05-30-2017, 05:38 PM
As X traveled, the forest quickly grew dense, and the beaten path in kind became more sparse. Branches of all varieties jabbed and clawed against the machine's armored hide, scuffing the material considerably and yet doing nothing more. Though his persistence made the android's going undeterred, it remained slow due to his current lack of boosters. He had considered manifesting them like he did his Dataverse connection, but the thick jungle would likely put a dent in how quickly he could move regardless. So, for the meantime, X pushed on manually, shoving through the sticks and brush and stepping over many sorts of snags and roots.
Birds scattered off in the distance, distorting the spotted canopy of light with brief small shadows. A terribly earthly crackling sounded out, one that could be deduced to the splintering and falling of leaf-covered wood. A crash more violent than any natural event ought to be shook the mile around the point of impact, scattering animal life away. X pushed on.
Gradually, the blips on the radar grew more apparent, indicating the ex-Maverick Hunter was getting close to his potential ally. The red indicators did not seem as fortunate, as one by one they faded from the readout. That Liberator, whoever they may be, certainly fought the good fight. However, one especially pressing indicator remained strong, as large as the others combined. Something would have to be done about that, and X bore no certainty that such a feat could be done alone.
The near-suffocating presence of trees soon gave way to some ancient stone path, where the sounds of shuddering plant-life resounded. This had to be the place. The blue bomber forced his way through the threshold and charged down the path, quick as his servos could carry him.
Some ancient cobbled temple lay toppled under three different trees, the lower-most one brandishing flailing roots like disgusting tentacles. As the android vaulted over one of the fallen trunks, he witnessed a scene of several beaten or otherwise debilitated people, where the Aide indicated these were enemies. All seemed taken down non-lethally by the only one left standing, a tall long-haired human brandishing a body-length staff. Though X did not make it apparent, he was thankful that the site of the battle did not appear nearly as gruesome as he imagined.
Then the man tore a battle axe from the bloodied corpse of some buff soldier, and X immediately rescinded the thought. Right. Darklings.
It proved a momentary enough distraction for the disgruntled tree-monster to smack the android over the helm with a whipping root. Much like the many other branches X had forced through before, it didn't do much besides knock him forward a step. The sharp metallic clunk the blow produced, however, alerted the present Liberator to the new arrival. Still brandishing the blood-lined axe, he glanced over the newcomer warily.
"Wait-" X's voice came out, stealing Kelly's opportunity to talk. The robot held up his left hand in what the Old Mind first interpreted as a gesture of peace; he quickly realized that the odd gauntlet worn over the hand looked identical to his own. "I've come to help," the android elaborated, trying to standing up tall and instead forcing himself to dodge another flailing root.
The tall man acknowledged this positively and nodded his confirmation. "Well, you're certainly welcome to help chop up that tree right there," he said matter-of-factually, regarding the evil trunk with a cold glance. "It's been a real pain, between the roots and the spiders."
Spiders?
X looked down, beholding a large cluster of spiders pooling around and up his boots. Several dozen tiny fangs tried to punch through the alloy shell, and failed miserably, but not without annoyance to the blue bomber. He shook and kicked out with his legs before the arachnids could make any more purchase on his form, and then resorted to just diving out of the way clumsily to dodge another swinging appendage.
Spiders. Great.
The android turned back and took reckless aim with his X-Buster, firing several blasts into the swarm. Bits of cobble and bug guts flew with every bolt, smearing the environment with further scars. Shooting a glance towards the human, X found him winding up a woodcutter's hack of the axe against the trunk of that corrupted wood. The robot jumps high into the air to avoid another swinging root, dispelling the last few spiders clinging to his titanium hide.
Smashing up the tree was all well and good, but something had to be done about those roots and the spiders coming from under them.
Caught in hang-time for a brief instant, X primed his weapon and began to charge it. Surges of solar and plasma energy coursed through his body, pooling most prominently in the X-Buster. He hit the ground with a heavy clunk, a few feet away from his starting position, then threw all his weight into another jump, leaping up and forward. As the ex-Hunter reached the apex of his jump, he took aim with the powered Buster, an indicator flashing green in his cameras as he zeroed in on the intended target: the mass of roots and rubble composing the base of the haunted tree.
