Fanfic: Settle In, I'm here to Stay - Chapter Five
Title: Settle In, I'm here to Stay
Author: ilcocoabean
Fandom: Achievement Hunter RPF
Character(s)/ Pairing(s): Dan/Ray, Michael/Gavin, implied Dan/Gavin, implied Ray/Gavin, past Ray/Michael, Joel, Jack, Geoff, Ryan, Caleb
Genre(s): AU, Angst, General, Slash, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,974/?
Summary: Achievement City's been pretty quiet since Ray's arrival, so of course, they're due for another visitor.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use.
Warnings: Character deaths, adult language, and violence.
Note: Once again, apologies for getting this up so late. Still recovering from the hellish final weeks of my semester. I'm also currently plotting another fic for this fandom so that's been taking up a bunch of my time. Expect that within the next couple days.
AO3: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
LJ: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
Chapter Five
Ray woke to find the blurry image of Gavin hovering over him and what looked to be a bucket in his hands.
“Please don't,” Ray said, stifling his yawn.
“Well now that you're awake, you've taken all the fun out of it.” Gavin grumbled. “Come on then.”
He reached down onto the floor and felt around for his glasses. Everyone else had already cleared out and from his bed by the window, he could tell that the sun was slowly rising further into the sky. Quickly gathering up his gear, he turned to follow Gavin who stood patiently by the door, looking down at a map.
“According to Dan, Slow-mo-ville is a month away if we travel by villages and rails. Or we could go through the most direct path and cut our traveling time in half,” Gavin turned the map toward Ray and pointed. “We'd go through the plains and desert biomes.”
“Not much trees around there,” Ray commented.
“Yeah,” Gavin replied. “But look here. Reports say there's a possibility of a forest just on the edge of the plains. It'd be a bit off course but if we need any resources, that's our safest bet.”
“Huh. Doesn't sound too bad.” Ray pulled on his gloves on. “So how come it took Dan so long to get to us?”
Gavin was quiet as stowed the map away in his bag. “He said I was already gone by the time he made it back to the village so he had no idea where I'd gone. Must have made things difficult.”
They stepped outside to find the others gathered around Caleb who was handing out breakfast. Michael and Dan were off to the side, and although they weren't talking, at least Michael didn't seem to be glaring at him.
Gavin walked over to them, chewing the piece of bread Caleb handed to him. “So let's go over the map, shall we?” He unrolled the paper and attempted to talk through his full mouth.
Michael rolled his eyes. “Really Gavin?”
Dan shook his head but he was smiling and Ray watched as the tension amongst them disappeared almost entirely as Gavin began to go over their plans.
. . .
Ray trudged along beside Gavin, iron sword and bow respectively held in their hands. Dan had taken the lead, carrying a copy of Gavin's map. He hadn't said much other than to point out the occasional change in direction and neither had the others, caught up in their concentration of their surroundings. Michael kept up behind them, Mogard at the ready as he looked around. They all knew the dangers that lay in traveling through plains. It was the bandits' preferred terrain for attacks. Rumor had it, some had built extensive traps just underneath the ground that would send unsuspecting victims into pits filled with enemies or lava.
“So that forest would be great,” Ray said scanning the horizon for the possibility of trees. “Really don't want to sleep out here.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Gavin agreed. “Hey uh, Dan? How much further do you think it'll be?”
Dan's shoulders were tense. “Not sure.”
“Didn't you say it wouldn't be too far?” Ray asked, turning to Gavin.
“Yeah, well.” Gavin glanced up at the sun. “Reports were a couple months old and terrains change fairly quickly out here, I think.”
Ray sighed and moved ahead to stop Dan. “Let me see the map.”
The map had been redrawn a couple times and there were marks from previous versions. Ray glanced down at his compass. He had to guess their location on the map but Ray was fairly confident it was a very close approximation. He looked up at the group.
“So we should be around here,” Ray pointed to a space. “If the reports are correct then that means the forest should be within viewing distance over that way.” Ray jerked his head to his right. “Since they aren't, I think it's safe to assume they've been pushed further out, or,” Ray looked over his glasses at them meaningfully. “Bandits.”
