Underground – Part 2
Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this chapter are mine.
Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk
This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization
Inspired by A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
"Heine? Heine! Oh, mercy, Heine, please wake up!"
Heine awoke to a dull, painful throbbing in his skull. Rena's voice was a desperate whisper in his ears, and he could feel her arms wrapped tightly around him. Honestly, it was a surprise he could feel that much; his whole body felt battered and bruised. It took a few moments for him to remember how he'd gotten into this condition, before recalling the oddly-colored Gigginox, the Anti-Dragon Bombs detonating, and the cave-in which had followed, sending him and Rena into the abyss…
"Rena…" he murmured, reaching up and squeezing her arm.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Rena gasped, and Heine groaned as the huntress hugged him even tighter. "I was afraid… afraid you might have-"
"Can't… breathe!"
"Urk! Sorry!" she sputtered, releasing him and allowing him to catch his breath. He nodded thankfully, pushing himself into a sitting position.
"No… no problem. Where are we?" Heine asked, rubbing his head and looking around. It was dark… very dark. He could barely see Rena kneeling next to him, much less what lay around them. All he could tell was that they were in a round cave about ten yards wide. There was a dim glow creeping over the rocks from somewhere further on through the cavern, but he couldn't tell how far it was. The only other light was the dim glow emitted by the runes on Rena's sword, tinting the rocks around them a pale green.
"I don't know," Rena admitted, shaking her head. "I was knocked out after the cavern collapsed, and woke up here, next to you. And… and it looks like we're not going to be able to get out the same way we came in…"
The huntress looked up behind him, and Heine followed her gaze, his heart sinking at the sight. An impenetrable barricade of fallen boulders and rubble completely blocked off the path behind them. If that was the direction they'd really come from, there was simply no hope at all they'd be able to return the same way. No light was coming through any of the gaps in the boulders, and Heine couldn't feel a breeze slipping through either… No, he and Rena were well and thoroughly trapped.
A tinny clinking sound quietly rattled from further in the cavern and was slowly growing louder, making Heine tense fearfully. He reached back awkwardly, sparing a moment of relief in the knowledge that he still had his rifle strapped to his back, before unslinging the firearm and aiming it shakily into the darkness. Before he could do anything more, however, Rena reached forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun, pushing it towards the ground.
"Hold on! It's just Cait!" she said quickly. Sure enough, a moment later, a small shape came slinking out of the darkness, taking the form of the calico Felyne in his vibrant feather armor. Heine sighed in relief, letting himself slacken.
"Did you find anything?" Rena asked Cait, as Heine nervously slung the rifle back over his shoulder.
The Felyne shook his head sadly. "Sorry, nya… Nothing but darkness and rocks. Nyo branching paths though, so purrhaps we could find the source of this light, nya?"
"Yeah… yeah, that's probably a good idea. I don't know where that Gigginox got to, but it might be around here somewhere. We need to find somewhere safe to stay just in case. Can you walk, Heine?"
"Sure, no… no problem," the courier muttered, groaning in pain as he pushed himself to his feet. The tumble he'd taken during the cave-in had left him battered and bruised, but he miraculously seemed to be in one piece, and nothing felt broken.
"Great, let's get going then," the huntress said, reaching forward and grabbing hold of his hand. "Don't let go. We can't afford to get separated in this darkness."
Rena was right; in the dim light of the cavern, Heine couldn't see very far ahead, despite how good his sight was. Cait had to lead the both of them over the rocks and uneven terrain, since his Felyne eyes provided him far better night vision than either of the humans possessed, but even he stumbled and tripped occasionally. Rena was the worst off, stubbing her toe and slipping quite frequently in the darkness, causing her to sling curses left and right.
"I think we're coming up on something," Heine whispered quietly. The pale light ahead of them was growing brighter, and whatever it was, they would be upon it soon. Rena squeezed his hand in acknowledgement, and her other hand tightened on the hilt of her great sword. Cait shifted in his armor nervously, releasing a tinny noise through the cavern.
Despite the constantly brightening light, it still took them almost ten minutes of silent walking before they finally reached the source. By then the glow was bright enough that all three of them could clearly see the floor before them, and Heine started to hope that maybe their path led to the outside. They still clung nervously to each other, though, as they finally turned the last corner, and gasped in shock.
Heine hadn't known what to expect to find, but an immense, well-lit cavern, filled with lush plant life and fauna, certainly hadn't been on the list.
They had entered an absolutely massive underground chamber, at least a mile long and a hundred yards tall. Off in the distance, Heine could make out several other paths and caverns like the one he and Rena had come through, splitting off through the earth in dozens of other directions.
In the chamber itself, however, an expansive grassland spread out before them. Thick green grass covered the earth, with flowers and brush dotting the fields as well. On the far side of the cavern, a thick forest filled with sturdy trees and bushes created a large copse which curved around the edge of the chamber. There wasn't only plant life in the great cavern, however. Herds of Kelbi and Popo grazed peacefully, nibbling on the grass as some of the smaller ones darted around playfully. At the center of it all was a wide lake, where water swelled up from a spring. Dozens of small streams and creeks branched out in every direction, filling the massive chamber with life.
Above everything was the most mysterious sight of all, the source of light for the whole chamber: a massive cluster of yellowish-white crystals breaking through the ceiling. There were hundreds of them, all gathered together in a single array, enough that their mass could easily fill the arena in Orage Dell! And these were only the ones Heine could see; there could have been countless more crystals just as brilliant hidden beyond the ceiling, the tip of some metaphorical iceberg of glowing crystals. They acted as an artificial sun in the sky, and not only in terms of light. Even here, on the far edges of the cavern, Heine could feel a soothing warmth caressing his skin, just as the real sun would warm his body under its rays. To aid in the growth of so many plants and animals… there were more to these gems than simple illumination.
