"Blue Trailer"
(Music: Invincible by MGK Nightcore: /watch?v=YT_E4IMVymI)
"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
The cold wind blew strong across the early morning sky. A single figure scaled the side of a steep, snowy mountain. He had his black hood up and dark brown goggles on. On his back was a navy blue outdoor pack with red laces. Using a blue tipped axe in his right hand, he dug the blade into the rock, allowing a few pebbles to chip off and fall as he pulled himself up. The wind managed to blow the hood down revealing his black and blue hair. He repeated this step again with another axe in his left hand. The snow was thick but his blades were thicker. He wrestled with the incoming wind as it tried to propel him off the mountain. Grunting, he swung his ax again. However, there was not much resistance. The thick, snowy fog was getting thinner at this point. Feeling around with his axe, he quickly pulled himself up. The top was calm with white gently drizzling over the ground. Pushing his goggles up his head, he gazed at the sight before him.
"Heh, Patch doesn't have anything like this."
The mountains in the distance were covered in snow and glowed bright orange due to the rising sun behind them. The clouds below swooped over the valley like ghosts. The boy spun his axes, allowing the blades to slide inward, and holstered his weapons to his sides. This is Brandeis Tachyon. He gazed at the magnificent view as his blue trench coat flapped gently with the chilly wind. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his silver pocket watch and checked the compass.
'West… this should be the right one.' Brand looked back and smiled at the sunrise once more before snapping out of his thoughts and turning around.
"Right. I'm not here to admire the view."
In front of him was a temple covered in white. Strange masks with intricately woven designs decorated the exterior while icicles surrounded the edges of its steep roof. Brand checked his backpack to see if it was still durable and walked inside without hesitation. It was dark so Brand took out his flashlight. Unlit candles covered in a thin layer of ice hung from the wooden walls. The floor was marble so it was a bit slippery. The interior was one big room with a single, large, wooden gate standing at the back. The gate seemed to be about 3 feet thick and made of sturdy oakwood.
Brand made his way to the gate. The wood was too thick so chopping it down would be a challenge. He examined the lock. The middle was lined with metal padding from top to bottom. Looking at the top, he spotted a single mechanism holding the lock together. Brand took out one of his axes, pointed it at the lock, and fired. The shell broke it, making the entire metal pad fall to the ground in a loud clang that echoed across the room. The doors creaked open to reveal a passageway leading to a possible cave system. Brand shined his light down the path and retracted his axe. Smiling, he made his way into the crypt.
The walls were mostly ice probably due to the age of temple itself, it must have been a thousand years since a human being set foot in this holy grove, a sanctity of a people lost within the ancient texts. So, naturally, it was very cold. The floor was steep with a crudely carved stairway leading down. At the bottom was a long corridor. Brand carefully made his way across. He noticed that the ice had stopped covering the walls at this point. Touching the wall, he realized that it wasn't cold. Brand took another step but felt a change in level. He had stepped on some sort of pressure plate. Mechanical sounds could be heard all around him and small holes behind him opened up.
"Oh no."
Brand dropped his flashlight and dashed forward as fire came out of the holes. More openings released flames as he managed to outrun it. However, that wasn't the end of it. The more he ran, the smaller the corridor got. The walls were closing in! Brand took out both of his weapons, faced the barrel of the gun behind him, and fired. The recoil sent him flying towards the small opening. With a roll, Brand landed safely out of the corridor. He scanned his surroundings. The snow had lessened but the air was still freezing. He stood in a circular room with the roof high up. In the middle was a mysterious symbol that looked like a Grimm skull with horns. Brand placed his weapons back on his sides and circled the area. Different tunnels lined the curved walls, each leading somewhere.
"Multiple tunnels… multiple paths…" Brand muttered to himself. "…multiple traps… puzzle!"
He grinned as he approached the middle circle. The symbol was embossed so it rose up from the rest of the floor. The eyes sunk into the rock below as well as the mouth. Brand noticed that the mouth was lined with a flammable liquid.
"Bingo!" Brand took out one axe and shot the mouth of the symbol.
With the mouth on fire, the eyes lit up as well. The ground shook as Brand tried to keep his balance. Suddenly, multiple walkways crisscrossed around the room forming paths across the tunnels. Brand smiled at his work but then realized that something else was coming. In an instant, Creep Grimm came bursting out of the ground. They stood on their two legs, snarling at Brand.
