Chapter 51: Ark Rush
Some time later...
*The group on the Ark made sure to split up carefully in the search of supplies, with Peregrine Connor traveling with Leon and Veronica. Travis and Cait stuck together on their own end.*
*The Prank Trio made sure to gather more of the resources they could gather from the land naturally by themselves, while the Prank Duo focused on gathering the resources that would require hunting or taming the creatures.*
*Depending on the hauls they were getting, they kept going for more and more or made sure to go back to the safe zone of the growing town to drop off what they were getting.*
*The group of 5 kept onto this, occasionally getting either idle commentary or trivia from Lindsey as she watched the events from her unique viewing perspective.*
*Meanwhile, IceBite and Alma worked with the town to discover where the Tek Cave was, a job that required a LOT of searching through the desert. They also searched out the Items necessary to challenge the Manticore.*
*Eventually, the group gathered what they got.*
IceBite: "...Yeah...looks like you got a lot of stuff…" *huffs* We're gonna need it."
Leon: "I do hope so…"
Travis: *Speaking to Daniel.* "Any word on your end on tracking down where we need to be going when its time?"
IceBite: "Fortunately, my scouts found where the Tek Cave was, and fortunately, the one for this world is only locked by one Boss's loot…"
Cait: *Focusing on the Loot Part* "The loot being?"
IceBite: "...The Manticore Trophy and Flag, which both drop from the Manticore Boss…Furthermore, Lindsey told me that we just had to beat one variant of the end boss..." *sighs* "That said, it's the Alpha Variant...and to get THAT, we may need to take out the Alpha Manticore…"
Veronica: *Keeping track by asking, "By Alpha, you mean?"*
IceBite: "There're three variants to each Boss: Gamma, Beta, and Alpha, with Gamma being the easiest, and Alpha being the hardest…"
Cait: *Towards Lindsey* "Why do we have to fight the hardest version?"
Lindsey: *sheepish* "... … ...I was angry… … ..."
M3: *Jumping In* "I'll still help however I can on my end… ...That said, I wish you all good luck on the task."
Peregrine Connor: *Looks at the others before looking at his own Tek Armor taken from the Bandits.* "... … ...I'm going to be as ready as I'll ever be."
IceBite: "...Alright...let's get going…"
Cait: *Towards Travis* "... ...C'mon on Trav, let's get out of this place."
Travis: "Got it.."
Leon: *Towards Veronica* "As much as punching sounds like a good idea, let's just stick to ranged combat…"
Veronica: *In reply, with some snide.* "Don't worry, I'd only do that if the thing was small enough to let me do that…"
*The group began to depart, heading to where the 'tokens' for the Manticore's Boss Battle were to be deposited…*
*The group gathered around a metallic plate, with a pedestal in the middle, surrounded by Daniel's Wyverns.*
IceBite: "You guys ready?"
Cait: "Ready"
Leon: "Ready"
Travis: "Ready"
Veronica: "Ready"
Peregrine Connor: *Nervous* "...Ready…"
Alma: "Let's get going already!"
IceBite: *nods, then inserts the 'tokens'*
*Suddenly, a sphere of orange energy, made of hexagons, began to appear, surrounding the group...slowly rising…*
*After a period of time, the bubble burst…*
*...And they appeared on a similar metal plate, in a canyon of some kind...and on a pillar of rock above them… … …*
IceBite: "There it is, everyone! Get ready!" *draws his pistol*
Alma: *draws her axe*
Peregrine Connor: *Gets out Sniper Rifle*
Leon: *Unholsters Xuanlong Assault Rifle*
Veronica: *Clips in a flesh cell for Leon's Plasma Rifle*
Cait: *Equips and grips Travis' Lever-Action Rifle*
Travis: *Draws out Laser Musket*
Lindsey: "Remember, you guys: you have 20 minutes to kill this thing, and you'll be booted from the arena, empty-handed, if you fail to defeat it in that timeframe…"
Prank Group: *All roughly say, "I got it…"*
*The Manticore soon swooped over them...and fired a spread of purple spikes at them.*
IceBite: "Scatter!" *He and Alma leapt out of the way.*
*The group of 5 did the same, as they then started opening fire with their guns on any body parts they could hit.*
*The Manticore perched on the pillar again, and roared.*
IceBite: *Directed his Wyverns to swamp the creature* "Alright! Try and get your shots in while the Wyverns attack it!"
