Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air wobbled from the heat of the sun, few things managed to survive in the harsh, desolate deserts of New Mexico, so it came to the surprise of the circling vultures when one was struck from the sky.

"Damn birds." A heavily accented voice hissed under her breath, sweeping her tail across the sandy ground and adjusting her hat to sheild her eye from the unforgiving rays of the sun. The golden tip of the barrel of Rifles gun glinted as she lowered it to her side, watching the vultures limp body land with a thud a few feet from an unconscious Medkit.

He hadn't woken up yet, but he was breathing. While Rifle didn't want to disturb the doctors beauty sleep, she also knew that Blackrockians didn't do well in the sun for too long. Their thick coats tended to hold in heat, which wasn't optimal for such hot weather.

"So..." A voice called from behind her. She turned her head to glance at Skateboard, who's arms and legs were bound by a rope that Rifle usually kept on her belt. "Are you actually gonna kill Banhammer?"

The lady rolled her eye, scoffing and pulling off her hat. She tossed it behind her, where it landed over Medkit's face. "Of course not, he's got information I need." Skateboard looked uncomfortable, not seeming too fond of a phight where nobody could respawn. "That and I doubt Sword would let me, somethin' bout those 'deities', as he calls them."

"I'm sure he knows what they're capable of better than anyone." A more familiar voice stated, as the doctor walked up from behind Rifle, placing her hat back on her head. "Doc! How long have ya been awake for?" She raised an eyebrow.

Medkit approached Skateboard, looking at his restraints with curiosity. "I've been awake since I had a hat tossed in my face." He remarked, kneeling down next to Skate, flicking his ear with a hint of amusement. "What'd you do to get yourself in this mess?"

"Didn't watch his mouth." Rifle answered for him, and for the first time, Skateboard was actually silent, clearly nervous. Beads of sweat ran down the side of his face as he nodded, giving an uncertain smile.

An apologetic Slingshot approached Skate, comfortingly patting him on the back. "Don't worry, she won't kill ya." He reassured him, though the sharp-toothed grin of the woman looming over them said otherwise. "Right Katana?"

Rifles smile wavered as Slingshot called the masked man over. She'd already had a discussion with him, considering they were the first two to wake up. They both agreed that for the sake of everyone around them, they'd hold off on murdering eachother. Katana, who stood a few metres away, didn't say anything, or approach at all for that matter, simply glancing at Sling and nodding.

"While Scythe never agreed not to kill Skateboard, I'd suggest we avoid murder for the time being." The muffled voice of Hyperlaser chimed in. While the mercenary wasn't one to eavesdrop, he didn't exactly have anything else to do in this barren wasteland besides sitting on the back of an unconscious Subspace, who he'd taken the initiative to knock out the moment he layed his eye on the previously sleeping Medkit, the scientist had been out cold since.

Judging by the position of the sun, it had been about three hours, and yet some where still unconscious. A small group, consisting of Sword, Coil, Shuriken and Vinestaff had gone searching for civilisation two hours ago and hadn't been seen since. Every time Rocket got nervous, Katana and Hyperlaser had to reassure him that they certainly weren't dead.

Or at least Sword wasn't, considering that the only Inphernals really fit for the blistering heat where those from The Lost Temple. But Rifle insisted that if there was trouble, Sword would come back for help. She knew it'd be Sword... not like anyone else could survive alone in this temperature.

So then why was the figure rushing over the sandy horizon not Sword, but a small blur of green? "HELP!" It called, and Rifle recognised the unmistakable, whiney voice of Shuriken, scrambling towards the group with a frantic look in his eyes. He was alone.

Slingshot narrowed his eyes, seeming just as surprised as Rifle to see the little pest. "Shuri? Where's—" "THEY TOOK THE OTHERS!!!" He snapped, stopping so suddenly he kicked up sand and covered himself in it. After spitting out what had landed in his mouth, he turned on his heel to face back the way he came, reaching into his belt and grabbing a handful of throwing stars.

