Blackness.
The only thing he was able to see was... nothing. Nothing, but a veil of darkness that made his vision completely useless. But this was no black hole in the vastness that is space, this was merely a hole in space and time.
He was able to hear the commotion around him caused by the other guests and objects as well as his screams of either fury or fear, or both. The chaos that was unleashed around him wasn't harmless, as sometimes he would feel something hitting against him only to remove itself and fly off somewhere else. It was painless, but irritating.
Such unbearable torture went on for quite some time until Braylon felt like something was pulling him closer to something else, like an ocean current dragging a swimmer down to its death. That might sound strange to us, as we learned that Braylon was floating like an astronaut in space. However, we need to remind ourselves, again, that this was nothing like space, and that we aren't in his position. But he could feel it, because when he tried to resist, in the form of swimming or other, he was unable to do so.
And in an instant, everything turned blue. The black veil that blinded him vanished into thin air. We are mentioning air, because Braylon was actually able to feel a warm breeze gently caressing his skin. Confused, he tried to move his eyes, spotting nothing but clouds all around him, so close and yet so distant. A brief glance to his body made him notice a large black hole, like the one back in the cave, quickly shrinking in size above him. He wondered as to why was that happening.
Then his mind finally activated and warned him that he was falling.
And he couldn't to do anything to stop it.
He prepared himself for the eventual pain that he would strike his body should the impact be strong enough. To his surprise, his back fell on something soft enough to minimize the potential danger, but hard enough to hold his body from further falling. A sigh of relief escaped from his lips at the discovery of said object being a potted bush.
Apart from several leaves and tiny sticks sticking to his clothes as he moved away from the bush, there was nothing else to be anxious about. Maybe except for the fact that, as Braylon will soon realize, he was no longer in the previous reality, but a new one, and a strange one at that.
"Uh..."
(Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Puzzle Plank Galaxy)
Everywhere he looked, there would be objects made of wood. Wood, wood and again, wood. The whole scenery was rather strange for Braylon, as he wasn't used to such... exotic places. For beginners, there was no firm ground, just wooden platfroms floating in the blue nothingness that was both above and below him, an endless sky, if you will. Each platform-island had some unique sceneries. One was hiding behind clouds, a windmill being the only visible detail. Another one had a giant tree in the middle of a forest, other had a playground of sorts and the one closest to him had a fountain, which was connected with the one he was currently on thanks to a bridge. If we had to describe it in one sentence, it would definitely be a lumberjack's fantasyland.
He heard a muffled thump behind him. He turned around and saw a rotting corpse of a pig, laying in the same bushes as he did. One more corpse fell on the ground near him. Their origin was clear to him. They were raining down from that hole between realities.
Deciding it was better to move on instead of waiting for the probability of something squishing him, Braylon crossed the bridge and went to the other island. Right on the edge, after the fountain, stood a wooden slide that would probably take him to another place. Just to be sure, he reached the edge and looked down. Other than confirming his thoughts, he also noticed several black shapes moving, running and bumping into each other.
Braylon shrugged as he took a ride down the wooden construct, which was, if he had to admit it, way too fast for his liking. And that came out of a person who used to drive vehicles across the desert at high speeds.
The third island-platform was nothing much. It only had a statue (wooden of course!) depicting some being in a heroic pose. What acquired his attention were the two shapes, which turned out to be denizens not from this reality. How did he knew that? Well, one was a Boarbatusk, which he was absolutely sure that it shouldn't be present there while the other was an insect-like creature with eight legs, brownish slender body and four black beady eyes. * They were both locked in a power struggle, a feat made possible due to their size being almost equal. Braylon took the energy pistol and killed them both. The insect released a cloud of corrosive gas that melted the wood below.
"How did that Grimm reach this place?"
"How did you escape back then?"
"You mean, it crossed a rift?"
"Is it too absurd for you to believe?"
"I guess not... but, wait. A rift? You mean a rift appeared somewhere in that reality?"
"Hmph. If only..."
"Explain... hello? Damn it! Can you at least give me some ammo?"
A black case appeared in front of him. It was filled with several packs of shotgun shells and three magazines for his assault rifle. He reloaded his guns, stashed the remaining ammo and brought out his Ajax's Spear.
He looked around. Where should he go next? There was nothing this time that would transport him elsewhere. He moved to the edge of the platform, searching for anything his feet could stand on. All of a sudden, a wooden block shot out of nowhere and placed itself firmly in front of him. He jumped slightly in surprise, thinking it might have hurt him, but after he placed one feet on the block, another block came out and attached itself to the first one.
"It's a bridge!"
