The Long Night

[Maazen1337]

Hey guys, new story! I'm working on another Worm fic while writing this, one much more planned out. That one is already at Arc 2 with 25K words, so no worries of me not posting it. If I stop writing it, I'll still post what I'd written already. Now, this fic is much more wish-fulfillment-y and for me to express my extensive passion for Bloodborne (and my hatred for Sony for denying me an actual sequel or remaster).

No clue about any lemons, but they are much more possible in this fic than my others. The NSFW (not in this section, I'll post a duplicate version if I do decide to do any lemons) is still deserved, as I'm still including plenty of gore and some such things!

---

The Hunt, it had been so long… My knees buckle as I slam onto the ground, white flowers parting almost gently as I do. "My dear Doll…" I mutter, thinking of my only companion. My guiding Moonlight. "Are you proud..?" I had done it, the blood of a being beyond my comprehension, even more so than those that came before it, was still dripping down the decadent blade of my two weapons.

One, my trusted Saw Cleaver, the blood-letting teeth decorating its serrated edge have not dulled since all those years ago, when I first took it from the gentle messengers. Two, the Chikage, a weapon of Cainhurst and one I picked up far later into my wretched journey. Nevertheless, its increased agility and unique bloodtinge related ability have served me as well as my very first weapon had.

From beneath my mask and hunter's hat, I gaze at the corpse of the Moon Presence, the orchestrator of my torment. My effervescent revival. My hell.

Even now, the Old Blood subsumes my veins, wrestling for control in my mind. But I will not let it, I have never let it. The thought of my Doll, of an end to the hunt has carried my will, reforged it to iron and crafted into a fortress, resistant to the harrowing temptations of the beastly blood.

A cold yet gentle hand lays itself on my shoulder. "I am." Her voice, her voice.

Memories flash in my mind, horrid deaths soothed by horrid stories told by a beautiful creation. Gently cold hands caressing my crying form, my despondent form, my dead form.

Her voice.

Her voice, piercing my clouded mind in moments of true despair, when an opponent rips me limb from limb, infects my mind and body with its curses, its insight.

Ever-present and almighty love subsumes my weak form as I turn my head. "Is… Is it over?" I ask yet for naught, as I see the pristine white clouds of the Hunters Dream start to part, to give easy to something else, my own mind's clouds parting in a similar manner to reveal a clarity I've never felt before.

In the middle of this painting of a view knelt the Doll, her smile washing away the despair and anxiety building in my heart. "He…" My heart chokes, as does my throat as I feel my other eyes gaze towards the second corpse on this battlefield, lying there almost peacefully. "Why?" I grit my teeth.

"Gehrman is the dream's custodian." She replies, though I already knew. "He only wished the best for you… even in his weakest moments, he sought the strength to grant you his mercy." And mercy is a gift of the strong, I remembered my mother would say, even as I fail to remember anything else of her. But on this night, no strength can grant the tainted souls roaming Yharnam any mercy past their calling death.

"But he should've known I'd win! He saw me drag the heads of beasts beyond our very minds here!" But if he did, he did not act on that knowledge.

"He knew, Good Hunter. But his duty remained all the same." She replied as my head slumped into her chest, tears, for the first time in a decade, streaming down my face, soaking my mask and her dress.

"And… and I thought this nightmare had nothing more to take away from me…" Memories, emotions, lives and friends. The list is too long, the graveyard in my mind spanning countries. Even my soul, if one were to subscribe to my own quantification of it.

"It will be alright, Good Hunter. I shan't leave. I will remain." I cling to those words as I try my best to calm myself. It took a while, too long to measure, as I wrestled with emotions I had thought discarded.

When I gaze back up at her, I see the reflection of my dead eyes in her own porcelain ones. It is over… I should… "I told you, once, of my home… I think." Or was that another daydream of mine? Of a world where there would be no more death? No more pain…

She nodded, thankfully. "You did, dear. A place away from Yharnam, from its blood." She did not say those words with the reverence and fear that I had come to speak them with. It is neither innocence nor ignorance that makes up her lack of reverence, it is simply the way she is built. Metaphorically and literally.

Her mind is made to love, not fear, and when I proved to be the Last Hunter, as the First had named me, she had manifested that final love for me. And without it, I would be lost.

"Dear," She gently nudges me and I return to the present.

"Ah, thanks…" I reply and she nods.

She smiles, projecting love and understanding. "You tend to get lost in thought often, dear Hunter." She chuckles lightly, holding up one of her jointed hands to cover her mouth. She had gotten more emotive the more wretched Insight I gathered and, even if only for that, it was worth gathering, despite its… heavy toll.

I nodded. "Well, it is not in this dimension…" I began and that reveal lacked the gravitas I had originally thought it to have. With me traveling to hell, a nightmare realm and a city of the twisted, multiverse theory being real really wasn't that surprising.

She nodded, equally unperturbed. "I had gathered. Yharnamite children learn the language early in age, regardless if they are in poverty or not." Ah, I almost blush as I remember the week I had spent learning the yharnamite language. It feels like it's not even made for humans to speak and for all I know, that is indeed correct. English is mostly spoken anyways. Though some… spells still required the somatic and verbal component, so it was not all for naught.

"Yes, my world is… bland, boring and dull. You may read of an interesting event or entertain yourself with banal media, but in the end, there where no beast to fell, no genocide-threatening enemies of human kind to fight." I spoke and found myself with my head on her lap as we laid in a field of white flowers, spotted with red.

"It sounds like a peaceful place." I squint my eyes and eyes as I try to remember.

"No, not at all. Wars were fought, but the layman and those in the… 'richer' countries found themselves with little life-threatening hardships." I replied as I recalled as much of my original world as I could. I could no longer call it 'home', that tether of melancholic feeling binding me to it had snapped long ago. One of the first sacrifices the Hunt demanded.

She did not ask for my family, nor what I had been like back then. She knew the effects of the Hunt better than most, having seen countless examples, and knew that those pieces of one's mind are taken away during the long night. "Maybe it is not, then, but it still sounds pleasant."

"More so than Yharnam, anyways." I lacked the strength to chuckle, but even through my mask, she saw my smirk and rolled her eyes in response to it. Yes, even if it exacted a heavy price, seeing her laugh and giggle, joke and jab was worth every tortured moment of expanding my mind.

"Then how did you end up here?" She asked and I grimaced.

"Not by choice… It was a sudden thing, a stroll to work became a stroll through the Yharnam clinic in the blink of an eye… worst part was the realization…" I shuddered at the days I spent in that first room, only accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh as the nearby beast wolf feasted.

"Of what, dear?" She asked and I closed my eyes, recalling the moment my memories became clear, the moment my mind resolved itself.

"This world was not unknown to me… ah, do you have plays here? Operas?" She nodded. "Then imagine an opera show, but for one person, localized in a tiny box and to be controlled by that person through a variation of mediums." She was smart, she understood quickly.

"Like a replicated world? A tiny realm to play with?" I nodded.

"Though they are fake, just made up of numbers and lightning in complicated patterns, forming life-like imagery." She smiled and briefly looked onto the dimming horizon, pondering a concept people of her time-period would agonize over with quiet wonder.