"Never seen anything like this before, nya…" Cait muttered in awe.
"Amazing…" Rena gasped, gazing around in awe. "Is this… I never imagined anything like this could be possible…"
Heine tried to agree, but the words caught in his throat. After everything they'd seen within the Meridian tower and after being so ruthlessly attacked by the Gigginox subspecies, he had feared there would be nothing but trouble for him, Rena, and Cait now that they were separated from the rest of the expedition. This place they'd found, however, was so unbelievably beautiful that he could barely find the words to describe it.
He yelped in surprise, however, when Rena suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him down towards the lake in the center with an excited look on her face. Cait yelped, darting after them in fear of being left behind.
At first Heine tried to argue, telling Rena they should try to be more cautious in such an unknown place since they didn't know what to expect down here. The huntress kept pulling him along, though, and as soon as his boots touched the cool, thick grass, his protests were silenced. Everything was so lush and alive, despite being so far underground, that Heine was simply left in awe. Rena started talking non-stop, pointing excitedly at every little thing she saw and wondering out loud at how such a beautiful place could be real.
Heine found himself surprised by Rena's actions, however. Despite the lighthearted attitude she was displaying, Heine could tell she was scouring the area constantly in search of any threats which might endanger them. Rena had always given him the impression of being whimsical, but now the huntress had taken a far more serious attitude than what he usually saw of her. Was this how she acted out in the wilds during hunts? She always acted playful around him… Was she doing all this in order to keep him calm? After his pathetic display during the Gigginox subspecies' attack, it wouldn't be out of the question…
However, as Rena continued to talk, Heine was amazed at how much the huntress could actually pick out. He was particularly proud of his eyes, but Rena was just so knowledgeable, able to spot things Heine wouldn't even think to look at. She was able to pick out and identify certain trees and shrubs, and easily spotted several game trails the Kelbi and Popos would travel through. She even managed to safely keep Heine from walking straight through a path of poison Felvine, for which Heine was immensely thankful. In a few minutes she was able to deduce that it would be easy for so many Popos and Kelbi to survive in this subterranean chamber, despite the circumstances. Were all hunters this well-versed in nature, or was it just Rena?
He asked her as much, and the huntress chuckled sheepishly. "Ha, well… dad always told me I should know about the world around me if I was going to be running around trying to kill the nastier monsters out there, so he had me read a lot of natural science books. At least, as many as he could get hold of back home in Orage Dell. It's all really interesting, you know? I've been talking to Mrs. Renfield too. She's really smart about all this stuff."
Heine was shocked. All this time, he'd thought Rena was like all the other hunters out there, charging around in the hopes of battering some beast to death for the challenge and glory of it. Sure he liked her company, and appreciated her strength and courage for what it was, but he'd never imagined that she was nearly as knowledgeable about the world around them as she turned out to be. Now here she was, dragging him through this underground haven, pointing at every rock and bush and explaining in a stream of words what it was called, what it was for, and why it was integral to the ecosystem of this whole area. Heine listened intently, a charmed smile on his face as the huntress carried on, leading him and Cait toward the lake in the center of the cavern.
The water was pristine as they approached it, clear and cool. There were even fish swimming around, from small Popfish to larger Glutton Tuna in the deeper waters. Just looking at the water lapping against the shoreline reminded the three of them exactly how thirsty they really were. It had been an unknown amount of time since they'd fallen into this place, and the three of them were positively parched.
Rena didn't hesitate at all, dropping to her knees and dunking her head into the water, slurping it down greedily. Heine grinned in amusement as he pulled out a small canteen, opting to fill it up and drink from it rather than the uncouth (though admittedly refreshing-looking) method Rena had chosen. Cait leaned in like Rena did, though he lapped carefully at the water, clearly living up to his cat-like nature and aversion to getting wet. Heine drained half of his canteen before his thirst was quenched, pulling away from his canteen with a gasp of relief before reaching down to top it off. Rena was still slugging down the water with her face half in the lake, and Cait had sated himself, pulling away from the water and removing his helmet to groom himself.
Heine's canteen was almost full again when Rena wrenched herself from the water, gasping for air and coughing once or twice. Heine chuckled a bit as the huntress caught her breath, pulling her headdress off and wiping the water from her face and hair. However, his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her, water droplets sliding down her face and neck and under her armor, before continuing to trail down her abdomen and giving her skin a lustrous sheen as she squeezed the remaining water from her hair. He felt his face heating up at the sight and quickly turned to focus on a nearby herd of Kelbi, not wanting the huntress to catch him staring or see his flustered expression.
The moment ended abruptly when Rena's stomach suddenly rumbled, a noise not incomparable with a Gobul's deep growls. The huntress actually flushed in embarrassment, clutching her gut and chuckling sheepishly.
"Uh… well… I guess it's been a while since we last had something to eat too. I might be a bit peckish."
At the thought of food, Heine's own stomach turned over a bit. As long as it had been since they'd had something to drink, they hadn't eaten in just as long. Even Cait was looking longingly into the lake as several fish swam through the shallows.
"I guess we could all use a bite…" Heine replied. "Do you still have any rations on you?"
"I do, but…" The huntress gazed around the cavern. "We don't know how long we're going to be here, do we? Maybe we should save them for now. They keep for a few weeks if you're careful with them after all. Besides, as a hunter who uses them regularly, trust me when I say that they don't taste very good at all. I did see some berry bushes back in the trees, though… There were some Kelbi eating from them, so they shouldn't be poisonous, either."