"Who... who is they?" Slingshot murmured, slowly reaching for his weapon. Yet when his fingertips brushed the handle of his slingshot, his arm fell to his side, then he collapsed. A loud bang rung out into the open air, and Skateboard, still bound by rope, lept in surprise and tumbled on his side, getting a face full of sand. He sputtered and squirmed around but eventually got enough sand out of his eyes to notice the blood pooling around Slingshots head.

Before the stranger could shoot again, Rifle had drawn her gun and opened fire in the direction of the shot. The area was littered with dust and bullets as she held down the trigger until she heard the clicking that indicated an empty magazine. Upon this she pulled another from her belt, reloading at lightning speed and preparing to fire again.

Yet before she could pull the trigger, Medkit stepped forward and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Rifle, I think that's enough." He snapped, seeming more irritated by her wasting bullets then he was the idea of her murdering people.

Instinctively she whipped around, smacking her ally's face with the scalding hot barrel of her rifle. The doctor stumbled back, hissing in pain and raising a hand to the bright red mark on his cheek. "Oh— shit! Sorry Meds." Rifle turned her gaze back to the clearing dust, where a group of silhouettes stood.

"It's fine." Medkit murmured, despite noticing that his coworker wasn't paying attention. He glanced back at the others, Katana and Hyperlaser had their weapons at the ready, and Shuriken had started cutting Skateboard free from his restraints with one of his ninja-stars.

"HEY!"

Now that was a voice none of them recognised. It was rough, and had an unidentifiable accent, yet it sounded similar to Blackrock. A tall, large man emerged from the dust, hoisting up a machine gun, aiming it at the group and scowling. "You shot little baby man." He growled, eyes darting to another stranger, who was significantly smaller and thinner than the other, holding a metal bat in one hand, and using the other to clutch a bleeding wound on his thigh.

"YOU SHOT OUR FRIEND TOO???" Skateboard remarked, gesturing with a shaking hand at the lifeless body of Slingshot. "Eh... friend is a... generous term." Scythe murmured, earning a sour glare from Shuriken.

"Doktor will handle that." The large man said casually, as he picked a bullet shell out of a hole in his vest, examining it, then tossing it to the side. He seemed amused by how small the bullet really was. "HE WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD???" Skateboard snapped once again, absolutely bewildered by the ignorance of this man. The stranger ignored him, turning his gaze to Rifle, who didn't lower her gun. "You all wear stupid costume, why the horns?"

"Costume?" She raised her brow, grimacing at the idea that her clothes were considered a costume. "I'll have ya know these prosthetics are very real." She hissed, approaching the giant of a man with an almost arrogant amount of confidence.

"Wait, S— er... Rifle." Medkit called, causing her to pause and sigh dramatically. "What?" She snarled, clearly tired of her colleagues interruptions.

"Look at them, they don't have horns!"

Rocket, who'd been silent up till that point, practically shrieked in surprise, leaping a good few feet in the air. When he landed, his feet slipped out from under him and he went toppling to the ground. Hyperlaser turned to look at him, then back at the strangers, sighing. "They're also pink, and lack fur." He pointed out.

"Yeah— yeah wait they are pink?" Shuriken narrowed his eyes, frowning. "Hey don't be rude! They could be burn victims!" A surprisingly loud voice called from behind, making Shuriken practically jump out of his skin as he whipped around to see Boombox. "Wh- wha— when did YOU wake up?!"

"When that lady was shooting at these new guys!" He explained, gesturing to Rifle with an absent minded smile that quickly faded when he noticed Slingshots corpse on the ground. "Oh-"

"Hey wait a minute, I killed you!" The smaller stranger pointed at Shuriken with his bat, who tilted his head to one side in confusion. Upon the lack of response, he clarified. "Like- ten minutes ago??? When we kidnapped your other weirdo friends???"