"Before the blood was found, Gehrman once told me, there were talks of using lightning, electricity then, for wondrous things… He could not remember clearly, he was not a part of such circles, he was but a child then." That implies heavy technological stunting for this world, which makes sense. If our early renaissance encountered something like the Old Blood, we would be fighting each other with swords and maybe gunpowder weaponry, not nuclear warheads and drones.

I nodded. "It was the road to the future, though not one Yharnam ever got to wander." She returned her gentle, loving gaze to mine and my body heated up once more with a hearth. "I explained all that because, in one such 'Game', this world was portrayed. It was a simple hack-and-slash-" for lack of an easier to understand term. "-where you killed your way through Yharnam in a bit over thirty hours of time, depending on your pace."

"So, like a board game?" I made a 'so-so' motion with my hand, finding myself with strength once more as I talked with her.

"Kinda. But you can understand that when I found myself in a clinic I remember seeing, knowing what was awaiting me…" I shuddered, I had cried and despaired for many hours before dying for the first time… and oh Cos, that death, more than the ones after despite their varying levels of agony, would be engraved onto my mind for all of eternity.

She nodded but didn't speak about that much further, instead- "You have talked to me once before, then?" She smirked deviously and I wanted to groan in a loving frustration. Along with everything else, she had gained a teasing attitude. "Oh, without me knowing, even!"

"H-Hey! Don't blame me, it was just a game! A popular one, but still just a game!"

"Popular, you say? A lot of Hunters must have spoken with me then…" She nodded, then looked down at me with a small grin, her hands caressing the sides of my face. "But I suspect none found their way into my heart like this, did they?"

My breath hitched. How do I get flustered?! After everything, she can still fluster me?! Unfair! "W-W- It… It wasn't an option in the game…" I muttered.

"Then you're all the more special, love." My lips smushed together as she played with my cheeks. "My special Hunter~" She cooed in a high-pitched voice.

My eyes softened and I reached for her wrist. I groaned as I sat up. "All yours, yeah." I didn't stray far, though, as I almost dove forward for a kiss. She accepted readily and, as with every time before, I found myself surprised at the searing heat of the act. A Doll, so cold yet so hot, burning with life.

As we separated, the kiss being cut shorter than usual, I stood up, as did she. "Well, I just wanted to be honest… because I know, from that game, that I should have turned into a newly born Old One by now, having consumed those disgusting Umbilical Cords and all…" I pondered.

"Well, I would suspect that it would take a while, a full transcendence is no small matter." She commented and I nodded.

My eyes drifted to Gehrman, then to his weapon. I had used it in… New Game Plus, I think it was called. The Doll's voice came from my side as she noticed. "He would have no objection, in fact, I think he would want you to inherit it. From the First to the Last…"

I nodded with a dry chuckle. "Sounds poetic enough for him, at least."

"You've regained a lot of your early spirit, Dear." She states as we approach.

"Have I?" I blink. "Didn't notice…"

"Maybe it has returned from the box you had to seal it in, when the Hunt demanded it?" Ah, that makes sense. As to why she is in the know about my fucked-up mind metaphors? Well, we've had a good two decades to talk to each other, with the main topic being the Hunt and, with her all-encompassing care, she worried a lot about me, so my mental health came up a lot more than you would think.

As I leaned down to grip the hilt of the Burial Blade, I found myself agreeing with her. "I think that's a good sign… maybe I can be some of my old self again, now that it's over…" But… what if she won't like me, then? What if she only liked the image of the Last Hunter that I represented f-

An arm gripped my outstretched wrist and my attention was brought to her stern stare. "And I'll love you all the same, I'm excited to see a new side of you, even." Ah, of course she'd say that. What was I thinking? She loves me, all of me. In any form, wearing any mask, committing any atrocity.

The early anxieties of a relationship where always something that was suspiciously absent for me with her, in contrast to my other relationship, so I guess it's good that venting to her about how I worked regardless of trying to solve that still resulted in a 'girlfriend sixth sense' for when I'm getting into my mind about stupid stuff.

If there was such an ideal thing as understanding another person fully, then we had achieved it.

"And I'll still love you too." I nodded and returned to the task at hand, namely wrenching the scythe from the literal death-grip of my old teacher.

My breathing quickened the longer I tried, my pulls getting more and more aggressive as my mind flashed with the battle-

Strafe left, Blood Step right, slash- DODGE! Searing pain, a bullet biting into my abdomen. Another attempt…

My breathing quickened, below his hat- was he staring at me? I'm- I'm sorry, please-

Parry successful, bullet tearing into his shoulder, he staggers. Go in, bite Saw into his skin. Let him bleed, it weakens the prey…

"A-Ah…" My vision blurred, the corners of my mind started glowing an ominous red. I-I need to fight… Blood. I need Bl-

"You have it, Dear. It's fine, you got it." I… I got it? My goal… I've completed my goal. Yes, I can stop hunting.

I blinked as everything returned to full clarity. I held the folded-up scythe in my hand, though… "Why are the flowers so torn up?" I asked. "Did something else stroll through?"

She shook her head, though she grimaced as she hugged me from behind, her head on my shoulder. "You had another attack, dear."

Ah… That's why the last few minutes seem blurry. And why in crying. And why my palms are bloody.

"Thanks for the help." She nodded as she caressed my chest.

"Always." She responded and, with a cute pet on my torso, we separated once more.

I adjusted my belt a bit, making the sheath for the Chikage lie a bit lower, until I could comfortably attach the Burial Blade to the small, almost unnoticeable straps on my back, barely peeking out through slits under my cloak. I took a deep, focusing breath. "Well, it seems like we've got a bit of time, so I'll work on the blade a bit, yeah?"

"I can watch?" She asked adorably, looking at me with the cutest set of puppy dog eyes ever seen.

My cold, dead, rotted and beastly heart melted. "Of course, I know how much you like to watch me work with the Blood Rocks." And rightly so! It is damn interesting how leveling up a weapon actually works and I'm glad that I seem to be regaining my own emotions now that the Hunt is over, so I can re-experience the wonder and experimental joy I felt when I first worked on my Cleaver.

"And I'm glad you enjoy me watching… heh." Did she just-? Yes, she did, she made an innuendo. Apparently, the amazement on my face was noticeable. "What? Did you think I am unskilled in wordplay of my own?"

"My bad puns and… and that are too completely different things!" I argued.

She laughed haughtily at that. I rolled my eyes and groaned.

---

The levity of rejoining with her in light-hearted conversation was only the beginning of the first good day I've had in Yharnam. Or the Hunters Dream, at least. After dying hundreds of times against Amelia, I found myself despondent, dead to the world. I had been suffering, at least, before that, a show of my humanity, but when I realized that even that would only hinder me in the Hunt, I found myself more machine than man.

That dreaded mindset I dubbed 'The Hunter' would only retreat when I talked with the Doll, but even then, it was less a mindset and more me suppressing everything in my head not related to battle for long enough for it to become automatic, so it couldn't just go away easily. Even with her, I recall being a muted, gray version of myself. One sarcastic comment in, what, two years? Not me at all, that I can tell you.

But she still found herself loving me and I still found myself loving her, even as The Hunter.

All that is to say, now that The Hunter can retire, [] can take the wheel once more… wait. What? My.. My name. I- I- "Doll…" My breathing quickened, I hated this feeling, this pressure. A panic attack, I knew. Not the first, not the last. "I-I can't r-remember my n-name." I shook, dropping my Blood Rock onto the table, faintly registering the clank of rock hitting metal.

