The Bloodfist
Gauld: *pant* *pant* She's nowhere to be seen... Oh, Angie, where have you gone?!
Bareed: Have ya managed to track down that adorable little moppet of yours yet?
Gauld: I ain't got time for yer crap, Bareed!
Bareed: Not sure I'd take that tone with me, old friend. 'Specially not if ya wanna see that kid again.
Gauld: WHAT DID YOU DO?!
Bareed: Now THERE'S the Bloodfist I remember! Never were able to control yer temper. Still, the girl is safe as houses back at my place, so don't ya worry none.
Gauld: Ya KIDNAPPED her?!
Bareed: Oh, but I've MISSED ya, Gauld! And no, I ain't kidnapped no one. Just think of it as yer old pal keepin' a young girl safe.
Bareed: But if ya want her to stay all pretty and unharmed, yer gonna do what I say!
Gauld: Let me see her. Please.
Bareed: Gah ha ha! Oh, it's so damn hard to tell ya no, Gauld. It really is. Buuuut...no.
Bareed: Not unless ya come back to be my right-hand man with the Burly Boys!
Gauld: Why are you so obsessed with me? YOU'RE the boss now! I turned all that over to you and walked away!
Gauld: My time is over.
Bareed: You're the only one who thinks that way.
Bareed: We got problems comin' at us from every which'a way, and all folks can say is that they'd be done and dusted if the ol' Bloodfist was still around.
Bareed: So that's why they need to see YOU backin' ME! Ease their minds, like.
Gauld: ...All right. I'll do it.
Bareed: Gah ha ha! Ya see? This ain't so hard! Just fall in line and do what I say, and nobody's gotta get hurt.
Bareed: GAAAAH HA HA HA HA!
Angie: Urgh... *sniffle*
Angie: GRAMPS! ...Oh, wait. You're not my gramps.
Gauld: I'm sorry, Angie. I really am. But I never meant to lie to you.
Gauld: I was just waiting for you to get a little older before I told you the whole truth.
Angie: I just... I can't believe it. How could you keep it a secret?
Gauld: ...Because I was scared.
Angie: Scared how?
Gauld: I was scared what you'd think of me if I told you the whole truth.
Gauld: I thought you might just quit outta my life for good.
Gauld: But that was cowardice, and it caused you pain. I can't tell you how sorry I am.
Gauld: Can you please forgive me? And maybe...call me Gramps again?
Angie: Hmm... Well, Gr—
Bareed: Okay, think that's enough'a the heartfelt reunion! Get over here, little miss.
Angie: Eeek!
Gauld: Bareed! If ya lay another finger on her, yer gonna deal with ME!
Bareed: I give the orders here, Gauld! You shut up and take 'em!
Angie: Aaah... AAAAAAAH!
Gauld: Ah, hell! She's havin' a fit!
Gauld: Bareed, please. I'm sorry. You just... You have to stay calm in front of her. No violence or harsh words. Okay?
Bareed: GAAAH HA HA! Now who whoulda thought the Bloodfist would bow his head to ME?!
Bareed: But I ain't an unreasonable man. If ya want the kid healthy and happy, ya just gotta do what I say. Easy, no?
Gauld: ...All right.
Bareed: Then for starters, ya can sit right here, shut yer yap, and not move. Got it?
Bareed: ...Oh, don't lookit me like that! I got a mountain'a work for ya—you'll be outta here before ya have time to get bored.
Gauld: Oh, Angie...
Later that night...
Gauld: I'm sorry, Angie. This is all my fault.
Gauld: I can't let that go on any longer. Even if it means—
Hawk: Staining your hands once again?
Gauld: The Reaper! Why are you here?
Hawk: I told you, I'm trying to put an end to the Burly Boys.
Gauld: You planning to kill Bareed? And am I on the list now, too?
Hawk: If necessary.
Gauld: ...It's no surprise it's come to this for Bareed. But please, just not right now!
Hawk: Is this about Angie?
Gauld: You know about her?
Hawk: I've seen people like her before. That's a girl with some deep hurt.
Gauld: And it's all because of me.
Gauld: Her real dad was one of the Burly Boys— guy named Girard. He was a bad sort, and that's puttin' it lightly.
Gauld: He'd throw the Burly Boys name around to lord over people, then take off the second things got hairy. Never kept a promise. Only thought about himself.
Gauld: But the Burly Boys was made for guys like that. We were all bad, more or less.
Gauld: But then he crossed the one line we had. He killed one of our own.
Gauld: He knew the hell that would come for him, so he stabbed us in the back and sold us out to a rival organization.
Gauld: As the boss, I couldn't let it slide. I tracked him down and...dealt with it.
Hawk: ...And she saw it.
Gauld: ...Yes. Angie saw my arm covered in her own father's blood.
Gauld: Now, she was just a baby back then, so she doesn't really remember it. Not clearly, anyway.
Gauld: But she's terrified by violence. Terrified. Even a raised voice is enough to send her into a crazed fit.
Gauld: We had it rough as kids ourselves. Useless parents tossed us out and forced us into a life on the street.
Gauld: We started the Burly Boys in order to have a place lost boys like us could make a little coin. Soon enough, we were thriving.
Gauld: Before I knew it, I'd gone from BEING an unhappy kid to MAKING them.
Gauld: Once I realized that, I knew the group couldn't continue.
Hawk: So you stopped being the Bloodfist.
Gauld: I didn't need an arm covered in blood— I needed one that could comfort a child.
Gauld: Guess maybe that was my own way to run away. From the Burly Boys, from my past...all of it.
Gauld: I should have used my fist to beat the Boys into shape. Instead, I destroyed it.
Gauld: My life's just one mistake after another...
Hawk: If you make a mistake, make it right. It's not too late to do that now.
Gauld: Heh. Strange world indeed where I'm being comforted by the Reaper.
Hawk: It's precisely because of the life I've lived that I wish for a peaceful and happy world—the life I failed to obtain.
Gauld: Suffering makes for strange bedfellows. Still, you're right—if I'm going to make this right, I have to start now.
Gauld: I need to find Angie and Bareed. Will you help me, Reaper?
Hawk: I will.
Gauld: Just hang on, Angie... Gramps is comin' for ya!
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