07-10-2018, 01:50 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-10-2018, 02:00 AM by Zack Fair.
Edit Reason: Italics
)
The morning sun was calming and peaceful. Baldur finally understood what paradise truly was. The bulky Goron was laid out on a reinforced chair that was able to hold him, having left his typical steel plated leg armor in his private room. Instead he wore a simple, red loincloth for his time in the sun. Beside him Brooke sat in a normal pool chair, clad in a bright pink bikini and black sunglasses as she struggled with her malfunctioning phone. Beside them was one of many pools across the island, with a table in between them that held their drinks and the empty glasses of the previous ones. Both were feeling pretty tipsy after all they’d had to drink, but they had plenty of time before they needed to get back, get changed, and attend the meeting that would tell them exactly why they were here.
“This is amazing,” Baldur remarked aloud as the sun beat down on his rocky skin.
Brooke grunted as she managed to get the screen to work on her crappy phone, not having expected it to actually work. She’d been running all over the place with Baldur trying to keep working that she’d missed out on a great deal of the news around the Omniverse. There was a lot happening, and it was vital to stay plugged in.
“I need to tell the Gorons about this place when we visit the village again,” Baldur said as he stretched out. “Why are we in that wasteland when all of this is just a few portals away?”
“The tribe,” Brooke corrected him as she read an article. “Says the village was destroyed after a battle with Volvagia.”
“…What!?” Baldur screamed as he leaped to his feet, turning to look at the tinier member of their duo. “Why would they attack Volvagia!? Did Volvagia attack them first!? What happened!?”
Brooke stared blankly for a minute, processing her companion’s outrage and weighing it against the amount of alcohol in her own system. Oh boy. She looked back to her phone quickly, though, wanting to give the poor guy some answers.
“A bunch of primes helped,” she explained as she read aloud. “They banished it, but the casualties were through the roof? This was awhile ago, Baldur. We’re out of touch.”
“We have to get home, now!” Baldur was frantic, terrified. All the people he’d ever known and loved had been attacked and he wasn’t there to do the one thing he was meant to do: protect them.
“Baldur, Baldur!” Brooke sat up, lowering her phone. “We’ll get there when we’re done here. The money we earn from this will be a huge help.”
“But…” Baldur’s tone was pleading and desperate.
“It’s happened, they’re recovering,” Brooke tried to soothe him. Despite her innocent and sweet appearance, she wasn’t very good at being a comfort to one in distress. This was outside her skill set. “There’s nothing we can change, now.”
Baldur fought back every urge to just cry. How could he focus on a job when he didn’t know who of his friends, family, and acquaintances were alive or dead? He understood Brooke’s logic, but also understood the woman had never really known a home. She couldn’t relate to his fear for the people he loved. The desire to walk away was offset by the desire to help, and unfortunately he was in the right place. Still, the day was ruined, and he was ready to get back, change into his armor, and wait for instructions. Brooke sensed this, but before she could speak, something else caught their attention.
Gunshots rang in the distance. Automatic gunfire could be heard in bursts, and distant screaming that was only silenced when the firing ceased. Heavy thumps accompanied the shots, and Brooke could tell it was bullets impacting surfaces, or worse yet, people. She looked to Baldur while ripped off her sunglasses, and the Goron looked back down to her. They were completely unprepared for something to go wrong. This place was supposed to be protected by Wallace.
“What’s happening?” Baldur asked, looking around confused and helplessly. He was still overwhelmed by the news that had just reached him.
“That’s not the practice range,” Brooke surmised as she stood up, emptying her bag and dumping out her towel and sunscreen. She hadn’t even brought a shirt, shorts, or shoes to throw on over her swimsuit. She’d hoped at least a forgotten knife would tumble out, but she wasn’t so lucky. “Shit!”
Baldur stood speechless, suffering some sort of sensory overload at the events of the past two minutes. Brooke was much quicker on her feet, even though she was wildly under-prepared and ill-equipped for shit to break loose in such a way. If she survived this, she would certainly never be without a weapon in the Omniverse again. A quick assessment of their options pointed out that all they had between them were a few tiny pieces of fabric and not much else. Baldur had been reduced to a stuttering mess, but at least he was still a bulletproof rock golem. That was the only weapon they had, and damn if Brooke was going to die without utilizing everything at her disposal.