Tears fell, even as she reached me quickly from the chair a bit off to the side. "I'm here, love." I heard her voice but… but it was so distant. Why-?

What's my name?

What's my name?

WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER MY OWN FUCKING NAME!?

"I-I thought it h-had nothing else to take…" Tears streamed down, onto the table, then my lap, then her chest as I found myself feeling a muted comfort, the world so blurry and distant, my senses so muddled and muted.

Only an encroaching feeling of terror remained.

"It's not fair." My teeth grit as anger usurped the fear. "IT'S N-"

As anger flooded my veins, my body recognized the feeling and, with the feeling, came the associated response.

The world cleared, my breathing stilled.

---

She sighed internally as she saw him slowly walk through the garden, past the gravestones, almost aimlessly. He had another attack an hour or so ago, and she wasn't quick enough to calm him down. Now he was searching for a hunt once again.

It was fine, she told herself, he would return once he realized there was nothing left to hunt. She sat herself down on her little flowery corner, watching her love wander the garden, empty eyes staring at empty graves, a calm hand steadily gripping one weapon or another.

He had yet to speak a word.

But that was fine, these silent accompanied moments were equally cherished by her. After she realized that her Hunter started to give her true life through unconscious utilization of his immense Insight, she had found herself being able to enjoy so many more things. So many more emotions. Expressions. Manurisms. Everything that made up a life, a human, she was now capable of doing, of possessing.
Even if only he had done that for her, she would love him eternally. But it was not just gratitude that drove her love, she thought with a smile, it was everything about him. The few times she saw his actual personality, and she was glad that it was coming back now, she had found herself falling for him all the more.

She would not tell him that he gave her life, that they now shared a soul-deep connection due to that gift, as he hated the thought of any kind of mind-control, not that her mind was influenced or anything.

She knew her mind was unbound, belonging to only her. But he would not see it that way, and so, until he asked, she would say nothing. He would only hate himself more than he already does. She'd love him enough for the both of them. If he thinks himself a monster, she'll tell him she loves that monster. If he thinks himself amongst the most wretched of humanity for his deeds, she'll tell him she'd plunge into evil with him.

A love born of gratitude, bloomed by genuine connection and solidified by understanding.

Nothing less, but so much more.

But for now, she'll sit here and watch him, or read that book on Sorcery that she always wanted to read after finding herself with her own goals. Ha! If the lifeless Doll of the past could see her now…

---

I cannot leave the dream. Conclusion: The Hunt is over. I cannot find any Prey. Conclusion: The Hunt is over. Hm…

I frown and blink, memories of a good few hours of just wandering around replaying in my mind. But I can't remember what I was thinking about during any of that time, which means I was the Hunter. I groan. "Ugh, really?" Why was I searching for a Hunt if it was over? What caused…

Oh…

My… My name.

"Are you okay, dear Hunter?" The Doll asked and I turned to find her standing next to me, at the foot of the tree where… where he had offered me the ultimatum.

I felt my breathing quicken, my v- "I'm here, love. The Hunt is over, there is nothing left to fight." Her hand was gripping my own, her soft skin, somehow so very life-life in texture, covering my shaking fist.

I calmed, centering myself around her, as I had done in memories past.

"Okay…" I took a deep breath. "I can't remember my name."

"That's fine, it is an opportunity, even!" She excitedly called out. I found myself agreeing. My… A name was just that, a word, or not? Why… it shouldn't hold this much weight… I shook my head and…

Discarded my Name.

I nodded. "You're right, I'll just need a new one." She agreed readily. Before she could continue, though, I butted in. "And you need one too, while I don't mind Doll, if we are to go out into a populated Yharnam, you'll need a name."

She smiled and nodded too. "Let's decide for each other." She suggested.

"Yeah, sounds nice." I found my hand caressing my chin in thought. She's radiant, white and pristine… "Lilly?" I offered.

She smiled wide. "I like Lilly." I nodded, then Lilly it is! Her own thoughts subsumed her then, as she contemplated. After a moment, "And for you, I think Break would suit you well."

"Break?" I ask, puzzled.

"You have broken both yourself and your prey, reforging one through the other." I shrug, not that anybody in Yharnam will call me anything besides 'Hunter' or 'Lord'.

"Melodramatic, much?" Smirking, I jab at her.

She… snorts? Wow, never suspected she could make such a noise, as dainty as it was. "You are incorrigible, Break dear. Furthermore, your own favor for the dramatic cannot be understated. Remember what you told me of the battle against my template, Maria?"

I felt myself blush. Ah, I had… well, "It ended fine, didn't it?"

She nodded, her devious smile remained all the same. "But it could have concluded in that end much earlier, had it not been for your need to… 'learn that flame move'."

"I fucking hate the Sharingan sometimes…" I mutter. Oh, had I neglected to mention? Yes, apparently, some part of my blood was of Uchiha origin, somehow. Maybe a blessing from the Great Old Ones who brought me here, awoken later on in my hellish journey when I gained enough Insight to awaken it, or maybe it was something else equally fantastically cringe.

"But you did learn it, and found yourself with another maiden." I wince, that conversation had been hard. Not because I tried to hide anything, more so because of her unusual reaction to such information…Maria and I had found ourselves bearing our souls to each other in our dozens of battles, quick verbal jabs turning to long monologues before each bout.

When I spared her life, she had… well, she had kissed me for some reason, proclaiming us soulmates via a 'feeling in her chest' and 'a connection forged in battle.' Ecchi Anime bullshit at its finest, even if I barely remember what that means.

I had panicked, warped to the Dream and had immediately vented to the Doll about it. She… was overjoyed. I had never been so confused, the shock had pierced past the Hunter rather handily.

"After all, you deserve all the love in the world." That. That was her reasoning. It wasn't a self-deprecation thing, she knows that I'm as happy with her as I would ever be with her and somebody else but she just… "You suffered enough to deserve it, dear." She didn't even ask me to 'always put her first', knowing, intrinsically, that I would. For her, the world is so simple.

"I should check up on her, too." I muttered and she nodded.

"The Grave to the Clocktower is still active, unlike the others…" And wasn't that a mystery for the ages? All of the inscriptions on the Graves for the various locations the Messengers could take me to had vanished, all except the Clocktower. Why my Hunter hadn't tried to go there when he was trying to hunt? No clue, maybe he saw it as a friendly-zone, due to Maria being there.

"You go on then… I have something to try, dear. A surprise, for when you return." She suggested and I nodded, heading back to the charred, but somehow still standing, manor atop the hill in the Dream.

---

"You return." The firm nod from Maria inspires bravery and warmth now, more than the resolve it had brought during our time as enemies. The light past her, shining through the clock, was… was white? "Ah, noticed it too?"

She turned slightly from her position on the small cushion I had provided her, along with an entire tent and camping set, when I found out she couldn't return to the Dream with me. So, I made a 'home away from home' for the both of us. Books of all kinds littered her living space in a rather orderly manner, if that's even possible.

"Yeah, it seems like you're in the Dream now." I answer, recognizing that bland sky anywhere, even if rays of sunshine now replace the rays of terrible moonlight from before.

"It is as you described, though I suspect the sun is a new addition?" She plainly asks and I nod, at which she continues. "Then you have defeated this 'Final Foe' you had told me about?" She prods and I sigh. I had told her, on the last of my visits, that I would be fighting Gehrman and, after, the Moon Presence, though I had not named it as such.

