#81: History

Artemis knew the Kanjian historical records well, especially Tigressa's rise to power. The relics they left behind always linked back to Tigressa and/or her father. One of the artifacts she held used to activate a special item, a time map, which the tiger-dragon used to navigate the Past as well as the Present. Artemis fondled a few wires before the time map unlocked some of its information. Different languages, cultures, and people flashed on and off in the center of the map, and some resembled humans. She dug further into the misshapen sphere's memories until she reach the beginning of Earth.

The hologram showed Adam and Eve along with animals, dinosaurs, and plants, but it also gave Artemis a glimpse of the Dark Goddess, who apparently created both of the prototype humans and transformed into the snake that tricked Eve into eating the deadly Forbidden Fruit after what seemed to be a betrayal on the humans' part. Only then did she realize that Tigressa and the Lucifer did not co-exist; they both existed as the same person. That explained how she pretended to care for Earth's creatures, and all of a sudden made life miserable for them. Lucifer was never behind any of the incidents on Earth…Tigressa was.

Artemis took deep breaths attempting to conceal all of the new information into her mind. She knew what the Bible actually meant now. Tigressa had done all of the bad things in the holy book, but she never showed her true appearance. That also explained why women did not get the respect they deserved back then because Tigressa had made Eve look like she had committed the first sin against "God" and everything went down the drain for women afterwards. Artemis put the time map back in its spot and stood in front of it baffled as the museum that let her tinker with the time map began to close down for the night.


#82: Implication

Captain Silos pointed madly at the catacombs below while Tigressa fought off the human soldiers. She looked at him briefly with confusion as he continued to rapidly direct his fingers straight into the underground tunnels. She ignored the Captain while he tried to suggest an exit strategy. His arm finally gave out, and he just sat on his tail waiting for his master to quit her madness. The other Metal Heads just looked at him like he had just danced around in a clown suit. Silos face-palmed until Tigressa came up to him and questioned him about what he attempted to say. After a few minutes of explaining, Tigressa merely told him just say it rather than imply it. Silos blushed a little in embarrassment but followed her into the catacombs as she led the rest of her legion down there.


#83: Involvement

Phantasmos watched as his eldest sister gloated in victory. He could not believe how much of a monster she had formed into, and he wanted no part in her new life. He never liked death, nor did he like Tigressa's methods on any level whether it would involve torture, execution, or other gruesome things. If he had volunteered to help her, he would have existed as something treacherous and mindless, a path that most enjoyed, but he shunned it. He did not want anything to do with his twisted family now; in the place of all his brothers and sisters stood abominations, creatures that have no soul, no unique characteristics. Why should he involve himself in a war between worlds that would only result in both the planets' destruction?


#84: Self

I used to like everybody I came across; I never judged at a young age. Now, I can no longer pretend, for all I see in the people around me happens to resemble greed, anger, and even inhospitality to one another. After a while, I stopped acting nice and giving my respect out for free because I found no one gave me respect, so why should I give it to them? This new persona sort of stuck in my head, and I even formed an alter ego I nicknamed Tigressa to resemble that persona. A façade of calm silence is all you will see when you meet me because my true nature has turned dark with no compassion for anybody but myself.

I also lost the will to tell the truth at times. Everyone that surrounds me always lies about everything. I have gotten to the point where I had no choice but to follow suit. I cannot pretend anymore, for humanity has lost its mind. Everywhere people destroy everything this planet provides for their greed and possessiveness, and I fear the end of this world will commence by human hands. Nothing will change, all the promises provided to us will falter, and my hope for humanity will forever dwindle into darkness.


#85: Specific

Artemis knew no one could pass themselves as her most hated enemy. Some have tried, but no one could conquer Tigressa's abilities or her most distinctive features. She remembered practically all of Tigressa's anatomy by mere memory. Tigressa had black thick spikes layering her spine from neck to tail as well as the back of her head. Her metal humanoid orange, white (underbelly; feet; hands), and black-striped body had light grey wires connecting her upper body (which stuck out implying she has certain female parts) to her lower half (which had wide hips, light grey thighs connecting her lower legs to her thighs, and T-Rex-like feet).

Her head also had human-like features, but she also had long, jagged teeth with fiery red and yellow eyes. She had large ears with black tips along with white insides. Her wings retracted into her back at times, but when they revealed themselves, they had three claws along with little spikes attached to the wing spine as well as torn white membranes. Her tail had a large red eye at the end with three light grey claws surrounding it. Surprisingly, twisted metal attached to her head actually looked like corn rows, too.

Tigressa's appearance always embedded itself inside Artemis' mind, and it sickened her. The tiger-dragon had always left her mark on her prey, and Artemis' punishment for involving herself in Tigressa's war existed as Tigressa herself as a memory that would never go away, eternally haunting her mind and dreams.


