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Post by Rik on Dec 2, 2019 11:34:42 GMT -8
The captain took the boat out from the dock and guided it out to sea. Soon enough they had cleared the fishy stench of the harbor and reached the cleaner air of the open sea. Riku leaned against the rail and watched the water drift by in companionable silence. It stirred old memories being back on a boat. It had been untold years in real time... but for him it didn't seem so long ago. This boat was different in many ways, but the same as well. When they reached their destination, Riku acquired a couple of rods from the captain and found Vidar, giving him one. Riku held the rod in his hands so Vidar could see it and what he was doing as the boat took position near a reef far out to sea. This reef looked promising because it was near a drop off of the ocean floor, and these things combined should make fore very plentiful fish for them. "This is a fishing rod. You place the bait on the hook like so... and then cast it out into a likely spot. Then you wait for the fish to bite and reel them in." He cast the rod out, its hook bearing a piece of squid and sat on a bench near the rail. He waited for the other man to join him and sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat and the caress of the ocean breeze. He cleared his throat after he felt he had been silent long enough, his low voice resonating out over the waves, "So... Vidar. I have an inkling that you might be like myself. I am some kind of... android or cyborg. I am not sure which name is correct from my searches on the terms. I haven't really spoken with anyone about this since my... awakening. I didn't elect to have this happen to me, you know..." Riku began telling his tale; growing up in a fishing village where his father was the lord; becoming a samurai and serving his daimyao, the rebellion, and the subsequent manhunt for him that led to him being frozen. Waking up in a strange new time and place only to be... altered. Then waking up in floating in the stasis pod...
The words just seemed to pour out, now that he had found someone who he felt could potentially understand. After he finished his story, he waited for the other man to speak as he watched the waves dance across the horizon. He felt... lighter in a way he hadn't since he had found himself in this new time. He wondered if Vidar would have a similar story or if he had voluntarily undergone his change into a part machine. He was pretty sure he was the only time traveler by ice that he had heard of... and he had searched the Shenron-Net extensively for any mention of another having done so.
Attention! Your line is taut. Chance of fish on hook is 95%
Riku snapped the rod upwards and started reeling the fish in... it was a good fighter. It pulled and struggled to release itself from the hook or pull its tormentor into the water with it, but soon enough Rik was victoriously hoisting a nice sized red snapper onto the deck. He grinned as it flopped on the deck and said, "These are very nice eating indeed."
[575/575]
Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK)
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Dec 2, 2019 17:42:55 GMT -8
Vidar had caught one particularly large fish. It was dragged to the hold where it would remain until they returned back to the harbor, and the Captain could not stop grinning at his sheer luck. He had gotten two volunteers to go out fishing with him, and one of them had already caught him a fish that would sell for a healthy penny if he were to sell it to the canneries or even the public fish markets in town. When Vidar climbed back aboard the ship, soaking wet, he was surprised by the hug the Captain threw onto him.
“That was incredible,” The man cried out, laughing. The bearded man was guffawing boisterously, having a hard time believing that someone could catch such an immense fish, and without using a strong fishing hook to do it. He had done it simply by wrestling it out of the water with incredible strength and skill. Though, from the look on the yellow eyed cyborg’s face, he had never actively gone properly fishing before.
Still, when the captain of the fishing boat took them out to sea, Vidar watched the harbor shrink away, growing smaller and smaller until it was but a speck in the distance, and they were surrounded by what appeared to be seemingly infinite miles of ocean. The fishy musty smell of the harbor was replaced with the soft bittersweet scent of the sea. The loud clanging of bells, the shouts of Cannery workers, and the mechanical orchestra of machinery on the docks was replaced with the gentle sloshing of the ocean licking alongside the now “parked” boat’s hull. The distant sound of gulls could be heard in the wind. There was a clear sky above, but off in the distance, perhaps an hour or so away from the boat, there appeared to be dark purple and black thunderheads in the sky. They did not appear to be moving in their direction, but one could not be so sure how the wind would change and carry it to them.
From time to time they would hear the distant growl of thunder. Though they did not have to worry about it for the moment. Instead, the captain stood at his post, a big grin on his face, his cigar hanging from his lip as he watched the two volunteers interact.
When a fishing rod was thrust into his hand, the blonde cyborg’s eyes glowed a bright golden, as he allowed his scanners to take in every detail of the lightweight object held in his hand. He was able to use his scanners to deduce the material it was made from, the weight, pounds per square inch that the fishing line could handle, etc. He knew what a fishing rod was; the technology had not exactly needed to change in the past few centuries. However, he had never used one before.
He watched closely, intently, at what Riku was explaining. He watched how the bait was placed on the hook, and he listened and watched at Riku cast his line. He sat down beside him, taking a seat at one of the comfortable fishing chairs; the chairs were built specifically for fishing, with straps to keep the fisherman seated comfortably in the chair while also providing additional support should he have to yank the fish out of the water.
Taking a piece of bait, Vidar placed it on his hook, listening to Riku the entire time. He was taking in his story, listening to what he had to say; one could tell from the way that Vidar expressed himself, that he was interested in the other’s tale. He was not exactly a good poker player.
“I am a cyborg, by definition; a human that was augmented through experimentation with the use of advanced technology and implanted with numerous cybernetics.” He commented, though he had performed a scan of Riku earlier and had noticed that he - much like himself - was modified with an extensive amount of cybernetic augmentations. “I believe you would fall under that category due to the amount of cybernetic augmentation that your body seems to have gone under.” He spoke bluntly, as if he were discussing a computer rather than a living person. Though he did not appear to be speaking coldly or cruelly.
When Riku finished talking, finished telling his story, Vidar took a moment to process the information; in the time that he listened, he was creating a dossier on Riku, creating an internal file within his databanks titled “RIKU: THE CYBORG SAMURAI” with all of his data that he could extrapolate from his story.
“I do not have a recollection of what, or who, I was in my past life,” Vidar began, thinking that they were going to have to share their own story since Riku shared his own, “My memories of that time are virtually non-existent. I get fragments, images, but they are too blurry, too scattered, and without context, so I am unable to create any form of image of what kind of man I was before all of this,” He peered down at his body, his cybernetic arms, and the many augmentations that were done to him, “However, I spent a lot of time in the lab, a hidden base in the Southern Islands, run by Doctor Kringle, he is,” he corrected himself, “he was my creator.” he said the man’s name with a hint of sadness to his voice although he was good at not showing it. “He defected from the Red Ribbon Army centuries ago, only managing to stay alive far beyond the normal human capability by slowly transforming himself into a cyborg. Unfortunately, his mechanical heart could not sustain him forever. I was kept in stasis mode for fifty years. I was found by a strange woman who calls herself Hebihime Manda. I wonder how she is fairing…”
He attempted to cast his own line as well, as the hook and bait went rather far before landing in the water as he sat back in the chair and waited.
After several seconds, there was a strong pull on the reel. He imitated what Riku had done, reeling but also allowing for some slack so as not to snap the fishing line and then reeling again.
His first attempt at reeling in a fish took nearly ten minutes but with one last yank a large fish was ripped from the water and it landed on the deck. “Appears you reeled in a Bluefin Tuna.” The Captain was content by this development, grinning broadly at how the two men were already bringing in a good catch and they’ve only just started fishing.
WC: 1,110
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Post by Rik on Dec 5, 2019 7:23:51 GMT -8
Riku nodded at Vidar's words... a "cyborg." That sounded like what he was to, he was sure. He had almost as much flesh as metal to himself... he held his arms out pensively and considered the places where his flesh melded into the metal. He couldn't deny he had been given some gifts with the change... but it was hard to accept it being forced onto him. He watched with interest as Vidar reeled his fish in and landed a huge bluefin tuna stretched out on the deck of the boat. He clapped his new friend on the shoulder and said jovially, "Very well done. You are a natural at this Vidar, my friend." He looked towards the horizon and saw purple black storm clouds brewing in the far distance. "Hmmm... We probably have time to fish for a bit longer before we must head back. Let's fish for a bit more and enjoy the meditative time at sea. It is very clearing for the mind." The rocking of the boat on the waves brought on waves of nostalgia for him as he baited his hook and cast it out as his uncle Yoma had show him when he was just a young boy.
His mind started to wander once again over the things Vidar had told him... he wondered if there was some way to keep track of it in his HUD for later review. He started idly navigating through his HUD until he found an option that looked quite promising. He clicked on it and got an option...
File creation initiated Loading... Name of File?: _
He watched the cursor blink for a few moments before he tried to think the answer at it...
Name of File?: Vidar - cyborg File Created! Classification: Ally
He placed all that he knew of Vidar into the file almost as fast as he could think it... it was quite a handy feature. He decided to do it for a couple of other people he had run into...
Name of File?: Ruby
File Created!
Classification: Potential Ally
Name of File?: Zukkah - Saiyan File Created!
