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Post by Jade on Aug 3, 2020 6:21:34 GMT -8
Continuation of Mushroom Stalking!The android had a point. When Jade mentioned flying, she actually wanted to fly above the mushrooms, but totally forgot that it was actually draining surrounding energies, which would also mean that she'd probably be one of the sources of 'surrounding energies'. She would continue to listen to the blonde haired android when he began to state how he lost his arm. It actually made her a bit sad and a slight frown was visible on her face. Why? Well, it has been the reason and still is the reason why she doesn't want to engage in combat. At the West City Women's Tournament, she was defeated and she had no clue of how exactly it happened. Yes, she remembered that she suddenly collapsed, but she was bleeding. It was as if she was actually.. attacked or something happened that she didn't quite understand. If one should ask about this, even the feline herself wouldn't be able to explain this. She would then turn her attention to Carter, who mentioned a very.. unexpected and weird statement. At least, it was weird for her, because she has basically just met this white haired fellow but he's asking the feline about something.. personal. She didn't know how to react to that statement at first, but after giving it some thought, she finally addressed Carter. "That's.. a weird question to ask someone you've just met, Carter-san. A boyfriend? Why do you need to.. wait. Do you..-?" She began to interrogate Carter. She was about to ask if he found interest in her. But she then thought about what she was about to say and realized that maybe he's just trying to be 'nice'. When Vidar agreed with the feline, Carter didn't seem pleased, which was understandable. Jade was also capable of flying, which meant that one if term would have to carry the white haired teenager. Vidar also agreed to carry him. Jade, on the other hand, was actually a bit tired and really wasn't seeing this coming. She thought that Carter was capable of flying, but she was wrong. The feline would begin to lift herself off the ground slowly, waiting for Carter to let Vidar carry him by however means they see fit. After which, hovering towards the two saying. "Alright guys. We should be able to get there within a few minutes." She would wait for the two to be ready and let Vidar go first, since he was the one leading the other two towards the Mushroom Forest in the first place. WC: 423 Total WC: 423 Starting PL: 16,518
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Aug 3, 2020 11:38:44 GMT -8
The young pink haired girl could fly. So, there was that. She could at least carry herself around. But, would she be able to carry the white haired young man? He appeared to have some kind of cybernetic augmentation, similar to Vidar - albeit, the blonde cyborg had far more augmentations compared to Carter - and from the look of him, his eyes scanned over the boy, Vidar was unable to determine how much he weighed specifically as there were many unseen variables that made calculating that almost impossible. After all, the young man could have cybernetic augmentations within his body, out of eyesight, that could weigh him down. Vidar, for example, was quite weighty due to the many cybernetic limbs and other augmentations that he was fitted with. Sure, they were made from material designed to be lightweight, but it all just piled on, little by little.
Carter did not know who he would go with should he have to fly, but from the way he kept peering over at Jade, he appeared to have a preference.
What was the difference, though? Between Jade and Vidar, what was the difference? Why have a preference over who was going to carry you? He did not seem to understand at all why Carter seemed so intent on being carried by Jade, or at least that was his theory from the many glances he kept stealing toward the girl whenever he spoke.
"If you prefer, I can carry you. However, you will have to hang onto me quite tight, as I am currently down one arm." He held up his severed limb with his own good arm, "However, I am sure that I have ample strength to be able to carry you with ease. So if you wish, I can carry you." He stopped walking, turning to look at Carter and then peered over at the pink haired Jade, "When we get close to the Mushroom Forest, we will have to land, to avoid crash landing. Then we will have to locate and destroy the mutant mushroom. I am still attempting to figure out a way to trace the mutated mushroom back to the culprit, but I am sure once we find it, if I can get a sample of the mushroom, I can run some tests on it. Perhaps that would help us determine who corrupted the mushroom and how they did it."
With that, he raised his good arm over to Carter, "Let us make haste, we do not want to leave that mushroom unattended for too long. The longer we're discussing this, the more chance that some unfortunate soul will end up hurt by that mushroom."
WC: 445 Starting PL: 17,479
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Post by Carter Bane on Aug 3, 2020 17:35:10 GMT -8
Carter wasn't sure how what they would do about getting there but what he did know was that Accel could find the mushroom. He looked at Vidar's arm
(" You want to help him don't you?")
" Can I? How would I ?"
(" It is too early in the integration for what you wish to do but you can get there.")
Carter nodded to Vicar and as he was picked up he began to wonder... A mushroom that drains energy could be a fuel source if properly dealt with...maybe he could study it then with the knowledge he gains he could-
(" Carter, need I remind you that you signed a contract and it doesn't state that you get to keep the Mushroom ")
" But it didn't say I couldn't there are so many innovative ways that one mushroom could be used... now I'm even more interested in who could alter a mushroom to do such a thing, maybe I can gain access to his research and just the raw studies alone would be able to show me how they managed to make an organic substance absorb energy seemingly without a limit... such a tool in the military would be revolutionary-"
( "... ")
" - it could be use in defensive tech and it could branch off to even greater inventions, though mass production could be tricky the utility of such an item and its rarity alone would make it a must have item. An organism absorbing energy volunteers would line the block... no energy based weapon could harm you and would even empower you, such an item has been made but they didn't capitalize on their chance and now their research will probably be confiscated-'
(" ................")
