ARK: Survival Evolved – The Zero Chronicles
Chapter 2: Moving House
Zero opened his eyes to the warm glow of the morning sun rising from the ocean, the sunlight casting an orange-yellow hue on the beach. Tiny ripples of water serenely wove up and down the beach as the winds of sunrise gently shook the branches of jungle trees with each breeze. The blond survivor yawned and stretched his arms as he got up from the beach. Dusting the sand off his back, Zero decided to start off the day with a nice breakfast before packing up his things and moving house.
After a thorough check of all the equipment needed for a short excursion, spear and dagger included, Zero made a mental note to himself to begin moving house as soon as he had found something to eat. He then set off towards the area where he had seen the dodos and horned beasts upon first waking up on the island. Judging by how the animals had chosen not to attack him even though they sensed his presence, Zero deduced that both the flightless birds and the larger creatures were herbivorous; a carnivore would likely have detected him by smell alone and attacked right away. Nevertheless, the three-horned giants were certainly too tough for him to take down with his current arsenal, and he didn't have the heart to kill even one defenseless dodo for meat. But common sense dictated that with this many herbivores roaming around the beach, there had to be some edible plant life for him to subsist on in the meantime.
Through careful observation of the creatures going about their daily business, Zero realised that his deduction was indeed proven to be correct, for the animals were mostly munching on the leafy vegetation around them, both on the beach and at the fringes of the nearby jungle. However, one of the horned beasts, which was a light basalt grey in colour, could be seen helping itself to a cluster of purple berries growing on a nearby bush while a nearby flock of dodos pecking for food on the ground gathered around it, likely for protection in case any predators showed up. Most of the horned beasts seemed to be sticking together for protection, especially the youngsters whose horns were not fully developed yet. The animals' spiked frills certainly made them look bigger and more intimidating to the point where Zero had already made a mental note to distance himself from the beasts as much as possible, lest he get seen as a potential threat and wind up being impaled by their horns.
So the purple berries are edible, Zero thought. That's good. I really could use an easy food source right now. Carefully maneuvering his way around the horned animals in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention, he finally found himself next to the same bush where the herbivore from earlier had gorged itself on the delicious berries. Having satisfied its own hunger, the grey beast had plodded away from the bush and simply watched as the bipedal newcomer began liberating the bush of what purple berries remained on the shrub's branches.
The blond survivor was just plucking out a final cluster of purple berries from the bush when a strange object fell out from among the densely packed leaves onto the sandy ground. His curiosity piqued, Zero picked up the object and examined it. If its oval shape and purple colour could serve as reliable indicators, he was looking at the seed that could be planted to become the plant that bore the purple berries. The fact that the potential seed was smaller than any of the berries he had picked only served to further support his theory.
Popping a purple berry into his mouth, Zero felt a pleasant taste roll inside his mouth as he chewed into the flesh of the berry. The fruit was a tad sour but not to the point where he would even consider spitting it out and washing off the taste with some water. Not that he could anyway; the only nearby source of water came from the ocean, and the seawater would be far too salty for consumption. His tongue rolled over a hard object, prompting him to spit it out onto the beach in order to avoid choking on it. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that the spit-covered object perfectly resembled the seed he had picked up earlier. Interesting. I could certainly grow some food of my own later on.
His train of thoughts were interrupted when one of the horned giants gave off an agitated snort, pawing the ground as it did so. Zero surmised there and then that the beast had sensed something amiss, because shortly afterwards a pack of five bipedal cyan lizards shot out of their jungle cover like bullets from an assault rifle.
The new arrivals were dwarfed by the horned beasts, but unlike the heavily-built herbivores, they were also faster and more slender, with orange feathers on their heads, forearms and tails. Armed with a vicious array of wicked-looking claws and sharp teeth, they looked every bit as predatory as the Dilophosaurus Zero had met during his first day on the island, but instead of a neck frill that could be unfurled at will, every last one of the lizards possessed a big toe claw on each of its hind feet. Judging by how these claws were raised up high while the carnivores charged towards their prey, Zero surmised that the claws were for making deep wounds in combat when they slashed down on all those unfortunate enough to cross paths with the bipedal predators.
Realising that they had been targeted by the pack, the horned beasts began grouping up in one big circle with the juveniles in the middle; the dodos were simply rooted to the ground in a mixture of shock and fear, staring in trepidation at the five carnivores running towards them. However, the two-legged predators completely disregarded the ungainly birds and the smaller juvenile horned herbivores; they had larger prey in their sights.
In spite of the advance warning that the herd had received, one of the oldest beasts in the herd, a dark brown female, was slow to react due to an injury to her left hind leg that had left her crippled. Unfortunately for her, her weakness did not go unnoticed by the pack of predators, who veered away from the herd and zeroed in on her. Very soon, before the poor herbivore could rejoin the herd or even circle around to face her assailants, the entire pack was upon her.
