.:Mournful Maelstrom:.
Chapter 17: Mournful Malestrom
Hey guys! Another slow chapter to further cool heels as we see what Cole's up to after the last chapter. Hope you guys don't mind!
Let's jump in!
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Dirt and gravel crunch under my feet as I wander the battlefield on the outskirts, a place I know nobody will follow me. I didn’t know if any of Mako’s friends had noticed my absence, but I didn’t care. They’ll be fine not knowing. It’s none of their business anyways. They don’t need to know and I don’t want to explain.
I walk over to the body of a husk and kick it over, looking at its gnarled face and emaciated body. A broken shell of what once was a Conduit from what I understand. A Conduit who’s powers turned against them and became like a parasite, draining their body. I continue on and see all of the crumpled bodies surrounding me, some were charred to cinders from my Lightning Storm. I scoff at those matchsticks, even crushing the head of one.
If I’m to be honest, I’m numb to these sights. Sights of devastation and death, I’ve caused quite a few. Hell, I even reveled in some. The feeling of absolute power, knowing how easily I can bring armies to their knees, have them pleading for mercy and showing them none. Giving society the monster they begged for.
But this stroll… Is different. While the sight of these broken bodies give me hits of dopamine, it did little to dull the pain of my heavy heart. For this battle had a casually I actually gave a damn about.
Speaking of that casualty, I walk over to the body of the one who caused it. The heap of genetic nonsense that was this god-awful thing. Its corpse looked like it had been picked at by vultures. I sneer at it as I kick one of its bones and crush it. As I do, a thought clears through the chaos in my mind. A line of questioning that has cycled through the years again and again since the beginning.
It seems it’s always the same when it comes to Conduits and their relationship with their powers, I saw it with Sasha and Alden, I saw it with Bertrand, the Swamp Monsters and the Icemen and now I’m seeing it here on an even greater scale. Twisted minds and warped bodies. I look at my own hands, shifting my powers to reveal my Beast form. Staring at my ashen skin and twisted black veins. Even my own power has corrupted me to some extent.
Yet…
My body wasn’t fully corrupted. Even in this form, my humanity is still there somewhat. A pale echo, but still there. Why? I mean… Yeah sure, it could be argued it’s a ruse, like Bertrand’s disguise, but still… When that bastard’s true form was laid bare, he looked like a monster, wholly and truly. Yet here I am standing, my power of the Beast showing, yet I still look human. Even with the color-change, my features are unchanged. I still look like… Me. Why?
I shake my head as a new string of thoughts come through, the situation I really wanted to think about. I stare at the monstrous corpse one more time before walking away, heading off to a clearing where these twisted forms won’t distract me.
Away from the town and the bodies, I sit in an open field, staring at the night sky before pulling out a coil from my backpack, a piece of the Amp, one of many pieces. This weapon, the last thing that Zeke ever gave to me. Something he toiled day in and day out to create, crafted to perfection. Something that started out an olive branch to mend our friendship and became the last scrap of the life I used to know… Of the only friend I had in this damned world…
And it’s gone.
The turbulent thoughts crash through my mind like a raging storm, breaking through the emotional barrier I had up and letting the tears flow free. The screams of a broken man rip from my throat as I grip the sleeves of my shirt and curl up into a ball. I have tried so many times, spent days trying to repair it on my own and I couldn’t!! I couldn’t fucking fix it!! I let go of my sleeves and bury my face into my hands before wailing in grief. The Amp, it’s broken, shattered, in shambles, destroyed, ruined, and I can’t fix it!!! The only thing in the GOD-FORSAKEN WORLD I gave an iota of a damn about! The last remnant of my best friend, my brother, and it’s gone!!
My body heaves and trembles with broken tears as sparks pop off of my back. They don’t stop flowing down my face. At this point, I don’t care as it’s the only thing I can do. Scream and cry. At least I’m far away from any prying eyes, lest I be ridiculed.
The tears keep flowing and the sobs keep spilling until my voice is shot and hoarse, my whole body aches from the relentless wailing and screaming, but at least now I don’t feel like I’m fighting against a tidal wave and my head’s a little clearer. With a shaky breath, I let out a ragged sigh.