" A simple adaptation to such a formula would be a worldwide technology Dad would like it."
Carter looked around to see both Vicar and Jade staring at him. Surely he hadn't said that out loud. Right?....Right?
(" You seemed like you were having a moment I didn't want to interrupt."
Carter looked at both of them embarrassed a part of his wishing Vicar would just drop him so he could run there himself. When would he learn to not think aloud.
(" You are getting closer to the item you seek now would be a good time to land ")
" This is good any closer and we won't be doing much flying...also can we forget what I said "
His face was red and he couldn't meet Jade's eyes did she think he was weird? Did she think he was just awkward? Maybe he could be better he would just need to show her what he could do.
" The mushroom is that way but we have to be careful extraction of the resource should be prioritized "
(" Do you think your in a movie ? ' Protect the asset' Well Carter atleast you got her attention.")
Carter tried to ignore Access this time around he wouldn't have anymore slip ups. Time to do this the right way.
WC: 490
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Post by Jade on Aug 6, 2020 4:12:25 GMT -8
Jade nodded in agreement when Vidar pleaded with the two to hurry up.
What was currently happening was something that she honestly wasn't expecting. It was quite obvious at this point. But, Jade simply didn't know how to react. One could probably say that this was the first time she has had some admire her this much. She didn't know him too well, so she couldn't say the same about the teen. He seemed.. ok though, based on the way he acts around others, at least from her observations. But then again, he could be playing nice for the purpose of having her on a date. It was puzzling for the feline. She didn't know what to believe.
The three would find themselves heading towards the Mushroom Forest, Carter on Vidar's back and Jade flying solo. She could sense the different energies emitting from the forest. Jade could not help but to stare at it for a few moments, as she hovered above the ground a good distance away from the perimeter. She would land gracefully into the grass, before addressing the two. "Hm, this should be enough. I think it walking would be the best idea at the moment." The feline warned the two. Before she began to walk towards the huge cluster of mushrooms, she could feel the different ki signatures, which seems to be the ones the mutant mushrooms sapped from the people that residing around this area.
As she walked, she began to ponder to herself what she picked up from this awkwardness. That is, from Carter. She would steal a look from him for a few moments, before a soft smile appeared on her features. It was.. a bit heart warming. She was lagging behind the two as she began to think to herself, so she ran to catch up to the two. She placed her hand in Carter's shoulder from behind, saying "Hey.. I uh, I'm sorry if I lashed out at you. I wasn't offended, just surprised." The feline admitted, after which, immediately removing her hand.
WC: 343 Total WC: 766 Starting PL: 16,518
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Aug 6, 2020 8:16:53 GMT -8
The flight over to the Mushroom Forest was, as Vidar had previously mentally predicted and as Jade had commented, faster than it would have been if they had simply walked there. Still, he still believed walking wouldn't have been a bad idea, as it would have allowed the young woman to burn some of the calories she had eaten before they began their trek. Carter, on the other hand, appeared eager to spend his time attempting to court the girl; that is what he was doing, correct? Vidar was completely oblivious to the intricacies of courtship rituals but it sure looked as if the young man was attempting to sidle up to the pink haired young lady. Why? He did not know. He could not theorize. The blonde cyborg was, while human based, unable to recall his human life before he was upgraded, and as such he is lacking in social graces and social nuances. He had not exactly been taught and raised in an environment conducive to flirtation, after all. And, now that he thought about it, there hadn't been many female scientists down in the lab where Dr. Kringle and his cabal of researchers worked tirelessly to build and upgrade him up until the moment of their death.
He had their data. Vidar recalled having a lot of their photographs and their data in his system. But he did not recall interacting with them much. He didn't even recall the women's names. He also did not recall ever seeing fraternizing among the scientists, so once again, he did not understand much about courtship, flirtation, or relationships.
He sort of understood the point of it, at least from a completely scientific sort of way. Finding a perfect partner for the possible hope of reproduction or perhaps finding a life long mate. But aside from that... Vidar was stumped.
Still, Carter would be carried along. It took a bit of getting used to, as he only had one arm and he had to use his internal balance sensors to right himself once in the air, and then off they went.
When they arrived just outside the perimeter of the Mushroom Forest, the immense fungi looming over them like oddly shaped skyscrapers, and Carter was set down in the shadow of one, Vidar could not help but marvel at the sight before him. Sure, he had some information on the Mushroom Forest; not a lot but some. It had been stored away in his memory from a file that he had stumbled upon while in Doctor Kringle's hidden lab, underground in the Southern Islands, while he was learning about the outside world, or at least how the world was like at the time.
