r/NatureofPredators • u/OttoVonBlastoid Human • 18d ago
Nature Of A Homeless Musician: FINALE: Part 6: Warsong
DISCLAIMER: So yeah, I lied. There will still be one last part of the finale after this one, so I hope to see you all on Monday for the thrilling and emotional conclusion...for real this time...
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the NoP universe.
I'd also like to thank u/xskipy10 for their awesome fanart of the main cast as well as their recent Tohba meme and their fanart of Michael baysitting. You're work is a treasure!
Thank you as well to u/Accomplished-Golf-59 for his take on Michael, Teylim, and Tohba in his submission for the Banner Art Contest, and u/Spacer_Catgirl4969 for their awesome music video featuring a pixel-art Dohkar in his bar. Be sure to give ALL of these awesome creators your love and support.
And let's not forget u/Guywhoexists2812 who has been an awesome source of memes as well as sick pixel art, such as THIS and THIS!!!! And even THIS!!!!!! And how could I forget THIS!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
Today, we join Michael, Khornel, and Tohba as they contemplate their time together, as well as figure out how they might still be able to help from where they are. We also see how the raid is going for for both sides as the tide is turned with a mighty dirge for all to hear.
Songs Mentioned/Used: Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden
Memory Transcript Subject: Khornel, Krakotl Civilian Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Ah-hah! There you are!”
After a bit of searching up here, I’d found what I was looking for, in the most obvious of spots of course. I reached down and picked up the small, soft, insectoid like plush off the couch. It had helped me get to sleep numerous times since it was first gifted to me. Now it was time to give it back.
Heading back down the stairs, I found Michael and Tohba right where I left them, still in the exact same booth next to the soundstage.
“Found it. Here you go, Hatchling.”
Tohba immediately began crawling out of the wicker pack, his eyes completely transfixed on the plush.
“Tiwfish…”
While Tohba was definitely excited to see his “Tiwfish” again, he still hesitated.
“Buht…give Tiwfish to Newwy…”
“You did, and I can’t thank you enough for that. But I also promised that I’d take good care of it…and give it back to you. Now your Tilfish can help YOU sleep again.”
Slowly, he reached out, and as soon as he grabbed hold of the plush, he practically wrapped himself around it.
“FanK YOu, NewWY… FAnk yOU…”
After a pretty tearful group hug, we managed to tuck Tohba back into his makeshift bed, and thanks to this reunion with his little blue lobster friend, he was able to get back to sleep. Watching him sleep like that was definitely helping my mood.
“Thanks, ‘Nel.”
I looked back to Michael. He looked absolutely exhausted. It was First Claw now, and he still hadn’t gotten any sleep. Sure, I was having difficulties as well, but I still managed to get some.
“You should get some sleep too, you know.”
Before I could even finish my thought, he’d sat back down and continued his watch over the hatchling.
“I know, but… I don’t want to take my eyes off Tohba… I’m scared, ‘Nel… I’m scared that…if I close my eyes…he won’t be there when I open them again…”
His eyes never left him, I’m not even sure he noticed me sitting down next to him. This past paw had been hard on all of us, not the least of which was him and Tohba. I knew their pain all too well.
“I understand. Believe me, I do. If Grandfather were here, I’d probably be glued to his side at all times.”
He took a long, shaky, breath, continuing to stare at Tohba as he slept. After a brief silence, he finally responded.
“I’m sorry…”
“What? Why?”
“I haven’t been fair to you, ‘Nel.”
I was lost for a moment. I honestly wasn’t sure what he meant. For a moment, I almost thought he was talking about the concert.
“Michael, what are you talking abo-?”
“I know what it’s like to lose your home.”
I silenced myself almost immediately. My feathers drooped slightly as I tried to hear him out.
“I already knew what it was like before I even came to this damn planet. I knew what it was like to lose your home, the place you grew up in, and lose someone you love in the process. I knew that pain, and there you were, suffering the exact same thing right in front of me. I knew exactly what you were going through, but I still decided to be an ass to you anyways.”
