Royal Road
1
SomethingOtherThanRain
Intelligent Design: A Monster Evolution LitRPG by Kienti
73 - Observatory
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David angled his descent back towards Claire, wings beating powerfully as his mind raced with possibilities. He could scarcely believe the scene frozen atop the barren peak, rusting vehicles and collapsed structures surrounding that colossal steel behemoth. It took him longer to descend than he thought it would, not realizing just how far into the sky he had actually climbed, and slowly the individual trees resolved out of the patchwork of color below him. David had no problem finding where Claire was still slowly plodding up the mountain, the Pack System guiding him unerringly toward her like a pin drawn to a magnet, and he knew she could similarly feel him approaching.
As he spotted Claire's bulky form plodding through the undergrowth, the frequent sound of crunching brush heralding her presence just as clearly as the trail she left behind, David felt a rising thrill of excitement. He alighted on a thick branch, allowing himself to swing down to hang as he looked at her, wings mantling briefly.
"Claire! You're not gonna believe this, I think we might have lucked out. Ish. It's weirder than I thought it would be, though."
She cocked her head quizzically as David dangled down above her. "What're you babbling about now? Did you find the observatory at least?"
"Yeah, one issue though…" He launched into a fervid recap of the telescope array's incredible scale, the crumbling support buildings, and most crucially, "...there's like an entire military operation just collecting dust up there. Trucks, choppers, heavy armor, the works. Looks like they'd been there for a while too, maybe they brought it all in at once but…the longer I think about it the more I realize how long it would actually take to get that all there."
Claire's eyes narrowed. "Why the hell would the military make a grab for some rinky-dink observatory by Redfield, of all places?"
David's wings flared emphatically. "That's just it, I don't think this was entirely on the level, at least for a while. The dish up there feels big enough to swallow this whole mountain, there's multiple buildings, and it looks like they slapped up more in a hurry. Somebody must have known something, like, way ahead of time."
Claire's stance settled a bit as she processed the information with an air of anxiety, "So…there's a pretty good chance someone did hatch up there, maybe a few people. Except instead of some scientists, there's a chance it might be someone that doesn't know anything?"
"Yeah…that would suck." David flattened his ears in frustration. "Whatever they knew, it was enough of an oh-shit situation to make some big moves. They obviously had a lot of people there. Either way, if there's anyone still around I bet they know more than we do."
Claire rumbled contemplatively, "Was it all run down like everything else? You're small enough to fit inside almost everywhere, I'm probably not gonna fit in the lobby to look around. Did you see the old telescope anywhere?"
"Yes and no, and no. I was pretty far away." David flitted down from the branch to land on his spot on her back, "It's not overgrown or anything, so that's a bonus. It's definitely seen better days though. The main buildings are still standing, all the little ones got knocked over by the wind, I think. It's mostly just rocks up there."
Without another word, Claire turned and began picking her way upslope, nostrils flaring determinedly. David continued to describe the scene, and warned her that he hadn't seen any easy way up from the air, most of the mountain having suffered landslides at some point or another.
The higher they climbed, the more the terrain devolved into a maze of tumbled grayish-brown boulders and slick rock faces. Claire's heavy footfalls sent pebbles skittering as she painstakingly picked her way upwards. David soared ahead frequently, scouting for the easiest path through the treacherous scree slopes. He called out course corrections periodically, his shrill voice carrying clearly on the thin mountain air. Despite the grueling ascent, Claire seemed to be enjoying herself more than usual when confronted with a steep hike.
Man, I really hope we find someone still up there that isn't a dick. I don't feel like getting drafted or something, it's pretty clear everything isn't going back to normal anytime soon. Last thing I want is to run into some crazy guy that thinks we can fight this off somehow… heh, I'll share my Status and show them Omega's little avatar if that happens. That should clear that up pretty quick, Claire handled it worse than I did when I showed her. I didn't think she could make a noise like that.
