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 Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:17 pm
It's been a few days since Before first met Rick and in that short span of time, the Misty learned a few things: The first one being that his friends back in Deus had rescued the kidnapped trainees and were all back! So YAY FOR THAT 8D He'd sent a flurry of texts asking for updates and how they were doing, and due to the erratic nature of the off-island outpost's reception, the answers arrived spaced out. That was fine, it was perfectly fine because his friends were OKAY and the relief he felt was just indescribable.
Oh and he tried to describe it, usually to the basic trainees who more or less humored him. Lilah was at least kind enough to actually engage in conversations with him while Glen gave nods and shakes of his head. The full Hunter would pop her head in now and again but she was still recovering and while Before wouldn't mind taking the role of nurse maid, the Hunter explicitly stated she'd rather get well on her own.
Which brings us to the second thing Before learned: Rick didn't like him. Okay he couldn't blame the Moon trainee for that, Before did rub some people the wrong way. But ever since he tried talking to the intermediate Moonie about Rick's own friends, every instance Rick saw him checking his phone during lulls on their perimeter watch, he and the Moonie had words.
Well, more accurately, the Moonie chewed him out for being unprofessional and overly concerned about his friends when he should be looking out for his own a**. And if Before really was worried about others, he should be worrying about the people he was with.
Before just nodded and limited the frequency he checked his phone and twitter. But it was either Before had the worst timing, or Rick just had this uncanny sixth sense and kept catching him. Vanna began to suspect there were external forces at work such as an unseen force sitting in front of a monitor but Before shrugged that notion off.
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:23 pm
Unlike Before, Rick had been learning a great deal more things these past few days. Mostly irrelevant trivia about his teammates, like their hopes and dreams, their likes and dislikes, basically the sort of s**t people discovered when they went on dates or hung out together. The real kicker, however, was how long each of his teammates were awake.
Glen and Lilah were from the same batch, was one of the more recent ones to get out of their pod. Barely a few months out and were as green as they came. But Before? When Rick learned Before was a Stray and was already promoted to Intermediate it felt like such a slap in the face. Rick had been awake for four and a half years and it was only now that he was deemed ready for promotion. Now, after the raid, after their numbers had been whittled down, and they were obviously hurting for new Hunters.
It, it just wasn't fair.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:44 am
Rick had taken to eavesdropping, not because he was a kibbitzing gossip but because it was one of the few ways he knew of retrieving personal information about others. When people thought they were speaking in confidence, Rick found they were more likely to open up and share. It was how he confirmed Before's claim that Glen and Lilah bickered like a married couple. Otherwise, the two basic trainees just clammed up whenever they saw him.
Normally, he would have appreciated the silence, except part of his Promotion mission was to find personal information on complete strangers. And while he could get away with observational information, he doubted it was something the Death Division Leader (or even the Assistant Division Leader) would think worthy of transfer.
But Before was there, talking up a storm as usual, being chipper and cheerful and just grating on Rick's every nerve. It made Rick want to show his face just to shut him up. Despite the fact his weapon hardly ever expressed its opinion; the Moon ignored the warning grumble in the back of his mind.
Don't you take his side, Rick snapped testily as he strained to listen for Lilah or Glen's voices.
"So you're saying it's not all that hard to get promoted?" Lilah asked happily.
"N-no! That totes ain't what I'm saying," >C
"What are you saying, then?" Glen drawled.
"That having people watch your back makes it easier to survive. Like that time in the Haunted House, when the not-Aria b***h went all Insanity on our asses and rained fire everywhere. My Bro Bix, he's a Sunny and he's awesome and you two should totes learn how to spar from him! Anyway, Bix saved my life. No warning, no words. Just threw himself in front of that ******** fiery death and saved me. His back was all burned and scarred and s**t and it's pretty badass come to think but yeah. If he hadn't been there, I'm sure I'd have been a goner."
