the first symbiote created by Knull."
"Much like how birds are genetically knowledgeable on where to fly for the winter, passed on by one generation after the other." The Boss simplified.
"Yes, it is both one of our greatest gifts, but also a curse." Venom said as he looked down with regret. "We symbiotes are cursed to constantly remember that we were originally meant for destruction. The life that we wish to never go back to."
All members of Night Raid and Tatsumi looked at Venom with either a sad or understanding expression. It must be hard having a perfect memory of the past, where you're constantly reminded of all the horrible things you were forced to do.
Sheele soon stepped forward and stood in front of Venom, confusing him and Tatsumi, before she started petting him. Venom was a little put off by this, but Sheele gave a comforting smile that put him at ease.
"You look like you needed this." Sheele said with a kind look, not at all deterred by the wearied texture his head was made of.
"Well, that certainly is quite a lot to process." The Boss said as she took a breath to calm her nerves. It's not everyday you hear the creation of the universe, and knowing just what lies out there beyond the stars. "Thank you, Venom for sharing this information with us."
"Hold up, there's still something that you're not telling us." Mine spoke up as she gave Venom with a critical look. "Just what exactly are you, specifically, doing on our planet, if your kind are meant to be keeping your evil god prisoner?"
"Well...to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing." Venom said as he recounted his life before coming to this planet. "You see, on my planet, I'm kind of a loser, like Tatsumi."
"Hey!" Tatsumi exclaimed angrily, causing some of the Night Raid members to chuckle at that.
"I like this alien." Leone said with a chuckle. "He's got some attitude."
"Ha! Well, this proves he's honest." Mine said with a smirk towards Tatsumi.
"Oh, shut up!" Tatsumi exclaimed right back at her.
"You see, after Knull was defeated, we mainly lost our purpose, now that we swore to protect the universe from his wrath. We became blank slates that had no idea what we were meant to be. There was nothing for us to go back on, since our original purpose was to be a weapon. No literature, no music, no art, and no culture; just an emptiness that frightened, thinking that we were just meant to be alone within the cold and unforgiving cosmos."
All of the Night Raid members looked at the symbiote with sympathy, as they understood what he meant. His entire race basically saved all life in existence by keeping Knull under lock and key, but in doing so, they now became empty, unsure of what to do with their lives. They basically went through an existential crisis, like which has never been known before. How does a race that remember everything about their horrible past counteract something like that?
"But then, we remembered the memories of the benevolent hosts that we took before Knull's imprisonment, and that's when we came to a solution. Every generation, symbiotes would travel across the stars and find hosts on various planets. We would then learn from their memories, and experience their history, their culture, their art, and their music. After gaining this knowledge, we would then return to our home planet and share this knowledge with the rest of our kind. By understanding the lives of our hosts, we can better understand our lives, our new purpose, and what it means for us to exist."
"Wow..." Leone said as she didn't expect that kind of an answer.
"That's sounds a bit bizarre..." Lubbock said.
"Yet, at the same time, it sounds very beautiful." Sheele said with a kind smile.
"So that's why you came to our planet? To learn from us to better understand yourself?" Bulat asked curiously.
"Eh...not so much." Venom said in a sheepish tone. "I never really fitted in with the rest of my kind, as I felt like there's more to our lives than just leaving, gaining knowledge, and then coming back just to repeat the process. When it came time for me to set out my journey through the galaxy, I decided that I wouldn't go back."
"And that's how he ended up here on this planet." Tatsumi spoke up. "Trust me, the last thing on this guy's mind is knowledge."
"He's right." Venom said as he gained a look of rage. "What I desire right now, is revenge."
"Revenge?" Akame asked, gaining all of Night Raid's attention. "Revenge on who'm?"
"After I crash landed here on this planet, I was captured by soldiers from the Capital, and taken prisoner into one of their many research stations." Venom said as he started to become more and more angry. "They wanted to know what I was, what I could do; so they tortured me, cut me up, and performed all kinds of experiments on me!" This bit of information caused all of Night Raid to gain a surprised look, but it went away as soon as they realized this was the Capital they were talking about.