There were energy signatures. Oh, there were quite a few of them. This entire forest was working much like the mushrooms they were, like sponges; they were sucking up energy from all around them much like how a mushroom soaks up whatever it is cooked in. If one throws a mushroom into a pot of stew, it'll soak up the broth and take on that floor; these mushrooms radiated the 'flavor' of the various types of energy they had been indiscriminately draining. But, the biggest source of energy output was not out there. It was deeper inside of the Mushroom Forest, out of sight. He could sense it. It was like a beam, a beacon, burning bright deep in the Mushroom Forest. That was where they had to go; that is where the mutant mushroom was, the one that was causing all of this to happen at all.
"Be careful in there, I do believe this forest has dangerous beasts living in it," Vidar warned the other two, "Do not separate yourselves from the group. You will get lost. The mutant mushroom, I believe - if my readings are to be believed - is somewhere in the center of the forest. I can sense it draining the energy out of the area. Once we arrive there, we'll have to study it, and then ascertain how it was tampered. We would also then decide if we are going to destroy the mushroom or not." He was speaking calmly and politely, turning to look at the other two, "Perhaps the perpetrator is in here somewhere, and for that reason it is also best not to split up as we do not know their motives or capabilities whatsoever."
Once he had given his warning, he peered up at the Mushroom Forest before him and then began to make his way inside, under the massive fungi canopy, along a dirt path that led them deeper into the Mushroom Forest.
WC: 775 | 1,220
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Post by Carter Bane on Aug 13, 2020 10:19:17 GMT -8
Carter's view of the mushroom forest was something he wished he could take a picture of. The forest was alive with color as Accel sorted through the various energies they would change color to make it easier for Carter to differentiate them. But the brightest light sparkled from deeper within. Accel focused specifically on that purple light. Carter didn't really want to have to destroy the mushroom if he was being honest but if it couldn't be contained or stopped then he would have to destroy it.
("If you wish to perform a quick study on the mushroom, then when we get to it then I will do an external scan of the mycelium, that is assuming this mushroom is still at least mushroom shaped. ")
"I suppose, but in the end it's up to the group..... I haven't made a good impression on them so far..."
("You mean you haven't made a good impression on her so far.")
"...well yeah."
Carter felt a hand on his shoulder but he knew it was Jade. Accel had locked into her ki signature while she was flying which Carter thought was rude but he saw how necessary it could be when going into a forest filled with strange energy where it would be easy to lose each other. As she spoke Carter could feel the warmth of her hand on his shoulder even after she removed it. He tried to answer her quickly as to not make her feel uncomfortable.
"That's OK, I guess I was a bit forward."
Carter wanted to tell her how calming her presence was in his current storm of a life but he decided against it. She had apologized not offered him a lottery ticket and yet there he was feeling like he had won a prize or something
("While you were busy thinking up different ways to serenade the girl I've managed to determine the location of the mushroom.")
Carter's pace slowed, he didn't want to draw attention to himself but he was also considering if he could get time to have a discussion with Jade.
("Or you could get the mission over with and ask her out after.")
Accel had a point but Carter wasn't trying to boss anyone around.
"I know where the mushroom is."
His voice was low and he wasn't sure if they had heard him, they probably didn't. Carter's thoughts were a jumble of what could happen, what he wanted to happen and what definitely shouldn't happen. He looked at Jade and started to calm down, she was calm so he could be too. He wasn't alone, he was fine, he w-
("Something's coming and fast!")
Carter's focus has been on the purple energy coming from the center of the forest but as Accel switched the filter to thermal then he could see... something heading his way! A large creature lunged out at him and Accel began his analysis as Carter dodged out of the way. The thermal filter was off now and Carter could see the creature clearly.
The creature was quadrupedal and Carter felt confusion and fear. The creature didn't look like anything Carter had seen before. Its skin was grotesque and looked purple. It looked as if someone made it out of mud and then splashed it with purple paint and then threw it into mud again. The many eyes that plastered its face slightly unnerved Carter and its large fangs and claws weren't helping
("I can't get a completely accurate analysis on what it used to be but this creature's mutations were probably caused by the forest itself. I think the irregular energies here made this creature way.")
The creature lunged at Carter again but though inconclusive Accel's analysis was enough. Carter was able to get under it as it lunged and grabbed its midsection and by using its previous momentum against it he performed a german suplex on the mutated creature and one could hear the cracking of bones in the creature's neck. Carter wasn't a fighter and was completely clueless as to what a german suplex was, but he knew it when he needed it... was this a result of the time he linked with Nase? Had he learned something while he was in there? He looked down at the body of the creature. He didn't know what is used to be but the fact that it used to be normal made a sad thought come to mind. He bent down beside the creature's body and said:
"You never asked to become this, but you are now and so I will say we shared the same goal of survival."
He placed a hand on the creature and then stood up and started to walk towards the purple glow in the distance. He was going off path but it would save them time and would probably keep them safe from ambush by following the normal path. He seemed to zone out everything else, he could tell the other's were following him but their words weren't reaching him. They had a mission to do and as soon as they had done it he could have that talk with Jade.
("That's right Carter. Don't let goals overlap, set them in a way so that one pushes forward the other, like a domino effect.")
"I don't get it, but OK."