Having decided that it was better to take his leave before he became the carnivores' next meal, Zero turned his back on the hunting pack and their quarry, holding the berry seed in his palm and trekking back the way he came. In the meantime, the predators were already tearing into the crippled female herbivore with everything they had, their claws gouging long crimson lines into her flanks even as she circled around many times over in a futile attempt to impale at least one of the attackers on her nose horn and hold the rest off long enough to make it back to the protection of her herd. The rest of the horned beasts were obviously outraged and distressed at their herdmate's plight but they could only watch helplessly as she was slowly being overpowered on all sides by the relentless predators.
In the end, though, fate had different plans for Zero. One glance backward was all that prompted him to turn back and witness the battle unfold right in front of him. As the bipedal carnivores tore into their prey from its vulnerable flanks, he observed the tactics adopted by both species as each side fought for its own survival. Every time the three-horned giant thrust its head forward in an effort to at least ward off the smaller lizards, the predators would leap backwards in order to avoid the sharp horns, but always closed in for another strike at their target's flesh shortly afterward. Zero was truly amazed at the excellent coordination with which the hunters executed their hunting strategy. It was almost like an elegant ballet performance, where each move was precisely choreographed and carried out only at the right moment. Rivers of red blood flowed off the giant beast's back from the wounds inflicted on its body and were eagerly drunk up by the pristine sand.
The large herbivore was already struggling to even walk as it continued attempting to fend off the predators to no avail. The sheer volume of blood draining from its body was enough of an indicator for Zero to know that it was only a matter of time before it eventually succumbed to its wounds. Still, the carnivorous lizards did not relent, and if anything intensified their merciless barrage on the poor creature. One final effort by the horned herbivore to impale the attacker closest to her was rewarded with her injured forelegs giving out beneath her, but not before her nose horn grazed the meat-eater's right forearm. The wounded predator snarled in rage and shrugged off the pain before clawing its prey's left side ceaselessly. As for the rest of the pack, they were already ripping out chunks of flesh from the dying herbivore's body before her blood turned cold and her corpse went limp, eyes closed forever.
Zero shuddered at the bloody display of hunting showmanship that the lizard pack had just pulled off. If ever he came across this particular species, he would damn well keep his distance until he acquired better equipment. Fortunately, the pack of lizards had not even bothered going after him; if anything, the dead herbivore was a much more sumptuous meal that would fill their bellies for several hours. One of the pack screeched a victory cry into the air before it resumed tucking into its meal with the rest of its fellow members. The herd of herbivores could just easily have attacked them, but doing so would have changed nothing. In the end, both sides were left to conduct their own business, with neither species doing so much as take a glance at the other.
Having had his stomach filled, Zero decided it was finally time to put some distance between the pack of carnivores and himself. Grasping the seed tightly so that he would not lose it, he trekked all the way back to the old campsite without incident. On the way back he did notice several new creatures that he had never seen before; giant turtles with spiky shells ambling up and down the beach in search of food, plant-eating crested lizards that stood about three heads taller than Zero himself, and above all featherless birds that took to the skies with the help of wings made from flaps of skin attached to their long forearms.
Upon his return to the old campsite, he was overjoyed to find all his stuff still in one piece and not ruined by some random creature that just decided to show up on the beach and rear its ugly head. With his appetite satisfied for the time being, Zero decided to immediately start packing up his stuff, which was by no means a lot, and build a new camp near the bamboo grove where he had found the large egg.
After a few minutes carefully thinking about what he would need to survive in the dense and humid jungle, Zero prioritised the weapons, figuring that not only could they help him gather resources more efficiently, but also allow him to fight back in a pinch. Next to go into the haversack, which miraculously still had sufficient space to accommodate some more stuff, were the plates and cutlery, along with the dossier and just enough resources to build a new campfire. With his hands and haversack too full to take on any more camp supplies, he decided that it would be best to make a second trip back to base after putting his stuff down by the nest and building the new campfire.
Having memorised the path to the abandoned nest and the way back, he trekked into the jungle once more, always keeping an eye out for danger and a hand on his stone hatchet. Fortunately, the jungle was surprisingly deserted at this time of the day, and Zero reached the abandoned nest without incident. He was also overjoyed to find the egg still safe and sound where he had left it.
With plenty of time to kill before nightfall, Zero immediately decided to build a sturdy campfire differently from how the late Cimmerius had constructed his. He emptied the haversack, grabbed his dossier, stone axe and dagger and began chopping at the nearest tree. After a few strikes with the axe, the thin palm tree eventually came down and Zero was free to slice away the leaves with his dagger. He then hefted the axe and chopped the tree trunk into several pieces just small enough to fit inside a campfire. After repeating the same procedure with a smaller palm sapling, he found that the wood he had collected would be enough to last a couple of nights and decided to collect some stones to form a ring of stones around the area where the fuel would be burnt.
