|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 30, 2018 7:18:20 GMT
"Hey Bile! Where do you think you're going so late?"
The voice caused the large, bulky pilot to turn. It was Vicks who came up running alongside him, and patted him on the back. "I thought we were supposed to hang at my place, get the mud out of Squama and make sure the breeding farms are in check."
Bile slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry Vicks, but I just got orders from the Emperor himself. I got called into his chamber and told to head out to the east. Apparently, there's another supply of lizard men Prateria spotted out there, and she needs my assistance. When I get back, I'll spend some time with you."
"Then why don't I just come with you?" Vicks asked. He tried to hand an arm over Bile's shoulder, but he was slightly too tall to comfortably do so. He had to stand on his tip toes get the arm across. "We can easily bag some more and-"
"The Emperor has requested otherwise." Bile plainly said. "He told me this required a calm placid mind. We need to capture them alive and bring them here, not kill them. You were gassing them to death with your toxins!"
"So what?" Vicks shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a few dead primitives. What, do you care about them now? Like you care when I trample a flower, or break a bird's wing?"
"I don't like it when you do that stuff, and I tell you as much. But these words are from the Emperor himself. If you don't believe me, you can speak with him, but... this needs a more delicate hand, Vicks. I'm sorry, but you're not that delicate hand. He was really angry at the state many of those lizard men were brought in."
Vicks snorted. "That's a load of crap. He never bitched about it before, so why now? It's bullshit if you ask me."
"Doesn't matter if it is or not." Bile sat down on a bench, and urged Vicks to sit with him. Once the younger pilot did, Bile resumed, "Orders are orders, and I'll be back before dawn. Vicks... I know you like riding around in an Enforcer, and being in a position of power... but I think that's getting to your head. It's poisoning your judgement and... I can't bear to see you losing it the more you pilot that thing."
Vicks stood back up. "Like hell it is! What poisoned my mind is all the abuse and mistreatment I got from everyone who wasn't you or Lady Prateria! A machine cannot poison me, Bile, but people can. I'm only dishing out what I know is the way this world works, doing to it what it's done to me ever since I was a kid!"
"Vicks-"
"You know it as well! How often were you thrown to the wayside, punched in the face and abused because everyone thought you were trash? You're stronger than me, larger than me, yet everyone still thought you were shit, a waste of space until you became a pilot. That's all that matters in this world, Bile. If you're not a pilot, and you can't exercise your full power, then why even bother living? What's the purpose of existing if you can't make a name for yourself and carve out your own little niche in the world? I get it, you're looking out for me as always but..."
Vicks grabbed at his hair and began to ruffle it up, before letting out a venting grumble. After several pants, he looked back at the still seated Bile. "Where the hell would I be if you weren't my constant conscious?" He asked.
"A place I would much rather not think about." Bile stood, and walked over to Vicks. "I'm running late now, but please, keep a level head and don't lose it.Yes, the world is ruthless to us. Yes, it's cruel and run by madness, but you can be above and beyond that. I know you're the bigger man, Vicks, so please be it." Bile turned, and walked off toward the hanger where the Madibog was contained. "See you tomorrow morning, Vicks."
As he entered the hanger, he could have sworn he heard a muffled "You're the bigger man in spirit, and everyone knows it." behind him, but he couldn't look back. He was already behind schedule, and it tore at his heart.
That still tore at him as he sat in the cockpit of the Enforcer. He was much farther to the north now, and quickly going east across the edge of the desert. The moon was shining bright in the sky, the only light he had as guidance.
He really wished he could have brought Vicks with him, or better just stay with him and try to help, but... orders were orders. His radar was already picking up heat signatures ahead, where the desert began to shift into jungle.
"I'm sorry, man. Just, please don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." He said, more to himself than anyone else as he approached. He flipped on the radio contact, and called for Prateria's name. All he got back was silence. Nothing was showing up.
For some reason, something Vicks had said was biting at the back of his mind, yet he couldn't quite figure out what. It was odd, though. Where was Prateria, if she was going to meet him out here?
