The Image of the Beast:
The metal bug-like creature stalked around on all fours scanning every little bit of the wall in front of it. The bug eyes could see at least a million images at once in night vision, heat vision, and x-ray vision. It had no abdomen or thorax just a huge head with legs connecting to where the cheeks would be and a shelled organ at the belly bubbling with liquid. It stood up to the small boy's hip with it's four spidery legs still surveying the scene as well as it possibly could. Its three horns protruding off the back of it now reached the height of Jimmy's lowered elbow. The delicate child whimpered as a tentacle-like tounge eased out from the hooked nose-like piece and struck. The organ piece inside its belly bubbled.
Introduction:
About half a year ago the two devious children known as Jake Diabolical and Angel Amy were sent on a top secret mission by the insane Dr. Jack Kite. Their mission, fly through space and pick up any unknown lifeforms that may be a threat to humanity. The reason, for King Shadow and his friends to use them as bioweapons upon return to take over the world. The children dropped the specimen off at a space station the villains had orbiting around the planet, Zarnia.
Jack Kite was able to bring the creature back to animation from its stasis jar by dousing it with gamma rays. He found that too much exposure to the rays or enough energy would cause the creature to morph into its next stage of life. The Golden Hotel robot, Tron, was sent to the base and upon finding out about the insane project promptly annihilated all the buglike monsters there and thwarted the group's plans yet again.
The villains fled into the depths of space as Tron escaped the collapsing station loosing most of his shellsuit in the process. This mission was soon after known as the Quaratine Mission. Many months have passed since then and Tron has since wrecked many of Shadow's plans for world domination amongst other things. The Golden Hotel has found a desolate planet to make a new defense base on and have sent the eds and their friends to check it out.
Chapter 1: The Planet of No Return
"Attention everybody." Announced the voice of Double-d over the intercom, "We will be landing shortly make sure eveyone has the stasis liquid out of their systems so as to avoid any unnesecary moments. I repeat, make sure no stasis is left in your bodies, thank you." "Good thing we have Double-dork to remind us that," Sighed Kevin as he pulled on his pants, "cause last time Rolf became suspended in time and space for a few hours." "Rolf told you that was an accident!" yelled the foreign boy from another room.
"Yo Kev!" exclaimed Eddy as he held a firearm, "Don't forget the weapons, can't be too careful." "Oh really?" the jock boy asked. He took the weapon from his rival and left to get his spacesuit. "We are about to touch down, hold onto something people!" Double-d announced politely.
The ship landed with a hiss and one by one the children stepped out carrying random pieces of equipment and wearing their yellow and red spacesuits. Eddy and Kevin wielded large blasters and Rolf carried a sort of machine gun. Jimmy carried a first-aid kit as well as a pistol and a few grenades. Sarah was decked down to the finger nail with various weapons folloed by the pilot, mechanic, and other doctor, Double-d who lugged out a backpack full of equipment. Last came Johnny and Nazz (Plank had been left to guard the ship) who also carried weapons and some other stuff like shovels and heat detectors.
"Alright people," Eddy began, "First let's make sure everything's safe, Johnny?" "Yeah?" the bald kid asked the commander. "Fire up the detector!" "Can DO!" He planted the device in the ground and set the machine for a one mile radius. Eventually the image came up of the urrounding area with various marks. "Eh, sir?" Johnny asked worriedly. "Yes soldier?" Eddy replied walking over to the detector. "Don't call me that. Well these dots right here are us, but there seem to be some other heat singnatures coming from over there," the boy told him as he pointed at some caves in the distance, "just a little ways to walk."
Suddenly a lightning bolt struck the ship frying most of its systems and causing two of the rockets to explode. "What the heck! There's not even a freakin raindrop in the sky or any humidity!" Kevin yelled in rage while the others just looked dumbfounded. "PLANK!" Johnny suddenly realized and rushed into the craft to save his best friend. "Might've been because of the electmagnetic parts of the ship and the unstable atmosphere of this planet. See the clouds, they seem to be swirling around as fast as a jet can fly." Double-d guessed.