Rick had to marvel at Before's lung capacity. He wasn't sure when the Mist had paused in his story to take a breath as he continued to listened on the trio's back-and-forth.
"How close to promotion do you think we are, Before?" Lilah ventured.
"I wouldn't know! Maybe we can spar in between perimeter watch shifts? You get a better sense of the other person in actual combat."
Rick blinked. That answer actually made sense to him.
"How close to promotion do you think you are?" Glen sounded like he was mocking Before. At least Rick thought Glen sounded like he was mocking Before.
"Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! Good one, Glen! Wait, why are you looking at me like... whoa, dude, you were serious?" O_o??? "Uhhhhh..."
The Intermediate Moon leaned in with a smirk on his face. This should be hilarious.
"Vanna's a better judge of my skill. Personally I think she fudges the numbers like a ton because I don't think I'll ever be ready for full Hunter-dom. But okay, okay, stop looking at me like that!" :/ Before took a deep breath, "According to Vanna, after all the trials and tribulations and s**t I've been through and had to put up with, from Insanity-Phoenixes, to not-Aria bitches, to seeing awesomer people die (Julie TTATT)... I'm less than a fourth away from being promotion-ready."
"WHAT!?" Rick roared. He couldn't stop himself. He was rounding the corner, eyes ablaze in outrage and indignity. "There is NO ******** WAY you're anywhere near even a fifth ready for promotion!" Three pairs of eyes stared in disbelief at Rick but he ignored it in favor of his little spiel. "You may already be an Intermediate trainee despite being awake barely two years but it takes a <******** ton more work to get to where I am!"
"I know," Before squeaked, faltering back, "It's Vanna who thinks I'm that ready."
"Don't hide behind your weapon, that's just sad," Rick sneered, "Own your ******** ego," the Moon spat and promptly stormed out, leaving a trio of thoroughly confused trainees.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:46 am
The Life Hunter hobbled into what served as the outpost's briefing room. Her good eye studying the four trainees present dismally, before lifting to read the clipboard wedged between the crook of her elbow. "Got word from HQ and we're gonna be here a while until the place gets rebuilt. Again. If you don't know what I mean by again, count yourself lucky," she muttered. She opened her mouth to continue, instead out came a string of dry heaves. The sound of chairs scooting back echoed as one brave soul held out a pail to the Hunter, just in case.
Before looked at the interim Leader with grim concern in his eyes, "Maybe you uh, should uh, oughta take a seat? I'm sure the others totes won't mind listening even if you're sitting down." He was waved away after a few more seconds of hacking and coughing.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," the Hunter insisted, "You all got called for a briefing. That means I got more news than just an update of Home-status." With the clipboard, she gestured to the window on her left, "There's a huge influx of FEAR activity in one of the nearby caves. If our equipment hadn't been so thoroughly ******** up during the siege, we'd have a better idea of what could be causing it. But, since we have an aspiring Death-Hunter here, what better way for him to practice gathering intel. Rick, you're in charge of this investigation."
And suddenly it was Before's turn to look sick as he glanced back to see the expression on Rick's face. The Mist felt his stomach plummet to his feet at the grim glare that promised pain and humiliation. What Before had done to deserve this, he didn't know. Maybe he had baked the wrong kind of food for Rick? 8CCCCC
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:58 am
The four had barely stepped out of the briefing room and Rick immediately took charge, leading the way to the caves with little concern whether or not the other three were close behind. He clearly wasn't cut out to be a Moon. His main concern had always been for himself and his own safety. Why else had he never bothered to make friends? Arriving at the mouth of the cave, Rick barked out to Lilah to stick to Before and for Glen to go with him. There was a logical reason behind his choice, partly because Glen was the least talkative of them all, and as an Intermediate and leader Rick was responsible for the subordinates. Plus, there was no way in ******** hell he was buddying up with the idiot.
