I was pointing my gun at the stranger that had appeared from nowhere. We had been fighting with a tyrant class rapture called blacksmith, for about 5 minutes, before they suddenly appeared and destroyed the rapture in a single hit with their fist. It was something out of a story book, it shouldn't be possible for someone to just destroy a tyrant class rapture even from the best Nikke's.
I made sure to have the commander behind us to protect him but i wasn't even sure if it was worth it, after all this person was able to dodge some bullets which even if it was luck that they were able to not get hit that meant that they understood on the trajectory and speed which they were able to react to a certain extent.
There was a stand still happening right now, us pointing our guns at them and them looking relaxed but ready to attack if needed.
We stayed like this for a while before they opened their mouths slightly, noticing this, i got ready for if they were going to attack us.
"Are you people okay?" they asked us. I wasn't ready for such a question and the fact that their voice showed no sign of hostility. Looking back at the commander, I signaled him if he wanted to answer. He understood and started to talk.
"Yes but who are you?" the commander asked.
"I am not important but what is important is if you guys have anywhere you need to go." they asked calmly.
"Yes but something that is important to know is why did you help us?" The figure didn't answer instantly but it wasn't because they couldn't answer, I could tell this from how they were acting.
"I have a job to do." they said calmly.
After saying that we went back into silence but without hostility now, noticing that there wasn't going to be a fight happening, me and Anis put down our guns. Suddenly the sound of a communication call was heard.
"Hey guys, it looks like you were able to .... deal....with.....it. Oh it looks like you guys have met with someone. Who are they?" a voice could be heard from the box, it was shifty and it seemed to have noticed the extra presence.
"We don't know. They just appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the rapture with a single hit of their fist."
"THEY DID WHAT!?" shifty loudly yelled. It wasn't too surprising of a reaction. "Who are you and make sure to answer." shifty suddenly said. It seems that it was important to learn about this figure.
"I am no one important but I have a question as well. Who are you people and why are you here?" they said in retort. It got silent again before Shifty answered.
"We are part of atlas. Do you not know of them?" it was genuine curiosity, for someone not to know who we were was baffling because even the other people on the surface know about us to a certain extent.
"I don't know who you are but i don't care.-" they turned to us "You guys seem to need shelter currently and because of our rules i shall take you to our camp. Follow me." they started to walk away. I turned to the commander waiting for the order, he just signaled for us to start following, so we did.
But the commander stopped as he looked over to the body of Marian.
It took awhile but we were able to follow the figure after the scene.
-----
We had been following them for 2 hours and since then, there has been no talking. The commander tried to do some small talk but it was pointless as the figure didn't talk back.
We had reached a large gate which was surrounded by fences on the side of it. The figure knocked on it a certain way and in a few seconds it was open by some people, they seemed to be protecting it and held guns that were similar to that of Nikke's, it was odd to say the least as a human wouldn't be able to deal with the weapon of a Nikke but i just didn't say anything.
The figure showed them an identification card, I assumed, and was then allowed to continue. As the figure continued to walk, we could see how they looked at us with strangeness but weren't hostile.
We eventually reached the biggest ruin of this place which they seemed to be using as housing or storage. They knocked again before looking at us and signal to listen.
"When you enter, remember to bow first and be quiet when he is talking, don't show any disrespect. Don't look directly into his eyes, don't be too nervous or at least don't show it too much and most importantly don't look down on him." they said quickly and calmly. We listened and heard the sound of someone calling to come in.
Coming inside, I could see that it was dark and a lot of books were around the place. The person in front of me was an old man, but I could tell from their presence that they shouldn't be messed with. The presence of the old man was difficult to understand on how someone so old was able to release such a presence. I looked behind me slightly and saw how the presence was affecting the others as they seemed to be cold sweating. I quickly bowed my head and made sure to not look into his eyes.
"I found the source, it was the cargo ship of these people, who are part of a group called Atlas. They were sent here for a mission supposedly but I don't know what it is. Would you like to talk with these people by themselves?" the figure said quickly. The old man responded with a nod which caused the figure to quickly leave the place.
Once we were alone the presence somehow got worse, it felt as if i was being crushed by an imaginary mass. Suddenly it stopped.
"It seems that you people are also reaching into this area." the old man said. "Listen to me, commander. I shall let you people come into this area but know that any damage caused by you will be punished." The presence got worse to the point where I felt like I would collapse. The commander was worse off as the presence was being aimed at him, I was sure of it. He was on the floor kneeling.
The presence went away again.
"Seems that the people of Atlas don't have it, that's good to know. Anyway, I shall introduce myself. I am Andrew Hage, the leader of this camp. You people are...."
It took a while but the commander was able to speak again after getting up. "I am () and this is Rapi and Anis. I am the commander of these 2. It is nice to meet you."
[Note - the reason for me not putting a name was for you people to decide on what to call the commander and if no one puts anything then I will just spin a wheel with names on it]
"Well, what about your little friend who is hiding behind that signal of yours."
"What." This question threw us off guard because there was no one else here, or at least physically. If he meant Shifty that would make more questions pop up because of how he would know that, unless he had the ability to sense radio and electro-transmitted signals but that wouldn't be humanly possible, so how would he know, maybe he knew about such things already. That could be possible as he knew what atlas was so maybe he knows about that. Yeah. That makes the most sense.
A blue rectangle appeared in front of him, it was Shifty. "So you want to know me as well?"
"Of course, I wouldn't be a good leader if I didn't know who was coming inside of my camp."
"I guess but I should introduce myself. My name is Shifty and I am part of the information part of atlas."
"It is nice to meet you as well. Well I shall tell you the rules shall follow when you are here." We got ready to listen to the information we are about to listen to.
"First rule - don't leave the camp unless given permission or have a hunter pass. Second rule - Don't talk loudly, the usage of sign language is preferred but if you can't use sign language just speak quietly. Third rule - Listen to the people of higher authority unless it is something that is out of line. Fourth rule - don't use your weapons. Fifth rule - if you have disputes go to the nearest highest authority. Sixth and final rule - do not under most circumstances allow random people inside unless given authority by me or Ken, which is the boy who brought you here." he then hands us a book. "This should have other rules but the ones I stated are the most important ones for you to know. You are allowed to leave now."
We nodded and before we left, I saw Anis bow causing Sir Hage to slightly smile.
Once we were outside, I noticed the one named Ken was leaning against the wall of a nearby broken wall. He turned to us and motioned to follow him then walked towards a ruin almost as big as the one we just left, opening the door we could see that there were lights and heat coming from the place.
"This is the building we use for people who are staying here for a while, make yourself at home." Walking inside, I looked around and saw a bookcase filled with different types of books. There also was a door with a sign on it saying pantry.
"Your rooms are in the back, you can share or have different rooms, I don't care." as he turned around and was about to leave he quickly said something. "Don't forget to get up early. Master Hage wants to meet with you guys again tomorrow, especially you Shifty." Then he leaves.
It was quiet for that entire rest of the day.