|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 12:22 am
Talon was thinking along the lines of a crushed, full, soda can. Yes. He was imagining a soda can. Anything else and he'd turn pale and probably have the urge to lay down for a bit for a mental health roll call of the brain cells.
The Cuddler on Talons shoulder gave a small shudder nonetheless. Being squished wasn't its ideal way of going out. Then again, that was probably something it never pondered. Good time to now!.
Talon gave a small grunt of acknowledgement, readied himself and followed as closely as he could through the spiked hallway. It kinda reminded him of earlier, except the spikes were above him not below. Sigh...
Seriously...Stalactites? He'd have thought of something better, maybe the walls crushing in at the same time to throw folks off or something sinister like that. He caught himself from thinking like that... He might end up wanting to make those types of traps for poor suckers like himself. Sigh... must be a vicious cycle.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 12:50 am
Metal crushed like a can, skulls... somewhat crumbled. Severe eat was usually involved which added to the strange result. She would be sure to keep that to herself and hope that he would not get to see that himself.
Nick ran down the pathway once Talon gave his confirmation. The spikes on the ceiling came crashing down with loud thuds each time the impaled the floor. Long rods attached to those spikes further baring their previous path.
Luckily, it would not last as long. Twenty feet down the path and the spikes came to a sudden halt. Safety for the rest of the way. Once they were past the rows of spikes the reason this path was safest was brought to light. A loud rumbling came from the other side of the wall followed by many loud crashes. Whatever was going on over there was happening to the path ahead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 1:14 am
Like hell would he pay attention to the stuff crunching and crashing behind him! He had more important things to do, like live? Yeah. Living is always fantastic. In fact, Talon had to remember to stop once the coast was clear. It was only then did he look at his holey doom. Or, would have been his holey doom had not the golden Cuttlefish of ..whatever this place was called came to their rescue.
Best. Tour guide. Ever!
Worst. Tour. Ever!
Talon checked his shoulders. First Moe who seemed okay considering the little guy was practically making his shoulder bleed from the way the guy was digging into it. Secondly, the Squid thing looked to be okay. Then again, Talon couldn't tell with this one as it hadn't moved in a while.
It was then that Talon felt something wet on the shoulder the cuttlefish was on. He sighed heavily. The little guy inked. At least this wasn't his favorite shirt...course how he would explain the stain to someone without explaining that he had a cuttlefish on his shoulder and was braving very dangerous territory was ... Okay no one would believe him.
Then the rumbling and the crashing and more rumbling came from the hallway just next door. Talon stared at the wall, wishing he had x-ray vision so he could see whatever it was that was over there. "A rolling boulder... Cliche! " he huffed. Well, that is what it sounded like. Could be the whole floor lifted up and was squishing itself on to the ceiling in a wave like pattern. That seemed a bit too high tech though. ...
Then he thought of something else... What if that was going to happen over here? Dang, they were squished.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 1:36 am
Nick looked back at Talon's comment about the boulder being cliche. What boulder? One could only wonder what this one's mind was like. A scary place.
With a shrug Nick looked forward. A big room was to be at the end of this ascending hall. The golden Cuddler warned that that room was also linked to the room with all the pods they saw earlier. At least the pathway was starting to go upward.
"Common, we need to get out of here..." Nick looked back at Talon before continuing forward quickly.
The seekers were still asleep, and if they could get out of there while they slept it would be all the better for Talon. Nick would have to find a way to slip back in to obtain the seekers, but first she would see Talon got out alive.
Somehow she got the feeling it wouldn't work out that simply. Not with their luck.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 1:43 am
Talon blinked up as Nick spoke, having decided that it was safe enough to inspect the small ink stain that was starting to spread. Oh gods, he hoped it wasn't flammable! That would put a damper on his day. Not that this entire trip wasn't a damper.
He nodded and followed after, also noting that the path was going up. As his mind was still on rolling stones, he sighed heavily and continued on. Moe chirped in agreement.
The Cuddler on the other hand gripped the torch with two tentacles and shuffled. Shuffled as it it braced itself for an attack. Why? It was gonna fight next time something scared it. Probably not a good thing...considering its got LAZORS!!!! ... not that Talon knew such things yet, but boy would it be a shocker!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:15 am
Nick had failed to tell him that they had lasers fired from those nifty gems in their heads and in their longest tentacles. The tips opened up when they attacked. Thankfully they were friendly, the attack didn't sound pleasant.
