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ricinbach · 3 years

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mercy. | chapter 10 - trust

a change of plans ensues.

Flames erupting from the creaks and crevices of the military tanks. Smell of rotting and burning flesh, mixed in with the nasty stench of plastic on fire, all covered under rising smoke. Screams of the quarantine zone inhabitants who just so happened to be passing through the checkpoint along the blind gunfire.

He had always been good at this. Good at fighting, good at planning out whatever attack tactic, whatever strategy was needed for the specific situation. After all, he had a lot of experience conducting little bits and pieces of errands Marlene gave him.

How many times had he done this type of operation, covertly in the quarantine zones like he had been nothing more than a shadow in the dark, yet cause that much commotion and escape unscathed? He should have been the one planning this entire thing out, should have been there with you as you ran into the back alleys with whatever strength was left in your legs after the bomb had went off, like your fucking life depended on it - because it did.

Maybe the bombing had been somewhat successful in terms of causing the desired havoc against the tyranny of the military, but it had definitely not gone down without a hitch. Men, innocent men who had dedicated their remaining lives to the cause of the Fireflies, were visibly injured from the impact of the blast and from the damnded soldiers shooting at them. Citizens belonging to the zone all terrorized, your doing adding one more item to the list of horrific things they had witnessed.

You were no killer. All those years of killing, surviving, hell, torturing just to hold your own, and yet you never thought you could get used to it. You only did what you had to do, killed who you had to kill since you had learned that if you did not, someone else would gladly put a bullet in you - every soul you took away only managed to decay your own, bit by bit. All you knew, all you were trained for your entire life was to heal and to save. Bombing innocent souls just to demonstrate the sheer effect your organization had in the veins of whatever legitimate society remained, just to bring back some sort of authority was not what you were cut to do.

"Careful, Joel!"

And he knew exactly who you were - a gentle soul pushed down a path leading to destruction and blood, just like everyone else in the world that the outbreak created. He knew your heart wanted to only help, to live and let live. He should have been there with you, maybe even instead of you, conducting the entire thing. He would know what to do, when it came down to the action and execution of killing for a cause. Exactly where to put the bomb so the military got the worst of the explosion, exactly how to position your own men to provide safety. To ensure they went back home, unharmed, yet having caused much wanted damage to your targets.

Thinking back, you could not help but wonder if he got that particular set of skills from his older brother.

"Keep pushin' through!"

And the heavily armored uniforms turned into dirty and almost torn clothes, large military-issued rifles turned into simpler nine milimeters yet the bullets whizzing over your head stayed the same as you stood in cover behind some metal crates, chest heaving from exertion, smoke lazily spiraling up from your revolver in the aftermath.

"Alright, think that's the last of 'em."

It had not been an hour since you were pushed into this excuse of a safe zone, only to be pinned roughly against the wall by the dark man who now stayed crouched just beside you, and to fight against incapable stragglers. With the adrenaline gradually fading away as you sneaked a peak from cover, it was a welcome observation to see the lamps you fought beneath were actually functioning - a rare sight on it's own. It made you think that maybe, just maybe Tommy had found a new safe haven after all, well, as safe as it could be in a rotten world - one that you were not so sure if you were welcome in, considering the sheer animosity you seemed to have with his older brother.

"Jesus, that was close," you heard yourself mutter under your breath as you forced yourself to stand up, grasping your recovering thigh and wincing only a little, hearing the man beside you do just about the same with the additional low huffs mixed in with heaves and the shuffling of flannel.

And there it was again, that guttural yeah emanating from his lips beneath the heavy breathing, a hand reaching up to his forehead to wipe the sweat off, amber eyes searching ever-so-vigilantly to double check the surroundings. With all of the new information pushed your way over the past hour and the surging levels of adrenaline after combat had clouded your senses, a hand resting against the metal railing as you would try and spot Tommy further down the stairs - yet it was impossible to miss that slight cough coming from Joel, his hand extending out a couple of revolver bullets to you, no doubt noticing the empty barrel you sported.

The blackened lead capsules were almost engulfed by how large his hand had been, outstretched to you, an unusual act of kindness coming from his end - one you did not expect after your most recent encounter with him, pressed against the wall with anger coating his features. A nod would express your thanks as your much smaller, thin fingers touched the calloused skin ever so slightly, clawing the bullets and loading them in one by one.

