Explained Absence [Narrative]
WHO: Will Lennox, NPC's
WHAT: Will tries to help out a kid who's about to get murdered, and ends up in a rough spot
WHERE: An alleyway on the way back from Swindle's shop
WHEN: Backdated to Right after Sarah's adventure with Scorpinok
WARNINGS/NOTES: Violence
Will had known this was a bad idea. He’d been on his way back from his first day at his new job, which had gone about as well as teaching a number of civilians how to shoot guns could be expected to, when he’d heard what sounded like a scuffle down a side alley. A quick assessment had been enough to tell Will of the potential danger of the situation. The alley was long and dark, with several Cybertron sized receptacles further obscuring any attempt to see what was going on deeper into it.
That was when he made his first mistake, he went in. It would have been stupid to do so on the battlefield, advancing into a darkened area with potential hostiles with no backup. It was even stupider given they were not on the battlefield, but in a city where even if he didn’t get himself killed he’d likely be arrested for vigilante justice. Unfortunately the second thought did not occur to Will on anything but an intellectual level. He’d come to this place from the battlefield, the presence of the Decepticons, and the recent explosion of violence had left so many people dead, all of these factors meant that in a way Will had not left the battlefield, and on the battlefield things like due process and authorities didn’t really matter. Still, his initial intent hadn’t been to start a fight, but rather to scout out the situation, see what was actually going on, and then call for backup as needed.
Unfortunately he hadn’t moved very far into the alley, making sure to stick to the shadows, before he realized that calling for backup might be a luxury he didn’t have time for. The voices, initially muffled by distance, soon became clear, and Will was struck by just how serious the situation was. There were two beings in the alleyway, a young human boy and a Cybertronian from the sound of it. Will paused and pulled a small mirror from his belt, slipping it around the corner.
The Bot was big, mean, and ugly, with jagged spikes extending from its shoulders and a couple of missiles sticking out of its wrist. It didn’t look like a Transtech, so it must have been from another universe. The kid looked like a thousand orphans he had seen on dozens of battlefields, his hair and face caked in dirt, and a look on his face that was a mixture of defiance and subdued fear. Will knew boys like that couldn’t let themselves show fear to bullies if they wanted to survive, otherwise they’d be killed or worse. Still, this time he’d picked the wrong person to stand up to.
“Filthy soft skin, you will submit to me. The arrogant freaks who run this city may look down upon me, but to them you are less than dirt. I could crush you now and none would care,” the tall mech boomed.
The kid was visibly shaking but he shook his head and threw what was likely intended as a rude gesture. “This food’s ours, we earned it. What do you care Skinripper, you don’t even eat you rust bucket!”
Suddenly a massive metallic fist slammed down next to the kid, shattering the concrete inches away from the boy. Leaning down, the things horrible patchwork face of spikes and saws roared, “What better way to wipe you vermin out than to starve you?” Tilting its head it sneered, “Of course, maybe I’ll just take care of you now!” The thing withdrew its fist, lifting it into the air above the child.
Technically Will should have fired a warning shot, announced his presence, made a citizen’s arrest until the authorities arrived. In this case, however, such ideas ran contrary to the soldier’s instincts, and even more so were very likely to end up with him dead. Instead he struck fast, taking full advantage of the element of surprise. Swinging out from behind cover, Will lifted his rifle in one fluid motion, and spat off a quick burst of acid rounds at Skinripper’s legs, hitting his knee joints. They worked just as well as Kino had promised, and apparently Skinripper’s design was similar enough to the Bot’s Will was familiar with because the with a sizzling sounds the rounds ate through the joints and sent the Bot crashing sideways, partially caving in the side of the building as it thrashed with a roar of surprise. Two more well placed shots disabled the arm holding Skinripper up, and this time it was its head that slammed into the front of the building, and it flailed back blindly, some of its sensors probably disabled.
The kid scrambled clear, running backwards, and pressing himself against the opposite wall, Will moved fast and low, avoiding any wildly swinging limbs. “Run kid,” he shouted, and the boy seemed only too happy to comply. That was when he made his second mistake; he didn’t realize Skinripper had a drone.