Nothing went as I expected, I could not talk Gehrman down and killing his prisoner didn't turn me into a newly minted Great Old One.

"You tried to leave already?" She nodded.

"To no result, the doors do not budge, no strike nor push strong enough to let me escape." She smiles, a much smaller gesture than Lilly's own. "Though it makes me appreciate your gifts all the more."

With my lower mask taken off a while ago, my returned smile makes her own bloom all the more as I approach. "Lilly reminded me to check up on you with the Night now broken, so I thought I'd stop by."

"Lilly?" She asked, perplexed.

I awkwardly respond, "Ah, um, the Doll and I decided we would need names, where we to ever return to civilization." She did not question why I needed one. "So we came up with Break and Lilly."

She nodded, a proud smile on her face. "Ingenious, as expected of my sister." In both appearance and in the 'Harem Sister' sense, she left unexplained. She had rather quickly separated art (Lilly) from the artist (Gehrman) and accepted her as she is which is really enlightened from somebody born in the equivalent of the middle ages mixed with an even more fucked up Resident Evil plague… what the hell is Resident Evil again?

"Yeah… so, Lilly said she had a surprise for me when I returned but needed some time to prepare… wanna play Uno?" I asked as I picked out my hand-drawn Uno deck (complete with a Yharnam aesthetic!)... What are you looking at me like that for? I just had a lot of down-time on my hands and took to loner hobbies whenever I didn't talk with Lilly!

Stars lit up in her eyes. "Yes!" I smirked and she blushed. "I- ah." She coughed lightly into her closed fist. "I accept the challenge, dear." I inwardly note how they give me the same moniker. So much alike but so different, too…

 

[Maazen1337]

Hope nobody saw that... (I fucked up posting this and made multiple Oopsies)

I'll be posting a duplicate of this fic on an NSFW thread, where there will be exclusive chapters which will include any sexy times.

 

[UndeadLord22]

Bloodborne SI with fragments memories and potential crossover to WORM? Interesting... Watched

 

[Maazen1337]

Bloodborne SI with fragments memories and potential crossover to WORM? Interesting... Watched

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the crossover is in the next chapter and all the following ones. Though the way we get to Worm is very broad and allows for other crossovers too, so any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Maazen1337]

This is a little info page for anybody wanting a clear definition of how I'm scaling the BB Hunter. This is taken from my own notes, so if it isn't reader-friendly, then you don't have to read. This is for anybody who's interested in what exactly Break can do.

The Last Hunter's Body
-The absorption of countless metaphysical amounts of Blood Echoes has resulted in what one might call a divine physique. His resilience is the least of his upgrades but it deserves a Brute Rating of 5 or more on its own. Bullets, if not handily dodged, are a matter of being bruised mildly. Next, his regeneration. If he doesn't surge his beastly blood with one Vial of his unlimited stock through the Messengers, he still regenerates enough to turn life-threatening blood-loss into a mild annoyance and maybe a bit of lethargy- to turn a flesh wound into a scratch. His strength is hidden but immense, while he lifts no mountains and his size prevents him for leveraging his strength well enough to do so, a full-powered punch of his will still crumble a two-story building. His reaction time, one of the two main focuses of a Hunter's physique, is almost precognitive in nature, even without his Eyes. If even a muscle twitches in the opponent, he will notice, Sharingan or not. Lastly, his overall dexterity borders on super speed. Even without a hunters Quickstep technique, which would catapult his speed firmly within 'seeming teleportation' range, he would still blitz any opponent without a decent Mover rating.
-Conclusion Rating: (Brute 6<, Thinker 3, Mover 8)

Wretched Insight
-Gaining the maximum amount of Insight a human being can and even transcending his true mind into the one of an Old One, his connection to the Arcane and the mysteries of the universe is more a suit of armor than a small tether. The minor effect of Eyes lining one's Brain is a sixth sense of the surrounding area and limited area visual awareness. Next, the summoning of parts of his True Form, resembling a God of Cuthulian mythos, through portals is as easy as breathing. tentacles, eyes and maws are all to be spawned at his whim. Their physical power is a good factor on its own but using them as conduits for further sorcery is even better. His Sorcery is of an astral kind, summoning stars, meteors and nebulas of all kinds. Anything relating to the wider universe, the cosmos, is in his reach and what that means is up to him to decide. Lastly, great mental resistances to mind-washing or penetration are in place, purely due to the fact that attempting to supernaturally engage his consciousness and wining is impossible for even the Thinker. What his true self knows and doesn't know, what he comprehends and doesn't is so far beyond what anything with a simple sapient thought-process could survive. Lastly, the Arcane can also perform feats of regular magical nature, such as rituals, blasts of fire or some such, though these will never reach the destructive potential of the cosmos, if not supplanted with another ability.
-Conclusion Rating: (Thinker 6<, Breaker 12*, Blaster 8)
*[If her ever manages to somehow bring his true self into reality]

The Sharingan (Three Tomoe)
-The Sharingan Break possesses acts much like the normal one, with enhanced visual prowess, temporary mind-control and illusionary abilities through eye contact, limited precognition and the infamous on-sight copying of external magical phenomena. But the origin of his own ocular ability makes it unique, it is through Insight that it was awoken, as his Uchiha blood was too thin to awaken through trauma, which he had admittedly enough of. Through this awakening, the copying ability has been extended to, as stated, any magical external phenomena, not just anything related to Chakra with the prerequisite of being able to utilize the ability through normal channels. Furthermore, casting illusions, or Genjutsu, no longer requires eye-contact, though stronger ones will still need it.
-Conclusion Rating: (Thinker 7, Stranger 5<, Master 7, Shaker 2, Trump 6)

The Mangekyo Sharingan (Eternal)
-After his battle with the Orphan of Cos, Break awoke his Mangekyo Sharingan and, knowing of its blinding effects, saugt to evolve it further before using it in any meaningful capacity. Through Insight and the Arcane, a sacrifice of a thousand beastly eyes sufficed. Break's EMS is capable of the normal Mangekyo abilities, such as Susanoo and the normal Sharingan enhancement. His unique abilities, connected to each eye, are as such; The Hunters Nightmare is the ability to warp himself and any people in his line of sight to any section of an imaginary Yharnam. Furthermore, both he and his unwilling companions are stripped of any supernatural power that is not physical enhancement. Any part of Yharnam will be completed with their appropriate foes and roaming bosses. Break himself has a sixth sense of where his Prey is and, for them to escape, he either needs to will them to or he needs to die. In Yharnam, he receives a boost to his physical abilities and gains the various consumable items unique to a Hunter of his status. His second ability is the Descent of the Red Moon, which brings the unbroken Moon of post-Rom Yharnam into the Real World. It consumes his arcane stamina rapidly but during this time, he can summon the beasts he had slain under his full control.
-Conclusion Rating: (Shaker 9, Master 7, Trump 6)

Caryll Runes
-Using the branding Rune kit of Caryll, Break and inscribed three runes onto his back, each granting further enhancements. Blood Rapture was the first, granting him siphoned healing each time a visceral attack is performed, meaning, that each time a debilitating attack is performed, something inherently lethal, he heals in return. The Great Lake Rune boost his overall durability, extending mild bruising from bullets to simple immunity to any low caliber. The Hunter Rune finds place on his body, too, granting him almost limitless stamina in the physical sense. The last Rune, Arcane Lake, grants him a certain immunity to magical attacks, a fireball would be but a strong, warm punch.
-Conclusion Rating: (Brute 5<)

Break, The Last Hunter.
-Overall Threat Rating (As of Chapter One): Brute 9, Master 8, Blaster 8, Breaker 12*, Thinker 8, Trump 6, Shaker 9, Mover 8

 

[Zerak]

The whole name things is weird. He would have said his name to someone at some points and the doll would remember. But while I might be wrong on this, I feel like you would forget the name Uchiha before you forget your own name.

