Rampant Raccoon
Lancer
He could feel it. Deep within his veins. The anger that boiled inside, the lust for revenge that could only be quenched with blood. He and Guy stood there, staring down the long corridor as they heard their home being torn apart. The clattering of objects being thrown astray by those that seek only to oppress and destroy. Ares clenched his jaw. His grip around his SMG growing firmer before he grunted out to his companion,
“Go to the vents.”
Guy looked at him in shock, having been pleading for them both to get the hell out of there, to take the loss and try and move forward from it.
“You’re coming with me, right?”
His tone was skeptical, for he already knew the answer.
“No.”
Guy stared at the stern figure for a little longer. A sigh eventually left him as he closed his eyes and lowered his gun. He’d start to turn, moving down the corridor only to peer over his shoulder and speak one more time.
“I better see you over there, Ares. You better come back.”
Ares turned his head to peer at the man. But no words were exchanged. As Guy wandered off, Ares advanced down the corridor with his SMG raised towards the threat.
Each step was precise. His breathing grew quicker, his heart thumping in his chest. The odds were against him, and he knew it. Yet, he continued to advance. The odds were always against them. This was no different. There was an element of fear that he would not admit to. He knew that Guy was right. That he should’ve just turned away and not take the risk. But his legs continued forward.
Upon reaching the corner of the corridor, the figure promptly stacked himself against the wall, keeping his SMG raised to meet the edge. The sound of objects being thrown around was loud now. He knew they were right where he wanted them. As his grip tightened on his weapon once more, his thoughts dwelled on all those before that had fallen for the cause. All those that had given their lives to try and give Humanity a fighting chance at a better tomorrow. His teeth grit together as he thought about the most recent loss of Cuatro. His friend, of whom he needed now more than ever to tell him to not be an idiot and throw his life away.
But he wasn’t there.
The rage built again, his muscles tensing as he took one final moment to try and steady himself. All of the people that had died, all that the Combine had taken from them, it all had led Ares to this very moment in time. His family, gone. His friends, gone. And it was time to make them pay.
With a grunt, Ares threw himself around the corner and immediately came face to face with an officer holding a metal fence. Both of them froze for a moment, as though time itself slowed down. But it didn’t take too long for natural instinct to kick back in. His finger squeezed down on the trigger hard, sending a burst of fire towards the Officer, the rounds smacking him square in the chest and sending him to the ground. As he went down and the fence clattered on top of him, clarity kicked in when three more Officers turned their bright blue gaze towards the single assailant.
“Shit!”
One of them called out before a barrage of fire took place. Ares yelled at the top of his lungs as he sent a few more bursts of fire down the corridor. The overwhelming force pushing themselves into cover and hunkering down.
Then, as if he had pushed fate itself too far, that cursed noise rang out from his weapon.
‘Click’
A deep inhale of breath as he watched his opponents rise from their positions, bringing their weapons up into aim. The first few shots rang out, and Ares gave off a heavy grunt as a round slammed straight into his arm, sending him stumbling back. A further three rounds pelted him in his chest armor, cracking ribs and knocking him onto the ground. Even as he fell, the rounds continued to come in, smashing against his armor and peppering his body in wounds.
Agony. Pure agony. As though he was being torn apart with each bullet that struck against him. The pain building to a point where his screams went silent, unable to produce a sound.
Eventually, the fire stopped. Ares went limp, the lights in the room somehow seeming brighter than before. He squinted up towards them, taking raspy breaths as he lay there in a heap. The sound of heavy bootsteps grew closer as Ares' vision began to tunnel. A strange feeling washed over him. It almost felt like peace. And in that moment of tranquility, he could swear he heard a sweet voice ushered him into the long dark.
“It’s alright, Dad… You tried your best. It’s time to rest now…”
As the darkness crept in, he could feel hands roughly pulling away everything he owned while he lay in a pool of his own blood, he spoke one final word as his vision began to black out.