“Baldur! Baldur!” Brooke yelled, grabbing the Goron by the wrists while noting the increasing proximity of the gunfire. “I need you to focus! You can’t help your people if we die here!”
“What’s going on, though?” Baldur asked meekly for a being of his imposing stature.
“I don’t know, I don’t care,” Brooke responded, with a confidence one wouldn’t expect from a lithe and petite girl compared to the hulking beast she was encouraging. “But we need to get the hell out of here. Are you with me?”
Baldur slowly nodded, taking a breath. The Gorons needed him. Brooke needed him. Hell, people on this island he hadn’t even considered probably needed him. He was here to be a weapon, and dammit that’s what he would be. Nothing would stop him from returning to Death Mountain.
“Good!” Brooke took that as a ‘yes’ and continued on with her plan. The pool they were near was littered with elaborate stone sculptures, so she figured it best to use that. “Curl up, lay down off the pavement. When I give the signal, stand up and whoop some wholesale ass. You got it?”
“What about you?” Baldur asked, understanding the gist of the plan but not liking how many details were omitted. “What’s the signal!?”
“Just do it, Baldur!” Brooke screamed as she turned and ran towards one of the nearby cabanas.
No sooner had she taken shelter had Brooke peered through the curtains of her flimsy structure. Baldur laid prone and curled up as instructed, blending into the environment remarkably well. It was just in time, because four heavily equipped men stormed down the path not half a minute later, each brandishing an assault rifle as a the team moved with perfectly coordinated tactics. Whoever was attacking the island was far from a bunch of amateurs. Brooke silently watched as they rummaged through the few things she’d brought and already dumped out.
“Search the area,” the leader ordered. “Whoever was here couldn’t have gone far.”
“…There!” One of the team members exclaimed, raising his rifle towards what Brooke thought was her concealed position. “One in there!”
Brooke crouched down, looking one last time for a kitchen appliance of some sort, even, to utilize. Nothing so useful was present, and she realized her only real chance was to use the only weapon she had on her: herself, clad in a stylish bikini. The one option was to be seductive long enough to create an opening for Baldur. She held her hands up, and began to saunter around the corner and into view.
“Open fire!” the leader ordered.
Wait what?
Brooke dropped her hands and ran back into the cabana as gunfire immediately began to rip the wood from the structure. The building offered little more than concealment, and hiding wasn’t an option in a place that was being peppered from head to toe. Brooke took the only option she had and turned, beginning to sprint down the pavement that lined the pool. A steep staircase lead down to the oceanfront, and moving down that incline on the opposite side of the pool from her would be some cover, if only for a second. Bullets trailed behind her as she charged to relative safety.
“That’s the signal, Baldur!!!” Brooke screamed as she ran, diving down the concrete staircase as soon as she was able to.
The four men ran to finish her off, each frustrated that they hadn’t managed to hit the fleeing girl, yet. What they thought was a mere pool decorating suddenly roared to life, revealing itself to be a half naked Goron. Baldur swung a beastly uppercut as he stood, launching one of the four completely over the pool and causing him to do several backflips in the process. The other three turned and immediately opened fire on Baldur. The golem’s thick skin prevented him from taking any real damage from the onslaught of bullets.
Baldur quickly slammed his fist into one man’s skull, shattering it with a decisive snap. The men backed up and the gunfire continued as he swung his left arm as hard as he could and back handed another one hard enough to burst his internal organs Finally, he grabbed the final man’s head and crushed it like a soda can. The entire assault was decisively brutal, but not quick enough for Brooke, who popped up from her flimsy cover of a few stairs looking dazed and stunned. The landing had not been smooth.
Brooke walked towards the fallen man who had landed on the same side of the pool as her, with a relentless look in her eyes. She pressed her bare foot against the man’s armored neck and pressed as hard as she could until she heard it crack. Baldur watched silently at the display of violence his partner was prone to fall into. This time he was on board with the act. He had other worries, and they needed to move on. Brooke silently grabbed the man’s rifle from his corpse, then looked to her stone friend.
“You alright?” Brooke asked.
“Yea. You?” Baldur replied.
Brooke nodded. She was far from ideally equipped, but at least it was something. Her only issue at the moment was fighting through the increasing buzz from her prior drinks.