Also why the sharingan? Insight alone is might better.

 

[Maazen1337]

The whole name things is weird. He would have said his name to someone at some points and the doll would remember. But while I might be wrong on this, I feel like you would forget the name Uchiha before you forget your own name.

Also why the sharingan? Insight alone is might better.

Click to shrink...

I felt that the memory loss inflicted upon you by Insight is pretty random and affects personal stuff primarily, that's why he can't remember his name but can remember what an Uchiha is. The Doll doesn't remember because he never felt the need to tell anybody his name. He was called 'Good Hunter' or some variation of it immediately and as such, he didn't know anybody well enough that, by the time he forgot it, he'd felt the need to tell anybody. But I didn't say this in the fic, so you're completely right. Also, I gave him the Sharingan because I wanted to, it's my fic after all. If you worry about overlapping powers... read the power set page I posted? It pretty much states that the only overlapping power is that they both grant some kind of visual enhancement- but Insight is more like a Byakugan with its visual prowess than another Sharingan.

Anyways, thanks for the criticism! You're right, I could have outright stated how his memory loss works but I felt that leaving some things unsaid ups the intrigue and interest. Thank you for your interest!

 

[Zerak]

I felt that the memory loss inflicted upon you by Insight is pretty random and affects personal stuff primarily, that's why he can't remember his name but can remember what an Uchiha is. The Doll doesn't remember because he never felt the need to tell anybody his name. He was called 'Good Hunter' or some variation of it immediately and as such, he didn't know anybody well enough that, by the time he forgot it, he'd felt the need to tell anybody. But I didn't say this in the fic, so you're completely right.

Click to shrink...

You know what, sure I can buy that. Insight is eldritch. It doesn't need to follow standard rules. I genuinely don't like this premise, but at least in this case it has an explanation, and the character is changed with its absence not just hand waved.

Also, I gave him the Sharingan because I wanted to, it's my fic after all. If you worry about overlapping powers... read the power set page I posted? It pretty much states that the only overlapping power is that they both grant some kind of visual enhancement- but Insight is more like a Byakugan with its visual prowess than another Sharingan.

Click to shrink...

Am more worried about edgy pink eye. The moment I read that part it made me cringe a bit, not because of anything your did, but reminded me of all the cringe Naruto fic that justify this or that character having a bung of power and a sharingan slapped on top (which also reminded me of the cringe Harry Potter fic).

Yes, this is your fic, you are free to do with it as you please. My personal advice is don't add stuff just for the cool factor, you want cause and effect. If your answer to a question is "because I felt like it" and I mean you the author not the character, becuase it's a valid justification for the character, then instead of just doing the thing and handwaving it, justify it in story.

Unless plan for their origin to be a plot line down the road, I would recommend not using them. Hell even if they are a plot line down the road, if it takes too long to explain it could also be detriment to your story.

 

[Maazen1337]

You know what, sure I can buy that. Insight is eldritch. It doesn't need to follow standard rules. I genuinely don't like this premise, but at least in this case it has an explanation, and the character is changed with its absence not just hand waved.


Am more worried about edgy pink eye. The moment I read that part it made me cringe a bit, not because of anything your did, but reminded me of all the cringe Naruto fic that justify this or that character having a bung of power and a sharingan slapped on top (which also reminded me of the cringe Harry Potter fic).

Yes, this is your fic, you are free to do with it as you please. My personal advice is don't add stuff just for the cool factor, you want cause and effect. If your answer to a question is "because I felt like it" and I mean you the author not the character, because it's a valid justification for the character, then instead of just doing the thing and handwaving it, justify it in story.

Unless plan for their origin to be a plot line down the road, I would recommend not using them. Hell even if they are a plot line down the road, if it takes too long to explain it could also be detriment to your story.

Click to shrink...

Don't worry. I've fallen down the 'I'm adding shit because I find it cool!' hole enough times already, I know that it ruins any tension and seriousness the fic might've had almost instantly. I do not plan to extend his powerset past what I've given him here, only copied powers (which I'm limiting far more heavily than I'm letting on) and new interesting and innovative ways of use. I know an in-world explanation is needed for shit like this but thank you regardless.

Also, I know the type of fics you're talking about and... yeah. Supplanting skill with 'cool shit' and a series of plot holes big enough to make the Swiss cheese industry wince is not what you should shoot for while writing.

I approach writing a fic (or, really, anything with a story) by figuring out what I want to tell. Is it a commentary on something I feel I want to 'talk' about? Is it something I am passionate about and want to further explore (what I partially wanted to do here)? Or do I feel like exploring a complex character type and their interaction with any world I choose?

Really, you need to have a plan or at least a feeling about what you want to write. I said I have no overarching plan for this story but by that I meant that I don't have the entire fic planned out in 10K words worth of notes. No, i still have a few notes, but they're more like 'I feel like this would progress the story or his/her character'. Core events are planned out. But sometimes, even those don't happen because when I don't plan everything out I just kinda let the fic write itself. You know, I put the characters in some situation or another and think about how they'd realistically respond and going on from there.

I hope you enjoyed reading my first chapter despite this and hope to see you comment on my next one! (It's half-way done)

 

[Tta160]

The Mangekyo Sharingan (Eternal)

Click to shrink...

Did he have susanoo ? Because in your description it didn't show it.

 

[Maazen1337]

Did he have susanoo ? Because in your description it didn't show it.

Click to shrink...

he... it says he has the Susanoo... like, right there??? "[...] such as Susanoo and the normal Sharingan enhancement." Don't worry about not seeing it, I did make it very reader unfriendly.

 

[Tta160]

he... it says he has the Susanoo... like, right there??? "[...] such as Susanoo and the normal Sharingan enhancement." Don't worry about not seeing it, I did make it very reader unfriendly.

Click to shrink...

Sorry i finally see it but I didn't see breaker ranking from it maybe you should put it what kind of breaker rank did susanoo have.

 

[Maazen1337]

Sorry i finally see it but I didn't see breaker ranking from it maybe you should put it what kind of breaker rank did susanoo have.

Click to shrink...

Susanoo isn't a Breaker power. It does not change the state or form of the user. Susanoo, by the power category definitions, is a Shaker power.

 

[Tta160]

Susanoo isn't a Breaker power. It does not change the state or form of the user. Susanoo, by the power category definitions, is a Shaker power.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the explanation but holy shit mc is really powerful the only threat earth bet has to mc is scion, the rest are cooked if they try to fight mc.

I wonder how thinker react to mc appearing to earth bet considering he is basically cthulhu god in human form.