"It was twenty." The larger one corrected. "Err, actually thirty." A third unfamiliar voice called, stepping out from behind the man. This one wore a white coat with a Red Cross on the sleeve, there was obvious faded blood stains all over it.

"Wha— how FUCKIN long have you been here— I thought you ran off when they opened fire??? Ya couldn't've healed me???" The smaller one said to the other, presumably a doctor. "Scout, I left ze Medi-Gun back at ze base." He spoke in a strange accent, folding his arms. "You said none of zhem had guns."

"Yeah, I didn't know that there was like- twenty more of those freaks?!" He said exasperatedly, gesturing to the Inphernals. "Eleven." The larger corrected once again. "Yeah yeah whatever fatass."

Suddenly, Rifle stepped forward again, poking the doctor with the end of her gun. "Shut the hell up. YOU. The big guy said ya could fix Slings head injury, do it." She demanded with a growl, the tip of her tail quivering to produce a loud rattling sound.

Before the man in the white coat could speak, a large hand gripped the barrel of Rifles gun, tugging it to the left with an unexpected amount of force, unbothered by the fact the barrel was still hot. She glared at the man who dared to touch her gun, and he glared right back. "Do not point tiny gun at doktor." He stated calmly.

"Fine then." Rifle stepped back, raising her gun and spinning it in her claw-like hand. The three strangers were taken by surprise when the back of the odd firearm began to flicker, and an arch of electricity formed in the shape of a scythe. She came closer once again, holding the sparking "blade" to the medics throat, lips forming a grin.

"I'm not askin' ya to fix Sling cause I like him." She began, clearly not caring about the sparks that hit the doctors neck, causing him to wince as they sizzled against his skin. "I'm askin' ya to fix him so Skateboard won't be cryin' fer the next sev'ral hours."

The man had an awkward, difficult to look at smile on his face that crept up his cheeks much further than what would be considered "normal", he held his hands up in surrender, not exactly wishing to have his throat slit at that very moment. "Vell, I can fix him..." He began, gesturing to the body.

"But I must take him back to base, I don't simply carry zha tools necessary fer a complex brain surgery on me at all times." The skinner one rolled his eyes again, muttering something about needles. This caused the doctor to turn his head sharply, narrowly avoiding the blade of Rifles scythe. "Oh? Did you mention mein needle gun, Scout?"

"Wuh- no." The one that Rifle had gathered was called "Scout" spoke defensively, taking a step behind his larger colleague. "Oh I think you did! Does Scout vant some medicine?" He reached into his belt, pulling out a machine that made Medkits face contort into a disturbed frown. A gun that'd been modified to launch needles...

"No! Fuck off freak!" Scout snapped, and the others couldn't help but agree, watching the crazed man back away from the weapon at his throat and rapidly approach his colleague, needle-gun in hand. "I... I wasn't done threatenin' him..." Rifle muttered, bewildered.

The larger man, who seemed to also be the most normal out of the three, turned back to Rifle, completely unphased by the fact the doctor had caught up to Scout and was now holding him down while he squirmed frantically in an attempt to avoid the needle. "We take small fuzzy man to base?" He offered, taking a step towards the body.

"Uh- don't worry! I'll carry him!!!" Boombox offered out of the blue, darting forward and scooping the smaller Inphernal up with surprising ease, seeming to not fully trust the giant of a man before him. "He weighs about the same as my equipment anyway— so it's not a big deal!"

Skateboard had gotten up, wiping the sand and tears from his eyes. Rifle hadn't even noticed he'd started crying. "Yeah, uh— Boombox can carry him to your base..."

He glanced back at Shuriken, who now stood with Katana, who had a hand comfortingly on his back.

"Should I wake large man in armour?" Rifle tensed up, snapping her attention back to the stranger. "Absolutely not! Good lord no!!! He'll have me n 'Kit flattened!" She hissed, glaring at the sleeping demigod with disdain.

