Chapter Text
Foolish sat at his desk and watched Ember give a debriefing about the newest mission to Rose, Daydream, 404, and Bullfrog. All Foolish knew was that an anonymous tip was received, giving details about a group of villains known as the Eggpire. Apparently the Eggpire was a newer villain group and they were planning to destroy the harbor in a few days for some reason.
The door to the debriefing room opened and Ember stepped out. He pointed at Foolish and made a beckoning motion. Foolish couldn't help but be curious, it seemed like a relatively high profile case, so why did Ember want him? Surely he wasn’t included on the mission, right?
As Foolish walked into the room he saw 404 look him up and down with an unsettling smile on his face. Daydream elbowed 404 and rolled his eyes.
Foolish awkwardly stood near the doorway, unsure of what to do next.
“Quit standing there and go sit down Hammerhead. You’re part of the mission too.” Ember said brusquely.
Wait. On the mission? Seriously? The hero quickly took a seat and suppressed a grin. Maybe they finally thought he was capable enough to be on a higher profile mission!
Ember cleared his throat. “Alright now we have all the parts of our mission. So let’s go over the procedure now—”
“Shouldn’t you give Hammerhead the mission background too?” Rose interrupted.
Ember looked annoyed. “Ah yes. Anonymous tip was received that the Eggpire will be attacking the harbor tomorrow with the intention of complete destruction. The motive is unknown but our goal is to stop it and put the Eggpire behind bars, got it?”
Foolish nodded. Rose opened her mouth to say something else but shut it again.
“Good. Okay so, we don’t know what time exactly the Eggpire plans to hit the harbor but we can safely assume it’ll be at night when there’s nobody there. We’ll arrive at dusk and I’ll keep an eye on the west end, Daydream will cover the south end, 404 can cover the east, and Bullfrog and Rose you guys cover the north end. And Hammerhead, you cover the docks and loading zone. Your water abilities make you the best candidate for that area. And before you say anything Bullfrog, I mean more than your frog-like abilities.”
“What's that supposed to mean? Frogs love water!” Bullfrog demanded.
“You’re better suited for the north end.” Ember said flatly. “You’re all dismissed. Go prepare for tomorrow.”
Foolish was the last one on his way out when he was stopped by Ember. “Hammerhead I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Listen, I know you haven’t been able to go on many missions before, but I’m giving you a chance to prove yourself so don’t fuck it up okay? Do this right and you’ll get on more missions and maybe you won’t be so pathetic if you run into Nightmare again.” Ember turned and walked out before Foolish could even form a response.
The hero gritted his teeth. Of course Ember couldn’t let him live down the fight with Nightmare. But he was right. If Foolish could just prove himself on this mission, he might actually gain the respect of his colleagues. And maybe, just maybe, they’d actually think of him as a real hero.
He went to sit back down at his desk and found Rose standing there. “What’s up Rose?”
“I have to tell you something.” She whispered urgently.
“What is it?” He asked quietly.
“Before you came into the debriefing room, Ember said to be on your guard because apparently the Eggpire can get very violent very easily. And they’re planning something big so please be careful. And Ember said something about them being highly unpredictable. I don’t know why he didn’t mention that to you but… I thought you should know.” She finished.
“Oh wow. Thank you Rose, seriously.” Foolish smiled.
Rose hesitated but smiled back. “I should go prepare. See you tomorrow Hammerhead.”
“See you.”
Foolish let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. What did Rose mean by very violent? And why hadn’t Ember told him about that? Since the villain group was newer, there wasn’t any available intel in any of the files, so Foolish couldn’t go find any previous encounters with them. Were they Nightmare-level violent?
Foolish shook his head. It wouldn’t do him much good to sit here worrying. Guess I should go practice my abilities so I don’t look like a fool.
“Maybe I should see Sam.” He muttered.
The hero stepped through the teleporter and looked around. “Sam? Are you there?” He called out.
Foolish felt a tap on his shoulder and let out a screech and whirled around. “SAM! You scared me!” He complained.
Sam burst out laughing. “You sounded like you were dying!” He wheezed.
The hero crossed his arms. “It’s not funny.” He said as the corner of his mouth twitched, fighting a smile.