He stole a glance at Jade. Maybe Accel was trying to help him out.
"I understand, I'll save the talk for later."
And so he kept walking though there were a few glances at Jade his mind was set. Get the mission done so that they could talk in a more comfortable setting.
WC: 943
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Post by Jade on Aug 15, 2020 9:09:42 GMT -8
Jade was a genuinely nice person. She cared for everyone that was her friend or someone close to her. Even Vidar and.. well, Carter. Although he had an evident crush on her. She felt slightly uncomfortable around the white haired young man, but not in a bad way. He didn't seem.. harmful. Her attention would then be turned to the blonde haired android. "Mhm, got it." With a simple nod, she would assure Vidar that she would try her best not to split up and stay with the group. Not that she would go on off into this Forest by herself. She was not scared, no. But the mere fact that she would have to take out one or maybe more of the creatures that lurked amongst them in this Mushroom Forest is something that she really didn't want to do.
Jade had a clue of where the Mushroom that was causing all this trouble was located. It was confusing at first, especially for her, because there were actually a lot of ki signatures in the perimeter, but there was this unique one.. in the middle. It seemed to be siphoning the energy around it. Even if it was not at an incredibly fast rate. A neutral expression was visible on the feline's face, as she walked along the visible dirt path that, by the looks of it, led deeper into the Forest and also closer to that Mutant Mushroom. She would examine the environment around her, searching for things that were out of the ordinary, which was rather evident almost everywhere she walked.
Suddenly, she would feel a rather faint ki signature heading straight for the group, specifically Carter, who was tagging along behind Vidar and the feline. She was about to help the white haired young man take down this beast, but he seemed to know what he was doing, although a slight neck chop, from behind, could have done the trick. But he wasn't the only one that got attacked. As soon as she would turn around, two of the same creatures that attacked Carter lunged at Jade. Her power level spiked up a little, as she leaped into the air, dodging the two creatures. That's where she made a mistake. As soon as she did this, she could feel her energy leaving her body.
It was pretty obvious what was causing this to happen and she knew that she needed to finish this up as quickly as possible. She would land gracefully on the ground, waiting for the two creatures to lunge at once more. Once they did, Jade's power spiked up even more, as she quickly got behind the two at an incredible speed, giving them both a powerful neck chop, not to injure them, but to knock them out. At least, for now. It was at that point she realized that her ki has actually depleted quite a bit. She immediately suppressed her energy and looked around at the two androids. "Heh, I.. uhh, sorry about that. Let's continue. We should be close." She said, as she began to look at herself, her hands specifically.
She clenched them both for a few moments, before she continued to follow the blonde haired android. The feline couldn't help but snicker when she looked over her shoulder, only to see Carter taking multiple glances at her. Her suspicions were true after all. "Where are you guys from?" The feline asked, directing the question to both Vidar and Carter. She just wanted to.. kill time, that's all. That was.. ok, right? "I actually travelled here from the Western Lands, where the Tea Clan resides."
WC: 606 Total WC: 1372 Starting PL: 16,518
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Aug 19, 2020 16:09:38 GMT -8
They had managed to arrive at the Mushroom Forest without incident. As they grew closer, Vidar could not help but notice all the strange energy fluctuations happening around them; mainly in front of them. The strange readings were all coming from one location; the Mushroom Forest. It felt strange; it was as if he were flying towards a black hole, a greedy hungry constantly eating well of gravity gone mad. It, the forest, wanted to drain all the life energy out of everything around it, and he could tell that it was happening, slowly. The area around the Mushroom Forest was beginning to die; there were trees that he could see were slowly wilting away, the leaves slowly drying out, dying out, and tumbling too early from their branches down to the earth below.
The grass was growing dry and brown, wilting and becoming brittle. A strong breeze caused a field of tall grass to sway and many of the tall stalks shattered apart into leaf dust that was blown away by the wind and scattered out of existence.
As they landed, Vidar set the young man down and he began to look around, walking around the place. He made sure to stick close to both the pink haired cat girl but also the white haired young man who - rather blatantly - appeared to be infatuated with the pink haired girl.
He didn't judge Carter. He couldn't judge. He knew nothing about relationships or anything of the sort. Was it normal to suddenly fall so in love with someone that one had just met just mere moments ago? He had seen something similar in the movies that played on the television in the underground lab - if the TV wasn't set on a channel that frequently played swashbuckling pirate movies - but he had never before witnessed such an attraction in real life, right before his very eyes.
Still, their relationship - whether or not it was budding, he could not tell, again he knew little about relationships and even less about social cues - was not the main priority for the cyborg. The strange energy readings he was picking up everywhere was.
Everything around them had energy, every form of life gave it off. But this forest was different. The energy that everything around him gave off appeared to be mutated, changed into something different than what it used to be. It was a strange mixture of the energy of the very plants but also the energy of other life forms around the forest.
His odd eyes - with their black sclera and bright yellow irises - began to take on a bright golden hue, a warm burning glow that almost made it appear as if there was a fire blazing behind his irises, as his scanners kicked into high gear and he began to visually sweep the area around them.