Frowning slightly, he stepped on the second block. Soon the seemingly random placements turned out to be a makeshift road that led him to a large platform-island that acted as a picturesque meadow with a yellow road leading to a farm in the distance.
But Braylon wasn't there to sightsee. He was no tourist. The objective was to find a way out of this wooden reality as soon as possible. There was no need to spend any minute longer than necessary, unless he wanted to turn insane.
Not even seconds after his feet touched the ground, he was swarmed with a small group of alien insects, like the one that fought with the Boarbatusk. Most never came close to him, as few shots of the assault rifle turned their bodies into chunks. One, however, reached his leg and bit down. It didn't hurt because of the Shield, but as he kicked the insect away he was surprised to notice that there was a small stain of acid further reducing the Shield's battery, just where the insect had bitten him. Therefore, it was safe to assume that the creatures were capable of releasing acid just like a snake releases its venom to a bitten animal. And judging by the damage caused from the pools released from the dead ones, it was a really powerful acid.
Killing the last insect of the group, Braylon followed the road towards the farm, careful of potential dangers lurking in the grass. He had to kill two more insects before he reached the small wooden fence that divided the propriety from the outside world. Curiously, there was no owner who would come out from any of the buildings to warn the trespasser. He walked some more and, hearing strange noises, went at the barn. There was a swarm of those xeno insects biting and scratching at some wooden bodies, presumably the owners.
Among the ones he already grew accustomed to, there was another type that, although physically different, seemed to be part of the swarm. They had lots of tiny black legs, almost like a millipede, that carried a greenish worm-like body. It had a scorpion-like tail and black beady eyes placed around a mouth that had tiny tentacles instead of teeth. ** One of them spat a greenish blob at Braylon the second they spotted him. Because of the bullet's slow speed, he was able to dodge it. The blob touched the wall of the barn and exploded, releasing a large stain that melted the wood with ease.
No matter how strong their carpace was, if they had any, Ajax's Spear proved to be more than enough for dealing with all of them, as the explosive bullets would enter their bodies and explode from inside. It was rather messy, but better that than coming up close, for Braylon feared that the acid could pose a serious threat to him.
After killing about dozen or so insects, the ones that he was able to see, a new swarm rose out from both the ground and the dark corners of the barn. Knowing that he underestimated them, Braylon quickly ran out of the barn while shooting at any insect that came close enough to him. He then turned around and ran for the house, hoping to be protected from the creatures that thoguht of him as food.
As he ran towards the house, he cought a glimpse of something purple to his right, just at the edge of his vision. He turned his head for a second. His eyes didn't betray him, it was something. It had two legs, a tail and a head that seemed like it grew out of the body, complete with a large mouth and a pair of glowing yellow eyes. He thought he was looking at some dinosaur.***
Whatever the creature was, it began running at his direction with rather surprising speed. Braylon thought it wanted him, but when it got close enough, he noticed that the animal was attacking the insects, tackling one of them and killing the other with a bite. He reached the door and, before entering, glanced at the swarm. It was occupied with the animal, who seemed to have no problems being bitten by the attackers. Rather, it took out many individuals before finally succumbing to its wounds.
Closing the door behind himself, the Vault Hunter piled several other things at the door to prevent it from opening. He then mentally facepalmed when one of those purple animals jumped through the window and inside. Doubting that the rifle could do anything, he switched to Striker and fired a shot right into the creature's head. While the pelletes pierced the skin, thus covering its face in blood and making it look more demented than it already was, it performed rather poorly when it came to killing it. Actually, it only became more angry as it charged at Braylon, destroying everything that stood in its way. Braylon jumped to the left as the animal dived head first into the pile that blocked the door. He ran upstairs, distancing himself from the animal. The stairs were too small for its large legs, so his safety was guaranteed.
He chuckled as the creature roared in frustration. The next moment, both of them could hear thousands of legs tapping on the floor. Braylon ran towards the nearest room and closed the door.
"I'm trapped. I'm fucking trapped!" He sighed. "Okay... okay. Calm down, Braylon. There has to be some way..."
He decided to take a look through the window. His eyes spotted several insects coming towards the house. But other than that, there was nothing else noteworthy. That is, until he saw something falling from the sky and smashing against the ground, outside the farm. The impact was so loud and powerful that it shook the whole platform. Every sound died at that very moment. Not even the insect's skittering. It seemed like everything was focused on the thing that crashed on the platfor-island. But what could it be?