"Well, I guess since we have nothin else to do we should go check out those caves." Eddy suggested and started wandering off not seeming to care if anyone came or not. "Er, perhaps Rolf and sumb edboy should accompany him." Rolf told them cracking a smile and trecking off. Ed however had never been released from his stasis tank in the storage room of the ship. "Jimmy, you go also, I forgot to release Ed from his slumber. Nazz come with me, I'll need you to do CPR to get the stasis out of his lungs! Oh I hope the lightning didn't hurt him too much."
Sarah hugged Double-d and decided to leave with Jimmy leaving Johnny and Plank all alone when they had reemerged from the doorway of the spacevessel. "Well, what do ya know buddy? They all left, might as well check the minerals in the soil."
"Ed, please don't be dead!" Double-d pleaded as the capsule hissed open and the liquid fell onto the floor. Nazz and Double-d dragged the lug over to a table. Edd walked over to a computer panel and typed in a few buttons causing the table beneath to glow allowing the boy's body to flooded with various fumes. Double-d switched it of and Nazz checked Ed, "He has a pulse!" "Great! Procee!" Double-d commanded as he walked up the steps, "I'll be back momentarily."
Nazz tilted Ed's head back to check for breathing. No breath. She the lined her pinky up with Ed's nipple and put her interlocked hands at the center of his chest. She first gave two breaths into his mouth and then proceeded to apply ten pressure pushes to his chest. She checked for breath again, and again…none! She breathed into his mouth two more times and applied ome more pressure. This time she didn't make it to fifteen for Ed sat up in the middle of the procedure and began to choke as stasis dripped out of the sides of his mouth.
"Over to the side!" Nazz yelled pointing at a pan on the end of the table. Ed leanded over and coughed out a lot of the liquid stasis. "Oh good Ed, you're awake! Nazz, thank you, you're a life saver. You may leave if you want I just went up to start the self repair program." Double-d exclaimed as he climbed back down. Nazz saluted the taller kid and left. Ed finally coughed out all of the liquid in his lungs and Double-d gave him a pill to take care of the rest in his digestive system.
"Oh, Double-d what happened?" Ed asked as he looked around. "Well, we landed and forgot to wake you up. A lightning bolt struck and that's when me and Nazz came in to revive you." "Oh, so there a storm?" Ed said, "I like storms." "No Ed," Double-d informed him, "It's just that the atmosphere here is a bit unpredictable." "Oh," Ed replied rather saddened. "Cheer up buddy." Edd told him, "You get to wear a spacesuit." "OH GOODY!" he exclaimed joyfully.
"Shh!" Eddy hissed halting the group, "There it is!" What stood before them looked like huge cocoons with wholes drilled in. Suddenly a huge hornet like animal appeared, about the size of Eddy, and dove at them. BLAM! Kevin quickly disposed of it and two more came out. "Nice goin' Kev," Eddy commented. "Shut up, Dork! Everyone aim for the hive while I take out the flyin' freaks!" In no time the hive was caught in flames and they continued onward into the cave.
A few minutes later a three legged creture with a bug shaped head fell down and launched itself at them. Boom! Sarah took care of it and they hopped along some carved platforms to the floor below where more of the creatures awaited them. They blasted every last one of them to kingdom come and ventured on.
"Wait, what's this?" Jimmy asked as they passed by a deceased corpse. The creature was slumped over with a sort of gun in its hand and had a shelled body. From the looks of it the thing had stood bipedal and had two eye sockets. A long snout protruded from the armoured skin and jaw with razor sharp fangs indicating that it must have been a carnivore of some sort. What would've supported the being were two large raptor legs with claws on the toes. The gun it was carrying connected around to its back. The creature's armoured skin colors seemed to have faded from years of being inactive whereas the skin beneath the armoured skin reverted to a skeleton.
