NOVEL NEXT Cutscene: I Need A Hero
Cutscene: I Need A Hero
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Taylor Hebert
I'm going to die. The same thought played on a constant loop through her head as she tried to run from Lung's flaming form, the heat causing rivulets of sweat to pour down her face mask. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
In truth, she never thought this was how it would end. All she wanted to do was stop Lung from killing children, something that any hero worth the name would at least try. Even if it meant dying, she had to do something.
With Lung staring her down and about to roast her alive, Taylor knew she had no options, simply standing still when Lung ordered her to run to make it more fun for him. There was no point stretching this out into some deluded cat and mouse game for no reason. She was already dead, and Taylor knew it. After all, if Lung wanted her dead, there was nothing she could do to stop him, so why even bother pretending otherwise?
So, she stood still, her knees shaking in her costume, sweat dripping down her body as she waited for Lung to finally do it. For some reason, he didn't get it over with immediately, simply ranting and screaming at her, the raw anger in his tone unmistakable. Even as tongues of flame arched dangerously close to her, Lung screamed grating obscenities at her for wasting his time and not even bothering to give him a good chase, promising to burn her alive just for the insult.
As she instinctively turned her back on Lung to avoid his flames, she felt that unbearable heat of his flare. At that moment, she froze and closed her eyes, gritting her teeth so as to not cry out in pain when it finally hit her.
Then she felt herself spinning as an arm grabbed her around the waist, lifting her as if she weighed nothing, her head falling down from the angle by which she was held. For an instant she thought it was Lung, the immediate lack of intense pain and the much smaller frame of the arm holding her being what convinced her otherwise.
The costume, a flash of blue and white in her vision, told her all she needed to know. Cape. Hero.
The cape screamed something at the top of his lungs, his voice drowned out by Lung's roar and the sound of rushing air and fire as they all mixed together in an unbearable din. Fire exploded inches away from the cape's face, his blue and white hoodie blown back just slightly enough for her to catch a glimpse of blonde hair.
Before she could process this, the cape heaved her up into a bridal carry in his arms and leapt into the air. Instinctively grabbing hold of him tightly, Taylor found herself letting out a small sound of surprise as they fell, her eyes widening behind her mask.
Instead of crashing into the ground, they landed oddly softly with a powerful expulsion of air at the moment of touchdown, the cape still retaining his speed as he broke out into a run immediately, leaving Lung roaring behind them.
The wind whipped at her hair wildly, the cape's speed matching that of a car as he took off down the street, leaving behind the explosions of flame that were undeniably Lung's. Despite the fact that they were leaving him further and further behind, Taylor did not cease in directing more and more of the venomous parts of her swarm to the dragon-man.
Most died before reaching him, consumed by the gouts of flame that he was fond of throwing out but plenty made contact, stinging him at least once before dying against his boiling hot flesh. Comparatively few of them stung at his more sensitive areas, but even then, it was enough to keep the draconic cape occupied.
The cape carrying her suddenly leapt up into the air, a burst of air exploding from his feet as he took off. His jump, like Lung's, was incredible but far more graceful and controlled, the force of it enough to carry him all the way to the top of a three-story building.
Landing softly on the gravel of the roof, the cape let out a sigh and let go of her legs, letting Taylor touch the ground herself. As he let her go, the sound that instinctively left her lips this time was one of disappointment rather than shock or fear, Taylor was surprised to realize. She had enjoyed that far too much.
"Are you harmed, my lady?"
"Wha-?" Taylor blinked behind her mask, staring into the cape's brilliant blue eyes as he spoke to her, silver gauntlets brushing off gravel that had somehow gotten on the shoulders of her costume.
"I said... are you harmed, my lady?"
So, she hadn't imagined the barely passable Shakespearean accent that was coming out of his mouth. Good to know. At the very least, she still had her sanity.
"Who… who are you?" The sentence left her mouth in a tired whisper, her expectation of how the night would go having shifted so rapidly several times tonight that she wasn't sure of anything anymore.
The cape put a hand to his silver breastplate, Taylor noting a distinct lack of metallic sounds as his glove met his chest. "I am but a hero, fair maiden."
Fair maiden? Taylor chose to ignore that line, simply shaking her head as he raised a hand to where her forehead would be under her mask. "But... your name?"