 

[Uncle Grimgourd]

Dude, this sounds epic! I imagine that it won't be much longer before he awaken the Rinnegan. Perhaps he could sacrifice his Eldritch blood to awaken his Otsutsuki form? That could give him room to fuse his rinnegan into a Rinnesharingan third eye and essentially develop the hyuga eyes after the fact.

I wonder what he would do if he managed something like that! He likely could wreck at minimum the leviathan in a 1 on 1.

Hope to see the next chappy soon!!!

 

[Maazen1337]

Dude, this sounds epic! I imagine that it won't be much longer before he awaken the Rinnegan. Perhaps he could sacrifice his Eldritch blood to awaken his Otsutsuki form? That could give him room to fuse his rinnegan into a Rinnesharingan third eye and essentially develop the hyuga eyes after the fact.

I wonder what he would do if he managed something like that! He likely could wreck at minimum the leviathan in a 1 on 1.

Hope to see the next chappy soon!!!

Click to shrink...

Sorry to say, but the Rinnegan wont be a thing until were at least done with Worm. Like, he could probably take on Leviathan and handily win right now. Giving him the Rinnegan would put him firmly in 'Fuck you Scion' tier. I'm not ruling it out for the future but either it will cost him a lot or we're waiting until he gets to a stronger overall verse.

Still, thank you for the comment and I hope you enjoyed!

 

[Maazen1337]

When I returned, I found myself facing the grinning face of Lilly, a rare expression for her. "Dear, I have found us a way out of the Dream." I blinked, collecting myself quickly as I turned to where she was kneeling next to a grave, a few Messengers happily caressing her outstretched hand.

"And?" I asked leadingly.

She stood up, much to the dismay of the disfigured creatures. "I had simply utilized the warping Arcana of the Dream and connected the Grave to a place with high arcana, presumably Yharnam." I nodded, that made sense.

"Well, I'll go first. When I find the nearest Lantern, I'll be back. Could be a while though, you know how large the city is." I chuckled and she did too as I lamented the days spent traveling. Yeah, the city is much bigger in real life and when you had to be constantly on alert for sneak attacks and ambushes because the enemy 'AI' is more 'actual intelligence' than 'artificial intelligence' then it became much more exhausting (and deadly!) to traverse.

"I shall await your return, dear." I nodded at that and leaned downwards to the newest inscription.

'Jgfj13dhbwi2'

Wow. Thank you Dream, very cool. So much information to glean from that. I sighed and pressed my hand against it, feeling the prodding metaphysical tentacle reaching for me. I let it grab me and my world turned white, then grey and then-

Every color, no color. Every feeling, no feeling.

Void- then a Worm, surrounding an egg to be harvested, a despondent creature, a fallen mate.

Every emotion, no emotion.

My breath hitched as I slammed into the concrete ground. For some reason, I was crying, and laughing? As soon as I realized, I stopped and groaned as I rolled onto my back. "W-Where..?" I asked the empty air leadingly. I stood up slowly to see… a concrete floor, plastic trash bags in every corner and various kinds of discarded trash littering the ground.

I… this isn't Yharnam.

It was night but.. I felt barely any arcana in the air, no sign of the beastly Plague or the reaching limbs of the Great Old Ones. No furred creature was roaming the street I stepped out into, just modern housing- if a bit out of maintenance- and sometimes-lit street lamps.

"I'm… is this my original world?" I quietly contemplated. I felt a quick pain in my heart at the realization but nothing else, I had stopped caring for this place a long time ago. With that realization, though, came an actual problem. "How am I going to find a Lantern here?" I asked, imagining one just standing out in the open street, extracting a rough, barely audible chuckle.

But as soon as I thought of a way back home, a small bubbling mist emerged from my side and from it came a Lanter, rising up too slow to be a valid way to flee an encounter but fast enough to be practical out of combat. I felt my own arcane stamina drain slightly as I powered the connection back to the dream.

I sighed in relief, that's good. I'll be able to bring Lilly and Maria all sorts of souvenirs from here! "Heh…" I chuckled, imagining them playing Bloodborne. I shake my head, I'll figure out in what part of the world I'm in first… and how I'm going to even buy anything. I don't need food, only the Blood, so that wont be a problem but I still want to enjoy the luxury of a modern world.

I sigh, it's night, so nobody is out but judging from… ah, the sign hanging above that pizza store, 'Palace of Pepperoni Pleasure', we're in America because where else would you find somebody else naming their pizzeria that?

I sigh, well, I'm far from home then. No luck getting my old identity back, not that I look anything like my original self. First of all, I'm ripped, like a decent bit above 'swimmers physique'. Secondly, my eyes are almost always the ominous red of my Sharingan, the drain on my arcana almost negligible to me, and even if they are not, then the black pupils and bloodshot features on the white of them makes it impossible to compare them to the dull brown ones i had before.

My hair is still brown but that's basically the only thing that remains the same.

I sigh and let my neck pop as I stretch, feeling cranky after that teleport. The cold feeling I get when Lilly or Maria aren't around is handily ignored, I've been alone for years on end before, with nothing but my own deaths and killings to accompany me, I'll manage to hold out until the Lantern is lit once more.

Ah, that reminds me…

I lift up the Lantern once again and sigh as I see that it lacks the blue flame it needs to build up for me to return to the dream. Unlike the game, I cannot simply warp back to the Dream on a whim. The Lanterns have a 'timer' that I need to wait out, ranging from weeks to years, depending on… I have no clue. Never figured that out.

Good thing I have the time now that the Hunt is ov-

I see a flash of red hot flame crash into the building a bit behind me through my Sharingan.

A few seconds later, the flame I had seen connects with the building, blowing it up in a spectacular image of violet light. I don't bother flinching, the Battle with Laurence had taught me not to fear flame, as I trace it back to it's source. A… Dragon-man- thing was throwing fireballs at- I squint my eyes a bit- a costumed girl? Insects buzzed around them but the scaled and flaming monster was mostly unbothered.

I shrug and, with a small grunt of exertion, I jump halfway up the building next to me and opposite of them, and with a pull of my arm, I flung myself onto the roof almost majestically. The gravel of the roof crunches beneath my Hunter's attire and I take a deep breath, smelling smoke and ash, before lifting my face mask back up.

Another beast to slay… I guess this isn't my old reality after all, huh? Shame…

I was leaping onto their flaming arena in a second, bleeding off my momentum with a handy roll before rushing past the bug girl, who leapt away from me the second I landed. With but a thought, the Burial Blade quickly unstrapped from my back and, with a flick of the wrist, I was two-handing the scythe of my mentor- the sharp pain in my stomach at the thought going ignored in the heat of battle.

My beastly blood sang in feverous joy as I ripped through the scales on its shoulder like a hot knife through butter. It had not the time to react, barely even having seen me appear before I was ripping through its flaming form.

"What?! Another new one? You die!"

It… talks? New world, newer monsters, I guess. I ignored its demand as I dodged the painfully slow attempt to crush me with its scaled palm, only managing to crack the concrete rooftop. I noted that the bugs left me alone as I shifted my current weapon into its other form before slashing at the hand that had tried to strike me.

I frowned as I noticed my damage was already being healed, the glowing flesh beneath the scales closing up almost as fast as I could air it out. I growled in annoyance, I guess… if it's sapient, I can Genjutsu it, right? I wanted to ask a few questions anyway.

I didn't have to make it look at me with a taunt, it was already laser focused, its rage only having me in sight. So, it was easy to extend my own arcane tendrils, with the Sharingan as their medium, into its mind, quickly subsuming it and supplanted its authority with my own.