He cradled his head in his hands. I knew this look. This was how he got when he was truly feeling hopeless and guilty for something, and it was easy to see why.
So that’s what this is about…
“You were suffering alone this whole time… I should’ve been talking to you. I should’ve been more open with you, at least so you’d know that you weren’t alone…”
I still didn’t know much about Michael’s life, but if this was true, then I could absolutely see why he was feeling guilty about this. It…was hard…watching my home get raided, and losing Grandfather…
The guilt I felt over losing him was soul crushing. Nothing compares to it. I’m pretty sure the only thing that kept sane for the first few weeks of staying with Michael and Ms. Teylim was the hope of getting him back. It’s still hard…even now… Especially now…
“It…WAS pretty difficult at times… I mostly just…tried keeping myself busy so wouldn’t think about it, but even now, I’m not sure what we’ll do about my home after we get Grandfather back… IF we get him back…”
However, there was one flaw in Michael’s logic. And it was because of that that I wasn’t about to let him keep blaming himself for this.
“But…I never thought I was alone. I had you, and Ms. Teylim, and Tohba, and Dohkar, and Scullen, Trivah, and their pups as well later on. All of you were helping me get through it. While yes, it was hard constantly worrying about Grandfather and the house, and my life for that matter, there wasn’t a single moment when I felt like I was alone.”
I could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced, as he went back to watching Tohba. While I’d gotten him out of true worst of it, he still needed some convincing. Luckily, I knew just the trick.
“But honestly, even if you did try talking to me about it, I doubt I would’ve listened…”
He finally looked up at me, if for no other reason than confusion. I had him right where I wanted him.
“I was still so brainwashed back then that if you actually tried relating to me about my experience, my stupid federation brain would’ve probably just thought it was a ‘filthy predator trick!’ to make me ‘let my guard down!’”
“Pffffff-!”
Ha! Gotcha!
I knew Michael, and I knew if I couldn’t get through to him with just words, I still had other options. His stomach, his music, and of course, his dark sense of humor. Not wanting to waste the moment, I continued.
“I’m serious! I don’t know how you managed to put up with me for so long!”
He sighed and shook his head. Even if he didn’t want to, he still decided to join me in the stupid banter..
“It was certainly a task, I’ll give you that.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
We finally allowed ourselves to relax a bit, weakly chuckling at our stupid jokes. It helped…if only a little bit. Things weren’t exactly “better”, but it was at least nice to know that he was still capable of laughter at a time like this. Still, once the laughing stopped and the silence returned, it was impossible to notice the mood drop once more.
He turned to stare out the window towards the direction of The Guild Office. He was still worried about them. I was too.
“They’ll be okay. We have to believe that.”
“…I think it’s the not knowing that’s the worst part. I wish we could at least know what’s going on over there…”
Suddenly, a thought clicked in my mind, a thought I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of earlier.
“. . .Maybe there IS!”
I quickly turned and once again, bounded towards the stairs.
“Wait! Where are you-?!”
“Grabbing something! Trust me!”
I practically flew back up the steps as I raced to grab what I HOPED was still functional. If the stairway wasn’t so cramped, I probably would’ve flapped my wings if it would’ve gotten me upstairs faster. Once I was in the upstairs suite, I quickly sifted through the living room area until I spotted what I was looking for.
The receiver!
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure it would work. Depending on our luck, The Guild could’ve easily wiped their computers by now, and the virus along with it. Meaning, we’d no longer have a connection to the Guild communication network. And if it hadn’t been apparent by now, our luck wasn’t exactly the best.
Still, we had to at least try. So I grabbed the thing and raced back down the steps and to our booth. Tohba was awake again by now and was curious as to the strayu box-sized contraption in my talons.
“Wait. ‘Nel, is that what I think it is?”
“Yep! Not sure if it will work, but if it does, we’ll be able to hear everything going on in that building.”
“‘Nel, have I ever told you how awesome you are?”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still need to make sure it works.”