ANALYZING...
His HUD was going full steam, data streaming down past him in his peripheral vision, a beautiful waterfall of information.
HIGH CONCENTRATION OF ENERGY DETECTED...!
The HUD pinged something. It was coming from deep within the forest, and as his eyes scanned over the Mushrooms around him, they changed coloration right before his eyes; as the scanners eliminated one mushroom after another as the source of the high energy reading. It was not that one or that one, or any of these around them. It was somewhere deeper in the Mushroom Forest.
He followed the data, walking forward, but always keeping the pink haired girl and the white haired infatuated teen within eyesight.
There it was. He could see the brightly glowing - at least glowing according to his sensors - mushroom in the distance. He could see it, his sensors had picked it up and, using known geographic mapping of the area, managed to triangulate the exact location of the mushroom.
What a grand coincidence; at the same time as he spotted it, it appeared that Carter had also figured out the mushroom's location. It appeared his AI was equally as advanced. Vidar was impressed. He was also curious. Who augmented this boy and for what purpose? Still, that line of questioning would have to wait.
"Remember to stick together," Vidar called back to the two.
It was at that point that he sensed it; something was coming.
His HUD, in fact, sensed it before he did. It was a sudden blare of alarms inside of his head, a sudden flashing of internal blinkers and the word ALERT flashing in his peripheral vision.
Something was coming; something that was aimed straight at the young white haired man. He turned in time to see it, whatever it was. It emerged from the forest, looking mutated, twisted, and strange. It was an abomination, a religious individual would say, or an aberration of nature, the more clinical and scientific side of his mind would retort. The thing did not look like whatever it had used to look like; was it a mountain lion? Was it a tiger? He could not tell from looking at it now, but whatever it was, it was not long for this world. The young man used his small size and agility to his advantage as he grabbed the creature around the waist, spun his body about somewhat, and used the creature's momentum to slam it into the ground in a German suplex. The creature's neck audibly cracked upon impact with the forest floor.
"Are you alright?" He spoke up, calling over to the white haired young teenager, looking over at the creature he had just summarily killed - in self defense, of course. It lay there, motionless, and his eyes scanned over the corpse, attempting to gather as much data as possible, as quickly as possible, without getting too close to the animal's carcass.
Whatever this thing was, it had been mutated by the forest itself; at least, that was the working theory. Nothing in nature looked like that, at least not naturally, and at least nothing that Vidar knew about looked like that.
He had been about to speak up once more, mainly to answer the young pinkette's question - she had asked him where he was from - and managed to get out, "I'm unsure as to my background. I do not recall much of anything before my life in Doctor Kringle's lab," when he sensed something.
ALERT, ALERT, ALERT.
Another blaring alarm inside of his head. He turned to the side and he saw something emerging from the forest. This time it was barreling towards Vidar. The thing was immense; it was moving with a growling, gurgling roar, almost like a locomotive - if one were to imagine a locomotive underwater - charging straight toward him. The creature's jaws were open, slack, thick viscous drool messily slathered its jaw and flew through the air as it suddenly reared up in front of him and roared.
He knew this stance. The creature's appearance did not give away what it had once been, but it's stance did. It looked like some kind of strange and frightening monstrosity, much like the creature that had attacked Carter, but on a slightly larger scale. It appeared to be at least nine feet tall, and from his rather fast calculations, his scanner sweeping over the creature as it stood before him, he calculated at least twenty two hundred pounds.
But, it's appearance was unrecognizable. The stance, however, gave away what it was. Or at least, it gave away what it had once been. This thing before him had been a bear.
It was drooling, thick sloppy saliva coating the creature's fur and splattering through the air as it roared, agitated, angry, towards the blonde cyborg before it swiped its immense clawed paw towards him.
He grasped the creature's arm, twisted his body and used the creature's momentum. Somewhat similar to what Carter had done. But he did it differently. He did not go for a German Suplex. Instead, he used the creature's size, weight, and momentum against it, in order to perform a shoulder throw. He flung the creature up and over his shoulder and slammed it into the ground. It landed on its front, on the floor, and he straddled its back and wrapped an arm around its neck and pulled back. He was putting it in a choke hold.
The creature writhed and roared and attempted to buck him off but he held tight, leaning into the bear as he increased the pressure until, after a moment, the creature slumped onto the ground, unconscious but still alive.
He pulled away from it and turned to face the other two, "I suggest we finish quickly. Whatever this mushroom is, it is mutating the wildlife here."
The cyborg pulled away from the creature, wiping his good arm off as he walked deeper into the forest.
The deeper they went into the forest, the more that he could detect the strange energy fluctuations growing even more erratic. The mushroom really was one big magnet for energy and he could feel it attempting to try and claw away at his own reserves. He could feel that odd sensation, as if someone had taken a fishing hook and latched it onto his lip and was tugging. He could feel it, but not on his lip, it was down in his chest. He could feel his energy being pulled, slowly, gradually, but it was noticeable.
Up ahead, as the path twisted and turned and led them deeper into the forest, he could sense that they were growing closer to the origin of this strange sensation.