The large stranger seemed almost impressed, he'd never met someone taller and larger than him... especially by the amount Banhammer was.

"Is he light sleeper?"

Before Rifle could answer with an exasperated "I don't know", the large man had already thrown Banhammer over his shoulder, taking a moment to regain his balance. "Nevermind that, someone else carry large hammer, I cannot do both."

Rifle glanced at Medkit and Boombox, who looked at eachother. Boombox shook his head, while trying to avoid getting blood in his fur.

Medkit sighed, taking a few steps towards the giant purple hammer on the ground and wrapping both hands around the handle, but his fingers didn't even go all the way around...

"Nope, I can't... I think it weighs more than me." He hissed, not hearing the footsteps approaching behind him. "Move." A voice spoke, and startled by the Blackrock accent, Medkit whipped around, being greeted by a helmeted figure. It was just Hyperlaser.

Still, Medkit couldn't help but glance back where Subspace lay unconscious, noticing that Katana and Shuriken where standing next to him... thankfully.

With little to no struggle, Hyperlaser lifted the hammer, which was almost a foot taller than him. He turned to Medkit, as if he noticed that the healer looked tense. "My gun weighs just a bit less than The Wardens hammer." He explained monotonously, before turning back to the stranger, who seemed surprised that someone that was, to him, so small, could lift something that large.

"Lead the way." He requested, to which the large man nodded, turning and calling for The Medic to leave Scout alone. The Medic seemed disappointed, yet got up anyway, returning his gun to his belt. Scout got up soon after, shaking the sand off of himself and sighing in relief. "Thank god."

Chapter Text

When the bullet went through Slingshots head, he died near-instantaneously. He wasn't even given the time to process he was shot. It was unclear why it was him specifically, more than likely just bad luck.

He wasn't exactly a stranger to dying, during combat, if he failed to dodge in time, he'd often end up dying quite quickly. But there, they had spawn points. This was not the case here.

Yet despite this, the blue-horned Inphernal still found himself with a splitting headache, the hum of fluorescent lights harmonious with the ringing in his ears as he raised a hand and rubbed his eyes.

And there was a voice. Slingshot was unsure if it was just the headache or if it was speaking another language entirely, but he could hardly understand it. Yet through the confusion he could confidently make out one word. "Awake."

When he opened his eyes he was met with a figure looming over the edge of the table he lay on, partially blocking the white light above. Despite Slingshots blurring vision he could distinctly see a large, twisting smile on the mans face.

"Gut... good!" He spoke again, pulling out a clipboard and scribbling something down. "I vasn't sure if my procedures would work on inhuman entities, luckily your bodies seem to function somewhat similarly, doch zhe horns function quite interestingly, are you aware zhey are hollow?" He spoke again, all his words going in one ear and out the other.

Slingshot slowly sat up, turning to properly look at the man who'd presumably done some kind of procedure on him. "What... the heck are you on about...?" He murmured, narrowing his eyes.

"Ah, right! While you don't know me, your colleagues and mine had a very informative and non-violent converzation!" Slingshot blinked, his eyes finally focused on the man before him. Suffice to say it was not what he expected.

A fur-less, pinkish man, lacking horns, with a crazed look in his eyes. Either him or the room they where in smelt strongly of blood. The young man on the operating table couldn't help but wince at the man's appearance.

"Holy shit- what happened to you?" He gasped, before realising how rude that probably was and slapping a hand over his mouth. He assumed that the doctor was probably scarred, hence the lack of fur. Yet upon hearing Slingshots question he subtly laughed, almost endeared by the others shock.

"Ja, I forgot zhat you haven't been informed yet." He placed down the clipboard and clasped his hands together, smiling eerily. "Vhile I appreciate zhe concern, I am not covered in scar-tissue mein friend!"

The man raised a gloved hand to his chest, extending the other to offer a handshake. "I am simply... human."