Classification: Potential Ally
He felt satisfaction at his use of the HUD and turned his full attention back to the sea. The water was starting to get a little darker as the storm winds freshened and stirred the waters. He turned back to the storm and watched it; it seemed to stir and roil almost as if it was malevolent and alive with anger. He could smell the storm on the wind; the fresh scent colored the air and made him feel alive as it raced across his body; the tranquility of the sea overshadowed by the threat of the storm Was truly beautiful and it stirred the poet's part of his soul. He felt a tug on his line and was jerked back to the present. He leaned back and set the hook and started fighting the fish in; it was much larger than the first one, he could tell! He wrangled the fish all the way to the boat and then hauled it up onto the deck - it was a huge grouper! He grinned and looked to Vidar, "Vidar, my friend, this is a wonderful fish to eat, as good as the blue fin you caught in its own way... maybe we can get some parts of these fish we caught to try when we get back to shore. It would be nice to eat with a friend once more." He stopped as the boat tipped up sharply all of a sudden and almost made him fall forward into the rail.
Looking up, Riku saw that somehow the storm clouds had swept in over them in the blink of an eye; the purple-black clouds roiled overhead and the sharp electric yellow of lightning shot down and into the water not that far away, soon followed by a detonation of thunder that he could feel as the cracking boom filled the air and echoed across the air and the sea. The storm winds were picking up and waves were getting larger and rougher, threatening the integrity of the boat. Rain began slashing down from the sky, slamming into the sea, the boat, and the people with equal vigor. He turned to the captain and yelled over the rising winds, "Captain, get us turned about, if you let these waves keep hitting us on the broadside we will be capsized!" The captain began making his way, slipping and sliding a bit to the cabin, calling orders to his crew over the storm.
Riku turned back to Vidar and waved him on as he shouted over the storm, "Come on Vidar, We must make it to the cabin, it is not safe our here with this storm!" Rik reached up and swiped some of his drenched hair back from his forehead to keep it from his eyes and began to make his way towards the cabin; he was having a much easier time than the cabin given his much heavier frame... One good thing about having metal in my body I suppose. Though I wouldn't want to try and swim...
[860/1435]
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Dec 8, 2019 6:38:08 GMT -8
The large Bluefin Tuna flew through the air over the pair of fishing cyborgs - what a strange thing to imagine, two Cyborg men from different points in time, with vastly different upbringings and backstories, sitting side by side on a tiny fishing boat and pulling fish out of the great sea around them using simple fishing rods - it landed on the deck and the captain was laughing and clapping, amazed by their ability to drag money out of the ocean like that.
"I have never fished before," Vidar admitted, confessing to the other cyborg as he peered over at the fish. He appeared to be almost proud of the fact that he managed to rip the fish out of the sea's safe embrace and onto the ship's deck, a small smile crossing his features, albeit the smile was almost imperceptible unless one looked closely at his features, "I used simple equations to determine the pounds per square inch that the fishing line could handle, and determined when I should reel and when I should allow for some slack in the line. I did this in order to wear the fish down and then fully reel it out of the water."
It was a methodical way to see things, to do things, and it appears that he decided to allow his more cybernetic components to do the work; working much like a computer would, or a machine. It made sense, this was his first attempt at fishing. "I feel as if my methods could be improved upon, however; the fish almost escaped."
The captain walked over to the pair, grinning, clapping, "No need to worry yourself, my boy; you're doing quite well. You both are," His assistant dragged the two fish to the hold, dumping them in, "If you keep this up, we'll be able to meet today's quota."
The grinning Captain of the ship was waving over this minuscule crew, telling them that they'll be eating good tonight.
In the meantime, Vidar peered back to Riku, whom had commented something along the lines of perhaps taking one of the fish and cooking it once they were back ashore and perhaps sharing the meal together. "I do not believe I have eaten fish before," Vidar recalled, thinking on it for a moment, "I do not believe I have eaten at all in fifty years." He did not need to eat; in fact, his infinite energy generator provided his body with the energy it needed to sustain itself, it kept him energized, and it stopped him from losing stamina. So, eating was more a commodity than a necessity to him. He could not, in fact, recall the last time he actively ate.
However, the yellow eyed cyborg would not have time to reminisce as the sea had other plans; the ship suddenly rocked violently and he was almost flung from the fishing chair and into the railing.
The sky had suddenly gone fully black; the dark thunderheads which had been at a distance had suddenly swallowed the sky. Whatever semblance of sunlight had been raining down over the area was gone; all that remained was the darkness which was only broken periodically by a flashing of light as bolts of lightning streaked from one black and purple thunderhead to the next.
It had happened so fast and without warning, but how? The storm had been a good distance away just, what felt like, moments ago. They would have had at least a good hour or perhaps more time to fish peacefully before they would have had to turn back. How did it spread so quickly over them that no one had noticed it? The sea air was filled with a thick scent, that strong odor of ozone before a powerful and violent storm. Only this one was stronger, the scent, as they were in the middle of the sea and the storm looked as if it would show their fishing vessel no mercy as the sea began to roll perilously around them.
The ship's bow rose high into the air as the ocean waves underneath it crashed against its hull. Then it came falling back down, yanked back to the water's surface by gravity as fresh waves came roaring up only to repeat the process. The Captain was stumbling over his own two feet, calling out over the roar of the storm; a storm that no one had seen move until it was on top of them.
Something was very wrong. This storm was different. It wasn't normal. It moved too fast. It became too ferocious too quickly. It kicked up the ocean with the same level of subtlety as one would an angry hornet's nest. "Turn this tub, now!" The captain called out, finally heard over the scream of the ocean and the crack of lightning and growl of thunder. The one crew member who was closest to the ship's wheel turned it, working on turning the ship so as to avoid being capsized by the powerful waves that seemed to grow only more ferocious with killing intent by the moment.
Vidar left his seat, the ocean once again attempting to hurl the yellow eyed cyborg over the rail with one particularly powerful wave that washed over the deck. The water hit the blonde man and knocked him against the rail; the fishing rod he had been holding flew from his hand and vanished into the abyss of the ocean. And for a moment, just a moment, Vidar's eyes caught something in the water; it was strange movement. It was unnatural movement. It looked as if the ocean itself were alive, sentient, rolling and undulating; no, it wasn't the ocean. It was something underneath the ocean, underneath their tiny and insignificant vessel, and it was trying to shake them off as a dog would a flea. The boat was struck once again with another wave and Vidar pulled himself away from the rail and followed after Riku towards the cabin.
There was really nowhere safe on the tiny boat while they were being tossed about left and right by the enraged sea; but it was, at least, safer than being out on deck. He would concede to that.
Just as they neared the cabin, Vidar felt something. It was something he could not describe, a tugging in the back of his mind; as if someone had whispered into his ear. Whispered words unnatural that he should not have heard and he turned and saw something in the darkness that surrounded their rocking ship, darkness broken regularly only by the cracking flash of lightning, and saw something rise over the deck of the ship. It crashed down on the deck and there was a scream of metal and splintering wood and the small fishing boat lurched as Vidar was almost thrown forward and into Riku, managing to stop himself from doing so as the cries of the crew became more frantic.
Internally, his mind was working madly.
Probability of sinking has increased to ... 90%.
Off to the side, a sudden flash of lightning lit up the sky and showed off the ocean for a second. The deck was shattered apart, splintered wood, the twisted metal handrail warped beyond recognition, and growing just to the side of the ship was a wave, already twice as tall as the small vessel, and looking ready to bear down on them.
His internal HUD beeped at him once more.
Probability of sinking has increased to ... 100%.
The captain was calling out to his crew, telling them to go for the lifeboat. What little crew there was ran for the small lifeboat on the side of the fishing vessel, clambering aboard as they attempted to lower it down toward the water.
The wave grew higher and larger as the boat began to tip.
It came crashing down, hard. The water washing over the deck, the last crewman attempting to climb aboard the lifeboat was swept away, screaming and flailing, vanishing into the darkness of the sea's hungry maw as the entire fishing boat began to tilt precariously. They were going to be capsized.
Another flash of lightning. What was that? His eyes caught something. It was in the distance, but he saw a shape in the darkness; an island? It wasn't too far away.
The ship rolled and Vidar grabbed Riku and, whether he wanted this or not, he pulled the man toward the railing and leapt into the ocean, the water engulfing them both as the ship was swallowed by the wave and shattered to pieces by the force of the enraged sea.
For a moment, Vidar saw nothing. Blackness surrounded him and his scanners worked their damnedest to give him something, his eyes glowing bright fiery gold in the darkness under the waves. Behind them, the fishing vessel vanished under the sea, sinking deeper into the water as Vidar dragged them both up to the surface.
The ocean was still roiling madly, but he could see it once more; their only hope, the island. Where the rest of the crew went, if they survived the wave, he did not know, but his HUD indicated a low probability of their survival.
All he could do now was begin to swim to the landmass, pulling Riku along, while keeping him above water.
WC: 1,555 CWC: 2,665
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Post by Rik on Dec 11, 2019 9:18:29 GMT -8
The wind and rain had pasted Rik's hair to his skull, as the ship rocked more and more precariously. The captain was calling for all hands to abandon ship and go for the life boat... Riku waved at him, "No, you fools, we only stand a chance if we bring this ship too! That life boat will capsize in no..." One of the cabin timbers ripped loose and smashed into the back of his head. The world blacked out... he felt someone grab him and drag him somewhere and then... he was floating. Was... he back in the capsule? He flailed one of his arms weakly, reaching for the glass... he couldn't quite reach it. Hadn't he got out of the tube or was that all a dream... he cracked his eyes open and they burned as salty water met them; in the turbulent water I remember it being much more peaceful in here... he thought he saw a vague man shaped something swimming and a single golden eye pierced the water and revealed itself to his sight for a moment. It startled him out of his daze and he thrashed himself about, breaking Vidar's grip as he looked about frantically. He started treading water and then looked to Vidar and apologized, "Sorry, my friend, that strike to the head knocked the sense out of me for a few minutes it seems." As he was bobbing in the sea he turned and saw the island that Vidar had been towing him to. He signaled towards it and started swimming towards it with strong and confident strokes.