The rest of the pathway was without traps, and when they came to the end of the hall Nick noticed there was no door trap to seal them in this time. Odd.
The room was massive, though more tall than it was large. About half the size of a football field wide and about a full field tall. There were four doors leading into the room. One of which was barred and full of rubble, spikes, and what looked to have a water leak. That door was right next to the one they had come out of. Anyone who had taken that path would have ran in terror only to find their exit blocked before death came down on their heads.
Nick gave the golden cuddler a pat as she looked at the barred door. That could have been their fate were it not for him.
From that door Nick looked to the rest of the room. Of course there was another statue of what the Jury used to look like. Skeletal horse with ram horns, sharp teeth and scythes for wings. Made her shudder every time.
Statues of those sharp birds were all about this room clear to the ceiling near windows. Some light came through the small opening which suggested that this room could just barely be seen on the surface. No chance in climbing it though... Their door out was large and also sealed by a large stone slab connected to chains which were connected to heavier boulders suspended from the ground. There was a release on the other side of the room which would drop the heavy boulders and open the door. A simple bird statue with the chains in its mouth would trigger the door to open, but no obvious button to get it to drop the chains.
The final door was obviously the one they did not want to venture into. The reason, sitting staring with eerie green eyes at the five of them. That must have lead to the room with all the pods...
The seeker let out a screech which was soon followed by a chain reaction of screeches and a wind like noise.
Nick held her gaze on that seeker. It would be a dead bird as soon as she got her hands on it...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:18 pm
Talon noted the blocked door and frowned, kinda grateful for the cuddlers. Minus the ink-stain, they seemed to be benevolent. His eyes then traveled to the statue of the skeletal horse. He gave an involuntary shudder, making Moe chirp and nuzzle him in concern. The Cuttlefish on the shoulder, though, moved some of its free tentacles in a fisticuffs motion.
It was either the statue that caused that reaction or the bird thing that seemed to be staring at them.
Talon couldn't help but stare at it. It was frightening, bone chilling, and he was utterly FASCINATED by it! In a creepy way, it was beautiful. Good construction, the razors made a pretty good impression of feathers... He tilted his head to the side to get a better look, but stood his ground. Hell! He even took a step back!
Sharp things hurt. Period.
He gave a glance at Nick, questionig what was the next move. Seriously, he wasn't a match for anything flying, not with a squid thing and a rock on his shoulders. . . Hell, not even then would he take something on like that without a good welder's torch!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 5:04 pm
The seeker spread its wings after the screeching chain was silenced and like a flash of lightning it bolted toward the group of odd explorers. It didn't flap its wings as a normal bird, rather a stream of light trailed behind each metallic 'feather' and its fanned out tail. Jet propulsion? Nick didn't think about it. She was too busy moving in front of Talon and reading her arm to swat the thing when it drew near.
"Just keep close..."
She had guessed its target was going to be Talon as the strikers didn't seem to mind her at all in the last temple, but she was wrong. Only to find out its true target when it was too late to correct the error.
It snatched the golden cuddler from Nick's arm as she raised it to grab the bird. The poor things tentacles were left behind on Nick's arm than left to flop on the floor as they lost their grip power. Goldy was crushed on impact...
If only Nick had known the negative affects of what had just happened, she would have shooed the thing from her arm earlier. The cuddler was like a dam, holding back the 'water' that was the black fog from Nick's mind. Once that dam was removed from her arm the headache hit like a brick.
The moment the cuddler was gone from her arm she grabbed one of the throwing knifes on her belt and lobed it with her right arm at the bird.
*THUNK*
The bird came crashing back to the stone floor with a knife protruding from its head. Needless to say revenge was served, but now there was a bigger problem on their hands. The Iron Judge persona was released...
Nick's left eye narrowed as she entered the nightmare. Her right eye brightened. Once the knife was free of her right hand the palm begun to glow red than slowly brighten to white as the heat intensified. Her breathing became heavy. The energy needed to keep her palm at maximum temperature was quite taxing on the body, but at this point in her sanity the drain had little affect in slowing her down.
And as if things could not get worse, the horde begun to appear through the only other open path way. Seekers begun to flood the room and circle above, no doubt plotting their next assault on the group. Newborns from their pod and still all the deadly...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 12:10 am
Talon's Cuddler squeaked and inked again. It also put a vice-like grip on Talon's shoulder after watching its friend get dismembered.
