03-15-2016, 03:38 PM
Zack barely kept his balance on the head of the dragon as it crashed to the ground. At the same time, Gorons scattered in every direction to avoid the crashing corpse of the hulking beast. Zack put away the Buster Sword and held his arms up to shield his eyes from the resulting ash cloud that kicked up in the aftermath. There was no visibility in the area for that short time period, which would have been something the remaining bandits could have used to their advantage had they not all been fleeing the area.
They weren’t Zack’s primary concern anymore. He had just watched Drake steer their strange little vehicle straight into the dragon’s mouth. The resulting explosion had undeniably killed it, obvious by the now motionless head he stood upon, but Zack’s mind was occupied with the fate of his ally.
“Drake! Drake, what the fuck!?”
Zack was normally a little more controlled with his speech, but if there was an appropriate time to drop an expletive, it was after witnessing a friend get intentionally devoured. The former SOLDIER dropped down from the monster’s head and looked it over. The resulting explosion had not done much damage to the dragon’s thick, scaly hide, which had likely been even worse for the beast since it contained the explosion to its innards. Of course, that also meant that Drake had taken the full brunt of the blast, as well.
He stepped back and sighed, seeing no breach in the skin of the dragon’s corpse. Zack put his hands on his hips and shook his head. Seemed pretty clear cut at this point, as much as it sucked to say. Their group had dwindled down to just Zack, putting him in the same predicament he’d been in when he first arrived in the Steppes. He was alone in an unfamiliar land again.
Almost.
A massive, rocky hand slapped at his back, but fortunately for him connected with only the Buster Sword, in its resting place. The force of the blow was still there, and it sent Zack forwards. He extended his hands and braced himself on the head of the dead dragon, then quickly turned around to see what had happened.
The Gorons stood there, smiling and celebrating. The leader hadn’t attacked him, but instead given him a joyous slap on the back. Zack blinked absently in confusion, but the lead Goron stepped forward and continued to grin.
“Well done, Brother!” the Goron leader proclaimed. “We were a bit unsure of your methods, given how you conducted yourselves, but you are worthy allies! We will tell our people all about the bravery and sacrifice the Institute showed for our people!”
Each Goron let out a victorious proclamation and held up tightly balled fists, apparently some sort of tribal celebration. Zack scanned the crowd incredulously, before mimicking their mannerisms.
“Yea,” Zack awkwardly replied. “Hooah.”
“Your companion showed great bravery. You should be proud to call him your friend!” the Goron continued, as they all dropped their hands to their sides.
“Great bravery. Yea,” Zack agreed, weakly. Sure didn’t sound like the Drake he knew. Barely knew, admittedly, but still. The guy clearly had some sort of greater plan in mind with such a ridiculous maneuver. Still, Zack cleared his throat and looked back to the Gorons. “You guys had better keep moving along.”
“Ah, I agree. We are behind as it is,” the leader nodded. All of the subtle hostility and distrust was gone. Zack was normally happy to meet people that could be reasoned with by friendly co-operation on a hostile battlefield, but this whole situation left him feeling a bit off.
Zack gave a simple wave as they began to pack their things. By the time Zack had summoned a fresh motorcycle with Omnilium, the Gorons had already begun to move out. With a final shrug as he surveyed the battlefield, Zack fired up the engine and began his trek back to the Koopa Castle.
*****
The trip was a little bit more difficult and a lot more boring, but eventually Zack found himself back in the Koopa King’s throne room. It was strange with just him, as the absence of Miranda, Colonel, and Drake definitely stood out. But, that was life.
Bowser leaned back as Zack finished recounting the story, crossing his brawny arms as he looked down at the warrior. The massive overlord of this section of the Ashen Steppes seemed pleased enough, even if he appeared to be unable to make a facial expression that wasn’t a horrifying scowl.
“…And then I came back. And here we are,” Zack threw his hands up and shrugged again. “Don’t know if those are the bandits that attacked North Village, but they were some sort of important ones.”
“Bandits come and go, here,” Bowser spoke in his typical gruff tone. “At the worst, you destabilized a major force in the region. Even if they weren’t the ones, the message has been sent. I don’t say this often, but you have the thanks of the Koopa Kingdom.”
Zack gave a half-smile and a thumbs up. “All in a day’s work.” Or however long it had been.
“As we talked about before, I’ll confide with my most trusted advisor about…” Bowser began to speak.
Zack was already shaking his head. It was probably bad form to cut off a king, but he did it before he realized what he was doing. “Hey, look. I’m not enrolled at that university, or whatever.”
Bowser tilted his head curiously.
“I just ran into Drake during…” Zack paused, thinking about the circumstances of their meeting. “It’s a long story, but we just sort of happened upon each other with a shared goal for different reasons. I don’t really know what he was up to. Either way, that homework assignment isn’t my thing. I’m just playing in Omni’s sandbox.”
Bowser let out a chuckle at that last sentence, but then pondered in silence for a moment.
“If that’s the case, nomad…” Bowser began to speak, and then paused again as he wondered what was really going on in the Ashen Steppes these days. “…If that’s the case, then I invite you to stay near. Feel free to make yourself at home in my castle, for the time being. You seek conflict? Things may get very interesting here shortly.”
Zack gave the same half-assed salute he was known for in his own realm, from before the Omniverse. He then turned and made his way out the door, leaving King Bowser to his machinations. Drake and Bowser seemed to be conspiring towards chaos and battle, which was certainly something he could deal with a little more of, though he loathed to admit it. After all, that was what he was good at, and therefore the simple part of his life.
The Omniverse was a strange place. Zack was fairly certain he hadn’t seen the last of any member of his former traveling party. People seemed to have an odd way of turning up around here. So, for now, he’d find a bar, enjoy a stiff drink, and wait for the next bit of excitement. Hopefully he wouldn’t be sitting around for too long. Omni had promised him a continued life, so long as he continued to interest the deity. All he had to do was keep doing the only things he was good at. Fight and travel.
