Liberation

What do you call a fic that's not a fic

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Basket_Ashton
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Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:09 pm
Location: Somewhere in Babylon Gardens

Liberation

Post by Basket_Ashton »

What could've happened if Joel was paired with a cold, hard leader of PETA rather than some pushover with a glandular problem? what if they liberated animals with more... violent methods?

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Liberation

Joel quickly got into the van, his breathing a ragged mess of sharp inhales and exhales as he threw on his seatbelt and gripped the steering wheel. His hands were sweating profusely causing him to wipe them on his trousers before returning them to the wheel and looking around for his so called partner in crime.

You see, Joel was not just going for a leisurely drive around babylon gardens, he was the accomplice to a crime so heinous he was sure he’d be skinned alive if it was found out he was somehow involved, let alone if word spread that he was the getaway driver. He was dognapping a dog from babylon gardens. The one place on earth where he was sure that owner's loved their dogs more than themselves.

He was shaken from his thoughts as the entire van seemed to quake at the stress produced by his partner entering it. To his left was a hulking mass of a man, reaching nearly six feet and five inches tall, so tall in fact that he had to slouch in his seat in order to stop his head from grinding against the roof. His general physique was nothing short of herculean as his muscles were clearly visible through his clothing. His name was Jacob. Joel didn't know his last name, and he didn't dare ask.

“That Mutt’s been awful quiet since he woke up,” Commented Joel as he sat in the driver seat, awaiting his instructions to start driving. “What exactly did you do to him?” enquired Joel. He had joined PETA in order to help pets and animals who were living horrible lives, enslaved by their masters , or at least that's what he liked to tell himself.

Jacob chuckled and flashed his partner a grim smile before speaking with a booming voice
“Oh, I ain’t done nothing to ‘im yet. But if he so much as opens that muzzle of his? Well it’ll be lights out for the pooch.” his sadistic nature shining through as he relished the thought of punishing the canine in the back for drawing any unwanted attention to them. A slight whimper could be heard through the opening that lead from the cab into the back of the van where a Tied up and muzzled husky lay, his collar had been snapped and thrown to the side, the discarded tag reading “Fox”

Joel gulped. They were supposed to liberate these animals from freedom, not threaten them with bodily harm… right? He didn't dare remind his partner about that though, deciding instead to focus on a far more pressing subject. Remembering the briefings they were both given about every dog and cat in the gardens, one rang out loud and clear as being memorable for the worst of reasons “you sure we picked the right dog,,? You know that guy is the pet of a police officer, right? Not only that, but said cop is one of the most dedicated in the whole of the gardens! He finds out his dog is missing, we are toast!” exclaimed Joel, pointing out the obvious gaping flaws in their plan of setting the animal free.

“Well, now that you mention it, I don’t plan on angering any cops. Give me one minute.” he told Joel, quickly exiting the van and moving to the read doors, flinging them open and grinning sadistically at Fox, cracking his knuckles and his neck whilst eyeing the tied up canine with evil intent “Night night, pup.” he whispered before launching his fist forward and connecting it with Fox’s skull.

Joel may not have been able to see the act, but he winced at the sickening crack that resounded through the small opening that lead to the back of the van from where he was. Another wince wracked his form as he felt Fox’s head hit the floor of the van, knocked out cold.

Jacob was glad that they had picked a relatively abandoned section of the gardens to host the surprise adoption of one of the babylon garden animals, seeing as he would’ve been jumped and murdered by any of the pet lovers that lived at the place had he been spotted knocking out the grey husky in the van.

He picked up the unconscious animal bridal style and quickly moved to place his body behind some nearby bushes, taking a pocket knife attached to his trousers and slashing the binds that were holding Fox’s wrists and ankles together. His look softened slightly as he looked at the unconscious canine and reached over to rub over one of his ears. “I’ll come back to get you out of this horrible place, I promise, you won't be a slave for much longer.”

With that, he emerged from the bushes and got into the van, looking at Joel who was giving him a very strange look in return “since when did you pet any of the animals we liberate? I thought your style was more punch and maim…”

Jacob chuckled darkly, flexing the hand he had used to knock Fox out cold before letting the hand rest on his lap as he answered his fellow PETA member “I punch and maim to keep them in line, they are still animals and animals can be dangerous unless you show them who is in charge. Despite that, I still love them, why else would I be in PETA? I’m a revolutionist, not a monster.” Joel nodded, but kept any comment he would’ve otherwise made to himself, deciding not to test whether or not he was lying about being a monster.

“Well, what do we do now..? We can’t exactly go back with no animal to set free, and they’re already waiting for us just outside of the garde-” he was silenced by Jacob holding up his hand and nodding out towards the other side of the street.

Joel’s gaze followed his partner's nod and he found himself looking at a brown dog wearing a red collar, happily walking along the nigh abandoned road with his tongue slightly sticking out of his maw, focussing intently on whatever game he seemed to be playing on his DS. trying his best to remember the file they had been given on this specific canine, Joel rubbed his hand to his chin “If i remember correctly, that one is called Peanut Butter Sandwich. Lives with two humans, a man and a woman named Earl and Jill, and one other animal, a cat called Princess Periwinkle…” Joel could hear Jacob audibly scoff and saw a look of disgust in the hulking man’s eyes.

“Such beautiful creatures stripped of their former glory and given such ridiculous names. People like these,” he gestured his arms all around, indicating the inhabitants of babylon gardens “make me sick, reducing such majestic creatures to slaves to treat as though they are some pampered child instead of giving mother nature the respect she deserves. It goes against the laws of nature.” he spat, hatred clear and evident in his voice. Joel simply nodded, not wanting to aggravate the man any more than he already seemed to be.

