Chapter 4: The Kink in the Wind and the Way
Planet Ragol: Caves: Volcanic Area
The caves were smoldering hot, and it was quite difficult to breathe. It was in the first room that she discovered the inhabitants of this molten wasteland. They resembled sharks, but they were bipedal with razor sharp scythes for arms and four eyes. Three of the "Evil Sharks", as Rico called them, attacked Danielle. She pointed a Vulcan at two of the Altered Beasts and opened fire. The bullets went into the first's open mouth and killed it instantly, while the second's legs were torn to pieces. The RAmarl had no time to shoot the third, so she merely used Zonde on it. The Evil Shark fell over, its mouth frozen in a silent scream. Two Poison Lilies, oversized flowers that could poison a human, decided to take on Danielle next. The poisonous blobs that they launched barely missed her as she ran forward to cut them down. Agito in hand, the RAmarl sliced through the plants' stems in one swift stroke. There was a capsule by the large door in the room, which meant Rico had been through here.
"Wow... this cave is a treasure trove of discoveries. Creatures that have never been seen by people. Completely unknown animals. They look like mutant forms of the native animals... Perhaps the government has kept this a secret...? It's possible... but for what purpose."
A purple Pal Shark snuck up behind Danielle while she was listening to the message. She noticed its shadow and rolled out of the way of the incoming arm. The RAmarl spun around and blasted the shark with the Bravace. Its green blood made her grimace as it landed on her uncovered skin. Man, that's gross, she thought. Deeper into the caves, she encountered more ferocious creatures, such as the Nano Dragon, which grew stronger as it killed others, and the Grass Assassin, a large creature with bladed arms and an adhesive webbing.
If there was one thing that Danielle learned in the first few rooms, it was to never let a Nano Dragon finish off the other mutants for you. She had let one take out five Evil Sharks, and the thing became almost as big as a Grass Assassin. Its power had increased dramatically, as she had soon learned when the Nano Dragon fired a beam and disintegrated an Evil Shark. The RAmarl dashed forward and pulled the Vulcans' triggers at point blank range. The Nano Dragon shrieked in pain as the bullets tore into its mutated flesh. Danielle took a deep breath and sat back against one of the room's walls. She had been fighting nonstop, and it was taking its toll. Suddenly, she heard the sound of voices coming from a nearby hallway.
"Please, Jaden, if you just let me talk to it, then maybe I can make it stop."
"How stupid are you, Draslushee? This thing is a monster! A mutated freak! It won't listen to you!"
The all too familiar sound of a Nano Dragon's beam was heard, and the girl muttered a curse. A rifle fired three shots, and the Nano Dragon roared in pain. Danielle got to her feet and looked around the corner and saw a RAmarl with violet hair and white fatigues holding a Justy 23ST. A HUmar with jet-black hair cut short and white armor was holding a Musashi, a pair of double swords. There was a frown on his face as he looked at the Nano Dragon's corpse.
"Really, Jaden. I could have talked to the dragon and convinced him to stop."
The RAmarl shook her head, an annoyed look on her face.
"How many times do I have to tell you? It is not possible to talk to a dragon, let alone a mutated one. I think you are out of your mind."
She must have noticed Danielle looking around the corner, for she readied her Justy.
"Whoever you are, come out slowly with your hands where I can see them."
Danielle did as the Ranger told, not sure who the two hunters were. Jaden, the RAmarl, lowered her rifle when she saw the other Ranger. Draslushee adjusted his glasses to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He had heard of this RAmarl before. She was supposedly the best Ranger at the military academy that both Jaden and he had attended. There were rumors that Danielle rivaled Rico Tyrell herself.
"Danielle? What are you doing here?" Draslushee asked. Her eyes widened as she remembered her fellow classmates.
"I should be asking that question. I'm exploring the caves by the orders of Principal Tyrell."
Jaden nodded. "Same here. Why don't we work together? It will be easier for all of us." Since Jaden was the older RAmarl, Danielle assumed she would take the lead. That was not to be, as Jaden asked what to do.
"Well, I found capsules from Rico, so there is evidence that at least someone survived. I'm not sure how long these caves are, but there is a good chance that we can catch up with Rico if we hurry. It's possible that there may be others hiding here, too."
