Outcast Bonus Chapters 4 & 5

Author's Note:

The last of the Outcast Bonus Chapters I have planned for now. Originally these were one chapter, but the final section felt too tonally different from what came before, so I split them up.

On that note, between the holidays, recently posting a couple lengthy updates that probably should have been separated but weren't, and good ole' fashioned chronic insomnia, Heroic Valor will need to take a break next week so I can replenish the backlog. I'll also begin preparing for HV to go up on Royal Road soon – it's about that time.

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Outcast Bonus Chapter 4

President Holder knew where the votes would fall well in advance.

He'd tried to stop it. Honestly, he had. But congressmen changed their minds at the pace of a snail oozing through molasses, and Holder didn't have the political capital to force enough of them to acquiesce.

Maybe they would've listened if he'd been allowed to explain what might happen otherwise, but...

"Don't tell anyone what I'm planning. Let's see their true colors first."

That last saving grace had been denied to him. To all of them.

Now the day of reckoning had arrived. Holder could only sit back and watch, hours painfully crawling by, as the representatives failed a test they didn't even know they were taking. Vote by vote, his new proposed bill was gradually shot down. It wasn't a total rout – around 40% Yay, 60% Nay – yet it wasn't particularly close either.

The final vote was cast without any of the gravitas it deserved; a bored man in a suit offhandedly voting No, clearly wondering if they could break soon and grab an early lunch. With that, their fates were sealed. President Holder's bill was officially gone, dead, and buried.

Out of the several hundred people in attendance, he was the only one left unsurprised when a flash of blue lit up the center of the room.

"Great." Subject Delta's arms were crossed, his foot tapping with irritation. "Now I owe Meyneth twenty bucks. I bet her that the vote would be closer than this. She told me that I still had too much 'ingrained faith in the territory of your birth'. Should've just erred on the side of pessimism."

A deafening silence engulfed the auditorium as Delta swept his gaze across everyone. He paused momentarily when his eyes came to rest on Holder. "Sup, Chase."

"Hello, Rob." The President massaged his temples. "I would like to remind you that–"

"That this outcome is expected, you did your best, yadda yadda. I know. Had to have the vote anyway. Get it on record."

Delta put on a grin that was only slightly predatorial. "Now if anyone complains, asking me why I intervened...I can point to this very moment."

Roughly a quarter of the people here recognized him – either from the Grab-And-Gulp video footage, or from leaked military reports that should've been for Holder's eyes only. Among those who knew, horrified comprehension was slowly dawning on their faces.

The other three-quarters were steeped in blissful ignorance. A politician in the front row abruptly stood up, having found his backbone. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And how did you gain entrance here?"

"Teleportation. You'll get used to it." Subject Delta regarded the man with a disdain typically reserved for aggressive drivers who cut you off at the intersection. "Hi, I'm Rob, and it is not nice to meet you."

"Is that so? Young man, are you even aware of where you are, and with whom you're speaking to? This isn't a place where just anyone off the street is allowed access."

"You're talking a lot of shit for someone whose name isn't important enough to remember."

The man bristled. "My name is–"

"Representative Fuckboy, got it." Delta shook his head. "Seriously guys, what the hell? You couldn't manage this one little thing?"

A pair of armed officers rushed at the boy from behind. Both men were beefy and musclebound, like living avatars of protein. They audibly collided with Delta, bouncing off him as if they'd tackled a solid brick wall. He didn't seem to notice.

If this were three years ago, the sight would have stunned everyone here. But after the Outsiders, the Spires, and Jason goddamned Miller...even those who didn't know were starting to realize the type of human they were dealing with.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," said Representative Fuckboy, in a conciliatory tone. "Rob – you have to understand that you're acting rashly here. Whatever your grievance is, we can address it in the proper way. If you don't stop now, though, there will inevitably be consequences."

Subject Delta burst out laughing. "Address my grievances? You chuckleheads couldn't even vote to reduce insulin costs."

"...That's what this is about?"

"What, you think Chase proposed that bill out of the goodness of his heart? No. It was my idea. Figured we should start small, get you accustomed to making positive changes for once. Picked something simple and straightforward – a beneficial policy with overwhelming support among the masses."