“But taking down an entire biome?” Gavin asked. “What good would that do?”
“It makes sure that travelers like us,” Michael grumbled, “aren't safe.”
“Assuming they didn't level out the entire forest, they still had a sufficient amount of tools to take out a good chunk of the forest, meaning they probably have enough lumber to create more.”
“Or, we might not have found the forest yet,” Gavin pointed out. “I say we keep walking a little further just to-”
“That could be a trap.” Ray shook his head
“So what are you suggesting?” Michael bit out, annoyance clear in his voice as he hefted Mogard up onto his shoulder. “We sit here with our fingers up our butts until they find us?”
“I think our best option is to move across to the other side of the plains,” Ray adjusted his glasses back up as he looked over at the other side of the land. “We don't know what's over there and with any luck, they might not either.”
“But that's a lot of walking!” Gavin whined. “And there could be other traps that way as well!”
“We could go underground.” Dan said.
His voice was the quietest of the three. He'd been standing off to the side silent enough that they had almost forgotten his presence. Ray made a thoughtful sound. Tunneling underground would be easier in the sense that they would be able to see the traps as opposed to triggering them or waiting for them to be triggered. Then again, they might run into underground cities which were also rumored to exist underneath plains and if they belonged to bandits then they wouldn't want to be caught down there. But if they were careful, they'd be able to make it across safely.
He looked at Michael and Gavin and noted the similar look of skepticism they directed at Dan. Ray rolled his eyes as they each began to voice out their opinions, talking over one another:
“That is crazy-”
“We'd never be able to tell if we'd gotten across and-”
“-we could trigger a trap there or worse-”
“-we'd be luring mobs too! Those buggers can sense-”
“-they might be expecting it!”
“Or they might not be,” Ray said, interrupting their tirade before they could get any louder. “Bandits don't expect people to go underground because no one's stupid enough to do that.”
“And we're the ones stupid enough to do that?” Michael shook his head. “Ray, that's-”
“Fuck yeah we are.” Ray handed the map back to Dan. “Look, we won't go too deep, just deep enough that they won't know that we've gone under. We should wait till dark, build a fire and make like we're going to sleep so if they're watching us, they'll assume we're just settling for the night and pick up where we left off in the morning. Then we can dig down, and keep on going.”
“I've done it,” Dan said.
Ray turned to him, a little surprised but quickly recovered. He reached over and clapped him on the back. “See, it'll totally work.”
Michael and Gavin shared a look of unease but nodded. Ray turned back to Dan just in time to notice the curious look sent his way. He shrugged. Someone had to be on the poor guy's side.
. . .
Ray was starting to sense a pattern here. Maybe a witch had cursed him or something. Either way, this was starting to become a really strange coincidence. As soon as night had fallen, they'd struck a fire, made to go to bed and instantly began to dig into the ground beneath them, arranging the mounds of dirt they dug up to look like their sleeping forms.
As per Ray's suggestion, they didn't go far but as soon as they began to dig in the correct direction they found themselves toppling into a dimly lit cave which was full of monsters. They had managed to escape and block off their exit only to find themselves on the edge of a ravine. There was a cave across from them and what appeared to be a rudimentary set of steep stairs made of stone that led to a cave a little further up. High ground was preferable but given the distance between the two ledges, Ray wasn't sure whether it was the sensible direction to take.
“Maybe we should keep following this ledge?” Gavin asked. “It's in the direction of the desert.”
“Yeah but we need wood,” Ray replied. “And we shouldn't stay down here for too long, we don't know if it's safe or not.”
“We can't make it across,” Michael pointed out. “That's too much of a-”
Dan rushed past them, his sword the only thing on him as he jumped the space between the ledges. Ray watched in shock, mouth falling open. It was as if it were happening in slow-motion, Dan's outstretched leg reached forward while the other was bent behind him, it's momentum being used to push him forward into the air.