The water was rough and the waves were getting dangerously high... but they actually started pushing them towards their destination. sooner than he thought, Rik found himself dragiing himself up onto the beach, gasping a bit. He got to his feet and slowly walked to a small copse of palm trees and sat against one, raising the hood of his soaked cloak and dumping more salt water on himselfbefore he got it in place. It at least kept the rain out of his eyes as he sat there resting for a moment. Vidar came and joined him and they sat in silence for a moment before Riku asked, "You ok, Vidar? I think I am fine, now. Thanks for getting me off of the boat." He glanced around as he thought he heard something moving further down the beach. He toggled his scanner...
SCANNING... ... Life form detected. Anomalous creature. Unknown origin. Recommend Caution.
Riku tapped Vidar's shoulder and pointed out the creature outlined in his HUD. He triggered the magnification feature and the figure pulled into focus. It was... a half fish half man. But it didn;t seem like a normal beast kin... its eyes were pearly white with a slightly whiter pupil. It shambled down the coast, with its spear in hand, apparently looking for anyone washed up on shore. The creature appeared to be in luck, the captain made his way to shore, collapsing on the surf and gagging and throwing up a belly full of salt water. The fish man hurried excitedly to the captain, making excited gibbering sounds. He raised the spear up and smashed the butt of it onto the back of the captain's skull. The captain collapsed and the fish man began to drag him down the beach, away from where Riku and Vidar sat watching by the palm trees. Rik motioned for Vidar to follow along and started after the creature and the captain. He whispered, "We'll rescue the Captain in due time... but let's see where it's taking him. Maybe we can find a way off of this island... but I don't think these things are friendly and my scanners are getting odd readings from them."
They trailed the fish person at a healthy distance, the small amount of noise they made on the wet sand easily obscured by the pounding rain, crashing surf and occasional growl of thunder echoing across the sky. After about 10 minutes, they reached the end of the beach and the fishey man was being met by some others at the bottom of a rocky trail leading up to the top of a plateau by the sea. One of the other figures was a fish person like the one they were following, though maybe a bit bigger. The other one appeared to be human. Rik raised his eyebrow... maybe they weren't going to hurt the captain? But why strike him then? Maybe as a precaution in case he was hostile? There were a lot more questions than answers coming forth on this island it seemed. He started forth and followed the group carefully up the steep stony path, making sure he paused at each corner to let them get ahead a bit more before he turned it and followed. They finally reached the top of the path and saw the small town laid out before them. The building were mostly small wooden huts, but there were a few sturdy stone buildings. Past all the buildings was a high building that was shaped from the stone of the plateau. It was shaped... wrong... somehow. The angles were like nothing he had ever seen, and as he stared at it trying to understand it, he could almost feel it pulling at his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, feeling a bit more centered. He looked for the captain and saw they were dragging him towards the odd building that made his mind hurt... He turned towards Vidar, "What is this place? Did you see the building they are dragging the captain to? It... pulls at my mind in odd ways. You have any plan for a rescue?"
[961/2396]
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Dec 12, 2019 6:20:59 GMT -8
The ocean was undeniably cruel. It cared not for the safety or the lives of the fishing boat’s crew nor did it give any more of a damn for the lives of the two cyborg men among them. As the large waves washed over the ship, battering the hull, washing over the deck and sweeping one of the crew members away, Vidar could not help but feel something. It was as if something was wrong, something was off, about their whole situation. The storm that they were experiencing was too rough, too violent, for that particular area of the globe. Sure, storms could get strong, especially out over the ocean, but this one was particularly rough. The waves grew to perilous heights and battered the ship without mercy.
As the yellow eyed cyborg leapt from the ship, Riku all but grasped in his arms, one particularly large wave rose up high over the ship and came down on it without mercy. It swallowed the ship whole. The crew, in their lifeboat, vanished under the water. Vidar did not see them once he emerged from the tar-like blackness of the water. Even with his scanners running at full speed he could see nothing in the water around them. It was as if they were trapped in a sea of nothingness, a void, and his scanners picked up nothing.
At least, not in the way of the crew members. He did see the fishing vessel as it sank into the waves and vanished into the depths below. The powerful force of it sinking almost dragged them down with it but Vidar managed to pull them both away from that potent dragging suction.
It was at that point that Riku awoke with a start. He jerked himself away from Vidar and for a moment he floated there, treading water, regaining his composure.
“You were hit with something on the back of the head.” He had gotten rather close to the other man, looking into his eyes, his golden eyes glowing in the pitch dark of the ocean, storm raging around them, “I do not believe you suffered a concussion; however, it is best that we take caution either way. Let me assist you in swimming.”
He helped the man swim, the entire way to the island that both of them had spotted. Even as he swam up to the island, even before they arrived, something felt odd still to the yellow eyed cyborg. Was that island there before? Had they seen it while they were out on the fishing vessel? He could not recall that island. In fact, from his databanks, as they swam up to the landmass, Vidar could not recall any island in this particular section of the ocean.
There were many islands in the area of the Southern Islands; but this particular landmass was one he did not have in his database. It was as if it did not exist at all in any of his databanks. The island just seemingly appeared from sheer nothingness, much like the storm that destroyed their fishing vessel and swallowed up the fishing crew.
The sea was violent. In fact, even as they swam towards the safety of the island, the ocean around them appeared intent on drowning both of the cyborgs. Waves pounded and battered them again and again, rising high above them and coming down, forcing them under as Vidar had to drag them back to the surface so as to avoid them both drowning out there.
When they finally arrived on the island, dragging themselves from the water, Riku went to the nearby tree lined area, sitting underneath what looked like a palm tree. The tree was strange, it was shaped oddly, bent in an odd way, but Vidar paid little attention to that. He was more concerned with getting out of the rain and sat down beside Riku under the tree. Sure, the tree provided little safety from the battering rain, but it provided some.
Riku was the one to notice the creature first. Vidar's scanners detected it soon after, turning to look in the direction that the cyborg samurai was pointing.
His HUD beeped internally, inside his head. Words flashed across his eyes in his hud. LIFE FORM DETECTED.
The creature was hard to miss; his scanners spotted it and immediately he began to pick up every detail that he could.
SCANNING...SCANNING...
ANOMALOUS LIFE FORM. HUMAN? ... FURTHER ANALYSIS NEEDED.
His scanners swept over the being. It was a squat thing. It was bipedal. That much was certain. And while it looked, in some ways, like a human, it was very clearly something else.
The features, the creature's physiology, in some way, were human like. Facial features, in some way, were human like. But the forehead was wrong. The nose was squat. The eyes were bulbous and white, like a fish out of water. The thing's lips were thick and fish-like, and its skin was slimy and scaly, like that of a half rotten fish.
HUMAN? ... NEGATIVE. SPECIES? ... OTHER.
"Whatever that is, it is not human," He watched it move, slouching, "It appears to be searching. Why? Did it know we would come here?"
The creature found something. No, it found someone. The Captain of the fishing vessel. It struck him, began to drag him away. Riku suggested to follow it. They had to find out where they were taking the captain, but also the thing could lead them to a way off the island.
Following the anomalous fish creature was the easy part. It wasn't exactly attempting to evade detection, it did not know it was being followed. They moved behind it, staying out of line of sight. Their steps were hidden by the roar of the ocean, the growl of thunder, the crack of lightning, and the groaning of the trees swaying in the howling wind.
The trip was short, following behind the strange fish creature; it led them to a town. Or, what appeared to be a town. There were structures that were made of wood, simple shacks, there were some that were made of stone. But, there was something they all had in common; there was a distinct appearance of rot and decay. In fact, now that they had arrived in the town, the stench hit him. It was a powerful assault on his senses; the smell of rot, as if everything around them, the grass, the trees, the stones, the buildings themselves, and especially the people reeked of entropy.
There were other structures in the town. The structures were not quite so small. These were not shacks. There were three other strange buildings in total. One of them resembled some kind of large stone crypt.
The second resembled a church. It was an anathema to any house of worship. It was rotten. The wood was decaying. The paint was nonexistent but one could tell it had at one point been painted. There was a steeple. Even from where he stood, Vidar could see the decay covered in moss and fungus.
The other building, the last, resembled a strange temple; at least, that is what he believed it was. It was the structure that was the most "maintained" in the entire small "town." The building, like the rest, was covered in moss, fungus, seaweed, but it was not in dilapidated disrepair as the rest of the buildings were.
But, it was not its state that caught the cyborg's attention. It was the shape. The architecture. The angles. The strange angles which caused an uneasy feeling in him. His scanners swept over the structure; a glitch, here or there, his vision flickered and he was forced to look away.
The fishing vessel's captain was taken inside. “That building is causing interference in my scanners.” He was forced to stop scanning the structure as he turned away from it, leaning back against a mossy rock they were hiding behind.