Fair enough.
They weren’t Zack’s primary concern anymore. He had just watched Drake steer their strange little vehicle straight into the dragon’s mouth. The resulting explosion had undeniably killed it, obvious by the now motionless head he stood upon, but Zack’s mind was occupied with the fate of his ally.
“Drake! Drake, what the fuck!?”
Zack was normally a little more controlled with his speech, but if there was an appropriate time to drop an expletive, it was after witnessing a friend get intentionally devoured. The former SOLDIER dropped down from the monster’s head and looked it over. The resulting explosion had not done much damage to the dragon’s thick, scaly hide, which had likely been even worse for the beast since it contained the explosion to its innards. Of course, that also meant that Drake had taken the full brunt of the blast, as well.
He stepped back and sighed, seeing no breach in the skin of the dragon’s corpse. Zack put his hands on his hips and shook his head. Seemed pretty clear cut at this point, as much as it sucked to say. Their group had dwindled down to just Zack, putting him in the same predicament he’d been in when he first arrived in the Steppes. He was alone in an unfamiliar land again.
Almost.
A massive, rocky hand slapped at his back, but fortunately for him connected with only the Buster Sword, in its resting place. The force of the blow was still there, and it sent Zack forwards. He extended his hands and braced himself on the head of the dead dragon, then quickly turned around to see what had happened.
The Gorons stood there, smiling and celebrating. The leader hadn’t attacked him, but instead given him a joyous slap on the back. Zack blinked absently in confusion, but the lead Goron stepped forward and continued to grin.
“Well done, Brother!” the Goron leader proclaimed. “We were a bit unsure of your methods, given how you conducted yourselves, but you are worthy allies! We will tell our people all about the bravery and sacrifice the Institute showed for our people!”
Each Goron let out a victorious proclamation and held up tightly balled fists, apparently some sort of tribal celebration. Zack scanned the crowd incredulously, before mimicking their mannerisms.
“Yea,” Zack awkwardly replied. “Hooah.”
“Your companion showed great bravery. You should be proud to call him your friend!” the Goron continued, as they all dropped their hands to their sides.
“Great bravery. Yea,” Zack agreed, weakly. Sure didn’t sound like the Drake he knew. Barely knew, admittedly, but still. The guy clearly had some sort of greater plan in mind with such a ridiculous maneuver. Still, Zack cleared his throat and looked back to the Gorons. “You guys had better keep moving along.”
“Ah, I agree. We are behind as it is,” the leader nodded. All of the subtle hostility and distrust was gone. Zack was normally happy to meet people that could be reasoned with by friendly co-operation on a hostile battlefield, but this whole situation left him feeling a bit off.
Zack gave a simple wave as they began to pack their things. By the time Zack had summoned a fresh motorcycle with Omnilium, the Gorons had already begun to move out. With a final shrug as he surveyed the battlefield, Zack fired up the engine and began his trek back to the Koopa Castle.
*****
The trip was a little bit more difficult and a lot more boring, but eventually Zack found himself back in the Koopa King’s throne room. It was strange with just him, as the absence of Miranda, Colonel, and Drake definitely stood out. But, that was life.
Bowser leaned back as Zack finished recounting the story, crossing his brawny arms as he looked down at the warrior. The massive overlord of this section of the Ashen Steppes seemed pleased enough, even if he appeared to be unable to make a facial expression that wasn’t a horrifying scowl.
“…And then I came back. And here we are,” Zack threw his hands up and shrugged again. “Don’t know if those are the bandits that attacked North Village, but they were some sort of important ones.”
“Bandits come and go, here,” Bowser spoke in his typical gruff tone. “At the worst, you destabilized a major force in the region. Even if they weren’t the ones, the message has been sent. I don’t say this often, but you have the thanks of the Koopa Kingdom.”
Zack gave a half-smile and a thumbs up. “All in a day’s work.” Or however long it had been.
“As we talked about before, I’ll confide with my most trusted advisor about…” Bowser began to speak.
Zack was already shaking his head. It was probably bad form to cut off a king, but he did it before he realized what he was doing. “Hey, look. I’m not enrolled at that university, or whatever.”
Bowser tilted his head curiously.
“I just ran into Drake during…” Zack paused, thinking about the circumstances of their meeting. “It’s a long story, but we just sort of happened upon each other with a shared goal for different reasons. I don’t really know what he was up to. Either way, that homework assignment isn’t my thing. I’m just playing in Omni’s sandbox.”
Bowser let out a chuckle at that last sentence, but then pondered in silence for a moment.
“If that’s the case, nomad…” Bowser began to speak, and then paused again as he wondered what was really going on in the Ashen Steppes these days. “…If that’s the case, then I invite you to stay near. Feel free to make yourself at home in my castle, for the time being. You seek conflict? Things may get very interesting here shortly.”
Zack gave the same half-assed salute he was known for in his own realm, from before the Omniverse. He then turned and made his way out the door, leaving King Bowser to his machinations. Drake and Bowser seemed to be conspiring towards chaos and battle, which was certainly something he could deal with a little more of, though he loathed to admit it. After all, that was what he was good at, and therefore the simple part of his life.
The Omniverse was a strange place. Zack was fairly certain he hadn’t seen the last of any member of his former traveling party. People seemed to have an odd way of turning up around here. So, for now, he’d find a bar, enjoy a stiff drink, and wait for the next bit of excitement. Hopefully he wouldn’t be sitting around for too long. Omni had promised him a continued life, so long as he continued to interest the deity. All he had to do was keep doing the only things he was good at. Fight and travel.
Fair enough.