Eventually the shattered remains of an access road came into view, the buckled asphalt ribbon still clinging tenaciously to the stony mountainside. Claire rumbled in satisfaction, lugging herself fully onto the road and allowing David to take the lead. He glided within shouting distance above her, eyes skipping over the collapsing road ahead of them with mild concern as he surfed on the wind. The road was just barely hanging on to the steep slope, and there was a concerning amount of overhang in places that forced him to intervene.
"Hey, stay on the side closest to the mountain." David barked mischievously down to the enormous reptile below him as she shot him a curious look, "It's washed out in a few spots, might go over if a big fat lizard walked on it."
Claire snapped her jaws toward him several times in rapid succession, attempting to shoot him a rude gesture with her tiny clawed arms and making him chuckle a bit as he watched her drift away from the dangerous sections.
As they continued the circuitous climb, scattered debris gradually materialized amid the boulders and debris that littered the road, twisted guardrails, shredded tarpaulins, and at one point an entire smashed utility vehicle lying on its side.
"Looks like they were still driving when the Integration started!" Claire called up to him, eyeing the wreckage.
David banked lower, inspecting the scene with a critical eye. "Damn, that sucks. I was sitting down doing nothing and it was pretty rough, can't even imagine trying to drive up a cliff when everything started going weird. Dude's lucky he didn't go over the edge and die."
His voice caught abruptly as something else amid the rubble registered, and a quick burst of curious Echolocation revealed the bones nestled innocuously amid the debris, tattered strips of uniform still clinging in places. David swallowed hard against a sudden lump in his throat. He wheeled away from the vehicle and quickly looped back to Claire's position, suddenly uncomfortable.
Oh, shit. Sorry, whoever you were. I feel like an asshole now. Nothing you could have done, wasn't even your fault, I doubt you could even tell where the road was. Fuck…must have been quick at least, if it got you before the System did.
Eventually the shattered husk of the installation's main gate loomed into view, hanging askew from its bent archway. It had been a simple, utilitarian construction, and it had held up fairly well against the wind and time. Small drifts of sandy dirt had collected in places and piled high against the sun bleached brick.
David's instincts suddenly snarled a warning, and he blurted it out loud, "I'm getting a weird feeling about this, Spooky doesn't like it all of a sudden."
Claire immediately dropped into a defensive crouch, sweeping the crumbling facade as she sniffed loudly while David hovered protectively above her. An eerie stillness blanketed the compound, only the faint groan of twisted metal giving any hint of disturbance. He began to feel slightly stupid as Claire exhaled forcefully and gave him a confused look.
"I can't smell anything." Claire growled quizzically as she slowly straightened up and her shadow lengthened to cover one of the many potholes in the road under her, "Hot rocks, metal, and dirt mostly. Some plastic, I think, but it's pretty faint. You sure 'Spooky' isn't malfunctioning or something?"
"Never has before." David grumbled as he directed his irritation at his subconscious. Spooky remained resolute in its snarling, and it metaphorically eyed the observatory ahead of them distrustfully as David frowned.
The decrepit outbuildings and collapsed temporary structures made it clear the observatory compound hadn't had any visitors or wildlife rolling through. Rusty metal scraps and shredded canvas littered the ground amidst shattered concrete and the remains of what looked to be a small parking lot that looped around the side of the main building. The neatly arranged vehicles David had seen from the air looked much more imposing in person, armored personnel carriers, tarped trucks, long blocky helicopters, all still sat in orderly lines. He noticed a few of them still had their hoods up, tools scattered around below them near rusty heaps that had once been carts and toolboxes, engines full of sandy dirt packed deep into the machinery.
"Doesn't look like anything violent happened here," David's voice echoed slightly in the stillness. "They definitely didn't know we were all gonna get melted down into eggs. Look around, people were still doing their jobs when it hit."
Claire rumbled in agreement as they slowly approached the main observatory building, and Claire stomped down the remains of a sagging chain-link fence to step over it daintily. The great radio telescope dish rose hundreds of feet overhead, the only intact structure aside from the adjacent offices and labs. David glided ahead to land near a small patio that connected to the front of the building. His talons tapped anxiously on the hard surface as he fired a few Echolocation's through the shattered glass of the doors and almost immediately the return wave came back with nothing but a dirt-filled entryway.