Because the only nearby sources of stone were huge rocks that were half-buried in the ground, Zero had to use his axe and chip away at the nearest rock. On the third strike, he successfully chipped away a small chunk of stone that landed at his foot. Picking up the oddly-shaped stone, he found that it easily fit in the palm of his hand. It was just the size he needed to form the ring of stones needed for his campfire. For the time being, he didn't mind living off a vegetarian diet as long as he remained in good health, so light and warmth were the priorities here. There wasn't really much he could do in the event that the campfire was extinguished by rain, but then again a new campfire could always be rebuilt if that happened.
After chipping off multiple fist-sized chunks of rock, Zero drew a small circle in the dirt using a small tree branch he found nearby and neatly laid the stones down along the outer edge of the circle's radius. Next, he laid the logs down on the ground and chopped them to smaller pieces before placing them inside the circle of stones. Now satisfied that his unlit campfire was more or less complete, Zero began pondering over how to build a shelter to protect against potentially adverse weather conditions as well as a set of walls to keep out any unwanted guests, especially carnivores that would try to eat him on sight.
Seeing how exposed the abandoned nest was to the mercy of the elements, he settled on prioritising the shelter construction over building a wall to keep out any hostile creatures. In order for such a shelter to serve its purpose well, first and foremost it needed to be stable and not get blown over by the slightest gust of wind. Zero knew that the only way for him to make his shelter stable, given that his construction skills were basically non-existent, would be to build a foundation that could dig into the soil for much-needed anchorage. As for the building materials, there were already plenty of bamboo plants for him to choose from. With the equipment he currently possessed and the resources he could take from the environment, the blond survivor quickly hatched a plan to build a simple but sturdy shelter in order to take cover from whatever adverse weather conditions this island could conjure up.
Zero grabbed his stone axe and immediately began searching for some of the thicker bamboo plants to cut down. Using his index finger and thumb like a pincer claw to measure how thick each stem was, he found two especially thick bamboo plants that were of the right height and felled them both with a few swings of his axe. Then he found several thinner bamboo plants to work with for constructing the shelter's rectangular foundation and chopped them down as well. Afterwards came the rather grueling task of using his bone dagger to strip the bamboo stalks of their leaves and cut out the right lengths of bamboo for his foundation. Poking multiple holes on each side of the two thickest bamboo stems with a sharp piece of flint, Zero ensured that the holes were just wide enough to allow the thinner bamboo stems to fit in, but tight enough to ensure that they would be highly unlikely to come loose, and inserted the thinner stems into the holes at the ends of the thicker stems. After testing out the resultant square structure to find out if it would hold, he found himself pleasantly surprised at how stable and sturdy the structure turned out to be. It also fit his body when he tried lying down and he was pleased that he would be able to sleep inside the shelter during a stormy night.
With the floor complete, the blond survivor turned his efforts towards making the four supports that would dig into the soil for anchorage. After finding a nearby plot of jungle soil that was firm enough to hold up against erosion but soft enough to allow cut bamboo stems to penetrate, he found four bamboo plants that were thinner and longer than the two thickest stems used for the foundation and once again cut them down using his axe. Stripping and cutting the bamboo stalks down to size once more, he made sure that the cut bamboo sections he had chosen could dig into the plot of land he had chosen and still have enough headroom for him to stand up inside the shelter, then poked some holes near the ends of the two thick bamboo stalks used for the foundation and inserted the thinner bamboo stalks into these holes. Zero then had to drag the whole thing to the exact place he wanted to lay down his shelter and pushed the vertical bamboo stalks into the soil for some much-needed anchorage.
Now that the four support pillars had been added, Zero needed to ensure that the walls and roof were sturdy enough to resist the elements, especially at night time when the surroundings became unbearably cold. Putting the campfire inside the bamboo shelter was not an option; if the bamboo was ever set ablaze, the entire shelter and everything inside were finished.
After taking a short lunch break on a diet of bananas and a fresh dodo egg that he'd come across and then eaten raw to save time, he gathered some more bamboo stems thin and short enough for his liking and drilled several more holes into the bamboo stalks comprising the edge of his improvised foundation. Fitting the newly gathered bamboo stalks into the holes, Zero made sure to leave a gap large enough for himself to pass through when he eventually built a door into the shelter.