He knelt low, patting the floor. "The bar was down here, and you tripped over it. I'm a bit impressed."

As if beseeching aid, hundreds of representatives turned to look at President Holder. He coldly stared back, not an ounce of pity in his gaze. You asked for this.

"Here's the deal," Delta began, rolling his shoulders as he addressed Mr. Fuckboy. "You're going to hold that vote again, and this time, it's going to pass."

"And why in the world would we do that?"

"Because I said so, asshole. If that wounds your pride a little too much, and you'd rather pretend that you weren't strong-armed into doing your damn jobs, then just remind yourself that this will help people. You're all free to give yourselves an unearned pat on the back afterwards. It'll make for a nice circlejerk."

The representative shook his head. "It's not as simple as you think."

"Kinda is! Sometimes you save lives by barbecuing a dragon to death. Sometimes you save lives by making hardheaded pricks sign on the dotted line. This is the latter."

"There are laws, Rob! Checks and balances! You couldn't possibly understand the intricacies of–"

More blue light flashed. A stack of papers appeared in Delta's hands. "Three months ago. You accepted a five-figure campaign donation from one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country. A company, I might add, where the sale of ridiculously-overpriced insulin is one of their highest profit margins."

He mockingly raised his eyebrows. "Gee, I wonder if that's related to your No vote today."

Representative Fuckboy flinched, then quickly rallied his composure. "An unsubstantiated claim. I'm hardly the only congressman to accept donations."

"Yeah, that's part of the problem." Delta narrowed his eyes. "So. You gonna hold the vote again or not?"

President Holder braced himself. He was tempted to call out to them, try and fix things, but by the time he'd made up his mind–

"No." The representative sat back down, calmly lacing his fingers together. "No, I don't think we will."

Holder reached into his pocket. With a heavy sigh, a notecard titled 'The No Protocol' was torn to shreds.

Rob's grin split wide. "I was waiting for someone to say that."

Motion. Faster than the eye could see. A blur, and blue light.

By the time Holder had finished blinking once, Subject Delta and the representative were gone.

Delta reappeared a moment later. Uncaring of the thick, tangible dread beginning to permeate the air, he dusted his hands and turned to the next politician in line. "Alright. You voted No too, if I remember correctly. So how about–"

"What have you done with him?" someone blurted out.

"He was acting like a child, so I put him in time out."

"You – where?"

"In another dimension."

He paused for a moment to let his statement sink in. With the room so deathly quiet, and everyone so frozen still, it was easy to notice an officer behind Subject Delta taking aim with his pistol.

"Don't recommend that," the boy remarked, without turning around. "Won't hurt me, but it could ricochet and hit someone else. That would be super awkward."

A group of congressmen in the back row sprang up and bolted for the exit, attempting to flee the premises. The officer near Delta hesitated, then made a decision, his trigger finger pressing–

Power.

The weight of it slammed down on all of them simultaneously. Crushing. Indomitable. As if a sliver of boundless infinity had descended upon the earthly realms and made its presence known.

Holder, having felt Rob's aura once before, held up...marginally better than his colleagues. Which meant he was the last of several hundred people to collapse to the floor. The sensation confirmed one thing to him – when Delta's aura of power leaked out back at the Oval Office, that had definitely been accidental.

Because this was what it felt like when it was deliberate.

"Sit tight," Rob commanded, peeling back his veneer of civility. The power dissipated – for whatever that was worth, ready to be summoned again at a moment's notice, like a sword of Damocles raised above their heads. "We aren't done yet."

"You don't understand!" A congressman cried out, legs trembling as he limped to his feet. "It isn't like flipping a switch! These matters take time! We'd have to contact the pharmaceutical companies and–"

"Oh, don't you worry. I'll be visiting them afterwards."

Despite it all, President Holder laughed. What else was there to do in a situation like this?

Rob continued speaking, and the second-most powerful man in the world took his seat. He got comfortable, settling in for the first of what would be many long, long days.