"Yeah, that sounds like something they would do." Bulat said with bitterness.
"So that's why he needs me as a host." Tatsumi said. "He partnered up with me because he needs my help to try and take down the guy who orchestrated his torture. He's the Prime Minister in the Capital, some guy named Honest." Those words caused everyone to gasp in surprise by that statement.
"You want to kill the Prime Minister?" Sheele asked in surprise.
"That's a pretty tall order." Bulat stated. "The guy is one of the highest-ranking officials in the Capital. He's not a man that can be killed so easily."
"You'd have to be a complete idiot to go after him alone." Mine said with a doubtful look.
"Well, good thing I'm not alone, now that Tatsumi is my host." Venom said with confidence.
However, the Boss noted the doubtful look in Tatsumi's eyes and could tell that despite this, he was still second-guessing things. "Well, Tatsumi, we've heard Venom's goal, but what do you gain? What is it that you want?" The Boss asked as she stared intently at the young man.
Tatsumi looked down in thought, wondering what he wanted to say, but decided it was best to be honest with them, like how Venom was honest. "Well, I wanted to join the Capital's army so I could become a success there and earn some money, so that way I could waive my poverty-stricken village. I figured with Venom by my side I could have become the ultimate soldier." Tatsumi said as he then clenched his fist in frustration. "But the Capital is just as bad, if not worse."
"The rot in the center is why the countryside's so poor." Bulat said in understanding. "Don't you want to take out the rot personally, like a man?"
"Bulat used to be a soldier in the Imperial Army, but he joined our side when he learned of the Capital's corruption." The Boss explained.
"It's easier to dispose of all the corruption when you're no longer amongst it." Bulat said with a smirk.
"Sounds simple enough." Venom said as he gained a bit of respect for Bulat, since he saw the light and now kills the very people he once served under. It almost reminds him of the Klyntars history.
"But killing bad guys little by little, isn't going to change things in a big way." Tatsumi said.
"It will if we kill every corrupted person in their." Venom said nonchalantly.
"That's not the point." Tatsumi said as he glared at the symbiote. "Doing that won't save towns like my village that have suffered from all of this."
"I see." The Boss said with a satisfied smile. "Then Night Raid sounds even more perfect for the two of you."
"How's that?" Tatsumi asked as he and Venom looked at her curiously.
"On the far south of the Capital lies the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army, a movement that stands against the Empire." The Boss explained, surprising the symbiote/host duo. "What started out small has grown into large-scale organization. They soon created a branch that mainly focuses on gathering intel, assassinations, and other unmentionable jobs. That is us...Night Raid."
"Right now, we're just exterminating high valued targets that drain the life out of the Capital, but once the army springs into action, we'll join the fray..." The Boss clenched her mechanical fist and looked at them with a deadly gleam in her eyes. "...and then we'll kill the Prime Minister!"
"Kill the..." Tatsumi said in surprise
"...Prime Minister?" Venom said with a sadistic glee.
"As you can see, Venom, our goals greatly align, even though there are others to accomplish, but we'll discuss those at a later time." The Boss said as she stared intently at them. "I can't say much as to when the uprising will happen, but we have a winning plan in place. When that time comes, this country will surely change."
"YES! That sounds perfect!" Venom cheered as he turned to his host. "Take the deal, Tatsumi! This is the best opportunity that could ever happen to us!"
Tatsumi still looked a little doubtful, as the troubled expression still lingered on his face. He had to know something vital before he can give an answer to her request, and Venom's plea, to join them. "This new country, will it be kind to its people?" Tatsumi asked seriously.
"Of course." The Boss said with a nod.
"And we're only going to be killing very, very, bad people, right?" Tatsumi asked for clarification.
"Trust me, every one of our targets has it coming." The Boss said.
"Normally, I'd probably think that you guys are like some noble assassins of justice, protecting innocents by killing really bad people." Tatsumi said as everyone felt like laughing at that, but paused when Tatsumi gave a serious look on his face. "But I killed someone before coming to the Capital, and he rightfully deserved it, but the fact is I still killed him, and I didn't feel any sense of justice there. Whether it's for a good cause or to not, killing people is still killing. It's still murder."
