Jack dodged mechanical debris as the cavern around him collapsed. Robotic mole people raced toward him baring steel fangs, their arms transforming into drills. Jack blocked their attacks with his sheath, jabbing his blade into their abdomen before slicing them in half.
The fallen Mechamoles exploded creating a domino effect and dropping the floor from beneath Jack. Jumping from boulder to boulder as they fell, Jack managed to catch hold of a small cliff. Pulling himself up, Jack turned to see the floor give way to lava. The Mechamoles squealed in grinding gears and sputtering brakes as the lava rushed over them, melting them to the core and turning the lava silvery.
Below him a single Mechamole sneered up at him from a cliff, mocking him with his shell. "Michelle is mine!" It cackled before zooming off deeper into the cave. Disheartened, Jack began the slow climb from the ledge to the cooling silver river below. With singed toes and burnt geta, Jack raced over the smoldering metal to the cliff the mole had mocked him from.
~12hrs earlier~
It had been a pleasant day of honing his skills and sharpening his blade on the hides of Beetle Bots. He had run across a village of short, round, fuzzy people running for their lives as the bots destroyed the strangely shaped round buildings of the town.
Jack had been surprised when the Füzple had swarmed together to form a giant creature to help him in his fight. Jack had barely broken a sweat on the insignificant insects. His strength had improved enough that they were now just a minor nuisance rather than any actual threat.
After the battle, Jack had enjoyed the company of the Füzple; eating with them and joining in on their ceremonies. The shell remained silent as he celebrated, and he decided she must have been resting.
By the time night fell Jack was resting comfortably in a cozy room the Füzple while the city shifted into quiet slumber. It was then that she finally spoke up.
"You enjoyed the slaughter a bit too much today."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked in shock, examining the small amulet.
"You were overjoyed by the defeat of your enemy."
"Should I not have been?"
"No. You should have been humble about your victory."
"I saved a village full of people; at least I think they are people, without losing a single innocent life."
"And I congratulate you on that, but you acted as though the battle was but a mere nuisance. You acted as though you could have taken the entire army on with one hand tied behind your back."
"I could have." He growled confidently.
"You were showboating Jack! You acted as though you were merely training children in a dojo!"
Jack glared at the shell, "What is wrong with that? That was how it felt."
"Such carelessness could have gotten you killed!"
"I disagree; my skills are far more formidable than their own!"
Now jack was shouting into the shell, disturbing the Füzple who had been so kind earlier. Ashamed, Jack bowed out of the village and took back to his path. "Jack listen…"
"No, you listen," Jack snapped angrily, "I have been fighting since I was a child,"
"Jack-"
"I have been training for years with different masters,"
"Jack!"
"With different cultures, and I believe I have a right-"
He was cut short by an explosion that sent him flying backwards, knocking the amulet off of his neck. Dazed, he stood and pulled his sword to face his enemy, unaware that his shell was gone. Several Mechamoles surrounded him, grenades in their large claws and sneers on their ugly faces.
Jack let out a battle cry, attacking the moles as they let their bombs fly. He quickly dodged the falling explosives, slicing his way through the wave of moles. As he was clearing out their numbers, their leader snatched the amulet up, chattering with glee as he dug a deep tunnel to escape through.
"JACK!" She screamed, clawing her globe in fear that he wouldn't be able to hear her cries through the commotion. The mole dove into the darkness of the tunnel, and her sight went dark. She had gotten used to the darkness while the shell was concealed on Jack's neck, but this darkness was far more absolute.
Plucking a scale from her arm, she crushed the shimmering pearlized pink scale into a fine dust and scattering it over her globe, focusing on Jack's face to enact her magic. The globe changed, turning blurry before clearing up to reveal Jack in heated combat, trying to get to the tunnel. He had heard her cries after all, and was in the process of fighting the nearby enemies blocking his path to her.
Without the shell, he wouldn't be able to hear her instructions. She prayed his instincts and skill would be enough to find the shell, and its kidnapper before her captor realized the true power of the amulet.
The tunnel opened into a large maze of caves, her cries echoing off the walls in a confusing metronome of panic as it faded into the depths of the caverns. Somewhere behind him a bomb went off, shaking the tunnel and causing a rock slide.
Dodging boulders, Jack raced down the only stable tunnel running on instinct alone to find his prize. He was in luck as just ahead of him stood a shocked Mechamole leader with his shell in its clutches. "My shell!" Jack roared, lunging at the robot.
Another explosion caught him off guard, taking out the wall next to him and knocking him to his knees. The leader cackled, running off while his minions surrounded the injured samurai, their fangs bared. Though anger bled through his veins, Jack stood calming his rage to better see his next moves.
Everything seemed to slow down as they attacked, their claws outstretched and teeth gnashing in anticipation of rendering his flesh from bone. One of the Mechamoles tossed another grenade his way, but Jack was too fast, lobbing the bomb right back and taking out the majority of the Mechamoles.
Jack dodged mechanical debris as the cavern around him collapsed. The remaining Mechamoles raced toward him baring steel fangs, their arms transforming into drills. Jack blocked their attacks with his sheath, jabbing his blade into their abdomen before slicing them in half.
The fallen Mechamoles exploded creating a domino effect and dropping the floor from beneath Jack. Jumping from boulder to boulder as they fell, Jack managed to catch hold of a small cliff. Pulling himself up, Jack turned to see the floor give way to lava. The Mechamoles squealed in grinding gears and sputtering brakes as the lava rushed over them, melting them to the core and turning the lava silvery.
Below him the Mechamole leader sneered up at him from a cliff, mocking him with his shell. "Michelle is mine!" It cackled before zooming off deeper into the cave. Disheartened, Jack began the slow climb from the ledge to the cooling silver river below. With singed toes and burnt geta, Jack raced over the smoldering metal to the cliff the mole had mocked him from.
By the time Jack reached the cliff, the mole was gone, his tracks covered by settling dust knocked loose from the explosions. Enraged, Jack let out a great roar and took off through the only safe opening.