He landed, one foot falling first before the other made its appearance beside it. His balance was off though, threatening to be his undoing before he managed to reign it in and fall forward. He was panting, and with each breath his entire body seemed to shake a little. His sword had clattered to the ground in front of him and he retrieved it before moving to stand. He turned, nodding behind them.
Ray looked and saw his satchel on the floor along with his other things. He must have taken the jump at a run. Impressive, he decided.
After throwing their belongings over to the other ledge, they prepared themselves for their own jumps across. Gavin went first, nearly missing the ledge before Dan's hand came out to grab onto him and pull him to safety. Next went Michael, managing only to stumble into the wall as he landed on the space beside Dan. Ray's jump went far better and he was glad to see Dan nodding in approval at him.
Not that he needed it really. But it was nice to know someone appreciated his hard work.
After a quick survey of the cave in front of them they made their way up the stairs quietly, ears straining for any sounds of an oncoming enemy or bandit. As they neared the top they were grateful to encounter neither. Getting back into open air proved a little more difficult seeing as how they weren't entirely sure where they'd come up.
Ray, was personally a little more wary than the others and given their luck lately, he was inclined to believe his cautiousness was justified. Gavin, however wasn't having any of it.
“We'll just take a peek, see if the sun's come up, and if it hasn't we'll just wait here.” Gavin said, already reaching for his pickaxe.
“If you get us killed, I will find out and my respawned self will not be happy.” Michael warned.
Waving off the other with a scoff Gavin began to hit the stone beside him, aiming up as he went further, tossing stone behind him into Michael's unamused face. Dan and Ray hung back, hands close to their weapon's handles and exchanging worried glances. At the sound of Gavin's surprised cry, they all scrambled forward, drawing their swords as they made their way up the tunnel and into-
“...Oh.” was Michael's eloquent response.
Ray's gaze darted around them from behind his glasses before he put down his sword, a little sheepishly. Dan and Michael copied him as well. Gavin stood a little in front of them, scratching his head in embarrassment.
“Well lads, we seem to have... interrupted a lovely dinner.”
Never in his life had Ray been so glad to see the face of a villager.
Author: ilcocoabean
Fandom: Achievement Hunter RPF
Character(s)/ Pairing(s): Dan/Ray, Michael/Gavin, implied Dan/Gavin, implied Ray/Gavin, past Ray/Michael, Joel, Jack, Geoff, Ryan, Caleb
Genre(s): AU, Angst, General, Slash, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,974/?
Summary: Achievement City's been pretty quiet since Ray's arrival, so of course, they're due for another visitor.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use.
Warnings: Character deaths, adult language, and violence.
Note: Once again, apologies for getting this up so late. Still recovering from the hellish final weeks of my semester. I'm also currently plotting another fic for this fandom so that's been taking up a bunch of my time. Expect that within the next couple days.
AO3: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
LJ: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine |
Chapter Five
Ray woke to find the blurry image of Gavin hovering over him and what looked to be a bucket in his hands.
“Please don't,” Ray said, stifling his yawn.
“Well now that you're awake, you've taken all the fun out of it.” Gavin grumbled. “Come on then.”
He reached down onto the floor and felt around for his glasses. Everyone else had already cleared out and from his bed by the window, he could tell that the sun was slowly rising further into the sky. Quickly gathering up his gear, he turned to follow Gavin who stood patiently by the door, looking down at a map.
“According to Dan, Slow-mo-ville is a month away if we travel by villages and rails. Or we could go through the most direct path and cut our traveling time in half,” Gavin turned the map toward Ray and pointed. “We'd go through the plains and desert biomes.”
“Not much trees around there,” Ray commented.
“Yeah,” Gavin replied. “But look here. Reports say there's a possibility of a forest just on the edge of the plains. It'd be a bit off course but if we need any resources, that's our safest bet.”
“Huh. Doesn't sound too bad.” Ray pulled on his gloves on. “So how come it took Dan so long to get to us?”
Gavin was quiet as stowed the map away in his bag. “He said I was already gone by the time he made it back to the village so he had no idea where I'd gone. Must have made things difficult.”