Braylon looked once more and, cursing, saw the thing slowly rising up. It was nothing else than the demonic Amalgamation from the cave, now way too close for him to feel safe. It even snapped its head towards the house and roared loudly, charging towards the farm as fast as its legs could carry it. He also saw the insects, minus the animal, skitter out of the house and towards the incoming source of the noise. What motivated him from running out of the room and jumping through a window on the opposite wall was the Amalgamtion itself, as it stomped on the fence and went straight into the barn, only to come out of it seconds later, shattering the wooden building into hundreds of flying pieces.
He wasn't willing to learn how it did that. That is why he kept running as soon as he was able to get up. Despite knowing that there was no way out of that mess, he was still willing to put his bet in the attempt. Before he jumped over the fence, the house behind him was completely demolished, as if a wrecking ball had passed through.
"Crap! Crap! Crap!"
Stopping abruptly as he reached the edge of the platform, Braylon glanced down into the depths. There was a faint light not far below. He knew that he had no choice and would probably end up dead anyway, so he jumped into the nothingness below, reaching the white glow with increasing speeds.
Braylon's screaming stopped abruptly once he came out of the rift and crash-landed into an armor stand. He cringed slightly as the armor detached itself from the stand and fell on his back. Muttering and grumbling, the young Vault Hunter hastily stood back up and dusted himself, then decided to take a moment to get a hold of his current situation.
"Alrighty." He whispered, looking at the armor that fell on the ground, then to the slowly vanishing rift. "Looks like I'm in some kind of armory."
The armory had a torch as a source of light, barely able to illuminate every inch of the armory. Still, Braylon could see the room's contents as well as interact with them. Weapons, mostly swords and axes, were alined on the walls like some trophies. The shields of various shapes and sizes would sit below said weapons, each depicting some heraldic symbols unknown to him. He allowed himself to open several wooden chests and lockers, revealing a small arsenal of flintlock-based weapons, ranging from muskets to pistols. Finding no use for those, he went out of the armory through a wooden door.
The hallway was rather confusing for him to understand. It had a red carpet that barely covered the whole floor, stretching as far as he was able to see, which were the corners not far from him. There were also several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, each having more than twenty lit candles, some portraits of people his PDA had no data on and large windows on the opposite wall, supposedly for enjoying the view. What kind of view could be enjoyed was questionable to him, as he was able to see nothing but darkness. When he got closer, he noticed that there was a moon in the sky. This time, it wasn't shattered, but blood red.
"There is another rift in this place. Try reaching the highest point."
Materializing his energy pistol, Braylon walked at a steady pace, careful to not get ambushed by anyone or anything. He arrived to a wooden door and was about to open it when he heard moans coming from inside the room.
"Okay..." He winced slightly as he quietly moved away, leaving whoever was in there to their privacy. Everything went as smooth as silk until he encountered... a rather peculiar thing.
The horns, wings and tail were a clear sign that it was a demon. However, what he didn't expect was its physical appearance; that of a, we dare to say, quite gifted woman, with emerald green eyes and long black hair. The provocative outfit would only worsen the situation if it weren't for the fact that Braylon had his hormones under control, courtesy of the PDA. ****
"Oh... my..."
They spotted each other simultaneously. And while his was a quite rational reaction, the monster's reaction... wasn't. It smiled, posing in such a way to display all of her "talents". Minutes later it paused, puzzled by the human's unresponsiveness and deadpanned expression.
"Is... is she trying to woo me?"
"Calling that thing a "she" is an insult to everyone ever. The charm doesn 't work on you, so kill it and go on."
Its personality took a drastic turn. From the irresistible temptress, it turned into a beast ready to snarl at Braylon's every move. Quickly realizing its mistake, it once again turned docile, ready to seduce him.
"Sorry, I'm immune." He said nonchalantly as he fired two shots at the surprised Succubus, killing it instantly.
"Be careful now, as that specimen alerted everyone of your presence."
Braylon frowned as he reached the upper floor by taking the stairs to the left. This hallway was smaller than the one before, but it had two doors and a corner that led somewhere to the right. Shrugging, he opened the first door, the one on the left. It was empty. He turned around and opened the one on the right. All of a sudden a hand grabbed him and pulled him inside, throwing him on the floor.
"Really now? You were caught with your guard down?"
Braylon could hear the voice facepalming. He tried to get up but something pushed him back down. He could see a tail wagging at the peripheral vision.
"So..." He heard a woman speak up. "It seems that the traitor's lapdog finally decided to pay us a visit." It was, quite possibly, the most sensual voice he ever heard from the opposite sex. But he knew it was an illusion, all of it. That is why he growled loudly enough for it to hear.
There were two of them, he thought after he heard them giggling. One placed two fingers under his chin, lifting his head up.