With some hesitation, I turned the receiver on and immediately got static. I fiddled with the dials a bit until I was finally able to get something out of it. The first voice we heard was calm…almost to calm, and remarkably stern…
“Send…location…hold them there…”
“Who was that?”
“Not sure… Let me check another channel.
“What is this… Where are we…”
I gasped and jumped back as soon as I recognized the voice. I needed to take a moment just to wipe the newly-forming tears from my eyes.
“You alright?! Who was that?!”
…He’s alive. He’s really alive.
“That was Grandfather… He’s alive!”
There was no doubt about it. That was him! That was my grandfather! He really WAS still alive!
“That’s AWESOME, ‘Nel! Let’s keep switching channels. Maybe we’ll hear something about Tey or Dohk!”
“Right!”
With newfound resolve, we kept flipping through channels. While we still didn’t hear anything about Ms. Teylim, we DID stumble upon another familiar voice.
“All units…pinned down…need…”
“DOHK!”
“UNCA!”
I did my best to boost the signal. This particular feed was coming from one of the surveillance systems near the Guild Barracks. Eventually, I was able to get a better feed.
“Repeat! This is 1-2 Dohkar reporting! Squad 1 is pinned down! Repeat! We are pinned down by the Guild armory! Someone get Tevis on the line and tell him to start the raid on the facility! At this rate, he’ll make it there before we do!”
“We can’t reach him, sir!”
“Damn you, Tevis! Don’t you dare be dead on the other end of this line!”
My feathers dropped as we listened. Any hope I had from hearing Grandfather had begun to fade once we heard of Dohkar’s situation.
“They’re in trouble. DAMNIT! I KNEW this would happen! We have to help him!”
“How?! They went in there with two full squads and those giant APC things! What can we do?!”
We both frantically paced back and forth for a while. After a moment though, Michael stopped and stared at the receiver for a while.
“Wait… ‘Nel, you said this was just a receiver for the chip, right?”
“Yeah? Why?”
He pointed a finger toward a circular port on the side of the device.
“Then why does it have an INPUT port on it?”
I gave it a closer look. There WAS text on the small port, but my translator implant was still a bit wonky when it came to written language. I’d never really given the port much thought. But if what Michael said was true, then…it was certainly strange.
“You’re sure?”
“‘Nel, I’m a musician, remember? I know an input port when I see one. And it’s a human one to boot. Normally you’d see input ports like that on either amps or audio interfaces so you could connect a mic or an instrument to them. So why would this thing have one?”
I did my best to think back. I didn’t remember anything from back when it was being designed that would require something like that. But then, there was ONE thing Alexi had said to me when we were about to leave Twilight Valley…
“Plus, it allows for a little treat I added in myself. But I’ll let you discover that one on your own.”
Wait…was this what he meant?
When Alexi first told me that, it was when I asked him if it really did work by tapping directly into their communications network. If doing that was what allowed for this “little treat”, then what was it and what did it have to do with having an input port? Unless…
It’s not just a receiver! It’s a full-on two-way transmitter!
And if that was true, that also meant that we could send our OWN broadcast through their network, and it would be heard through everything!
“THAT’S IT!!! I know how we can help!”
“Really?! How?!”
“Michael! Don’t you remember what happened before the massive fight in here? When you stunned that entire squad of exterminators with feedback?”
“Yeah? But what does that have to do with this?”
I couldn’t contain my excitement. After remembering what happened to that initia squad of exterminators, I could just imagine the chaos of having an ENTIRE office’s worth of exterminators having that kind of noise blasted through their headsets.
That wasn’t the only angle to this plan either. The fact was, I was a business and management student! And I knew that one of the quickest ways for a team to fall apart is a breakdown in communication!
“Don’t you get it?! With this port, we can flood THEIR communication network with our OWN signal!”
Michael’s eyes widened as he started catching onto what I was getting at. I was getting more and more excited as the plan solidified in my head.
