06-25-2017, 07:54 PM
Kelly and X prodding their captive Steve forward, his arms bound with vine, trudged through the jungles. The darkling had directed them on a path that made little sense; there were no markings or way posts to inform them they were on the right track. The going had been tough, requiring them to tear through thick foliage and funnel through tall, spindly grass, hoping all the while that they weren't being led into a trap.
They pushed through a dense curtain of vines covering a small gap between two rock faces, and they shimmied through. On the other side, it was clear that Steve was being true to his word.
Several stone, square buildings rested in the middle of a clearing. Vines and brave trees crept along their surfaces, criss-crossing the deep grey masonry with streaks of verdant plant life. A barren path had been beaten between these ancient structures, two buildings on either side, with the smallest one at the end. There were no signs of any traps or wild beasts; instead, only the chirping of insects, screeching of monkeys and the cawing of birds reaching them from all corners of the Tangled Green.
"It's really quiet here," X said, a hand on his buster.
Kelly poked Steve in the back with a stiff finger. "I thought you said there were traps. Soliders. Where's the danger?"
"I-I don't understand it," Steve said, eyes wild as he glanced feverishly from side to side. "Where is everyone ...?"
A long, silver cone whistled through the air and sank into Steve's neck.
"Quick! Behind one of this buildings!" X said.
The duo grabbed hold of the darkling as he fell to his knees and dragged him into the safety of cover. Another half dozen pointed projectiles thrummed into the building and the soil all around them.
"Steve, this better not be a trap," Kelly warned, but he knew by the unnatural violet colour that spread from the neck wound that it may have been the darkling who was ambushed as well.
Steve tried to move his lips, his face bright red. Foam bubbled from his lips as he choked and spluttered. His head sagged onto the ground, eyes staring into nothing.
"Poison," X said.
"This must be courtesy of the garrison commander," Kelly said, yanking the silver cone from Steve's neck. He manoeuvred it in his hand, causing some of the thin purple toxin to leak from the sharp tip. "And fast-acting, too."
X peered around the corner of the moss eaten stone. A lithe humanoid bee floated on the air before the small stone structure at the end of the path, pointing its clenched fist at their location as another stinger loaded into the launcher affixed to its forearm. It fired, and X ducked behind the building. He felt the wind of the projectile as it whistled past his cheek.
"A bee!" X said, pointing.
Kelly left the darkling corpse and probed beyond their cover with his psychic power. He sensed the bee-man dash into the end building. "He's escaping. The portal must be inside."
Kelly and X sprinted down the path, the psychic all the while spreading out his senses to ensure they didn't run afoul of a trap. They passed through the threshold just as the buzz of the bee-man's wings vanished behind a veil of black.
"What is that?" X asked.
A tangle of vines coiled around themselves to form an arc, beneath which a pulsing oval of black space hummed and vibrated, lightning crackling over its surface.
"That must be the portal that Steve talked about," Kelly said. "Well, we can't let that guy get away."
The world around them shimmered as they slipped through dimensions, chasing their darkling quarry.
The duo choked on the heavy, pungent air as they slipped through the veil. An eerie red light suffused the sky, visible only between the small gaps between the leafy canopy, such a dark green that it almost appeared black. A gossamer-thin layer of fog wafted on the air, manifesting in tiny white wisps that floated and vanished among the breeze. Monstrous trees, some thick and as tall as skyscrapers, held creatures cawing and screeching high in their boughs, though the sound was strangled, deepened and savage.
A wide path had been carved through the untamed wilderness. On either side, exotic plants and vibrant flowers bloomed, though there was something insidious about them; how they swayed in the wind, and how they snapped to Kelly and X as they strode in as if they were being watched.
Kelly held his temples. "Something ... doesn't feel right. I can't ... I can't sense things."
Shadows darted from the undergrowth down the path and sprinted towards the duo.
"Looks like we've got company," X said, raising his arm cannon.