Heine nodded in agreement with the idea, and though Cait was still eyeing the fish in the lake, the Felyne decided to tag along since nobody had a fishing rod and he wasn't desperate enough to willingly get wet. Once again Rena proved her survivalist skills, and in just under twenty minutes had managed to find an exceptionally large and bountiful berry bush close to the edge of a field. She didn't recognize the purple berries growing on the branches, but they were large and ripe, and there were plenty of them. A few cautious nibbles of the purple orbs were all it took before the three of them were happily sitting on the ground, plucking the sweet-tasting berries from the branches one after the other. Half an hour later, all three of them were content, wiping the lingering juices of the berries from their lips.
The sound of a snapping twig caught their attention, however. Heine and Cait both jumped in fright, but Rena was on her feet in a moment with her hand reaching up to grip the hilt of her great sword. She paused, however, upon realizing it was just a young Kelbi that had wandered near them. Rena sighed, relaxing from the brief scare.
To their surprise, rather than running away, the Kelbi instead cocked its head and wiggled its ears, looking at the three of them curiously. Even more surprising, the small herbivore walked cautiously towards them, coming straight up to Rena and sniffing at her Crimson Qurupeco faulds.
"Wow…" Rena gasped, reaching out to the Kelbi. The little creature leaned forward, pressing its nose against the huntress' hand, smelling her curiously. After a few moments, the Kelbi leaned in, allowing Rena to pet it and scratch the small herbivore behind the ears. "It's so friendly… and it's not frightened at all. I've never seen a Kelbi that didn't bolt when I got closer than ten yards from it…"
"It's probably never seen a human before," Heine speculated, as Rena continued to scratch the Kelbi, much to the creature's delight. "Its ancestors probably haven't either, for who knows how many generations. A place like this… There's no way humans have been here in centuries, at least. They don't know they're supposed to be wary of us."
Rena smiled, rubbing under the Kelbi's chin. The little creature shivered appreciatively, its eyes closing as a mewling sound rippled from its throat. "We could stay here," she said wistfully. "It's nice here, isn't it? We could wait for the research team to blast through and find us. There's plenty of space here, and it's warm… and I could always hunt us some food, friendly though it may be."
"I doubt the 'food' would be so willing to let you pet them like this once you've killed one or two of them," Heine chuckled, and Rena grinned.
"Maybe I'll go after the Popos instead. They look meatier. Or we could just fish and keep them all happy with us, assuming we can jerry-rig a fishing rod. I'm a pretty fair angler when it comes down to it, and I've seen a few herbs we could use spices… though my cooking skill may leave a bit to be desired."
"Oh, I'm aware," Heine said with a grimace. "I still remember the last time I tried your cooking."
"It wasn't that bad… was it?"
"Rube called it a 'culinary abortion,' and I'm inclined to agree."
"I think I lost half my sense of smell beclaws of the fumes, nya," Cait added, tapping his nose pointedly and cackling.
"Oh, what is this, Make-Fun-of-Rena's-Cooking-Skill Day?" the huntress huffed.
"Of course not," Heine replied, chuckling. "That would imply you actually had any cooking skill to begin with."
"I know where you sleep, Heine."
"What, are you going to cook me breakfast in bed? Because that would be far more terrifying than any other threat you could-"
Heine's words cut off, however, when the Kelbi's body tensed. Its ears twitched wildly, snapping back and forth as its eyes darted about fearfully. It turned and darted away, galloping across the grassy field in abject terror, and the other creatures in the field were acting the same. Herds of Popo and Kelbi were clustering together and moving away from the lake and towards the trees as fast as they could .
"What's going on?" Heine asked nervously, pushing himself to his feet. "What are… what's got them riled up?"
Rena was on her feet in a flash, gripping her great sword's hilt tightly as she looked around apprehensively. "Something… something's coming. Something that threatens them. Come on, Heine! We have to get to the trees before-"
"There! There!" Cait suddenly yowled in terror, pointing towards the ceiling of the cavern.
Heine and Rena's eyes darted skyward, and the courier blinked painfully as his gaze landed on the glowing crystal hanging from the ceiling. It took a few moments of adjustment, but he realized there was something else on the ceiling, a shadowy mass crawling across the roof of the cavern, circling around the false sun. Then the shape fell loose from the ceiling and plummeted towards the grassy fields. The object twisted in the air before snapping wide, unfolding like a kite and sweeping over the earth.
As the creature left the glare of the great crystal, Heine realized it was the Gigginox subspecies! He saw burn wounds and scars coating the creature's body, but the beast seemed unhindered in its flight nonetheless. The hissing rattle of the worm's breathing rushed over them as the terrible beast glided through the air, tailing after the fleeing herds and closing in on the lagging members.
The Gigginox swiftly caught up with one of the Popos which had been trailing behind and crashed down on top of it with a twisted crunch, dragging the panicked creature to the ground. The herbivore struggled to pull itself loose of the worm's grip, but before it could the green Gigginox crackled with electricity. Its sinuous, rubbery head twisted around as the subspecies wrapped its mouth over the Popo's skull and discharged its energy. There was a flash of voltage, and a sickening squealing from the furry creature as the electricity ripped into the herbivore's skull.
The smaller creature's legs bucked and kicked a couple more times, then lay still. There was no victory screech from the Gigginox; the beast simply kept its mouth wrapped around the Popo's skull, and its neck and head wrenched around as the vile worm began to 'chew' its prey.
Heine was so horrified by the display of violence and brutality, he almost didn't realize that Rena had grabbed hold of him and was dragging him across the field. Cait ran alongside them, throwing furtive glances back towards the lightning-slinging subspecies as the huntress pulled the courier on towards the trees.