"These caves branch off into dozens of tunnels, make sure you leave a trail behind you so you don't get lost. The moment you spot anything suspicious, you message the rest of the group, got it?" Rick waited for any questions and when the trio all answered with a silent shake of their head, they proceeded into the dark.
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Huni Pi rolled 2 10-sided dice:
1, 4
Total: 5 (2-20)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:19 am
They hadn't been expecting it. And maybe they should have been expecting it. But Rick highly doubted it would have made a lick of difference to the mountain of minis that had suddenly popped out of ******** nowhere and decided to form in this ******** cave.
Well, at least it was just the harmless ones. The ones that a lot of the girls (and some guys) cooed and fawned over and squealed and just wanted to hug to bits whenever they were assigned on minipet duty.
Rick fixed a deadpan look at Glen when he suddenly started to gush in childlike glee: "Awwww, wookit those cute widdle pawwwwwws~" What anyone saw in the hoard of fuzz and fur skittering and scampering about the cave, the Moon will never know. Nor does he particularly care to know. The basic trainee quickly coughed and mumbled an apology as well as volunteering to alert Before and Lilah of their location.
"Not enough we know what caused the spike in FEAR, we need to know how they got here," Rick muttered, climbing down the rocky slope of the tunnel to wade through the fray of minis. As he moved as quickly as he was physically capable, Rick made a mistake.
The first of many, actually. The first was that he brandished his weapon at the minis, thinking to intimidate them into dispersing and clearing a path for him. It did not go over so well as the hoard realized one thing: They had Rick and Glen outnumbered.
The second mistake Rick made was, instead of slowly backing away, he sneered and smacked one to show he meant business. These things were easy pickings as far as he was concerned, and the flat of his bladed shovel quickly made a FEAR-based pancake from one.
It was all Glen could do before a wave of Minis crashed onto them, nipping and biting and scratching and clawing. The death trainee did his best to respond accordingly, but his weapon wasn't suited for close combat and by he disliked harming cute, fluffy things on principle. Even when they were out for his blood.
Rick, for the most part, fared better than Glen. But even he had to admit he never thought these fuzzies would pose an actual ******** threat. He slashed and hacked, the edges of his weapon slicing clean through tiny bodies of assorted shapes and sizes. And they just. Kept. Coming. It wasn't long until the Moon and the Death found themselves overrun in an avalanche of FEAR-borne creatures.
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Huni Pi rolled 2 10-sided dice:
6, 2
Total: 8 (2-20)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:20 am
Underneath the crushing mountain of minis, Rick was certain he was going to die the most humiliating death ever. Not rend to piece at the hands of a Horseman. Not slaughtered by a swarm of Halloween students. No, he was going to die by suffocation. Underneath all this fluff and fur and tiny paws and faces with wide, doe-eyes. It was as sickening as it was pathetic.
And then he began to hear voices. Mostly screaming ones. Jesus Christ could Rick not even get some ******** silence in his dying moments!??! But then the oppressive weight suddenly began to lift as he heard a girl scream over and over "GLEN YOU a*****e DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"
Any and every sense of relief Rick might have had at the notion of being rescued was squashed when it occurred to him that if Lilah was here, then so was Before. The Moon felt a hand grab at his forearm and yank him up out of the pile of dwindling Minis. He was banged up and bitten and scratched in places he'd rather not mention but he was, for the most part, still able to move and was quick to pull himself free. "Hands off!" Rick snarled.
"See? Toldja they'd be fine!" Before yelled out, the relief coming out of him in waves. "Now c'mon! Let's get the ******** outta here and report back to base!" With that large wheel of his, Before was able to clear a path much more effectively than Rick's shovel, and the Mist actually seemed to be doing well. Maybe there actually was a reason why Before was promoted to Intermediate?
No! Rick ground his teeth, adamant to believe Before was just lucky and that the Moon and the Death hunters had cleared off more of the minis that they first thought.