The shelter walls now complete, Zero decided that all there was left to do for the time being was the roof. That turned out to be the easiest part, for all he needed to do was gather some more bamboo stalks, with two of them being thicker than the others. After chopping down the bamboo plants needed as well as stripping and cutting the stems down to size, he punctured holes into the stems once again and made sure that the holes could fit the ends of the stalks that made up the walls of his shelter. The two thickest stems were punctured with more holes to allow them to fit with the bamboo stems comprising the walls, while the rest only had one hole punctured near each of their ends. With his shelter complete, he gave himself a pat on the back for building his first shelter on his own.
With plenty of time to spare now that the shelter construction was done, Zero took out the dossier and began to read once more. This time though, he decided to look for several of the new creatures he had seen earlier that day. Flipping over the page on Dilophosaurus, he found himself gazing at the slender carnivorous lizards that had taken down the three-horned herbivore.
According to the dossier, the carnivorous lizards were called Utahraptor prime, or raptors for short. The deadly predators were said to be pack hunters that utilised teamwork to overwhelm larger prey and superior speed to hunt smaller animals. Moreover, they were said to possess a toe claw on each foot that was capable of dishing out serious damage to their prey, a phenomenon that Zero had already observed earlier during the raptors' battle against their three-horned prey. That already made the beasts more dangerous than the smaller Dilo which had almost killed him. The creatures' most lethal trait, however, was their tendency to call for fellow pack members whenever they spotted desirable prey items or ran into danger. Under such circumstances, the whole pack would be emboldened to attack the target with all their might, which would certainly be a sure-fire way to die if one were totally unprepared for such an attack. Zero resolved there and then that until he had crafted or obtained better weapons to fight back with, he would keep away from the lizards at all costs.
Turning over the page once more, Zero instantly recognised the three-horned beast that had fallen victim to the raptor pack. This was the Triceratops styrax, a herbivore of moderate size with a spiky neck frill and three horns on its head to defend itself against predators. Like the raptor, the Trike, which was the short form Zero came up with since the original name was too confusing for him, tended to live in groups, only difference being that compared to a maximum of nine raptors in an average pack, the numbers in a Triceratops herd varied greatly from a dozen members for close-knit family groups to just under a hundred for migratory groups headed for better feeding grounds elsewhere when the seasons changed. Fighting only out of self-defense, the herbivores tended to gang up on any would-be attackers and gore them to death with their sharp horns. Just like the raptors, the Trike was not to be underestimated; if provoked from a distance, the animal could easily cover the distance between itself and the attacker by charging headfirst and ramming into the target with full force. Not only would the attacker risk being maimed or killed by the sharp horns, but anything that survived the initial charge would also end up being stunned by the impact for at least ten seconds, during which time more severe damage could be inflicted on the victim.
Satisfied that he had gleaned enough about the two new creatures for now, Zero then flipped the next few pages only to discover three more animals that he had spotted earlier on the way back to camp. First in what Zero presumed was the chronological order in which the entries had been made were the giant spiky-shelled turtles. Those were referred to as Carbonemys obibimus, a herbivorous reptile that could withdraw into its extremely hard shell as shown by the dossier when battling what looked like a saber-toothed tiger with a long tiger-like tail.
The next section delved into the crested lizards that had appeared alongside the giant turtles. The Parasaurolophus amphibio, as these herbivores were called, had a good sense of hearing that enabled them to sense all but the stealthiest predators and bolt off at the first sign of danger after warning fellow herd members with a distress call. Though relatively quick for their size, Parasaurs, as Cimmerius presumably called them in short, provided abundant supplies of meat for every predator on the island. What made them especially useful to humans was their ability to honk at smaller animals and scare them away, which doubtlessly made travelling a lot safer for survivors who lived by themselves or in small groups.
Zero turned the page to find himself gazing at a "Pteranodon wyvernis", which was the name given to the strange flying lizards he'd seen soaring in the skies above. Instead of picking a fight with the other creatures on the island, the Pteranodon ate mostly carrion due to its inability to fend for itself in combat. Its fast flying speed and ubiquity made it one of the most popular flying mounts among survivors, even though there were other flying creatures with better stamina or load-carrying capabilities. Moreover, the ease of taming them as compared to other flyers also added to their appeal as a travel mount that was capable of going almost anywhere on the island.
There were three more creatures in the dossier which Zero had not seen thus far but found fascinating nonetheless. The first was a dinosaur called Gallimimus evolvevox which was built like an ostrich and could run just as fast. The second animal was a small herbivorous lizard with sharp canines, but Zero couldn't pronounce the name well. The third, and by far most terrifying, creature that existed on the island as of yet, was a large bull-horned meat-eating lizard that towered over everything else Zero had seen on the island so far and a tiny pair of forearms most likely useless for combat. The Carnotaurus pressor, as it was called, was surprisingly fast for its size and even though the horns on its head were more likely used for mating contests between males, they could still be used to impale larger prey while hunting. There was one major weakness the Carno possessed: after periods of sprinting, it would have to wait for lengthy periods of time in order to recover stamina before it could sprint again. Zero again made a mental note to stay as far away from the ferocious beast as possible until he was armed with better equipment to take it on.