"We must first scout the area," He spoke softly, audible enough for Riku to hear him, but not loud enough that he would be heard by the anomalous fish people, his words covered up by the storm. "Try not to get seen in the process. If we are to get into that temple, we must first draw their attention away from it."
He motioned over to the church. The steeple with its rotten exterior paneling, "Ring that bell, call them in for dinner. Then we go for the temple." He motioned from the church to the strange temple where the unconscious fishing captain was taken.
They had to move quietly. Their steps were muffled by the storm. The fish appeared distracted. This allowed the two cyborgs the ability to move undetected, hiding behind large boulders, rotting trees, and ducking behind the decaying moss covered shacks.
His yellow eyes, his internal scanners working overtime, scanned over the structures. The wood was old; ancient, in fact. It was covered in seaweed, now that he was able to get a better look at it.
"This seaweed grows at the bottom of the ocean." Vidar commented, "This whole island used to be at the bottom of the ocean. It's why it doesn't exist on any of the maps in my database." He was moving behind the structures, motioning Riku to follow, as they inched their way toward the old church, "We ring the bell, they come here, we duck out and go into the temple. Sounds easy."
There was a small path that led behind the rickety old church. They followed it, sneaking as quietly as possible with the growling storming overhead working as cover for their footsteps.
It took less than a few moments to navigate behind the small structures, through the small alleys between them, and to the out of the way side door of the church and inside.
The inside was dark, dimly lit by flickering candles, and was like the rest of the area in a state of rot and decay. The windows were once beautiful, covered in stained glass, but now they were just stained. So stained, in fact, that one could not make out the religious iconography. The pews were filthy, rotting, and covered in mold. Furthermore, where statues of angels used to stand, now stood strange statues of odd creatures; the largest of which stood at the altar.
It's visage was so strange, its physiology so off-putting, that much like the odd angled temple, Vidar could not look upon it for long.
"Over there." Vidar saw it, a doorway, it led to the back of the church; a room behind the altar, and within he could see the old decaying rope that would sound the church bell. "We ring it, we duck out the back, and once they're inside here, we run for the temple."
At least, that was the plan.
Sneaking into the backroom, they were hidden from sight if anyone entered the church. Vidar grabbed the slimy rope and pulled. It took some effort but with a strong yank, the large bell at the top of the church's bell tower swung and let out a mighty clang, then another and another. Each pull caused another loud clang from the bell. Three of them, that was all they needed, "Let's go."
They sneaked out the back, and began to make their way slowly around the building, ducking and sneaking out of sight.
All it took was one if the strange fish creatures to see them. The thing's cries were loud, gibbering, and angry, and the two cyborgs ran. Their feet carrying them as fast as they could as the crowd of angered anomalous fish creatures grew, chasing behind them through the alleys behind the small shacks and stone structures. They fled, the group behind them, up to the temple, threw themselves through the doorway, and slammed the door shut in their faces. With a heavy thick plank of wood, a beam, he was able to secure the door - a primitive locking mechanism, but it worked. The heavy door shuddered and shook, but the creatures could not break it down.
Behind them, inside the strange temple, it was dark, lit by candles once more, and this particular structure was even stranger than the rest of the buildings. Tall columns, strange murals, and odd stone constructed the place. All of it felt wrong to Vidar. The murals depicted strange creatures and the statues inside the room resembled those in the church.
There wasn't much else in the strange darkened room aside from the statues and a staircase that appeared to lead down. "Into the depths then."
WC: 2,100 CWC: 4,765
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Post by Rik on Dec 16, 2019 9:36:30 GMT -8
Rik nodded as Vidar suggested they scout the area; it only made good sense. As they crept closer to the buildings, he kicked his scanner over to a full real time scanning mode... he couldn't afford to wait to notice something when his HUD might be able to spot it faster...
Constant Scan Initiated. Scanning... ... Warning: Multiple Life form Anomalies detected!
His scanner broke into static whenever he focused on or near the strange temple like building that gave him headaches; he wondered what strangeness permeated such a place; he also wondered what these strange things were that seemed to have built it and what there were going to do with the captain. He trailed behind Vidar, taking slow even careful strides that were almost completely silent; to be honest he thought they could have almost walked normally and not been heard with all the commotion that the creatures were making. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, there could always be stragglers or guards about. They made their way to the church and slid inside the shadowy interior. He snapped his night vision on for a moment to check the corners for any stragglers... then switched to infrared to check once more... but the place seemed to be truly empty for the moment.
Vidar quickly outlined his plan to pull on the old slimy rope and to hightail it through the back alley once the creatures came to investigate. It was simple as far as such plans go, which was good. Riku tended to favor plans of that sort as there was less to go wrong. Riku noticed something as Vidar started making his way to the rope and quickly crouched down to examine under one of the warped pews. There were strands of seaweed that were laying flat and a couple of anemones... and some barnacles as he bent further and looked at the underside of the pew itself. This island seemed to have been... submerged until recently. It called to an old memory in his mind... tales from his childhood of a place named Arjhar... The ghost island that fed on any ships in encountered. He felt his gut twist and goosebumps forming on his arms... for the sake of all the gods he was on the island of the damned... He started to turn to Vidar to explain what he knew but his friend was already sounding the bell. Nothing for it now but to roll with it and try to take the first opportunity to leave this place.
They ran out of the back of the church to take to the alleyways again heading towards the Temple of Angles as Riku had begun to think of it. As they passed a space between houses two buildings down from the church one of the creatures emerged from it between him and Vidar; the creature was wearing brown homespun monk's robes that seemed to be made of seaweed. The creature cut loose with almost ear piercing gibbering cries that were unintelligible to his ears. As he stepped by he drew and slashed at the creatures outstretched arm and then kicked it in the gut, temporarily changing the note in it's cries from anger to pain. Riku's face crumpled with disgust as he saw it's thick milky blood on his blade... it was definitely not a beast kin then. It was something OTHER.
The sound of flapping feet pounding after them swelled in his ears as he continued after Vidar as fast as his legs could carry him, all thoughts of stealth and subtlety abandoned. Gibbering cries of their hunters rose over the previous silence, echoing their anger and hunger against the buildings as the horde pursued the pair to the very doorway of the temple before he helped Vidar finish swinging the thick doors shut and barred them. There was soon a wet but firm thumping against the door as the creatures tried to follow them in. Rik stayed there for a moment, his hands pressed against the door to make sure it was going to hold... the door seemed to be plenty sturdy even without his added reinforcement so he turned to view the rest of the room in the temple.
The room was lit by subdued candle light that hinted at more than it revealed. There were statues of the fish men in various poses and murals of them catching boats and sailors among other things. Riku shrugged as Vidar suggested they proceed into the depths, he could only nod and then he sighed and said, "I think I know where we are. I don't know if these tales still are told to this day." He stopped and stood looking down at the depths. It was quite dark... which should not prove a barrier for them, but the captain would need light. Riku grabbed both of them a candle, and then started speaking again as he handed one to Vidar, "In my youth, there were stories of the Hungry Island, the Cursed Island of Arjhar. It would wonder these seas and appear only every so often, always taking all the boats down where it appeared and most of the sailors. Sometimes it would take all of them, but enough escaped to carry the tales of the creatures who live hear and hunt the waters around it." He felt the childhood fear settle around him almost like a familiar blanket that dampened his soul... "I don't know if the stories are true or not... but this certainly fits the description, yes? Perhaps two as mighty as we might be able to put a stop to this island's heart. Let's keep to the course; we might be saving hundreds of lives in the future if we can stop this now."
Riku led the way down the winding steps that bored down into the rock. The steps were wider than normal probably to accommodate the huge feet of the fish men, but they were not uncomfortable to descend for all that. The walls were crudely worked stone and for the first 100 steps there were no lights on the walls. Another 100 steps and he thought he saw a faint glow emanating from somewhere below. After another 100 the light had grown even brighter and he thought he heard faint... voices. He slowed his step and started trying to move quietly. His eyes slowly began to adjust and as he peeked around the corner at the bottom of the stairs he saw... a kitchen. The captain was sitting at the table, with a large steaming fish placed before him and a beer in his hand, smiling at something. It looked like a shapely woman... with the head of a squid or an octopus? Something with tentacles anyway. The octopus seemed to be blushing at something the captain had said, and answered him in a surprisingly pleasant voice, "Why thank you, this is an old family recipe... I am quite proud of it. Sooo... Captain... I was wondering if you were... single..." Riku's eyes widened as the captain took another bite of fish and looked at his.. captor? and winked at her as he said, "Well me darlin' we can talk about that for sure..."
Riku just turned back to Vidar, his complete confusion extremley evident on his face. He whispered, "What in the god's names is going on here? Are we saving him or... squid blocking him here?"
[1242/3638]
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Dec 21, 2019 7:38:51 GMT -8
The exterior of the curious and foreboding temple had caused strange interference with his HUD,and caused an uncomfortable and unusual effect on both cyborgs - Vidar and Riku - just from looking at the structure, and it’s strange architecture and odd angles, too long. Now that Vidar was inside the building, he could sense an overwhelming sense of dread and uneasiness permeate every single fiber of his being. The door was managing to hold back the throng of enraged anomalous fish creatures; it shook and shuddered but it held. Even without the heavy plank to keep it shut, Vidar was sure that the doors would not open under those weak blows.