"Looks clear inside," he called back. "But it smells musty, not like rot."
Claire nodded slowly as she swung her head around to look behind her, taking in the vehicles and assorted debris with a sigh.
"Alright, you check it out a little bit but keep your head down. I'll look around out here, there's no way I'm gonna fit inside." She grumbled as she swung toward the boneyard of vehicles, "Doesn't seem like there's anyone still here, but you never know. If you see any bugs, leave them alone this time."
David stuck his tongue out at her, quickly retracting it and shooting her a guilty grin as she turned at the noise. He nodded before she rolled her eyes and continued to stomp off around the side of the building, stepping carefully back over the smushed fence as she went.
Must be annoying being that big sometimes. Definitely worth it in a fight, but she's stuck outside most of the time unless she just forces her way in. She only really ever fit into the warehouse back at Riverport, and that door was a bit of a squeeze even before the extra armor.
David turned and loped forward, ducking through the entryway, and stopping briefly to eye the trash and debris scattered about. He examined the desk set into the far wall before simply hauling himself atop the rusty metal furniture and rifling through the drawers on the other side. They took a bit of yanking to open, and he cringed at the noise they made as he hauled them open one at a time.
Bunch of old rats-nest looking things, dried out telephone books, staples, useless pens, I think that used to be a notepad? Sunglasses, keys, purse. Cell Phone next to the actual phone, yep. Damn, David, what were you expecting top secret classified documents right inside the door?
David nodded from his perch on the rusty desk, more out of habit than for anyone else's sake. Spooky had quieted down some, but continued to hiss and spit every so often throughout the process, and he began to wish he had a water-bottle to spritz him with.
Oh my god, I know you don't like it. Chill out. We came all the way here to look around, and it might help us figure out what those lights in the sky are, remember those? You don't like those worse than this, and I'm pretty sure you're just a gut-feeling with a megaphone anyway. I'm basically talking to myself.
David took a few deep breaths to calm his anxiety before he hopped off of the desk and slid slightly on the linoleum before he got his balance again. He shot an evil look into the dusty floor and cursed whoever had invented the wretched material, understanding all too well now why some animals had hated the stuff. David carefully adjusted the way he was walking, his gait seeming unnatural and stilted to him as he shifted weight off of his talons and claws.
As he pushed through to the central corridor, David's ears suddenly pricked up, and he felt more than heard an odd vibration somewhere deep in the building. A strange resonance moved through the structure, tickling at the edge of his senses, and Spooky immediately threw a fit. He narrowed his eyes, jaws chattering while his Echolocation pulsed outwards down the hallway ahead of him. He was still sorting through the multi-layered and multi-directional images he got back as the pulses spread through multiple open doorways when it finally jumped out at him.
There, nestled beneath a sagging roof section on the left side of the hallway, almost buried in moldy drop-ceiling. A hollow, brittle shape the size of a large man, its interior slowly filling with flecks of both itself and the falling ceiling insulation as it crumbled in the dry air.
An eggshell.
David suffered a simultaneous wave of excitement and renewed anxiety as he froze, the images slowly fading away as he cut off his Special. He was surprised, but not as much as he thought he would be, having hoped to find someone here from the beginning. David shook his head, slinking lower to the floor before letting Spooky out of his cage a bit as he began to lurk down the rapidly darkening hallway. He fell into a familiar rhythm as he fired Echolocation then darted ahead, paused to sniff, then repeated the process. David split his attention slightly between listening for actual sounds and to his own mapping ability as he moved deeper into the building.
He found another eggshell in what looked to be a small cafeteria off the main hallway, lying almost completely smashed to pieces like a pile of broken glass. To David, it looked like it had rolled backwards off the bench the second whoever it was had tried to force their way out, shattering on the floor as they had panicked. David retracted his wing and let the door swing shut, clicking his talons against the tile below him as he considered his options.