"My name?" The cape pursed his lips, pulling himself up to his full height and striking an imperious pose. "I… am Sir Arthur Pendragon, King of the Britons, One True Ruler of England and Defeater of Evil in all its myriad forms," he paused there, tilting his head before continuing, "but some call me… Tim."
"What?" He had to be joking.
"I'm... just doing a bit. The name's Prodigy. Y'know, 'cause I'm so dang good at everything I do." He shot her a brilliant smile, letting out a vaguely annoying and oddly familiar cackle of laughter as he finally broke character. "So, what's yours?"
"I," Taylor flinched, stumbling over her words as she tried to come up with a name. Here she was on her first night out, making stupid plans and needing to be rescued by a far more impressive and far more confident cape, despite both of them likely being the same age. He had accomplished something tonight, both saving her and escaping from Lung. What had she done other than offer herself up on a platter? "...Don't have one… yet."
"Ooooh, you're super green, huh?" The cape said with a rapid click of his tongue.
Taylor nodded.
"And you decided to go up against Lung…" he shook his head, letting out a slow whistle, "on your own, too. That's just… That's just not using your head. Lung's not exactly a small fry. Heh, fry. Get it? Fire powers?" He waved his hand at Taylor. "Forget it."
Taylor hadn't even been paying attention to the rest of his words past the first sentence, her mind far away as she caught sight of the explosions in the distance. Those flames… Taylor shivered, recalling just how overwhelming that heat had been even from a distance. She looked back at him, noting how his gaze had been lifted off hers and was glancing over her head.
Taylor glanced up as well, searching for what he could be looking for. Seeing nothing, she turned back to him. "Umm…"
Rather than explain the oddity, the cape glanced back at her with another wide grin on his face, this one obviously forced. "Hey, you're still hitting Lung with those bugs, right?" After a moment, he added, "Like, right now?"
Taylor blinked, wondering how he knew that. "Um... "
"I'll take that as a yes," he rushed over her hurriedly, waving his hand as if brushing away whatever she was going to say. "I'm gonna need you to keep doing it for at least," his gaze went up again, "ten? Wow, yeah, ten more minutes and Lung should go down."
That's… specific. Taylor's eyes narrowed. "Ten minutes? H-how do you know that?"
The cape shrugged, his face taking on an odd constipated expression. "I just know stuff. I'm a Thinker… whatever. Just… can you do this for me?" He asked, leaning in and giving her an oddly eager stare.
Taylor shivered at the idea of staying in one place again, anywhere Lung could reach her. "I…", she paused, dropping her gaze to the gravel beneath their feet and shuddering again, "Last time, I... I don't think I…"
"Hey." His gauntlet landed on her shoulder, Taylor flinching at the sudden contact only to find herself staring into his eyes again, the silver half-mask doing nothing to dull the bright, eager look in his eyes as he stared her down. "I get it. You don't feel like you can do it. You don't believe in yourself, right?"
Taylor found herself nodding at his words, her hands quivering slightly as she realized how close she came to dying, the entire situation out of her control from the moment Lung displayed exactly why he was so feared.
"Then don't believe in yourself," the cape continued, pausing slightly as Taylor tilted her head, her confusion clear even through her obscuring mask. "Believe in the me that believes in you because I believe you can do it!"
Taylor stared at him, the conviction in his voice somehow overpowering just how unrepentantly cheesy the actual words were as they left his mouth. After a long moment, she sighed, mentally spent but willing to help the person who risked his life to save hers.
"I can send bugs at him for ten minutes," Taylor replied, using his oddly specific time limit. "But I thought we were trying to escape?"
The knightly cape flinched slightly, gauntleted hands snapping together without any of the sounds you'd expect from clashing pieces of metal.
"You know what? I just remembered you don't have a name!" The cape interjected, clumsily trying to change the subject as his voice slipped into his barely-practiced English accent. "If I am to be your knight, fair maiden, you must be my Lady. How dost thou feel about Lady Bug?"
Taylor blinked at the name, not finding anything particularly wrong with it but surprised at the sharp way the cape just changed the subject, not even trying to answer her question.
"Sound good? Good." Prodigy began backpedaling towards the edge of the roof, one thumbs up towards her as he spoke. "Remember the plan, 'kay?
