A short story following the events of Blocus and Hitomi at Last Hope after Episode 3
An orange flow filled the still skies outside of Last Hope. Blocus shuffles his stout frame from underneath Earl’s new “prized” possession, a Black Hole Son transport, covered in some oil. Hitomi promptly extends her hand to help the war-worn Lithoborne up to his feet and offers him a cloth to help clean off the gunk. Coughing a bit and clearing his throat, “Pretty lackluster under there; I’ve seen more interesting undercarriages from some lady Krogoth friends!” While chuckling, Hitomi gives a wincing smile, trying to not imagine the undercarriage of a Krogoth. “You think we’re good to head off then? A friend of mine recommends we head to Oasis, but we better be quick about it if we think we’re being sought after.” “Aye, we’ll get there, but don’t know in what rush. The hypercoil is shot, so we won’t be sustaining those time-luxury speeds. Don’t see any of those kinds of parts laying about outside of the limits here.” The dusty, flat backdrop behind the two and their tightened up ride give a very clear indication that they’re running on scraps. “OK, tell me exactly what to get and I’ll grab some supplies for the road so we can leave tonight.” “Alright lass, let me write this out for you, just in case.” Blocus lights up a cigar from a pocket that has no right in holding on, and scribbles a bunch of notes on some scrap. Hitomi, in half aggravation and half disbelief, “You really need THIS much Cherry Lips liquor???” “Aye! You mix in some transhift oil and pineroot, it goes down almost as good as the stuff back home! I’m not in any condition to be driving anyway” as he winks and pretends to cough. Hitomi closes her eyes, partially regretting putting herself in a position to care for her former employers’ friend. “And Hitomi, whatever you do; stay out of Fortune’s Fame. Trust me.” She nods, taking his words as gospel, reflecting on what recently has happened knowing full well she could encounter more of the same.
Hitomi makes haste for PROspect, prioritizing the parts needed for the vehicle. She hits every shop, chatting up every merchant she can with enough IBU’s to go over the asking price, but no luck. One of the last merchants she encounters suggests she head to Fortune’s Fame, saying sometimes a wandering merchant would be there or someone dealing with transports might be able to help direct her. She thanked them, but Blocus’s advice immediately weighed heavy on her. The orange glow that was once welcoming is now darkening slowly around her. “If I come back with at least some Cherry Lips that’ll keep him happy till tomorrow.” She makes way to Sanguine’s Corner to not only pick some up, but by some sheer turn of luck she can get some info on who may have such a part.
Upon entering what seems to be the most prominent tavern in Sanguine’s Corner, she’s disappointed in the amount of patreons sitting around. Hitomi scans the few that are there to see if there’s anyone that fits the bill of what she’s looking for. An old couple of Elfine’s sharing a tender moment; some Lithoborne’s shooting the shit after a long shift somewhere dirty. Random single customers of other races too busy shoving food or tech into their face to clearly show they’re simply passing through. The last spot her eyes land is the bar, knowing that’s her ultimate destination for supplies anyway. As she walks up to it, she does notice a Human sitting, by themselves, contemplating. She pulls up next to them as she signals the bartender. He’s young, with dark hair and slender build. He seems to be nursing a warm ale while staring at all the bottles along the wall. “Looks like you’ve been eyeing up all those bottles so long you forgot about the drink in front of you” Hitomi says aloud. “Maybe a cold one would help?” He turns to her, thinks and gives a pretending smile, “That’s very kind of you, thanks, but I feel like that’d be a waste.” Simultaneously the bartender arrives at Hitomi, side-eyeing the Human with warm ale, giving a “avoid him” cue, and asks what he can do for her. “Uh, I’ll take an ale please. And go ahead and freshen up his drink. Also, I need this” and she slides a note to him. “Wow, are you sure you need this much? Hosting a party tonight?” the bartender says with some genuine curiosity. “Oh I’m sure it’ll be a party for someone!” He raises his eyebrows without taking his eyes off the note to get her requests. The Human turns to Hitomi and raises his glass. “Thank you. I’m sure the ‘tender was getting tired of my lack of rounds.” “You’re welcome,” Hitomi replies. “I’m Scotty by the way, pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”
The bartender returns quickly with two ales for Hitomi and Scotty, who continue chatting, and he goes back to gather the rest of her order. “And, well, that’s how I ended up here. And I’ve just been stuck sitting here, thinking what all of it means. I know it sounds silly, all this over a girl, but I thought I meant as much to her as she did to me, you know?”. Hitomi, slowly nodding her head, is still processing his whole story. “This very scary lady, she just, took you all the way here? For free? After puking in her transport?” Starting to laugh before taking another large sip of her ale, she says “Sorry but that sounds waaay more interesting than Fiona!” Scotty finally gives a real laugh and smile. “Yeah I suppose it does! And I didn’t care where to stop but she said she had to let me off here. Too dangerous where she’s going for the likes of me she said.” Hitomi’s ears perk a bit, “Really? Where do you think she was heading?”. “All she would say is south of here. Told me to stay out of trouble and to keep moving forward. ‘If you’re stuck in a bad past you’ll never get to a better future’ she told me. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to mentor me or she was going to rip my head off at any moment.” “Huh.” Hitomi’s thoughts race thinking if this person has any kind of connection to the group she’s fallen into.