The glowing eyes, almost hidden behind scales and horns, quickly turned red as it slumped onto the roof. Then… its regeneration started reversing? It shrunk, then started retracting its scales to reveal that it… no, he was a muscular, tattooed man of- I leaned down and lifted up his face from the ground- asian descent.

Huh… something about this seems familiar. I can't quite place what but… flaming dragon man and bug girl? Definitely ringing some bells.

"U-Um…" I heard from behind me and I turned to see Bug Girl standing a good distance away from me, a swarm of various insects circling us. I noticed that she was looking at my chest rather than my eyes. Quick on the pick-up, huh?

"Yes?" I asked, my voice rough, as if it'd gone unused for weeks.

"I should… call the PRT. A-And thank you for the help." She nodded and, maybe, through the goggles she wore I could see her cheeks lift up with a small smile.

PRT…

Holy shit.

Worm- t-that Novel. I- "God…" I muttered. This was… I don't remember much, only the big things. The girl in front of me was Tracy- no, Taylor Something and was the main character. There where these things, Dawnbringers or something that popped up every once in a while and fucked shit up. A big Worm disguised as a yellow guy was also somewhere in there, I think.

Also, wasn't there a big fucking illuminati? Can, no, Witch? Ah, Cauldron!

Christ, knowing that I'm forgetting a lot of important stuff is really not good. Okay, so, PRT, those were the government Hero guys, right? But weren't they, like, kinda corrupt assholes most of the time? And… wait, aren't they called the Protectorate? Am I remembering this wrong?

"Are you okay?" She did not approach but her stance was a bit laxer as she called out to me.

I grunted and returned my focus back to the situation at hand. "I'm fine. Yes, you should call the Protectorate." I prodded the term, looking for a correction.

She nodded and took out a phone from.. Somewhere in her suit?

That gave me confirmation that, at least in casual conversation, that those were synonyms of some kind. Also, shouldn't some big ass dogs show up in this fight? Wait, those belonged to a girl called Hellhound, right? Wait, wasn't she called Bitch? Yeah, I remember chuckling at that back then. God, if people with Alzheimers feel like this then I've just gained a lot more respect for the old folks around.

Looking around- nope! No dogs and not that team that they belonged to, if it was even a team… wait, something with a snake? Some guy with fucky time powers or something… I shake my head, not important right now.

What I do know for sure is that Taylor here has some kind of bad experience with some hero- no, they're called Capes here- and joins that group instead… but that didn't end like she wanted it to, I think.

"You want to be a hero, right?" I asked and she nodded, even if she shot me a confused glance at that while dialing the PRT number. "Do you want to…" Say something smart! "...join my team?" I asked, hoping that none of my nervousness dripped into my tone.

A short silence descended onto the area like a gray cloud over the summer sun.

Then, "I'll… think about it."

I nodded… why did I say that, anyway? I don't even know what I want to do in this w- that's a lie, I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'll try to relax. I think the good guys won in the end anyways and I've gone through enough, so I think I'll make myself a home in this city, try and mentor the protagonist or at least make them stronger so that she doesn't have to rely on what was undoubtedly plot armor to somehow win against those big ass monsters and enjoy the rest of my life with my lovers.

I nod to myself, that's going to be nice… had I not just invited her to a hero team that doesn't exist. Fucking idiot.

Still, I'll roll with the punches, even if they're my own. "Your power seems impressive and versatile and my 'team' is only myself currently, so I'm searching for members. Thank you for considering it." She… staggers at that?

"I'm… I just control bugs…" She mutters.

I quirk an eyebrow. "Which is beyond useful. From reconnaissance to infiltration, your versatility will be highly sought after. With the right insects, you could have even defeated…" I search deep within my memories, coming up with nothing. "...the dragon by yourself."

"Y-... Thank you." She seems a bit off as she says that but I couldn't figure out what was up, so I simply stepped over towards her side of the roof, the body of the Dragon slumped over my shoulder, before jumping down.

Wait…

"Do you need a lift?" I asked from below. Her masked head peaked over the edge.

"Yes please?" I inwardly chuckled as I dropped the hulking body in favor of leaping back up to the roof. "Whoa…" I heard her take a step back as, in a second, I was back on the rooftop with aggressive fervor.

I gestured for her to take my hand. "Are you okay with me lifting you up?" I asked for confirmation and, with a moment of hesitation, she nodded and took my hand. I drew her towards me, went for her thigh and lifted her up in a princess carry.

It took another jump before we were both on the ground and I let her go again.

She didn't say anything, just stood there. Completely still, her swarm barely following us. Huh… wonder what that's about. Did I do something wrong?

I heard faint sirens and shook my head, I gotta focus. I sat myself down on the back of the dragon man (Let me be a bit cringe!) and waited until both the sirens and a low rumble that one might mistake for a motorbike if it was louder and rougher.

But what rolled up to us was the most silent and sleek future-bike that I've ever seen. The man in power armor with only his lower face and, due to that, beard visible completed the robo-cop feel… what the fuck is a robo cop again?

"Hand over the Cape." He demanded first and foremost as the PRT vans, judging from the big 'PRT' symbol on their side, pulled up with armored officers stepping out, some kind of hose in their hand.

I nodded, this was the local law enforcement after all and I doubted the entire PRT or Protectorate or whatever was corrupt. I stood up and, with a light grab and toss, flung the body over to the officers. I heard faint mutterings of 'poisoned' and 'insects' as two field medics checked him over and… looking him over again I saw some swellings all over his body. Was that the weird bump I felt?

I saw Taylor recoil at that. I looked over to her. "You only defended yourself or, if you instigated, did so for a good reason. I trust your judgment enough to believe that."

"I am Armsmaster of the Parahuman Response Team. I have questions." He demanded as he forced my attention back onto him. Not that I had ever let him out of my sight.

I nodded. "I am…" Make something up, quick! "The Hunter." Great. Awesome. "And I am only answering what I'm comfortable with."

He… I can't see it, but I have a strong feeling he narrowed his eyes at that. "You will answer any question I pose. As a new Rogue, your powers will need to be vetoed for safe use." He states almost robotically.

I nodded, that makes sense on paper. "Very well then, ask." I ordered, which he didn't like. Obviously. Damn, someones got problems.

"What are your powers, rogue?" I narrowed my eyes this time. I just gave you my name? Or, at least, my alias.

"Not willing to disclose." I smirked at his slight scowl.

"I'm taking you in for questioning, then. You have operated in an area of Protectorate authority without prior registration." That's a whole lot of 'for no reason' I'm hearing there.

I sigh. "So, you are arresting me?"

He didn't nod, his hand did twitch towards something though. "Yes." He stated. What kind of fucked shit is this?

I narrowed my eyes. "Try it."

I could have made myself a sandwich in the time it took him to take out his Halberd and strike at me. God, my Sharingan is bullshit. There were also a lot of openings in his attack but, seeing as I wanted to de-escalate, I didn't take any of them. Instead, I leaned backwards to dodge the horizontal strike of the sharp side of his weapon and dashed further back towards Taylor.

Before rushing after me, Armsmaster took a look at the Bug-themed Cape. "Are you associated with him?"