“Emily…”
Then, nothing.
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Within the darkness, feeling slowly started to return. There was a strange warmth that washed over. And was that… Voices? Low murmurs? Mustering some strength, somehow, his eyes began to open. Everything was blurry, faded. He was greeted by a blinding light which forced him to squeeze his eyes shut once more.
“I’ll be damned…”
It was a voice. Muffled, at that. But unmistakably a voice. An elderly, gruff one. Again, Ares attempted to regain his vision.
“Guess I owe you the last of my beef jerky.”
He was laying down, surrounded by darkness. A solitary source of light and warmth just before him. As he craned his neck up slightly, he saw a figure leaning across, offering out an object to another person.
“Easy, son. You ain't in the best of shape. Hell, I don’t even know how you’re alive right now. Ain’t ever seen a man so plugged full of holes that survived to tell the tale.”
It felt slightly odd to be called ‘Son’, considering he was in his early 40s. However, the vision cleared slightly. Sat to his left was an elderly gentleman, covered in wrinkles, sporting a big, bushy white beard and a beanie that covered his bald head. To his right, a young woman with dark hair and glasses, who was wolfing down the apparent beef jerky, happily chomping away.
Ares tried to move, but every tiny shift of his body caused an astronomical amount of pain which made him fall back flat against the rollmat he was occupying. The older male reached across and grabbed at a blanket that was draped over him, pulling it up just a little more to ensure his warmth.
“Stay down lad. One wrong move and you’ll undo all my hard work.”
The lady grabbed at an old can beside her and tossed it at the older figure who merely chuckled away, waving the girl off.
“Alright, alright. All OUR hard work.”
With a grunt, Ares turned his head to peer at them both, his eyes half lidded as the fire partially blinded him. It felt too bright.
“Where…- Where am I?”
The Old man murmured something idly to himself, shifting in an old car seat which he had occupied.
“Not far from where you were last, I’m afraid. Still in City eight. Maddie and I found you in that subway after all that shooting took place. Thought you were dead at first. Cops had left you in bad shape. Seems that good fortune brought you to me. We patched you up, scooped you off the floor and brought you here. Took up everything I own to keep you alive…”
Another object was thrown against the old man by ‘Maddie’. He groaned at her, giving an over-exaggerated roll of his eyes.
“But of course, anything to save a life and all that. Anyway, make sure you thank Maddie too. Offered up her blood to keep your ass alive.”
Weakly, Ares shifted his gaze to the young woman who had finished wolfing down the last of the beef jerky. She offered him a smile that stretched from ear to ear, along with a small wave. He would dip his head towards her slightly in thanks.
“Don’t expect much conversation like. Combine ripped her tongue out for saying less than ideal things about our precious overlords.”
The girl shifted a little uncomfortably against the wall as the comment was made, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Ares brought his gaze back to the other figure, wetting his lips before speaking up again.
“Wh-Who are you?”
The man gave a gap toothed grin, reaching up to dip his metaphorical hat towards Ares.
“Name’s Douglas. Ain’t no need to introduce yourself to us. We know who you are. Alliance and all. It’s good. Bringing hope to the people and the likes. Unfortunately though, I’m an old man, and Maddie here helps me out. We’re clearing out of here. Gonna make for the outlands, try to live with what relative freedom we have left. So, consider this my last act of resistance.”
He threw up a mock salute to the injured figure, of whom just gave off a slight grunt in response. Douglas hummed out before speaking up again.
“Word of advice… You’ve got people relying on you now. Ain’t the time to be doing stupid shit like what you tried to pull. Saw those four cops running out the subway. You really thought you could take them? Tsk… Anyway. Consider this your one and only free pass from death. ‘Cus death is coming for all of us, and you keep rolling the dice like this… Next time you ain’t gonna have me here to save you.”
Ares' eyes flickered, his breathing growing a little deeper as things started to fade again. He turned onto his back and stared up towards the night sky.
