Chapter 3: Mother Earth of Improbity
They materialized in a very different part of the Forest. The clouds were so thick that they made it almost as dark as night. It was also raining. They arrived in front of a small cliff that had a path that led downward and to the left. There were two gates leading in different directions. Just over the cliff were some boxes and a group of sitting Rag Rappies. They didn't notice the two androids. They silently took aim and fired at the oblivious fowls. The startled Rappies ran off into the bushes. Some of the boxes were caught in the crossfire and revealed small, yellow containers. These were the types of containers used to store the Meseta, the currency used presently.
"Free money!" exclaimed T-65 as he stumbled over down the small cliff, falling on his rear. Galactica opted to walk down the path instead. The money they found was not a large sum for normal hunters. However, for them it was money they could use. The other boxes contained nothing of real value to them.
"Well, let's get the last pile of dirt and get the reward," said T- 65.
"No," Galactica said. "I've already gotten this kind before."
"How can you tell?" asked T-65. "It all looks the same to me."
"I've already gotten this dark-brown soil," she replied. "The other two were sand and mud from that stream. We need something different." T-65 only sighed to this. They chose to enter the gate on top of the cliff. After walking down a narrow path they found another pack of wolves along with a group of the brown and yellow creatures. As always, the animals instantly started to approach the two. Galactica realized that it would not be wise to merely stand and shoot as they had done before.
"T-65, let's get out of this cramped space," she said quickly and calmly. "We're going to have to move around a bit." T-65 nodded in agreement and ran to the right of the path. Galactica moved to the left. She had to watch her step as she crossed a large pipe in the ground that led to a small pond with a small island full of brown chests in the middle. Once they had enough distance between themselves and the threats, they started shooting. The wolves were now doing a better job of dodging shots and getting closer. Neither android let them get too close. If it was not killed they, stopped firing and jogged a short distance away and resumed shooting. Soon enough, all of the animals had been eliminated. Then three new creatures sprung up from the ground around them. They were like the brown and yellow creatures. However, they had a crest on their heads and had bigger horns, bigger claws, and bigger bodies. They were also reddish.
"I think it's time to use traps," said Galactica, slightly nervous. The creatures had managed to surround them and were uncomfortably close.
"No argument here," said an equally nervous T-65. They both released a Fire Trap into the air just above them. They then shot each creature just enough to keep them from approaching too fast. These creatures did not seem as hurt by the gunfire. As they drew nearer they prepared to slash at the two Rangers. Just before their swipes could make contact, the two traps had detected their proximity and exploded. All but one of the creatures died in flames. It had stumbled back a few inches back and was stunned. The two androids then quickly downed it with combined firepower.
"That was a little too close for comfort," sighed T-65.
"Indeed," was Galactica's reply. "We should take a moment to feed the MAGs. They should be hungry by now." She fed a Monomate to it. T-65 did the same. They then opened the boxes in the area and found some health items.
"How much do you think all of these Monomates and Monofluids will sell for?" asked T-65 as he picked up the items.
"Not much," was his sister's reply. "It would probably be better to keep them as Mag food."
"What's up with those brown chests?" T-65 asked as he pointed to the island in the pond. "They look kinda fancy, don't ya think?"
"I don't know," she said. "But it looks like the bridge is out. There should be a switch somewhere around here to open it."
"Don't worry about it," he said anxious to end this mission. They exited through one of two newly opened gates. Just to the left was another unlocked gate. To the right was a very long path. As soon as they stepped forward to open the gate, it revealed a large group of yellow and brown creatures.
"Let's not take that one," Galactica said stepping back and allowing the gate to close. "I can see the dirt from here. And it appears to be a dead end.
"Look up, GA!" said T-65 pointing over the gate. "Is that Central Dome?" Upon closer inspection, she saw that he was right.
"It is!" she said. "It doesn't look damaged at all. In fact, we've yet to see any signs of that explosion at all."
"What's goin' on around here?" he asked a little creeped out. "Nobody's here, all of the animals want to kill us, and there ain't no marks left by that explosion."