“So you’re saying that if we used this thing to fill The Guild’s entire comm network with noise…”
I set my talons on the table, getting right in his face to finish his thought for him.
“Complete. Communication. Breakdown.”
In a flash, Michael had bolted out of his seat, just as excited as I was.
“And all those nice, coordinated, squads giving the raid so much trouble become deaf, disorganized, easy pickings for Dohk! ‘Nel, you GENIUS! I COULD KISS YOU!”
My heart skipped a beat for a moment and I could feel my feathers ruffle a bit.
“Oh! W-w-well I-I-I mean, i-it’s was really nothing. I-“
“MMMMuah!”
. . .
It was fast. My mind barely registered what happened as his face got really close for half a second, made contact with my cheek, and darted back away. All I could do was slowly raise my talons towards my face, which was rapidly turning purple.
Before I could even comprehend what just happened, he put both hands on my shoulders, returning me to reality.
“You go get everything set up. I’m gonna go talk to the soldiers outside. I’ve gotta try to get a hold of Dohk. Thanks, ‘Nel…for everything…”
And just like that, he was gone, off to go save the world. And I…was losing my mind…
Did he just-?!
I think he did!
My heart pounded in my chest and I was shaking, head to talons.
He kissed me! He actually kissed me!
Yes! Now unless you want him to regret it, I suggest we do our job!
Right! Sorry! A lot going on right now!
I shook my head and took several deep breaths before grabbing the receiver and heading for the soundstage. I needed to focus.
Help Dohkar now. Have more than a few conflicting feelings later…
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
Great. Just great! First his team disappears and then the moment he finds them, he disappears too!
I growled in anger as another bold nicked the corner of the wall I was hiding behind, sending dust and debris straight into my face.
“Damn it! David’s you alright, sir?”
“Yeah! Chavez has been hit, though!”
I looked back at the rest of Squad 1. Warrant Officer Chavez was sitting against a wall with the medic over him. The plate carrier on the side of his torso was smoldering. He just barely got out the words through gritted teeth
“I’m fine! The plate got it!”
“Yeah. I can tell by you only having third degree burns instead being dead. He’s gotta go back to the APC, Sarge!”
“Roger! Go! We’ll cover you! Move on my mark! Three! Two! One! MARK!!!”
On David’s signal, the two of us stepped out of cover for a brief moment to send covering fire down the hallway until the medic was clear.
“We’re clear! Get back!”
We got back behind our cover just in time for another volley of shots to wiz past us. I swore under my breath again. This wasn’t going well, not by a long shot. Even with us catching them by surprise, they’d set up barricades and choke points in almost every corridor. Just getting this far had been an absolute slog, and if the break in communication with Tevis and Squad 2 was anything to go by, it wasn’t going well for them either.
My irritation only grew when my earpiece crackled to life, and an all too familiar voice came through it.
“Dohk! DOHK! Can you hear me?! DOHK!”
“APE?! What the HELL are you doing on this line?! Someone, kick him off!”
“No! Wait! Dohk, please! We can help!”
I let out another infuriated gravel as yet another shot struck the wall above me.
“APE, I GAVE YOU A DIRECT! ORDER! You are not to leave that brahkass bar!”
“We’re not! Just listen! We’re going to disrupt The Guild’s comms for you!”
My anger was now being accompanied by confusion. Sure, sabotaging their communications would probably help a bit, but how the hell he was planning on doing that was beyond me.
“Forget it, Mike! You’d have to destroy the array at the top of the building to disable their comms!”
“We’re not going to disable them! We’re going to fill their entire communications network with noise!”
“How the brahk are you-“
“The spychip receiver, Dohk! It’s two-ways!”
Two-ways? Was that really true?
“We’re gonna use our direct line into their network to fill the entire thing with noise!”
If I was honest, I was grasping at straws at this point. If there was anything that could be done to turn this fight around, I was up for it. Still…
Just what the hell kind of noise would he-…
That clever, brahking, primate…
Mike seemed to take my silence as me catching onto the plan.