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Huni Pi rolled 1 10-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:21 am
With Before leading the way (when the ******** did that happen?) back and the minis in hot pursuit, Rick yelled out for the Mist to take a detour."Okies! You're the leader!" Before cheerfully chirped out, sharply turning into one of the branching tunnels, managing to spot the pit-fall in time to keep himself from falling in.
"You all watch your step, k?" he warned over his shoulder.
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Huni Pi rolled 1 10-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:22 am
While Glen and Lilah were quick to listen to Before, Rick was too busy making sure the minis coming up from behind had a reason to hold back. The runes carved on the bladed surface of his weapon flashed menacingly and as he released several waves of FEAR back at them, he failed to notice the pit-fall even after Before's warning. Thankfully, all three hunters had been waiting for Rick long enough to spot his near plummet and all three managed to catch the Moon.
"Oof! You totes weight a ton, eating one too many Moon Pies?" Before joked, making Lilah snicker as she assessed Rick for any injuries. Glen had wordlessly helped Before pull Rick back up, though the Death kept a careful eye on the minis.
The minis watched from the other side of the pit, chittering and hissing at the Hunters, looking tempted to just leap onto all of them and drag them down into the darkness.
"I don't like Moon Pies," Rick muttered then roughly shoved Lilah away, "And I'm fine! My FEAR shield's still up and we still gotta get the ******** outta here." He was back on his feet, this time taking the lead.
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Huni Pi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:24 am
After Rick's near-plummet to an untimely death, the four trainees carefully navigated the caves trying to get back outside. Every so often, they paused to listen for any other FEAR activities, searching for more portals that spat out the Minis by the dozens. During these searches, Rick would stand watch while Glen and Lilah did their intel-gathering. As for Before, Rick made him scout ahead, guessing that if the Mist managed to spot the pitfall the first time around, he'd be able to detect other traps.
It was a task Before threw himself into with all his heart. The Intermediate trainee was eager to prove himself useful to the group, more to the two basic trainees and less to Rick. The Moon's attitude was wearing Before down and that was never a good thing for the overly emotional idiot.
Vanna chided her bonded, reassuring him that Rick was the idiot here. Or rather more than Before himself and she made sure not to use that affectionate tone whenever she directed the insult at the Moon Hunter. Before gave her the mental equivalent of a wry smile, appreciating the Devil Shield's sentiments rather than her words. As he rounded the bend, he nearly smacked right into a caved in section.
He carefully inspected the rubble, noting a faint breeze wafting through some of the gaps and tentatively tried to clear some of the rocks out of the way. When there wasn't any indication he had inadvertently caused the rest of the tunnel to collapse in on itself, he doubled back to give the group the head's up.
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Huni Pi rolled 1 4-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:25 am
Rick listened to the Intermediate's description, feeling slightly less suspicious of Before's claim though his resentment was reaching an all-time high. He'd pegged the Mist as some idiot, whose behavior outside of missions and during patrols (at least this time he hasn't taken his phone out other than to signal to each other) made the Moonie question the standards Deus was employing.
As he inspected the rubble Before led them all to, Rick had to begrudgingly admit, "This looks like a possible way out."
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Huni Pi rolled 2 8-sided dice:
2, 1
Total: 3 (2-16)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:26 am
Once decided, Rick divided the team into two again, Lilah on his side, Glen with Before. The idea was simple, dig out the damn rubble with their Charge attacks. Lilah's Charge turned out to be a barrier, which she set up as a precaution.
Something Rick would initially resent but be grateful for once he himself used his weapon's charge to increase his speed and hack away at the rubble. His attack caused a minor cave-in that had Lilah not raised her barrier, the group would have been in for a world of hurt.
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Huni Pi rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 8
Total: 12 (2-16)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:27 am
After what happened with Rick, Before and Glen opted to use a slower but less explosive method in dealing with the rubble. They were going to dig their way out. "But uh, thanks for loosening up the rest of the boulders, Rick!" OwOb
Before's attempt at consoling the Moonie only infuriated and frustrated Rick further. He couldn't believe he was being shown up by the idiot who didn't even look like he was trying. Angry and annoyed, Rick decided to join in the digging and given his weapon, well, who better to help dig, yeah?