“Definitely was. Anyways, what’s up?” The Warden asked.
“I finally got on a mission!”
“What?”
“Yeah! Ember finally let me on a mission and was all like ‘grr don’t fuck it up Hammerhead’” Foolish exclaimed. “Isn’t that great!”
The Warden had a troubled look in his eyes. “That’s awesome Hammerhead. Do you want to come to my office so we can sit?”
Foolish shrugged. “Sure.”
Sam led Foolish down a thin and dimly lit hallway until he reached a tall ebony door. The door squealed on its hinges as The Warden swung it open. The office was relatively plain with pale gray walls and a medium sized oak desk off to the side. A spare gas mask rested on the desk, surrounded by dozens of papers on all sides. Deep scratches adorned the visible parts of the surface of the desk and one of the front legs looked as if it might give way at any moment.
“Please, sit.” Sam gestured to an armchair across the desk.
Both of them took a seat.
“What do you mean you got on a mission? What happened?” Sam asked.
Foolish explained that Ember had been debriefing the other heroes earlier, then brought Foolish in and told him he was a part of the mission as well. “Apparently there was a tip about this new villain group called the Eggpire.” He said.
Sam paled. “The Eggpire? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Hammerhead… The Eggpire isn’t a new villain group. Is that what they told you?”
“Yeah…?” Foolish said slowly.
Sam unhooked the gas mask and set it on the table, needle sharp teeth glinting in the fluorescent office light. “The Eggpire was the group trying to put chemicals into the water. They were there when I fell in the chemical vat. They’re dangerous Hammerhead.”
“What?! They’re going to the harbor again!” The hero gasped.
“The Eggpire is unpredictable. They aren’t Nightmare, but they do everything in a group which is why they’re dangerous. Are you sure you’re ready for this mission? You could seriously get hurt.” Sam frowned.
Foolish swallowed. “You aren’t gonna convince me to back out. I have to do this to prove myself. Even if it is dangerous.”
“Hammerhead, you don’t understand. They’re ruthless.”
“Sam. I’m doing the mission. I’m capable.” The hero folded his arms.
“Shouldn’t you practice your abilities first?”
The hero sucked in a breath. “You of all people should understand, Sam. I just want to prove myself. I just want to belong.”
Sam let out a low growl. “Which is why I’m telling you this. I’m worried about you Hammerhead. I don’t want you getting hurt because they don’t care about you.”
“No. That’s not true. They care! That’s why I’m going on the mission! Just because you can’t be a hero doesn’t mean you can discourage me from doing the same.” He spat.
Sam glared. “What makes you think I still want to be a hero after all this? I’m just trying to give you some advice, but please, tell me about how you’re so much stronger and more powerful and how you’re gonna stop the Eggpire.”
Before he could stop himself, Foolish’s trident was against Sam’s throat and crackling with electricity. However, The Warden showed no sign of it hurting. Instead, he grabbed the trident and threw it to the side, where it clattered uselessly to the floor. He then took Foolish by the collar of his shirt and threw him back against the wall. “That’s what I thought.” The Warden snarled.
The Warden affixed the gas mask back to his face and tossed the trident so it landed at Foolish’s feet. “Good luck with your mission.”
Foolish trudged to the teleporter. He’d never experienced The Warden’s wrath firsthand, and it was not an experience he was eager to repeat. His body ached all over. Pathetic, you couldn’t even stand against The Warden so what are you going to do tomorrow?
He didn’t know.
The sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon. Foolish had just split up from Ember, 404, Daydream, Rose, and Bullfrog and now paced along the docks. He could smell the salty sea breeze and faintly hear the lapping of waves at the shore and the cry of seagulls soaring over the water.
Barnacles clung to the old wooden posts and the surface of the dock was slick with seawater. Foolish inhaled deeply, trying to calm his nerves. It’s gonna be fine, and worst case Ember and everyone else is here too. Don’t screw this up.
Then he remembered the mint in his pocket. Rose had given it to him earlier. “Here, have a little mint I made myself. Really helps calm the nerves before a big mission.” she’d said to him.
He unwrapped the mint and popped it in his mouth. It didn’t really taste like much. It just created a strange prickly feeling on his tongue. Weird. Maybe that meant it was working? At least it wasn't terrible.