Now that I’ve had my pity party, I can now think. God, it’s ridiculous. I made this choice. It’s my fault Zeke’s gone, I killed him.
“Just like you killed her.” A familiar venomous voice hisses out in my mind, but I shake my head to keep it from taking root.
Wiping my tear-stained face, I think back to the day Mako and I talked in Droptown. How she suggested I should seek out the Gunsmith, how highly she spoke of Kestrel. I also think about our history. I know Mako said that if I went to her to fix the Amp, she would do me no wrong… But how can I trust her? After everything she’s pulled? With her biting words and her fiery spite, I wouldn’t put it past her to do something just to hurt me since she can’t do jackshit to me physically.
Still… In that same history… The bird has shown glimpses of the side that Mako talks about. Her apologizing and taking ownership of her fuck-ups, to me of all people. Someone who tried to kill her, someone who hated her guts and someone she hated in kind. Yet, she still apologized to me. The last person anyone would think she owed an apology to.
Then there was the battle with the mutant gorilla thing. She could have let that thing take a swing at my head and lop it off. It would have freed her from her obligation to me. She wouldn’t have to uphold her end of the bargain. She would never have to deal with me ever again. Hell, letting that thing body me would be doing the world a favor as far as society was concerned.
Yet… She pushed me out of the way. Why?
To add on top of that, what was with that “Besides, I have a deal to uphold, don’t I?” thing? She actually… Wants to uphold the deal? Her end of the bargain? Why? I upheld my end, she got the shards and finished her project and even though it was a flop, she still was able to finish it before that monster showed up. She had an easy out, why didn’t she take it? I shake my head, nothing about that girl made any sense to me.
But in that rambling stream, I found a flicker of hope. It’s a dim one, but a light is still a light. She wants to uphold our deal, that means she’s willing to work with me despite everything… And might be willing to change our arrangement. I know it means I won’t be getting my shotgun, but at this point, I couldn’t give a shit.
Compared to the Amp? That gun is worth less than the dirt on the bottom of my boot. I would happily give up ever getting a gun I could use just so I can have the Amp fixed.
My mind now made up and my emotions calm, I stand up and vent out the rest of my pent up energy before making my way back to Droptown, hopefully the Misfits haven’t left, but if they had, I can wait in town. Since it is a bit of a hub for them. I may not be a patient man, but I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for a chance to have it fixed.
I know this is a gamble, as there is always the chance she’ll say no… But I’m willing to take that chance.
For Zeke…
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Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, ch72
"Every time a star was added, my pain diminished a little bit. I realized that the constellations were sharing the 'probabilities' that I had to bear. The 'story that isn't plausible' became a 'plausible story' with the consent of many stars." - Kim Dokja
in the Sucker Punch produced hit video game, InFAMOUS 2, there is an endgame choice to decide the fate of humanity.
The original canon choice was Evil: Become "The Beast" with Chloe(?) the ice conduit by your side and destroy the modified Ray-Sphere then kill Zeke Dunbar, your best friend, along with all mysteriously diseased humans while instantly unleashing the latent power of everyone with the Conduit gene.
Otherwise, there was Good: Defeat The Beast with the wild, and previously an enemy, fire conduit by your side along with Zeke Dunbar then use the modified Ray-Sphere to kill all Conduits around the globe at once, including your protagonist, Cole McGrath. There is no guarantee this would cure the diseased people or keep any human alive.
Everyone picked the Good option so hard that Sucker Punch said "fuck it, its canon now."
With Cole MacGrath dead and a statue erected in his honor and glory, conduit-less humans continued to live due to his heroism. Thousands of people contained the gene and died from the raysphere without knowing why.
If Evil was chosen instead, those thousands would be the next generation of evolved humans around the globe. although that'd make using the internet and watching anime rather difficult i believe
Extra:
The "Conduits" were the source of this indescribable global illness. They were superhumans with the uncanny ability to control something they're a conduit of, like smoke, fire, ice, or Cole McGrath's Lightning, and apparently other Conduits. InFAMOUS: Second Son's protag is able to absorb the powers of other Conduits and use them at will and can speed up learning how to use them with conduit shards, similar to Cole McGrath's ability.
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