Enough of this nonsense, Zero thought, I need to get back to work. After checking to make sure he wasn't being watched, he left the majority of his belongings behind, only bringing along his empty haversack, axe, spear and dagger. He then trudged back the way he came, his ears listening for any sounds of incoming danger while he made his way back to his old lodgings.
Zero had just reached the old beachside camp when he spotted a pair of men carrying satchels and fully decked out in leather armour ransacking the camp's supplies. The taller man wore a black pirate's eye-patch across his left eye, sported a bushy brown beard and looked just as thin as a reed while his shorter companion sported a black handlebar mustache, and was more muscular and stockily built. Just above the second man's right eye lay a scar with five stitches that stretched down to his right ear, and a small peculiar dino perched on his left shoulder. The bipedal creature bore a set of sharp canines resembling those of a carnivore, though from what Zero had read about this little lizard, a Pegomastax, if he remembered correctly, was actually a plant eater with the canines mostly for show. But what really made this creature's bite worse than its bark though, was the fact that regardless of whether the creature was wild or tame, it could easily pickpocket items from unsuspecting people, a trait that might very well turn the tables in combat if a powerful weapon was stolen.
Cursing under his breath, Zero watched as the two men plundered the camp, taking anything they desired. How dare those men pillage this camp like they own the place! Zero thought as his anger built up. Sure, he'd been living in another person's home up until recently, but the previous inhabitant had long since passed away. Besides, with the equipment they possessed and a tamed creature at their disposal, the two men could have just easily built a shelter by harvesting resources from the environment like what Zero had just done instead of robbing those weaker than themselves.
Much as Zero wanted to strike down those two men for plundering the supplies, he realised that with his powers as a reploid gone, he would be at a disadvantage should he resort to direct combat, for the men had slung metal versions of his stone weapons behind their backs, the deadliest of all being a metal pike possessed by the taller man. As a reploid he could have absolutely destroyed the two plunderers and perhaps everything else on the island with his powers if he wanted to, but now Dr Weil's strange gadget had imbued him with the frailties of humankind and made him powerless. Damn that Weil, he cursed in his mind, if I ever get back home I'm going to give that bastard a big fat thrashing!
Instead of letting his mind hang on the subject any longer, Zero decided to think about whether he should slip away and avoid fighting the raiders or confront them and end the threat there and then. Just going back into the jungle would certainly avoid the risk of a direct confrontation, but the marauders were likely to come for him sooner or later and if that happened, he would have to fight them anyway. On the other hand, fighting the marauders immediately would remove the threat these men posed to him if he won, but at the same time he would end up getting killed if he lost. Zero pondered over this dilemma and weighed the consequences of taking each path against the other.
Eh, to hell with this, he finally decided. Powerless or not, I'm still a warrior. Now's not the time to run away. I have to fend off those assholes here and now to ensure that nothing else gets pillaged. He grabbed his spear in both hands, sheathed the bone dagger and prepared himself for battle.
"Stop right there!" Zero yelled at the top of his lungs, brandishing his spear at the two bandits and their pet. All three strangers turned their heads towards him in surprise, loosening their grip on the items they were stealing as the supplies fell to the ground.
Their mouths gaped open at what they perceived to be a young man with long blond hair with blue eyes and a bandage on his head holding a wooden spear in his hands. However, upon realising that they still had the upper hand, they began grinning away like they had struck the first prize in a lottery.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The shorter bandit asked. "Some young squirt who clearly doesn't know his place on this island! What we do to this camp is none of your business, so I suggest you better cut and run while you still have the chance!" He whipped out a metal hatchet from behind his back and brandished it back at Zero to prove his point. His shoulder pet snarled in agreement, baring its fangs in order to intimidate the upstart.
Zero decided that he would not be intimidated by the two marauders into leaving them alone just so they could loot even more supplies from the camp. "Not if it means you still get to loot this camp of more supplies that I need." Even though he was still afraid of the two better-armed plunderers, Zero firmly stood his ground and entered a solid battle stance, his spear still directed at the bandits.
The taller bandit smirked as he pulled out a bow from behind his back and an arrow from a leg quiver. "Just what do you intend to do about it, blonde kid? We don't have any time to waste on you junior!" He nocked the arrow into his bow even while he taunted Zero and pointed the weapon at the blond survivor, his eyes never leaving Zero while he did so.