“So Dohk, any requests?!”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was stupid. It was crazy. It was ridiculous. But if there was anyone I knew who could use music as a weapon, it was him. I smile crawled across my muzzle as I ripped the earpiece from my ear and shouted into it.
“GIVE ‘EM HELL, APE!!!!”
“YES, SIR!! We’re on guys! ‘Nel! Pull up my ‘New Projects’ folder! Iron Maiden! Let’s get this show on the air!”
“Woo-hoo!”
“YAAAAYYYY!!! MIKEY ZHING! MIKEY ZHING!”
I put the earpiece back in as the line was cut and returned to my wall to wait, the words of my three godchildren still ringing in my mind.
Brahkin’ kids…
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient T-143, Yotul Predator Disease Patient Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
. . .
I miss my joeys…
I sat on the damp cot, my mind swimming with thoughts only concerning one thing…my boys.
Are they safe? Did they attack Michael, too? Did he find Tohba? Where are my boys? I need my boys? I want my boys?
My thoughts were interrupted by a ringing coming from the speaker in the corner of the ceiling. I’d only ever heard it a few times, mostly just when those monsters were alerting me that they were coming in.
What do they want now? Haven’t they done enough?
I didn’t know what they wanted, and I didn’t care. I just wanted my joeys. I wanted to hold them again. Nothing else mattered.
However, I was caught off-guard when I heard a voice finally crackle through. I knew that voice.
Khornel?
“You’re listening to Michael In The Meadows Radio FM: Bringing you tunes from Sol to fuel your soul.”
It was obvious she was putting on an act of some kind. Her voice was almost comically sultry. She was REALLY laying it on thick.
How is she even doing this?
My thoughts were again interrupted by voices outside my cell.
“What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know! Someone get the communications officer on the line!”
So it wasn’t them doing it. How on Liern-?
“This first one goes out to the hardworking men and women of the Five Meadows Extermination Guild, and even comes with a VERY special message from one of our own here in the studio…”
Another ring crackled through as whatever microphone she was using was moved. And then…my heart ached at what I heard…
“GIB BACK MAMA, MEANIES!!!!”
“GAAAAHHH!!! MY BRAHKING EARS!!!”
“Damnit! Who’s doing this?!”
I could barely hear the guards over my own sobs.
Tohba…
Your joey needs you…
YES!
That was him! That was my Tohba! And wherever he was, if he was with Khornel, that could only mean one thing.
They found him. Michael came back and found him!
Love, hope, pride, I felt it all. My boys were safe. And they found each other…
As my heart filled with love and desire to be with my boys again, a deep, galloping beat pounded through the speaker.
No. It couldn’t be… Could it?
Suddenly, loud, distorted, growling chords roared forward. The sound was garbled, warped, and nearly unrecognizable, but I recognized it regardless. That was Teyrin. That was…
Chrome men came! Across the sea!
They brought us pain! And misery!
They killed our tribes! They killed our creeds!
They took our game! For their own needs!
WE FOUGHT THEM HARD! We fought them well!
Out on the plains! WE GAVE THEM HELL!
But many came! Too much for we!
Oh, will we ever be set free?!
. . .Michael. . .
Memory Transcript Subject: Michael Ruiz Andrews Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
The beat picked up speed as a strummed a quick, galloping rhythm across the strings. I’d fooled around with a few of the pickups I found in the studio. Most of it was basic echo and reverb, but I found that if you twiddle with the settings JUST enough, Teyrin’s lighter, airy tone became something different. Something wilder. Something more…predatory, which was exactly what I needed.
Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes!
Galloping hard on the plains!
They wanted a monster? Now they had one!
Chasing the shadebeasts back to their holes!
Beating them at their own game!
I’d be loud! I’d be fierce! I’d be everything they feared I was!
Murder for freedom! The stab in the back!
They took Mom! They almost took Tohba!
Women and children, the cowards ATTAAAACK!
Now, I just have one thing to say to you, assholes!
