LucyKitsune
A common rookie mistake for Vanguard, particurly in areas where guns weren't or still aren't normalized is that they buy a fancy new toy, but then have no idea how to use it. Your AI can give you so much more than just stuff to blow up. I'm not going to tell anyone how to spend their points, but I do ask that you at least consider all the tools you have access to. Because that number, even if we generalize stuff, is higher than you think.
- Foxfire, giving general advice to new Vanguard, 2035
“Jonas, and yes, pretty much. I've been at this for a few weeks actually? Since the stuff in Amsterdam happened.”
They shook my hand, and I decided to take that opportunity, to finally look at them.
Aaaand I immediately did a double-take. They had blonde, almost yellow hair, blue eyes, wore an orange jumpsuit with bck accents and an honest to goddess hidden leaf head-band.
I hadn’t even considered using my points to buy cospy.
They even had the whiskers!
“Look, in my defense, I actually was at a convention when I bought this stuff.”
I shook my head.
“I’m just going to call you Naruto, is that alright?”
They raised their hands in a defensive manner.
“Look, it's not completely ineffective! Hell I can even summon shadow-clones and- Wait you’re not judging me?”
“Unless the outfit in question is like a SS-uniform or a KKK-robe or like something like that, I will never judge people for the way they dress. BELIEVE IT!”
I did a big peace-sign with that st excmation.
Naruto groaned.
I patiently waited for my new friend to stop face-palming and very visibly considering bashing their head against the nearest wall, before speaking up again.
“In all seriousness though, I think we should work together. Four eyes see more than two and all that. Also you still haven’t told me your pronouns.”
“Uhh sure and, errr, he/him?”
He phrased it like a question, but that was good enough for me. You always gotta remember to be patient with cis people.
Most of them never think about gender so you have to start from zero. Like teaching a kid how to count before moving to addition.
“Sweet! I’m assuming you can do stuff Naruto can do?”
Waiting for his nodding to confirm that assumption, I continued.
“I haven’t had time to get geared out properly, but I’m going to go heavy on bionic and maybe genetic enhancements probably. I did just buy a Css II catalogue for that.
“Currently I can move fast, am stronger than regur people, or at least I’m assuming Css II muscles are better than human muscles, and my bones are harder to break.
“That’s, by the way, also why your paper-bomb only bruised me.”
The main entrance of the building I jumped out of swung open and my fox-bots walked out onto the street and took point.
I gestured towards them.
“Oh and I have these foxes. They’re pretty useful and a much better shot than me. And as soon as I figure out names, I will be naming them.”
He turned to look and from the looks of it got lost in thought for a bit.
“Have you considered Kurama?”
I hadn’t, but I definitely could name one of them Kurama. But I would still need to figure out a name for the other one. I could just be cliché and name the other one Inari.
Those were two names for two foxes. I did have a few others left back at the uni-campus who were hopefully still alive, whom I’d have to name also, but that could wait.
I shrugged and pointed at one of the foxes.
“Guess you’re Kurama now.”
The robotic animal blinked and the other one tilted its head in confusion.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten you, you’re Inari.”
That elicited what was probably a happy noise from the fox and she and her brother sat down next to me and looked at me.
Inari once more tilting her head, as if to say ‘So now what?’
Which was a good question, which is why I passed it on to Naruto, hoping his pnning and thinking things through skills took more after Shippuden-Era Naruto rather than part 1 Naruto.
He shrugged and started walking back the way he came from.
“Well one of my shadowclones was killed when he found what I’m pretty sure is a hive, so we should probably deal with that.”
New important info: These aliens build hives.
And yes, that did sound like something we should deal with quickly.
I jogged up behind him to close the gap, Inari and Kurama fnking me at my heels.
“Sounds good. You got a pn?”
“Kill every alien between here and the hive and figure things out when we get there?”
Not ideal, but it was going to have to be good enough.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was not good enough. It was very much not good enough.
“So you don’t have any ranged options?”
I yelled at him to overpower the constant whistling noises the model 5 quills made as they smmed into the slowly crumbling wall we were using for cover.
“Well I do, but I don’t know how to aim it!”
“Well then learn it!”
“Why don’t you shoot them if you’re so good at everything?!”
“I am but a single handgun isn’t exactly ideal to take out an entire artillery battery!”
I could keep up with the amount of quills, thanks to my sped-up perception making everything seem to be in slow-motion.
If we were dealing with four or five, maybe even six units, I probably could close the gap by just dodging. But we weren’t.
I hadn’t had time to count them, but this hive was protected by easily dozens of model 5s. And while my handgun with AP-rounds did reliably take out one of them with one shot, by the time I’d found an opening, aimed and shot, the hive would make two more.
At least that’s where I figured all the enemy reinforcements were coming from. If I had something to block the quills, I wouldn’t really have a problem with closing the gaps, but I couldn’t.
As much as my inner weeb wanted to, I was not about to go do some anime-shit like buy a katana and slice up every projectile coming at me.
Because one I did not have any skills or training in using a katana and two that sounded extremely stupid.
Inari and Kurama tried their best to help me thin the numbers, but they were busy tearing apart the horde of ground-troops that kept trying to advance to our position.
We held out for now, but between the quills slowly breaking down the wall we were hiding behind and the increasing number of 3s and 4s converging on us, we had to figure something out and fast.
Naruto instead of thinking about strategy had pulled out some gauntlet type wrist-mounted weapon and started firing shuriken with it.
And some of them almost didn’t miss. He really did not know how to aim that thing and I couldn’t imagine the spray and pray approach was cheap.
No distractions, he clearly wasn’t going to figure out a pn, so I had to do that.
I could probably buy decent armour, that could work. But I just got enough points back to consider the brain upgrade Lyona and I had discussed earlier. And I didn’t want to spend points I should set aside for something important ter on.
But if I died that wouldn’t help anyone.
“Lyona, would BEES help this situation?”
“What do you mean ‘bees’?! We’re fighting for our lives, stop thinking about insects!”
BEES would be very effective at taking out the model 5s, if rather slow. But they can approach without fear of being shot down, due to their light mass and the aerodynamics of the quills causing a wind that will push them out of the way.
It is far from ideal, but it will work.
“Great, give me 6 batches!”
I chose not to expin what BEES were but rather to let them speak for themselves.
New purchase!
BEES x6 - 300 points
New point total: 2851 Points, 1 Token.
Lyona hadn’t bothered packing them up in boxes. They immediately started buzzing around and swarming the model 5s. Hopefully they were faster at killing them, than the hive was at making more of them.
If I could get two hours for the brain-upgrade, I could buy some mind-controlled swords that could double as shields and this would be so much easier. But I was doubtful that we had two hours, especially with me being out of commission in those two hours.
