HereComesTheSnow

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

this is not okay

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

<Snipped quote by Plank Sinatra>

Well yeah, my handlers have been on my case for being overly bourgeois these days.

@Crimmy

fucking reds

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

<Snipped quote by HereComesTheSnow>

Tsungires man.

@Crimmy

Tsundora

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

melting the tundra is no easy task

support your local global heartwarming plant today

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Luke Schwarz -- Brewing Storm

"Wa...llahi." he growled in response, trying to reassure the voice of the girl behind him. He could do this. He could take it. He was meant to take this kind of thing, unlike anyone else. He didn't like it, but...

I

Have

TO.

His eyes having long clenched tight from the pain, he now managed to pry one open in time to notice a fuzzy blur of motion directly in front of him. From the darker tones of what he assumed to be skin, it had to be Lauren, right? Was she preparing to take over for him? They had to be close, by now, right? It had felt like an eternity.

I can hold out long enough to see this through. You stay right there, Negasi.

Even though it was probably too imperceptible for any of the others to recognize, he stared the dark blur down through his dry, nearly-shut eyes.

I have to hold on.

If I give out here...

He dug deep.

I'll never...

_{"I'll never be able to take Ber}yl to the p— WOOOOOGH!"

His breathless cry of determination was roughly cut off by a massive impact to his midsection, one that flat-out tore him free of the wires and sent him staggering back groundwards. Was that... Lauren?

I felt footwear.

S-She kicks like April!

He found his voice, raw and dry even as he heard Lauren urge Cian to grab him and go. That only meant one thing had transpired.

He raised a hand to his brow, hearing a slight crackle from one of the pins as he did so.

Amazingly, he managed to laugh.

"Heheh...Mission complete, Ma'am."

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

My Hider

Luke Schwarz -- Brewing Storm

Good enough to take Cian on a date?

What did she mean by tha—

"Deus volt."

GGHRSFUNINJVG

His mind went blank as the charge entered his body, whatever train of thought he had going shattered as raw white heat filled the ensuing void. He should have known better, known to properly brace himself for what had come. He had just agreed to what was, in effect, being minorly struck by lightning more than being hit by a taser. To go into it without at least some form of self-steeling was incredibly stupid on his part.

And yet.

"RRRRRNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

He could only hold it in for a moment, before letting loose a cry of pain.

Really, how much could one expect a mental prep session to be able to contend against acting as an electircal conduit like this? It wasn't a question of the mind's fortitude—the scale was simply too different. Bracing for this sort of all-encompassing sensation of white-hot pins and needles was a fool's errand. It wouldn't have mattered.

And it didn't matter.

He felt his muscles contract still tighter as the grip he held upon the wires was no longer even his own. He'd read about this phenomenon once. It was called "passing the 'Let-Go Threshold'", where the amperage passing through the arm was great enough that involuntary contractions of it and the hand were too powerful to resist— and thusly leaving the shocked person unable to "let go".

That's fine, though.

Whether it was his aura bolstering itself in response to the new threat to the body, or simply an odd case of a sharp pain clearing the head, a thought managed to pass.

He didn't care which explanation allowed for it, just that it was there. Grabbing onto it with everything his screaming mind had, he forged on.

I can't let go.

I don't want to let go.

I won't let go.

If it weren't him, then it would be Lauren. Reason enough to grin and bear it. She may have been a tough girl, he never dared deny that, but this was a job he and his gifts were meant to take.

I would never want my sisters to feel this.

Little, or big.

I need to hold out here.

Easier said than done.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Brewing Storm

"Why are you so casual about electrocution?!"

Before he could bite it back, a retort snuck out. Seriously though, didn't she know how much electric shocks of such caliber were dangerous, let alone painful?

Because I certainly do!
Being tased once is enough for my lifetime!

Not that the hows and whys of that incident were important, but it was a very bad experience that he couldn't imagine willingly repeating. How his sisters cracked their father's lock, he still to this day couldn't know.

Anyways.

"While that sounds like it'd work, is this really the only thing you can come up with?" he asked skeptically. "If there's nothing else, I'll do it, but using people as a conductor's pretty far out there."

He knew she said she would jump in, but that didn't do anything to quell his misgivings. In fact, they made them all the worse. If she had to step in and shock herself too, they'd be down two hunters instead of one. Who would carry Priscilla out, guide the survivors, ward off threats? If they were both spent by this, that would fall squarely upon Jack and Cian.

And they had enough to cover as it was.

Not only that, though.

He favored the jovial Brawler again. Despite her plan being almost psychotic, she had just casually expressed her willingness to stand in for him. To not only prevent him from taking on too much, but to also take it herself if that was what they needed. She knew exactly what she was getting into. He knew she was much more intelligent than that nonchalant demeanor would sometimes let on. Lauren Negasi was not a stupid girl.

Smarter than him, by any means.

And if she defaults to something risky like this...

It must be all she can come up with.

If that's the case:

"...Okay, I'll handle it. Just make sure everyone stays safe."

She was right.

Better me than anyone else.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

two can play this game

I want to

My Hider

hold hands

with Lauren!

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

dear you

please remember luke is not for sexual

love
me

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Brewing Storm

It was with no small amount of relief that he recognized the jovial voice, the confident stride, and the at-capacity sports bra of the girl that had just walked in. Lauren, an by extension BASL, were here.

Thank god, maybe now they could get moving.

"Jumpercables", huh?

You know, that's actually a lot better than Inimica-- Oi, oi!

He winced as Priscilla was lifted, as though feather-light, from his grasp. Not because she was in bad shape, mind you. He had patched her up fairly well, all things considered, and he trusted her ability to use control on fragile things that weren't his poor emotions.

Instead, it was the sudden arm over his shoulder and tousling of his hair, coming just quick enough and forceful enough to work his neck joint unexpectedly. Was this what bobbleheads felt like on a smaller scale?

I need to apologize when I get home for break...

Oh, so Sangue was with the survivors on their end? That was good news.

If such was the case, then they could get them all out in one fell swoop, and turn the entirety of their attention onto the Manticore. He hoped Ben and Amy would be able to hold out well on their own...

Granted, they were more than a little skilled, so if Lauren felt safe enough to leave them to it, then he shouldn't hold any qualms either, right? She did know them better, and had even fought one to a standstill. Her judgement here was probably in the right.

Still, it's best we do this fast. Leave as little chance for something to go wrong as possible.

Already, it sounded like the plan had been changed...

Wait.

Her grip tightened, and he suddenly felt trapped rather than embraced. To make things worse, that exact vibe came not only from her arm around his neck, but from that beaming face, too.

Wait!

"Eh? Me?"

Run that back, what do you mean, "world's quickest conductor"? Why are you looking at him like that, Negasi?

It's metal, right?

Copper?

M-My guantlets are steel, so that's not exactly right...

He had a bad feeling about this, one way or another.

"What do I do, then?"

Face it with dignity, lives are on the line.