With an heir of caution, Slingshot took the "human"s hand, taken aback by the strong grip as he shook it. "Er... what- what is a "human", exactly?" He couldn't help but ask, dancing around each word in fear he'd say something offensive and the doctor might stab him with a scalpel or something.

"Ah, ve are a species of mostly hairless bipedal mammals!" None of those words made any sense. Yet the doctor presumably had noticed his confusion and cleared his throat, clasping his hands together. "So, your species haz fur, usually some kind of tail, skin zhat lacks pigments and is mostly white or diverent shades ov grey, and horns vhere you store zhe soul!" He explained, gesturing to Slingshots body, tail and horns, Slingshot nodded.

"Humans lack zhe fur, horns and tails. We have flesh zhat comes in different shades of brown, tan, or beige. From vhat I've noticed, your souls are linked to your weapons, vhereas humans are not." Slingshot was actually starting to understand a bit better now, and nodded again. "Okay... So, you're just like us but... without the fur and souls?" He tilted his head, silently praying he got that right.

His small, nervous smile wavered as the doctor held back a laugh. "Ach, nein, ve still have souls- vell, I still have one." He lifted a hand and lightly pet Slingshot on the head, and the Inphernal noticed how intensely he was staring at his small blue horns. "Heh... right." Part of him hoped that he was joking about the soul thing.

"Vell, vhat about you? Do you have anything interesting about your own species zhat you could share?" He smiled eyes scanning the nervous figure. "I noticed zhat you lack reproductive organs!" He pointed out looking intriged.

"Whuh... uh- oh!" Slingshot realised he was talking about children, and smiled. "Humans don't have gears right, so you probably have children differently!"

The Medic nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Well, two Inphernals will toss their gears into their respective factions spawn, sacrificing a bit of their power, and in exchange, a child will be created!" He explained casually, gesturing to himself. "That's how me and everyone else was made!"

The man before him blinked a few times, before his lips twisted back into a smile. "Zo you are made from magic?" Slingshot nodded, though seemed unsure if magic was the right way to describe it. "How fascinating..."

"And how are humans made? You said something about organs?" Slingshot asked, noticing that the strange man seemed excited to talk about human origins. He was a doctor, so maybe he knew a lot.

"Vell—"

"...Gross." Was the only word Slingshot could think of, The Medic nodded. "Ach I know, can you believe humans do it recreationally?" He sounded just as disgusted as the Inphernal. "Ew really?"

The Medic was now sat on a chair across from Slingshot, who hadn't moved much at all. He'd been rummaging through drawers full of utensils for half their conversation. "Wait- if you're a human, why are you agreeing that it's gross? You said you're all genetically wired to like that?"

The Medic shrugged, pulling out an old, rusty scalpel hidden in the very back of the drawer and stabbing it into the drywall absent-mindedly. "Not sure, I simply never had any interest in it."

"I think there's a word for that-" Slingshot was interrupted by a banging on the door and the sound of a woman calling out, Slingshot immediately recognised the voice as his roommates and perked up, smiling.

"Ah, come in!" He called, to which the door flew open and an Inphernal clutching a staff rushed in, hurrying to the edge of the operating table with a worried expression. "Slingshot!!! You're alive!"

"Uh... yup!" He gave an awkward thumbs up. "Of course he's alive! I vould never let a patient accidentally die in mein care!"

Vinestaff shot a quick glance at The Medic, momentarily questioning his choice of words before turning back to her friend. She placed a hand on the edge of the table and, much to the surprise of the doctor, a small sapling sprouted between her fingers.

"Oh mein gott— ma'am please refrain from planting magical pflanzen in zhe operating room!" He clasped his hands together, trying his best to look at her eyes and not her cursed arm, which lacked fur, yet had a wood-like texture. "Oh! My apologies!" She gasped, pulling away her hand. The three watched the sprout lose its glow and shrink back, this intrigued The Medic.

But before he could open his mouth to ask about it, the entire room was filled by a thick Scottish accent as an unfamiliar man burst into the room. "MEDIC!!!"