“Let’s head to the docks, get a boat, and get out,” she suggested as she looked around and listened. The gunfire had gone silent. The easy ambushes were over.
“I agree,” Baldur stated, and already began to walk towards their objective.
Brooke scanned the area and followed after her Goron friend. Baldur moved much more abruptly compared to Brooke's careful treading, but the intent was the same. The sooner they were out of here, the better.
“This is amazing,” Baldur remarked aloud as the sun beat down on his rocky skin.
Brooke grunted as she managed to get the screen to work on her crappy phone, not having expected it to actually work. She’d been running all over the place with Baldur trying to keep working that she’d missed out on a great deal of the news around the Omniverse. There was a lot happening, and it was vital to stay plugged in.
“I need to tell the Gorons about this place when we visit the village again,” Baldur said as he stretched out. “Why are we in that wasteland when all of this is just a few portals away?”
“The tribe,” Brooke corrected him as she read an article. “Says the village was destroyed after a battle with Volvagia.”
“…What!?” Baldur screamed as he leaped to his feet, turning to look at the tinier member of their duo. “Why would they attack Volvagia!? Did Volvagia attack them first!? What happened!?”
Brooke stared blankly for a minute, processing her companion’s outrage and weighing it against the amount of alcohol in her own system. Oh boy. She looked back to her phone quickly, though, wanting to give the poor guy some answers.
“A bunch of primes helped,” she explained as she read aloud. “They banished it, but the casualties were through the roof? This was awhile ago, Baldur. We’re out of touch.”
“We have to get home, now!” Baldur was frantic, terrified. All the people he’d ever known and loved had been attacked and he wasn’t there to do the one thing he was meant to do: protect them.
“Baldur, Baldur!” Brooke sat up, lowering her phone. “We’ll get there when we’re done here. The money we earn from this will be a huge help.”
“But…” Baldur’s tone was pleading and desperate.
“It’s happened, they’re recovering,” Brooke tried to soothe him. Despite her innocent and sweet appearance, she wasn’t very good at being a comfort to one in distress. This was outside her skill set. “There’s nothing we can change, now.”
Baldur fought back every urge to just cry. How could he focus on a job when he didn’t know who of his friends, family, and acquaintances were alive or dead? He understood Brooke’s logic, but also understood the woman had never really known a home. She couldn’t relate to his fear for the people he loved. The desire to walk away was offset by the desire to help, and unfortunately he was in the right place. Still, the day was ruined, and he was ready to get back, change into his armor, and wait for instructions. Brooke sensed this, but before she could speak, something else caught their attention.
Gunshots rang in the distance. Automatic gunfire could be heard in bursts, and distant screaming that was only silenced when the firing ceased. Heavy thumps accompanied the shots, and Brooke could tell it was bullets impacting surfaces, or worse yet, people. She looked to Baldur while ripped off her sunglasses, and the Goron looked back down to her. They were completely unprepared for something to go wrong. This place was supposed to be protected by Wallace.
“What’s happening?” Baldur asked, looking around confused and helplessly. He was still overwhelmed by the news that had just reached him.
“That’s not the practice range,” Brooke surmised as she stood up, emptying her bag and dumping out her towel and sunscreen. She hadn’t even brought a shirt, shorts, or shoes to throw on over her swimsuit. She’d hoped at least a forgotten knife would tumble out, but she wasn’t so lucky. “Shit!”
Baldur stood speechless, suffering some sort of sensory overload at the events of the past two minutes. Brooke was much quicker on her feet, even though she was wildly under-prepared and ill-equipped for shit to break loose in such a way. If she survived this, she would certainly never be without a weapon in the Omniverse again. A quick assessment of their options pointed out that all they had between them were a few tiny pieces of fabric and not much else. Baldur had been reduced to a stuttering mess, but at least he was still a bulletproof rock golem. That was the only weapon they had, and damn if Brooke was going to die without utilizing everything at her disposal.
“Baldur! Baldur!” Brooke yelled, grabbing the Goron by the wrists while noting the increasing proximity of the gunfire. “I need you to focus! You can’t help your people if we die here!”
“What’s going on, though?” Baldur asked meekly for a being of his imposing stature.
