Deepwoken: Divers

Rumbling: New enemies, Old allies

Faust and Kevin were travelling on their stolen Ironclad as they saw several battleships approach Fort Merit. They stopped by them, seeing dozens of Authority soldiers on them.
One of the soldiers drew his rifle spear. "That's Faust Ytreshi, sir!"
The captain of the ship put his hand on the spear, lowering it. "I know... But he cleared out Fort Merit."
Faust left the wheel, walking up to the captain, now only the water was seperating them. "You haven't forgotten about that favour have you? I'm with the Songspeaker, in case you didn't know."
The captain crossed his arms. "Why should I believe you?"
Faust shrugged. "Don't, if you don't want to. But being on a first name basis with Patrick 'Pakki' Jaeger, who wears an eyepatch on his left eye which was blinded by a rogue black diver is pretty good evidence if you ask me. I could keep going."
The captain thought for a moment before scoffing. "Fine... I'll have your bounty cleared. But don't ever attack the Authority again."
Faust looked at the captain, one of his eyes glowing purple as it always did. "Get ready to attack. Be near Etris and Minityrsa, but not in sight. I'll give you the signal, and then you'll have to attack."
The captain nodded. "I'll get my men ready... This better be worth it."

The two ships crossed each other.
Kevin smiled a little. "Now it's just the Hive, the Union and the Divers."
Faust looked towards Etris, above which storm clouds were forming. "I've a bad feeling about this."
Kevin put his hand on Faust's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry."
Faust took the wheel again. "I'm not worried. I'm awesome."
On the way to the Miner's Landing, a shadow appeared on the ship.
Kevin slowly approached it, drawing his weapon.
From the shadow, a piercing darkness emerged, slashing towards Kevin who jumped back just in time.
A Knives Of Eylis bounty hunter climbed out of the shadow.
"Falco Drakeheart... Arrived at the bounty location."
Faust looked down at the two of them. "Kevin, do you need help?"
Kevin looked at the shadows disappear, yet still engulf Falco's greatsword. "No... But something about that blade... Is seriously off!"
Falco stabbed the blade into the ship, forming a shadow chain that connected Kevin's chest to the ground, not allowing him to retreat any further.

Falco raised his leg as it was surrounded by shadows. "Don't underestimate me...!"
He spun around, kicking at Kevin, the sheer power of the kick vibrating the air around it.
Kevin, instead of trying to dodge or block it, stabbed at Falco, pushing him back and interrupting him. "Could say the same. I've dealt with worse before..."
The chain connecting Kevin to the ground severed as Falco stumbled back.
"Big left coming up...!" Faust called out as he steered the ship.
Falco fell towards Kevin, slashing at him as the ship tilted.
Kevin blocked the attack, attempting to push Falco over himself to knock him into the water.
The Shadowcast user turned over Kevin, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him towards the water.
"Damn you!-" Kevin shouted, summoning his arcwarder armour, forcing Falco to let go and stab his greatsword into the ship as it got back into it's normal position.

Falco pulled his greatsword out. "Round 2..." He said as he sent a shadow tendril towards Kevin.
Kevin sliced the tendril in half, only to be met with an upper slash from Falco, pushing him back.
Falco spun around, slashing at Kevin only to have him block it as the ship begin to turn again. They both started sliding down the ship, Kevin falling on his back and kicking Falco over himself before standing up and aiming his Railblade at him.
Falco grabbed it's blade, hanging on by only that.

"I failed these kids once... I won't fail them again." Kevin said as he pulled the trigger on the Railblade, causing it to light up.
Falco narrowed his eyes. "...You motherfu--"
The Railblade made an explosion, knocking Kevin's armor off and sending Falco flying into the water as the ship corrected the tilt.
Faust looked in the water. "Where the hell did he go?"
Kevin sheathed his weapon. "Back to the Voidheart, where he came from. How far is the Miner's Landing? If there are voidwalkers after us... That means someone knows about our plan."
Faust pointed in the distance. "You can already see it. We should split up. I'll go to the Hive, you talk to Klaris."
Kevin nodded. "Let's hope Pakki and Colt are okay."