Talon was dumbfounded by Nick's action. Seriously, she hadn't needed to go and protect him. A good duck would have worked to keep him and his companions out of the way.
He also noted the change in demeanor, being kinda sensitive to the mood of others. He frowned sharply and then watched the Seeker carefully, keeping his other eye on Nick for any strange movements.
"Uh..." was all Talon could really say in this situation. There was a 'dead' metal carrion bird, a dying metal cuttlefish...wait make that a dead one, more carrion birds filling the open space above, and a woman that looked far from mentally stable.
Oh, he nearly forgot the cuttler that had decided that his skin didn't have the right amount of oil on it.
All in all, he wasn't sure if he was safer taking his chances by climbing the walls and breaking away from the small hole in the ceiling, or staying here and face death by either enraged woman or enraged birds.
Moe hooted in concern for Nick, seeing that her metal palm was white now. It tried to get Talon's attention, but it seemed his attention couldn't be pulled from the birds above. What's a poor dino to do!?
Wheeeeeelll I'll tell yah:
Moe bit down hard on Talon's ear after a bark of annoyance, yanking the boy's head in the direction of the white glowy thing. Talon let out a yowl, a rather socially unacceptable curse, and did indeed see the glowing palm, but was rather pissed at his ear getting bit. "MOE! Fuuu...! Not the time! "
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:01 am
Nick chuckled darkly as one of the seekers broke from the flock above and made its dive. They had a thing for the cuddlers, how predictable. Perhaps mortal enemies? Or aggressive neighbors. It didn't matter, they were all going to die. The thought only widened the devilish grin on Nick's face.
She turned toward the seeker just as it neared the group. Quickly she snatched its head in her right and pulled it violently from its path. The thing flapped its wings and clawed helplessly at Nick's arm before its skull was crushed/melted.
It was than cast aside to join it other downed companion. Quite satisfactory...
The seekers screeched at the loss of their brother, but that didn't slow their attack. Another two made a dive for Talon's cuddle companion and Moe. Their sharp talons spread as they locked onto their targets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:20 am
Unsettling. That was the feeling that was taking over most of the cooperating cells in Talon's system when he observed Nick smile. He also suddenly remembered that there was a cuttlefish on his shoulder. Not to mention Moe who had just bit his ear again. Luckily that piercing he had blocked most of the potential pain--somehow Moe bit perfectly so that the fangy part went through that hole. That little MRZ knew how to scare him...
Course... Now he had to deal with the fact that there was a bird coming for him and his companions. "Oh shi-----!!" Talon didn't finish that sentence, as he was busy ripping Moe from his shoulder and trying to bowl the MRZ to the blocked passage to hide in the rubble there.
He gave up on the Cuttlefish simply because he forgot it was there. And that ink made his shoulder kinda numb.
But that was fine. Right? The Cuttler saw the two diving doom birds and let out a sharp cry of fear. And...
WHAAAAAAAAAAAZAOOOOOOMSH!
Fired his lazor. In the direction of the birds. Hopefully it hit something. Cause that totally freaked Talon out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:38 am
"QUAAAARRREEEE!!" One of the seekers shrieked as the cuddler's laser shot out its left eye and sent it crashing violently into the second seeker. Both slammed onto the wall just on the side of Talon and between the two entrances
Three more dove after Talon with an angered screech. This time they would try speeding out more so a repeat of their brother's fall would not occur.
One of the three had the same fate as the first second seeker that tried to attack. Only his lifeless, headless, metallic corpse was used as a projectile against one of the flock whom had yet to attack.
With each attack Nick's breathing became heavier and heavier, but her grin remained.
The other two hugged the walls as they approached and were thus out of Nick's death grasp, but not the laser.
Squeaks and bubbly noises begun to echo throughout the large room. Familiar noises... beams of light appeared above them as lasers were shot from the windows down to the swarming flock below. Hordes of cuddlefish poured in from the upper windows and lept down to their doom below. Latching onto seeker's faces, wings, or wherever else they would land.
Some were not as fortunate and were snatched in sharp talons before they could land.
They were ready to defend their brethren, or die trying.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:53 am
Talon gulped and held up an arm to keep them sharp talons from his face and vital parts...like neck. Neck was squishy and kinda important what with all that muscle there needed to hold the head up. Oh and the whole breathing thing.