The crimson light peeled the shadows away. A horde of midget humanoids skittered about, wearing blocky wooden masks painted with fierce, grimacing visages. Feathers sprouted from their heads and shoulders, and their grass skirts swayed with their quick movements. Some gripped tubes of bamboo and bags filled with darts, others held onto long machetes crusted with old, dried blood.
"Something tells me they don't want to talk," Kelly said.
A buzzing strangled the air, as if a helicopter was coming in to land. From the apex of the canopy, the bee-man descended, his translucent wings beating feverishly. His silver compound eyes glinted a confronting blood red in the light.
"How perceptive of you," the insect humanoid murmured. "The fetishes usually like talking with their weapons." He clicked his fingers and a low rumbling sounded from behind. They turned, seeing the energies of the portal they just came through thin and dissipate.
"There is no escape from this place. Welcome to your tomb."
They pushed through a dense curtain of vines covering a small gap between two rock faces, and they shimmied through. On the other side, it was clear that Steve was being true to his word.
Several stone, square buildings rested in the middle of a clearing. Vines and brave trees crept along their surfaces, criss-crossing the deep grey masonry with streaks of verdant plant life. A barren path had been beaten between these ancient structures, two buildings on either side, with the smallest one at the end. There were no signs of any traps or wild beasts; instead, only the chirping of insects, screeching of monkeys and the cawing of birds reaching them from all corners of the Tangled Green.
"It's really quiet here," X said, a hand on his buster.
Kelly poked Steve in the back with a stiff finger. "I thought you said there were traps. Soliders. Where's the danger?"
"I-I don't understand it," Steve said, eyes wild as he glanced feverishly from side to side. "Where is everyone ...?"
A long, silver cone whistled through the air and sank into Steve's neck.
"Quick! Behind one of this buildings!" X said.
The duo grabbed hold of the darkling as he fell to his knees and dragged him into the safety of cover. Another half dozen pointed projectiles thrummed into the building and the soil all around them.
"Steve, this better not be a trap," Kelly warned, but he knew by the unnatural violet colour that spread from the neck wound that it may have been the darkling who was ambushed as well.
Steve tried to move his lips, his face bright red. Foam bubbled from his lips as he choked and spluttered. His head sagged onto the ground, eyes staring into nothing.
"Poison," X said.
"This must be courtesy of the garrison commander," Kelly said, yanking the silver cone from Steve's neck. He manoeuvred it in his hand, causing some of the thin purple toxin to leak from the sharp tip. "And fast-acting, too."
X peered around the corner of the moss eaten stone. A lithe humanoid bee floated on the air before the small stone structure at the end of the path, pointing its clenched fist at their location as another stinger loaded into the launcher affixed to its forearm. It fired, and X ducked behind the building. He felt the wind of the projectile as it whistled past his cheek.
"A bee!" X said, pointing.
Kelly left the darkling corpse and probed beyond their cover with his psychic power. He sensed the bee-man dash into the end building. "He's escaping. The portal must be inside."
Kelly and X sprinted down the path, the psychic all the while spreading out his senses to ensure they didn't run afoul of a trap. They passed through the threshold just as the buzz of the bee-man's wings vanished behind a veil of black.
"What is that?" X asked.
A tangle of vines coiled around themselves to form an arc, beneath which a pulsing oval of black space hummed and vibrated, lightning crackling over its surface.
"That must be the portal that Steve talked about," Kelly said. "Well, we can't let that guy get away."
The world around them shimmered as they slipped through dimensions, chasing their darkling quarry.
The duo choked on the heavy, pungent air as they slipped through the veil. An eerie red light suffused the sky, visible only between the small gaps between the leafy canopy, such a dark green that it almost appeared black. A gossamer-thin layer of fog wafted on the air, manifesting in tiny white wisps that floated and vanished among the breeze. Monstrous trees, some thick and as tall as skyscrapers, held creatures cawing and screeching high in their boughs, though the sound was strangled, deepened and savage.