--

Lisa leaned forward as she watched the news inside her single-room apartment. Her eyes had been glued to the screen for hours. A dramatic headline dominated the lower half of her small TV, its letters bright red and begging for attention.

'PORTAL BOY TAKES COMMAND OF CONGRESS!'

Damn. She let out a low whistle. Didn't know he had it in him.

It was a strange feeling to have personally met the guy who'd become the new de facto President. Well, kind of. Rob had denied the title during the one, brief interview he gave, claiming that he was only going to show up when politicians 'Fucked up a vote real bad', but...

Come on. Lisa could see the writing on the wall. Everyone did.

Though I guess President isn't the right word. Apparently he's invincible? If he wanted to call himself Supreme Overlord or something, we'd just have to clap our hands and nod.

Lisa should probably feel concerned about that – and would have, if she hadn't met Rob personally. It was impossible to reconcile the doomsaying news reports with the same guy who'd watched fondly as his friends cleared out a Grab-And-Gulp. Besides, she couldn't exactly pretend that the sky was falling when Rob's first act as President(?) was to make insulin affordable.

...Eh, wasn't like I thought the government was doing a stellar job before this. Might be an improvement. And from the impression I got of him, even if he could rule like an iron-fisted tyrant, I don't think that he actually would.

She paused. Wait, shit, this means more reporters bugging me. Ugggghhhhh, I don't want to move agai–

There was a knock on the door.

After muting the TV, Lisa automatically got up and walked over. She didn't remember ordering food recently, but her memory was also hot garbage in general, so she'd probably forgot.

Should have enough on my card to cover a couple more dinners. After that...I'll figure something out. There has to be someone in the country who'll be willing to hire a walking international incident.

She opened the door. "Did I pay online already? If not, I can go grab...my...what."

"Ah, hello, Lisa. Have I arrived at a bad time?"

Vul'to was standing outside.

Vul'to. The absurdly attractive elf. Was standing outside. While Lisa was in fuzzy pajamas, her hair looking like a tangled bird's nest, and with no makeup on.

Screaming internally, she grinned at him. "Nooot a bad time at all! Good to see you."

He raised his hand in greeting, returning her grin with a bright smile. "The same to you. My apologies if I'm imposing – I know you must be surprised that I've appeared without warning."

YEAH. TINY BIT.

"No worries," she said, leaning casually against the door frame, as all cool girls did. "Can I do you? I MEAN what can I do for you?"

"If anything, it's the opposite. I am here to see if there's something I can do for you. To start; we of Riardin's Rangers must formally extend our sincerest apologies."

"Oh. Um, for what?"

"You've been having trouble finding a new place of employment, have you not?" Vul'to gazed at her with empathy that made her heart throb. "We didn't mean for our sojourn to the estate of Grab-And-Gulp to affect you so negatively. That was a misstep on our part, and we are truly sorry for it."

Lisa blew out a pffft, as if having her face and personal info spread across the world was no big deal. "It is what it is. Something will turn up." Hopefully before rent is due.

"Such as selling your story to the...what did Rob call it...newspapers? Though you've spurned their overtures, I believe."

"Yeah, 'cause I could tell they were going to twist my words and make you guys look bad. Hate it when people do that sort of crap."

Vul'to nodded. "That is also why I am here. In light of your seeming loyalty, which has not wavered – despite the little we did to earn it – Riardin's Rangers would like to offer you a position as Ambassador of Earth."

Lisa's mouth fell open. "...Want to run that by me again?"

The elf chuckled at her reaction. "In truth, it's nothing so serious as it sounds. Rob expects that many politicians will be vying for the position of Ambassador very soon. As he has no intention of allowing them the slightest foothold in our world, having someone already occupying the position would grant him a suitable excuse to deny them."

Her brain working in overdrive, Lisa somehow managed to keep up with what was rapidly becoming a life-altering conversation. "Okay. Wow. Okay. So, like...you can take people to your world now?"

"We've been able to for some time," Vul'to explained. "However, we weren't certain if typical Earth Humans would retain good health when inhabiting a land rich with mana. Luckily, according to Malika's tests, there won't be any issues. Rob's parents will be visiting soon, and if you accept our proposal, you would be invited next."