It was still rather unnerving; the strange anomalous creatures were ferocious, they were furious, outside the temple, and they were desperate to get inside. The wet pounding of their fists against the door would have unnerved anyone. And it did unnerve him somewhat. But, he was quickly distracted by the room in which they had trapped themselves in. They were within some kind of atrium, just beyond the pylon through which they had haphazardly thrown themselves, and it was equally as strange and disorienting as the rest of the structure was from the outside.
The walls were covered in strange murals; they told a story, though one that was rather easy to decipher if one looked carefully enough. It was a story of an island landmass that should not be, an island landmass that appears from the darkest depths of the oceans and rises to float among the waves and when it does a great storm comes with it. This storm usually sinks ships, swallows men, and those men end up at the island, much like they had and much like the poor captured captain of the fishing vessel had.
The low lighting of the room did not help ease his nerves; thankfully, he activated his low light vision, his eyes glowing softly a nice golden hue as his scanners worked to pick up every single detail in the room. The scanners worked overtime, sweeping over the murals, over the structure, and every image, every mural, he saw was saved into an internal dossier of this strange place.
CREATING FILE… FILE NAME? … ANOMALOUS LANDMASS Sub-Folder Created… ANOMALOUS TEMPLE Images Saved
Off to the side, the samurai, Riku, was also looking around the room. It was the samurai that led the way down the dark stone steps that descended into the unknown within the heart of the island. As he descended, and Vidar continued to scan their surroundings, Riku was speaking of his youth, of stories - legends and myths - he was told or overheard through word of mouth - of a strange island. The description within the tales did match the island they were currently on.
The Hungry Island. It was a strange name but it made some sense. An island that was filled with strange anomalous creatures; who knows if they ate human flesh or not, thus far from what Vidar has seen of them, they liked capturing humans. For what purpose? He had no way of determining that until he found just where the captain was; after all, why keep him alive? Why bring him all the way there? Why send him down deep into the shadows within the heart of the island, if not to use him as food?
Is that what happened to the rest of the crew? So far, Vidar has only seen the captain of the fishing vessel make it to the island; unless they were captured at another area of the island away from Vidar and Riku. Or perhaps they had been swept farther out to see by the violent storm? Or even worse, devoured by the ocean itself?
"Whether or not this is that particular island is, currently, irrelevant." Vidar commented, peering behind him as if he were afraid that if he didn't then one of those anomalous fish creatures would pop up behind them. Fortunately for him, and Riku, the staircase behind them was still empty; the only ones currently going down it were the two of them. "If it is or isn't, we have to make sure that we find a way to stop it from claiming any more fishing vessels, any more lives." He peered down the staircase, eyes flashing slightly in the darkened staircase, Vidar added, "We should be more than enough to handle this."
The staircase appears to have been carved into the stone somewhat haphazardly; the step treads were much wider than a normal step and the rise was a little lower than normal. The walls appeared to have been carved out using rudimentary tools, they were not smooth, and the walls were wet, moist. He could see, using his dark vision setting on his scanners, that the walls were also covered in barnacles and even traces of seaweed that would normally exist only at the bottom of the ocean.
This whole island had been submerged at one point, Vidar surmised, and then arose through some unnatural means up to the surface.
The trip down took time, each step took them deeper and deeper into the heart of the strange island. As they grew deeper, something else happened; Vidar felt that strange feeling again, that odd sensation that something was off. His scanners flickered from time to time, albeit not as strongly as they had before when they were outside. It was an easy to miss flicker of static that disappeared as quickly as it came.
At the bottom of the stairs, Vidar stuck close to the samurai and peered in on the strange scene unfolding before the two of them.
"That is why they brought the captain down here? To serve him a meal?" He spoke softly, their words, thankfully, not picked up by the pair dining before them. "Still, while she does not appear to mean him harm, we should question why they brought him down here and through force," the fish man who had found the captain had knocked the man out, after all. “At the very least, they owe us an explanation.”
The eyes of the blonde cyborg were locked onto the squid woman; she would have been considered very attractive, from the neck down, due to her figure, but Vidar did not appear drawn in by her allure. Though, this was to be expected; he had the same reaction with Hebihime when they had first met. The man's aloof reaction had surprised the woman who was used to men fawning and drooling over her. Vidar did not react that way and it left her questioning him, aloud, if he found her attractive.
He walked out into the open, letting his presence be known, "Captain, are you injured?" He asked as soon as he stepped out. The bearded man turning in surprise, but he appeared quite happy to see the blonde man.
"Oi, it's you. I'm glad to see another familiar face."
"I am quite relieved to see that you're alive. You also appeared to be getting pampered by this... woman?" That last part, he said with a somewhat questioning tone in his voice. "Why exactly did we get brought here? Or should I say, why exactly did the Captain get brought here? We got here because we swam here; I'm not entirely sure about the rest of the crew, whether they survived the storm or not, but was all of this just to get you a mate?”
The curvaceous squid woman was caught visibly off guard by the appearance of the blonde man. He was different than the captain. The captain was somewhat thicker about the waist, he had a full beard, he had the look of a grizzled and experienced seaman, while this boy - if she could call him a boy with all the metal she could see on him, just his arms alone were fully cybernetic - looked like a much younger, much taller, version of the captain. Yes, that’s what she saw there. The yellow eyed man was the captain in his prime, in his youth, before the ravages of time caught up with him.
For a moment, the squid stared at him and then turned to look at the captain. If that is what the captain looked in his youth, then he aged like fine wine, or at least that is what the squid woman was thinking before she turned to face the young blonde version of her paramour. "Well, the storm is really just an unfortunate side effect of my island rising from the depths. I have no control over that."
"Where's the rest of the fishing crew?" He questioned, "The captain's here, he made it fine; but where are the others?"
"I assume either washed out to sea or they managed to make it to the island. If they did make it, then they must be in the hold. If you want to get them out, you can. But you'll have to fight the two guardians standing in the way to do it. I have little sway over those two."
For a moment, Vidar stared at the woman, gauging her responses, as if he wanted to see if she were lying. But it was hard to get a bead on her, "Then we'll fight them, if we must. Captain, do you plan on staying here?" Vidar questioned, "If so, we'll get your crew out with or without you."
He did not turn to look at the man, his eyes were focused on the squid woman before him. "Now, where is the hold? Point us how to get there and, "Vidar added, "tell your cultists not to bother us while we go there."
“Go through there,” the squid woman pointed to the passage behind her and the captain. "Follow the passage all the way down, then take the stairs down. There will be a hall at the bottom of the staircase. Follow it. You don't have to worry about getting lost, it's impossible in a straight line. At the end of it should be the entrance to the antechamber before the hold. The guardians should be there. You'll have to deal with them first, if you wish to get the crew of the fishing vessel out."
"Why bring the captain here?" He probably should have asked this sooner but he was concerned with the lives of the crew.
"As you said, I wanted a mate. My kind is rare in this world. I believe I may be the only one of my kind here. Humans are excellent partners but their lifespan is much too short. So when my mate dies, I must find another. This time, I chose the fine Captain." She peered over at the bearded sailor.
“If you choose to stay, we won’t stop you.” Vidar commented to the captain, already beginning to walk toward the passage that had been pointed out to him, “Good luck with your eh, fish wife?”
WC: 1,825 CWC: 6,590
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Post by Rik on Dec 24, 2019 5:11:16 GMT -8
Riku remained silent during the exchange, studying the reactions of the captain and the... woman. It did seem like the captain was well and truly content with his lot here... and despite the attitudes of her children, the woman seemed to be kind enough actually. Even if a little blase about the whole having her kids capture her a new mate by any measure necessary type thing. He listened as she described to Vidar the route to the hold an warned of the guardians there. He listened carefully, and it sounded like she was telling the truth about not being able to control them... which was unfortunate to say the least. Still, he supposed if the sailors were down there, he was obliged to free them by any means necessary. It wasn't like they had signed up for this job hoping to be imprisoned as potential back up grooms for a lonely squid woman thing.
He sketched a slight bow to the squid woman and the captain before he spoke, "We will endeavor to free any sailors being held against their will. As for you captain, lady, I wish you the joy of each other. Fare you both well, Vidar and I will not bother you any further. Come on, Vidar, let us go and see to these guardians."
He started following the directions they had been given; walking to the passage at the rear of the room and entering a roughly hewn tunnel in the bedrock of the island. Riku reached out to feel the wall as they got past where the light of the room illuminated the tunnel. The walls seemed to be seeping moisture, which contributed to the dank atmosphere of the dark tunnel. It only took them about 5 minutes to get to the end of the twisty dark passage, where they came out into a large cavern. The cavern was empty from what Riku could see and sense, the dark silence of the space interrupted only by the heavy footsteps of the two mechanical men. As they started exploring the room, Riku broke his silence and softly asked, "So... what do you think of this whole situation? The Hungry Island of the tales in my youth was perhaps aptly named for the wrong reasons. I guess if the captain is happy, that is well for him. It is just so far out of my realm of experience... I am glad someone else I trust is here, Vidar, or I would think I might be going mad."