"Technically we killed someone before coming here, but you're right." Venom said in agreement. "We Klyntars may have a much more noble lifestyle, but we were weapons and we have killed countless races before. Whether we are good or not, we have blood on our hands."
All of the members of Night Raid were surprised by the level of maturity Tatsumi seemed to have displayed. At first glance he looked a tad bit green and didn't really understand the lifestyle they were asking him to join, and while that may still be the case, he at least has an idea on what it was he was signing up for.
'Huh, guess he can be a bit mature.' Mine thought to herself, as she stopped giving Tatsumi a condescending look.
"Nice to see you understand, Tatsumi." Leone said with a smirk, and a shadow over her eyes. "Whether we kill bad guys or not, we're still technically murderers."
"There's no justice in that." Sheele spoke up.
"Every person here may get what's coming to them at any moment." Bulat said seriously.
"We'll still get paid though, right?" Tatsumi asked the boss, as that was still his main priority.
"Indeed. If you do a good job, you may even earn enough money to save your village." The Boss said with a nod.
"You can keep the money, all that matters to me is killing all of the scum within the Capital, and feast on their brains." Venom said with a feral grin.
"Yeah, I'm not really into that part, but you can get the idea on where he stands." Tatsumi said with sweat drop, before looking at the boss resolutely. "As for me, I'm in to! Ieyasu and Sayo would definitely have fought for the same goal, so I will honor them like this!"
"You know, there's a high chance you might not be able to return to your village." Mine pointed out with her hands on her hips.
"That's fine, so long as everyone is safe and happy." Tatsumi said, not even turning around to face her.
"Hmm." Mine hummed, as she was honestly starting to grow a little respect for the newbie, though she would never admit it out loud.
"Besides, I'll make sure he makes it out of it alive." Venom said as he had another tendril and patted him on the head, earning a grunt of annoyance from his host. "After all, if he dies, it may take awhile to find a suitable replacement host, and I don't feel like putting in the effort to find one."
"Wow, nice pep talk, Venom." Tatsumi said with a glare.
"I know it was, that's why I said it." Venom said with a grin.
"That was sarcasm!" Tatsumi exclaimed.
The Boss smirked, likening the attitude from the host/symbiote duo. "Very well, then I welcome you, Tatsumi, Venom, to Night Raid!" The Boss stated as she held out her hand to them.
Tatsumi gave a determined look as he knew that from now on, nothing would ever be the same for him again. Then again, he probably should have expected that the moment an alien bonded to him. Venom, however, looked completely satisfied at this, knowing that he was one step closer from achieving his goal, as his tendril head retracted back inside Tatsumi.
The intense moment was ruined when the gear attached to Lubbock hand started reacting, with the threads attached to it starting to move rapidly. "Najenda, we've got intruders!" Lubbock said in alarm.
"How many are there and where?" The Boss, now named Najenda, said calmly.
"According to my barrier, there should be eight of them! They've all infiltrated the hideout grounds!" Lubbock informed.
"They're good. They were able to sniff us out this close. They must be mercenaries from the tribes." Najenda said calmly as she lit up a cigarette and gave a puff. Her eyes then became deadly serious as she stared intently at her squad. "Emergency dispatch. Kill every one of the intruders."
Tatsumi slightly gasped as he took note of all the serious look each member of this assassin team gave. They all looked like they were out for blood, and this wasn't even a full-scale battle.
'The air...it suddenly changed.' Tatsumi thought with a shiver.
'I know. I just love it.'Venom said.
'Of course, you would.' Tatsumi thought sarcastically, before he saw all of his new comrades racing out of the building to go out and take out the intruders.
'Well?! What are we standing around here for?! Let's get out there and bite some heads off!"Venom cheered as he took control of Tatsumi and made him run out to follow after the assassins.
"Hey, what did I say about taking over my body!" Tatsumi exclaimed angrily.