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 30, 2018 7:31:34 GMT
As the large-bodied pilot pondered, his mind's many voices spiraling in an internal debate, an outside voice cut through them like a knife.
BILE, it said, deep and booming as well as deadly quiet, both a whisper and a bellow, raging mad and disappointed with him at once.
The heat signatures ahead vanished as the entire atmosphere warmed up, as if the sand was under the sun, not the moon.
YOU HAVE MUCH TO ANSWER FOR.
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 30, 2018 16:46:51 GMT
Bile was in a panick the moment the voice hit. Thought it was his first time hearing it, he knew what this was. Apparently, Prateria had been attacked by a massive serpent and only barely escaped with her life. A serpent which spoke through the voice of a beloved, a guardian of the lizard men, a vengeful, murderous guardian that had set its sights on the Holy Knight Empire itself... and everyone in it as revenge. That was what the Emperor had told him, while also reassuring that Prateria had escaped with her machine alive... yet had it come here chasing her, only to run into him?
Had it scoured the depths of her mind, to know his name, his role in the capture of those lizard men?
And... it was going to destroy everyone in the capital... even his friend Vicks, and all the innocent lives there.
"So what if I do?" Bile finally answered back, his voice projecting from the mechanical hull of Madibog. The claws of the mantis began to shimmer with a bright orange hue, and the Enforcer landed upon the desert sand. "I may have done horrible things, but any regret I have for them is in the past. Show yourself, protector of the swamps. Aren't you a little far from your land?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 30, 2018 18:13:01 GMT
SO SHE SPOKE THE TRUTH, the voice said with finality. A cacophony of chimes began to tumble from the heavens.
I think you misunderstand, it continued, sounding as if it were now inside Bile's ear. I am farther from home that you could possibility imagine. I do not protect the swamp, but all things men like you strip again. Like choice.
A spiral of coils covered in scales that clashed and banged together like church bells descended from the moonlit clouds.
Freedom.
Wings almost as wide as a city block pummeled the night sky, blocking out the stars.
AND LIFE.
A beaked head with eyes that glowed white under the moon arched down to glare at Madibog.
If you offer no apologies, I offer no MERCY, it boomed, scarlet flames pouring from its jaws.
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 30, 2018 18:34:52 GMT
The otherworldly nature of the serpent caught Bile off guard. He had been told it was large, flaming and like one of the royal birds in the Emperor's Palace in terms of appearance and beauty, but... this was beyond what he had expected. What... What was this monster? Was it really just a beast... or a god?
His eyes widened. He had heard rumors, tales from back home, of how there had once been shrines dedicated to entities that had been worshipped as gods. Those shrines had long since been torn down and destroyed, but a picture of a statue within came to Bile's mind, a picture his mother had shown him before she passed away...
A picture of a great shrouded serpent, said to be the God of Death. Was this that very same god? A god seeking revenge?
His grip on the joycon handles tightened. His people had grown beyond the need of gods. They were a relic of the past, from an uncivilized, unintellectual era. All god worship brought was barbarism and tribal living. As rancid as the Holy Knights had become, he knew, as did everyone else in the kingdom, it was a better way to live than setting all one's hopes on a religion!
"Then neither do I." Bile shouted, too obsessed in his line of thought to register those first words from the serpent. At once, Madibog's wings spread out, and four missiles fired from the back of the machine and streaked toward Xipil. At the same time, the machine flew in right behind them, ready to take advantage of the opening the missiles could present...
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 30, 2018 22:57:58 GMT
An unearthly shriek rang out, and smoke enveloped the serpent in a dark, tumultuous ball. As the metallic mantis approached though, an arrow of flesh and fire shot out of the opposite side of the ball. Wreathed in sonic booms, Xipil cut a tall loop that brought it back towards Bile and his machine. The desert below sizzled as molted blood fell onto it, turning sand into silver rivers of glass.
BURN.
A gout of flames, churning with infernal reds and oranges, crashed into Madibog. The force of the attack was minimal, flowing over the weaponized vehicle like water, but the heat was immense, like that of a miniature sun. The fiery assault did not last long though, as Xipil snapped its jaws shut to become streamlined once more. The serpent tucked in its wings and dive bombed the mantis, twisting up at the last second to try and slam it from the sky with a directed sonic boom...