It wasn't too long before they saw a dim suggestion of light emanating from the floor ahead, they had found the stairs at the end of the passage it seemed. Riku led the way down the steps carefully, having to take his time. These stairs were, strangely, even more misshapen than the first set. They were wider than normal stairs, like the first set, but they were also higher, as if whomever or whatever used them was enormous. It took him two steps to get to the end of each one, and then a careful hop down before repeating the process with the next one. He counted them as he went; there were a total of 59 steps, which bothered something inside of him... but he had to let it go as he studied the hall before him.
This hall was lit by the softly glowing green walls themselves. Rik took a few caution steps in and studied the wall more closely, kicking his scanner on as he neared it seeking the source of the illumination.
Scanning... ... Luminescent botanical form detected. Subject is a form of Algae... Scanning data banks... ... No match found. Likely hood of toxicity based on comparable life forms: Low.
Riku half turned to Vidar and said in a low voice, "My scanners indicate this is some sort of luminescent plant. They don't think it's poisonous, but let's practice caution anyway. I'm ready to face these guardians and free the sailors so we can leave this place. Who knows how long it will be before it sinks again, we shouldn't dally much more."
He turned back towards the doors at the end of the hallway and started walking toward them. They were large brass doors etched with odd symbols and pictographs. He couldn't make heads or tails of even the pictographs; it could be something important, a warning, a description of what this place was, or for all he knew maybe it was this kind's graffiti. They reached the doors and Riku pressed his ear against them, feeling the cold brass against his ear. He couldn't hear anything... he tried to scan. He could vaguely sense life beyond the door, but something was interfering with his sensors. He turned to Vidar and shrugged, "I guess we do this the most reckless way then. Rip the door open, you engage one guard and I'll engage the other. I have a feeling speed is starting to be important. On 3, when we go in, you break right, I shall go left."
He held up his hand and did a silent countdown with his fingers... 3...2...1... He ripped the door open with a loud creaking crash and charged in, a steel rasp and metallic ringing sounding as he drew his sword upon clearing the doorway. He moved to the left as he entered the antechamber. He quickly took in the two guards sitting at a table and playing some game involving some sort of crude dice and bones. The guardians jumped up from the table, extending to their full height of 13 feet. Riku was upon his as soon as it had stood and faced him, starting to swipe with its claw edged hands. His blade gashed against the thing's leg but left only a shallow cut that oozed pinkish blood down the thick green scales that covered it. His scanners has started going crazy sending warnings even as he dodged the attack and stepped back in, swinging harder and striking the arm just above the elbow which left a more freely flowing wound as he cut a little more deeply.
Scanning.... DANGER! Highly Anomalous being detected. Recommend extreme caution! Subject cannot be read Threat level: Unknown. Assumed to be high.
The guardian tried to bite at him, and almost got a piece of his shoulder; he was able to twist aside enough to avoid being wounded and managed to score a hit on it's face, drawing a warbling whistling shriek as a gash opened on its cheek. The thing's webbed foot kicked out reflexively faster than Riku could react and knocked him back against the wall. His steel reinforced frame rattled as the wall behind him cracked and the air left his lungs in a explosive motion. His vision blurred for a moment and he felt discombobulated; he managed to keep a hold on his sword however. His legs gave out a bit as he gasped for breath and he started sliding down the wall just as the clawed hand struck where his head had just been, raining shards of stone down upon him. Riku called up his ki to shore up his body, a golden glow began to emanate from him as the energy helped him straighten back up and get air back in his lungs.
As he straightened fully, he saw the guardian's mouth opening wide, revealing a cavernous maw filled with needle like teeth and a tongue curling about like a serpents. It lunged forward to bite his head off and he did the only thing he could think to do... he raised his blade up and used teh wall to launch himself towards the creature. He felt the blade dig into the creature's palate and burst up and into the creatures brain. The first thing to hit his sense was the fetid smell of the creature's breath; the second was a geyser of pink-white blood that surged forth when he pulled his blade free. He stood panting for a moment before turning to check on Vidar...
[1344/4982]
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Jan 2, 2020 16:36:01 GMT -8
The scanners had finished their work; the strange fish woman with her curvaceous body was given a whole dossier within his HUD. Though, as his scanners had worked over her, taken in every detail they could, Vidar noticed that he was getting strange interference once more. Her presence alone caused it. It was difficult to describe, that odd sensation that everything about her just felt wrong.
Perhaps it was the fact that she had a squid or octopus-like head on top of a woman’s body? Though, that was more of an aesthetic situation which was different than what he was feeling. He felt no revulsion for her appearance, he had no reason to.
There were various things that felt wrong and when he attempted originally to create a file, it did not appear to want to work.
CREATE A FILE? Y/N Y… …. INITIATING… LOADING FAILED. UNABLE TO CREATE FILE.
That was the first time, the second time, and finally on the third try it managed to create the file. He dubbed it SQUID as the title, and the woman’s details were entered as per usual. However as he attempted to take photos using his built in scanners, he found that every image he took of her was oddly distorted.
FILE NAME S_UID CREATED File Creation Successful.
While Riku remained relatively quiet during the exchange, he appeared to understand what was happening here just as much as Vidar was. Either way, the Captain had made his choice and there was little that the two of them could do to make the man change his mind.
Saving the remainder of his crew, if there were any that were left to be saved, was their top priority at that point. So with one last look, Vidar and Riku left the Captain behind with his strange squid creature of a companion and began their journey through the passages to find the hold.
The passages were cold, dark, and dank. The walls were wet and slick, and covered in mold that was meant to not exist outside of the bottom of the ocean. But, as the woman had said, it was a straight shot from where they were to the large antechamber. There were no offshoots, no mazes, and no traps. There were no interruptions between them and the chamber of the guardians sans for a pair of large doors etched in strange carvings and pictographs.
"The captain has made his decision, and thus my opinion means nothing in this situation. However, about the island, the anomalous creatures, and everything else..." He spoke as he looked around, his yellow eyes glowing dimly in the darkness of the tunnels they were traversing, "I am quite confused as to the purpose of such an island. Why does it exist? What is the point of it? Why has no one else tried finding it? I guess when not many people escape it, there are not many people to spread the tale and the few that do are not believed."
As soon as they reached the doors, he detected something. His internal alarms were buzzing, but not ringing loudly. There was something off here. Something that was causing interference with his scanners. Given everything that he has experienced thus far, he could only assume it was the presence of the guardians they were told about.
“If anything happens in there, if I go down, keep going. The safety of the crew is of utmost importance.” He commented as he stood by Riku as he prepared to take down the door.
As soon as the door was ripped free from its frame, the two of them entered. As he had detailed in his instructions, Riku went to the left, Vidar went to the right.
The chamber of the guardians was quite immense, larger than the blonde cyborg had anticipated it to be; the ceiling reached high above them, was covered in endlessly dripping stalactites.
It was at that point that his internal alarms began to scream at him. Warnings flashed across his internal HUD and his eyes glowed a bright searing hot gold as he used various forms of vision to fully scope out the room, from heat vision - which picked up heat signatures on the other side of the room, several of them in fact, through the doors on the other side - to night vision. This revealed the two beings sitting at a table, playing some strange type of card game of some sort using bones and various other strange objects.
Initiating Scan... Scanning... WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. Highly Anomalous Beings Detected. Extreme Caution is Advised. No Data Found On Subject.
Obviously, none of these things had data on them.
Unable to Read Subject. Threat Level: Unknown. Probable Threat Level: High
The two malformed anomalous creatures that he was seeing, using his night vision due to the extremely low level of lighting in the room, were unlike anything he had seen before. In fact, they were even more Other than the strange fish villagers that they had encountered on the surface, on the island. The gibbering villagers up on the surface had some semblance of humanity to them; they are bipedal organisms with something resembling human features, albeit somewhat warped and twisted, slightly wrong. One could even mistake them for humans, even if ugly humans, should they not look at them for too long or saw them at a distance in a dark or dimly lit room. These two things, on the other hand, would never be mistaken for human.
“Pardon the intrusion…”
They were grotesque in every sense of the term. They were covered in what looked like sea growth, barnacles, as well as throbbing cysts and scales. Their mouths were opened and hung low as if they had dislocated their jaws entirely, almost like a moray eel, yet one could see that their jaws were, in fact, not dislocated, just elongated. The two hideous creature's maws were filled with rows of needle-like teeth that glistened in his night vision and the creature on the right, the one whom he was tasked with dealing, was drooling thick sludge which hit the ground and caused it to audibly sizzle.
Scanning...Scanning... Highly Corrosive Unknown Substance. Does Not Appear to Effect Subject. Use Extreme Caution.
One of them lunged for Riku. The other appeared quite content with going after Vidar. The creature hissed angrily and charged toward him. Though as it moved, Riku's scanners swept quickly over its body, noting everything it could as it closed the distance between the two of them. For example, he took note that it was moving in a way that implied previous injury, it was leaning its body heavily to one side as if to relieve any pressure or remove any weight from the other leg. It had visible scars on its rib cage, and the creature moved, while quickly, at a hesitant pace; eager to claw at the two intruders but unsure as to what their capabilities were.
As the creature drew closer, Vidar drew up a quick game plan of how to most effectively bring down his opponent. First, he would distract the target. Then, deflect the creature's blind slash. Counter with cross to left cheek.
