Grand Chase: Chaos Chronicles
A Grand Chase Fanfiction by lollipopsofjustice
Chapter 1: The Beast
The hot, stuffy air made my clothes cling to my skin. It didn't help at all that the monsters here have the ability to breathe fire, which made the heat a whole lot worse. The big axe I was lugging around only made me feel more exhausted. By the time I reached a fork in the tunnel, I was breathing hard, and sweating heavily. It was then that I decided to rest for a bit before continuing on. I laid my rucksack on the ground and sat beside it, one of the tunnel walls rough behind my back. From one of my belt pouches I took out a small wooden totem and planted it on the ground. Almost immediately, I felt the aches and pains from my body start to subside as the totem drew power from the earth and bathed the area in a faint orange light.
As soon as I felt rested enough, I got up, picked up the totem and put it away. Hefting the rucksack onto my back, I made my way toward the left fork. I can sense the smell of my target, the air heavy with the smell of sulfur from the beast's mouth. I walked in. The deeper I went into the tunnel, the stronger the stench was until it was too much to bear. It felt as if my nostrils were burning. I reached for a mask inside my rucksack and put it on, neutralizing the smell.
As I reached the other end of the tunnel, the faint stench that permeated through the mask mixed with the smell of death and decay. The cave I found myself in was littered with bones, some even had rotting meat on them. The dim light that shone through the various cracks on the ceiling was enough for me to look around. I could hear a faint slurping noise echoing throughout the cave. Across the cave, I saw my target.
The Red Gorgos stood in front of me, too focused on feeding on the bloody carcass of a poor animal to notice me. The beast's red scales formed flame-like patterns on its chest. Hook-like claws pinned the carcass on the ground as powerful jaws tore through the flesh, crushing bones as though they were twigs. The bulbous tip of its rock-hard tail flicked in satisfaction as it took bite after bite of the unfortunate victim. In one quick motion, the creature sucked in the victim's innards, slurping as it did so. I couldn't help myself. The rotten stench alone was enough to make me gag, but witnessing the beast devour its prey made me remove my mask and clutch my stomach as I gagged and choked ,and finally, heave, and let loose the remnants of my lunch.
The Red Gorgos, upon hearing me vomit, turned towards me and roared. The beast jumped high up and came crashing down on me. I leapt out of the way just as it crashed, barely missing me. It spun around and lashed out with its tail. I held up my axe to parry the blow, but the force of the impact pushed me backward. It charged at me with mouth wide open, roaring as it did so. I struck the beast's head with the face of my axe, knocking it away from me. Angered, the beast let loose a piercing shriek and shot fireballs from its mouth. I twisted left to dodge the first one. The second one barely missed me. The third one came out of nowhere and it was too late to dodge it. I let go of my axe and crossed my arms in front of me to brace myself. The resulting explosion threw me back, knocking me into a wall. I fell face down.
I tried pushing myself up, but my arms kept collapsing below me, unable to support my weight. I laid there breathing heavily, the explosion taking a lot out of me. Pain shot through my right arm, the pink flesh beneath the burnt remnants of my skin lay exposed. I tried focusing all my willpower to try and get past the pain. With my arms, I pushed myself up little by little. I got up to my knees but my legs felt like lead. The beast saw me struggling to get up and it charged at me, poised to slash with its claws. I didn't think I could take another hit, but I braced myself.
"High-power Rush!" A voice echoed from the tunnel. A barrage of mini-rockets flew head on towards the beast, knocking it away from me with multiple explosions. A glowing blue bullet ripped through the air and detonated with a dazzling light. The beast stood there, frozen.
"Hurry!" The voice said urgently, "we don't have much time!"
A green aura surrounded me as I got up from my knees, ignoring all the pain. I focused all my energy into my right hand and charged at the beast.
"Nephilim Punch!" I screamed as my fist shattered the ice and smashing squarely into the beast's gut, knocking it back. I followed through with a punch to the jaw, knocking it unconscious. It fell face down in front of me. I was panting heavily as I looked at the fallen beast. The green aura subsided and I fell back on my knees. I winced as the pain returned all at once. The stranger ran toward me as she saw me fall.
"Hey, are you alright?" she asked.
Pain shot through my neck and back as I slowly turned to face her.
"Hey, don't move much," she said as she reached her hand out to touch my shoulder, but she stopped midway when I glared at her.
"Who are you?" I asked between gritted teeth.
"That's not important," she said, "we need to get you fixed up quick!"
"Who are you?!" I insisted, this time raising my voice.
"If you should know," she said cheerfully, "my name is Alice, and I will be your new partner."
Three thoughts popped into my head and made me forget my pain. One, I don't need a partner. Two, I don't need a partner. Three, I DON'T NEED A FRICKIN PARTNER!
The world around me was spinning and everything became darker and darker.
"H-hey!" Alice sounded as though she was far away.
"Shit", she said as I closed my eyes and fell unconscious.