It wasn't long before the four were in the clear but...
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Huni Pi rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 5
Total: 9 (2-16)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:28 am
But of course things didn't always go smoothly. From all around them, the four could hear the chittering, snarling, squeaking of the minipets echoing off the cave walls.
"Everyone! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Rick yelled, wildly gesturing for the others to go on ahead. The basic trainees were quick to obey but the Moonie noticed Before was still beside him, holding onto that ridiculous-looking weapon like a make-shift shield.
"Shouldn't we, iunno, seal off the cave or something? What're we gonna do if they get out and overrun the base?" Before asked nervously, looking torn between bolting and sticking it out to hold the horde off.
Rick cursed underneath his breath, "We're only here to investigate and this is my responsibility."
"B-but..."
The Moonie had the Misty by the collar, the glare in Rick's eyes suggesting he would much rather have his hand around Before's neck. "I said go! I know what I'm doing." Actually no, Rick did not but ******** it all if he was going to let Before know that.
He heard his weapon rumble something, a warning, a strong suggestion he heed Before's words, maybe even make use of the willing Intermediate trainee. But Rick had too much pride and too low an opinion of Before to even think the Misty could be of help. He shoved Before back with a bark of "GO! Make sure those two are out!" and turned on his heels to face the in-coming swarm.
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Huni Pi rolled 1 20-sided dice:
16
Total: 16 (1-20)
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:29 am
For the first three waves, Rick managed to fend the minis off. He swore to himself that if he ever managed to survive, he would slaughter all the minis they were studying back in Deus. By the fourth wave, Rick's arms were starting to ache and he could feel his FEAR shield was on its last leg.
He didn't know how much longer he could hold and just as a particularly large minipet with a tongue coming out of its guts lunged at him, Rick summoned the last of his strength to bat it away just as the shovel collided with the wall. The advancing minipets stopped in their tracks at the first rumble before the roof began to cave in.
s**t. Rick glared up and raised his shovel overhead, knowing it was a futile effort. And as the first of the rocks descended, Rick squatted down and braced for impact. He could feel the boulders crash all around him and as dust was kicked up he squeezed his eyes shut. He heard the minipets squeaking in distress and grinned at the series of one particularly loud thing squealing in dismay.
When the cave-in finally stopped, Rick risked opening his eyes and growled,
"What the ******** are you doing back here?!"
Before had been standing as straight as he could, using his wheel as a make-shift shield. He'd managed to lodge some of Vanna's spikes against the wall and created a small pocket for himself and Rick.
"You said to make sure the two got out so I made sure they were out. And it totes looked like you weren't coming out and I am so not leaving a man behind," Before explained quietly.
Rick did not want to believe this. Rick refused to believe he owed his life to this buffoon. God if Before had only been less idiotic outside of missions, if Rick could only accept the Misty had thrown everything he could in his actions, instead of sounding and acting like this was all no-big-deal, maybe, maybe he could have been grateful.
Looking at the sheepish grin on Before's face, Rick let his temper get the best of him. Without a second thought, Rick slammed the handle of his shovel right into Before's gut. With a grim satisfaction, he watched the Mist fold in half, arms winding around his middle, teal eyes bulging out in disbelief and confusion.
If Rick hadn't been as tall as he was, and if the small pocket Before made hadn't been as limited, the Moon might have made a follow up blow, involving the blade of his shovel and the back of Before's head. Instead, he had to content himself with repeatedly slamming the bladed end against the rocks to dig his way out.
The moon didn't give Before's retching form a second look. "Oh, I'm totes sorry about that but you were in the way," Rick snorted before marching on out of the cave where Lilah and Glen were waiting for them. He shouldered past them without a word and on the way to the base, Rick smiled.
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