"Settle down," she said trying to calm him.
"Come on, GA!" he yelled. "Not even a damn singe on anything!"
"We'll ask Mother when we get back to the ship," said Galactica as she started walking down the path.
"Yeah, sure," T-65 said as he followed closely behind. As they walked down the path, four of the large red creatures appeared behind them. They made their presence known with a roar.
"Crap," said T-65 as he and Galactica began jogging down the path, bypassing a locked gate. As they neared a red (locked) laser fence, a pack of wolves jumped in their way.
"Crap!" he repeated as he and his sister began shooting at the said obstacles. Although the wolves were taken care of quickly, it was enough time for the more menacing creatures to catch up. Just as the two androids turned around to shoot them, they met a pair of claws to the face.
"Aaaah!" they screamed as they fell painfully to the ground. They immediately got back up to retreat and counter-attack.
"Definitely don't wanna get hit like that again," T-65 mumbled as they jogged a bit further down the path. As they ran, T-65 released a Fire Trap while Galactica decided to use an Ice Trap. Then they turned around and aimed at the traps.
"On the count of three," Galactica said. "One..."
"Two..." T-65 said as the beasts entered the blast range.
"Three!" Galactica shouted as they simultaneously squeezed their own triggers. The Fire Trap's explosion scorched the animals as the Ice Trap froze them solid immediately afterward. This was the androids' chance to unload on their unmoving bodies with stronger, but less accurate blasts before the ice thawed. Before long the ice shattered as the beasts succumbed to the photon bullets and melted into the ground leaving a bloody spot in the ground. That was not all that was in store for the androids, however. Just as they used a Monomate each, several new threats appeared. The most obvious was the ape-like behemoth that landed with a crash in front of them. It had short bluish fur, hulking arms, and two long oddly shaped ears coming out of the sides of its head.
"What?!" gasped a stunned Galactica as she stared into its narrow yellow eyes. Before T-65 could get off a single shot, it took a mighty swing knocking him down to the ground with a grunt. Snapping back to her senses, Galactica began to circle the creature, shooting as she ran. It then turned its attention to her. This allowed T-65 to slowly get to his feet and take another Monomate. As the somewhat slow creature tried to swing at her, she was able to stay just out of its reach. Unbeknownst to her this was only one of three of the same species in the area. The others had appeared far up the path and were making their way over. Another nest full of insects had just landed behind her brother. But he was more worried about the blue wolves and yellow creatures that appeared before him. He decided to run in Galactica's direction, just behind the large animal. Then he heard a crash behind him as the two equally large creatures that had been so far behind jumped right behind him. He turned his head to see a crushed wolf under the feet of one steadily approaching ape. He did not stop running to his sister.
"I could use some assistance, brother," she yelled out to him. The creature was still missing her, but not by much.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" he yelled back as he began to shoot it from behind. As he shot, he noticed two other gates on this side of the Forest. One led to the left, presumably toward Central Dome, while the other led to the right. Unfortunately, both were locked. Soon, the creature could no longer stand the combined firepower and crashed to the ground dead. There was no time to relax, though. The other two immediately leaped onto the scene.
"Run!" Galactica yelled as she and T-65 ran in opposite directions. They were able to escape the immediate swings of large fists. Suddenly the gate opposite of Central Dome unlocked. Out of it ran two very different androids. One of them, the male, had blue armor with yellow areas on his arms and legs. He had what appeared to be a horn coming out the top of his faceless head. He also carried a Hunter-specific weapon, a Sword. He was a HUcast. The female android appeared to be wearing a light and dark purple bodysuit with matching high-heels and orange areas on her legs and shoulders. Her most outstanding feature was the big metal ponytail that hung behind her. She also carried Hunter-specific weapons called Daggers. She was a HUcaseal.
"Who's there?" the HUcast yelled out. They then saw that the Rangers needed help.
"We're on our way!" the HUcaseal yelled out to them. They ran toward the nearest animal, which was chasing T-65. The RAcast ran over to them.
