Onward: Red

[voidtreckermods]

They are in the vortex for what seems like forever but is perhaps not that much time at all. They do not hunger, they are tired enough that it feels like they have been struggling against the chaos of the sea for a few hours yet how much time they have been flying in truth, is unknowable.

They emerge, pushing up out of the vortex. There were four rockpools and now, as they land on a vast plain they will find they have all arrived at the same destination.

The sky is black, pin pricked with stars and in the distance, on the horizon there is a glowing white light. The light is bright, bouncing off the ripples of water and giving them light to see.

For it is water they stand on, a vast ocean, inky black in the darkness. They stand on it with ease and yet, if they wish, they can dive down into it. The water is clear and yet they will find no plants or fish.

Monsters though, they will find a plenty. As the voidtreckers arrive, their footsteps rippling on the sea, they are joined by creatures. Giant crabs, shark head beasts, water snakes. They stand between the voidtreckers and the light on the horizon.

Somewhere in this sea it seems there is a giant squid, as tentacles reach out of the water to grab the ankles of the void warriors and pull them down to the inky depths.

The voidtreckers feel a pull towards the light, yet the horizon seems endlessly far away, getting no closer as they fight their way towards it.

Comments

[burntlikethesun]

The unexpected handshake elicited a bemused quirk of her lips. She wasn’t usually on the receiving end of such enthusiasm. It was a bit baffling if Rose were being honest, so she turned her focus back to whatever was plucking people from the surface. Despite the clarity of the water, she could see no sign of life. Whatever it was, it must’ve been very large and/or very fast.

She frowned, adjusting her grip on her batons. She didn’t feel comfortable leaving something lurking about but even with his apparent firepower (a terrible pun, even in her own head) and her own experience neutralizing threats, she wasn’t sure that they could take it down. “...maybe best to leave it alone.” She sounded reluctant even to her own ears, but their hands would be full enough staying topside.

[aggressivelygood]

"Maybe. I have a bad feeling it's going to be back for seconds soon, though."

Gods, what a pain in the ass. In the distance, multi-legged shadows scuttled over the star-speckled water. Beyond them, that beckoning light. Sven was thinking along the same lines--they didn't have time to waste on fighting a foe that wouldn't let itself be seen. But it'd be just their luck that the creature would strike at the most crucial moment and then they'd have one hell of a calamari conundrum.

If nothing else, they could try and be prepared for it. Sven held the Petals of Nil before him in his hand. For a moment, the delicate little tree-branch trembled uselessly in his grasp before suddenly its black bark stretched from both ends, curving into an elegant black bow. Sven pulled back the string and a line of fire drew in the space in the shimmering form of an arrow. He really hoped he wouldn't have to use many of these.

"Keep an eye on your feet. If you catch something move, yell and I'll nail it." Or try to, anyway.

[burntlikethesun]

Rose sighed and checked that her own helmet was secure. Experience had taught her to expect the worst, but also to choose her battles. This fight was going to be a marathon and while they couldn’t rely on the possibility that whatever was hiding in the water wouldn’t rear its ugly appendage again, it might not be worth the energy to actively hunt it. “Probably, and it’s probably got friends. Not much to be done about it.”

She watched the branch transform. It raised many questions, primarily about the apparent defiance of the laws of physics, but really, it didn’t matter so much how it worked so much as that it worked. She hadn’t thought Stark an idiot earlier, but a quick rundown on everyone’s abilities before they were fighting for their lives together wouldn’t have gone amiss. She wasn’t much for sharing, but she’d put her cards on the table for the sake of making some sort of strategy.

“You sure? I can only do up close and personal; if it can touch me, I can touch it. Might be better if you cover the middle distance.” She was confident that her skills would hold in one-on-one confrontations, but the enemy had the advantage of numbers. Getting overrun was a very real concern.

[aggressivelygood]

Sven nodded his agreement. Rose seemed to know what she was doing, and the Petals of Nil granted him a wide degree of versatility. Well, when it was responding properly to his power. He doubted he'd be able to shift weapon between attacks with the fluidity and ease as he normally could. Given everything, Rose was right--it made sense for him to cover her disadvantages.

"Alright, you're the boss. Still, keep an eye about you and yell if that underwater nuisance comes back and I'll try to ward it off. In the mean time..."

He levelled his bow toward the encroaching row of carapace looming in on them and let loose the bolt of fire. It crashed into the body of one of the crabs in a burst of embers, causing it to stumble and its comrades to pull to a brief stop around it as their beady black eyes regarded the primal threat of the fire.

"How confident are you that you can rip one of these clawed beasties into seafood if they get close? I'll try and keep them distanced, you murder the crabcakes out of any that break rank. We might be able to press a path forward like that."