The man had seen you put bullets straight into the skulls of bandits just to protect Tommy's settlement, without further orders, mere minutes ago. He had seen you mercilessly kill men just to get a hold of a vehicle for his own sake, men of your own kin. The trusting glints in his own baby brother's eyes as he spotted you, even with that fucking Firefly pendant with your name on it dangling on your body.

"Who the hell are you?" came his gruff voice, making you look up into his genuinely troubled yet daunting eyes with a surprised expression in yours.

Before you could open your mouth, the overly-excited exclamations belonging to a certain little girl invaded the otherwise tense atmosphere, footsteps against the concrete running towards the both of you.

“Joel! Oh my God, they were coming in from every direction! Then Maria was like, ‘We gotta run!’ And then this guy blasts in - ”

“Slow down, slow down,” Joel said a bit out of breath, putting his hands gently on the shoulders of little Ellie, whose hands had been telling another story altogether yet with the same excitement that sparked in her eyes. “Are you hurt?”

Tucking the loaded gun back into your thigh, the girl caught your eye as she broke Joel’s curious gaze for a moment, her excitement dying out in slow ripples just like her adrenaline, to whom you sent out a little nod of silent, sheer encouragement. “No, I’m good.”

Satisfied enough with her answer, the focus would shift to your dear old friend and the blonde woman who had undoubtedly been the person to wear a ring just like Tommy’s as they hugged, making their way outside to have a talk, the makeshift trio you belonged in following suit to the damp open air. You had the powerful hunch that he was going to ask her about the supposed trip Joel had laid out for you to take, and your hunches had not proven you wrong till that day - deciding to hang back for your own good, your back rested against a rusty metal container, leaning to ease your muscles with the support.

Everything seemed to be happening in a blur, a violent and bloody haze as the world around you tore itself apart, piece by piece. Being saved by Joel, only to find yourself traveling with the pair. The Fireflies hot on your tail after all this time, finding Tommy again.

The mere prospect of traveling back to the lab where you had seen so many die, yet not many prosper. It haunted you to the core, brought back all the memories you tried to press down and subdue - the intensifying argument between Tommy and his supposed wife ringing in your ears.

It was a promise you did not know if you would be able to fulfill, after all that you had seen, going through immune patients like water - even if your loyalty did not lay at all times with Joel, it certainly laid with his younger brother. You knew you would follow him if he needed you to, meanwhile try to get to the bottom of everything and find out more about just what the fuck the Fireflies wanted from you. This world you roamed in had been without a sense of purpose ever since you stopped trying to treat people for the greater good and take a turn to killing, and accompanying the girl you had grown a certain responsibility towards, you hoped, would ease the pain in your heart aching to do some good.

As to how it would end for the subject you would transport, you had more than an inkling of an idea and it made your heart threaten to break into pieces, once again.

“Hey - what’s all that about?”

Eyes looking down to meet the gaze of your intruder, who had been the subject of your thoughts a lot more as of recently, it was like time had frozen right there and then. Unsure what to say, you would escape a side glance to Joel sitting not too far away on some crate, a hand over his beard - who just shook his head tiredly.

“It’s nothin’, Ellie. Don’t worry,” you sent her a small smile to assure her as much as you could, your own emotions at a war themselves. Smart girl, like you had reckoned, was not buying it.

“Does that have anything to do with me?”

That was when her father had obviously felt the need to intervene, his gruff and final tone piercing the air, leaving you staring at the girl’s green eyes with an equally troubled expression in yours.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Later…” Ellie would trail off, walking away from her position standing between both adults to what you presumed to be the stables, leaving you and Joel alone for the moment being. Seeing her innocent face change from overly excited to hurt, reminded you of times when you had been in her exact place. Thrown into the fittest man’s world with the pretense that she had been immune, you had absolutely no doubt that she was praised by those who knew of her alleged condition, told that she would be the sole savior of humanity.

That was what they all had been told, anyway.

That alone was too much to burden a little girl, even in the brutality of daily life. The kid only wanted some guidance, some sense of purpose. To try and serve to something, for her existance to mean something, anything. And there was only one way for that.

“I’ll take her to the base with Tommy,” the words flowed out of your mouth, resulting in Joel casting an incredulous glance at you, lights of relief twinkling in his olive orbs mixed in with worry. What kind of a father would he be, to not have worry? For that, you could never blame the man. It only baffled you why he had not chosen to take his daughter himself.