“Ooh, there he goes again. Guess I bored hi-...”
The voices phased out, and the darkness returned as he fell back into his deep slumber. But, he was alive. The question was now…
For how long?
“Go to the vents.”
Guy looked at him in shock, having been pleading for them both to get the hell out of there, to take the loss and try and move forward from it.
“You’re coming with me, right?”
His tone was skeptical, for he already knew the answer.
“No.”
Guy stared at the stern figure for a little longer. A sigh eventually left him as he closed his eyes and lowered his gun. He’d start to turn, moving down the corridor only to peer over his shoulder and speak one more time.
“I better see you over there, Ares. You better come back.”
Ares turned his head to peer at the man. But no words were exchanged. As Guy wandered off, Ares advanced down the corridor with his SMG raised towards the threat.
Each step was precise. His breathing grew quicker, his heart thumping in his chest. The odds were against him, and he knew it. Yet, he continued to advance. The odds were always against them. This was no different. There was an element of fear that he would not admit to. He knew that Guy was right. That he should’ve just turned away and not take the risk. But his legs continued forward.
Upon reaching the corner of the corridor, the figure promptly stacked himself against the wall, keeping his SMG raised to meet the edge. The sound of objects being thrown around was loud now. He knew they were right where he wanted them. As his grip tightened on his weapon once more, his thoughts dwelled on all those before that had fallen for the cause. All those that had given their lives to try and give Humanity a fighting chance at a better tomorrow. His teeth grit together as he thought about the most recent loss of Cuatro. His friend, of whom he needed now more than ever to tell him to not be an idiot and throw his life away.
But he wasn’t there.
The rage built again, his muscles tensing as he took one final moment to try and steady himself. All of the people that had died, all that the Combine had taken from them, it all had led Ares to this very moment in time. His family, gone. His friends, gone. And it was time to make them pay.
With a grunt, Ares threw himself around the corner and immediately came face to face with an officer holding a metal fence. Both of them froze for a moment, as though time itself slowed down. But it didn’t take too long for natural instinct to kick back in. His finger squeezed down on the trigger hard, sending a burst of fire towards the Officer, the rounds smacking him square in the chest and sending him to the ground. As he went down and the fence clattered on top of him, clarity kicked in when three more Officers turned their bright blue gaze towards the single assailant.
“Shit!”
One of them called out before a barrage of fire took place. Ares yelled at the top of his lungs as he sent a few more bursts of fire down the corridor. The overwhelming force pushing themselves into cover and hunkering down.
Then, as if he had pushed fate itself too far, that cursed noise rang out from his weapon.
‘Click’
A deep inhale of breath as he watched his opponents rise from their positions, bringing their weapons up into aim. The first few shots rang out, and Ares gave off a heavy grunt as a round slammed straight into his arm, sending him stumbling back. A further three rounds pelted him in his chest armor, cracking ribs and knocking him onto the ground. Even as he fell, the rounds continued to come in, smashing against his armor and peppering his body in wounds.
Agony. Pure agony. As though he was being torn apart with each bullet that struck against him. The pain building to a point where his screams went silent, unable to produce a sound.
Eventually, the fire stopped. Ares went limp, the lights in the room somehow seeming brighter than before. He squinted up towards them, taking raspy breaths as he lay there in a heap. The sound of heavy bootsteps grew closer as Ares' vision began to tunnel. A strange feeling washed over him. It almost felt like peace. And in that moment of tranquility, he could swear he heard a sweet voice ushered him into the long dark.
“It’s alright, Dad… You tried your best. It’s time to rest now…”
As the darkness crept in, he could feel hands roughly pulling away everything he owned while he lay in a pool of his own blood, he spoke one final word as his vision began to black out.
“Emily…”
Then, nothing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Within the darkness, feeling slowly started to return. There was a strange warmth that washed over. And was that… Voices? Low murmurs? Mustering some strength, somehow, his eyes began to open. Everything was blurry, faded. He was greeted by a blinding light which forced him to squeeze his eyes shut once more.
