06-27-2017, 10:05 AM
The humidity was thick in the air, making any movement that much more taxing. Zack and Caira ran through the jungle as fast as they could, regardless of it. The sounds of gunfire came from down the path, and it made them pick up the pace. There was screaming and shouting of some sort, too. It had to be their people. The men ahead were just scientists, and even if they were well armed, they weren’t exactly trained to use their weapons effectively. They needed help.
Zack continued to run, then recognized that he was only hearing the sound of one gun. That couldn’t be good. There was certainly more than one of them, so why would only a single individual be firing if they were in combat with something?
“Zack!” Caira screamed from behind him. “Above you!”
Zack stopped in his tracks, and a large tribal man landed before him. The native was covered in tattoos and wielded a large spear that he immediately swung at Zack. The ex-SOLDIER leaped backwards to dodge the strike, then stepped back in and hit the savage across the face with a right hook. The man recoiled from the blow, but didn’t lose his footing. Zack stepped in and hit him with another fist, but this time the steadfast native countered by smashing the hilt of the spear into Zack’s chin.
While Zack stumbled back from the impact, Caira replaced him in the scuffle. She stepped in with her fist powered up, and slammed it into the savage’s chest. A burst of energy from the violent blow hurled them both backwards. However, while Caira was flung into Zack’s waiting arms, the native hit a tree, jarring his skull against it before collapsing to the ground.
“That was awesome!” Zack commented as he released Caira’s waist.
“I can still hear the battle!” she quickly redirected his attention to the crisis at hand.
Zack shook his head and chalked it up to another mystery of this strange girl, but ran right after her. Caira stayed on point, her heart pounding at the thought of something happening to the scientists they were supposed to protect. They stepped over fallen bodies as they came closer to the gunfire, and Zack looked them over. None of their people were among the corpses, only more tribal men and the strange horse-like creatures that can devoured a man before them. Somehow, they were holding their ground.
They entered a clearing, and the scientists were ducked low, their suits stained and ruined by the mud of the jungle. Standing tall amongst the carnage was a single man, with a rifle shouldered as he fired rounds from it. As they arrived, the lone protector shot down the last unicorn-like monstrosity, giving a brief pause to the chaos. The stench of blood still hung in the air, though. Anyone around would know that a brutal battle had taken place.
Zack couldn’t believe their luck that some nomad had been here to protect their people. He wasn’t a fool, however. He knew there was always a price in the Omniverse. Good hearted people didn’t come by often. Sure enough, as they approached, the man turned and aimed the barrel of his assault rifle directly at the two primes. Zack was quick to step in front of Caira, and raise the Bolt Materia in his right hand, ready to put a lightning bolt into the man’s chest.
“We’re with them!” Zack said as he gestured towards the group of scientists.
Caira looked the man up and down. He had a thick beard, long, shaggy hair, and tattered clothing. He looked more like a homeless bum than any sort of warrior, but she knew not to underestimate any inhabitant of the Omniverse. Especially with his handiwork laying all over the place.
“They don’t know what they’re doing,” the vagabond spat in response.
“We do,” Zack countered with the simple fact of the matter.
A warcry echoed in the distance. More were coming. Zack and the strange man took cover behind two opposite trees, while Caira ducked low a little bit behind them. The man checked his rifle, and made sure when he popped around the corner he would be ready to unleash more hell. Zack, meanwhile, stowed his Materia and drew the Buster Sword, then rested the edge against the ground as he waited. He looked over to the strange man, figuring he’d better get the pleasantries out of the way.
“Zack, by the way,” the super soldier said with a nod. “And that’s Ayryn.”
The nomad gave a brief nod of his own. “Abner.”
Another scream echoed outwards, this time much closer. Zack spun around the trunk of his tree at the same time Abner popped out from his, and the younger soldier ran forwards while the older man opened fire on the approaching horde.
Caira watched for just a moment as Zack began skillfully cutting through the raging natives, supported by perfectly aimed blaster fire from Abner. She realized the two of them had it for the moment, so she doubled back to check on the scientists.