The Mushroom was growing closer as they moved closer to it and soon he spotted it. It was ahead in the distance. And it was much larger than he had anticipated. The mushroom was at least the size of a house, a modest house, perhaps two floors tall. It was at least thirty feet across and at least thirty feet high, or at least that is how tall the stalk was. The actual mushroom cap was even larger, wider and taller. It cast a shadow underneath it, and he could see the roots growing outward from the mushroom. The roots almost resemble living things, like a bundle of snakes, somewhat writhing and pulsing just slightly out of sight underneath the quivering earth through which they embedded themselves.
"I think that this is it." Vidar called back to the other two with him as he looked upon the strange monstrous mutant mushroom. "I guess we should begin studying it to see why it became like this."
WC: 1,755 | 2,975
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Post by Carter Bane on Aug 21, 2020 1:06:29 GMT -8
Carter had expected an awkward silence as they marched on to the mushroom. Jade's question was a safe one.
"I'm from the Central Lands. My dad is a scientist in Capsule Corp's Robotics Division. He's really smart and his first invention was this thing called a thinking cap... even though it served more as a remote than anything. You could think about something and the thinking cap would basically translate it to computer language and send it to the specific device. He also said he had made it as a gift to my mom when they were younger."
("Your mom is not in any of your memories... Do you not see her often?")
"Dad said she died giving birth to me, but since you said that you've been with me since birth I'm wondering if that was even true."
("Your father wouldn't lie to you without reason.")
"I'll believe that when I hear the reason."
("...I'm sorry Carter.")
As Carter got closer to the mushroom, its size overwhelmed him. It was much larger than him and his energy was fluctuating just by proximity. He calmly stepped closer and his eye began to glow. Its size wouldn't be the biggest problem, but the fact that someone would have to be abnormally strong to lift it and due to its nature the person would have to not use any ki in the process.
("So... Do you still plan on taking this thing for experiments? Because I would advise against trying to break your back")
Carter stepped towards the mushroom.
"I'll just have to study it here then"
He made a fist.
"Beginning external study"
He punched into the mushroom which was obviously a mistake. Though his hand went into the mushroom, it was quickly trying to drain away his energy. He pulled his hand out.
"It isn't especially durable but maybe it has a core of some sort or it is completely bio-enhanced, which means this thing was made to grow here specifically."
He held out his hand and a small metal box came out.
"Well that's handy I suppose"
He stuck his hand into the hole quickly and placed a bit of the mass into the box but his energy level were still going down. He held the box in his left hand and used his right pointer finger to weld the box closed.
"Now for some more information"
He looked up to the top of the mushroom. He wanted to jump up there so he could study the top but decided against it, since it would probably be a waste of energy besides who knew how durable the top was. He also collected the soil from around the area of the mushroom. This way he would be able to see if the mushroom was also draining the nutrients from its soil or if it was only feeding on the ki in the forest. A quick scan revealed that the soil was normal, meaning this mushroom was only feeding on ki. How knowledgeable would one have to be in fungi in order to completely change its nature. His mind wandered back to the creatures from earlier now he wasn't sure if it was just the strange energies of the forest that had made those creatures the way they were.
"Accel"
("Yes, Carter?")
"Can you scan for the closest metal nearby? You can exclude Vidar and Jade in case she might be wearing jewelry."
("Sure... May I ask why?")
"Anyone experimenting on something like this wouldn't leave their little experiments unmonitored."
"Oh I understand"
And Carter knew he was right even as the metal scan showed a humanoid form on the top of the mushroom. Carter suspected some sort of coating against the mushroom's drain which means they wouldn't be detected by people who can sense ki and regular people wouldn't make it pass the mutated creatures. Of course the person or people who did this would know how to coat against it. He turned his view to the mushroom. The large mushroom was indeed hiding metal both inside and underneath it. Yet another smart ploy.
Carter's senses were telling him that trying to go through the mushroom would be unwise and possibly deadly. Carter believed that the only way to get down to their bunker was through the top and they would have to fight the guard that was up there without using ki. As he turned to Vidar and Jade, his palm glowed and he described what he knew via 3d projections and holographic text just in case the area was bugged.
("You really are the son of Professor Bane... I don't think they'll take it well that their entire system was figured out by a teen.")
"Don't jinx it. The tough part is up next."
His holographic text read 'We jump up there in 3....2......1'
808 WC |
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Post by Jade on Aug 29, 2020 9:21:48 GMT -8
Capsule Corp. That sounded familiar. The Western Lands, was it? Ah, yes. Jade actually went there to participate in the West City Women's Tournament. It wasn't exactly the best thing to think about right now. The memory of her collapsing on stage made her frown for a few moments. As for Vidar, he mentioned a lab. Labs were places where scientists did their research and their crazy experiments. Was Vidar an android like the ones she encountered? Some seemed to be partly human. Like that guy named Luther. It seemed androids had a thing about them, which Jade still finds weird.