This time, Zero could not take any more of the taunting and stepped things up a notch. "Then shut up and fight me already, you marauding thieves!" He shouted and gripped his spear tighter, steeling himself for battle as he prepared to make his next move.
As Zero had predicted, the bandits were riled up by his goading them and chose to engage in combat instead of backing down. "Oh that does it, sonny…" The tall bandit replied as he pulled the bowstring back, "... you are so going down!" No sooner had he finished his sentence than the arrow sprung out of the bow and flew straight for Zero. However, Zero had anticipated that the man would use his bow to fight back and deftly evaded the move by rolling to the left. The shorter bandit responded by charging forward with his metal axe, yelling a loud battle cry while his shoulder pet prepared to fight as well.
Knowing that he would go down in one hit if the axe ever reached him, Zero rolled to the right and narrowly missed getting hit by the bandit's downward chop. He then thrust his spear outward in an attempt to at least wound the plunderer, but with one loud chirp, the man's pet Pegomastax leapt off his shoulder and grabbed the spear with both hands. Meanwhile, the taller bandit had already nocked a second arrow into his bow and aimed his weapon at the blond upstart, but he knew he couldn't shoot another arrow without running the risk of friendly fire; his allies were just too close to Zero for such a risk to be small.
After a lengthy tug-of-war with the Pegomastax over the wooden spear, Zero realised that attempting to wrestle the weapon away from the diminutive herbivore was going to be a fruitless endeavor. Instead of trying to pull the spear away as the Pegomastax would have expected of its other victims, Zero pushed the spear into the creature's arms, let go of the weapon and headbutted the lizard in the face with all his might. Stunned by the sudden endeavour, the Pego released the spear, stumbled back and struggled to recover from the impact of the blow. But the creature's owner rushed forward with his hatchet and prepared to cleave Zero in half once again.
This time, Zero was too slow to dodge, but when the short bandit raised his axe up high into the air, the blond survivor glimpsed an opening and punched the bandit in the right knee. The bandit yelled in agony as he clutched his knee. Zero grabbed his spear up from the ground and prepared to close in for the kill with a forward thrust.
Unfortunately for Zero, the short marauder had recovered from the attack and lopped off the tip of Zero's spear with one swipe of his axe. Left with one useless stump at the end of his spear, Zero simply switched sides and threw the weapon at his enemy, its other pointed side aiming straight for the bandit. The plunderer just barely dodged the projectile, which only managed to graze his side, causing him to grit his teeth in pain. But he was far from finished, for he dashed up to the blond upstart, punched him to the ground and prepared to chop his quarry in half once more.
Zero realised that he would not be able to avoid the blow this time round and was too stunned to kick the man in the knee once more. Moreover, it would take too long for him to unsheath his dagger and fight back even if his enemy missed, given his own disorientation. Please, he thought as his right hand groped the sand behind him in an attempt to reach for something, anything he could use. Just let me get my hands on something useful to fight back with. But then his hand grasped exactly what he was looking for: the wooden shaft of the arrow shot by the short bandit's companion. With renewed strength, Zero plunged the arrow deep into the marauder's stomach, the sharp arrowhead piercing through leather armour as he did so. The bandit cried out in pain as he lurched backwards, still holding his hatchet and exposing himself to attack while he flailed.
Seizing the opening that he had been given, Zero kicked the wounded bandit and sent him flying backwards into the sea. Blood tainted the clear water a deep crimson as it spewed out from the wounds Zero had inflicted on him. Surprisingly, in spite of his injuries, the bandit was still standing. If anything, he was even more pissed off. With the water reaching up to his stomach wound, he yelled out a loud battle cry and prepared to throw his metal hatchet at Zero and chop him in half.
Before the wounded bandit could hurl his axe at Zero, he was suddenly electrocuted from behind. Bright bolts of electricity surrounded his body as it spasmed and more blood flew from his mouth. The man screamed in sheer agony as his comrades could only watch helplessly from the shore. Zero spotted the bright cyan glow given off by several human-sized jellyfish clustered around the bandit just before he was dragged into a watery grave by dozens of stinging tentacles.
After the jellyfish had disappeared along with their human prey, both the tall bandit and the tamed Pegomastax, which had recovered, looked at the blood, and then at Zero, in shock, their mouths gaping open. The marauder's face twisted into raging hatred at the death of his friend and the pet lizard was snarling in unbridled fury. Seeing that there was no risk of friendly fire this time due to the pet Pego being some distance away from Zero and his friend's demise, the tall bandit shouted in rage and fired his second arrow at the blond survivor. Zero ducked underneath the arrow in time just as he glimpsed the small lizard charging madly towards him.