That's two in like ten minutes, almost right inside and then just down the hall at the first real intersection. I know that not a lot of people made it into Wave 1, so either they got really lucky or there was an absolute shitload of people here. I'm leaning towards the latter, because of the sheer amount of vehicles outside. You can fit a lot of people on some of those things, not even counting the big ass helicopters…there's probably someone still here somewhere. I'm gonna go tell Claire, then come back and poke around some more, I think.
David shot a glance over his shoulder, looking both ways down the corridor before scampering back the way he came.
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Royal Road
1
SomethingOtherThanRain
Intelligent Design: A Monster Evolution LitRPG by Kienti
74 - Surprising Observation
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Claire was so engrossed in rummaging through the back of the truck that she didn't notice David approaching until he was nearly upon her. Her tail swayed lazily as she nuzzled her snout into every nook, snuffling loudly at whatever scent she found buried there. David banked around the corner of the main building, wings held rigid while he silently cut through the air, nearing Claire's position he folded them and dropped to the ground, the impact kicking up a small puff of dust. Transitioning seamlessly into a loping run, he bled off speed, and only once he had slowed to a trot did Claire finally extract her head from the truck bed, snout now smudged with grit. She turned to face him, tail wagging slightly as she gave him a look that was half curiosity, half surprise.
"David! I thought you were gonna look around inside?." Claire hissed suspiciously as she shot a worried look behind him, "Nothing's chasing you, right?"
"What? No. Why do you always assume…" David trailed off in a slightly offended voice before continuing to the important part, "Anyway, look. I found, like, two Eggshells already. There might actually be people hiding around here somewhere. I thought I wouldn't be stupid for once and come warn you before I go back and really poke around…you know, in case something is actually chasing me on my way out next time."
"Wait, really? Ugh, and of course I'm stuck outside again. Fine. You want me to hang around the front of the building then?" Claire sighed, shooting a wistful glance at the darkened windows of the main lab. She clacked her jaws together in irritation, and the sound echoed back dully from the huge building in the distance, causing David's ears to swivel around rapidly.
David shook his head, still squinting mightily in the sunlight after his eyes had rapidly adjusted to the darkness inside the observatory.
"No, just letting you know we might not be alone, even if you can't smell anything. They might just be holed up inside."
"I hope they're still here…" Claire muttered quietly. David couldn't help but agree, and he shuffled closer to shoot her a fair approximation of a thumbs up in encouragement.
"Here's hoping, honestly. I'd love to know why the hell the military got involved...and like a million other things" David's ears perked forward with interest as he shot a glance back over his shoulder at the helicopters lined up neatly a few hundred yards away.
I wonder if I should just try asking Omega directly. You know what, I'll try sending another bug report or query or something when we're done here. Worst I'm gonna get is no reply...right?
"Well, have fun spelunking, I guess." Claire grumbled as she bumped the truck she'd been investigating with her snout, "I'll just keep looking around out here. I'll roar if I find anything, or something finds me."
David gave Claire a distracted nod as he snapped out of his thoughts before turning and flapping upwards, zipping back towards the building's entrance through the hot dry air. He landed on the concrete patio, and he quickly slowed to a cautious stalk as he neared the empty shattered doors, not even breathing heavily from the quick burst of speed. Sweeping his gaze across the lobby, he noticed the front desk he'd already investigated still undisturbed, and wondered what it must have been like for the woman that had worked there when the government had arrived.
Creeping forward, David extended his senses, straining to detect any sounds or movements from within. Satisfied there was no immediate threat, he slipped through the doors and into the dimly lit interior. Dust motes danced in the few shafts of daylight filtering in through gaping windows as David's eyes rapidly adjusted to the dimming light again.
He moved silently down the main corridor, talons clicking softly on the tiled floor. Faint scuff marks in the dust layering every surface betrayed where he had passed through recently, and his eyes narrowed as he realized he'd been leaving a trail of breadcrumbs without noticing. David's pulse quickened slightly as he neared the doorway leading to the cafeteria off the intersection where he'd originally paused, and he glanced at the ceiling thoughtfully.