He nodded to you, his deep voice speaking words when you expected none at all. “It’s safer that way. Tommy seems to trust you, and she does too.” Much to your utter surprise, you found yourself wishing he admitted that he did trust you too, after all that you have been through together, yet you would take what you could get. He probably would not even let you get close to his daughter had it not been for Tommy to also accompany you during the proposed mission, after that last revelation he had about you.

Hiding your previous allegiance had not been something he could attach blame to, even after that outburst of his - he had been doing the exact sort of hiding for all these years.

“That he does,” you would mutter, earning a curious look from Joel right before a blonde head marched in front of him, her husband following in strides, exuding all sorts of anger with her finger pointed at his chest.

“You. If anything happens to him - this is all on you,” she spoke, poison dripping and stormed off right after - to which Joel only leaned down his head with his eyes cast, acknowledging her threats, not speaking a word. A rather unusual behavior compared to the man you had seen bash skulls minutes ago. As you watched the entire exchange with your arms crossed and mind made up, Tommy would send you an inquisitive look to which you only responded with an affirmative nod - you were in.

Then came his response, “We’ll take that girl of yours to the Fireflies.” Exchanging glances between the two brothers, you gave a meek nod to the older one as he muttered a thank you to Tommy. It was as if a weight lifted off of Joel’s flannel-covered, broad shoulders - only to be replaced by a much, much bigger burden.

“Wait,” your soft voice turning alarmed would echo, looking around the expanse of metal walls and fences suddenly, your thoughts shifting at the mention of the girl.

“Where is she?”

#oh god here we go #tlou #mercy #my fic #val writes #writing #fanfic #the last of us #the last of us joel #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you

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megsblackfirewrites · 7 years

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The Beginning of a Legacy: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

John watched the dropzone approach swiftly beneath them. He looked back over his shoulder at the men and women waiting for the order to push onwards into Hell. He took a deep breath before he touched his earpiece. Showtime; here went nothing. Several weeks of planning and training were about to be put to the test.

“We’re approaching the dropzone; ETA five minutes,” he said. “The omnics have hit this city hard, but their defenses are weaker than they should be. The omninium didn’t anticipate so many casualties, apparently. They’re spread thin in an effort to keep up their patrols. We’re going to use that to our advantage.”

He looked at the other dropships flying around them and inhaled. So many lives hanging by a thread. Were they ready to die? He hoped they had made their peace and were ready to give it their all. They were going to need it. There were so many innocent lives relying on them. They didn’t have the luxury of getting cold feet right before they jumped.

“I want sitreps every ten minutes,” he ordered. “I want to know who’s in charge of your unit and how many people you still have alive. If I tell you there’s been a change of plan, you listen immediately. We need to retake this city and we won’t get that by being lone cowboys. No comments from the peanut gallery, Joel.”

He heard his friend laugh behind him and a few of the more nervous soldiers laughed with him. At least they were comfortable with his SIC after all the training they’d done. They needed to be ready to follow him if John fell in battle or if he ordered them to follow the ex-gangster somewhere else.

“Boots on the ground!” he shouted as the dropships turned and lowered themselves swiftly to the ground. “Let’s do this, people! HOOAH!”

There was a bellowing echo as John leaped out of the dropship and sprinted towards the first line of leveled buildings. He ducked down behind a low wall, counting off heads as the rest of his unit caught up with him. He counted thirty and nodded; good, everyone made it. He vaulted the wall and continued onwards.

“Bastion units to the north,” Reyes shouted over the commline. “Ten units in total moving in recon mode.”

“Proceed with caution,” John ordered. “Shimada, provide coverfire when you can.”

“Understood, Captain,” Miyu replied. “Thirty, by the way.”

“Good,” John shook his head.

The other team leaders chimed in their numbers. They had only lost four people so far. Unfortunate, but better than he had anticipated. The omnics were too spread out to capitalize on how squishy their opponents were. They wouldn’t make that mistake for long.

John gave the signal and they pushed forward. An omnic spun around to fire on them, but Joel shot it in the head before it could even lift its gun. Three more omnics fell, shredded to pieces by Torbjörn’s turrets as his unit set them up behind them.

“Wilhelm,” the kid checked in. “Twenty-five.”

John grit his teeth. In the span of ten minutes, Reinhardt had lost five people. Damn it.