"Aw, killing you is such a shame, though. I would gladly hear you scream in bed." It winked, earning a snarl from Braylon.
"Mortal, I am giving you ten seconds to kill these two and get out of that room."
Hearing the threat, Braylon lifted a fist and punched the talking one in the face. He then kicked the second one away with his legs and stood up. Picking the gun, he killed the one that held him down and kicked it with his leg, sending it flying through the door and into the hallway. When he got out, he fired three five more shots at the remaining one before going forward.
It took some time for him to find the next stairway, but when he found them, he was able to reach the balcony of what he discovered the building to be a royal castle. With a healthy dose of parkour, the young Vault Hunter went on the very roof of the building. Even in the darkness that enveloped the place, he was able to spot a figure not far away from him.
"Stay away from me!" It warned. "Just... stay away!"
"Calm down! I am not a monster!"
That seemed to calm the figure as it lowered whatever weapon it had. Braylon took a few steps closer and found out that the figure in question was a king, judging by the golden crown. Although unable to precisely determine his physical features, he was more than capable to notice the weapon he held in his right hand. It was a double-barreled shotgun with its barrels painted in white and yellow stripes.
"T-they came out of the blue!" The king blurted out. "My lands were peaceful! Peaceful! Then... they suddenly came... those... monsters, down there! They took my wife and daughter and... turned them into one of them! I lost everything!"
Braylon sighed. "I don't have time for this." He raised his pistol and shot the king to death. Before the corpse fell from the roof, he reached it and took the shotgun from its grasp.
"...Well, that was surprisingly convenient."
"Please shut up."
Ignoring the already weak conscience, Braylon went for the tallest tower out of the three existing ones. Rather than climbing his way to the top, he materialized Ajax's Spear and fired at the tower, making a small hole for him to use.
"I seriously hope this place has another rift."
Much to his joy, there was one. It was glowing with the same brightness as the one that appeared in Hell. Of course, he had no idea where it would lead. Maybe it would take him to a dangerous place, or maybe to a strange land just like the last one. There was only one way to know.
Muttering a silent prayer to God, he closed his eyes as he sprinted towards the rift.
"Geronimo!"
So it turns out that there is a name to the color I was looking for. It is not a shade of cyan, like I thought it was, but a shade of green called, de facto, ethereal green. In any case, if I write in the future chapters cyan instead of green, then know that I meant the ethereal green. Here they will mean the same thing, unless I specify otherwise.
Arsenal:
- Newest addition: Orphan Maker (without curse, as this one doesn't belong to Captain Blade)
Pistol: Unforgiven, Energy pistol
Shield: The Bee
Shotgun: Striker, Orphan Maker
Assault Rifle: Ajax's Spear
PDA Biopedia:
*Entry #24: Sturg - Swarmer
Type: Riftspawn - Insect
Faction: none
Description: "There is no way that these guys were the natives to that place. They looked so... standoffish. Not to mention their size, agressiveness towards other species and signs of intelligence. No insect should be that big. Either the hellhole they came out is a prehistorical cradle... or something very nasty happened. And I bet my soul that it is probably the latter." (Resistance to Corrosive damage)
**Entry #25: Sturg – Mireborn
Type: Riftspawn - Insect
Faction: none
Description: "On Pandora, the most known animal is Skag. Now, Skags are very unique in fact that their biology gave them the ability to create several subspecies. Some spit globs of venom at their prey, others are faster, things like that. I suspect that this creatures are very similar to Skags, seeing that this individuals were perfectly fine being in group with the others. Though, I fail to understand how can such deviation even begin to exist without forming a new race of animals. Such things are not normal and we are talking about Mother Nature here." (Resistance to Corrosive damage)
***Entry #26: Barlowian Saur-Beast
Type: Riftspawn - Beast
Faction: none
Description: "What amazes me about this creature is its illogical behavior. I saw those teeth, it was clearly meant to be a herbivore, yet it seems like it would gladly devour another nimal. Just... why? There is clearly no reason behind it. Argh! Fuck all of this! What, what else are you gonna throw me, universe?!"
****Entry #27: Succubus
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Talking about going out with a bang. It is safe to say that the birth of the Succubi wasn't our most magnificent moment, I will admit. Forget it now. Puny mortal, I have the (dis)pleasure to present; the first organic robots! How do you make one? Easy. You take one human female with more hormones than brains, corrupt her mind and turn it into mush, give her some power and make her learn sorcery... and there you have it. A completely self-aware biological robot programmed to suck out the fluid, as well as aetherial energy, that gives birth to new mortals. For what purposes? I have no idea. Go ask the science-passionate brothers... or the Flesh Artists."