(Disclaimer: I know nothing about guns, and despite my attempts at research this is probably still wildly inaccurate. My apologies and please suspend your disbelief with me <3)
Time seems to stretch out as Apo stares at M. Who is holding a rifle that he apparently 'got' from Pearl. A rifle.
And that's just Crisis Number One.
Crisis Number Two is currently storming up to the palisades of Oakhurst, swinging axes and crossbows, and the other three are uselessly arguing debating on how to best keep them at bay.
"Oh, come on," Sausage is saying, "I bet I could figure it out!", and Apo feels like she's been dunked in icy water. The illager party draws nearer and nearer. "I think you just–"
"Oh my god, give me that!" Apo regains their ability to move and plucks the gun out of his horribly unsafe grasp before he can shoot himself or Martyn in the foot.
She ignores his offended exclamation of protest and spins on a heel, moving out into the open with quick steps.
Poising the rifle comes almost automatically. Stand steady, raise the barrel, aim. There is something being said– yelled– behind Apo, but it's easy to tune out. Load with a clear click, unlatch the safety. Brace yourself. And shoot.
The first bullet cracks through the air, loud and sharp, and the closest one drops. Click.
A shot that misses. Click. A shot. Click. Two shots in rapid succession. Click, clack. The illagers fall, one after the other.
Apo turns slowly, a step at a time, trying to keep an eye on as large a radius as possible. They're regaining some confidence with the weapon. Two shots. Click, clack. A shot–
Bang.
The foreign bullet sends panic lancing through her mind, and she stiffens so harshly that she nearly drops her gun. Apo has not spent time on a full-on battlefield or warzone. These things still bleed in.
It takes a split second longer to register that that wasn't an enemy shot; it took down an illager that might have slipped past their field of view.
"You're a good shot." Bang. Abolish steps up to her side. There's an elegant handgun, the meagre sunlight gleaming off of dark metal, confidently held in his right hand. He shoots like it's just another Tuesday.
"I hate guns," is the response that leaves Apo's mouth, bleak. A shot that misses. Bang. Abolish hits it. Click. A shot. Bang.
Another. Click, clack.
Bang. A shot. Click. Bang. Bang.
They're much more efficient like this. Abolish pushes on against the party, slow but confident as they weed them out, and Apo follows his lead.
The air is starting to reek of gunpowder. Apo's ears have grown numb to the noise. Bang. Click, clack. Shoot.
When the Raid has finally fallen, the entire plains northeast of Oakhurst is littered with axes, crossbows, and banners that will be gone come morning.
Abolish takes one more sweep of the area, and finally lowers his gun. His arm must be sore to hell and back considering the state of Apo's own, which tremble and ache as they slowly lower the rifle, but he somehow doesn't show a trace of it.
"You think that's all of them?"
He hums, glancing around again. "Probably. But there could be some stragglers, so stay on alert."
Apo sets her jaw and readjusts her grip with a curt nod.
"Here. Swap with me."
"What?" Apo blinks at the weapon being held out to her.
Abolish disentangles the rifle from their tense grasp and places the handgun in it. Their stiff hands curl around it automatically. "The handgun's more flexible. Keep it."
"What? No, no, I can't." He raises an eyebrow. "This is a really good weapon? And you're a much better shot than me."
Abolish just shrugs. "I've got another."
Apo searches for how to retort to that and comes up empty.
So, after a pause, she dips her chin, and slowly turns the gun over to take a look. Elaborate carvings curl up the sides, subtle but elegant; it is beautiful, much as they dislike to refer to a firearm like that. A good capacity, it's light but still well balanced, the handle rests comfortably in their hand. A really good gun, in short, better and likely far more expensive than any they've ever used.
"Um. Thanks. You're sure?"
"Keep it," Abolish just repeats.
—
In the background of this scene we have a lovely audience of:
Legs, clinging white-knuckled to his composure and on the brink of a severe PTSD flashback,
The Militia (which isn't really established in this universe btw), thoroughly astonished/impressed,
and Pyro, invisible on the forest edge and also pretty awestruck (and maybe a little captivated by Abolish) (for the Firelocke <3)
Also, for context:
'Illagers', in this universe, are packs of vengeful spirits sort of akin to the headless horseman, dangerous because of their utter unpredictability and hard hits. They will spawn– aka materialise into corporeal form– to the sound of a hunting horn and launch Raids on nearby settlements/people. (There are legends of ones that can call on vindictive fairies in battle, but there's no proof of their existence)
Under normal circumstances, Raids are far and few between and also pretty small. However, the history of Oakhurst as well as the constant use/activity of magic (the beacons and tomes) and the barrier create some very not-normal conditions. There have been multiple Raids in a matter of just two weeks, and the one that Apo and Abolish just wiped out was like thrice the size of a normal one.
The events of this AU go more or less as canon does up until somewhere around episode four, where the plot fully diverts. The Raids are becoming a problem and it forces them all into a truce– common problem/enemy and such.
I really like this concept but idk if it'll develop further, so I decided to just share what I have! (If I get more ideas, I'll add them to my 'give them a gun au' tag)
