Chapter Text
Deal Another Hand and Play chp 4: Travel Preparations
[Group Chat: Fortune’s Punching Bags]
Ryuji: Hey, Harry right? What’s magic like?
Harry: what do you mean?
Ryuji: Like, what does it feel like when you cast a spell or uh…do you guys make potions and stuff?
Harry: Yeah, we make potions. the teacher for it tho is a right git. Him and my dad didn’t get along when they went to Hogwarts so he seems determined to take it out on me
Ryuji: Another dickbag teacher. Too damn many of them
Harry: No argument from me on that.
Harry: But back to the question, I’m not sure?
Harry: Never really like, thought about it
Harry: Classes are kinda like what it was when I was in muggle school, but instead of maths its learning how to cast a levitation charm
Ryuji: Huh. So it doesn’t tire you out at all?
Harry: Maybe a bit?
Izuku: and if you’ve had teachers try to kill you, we can help you learn more spells.
Harry: How?
Izuku: Well, with the cross-network system on, it let me access books from your world Harry
Izuku: I may or may not have spent an evening looking over spells to try and find one that could be useful for heroics as an analysis warm up
Izuku: that then turned into a full night of analysis
Izuku: Possiblyusefulspells.doc[A rather significantly sized text file of useful spells and the applications for them, along with some ideas for possible things magic might be able to do as areas worth exploring if Harry can find the time or ask a teacher]
Harry: Izuku, this is longer than some of my course books.
Harry: When you and Hermonie meet, the worlds are gonna tremble.
[Ren is online]
Ren: Ryuji, you still want to look into that castle?
Ryuji: Yeah, we gotta get to the bottom of it. Maybe it’ll give us some way to expose Kamoshida and get his ass arrested
Ren: We can only hope. I’m pretty sure the asshole’s the reason my record leaked to the entire damn school.
Ryuji: Shit, those rumors were about you?
Ren: All blown well out of proportion. Meeting spot?
Ryuji: School roof. Lock for it’s been busted for ages.
Ren: See you there after classes are done then
[Ren has logged off]
Ryuji: See ya guys around!
[Ryuji has logged off]
[Taylor is online]]
Taylor: I need a distraction before I do something dumb
Taylor: Like shove a colony of ants down Emma’s throat.
Taylor: So, Izuku. Workouts. How’s the progress?
Izuku: That first part is concerning….
Izuku: Well enough for it only having been a few days.
Izuku: I do regret not having worked out before this. I did not realize how not in shape I was until I started
Taylor: Yeah that was a similar feeling
Taylor: it goes away. Eventually.
Harry: Hey, can anyone else see the “Stratagem Input and Beacon designator system” in the shop?
Izuku: Yep. Way outside my budget
Taylor: That's…horrendously expensive
[V is online]
V: I could buy a top end cyberdeck for that price
Harry: Oh
Harry: Input_Pad.jpg[A picture of the stratagem pad that all Helldivers have strapped to Harry’s forearm. 3 balls can be seen on the bed below, black with a yellow strip and unlit light at the top]
Harry: It’s only showing 3 options right now. Chat Reinforcement, Deploy Kestrel, Deploy Armalite
[Admin-Rith is online]
Admin-Rith: Someone bought it? I put that in as a joke. Well, just be careful with it, the last two especially. The first option won’t work until I’ve got the Transfer system up and running.
Harry: That’s fine, I’m just trying to puzzle out those other two’s meaning
Izuku: Well, Kestrels are a sub-species of falcons, so something bird related most likely
[Courier Six is online]
Courier Six: And Armalite is a very specific rifle from Pre-War times. Things are rare as hell, but the end of the world tends to do that
V: They sound like handles. It might be people. Handy thing to have
Harry: Still worrying. Best to keep these on hand then. Rather have it and never need it then the other way around
Taylor: Speaking of shop purchases, was able to get a collapsable baton for fairly cheap, and some extra strength zip ties
V: No iron? Some gangoons might not go down with just a few good wacks
Taylor: I don’t want to kill anyone if I can avoid it
Izuku: If you still have the funds Taylor, I’m seeing a pistol for relatively cheap, and it comes with “Stick-N-Shock” ammo for it
Izuku: Also, how good is your tracking with the insects in your range?