The shorter marauder's pet Pegomastax jumped straight at Zero without hesitation, ready to rob the blond warrior of something else once more. This time, instead of attacking right away and thus exposing himself to theft, he crossed both arms together and blocked the second attack. He then lashed out using his dagger and wounded the creature with a quick slash to the right forearm. However, the lizard did not relent and instead sent Zero sprawling to the ground. The duo were still trading blows even as they rolled.
Grabbing Zero's arms with its small but surprisingly strong hands, the Pegomastax engaged in close combat with Zero and tried to pin him down long enough for its dead master's ally to get a kill shot. Maneuvering itself out of the line of fire, the creature managed to prevent its enemy from getting up. Much as he tried, Zero couldn't do much except prevent his arms from being pinioned to the ground like iron nails to a strong magnet and shift his weight around. Spotting an opportunity to put an end to the blond upstart once and for fall, the surviving bandit nocked a third arrow into his bow and prepared to fire at his enemy's head. Zero realised that a kill shot had been set up. If I don't act fast, I'm going to end up dead like the Triceratops that those raptors killed. It's now or never!
As soon as the third arrow had been fired, Zero twisted his body around and put the body of the Pegomastax between himself and the lethal projectile, but not before the small creature bit him in the left forearm with its fangs. The bandit's arrow pierced the herbivore's back, severely wounding but not killing it. Zero took the opportunity to deliver the coup de grâce by slicing open the Pego's throat with his bone dagger as the tall bandit gasped in shock at the enormity of what he'd done. Blood sprayed everywhere as the small herbivore gave off a dying shriek before collapsing onto the ground while the life drained from its eyes.
The surviving bandit recovered from his shock at the friendly fire he had executed and prepared a fourth arrow to kill the blond warrior for good. Giving the bandit little to no time to react, Zero rushed forward with his stone axe and managed to close the distance before the plunderer could fire. The surviving bandit jumped back in surprise, but his opponent's stone axe chopped the wooden part of his bow in half, cleaving through the wood as though it were nothing. His bow now useless, the bandit threw down the broken pieces and punched Zero in the face before the latter could react. Blood flying from his nose, Zero fell on his backside and released his hatchet, which clattered onto the sand.
The next thing Zero knew, he was seeing stars and his vision would take time to clear. Until then, he was still at the mercy of the surviving bandit, who took advantage of the situation and whipped out his metal pike from behind his back. Gripping it tightly in both hands, he pointed the weapon at the blond warrior, his eyes a mixture of hatred and glee. "We told you to just cut and run while you had the chance, sonny. Well, guess what? After I'm through with you, I'm gonna continue looting as much as I like regardless of what you or anyone else thinks." The man smirked as he paused to allow his words to sink in. "Any last words?"
Just need… a little more time… to recover, Zero thought as he lay on the sand, still recovering from his disorientation. Then I can dodge his pike and kick his butt once and for all. However, he knew that the chances of being able to actually do so were slim, so he mustered as much strength as he could and weakly spat out, "Go… to… hell…"
The tall bandit was clearly pissed off by Zero's words, for his smirk morphed into a scowl and he got ready to skewer Zero in the chest. "I'm afraid that you are the one going to hell, my friend. I've had enough of your insolence." However, before he could stab Zero in the heart with his pike, the ground beneath them shook all of a sudden. Both fighters looked at one another in puzzlement for eight seconds and then the bandit looked behind where he himself was standing. What greeted the duo from along the shore completely stunned them both to the core.
A whole herd of Gallimimus was galloping along the shoreline and headed straight for the two humans, with a grey Carnotaurus in hot pursuit. Knowing how dangerous the Carno was, Zero, who had by then recovered from his disorientation, immediately rolled out of the way, but the surviving bandit was so shell-shocked that he stood rooted to the ground even as the Gallimimus herd and the Carno closed in. His jaw dropped and he just stood there and watched as the ostrich-like dinosaurs passed on either side of him. When the herd was gone, however, the bandit was left facing a full two and a half tons of hungry bull-horned meat-eating lizard charging towards him. The Carnotaurus snarled in delight as it picked up the pace and opened its jaw wide in anticipation. The leather-clothed marauder could only scream for a couple of seconds before the carnivore killed him with a single bite. Blood and bits of flesh sprayed all over the shore as the Carno mauled its prey and the metal pike clattered to the ground.
Zero, who was still taking cover behind a cluster of trees, sighed in relief at the close shave. The grey Carno began tucking into the corpse of the tall bandit, dislodging the man's satchel from his body before tucking in. Greedily wolfing down bite after bite of flesh, the bull-horned lizard rapidly consumed the dead body, vomiting out a whole assortment of bones from its huge mouth even as Zero shuddered from fear of being discovered. However, to the blond warrior's surprise, the carnivore did not even give the jungle so much as a single glance, its attention fully focused on the bandit it had killed. It didn't even bother about the dead Pegomastax lying on the beach once the meal was finished, choosing instead to belch out loud and leisurely saunter back the way it came.