As he twisted around, trying to get into step and run alongside them, his foot caught against an uprooted stone, sending him toppling to the ground with a hiss of pain. Rena had him back to his feet in a flash, but as they continued their rush for the trees, Heine spared a glance back towards the subspecies, and was horrified to see that the beast had ceased its gross consumption of the Popo's body upon hearing Heine fall. Its piercing aquamarine sensory organs glared directly at the three of them, and electricity jumped between its countless teeth, even as blood dripped from its fearsome maw. The Gigginox howled furiously in recognition of them, its flesh rippling and shifting to a sinister red. Rena yelped in fear, pushing Heine faster.
There was a crackling sound behind them, and a sudden glow of pale yellow light was the only warning they had before a thick orb of electricity flew through the air a few feet to their left. Rena cursed fearfully, pushing Heine to the side as the orb struck the earth, splitting apart into three smaller orbs which tore through the grass before smashing into a line of rocks and 'popping' in a burst of energy.
The soft, squishy sound of the Gigginox's footfalls, as well as crackling static, sounded behind them as the creature rushed after them, hissing in rage. Heine pushed himself as hard as he could, desperate to escape the creature, but he could hear the beast gaining, and the tree line was still at least thirty yards away. The sound of the Gigginox's ragged, strained breathing sounded as though it was right behind him, pressing him to rush as fast as his feet could carry him.
Somehow the three of them managed to reach the trees before the beast could catch them, rushing into the dark shadows of the foliage. The lightning-slinging subspecies howled in fury as its prey leapt into the thicket, ducking under the low-hanging branches, weaving between the trunks of the trees, and leaping over the thick roots knotting the earth.
Heine spared another look back, however, as a loud crunching noise followed them. In its rage, the Gigginox was stubbornly continuing to pursue the three of them through the forest. Its wide and rubbery body made the attempt a challenge, as it was forced to twist and contort its wings in wild shapes to slither between the trunks. Twigs and branches twisted and snapped as its hardened wings clipped them, littering the dirt below with fallen debris. Sparks of voltage leapt from the beast's maw, surging violently as the Gigginox prepared to launch more lightning orbs. The creature wasn't able to get a clear shot at the trio, however, and the density of the thicket was slowing it down dramatically. It simply wasn't nimble enough to keep up.
Soon enough, the three had managed to elude the subspecies in the trees, leaving its awkward lumbering through the thicket as nothing more than an echo behind them. A screech of fury ripped through the forest as the beast roared in frustration, flashes of electricity leaping skyward as the creature vented its anger.
Heine felt a wave of relief at the distant sound, but in his moment of laxity, failed to watch his footing. His boot caught up under one of the roots below him, and he fell headlong to the earth. Rena yelped, reaching back to help him, but as she tried to pull him back to his feet, her own footing was lost. The huntress toppled to the ground as well, sliding down into a small gully and dragging Heine along with her. The pair clumsily tumbled down the slope, Cait wailing as he chased after them, before Heine and Rena rolled into a stream.
Heine gasped for air, coughing as he pushed himself out of the water. Cait had managed to keep out of the creek, but was doused by a splash when Heine and Rena had hit the water, leaving the Felyne blubbering as he shook the water from his fur. Rena groaned painfully as she sat up in the creek bed, rubbing her back painfully as she got back to her own feet as well.
"Sorry…" Heine muttered apologetically, but Rena shook her head assuringly.
"It's fine, Heine. As long as you're alright, we-" The huntress grew silent, however, as a deep thumping sound reverberated through the forest. Rena's eyes darted around fearfully, searching for the source, before her eyes widened in realization. "Get down!" she gasped, rushing towards Heine.
The courier yelped as the huntress wrapped an arm around him, yanking him under the branches of one of the nearby trees and pressing him against the trunk. A few moments later, a suction sound passed over them, accompanied by a faint hissing. Looking up through the leaves, Heine could just make out the shape of the Gigginox subspecies, crawling across the ceiling with its head twisting about in search of them.
"We need to hide, nya!" Cait hissed fearfully, his fur standing on end as his eyes darted around. He turned, motioning urgently downstream. "This way! Quickly meow!"
Heine frowned uncertainly, but Rena didn't hesitate, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along as the Felyne darted along the shore. The three ran for nearly fifty yards before coming across a tall, fallen tree which lay over the stream. Cait turned, darting towards the stump where the base had been eaten away by both time and water lapping against it. Rena followed, dragging Heine along, diving into the darkness of the hollow and dragging herself as far back into the stump as she could. There was barely enough room inside for the three of them, but Rena quickly turned around, sitting down in the foot-high water, before grabbing Heine and Cait and dragging both of them down with her.
Heine found himself essentially sitting in Rena's lap, waist-deep in water, and frantically shifted his rifle to avoid getting it wetter than it already was. Cait hissed irritably as the Felyne found himself dunked in the stream water. Rena snapped a hand over both of their mouths, cocking her head to listen. Heine froze fearfully, hearing the rubbery suction of the Gigginox crawling across the ceiling, and the beast's angry hissing as it scouring the forest for them. The three sat in silence as the subspecies passed over them, continuing its search.
"What… What do we do now?" Heine asked fearfully as Rena sighed and removed her hand from his mouth.
"All we can do, I think," Rena sighed. "We hide, and wait for it to leave."
"Really, nya?" Cait asked curiously, shaking some of the water from his fur. "I would've thought you'd be the furst to run off and kill it."