There was a long moment of hesitation at his question before, almost timidly, she responded. "Yes…"

I turned towards her. "If you want to be a hero, joining them is t-"

"They just tried to arrest you for helping." She pointedly responded, getting more confident in her stance by the moment as bugs started to swirl around us. "He just tried to kill you."

I cringed. It was most definitely a kill shot. He assumed I could dodge it, probably, but still… fucking hell man. "Maybe he had a bad day?" She snorted. I sighed. I guess I can't trust the law enforcement here after all.

"Well then…" I looked up at the man's eyes. My Sharingan blazed. He fell over with a metallic clank of his armor, sleeping soundly. "Let's get out of here." She nodded after registering what happened and followed me as we dashed down the street.

I faintly heard a truck blast by the alley we turned off to, but they missed us and, after holding a look out for another five minutes, I gave the all-clear and we ran off again, away from the 'crime scene'.

---

Taylor Hebert has always thought herself calm and collected… who was she kidding, that's a lie. Most of the time, she was nervous and anxiously insecure, but as a hero, in her costume, she could honestly say she's not felt this good- this confident since… yeah.

As she barely kept up with The Hunter, who was oblivious to her struggle, her head was a mess. While she hadn't had the almost zealot-like trust in the PRT that some people had, she still trusted them to keep her safe. Her father safe.

But with that display of… utter selfishness and stupidity from Armsmaster, she suddenly found herself questioning a lot of the decisions she'd seen them make. 'We cannot upset the careful balance by taking out any one gang…' She remembers Emily Piggot stating in an interview… But now, instead of invoking a reluctant understanding in her, she only scoffed at the woman's own zealotry for the status quo.

Yes, she understood what would happen if they took out one gang, but a short territory expansion or gang war ravaging the city until the PRT recovered enough to take out the next one? Well, she'd say it would be worth it. Hell, couldn't they talk with the other PRT branches for an assisted assault on two or, hell, all three of the gangs at once?

Something was wrong with the Protectorate… but she resolved herself to withhold her judgment until she gathered further evidence. But that's going to take a while and she still felt that burning passion to do good in her chest.

And she'd seen somebody that, at least on the surface, seems to want to do only good. The Hunter. He hadn't killed Lung, he hadn't attacked Armsmaster despite the PRT Cape certainly deserving it and… and he'd told her she did well, that she helped, that she was instrumental in taking down Lung of all people!

That, to her shame, was what she focused on the most. That she had gotten actual, genuine praise for her hard work… she sighed, but that wouldn't last. He'd see that she wasn't as useful as he thought she was and that she was a bother to be around. It wouldn't be his fault, he was an actual hero, he'd just see the truth then.

But that's fine.

That's how it's always been.

She can rely on herself.

He suddenly came to a stop on another rooftop, one much closer to the docks. "Everything okay?" She asked, admonishing herself. Of course everything was fine, he'd know if it wasn't. He'd tell her.

He nodded. "Yes, we're in the clear." That… sounded like they were wanted. She flinched, surely the PRT wouldn't villainize them because of this? "I just wanted to ask… Why didn't you say you were unaffiliated with me? That hero… Armsmaster would have probably let you go."

She flinched. To be honest, it was a very 'spur of the moment' thing. When the PRT Hero, the good guys in her head, attacked somebody who she also saw as a good guy basically unprovoked, then they wouldn't be the good guys anymore, right? "They…" Say something smart, quick! "..aren't the heroes I thought they were." That's… true. Huh, she didn't have to lie.

He tilted his head. "I am inclined to agree. Armsmaster certainly isn't but I'm sure the others are fine." She shook her head.

"With them not doing anything about the gangs… I'm not so sure anymore." She replied, finding herself immersed in the conversation. "The change that'd bring is… I guess it's scary to them? Unpredictable?"

He nodded with a sigh. "Ah, those kinds of people…" She heard him mutter.

She was inclined to agree with him. Piggot was seeming more like a coward than an understaffed protector. "What…" She took a prepared breath. "...is the goal of your hero team?" She asked and braced herself for outrage. She'd probably asked too much, she's not a member so she s-

"I'm trying to…" He was silent for a moment. "There are never just bad people and good people. Nuance. There is always nuance. But actions trump whatever moral beliefs somebody has. If I see somebody cross the proverbial line firmly into 'bad', then I will act." She found her breath hitching at the determination in that statement. "I can be merciful but sometimes… People say mercy is a gift of the strong and that makes sense in a normal world. By sparing somebody, you are basically saying that you can fight them again, under any circumstances with unlimited preparation on their part."

She found herself chewing on that… she'd seen the PRT spare villains that had continued on to take the lives of a lot more people: "But in a world with superpowers and Endbringers." She saw him nod at that. "The lengths somebody can go to, the suffering somebody can inflict in just one day… it's too much to afford being merciful. Imprisonment is not a permanent solution, the aforementioned superpowers make breaking out trivial and…" She saw him narrow his eyes in thought, searching for something. "...the Birdcage is a greater punishment than death, in my opinion. A prison with no guards, ruled by those with the greatest power. Canary, I think was her name, is almost certainly falsely sentenced. How will she fare in such a place?"

He shook his head and she found herself agreeing. The recent trials of the girl, while heavily edited for the public, are still out there and, by reading further into it, researching forums and law sites (she had nothing to do that afternoon), she concluded that there was absolutely no way she deserved the Birdcage for her mistake.

Other Capes who made one bad mistake went on to be Wards or, at least, only had to sit through Juvi. Then why..? Oh, because she's a Master. That… that realization brings a lot into perspective. That is some grade-A corruption. Paranoia that surpasses common sense and basic human empathy.

She resolved herself, even as she heard his next words. "I will kill those deserving. For it is the Hunters job to slay the beasts." With as cringe-worthy as that sounded, he still had a point. One she found herself… not agreeing with, but understanding.

"You have to kill?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Of course not. There are villains who are either unwillingly so or haven't done anything to deserve it. But…" He didn't have to finish that sentence, she understood.

"Then… I'd like to join your team." She asked, awaiting refusal.

"You will have to kill. If not soon, then at some point later on." He rebutted almost immediately. She dug deep within herself. Was she ready to actually kill somebody? To take a life?

Maybe… she doesn't know yet. "Y-"

"Please, don't lie to me." There was no anger there, even as her heart quickened at the way she was caught.

"S-Sorry…"

He shook his head, dismissing the apology. "It's fine. I'm asking a lot of you, I know."

She took a deep breath. "I… maybe." She didn't know yet. Again, she waited for the refusal.

He nodded. "And that's enough. I wasn't ready to kill for the first time too…" She didn't focus on the almost melancholic way he said that, no, her attention was on the acceptance.

"W-But… Thank you." She wanted to say a lot right now. Ask him if he was serious, if he wasn't just making fun of her. If he just accepted to see her fail later and laugh but… something in that soft almost comforting stare of his… despite her years of experience, trusting in the traitorous nature of those around her, she found herself hoping to make a friend once again.

---

I won't be keeping up this daily upload schedule. I'm just getting out the early writing jitters before the inspiration and excitement tapers off. But until then, enjoy some rapid chapters!

 

[UndeadLord22]

....Coil better die the moment he uses his power on our boi and Doll went in made him a vegetable

 

[Maazen1337]

....Coil better die the moment he uses his power on our boi and Doll went in made him a vegetable

Click to shrink...

I've got some devious plans for da snek