"Oh, great." Brand pulled the other axe out. Spinning them, the blades came out. "Come get some…"
The Grimm charged. One came flying at Brand who quickly cut through its flesh with both axes. The Grimm evaporated into dust while two more joined the assault. Brand spun his axes, slicing through each Grimm and shooting at the same time. Each cut was accompanied by a corresponding shells that tore through Grimm flesh and bone. Pressing the trigger, Brand noticed that he had run out of ammo. Emptying the cartridges and flipping the axes into the air, he quickly grabbed the extra clips on his belt and caught both weapons. The ammo clip clicked into place. Brand smiled and spun around, hitting Grimm within the vicinity.
He kept on fighting until he realized that they wouldn't stop coming. He glanced around the room. There's a way to the passages but there's no time. Brand immediately charged at a Creep and jumped on its back. He pointed the gun downwards and fired, the shell penetrated the Grimm, turning it to dust. Brand managed to propel himself up the wall. He wallran and landed on a walkway. He looked down to find the Grimm were running through the tunnels in an attempt to get him. Brand hurriedly jumped from platform to platform using his gunfire as a boost. A lever hung from the inside of the tunnel. Brand pulled it and made all the walkways collapse on the Grimm, leaving a tall pile of rubble. Smiling, he walked right into the chamber. The room was huge with gigantic pillars surrounding the interior. The roof was open, revealing the bright orange sky and allowing snow to lightly cover the floor. In the middle was an altar made of marble, it was in glorious shape as though the people who lived here during that age were still here guarding this sacred treasure. Shining silver and gold chess pieces rested on the surface. The pieces themselves were also in good condition, with no visible scratches they were as beautiful as the altar they rested upon.
"There you are…" Brand holstered his weapons before proceeding to the altar.
He reverently placed the pieces one by one in the backpack, making sure not to damage the artifacts. Brand heard a rattling noise from behind. He quickly turned around to see a humongous King Taijitu hissing at him. Dropping the backpack, Brand jumped out of the way as one of the heads lunged at him, destroying the altar. He unsheathed his weapons and swung the blades at the two headed Grimm. However, it did little to hurt it. Both heads of the giant snake came crashing down on Brand, making him fly into a pillar and into the wall. The pillar cracked and collapsed on top of him.
The King Taijitu hissed once more and approached the rubble. A few pebbles shook out of place. More rocks fell onto the cold floor as a hand reached out. Brand pulled himself out of the rubble with a smile on his face. His body glowed light blue as he grinned even more. The Grimm prepared to attack but Brand quickly took his axes, attached the ends together, and fired a blast behind him. The recoil launched him towards the Taijitu. Brand swung Cobalt Ravager, now a staff with battle axes on both sides, and slashed at the Grimm. Landing on the ground, he continued to spin his weapon from side to side, creating a circular blur on each side of his body.
One head of the Grimm attacked Brand on one side while the other attacked the other side. Brand then swung the blades to his left, hitting one head. He passed the staff behind his back and caught it with his right hand. The snake on the right hissed as it got slashed across the face. Then, both heads came down on Brand at the same time. He dashed forward and held his weapon horizontally. The staff fit perfectly between both heads as Brand pulled both triggers. Shells from both sides fired out and hit both heads. Brand flipped and landed on the ground behind the Grimm. The snake turned around and quickly slithered towards Brand. Both heads lunged at him once more.
Brand quickly jumped out of the way. He was now standing beside the giant beast. Before the snake could turn its heads, Brand fired the bottom ax and propelled himself towards the two headed snake for one final blow. Spinning Cobalt Ravager, Brand fired the end of the weapon again to create more force and landed the other end on the side of the Grimm's face. Both heads were sent flying to the left as Brand's staff axe buried into its skin. The Taijitu flew into the wall and crashed through it with a thud. The cold wind blew into the sanctuary as the white snow outside glistened. The Grimm tumbled down the mountain. It was dead.
Brand approached the altar and picked up his bag. He checked inside to find that the artifacts were still in good condition. Satisfied, he put on the backpack and started whistling as made his way out through the gaping hole.