Rena grinned wistfully at the thought, her eyes alight with the desire for adventure. Her gaze turned to meet Heine's eyes, though, and the excitement disappeared, replaced by worry. "I can't… not this time. I need to make sure Heine is safe, and if something goes wrong fighting the Gigginox…"
Heine lowered his eyes shamefully. "Sorry… Because of me, you have to run like this…"
"Don't blame yourself. It's probably better this way. I mean, if things go wrong, it's not like I have anywhere to run in the first place, and I can't really call in reinforcements…"
"That's never stopped you before, nya…" Cait muttered, earning a withering look from Rena. Before the huntress could retort, the sound of suctioned steps echoed down from above, growing louder as the Gigginox began another sweep of the forest. The huntress snapped her mouth shut, and the trio was forced into silence once more as the Gigginox continued to hunt for them.
The Gigginox subspecies continued to circle above them for the better part of an hour, before the sound of it crawling across the ceiling finally faded into silence. It was another fifteen minutes after that before the trio gathered the courage to risk coming out of the hollow, for fear the Gigginox was simply waiting for them to emerge into the open.
When they finally did emerge from the stump, the cavern around them had grown considerably darker. Looking up, Heine realized the large crystal cluster up in the ceiling had dimmed, covering the grass and trees in a dusk setting. Perhaps this was how the underground chamber managed to simulate a sort of day-night cycle. The three of them didn't really have time to speculate, being too worried about the reappearance of the Gigginox subspecies to appreciate their surroundings.
"We can't stay in here," Rena said sadly, as she stretched the kinks out of her body. Her eyes frequently looked skyward, as though she expected to see the Gigginox crawling across the ceiling at any moment. "As long as that thing is prowling around, we can't afford to stay here, no matter how nice it is. I can't… I don't know if I can keep you safe from it, Heine."
"Can't you… Are you sure you can't kill it?" Heine asked. "You're a hunter after all, and a really good one, as far as I can tell…"
Rena smirked at him. "Why, Heine, you flatterer! But… no, I… I want to say I could, really I do. But you saw me and the other hunters fighting it back in the Tower. That Gigginox is nasty, Heine. My armor's resistant to lightning, but it still hurt like hell when I got hit by its electricity. And it practically shrugged off getting blasted by an Anti-Dragon bomb! Even with a sword like mine, I don't know if it'll be enough… If it was just me, or me and Cait, I think I might have tried to hunt it, maybe, taken a risk to see if I could beat it. But… I can't do that this time, Heine; I have to make sure you're safe. I can't just charge into battle headfirst this time around, not when it could put you in danger."
"You never care that much about my well-being, nya…" Cait noted, leaping up Rena's back and perching on Rena's shoulder.
Rena flushed a bit at the words, but turned to glare at the Felyne. "That's because you're the master of fleeing, Cait. If I got into a tight spot, you'd be gone faster than a Rath Ruby on sale in the market! Need I remind you who spotted a perfect hiding place from fifty yards away?"
"What are we supposed to do then?" Heine asked. "We can't stay here. We can't go back…"
"We'll just have to go forward. I saw some branch caverns on the far walls of this chamber. If we can get to one of those, maybe we can follow one of them out of this place and back to the Meridian Tower… or at least up to the surface."
"Or maybe it'll just take us further underground, nya…" Cait muttered worriedly. "Or to a dead end, or to the Gigginox's nest…"
"Well, it's better than sticking around here and hoping it doesn't find us," Rena replied, putting on a confident face and grinning encouragingly at Heine. "My luck's always been good when it comes to picking directions. Let's find some high ground and see what our options are, and we'll figure out what to do from there."
"Rena, we can't exactly go someplace high, can we?" Heine pointed out. "Not with the Gigginox crawling around the ceiling like it is."
"Oh, yeah… Um… right then, let's just find the nearest cave and take that." Both Heine and Cait looked at each other nervously. "Well, do either of you have any better ideas? It might not be the best plan, but it'll get us out from under the Gigginox if it's still crawling around."
Neither of them did have any better ideas, so they were forced to concede to Rena's plan. At Cait's suggestion, they chose to head downstream, hoping to follow the water somewhere. It was all downhill, but really, they didn't have many other options, and they were able to stick close to water. The creekbed carried them another quarter mile under the canopy of trees before feeding into a small pond. Unfortunately, the water seemed to be emptying out through an underwater funnel or something of the like, because that was where their path following the water ended. The chamber was growing darker with each passing second, so Rena snapped off some branches and twigs from the trees for use as torches or kindling when they could risk lighting a fire.
A few minutes later, they managed to catch sight of a wide circular tunnel off in the distance which cut into the walls of the cavern. From where they stood, it seemed to be the only cave branching away from this chamber within a half mile of them, and with the light of the great crystal above them getting dimmer, it seemed like their best option. It took them some time to get to the cavern, though; it felt like everything they could see here in the subterranean chamber took longer to arrive at than they expected it to. When they arrived, however, they were no longer certain whether the idea to enter the first cave they came across was a good one.
Everything within was immensely dark. While the massive chamber they were in seemed to have reached its darkest, the large crystal filling the cavern with a glow similar to deep twilight, there were no sources of light in the cave ahead. However, on the far side, a faint red light was coming from deep within, though the source of the light was a complete mystery. From what little they could see, there were several other caves branching out from this one, though only the one had any light emanating from it. Worst of all was the noise though; from within the darkness, a strange rattling sound was rippling out, skittering across the rocks.
"Mmm, I don't like this, nya…" Cait muttered fearfully.
"Yeah, I don't either, but it's our best option," Rena replied. "That Gigginox will be even harder to spot at night, and we'll stand out like torches if its eyes work like normal Gigginox and can sense heat. We don't really have the time to risk making for one of the other caves."
"Hmm… what about that sound, nya?"
"Um… Maybe it's just the wind."
"What wind? We're underground," Heine pointed out, and Rena grumbled nervously.