A wide path had been carved through the untamed wilderness. On either side, exotic plants and vibrant flowers bloomed, though there was something insidious about them; how they swayed in the wind, and how they snapped to Kelly and X as they strode in as if they were being watched.
Kelly held his temples. "Something ... doesn't feel right. I can't ... I can't sense things."
Shadows darted from the undergrowth down the path and sprinted towards the duo.
"Looks like we've got company," X said, raising his arm cannon.
The crimson light peeled the shadows away. A horde of midget humanoids skittered about, wearing blocky wooden masks painted with fierce, grimacing visages. Feathers sprouted from their heads and shoulders, and their grass skirts swayed with their quick movements. Some gripped tubes of bamboo and bags filled with darts, others held onto long machetes crusted with old, dried blood.
"Something tells me they don't want to talk," Kelly said.
A buzzing strangled the air, as if a helicopter was coming in to land. From the apex of the canopy, the bee-man descended, his translucent wings beating feverishly. His silver compound eyes glinted a confronting blood red in the light.
"How perceptive of you," the insect humanoid murmured. "The fetishes usually like talking with their weapons." He clicked his fingers and a low rumbling sounded from behind. They turned, seeing the energies of the portal they just came through thin and dissipate.
"There is no escape from this place. Welcome to your tomb."
Quote:Congrats, you've made it into Nebula Space! Pity about Steve, though ...
The Nebula Space of the green is a place of nightmares, taking every horrid legend about the worst, darkest parts of jungles and forests and making them real. All manner of creatures lurk among the trees and plants, corrupted by the dark powers Nebula offers. The forces of Nebula make their lairs and produce their corruptive ‘gifts’ in massive treetop fortresses and great temples carved out of huge trees and built from stone. Due to the claustrophobic, living environs, the following changes are in effect:
-- Enhanced Senses ceases to function at all
-- Anyone with the Regeneration power will find its use restored
-- Anyone who does not have the Regeneration power will gain it at the Basic level
Meet the darkling commander:
Hornet Man.EXE
Hornet Man is a vicious and swift opponent who delights in poisoning his foes and making them suffer. He prefers to attack from a distance, so maybe getting in close would put him at a disadvantage. He is heavily reliant on his wings, but it'll be a cold day in hell before he lets you touch them. He has switched off the only way out of Nebula Space and the portal won't return until he's dealt with.
Proficiencies: Physical Strength, Ranged Proficiency, Debuff Proficency
Powers: Flight, Burst Movement, Super Speed, Basic Regen
Moves: Stingers, Venom, Buzz Wave
Stingers - Hornet Man loads two silver, cone shaped projectiles from compartments on his forearm and fires them with like arrows. Their tips are extremely sharp and will puncture anything they hit.
Venom - Each of Hornet Man's stingers are slathered in venom. This poison is extremely deadly to secondaries but those with at least Basic Regeneration (which is both Kelly and X for the moment) can survive it. However the venom will numb and immobilise the part of the body it hits for around ten to fifteen seconds. Extra applications of venom will increase the numbing time by the same amount.
Buzz Wave - Hornet Man flaps his wings until they blur and fires a crescent-shaped wave of sound energy. This creates an ear-splitting buzz upon impact and can tear chunks of bark from the thick trees nearby.
ATK: 3
DEF: 2
SPD: 6
TEC: 2
Hornet Man is supported by an entourage of fetishes; small tribal-like demons who can stand on each others' shoulders to form a totem. They aren't very powerful or resilient but they're speedy and irritating. Their weapons include machetes, spears and blow-darts.
ATK: 1
DEF: 0
SPD: 3
TEC: 1
You guys have six days to post, with a maximum of 1600 words each across as many posts as you want. Do it for Steve!
![[Image: hornetman_exe_by_higure_san-d2h9t82.jpg]](http://img05.deviantart.net/13a9/i/2010/279/4/8/hornetman_exe_by_higure_san-d2h9t82.jpg)
![[Image: 4wyQK2D.png]](https://www.diabloii.net/gallery/data/620/medium/4wyQK2D.png)