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 30, 2018 23:14:55 GMT
The sonic boom crashed into Madibog with forces Bile hadn't been prepared for. Everything shook for him, sparks and wires flying as the sonic boom rattled the Enforcer. Everything burned for him, and the machine tumbled through the air, only righting itself at the last moment before it could crash.
"Hull integrity is 50%... Damn." Bile cursed to himself. Madibog wasn't meant to take hits like this, and if he didn't do something, it would be crushed with minimal effort. With Xipil soaring above, the heated blades of the machine cooled down, and before its eyes, the machine vanished into thin air.
The first blow came from the left of Xipil.
A sudden metallic claw sliced into the side of Xipil's body, plunging in deep before being ripped out. The serpent whirled and lashed back out, but the machine was already gone. Now some of its blood was visible on a claw that was rapidly flying around it, and diving in from above...
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 31, 2018 0:14:29 GMT
The head of the serpent snapped around like a viper's, but the mantis was faster. Its claws cleaved through the scales between its wings and carved into its flesh, which was milky and weak. Geysers of gaseous blood battered the machine as the wyrm screamed. Its body rotated and its powerful wings swept towards Madibog, but they struck only air. The mantis was gone again. The powerful eyes of Xipil scanned the heavens, but they were made for the day and the mantis was careful to stay out of direct eye line.
Righting himself, Xipil flared its wings to stop and hover. Its scales clattered and rose like spines, making the sky swelter.
Enough of this, it decided.
With an echoing wail, it threw out its wings. Its scales stood almost straight up, and the ambient temperature rose to try and match its internal temperature. The result was an almost instantaneous fireball that radiated out from the wyrm like a star...
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 31, 2018 0:38:04 GMT
Thankfully for Bile, Madibog's hull was immune to the heat properties of the instant fireball it was caught up within. However, that didn't translate to the kinetic force of the explosion, and he was once more showered in sparks and system error notifications. The mechanical mantis, its cloaking failing and now visible to the naked eye, once again barely righted itself in the air, and darted back toward Xipil. It flew right past the wyrm, both of its claws tearing gouges into its scales and flesh and spilling more of its blood.
If he could just aim for the head... If he flew fast enough, he could sever the head and end this god's life. Whirling back around, the mechanical mantis made a beeline for the guardian, while firing four more missiles to try and distract the monster, and hopefully deal extra damage in the meanwhile...
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 31, 2018 1:15:49 GMT
The first missile struck home, shattering scales and sending orange blood flying everywhere in a matrix of gas and liquid, but the rest were intercepted by a jet of ruby flames, causing them to detonate them in midair. The smoke from the premature eruptions rolled over Madibog, veiling the serpent from Bile for a moment.
And in that moment, it vanished.
Xipil was gone was the smoke cleared. For a split second, it probably seemed as if the wyrm had his own cloaking, but a proximity alert from above revealed the truth. It had simply maneuvered around the machine, and now it slammed into it from above, its full mass warping the metal skin of the artificial insect. Its coils weaved around the limbs of the weapon, trying to immobilize its claws. While the thickest part of its body did this, its feathery tail slithered across Madibog, looking for a weak joint or thin segment to deliver a decisive blow to...
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 31, 2018 1:55:43 GMT
The impact, and the tail stabbing into the joint where the cockpit was located in the chest of the machine, did more than just crush Madibog, who fell to the earth and impacted as a broken, fractured machine, many of its parts now strewn across the sandy wasteland. It also spelled the writing on the wall for Bile, who hit his head hard against the cockpit from the force of the impact. A large bloody gash was now open above his eyes, and everything seemed to black out for him. Everything was hazy, he barely felt anything going on, and copper was in his mouth.
Weakly, he tried to move the machine, but the error messages he got flooded the inferface, before shorting out. All his mind was filled with, was failure. He, a mechanic that had somehow became a pilot, falling hundreds of miles from the capital, a casualty of a battle he had mistakenly thought he could win. He tried to rise, but realized he couldn't feel his legs. He looked down, and saw the very tip of Xipil's tail had run through his waist. Blood dripped from his mouth. He had failed the Emperor... He had failed the Holy Knights....