After a minute or two of consideration, though, the group decided to press on into the darkness. Cait took point, his Felyne night vision allowing him to see the path in front of them. Heine took the middle, and Rena brought up the rear, ready to fight if the Gigginox came at them from behind. The trio walked in silence through the wide cavern, stepping cautiously to avoid the drops and gaps in the path. The tense rattling sound continued to reverberate around them, neither dulling nor growing louder as they pressed on. It felt like an echo, but seemed to be coming from all around them.
Heine didn't like it at all, and he could hear Rena and Cait breathing sharply as well. He assumed the huntress' fist was in a vise-grip on the hilt of her blade right now. Heine's instincts were telling him to run, ignore caution and flee, and he could only imagine what Rena's developed hunting instincts were telling her to do.
At least they were getting close to the end of the cavern. The pale red glow emanating from the small path ahead was getting brighter, and soon they'd reach it.
"Heine?"
Rena's voice, hoarsely whispered and barely heard over the rattling sound, nearly made Heine jump out of his skin. He turned on the huntress, hand clutching his heart as the organ beat furiously in his chest. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he gasped.
"Sorry! Sorry… It's just…" The huntress looked around nervously. "The walls… don't they seem… fleshy to you?"
Heine frowned at the words, looking up at the walls and ceiling around them. It was too dark to really make much out, especially the walls and ceiling. Now that he looked, there did seem to be something… unnatural about the cavern they were in. It was hard to see, but the ceiling didn't have anything like stalactites, or cracks or protrusions; rather, the ceiling and walls appeared lumpy and bulbous.
"Looks like it's breathing, nya…" Cait muttered fearfully. Heine felt a cold feeling well up in his chest: now that the Felyne said it, they kind of did, enlarging and deflating in rhythm…
"It's just… it has to be an illusion," he muttered quietly. "Just our imaginations. Come on now, let's get out of here. I don't want to stay here any-" Before he could finish his thought, however, a rumbling echoed through the cavern, and the earth below them shivered slightly at the sound, pebbles clattering around their feet.
"Explosions?" Rena asked, shocked. Then her eyes lit up in excitement. "It's the research crew! They're trying to save us!"
But as the huntress spun about, she realized that the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere around them. There were almost a dozen other paths branching off from this cavern, and the sound could be coming from the expansive chamber they'd come from or any of the others. The sound was muffled and low, and seemed to reverberate around them, adding to the confusion.
"Where do we go?" Heine asked in confusion. "Is it… are they back in the big cavern? How do we-"
The courier's words sputtered away to silence however, as the three of them continued to look around. A deep purple glow began to crawl across the walls and ceiling around and over them, twisting across the ceiling like branches of a tree, coming closer and closer with each passing second. Heine abruptly realized the 'light' was actually 'lights', hundreds and hundreds of glowing purple marks lighting up across the ceiling and walls.
"Eyes… they're eyes, nya!"
They were. Oh mercy, they were! There were normal white Gigginox, dozens, maybe hundreds of them, sticking to the ceilings and walls and coating nearly every surface of the cavern. Their 'eyes', those orb-less organs, were coming to life, one after the other. The horde of Gigginox was… waking up. In the back of his mind, Heine realized what the emanating rattling sound from before had been: the shivering snoring of dozens and dozens of sleeping Gigginox. The awakening creatures, organs glowing vibrantly from the sudden noise which had woken them, were scouring around for the source, and many were starting to look their way.
"No… Heine, run!" Rena snapped, stepping in front of him. He could see her more clearly now; the dim glowing of the Gigginox eyes had actually made the room brighter, there were so many of them. The huntress swung an arm up to her hilt, preparing to draw her blade. "You too, Cait! Get him out of here! Take that red tunnel, and I'll hold them off as long as I can…"
A horrible image flashed through Heine's mind at the words, and his blood felt like it had frozen in his veins. He knew what Gigginox did to hunters when they got caught by one. It was a horror story told in taverns, and even the most battle-hardened hunters shivered at the thought. Just remembering what the green Gigginox did to the Popo out in the grassy cavern, and the thought of Rena suffering a fate like that…
"No, you can't!" he cried, lunging towards her and swinging his arms around the huntress' waist, under the sheath of the massive great sword. Rena yelped in surprise, nearly toppling over as he pulled her away from the Gigginox horde.
"Hey! What are you doing?! You need to-" But before the huntress could say more, Cait leapt up her body, planting himself over her face and muffling the sound of her voice.
"Pull her quickly, nya!" The huntress struggled against them, but failed to break loose as Heine scrambled to pull the huntress away from the rubbery, white monsters. Rena could have broken free of both of them easily, considering her strength, but they had managed to catch the huntress off guard enough that she stumbled along with them.
Heine searched around desperately for someplace, anyplace to hide. The glowing red cave they had been traveling towards was too far, and the cavern they'd come from was even further yet, with Gigginox lining the walls between here and there. Cait managed to catch sight of a small, low-hanging alcove a few dozen yards away, and Heine rushed to drag Rena towards it. The sound of the creatures beginning to stir caught Heine's ears, and the man dove for the hovel, Cait leaping from Rena's shoulder and helping to drag the huntress under the stone.
There was more room under the stone than Heine had figured, thankfully, just tall enough for them to sit up in, but it was still a tight fit for the three of them to crawl to the back of the alcove. As they pressed against the far wall, Rena swung around, finally pulling free from his grip and grabbing his collar.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, her eyes flaring angrily. However, there was a clear gleam of worry and fear in her eyes as well. "I could have held them off! I could have given you time to escape!"