A sudden commotion caught the hero’s attention. A loud explosion rang through the air, probably from one of the warehouses on the north side. Without a second thought, Foolish ran to the source of the noise.
Rose was already there, scanning the area.
“What happened?” Foolish called to her.
She glanced over and put a finger over her lips, gesturing for him to be quiet.
Foolish crept over to the mostly blown up warehouse and peered through what was left of a window. The place appeared to be empty, and the only movement was the rising smoke from the ash-covered remnants. Flakes of ash floated down from the sky and the air burned the hero’s nose, heavy with the scent of gasoline. The strange thing, though, was how empty the warehouse seemed. There were no crates or containers whatsoever. The entire place–or rather what was left of it–was desolate.
Foolish used his trident to smash the remaining glass window and carefully climbed through it, making sure not to cut himself on the shards of glass everywhere. The hero scanned the immediate area, searching for anything that could possibly point to a suspect. There was nothing.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder and Foolish nearly screamed. He whipped around, swatting at the offending appendage, only to find Rose right behind him.
“What are you doing?” She hissed. “You’ve got to be more careful, what if whoever did this is still here?”
Foolish shrugged. “We… catch them?”
Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just try to be quieter.”
Foolish nodded and started to make his way over to a wooden door that was miraculously untouched, and slightly ajar. Just then, Ember climbed in through the same window Foolish had earlier.
“What are you doing here?” The fiery hero demanded. “Get back to your assigned area.”
“But what about all this?” Foolish gestured to the warehouse.
“Rose and I will handle it. Go back to the docks. I won’t ask again.”
Foolish gritted his teeth but obeyed. He climbed back out the window and jogged over to the docks when he saw a peculiar shadow out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t quite human, more humanoid, but had long horns that were definitely not human. Being the very intelligent hero he was, Foolish decided to follow it.
The silhouette led him around and around until Foolish was really far from the docks. He couldn’t even hear the cries of the seagulls anymore. Come to think of it, the smell of the sea had gone away as well. That’s weird, Foolish thought. I didn’t think I went that far away.
Finally the hero caught up with the owner of the shadow. It was a tall creature with short horns poking out of a crimson and black hood. A long, wiry tail swished back and forth and its eerie glowing white eyes shone with mirth. It appeared to be a demon of some sort? Foolish wasn’t really sure.
“Who are you?” He called out.
The demon said nothing, tail swishing faster.
“What are you?” the hero tried.
Again, no response.
The hero took another step closer.
“I’d stop right there if I were you, Hammerhead. ” The demon said.
“How do you know my name?”
“Tsk tsk, what’s the fun in me telling you? You’ll find out soon enough.” The demon’s smile grew wider.
Foolish frowned. Wait… did that mean?
“You’re part of the Eggpire aren’t you!” He blurted out.
“Oh! It seems as if your brain works after all!”
Foolish pulled out his trident and closed his eyes, focusing a steady stream of electricity into the weapon. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes again. “Listen here buddy, I don’t know what you’re planning but it’s not gonna happen, got it?”
“Oh, but it will.” Said a voice behind him.
Foolish spun around to see Rose standing there.
“Rose? Why are you here, shouldn’t you be with Ember?” Foolish shook his head. “Wait, what do you mean? That guy is with the Eggpire, we've gotta stop him!”
“Oh Hammerhead,” Rose sneered. “Did you really think we actually wanted you on this mission? You’re a pathetic excuse for a hero that can’t do anything for himself. The only reason you’re here is for something much bigger than you or I, that’s it. It’s laughable really, the only reason you’re useful is because you’re so useless. How ironic.”
Foolish raised his arm to throw the trident at Rose. Or, he tried to anyway. His body would not respond, and instead he stood there, frozen in front of Rose and the demon.
“Ah, the little treat I gave you earlier must be working. Don’t bother trying to move, I gave you a little candy that essentially cuts off all communication between the muscles and the brain, rendering your poor body useless. Of course, not including your organs and other vital structures. We can’t have you dying just yet!” She laughed.
She spun on her heel and began walking away. “He’s all yours.” She said.
The hero’s vision went dark and the last thing he heard was the sound of an explosion and a bloodcurdling scream.