As the creature drew close, he stuffed a hand into one of his pockets, pulling out a handful of zenni coins. He flung them in the creature's face. The odd anomalous beast was startled for half a second, distracted by the objects thrown at its face, before it attempted to slash at the man with its good arm. He deflected it quickly to the side, the claws tearing through the stone wall beside him, sending sparks flying through the air in the process.
His fist clenched tightly, energy glowing through his arm as he cocked his arm back and a burst of energy shot him forward as he used the energy almost like a jet booster that enhanced the potency of his shattering punch. It struck the creature's cheek and caused it to stagger back.
Even as he did this, he continued with his plan; following that cross, he shot forward, toward the creature rather than away. His plan was simple; discombobulate. He brought both arms up and slammed them hard on either side of the staggered creature's face.
Dazed, Vidar theorized, it will attempt a wild and enraged haymaker. Employ elbow block.
The creature hissed, angrily, as it did just as he had predicted; attempting a furious swipe and a punch with its large clawed hand, only for it to be blocked at the wrist by his metallic cybernetic limb.
Now, aim for a body shot; specifically for the visibly injured ribs where the creature appears to have been mauled, or perhaps injured by a propeller. His fist was, once again propelled forward with incredible strength and potency as it slammed into the creature's abdomen. The blow causing the creature to screech loudly in his face, in agony, as it staggered backward.
His HUD screamed at him, Block Feral Left. Then weaken the jaw.
He thrust up an arm, blocking the creature's attempted retaliatory strike as he then slammed his elbow hard into the creature's jaw.
Now fracture. He struck the beast with a potent straight to the same spot, the loud cracking of bone audible through the room as the creature swayed on its feet and he spun his body around and slammed his knee into the creature's face, in the jaw. Dislocate jaw entirely.
The creature gurgled and staggered backward, swaying on its feet as he raised his arms in front of him, the metal plates sliding, moving, shifting and his arms changing into something else, into a pair of Gatling guns. Finish it.
He allowed energy to flow through him and he fired it out in a barrage of relentless power that slammed into the creature's body. "Joker!" He shouted before the attack was unleashed, the energy rounds slammed into its torso, its shoulder, its head, riddling it with smoking holes as the creature was sent flying through the air and slamming into the wall before crumpling to the ground with a splat of pink hued blood.
The yellow eyed cyborg cautiously waited a few seconds more, to see if the beast would get up. But once he saw it was limp and unmoving, he sat up and his arms returned to normal. The hidden weapons vanishing from sight. He turned to look over at Riku to see how he'd fared, "Let's go get the rest of the crew." He motioned with a jerk of his head to the doors across the room, now unguarded with the two fish creatures dead.
WC: 1,780 CWC: 8,370
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Post by Rik on Jan 4, 2020 13:06:34 GMT -8
Riku nodded at Vadar's words and ripped a small piece of cloth from his sleeve and cleaned the pearly ichor from his blade. He cast it away after his blade was clean and carefully sheathed his weapon before he made his way to the nearest door. The door was waterlogged wood bound with brass, held shut with an archaic lock. Casting about for a few moments, Riku was able to locate the key hanging from a hook between the center doors. Riku snatched it up and trotted back to the last door on the left and started working his way around, unlocking doors as he went. Each time he opened a door he simply said, "Come on, we're freeing you from this place. Be quiet and gather with Vidar." In a surprisingly short amount of time, he had freed all of the sailors and had them standing in a nervous, muttering group around Vidar.
Riku held up his hand with his palm facing the group, an old signal for silence. Whether they understood or just quieted to see what he had to say, he wasn't sure and it didn't really matter at the moment. In a low voice he spoke to them, causing them to lean in and strain for every word, "All right, we all need to escape from this place. Vidar and I washed up on the beach, and I know at least one of you shared a similar fate. However... is there anyone who came in a different way? Maybe got fished in on a boat or passed somewhere where they saw some kind of suitable craft we could steal?"
He waited while they starting muttering among themselves for a few moments and sidled over to stand by Vidar, "Hopefully, someone saw something... I'd hate to have to fight our way out. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't all make it."
A few moments later, one of the burlier men with a bushy beard stepped forward; Rik recognized him as the first mate of the fishing boat. He cleared his throat with a low rumble and began, "First off... thanks to the both of ye from the bottom of our hearts. We mean it. As for your question, Ryu there said he was brought in on the life boat. He thinks he can get us back there from here, he was still concious when they dragged him here. Only problem is he says they guard the boats... but we're willing to fight if'n we need to for our freedom." There was a low mutter of agreement from the rest of the crew at the first mate's words.
Riku nodded and motioned for the named crewman, Ryu to step forward, "Come with Vidar and I at the front to direct us. The rest of you follow as you will but keep it quiet. It is important that we not draw more of these creatures down upon ourselves. Once we are at their dock, Vidar and I shall lead the way in and start subduing the creatures. If necessary, you may help if you will it or if you find a weapon. Otherwise, start preparing boats so we can make our escape. I... don't think we will be pursued once we get off the island."
No one asked why he thought they would be free of pursuit once they left the island and he declined to offer the information. He had a feeling if he revealed the captain's decision to stay they crew would be hellbent on rescuing him, whether he wanted rescuing or not. Ryu stepped forward between Vidar and himself; he was a slight stoop backed man with a slight mustache who nodded at them amiably enough and motioned for them to follow him without speaking. Good man. Riku thought, he was already sticking to the rule of silence. Riku looked to Vidar and nodded to him as they started out, "Let's get these people out of here. We'll have to strike hard at the dock... no mercy."
Ryu led them silently save for the soft shuffle of feet that echoed softly through the tunnels. He seemed sure of himself at each junction, taking the right or left junction with little hesitation each time. About 15 minutes later they reached a junction with 3 choices instead of two. Ryu looked troubled and paced in front of each entrance. He made a low thoughtful sound as he looked at the leftmost passage that looked to lead upwards toward the surface; he then moved to the middle tunnel that seemed to stay level; then moved to the last passage that seemed to dip deeper into the depths of the cavernous island's heart. He came back to Riku and Vidar and in a voice barely above a whisper said, "I am not sure which passage... I know it is not the left one, we did not come down I know for certain. I need a few moments to consider."
Riku nodded and answered in a similarly pitched voice, "Very well... but think as quickly as possible. I know it is a lot of pressure, but we probably don't have much time. Take 5 minutes then we will pick one of the ones you think it could be and test our luck."
Riku started a five minute timer on the side of his HUD and tapped his fingers on his sword hilt nervously as he watched the small sailor pull out a pipe and stick the stem in his mouth thoughtfully. He reached into a pouch by his side and looked sadly at the soggy tobacco and wiped the sticky leaves from his hand. He chewed on the stem thoughtfully and paced back and forth between the center and the right passage, muttering under his breath and scratching his head. Rik's timer was nearing the end when Ryu's head shot up as if a bolt had hit him from the heavens. He turned with a triumphant smile and pointed at the downward passage, indicating it was the way to go. Nodding, Rik waved for the other sailors to follow them and joined Vidar in heading for the tunnel that sloped downwards.
The sound of water slapping against rock was soon echoing down the tunnel, bringing an elated smile to Riku's face; they were within reach of escape. As they reached the mouth of the tunnel, he motion for the sailors to wait until he and Vidar charged in first. Riku crept up with Vidar and peaked into the makeshift harbor/docking area while he fired up his scanner into high gear.
Scanning... ... 2 anomalous life forms detected.
Rik nodded to himself, it was probably one of the best outcomes they could have expected. there was one creature on the right, sifting through a pile of stuff they had presumably taken from the fishermen or the boat, while another was sitting on the left side of the room, eating a raw fish it had apparently pulled from the waters while it sat looking towards the opening in the rocky grotto. Riku indicated that he would go left again while Vidar could take care of the one on the right. These creatures were more normal sized, unlike the huge prison guards. They would probably be much less trouble. Riku gave a silent three count and then charged forth, running towards the creature with the fish. As he neared he drew his sword and struck in one smooth motion before it could even finish rising. It fell to the cavern floor, silent and twitching, its dinner falling back into the water as it was released from his limp hand. Rik turned and ran to help the sailors free their boat so they could escape this weird place. It might be nothing like the tales he had heard as a child but it was still no where he wanted to be.
[1315/6297]
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Jan 6, 2020 18:50:05 GMT -8
The attack had left the large and hideous creature dead, very dead, and it’s body looked somewhat like decomposing swiss cheese. It was riddled with holes, some of them were somewhat steaming and smoking still from the heat of the many energy blasts which had struck its scaly fish-like flesh. Thick oozing pinkish blood, or what Vidar could only assume was blood, drooled lazily out of the creature’s hole riddled corpse. It was a foul smelling ichor that he could not quite describe; however, his scanners were working tirelessly in their desperate attempt to describe it - not just the odorous substance leaking from the creature, but everything about it. His eyes glowed a bright searing gold and lit up his face in a strange and almost ethereal and ghastly light, as if he were some form of otherworldly being, taking in a fresh kill, making sure it was, in fact, dead.
Scanning Initiated… ANOMALOUS LIFE FORM… STATUS: …. DECEASED. Scanning…. Scanning… Creating Dossier of ANOMALOUS GUARDIAN.