"GA, over here!" he called out to Galactica. She, in turn, strafed her pursuer and ran in his direction, staying clear of the other creature. The HUcaseal was the first to attack. She slashed away at the animal, seemingly dancing as her two photon blades sliced into its thick hide. Next up was the HUcast. He swung his rather large Sword at the beast, finishing it off. All of them then met the next creature with their weapons ready. While the Rangers began shooting, the Hunters began slicing. The animal fell quickly.
"It's always the Hildebears that they have trouble with," said the HUcaseal.
"Well, that and the hoards of Boomas," the HUcast added pointing to the approaching yellow creatures. They all made short work of the overpowered animals.
"Ow!" said the HUcast as the nearly forgotten insects stung him. "And let's not forget about the most annoying things around here, the Mothmants."
"I hear ya," T-65 said agreeing with his comment. "We'll take care of em'. "You guys can take out the nest." And so the bugs were destroyed along with their nest. Then they waited for any more animals that would come. When nothing else came they were able to relax a bit.
"Thank you for helping us," Galactica said bowing slightly.
"Yeah," said T-65. "I wish we had ran into you two earlier."
"Well, we didn't get here that long ago," said the HUcast. "We just took another path."
"I'm glad we found you," said his partner. "That last fight got me to level 17."
"Did you come here on a quest like we did?" Galactica asked.
"Well, yes," said the HUcast. "We're looking for our client's friend who supposedly came here after the explosion. Have you seen anybody named Castor?"
"Nope," replied T-65. "You're the first people we've seen here. Where is everybody?"
"I don't have a clue," said the HUcaseal honestly.
"And what were all of those creatures that attacked us?" questioned T- 65.
"The ones that come out of the ground are Boomas," said the HUcast. "The yellow ones are Goboomas and the big red ones are Gigoboomas. The bugs were Mothmants. The nest they came from is called a Monest. The big blue guys that cause the most trouble around here are Hildebears."
"And the wolves?" questioned Galactica.
"The greener ones are called Savage Wolves," he answered knowledgably. Their blue leaders are Barbarous Wolves. Interesting names, huh?"
"I don't mean to be rude," interrupted the HUcaseal, "but we really need to find the guy we're looking for."
"We also have a mission to accomplish," Galactica said pulling onto T- 65. "Again, we thank you." And so the two Hunters went through the gate leading toward Central Dome. Meanwhile, Galactica and T-65 walked back up the path they had run across, looking for any new soil that they had missed. They passed by the laser fence since the other side did not have any new dirt. Just then T-65 noticed something up ahead.
"Hey..." he said slowly. "I think we missed a turn, while we were running from those Gigoboomas."
"What do you mean?" Galactica asked inquisitively.
"There's an unlocked gate in that outcropping to the right," he replied. "It's kinda hard to see behind all that moss." Sure enough, there was indeed an unlocked gate in a rock wall. The two Rangers proceeded cautiously toward it, ready for any sign of danger. When they neared it, the gate opened to reveal a small shelter of sorts with two brown chests inside. The rock walls were covered with moss while all sorts of foliage covered the floor.
"The coast is clear," T-65 said relaxing. Then, without saying a word, he blasted open the two chests.
"You know," said a somewhat startled Galactica, "you could have just opened them yourself."
"Yeah," he admitted, "but this is more fun. Hey, there's some pretty good stuff in here. I found a Telepipe and a Moon Atomizer." Galactica was more interested in the room itself. She began to shuffle through the foliage on the ground. Then she found what she was looking for.
"Our mission is complete," she said as she collected the black soil from the ground. "We'll use the Telepipe to get back to the ship."
"What about the atomizer?" asked T-65.
"You don't even know what it does," she replied as she put the dirt sample away.
"I'll keep it anyway," he said as he unleashed the Telepipe. Telepipes are tools used as portable teleporters. After it was set, there was a stream of bright-reddish light streaming in front of them. The androids then walked into the light. When they activated it, there was an even brighter flash as they were sent back to Pioneer 2.