Spears were hurled at the two men from a distance, but Abner skillfully put down the ranged assaulters from long range with his blaster rifle. Meanwhile, the best warriors each tried to engage Zack head on, but with his massive sword and talented handling of it, he was able to deal with the ground quite effortlessly. With each swing of his sword, Zack noted the laser bolts sailing just past his shoulder and striking the right adversaries down. He was used to operating in the midst of gunfire, but this dude really trusted his own abilities to be shooting this close.
As the ranged attackers were finished off, Abner got to work on the crowd immediately surrounding Zack. He noted the speed and prowess of the young warrior, and realized very quickly that he had plenty of formal training. It was nice to run across someone that didn’t need their hand held for a change. Not to mention the guy was operating in the middle of his own firestorm without complaint.
The battle raged for just a short amount of time, and Caira looked back after speaking with the scientists to see that it was already winding down. In short order, the assault trickled down to almost nothing, with the few survivors scrambling into the woods hastily. Abner joined Zack, his rifle’s barrel still smoking.
“Are they alright?!” Zack shouted back to Caira as he slung the Buster Sword over his shoulder and returned it to its resting place on his back.
“They’ll be okay!” Caira confirmed.
“They’ll be back,” Abner advised the young prime. “They always come back. You’d better take your people and go.”
“We can’t,” Zack shook his head. “This island might hold the secret to something we’re looking for.”
“There’s not a damn thing on this island you’d want to take off of it,” Abner spat back, dropping his rifle and letting the sling catch it. “Just these natives and their crazy pets. You’d better cut your losses and haul ass.”
“If that’s the case, what are you doing here, then?” Zack asked incredulously as Caira joined them once more.
“Looking for someone,” Abner curtly answered as he lit a cigarette.
“And if those nutjobs got your friend?” Zack incredulously asked.
“They didn’t,” Abner answered without missing a beat. The confidence in his voice made Zack decide not to press the issue.
“Well, you didn’t happen to see a big star piece fall from the sky and land around here, did you?” Zack asked, changing the subject to their interests.
Caira bit her lip and inhaled a little. She didn’t like Zack just blurting out what they were looking for to any random stranger, even if he’d helped them out.
“On this island?” Abner responded. “No. But there was something kind of like that a ways out.”
“Wait, really?” Caira quickly perked up. “You saw it fall from the sky?”
“I was sailing with some pirates at the time, we saw it hit down,” Abner nodded. “It was a good bit northwest of here. It hit the open water, though, so good luck with that.”
Zack crossed his arms as he thought about that. If it sank, if would be much harder to find, even with a submarine. It wasn’t something that could be pinpointed. Still, eyewitness testimony was good enough for him. They could look for residue from the falling star on the islands in that area to try and get some sort of closer co-ordinates. With Clowney’s team and their brainpower, it was within reach.
“We can work with that,” Zack acknowledged. “Hey, thanks.”
Caira nodded politely, too, having had a similar thought process as Zack.
Zack then thought for a minute before asking a second question. “Hey, this is important to the whole Omniverse, and you’re pretty good in a fight. We could use your help. Why don’t you come with us?”
“Sorry, buddy,” Abner shook his head. “I’ve been to both heaven and hell is this fucked up realm, so I don’t much care for the inbetween stuff anymore.”
“Then who are you looking for?” Caira tilted her head as she contemplated Abner’s words. Did he mean that same heaven she’d seen? She had to push the issue without revealing what she knew about it.
“Heaven, again,” Abner answered, though he cringed a bit at his own cheesiness once he’d said it. Whatever. “Good luck out there, you two.”
“You, too, Abner. And thanks,” Zack shook hands with tattered gunslinger.
Zack and Caira watched as the man turned and disappeared into the jungle, off on his own adventures. The ragged looking man had clearly seen better, if not cleaner days. But, such was the nature of the Omniverse. Everyone was on their own path, they just sometimes crossed with others. Caira mentally noted that he didn’t exactly answer her question, but Zack was meanwhile chalking it up that they might one day meet again.
