Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 153 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 2
Uninhabited Island / Ruins / Discovered Chamber
Galactic Standard Time / 0800
Zezill smirked as he looked at the monster that had come from the waters. So far he and Guricall had been handling it just fine. Soon they would kill this thing before getting out of here. This place was fine to visit, but he wouldn’t want to live here if this was one of the natives. The best thing to do is take what they need and then get out before more of these things come.
He saw the monster extend its head to aim at Guricall and smirked. He might be able to kill it fast if he could slice its neck deep enough. With the help of Nyllia Power, this would be easy!
But then he felt something change. Looking down for an instant he saw the energy armor that Nyllia had given him was gone! He moved to the side as one of the pincer claws flew by him, but the claws slashed open a small cut on his arm. He knew then and there that they might have to retreat, if only so Nyllia could recast her Power on them.
“What happened!?” Guricall exclaimed from up the hill.
“Nyllia’s power must have a timer! Go and get it recast! I’ll hold the line!” Zezill said as he kept his eyes locked on his target.
As Guricall ran back to the others, Zezill looked at the monster before him. With a snarl on his face, he saw it aiming its mouth at Guricall. With a thought, he roared and charged. He might not have Nyllia’s help, but he was a warrior with a Creator Metal Sword! And that was one of the deadliest combinations in their world!
He slashed at one of the tentacles as it came at him, cutting through it. As the monster roared it turned and looked right at him. With a growl, it opened its mouth again and Zezill saw its throat start to bulge at the back. “Not again!”
Zezill started to run along the shore, the monster following him with its head. As he ran, he looked right at the monster’s head. Just before it fired, he jumped towards the sea. The blast hit where he had been, and the blast wave threw him another two feet as.
Zezill tried to up slowly from where he had landed. He looked up and saw the monster walking towards him as fast as it could. But thankfully the beast could only move slowly. He saw that its last tentacle was in the water and seemed to be drinking it. As he tried to figure out what was happening a war cry sounded from the hill.
Smiling, he got to all fours with his blade in his mouth and ran. Within moments he had moved a distance of ten feet and looked at the hill. He stared in shock as he saw Guricall was back, without energy armor! For a moment, Zezill only stared in shock. But then he realized that there was only one reason Guricall would be back without the armor. That one reason was if something had happened to their friend.
“Is Nyllia okay!?” Zezill bellowed as he got back to his feet, looking at the monster with his sword in his hand.
“Something attacked the others! And Master Harill went out the door so the others could close it behind him!” Guricall snarled.
For a moment, Zezill didn’t think he understood what his friend said. But after a moment, he did and said one sentence softly. “They did what?”
Before he could react, a roar caused him to glare at the monster. This thing would have to be dealt with first. Master Harill always said never to leave an enemy alive behind them after all.
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The hunter looked at the two empty walkers as they talked to each other. It could tell they were communicating but it had no idea how. But the claws of one of them were very sharp. It could feel the maimed tentacles slowly regenerating in its shell, but it would take time. These creatures were terrible in the empty, how much worse were they in the mass? It had to kill these things here and now!
As another barb hit its neck, it looked up and saw the long clawer looking at it. both of them had dodged its battle spit, but they were weaker now. Something must have changed, and it thought it knew. They were losing their stored mass to breathe! It could feel that it was slowly regaining the mass with its lone tentacle, but now what? It could only do one more roar and then it would have to retreat soon after.
But then that would show that it was a prey thing. It had to kill at least one of them before it could do that. Looking at the far claw, it prepared to strike.
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As the monster pulled its head to its shell, Zezill felt a spike of fear. Something was wrong, it was doing something it hadn’t before. Before he could cry out, it pointed its last tentacle at Guricall and fired a blast of water. Guricall tried to move but he was blasted into the hill as the monster started to move towards him.
As another tentacle rose from the shell, Zezill looked at his friend and tried to think of what to do. so many things had gone wrong, and he had to deal with them all. for a moment all that he could feel was the rage unlike anything he had ever felt before. He felt it as a burning that grew within him. Finally, it reached the limit and then he felt the heat going through his body. Suddenly, he knew exactly what to do next.
With a roar, he felt the heat flow through him as a green energy aura covered his body. He raised his sword as a strange and unknown energy covered it. Somehow, he knew that all he had to do was slash down and everything would end. He slashed down, and a green energy cone flew from his sword and drilled into the monster. The drill went through the beast with a loud crack, and water burst out the other side. The monster took another step forward before it fell to the ground, mere feet from Guricall.
Guricall looked at the dead monster and then at his friend, smiling as he did so. He had to admit, that for a second he didn’t understand what had happened. The force of the water had pushed him against the wall, and he couldn’t move. No matter what he tried, he had been stuck. But then his friend had roared and the monster was dead. He didn’t understand it, but somehow Zezill had oneshot the beast. He looked around and found his friend panting as a green energy aura died down.