The drone pounced out of his back, looking like a mechanical preying mantis from hell. It was far too fast for Will to get his gun up, and he felt a flash of heat and pressure as one of those wicked looking blade arms slid into his shoulder, cutting through his body armor, although the armor did help deflect the blade along the path of least resistance away from his organs. Snarling in pain, Will felt his whole right side got numb and his rifle slipped down, the barrel striking the ground. Will’s eyes widened as he saw that second blade lifting above his head, and eyes widening he strained himself with a shout, using everything he had to lift his M-16 one handed, and bracing it against his hip he flipped the gun to full auto and held down the trigger. The force of the gun’s recoil sent agony through his body as he felt his hip bone crack. It only took a second for the gun to be torn from his hand, but it was more than enough to cause the drone to rear back, extensive damage to its systems clearly causing it to withdraw.
Not wanting to lose his chance Will drew his side arm and pointed it right at the drone’s head, emptying the clip into the underside of it. Acid rounds made short work eating to whatever it was that connected the drone to the host, and probably its own processor as well. Will winced in agony as the blade was pulled out, and he felt hot blood begin to soak through his uniform. Groaning in pain he leaned back and pressed against the wall, which was likely what saved his life. Had he let himself fall, the kick that glanced against him would have taken his head off.
Only the edge of Skinripper’s limb brushed Will, but it was enough to send the soldier flying down the alleyway, his life only being saved by the fact that he didn’t hit anything along the way. Will had felt his arm snap from the force of the impact, and as he struck the ground the whole world whirled around him even as he distantly heard a crunch at his equipment belt. Will just lay there, gasping for breath and unable to move, a small part of him noticing he’d managed to land close to the mouth of the alleyway, if he could somehow find the strength to crawl the last few feet. At the moment though, all he could do was lay there and pray as he heard the roaring Bot smashing around in the background. Slowly, over what seemed like hours, the sounds faded away, Skinripper apparently leaving by another route. Will heard pounding feet, and saw the kid race past him, hesitate for a moment, and then place his rifle next to the soldier, standing their for a second before running off with a guilty look on his face.
‘Well, looks like no good deed goes unrewarded,’ Will thought sardonically, even as he tried to keep from passing out, pressing his hand weakly against his shoulder to keep from bleeding out.
He’d just have to hope someone found him before he gave into the pain filling his body and wrapping around his mind like a blanket lined with glass shards. If they didn’t, he was likely going to die there, and that was something he couldn’t accept. He had a family to get home to.
WHAT: Will tries to help out a kid who's about to get murdered, and ends up in a rough spot
WHERE: An alleyway on the way back from Swindle's shop
WHEN: Backdated to Right after Sarah's adventure with Scorpinok
WARNINGS/NOTES: Violence
Will had known this was a bad idea. He’d been on his way back from his first day at his new job, which had gone about as well as teaching a number of civilians how to shoot guns could be expected to, when he’d heard what sounded like a scuffle down a side alley. A quick assessment had been enough to tell Will of the potential danger of the situation. The alley was long and dark, with several Cybertron sized receptacles further obscuring any attempt to see what was going on deeper into it.
That was when he made his first mistake, he went in. It would have been stupid to do so on the battlefield, advancing into a darkened area with potential hostiles with no backup. It was even stupider given they were not on the battlefield, but in a city where even if he didn’t get himself killed he’d likely be arrested for vigilante justice. Unfortunately the second thought did not occur to Will on anything but an intellectual level. He’d come to this place from the battlefield, the presence of the Decepticons, and the recent explosion of violence had left so many people dead, all of these factors meant that in a way Will had not left the battlefield, and on the battlefield things like due process and authorities didn’t really matter. Still, his initial intent hadn’t been to start a fight, but rather to scout out the situation, see what was actually going on, and then call for backup as needed.
Unfortunately he hadn’t moved very far into the alley, making sure to stick to the shadows, before he realized that calling for backup might be a luxury he didn’t have time for. The voices, initially muffled by distance, soon became clear, and Will was struck by just how serious the situation was. There were two beings in the alleyway, a young human boy and a Cybertronian from the sound of it. Will paused and pulled a small mirror from his belt, slipping it around the corner.
The Bot was big, mean, and ugly, with jagged spikes extending from its shoulders and a couple of missiles sticking out of its wrist. It didn’t look like a Transtech, so it must have been from another universe. The kid looked like a thousand orphans he had seen on dozens of battlefields, his hair and face caked in dirt, and a look on his face that was a mixture of defiance and subdued fear. Will knew boys like that couldn’t let themselves show fear to bullies if they wanted to survive, otherwise they’d be killed or worse. Still, this time he’d picked the wrong person to stand up to.