“Come on,” Zack said aloud. “Let’s get these guys back to the sub.”
Zack turned and began to make his way towards the surviving scientists. After all, they had work to do, too.
Zack continued to run, then recognized that he was only hearing the sound of one gun. That couldn’t be good. There was certainly more than one of them, so why would only a single individual be firing if they were in combat with something?
“Zack!” Caira screamed from behind him. “Above you!”
Zack stopped in his tracks, and a large tribal man landed before him. The native was covered in tattoos and wielded a large spear that he immediately swung at Zack. The ex-SOLDIER leaped backwards to dodge the strike, then stepped back in and hit the savage across the face with a right hook. The man recoiled from the blow, but didn’t lose his footing. Zack stepped in and hit him with another fist, but this time the steadfast native countered by smashing the hilt of the spear into Zack’s chin.
While Zack stumbled back from the impact, Caira replaced him in the scuffle. She stepped in with her fist powered up, and slammed it into the savage’s chest. A burst of energy from the violent blow hurled them both backwards. However, while Caira was flung into Zack’s waiting arms, the native hit a tree, jarring his skull against it before collapsing to the ground.
“That was awesome!” Zack commented as he released Caira’s waist.
“I can still hear the battle!” she quickly redirected his attention to the crisis at hand.
Zack shook his head and chalked it up to another mystery of this strange girl, but ran right after her. Caira stayed on point, her heart pounding at the thought of something happening to the scientists they were supposed to protect. They stepped over fallen bodies as they came closer to the gunfire, and Zack looked them over. None of their people were among the corpses, only more tribal men and the strange horse-like creatures that can devoured a man before them. Somehow, they were holding their ground.
They entered a clearing, and the scientists were ducked low, their suits stained and ruined by the mud of the jungle. Standing tall amongst the carnage was a single man, with a rifle shouldered as he fired rounds from it. As they arrived, the lone protector shot down the last unicorn-like monstrosity, giving a brief pause to the chaos. The stench of blood still hung in the air, though. Anyone around would know that a brutal battle had taken place.
Zack couldn’t believe their luck that some nomad had been here to protect their people. He wasn’t a fool, however. He knew there was always a price in the Omniverse. Good hearted people didn’t come by often. Sure enough, as they approached, the man turned and aimed the barrel of his assault rifle directly at the two primes. Zack was quick to step in front of Caira, and raise the Bolt Materia in his right hand, ready to put a lightning bolt into the man’s chest.
“We’re with them!” Zack said as he gestured towards the group of scientists.
Caira looked the man up and down. He had a thick beard, long, shaggy hair, and tattered clothing. He looked more like a homeless bum than any sort of warrior, but she knew not to underestimate any inhabitant of the Omniverse. Especially with his handiwork laying all over the place.
“They don’t know what they’re doing,” the vagabond spat in response.
“We do,” Zack countered with the simple fact of the matter.
A warcry echoed in the distance. More were coming. Zack and the strange man took cover behind two opposite trees, while Caira ducked low a little bit behind them. The man checked his rifle, and made sure when he popped around the corner he would be ready to unleash more hell. Zack, meanwhile, stowed his Materia and drew the Buster Sword, then rested the edge against the ground as he waited. He looked over to the strange man, figuring he’d better get the pleasantries out of the way.
“Zack, by the way,” the super soldier said with a nod. “And that’s Ayryn.”
The nomad gave a brief nod of his own. “Abner.”
Another scream echoed outwards, this time much closer. Zack spun around the trunk of his tree at the same time Abner popped out from his, and the younger soldier ran forwards while the older man opened fire on the approaching horde.
Caira watched for just a moment as Zack began skillfully cutting through the raging natives, supported by perfectly aimed blaster fire from Abner. She realized the two of them had it for the moment, so she doubled back to check on the scientists.
