08-20-2016, 10:46 AM
Something felt fundamentally different inside Abner. He’d seen death again and again in his long career with the Empire. Many friends had been killed in horrible ways by terrible people, never to be seen again, the latest of which was Trent. Christa and Colonel would be back, if Omni was even the least bit true to his word, which should have been the ultimate comfort. Yet, as Abner limped on, commanding his body to advance through the chaos, he felt both an anger and grief unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life.
When Christa came back to life at the Fountain of Infinity – he didn’t want to even consider a scenario where she wouldn’t – it didn't matter if they never lifted a weapon for the rest of their lives and enjoyed their “happily ever after.” The fact was that Abner would never erase the feeling of horror and helplessness he’d experienced when he watched the tyrant slam her into the ground and end her life. That image was forever burned into his mind.
He kept his rifle raised, unleashing constant energy bolts into the crowd and the skies above. The fliers descended from all sides, and Abner prioritized them with his ranged ability. Thankfully, there were others assisting him from the other side of this madness. His teeth were gritted tightly, as the only thing preventing him from screaming out with inconsolable rage was just how much it would fucking hurt to do so, with his ribs shattered from the previous fight.
Regardless of the sickening crack that came from his chest with each heave of his diaphragm, Abner was extremely calculated in his aim. Yet, he still wasn’t entirely focused in the moment, having completely forgotten to pace his shots appropriately. He squeezed the trigger carefully as a flier rapidly descended towards him, but instead of watching its head burst like all the others, red smoke ejected from the side of his gun with a pitiful fizz.
Abner pushed passed the terror, instead he dropped his overheated rifle and moved towards his sidearm, but the deformed ghoul descended too fast. Sudden movements were not in Abner’s playbook at the moment, so he knew he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell at dodging the onslaught. As he braced himself for the inevitable, a fireball connected with the flying husk, setting it ablaze and adjusting its trajectory.
Abner remained stationary as the winged zombie crashed to the ground next to him in an unmoving, flaming heap. He merely drew his pistol and fired two shots into the burning mound of flesh, then continued to advance forward. It hurt too much to actually make the effort to turn and look at it. The crimson hound that had saved him gave him a determined and satisfied nod, and Abner could only return one of his own. He barely knew the odd looking beast, but they’d certainly bonded in their brief, shared experiences. If Christa trusted him, that was enough for Abner, even without it narrowly saving him from a terrible fate so close to the end.
He turned around to see they’d all made it through the entrance chokepoint that Deadpool had cleared so effectively. More of the insufferable undead were clambering in, slowed only by the time it took to squeeze through the narrow space. They needed to deal with this endless assault on the flank as well, or this would all be for nothing. Abner reached to his belt and pulled on of his collapsed deployable shields from it. All he had to do was clear opening for just a couple seconds so he could place the shield properly. Easier said than done.
“Okor!” Abner called, looking for the hulking plague marine that seemed to specialize in mass violence. Abner turned to see the rotting mammoth charging through the zombies between them and their destination, with bodies flying in every direction. Yea, he was already where he needed to be. “…nevermind!”
Nanaki stopped beside Abner, looking to the same chokepoint that Abner was eying. His eyes narrowed, as he sensed his newest brother in arms was plotting something, but it had to be done quickly.
“I can plug the gap,” Abner was as concise as he needed to be. “Just need an opening.”
“Be ready,” Nanaki did not hesitate with his response, and Abner could already feel the air around them heating up.
Just the same, Abner raised his pistol and unloaded into the horde. Each shot, though rapidly fired, was carefully placed to drop the front members of the pack and slow them down. Red XIII’s fireball trailed immediately behind the lead, casting them even further back with it’s perfectly placed burst. Trusting in the abilities of his ally, Abner had already thrown the shield right behind the fireball. It landed in the narrowest part of the pier entrance and lit up with solid blue hardlight. Zombies replaced their fallen just as quickly, and got to work pounding on the shield. It wouldn’t last forever, but it didn’t have to. Just long enough.