One cannot simply just sense an android's ki signature. Was Carter also an android? She couldn't sense his energy either. But, Carter was.. different. He seemed to remember his past, unlike Vidar. He said that he met in an accident and that was why his eye was like that? Was he lying? These questions flooded the feline's mind. Once they finally located and got to the Mushroom, the feline looked at it in awe. As for taking care of the Mushroom, she decided not to. Well, at least for now. Vidar and Carter kept mentioning taking samples, studying and experimenting on the Mushroom.
That wasn't Jade's speciality. So, she simply stepped back, allowing the two to take over from here onwards. She looked around for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, ither than this huge energy sucking Mushroom, of course. A person, maybe? Someone could behind all this chaos, but it was hard to focus on one ki signature, especially with this Mushroom here. The android's seemed to know what they were doing, so she simply waited for their instructions, if they needed her help.
WC: 287 Total WC: 1659 Starting PL: 16,518
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Sept 3, 2020 12:28:19 GMT -8
The giant mushroom cast an immense shadow over the area in which it grew. The grass around the base of it was dying, wilting, albeit slowly, as it had the life force sucked out of it, little by little, by the immense fungus. It was just strange to look at. Sure, the mushrooms in the Mushroom Forest were naturally large, but this one just felt abnormal even among its fungal brethren. Perhaps because the others had grown to their immense size naturally over hundreds of years he could only assume. But this one was forced to grow to such immense degrees within a much shorter amount of time; days, not likely, weeks, possibly, but more than likely it had been at least a few months.
His brightly glowing golden eyes, his scanners, were working overtime; he was collecting as many visual samples as possible, many photographs of the immense fungus, some of them zoomed in quite closely to get photos of the texture of the mushroom. He walked up to it, ran his hand along the side, feeling the way the mushroom tugged at his seemingly endless pool of energy. If anything, someone like him made the perfect battery for a thing like this. But he refused to be this thing’s snack.
He did pluck a bit of the mushroom off the side as he held it in his hands and looked it over closely.
Increase Magnification? ….Y / N ? Yes. Increasing Magnification…
His eyes zoomed in on the sample of mushroom he held, albeit to others it just looked as if his pupils became extremely dilated.
“Hm, this mushroom is strange. It has definitely been manipulated.” His eyes returned to normal as he looked around. Something caught his attention, or at least, it caught the attention of his internal HUD.
Scanning…. Transmission frequencies detected.
What? That was strange. There seemed to be wireless transmission frequencies in the area.
His scanners continued to work as he looked around, peering about from the corners of his eyes. Then he saw it. It was hidden just barely out of view. There was a camera. It was high up on the side of one of the tall mushrooms nearby. It had a small barely visible red light glowing on the side. It was recording. Someone had mounted a camera on the side of the mushroom and it was aimed at the very mushroom they were studying.
In fact, there were several other cameras in the area. Now that he was searching for them, he was spotting them easier.
He made his way over to Jade, whispering over to her, “We’re being watched…There’s cameras. There, there, over there,” he peered over in the direction of each of the cameras, high up, hidden just barely out of view, but there they were.
“I believe that I can trace the signal back to whoever is watching us,” The yellow eyed cyborg hypothesized, although his HUD was already hard at work at doing just that, “I do believe they can’t be too far away. I did not detect these frequencies until now, so they are short distance frequencies. They are probably nearby. If I can trace the frequencies to the source, then we can get some answers as to how this mushroom got the way it is. It’s going to take a few moments to trace the signal, what do you think?”
WC: 565 | 3,540
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Post by Carter Bane on Sept 4, 2020 7:24:45 GMT -8
Carter ignored the cameras its not like they could stop him. A metal cube formed in his hand. He gripped it tightly and threw it into the air and it went almost straight up.
Accel could be heard snickering.
"Well....you missed"
Carter launched himself up to the top of the mushroom to face the foe atop it. His energy was trying to come back as fast as it was being drained but he was too close to the mushroom. He landed on top of the mushroom and there he saw a man....or a woman he couldn't tell as they wore a bulky suit that would best be described as.....
"Cool!"
Carter found himself saying as he stared at the suit. The figure either didn't appreciate the compliment or maybe hadn't heard him as they rushed forward to tackle him. Carter moved swiftly to the side and swung his leg making the person go rolling to the edge of the mushroom. Carter caught them before they fell and threw them back unto the mushroom. His energy was going down and he was feeling tired which hadn't happened since he had found out his true nature. The feeling was nostalgic, some part of him liked being tired but right now wasn't a good time to start to feel exhausted. The figure must have noticed something different because they went for another tackle. This time Carter moved to the side and grabbed the helmet part off of the suit. It turns out it was a woman but something about her eyes felt off, Carter could only see the whites of her eyes and begun to feel uncomfortable she looked at him with cold unfocused eyes. She lunged at him and he hesitated for a second, that one second seemed to be enough as he was tackled to the ground and she went to bite his face as fangs sprouted. Carter kicked her away and then right at that moment a small metal cube fell from the sky and hit the 'girl' in the head. Carter breathed a sigh of relief but he didn't know how much that moment would impact him later on. He examined the helmet and found that it wasnt just a helmet....it was alive. Gross! He shouted as the wires from the helmet shot towards his face he threw it into the air and fired a beam of electricity towards it while it was in the air. To make things worse it exploded and strange purple fluid rained down on those below.