"You would have been overrun!" Heine snapped back, more desperation in his voice than he would have liked. "You wouldn't have-"
"That doesn't matter! I'm the hunter here!" Rena replied. Her voice had a miserable tone to it now. "I'm supposed to be the one who protects you! I'm supposed to… even if it means-"
"Quiet! Shut your meowths!" Cait hissed fearfully, and the pair shut up, not a moment too soon. Just a few seconds later, a squishy suction sound closed in on them. Heine's breath tightened in his chest as the 'claw' of a Gigginox stuck to the ground just outside the small hole they'd wedged themselves into. The beast's rattling breathing could be heard as it scanned the area, its rubbery neck twisting about. The three of them held their breath, waiting in fearful silence, hoping the beast would pass them by without alerting the rest of the horde to their presence.
Rena suddenly gasped in pain, biting off a yelp. The huntress began twisting and writhing around in pain, and both Heine and Cait tried to shush her. Heine caught sight of what bothered her: a thick, wriggling Giggi had crept up on them and managed to latch itself to her thigh. A trail of blood trickled down the huntress' dark skin, as the pale maggot's tiny fangs bit through flesh to get at the blood beneath. There was a flash of steel as the huntress pulled her hunter's knife from its sheath, her eyes blazing furiously as she prepared to slice the vampiric worm in half. "Stupid, blood-sucking, son-of-a-"
"No!" Heine hissed. He lunged at the huntress, tackling her to the rocky earth, swinging on hand up, grabbing the arm which held the knife, and swinging the other to cover Rena's mouth. The huntress yelped in surprise at the abrupt motion, toppling onto her back. Rena was struggling under Heine's grip, and the man could just barely hold her thanks to the tight quarters and the huntress' hesitance to really fight against him. "Don't move!" Heine pleaded, before darting his gaze towards Cait. "Get it off! But don't kill it!"
Cait's eyes darted back and forth between the Giggi and Heine for a moment before the Felyne scurried over towards the pale bloodsucker. The parasite was getting bigger by the moment, growing fatter with the blood it was draining from the huntress. Cait grabbed hold of the creature, tugging on it and trying to pull it off without harming it or Rena too badly, but the worm-like beast was on tight, and released a high-pitched squeaking hiss as the Felyne pulled. The Gigginox just outside the hovel shifted around in agitation at the noise, its sensory organs searching for the source.
Finally, with a pop, the Giggi pulled free of Rena's leg, writhing and twisting in Cait's grip in anger at losing its food source. Heine's hand covered the huntress' scream of pain as the parasite came loose, Rena's free hand grabbing hold of his shoulder and squeezing painfully as the hand with the knife in it swung down and was driven into the ground with a clang of steel.
The Gigginox outside the hole turned sharply at the sound, its huffing breaths growing wary. The Giggi continued to hiss wildly in Cait's grip, making it hard to keep the worm under control. Flecks of Rena's blood sprayed from the creature's mouth, making Heine wince as it peppered his face and shoulder. The Gigginox's hissing shifted into a dull growl, and the dim glow of the beast's eyes grew brighter as its head lowered towards the small crevice.
With a yelp of fear, Cait swung around, hurling the Giggi in his grip out of the hole. The small worm didn't travel far, only flying a few yards out into the open, before bouncing across the ground and skidding to a halt under the Gigginox's body. The large creature's head twisted around, looking down at the smaller white worm. The Giggi hissed and squealed in frustration as it righted itself, but scurried off away from the hovel. The Gigginox watched it go for a moment or two, but instead of following, the beast's eyes once again lowered.
Glowing purple organs looked directly at them. Heine felt his heart leap into his throat at the sight, and Rena stopped breathing in horror. Cait stood frozen in fear where he stood, his fur bristling from ears to tail. The Gigginox growled even louder than before, and the sickly smell of the creature's poisonous breath stung at Heine's nose. The beast's skin began to swell, shifting from pale white to a darker grey, and the monster inhaled, preparing to screech at them.
The sound of a Gigginox screech tore through the cave, but not from the Gigginox in front of them. Heine cringed at the sound, and the Gigginox in front of them froze, its head snapping in the direction the trio had come from. Silence filled the air for a few moments, followed by a drumbeat of muffled explosions as more bombs were detonated by Harker's research team. The Gigginox outside their hovel looked around uncertainly, apparently just as confused about the direction as Heine and Rena had been. Another screech sounded, this time louder and more furious than before, and a jumping, flickering light flashed through the cavern, the sound of jumping electricity. Heine cringed in fear; it had to be the Gigginox subspecies again! More explosions followed, and the howl of the green Gigginox sounded once more, even more vicious than before.
This time, the rest of the Gigginox responded. In a wave of cacophonic howling, every Gigginox in the cavern returned the call, bellowing ear-splitting screeches of their own. Heine, Rena, and Cait all grimaced in pain at the roars of the Gigginox horde rattled their skulls, making their brains reverberate in their heads, try as they might to blot out the sound with their hands. It was no use, however; the sheer magnitude of the Gigginox screeching was too much. Heine felt his consciousness slipping, and he tasted copper on his tongue…
The screeches of the Gigginox finally began to fade, though the ringing in Heine's ears made it impossible for him to tell. But he stopped losing unconsciousness, and his vision slowly began to return, though all he could do now was lay limply where he was, paralyzed. The Gigginox just outside their hole lowered its head again, looking in on them, its eyes glowing menacingly and purple mist creating a haze deep within its throat. Finally its head snapped away from them, and the creature began crawling away, heading off to heed the call of the green Gigginox. Several other Gigginox passed the hovel as well, trailing behind the rest, and soon there was nothing in the cavern at all, save for the trio and a few Giggis scattered throughout.
