This Thing Don't Look So Tough

[Strazio Rockwell]

Trembling, his hands were trembling and it was the sole fault of Shang fucking Tsung. Waves of impotent frustration washed over Strazio like a thousand white hot tongues. He clenched his fists. Arcs of lightning peeled away from his flesh and snapped at the open air. Strazio took a deep breath. What was the point of Tearen’s tutelage if Shang was still able to get under his skin so easily? Petty rage of this magnitude was beneath an enigma. His trembling hands steadied themselves. Where there would have been a vicious circle of furious rumination there was only clarity. An almost imperceptible emerald spark flashed behind his eyes.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking the first step forward.

The mage stood at the precipice of the crater that stretched out before them. A testament to the power of the Tarrasque and those that had slain it the Primordial Scar was a craggy disheveled mess. Violent tectonic shifts in the terrain had upheaved massive slabs of rock, forming the scar into a crooked mouth filled with jagged teeth. Soft loamy soil filled these craters and created a gentle slope which Strazio slid down. His boots dug trenches into the earth as he forged ahead. Not a word was shared between them as his companions followed. They were treading upon storied ground. Beneath their feet the world rumbled with the occasional aftershock as seismic leviathans shifted into place.

“So, uhhhh, where is this thing?” Gamzee asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Strazio muttered and glanced over at Atelos, “isn’t it supposed to be massive?”

“Indeed,” Atelos answered, “the beast is quite large.”

“Then where the fuck is it?” Strazio asked the group, “shouldn’t we have seen it by now?”

“Maybe it's playin’ motherfuckin’ hide-an-seek,” Gamzee said, “maybe it’s real good at playin’ hide-an-seek.”

Atelos grunted and answered, “then we shall seek.”

Straz opened his mouth to speak, but before he could a tremor began to shake the ground. Beneath his feet the ground crumbled and gave way as a sinkhole opened up to swallow him. All that escaped from his throat was an audible yelp as he was thrown against the side of this cavernous maw. Instinctually he reached out and grabbed for anything solid and managed to find a somewhat stable foothold. Strazio glanced down. At the bottom of the pit a pool of viscous black liquid boiled violently. Strazio swore under his breath and tried to climb. Spiderweb cracks raced up the wall, shattering his handhold and forcing him to skid further down. Tar bubbled out from these cracks, covering the mage in a warm goo.

“Help me God-dammit!” Strazio shouted.

In response the shaft of a spear pierced through the tar and anchored itself next to Strazio. He reached out and wrapped his hand around the weapon. The pool had risen and was now up to his ankles. A fetid stench of decay filled the air, stinging the mage’s nostrils. Atelos yanked on the spear, heaving his companion up and out of the abyss. Gamzee grabbed at Strazio’s arm and the two of them hoisted the fallen mage onto steady ground. Strazio groaned and rolled onto his back. Stubbornly the black ick clung to his body wrapping itself tight against his flesh. He growled and clawed at the muck, ripping it apart and tossing strands of it aside.

“What the fuck is this stuff?” Strazio asked and glanced at Atelos.

The spartan shrugged and stood, “I’m not sure, but it is everywhere.”

Atelos pointed out across the crater and a thin violent sheen had begun to cover it. The foreign substance oozed out from beneath the dirt, covering every available surface in a slick oil. It clung to their boots like taffy and if they stopped moving for too long it tried to climb up their legs. This goo seemed to pulse and writhe according to some unknown tempo. In turn the ground throbbed like an inflamed wound. Somewhere, deep below, a legendary heart pumped violently. A beast drew breath and the world trembled.