They materialized in a very different part of the Forest. The clouds were so thick that they made it almost as dark as night. It was also raining. They arrived in front of a small cliff that had a path that led downward and to the left. There were two gates leading in different directions. Just over the cliff were some boxes and a group of sitting Rag Rappies. They didn't notice the two androids. They silently took aim and fired at the oblivious fowls. The startled Rappies ran off into the bushes. Some of the boxes were caught in the crossfire and revealed small, yellow containers. These were the types of containers used to store the Meseta, the currency used presently.
"Free money!" exclaimed T-65 as he stumbled over down the small cliff, falling on his rear. Galactica opted to walk down the path instead. The money they found was not a large sum for normal hunters. However, for them it was money they could use. The other boxes contained nothing of real value to them.
"Well, let's get the last pile of dirt and get the reward," said T- 65.
"No," Galactica said. "I've already gotten this kind before."
"How can you tell?" asked T-65. "It all looks the same to me."
"I've already gotten this dark-brown soil," she replied. "The other two were sand and mud from that stream. We need something different." T-65 only sighed to this. They chose to enter the gate on top of the cliff. After walking down a narrow path they found another pack of wolves along with a group of the brown and yellow creatures. As always, the animals instantly started to approach the two. Galactica realized that it would not be wise to merely stand and shoot as they had done before.
"T-65, let's get out of this cramped space," she said quickly and calmly. "We're going to have to move around a bit." T-65 nodded in agreement and ran to the right of the path. Galactica moved to the left. She had to watch her step as she crossed a large pipe in the ground that led to a small pond with a small island full of brown chests in the middle. Once they had enough distance between themselves and the threats, they started shooting. The wolves were now doing a better job of dodging shots and getting closer. Neither android let them get too close. If it was not killed they, stopped firing and jogged a short distance away and resumed shooting. Soon enough, all of the animals had been eliminated. Then three new creatures sprung up from the ground around them. They were like the brown and yellow creatures. However, they had a crest on their heads and had bigger horns, bigger claws, and bigger bodies. They were also reddish.
"I think it's time to use traps," said Galactica, slightly nervous. The creatures had managed to surround them and were uncomfortably close.
"No argument here," said an equally nervous T-65. They both released a Fire Trap into the air just above them. They then shot each creature just enough to keep them from approaching too fast. These creatures did not seem as hurt by the gunfire. As they drew nearer they prepared to slash at the two Rangers. Just before their swipes could make contact, the two traps had detected their proximity and exploded. All but one of the creatures died in flames. It had stumbled back a few inches back and was stunned. The two androids then quickly downed it with combined firepower.
"That was a little too close for comfort," sighed T-65.
"Indeed," was Galactica's reply. "We should take a moment to feed the MAGs. They should be hungry by now." She fed a Monomate to it. T-65 did the same. They then opened the boxes in the area and found some health items.
"How much do you think all of these Monomates and Monofluids will sell for?" asked T-65 as he picked up the items.
"Not much," was his sister's reply. "It would probably be better to keep them as Mag food."
"What's up with those brown chests?" T-65 asked as he pointed to the island in the pond. "They look kinda fancy, don't ya think?"
"I don't know," she said. "But it looks like the bridge is out. There should be a switch somewhere around here to open it."
"Don't worry about it," he said anxious to end this mission. They exited through one of two newly opened gates. Just to the left was another unlocked gate. To the right was a very long path. As soon as they stepped forward to open the gate, it revealed a large group of yellow and brown creatures.
"Let's not take that one," Galactica said stepping back and allowing the gate to close. "I can see the dirt from here. And it appears to be a dead end.
"Look up, GA!" said T-65 pointing over the gate. "Is that Central Dome?" Upon closer inspection, she saw that he was right.
"It is!" she said. "It doesn't look damaged at all. In fact, we've yet to see any signs of that explosion at all."
"What's goin' on around here?" he asked a little creeped out. "Nobody's here, all of the animals want to kill us, and there ain't no marks left by that explosion."