“ZEZILL!” Guricall cried as he ran down the hill. When he reached his friend, he helped Zezill stand on his own feet. “What was that?”
“I don’t think it was a Battle Awakening. I would have fallen but I’m just feeling weak. We can figure it out later, we need to get up there now!” Zezill snarled as he forced himself to take a step.
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He almost dropped again but Guricall caught him and put Zezill’s free arm over his shoulder. “Come on pal, I’ve got ya. Only a few steps up.”
“Thanks,” Zezill muttered and as one they walked up the hill.
As he walked, Guricall looked behind him and saw the body of the monster slowly start to heal. For a moment he almost reacted but he kept silent. If that monster wasn’t dead already or dying, then he didn’t know what they could do. if it was still alive, letting it live as they escaped this hell was the best thing to do. With the feast they had, they would be able to fight on for another few days.
“You see anything?” Zezill asked softly.
For a second Guricall almost stayed silent, but he heard the note of worry in Zezill’s voice. and with a sigh, he made a choice. He turned his head around and kept walking as he took a firmer hold on Zezill. “Your bro might have knocked it out, or it's still healing after that blow of yours.”
“Keep moving, just keep moving bro. I’m spent and we need to find Nyllia!” Zezill said softly. “And keep it from the others, tell them we might have seen another one coming when we leave.”
Guricall was shocked. He had lived with Zezill in the training barracks for half a year, but his friend kept surprising him. But then he felt his heart freeze as he realized why his friend thought they had to lie.
“Smart, I wouldn’t trust those Watchers not to kill us all for glory,” Guricall muttered.
“Or one of the others,” Zezill said as they crested the hill. They saw the others holding the door closed with all their might and Guricall swallowed.
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As his strength returned, Zezill looked at the others and shook his head. “What happened!?”
One of the Watchers turned and swallowed as he saw them. “We got attacked! Humanoids we think, but they could shapeshift! I would have thought it was the things at the Battle Lines but then these can change! One of them grabbed Miss Nyllia first. Then when they tried to get in Sir Harill cut that off before charging out!”
“It was all we could do to keep the door closed!” One of the warriors said as they pointed at something.
At this, Zezill looked and saw a large arm the size of his torso. He blinked and then he looked at Guricall who’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“That’s an arm!?” Guricall breathed with horror in his voice.
Zezill looked at the arm, trying to understand how Harill could have cut it off. It looked too strong for any normal being to cut through, even with a Creator Metal Sword. But then he looked down and saw a liquid was flowing from under the door.
Looking at the others, he took a deep breath. “Is anyone trying to get in?”
One of the Watchers shook their head. “Once we closed the door, it was like they just stopped. I can’t explain it. This door is a Wonder!”
Zezill looked at them and shook his head. “A wonder you say? What about that?”
As Zezill pointed down, everyone looked and saw the liquid. They all stepped away and stared in shocked horror. The reason? The liquid was a deep blue with red streaks.
“What is this?” One of the Warriors asked in horror.
“Open the door,” Zezill said softly as he gripped his blade.
“What?!” The last Watchers asked in shock and Zezill just grabbed their neck, pulling him close.
“I said open that door now!” Zezill barked with rage as he bared his teeth.
The Watcher looked around but they found Guricall with his dagger out, and looking right at him.
Swallowing one of the Watchers found the latch and undid. The others all drew their weapons while Zezill dropped the Watcher he had been holding. As the door slipped open, nothing happened. But they all smelled the scent of death.
With a scowl on his face, Zezill dashed out and stopped, staring at what was beyond.
Guricall followed after and his mouth dropped open. As the others all came out, they stared at a charnel field. There were three dead bulky beings all around the halls. Three corpses that had wings were by them, and the bodies of normal humanoids in robes were here and there. All but the normal bodies had cuts and slashes and bleed the blue liquid, their blood. Looking ahead, they saw a trail of blood led away into the distance.
“Master Harill did all this!?” One of the Watchers asked in shock.
“But he’s just a trainer! If he could do this he would be at the Battle Line!” One of the Warriors exclaimed in shock.
“Nobody normal could have cut that arm off like that,” Zezill said with a hard face.
Looking behind them, Zezill finally found Harill. He was leaning against another of the bulky large ones. Head was hanging and his blade was slick with the blue liquid.
Gasps came from some of the others as they saw him as well.
“Sir Harill!” One of the Warriors cried out. They all would have run to him if Zezill hadn’t thrown his arm out to block them.
“Watchers, follow the trail of blood until you turn, then send one back! Warriors, guard beyond the Master! Guricall, with me!” Zezill bellowed and ran towards Harill. As the others did what he ordered, he dropped to check if Harill was still alive.
“How is he?” Guricall asked as he looked around.
Zezill moved his hand closer to Harill’s neck. “I don’t think he’s…..”