Najenda watched him run off to join the fray, and couldn't help but chuckle at the situation she found herself in. It was nice to have anew recruit join their ranks, but she honestly didn't expect to have an alien of all things be part of it as well. She can only imagine just what this little outcome will bring to her and Night Raid in the future.
Still though, just because Tatsumi is unique thanks to Venom, doesn't mean that he may have what it takes to be a part of what they're trying to achieve. This little infiltration may just be what she needed to see if they have what it takes. "Now then, you two, let's see if you can handle this." Najenda said after taking another puff from her cigarette.
/
"Bulat!" Tatsumi called out as he caught up to the larger man, as he ran through the woods on the outskirts of the base.
"Oh, Tatsumi!" Bulat said with a smile. "You coming with me?"
"Yep." Tatsumi said with a nod.
"Listen, how about you just call me either Big Bro, or handsome?" Bulat said with a grin.
"Sure thing, Big Bro." Tatsumi said with a grin.
"And that goes for you to, Venom." Bulat pointed out.
'I am technically older than this guy, and there's no way I'm calling him handsome.'Venom stated.
"He respectfully declines." Tatsumi said sheepishly.
"Aw well, can't win 'em all." Bulat said with a shrug, before he came to stop. "Listen, as thanks for you at least calling me Big Bro, I'm gonna show you something awesome. Just stand back a bit." Tatsumi was confused by this, but he did comply. Bulat gained a serious look as he slammed his hand onto the ground. "INCURSIOOOOO!" All of a sudden, armor started to engulf Bulat's body, until he was coated in the armor he wore the first time they met.
"Whoa! That's so awesome!" Tatsumi said with an amazed grin.
"I know, right? This is the Teigu I wield called Incursion." Bulat said.
"Teigu? I don't know what that is, but it's getting me pumped up." Tatsumi said with a smile.
"I'm glad you understand how awesome this armor is." Bulat said before pointing at Tatsumi. "Listen, Tatsumi, I'm going to give you your first job. It's a big one, okay?"
"Right!" Tatsumi said in surprise, but with eagerness to. This was his and Venom's chance to prover that they belong here.
/
Off at the river near Night Raid's base, Akame stood face-to-face with three tribal mercenaries with their weapons drawn. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Akame still kept a calm look and was not at all intimidated by the mercenaries.
"The fact that she's here means that their base is not that far off." One of the tribal mercenaries said with a smirk. "All that searching finally paid off."
"Still, she sure is a cute little thing." One of the mercenaries said with a lecherous look, while licking his lips. This immediately caused Akame's eyes to narrow as she placed a hand on the hold of her sword.
"I guess we can have some fun after she's dead." The first mercenary said as he was about to strike. "Let's just make sure not to damage her body too-" Before he could even finish speaking, Akame instantly dashed forward in a burst of speed, and drew her sword in one swift movement, easily slicing all three of their necks in one fell swoop, much to their surprise. "-much?"
"You're too relaxed being in enemy territory." Akame said simply as she flicked her sword, splattering some blood on the ground.
"Too...fast..." The mercenary said as he and one of his comrades collapsed dead from the blood spilling from their necks.
The third one still stood as he held his hand up to the cut on his neck. 'Shit!' He thought as he drew his sword. 'If I'm going down, I'm taking this bitch with me!'
Ba-Bump!
The final mercenary gasped as he noticed he was starting to grow weaker, then he saw marking spreading from the cut on his neck. 'Her sword was...poisoned!?' With that final thought, he collapsed to the ground dead.
"One-Slice kill." Akame stated emotionlessly. "All I needed was just one cut, and you're dead."
/
In another part of the forest, one tribal mercenary was running as fast he could to get away from there. He witnessed Night Raid's early retaliation to their invasion, which really screwed them over, so he figured it was best to retreat now and give away their location to the highest bidder.
'They detected our invasion, but we know where their base is. Just that information alone will fetch a high price.' The tribal mercenary thought with a smirk. 'I have to retreat now and report back to our client in the Capital.'