The three of them hidden inside the dark nook didn't move, couldn't move, each of them recovering from the pain and horror of their experience. Heine could feel Rena gasping and hiccupping under him; she must have been crying. Honestly, he felt like crying himself, but he didn't even have the energy… the taste of copper was still fresh in his mouth, and he could feel a trail of blood sliding down his jaw and dripping onto Rena's armor. Cait was slumped against the stone wall, his pointed ears laid back against his skull, as the Felyne twitched and shivered from time to time. The three lay there for some time, recovering from the stress they'd undergone. Finally Rena began to shift around under Heine, and the man knew the time had come to move out.
"You know, Heine, not many men are bold or brave enough to keep their head against my chest for as long as you have." The words came out of Rena's mouth in a sort of croak, her voice ragged and broken, and they rang hollow, dull and muted to Heine's recovering ears. He looked up at her face, and as weak as she was, the huntress was still trying to give him the same playful smile she always did. He smiled back tiredly, thankful for the effort.
"So much for good luck in picking directions," he mumbled, and the huntress chuckled lightly.
Then her words really clicked in his mind, and looked back down, realizing he did, in fact, have his head resting directly in her bosom. With a flustered gasp, he scrambled awkwardly off of her. The huntress winced as his hand pressed against her leg, however, blood seeping from the circular wound the Giggi had given her. Heine gasped, scrambling to find some bandages he could use to patch the wound, but Rena shook her head, pushing herself upright.
"No… not now. We have to get out of here first," the huntress told him roughly, struggling to get back to her feet. Heine saw her wobbling uneasily and tried to make his way over to her to help, but found he was having trouble standing himself. He coughed painfully, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth, as he struggled to keep himself upright.
The huntress leaned down, plucking Cait from the ground and holding the Felyne under her arm, before the three of them worked their way out of the small hole and looked around. The cavern was clear now, every single Gigginox having headed off at the call of the green one. The muffled sound of explosions continued to rumble through the cavern, however, as well as the dulled screech of a Gigginox echoing over the rocks. But as before, it was impossible to tell which direction the sounds were coming from. None of them had seen whether the Gigginox had traveled back to the main cavern or one of the other paths that branched out from this chamber. There weren't any flashes of light from explosions or lightning to give them direction either.
"We can't go back, not now," Rena sighed wearily. "Not with all those Gigginox between us and the rest of the research group… And even then, which path would we take? Any of them might lead back to the Tower… or right into the path of the Gigginox horde."
"Maybe we should go back to the lake, nya…" Cait muttered from under Rena's arm, still sounding slightly delirious. "There were fish there…"
"Sorry, Cait, I don't think-"
Rena's words were suddenly cut off as another rumble of explosions rolled through the chamber, followed by more Gigginox screeches. However, unlike before, the explosions were suddenly followed by a deeper, more tumultuous rumbling. The earth under them shivered as the emanating groan echoed through the cavern, and the sound of crashing rocks and collapsing earth filled the chamber. Several loose stones fell from the ceiling of the cavern, clattering to the earth around them.
After a long minute, the trembling began to die away, and the group looked around fearfully. They could still hear the sounds of the Gigginox howling occasionally, but there were no more explosions. No more booming blasts echoed through the chamber, only the cries of the Gigginox could be heard.
"A cave in… It had to have been…" Heine moaned hopelessly. "The expedition was coming for us. We could've… we might've…"
Rena looked at Heine sadly, opening her mouth to provide comfort. But she didn't speak, unable to think of anything comforting to say. The three of them stood in silence for a moment, listening to the distant echoes of the Gigginox screeches, before Rena shook her head and looked towards the path where the dim red light continued to glow. "I guess… we don't really have much of a choice left but to continue on, and hope there's another exit. Those Gigginox had to get down here somehow."
"Unless they've been down here fur generations like the Kelbi, nya…" Cait muttered, making Heine and Rena look at each other helplessly.
Heine looked nervously at the red-lit cave, the sound of Gigginox screeches still audible off in the distance. With a feeling of regret, the three of them pressed on, forcing themselves in the opposite direction than they'd come from, further into the unknown, with no certainty they'd ever see the light of day again.
Author's Note: Please Review! Still looking for one more OC submittal for a future chapter! Hit me up if you've got one.
I think one of my favorite things that happen when writing is when typos or mistypes happen. Not so much in the editing process, when changes are necessary, but those little things you accidentally write or do that you catch immediately. For example, when writing TLC, I accidentally typed 'killed' instead of 'kissed' on occasion, which certainly made me laugh, considering the context. This happened during the writing of Underground, and I'd also sometimes forget to turn off caps lock (when working on things besides this story), which made for some very interesting conversations when Heine or Rena would suddenly sTART SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS, at sometimes inappropriate or intimate moments.
I have an ever-increasing list of characters that I'm thinking of basing character designs for the sequel to TLC around. A lot of them are manga/anime characters that I'm particularly fond of, though there are novel characters and TV shows in there too. It's hard not to want to emulate a well-written and interesting character, after all. I mean, Harker was based off anyone with the spark in the Girl Genius webcomic, and people seem to love him.
Reading: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki (WTF THIS MANGA IS SO WEIRD), Maoyuu Maou Yuusha by Touno Mamare, The Hunters Oath: Master Corps by Thomas A. Hawk, Faber et Filia by Hoenn Master96
Playing: Pokemon X, MH3U, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pathfinder
Listening: Crit Juice Podcast, Hello Internet Podcast, Welcome to Night Vale Podcast, Relient K, CatHatFiddle, Poets of the Fall, Cake, Pet Shop Boys, Death Cab for Cutie, They Might Be Giants, Revolutions Podcast
Watching: The Prince of Egypt