Taylor: Perfect, why?
Izuku: Can you mentally draw a line between two different bugs in your swarm?
V: Holy shit, thats nova if it works! Fuckin insane she’s got an unhackable smartlink.
Taylor: Damn. That never even occurred to me. I can do it
Izuku: Should in theory work for your baton too. Bug on the tip of it that can hold on as it goes through the air, aimed at important vitals and joints
Taylor: I need to go practice then. Think I can make a dummy out of stuff in the basement
[Taylor has logged off]
[Jackie is online]
Jackie: V, you plan on meeting with Parker tonight?
V: Yep, meet’s at Lizzie’s.
Jackie: I’ll be on standby then
V: Jackie, its Lizzie’s. If the Mox can’t protect their own turf then shit is about to go sideways
Jackie: Eh, I guess. Still, I’ll be around.
Izuku: Smart. If you have backup, its nice to have it ready
The Burrow, England, 1994
Harry had been acting oddly the last few days, Hermione had decided that morning. Ron had mentioned he had a nightmare of some sort, but even before that it seemed like Harry had been a bit off. Something had changed, but the bushy haired teen wasn’y sure what it could have been. He was focused on something whenever he wasn’t with them. Which was fine, Hermione knew Harry needed some kind of outlet, and had at first thought that perhaps he was getting more serious about his studies.
Whatever the case, she didn’t want to leave him alone with it. The last time they hadn’t kept an eye on a friend or sibling, it had almost gotten Harry killed by a giant Basilisk that might have been around since the time of the Founders. So in the interest of making sure her best friend was in fact, still himself, she was walking over to the tree he had decided to rest under as he looked at something in his hands.
Getting closer, she noticed three things. The first was some kind of device he was wearing on his left wrist that looked like some sort of miniaturized television screen. The second was a trio of metal balls on his left side hanging from some kind of holder on his belt. And the third thing was him muttering about spells, like he was reading something of the object in his hand.
“...aquamenti combined with a glacius can be used to obscure sight lines by making chilled mist on demand if one imagines the water coming out less as a stream and more as a spray to fill the air…” is what she overhears before Harry notices her approach, his hands starting to fumble with whatever it was he was holding as after a few seconds he’s able to catch it.
“Hey Hermione, what uh…what brings you outside today?” he says, trying and failing to hide whatever it was in his hands. The sunlight just glints off the thing on his arms, reminding him it is quite visible.
“I’m worried, Harry. You’ve been somewhat closed off for the last few days. And now you’ve got…some kind of highly advanced wrist watch that I don’t remember you having before.” Hermione tells him, watching his reactions to make sure its him and not imposter or possession.
He takes a second to think, looking over his actions. “That….is a good point. Merlin, must look like Ginny all over again doesn’t it?” he replies, looking at the device in his hands. After a moment of deliberation, he speaks up as he looks her in the eye.
“It’ll be easie to just add you and Ron, I think. I’d sound barmy otherwise. We should go get him. Don’t want to leave him out of the loop. V and Taylor both would call me a bloody idiot if I did.” He gets to his feet, looking at the device and doing something on its screen before looking back up at Hermione.
“Where is Ron?” Harry asks, looking out on the land around the Burrow trying to spot his first friend and brother in all but blood.
“Doing his schoolwork for once.” Hermione tells him, Harry shooting her a look of surprise. “I know, it shocked me too. Might be the last lesson Professor Lupin taught him kicking his rear,” she says as a possible explanation. Harry thinks it over for a moment, before nodding.
“Yeah, that makes sense. Well, come on then. Best to explain this once.” Harry says as he leads Hermione back inside. This isn’t how he expected his day to go, but perhaps its for the best.