After informing the Union of just how soon they'd have to attack, Kevin went to the nearest excavation point from the first layer, since he and Klaris agreed that the Union would drill the divers out.
Faust was on his way to the Greathive Aratel when he passed a mountain, only to see another Ironclad going towards him at full speed. "What the?!--"
His ship was rammed, both Ironclads stopping.

A Summer Company mercenary drew his gun, running towards Faust. "It's him! He's the fucker who stole my ship!"
One of the mercenaries aimed a cannon at Faust, only to have him kick at them, sending a large gust of wind their way to disrupt it's aim, making it miss.
Faust drew his sword. "You're gonna regret that one..." He threw three flame knives towards the loudest Summer Company man, taking him out almost immediately. He jumped aboard their ship, sending another one into the ocean. "You better fucking hope you all have enough money to pay for repairs..."
One of the summer company men sneaked up behind him, firing with two flintlocks into Faust's back blindly. "I-I got him..!"
Suddenly, Faust turned into feathers - it was a mere illusion. The real Faust slashed at his hands, knocking away both guns. "I'd give up if I were you. I'm willing to let you go, since I don't want to waste time on you." He glared the mercenary down who he disarmed. "Oh and the one down below board? With the cannons? Don't even try."
The remaining mercenaries walked out of any and all cover, with their hands up.
Faust suddenly got an idea. "...What supplies are you carrying?"
"M-mostly just gunpowder..." One of them answered.
Faust smirked. "I'll take one of those."
With that, Faust took a crate of gunpowder, carrying it onto his ship before going to notify the Hive.

Meanwhile, the last of the divers arrived at the surface, all chattering about.
Kevin stood in front of them, clearing his throat. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here. One of my dear friends has discovered some horrible stuff about this world... And is seeking revenge for someone he lost. My other friends are helping him, but just us won't be enough. We need you, too. This friend of mine--"
"The songspeaker, right?!" One of them asked excitedly.
Kevin looked a little surprised. "Y-Yeah... He--"
"Is it true he's the king of all animals?!" Another asked.
Kevin thought for a moment. "You could.. Phrase it like that, I guess. He can control them. But what matters, is his name is Patrick Jaeger! And he was a diver, just like all of you! A year or two ago, there was a breach in Castle Light, and he was one of the two rookie divers sent out for help -- which came back in the form of me and a black diver who turned out to be a traitor. The point I'm trying to make is... Even if we've had our differences in the past, we're all humans here. We all fight to thrive and be happy, so we can put our differences aside to combine our powers in order to defeat those who are trying to take away everything. The entire world around you, all the books, the history, even your loved ones... My name is Kevin Donnet, and I swear, I'll fight for your survival. All I ask, is that you help my friend accomplish his dream."
There was a moment of silence before one of the divers spoke up. "Is it true you're his father?"
Kevin recoiled for a moment. "huh?"
Another diver hit the nosy one's shoulder. "I told you not to ask it!-"
"But..! He referred to you as 'dad' down there!" The diver added.
Kevin blushed for a moment. "D-Did he now..? It's... Complicated. But he--"
"He saved us!" A diver yelled out.
Kevin looked at them, surprised.
The diver continued. "The last of our group was attacked by monsters... And he commanded them to stop. We owe him our lives!"
The divers slowly started cheering.
Kevin took a deep breath again. "He won't be the only one. Faust Ytreshi and Colt Kalinof will also be there!"
This seemed to encourage them even more.
"I heard Faust could defeat a Nautilodaunt on his own when he met one!"
"Wasn't Colt the one who came up with the plan to save them all?!"
"Faust was even in the second layer!"
"And Colt's such a genius..! He was one step ahead of even the black divers!"

Klaris looked at Kevin as the divers talked amongst themselves. "...Those three sure do leave a mark on you, huh..."
Kevin nodded. "I just wish they could settle down for once... They got out of the organization with a 98% death rate..."
Klaris looked at the rookie divers. "Well... ...They were part of the 2%."