And he had failed Vicks. Tears welled in his eyes as his body's movement grew stiffer and stiffer. Why did it have to come to this? How had he been so outplayed? Was this truly punishment from the gods for what he had done?
"Thank you for your sacrifice, Bile." An all too familiar voice rang from the cockpit's radio. He tried to look, but the voice he knew was Prateria's. :You don't know how much this means to me, seeing your worthless bloated face erased from existence. You played yourself so well, but now, a final wayward gift... to seal the deal."
The radio cut off, and Bile, realizing far too late what was transpiring, could only quietly whimper a muted curse as the final four missiles in Madibog's back launched, hoping to catch both Xipil and the machine itself in the resulting explosion, and end them both...
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 31, 2018 2:09:55 GMT
Not expecting the suicidal last ditch effort, Xipil was rocked by four simultaneous explosions. Orange blood and green scales flew in all directions as the serpent's true voice, metallic and unearthly, rose in a wail. Its wings pounded the air in an attempt to escape the blast, sending it soaring raggedly away. Large swatches of its coils were naked and bloodied, but it still had the strength to fly. Limping up to a jet stream, it circled the wreckage, peering down for clue if the man, Bile, survived or not...
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 31, 2018 2:22:40 GMT
What Xipil saw once the smoke cleared were the remnants of Madibog, charred and in ruin from the explosion. Both claws of the mantis were broken in half and covered in sand. The wings were in pieces, and the head was completely gone. In the chest, where the cockpit was, Xipil could see a blackened, charred hand roll out of the cockpit and to the ground below, followed by the rest of the mangled, bloodied corpse.
|
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Mar 31, 2018 2:34:56 GMT
Triumphant flames rolled from the serpent's mouth, but he had not fare much better. It was becoming harder and harder to fly as the pressurized fluid that granted him motion bled out. He would need time and warmth to recover. Preparing to use the last of his strength, Xipil circled slowly through the air, painting a half moon of damp sand below, and began gliding towards a peak to the west. There, he would rest until he had regained the function to return to Krythnriin and Mhlrtr to report this to them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Mar 31, 2018 2:50:55 GMT
Several hundred miles away, hovering over the ocean in the Grandeus, Prateria smiled as all connection with Madibog and Bile dropped. Hook, line, and sinker. Served that miserable pig right for being an eyesore to her. She re-opened transmissions over to her father. "It worked like a charm. Bile's life, thrown away against this new adversary, we get to learn a bit more about it and come up with a plan to stop it, and I can sneak past to finalize repairs and make upgrades. A perfect win if I have room to say."
"A mediocre pilot being thrown to the wolves is of no value to me. I don't care for weaklings or gullible fools." The voice of the Emperor spoke to her. " But your value, your skills and power are irreplaceable, especially if we now know there are foes this powerful in the world. The training regiments will have to be increased, and perhaps some bio-matter from this creature gathered to find a possible weakness. For now, return and rest."
"As you wish, father." Prateria said. It was going to be a thoughtful trip back to the Palace, but she could rest well knowing now, she had a certain someone completely wrapped around her finger with no one to stop her. Hook, line, and sinker.
______________
Back at the wreckage of Madibog, the charred corpse lay still. Small fabrics of clothing had somehow remained intact, as did a few patches of hair and skin. Still, there seemed to be no signs of life.
But in the world of Lemuria, nothing was as it seemed.
The intact left hand twitched, then gripped the cold sand. A jagged breath of air was inhaled, then exhaled. Blood was spat out, and ever so slowly, Bile managed to raise up the front of his body to look around.
How was he still alive? He didn't know. Was it some miracle that kept him hanging on by a thread? Was the afterlife barring him from passing on? Yet, even this brief resurgence of strength failed him, and he collapsed back into the sand. He couldn't close his eyes; his eyelids had been burned away.
"Praternia... You, you will... pay." He wheezed, before the shroud of darkness overcame him...
|
|