[Group Chat: Fortune’s Punching Bags]
[Courier Six is online]
Courier Six: And here I am at Mojave Outpost. NCR’s last solid hold before truly entering the Mojave coming from California
Courier Six: Smoke I saw off to the east though, that’s worrying. That amount only comes from a lot stuff being burned
Izuku: is the Outpost important?
Courier Six: Somewhat. Lotta Caravaners are gonna pass through it for one, and for two it’ll give me a chance to restock before pushing to New Vegas.
Courier Six: Plus, an overstretched NCR means a chance to do some merc work and earn a few caps.
Izuku: Caps are the local currency?
Courier Six: Its the one most accepted. NCR money isn’t worth as much out here, legion coin is maybe. Bottle Caps reign supreme.
Taylor: Wait, bottle caps? Thats what gets used for currency?
Courier Six: Hard to replicate, so forgeries aren’t a common issue to deal with. Had plenty of bottles of Nuka-Cola post war that the water barons that got things running in terms of an economy picked Caps
Courier Six: It just stuck in regions that don’t have anything else. Most wastelanders know caps are worth something now.
Taylor: Guess that’s what nuclear armageddon does to society…
Courier Six: Yep, nukes are bad
[Harry is online]
[User 9 has Joined]
[User 10 has joined]
[User 9 has changed their name to Hermione]
[User 10 has changed their name to Ron]
Harry: Welcome to the chat guys. Pretty sure we left our sanity behind a long time ago.
Courier Six: I will have you know Harry I am quite sane
Courier Six: After all, I will have actually come up with a plan to deal with that checker-suited fuck that shot me in the head when I finally catch him.
Hermione: What?! Why wouldn’t you tell the authorities?!
Courier Six: Back read the chat
Ron: Bloody hell, this is mental
Taylor: You get used to it.
Hermione: Its odd. I’ve never held a phone like this before in my life, but using it came as natural to me as using breathing.
[Admin-Rith is online]
Admin-Rith: Yeah, there’s a slight info download attached with the phone?
Admin-Rith: Its mainly so that worlds that are lower on the tech curve aren’t fully locked out of using the chat system if they’re connected.
Admin-Rith: Multiverse is quite wide after all. It’s also why getting the transporter system up and running has been such hell.
Izuku: That is the most reasonable thing about this chat. Also Hermione, Harry said you were the brains behind his survival the last few years.
Hermione: I wouldn’t have phrased it quite like that
Hermione: But I am glad that at least Harry can recognize that.
Izuku: And I want my new friend to survive his upcoming school year. Brainstorm more spell usage and combinations later?
Hermione: That’s what I was hearing Harry mutter about earlier? Count me in then.
Ron: Oh Merlin, there's two of them.
Mojave Wasteland, Mojave Outpost, 2281
Walking up the steep hill of the Mojave Outpost, Six takes in the view of the area. Desert sands, with a town in the distance acting as a break in the view. The smoke rising from it, visible even with the setting sun, gives him a slight ache in the front of his skull. A feeling of trouble coming, ever since that night.
Shaking it off, Six continues his trek, taking in the sight of the giant statue before going into the outpost proper. Inside, its a typical setup for the NCR:converted space to handle the logistics of multiple caravans coming and going, a few troopers milling about on guard duty, and what looks to be a Major at the desk if Six is remembering the NCR rank markers correctly. Walking up, he goes to strike a conversation with the clearly tired trooper.
“Caravan, Citizen, Pilgrim or…?” the trooper asks, throwing Six for a second.
“Courier,” he says, deciding to go with his last job for now.
“Thanks. Just needed something for the log book, keeping tabs on traffic in and out of the outpost. Though most of it is just in these days. If you’re looking for the commanding officer, he’s in the back Though…he’s got a lot on his plate. Keep it short if you do talk with him.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. You able to authorize trade of goods, uh…” Six asks, before realizing he didn’t get the trooper’s name.