As a freaking ambassador. Lisa fidgeted. "You uh, do realize I'm not especially qualified for this?"

"There's plenty of time to grow into the role. Riardin's Rangers is full of people who were thrust into relevancy sooner than any of us could have anticipated."

"And that turned out okay?"

"For the most part. Regardless, the main purpose of this offer is simply to provide you with compensation for our folly. In Rob's exact words: 'If she's going to be wrapped up in Earth-Elatra nonsense either way, then she might as well get paid for it'."

The elf reached into his pocket, pulled out a sheet of paper, then handed it to her. "These are the relevant details."

Lisa almost choked as she read the number of zeroes on her estimated annual salary. It was more than she'd earned in the last five years of part-time retail combined. Which wasn't hard to beat, but hey.

Yuuuup, I'm sold. She would've had to be certifiably insane to reject this. Adventures in a new world and financial security? Be still her beating heart.

"Just one question." Lisa peered up at Vul'to. "Out of curiosity, why didn't the rest of your friends tag along to deliver this offer to me?"

"Hmm." The elf stopped to ponder her question, tilting his head in a way that just wasn't fair. "I'm not entirely certain myself. For reasons I cannot fathom, my fellow Party members insisted that I come alone."

Lisa suppressed a grimace. "...Were they snickering to themselves when they said that?"

"Yes, actually. How did you know?"

God damnit. Didn't think I was being that obvious. Aside from all the publicly-available video evidence of her goggling at Vul'to like a lovesick teenager, which didn't count.

Focus. This was her moment – couldn't let it slip by. Breathing deep, she took the plunge, locking eyes with Vul'to once more.

"I'm in. Do I get a big sword too?"

--

Ben's cell phone rang.

Always when I'm at a good part, he grumbled, slotting a bookmark into the novel he'd been reading. Some of the fantasy jargon still went over his head, but stories of farmboys growing up to be destined heroes were quickly becoming one of his favorite pastimes.

A frown crept down his face as he glanced at his phone's caller ID, now proudly displaying the name 'Huge Prick' – courtesy of Rob. His son had insisted on putting the number in Ben's contact list. Just in case.

This'd better be worth my time. As if under duress, he forced himself to accept the call, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hello? Can I help you?"

"Am I speaking to Rob's father?"

Admittedly, it was interesting to hear the man's voice coming out of a phone rather than a TV. "Yes," Ben answered. "Is something wrong, Mr. President?"

President Holder was silent for several seconds. "Have you...checked the news?"

"No. Some of us value peace and quiet, you understand."

The President muttered something to himself before continuing. "Right. Well. I'll cut straight to the point, then. Rob has inserted himself into today's Congress meeting."

Ben's eyebrows shot up to the top of his forehead. "He did what?"

"It came as a shock to all of us. At the moment, he is attempting to...make changes. I was hoping that you could have a talk with him, maybe get him to slow things down while–"

"Let me get this straight," Ben interrupted. "Rob stormed a government-sanctioned meeting, refuses to leave, and is leading you high-and-mighty politicians around by the nose?"

"...Y...yes."

Ben smiled. "That's my boy."

With that, he ended the call. Humming to himself, he picked up his book and opened to where he'd left off.

Lyn poked her head in from the adjacent room. "Who was that?" she asked.

"The President."

"Ah. Spam, then."

//

Outcast Bonus Chapter 5

The graveyard was empty.

Little surprise, considering that the Elven Village it resided near was still unpopulated. This was a place where the dead had been laid to rest, and the survivors had long since moved on. The graveyard's visitors were few and far between; it shouldn't have seen foot traffic for years to come.

If not for its two newest additions.

Rob stepped quietly as he walked up to the first grave. His legs felt heavy, and a maelstrom of conflicting emotions churned inside him. Guilt, remorse, gratitude, affection – all battling for purchase in his heart.

Some days the maelstrom was quiet, a welcome reprieve. Other days it roared with indignant fervor, refusing to grant him peace. Today...

Was somewhere in the middle.