*The group followed along as they unloaded every bullet and shot as fast as they could fire into the target, even getting Peregrine Connor to resort to using his Revolver as well to add more shots in.*
Cait: *To Travis* "How are you holding up?"
Travis: *In reply, as he dodged a attack* "Still going strong…"
Leon: *Towards Peregrine Connor* "Keep your Revolver steady…"
Peregrine Connor: *A bit frustrated* "Already doing that…*
Veronica: *Fires off more Plasma shots, before having to reload and dodge a attack.*
*However, the Manticore dived towards IceBite, who unloaded with his pistol...but the creature continued diving. IceBite began to get worried… … …*
Alma: *Lunges with her axe, slamming down on the now-close Manticore's neck*
Manticore: *Roars...before being beheaded*
Alma: *Pants, before turning to IceBite, who smiled weakly back*
*The group was then consumed by light… … …*
*Before being deposited on the plate from earlier.*
*The group then approached a plate of Tek in a mountain.*
IceBite: "You guys SURE you DON'T wanna rest before doing this?" *followed by Raptor, Direwolf, and Carnotaurus*
Prankster Group: *All of them, "Let's just get this over with."*
IceBite: "Then let's go…" *Inputs the items needed to open the cave...which then opens...revealing molten magma within the cave.*
Lindsey: "Alright, you have an hour to get through the cave. Good luck...if you win here, you'll get out of there…"
Peregrine Connor: "... ...Then why do I get a feeling it won't be an easy trip?
M3: *Chiming in* "Given what you guys did so far, it's just another obstacle to overcome..."
Cait: "... ...Let's just go…"
*The group continued through the cave, finding the area extremely hot, and filled with both lava and technology. They began to travel down into the lower reaches of the Ark.*
*The group reaches a ledge...but IceBite stopped the group.*
IceBite: "Wait a moment…" *activates his Tek Armor's sensors. "...We got ourselves a Giga...those aren't supposed to be in Scorched Earth…"
Alma: *Readies her axe*
IceBite: "That won't be necessary…" *Draws his Fabricated Sniper Rifle...striking the tail of the Giganotosaurus, which roars, and charges right for them… … ...before realizing the chasm between them, as it tumbled down into the magma.* "...Well...that went better than expected…"
Peregrine Connor: *Takes a moment to fish out his camera and take a photo of the chasm, before quickly storing it away.*
*The group continued onward. Soon, they reached some flat ground, with bridges of stone across the magma.*
*As the group continued onward...Alma stopped IceBite for a moment.*
IceBite: "...What is it?"
Alma: *Quiet for a bit...before she asked* "...When do we plan on...getting married?"
IceBite: "Blinked* "Sometime soon...why?"
Alma: "...Can it be...shortly after this?"
IceBite: *silent for a time* "...I have nothing against this but why?"
Alma: *looks away, timidly*
IceBite: "...I'll see what we can do...but I'll make an effort to...expedite...the preparations for our wedding…"
Alma: *turns back and smiles*
IceBite: *smiles back* "...Now, let's finish this…"
Alma: *nods*
*The duo continued on, catching up to the others...Eventually, over a half-hour later, they came to a bridge...showing some kind of energy barrier.*
IceBite: "Ah, that must be where the boss fight will be…"
Cait: *Groans loudly* "... ...What will it be this time?"
IceBite: *Shrugs* "If it's like the Island, it'll be some kinda robotic Overseer, but that's not a guarantee...See, the game based on this universe doesn't feature this Tek Cave as an actual part of the game…"
Cait: *Rolls eyes.* "Figures… ...We get something that is out of our control…"
*However, before more could be said, a swarm of Dimorphodons began to fly in.*
IceBite: "...Everyone through the barrier, NOW!"
*The group began running, along with IceBite's tames, before they passed through the barrier, the Dimorphodons following.*
IceBite: "We need to get to the end of this hallway!"
*The group kept running...before they reached a metal plate...with a more unusual kind of pedestal on it…*
IceBite: "Cover me while I put in the stuff needed to prompt the Boss Battle!"
*The Prankster Group started providing cover as requested.*
IceBite: "Got it! Everyone, stay in the dome!"
