09-03-2015, 10:43 AM
The sun was beginning to set when Matrix and AndrAIa completed their trip over the mountains and found themselves in another forest. This one was much thicker than the one they'd first trekked through on the island, but to them it simply looked like more woods. As they entered the area, Matrix was quick to look down at the three sets of tracks.
"Does your eye tell you what we're looking for?" AndrAIa broke the silence they'd fallen into, wondering if the prints were complete enough that Matrix's database might say something.
"No," Matrix responded, shaking his head as he did. "But we've got to be catching up with them. The tracks look fresher."
AndrAIa opened her mouth to respond, but a sharp and high pitched roar nearby silenced her. She paused and stood in place, looking around carefully. Matrix was already scanning the area as well, while listening for any movement.
"Dinosaurs," AndrAIa whispered. For all the stories they'd heard of the terrors of this island, they'd yet to encounter a single hostile life form. That had been fine by her, too. The easier it was to get in and out of this place, the better.
Matrix narrowed his eyes as he saw a bush moving, and slowly pointed to it. AndrAIa watched quietly as Matrix carefully drew Gun, aiming it at the bush. At the same time she was looking around, making sure there was nothing else sneaking up on them. She knew Matrix had the common sense to identify what was in that shrub before blowing it away, so she just wanted to make sure that was the only thing they had to worry about.
What stumbled out was not at all what they expected. A tiny dinosaur, standing on two legs and at no more than two feet tall, entered the clearing and looked at the two of them curiously. Matrix rolled his eyes as he saw the puny little thing, and returned his weapon to his belt. AndrAIa looked over at it as well, and couldn't suppress a giggle even after putting a hand to her mouth.
"What in the Net is that thing?" AndrAIa asked Matrix, noticing that his eye was already scanning when she looked over to him.
Matrix frowned as his eye slowly analyzed the creature that was staring at him curiously. It took a lot longer for his implant to work in the Omniverse, and that drove him crazy. It wasn't like he could just hit it to make it work faster, since it was on the inside of his head. Finally, some basic information appeared in his robotic right eye.
"Compsognathus," Matrix announced, his tone completely unimpressed by the creature before him. "It's a pack animal, and it's a..."
Matrix paused as he read the information, and then suddenly looked at the little creature with a much more serious expression. All of a sudden, he knew they were in danger. An ambush was imminent.
"Watch out!" Matrix shouted as he snapped his gun back into his hand. AndrAIa didn't question him in the slightest, and instead grabbed her trident from her belt and fully extended it.
In an instant, the area was filled with these tiny, yet savage, creatures. AndrAIa wasted no time in swinging her trident at the nimble monsters, stepping away from any trees or bushes so she would have plenty of reaction time. She managed to knock a few away, and even stab some other little ones, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere.
"Gun! Command line! Burst Fire Mode!" Matrix shouted as he watched the small dinosaurs scurry around. His weapon made a few sounds as the firing mode changed to the most accurate feature he had available on it.
Before he could pull the trigger even once, though, one of the many Compsognathus leaped from the side and bit him on the arm that was holding his firearm. Matrix yelled in agony at the bite, but just as quickly he reached over and ripped the dinosaur from his arm with his left hand, and threw the beast at another one as hard as he could, sending the two rolling away. After that, it didn't take him long to begin systematically shooting the swift creatures.
Together they thinned the attacking herd considerably, with Matrix making his way to AndrAIa so she would be the defense and he would handle the offense. There were still plenty left, but the creatures quickly determined that these two were not easy prey, and began retreating into the woods.
Matrix snarled, not quite over this battle yet. He moved a few steps forward and fired wildly at the retreating dinosaurs, missing most of them but blasting a few and killing them outright. Two of the ones he hit didn't die from the gunshots, but they were limping badly when they disappeared into the brush.
They both scanned the area, satisfied that they were alone again and that their first encounter with the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar wasn't lethal for them. Just as they were beginning to relax, though, a voice called out to them.
"Who...who are you!?" the slightly high pitched voice shouted.
Matrix and AndrAIa immediately turned towards the source of the voice, holding their weapons ready. Before them were three monsters, each slightly more bizarre than the last, but they were talking and they were grouped together. Not to mention they seemed scared, but were trying their best not to show it. These were the ones they were looking for without a doubt.
Already Matrix's eye was scanning the three creatures. He watched them silently for a second before identifying the three monsters by species. The one at the center, who had spoken, was called a Charmander. To his left was a hooded creature called a Jawa, and to his right a short, green monster known as a Tonberry.