Nope, not gonna hold me this time. It's all ugly drop ceiling…damn, would have been a good way to stop leaving tracks. Walls are all drywall and tile, I think it'd leave more of a mess than the tracks. Guess for now I just deal with – Wait a second.
David experimentally flapped his wings a few times, scrunching his eyes shut against the dust that billowed up and slowly resettled over the floor in a more-or-less uniform coating. It didn't look natural, but it had cleared his tracks and would have to work. If he had to run, he could just drop a cloud of Gloom and allow it to mix with the ambient dust while he high-tailed it. Still, he lifted himself as far from the floor as he could and attempted to tiptoe around as quietly as possible to minimize the contact his leathery wings had with the floor when he began to move forward through the darkened hallways. David quickly resumes his previous strategy of pulsing waves of Echolocation's forward, darting into position, and investigating his immediate surroundings before moving again.
He continued to explore the smaller rooms, finding only two more eggshells as he plunged deeper into the lab before something else finally piqued his interest.
Easing his head around a corner, David surveyed the entrance to the cavernous space his latest Echolocation had hinted at behind a pair of swinging doors, the waves dissipating into incoherent fuzz before they had returned. He approached carefully before slowly easing the left door open, cringing internally at the thunderous whine the rusted hinges produced.
A latticed girder framework supported a large complex looking piece of machinery that seemed to have been hastily brought in, and it dominated a large section of the room toward the back wall. Control stations with dark screens and instrument panels lined the outer rim of the auditorium, seemingly frozen in time and buried under mummified scraps of paperwork and a thick layer of dust. It was perfectly dark, and David would have to rely heavily on his Special to maneuver through the cluttered space as he slowly pushed the door open and stood in the threshold.
Scenting the air, David detected only stale musty oxygen and a faint hum just on the edge of his hearing that made him perk his ears curiously, unable to pinpoint the exact location it seemed to be emanating from. He slipped fully into the chamber, wings half-furled as he sidled closer to the towering scaffolding.
Below, tangled cables as thick as his neck snaked across the floor from large boxy devices that looked like they had cost more than most people would ever make in their lives, all leading toward the spire of machinery at the back of the room. His gaze traced over the nearest row of terminals, and he experienced a strange wave of nostalgia as he looked across the dusty screens.
It's weird to think this was all probably cutting-edge a few weeks ago…well, probably a lot longer. I don't even know what this stuff is, much less what it does. That sound is driving me nuts, what the hell is it? I know it's coming from somewhere here…
David roved the cluttered stations, curiosity piqued by the air of frantic busyness that was still evident in the room by the slew of personal effects still scattered about. A pair of glasses here, a rotten briefcase stuffed under a chair there, coffee cups and thermoses scattered about every few feet and shattered on the floor. David muscled an old electric wheelchair to the side as he squeezed past it, the small vehicle having been parked directly in front of a huge display screen that dominated the wall in front of it. On a whim, he stopped to fiddle with the controls built into the device, never having had the opportunity before and wondering briefly about the person that had once owned it.
Skirting the outer perimeter, he leaned in to examine a decommissioned monitor bank more closely, sniffing curiously at the faded smell of plastic when his ears caught the odd vibration again, this time locking on. David cocked his head curiously at the sound, poking his snout into the screen several times, half expecting some hideous creature to emerge and bite at him. Instead, the dust was knocked loose off the screen and he winced as the tiny, dim light was revealed, just above the power button.
No fucking way, that's what the sound was? I must never have been able to hear it before…
The light was extremely dim, just barely visible due to the total darkness of the room. David leaped atop the nearest chair, excitedly flapping his wings as hard as he could, scrunching his eyes shut and trying not to breathe when he smelled the massive storm of dust fill the air. He waited several seconds before wiping his face and muzzle on the inside of his wing, clearing his eyes before opening them. A small sea of fading, flickering lights glowed all around him and David sat stunned, swiveling his head around in awe.
Somehow, there was still a trickle of power.
David quickly ducked below the equipment and pressed his head against the cables, confirming the thin, almost invisible noise he felt more than heard was electric. Very few of the cables had power, but after several minutes of exploring he found a thick cable emitting a crisp, almost irritating tone and began to follow it across the floor and deeper into the building.