The Cuddlefishy, realizing finally it had the power of LAZOR BEAMS at its disposal burped triumphantly, puffed itself up and tried to zap one of them birdys with the Lazor. Well, the one that wouldn't put the laser in the path of anyone squishy that didn't need to be offed for harming its new perch.
Moe, on the other hand, was dizzy and leaning against the wall wondering why the world was spinning and why the two legged folks were standing on the ceiling of dirt...and the birds were on the floor...which made him question why he was stuck to the ceiling. The little Dino decided that it would just stay there and run a diagnostic on its systems just in case.
The bubbles of more cuddlers was music to Talon's ears. Well, not really. It was more like noise, but it was as close to 'Flight of the Valkyries' as one could get in this situation without pulling out a phonograph and popping that record on.
...Then it hit him. The birds would be distracted by the cuddlers and visa-versa. He ran, grabbed the currently distracted Moe, and gave the squishy shoulder of Nick a quick tap. "A way out? Quickly while there's an age old battle going on. "
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:17 pm
 "The war is yet to come boy..." Nick chuckled as she slowly turned to look at Talon. The voice did not seem her own. It sounded twisted and quite demonic. Her left eye seemed to gaze past him in fear of the nightmare. The pupil was so narrow is was nearly lost to the dull blue color of the iris. The right, on the other hand, burned brightly with that eerie crimson glow. This one seemed to be gazing into his very soul rather than past him. Every secret he ever held was being read like an open book. At least that was the feel of it. "The age old battle is yet to be fought... this is but a glimpse into the cleansing many will soon face."
Sweat beaded from her brow and hair, no doubt she would feel the drain when she returned from the nightmare. The palm was still quite intense. "But yes, a way out. Death is not your destiny today. You find favor with this Judge..."
With those last dark words and a dark smile, Nick turned around and begun to walk toward the statue with the chains in its mouth. Any cuddler that made it to the ground now avoided coming close to her. The presence, ITS presence was there and it was something they had feared for thousands of years.
The room flashed with many a laser light as the cuddlers worked to keep the Seekers distracted and away from Talon. Squeaks mixed with screeches also filled the room as the avian mollusk battle raged on.
Talon would see the face of the mask in the back of his mind. Glaring at him with its bright eye. For some reason any thought of "the Judge" only brought that face and not Nick's. Talon was lucky that was all the fog had done to his mind.
Another seeker made a dive for Talon, diving and maneuvering around the other cuddlers to get to him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 3:53 pm
Talon froze at that new, odd-ish, and creepy beyond all belief voice. The slow turn didn't help. Oh! And that creepy, evil, chuckle possessed folks got.
Now the gaze was rather annoying, if not more on the uncomfortable side. He hated piercing gazes like that. Had that ' I CAN SEE YOUR BLACKENED SOUL' kinda feel about it, though he knew quite well that that wasn't possible unless the woman was capable of mind reading. In the hour of meeting her, he was pretty darn sure she wasn't a mind reader.
An eyebrow rose in quiet contemplation to the words being spoken. Talon could tell many hours in the public, military, and private libraries of the Empire and maybe neutral lands would be had. It rose even higher when Talon was told he wasn't going to die today. Well that was reassuring. At least he could live today to tell his tale, minus a whole lot of things because that would be too hard to explain ( especially the part about the cuttlefish having a mini heart attack and suddenly firing lasers.)
"Riiiiiiiiiiight. " he said, a little too calmly for his own liking. Today had been hell on his nerves. And this was the last straw. The fact that whenever he tried to think about 'this Judge' a creepy face with a mask loomed heavily on his mind. After about five seconds of that, he deemed it wise to just ignore it, file that information under ' Later' and move on with the 'Now' so he wouldn't end up 'late'.
Caught up in thought, Talon didn't notice the Seeker until it was practically right on top of him. Well, that was, he noticed that the cuddler on his shoulder made a shrill screech of anger and fired its lasers rapidly at the the thing. It was then Talon blinked at the avian and gave the Cuddler a pat. "Your useful. Wanna stick around? " The little guy nodded and saluted, ready to fire MOAR LAZORS!
And Moe was still running that sanity diagnostics. Apparently it was a lot harder than normal. Poor little guy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