Abner and Red turned and followed their companions. Abner holstered his pistol and reclaimed his now cooled rifle, and set to work picking down the stragglers. Each step hurt, each breath was an aching pain. He was leaving this island one way or another, but at this point he was too damn proud to fall to Karl’s bad dream.
When Christa came back to life at the Fountain of Infinity – he didn’t want to even consider a scenario where she wouldn’t – it didn't matter if they never lifted a weapon for the rest of their lives and enjoyed their “happily ever after.” The fact was that Abner would never erase the feeling of horror and helplessness he’d experienced when he watched the tyrant slam her into the ground and end her life. That image was forever burned into his mind.
He kept his rifle raised, unleashing constant energy bolts into the crowd and the skies above. The fliers descended from all sides, and Abner prioritized them with his ranged ability. Thankfully, there were others assisting him from the other side of this madness. His teeth were gritted tightly, as the only thing preventing him from screaming out with inconsolable rage was just how much it would fucking hurt to do so, with his ribs shattered from the previous fight.
Regardless of the sickening crack that came from his chest with each heave of his diaphragm, Abner was extremely calculated in his aim. Yet, he still wasn’t entirely focused in the moment, having completely forgotten to pace his shots appropriately. He squeezed the trigger carefully as a flier rapidly descended towards him, but instead of watching its head burst like all the others, red smoke ejected from the side of his gun with a pitiful fizz.
Abner pushed passed the terror, instead he dropped his overheated rifle and moved towards his sidearm, but the deformed ghoul descended too fast. Sudden movements were not in Abner’s playbook at the moment, so he knew he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell at dodging the onslaught. As he braced himself for the inevitable, a fireball connected with the flying husk, setting it ablaze and adjusting its trajectory.
Abner remained stationary as the winged zombie crashed to the ground next to him in an unmoving, flaming heap. He merely drew his pistol and fired two shots into the burning mound of flesh, then continued to advance forward. It hurt too much to actually make the effort to turn and look at it. The crimson hound that had saved him gave him a determined and satisfied nod, and Abner could only return one of his own. He barely knew the odd looking beast, but they’d certainly bonded in their brief, shared experiences. If Christa trusted him, that was enough for Abner, even without it narrowly saving him from a terrible fate so close to the end.
He turned around to see they’d all made it through the entrance chokepoint that Deadpool had cleared so effectively. More of the insufferable undead were clambering in, slowed only by the time it took to squeeze through the narrow space. They needed to deal with this endless assault on the flank as well, or this would all be for nothing. Abner reached to his belt and pulled on of his collapsed deployable shields from it. All he had to do was clear opening for just a couple seconds so he could place the shield properly. Easier said than done.
“Okor!” Abner called, looking for the hulking plague marine that seemed to specialize in mass violence. Abner turned to see the rotting mammoth charging through the zombies between them and their destination, with bodies flying in every direction. Yea, he was already where he needed to be. “…nevermind!”
Nanaki stopped beside Abner, looking to the same chokepoint that Abner was eying. His eyes narrowed, as he sensed his newest brother in arms was plotting something, but it had to be done quickly.
“I can plug the gap,” Abner was as concise as he needed to be. “Just need an opening.”
“Be ready,” Nanaki did not hesitate with his response, and Abner could already feel the air around them heating up.
Just the same, Abner raised his pistol and unloaded into the horde. Each shot, though rapidly fired, was carefully placed to drop the front members of the pack and slow them down. Red XIII’s fireball trailed immediately behind the lead, casting them even further back with it’s perfectly placed burst. Trusting in the abilities of his ally, Abner had already thrown the shield right behind the fireball. It landed in the narrowest part of the pier entrance and lit up with solid blue hardlight. Zombies replaced their fallen just as quickly, and got to work pounding on the shield. It wouldn’t last forever, but it didn’t have to. Just long enough.
Abner and Red turned and followed their companions. Abner holstered his pistol and reclaimed his now cooled rifle, and set to work picking down the stragglers. Each step hurt, each breath was an aching pain. He was leaving this island one way or another, but at this point he was too damn proud to fall to Karl’s bad dream.
Quote:Abner used Tier 1 Super Defense - Deployable Shield (1/6 SP)