I wanted to MOC today, but today wound up being movie day. So while I watched movie, I wrote story.
Feat @Vuhii, @noob1234, @Nyran, and @Rockho.
Chapter 4: Taken alive
Hunters preferred to take their prey alive.
Theories flew as to why they did this. Some people thought they were cruel. Others thought they used their captives in some kind of ritual sacrifice. A few suspected that captives became Hunters through some kind of brainwashing.
Vuhii knew the truth. During his time posing as a Hunter, he had listened to their discussion. One of the Hunters had said, “You know it prefers live food.”
Vuhii wasn’t quite sure what ‘it’ was, nor did he ever want to find out. If that meant fighting to his last breath against the Hunters, than so be it.
Luckily, Vuhii was a good fighter when he needed to be. He had two goals: to stay alive, and, if possible, to get away from Valinor. Let others protect the city; this wasn’t his fight.
Unfortunately, the Hunters had surrounded the city, preventing any escape and grabbing anyone who attempted to leave. It looked as if Valinor was doomed.
But the Hunters hadn’t planned on Nyran.
Nyran appeared in the middle of their ranks, killing many of them before disappearing again. He was unpredictable and seemingly unstoppable.
Vuhii was no pushover either. His blaster, now fully loaded, never missed, sometimes taking down multiple Hunters at once. Whenever they got too close, they were dispatched by Vuhii’s blades.
But even Vuhii wasn’t invulnerable. Nyran was on the other side of the village, Vuhii had gotten distracted, and a Hunter got behind him. An impact blaster knocked him off his feet, knocking the wind out of him. He managed to roll onto his back, but that was all he managed. The Hunter was already shooting a net at Vuhii.
A yellow blur came out of nowhere, intercepting the net. The being rolled aside, caught in the net. Three Hunters approached to take the capture, only to be surprised when knives sprung out of the yellow being, cutting the net to pieces. The being sprung up, spinning around in a blur until it reached Vuhii. Finally, it came to a stop long enough to help Vuhii to his feet, and Vuhii realized it was Noob.
“Are you all right?” Noob said.
“I’ve been better,” Vuhii said. “Where’d you get armor like that?”
“Rockho made it,” Noob said. “That guy can design–look out!”
Noob pushed Vuhii hard from behind. Vuhii stumbled, falling face-forward. This time, he was ready, regaining his balance and turning in time to see another net coming toward Noob, this one thicker. Noob spun, attempting to cut through the net, but it was too thick, and Noob only got himself more entangled. Then Vuhii lost sight of him amidst the Hunters.
But he wasn’t giving up. Recklessly, he charged forward, catching the Hunters off guard, charging through them. He didn’t stop until he caught a glimpse of yellow armor.
Then a hand grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the Hunters. Vuhii resisted, but the hand pulled him down. Turning, he saw he’d been grabbed by Nyran.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Nyran said.
“They took the messenger!” Vuhii said. “I’ve got to save him!”
“You’re only going to get yourself killed, or worse, taken as well,” Nyran said. “C’mon, I formed a gap in the Hunter’s ranks. We can leave this place.”
Vuhii remembered Nyran’s ability to teleport. “You can save him! They took him that way!”
“No. Way.” Nyran said. “You might have a death wish, but I–”
“Do it and I’ll listen to whatever it is you want me for,” Vuhii said. “Don’t and I won’t.”
Nyran muttered something Vuhii couldn’t hear. “Fine.” Then Nyran vanished.
Nyran never formed strong opinions about people. But at the moment, he really disliked Vuhii.
And he was confused. Vuhii was never so altruistic. That guy had seen numerous people taken by the Hunters. Why all this concern over some messenger?
But Nyran would still try. If it meant he could get Vuhii’s help, he would at least try.
Nyran walked through the fold in space, hidden from all, in the direction Vuhii had indicated. Finally, he saw the messenger. The yellow-armored being was struggling, caught in a net. Nyran shook his head. In his opinion, anyone who wore bright yellow armor deserved to get caught.
Nyran stepped out of the fold, catching the Hunters by surprise. His knives took down a few Hunters, but they regained their bearings faster than anticipated, forcing Nyran to go back into the fold. As he went to the other side of the group of Hunters, he passed ‘through’ Noob, and he sensed that the messenger was still alive.
Nyran stepped out of the fold, but this time, the Hunters were expecting him. One of them managed to hit Nyran with an impact blaster, knocking him off his feet. Another shot came at him. Nyran could feel the folds of space coming around him as the impact beam approached…
The battle was a loss.
The Hunters had taken many people from the village before leaving. Finally, they had seemed content with those they had captured, leaving the village of Valinor of their own volition. Thos who tried to follow them were shot down.
Vuhii was wounded but alive. He was also worried. He had not seen Nyran since the faceless stranger had gone to rescue Noob. As he wandered through the village, he hoped Nyran had saved Noob and was tending to the messenger’s injuries or something.
“Nyran, where are you?” Vuhii said.
Suddenly, a fold in space opened in front of Vuhii. Nyran stumbled out of it, falling to his knees. Then he stood up.
“Whoa, what happened?” Vuhii said.
“One of them hit me as I was vanishing,” Nyran said. “Managed to weaken me. It took a while before I was able to come back out.”
Then Nyran straightened, all sign of weakness gone. “The messenger is still alive, but they took him,” Nyran said.
“What?!” Vuhii said. “I’ve got to after them!”
“I knew you’d say that,” Nyran said. “I also know that even if you manage to find the Hunters that have Noob, they’ll kill you.”
“Yeah, well, you got a better idea,” Vuhii said. “Noob’s a friend of mine, and I’m not just going to let him be fed to… whatever it is.”
“Actually, I do have a better plan,” Nyran said. “I have friends of my own. You agree to help us, we’ll help you save your friend.”
“I’m coming too,” another voice said. Vuhii turned to see Rockho approaching.
“Oh, no you’re not,” Nyran said. “We want Vuhii. No one else.”
“You want to try to stop me, you little teleporter?” Rockho said. “Noob’s my pal too, and if there’s going to be some mission to save him, there’s not a snowball’s chance in Karzahni I won’t be a part of it.”
“Let him come,” Vuhii said. “He can help. Either he comes, or I don’t.”
Nyran shook his head. “Fine. But don’t blame me if Sly refuses to take him.”
“I’d like to see this Sly guy try to stop me,” Rockho said.