#86: Blue Collar

Metal Heads worked night and day for multiple things. Some built nests for their young while others manufactured weapons and ships with Dark Eco as their power source. Flying Spiders, Elephants, and Mantises usually mined for Eco crystals with the Elephants used for carrying the crystals to their nest. Runners (raptor-like Metal Heads), Hoseheads, Ram-heads (rhino-like Metal Heads), and Wasps gave their abilities to retrieve artifacts in the cruel Wasteland as well as the caverns and grasslands.

Kor and Kaeden (the second-in-command) never worked on any of the jobs the majority of the Metal Heads did. Kor spent his time collecting and fighting the Precursors, his mortal enemies; Kaeden watched over his legion of Metal Bugs while also tending to the unhatched eggs. All Metal Heads served over 40 hours of labor, but very few actually kill Elves during their working days.


#87: Dynamic Change

The Metal Head Nest always shifted for any weather that came. During the Winter, the Nest formed into an insulator, keeping the warm air inside by closing any openings with thick webbing which helped the eggs survive; during Spring, the Nest's sticky covering thinned out to let pollens and seeds in to provide vegetation, but it still prevented rain seeping all the way in. The Summer had the Nest open all possible holes and cracks so the warmth could nurture the eggs and allow them to grow. The Fall had the same outcome as Summer, but the Nest started to cover its newborns as well as the plant life as it sensed the storms closing in. Over the years, weather always changed rapidly, and every day had a new challenge for the Nest to take on.


#88: Tone Shift

Military children played happily on their Cybertronian comrades as the robots laid blissfully on the pavement soaking up the sunlight. Artemis watched from afar while she talked to her commanding officer and Dexter. Everything looked perfect to most. One child wandered too far away from the others out of sight and peered up as a shadow casted itself over her. The shadowed figure oozed saliva from its glossy mouth which the little girl saw as it dripped next to her shoes; her smile faded and her laughter dimmed as two red eyes made contact with her small form. Suddenly, a large three-toed foot crashed on the black surface causing it to break inward and crack, and the young girl ran immediately back towards the others. She screamed deafeningly as the monster chased after her.

A few soldiers spotted her figure pop up, and they waved cheerily until a much larger form broke the horizontal view. Other children heard her cries and laughed; as soon as the hunter appeared behind her, they shut their mouths and sprinted directly to the adults who offered their bodies as shields in case the beastly intruder did something. The girl soon lost her breath and took a tumble on the asphalt; the monster revealed itself and the girl began to shed tears on her dress and the ground.

Tigressa circled the tiny human with no mercy imprinted in her mind. She struck her teeth at the girl quickly but found her jaw frozen as a sword kept her mouth from clamping shut. The girl got up and ran to the nearest soldier who picked her up and left for the base's nearest warehouse. Clouds began to roll in like they had followed the tiger-dragon from a long distance. Artemis grabbed another blade from her back holster and fought the demon tiger head on. This was not how this day was supposed to go.


#89: City

Haven City had a lot of issues, but the small kingdom still managed with one hundred foot shielded walls protecting its citizens. The west side of the city held the Southern Gardens (which housed all types of crops and Yakcows), the West Bazaar (one of the main trading sectors), the Northern Gardens (which had the entrance to Haven Forest), and a majority of Main Town (which had canals and high class manufacturing). The north side contained the Stadium (which held events for races and hover board games) and the Water Slums (which had the entrance to the Pumping Station and the Oracle).

The east side had the Slums (a low-class beat down sector that had the entrance to Dead Town), the Fortress (a prison and headquarters for the Krimzon Guards), the East Bazaar (which contained the Soothsayer, Onin, as well as more trading outlets), and the Industrial Section (which had the Power Station that gave access to the Strip Mine and the Drill Platform via warp gate). The Port consumed the south side and held the Gun Course as well as the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon (a tavern which later turned into the Naughty Ottsel under Daxter's management). The center of the city had the Palace where Baron Praxis and his daughter live.

As one could tell, this was a city with such diverse areas to explore. Although, this may be due to the fact it is one of the last surviving cities in the world hence so many clashes of rural and urban sections in a couple miles long of a giant dystopian box.


#90: Birding

Captain Silos observed two blue jays dancing in the air around their nest gracefully. Most of his crew licked their chops, for they only thought of the taste of bird. Silos moved onto another species which made him receive the image of someone spray-painting only the head and neck of the bird. He remembered a group of hunters referring to them as mallard ducks. The ducks sat in a cluster on the rocks as well as in the water where some dived for reasons unknown. A few Metal Heads tried to capture some, but their commotion forced the flying animals to sprint away, flapping their wings rapidly to avoid their chasers. The Captain grinned; watching the animals existed as one thing but trailing them and eating them seemed more fun. The rhino shot straight back for the blue jays and laughed wickedly as he jumped up and miraculously caught one.


AN: The next set is here and that means only one more set to go. The Tone Shift one was pretty much a crap shoot as I couldn't come up with anything else back then.