They stepped outside to find the others gathered around Caleb who was handing out breakfast. Michael and Dan were off to the side, and although they weren't talking, at least Michael didn't seem to be glaring at him.
Gavin walked over to them, chewing the piece of bread Caleb handed to him. “So let's go over the map, shall we?” He unrolled the paper and attempted to talk through his full mouth.
Michael rolled his eyes. “Really Gavin?”
Dan shook his head but he was smiling and Ray watched as the tension amongst them disappeared almost entirely as Gavin began to go over their plans.
. . .
Ray trudged along beside Gavin, iron sword and bow respectively held in their hands. Dan had taken the lead, carrying a copy of Gavin's map. He hadn't said much other than to point out the occasional change in direction and neither had the others, caught up in their concentration of their surroundings. Michael kept up behind them, Mogard at the ready as he looked around. They all knew the dangers that lay in traveling through plains. It was the bandits' preferred terrain for attacks. Rumor had it, some had built extensive traps just underneath the ground that would send unsuspecting victims into pits filled with enemies or lava.
“So that forest would be great,” Ray said scanning the horizon for the possibility of trees. “Really don't want to sleep out here.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Gavin agreed. “Hey uh, Dan? How much further do you think it'll be?”
Dan's shoulders were tense. “Not sure.”
“Didn't you say it wouldn't be too far?” Ray asked, turning to Gavin.
“Yeah, well.” Gavin glanced up at the sun. “Reports were a couple months old and terrains change fairly quickly out here, I think.”
Ray sighed and moved ahead to stop Dan. “Let me see the map.”
The map had been redrawn a couple times and there were marks from previous versions. Ray glanced down at his compass. He had to guess their location on the map but Ray was fairly confident it was a very close approximation. He looked up at the group.
“So we should be around here,” Ray pointed to a space. “If the reports are correct then that means the forest should be within viewing distance over that way.” Ray jerked his head to his right. “Since they aren't, I think it's safe to assume they've been pushed further out, or,” Ray looked over his glasses at them meaningfully. “Bandits.”
“But taking down an entire biome?” Gavin asked. “What good would that do?”
“It makes sure that travelers like us,” Michael grumbled, “aren't safe.”
“Assuming they didn't level out the entire forest, they still had a sufficient amount of tools to take out a good chunk of the forest, meaning they probably have enough lumber to create more.”
“Or, we might not have found the forest yet,” Gavin pointed out. “I say we keep walking a little further just to-”
“That could be a trap.” Ray shook his head
“So what are you suggesting?” Michael bit out, annoyance clear in his voice as he hefted Mogard up onto his shoulder. “We sit here with our fingers up our butts until they find us?”
“I think our best option is to move across to the other side of the plains,” Ray adjusted his glasses back up as he looked over at the other side of the land. “We don't know what's over there and with any luck, they might not either.”
“But that's a lot of walking!” Gavin whined. “And there could be other traps that way as well!”
“We could go underground.” Dan said.
His voice was the quietest of the three. He'd been standing off to the side silent enough that they had almost forgotten his presence. Ray made a thoughtful sound. Tunneling underground would be easier in the sense that they would be able to see the traps as opposed to triggering them or waiting for them to be triggered. Then again, they might run into underground cities which were also rumored to exist underneath plains and if they belonged to bandits then they wouldn't want to be caught down there. But if they were careful, they'd be able to make it across safely.
He looked at Michael and Gavin and noted the similar look of skepticism they directed at Dan. Ray rolled his eyes as they each began to voice out their opinions, talking over one another:
“That is crazy-”
“We'd never be able to tell if we'd gotten across and-”
“-we could trigger a trap there or worse-”
“-we'd be luring mobs too! Those buggers can sense-”
“-they might be expecting it!”
“Or they might not be,” Ray said, interrupting their tirade before they could get any louder. “Bandits don't expect people to go underground because no one's stupid enough to do that.”
