The Tale of a Dog Hero

Aggressive Insanity

Oscar woke up in his bed with everyone surrounding him. They were in front of him, but he could not see. They were talking, but he couldn't make out a word. He felt like his ears were on fire. He lost the strength to move and felt like he might die if he spoke. "Let me... see him." Oscar's voice was much raspier than when he first woke up. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Oscar. Leif walked over and grabbed his hand. "Dad? Are you gonna be okay?" Oscar couldn't find the strength to open his eyes. "I should... be fine. Just need time... I'm so sorry, Leif. Sorry I couldn't... be there... to watch you grow. I wanna tell you... all the things I did... All the fun adventures-" Oscar started to wheeze and cough. Zuko and Tippy tried healing magic to keep him stable. "Just hold on, Oscar. Don't speak and just rest." Oscar tightened his grip on Leif's hand as he whispered to him. "Ohm... I need Oh-" "You need oh? Like, your bird? What's oh?" Leif turned to the group. Nexus turned and headed for the door. "He needs Ohm. His bird." With her gone, Zane kept looking at his watch. "Hey, I need to go. Make sure Oscar gets better." Without a second thought, he opens a portal and walks through it. Oscar drops his hand from Leif's and begins breathing heavy. "Im too weak... A shell of who... I was." Nexus re-entered the room with Ohm. As soon as he saw Oscar, he flew over and landed on his legs, cooing and chirping. "Good boy, Ohm... I lost him... one winter. I was afraid he... wouldn't make it back to... you all." Everyone continued to sit with Oscar. Zuko offered to have Eleanor try and help. Reluctantly, he agreed, but because there was nothing wrong physically, she could do nothing without further bonding. After 3 hours of waiting, Oscar was able to make full sentences without stopping for breaths. Everyone headed to bed so Oscar could rest, considering their sleep was interrupted, too. First thing in the morning, Tippy began healing him again. Leif got up and sat at the foot of the bed while Tippy told stories and sang songs to Oscar. When Nexus and Zuko woke up, they made breakfast for everyone, and Tippy had to feed Oscar. "This is degrading. Having to be fed as a grown man." Tippy grabbed his hand and put it on her lap. "Well, I'll be willing to do anything for you, Oscar. Even if you're like this forever. You have saved me so many times that it took you dying to for me be able to repay you... How are ya feeling, by the way?" "Tired. So tired that I haven't opened my eyes the entire time I've woken back up yesterday. There are voices I keep hearing. They keep speaking to me in Greek. The words still echo through my head. 'They left you behind. They moved on. They will forget about you.'" Remembering what they said made Oscar's heart begin racing again. His breath shook as no one spoke. He began getting nervous and tried to clear his throat. After a moment of silence, he gathered the strength to open his eyes. Immediately, colors and flashing visions began flooding his retinas. Different realities overlapping and clashing with this dimension. Oscar began to hyperventilate as he looked to his friends for comfort, yet saw terrifying, morphed versions of themselves. Tippy shifted in and out of a skeleton, a fiery beast, and her usual self. Nexus changed to multiple different, mutilated looking robots. Zuko shifted to radiant lights, absorbing darknesses and ever-changing sizes. One of the versions was one he met and fought before. "Zane, where's Zane. Aw, the fuck is going ON?! WHERE AM I?! Everyone in the room was shocked at Oscar's sudden panic and tried to calm him down. "YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY! You're all twisted, ALL OF YOU! Where is Zane?!" Oscar rolled out of bed and dragged himself towards the still beaten and damaged B3AST. As he grabbed it, B3AST enveloped him and quickly stood up and backed into a corner. It summoned its pistol and aimed at the group as it made shakey hushes and low hums. Eleanor slowly floated out of Zuko and began blinking. B3AST aimed its gun at Eleanor and tried to pull the trigger, but it wouldn't fire. Out of desperation, it threw the gun and jumped to a window. The gun, of course, faded away, and Eleanor flew back in Zuko as a portal appeared. Zane walked out and turned to see B3AST halfway out the window with Tippy grabbing its leg to keep it from leaving. "The hell is going on?" Zane walked toward B3AST and took control of its body. It lashed out with all its strength, hoping to get free of the invisible grip Zane has on the suit. He walked toward B3AST and begun opening it. As soon as its face was opened, Oscar's face turned from anger to fear. "What the fuck are you?" Zane begun opening the rest of the suit while trying to calm him down. "I'm your friend. I was called back because you were resisting their help?" Oscar threw his arm out of the suit and summoned his pistol. "English! Stop speaking Greek, you freaky fuck!" Oscar fired his gun and Zane made a wall of sand and jumped out of the way. The bullet blasted through the wall and B3AST regained control. It enveloped Oscar once again and dived headfirst out of the window. "He's gone mad!" Zuko chimed out from the chaos. Zane grew increasingly more impatient with Oscar as time went on, but this had to be it. Zane was near his last straw. As B3AST attempted to pick itself up from the fall out the window, Zane walked through the wall and dropped beside it. B3AST tried to deter with displeasing audio, but it only made Zane more impatient. He grabbed it by the broken backside of its head and dragged it to a corner street. "Oscar. You were one nice kid. We would hang out together. I taught you how to fish. How to defend yourself. I showed you what a good meal was like." Zane dropped B3AST and flipped it over. He ripped open the face to reveal Oscar, unconscious. Zane forcefully opened BEAST and took Oscar out.