"Um Himmels willen— VHAT?!" He snapped, whipping his head towards the door and forcing a passive-aggressive smile. "Spy's dead!" The new man yelled.

"How did he die?" "Fell off the roof."

The unfamiliar man reeked of alcohol, wore an eyepatch and barely stood up straight. Medic pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. "And vhy, pray-tell, vhas Spy of all people on zhe roof?" He raised an eyebrow. "One of the new guys hit him up there!"

"Shit." Vinestaff tensed, turning on her heel and sprinting past the man in the doorway. "BANHAMMER YOU SON OF A—" She then stopped right in the doorway. "Wait I can't say that... DAMNIT!"

"He was being annoying!!!" The giant Inphernal tried to reason, but the much, much shorter man in a hardhat and overalls wasn't having any of it. "Ya hit him with a MALLET."

"It's a HAMMER." He snapped back. "Definitely a mallet." "WHAT MALLET IS SIX FEET LONG?"

The Engineer sighed, gesturing to Banhammers gear with his gloved hand. "The same could be said about a hammer." "Dude- it's literally in my name." The warden interrupted once again.

Behind the two arguing, Soldier and Rocket where looming over the twisted body of The Spy. "He's in surprisingly good shape for someone who got hit by the warden..." Rocket murmured. "Really? I think his head's on the wrong way around." Soldier interjected. It was true, the mans head, concealed by a balaclava, was twisted around 180°. "At least his head's on." The shorter Inphernal said under his breath, thinking back to his father's... friend, who wasn't so lucky.

Up until that point, Medkit had loomed off in the distance. Yet he knew that the human probably needed help, and it was a good opportunity to test (though Medkit hated the implications of the word) if his bullets worked on humans.

So, quickly pulling his gun from his holster and taking a few steps closer, he pointed it at the mangled man and flicking the safety off. Soldier looked confused before the teal-horned Phighter pulled the trigger, and the sound was significantly quieter than a usual gun.

The helmeted mans jaw dropped when Spys neck turned back around, seeming to fix itself. "Woah... bullets that fix necks." Medkit narrowed his eyes at the man. "They fix most injuries, as long as they aren't braindead."

Rocket tilted his head to one side, confused. "Wait I thought he was dead-" "MON DIEU."

A loud gasp for air ws heard as The Spy sat up, clutching his neck. Medkit shrugged, apathetic to the mans shock. "Nope, he was alive." "I COULDN'T FEEL ANYTHING BELOW MY NECK." Spy had a wide, horrified look in his eyes, glancing up at Medkit. "DID Y—"

His eyes narrowed and he cautiously pointed at the Inphernal. "Iz our base being uzed for a cozplay convention of sorts?" He said distatefully, tone shifting rapidly from the previously shocked and mildly panicked one he had upon revival. The Frenchmans eyes scanning over Medkit, getting stuck on his horns and exotic outfit.

"No, I just look like this." Medkit murmured, placing his gun in his holster and folding his arms over his chest. He tapped a hooved foot on the ground irritably glancing around. "Speaking of, one of your colleagues has been quite..." he hesitated, "enthusiastic, about me."

Spy raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Oh? Dezcribe zhem." He prompted, to which Medkit groaned in annoyance and looked around once more to see if they where nearby. "The freak with that needle gun." He said in a stage-whisper.

"Ah, yes ze Medic is a complete and utter psychopa–" "I'M HERE!"

Medkit practically lept a good few feet into the air in shock as the man they where previously talking about, who shockingly had Vinestaff by his side, burst out the nearest door to the base. Yet his energy quickly subsided when he noticed that the Spy was very much not dead.

"Oh..." He glanced at Medkit, Soldier and Rocket, who stood around the alive Spy, an almost disappointed look on his face. Medkit quickly backed away, deciding he didn't want to be anywhere near the Medic.