“I’ll be damned…”
It was a voice. Muffled, at that. But unmistakably a voice. An elderly, gruff one. Again, Ares attempted to regain his vision.
“Guess I owe you the last of my beef jerky.”
He was laying down, surrounded by darkness. A solitary source of light and warmth just before him. As he craned his neck up slightly, he saw a figure leaning across, offering out an object to another person.
“Easy, son. You ain't in the best of shape. Hell, I don’t even know how you’re alive right now. Ain’t ever seen a man so plugged full of holes that survived to tell the tale.”
It felt slightly odd to be called ‘Son’, considering he was in his early 40s. However, the vision cleared slightly. Sat to his left was an elderly gentleman, covered in wrinkles, sporting a big, bushy white beard and a beanie that covered his bald head. To his right, a young woman with dark hair and glasses, who was wolfing down the apparent beef jerky, happily chomping away.
Ares tried to move, but every tiny shift of his body caused an astronomical amount of pain which made him fall back flat against the rollmat he was occupying. The older male reached across and grabbed at a blanket that was draped over him, pulling it up just a little more to ensure his warmth.
“Stay down lad. One wrong move and you’ll undo all my hard work.”
The lady grabbed at an old can beside her and tossed it at the older figure who merely chuckled away, waving the girl off.
“Alright, alright. All OUR hard work.”
With a grunt, Ares turned his head to peer at them both, his eyes half lidded as the fire partially blinded him. It felt too bright.
“Where…- Where am I?”
The Old man murmured something idly to himself, shifting in an old car seat which he had occupied.
“Not far from where you were last, I’m afraid. Still in City eight. Maddie and I found you in that subway after all that shooting took place. Thought you were dead at first. Cops had left you in bad shape. Seems that good fortune brought you to me. We patched you up, scooped you off the floor and brought you here. Took up everything I own to keep you alive…”
Another object was thrown against the old man by ‘Maddie’. He groaned at her, giving an over-exaggerated roll of his eyes.
“But of course, anything to save a life and all that. Anyway, make sure you thank Maddie too. Offered up her blood to keep your ass alive.”
Weakly, Ares shifted his gaze to the young woman who had finished wolfing down the last of the beef jerky. She offered him a smile that stretched from ear to ear, along with a small wave. He would dip his head towards her slightly in thanks.
“Don’t expect much conversation like. Combine ripped her tongue out for saying less than ideal things about our precious overlords.”
The girl shifted a little uncomfortably against the wall as the comment was made, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Ares brought his gaze back to the other figure, wetting his lips before speaking up again.
“Wh-Who are you?”
The man gave a gap toothed grin, reaching up to dip his metaphorical hat towards Ares.
“Name’s Douglas. Ain’t no need to introduce yourself to us. We know who you are. Alliance and all. It’s good. Bringing hope to the people and the likes. Unfortunately though, I’m an old man, and Maddie here helps me out. We’re clearing out of here. Gonna make for the outlands, try to live with what relative freedom we have left. So, consider this my last act of resistance.”
He threw up a mock salute to the injured figure, of whom just gave off a slight grunt in response. Douglas hummed out before speaking up again.
“Word of advice… You’ve got people relying on you now. Ain’t the time to be doing stupid shit like what you tried to pull. Saw those four cops running out the subway. You really thought you could take them? Tsk… Anyway. Consider this your one and only free pass from death. ‘Cus death is coming for all of us, and you keep rolling the dice like this… Next time you ain’t gonna have me here to save you.”
Ares' eyes flickered, his breathing growing a little deeper as things started to fade again. He turned onto his back and stared up towards the night sky.
“Ooh, there he goes again. Guess I bored hi-...”
The voices phased out, and the darkness returned as he fell back into his deep slumber. But, he was alive. The question was now…
For how long?