"You and I sparring with eachother for years. We are, in a way, extentions of eachother." He then took the metal of a nearby fence and begun repairing B3AST as it struggled and yelled. Confused, it kept fighting, yet Zane worked on it nonetheless.
"But what really makes me upset is how you always seem to forget the good times and stick to the bad ones." When he finished, B3AST stared confused, and still making light noises. As it slowly grabbed Oscar to protect him again, Zane cut his forearm.
"Now look at you. Years of self hatred and tourment has left you a shell of who you were. My daughter has to wait for me and I have to leave her behind every time I come here. It makes me wonder why I care-... I told her I wouldn't have to leave again, and here I am. Because you cause chaos." B3AST began consuming the blood and using it to wake Oscar. He slowly lifted his eyelids to see Zane bleeding over him.  "You missed out on your kids early life. I won't miss mine. The next time I have to come here because of you..." Zane leaned in so Oscar could hear better. "I wont save you." Zane stood up and opened a portal. Tippy, Zuko, Leif and Nexus all watched from the window with worry on their face. As B3AST stood up, Oscar lost consciousness again. As he tried to decipher Zanes jubberish, he felt as if his body was drifting through space. Oscar began to recall where he had been all those years. Running, hiding, and waiting. As Zane left, Tippy lead the group out of the house, toward Oscar. B3AST stood up and backed away quickly. Now repaired and with plenty of blood, he was more than capable of getting away from everyone. "Oscar! We need to talk to you, please! Leif needs you in his life." Tippy began to tear up as Leif grabbed her hand. "Dad? I would like to see you without the suit. I still have yet to see you in good health, so... come out of there and see me." B3AST stood to his feet and looked at Leif waiting patiently for Oscar. It lifted a hand toward Leif before noticing everyone else. B3AST hissed as it backed away. Zuko approached it and called out Eleanor. She flew around B3AST as he made an effort to restrict it's movements. It tried to escape, but a purple energy rose from the ground and wrapped around its legs, climbing higher and wrapping tighter. Tippy jumped on it's back to try to teeter it to its side. "Oscar! Get up! We need to talk about this!" Tippy leaned back on B3AST's back as Nexus tackled it to the ground. Tippy stood up and flipped a switch on her watch and B3AST let out a faint hush as it stood still. A frequency emitted out of the watch that also caused Nexus to have slowed movements. "What is that noise? It's making me sick..." As tippy flipped the switch, Nexus' plates in her chassis opened and B3AST spat Oscar onto the floor. Before he could stand, Eleanor flew into Oscar's mind. Zuko picked Nexus up and examined her body. Tippy switched off the second switch and Nexus closed her plating. Zuko continued to stand over Nexus. As she rose to her feet, she nudged for him to back up. "Hey. Little close, man." Tippy tried to wake Oscar up by smacking his face, shaking his shoulders, and opening his eyelids. Zuko began muttering under his breath as he turned toward tippy. "He, ehm... He has been through... Hell, would be an understatement." Eleanor flew out of Oscar and into Zuko. "Tippy. I'm afraid Oscar's mental state is so unstable that he may not even remember us. Years of survival and constant adrenaline, without sleep rest or likely food. He is regressing to a beast. It seems like all those years of running are hitting him now." Tippy grabbed Zuko and held him close. "Zuko. You have to tell me what happened so I can know how to help. I was affiliated with Artemis and have more knowledge about Oscar than anyone else." Zuko didn't make eye contact and made a sympathetic face. "I don't wish to speak of this here. I'll grab Oscar, and you help me get him inside. Nexus can grab B3AST and put him in a container of sorts. We can talk when we are inside."