*Said dome was similar to the one that transported them to the Manticore Arena, and as the group continued fighting the Dimorphodons...suddenly, the dome completed and flashed…*
*...Before finding themselves in a room looking similar to the Tek Corridor...but with windows or screens, with different locations on it.*
Alma: "That's the chasm with the Wyverns!" *pointing to the screen in question.*
*That screen had three holograms, one of each kind of wyvern, in front of it.*
Travis: *Looking at a different screen* "... ...And that's the area we had to make a last stand against the Bandits…"
IceBite: *points to another screen* "And THAT'S the Manticore Arena…"
*The screen IceBite indicated had a hologram of the Manticore in front of it.*
IceBite: *Takes a breath* "Alright, everyone, stay close...we don't know what we're gonna face here…"
*The group stuck close, before going down a hallway…finding a hologram of Earth.*
Veronica: *Seeing the hologram.* "... ...Why does this place have that?"
IceBite: *shrugs* "...We should keep moving…"
*A room to the side showed another projector...showing different creatures from the Ark.*
Peregrine Connor: *Taking a quick photo of the projector..* "... ...This is really reminding me of a research facility…"
Alma: "Yeah, it does…" *turns to IceBite*
IceBite: *Thinks for a minute* "...A lot of stuff needs to be figured out…"
*The group left that room, and continued down the corridor...before finding another Earth hologram, and another room...but in this room, was a group of more human-like holograms.*
Travis: *Taking note of what he saw.* "... ...Whoever is in charge is really curious about humanity… ...And that's not giving me a good feeling."
IceBite: "...We should keep moving…"
*They soon reached a third hologram, and a third room, but this room had no real hologram, just a silhouette in the back. Going back, they noticed something...wrong...about the Earth's hologram.*
IceBite: "Wait...this Earth looks...wrong...a lot of the oceans are dried up...and what's with the red?"
Cait: *Seeing the hologram.* "... ...Reminds me of the Wasteland somehow… ...But what is going on with this place anyway?"
IceBite: "...More and more questions...we can contemplate them later...let's get moving…"
*The group continued to the next room, where…*
Alma: "Those crates look like the supply drops we kept finding…"
IceBite: "Then this is where they come from...but why?" *Shakes his head, and gestures to continue onward.*
*The next room was wide, and open, with some kind of hologram in the middle.*
Alma: *Immediately stops*
IceBite: "What is it?"
Alma: "...I have a bad feeling about that room…"
IceBite: "We need to go into there to continue…"
Alma: *silent for a moment* "...Of course...I just felt the need to get ready, is all…"
IceBite: *walks over to Alma, and takes her hand, making her smile* "Let's finish this…"
*The group entered the room, seeing a diamond-shaped statue at the end of the room… … …*
*...And soon, they got a good look at the hologram between them and the statue.*
IceBite: "Ok, that's a map of the Ark we were on…"
Peregrine Connor: *Taking note.* "... ...So we ARE off the Ark at the moment…"
*Then after saying that, he quickly gets his camera out and carefully approaches the hologram to get an up and closer shot.*
Alma: *metaphorical alarm bells going off in her head* "Wait-"
*Too late, the hologram burst into a series of holographic particles that made Peregrine Connor flee back, as the particles headed to the statue...revealing it to not be a statue, but a robot of some kind…*
IceBite: ''...Looks like we found the Overseer…"
*The door closes behind them, as shards of metal and nanotechnology fly around, forming spikes and pillars...and soon…*
Alma: "Enemies incoming!" *pointing to…*
IceBite: *nonchalant* "Well, what do you know: rip-off Droidekas!"
*The wheel-ish robots with claws rolled at the group, unfolding into 4-legged, hunched robots, that slashed at the group with glowing-red claws.*
IceBite: "...Forget them! Watch the skies!"
*Above them were hover drones that fired plasma pulses at the group.*
*The Prankster Group dodged the pulses and the claw strikes that came their way, as they made sure to get their ranged weapons ready…*
*The Overseer then began firing laser beams around the room.*
*And as the lasers went around, Travis and Leon made sure to fire back at the Overseer with their energy weapons as fast as they could.*
*As the group focused their attacks on it, they managed to get Alma close, her axe cutting into it deep...causing it to disassemble into a cloud of robotic boxes, flying elsewhere in the chamber...before turning into…*
IceBite: "That's Broodmother Lysrix, from the Island! I'd've expected it to turn into the Manticore, or something!"
M3: *From inside their viewing perspective, taking his eyes off the action.* "... ...Is that supposed to happen, Lindsey?"