“And we're the ones stupid enough to do that?” Michael shook his head. “Ray, that's-”
“Fuck yeah we are.” Ray handed the map back to Dan. “Look, we won't go too deep, just deep enough that they won't know that we've gone under. We should wait till dark, build a fire and make like we're going to sleep so if they're watching us, they'll assume we're just settling for the night and pick up where we left off in the morning. Then we can dig down, and keep on going.”
“I've done it,” Dan said.
Ray turned to him, a little surprised but quickly recovered. He reached over and clapped him on the back. “See, it'll totally work.”
Michael and Gavin shared a look of unease but nodded. Ray turned back to Dan just in time to notice the curious look sent his way. He shrugged. Someone had to be on the poor guy's side.
. . .
Ray was starting to sense a pattern here. Maybe a witch had cursed him or something. Either way, this was starting to become a really strange coincidence. As soon as night had fallen, they'd struck a fire, made to go to bed and instantly began to dig into the ground beneath them, arranging the mounds of dirt they dug up to look like their sleeping forms.
As per Ray's suggestion, they didn't go far but as soon as they began to dig in the correct direction they found themselves toppling into a dimly lit cave which was full of monsters. They had managed to escape and block off their exit only to find themselves on the edge of a ravine. There was a cave across from them and what appeared to be a rudimentary set of steep stairs made of stone that led to a cave a little further up. High ground was preferable but given the distance between the two ledges, Ray wasn't sure whether it was the sensible direction to take.
“Maybe we should keep following this ledge?” Gavin asked. “It's in the direction of the desert.”
“Yeah but we need wood,” Ray replied. “And we shouldn't stay down here for too long, we don't know if it's safe or not.”
“We can't make it across,” Michael pointed out. “That's too much of a-”
Dan rushed past them, his sword the only thing on him as he jumped the space between the ledges. Ray watched in shock, mouth falling open. It was as if it were happening in slow-motion, Dan's outstretched leg reached forward while the other was bent behind him, it's momentum being used to push him forward into the air.
He landed, one foot falling first before the other made its appearance beside it. His balance was off though, threatening to be his undoing before he managed to reign it in and fall forward. He was panting, and with each breath his entire body seemed to shake a little. His sword had clattered to the ground in front of him and he retrieved it before moving to stand. He turned, nodding behind them.
Ray looked and saw his satchel on the floor along with his other things. He must have taken the jump at a run. Impressive, he decided.
After throwing their belongings over to the other ledge, they prepared themselves for their own jumps across. Gavin went first, nearly missing the ledge before Dan's hand came out to grab onto him and pull him to safety. Next went Michael, managing only to stumble into the wall as he landed on the space beside Dan. Ray's jump went far better and he was glad to see Dan nodding in approval at him.
Not that he needed it really. But it was nice to know someone appreciated his hard work.
After a quick survey of the cave in front of them they made their way up the stairs quietly, ears straining for any sounds of an oncoming enemy or bandit. As they neared the top they were grateful to encounter neither. Getting back into open air proved a little more difficult seeing as how they weren't entirely sure where they'd come up.
Ray, was personally a little more wary than the others and given their luck lately, he was inclined to believe his cautiousness was justified. Gavin, however wasn't having any of it.
“We'll just take a peek, see if the sun's come up, and if it hasn't we'll just wait here.” Gavin said, already reaching for his pickaxe.
“If you get us killed, I will find out and my respawned self will not be happy.” Michael warned.
Waving off the other with a scoff Gavin began to hit the stone beside him, aiming up as he went further, tossing stone behind him into Michael's unamused face. Dan and Ray hung back, hands close to their weapon's handles and exchanging worried glances. At the sound of Gavin's surprised cry, they all scrambled forward, drawing their swords as they made their way up the tunnel and into-
“...Oh.” was Michael's eloquent response.
Ray's gaze darted around them from behind his glasses before he put down his sword, a little sheepishly. Dan and Michael copied him as well. Gavin stood a little in front of them, scratching his head in embarrassment.
“Well lads, we seem to have... interrupted a lovely dinner.”
Never in his life had Ray been so glad to see the face of a villager.