"Settle down," she said trying to calm him.
"Come on, GA!" he yelled. "Not even a damn singe on anything!"
"We'll ask Mother when we get back to the ship," said Galactica as she started walking down the path.
"Yeah, sure," T-65 said as he followed closely behind. As they walked down the path, four of the large red creatures appeared behind them. They made their presence known with a roar.
"Crap," said T-65 as he and Galactica began jogging down the path, bypassing a locked gate. As they neared a red (locked) laser fence, a pack of wolves jumped in their way.
"Crap!" he repeated as he and his sister began shooting at the said obstacles. Although the wolves were taken care of quickly, it was enough time for the more menacing creatures to catch up. Just as the two androids turned around to shoot them, they met a pair of claws to the face.
"Aaaah!" they screamed as they fell painfully to the ground. They immediately got back up to retreat and counter-attack.
"Definitely don't wanna get hit like that again," T-65 mumbled as they jogged a bit further down the path. As they ran, T-65 released a Fire Trap while Galactica decided to use an Ice Trap. Then they turned around and aimed at the traps.
"On the count of three," Galactica said. "One..."
"Two..." T-65 said as the beasts entered the blast range.
"Three!" Galactica shouted as they simultaneously squeezed their own triggers. The Fire Trap's explosion scorched the animals as the Ice Trap froze them solid immediately afterward. This was the androids' chance to unload on their unmoving bodies with stronger, but less accurate blasts before the ice thawed. Before long the ice shattered as the beasts succumbed to the photon bullets and melted into the ground leaving a bloody spot in the ground. That was not all that was in store for the androids, however. Just as they used a Monomate each, several new threats appeared. The most obvious was the ape-like behemoth that landed with a crash in front of them. It had short bluish fur, hulking arms, and two long oddly shaped ears coming out of the sides of its head.
"What?!" gasped a stunned Galactica as she stared into its narrow yellow eyes. Before T-65 could get off a single shot, it took a mighty swing knocking him down to the ground with a grunt. Snapping back to her senses, Galactica began to circle the creature, shooting as she ran. It then turned its attention to her. This allowed T-65 to slowly get to his feet and take another Monomate. As the somewhat slow creature tried to swing at her, she was able to stay just out of its reach. Unbeknownst to her this was only one of three of the same species in the area. The others had appeared far up the path and were making their way over. Another nest full of insects had just landed behind her brother. But he was more worried about the blue wolves and yellow creatures that appeared before him. He decided to run in Galactica's direction, just behind the large animal. Then he heard a crash behind him as the two equally large creatures that had been so far behind jumped right behind him. He turned his head to see a crushed wolf under the feet of one steadily approaching ape. He did not stop running to his sister.
"I could use some assistance, brother," she yelled out to him. The creature was still missing her, but not by much.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" he yelled back as he began to shoot it from behind. As he shot, he noticed two other gates on this side of the Forest. One led to the left, presumably toward Central Dome, while the other led to the right. Unfortunately, both were locked. Soon, the creature could no longer stand the combined firepower and crashed to the ground dead. There was no time to relax, though. The other two immediately leaped onto the scene.
"Run!" Galactica yelled as she and T-65 ran in opposite directions. They were able to escape the immediate swings of large fists. Suddenly the gate opposite of Central Dome unlocked. Out of it ran two very different androids. One of them, the male, had blue armor with yellow areas on his arms and legs. He had what appeared to be a horn coming out the top of his faceless head. He also carried a Hunter-specific weapon, a Sword. He was a HUcast. The female android appeared to be wearing a light and dark purple bodysuit with matching high-heels and orange areas on her legs and shoulders. Her most outstanding feature was the big metal ponytail that hung behind her. She also carried Hunter-specific weapons called Daggers. She was a HUcaseal.
"Who's there?" the HUcast yelled out. They then saw that the Rangers needed help.
"We're on our way!" the HUcaseal yelled out to them. They ran toward the nearest animal, which was chasing T-65. The RAcast ran over to them.