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B3AST retaliated by making a hush noise and fired its pistol at Perses. The group watched as the titan and god disappeared into the trees chasing Oscar. As they increased in speed, B3AST would push its legs harder. As they would attack and fire at Oscar. B3AST would react sooner. As Oscar thought about where to go, he had an idea. B3AST opened its face and Oscar whistled for Ohm. When the speeding bird showed up, B3AST shriveled away, under the jacket and Ohm lifted Oscar into the sky. Ohm put all his focus into not getting hit and maintaining altitude. "Alright Ohm. We aren't going back any time soon. Keep flying as far as you can, and when you get tired, I'll run again." The titan Perses and the god Mania, continued to give chase as they cleared the forest and into an open field. Hours passed but Oscar, B3AST, and Ohm never stopped moving. Hours turned into days. Days, to weeks. Over the course of a month, they managed to escape, evade, and hide from Perses and Mania. Eventually, B3AST stumbled upon a sign titled Hollow Grove, but through Oscars eyes, it only read ιερό άλσος The small town that hid behind the sign looked run down and in need used of repairs. When B3AST hid away and Oscar neared a building, shouting could be heard from further in the town. He rounded a corned and witnessed tens of people huddled around a platform where a middle aged, scruffy gator man was about to be hanged. Curious, Oscar walked through the crowd to ask what is happening. "Excuse me, Executioner? I'm new here. Who is that man?" A rather ugly gecko woman stuck her head in the conversation. "That there is George Gillian. Caught and soon to be hanged for exercising witchcraft." Oscar scoffed at the idea. "Witchcraft? Punishable by death? Please. Magic isn't all that bad if you know how to use it." As the words left his mouth, gasps and murmers spread through the crowed. The Executioner stood up and grabbed a small axe beside himself and spoke in a grovely voice. "You practice witchcraft... sir?" Oscar raised his hand and summoned his pistol. "I don't practice witchcraft, I use a simple summon magic. Not witchcraft, magic." The crowd began getting hostile and tried to shove Oscar. When Oscar felt a pair of hands push on his shoulder, his face changed.
*
"Woah! Hey! Everyone calm down. It's harmless unless I pull the trigger." In the distance, Oscar heard gunshots. The Executioner tried to grab Oscar and put a rope on his neck, but he just ripped it back off. "I'm warning you guys, I'm NOT a threa-" Oscar was punched in the back of the head. Oscar turned around quickly before feeling like the world began to spin. He dropped to his knees and looked at his hands. He woke back up.
*
Blood covered his hands as decimated corpses lay about. George was crying, begging Oscar to stop. The Executioner had an axe in his chest with part of his head caved in. "What..." "YOU'RE A MONSTER! You killed them all when they begged you to stop... do you even feel bad?" Oscar got on the stand and approached George. "Wait, you're the bad guy. You were about to get hanged, albeit something stupid." George's voice began to shake and crack. "They were good people! I broke a law and I was paying the price... oh, look at what you've did..." Oscar looked around again before looking at himself. "Wha-... I'm clean? Where did the blood-. Ooh. I'm seeing things again. You and this whole crowd .. this isn't real. You nearly had me, Pollux. I'd never kill anyone who didn't deserve it." Oscar turned and began walking away. As the gator yelled out to Oscar, he fired his pistol with his back turned and hit him through the chest. "See? You're already gone too. Can't trick me..." B3AST enveloped Oscar and walked off as the bodies lay in pools of blood. The next time Oscar met people, was further in the center. There were a few police officers running past Oscar before one of them stopped to ask him a question. "Excuse me sir? We heard a disturbance near the sound side of Grove. Do you have any info?" Oscar curiously stared at the cop before responding. "There was an execution so I saved the man. Then I made my way here." Two cops slowed to a stop after seeing the first officer begin questioning Oscar further? "Did you interrupt an execution?! That's against the law, sir. I'm afraid I will have to detain you until we can prove you did or did not stop it. Please put your hands behi-" Oscar slammed the back of his hand against the officers head, sending him spiraling backwards. "Another trick? C'mon, Pollux. Do better." All cops in the visual area drew their guns and began advancing on Oscar. "Hands in the air!" "Don't make us use force!" "Just give up now! You are already surrounded." Oscar quickly counted the heads of officers. As more showed up, Oscar had no problem keeping track of all. "Oh. You must be trying to kill me? I count 16 heads. Not enough people." Oscar crouched down and spun as fast as he could, causing a dust cloud to form. Before the officers could react, it became to unclear of where he moved to. Quickly, Oscar