"Zhe Demo vas wrong." Medic murmured, glancing at Vinestaff with a comically saddened look, she shrugged. "Zhe Spy is not dead."

"Well, at least you don't need to revive two people." A voice came from behind them as a familiar face appeared from the hall, blue horns glinting in the sunlight.

"Oh, hi Sling!" Rocket waved, as if the last time he saw him he hadn't had his brains blown out. "Hey man!" Slingshot nodded in acknowledgment, smiling slightly. "Have you seen Skate?"

Soldier stepped forward, suddenly interjecting. "Oh! I saw him." He grinned widely. "The guy with the red horns? He was talking to Scout and the green one near the gate!"

It took a moment for Slingshot to realise that "the green one" was probably Boombox and not Shuriken. He glanced at Vinestaff, gesturing for her to follow him. "Okay uh, thanks!" He smiled awkwardly at Soldier, wondering how he even saw at all with that helmet covering his eyes.

Soldier gave them a thumbs up as the two began walking away.

Once they where out of earshot, Slingshot spoke, much quieter than before. "Apparently you and the others got kidnapped?" He asked as he walked alongside Vinestaff, who's lip curled into a frown when she nodded. "Sword was injured... the man with the bat had ambushed us."

The tip of Slingshots tail twitched, he seemed upset by the idea of someone hurting his friend, even if they weren't that close. "He knocked out Sword and Coil, and he hit Shuri's clone so hard it died before I had enough time to escape." The botanist rubbed her cursed arm, eyes scanning the sandy ground.

"I did manage to convince him not to kill me, I think he felt bad because, to him, I was the last one standing." Slingshot was glad about that at least, yet his hands where still balled into fists. She noticed this and quickly clarified. "I'm sure he was just doing his job, I mean... we are like aliens to them."

Slingshot wasn't a very protective person, in fact, he was quite laid back. Yet part of him didn't like this Scout guy, and he hadn't even met him yet.

But he was sure that he was about to, as he heard a distant conversation, recognising two familiar voices, laughing loudly with a third.

Vinestaff glanced at her friend, seeming empathetic towards his anger, she pet him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we're gonna be fine." She smiled warmly, and Slingshot took a deep breath.

"I mean- that is impressive!" The voice of Skateboard spoke loudly in the distance, slapping Shuriken on the back. "Why haven't I spoken to you more often?"

The taller, unfamiliar man nodded, a wide, crooked grin plastered across his face. "I mean— you can literally clone yourself, it was totally an unfair fight!" He joked, making Shuriken roll his eyes.

"I thought you killed Coil, that's a feat in of itself." Shuriken spoke. Slingshot stood a few feet away, Vinestaff next to him. He waited for them to notice. "I mean if you'd seen that guy in combat you'd— oh crap!"

"Aye! Slingshot!" Skateboard waved, while Shuriken immediately darted forward and gave his sister a one-armed hug, smiling widely. "Thank the Swords! They let you out of your weird interrogation chamber!"

The Scout rubbed the back of his neck, exhaling sharply. "Well— oh hey you're the guy I shot! Uhm..." He noticed the blue-horned Inphernal, his smile wavering. "Sorry 'bout that... man." The young human directed at Slingshot, holding out a hand in a fist, offering a fist-bump as an apology... weird.

Slingshot blinked slowly, was he going to regret forgiving this guy? Maybe. But Skate and Shuri seemed to get along well with him, so he'd probably be fine.

The fist-bump was accepted, and Scout's smile grew back. "Sweet, and who's she?" He gestured to Vinestaff, only glancing at her for a moment before registering her arm and promptly doing everything he could to avoid staring.

Shuriken introduced his sister, who Scout very awkwardly shook hands with. Slingshot felt like this was going to be an interesting experience, but wasn't quite sure if he'd enjoy it or not.

On the one hand, this guy shot him in the head earlier, and seemed quite loud and annoying.
On the other, what irritating thing could this stranger do that Skateboard hadn't already done a hundred times in his workplace.