The crowd had started to calm down—until they spotted the mini faeries and baby trolls, who were watching the group with amusement.
"Oh my god, what's that?" gasped one of the women in business suits. She had seen the TV show about the wasteland and knew monsters existed there, but seeing one in real life was a different experience. It was like knowing elephants roamed Africa, only to have one appear on your street. Except in this case, the "elephant" was a baby troll, dressed in a tiny martial arts outfit.
One of the security guards, visibly shaking, pulled out his gun and aimed it at the baby trolls.
"Put down your gun," Atlas commanded, his voice firm but calm.
The guard, eyes wide in panic, didn't move. The mini faeries' eyes started spinning in ominous circles, their usual playful demeanor vanishing.
"Put down your gun now, motherfucker," Atlas snapped, his tone leaving no room for argument.
At that, the Portal Crushers, catching sight of the mini red faeries and hearing Atlas's voice, immediately stopped helping the refugees. They drew their crossbows, all aimed at the unfortunate guard. The poor guy froze, staring at the medieval weapons now pointed at him. The mini faeries’ intense glares didn’t help, their tiny forms radiating a surprising amount of menace.
Realizing how screwed he was, the guard quickly holstered his gun. "Sorry, man," he stammered. "I just... I don’t know what's going on."
"It’s fine," Atlas said, his voice more relaxed now. "You’re lucky, though. If you’d portaled in with the last group, your head would’ve been blown clean off."
The entire group, including the Portal Crushers, erupted into laughter. It was dark humor, but that’s how it worked in the wasteland. They all knew this batch of refugees was lucky the Red Fairy weren’t around—things could have gone way worse.
As if summoned by the mere thought of her name, the Red Fairy herself appeared, hovering high in the wasteland sky, her usual watchful presence sending a shiver through the crowd.
***
The Red Fairy hovered high above the wasteland, adding to the chaotic brouhaha unfolding below. All across the wasteland, veterans froze in place. They knew what her sudden appearance meant. Panicked refugees in some settlements, however, kept running around, unaware of the ‘mind-blowing‘ experience they were about to get. Luckily, in Fort Bone town, the refugees had already calmed down, spared from the worst of it.
While the Red Fairy normally wore a cheerful expression—though everyone in the wasteland knew better—today, she looked really pissed off. What most didn’t know was that the Red Fairy had been called in for this emergency portaling, and she was not happy about it. Nerdathor’s impromptu decision to portal these people in hadn’t been fully cleared with her contract. She got paid per appearance, and it was meant to be on a regular schedule—not with these sudden interruptions like now.
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She was definitely going to take her anger out on someone. And, to her, the wasteland citizens looked like a fine choice. But, of course, the rules didn’t allow her to just blow people up randomly. However, she could still follow her directive to help reduce the wasteland population. So, with a sweet smile and venom in her eyes, she got to work immediately.
The Red Fairy hovered ominously over Fort Bone town, her eyes blazing with irritation as she sought out her targets. With the refugees mostly off-limits, she scanned the wasteland for those who had long overstayed their welcome—bandits, thieves, and other lowlifes who had managed to slip through the cracks of wasteland justice.
She smirked, her mood lifting as she spotted a cluster of bandits camping out in the remains of a ruined outpost far from Fort Bone town. With a flick of her hand, she sent a pulse of energy rippling across the sky. In an instant, the bandits exploded into shimmering red dust, leaving behind only the faintest echoes of their screams.
But she wasn’t done. Her job, after all, was to reduce the wasteland population—and if anyone was going to suffer today, it was going to be those who thought they could live off the misery of others. She projected herself across the wasteland, her voice echoing like a cheerful yet ominous announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of ‘The Red Fairy Show!‘”
Her image shimmered above settlements, ruins, and camps across the wasteland, broadcasting to everyone as she went about her grisly task. Wherever she found bandits, scavengers, or troublemakers, they didn’t stand a chance. She wiped out a gang of raiders hiding in the jagged cliffs, a group of highwaymen who had terrorized travelers near a broken bridge, and even a notorious gang leader lounging in his bunker. She called out her signature farewell.
“Looks like it’s game over for you! Toodle ooh, bitches!”
The wasteland watched in horror and fascination, unable to look away from the spectacle. The Red Fairy’s show was an undeniable part of life in the wasteland, and today’s episode was particularly action-packed. As her destruction unfolded, the hauntingly familiar notes of music played in the background.
The Red Fairy’s image gleamed across the sky, visible to all, her voice lilting and sweet, “I hope you all enjoyed the show! Remember, it’s not personal—it’s just wasteland business.”
With a final flourish, she zapped another group of bandits trying to escape into a cave, reducing them to nothing more than a cloud of ash. Her broadcast winked out just as the last note of the music faded, leaving behind a stunned silence across the wasteland.
‘‘‘
As the new refugees watched the Red Fairy’s show being broadcast, a wave of relief washed over them. They were grateful—‘so‘ grateful—that they hadn’t been the ones targeted. The sheer spectacle of it all was mesmerizing and terrifying in equal measure. In Fort Bone town, the refugees had no idea that at least one refugee in almost every other camp had been blown away before order had been restored. They had narrowly escaped the chaos that could have swallowed them whole.
One of the doctors leaned toward a nurse, his voice low. “Isn’t that the theme song from ‘House‘ playing in the background?”
The nurse frowned, straining to listen to the familiar tune. Sure enough, the distinctive piano notes of ‘Teardrop‘ had been playing as the Red Fairy gleefully zapped more wasteland scum across the horizon.
“Yeah,” the nurse whispered back, shaking her head in disbelief. “I can’t decide if it’s fitting or just plain wrong.”
The surreal nature of it all—the destruction, the dramatic broadcast, and ‘that‘ music—made the moment all the more unsettling. Yet for the refugees, one thing was certain: they were lucky to be alive.
There was only one group of people who felt even more relieved than the new refugees. The people in the lowest ranked settlements. Ever since the Red Fairy had stopped announcing the leaderboard they lived in perpetual dread of a fairy wipe happening. And this time it wasn’t any of them that had been fairy wiped. ‘Hopefully she’d continue killing bandits?‘
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRXCo6IjXqk