Rob knelt down before the first grave. He stared at it for minutes that felt like hours. The headstone stared back, a name carved boldly onto its center, resounding loud as a bell within his mind.

All of Riardin's Rangers had attended the funeral last year. He was the only member who kept coming back each and every month, sneaking off when the urge arose.

A perk of nigh-unrestricted teleportation. He could hop over, pay his respects, and be home with his Party none the wiser.

They would worry too much otherwise, and this....this was something he needed to do.

"Thank you."

Two words – wholly insufficient to describe what he was feeling. Then again, would any number of words have been enough? He'd said far more during the funeral proceedings, and it still felt lacking then as well. Language was so woefully inadequate in times like these.

What did you say to someone who had once despised you, then became one of your most stalwart allies? Who had fought tooth and nail to support you? Who had gladly traded her life so that the friends you held dear might survive?

Who would've assuredly told him that visiting monthly was a tad excessive. But here he was, so speak he must.

"Thank you for your guidance," Rob said, bowing his head. "For believing in me. For...your sacrifice. For protecting them when I couldn't. Thank you."

Brushing his fingertips against the headstone, he gave Elder Alessia a nod before moving on to the second grave.

The maelstrom intensified. It always did, around this time.

While greeting Alessia was difficult, he took solace in knowing that she'd gone out exactly as she would've wished – with style. Not many people got a more badass death than Soul Burning themselves to deter an unstoppable Dragon Queen. Her death had been a final act of nobility.

Elder Duran's death had been a murder.

Although he wouldn't have wanted Rob to think of it that way. Maybe in a few more years, the Human would be able to manage that.

"It's funny." Rob took a seat in front of Duran's headstone. He scratched the back of his head, wry laughter escaping him. "Think I'm getting dumber by the day. Yesterday, I realized that I don't feel guilty nearly as often – and that thought made me guilty. It's some real bullshit."

Elder Duran had definitely been a crafty one. In exchange for bestowing his EXP upon Elatra's last hope, he'd also cursed the Human with a herculean task:

'Be happy, Rob. Enjoy your life to its fullest. Consider this my last request to you.'

"You drive a hard bargain." Rob let out an exaggerated sigh. "Couldn't you have just let me mope for the rest of my life? Things would be so much simpler if I didn't need to put effort into the whole 'getting better' rigmarole."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I am. Getting better, I mean. Still have nightmares–"

–Flashes of memory, a Rampaging sword skewering an aged Elf's chest, blood spraying, the light fading from–

"But they're less frequent now. The bursts of guilt don't come as often either. Each day feels just a bit...lighter, than the last. Kenzotul makes for a great Therapist."

The graveyard was quiet. It would remain quiet forevermore. No matter how long he waited, none here would ever speak – that task fell to the living, who would try and fail to fill the void left in their absence.

Still, as he imagined Duran rambling on about his latest Earthen fascination...Rob couldn't help but smile.

"Got something for ya." A flash of blue rang out. When it vanished, a clear glass bottle had materialized in his hand.

"Sand from Egypt." He shook it gently, millions of grains swirling inside. "You would've loved learning about ancient Egyptian burial rites. Don't think Elatra has anything like mummies."

Rob carefully placed it next to Duran's headstone. The sand-filled bottle was in good company. Surrounding his grave was a vast collection of books, clothing, pictures, postcards, memorabilia, sports equipment, packaged food, technology, doodads, knickknacks, and much, much more. There were souvenirs from almost every country on Earth.

An assorted slice of the world that had captivated him so.

"Alright, so I brushed up on the finest wikipedia pages before coming here," Rob began. "Burial rites, the Egyptian pantheon...actually, let's start with the pharaohs. Leaders are interesting no matter which dimension you're in. Do you want to hear about the ones who were effective rulers, or the ones that were a hot mess?"

He laughed. "Nevermind, dumb question. Hot messes it is."

Time passed. Whereas before it had crawled, now it seemed to fly. Rob rambled on and on about Earth history, giving the eulogy that was deserved.

Slowly, gradually, the maelstrom within subsided.

--

Thanks for reading!