However, what he never noticed was that he was currently being watched. Up on a cliff far from the retreating mercenary, Mine watched him through a scope attached to her head, while carrying a large gun. She crouched behind some bushes, while standing as close to the edge as she could without falling off.
(Off Topic AN: Am I the only one who thought that scope she wore on that scene looked like the scouter from Dragon Ball Z, or has anyone else made that joke. If so for the later, then I feel pretty stupid for not noticing that.)
"He ran pretty far." Mine noted. "If I'm going to shoot him down, I'll have to give away my position."
Just then, another tribal mercenary jumped out of the bushes behind Mine and meant to cut her down with his blade. However, instead of feeling fear, Mine just smirked as she didn't even bother to turn to face her attacker.
Just then, Sheele came in out of nowhere and used her giant scissors to cut up the tribal mercenary in half. "Sorry." Sheele said emotionlessly.
"Thanks, Sheele." Mine said gratefully as she turned back to the retreating mercenary in the distance. "I was in a real pinch there." Mine aimed her gun as it started powering up. "Which is fine cause I can reach him now!"
Mine fired the gun, which shot a huge blast of energy that soared across the forest and went right straight for the retreating mercenary. The tribal man looked back and gasped in fear, before he was caught and killed by the shot. The path of destruction left by the shot created a large trench that tore up the forest floor, and completely obliterated the tribal man.
"Direct hit!" Mine cheered as she holstered her gun over her shoulder. "When I'm in a real pinch, I'm unstoppable!"
Meanwhile, off in another part of the forest, Leone was currently sitting on top of the dead body of another tribal mercenary, who appeared to be beaten to a bloody pulp. Her hair was long again, and her paws, tail, and cat ears were back as well. The moment she heard that loud shot, her ears twitched in the direction it was coming from.
"That's was Mine's Pumpkin. I don't know how anyone can handle such a pain in the ass Teigu." Leone said with sigh, before she gave a feral look at the dead body she was sitting on. "As for me, becoming a creature that enjoys beating people to death, is a lot easier to understand."
/
Deep within a cave close to where Night Raid's base was, Lubbock stood there with a look of annoyance as he caught someone within his steel wires. It was another tribal mercenary, but the difference was that this one was a girl, who cried in pain as the wires constricted around her, drawing blood along the way.
"I thought the tension of my threads were a little light." Lubbock said with an annoyed sigh. "So, it was a girl, huh?"
"Please, help me!" The tribal girl begged with fear. "I'll do anything you say!"
"I don't think so." Lubbock said with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He wiggled his fingers, which caused the thread to tighten up even more around the girl's body, drawing even more blood, and causing her to scream in agony. "I've known guys who called for a woman's charm and end up dead."
The girl gave one last scream before she fell limp, and Lubbock dropped her dead body to the ground. He was about to leave, but stopped as he gave one final glance at the dead girl, before letting out a groan of annoyance. "Aw, what waste of a beautiful girl! Sometimes this job really sucks!"
/
'This is seriously fucked up!'
Tatsumi inwardly groaned in annoyance at Venom's constant whining, as he laid down beneath the bushes trying to hide. Bulat gave him the job of keeping an eye out on this path in case any of the enemies came running by here to escape. So far, all they've been doing is lying in wait, and hearing the various battles across the forest from their other new comrades.
'We're still technically the new guys, so it makes sense that they give us a petty role.' Tatsumi said as, although he understood why they were given this role, it also kind of annoyed him as well.
'This is a complete waste of our talents!' Venom continued to complain.'We can easily tear apart anyone who dares to fight us, yet they have us on guard duty!'
'We'll get our chance hopefully, but I doubt anyone is even gonna show up here.' Tatsumi thought.
Just then, a tribal mercenary, who appeared to be the leader due to his massive size and the wolf pelt covering around his head, burst out of the foliage, shocking Tatsumi. The young host jumped out of the bushes and drew his sword, shocking the tribal mercenary leader.
'Finally, some action!'Venom cheered.
"So, they stationed someone here as well!" The mercenary said as he drew his weapon.
'So, we're about to kill another guy I don't know.' Tatsumi thought to himself as he sweated a bit.