“You talk to him, distract him, I’ll come up behind and nab him. Simple as that.” Joel nodded at Jacob’s plan and went to get out of the van before his shoulder was gripped by what felt like a vice. Turning, he saw that Jacob was looking him in the eyes with a look so stern it could turn someone to stone.

“Don't chicken out on me, rookie. You screw this up, we are both going away for a very long time.” and with that, he let go of Joel and exited the van. Joel himself had gone pale enough to be mistaken for a ghost, the only thing giving away his state of living was the fact that he was sweating profusely at the thought of jail time. He took a deep breath, and exited the car, calming himself down and watching for Jacob to be in position before making his move.

Peanut’s thumbs moved in a flurry across his directional pad and face buttons of his DS, his tongue was stuck out of his maw in a cute fashion as he was fighting his tail off in game, trying not to be absolutely massacred by Shao Kahn. so immersed in his game he was, that he didn’t even notice a man standing directly in front of him, blocking his path.

The pup walked face first into the man's legs, almost dropping his DS in the process, but managing toc catch it with a set of deft paws and hugging it to his chest with an overdramatic “phew!” he wiped his brow of the sweat that he couldn't produce to really emphasise the point before looking up to address the human who had stopped him.

“Hi, Mister! I’m really sorry about running into you, I was just sooooo close to beating Shao Kahn! I’ve been trying for so long honestly!” exclaimed the hyperactive canine, showing Joel the DS who in turn was struck by just how happy and friendly the dog was, beginning to have second thoughts as to whether or not taking the animals from their homes and releasing them into the wild like it should have been was really the right thing to do…

Peanut was rapidly tapping away at on his DS as he waited for a response from the human who, when he thought about it was at fault for blocking his path. Any other inhabitant of the gardens would have been suspicious at the obvious nature of the blocked path, but Peanut was Peanut and he was an ever trusting, always happy bundle of joy. Even with his focus being on the game in front of him, Peanut took note of something. On his DS screen, he could see the reflection of movement behind him. It was subtle, but he noticed it. Being the curious one he was, Peanut turned around with a “hmm?” to try and identify what was going on behind him.

Before he had even managed to turn all the way around, A heavy fist ploughed into his head just to the side of his eye, sending the poor canine sprawling to the floor, out for the count. His nose was the first thing to connect with the concrete sidewalk, the force of the impact drawing blood from the black extremity. Not very much, just a couple drops slowly dripping onto the sidewalk, but definitely noticeable.

“Was that really necessary?!?!” screamed Joel before he was grabbed at the collar by Jacob “shut your trap, rookie. You want him to scream and give us away? No? Good, shut up and get the ties ready in the van.” he growled with a low, almost inaudible voice, shoving Joel away from him at the end of the sentence and going about picking up Peanut, cradling him softly and rubbing the blood from his nose, gently stroking over the area where he had been hit.

Joel quickly grabbed a set of zip ties from the van and waited for Jacob to place the dog down, which he did with the utmost care. Before you could so much as blink, Peanut was all tied up. A zip tie around his ankles and his knees, another around his wrists and at his elbows, keeping the appendages together in a very uncomfortable fashion.

Jacob leaned over the unconscious canine and stroked his cheek softly before aggressively snatching the collar right off of his neck and snapping it in two, throwing it in the van alongside Peanut before slamming the doors shut and quickly entering the van, Joel in tow on the opposite side of the vehicle.

The van started and quickly took off down the street, abandoning an empty scene of a nigh perfect crime. The few clues they had left would give police nothing to work off of.

An unconscious Husky who would remember little to nothing from his kidnappers seeing as he was nabbed whilst asleep and knocked out shortly after waking up.

A DS displaying the message “Shao Kahn wins!” in a game that was clearly unfinished and abandoned suddenly.

And just beside the DS?

A few drops of Grim.

Red.

Blood.

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Who doesn't love a good cliffhanger?!


please let me know what you think! if you've any ideas or suggestions or even criticisms, then let me know! I live for feedback!
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Liberation

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This story had really been started very grippingly! I look forward to seeing where this will lead!
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Liberation

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

This was tough to read, but very well done. You are talented writer!
Basket_Ashton
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:09 pm
Location: Somewhere in Babylon Gardens

Re: Liberation

Post by Basket_Ashton »

I sort of wanted a little juxtaposition to the happy cutesy vibe that A Moment's Reprieve has going on, so there's a lot of drama and gritty realism (and violence) going into this one, though I can promise you that as difficult as it may be for you to read, I'll make it worth it!
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Liberation

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

As long as the violence isn't too detailed, I think I will be OK.
Basket_Ashton
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:09 pm
Location: Somewhere in Babylon Gardens

Re: Liberation

Post by Basket_Ashton »

dont worry about that friend, I love these characters far too much to write anything too detailed about whatever pain they are going through. there'll be threats of violence, and more than likely some actual violence, but i promise nothing life threatening or life changing (such as being stabbed) will happen to any character in this fic!
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Amazee Dayzee
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Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:24 pm

Re: Liberation

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Just wanted to make sure nothing bad would end up coming to anybody. Until then, I can't wait until I see the next chapter!
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trekkie
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Re: Liberation

Post by trekkie »

Very well written.
“Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.” - Thomas Sowell

“The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day I accidentally got gin in the steam iron.” Phyllis Diller
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