Driving Forces

[Hakkusshon]

Yesterday, a friend was showing me how to demo for the first time. Yes, I know. Playing for 8 years and never learning to demo-record is bad of me; never thought I'd be in a situation like the one we face. Anyway, while searching for where the demo-records saved, I stumbled upon a short story I wrote back in Dec '04 for City of Heroes. I'd completely forgotten about it.  Thought I'd share it with you all.

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Driving Forces

Don't touch them...
Where are the reinforcements?
I'm sorry to inform you...
*BLAM!*

Robert Frost's fingers dug into his head as he felt the pressure in his mind increase. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth from when he had bitten his tongue. His nerves were on fire, but none of this kept the voice out of his head.

"Why do you continue to resist?" the voice in his head asked. "You must know by now that it is futile to continue to struggle. Give in. Tell me what I want to know."

Don't touch them, Sebastian. Father wouldn't want you to hurt them.
Where are the reinforcements? Colonel Duray should be here by now.
I'm sorry to inform you that your wife and daughter are dead.
I can't let you get in my way at this time. *BLAM!*

"You do not understand how pointless all this is. I am a Mentalist of the highest order," said the voice. "Why do you persist? What drives you?"

Robert desperately fought through the emotions that swirled around him. He focused a sharp pain digging into his right shoulder. A rock. He was leaning against a rock wall.

"Let's start with this early memory. Maybe it can reveal why you fight so hard."

***

The canned fruits and vegetables clattered to the ground as the younger of the two men angrily pushed over the display. "You're late on your payments, old man," the punk dressed immaculately in a dark pinstripe suit yelled. "The Family protects your establishments from the rougher elements of society. All we want in return is a little money for our services. Is that too much to ask?"

"So sorry, Mr. Frost," stammered the elderly Korean grocer. His family cowered behind him. "Times been tough. No customers. We have no money."

"That's too bad," said Frost as he ran a hand through his hair to calm himself. "Maybe it's true that you don't have the money. Maybe it's not. Either way, I think that we need to make an example of you." Frost pulled a pistol out and pointed it at the family.

A hand clamped down on the gun and pushed it away. "Don't touch them, Sebastian," said the other man. "Father wouldn't want you to hurt them. They've been in the neighborhood for years and have always been reliable. I'm sure that they can make it up eventually."

"Take your hands off of me, Robert," Sebastian growled. Robert slowly withdrew his hand and Sebastian put the pistol back into the holster. He turned to the grocer and his family. "We'll let you go for now. But you'd better have the money next time. My patience can only be tested so much," glaring at Robert as he said the last part.

***

"Could it be a misguided sense of protection?" queried the voice. "A need to use your superior strength to defend those weaker?"

Robert did his best to ignore the voice and concentrate on his surroundings. He heard the rhythmic dripping of water nearby. Rock. Water. His mind scrambled to put together the pieces of the puzzle. A cave. He was in a cave. But why?
"No. There has to be more. I've fought those that could shrug off energy blasts, level city blocks, or shut down one's mental capacity. You are weak compared to them. There has to be another reason. Let's look some more."

***

Plasma bursts thudded into the ground, showering Lieutenant Robert Frost with dirt. Overhead, he heard the soft whir of attack drones pounding his platoon's position. He peered over the trench to look down on the battlefield. Hordes of Rikti soldiers poured out of glowing portals with blades held high. At their feet, tiny, twisted Ruin Monkeys gibbered and clawed at each other.

"Where are the reinforcements? Colonel Duray should be here by now," shouted Frost at the private operating the radio.

"I don't know, sir. I can't reach him or his unit," replied the private. "I got in touch with Bravo Company though. They said they could be here in 15 minutes."

Lt. Frost looked out over the battlefield again and turned back to the private. "Tell them that's 15 minutes we may not have, but we'll hold the line. We'll hold it for as long as we're needed here."

***

"Duty perhaps? Do you fight me because you were taught to fight my kind?" asked the voice.
   
Robert's vision slowly cleared. He saw an assault rifle lying on the ground near his feet. His rifle. He had brought that rifle to the cave to do something. What did he come here to do?

"However, that doesn't explain why you invaded our base. That goes beyond mere duty. There is more. Something else drives you to oppose my will. Shall we see what that may be?"

***

Robert dropped the groceries and sprinted towards the crowds and flashing lights of the police cars and ambulances in front of his house. A police officer restrained him as he tried to break through the cordon.

"Please let me through," he cried. "That's my house. My family's in there!"

A plain-clothed officer looked up from the pad that he was writing in and walked over. "Robert Frost?" Robert knew what the officer was going to say, but was afraid to hear it expressed. "I'm Lieutenant Murphy. I'm sorry to inform you that your wife and daughter are dead."

Robert didn't bother to listen to the rest of what the officer had to say. He pushed past the officer and ran into the house. He scanned the front room, avoiding the sight of the two tape outlines with red pools in the center, until he found what he was looking for: a note, one sentence, chilling in its simplicity. "No one leaves the Family."

***

"I had heard that guilt was a powerful motivator for your species," stated the voice. "It allows you humans to do many things that you would normally be outside your physical and mental bounds. Is this what pushes you?"

Robert forced himself to look at the figure in front of him. The figure wore cobalt-blue armor, the feet looking reminiscent of hooves. However, oddity of the feet paled compared to the figure's head. Pink skin stretched over equine features. A large, sweeping crest. Dark pupil-less eyes. A Rikti. This Rikti was the reason that he had come into the cave.

"I sense that this is not all. What is it that gives you the strength to get up each morning? Why do you persist in fighting against hopeless odds? This bears more investigating."

***

The waves crashed over the moonlit docks, but Robert Frost wasn't there for the view. He was there because the dozen men in pinstripe suits had brought him there after spending most of the day beating him.

"You shouldn't have come back, Robert," said one of the men. Robert recognized him, even though the years had left their mark on his face. Sebastian, his brother. "You should have stayed away from Independence Port. Did you think that your status as a war hero would protect you? Did you think that I would ignore the hassle that you were giving my men? What could possibly be running through your small, dimwitted mind that would make you think you could come back after all these years?"

"Go to hell, Sebastian," Robert spat. One of the brutish Muscle strode forward and punched Frost hard in the face.

"I'm sorry, 'brother,' but I can't let you get in my way at this time," said Sebastian as he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Robert. BLAM!

The impact knocked Robert off the pier and into the water. He washed ashore in the morning a mile down the docks and was found by dockworkers and rushed to the hospital. The doctors claimed that he was lucky to be alive. Robert didn't care. He had a score to settle...
***

"Vengeance? Could this be it? However, it's not a red-hot flame or a dull ache like most vengeance motives are. For you, it's just... there. So what is it, hero? Sense of protection? Duty? Guilt? Vengeance? What drives you?"

Robert looked the Rikti square in the eyes. "I resist because I can." Robert's fist lashed out and connected with the Rikti's chin. Instantly, the mental barrage ceased.

"I protect because I have the ability to." His punches staggered the Rikti back. It tripped over a stone and fell backwards.

Robert grabbed the alien by its armored collar and continued to pound the Rikti's face with his fist. "I oppose you because someone has to."

Finally, he stopped and stood over the unconscious alien, his strength slowly draining away. He barely had enough energy to activate his emergency transponder. "I fight because that is who I am," he whispered before crumpling to the ground.

[KnightHawk Prime]

You're going to write something for Plan Z, right?

Please do?

Nicely done.

2cp. ;]

[Tanklet]

((well done indeed!))