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Royal Road
1
SomethingOtherThanRain
Intelligent Design: A Monster Evolution LitRPG by Kienti
75 - Off the books
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David traced the thick power cable down the shadowy corridor, the electric hum growing fainter as if the current was faltering every few minutes in a steady pattern. Dust and debris crunched underfoot, scattering in small clouds with each step no matter what he did to avoid it, much to David's irritation. He passed through a crumpled door, hinges long rusted nearly to uselessness, squeezing his furry form through the jagged opening with a wince as leathery membrane scraped against unyielding metal.
The stairwell he found on the other side descended far away into the dark, a few dim emergency lights covered in solidified dust pulsing and fading with the ebb and flow of power that seemed to shift in time with the sound he was following. David's talons clicked rhythmically on the concrete steps as he descended, senses straining for any subtle movement or sound amid the gloom. He paused often to fill the staircase ahead of him with Echolocation, becoming almost irritated as they continued to return nothing but emptiness and the snarl of cabling that his lead had been bundled into near the doorway.
How many observatories have a basement? Actually, how hard is it to dig a basement like this straight into a mountain, wouldn't that be hard? Like, almost impossibly hard? Fucking government, could have fixed the roads or built a hospital or something but nooo, secret underground shit. Ugh.
Stale, conditioned air caressed his snout and made him fight the urge to sneeze as he reached the bottom of the stairs and a chill radiated from the underground corridor, broken only by faint warmth from air currents traveling down the stairs behind him. David's ears twitched, tracking the thready electric pulse as he turned to follow, snarling at the confined space as Spooky grew serious and quiet.
This must have been one hell of an operation once upon a time. How far down does this shit go?
More doors lined the hallway at regular intervals, some yawning open to reveal small spaces choked with dust-shrouded computer banks and shelving. Scattered equipment and dozens of abandoned laptops betrayed the frantic work that had taken place here, leading deeper beneath the surface in the cable's wake. David's gaze traced the snaking cable as it delved further inward, sometimes vanishing almost entirely under little drifts of debris, following dutifully as they seemed to stretch onward forever. They had been desperate by the end, and everything had a cobbled-together air that grew more pronounced the farther he went.
The air cooled further as he neared a larger open space, the cable's tone rising in pitch until it hummed loudly enough to make David's teeth itch. He emerged into a cavernous chamber filled with a barely audible low rumble and the acrid tang of ozone, and though it was clearly intended for data storage, anything that had been kept here was certainly gone forever. His head swiveled slowly, taking in rows of darkened server racks with a hint of awe, feeling a bit small in the darkness at the size of everything.
The overhead lights pulsed faintly in rapid cycles, plunging the space into intermittent darkness like a dim strobe effect as David sidled along the perimeter. He flinched with each return of illumination, mane prickling as a growling generator somewhere in the distance spun up briefly only to rapidly wind down once more in the gloom. If his ears had been any less sensitive, he never would have been able to hear it, and even as he paused to focus he still couldn't tell where it was coming from other than deeper.
It's some kind of backup site or something... definitely off the books. Probably. Whatever was going on here, it definitely wasn't just your average lab. Damn. I used to live, like, four hours from Redfield and I never knew. I guess the 'middle of nowhere' by a retirement destination is a good place for spooks to set up?
David's wingtips tingled with anticipation as he leaped up onto the top of the server racks, launching himself upwards to hover near the ceiling and get a better view of the room. A few lights fluttered on and off weakly, and David quickly spotted a large door with a steel frame solidly sunk into the wall at the far end of the room.
Flexing his wings, David flapped twice and allowed the momentum to carry him silently through the darkness as he drifted closer. He landed with only a whisper of talons on stone, eyeballing the door suspiciously as he took in the darkened card reader and tiny keypad set below it before snorting. Despite the security measures, the door was slightly ajar, and David slithered through the gap with only a moment's hesitation. The hallway on the other side was cramped and utilitarian, branching off with a simple left-right junction at the end, and David froze as sounds began to trickle toward him from the left branch of the path. He loosened Spooky's leash a bit and slithered rapidly through the darkness toward the noise, pulse quickening with a mixture of anxiety and excitement, and David had to physically restrain himself from humming the theme song from a popular spy movie as he moved.