Taylor opened her mouth to ask him several pressing questions, questions the knightlike cape had been doing his best to avoid, only for a noise to interrupt her.
A distinctly inhuman noise that undeniably came from Lung.
Glancing down at the plume of flame that reached the sky just a few buildings away, the silver-armored cape made a little humming noise, far too calm at what was happening. His mouth made several odd movements, his voice little more than a whisper as it moved near-silently for a few seconds. At the end of it, the cape in the blue and silver glanced back at Taylor, the newly christened Lady Bug, and nodded.
"That's my cue. Remember, just keep him occupied, my lady, and leave the battle to me." Prodigy flashed her another grin, this one slightly less forced as his white teeth and blue eyes twinkled like stars. "As long as I draw breath, your safety is guaranteed."
With a wink, the armored cape backflipped off the roof and disappeared from her sight.
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Glancing at the girl he had just saved, Greg did his best to keep his attention locked on her face instead of looking at the twin quest panels above her head again, his mind already running on overdrive.
Quest Created!
A Knight's Duty I: Draw Aggro
Details: Fight Lung for a total of [10] minutes while Lady Bug's insects work their magic.
Success: + 20 Stat Points, + 5 Perk Points, 100000 XP, + 5 STR, + 5 SPD, + 10 VIT, [?], $20000
Failure: Death
Bonus Objective: Get the last hit on Lung.
Quest Created!
I need A Meatshield I: Protect Thine Lady
Details: Prevent Lady Bug's death at the hands of Lung
Success: + 5 Stat Points, + 1 Perk Point, + 5 VIT, 20000 XP, [?]
Failure: Death
Bonus Objective: Ensure Lady Bug takes no damage from Lung.
Motherfucker.
His mind was already made up upon seeing the rewards. At some point, he already locked it down in his mind, confirming that he would take both quests. Staying alive for ten minutes wouldn't be impossible. Nowhere near impossible.
He could survive this. He could do this.
All he had to do… was survive Lung. Not beat him. Survive.
Just survive.
For ten minutes.
Six hundred seconds.
It would just take skill. Skill that he wasn't sure he had.
However, there was no doubt that by the end of the next ten minutes, he'd gain skill and power in droves, enough to be far more than an appetizer to Lung. His stats always seemed to level far faster in actual combat than after hours of grinding, especially with his life on the line. And, with those rewards…
Greg flinched as Lung's roar seemed to shake the air as he approached, torching buildings in his path as he made his way down the street searching for them. Greg let out a breath from his nose, allowing the calm of Gamer's Mind to keep his hands from visibly trembling. His eyes flicked upwards again, mouth barely whispering the words that would transfer his few remaining perk and stat points where they needed to go.
Giving Lady Bug a fake smile that he did not believe on any level, Greg gave her a few more words of bravado that came from a place he did not know existed. Winking at her, he let one last sentence fall from his mouth, his lips running on autopilot, pulling generic cool guy lines from movies, games and books he'd read.
"As long as I draw breath, your safety is guaranteed."
There was no doubt he'd try, at the very least, to keep Lady Bug safe.
The quest depended on it.
Stepping off the roof, Greg pushed off with his aerokinesis and let himself fall.
Two low-levels against a Level 80 Dragon King?
Greg let himself smile as he touched down on the asphalt, his cloak of wind already tightly surrounding his body. Questions filled his mind as he turned his head to face the rapidly approaching dragon cape. Questions like:
Why am I doing this? For the rewards.
When did I stop being a coward? The same day he learned that doing enough crazy shit could turn him into a demigod.
What part of this is a fair fight? None of it. That's what made it fun.
As he answered the questions in his own head one by one, Greg let out a slightly manic laugh and held his arms out to the side of him as he did a quick spin to gather momentum for his aerokinetic abilities. The last and final question was likely the most important one, at the moment, and the one he couldn't wait to answer.
Pants-shittingly terrifying or not, how awesome was this gonna be?
Ready to find out the answer, Greg's wry smile twisted into a manic grin.
"Hey, Mushu!"
The flaming figure in the distance paused its roar, superhuman hearing picking up on his semi-racist insult.
Greg struck a pose, body flaring with yellow light as he activated his reinforcement.
"Come get some!"
Chosen Perks: + 1 to Danger Sense
Chosen Stats: + 3 VIT
Spoiler: STATUS