Swan Song (Rickter)
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2022 12:41 am
Searing 34, 122
Franky watched as Vanessa's ship took off, carrying the survivors of the Gobbler, leaving himself, Rickter, and Weston.
"I'm gonna go pour me a drink. If y'all ain't dead here soon, I'll pour you one."
Weston didn't know Rickter well, but anyone who had such a pure love for eating was usually decent enough. That and agreeing to this mission told the metal armed man all he needed to know. The man grinned slyly as he turned toward the Gobbler, side eyeing Rickter. "Maybe I'll cook you my famous camp beans too." Franky snorted, knowing this was Weston's own way of wishing them the best of luck. He was fairly certain Weston hadn't cooked a single meal since coming to work for Franky.
The man lit up a cigarette and disappeared into the Gobbler. Franky tightened the cinches on the pack he'd brought, his sword was tied up, and he kept his shield ready on his arm. Franky knew what he needed to do, in this crazy, far reaching attempt of his, all he needed was the way to get there. Looking over at Rickter, "So how do we go about this? I don't know what tricks you got, but this ain't gonna be a time for holding back. I have no guarantees about anything I'm gonna try. Just get me in that damn rift and try not to die in the process."
Franky opened his smoke box once more, which still contained his feather from Talon, pulling out two cigarettes, offering one to Rickter. "Goblin Weed makes everything easier." He struck his match on the stubble of his chin, lighting up his cigarette, pulling through it deeply. He savored the sweet stickiness, letting the warmth spread through his younger, more vigorous lungs. The last time he'd truly held this body, he was in a shitstorm in the Imperium, though not quite to this scale.
Maybe this body of his was cursed, a slight snort.
He looked down in his smoke box, realizing he was out of cigarettes. Fate had a funny way of making things work out. The last cigarette before the impossible was attempted. Whoever was in charge of all that must have a twisted sense of humor, but Franky could respect at least this tiny part of it. Franky saw a glint and smiled softly. He'd forgotten about that. He reached in and fished out the copper coin.
He held it up to the light, seeing it bounce off the dull sheen and his smile grew. It was the first coin a customer had given to the Gobbler, in exchange for some really crappy ale Franky had bought from a guy who was cleaning it out of his basement. This coin was one of Franky's most cherished possessions, it meant so much to him. And it was his last coin, the rest of them given as payment to Vanessa to get his people to safety. It was representative of him becoming someone new, something new, different from the soldier or the man twisted by his disfigurement at the hand of a nation who had given up on him, but still demanded more.
Franky flipped the coin into the air, offering it in tribute to the Goblin King, and for the first time asking something of the Goblin King, aloud. "If you could, watch over my family. All of them, not just the warts."
And the coin spun into the light of the rift, and just like last time, it never came back down.
"I'm ready when you are, Rickter."
And the severity in Franky's eyes showed that to be the truth. He was fully mentally prepared to die in this impossible attempt of his. Death might be the better option than if he was successful, but Franky was an inherently selfish man, and he did not wish to see this Rift destroy absolutely everything he'd come to love about his life in the last year. He would do anything to protect them.
Anything.