Jimmy went to touch the creature to see if it was really deceased and he screamed. The rest gasped as the creature crumpled to dust when his fingers touched it. All that remained was the gun and the metal pipe which had connected it to the creature. "The kid's gotta learn some respect for the dead." Eddy said quietly. "Look who's talkin, Scrouge." Kevin added. "Shut up." Eddy simply said and walked onwards.
"It's okay guys, you can take off your helmets, the air is fine!" Johnny shouted to his companions and they sighed in relief. Taking off their helmets with a hiss the group gathered around the ship. "Well, we should have the ship up and running by two days from now." Double-d told them. "Well, I'll start making lunch!" Johnny cried excitedly, "Sushi for all!" "YEAH!" Ed cried, "Double-d, where are the rest of us?" "Oh they went off to explore some caves, you can go tomarrow, but you need to digest that pill first." "Alright!"
"Oh, come on!" Eddy and Kevin said in usion as the group ran from a herd of the three legged chirping freaks, which they had promptly named Hoppers. "Into that passage!" Eddy commanded and they dove out of the way. "Whao!" Sarah said. "IT"S BEAUTIFUL!" Jimmy exclaimed looking up. An underground city sat before their eyes wrecked from erosion and who knows what else. Nonetheless it looked amazing, like Egypt being discovered only x40! Statues covered the land as the group trecked across looking around in wonder.
Rustle rustle! Something was in one of the dwellings, perhaps a survivor? They rushed over failing to recognize the statues as the dinosaur like creature that turned to dust earlier. "Anyone here!" Sarah screamed. Immediately a shadowy figure rushed past them with red glowing eyes.
"What was that?" Kevin asked qhipping around, but the thing had already escaped leaving no trace of its existance. "How's about we camp out here tonight gang?" Eddy asked the dumbfounded group. "Are ya crazy!" Sarah cried, "There could be more of those…things!" "Well, how's about two people at a time stay up and when they get tired they can get someone else to watch for them?" Eddy asked sweating. "Even though I hate it, I have to agree with Dorky." Kevin piped up. Everyone gasped. "I mean come on, we don't have enough energy left to trek all the way back to the ship. Dorky call em up!" "YES SIR!" Eddy happily said and broke out his walkie talkie.
"Come in, yeah guys, come on pick up!" Eddy pleaded in the static voice. "Yes Eddy?" Doulbe-d asked as he enjoyed a calofornia roll, "Hey, Johnny made sushi for us." "Lucky," Eddy replied, "Oh, hey I'm glad it's you man! Listen, me and the gang is gonna hang out in these ruins we found today. Just thought you guys might like to know!" "WHAT!" Double-d cried. "Cool your jets guy. Nothing is here to hurt us and if there is anything the person on watch will wake the others up!" "Oh, great, just make sure you protect Jimmy, if you lose him you lose your doctor." Double-d informed his short friend. "Can DO!" Eddy replied and clicked off.
"Well, Johnny, I must say you and Plank make excellent sushi, but I'm gonna hit the hay. Inform me if anything happens. Oh, Eddy and the others'll be spending the night in the caves!" Double-d told his friends as he headed towards his room. "Yeah thanks!" Ed and Nazz agreed and Johnny blushed, then Ed added, "Lucky them!"
Meanwhile Rolf was standing watch as the other troopers slept calmly not knowing that certain creatures were watching and plotting in their complicated minds. The creatures looked at their new playmates in nightvision with glee. Yes, the offworlders would be their playmate. Indeed…that is until they got hungry and then unknown peril would befall the children. They were no more than pieces in a big food chain on this unpredictable planet.
Nothing could stop the creatures this time. They had dealt with offworlders like them before and had nearly been annihilated. Yes, just two offworlders had erradicated them and left barely escaping death. But now they were repopulated and things would be different. Sure they would play the game again, but this time they would come out on top. This time they were ready. After all, all the bipedial offworlders only knew how to destroy, never build, right? Right! That's how it was with the two others, that's how it had been with the invaders, and that's how it definitely would be with these barbarians. They could only think of their hate and stomachs as Rolf went to wake up Kevin.