AndrAIa looked to Matrix with a smile, but he only returned an annoyed glance. She simply nodded with confidence, causing Matrix to gesture his head in their direction. It was the silent communication they were so good at, after all their travels. Matrix returned his weapon to his side, while AndrAIa put away her trident and stepped forward.
"I'm AndrAIa, and this is Matrix," the game sprite calmly explained, gesturing back to Matrix when she introduced him. "Are you the Cinnabar Rangers?"
"We are! We're going to grow up and be the best fighters in the world!" the Charmander instantly shouted, holding up his fists. "We're going to liberate the Omniverse from the Empire!"
Matrix rolled his eyes, but let AndrAIa continue.
"Well, the people of Cinnabar are really worried about you," AndrAIa explained. "That's why we're here."
"Thank Omni!" the Jawa shouted this time. "Our boat was destroyed, and we can't leave!"
"We don't want to leave!" the Charmander was just as quick to say. "We want to be here until we're the most powerful creatures in the deeps. The best training is these dinosaurs!"
"...No, I think we're ready to go," the Tonberry quickly interjected. "We've been running for our lives ever since the velociraptors got our scent."
"Raptors?" Matrix spoke up at that comment, and immediately began to look around.
Several howls and roars could be heard in the distance with impeccable timing at that comment. AndrAIa looked around as well, and glanced back to the young and scared monsters. She looked back up at the sky. It was past sunset, and they had very little time before it got pitch black dark.
"Matrix, we're going to have to camp," AndrAIa said, her voice was uneasy as she suggested it.
"I agree," Matrix replied, still looking around as he spoke. "We'll take turns on guard and be ready to get out of here quick if we need."
AndrAIa slowly nodded, then looked back to the three monsters. "Do you have any supplies or a camp?"
"We've been moving around, but we've got some gear nearby," the Charmander said, and began to turn around. "Follow us!"
The Charmander and the Jawa disappeared into the bushes quickly, but the Tonberry committed itself to more of a slow waddle as it slowly tried to follow it's companions. Matrix and AndrAIa looked at the creature in disbelief, and then to each other. Suddenly, AndrAIa winked at her boyfriend and took off to catch up with the other two.
Matrix bit his lip and loudly grunted. As the Tonberry eased along at the slowest speed he could imagine, Matrix knew he was in for a long night.
"Does your eye tell you what we're looking for?" AndrAIa broke the silence they'd fallen into, wondering if the prints were complete enough that Matrix's database might say something.
"No," Matrix responded, shaking his head as he did. "But we've got to be catching up with them. The tracks look fresher."
AndrAIa opened her mouth to respond, but a sharp and high pitched roar nearby silenced her. She paused and stood in place, looking around carefully. Matrix was already scanning the area as well, while listening for any movement.
"Dinosaurs," AndrAIa whispered. For all the stories they'd heard of the terrors of this island, they'd yet to encounter a single hostile life form. That had been fine by her, too. The easier it was to get in and out of this place, the better.
Matrix narrowed his eyes as he saw a bush moving, and slowly pointed to it. AndrAIa watched quietly as Matrix carefully drew Gun, aiming it at the bush. At the same time she was looking around, making sure there was nothing else sneaking up on them. She knew Matrix had the common sense to identify what was in that shrub before blowing it away, so she just wanted to make sure that was the only thing they had to worry about.
What stumbled out was not at all what they expected. A tiny dinosaur, standing on two legs and at no more than two feet tall, entered the clearing and looked at the two of them curiously. Matrix rolled his eyes as he saw the puny little thing, and returned his weapon to his belt. AndrAIa looked over at it as well, and couldn't suppress a giggle even after putting a hand to her mouth.
"What in the Net is that thing?" AndrAIa asked Matrix, noticing that his eye was already scanning when she looked over to him.
Matrix frowned as his eye slowly analyzed the creature that was staring at him curiously. It took a lot longer for his implant to work in the Omniverse, and that drove him crazy. It wasn't like he could just hit it to make it work faster, since it was on the inside of his head. Finally, some basic information appeared in his robotic right eye.
"Compsognathus," Matrix announced, his tone completely unimpressed by the creature before him. "It's a pack animal, and it's a..."
Matrix paused as he read the information, and then suddenly looked at the little creature with a much more serious expression. All of a sudden, he knew they were in danger. An ambush was imminent.