“Major Knight, and that’s Laucy’s job over in the barracks. Building to the left of this one. I can get your equipment repaired, provided you have the caps and can sign the forms for the parts.”
“Don’t need repairs right now, but good to know. I’ll get out of your hair Major.” The soldier nods, going back to his paperwork as Six walks to the door, before turning around as a thought hit. “By the way Major, did anyone in a checkered suit come in here the last few days?”
“No, not that I can recall. Good hunting in any case.” the Major says before turning back to his paper work.
Six sighs, not surprised at this, and then makes his way to the barracks. Best to stock up on ammo and rations before heading to Nipton. The ache in his skull seems to get worse whenever he thinks of the town. ‘Best get some stimpaks if they have them too then’ he thinks to himself.
Night City, Afterlife, 2077
Walking into the Afterlife, its easy to see that V and Jackie are newcomers to the legendary bar. Grabbing a seat at the bar, Jackie still can’t help but look around. An older woman in a yellow top and tight leather walks by, Jackie pointing her out to V
“That’s Rogue. Best fixer in all of Night City.” He says, respect and awe in the latino’s voice.
V scoffs a bit at her friend’s seeming over-reaction. “I thought Dex was the best?”
“Rogue was lining up jobs when Dex was still shitting in diapers. Place belongs to her.” Jackie counters, hands indicating the entire bar. As he does so, the bartender walks up
“What can I get ya?” she asks. Jackie looks to V, who gives a shrug.
“Two tequila old fashions with a splash o’ cerveza and a chili garnish.” the bartender nods.
“Duo of Johnny Silverhands, coming right up. Looks like someone did their homework,” she says while mixing the drinks
“Looks like the dog ate mine.” V says, having a guess at the meaning of the drink name.
“Age old tradition. Drinks are named after our regulars.”
“So say I wanted a drink named after me, what would I have to do?” V asks, curious and feeling like she already knows.
“Snuff it, in mind blowingly spectacular fashion. Mid-Op would be best.” she says, finishing up the drinks and sliding them over.
“Ah, what a beautiful tradition.” Jackie says, thinking of his own drink on the menu.
V, not quite wanting to linger on that possibility, grabs her glass for a toast. “To Night City!””
“And the Afterlife haha!” Jackie finishes it, before the pair down their drinks. The tequila burns only a little, all of the heat of the drink coming from the chilli garnish on the rim. It’s a good burn, brings her mind into focus.
“Guess dying’s a small price to pay for going down in history.” V says, a bad feeling starting to build in her gut. Maybe its the drink, but V’s paranoia is starting to catch up with her it seems. The old instincts from her Counter-Intel days telling her something is rotten, but she can’t tell what.
“Gotta live like a legend first though eh? Death, nothing but the final flourish.” Jackie says, almost certain of his luck holding steady.
“Oh, and by the way, the name's Jackie Welles. You wanna write down my recipe?" He asks, confident in becoming a legend. Just like every other merc on the street that had the same thoughts.
“Hm…sure.” the bartender says, having seen many an up-and-comer go through these halls.
“Shot of vodka on the rocks,lime juice, ginger beer, and most importantly of all…a splash of love.”
“Ha, I’ll remember that. Heard you were Dex’s latest finds.” the bartender says, making a note of Jackie’s drink in her mind.
“Ah, just biz, no big deal.” Jackie tells her, trying to play it off while V just smirks and shakes her head.
Its then that Dex’s huscle shows up to bring them to meet with their Fixer. One last meeting to hash out the fine details. Their fake IDs and cover story, what T-Bug will be up to, the rendezvous point for after the job is done. V leaves out that Evelyn wanted to cut Dex out, that paranoid worry in her gut growing larger as the meeting wraps.
Seeing the suit laid out for her, V frowns just a little bit. It reminds her of her time in Counter Intel. A part of her life she never thought she’d have to rely on this soon.
She’ll just have to stay on her toes and adapt on the fly. It’s what’s kept her alive this long.