'Quit complaining, Tatsumi. If you hesitate, you will die, and I cannot afford to have you dying on me.'Venom said sternly.
'Stop worrying about me, okay?! Just focus on the guy in front of us!' Tatsumi thought with a growl.
"You may be a boy, but I'm not about to go easy on you!" The mercenary said as he prepared to strike. Tatsumi didn't say anything as he charged in with a burst of speed and easily avoided the sword strike from the mercenary, and eventually made it in behind him. Tatsumi delivered a powerful kick that, thanks to Tatsumi's enhanced strength, sent him flying and crashed into a tree, causing him to grunt in pain. 'He's fast...and strong to.'
The mercenary got back up and raised his sword, but a black tendril launched out of Tatsumi's arm and latched onto the mercenary's arm, twisting it until it bent in a different direction. The mercenary screamed in pain, but was silenced when Tatsumi rushed right in and swung his sword upward, slicing up his chest and spilling blood on the ground.
"Still think I'm weak?" Tatsumi asked as he took a couple of deep breaths and glared at the down mercenary. "With these skills...that I learned from Sayo and Ieyasu...and with Venom by my side...you can't beat me!" Tatsumi rushed forward and was about to bring down his sword, ending the mercenary once and for all.
"Wait, stop!" The mercenary cried out. "Please! If I die, I'll never be able to save my village!"
Tatsumi actually paused in his strike as soon as he heard those words. 'He's...doing this for his village...as well?' Tatsumi thought.
'ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!' Venom shouted angrily.'That's it! If you don't have the balls to finish this guy off, I'll do it myself!'
The mercenary smirked as he thought he had him, and was about to strike out against Tatsumi, but was unable to when a black tendril launched out of Tatsumi's arm and wrapped around his throat. He gasped, or at least tried to, when Venom now completely engulfed Tatsumi's body, then the symbiot pulled the mercenary in close, before slamming him on the ground repeatedly. Venom then grabbed him by the leg, before throwing him hard into a tree, knocking it down to the ground.
The mercenary groaned in pain as blood trailed down his body, before he was grabbed by the neck lifted up to eye level with Venom. "You could clearly see it in his eyes, Tatsumi. He would have struck you down if I didn't get in the way."
"I'm...I'm sorry, I just..." Tatsumi tried to say from within Venom, knowing he really messed up and that Venom was right.
"Forget being sorry. I will just have to deal with this." Venom said as he ripped off the pelt covering the mercenary's head, revealing the mercenary's face as he was still in a daze from being beaten to a bloody pulp. "Don't want to get fur in my mouth with this snack." Venom said with a feral grin, before he opened his maw wide, and completely bit off the mercenary's head clean off, leaving a pool of blood on the ground.
/
"I wonder if the new guys are dead yet?" Mine said as she walked along a log in the forest, with Sheele walking close by.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about them." Sheele said.
Mine looked at Sheele curiously as she quirked an eyebrow. "That's odd. You usually don't commend people so easily, Sheele."
"Well, we still don't know the capabilities of Venom, as we are unaware of the full potential between him and his species." Sheele pointed out. "Even Tatsumi managed to survive a sword fight with Akame, which is an impressive feat for him."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Mine said as she sat on the tree trunk.
"And that's not all." Sheele spoke up more. "According to Akame, the potential between those two are so great, they may even reach the rank of commander if they train hard enough."
"Really?" Mine said in slight surprise before she looked up in the sky. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see about that, won't we."
/
Venom soon retracted back into Tatsumi's body, as the young man stared at the headless body of his opponent. This is the third time he's bared witness on Venom's method of killing, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about it. Just the fact he was using his body to feed on people, it just made his stomach all queasy.
"Congratulations." A voice spoke, causing Tatsumi to jump in surprise as he turned to notice Akame not that far from him. "You successfully killed one of the intruders."
Tatsumi looked sheepish as he rudder the back of his head. "Yeah, it wasn't all that-"
"I was talking to Venom." Akame interrupted, causing Tatsumi to flinch. "You worked together flawlessly, but then you, Tatsumi, hesitated and allowed the enemy to retaliate, which Venom had to save you from." Akame gave a cold look as her eyes slightly narrowed. "If you hesitate, you die. Plain and simple." With that said, Akame just walked off back to base.