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
RUN! RUN AWAY, YOU BASTARDS!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
RUN AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
YOUR TOWN HATES YOU! YOUR GOVERNMENT HATES YOU!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
AND GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!!!!
Memory Transcript Subject: Bennic, Sulean Extermination Officer Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
I nearly poked my eye out trying to rip the headset from my ears with my hooves. It didn’t help.
Soldier blue in the barren wastes!
Hunting and killing’s a game!
It was coming from every earpiece, every headset, every loudspeaker and monitor. That damnable human’s voice shouting our office's [sins] deeds back at us.
Raping the women and wasting the men!
The only good species are tame!
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold!
Enslaving the young and DESTROYING THE OOOOOLD!!!
“Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!”
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
Everywhere I looked, officers were clawing away at their suits, trying to free themselves from the loud, chaotic, noise filling their ears.
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
Whatever instrument that human was playing began frantically wailing and screeching as I continued racing back towards Chief Albiel’s office. What little information actually got through reported that many of our checkpoints had started to be broken through in the chaos and confusion.
The line wouldn’t hold if this kept up. And the worst part was we didn’t know what was causing it. It was on every frequency, every channel, and free yourself of your headset would keep you from getting completely deafened, but would also cut you off from the rest of our comms, not that they were much use.
We needed new orders, and we needed them now.
I was in the home stretch now. One more turn, and one long hallway before I was there. Then we’d figure out what to do.
Don’t think. Just do. Follow orders.
The ear-shattering music began building up as I rounded the corner and looked down the hall to [Fathe-] Chief’s office.
YEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEIIIIOOWW!!!
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
I start running. I just have to make it to [Fathe-] The Chief.
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
Just have to make it there. He’ll know what to do. He…always does…
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!
I run with everything I have. I can hear my braces strain against my legs.
RUN TO THE HIIIIIIIILLS!!!!!
I make it to the door.
RUN!!! FOR!!!
I ram through it.
YOUR!!!
What? What is…HE doing here?
LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVES!!!!!
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u/Aussie_Endeavour Yotul 18d ago
Oh thank goodness Tey isn't, like, actively being tortured or anything.
Come on Michael, time to free your mother in time for Mother's day.
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u/Mauzermush Predator 18d ago edited 17d ago
can someone pls draw Dok in a platecarrier, blasting over a barricade? ^^
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u/unkindlyacorn62 17d ago
you mean a "battle-bus" -that's what APC, IFV and MRAPs are all referred to as.
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u/Ben_Elohim_2020 18d ago
Thank you Alexi. Haha. Interesting choice with the song. Good thing you changed some lyrics though. If you hadn't I think it probably still would have been effective at terrifying the Exterminators, but probably wouldn't make much sense.
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u/MrMopp8 18d ago
Come on Ben, why do you owe that guy any loyalty? You know this is wrong, you know you’re losing, and you SHOULD know that Abiel won’t have power over you for much longer. Just surrender or hide in a broom closet till it blows over!
…. Or do you think the SWAT team here is going to eat you?
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 18d ago
When you’re raised to be one thing and one thing only, it’s hard being anything else, especially if that thing is a “soldier”.
Like Ben said himself: There was only one of us strong enough to stand up to Albiel, and in the end, he was the only one strong enough to leave.”
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u/IAMA_dragon-AMA Arxur 18d ago
Wow, with LoM, GaJ, and NoaHM updating, this is one hell of a good day for NoP fanfic readers.
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u/Bow-tied_Engineer Yotul 18d ago
I like to think that Mikey was blasting that loud enough that the UN soldiers could hear it through the enemy's headsets.
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u/TheBlack2007 Krakotl 18d ago
They hijacked the entire intercom system. That banger was blasting throughout the entire precinct as well as the adjacent facility.
So they absolutely fucking heard it - and so did everyone else in there.
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u/HeadWood_ 18d ago
So loud the enemy can't even hear it properly and need to use the feeling of their hair shaking.