David tensed as the faint sounds resolved into voices and grew louder, straining to make out the words amid the low thrum of electrical systems. A glance upward filled Spooky with relief, and David leaped into the snarl of pipes and grating, clinging tightly as he oozed into the shadows, glad to finally be off the floor as he automatically adjusted to the shift in perspective. He inched forward on the ceiling, careful not to produce any noise as he moved with agonizing slowness behind the rapid-fire bursts of Echolocation he pushed ahead before pausing outside an open doorway that glowed with unmistakably artificial light. David felt nearly blind from even the dim illumination after so long in the dark, and he simply closed his eyes as he bounced his special into the room by aiming it at the opposite wall of the corridor from the entryway.
–Echolocation has leveled up!–
–Gained 3xp–
"How much longer we gotta keep hiding down here like rats, Adam?" A gruff baritone seemed to belong to the wolf-like creature pacing agitatedly. Its legs were long and nimble, and its body matched, reminding David vaguely of the Slitherwolves he'd fought only days after hatching.
"Until we know it's safe to surface, Wally. We're not taking any damn chances." This gravelly voice was deeper, resonating with a clear air of authority. David risked a more direct Echolocation over the lip of the doorframe to get a clearer image.
Wally, presumably the wolf-thing towered over a smaller, hunched form, some kind of extremely poofy rodent that reminded David of a chinchilla, furiously working on a laptop. Across the chamber, an enormous armored creature resembling an armadillo-boar combination watched them impassively, wicked tusks glinting.
"But we're almost out of supplies again!" Wally protested, stomping a heavy paw against the floor. "We can't just sit here waiting to starve!"
"Which is why Gideon here has been working on establishing an uplink." Adam nodded toward the laptop, his eyes glinting. "We get some intel on the situation, make contact, then we make a move. No risks this time."
The small technician, Gideon, didn't look up from the computer, dexterous hand-like paws a blur. "Well pardon my lack of progress, but maintaining a stable connection with sporadic power has been...challenging. Not to mention that I keep telling you there's nothing to connect with, no matter how big the antennae is."
"We don't have unlimited time for excuses," Adam growled, stalking closer with each word until his snout was nearly brushing Gideon's ear. "You get me online by 0600 tomorrow, or so help me..."
He trailed off, clearly leaving the threat unvoiced but no less potent. Gideon swallowed hard and resumed his work with renewed urgency as David watched the display with a mixture of fascination and wariness. As David observed the trio interact, he began to notice subtle details that set them apart from everyone else he'd met so far, their movements stiff, unnatural, as if they were awkwardly tolerating forms never meant for them. Wally paced in tight, nervous circles, his lupine body language completely at odds with the jerky, hunched gait, as if the sheer grace and power contained in his wolfen form was more hindrance than an advantage. Gideon hunched over the laptop, legs splayed wide as his delicate paws flew across the keys with a visible lack of coordination in his darting movements. Even Adam, emanating that aura of gruff authority, had a strange lumbering quality to his motions, and David almost choked when he finally figured out what was wrong with them.
They haven't leveled up at all. I don't even think Gideon has actually evolved, even if he can. They've literally never left, didn't do any Quests, never even had to run around…how the fuck? These guys are fighting it at every turn because they never had to actually do anything. Good for me, I guess, I could probably thump them all if I had to. Makes me feel a little better, anyway.