"Man, she's cold." Tatsumi said with a slight shiver.
"I know...it was kind of hot."Venom said, causing Tatsumi to sweat drop at that.
Soon everyone returned back to the base and the majority of them were celebrating outside from a successful battle. Tatsumi, however, was speaking to the Boss as she wanted to have a precise detail on his first battle alongside Night Raid.
"I see. Well then, good work on surviving your first day with us, Tatsumi, Venom." Najenda said with a smile at the symbiote/human duo, with Venom popping out from Tatsumi's shoulder.
"Thanks." Tatsumi said.
"Hardly a challenge, if you ask me." Venom spoke up in a grumble. "We hardly even had a chance to cut loose and really tear into them."
"You'll get your chance one of these days." Najenda said confidently, before looking at Tatsumi specifically. "Still though, that hesitation you felt may be a problem in the future, according to Akame's report. Also, it seems that despite your partnership with Venom, you two still seem to be slightly at arms with each other." Tatsumi and Venom didn't say anything as they simply cast a side glance at each other. "If you two are going to survive this, you're going to need someone to help show you the ropes on how we assassins do things."
"We don't need a babysitter." Venom said sternly.
"Not a babysitter, a teacher." Najenda said with a smirk. "I'm going to have you two partner with Akame."
"Are you sure?!" Tatsumi asked in shock.
"Does that sound fair, Akame?" Najenda called out to the black-haired girl, who nodded simply. "If they hold you back or don't take it seriously, you have my permission to kill them." Again, Akame nodded simply without a care.
"Are you serious?!" Tatsumi exclaimed.
"You should feel happy. Getting to be taught by a such a cute girl, just make sure she doesn't kill you." Najenda said with a chuckle.
"Ha! I like to see her try!" Venom said with a feral grin.
"Don't tempt her, you crazy parasite!" Tatsumi exclaimed at the alien.
"PARASITE?!" Venom exclaimed angrily, before he let out a tendril from Tatsumi's shoulder and flung him right into the ground, before wrapping another tendril around his neck. "You asked for this!"
Tatsumi growled in anger as he punched Venon right in the face, to get him off. "That's it, you little blob of goop!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he began having a makeshift fight with Venom, which was a little awkward considering Venom could just hide inside him. Every one of the assassins looked at the two oddly, while some just chuckled at their antics.
"We seriously gonna have those two as comrades?" Mine asked skeptically.
"I like those guys." Bulat said with a grin. "Those two are definitely gonna make things lively."
"With those two in our ranks, I'm not surer if we're now an assassin guild, or a circus?" Lubbock said with a shrug.
"Well, I'm looking forward to working with them." Leone said with a smirk.
Najenda heard all this and couldn't help but smirk at the antics between the human and symbiote duo as well. Her little assassin group have come from all Ali's of life, but never did she think she would welcome an alien into her ranks.
She didn't understand it, but she was getting this feeling that these two could give them and Revolutionary Army the edge the needed to take down the Empire.
/
Hey everyone, I have returned with a new chapter for you all.
I am so sorry it took so long to get this one done so late, but recently I was in an accident and I needed to seek medical attention immediately. I'm recovering now and I'm able to get back into writing, so I thought I'd surprise you all with a new chapter of this story.
I did not intend for this story to be this long, but with Venom telling Night Raid the history of the Klyntar's, it took up a large chunk of this chapter. Either way, that part was my favorite to write, as I loved reading the lore on how the symbiotes came to be and an impact they had for the Marvel universe. Now, for this story, I had to tweak a few things as this Earth isn't the same as the Marvel universe, so not everything about their lore had to be a Marvel carbon copy, but I tried to stay true to their mythology as I could.
Now, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, as I've got other stories that need updating, and new stories that I want to at least test out to see if they'll stick, but it won't take as long as this one took to update.
That's all I have to say everyone, so stay healthy, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time!