ran out and grabbed an officer by the neck and knocked their gun away. As the cops on the same side of the cloud turned to Oscar, they had to watch him drag their friend into the depths. On the other side, the guard was thrown into a guard and Oscar ran out after another cop. The officer tried to fire at Oscar causing him to slide under the bullets, uppercut the gun, and snap his neck. As more bullets were fired from behind Oscar, he ducked down, grabbed the now deceased officer by the leg, and swung him toward the others. Oscar ran back into the cloud and kicked up more dirt. Only a few police officers were left for Oscar to eliminate, and they knew that. One panicked and ran toward his partner, causing Oscar to lunge out and snatch his friend before he could reach them. When he turned to see Oscar, he was splattered in blood, holding two arms. Oscar slowly turned his head and walked toward the terrified cop. As he began firing, Oscar moved his arms so the sleeves of his jacket would ricochet it away. Oscar marched forward until the officer ran out of ammo, then picked him up by his neck. "Freeze! Just drop the officer and turn yourself in." Oscar turned around to see his dirt cloud dissipated and three cops had their sights on him. "Turn in? Funny. I don't appear to be the one about to submit... Like THIS GUY!" Oscar snapped his head back to the officer he was holding and began laughing manically, causing the man to scream for help as he couldn't look away from his near death. Suddenly Oscar stopped laughing and held a serious face. "If they shoot me, you die. But that's not what I want for you anymore. I think traumatizing you is way more enjoyable." Oscar stared into the man's eyes and summoned his pistol. As soon as the three officers noticed the weapon, they fired at Oscar. He quickly sidestepped to the side, causing the cops neck to crack. "Look at what you've done... You made me break his neck! I suppose one of you will do." Oscar dropped the officer and sprinted towards the last three. He decided to play with these poor officers as they fought to survive. "C'mon guys. DO SOMETHING!" Oscar yelled out as he marched toward the first cop to his left. Oscar put his hands into the boxing position as all three raised their guns. "Do it... I want to see how many bullets I can stop before I tear the left person's throat out..." The cop on the right began speaking over Oscar. "Don't listen to anything else he says.  Three guns, with a max of 36 bullets. He won't stand a chance."  Oscar showed a toothy grin as they began firing. Time bagan moving slowly as Oscar waited for the bullets to reach him. One by one, he began swiping away the bullets. Eventually the amount was too high, and a few slipped past, cutting into his face. after they all ran out of ammo, Oscar remained standing with bloody hands and a cut up face. "My turn." Oscar summoned his pistol and blasted the cop in his legs. As he fell, the other two tried to stop Oscar. He shoved his way past, and stood over the bleeding officer. "I keep my promises..." Oscar shoved his fist into his mouth, dislocating his jaw, and raised him up. With his other hand he gripped his neck, pinching tighter and tighter. The two cops ran back to their friend and began hitting Oscar in an attempt to force him to let go. "This is what happens when you work for Pollux." Blood began dripping around Oscars fingers as he gripped the bone through the crying cop's neck. One of the officers began reloading their gun, so Oscar kicked their leg hard enough to snap her ankle. As she fell over, she dropped the magazine and Oscar stepped on it. "Found it." Oscar spoke out loud as he began pulling. The officers screamed out as the sound of skin tearing and blood hitting the floor filled the close area. As Oscar pulled on the bone in the cops throat, blood began to spray in an arc around him. Tendons snapped and muscle ripped as Oscar nearly finished his tormented kill. When it was done, the two cops had tears streaming down their faces. Looking around, they only saw death. Oscar dropped the cop and turned to face the last two and dropped the bone and throat between them. "Here. This is what happens when you mess with other gods. Stay out of the way of higher beings problems." The cop with a broken ankle tried to speak up. "We don't even know any-" Oscar cut her off by blasting his pistol in her face. Blood covered the floor as an eyeball rolled out of her skull. "I'll leave you alive as a reminder to never, EVER! Get in my way. You see a blue jacket, you fuckin run. Got it?" The officer could barely move. Traumatized by what he was forced to witness, he struggled to see through teary eyes, let alone speak clearly. "Y-...yes." Oscar got close to him before shouting in his face. "So run. Get up, RUN! I'll break your legs and slowly crush every limb until I pop you like a tick! MOVE!" The cop scrambled to his feet and ran as far as he could to escape. Oscar simply took a deep breath and walked away, talking to his lonesome. "Where is that ice cream place, Tippy? Wasn't there one on that corner?"