"GA, over here!" he called out to Galactica. She, in turn, strafed her pursuer and ran in his direction, staying clear of the other creature. The HUcaseal was the first to attack. She slashed away at the animal, seemingly dancing as her two photon blades sliced into its thick hide. Next up was the HUcast. He swung his rather large Sword at the beast, finishing it off. All of them then met the next creature with their weapons ready. While the Rangers began shooting, the Hunters began slicing. The animal fell quickly.
"It's always the Hildebears that they have trouble with," said the HUcaseal.
"Well, that and the hoards of Boomas," the HUcast added pointing to the approaching yellow creatures. They all made short work of the overpowered animals.
"Ow!" said the HUcast as the nearly forgotten insects stung him. "And let's not forget about the most annoying things around here, the Mothmants."
"I hear ya," T-65 said agreeing with his comment. "We'll take care of em'. "You guys can take out the nest." And so the bugs were destroyed along with their nest. Then they waited for any more animals that would come. When nothing else came they were able to relax a bit.
"Thank you for helping us," Galactica said bowing slightly.
"Yeah," said T-65. "I wish we had ran into you two earlier."
"Well, we didn't get here that long ago," said the HUcast. "We just took another path."
"I'm glad we found you," said his partner. "That last fight got me to level 17."
"Did you come here on a quest like we did?" Galactica asked.
"Well, yes," said the HUcast. "We're looking for our client's friend who supposedly came here after the explosion. Have you seen anybody named Castor?"
"Nope," replied T-65. "You're the first people we've seen here. Where is everybody?"
"I don't have a clue," said the HUcaseal honestly.
"And what were all of those creatures that attacked us?" questioned T- 65.
"The ones that come out of the ground are Boomas," said the HUcast. "The yellow ones are Goboomas and the big red ones are Gigoboomas. The bugs were Mothmants. The nest they came from is called a Monest. The big blue guys that cause the most trouble around here are Hildebears."
"And the wolves?" questioned Galactica.
"The greener ones are called Savage Wolves," he answered knowledgably. Their blue leaders are Barbarous Wolves. Interesting names, huh?"
"I don't mean to be rude," interrupted the HUcaseal, "but we really need to find the guy we're looking for."
"We also have a mission to accomplish," Galactica said pulling onto T- 65. "Again, we thank you." And so the two Hunters went through the gate leading toward Central Dome. Meanwhile, Galactica and T-65 walked back up the path they had run across, looking for any new soil that they had missed. They passed by the laser fence since the other side did not have any new dirt. Just then T-65 noticed something up ahead.
"Hey..." he said slowly. "I think we missed a turn, while we were running from those Gigoboomas."
"What do you mean?" Galactica asked inquisitively.
"There's an unlocked gate in that outcropping to the right," he replied. "It's kinda hard to see behind all that moss." Sure enough, there was indeed an unlocked gate in a rock wall. The two Rangers proceeded cautiously toward it, ready for any sign of danger. When they neared it, the gate opened to reveal a small shelter of sorts with two brown chests inside. The rock walls were covered with moss while all sorts of foliage covered the floor.
"The coast is clear," T-65 said relaxing. Then, without saying a word, he blasted open the two chests.
"You know," said a somewhat startled Galactica, "you could have just opened them yourself."
"Yeah," he admitted, "but this is more fun. Hey, there's some pretty good stuff in here. I found a Telepipe and a Moon Atomizer." Galactica was more interested in the room itself. She began to shuffle through the foliage on the ground. Then she found what she was looking for.
"Our mission is complete," she said as she collected the black soil from the ground. "We'll use the Telepipe to get back to the ship."
"What about the atomizer?" asked T-65.
"You don't even know what it does," she replied as she put the dirt sample away.
"I'll keep it anyway," he said as he unleashed the Telepipe. Telepipes are tools used as portable teleporters. After it was set, there was a stream of bright-reddish light streaming in front of them. The androids then walked into the light. When they activated it, there was an even brighter flash as they were sent back to Pioneer 2.