“Filthy soft skin, you will submit to me. The arrogant freaks who run this city may look down upon me, but to them you are less than dirt. I could crush you now and none would care,” the tall mech boomed.
The kid was visibly shaking but he shook his head and threw what was likely intended as a rude gesture. “This food’s ours, we earned it. What do you care Skinripper, you don’t even eat you rust bucket!”
Suddenly a massive metallic fist slammed down next to the kid, shattering the concrete inches away from the boy. Leaning down, the things horrible patchwork face of spikes and saws roared, “What better way to wipe you vermin out than to starve you?” Tilting its head it sneered, “Of course, maybe I’ll just take care of you now!” The thing withdrew its fist, lifting it into the air above the child.
Technically Will should have fired a warning shot, announced his presence, made a citizen’s arrest until the authorities arrived. In this case, however, such ideas ran contrary to the soldier’s instincts, and even more so were very likely to end up with him dead. Instead he struck fast, taking full advantage of the element of surprise. Swinging out from behind cover, Will lifted his rifle in one fluid motion, and spat off a quick burst of acid rounds at Skinripper’s legs, hitting his knee joints. They worked just as well as Kino had promised, and apparently Skinripper’s design was similar enough to the Bot’s Will was familiar with because the with a sizzling sounds the rounds ate through the joints and sent the Bot crashing sideways, partially caving in the side of the building as it thrashed with a roar of surprise. Two more well placed shots disabled the arm holding Skinripper up, and this time it was its head that slammed into the front of the building, and it flailed back blindly, some of its sensors probably disabled.
The kid scrambled clear, running backwards, and pressing himself against the opposite wall, Will moved fast and low, avoiding any wildly swinging limbs. “Run kid,” he shouted, and the boy seemed only too happy to comply. That was when he made his second mistake; he didn’t realize Skinripper had a drone.
The drone pounced out of his back, looking like a mechanical preying mantis from hell. It was far too fast for Will to get his gun up, and he felt a flash of heat and pressure as one of those wicked looking blade arms slid into his shoulder, cutting through his body armor, although the armor did help deflect the blade along the path of least resistance away from his organs. Snarling in pain, Will felt his whole right side got numb and his rifle slipped down, the barrel striking the ground. Will’s eyes widened as he saw that second blade lifting above his head, and eyes widening he strained himself with a shout, using everything he had to lift his M-16 one handed, and bracing it against his hip he flipped the gun to full auto and held down the trigger. The force of the gun’s recoil sent agony through his body as he felt his hip bone crack. It only took a second for the gun to be torn from his hand, but it was more than enough to cause the drone to rear back, extensive damage to its systems clearly causing it to withdraw.
Not wanting to lose his chance Will drew his side arm and pointed it right at the drone’s head, emptying the clip into the underside of it. Acid rounds made short work eating to whatever it was that connected the drone to the host, and probably its own processor as well. Will winced in agony as the blade was pulled out, and he felt hot blood begin to soak through his uniform. Groaning in pain he leaned back and pressed against the wall, which was likely what saved his life. Had he let himself fall, the kick that glanced against him would have taken his head off.
Only the edge of Skinripper’s limb brushed Will, but it was enough to send the soldier flying down the alleyway, his life only being saved by the fact that he didn’t hit anything along the way. Will had felt his arm snap from the force of the impact, and as he struck the ground the whole world whirled around him even as he distantly heard a crunch at his equipment belt. Will just lay there, gasping for breath and unable to move, a small part of him noticing he’d managed to land close to the mouth of the alleyway, if he could somehow find the strength to crawl the last few feet. At the moment though, all he could do was lay there and pray as he heard the roaring Bot smashing around in the background. Slowly, over what seemed like hours, the sounds faded away, Skinripper apparently leaving by another route. Will heard pounding feet, and saw the kid race past him, hesitate for a moment, and then place his rifle next to the soldier, standing their for a second before running off with a guilty look on his face.
‘Well, looks like no good deed goes unrewarded,’ Will thought sardonically, even as he tried to keep from passing out, pressing his hand weakly against his shoulder to keep from bleeding out.
He’d just have to hope someone found him before he gave into the pain filling his body and wrapping around his mind like a blanket lined with glass shards. If they didn’t, he was likely going to die there, and that was something he couldn’t accept. He had a family to get home to.