"Watch out!" Matrix shouted as he snapped his gun back into his hand. AndrAIa didn't question him in the slightest, and instead grabbed her trident from her belt and fully extended it.
In an instant, the area was filled with these tiny, yet savage, creatures. AndrAIa wasted no time in swinging her trident at the nimble monsters, stepping away from any trees or bushes so she would have plenty of reaction time. She managed to knock a few away, and even stab some other little ones, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere.
"Gun! Command line! Burst Fire Mode!" Matrix shouted as he watched the small dinosaurs scurry around. His weapon made a few sounds as the firing mode changed to the most accurate feature he had available on it.
Before he could pull the trigger even once, though, one of the many Compsognathus leaped from the side and bit him on the arm that was holding his firearm. Matrix yelled in agony at the bite, but just as quickly he reached over and ripped the dinosaur from his arm with his left hand, and threw the beast at another one as hard as he could, sending the two rolling away. After that, it didn't take him long to begin systematically shooting the swift creatures.
Together they thinned the attacking herd considerably, with Matrix making his way to AndrAIa so she would be the defense and he would handle the offense. There were still plenty left, but the creatures quickly determined that these two were not easy prey, and began retreating into the woods.
Matrix snarled, not quite over this battle yet. He moved a few steps forward and fired wildly at the retreating dinosaurs, missing most of them but blasting a few and killing them outright. Two of the ones he hit didn't die from the gunshots, but they were limping badly when they disappeared into the brush.
They both scanned the area, satisfied that they were alone again and that their first encounter with the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar wasn't lethal for them. Just as they were beginning to relax, though, a voice called out to them.
"Who...who are you!?" the slightly high pitched voice shouted.
Matrix and AndrAIa immediately turned towards the source of the voice, holding their weapons ready. Before them were three monsters, each slightly more bizarre than the last, but they were talking and they were grouped together. Not to mention they seemed scared, but were trying their best not to show it. These were the ones they were looking for without a doubt.
Already Matrix's eye was scanning the three creatures. He watched them silently for a second before identifying the three monsters by species. The one at the center, who had spoken, was called a Charmander. To his left was a hooded creature called a Jawa, and to his right a short, green monster known as a Tonberry.
AndrAIa looked to Matrix with a smile, but he only returned an annoyed glance. She simply nodded with confidence, causing Matrix to gesture his head in their direction. It was the silent communication they were so good at, after all their travels. Matrix returned his weapon to his side, while AndrAIa put away her trident and stepped forward.
"I'm AndrAIa, and this is Matrix," the game sprite calmly explained, gesturing back to Matrix when she introduced him. "Are you the Cinnabar Rangers?"
"We are! We're going to grow up and be the best fighters in the world!" the Charmander instantly shouted, holding up his fists. "We're going to liberate the Omniverse from the Empire!"
Matrix rolled his eyes, but let AndrAIa continue.
"Well, the people of Cinnabar are really worried about you," AndrAIa explained. "That's why we're here."
"Thank Omni!" the Jawa shouted this time. "Our boat was destroyed, and we can't leave!"
"We don't want to leave!" the Charmander was just as quick to say. "We want to be here until we're the most powerful creatures in the deeps. The best training is these dinosaurs!"
"...No, I think we're ready to go," the Tonberry quickly interjected. "We've been running for our lives ever since the velociraptors got our scent."
"Raptors?" Matrix spoke up at that comment, and immediately began to look around.
Several howls and roars could be heard in the distance with impeccable timing at that comment. AndrAIa looked around as well, and glanced back to the young and scared monsters. She looked back up at the sky. It was past sunset, and they had very little time before it got pitch black dark.
"Matrix, we're going to have to camp," AndrAIa said, her voice was uneasy as she suggested it.
"I agree," Matrix replied, still looking around as he spoke. "We'll take turns on guard and be ready to get out of here quick if we need."
AndrAIa slowly nodded, then looked back to the three monsters. "Do you have any supplies or a camp?"
"We've been moving around, but we've got some gear nearby," the Charmander said, and began to turn around. "Follow us!"
The Charmander and the Jawa disappeared into the bushes quickly, but the Tonberry committed itself to more of a slow waddle as it slowly tried to follow it's companions. Matrix and AndrAIa looked at the creature in disbelief, and then to each other. Suddenly, AndrAIa winked at her boyfriend and took off to catch up with the other two.
Matrix bit his lip and loudly grunted. As the Tonberry eased along at the slowest speed he could imagine, Matrix knew he was in for a long night.