“Shimada. Twenty-eight.”

“Reyes. Thirty.”

“Lindholm. Twenty.”

“Wong. Twenty.”

“Morrison. Thirty.”

Two from Miyu and ten from Laura. Damn it. His riflemen were standing strong, but his scouts were getting picked off. They were moving too fast, not using cover when they should have. That was the only explanation he could think of.

“Wong, slow down,” he ordered. “Regroup if you have to. Use the buildings for cover and don’t try to take the Bastions on by yourself if you can avoid it. I need to know the lay of the city so we can get the civilians out. That’s your main priority; don’t forget that.”

They gave the confirmation and continued on. John ducked down beside a building and his unit fell in behind him. He peeked around the corner and made a signal to get Joel’s attention. He made a half sign with his hand and jerked his head towards the soldiers waiting behind him. Joel nodded and counted off fourteen others before motioning for them to follow him. They moved across the street and crept slowly forward.

John waited until they were further ahead before he followed. The sharp, rapid staccato of gunfire sounded further ahead and he picked up his pace. He heard a roar before Reinhardt in all of his armored glory rushed past him with an omnic pinned to his front. The omnic was slammed into the wall, reduced to bits and pieces as Reinhardt swung his hammer backwards with another roar.

“Holy shit,” one of his soldiers squeaked.

“Holy shit,” John agreed. “Reinhardt! Where’s your unit!”

“Nearby,” Reinhardt panted as he jogged beside Jack. “They will be fine.”

“Get back to them, soldier,” John ordered. “You’re the leader. You’re supposed to lead them, not chase after the first stray omnic that catches your attention!”

“Uh, right, sir,” Reinhardt coughed. “Sorry.”

Reinhardt hurried back towards his team as everyone called in again.

“Shimada. Twenty-seven.”

“Reyes. Thirty.”

“Wong. Twenty.”

“Lindholm. Twenty.”

“Morrison. Fifteen.”

“McCree. Fifteen.”

“Continue on,” he ordered.

They pushed forward and John could hear gunfire all around them. He ducked down behind the blown out shell of a car and winced as two of his soldiers were shot dead. He heard the whirring of one of the sniper-bots and poked his head over the remains of the car. He fired at the skinny little thing crouching in the window and it fell to the ground, smashing to pieces against the concrete.

They moved forward slowly, but burst into a sprint as the buildings on their right exploded. John swore as he ran, ducking into a building and hurrying the twelve members of his unit in behind him.

“What was that?” he demanded.

“B-building blew up under us,” Laura replied shakily. “Wong. T-ten.”

John could hear the tremor in her voice and he couldn’t blame her. Losing ten people that fast was terrifying. Knowing that they were buried under the rubble was even worse.

“Keep going, Wong. Try to join up with Wilhelm if you can—.”

“McGuire, seven!” a new voice shouted down the commlink.

“You survived?!” Wong shrieked.

“Barely. We’ll join up when we can,” Sergeant McGuire replied.

“See you then.”

John let out a sigh of relief as they pushed forward again. It was slow going, but they finally managed to get to the center of town where the survivors were waiting. The safe haven was heavily guarded, but the armed soldiers relaxed as John and his unit hurried forward.

“Morrison at extraction point,” he said.

“Right behind ya, boss,” Joel said as he and ten others jogged up. “Sent two off to join up with McGuire. They made it.”

John nodded and waited for the others.

“Shimada. Twenty-five. ETA, two minutes.”

“Reyes. Thirty. ETA, fifteen minutes.”

“Wilhelm. Thirty. ETA, five minutes.”

“Lindholm. Twenty. ETA, two minutes.”

“McGuire. Nine. ETA, five minutes.”

John frowned as updates continued trickling in. Miyu lost one more person before they arrived. Reinhardt lost two. All the engineers arrived in one piece. The scouts under Laura’s command were hit the hardest, but they were ready to continue.

“Reyes. Thirty. ETA, ten minutes.”

“Reyes. Thirty. ETA, five minutes.”

“I see them!” one of the scouts shouted. “But...sir...there aren’t thirty soldiers.”

John clenched a hand into a fist as he stepped out of the sheltered area. He could see Reyes and five other soldiers hurrying towards him, their backs bowed as they ran. Whispers buzzed behind him as he stood waiting for Reyes.