Accel: You had to handle it alone huh?
Carter shrugged and scanned for the entrance hatch. He opened it and shouted down at them.
" I uhh... found something!!"
He looked over at the unconscious girl as he sat on the top of a giant mushroom waiting for the others to get up there.
WC: 478 | 2,719
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Post by Jade on Sept 11, 2020 11:16:04 GMT -8
Yes, this mushroom was indeed strange. Jade suspected that it was tampered with all. A naturally grown Mushroom shouldn't be this big and have the ability to absorb energy like that. The feline watched as both android's did their thing. One examining the towering mushroom and the other had to deal with this.. figure on top of the Mushroom, which was rather weird. Jade was extremely sure that she didnt feel any other ki signatures around, buy apparently there was this figure that wore a suit. Maybe the energy sucking Mushroom made it difficult to realize that thetr were others here. But, Carter still managed to take care of the problem.
Jade, as much as she suppressed her energy, could feel her ki getting taken away from her body. It made her feel.. fatigue. But, only slightly. She wondered how these two managed to graze their fingers let alone to shove there hand into that thing, without having issues about their ki running low? Was this.. another thing about androids? First, it was the fact that she couldnt sense their ki and now this? Did they even have ki?
While the feline began to ponder, Vidar would walk over to Jade, telling her that they were being watched. Her eyes widened. Looking around, she spotted them. They were not that visible at first, but now.. she realized that they were also recording. "Hm, this just shows that the Mushroom was tampered with and this most definitely didn't happen due to something natural." She whispered to Vidar. She looked away from the cameras, making sure that it wasn't obvious that she knew they were there. If there were cameras here, that means the person watching them shouldn't be too far.
She peered over to Carter, who seemed to find some sort of.. secret hatch. She nodded at the white haired teenager, before turning her attention to the blonde haired android once more. "Shall we? That might be where he or she's hiding."
WC: 331 Total WC: 1990 Starting PL: 16,518
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Sept 15, 2020 17:33:39 GMT -8
Someone was watching them, or to be specific, they were watching the mushroom. But, it couldn't be the higher ups of Pilaf Land, could it? They did know about the mushroom, but none of them had even tried to quarantine the area off. There were no barriers, no fences, no guards, nothing to stop anyone from simply wandering into the Mushroom Forest and running into this immense fungi. It was strange. If the people that ran Pilaf Land were so concerned with this thing, they would have done something to stop people from getting in. Someone else was watching the mushroom, and by extension, they were watching them now too.
Furthermore, if it was Pilaf Land, if they were the ones watching the mushroom, they would have told them about the cameras and it would have also made the trip to the mushroom a bit easier; they would have been able to find the mushroom because the workers at Pilaf Land would have known exactly where it was, would have known it was under surveillance, and would have given them exact coordinates to it. They had done none of those things.
Where were the frequencies coming from? The cameras appeared to be using wireless frequencies to transmit their recorded data. His HUD was picking up those frequencies. All he had to do now was calculate just where the frequencies lead.
Calculating...
His HUD had located the frequencies. Calculating and triangulating just where they were coming from would be a bit harder. And as he waited for that to happen, he allowed his eyes to take in their surroundings; he spotted the cameras again, all pointed toward the massive mushroom. And he could only wonder why. Why would anyone go through all of this trouble?
Up above them, there was some kind of scuffle. Vidar did not see who or what was up there, but apparently Carter had decided to jump up and atop the mushroom. And whilst he was up there, he found something or someone? It was strange, considering that he had not detected any energy signatures nearby; but, it was hard to pinpoint any particular energy signature with this immense mushroom in front of him acting almost like a frequency scrambler. He felt so many different energy readings and different energy types radiating from and being drawn into this mushroom that he could not tell some of them apart.
Something, strange purple liquid, splattered across the ground in front of him, raining down from above.
"Let us see just what he found..."
He leapt up, rather high, and landed atop the cap of the mushroom. He felt weighed down, heavy, the massive fungi was draining his energy still. "Hm?" His eyes fell onto the unconscious woman and he walked over to her, leaning in as he turned her over and examined her; he peeked into her eyes, checked her pulse, opened her mouth and saw the fangs, "This outfit she is wearing..." It was strange. He had never seen anything like it.
He heard something. It wasn't something that Carter or Jade would hear as the sound occurred inside of his head. It was a small notification from his HUD.
"The frequencies of the security cameras," He sat up, peering over at Jade and Carter, and then over at the hatch, "I attempted to triangulate their place of origin. I believe I have an answer." He pointed down under his feet, "It's the mushroom. This fungus is not just living, it is housing something." He walked over to the hatch and peered inside. He couldn't see how far down the opening went but he knew that it led into, and potentially under, the mushroom. "Whoever did this is down there. Are you both ready to go down there and finally get some answers?"
WC: 635 | 4,175
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