“I don’t know, I don’t care,” Brooke responded, with a confidence one wouldn’t expect from a lithe and petite girl compared to the hulking beast she was encouraging. “But we need to get the hell out of here. Are you with me?”
Baldur slowly nodded, taking a breath. The Gorons needed him. Brooke needed him. Hell, people on this island he hadn’t even considered probably needed him. He was here to be a weapon, and dammit that’s what he would be. Nothing would stop him from returning to Death Mountain.
“Good!” Brooke took that as a ‘yes’ and continued on with her plan. The pool they were near was littered with elaborate stone sculptures, so she figured it best to use that. “Curl up, lay down off the pavement. When I give the signal, stand up and whoop some wholesale ass. You got it?”
“What about you?” Baldur asked, understanding the gist of the plan but not liking how many details were omitted. “What’s the signal!?”
“Just do it, Baldur!” Brooke screamed as she turned and ran towards one of the nearby cabanas.
No sooner had she taken shelter had Brooke peered through the curtains of her flimsy structure. Baldur laid prone and curled up as instructed, blending into the environment remarkably well. It was just in time, because four heavily equipped men stormed down the path not half a minute later, each brandishing an assault rifle as a the team moved with perfectly coordinated tactics. Whoever was attacking the island was far from a bunch of amateurs. Brooke silently watched as they rummaged through the few things she’d brought and already dumped out.
“Search the area,” the leader ordered. “Whoever was here couldn’t have gone far.”
“…There!” One of the team members exclaimed, raising his rifle towards what Brooke thought was her concealed position. “One in there!”
Brooke crouched down, looking one last time for a kitchen appliance of some sort, even, to utilize. Nothing so useful was present, and she realized her only real chance was to use the only weapon she had on her: herself, clad in a stylish bikini. The one option was to be seductive long enough to create an opening for Baldur. She held her hands up, and began to saunter around the corner and into view.
“Open fire!” the leader ordered.
Wait what?
Brooke dropped her hands and ran back into the cabana as gunfire immediately began to rip the wood from the structure. The building offered little more than concealment, and hiding wasn’t an option in a place that was being peppered from head to toe. Brooke took the only option she had and turned, beginning to sprint down the pavement that lined the pool. A steep staircase lead down to the oceanfront, and moving down that incline on the opposite side of the pool from her would be some cover, if only for a second. Bullets trailed behind her as she charged to relative safety.
“That’s the signal, Baldur!!!” Brooke screamed as she ran, diving down the concrete staircase as soon as she was able to.
The four men ran to finish her off, each frustrated that they hadn’t managed to hit the fleeing girl, yet. What they thought was a mere pool decorating suddenly roared to life, revealing itself to be a half naked Goron. Baldur swung a beastly uppercut as he stood, launching one of the four completely over the pool and causing him to do several backflips in the process. The other three turned and immediately opened fire on Baldur. The golem’s thick skin prevented him from taking any real damage from the onslaught of bullets.
Baldur quickly slammed his fist into one man’s skull, shattering it with a decisive snap. The men backed up and the gunfire continued as he swung his left arm as hard as he could and back handed another one hard enough to burst his internal organs Finally, he grabbed the final man’s head and crushed it like a soda can. The entire assault was decisively brutal, but not quick enough for Brooke, who popped up from her flimsy cover of a few stairs looking dazed and stunned. The landing had not been smooth.
Brooke walked towards the fallen man who had landed on the same side of the pool as her, with a relentless look in her eyes. She pressed her bare foot against the man’s armored neck and pressed as hard as she could until she heard it crack. Baldur watched silently at the display of violence his partner was prone to fall into. This time he was on board with the act. He had other worries, and they needed to move on. Brooke silently grabbed the man’s rifle from his corpse, then looked to her stone friend.
“You alright?” Brooke asked.
“Yea. You?” Baldur replied.
Brooke nodded. She was far from ideally equipped, but at least it was something. Her only issue at the moment was fighting through the increasing buzz from her prior drinks.
“Let’s head to the docks, get a boat, and get out,” she suggested as she looked around and listened. The gunfire had gone silent. The easy ambushes were over.
“I agree,” Baldur stated, and already began to walk towards their objective.
Brooke scanned the area and followed after her Goron friend. Baldur moved much more abruptly compared to Brooke's careful treading, but the intent was the same. The sooner they were out of here, the better.