His eyes swept over the creature’s face, the malformed head, the - now - dislocated jaw, its rows of sharp needle-like teeth, and the black oozing ichor leaking from its maw that continued to strike at the floor in thick globules and sizzle, burning at the stone floor and eating away at it in a fashion similar to sulfuric acid. Yet, even as it dripped onto the creature’s very flesh it did nothing.
That detail was saved in the dossier. The blonde cyborg’s yellow eyes were also taking images, photo captures of the creature, as well as video. The whole fight he had with the creature had been captured on video and through a multitude of still shoots taking through his retinal scanners, all of them were added to the dossier he was compiling. It would be saved, secured within his data banks in his HUD.
Once he finished collecting the data, he noticed - from his peripheral vision - that the creature that Riku had faced was also dead. The ugly beast lay on the ground, a pool of that similar pink blood was growing under its misshapen head. Its mouth lay slack and its fat tongue slopped out like some kind of overweight slug. Already he could see the body beginning to decompose, which was odd as these creatures were decomposing far too quickly for it to be natural, at least compared to any other dead thing that one could find sitting by a busy highway. This thing's eyes were already sinking into its malformed head, white lifeless orbs staring into nothing, seeing nothing.
The wound from which the blood oozed, Vidar could see that it was a deep penetration. From what he could figure, Riku had taken his blade and shoved it up into the creature's skull through the soft palate in the mouth and out through the back of the head after fully penetrating the creature's brain matter. Death was instantaneous for the beast.
Riku had made his way across the room and managed to open the doors. Vidar did not need to waste any more time; the creatures were dead, their only obstacle to freeing the captive fishing vessel crew were out of the way. They had to get out of there as quickly as possible before any more of those fish creatures appeared. So, with one final look at the two bodies, Vidar followed after the cyborg samurai, leaving the guardian chamber behind.
Not only had the samurai gotten the doors open, he found the crew. They had been separated, placed into separate cells, and as soon as they walked into the room - having heard the commotion outside from the two cyborgs fighting the eldritch guardians - they cheered at their rescuers, albeit not too loudly so as not to attract more attention. They were unsure if their voices would carry down the dark and dank tunnels that ran within the abominable island.
They had made it onto the island one way or another - well, not all of them, Vidar noticed that there was at least one crewman missing, and he was more than sure it was the one whom he had seen be swept away by the uncaring and violent waves that surged across the deck of the fishing vessel before it all went under. Still, most of the crew was there, so that was a plus. On top of that, it appears that one of them - a man by the name of Ryu - had managed to make it to the island aboard the lifeboat, and had been conscious when they dragged him from the shore all the way to the cell in which they now sat. That was great news because it meant that, perhaps, there was an alternate way out that did not include going out the same way that he and Riku came in - as that would have them going out the temple's front doors and fighting through the throng of angered fish people still waiting up there, or he assumed they were still waiting up there for them.
Ryu moved close to Vidar, the man appeared friendly enough and did not utter a single word, following the code of silence that Riku had emphasized to the men, not wanting to draw more attention to them, especially now since their group had grown.
They would have to strike hard at the dock or whomever was protecting it. They needed to get the crew aboard the lifeboat and off the island.
As they began to make their way through the passages, Ryu pointing out which way to go , never once speaking so as not to make too much noise, Vidar followed closely behind. The man's eyes glowing softly in the darkened passages as he allowed his night vision to work, not wanting to be caught off guard in the dark by one of those malformed fish creatures. Thankfully, none appeared.
Allowing the man to think things over, when they reached the three way intersection, proved to be quite fruitful. He had been conscious when they brought him in, so he was key to finding the way out. He had to take a moment to retrace his steps through the maze of tunnels but when he was able to recall which one he was brought in from, they all silently, as stealthily as they could, followed down that downward leading tunnel. One would think that it was going against their self interest to go down deeper, but it appears that going down deeper was the only way out; going up would only take them into the arms of the fish people waiting outside the temple should they recall that there's a secondary entrance.
Once they arrived at the bottom, the crew were signaled to hang back. Vidar and Riku moved forward and took a small peek.
Vidar's yellow eyes scanned across the small makeshift dock, the small harbor where the liferaft was being held. The cyborg could see the boat, it was in good condition, it was still usable. The storm had managed to batter it here and there, tossing it carelessly like a child would their toys, but it was still in one piece. They had managed to find their way off the dreaded island.
Warning. Anomalous entities detected.
His eyes shot over to the two fish people at the dock. Neither of them had noticed them yet; they were distracted. They were also nowhere near as large as those two guardians whom he and Riku had dealt with earlier. In fact, these resembled the gibbering fish villagers just with slightly more fish-like features. Perhaps those above were still slowly evolving into things like these, and if that were the case could that mean that these two would one day become like the two guardians lying dead in the chamber they had left behind?
Well, those were questions for another day, when they were off the island.
Riku went after his fish person. Vidar did not waste time as he charged for his own. The two fish creatures turned to see their attackers and barely had time to utter a sound, not one blasted gargled gibbering wail before they were set upon.
Vidar mercilessly punched his fish person in the throat; the strike was so strong that he was sure he had crushed the creature's windpipe, if it had one, and it also left the fish creature choking, gagging, and clawing at his throat. He then brought it down with one strong knee to the gut which forced it to its knees. Grabbing its head, he twisted it quickly. The sickening crunch of broken bone echoed, muffled somewhat, as the creature dropped to the ground, dead.
When the other fish was dealt with, Vidar motioned to the men to move it along, and climb aboard the lifeboat. It was way past time for them all to leave the dreaded place.
Once they were all aboard the life raft, the small vessel was cast off from the rickety makeshift dock, they used the oars that remained to paddle away, as quietly as possible. It was in good time, as well; as they were leaving behind the dock, as they were nearing the exit of the cavern where the makeshift harbor was hidden away, the entire island began to shake, to rumble.
Vidar could see the water level rising, or was the high reaching ceiling above them coming down? Either way, he could only surmise that the island was going to return to the depths from whence it came.
The small life raft managed to slip out quietly from the mouth of the cavern, and they - with all of the crew paddling as frantically as they could - managed to clear a good distance from the island just in time to see it sink beneath the waves again.
WC: 1,635 TWC: 10,005
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Post by Rik on Jan 7, 2020 19:58:26 GMT -8
Rik helped to cut the boat free as the crew charged up and started getting the life boat ready to launch. He helped a few of the sailors who seemed injured into the boat before hopping in himself. He saw a couple of the sailors had thought to grab oars and Rik nodded to himself; in hindsight it seemed obvious that he should have thought of that. They pushed off of the docks and the sailors started rowing for the freedom of daylight. The boat approached the mouth of the grotto and Riku had to close his eyes as they felt stabbing pain at the light of the morning sun emerging on the horizon. Riku thought of the old stories as they neared the exit and cast about in his mind for a story he half remembered, a chant or a charm... it tickled and danced on the edge of his mind for an infuriating moment before it came to him.
He started mumbling under his breath:
"Island of Hunger, close your maw, Island of Hunger, Still your jaws, Take no more of us than your due, Under the sea, out of the sun, You've had your fill, Now be done.
Back to the dark depths of the brine, Take what you have made yours, Leave what is mine, Back to sleep plumb the depths, Of ocean and Dream.
Plague us no more, old Atlantis kin, with mealy mouths filled with needle teeth, and scaly skin, back to your home, leave us ours forever more."
The island began shaking after the last words left his lips; it was probably a complete coincidence, but somewhere deep in his heart Riku would never believe it. The sailors began to row with more frantic energy, calling encouragement to their fellows on the oars as the shot out of the island's embrace and started bobbing more as they hit the open sea and the unbridled waves. The crew on the oars was quickly swapped out and fresh arms manned the oars, pulling harder and faster for their rested state. Riku watched in grim fascination as the island continued to rumble and shake. He was honestly surprised the whole little town didn't shake apart every time this happened. Then again, maybe it did and they rebuilt it between risings; he hoped to never know to be honest. While it wasn't evident at first, soon it was apparent that the island was indeed sinking below the waves; the cliffs holding the town were now almost down to sea level and on the verge of disappearing. The other thing that became apparent was that the disappearance was not without consequences of its own. Huge waves rippled out from the isle, taxing all of the sailor's skill to keep them from getting capsized while Rik simply held on and tried not to get in the way.
Finally the island finished slipping below the waves and the sea grew quiet except for the last waves of displaced water slapping against the boat and the groaning creak of the oars in the locks. After what seemed an eternity, something beeped in the bottom of the boat. Riku's eyes were srawn to it and one of the sailors called out excitedly, "The beacon's working, lads! We're saved for sure!" The mood in the boat improved notably and Riku felt some tension he had not realized he was holding onto leave his back. He could see it in everyone's eyes that there would be no mention of the island. Some of the sailors were already repressing the memory. Some few would remember, Riku thought, but would take the tale to the graves. One or two might tell their children or grand children... and it would keep the tales alive. Riku supposed that was for the best... he himself was ready to get back to land and to put this oddness behind him. He looked to Vidar and shrugged, "Usually fishing trips don't end quite this way..."
The sailors around them guffawed at his words and slapped each other and the two warriors on the back. The swapped tales and innocent lies as they waited for the coast guard to pick them up. The memories of the horrors seemed to burn away before the sun, laughter, and companionship.
[715/7012]
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