Spears were hurled at the two men from a distance, but Abner skillfully put down the ranged assaulters from long range with his blaster rifle. Meanwhile, the best warriors each tried to engage Zack head on, but with his massive sword and talented handling of it, he was able to deal with the ground quite effortlessly. With each swing of his sword, Zack noted the laser bolts sailing just past his shoulder and striking the right adversaries down. He was used to operating in the midst of gunfire, but this dude really trusted his own abilities to be shooting this close.
As the ranged attackers were finished off, Abner got to work on the crowd immediately surrounding Zack. He noted the speed and prowess of the young warrior, and realized very quickly that he had plenty of formal training. It was nice to run across someone that didn’t need their hand held for a change. Not to mention the guy was operating in the middle of his own firestorm without complaint.
The battle raged for just a short amount of time, and Caira looked back after speaking with the scientists to see that it was already winding down. In short order, the assault trickled down to almost nothing, with the few survivors scrambling into the woods hastily. Abner joined Zack, his rifle’s barrel still smoking.
“Are they alright?!” Zack shouted back to Caira as he slung the Buster Sword over his shoulder and returned it to its resting place on his back.
“They’ll be okay!” Caira confirmed.
“They’ll be back,” Abner advised the young prime. “They always come back. You’d better take your people and go.”
“We can’t,” Zack shook his head. “This island might hold the secret to something we’re looking for.”
“There’s not a damn thing on this island you’d want to take off of it,” Abner spat back, dropping his rifle and letting the sling catch it. “Just these natives and their crazy pets. You’d better cut your losses and haul ass.”
“If that’s the case, what are you doing here, then?” Zack asked incredulously as Caira joined them once more.
“Looking for someone,” Abner curtly answered as he lit a cigarette.
“And if those nutjobs got your friend?” Zack incredulously asked.
“They didn’t,” Abner answered without missing a beat. The confidence in his voice made Zack decide not to press the issue.
“Well, you didn’t happen to see a big star piece fall from the sky and land around here, did you?” Zack asked, changing the subject to their interests.
Caira bit her lip and inhaled a little. She didn’t like Zack just blurting out what they were looking for to any random stranger, even if he’d helped them out.
“On this island?” Abner responded. “No. But there was something kind of like that a ways out.”
“Wait, really?” Caira quickly perked up. “You saw it fall from the sky?”
“I was sailing with some pirates at the time, we saw it hit down,” Abner nodded. “It was a good bit northwest of here. It hit the open water, though, so good luck with that.”
Zack crossed his arms as he thought about that. If it sank, if would be much harder to find, even with a submarine. It wasn’t something that could be pinpointed. Still, eyewitness testimony was good enough for him. They could look for residue from the falling star on the islands in that area to try and get some sort of closer co-ordinates. With Clowney’s team and their brainpower, it was within reach.
“We can work with that,” Zack acknowledged. “Hey, thanks.”
Caira nodded politely, too, having had a similar thought process as Zack.
Zack then thought for a minute before asking a second question. “Hey, this is important to the whole Omniverse, and you’re pretty good in a fight. We could use your help. Why don’t you come with us?”
“Sorry, buddy,” Abner shook his head. “I’ve been to both heaven and hell is this fucked up realm, so I don’t much care for the inbetween stuff anymore.”
“Then who are you looking for?” Caira tilted her head as she contemplated Abner’s words. Did he mean that same heaven she’d seen? She had to push the issue without revealing what she knew about it.
“Heaven, again,” Abner answered, though he cringed a bit at his own cheesiness once he’d said it. Whatever. “Good luck out there, you two.”
“You, too, Abner. And thanks,” Zack shook hands with tattered gunslinger.
Zack and Caira watched as the man turned and disappeared into the jungle, off on his own adventures. The ragged looking man had clearly seen better, if not cleaner days. But, such was the nature of the Omniverse. Everyone was on their own path, they just sometimes crossed with others. Caira mentally noted that he didn’t exactly answer her question, but Zack was meanwhile chalking it up that they might one day meet again.
“Come on,” Zack said aloud. “Let’s get these guys back to the sub.”
Zack turned and began to make his way towards the surviving scientists. After all, they had work to do, too.