Lindsey: "Yes...sort of. The Overseers are meant to turn into the Guardians of their Ark...which is why I'm just as confused as Daniel, that it turned into an Island Guardian, and not a Scorched Earth one…"
M3: *Not liking that he heard the first part.* "... ...I just hope they will get through this mess…"
*And as the two focused back on the arena, they could see the group doing what they could to fight the enemy attacking them at the moment.*
*Soon, though, mimic-Lysrix was defeated, and the thing reformed into the diamond form.*
IceBite: "Looks like it eventually turns back into its natural form…"
Alma: "Good...let's continue this…"
*The fight continues, with the thing turning into a Megapithecus.*
Lindsey: "Another Island Guardian...I wonder what's going on…"
M3: *Taking a wild guess.* "... ...I get the feeling they will fight… ...A lot more of the bosses before they take the real thing down."
*Soon, they took down the Megapithecus copy, which returned it to its natural form...then when they dook down its normal form again…*
IceBite: "Ok, NOW that makes sense…"
*The reason for that comment was that the Overseer NOW resembled the Manticore.*
Alma: "Try and do the same thing as before?"
IceBite: *nods* "Alright everyone, keep that thing on the ground and get Alma in close!"
*The Prankster Group replied back with a determined affirmation.*
*Soon, the group's concentrated fire damaged it enough to where Alma got close to it and beheaded it again, once more turning the Overseer back to its natural form.*
IceBite: "Alright, this SHOULD be it!"
*However, before it was destroyed, it transformed again, this time into the Dragon.*
Lindsey: "...Something tells me that, here, the Arks' Overseers are programmed with all of the Guardians' forms…"
M3: *With an unfortunate look on his face.* "... ...I hate that I got that right. I REALLY wanted to be wrong on that…"
*The group continued firing on the robo-Dragon, before eventually, Alma beheaded it, turning it back into the Overseer.*
Lindsey: "Alright, guys, this should be it!"
Daniel: "Let's hit that thing with everything we GOT!"
*The Prankster Group replied by unlading every shot they could, as fast as their guns and their bodies could allow it, doing more and more damage to the degrading Overseer alongside everything else.*
*Near the end, Daniel drew the Bloodskal Blade (the red greatsword from before), and charged with Alma, as they both slammed their blades hard into the Overseer...causing its composite 'robots' to 'burst'.*
*The Overseer transported back to the center of the room, where it emitted waves of energy.*
IceBite: "Everyone, BRACE!"
*The Prankster Group did as told and braced themselves for whatever was going to happen…*
*...Fortunately, rather than unleash some kind of shockwave...it gave a pitiful 'pop', and was replaced...by a hologram of the solar system.*
IceBite: "...That was...anticlimactic…"
Cait: *Piping in her thoughts.* "Who cares! Is it dead or not?! That's what matters!"
*The hologram then zoomed in on Earth...surrounded by Arks…before suddenly the room turned white...*
*...Resulting in what looked like flying through space, as energy flowed into their implants, and then they were shot into a wormhole of some kind...flying by several Arks...before being given a view of Earth, surrounded by the Arks...before suddenly, a kind of rift...more like a crack in space time appeared.*
Lindsey: "Now's my chance! HOLD ON!"
*The group were suddenly snagged by energy tendrils, which swiftly yanked them into the rift…*
*...And onto the floor, back in the Studio, before the rift shut…*
*The group began getting up...and found they still had the implants…*
Prankster Group: *Quickly looked away from their implants as they checked the room… ...Finding it to be the Studio Living Room.*
*And as soon as they saw that, almost all of them just collapsed to the floor in relief, save for Peregrine Connor who just looked around for a bit before taking off to go find someone.*
M3: *Taking a deep breath of relief as he saw everyone in the room.* "... ...Is everyone alright?"
IceBite: "Yeah...I'm fine…"
Alma: "So am I…" *turns and hugs IceBite*
Veronica: *Getting up from the floor with some ease to her voice.* "At least we'll be back to a more… …"manageable" normal here again…"
*Suddenly, a roar sounds from across the studio…*
Voice A: *Sounding like Gene.* "OH COME ON! WHAT KIND OF-AAAHHHH!"
Voice B: *Sounding like Gespenst screaming its ghost lungs out.*
IceBite and Alma: *look at each other* "...Shit…"
End Chapter 51.