The newly formed team continued deeper into the caves. Danielle learned that Draslushee was obsessed with dragons, and he refused to harm them. It seemed that he and Jaden were constantly arguing, and their constant bickering was annoying Danielle. It was a relief when they finally found the teleporter. The RAmarl turned to her friends.
"Dras, would you please stop talking about dragons for once?" she asked. He crossed his arms and pouted.
"But I like them! If you just let me try and talk to them…" Jaden hit him in the head and whispered something in his ear. Dras nodded, a fearful look in his eye.
"We're ready to go, Danielle," the RAmarl said. Their leader nodded and stepped into the teleporter.
Planet Ragol: Caves: Water Area
The group was amazed by the change in scenery. One minute they were in a lava filled cave, the next they were in a beautiful paradise, complete with waterfalls and trees. Things were going well, until Draslushee began to complain about killing the dragons again. Lucky for Danielle, there was a capsule in the small room, and she walked over to it.
"I know that Pioneer 1 had some strange aspects to it. In the data I procured, the consumption rate was much higher than the population… Perhaps there were a lot of non-registered citizens aboard. Why? What was their purpose?"
Jaden and Dras walked over to Danielle, and she noticed a red mark on the HUmar's cheek. Maybe now he will shut up, the RAmarl thought. Deeper still, the team went, and they found no human beings.
They were in a room with multiple waterfalls, far more powerful versions of the Evil Shark attacked. Danielle faced off against one of the Guil Sharks in close range combat. Its bladed arm sank into her flesh, and she cried out in pain. The other RAmarl spun around and pulled the trigger on her Justy. Her partner was busy cutting through the Lilies with a sword that could somehow change its shape at will. One second it was a saber, the next it was a partisan. Dras swiftly dodged the incoming toxic spit and cut the Lily at its stem.
"Hey girls! I found another capsule!" Draslushee yelled from near the now unlocked door. The leader gave Jaden her thanks and walked over to Dras. Danielle activated her recording device and played the message.
"Come to think of it, there was something very strange about Pioneer 1. Pioneer 1 was designed to be used as material to build the Central Dome. But we discovered that the Dome was 12% smaller than it should have been. We wondered about the 12% that was missing… We might be able to figure out more if we continue investigating."
Draslushee scratched the back of his head, and asked what was so important about this information.
"Right now, I'm not too sure. Maybe we'll find out later. And I have a question, Dras. What is that sword you are using? I have never seen anything like it before."
The HUmar chuckled and spun the blade around. "This is the Kameko Blade. Legends say that it was created by dragons back on Coral. It can change its shape at my command."
Jaden shook her head. "How many times must I tell you, Dras? The only dragons that are alive live here on Ragol. It was just a myth on Coral."
Instead of arguing, the Hunter walked away and through the room's door. The two Rangers looked at each other with confused looks on their faces, and then followed their friend. The next room had a tree growing in a pool of water and yet another waterfall. The pool seemed to be a couple of feet deep, but it was hard to tell. A Poison Lily and a Grass Assassin attacked first, and were easily defeated. The Evil Sharks and Guil Sharks appeared, and that was when the trouble started.
Danielle happened to be on the very edge of the pool of water when one of the Sharks knocked her in. She grabbed the edge as quickly as she could and struggled to get back up. With the weight of her armor, she wouldn't be able to get herself out. The Ranger struggled to get some air, and was surprised when someone grabbed her arm. Jaden tried to pull out her friend, and didn't see the Nano Dragon behind her.
"Jaden! Behind you!" The RAmarl glanced over her shoulder, her eyes going wide with fear. The Nano Dragon was about to launch its beam, when Draslushee charged forward and impaled the Kameko Blade into its neck. Dras had a look of pity on his face as he withdrew the sword and jogged over to the girls. He grabbed Danielle's arm and helped pull her up. The younger RAmarl shook her head, ashamed of making such an error.
"Thanks, Dras. I owe you, big time."
"Yeah. Same here," Jaden said.
Dras smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing. You don't owe me anything," he said quietly. Danielle wondered what was bugging him as she walked toward the door to her left. There was a pillar in there, like the one in the forest. The leader walked up to the pillar and placed a hand on it. Like the one in the forest, this monument began to glow, and the symbols that she had seen in her dreams appeared. Rico had left a message capsule on the ground, and Danielle played the message recorded on it.