Harill suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed Zezill’s hand, glaring at Guricall.
“I’m still strong enough to tan your hide brat!” Harill said with a scowl as he tried to get up.
“What happened here, sir?” Zezill asked as Harill got up.
Harill stretched before he used his sword to hold himself up. “What happened was those beasts were after Nyllia! Once they had her they escaped, these things are here because I killed them! Those monsters tried to keep me from following her, but I did. I did!”
“Master, what happened?” Guricall asked as he looked away from Harill.
Zezill only shook his head, exasperated by how the two of them always acted with each other.
“While I was killing those things, three more of the Bulky ones stayed away from me. Once I killed this one I got hit and was knocked out. But I saw the scum carrying her this way,” Harill said with effort.
Zezill looked at Harill, blinking as he did so. There was only one way to understand Harill, and that was against everything this place looked like. The only way this would happen was…….
“Master Harill! The ones that took her, they went that way!?” Zezill asked with horror as he pointed beyond Harill. As Harill nodded, Zezill looked where he had sent the Watchers. “By the First Claw! Everyone, go find where they went, same orders as the Watchers but that way!”
“Thinking what I am brother?” Gruicall asked and Zezill only nodded.
He cursed himself as he looked towards where the Watchers had gone. As much as he thought they were cowards, they didn’t deserve what was coming. “Let’s move, Master Harill! You’re in charge!”
“Go brats,” Harill said as he got back to his feet and steadied himself, removing his sword from the ground.
Both Zezill and Guricall ran away, transitioning to all fours as they left the area of bodies.
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As the Watchers moved along the corridors, they followed the blood trail. The smell of blood was so heavy that nothing else registered to them all.
“What were they after? How did they know she was a Power user?” One of the Watchers asked.
The second Watcher looked at the first and shrugged. “A Power to know other Power Users?”
“Be serious!” The third Watcher spat and the second bristled.
“I am! Powers don’t make sense! So who are we to say that there isn’t a Power to identify Power Users?!” The second Watcher demanded as they glared at the third.
The third looked at the second as the first moved on. The third’s mouth opened and closed before nodding after a few moments. “That makes sense.”
“Told you so!” The second said with a glare.
The first only closed their eyes for a moment, cursing the two of them in their head.
But then reached a three-way intersection. Looking to the right, all three of them saw the source of the blood they were tracking. One of the Bulky ones was against a wall five feet away. But unlike the others the Watchers had seen, this one seemed to have come here to die.
“What is this?” The second Watcher asked in horror.
“Good question. This doesn’t make sense, why would any animal….. they’re not animals!” The third Watcher exclaimed.
“What?! Then what are they!?” The first Watcher spat. If they weren’t animals then they could think! Why had they gone here to die then!? But before they could think of anything else, something wrapped around their neck! Before they could even screech in fear, they were being strangled.
The other two looked up at the gurgle and saw the tentacle around their comrade's neck. Following the tentacle they saw where it had come from and wished they hadn't. Above them were four bipeds with masses of tentacles for arms hanging off the ceiling. Two of them dropped towards the Watchers who screeched and lunged to the sides.
As soon as the two figures hit the ground, they each attacked a Watcher. Drawing their blades, the Watchers tried to defend themselves.
As the second Watcher grappled with his foe, they looked up. They saw the first Watcher being carried away back to where the Felines had come from.
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As they ran down the hallway, Guricall cursed himself. He should have seen that the scene looked too perfect! The way the monsters were all set that they went the other way, that was the perfect cover! Any being that could think and tried to escape would have set a false trail! He could see everything that happened in his mind. All he could hope was that they reached the others before the trap was sprung. But the cries ahead of them caused that hope to die. Looking up at the ceiling,
“There they are Zezill! I’ve got the two up there! You help the Watchers!” Gurricall cried as he fired his sling at the figure holding the other Watcher. As soon as the stone hit, the figure cried out and released the Watcher and fell with them. As they hit the ground, Gurrical was there suddenly and slit the figure’s throat.
As the blue blood seeped out the other figure above tried to attack. But the Watcher drew their weapon and implored the figure by jumping up.
While that happened Zezill had slashed off one of the other two figures head. As soon as they all gathered around the last figure with its captive Watcher, the figure growled.
“Let him go and you can live. Do anything and you die,” Zezill said coldly.
The Figure only growled and as the Watched started to chock, the two yellow eyes glowed in the figure’s cloak. It started to spew a strange and mad-sounding tongue that none of them understand, then it went still. The captive Watcher had driven a hidden dagger into the figure’s heart.
As the Watcher stepped away, the figure fell. As it fell, its hood moved and revealed bare skin with one green eye.
As the others stared, Guricall looked at Zezill.
All that Zezill did was look at the corpse for a moment before turning to the others. “Back to the rest of our people, now!”