"Incoming!" X cried out, warning Kelly of his attack. A large blast of violent plasma erupted from the X-Buster, sailing like a deadly missile towards the base. Hopefully that would slow it down, if nothing more.
Birds scattered off in the distance, distorting the spotted canopy of light with brief small shadows. A terribly earthly crackling sounded out, one that could be deduced to the splintering and falling of leaf-covered wood. A crash more violent than any natural event ought to be shook the mile around the point of impact, scattering animal life away. X pushed on.
Gradually, the blips on the radar grew more apparent, indicating the ex-Maverick Hunter was getting close to his potential ally. The red indicators did not seem as fortunate, as one by one they faded from the readout. That Liberator, whoever they may be, certainly fought the good fight. However, one especially pressing indicator remained strong, as large as the others combined. Something would have to be done about that, and X bore no certainty that such a feat could be done alone.
The near-suffocating presence of trees soon gave way to some ancient stone path, where the sounds of shuddering plant-life resounded. This had to be the place. The blue bomber forced his way through the threshold and charged down the path, quick as his servos could carry him.
Some ancient cobbled temple lay toppled under three different trees, the lower-most one brandishing flailing roots like disgusting tentacles. As the android vaulted over one of the fallen trunks, he witnessed a scene of several beaten or otherwise debilitated people, where the Aide indicated these were enemies. All seemed taken down non-lethally by the only one left standing, a tall long-haired human brandishing a body-length staff. Though X did not make it apparent, he was thankful that the site of the battle did not appear nearly as gruesome as he imagined.
Then the man tore a battle axe from the bloodied corpse of some buff soldier, and X immediately rescinded the thought. Right. Darklings.
It proved a momentary enough distraction for the disgruntled tree-monster to smack the android over the helm with a whipping root. Much like the many other branches X had forced through before, it didn't do much besides knock him forward a step. The sharp metallic clunk the blow produced, however, alerted the present Liberator to the new arrival. Still brandishing the blood-lined axe, he glanced over the newcomer warily.
"Wait-" X's voice came out, stealing Kelly's opportunity to talk. The robot held up his left hand in what the Old Mind first interpreted as a gesture of peace; he quickly realized that the odd gauntlet worn over the hand looked identical to his own. "I've come to help," the android elaborated, trying to standing up tall and instead forcing himself to dodge another flailing root.
The tall man acknowledged this positively and nodded his confirmation. "Well, you're certainly welcome to help chop up that tree right there," he said matter-of-factually, regarding the evil trunk with a cold glance. "It's been a real pain, between the roots and the spiders."
Spiders?
X looked down, beholding a large cluster of spiders pooling around and up his boots. Several dozen tiny fangs tried to punch through the alloy shell, and failed miserably, but not without annoyance to the blue bomber. He shook and kicked out with his legs before the arachnids could make any more purchase on his form, and then resorted to just diving out of the way clumsily to dodge another swinging appendage.
Spiders. Great.
The android turned back and took reckless aim with his X-Buster, firing several blasts into the swarm. Bits of cobble and bug guts flew with every bolt, smearing the environment with further scars. Shooting a glance towards the human, X found him winding up a woodcutter's hack of the axe against the trunk of that corrupted wood. The robot jumps high into the air to avoid another swinging root, dispelling the last few spiders clinging to his titanium hide.
Smashing up the tree was all well and good, but something had to be done about those roots and the spiders coming from under them.
Caught in hang-time for a brief instant, X primed his weapon and began to charge it. Surges of solar and plasma energy coursed through his body, pooling most prominently in the X-Buster. He hit the ground with a heavy clunk, a few feet away from his starting position, then threw all his weight into another jump, leaping up and forward. As the ex-Hunter reached the apex of his jump, he took aim with the powered Buster, an indicator flashing green in his cameras as he zeroed in on the intended target: the mass of roots and rubble composing the base of the haunted tree.
"Incoming!" X cried out, warning Kelly of his attack. A large blast of violent plasma erupted from the X-Buster, sailing like a deadly missile towards the base. Hopefully that would slow it down, if nothing more.