"My first question about Ragol was, 'Why didn't any sentient life exist here?' But… look at this monument! This is identical to the one I saw in the forest! It's NOT ours though… Was there an ancient civilization on Ragol? But these monuments are the only evidence I see… It'd be strange if there was a civilization, indeed… Can I decipher these characters with my simple tools?"
Draslushee stepped forward and took a look at the characters himself. "I think this must be some sort of ancient dragon dialect. Fascinating…" he muttered. Jaden smacked him over the back of the head and glared at him. The HUmar rubbed his head, an apologetic look on his face.
"Come on you two, let's go," Danielle said. They found another capsule right before the teleporter to the next caves area. Hoping for some more info on the monument, the group played the message and listened.
"Ah, the characters on the monument… I don't have any idea how to proceed. I need more samples."
The only guy in the group frowned, very disappointed by the lack of info. "Wow. Such important information," he said sarcastically. This time, it was Danielle who hit him on the back of the head before stepping into the teleporter. Jaden chuckled and followed her fellow Ranger. "Why does everyone have to hit me?" Draslushee whined.
Planet Ragol: Caves: Third Area
A Pan Arms, a creature that could split into two, turned to the intruders entering its room. As the hunters flanked the beast, it split into Hidoom and Migium, and each part went after the Rangers. That was when a HUmar ran in from behind, his blade transforming into its sword form. The Altered Beasts barely had time to turn around before the sword cut through them. A Pofuilly Slime appeared and tried to swipe at the hunters with its tail. The liquid creature could move its razor sharp tail anywhere, since its body was like water.
A scratch appeared on Dras's leg as the tail cut into his armor. The HUmar silently cursed and charged down the slime. The Kameko Blade shifted into a partisan, and was impaled through the Pofuilly Slime's head. The creature exploded, spraying the walls with water. Draslushee turned to his partners, who were taking on a large group of Evil Sharks. Despite not being so good at close-range combat, the girls were taking out the Altered Beasts with ease. Jaden had a Double Saber in hand and was covering Danielle. The younger RAmarl was hosing the sharks with bullets, keeping a close eye on her Photon gauge. As soon as it ran dry, she drew her Agito and backed up to Jaden.
"Hey, Dras! A little help over here?" Danielle called over her shoulder. An Evil Shark's arm came down, and the Ranger used her barrier to hold it back. Her arm shook as she struggled to stop the shark's blade. The mutant was stronger than she had thought, and there was another one coming at her. Danielle stabbed the first shark in the gut, and sent a kick at the second's face. Draslushee ran up to her side, taking out a Poison Lily that had appeared. With the last of the enemies dead, the room's gate unlocked. The three hunters had been traveling in the new area for quiet some time, and there had been no sign of survivors, just like the last two areas. There was another capsule by the unlocked gate, and the group went to listen to it.
"I've got such mixed emotions… I'm scared, but excited, inspired even! Should I act as a scientist now? Or should I act as a hunter who is facing unknown enemies? I feel like someone's herding me somewhere… but where? To the underground… I feel like I'm being invited."
These words made Danielle's blood run cold. So she wasn't imagining things. Rico felt the same thing she did. There was something that wanted her to go deeper into the caves, but Danielle had thought it was just her imagination running wild. The RAmarl called up her area map and looked to see where they hadn't been yet. Most of the caves had been explored, except for one section northeast of their position. Danielle sighed and turned to the others.
"The only place that we haven't checked out yet is the docks near the underground channel. It is a long walk from here to there." Dras grinned.
"Doesn't matter. Let's just hurry up and go." He jogged off, following his own map. Jaden shook her head and followed her friend. The hunters passed through many rooms they had cleared out during the last hour. When this is over, Danielle thought tiredly, I am so going to take the rest of the day off. The door to the docks was locked by three switches, which each of the hunters had to step on at the same time. As soon as the door was unlocked, another capsule turned on.
"I saw it with my own eyes. An animal metamorphosed when it was pierced by a tentacle from that giant worm. Were the monsters I saw in the cave all changed by that giant worm?"
Draslushee gulped and looked through the door. The docks looked empty, with nothing more than the corpse of an Evil Shark that looked like it wasn't through mutating. "I'm not really too sure about this, girls," he said quietly. Danielle stepped past him and walked into the docks. Jaden followed, along with a reluctant Draslushee.
Beneath the waves, a creature stirred.