Spooky was absolutely revolted by the concept, but it caused a wave of mixed pity and relief to pass through him, while he wouldn't wish this type of disadvantage on anyone in the new world, at least he retained the advantage. A soft clatter drew his attention as Gideon knocked over a piece of equipment off the small table he sat on, the creature freezing instantly as if realizing his error. The other two whirled, eyes and nostrils flaring as they bristled with irritation. David instinctively shrank back, talons rasping faintly against the metal pipe he clung to as he stilled his movements. His heart thundered in his ears as the tense standoff stretched on, waiting to see if he'd been detected before the trio seemed to slowly relax after several moments with no further disturbances. Adam snapped something unintelligible and Wally skulked off into a corner, grumbling under his breath. Gideon simply returned his focus to the laptop, clearly chastened, though his body language was frustrated and angry.
Indecision warred within David as he watched them; did he reveal himself in hopes of gaining answers, and investigate further before risking potential confrontation? If Adam's stern demeanor was any indication, an unannounced arrival may prove unwise. Flexing his wingtips, David melted into the clutter of the ceiling, determined to observe as much of this strange situation as possible before making his move. He held himself utterly still, ceasing even the smallest motions as his heartbeat thundered in his ears and he tracked Wally's movements with bated breath as the man continued to wander around the perimeter of the small room.
"I...maybe?" The wolf sounded uncertain, padding back and forth while scenting the air. His nose twitched repeatedly as he searched for the source of the odor. David remembered too late that Claire had repeatedly told him he had a distinctive scent of 'badness' that stemmed from the toxins his body produced. The cloying smell was likely what Wally had picked up on, and he had to smother a hiss of surprise as his snout wrinkled in chagrin.
Idiot!
His jaw clenched as he fought the urge to attack from hiding, mentally thumping Spooky for even suggesting it as they urged him to act before Wally revealed their position. Too late to mask the smell completely now, David hoped the erratic airflow from the corridor behind him would scatter and dissipate it enough. Wally continued quartering the room for several tense minutes, Adam and Gideon watching him intently. David remained utterly motionless, wings held rigid against the ceiling as his thoughts raced. If the wolf did somehow pinpoint his location, David could potentially drop a concentrated burst of Gloom down on them, using the distraction to escape. But it would almost certainly reveal his presence, ruining any chance of peacefully finding any answers they'd come such a long way for...
Eventually, Wally seemed to lose the scent trail, shaking his head in visible frustration. He barked something unintelligible, shoulders slumping. Adam snapped a curt reply before turning his focus back on Gideon, the smaller creature flinching under the larger porcine creature's baleful glare. David exhaled a silent breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, a feather's weight of tension seeping from his muscles as the standoff ended. From his vantage, he could just barely make out the laptop's fuzzy screen displaying strings of code intermittently flickering past.
Gideon grumbled under his breath as the laptop screen flickered again. "This hack job on the artifact is barely enough to keep basic systems online. Power levels keep browning out every time I try boosting the juice to the transmitter. We're just leeching off scraps here."
"At this rate, I'll never get a stable band established, even if there's still something to connect to. The artifact's output was never meant to be used like this, I've told you that a hundred times. We barely understood how it worked beyond 'rainbow-goo bad' before everything went to shit." His shoulders slumped in frustration as he seemed to sink into his own fluff dejectedly.
"Well, you'd better figure it out. That's an order. We're running on fumes here."
Gideon's paws stilled on the laptop as he shot Adam a withering look. "You think I don't know that? This is extremely delicate work. Push it too far and we could potentially destabilize the-"
The lights flickered violently, causing all three to tense, and Gideon waited for the power spike to subside before letting out a slow breath. "See? We're walking a razor's edge here just trying to piggyback off its energy."
Rainbow-goo that produces a ton of energy and doesn't like being fucked with? Well, that sounds familiar…what do they have that makes rainbow-goo? I thought that only happens when you fuse mutagens or Evolve? Where is it, it can't be that far away, right?
David slowly began to inch away backward, intent on finding out.
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A note from Kienti
Hey guys, only chapter today but it's kinda hefty compared to normal!
This section has been so much fun to write, and I swear if I had more time I'd have blasted through this entire arc in like two days. Ah well, free time well spent imo.
Thanks for reading, love you guys!
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About the author
Kienti
Kienti
15/06/2024 14:58
Bio: I write stuff. Sometimes it's good. I have some of the stuff I wrote here. Yeah.
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