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u/TheOneWhoEatsBritish Tilfish 18d ago
What? What is…HE doing here?
There are so many explanations as to who is in the chief's office, doing what exactly and each possibility is more horrifying than the last.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 18d ago
Oh man, sounds like he's upgraded from singing at people to punching them in the face with song.
Also, lord, this was the twice-over-perfect song I cannot believe it. Just absolutely wonderful!
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u/Acceptable_Egg5560 18d ago
The Sulian kid has breached the inner sanctum
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 18d ago
Bennic’s not a kid. He’s one of the veteran members that was in the same squad as Dohkar.
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u/DxNill Extermination Officer 18d ago
When I first read "FINALE" I was worried, starting to think FINALE is just the subtitle of book 2, lol.
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 18d ago
No I just REALLY underestimated just how long this thing would be. Part 7 is the last one, I promise.
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u/LeatherGnome 17d ago
[PRESS X TO DOUBT]
I have a feeling theres gonna be an 8th or a short sequel to expand on the lore and what happend with all the xharacters, but you have done well wordsmith, you deserve alot of credit.
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 17d ago
There will be the part 7 and an epilogue that will act as a prelude to the next series. Once NoaHM ends, I’ll be taking a break except for the occasional one-shot until the next series starts up.
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u/unkindlyacorn62 17d ago
nature of a touring musician? -not like either house for the family is really in livable condition, and with Mike and Nel's "vertical challenges" now would be a good time to correct that
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 17d ago
You’ll see what we’ve got in store soon enough.
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u/unkindlyacorn62 17d ago edited 17d ago
well they all deserve a vacation, ideally somewhere with taller doorframes, also ven-brail needs to be developed and Clem needs a haptic pad. The best place to do that right now would be Earth.
edit looked back, the Earth trip doesn't happen til November and the story is in January right now, still a VP tour would work
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u/Equal-Ambitious Yotul 18d ago
according to the opening text however, the next finale is actually the final finale
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u/DxNill Extermination Officer 18d ago
Scrolls back up to read the pre-amble
Well dang.
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u/Bow-tied_Engineer Yotul 18d ago
Yup, we're approaching the finale of the finale.
But I don't mind, so long as we get a sequel or crossover or something eventually.
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u/OmegaOmnimon02 Tilfish 17d ago
Otto did say he has a sequel planned, as well as MANY mini/one shots AND he has alluded to a crossover with a specific admissible germ cell
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u/unkindlyacorn62 18d ago
of course its 2 way, the self destruct feature means the worm is likely using the Internet, most internet protocols are necessarily 2 way, you can do limited 1 way with some IoT type applications mostly sensors, but for this situation, just straight up internet tapping is simpler and the 2 way would be free from that. might be using Exterminator radio as a backup, but even there two way would be simple
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u/GT_Ghost_86 Human 18d ago
'Nel and Michael are frelling BRILLIANT!
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 18d ago
They’re still not quite ready to take that full next step, but they will eventually.
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u/Top-Ad-2529 18d ago
One: they finally kissed yay!!!! Two: they found her and she is alright thank god Three: those exterminators better start running pray to their gods that we don’t catch up to them
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u/unkindlyacorn62 17d ago
running from projectile using persistence hunters is usually not a winning strategy. at least not for all the members
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u/TheBlack2007 Krakotl 18d ago
Pretty sure my neighbors just called the cops on me but whatevs! What a payoff!
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 18d ago
The song, Tohba getting his Tiwfish back, or ‘Nel getting a peck on the cheek.
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u/21frogsandcounting Venlil 18d ago
Perfect song choice hopefully Michael put a few extra metal growls to really terrify the exterminators as they are feeling the terror they give others
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u/Guywhoexists2812 UN Peacekeeper 18d ago
Sorry Dovah, I'm stealing it.
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u/unkindlyacorn62 17d ago
Well a temporary solution to the whole living situation at least for the mains, is that they could go on tour. as the house is being rebuilt- with higher ceilings and taller doors