“Where are the others?” John demanded.

“Dead,” Reyes replied. “But we captured the objective, Captain.”

“When did they die?” John snarled. “You continually checked in with thirty men. This,” he pointed at the five trembling soldiers, “is not thirty! What the fuck happened, Reyes?!”

“It doesn’t matter; we captured the….”

“I don’t give a fuck about whether or not you captured the objective!” John roared and grabbed Reyes by the front of his uniform. He gave the younger man a furious shake, glaring into the terrified brown eyes. “I sent you out with thirty men under your command! I told you that this was not a death or glory mission. We were supposed to clear a path for the extraction of civilians. We are now down fifteen soldiers that I did not account for because you fucking lied to me! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THIS MISTAKE, REYES?!”

“But I….”

“If it were up to me,” John snarled at him, “you would be striped of your rank and sent back to L.A for this. Get your ass down to the barracks and get some rest. I want you at the front of the convoy when we receive the signal to move out.”

John shoved Reyes towards the safe haven and the Sergeant stumbled forward. He didn’t look back as he hurried down into the haven. The surviving soldiers from his unit hurried to follow him. John waited until Reyes was out of sight before he grabbed a chunk of rubble off the ground and whipped it as hard as he could out into the city.

“AAAAAH!” he roared in frustration.

“John,” Joel murmured as he stepped forward. “I’m sorry.”

“I told him,” John’s chest heaved as he stood there, “I told him to get as many people here as possible and he runs a fucking suicide mission!”

“John,” Joel’s soft brown eyes crinkled. “I….”

“I can’t retrieve their bodies,” John sobbed and curled forward. “There’s no time! Those good men are going to rot in the streets! I can’t even tell their loved ones that they were KIA because I don’t know who we’re missing!”

“We can always come back afterwards,” Joel said. “First priority is the civilians. But I think the higher ups won’t deny us the right to come back to collect our fallen.”

John rubbed at his eyes and nodded his head. “Right. Right. Get everyone ready to move out. I want to move with sunrise,” he ordered.

“On your orders, Captain,” Joel inclined his head.

They stepped back into the safe haven and started helping the civilians gather their meager belongings.

***

“Captain?”

John didn’t turn to regard Reyes as he approached. He didn’t acknowledge the other man until he was standing almost directly behind him.

“What is it, Sergeant?” John replied after a few moments of painful silence.

“I...would like to apologize for my actions,” Reyes said. “They were...ill-advised.”

“You led your men into a bloodbath because your ambitions clouded your judgement,” John growled. “You ignored my orders because you believed that your own were much more reasonable.”

“That….”

“You lost twenty-four men, Reyes,” John growled as he turned around. “Twenty-four. I don’t even know where you left their bodies because you didn’t let me know during check in. I gave you an order and you ignored it.”

“I did not ignore it,” Reyes snapped and pushed a hand up into his hair. “I just...I wanted to take the objective and….”

“And you sacrificed your soldiers to achieve it,” John growled. “This war isn’t going to be won by taking objectives and losing most of our men. It was foolish and stupid and you’re lucky you didn’t wipe out your entire unit!”

Reyes’ jaw snapped shut and he worked it angrily back and forth. John took a deep breath and looked away. If he continued yelling at Reyes, it wouldn’t help anything. He had to remember to breathe; Reyes was a product of his training, just like every other hardcore military man.

“You made a huge mistake,” he said slowly. “I hope you learn from it. You’ll be leading the convoy in the morning. Go get some sleep.”

“And where will you be?” Reyes demanded. “Hiding in the back?”

“Right behind you,” John replied as he turned away. “You want to know what it’s like to lead? You’ll get your first taste tomorrow.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint,” Reyes sneered.

“I know you won’t,” John said. “Go.”

“Yes, Captain,” Reyes spat before he turned and stormed off.

“Bein’ a little hard on him,” Joel sighed as he shifted against the wall after Reyes left.

“Someone needs to,” John murmured. “He has to understand that I won’t accept this behaviour.”

“He’s still young,” Joel shrugged and walked over. “He’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so,” John shook his head. “I don’t want to discharge him. He’s a good fighter; I just wish he wasn’t so set in his ways.”

Joel clapped his shoulder and gave him an affectionate shake. It was more than enough for John’s ability to accept affection at the moment.

#John Morrison #Joel McCree #Overwatch

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