Once he was sure that the Carno was well out of sight and out of earshot, Zero emerged from his hiding place after fifteen tense minutes of successfully staunching his nosebleed. Taking in the bloody scene before him, he winced a little at the sight. There was blood all over the beach and a pile of bloodstained bones left over from when the Carno had eaten up the taller bandit. The carcass of the Pegomastax lay at a miserable corner of the beach, trampled over by the fleeing Gallimimus herd but still edible. Zero had lost his spear in the scuffle when it was broken, and most of the men's belongings had been gone with them, except for the taller bandit's pike and satchel. Zero figured that since the owner was already dead, he would not be needing the items anymore and besides, the deceased himself had been a plunderer and bandit. Helping himself to the leather satchel, Zero was pleased to find a good pair of white cloth trousers. Sure, it wasn't a complete set of clothing, but at least he now had something to partially cover himself. Taking the trousers out of the man's bag into his own rucksack, he dug through the bag trying to find anything else that could be useful, but all he found were an empty waterskin and a green spyglass. Kicking the satchel aside in annoyance, Zero pocketed all three items after placing what supplies remained in the camp into his rucksack and then picked up the miraculously intact carcass of the Pegomastax, dragging the body all the way back to the jungle shelter with his new metal pike in hand.
Arriving back at the jungle camp, Zero placed his rucksack and metal pike inside the shelter, wore his new cloth trousers and immediately began using his bone dagger to flay the dead Pego just beside the campfire. The process was long, gruesome work that went on for hours and he was thankful that the jungle flora provided him with more than enough shade to ward off the hot sun. Taking care to avoid cutting through the skin any more than had already been done, Zero carefully eased his dagger between layers of hide and fat, taking care not to leave any bits of meat on the skin that would attract scavengers to the skin like hungry raptors to a large flock of helpless dodos.
After he finished skinning the Pegomastax carcass, the blond survivor set to work cutting the meat into manageable chunks. Using a thin bamboo stalk that he quickly chopped down with his axe, he fashioned a bamboo skewer that would help him cook the meat over the campfire for dinner. Stripping the body of its flesh was a much faster process than flaying the animal; it only took twenty minutes for Zero to totally pick the carcass clean using his dagger. The innards and most of the largely intact skeleton were dumped into the nearby river and carried away by the strong current; only the skull was kept as a trophy. This was Zero's first kill on the island, excluding the fish, after all.
Looking up at the sky through a small hole in the jungle canopy, Zero saw that the sky had turned an orange-red hue, indicating that the sun was going to set. He was about to turn in for the day when he realised that he had not eaten dinner yet. Having finished skinning the dead Pegomastax, the blond survivor decided to cook three chunks of meat from the dead herbivore over the campfire, but not before he wrapped the rest in the creature's hide and placed the wrapped meat in the shelter to reduce the chances of spoilage. Lighting the campfire with flint and stone, Zero skewered his first piece of meat and began cooking it over the fire. He turned the skewer at a constant rate in order to ensure that each side was evenly cooked and that nothing was left raw.
After the meat had finished cooking, Zero pushed the meat in deeper and began cooking the other two pieces of meat in the same manner. Fancy coming up with shish kebab here, he mused. Very soon the aroma of freshly cooked meat permeated the air as Zero removed the kebab from its spot above the fire and dug into a sizzling piece of herbivore meat.
This meat is unbelievably delicious! Zero mused as he eagerly took another bite. His mouth overflowing with juices from the cooked meat, he took his time to blow the rest of the meat chunks and cool them down while he savoured every last bite. After finishing the first piece, he wolfed down the other two chunks of meat and then found several fresh bananas from a nearby banana plant to eat.
His stomach now filled to the brim, Zero put out the campfire by fanning it with a banana leaf that he deftly plucked off the same plant that yielded the bananas he'd eaten. He went inside the bamboo shelter, lay down to rest and for the first time that night peacefully fell into a deep sleep.
Look who's back! Yes it's me, SF UberMan! I'm not dead, just busy the past few weeks. Applying for multiple overseas universities really has taken its toll on me the past few weeks. Anyway, this chapter details Zero's second day on the island and his first fight. Please forgive me if I slaughtered this piece of work, this is my first time writing and there's been a lot of things on my mind lately.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mega Man or ARK: Survival Evolved. Mega Man Zero (alongside all associated content in official media and the entire Mega Man series) is owned by Capcom. ARK: Survival Evolved (alongside all associated content in official media) is owned by Studio Wildcard. The rest of the story is mainly my imagination.
Enjoy!
Signing off,
SF UberMan.