From a room in the back, two figures are seen walking out towards the main hall. A tall man with very long dark hair, grizzled, and leather jacket; and a woman, dressed in royal-esque attire, donning a shield and sword. They’re wrapping up a conversation, seemingly friendly. Hitomi takes immediate notice, squinting her eyes to make sure they’re not seeing things. “Is that who I think it is?” she says. “Wow. I think you’re right. What do you think Leyawiin of Everlong is doing out here?” Scotty says in response. The bartender arrives with two large jugs of Hitomi’s requests and plops them on the counter. “That’ll be” and before he can finish with the final amount, the entire bar goes dark. A long moment passes, and from where Leyawiin was standing, her shield starting to glow a faint blue.
Some shouting from the folks demanding what was happening spurt out. Another beat passes. Suddenly, a loud yell from the back room carries through the rest of the tavern. “WHAT IN PHAETHE FALLS IS THAT!?!” Gun fire and muzzle flash splash onto Leyawiin and the man next to her. More yelling and now the sounds of metal clanking and cutting through the air. Hitomi grabs Scotty’s arm. “We should get going, like, right now.” “TOMAHAWK!!!!” is yelled out followed by a bloody scream and more gunfire. The man next to Leyawiin growls at her “GO! We’ll handle this!” and from the flashes of orange and blue glow Hitomi sees the man transform into an Alterbeast and leap back into the back room. Leyawiin prepares her shield and sword, keeping an eye on the room but slowly backpedaling towards the exit. “WHERE THE FUCK IS IT????” they hear.
Just then, in the darkness, Scotty sees bright, blue glowing eyes starting straight through his soul from behind the counter. Before he can process any kind of body movement, he feels himself being pulled backwards, falling straight down to the ground. As he’s falling he feels a whoosh over his body straight towards his face of ice cold steel. “SHIT!” Hitomi yells while pulling Scotty back and ducking under the counter and she too narrowly dodges another blade arcing across where she sat. As they both fall to the ground, the dark figure seems to lurch over the counter above them but before it could get any closer another grunt from their left intercepts it. Leyawiin swings her blade out and in one fluid motion spins with her shield tight to her body, blocking multiple blows from the unknown killer. “Get out of here now!” Leyawiin yells at Hitomi and Scotty. The two scramble to their feet behind her and she continuously receives blow after blow from the seemingly frustrated figure. Leyawiin continues to block all of the attacks but is knocked back further and further across the floor. The blue glows from her shield and the ghostly figure only reveal the large, unearthly silhouette. Hitomi stumbles for the exit through the dark, Scotty feels for the jugs on the counter. He grabs them and hesitates for a second. Hitomi calls to Scotty, “Scotty let’s get out of here! Better future right?”
Leyawiin swings her sword but seems to hit nothing but air with every attempt. Her shield continues to receive blow after blow with increasing speed. And suddenly it’s nonstop; clang, clang, clang. The shield, one of the finest forged in Everlong at the request of King Oma, starts to crack. A chunk of it shatters off, slicing her right shoulder. As she tries to hold on a bit longer, the sound of shattering glass stops the relentless strikes. Then a gigantic blaze rises above her as the figure before her, hiding in darkness, is now covered in an unholy fire of red and blue flames. “Leyawiin, this way!” Scotty yells. Leyawiin, barely snapping out of the trance, is able to get up and dash towards Scotty and Hitomi and the main door, while the monster is distracted by the fire. Hitomi, seemingly wanting to stop and talk to Leyawiin asks “What was that thing???”. Leyawiin, trying to catch her breath and continuing to move, “....run….”. Hitomi and Scotty shoot each other a look. “I definitely don’t need to be told twice” Scotty quips before running with Leyawiin. “Guys follow me, I have a ride!”
The trio book it towards Hitomi’s little “hideout” with Blocus. Under the twilight, Blocus slowly struts out to see the three figures running towards him. He thinks to himself “Ah what is this Ecco’s barnacle”. “Start the transport now Blocus!!” yells Hitomi. Blocus, hearing the despair in her voice, runs around to the driver’s side to start it up. The three pile in as the vehicle's engine roars starting up. “Blocus? Is that really you?” “Aye, I believe it is. Fancy seeing you here with yelling and blood in tow” he says with a nervous chuckle. She laughs, knowing it’s true, “Yes now shut up and get us out of here!”. Blocus shifts the transport into drive and flicks the lights on; when he does, a large blade darts through the windshield and into his right bicep. “Ah fuck!” he yells. Leyawiin with all her remaining strength uses her sword to cut the blade apart, separating Blocus from the figure outside. Blocus falls to his right, but without missing punching a large makeshift button on the dash. “Hitomi drive!” as he hits the ground. Hitomi is barely able to grab the driver’s seat before the transport wildly lets off a large electrical shock around the outside and starts speeding off at an insanely fast rate. Hitomi is able to gain control and strap in, while the rest of the group flies towards the back, crashing into random items and trying their best not to die.
After they get clear, Hitomi slows down and allows everyone to regroup. Blood smears are everywhere from Blocus and Leyawiin. Scotty tries to ignore it trying to attend to them. “Lass, was that thing I saw what I thought it was?” “I think so, but I don’t know how it’s possible.” “What? What was it?” Scotty asks. “The stuff of nightmares” Blocus sighs. Blocus opens one eye wide. “Hey Hitomi, you only got one jug of Cherry Lips? I put two!” “Scotty used one to save Leyawiin and saved your other one. And I thought you needed a hypercoil to make this thing go fast??”. He lets out a hearty laugh, “I guess we’re both full of surprises then!”. They continue to drive in an unknown direction.