Castaway Planet

Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 154 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 3

Uninhabited Island /Area near Cavern to underground Passages

Galactic Standard Time / 9005

“Good hunt!” Burt called out as he and Xordig ran towards the middle Beasts.

Xordig felt a spark of anger as the wall blocked them off from the others but he understood the plan. They had no idea what these things were capable of. The best thing to do was split them up. But he was with the local he didn’t know much about yet. The local was armed with a better weapon than anything he had seen since he landed. From what he could see it was some kind of plasma pistol that didn’t seem to have a shot limit.

He wanted to say that he wasn’t armed with the wrong weapon, but he was. His weapon was a security blaster, good to stun. But there was something about the Beast that just bothered him, something about its body. And when things bothered him, they always were so much trouble.

As they looked at the Beast it seemed to be looking around, trying to figure out what happened to it.

“Fire a shot,” Burt said softly as he aimed with his pistol.

“What?” Xordig asked just as softly.

“We need to know if that shooter you’ve got can wound it,” Burt said bluntly.

Xordig looked at the native as he drew his weapon. He could understand, that what he was wielding was a lot less advanced than Burt’s. And if Xordig couldn’t use his weapon to fight this thing, then he might be going into a black hole.

With a single shot, they waited. The shot hit and nothing happened. As they stared slowly the Beast turned and ‘glared’ at them.

“Oh,” Xordig said softly as he realized his weapon hadn’t hurt the Beast.

“Take my gun and give me yours,” Burt said abruptly as the Beast started to growl at them.

“What?” Xordig asked dumbly as the Beast started to move.

“I said take my gun now!” Burt said as he grabbed Xordig’s pistol and then thrust his own at Xorddig. Xordig had barely grabbed Burt’s gun when the beast roared.

As it charged at them Burt aimed Xordig’s pistol and grinned. “Let’s try this again. Blast Enhance; Flame!”

As a red aura formed around Xordig’s gun, Burt fired. The Beast had only taken another step when the shot hit its forward right leg and exploded into flames. The Beast screeched as it stumbled.

Xordig didn’t even think, he just fired, and this time the Beast reacted. He looked on and saw the shot had wounded it. He grinned as but then the wound release some black blood. He stared at it as the blood was absorbed and the wound healed, shocking him.

“Good! And you’ve got twenty shots then you have to press the big purple button and then wait a second to reload! But let’s make a sandwich with this thing!” Burt said as he ran around the Beast firing as he moved. Three explosions blossomed along the Beast’s right side, and the Beast screeched in pain or rage.

“Thanks! You’ve got around fifty shots. Then it takes around a minute to recharge!” Xordig called out as he ran towards the other side of the monster.

He saw the plan, keep the Beast between them and play to their strengths. It was simple yet effective, and for the stars, he couldn’t see anything better. And the way that the Native created it, it was like he was used to dealing with unknowns. And that bothered him so much. If that was true then it put everything he thought he knew about this world and made it wrong. If it was normal to find unknowns, then they were all in a worse place than he thought they were.

As the Beast tried to get up Burt fired at one of its legs and the flames forced it to stumble again.

For a second Xordig was almost considering stopping, but then he remembered what this was. According to the others, this was the spawn of a DNA stealer. And those were threats because of how they could keep pumping out monsters. They needed to kill this thing as fast as they could, and then they needed to help Jinn.

Xordig fired again and then there was a flash from the middle of the Beast and then it roared. It turned its head towards Xordig and roared, but the force of it sent Xordig flying backwards! As he hit the wall he stayed there for a moment before he fell. All Xordig felt was complete shock. He had experienced something like that only once before. That mission had their foe use a tractor lift that was weaponized but this was beyond it! And from a plant of all things!

As he got up he saw Burt running and firing, trying to keep the Beast’s attention on him. But the Beast had started to move around, dodging the shots and seemed to be tanking them when it was in the air.

Xordig felt nothing but shock and confusion. Somehow the light the Beast had released had made it stronger! And that was very bad, the others could be fighting to their deaths.

“Boss!” Xordig whispered in terror as he looked at the wall separating them. It was only that he could hear the sound of combat on the other side that kept him calm. That she was still fighting meant that they still had a chance. For now, he had to fight and kill the Beast in here with him. The internal battle he had just waged took no longer than a few seconds, but it was too long to not pay attention. Looking up, he saw Burt dodging another scream from the Beast as he kept firing.

“Good luck!” Jinn's voice came over the walls. Xordig only looked at the wall before chuckling. If Jinn could keep his cool that much, then so would he. Even if he had to handle the worst with only one person to help, he would.

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The Bearer ‘looked’ around at the two-legged things. Their stings were so different, were they even the same kind of being? One caused its legs to lose control due to the heat and the other pierced the Bearer’s body. It had been on the ground when one of the stinger’s blows almost hit the Spark! That the Spark it was carrying was endangered. To admit it was terrible. But then the Spark sent a blast of its energy to the Bearer, and that energy had strengthened it. But it felt the beat of the Spark lessen.

It had to find a way out and to do that, it needed to defeat the two walkers. They were keeping it from thinking and an escape route. The little things must have taken advantage of this whole strange blockage to hunt it. Did they know about the Spark? Did they want it? And who were the two before the passages into the under ways?

Whatever their purpose, the Bearer needed to kill them. It didn’t have a choice anymore. If it wanted to serve its purpose, then they needed to die. It felt them through its middle feet, the stronger one was still moving. The other one was getting up from being thrown against the blockage by the Bearer’s scream. It had to kill them, and not before too much time passed.

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As he dodged another scream, Burt felt his blood burn. When Jinn had called out, there was something in those words. It was like something he had experienced so long ago. A call to arms, a battle song. He felt more aligned with his power and skill than ever before. But unfortunately, it didn’t help his memory at all.

These things…… he had no idea what it was. The stories he had heard about the False Plants said nothing about any kind of creature like this! The False Plants always moved with never-ending wraiths. They kept coming until they won. They were the Legion of Time that could conquer everything unless they were stopped. They advanced slowly, they spread by…….. no one knew how they spread. He looked at the Beast, his eyes went to the middle and then he paled. “Oh Storms! Movement Enhance; Dash!”

As a blue aura covered his legs, he ran at the Beast. He fired his borrowed weapon in quick secession. Thankfully, each blast hit and slowly moving along the Beast's body towards the middle. Somehow, the Beast realized what he was doing and it turned. As his shots hit its face it looked right at him and screamed louder than it ever had before.

“The center, destroy the thing’s center!” Burt roared as he was sent into the air, and thrown over the wall. But he didn’t let that stop him, not at all. He pulled out a grappling gun and fired, the hook caught the wall before he was too far away. As he held onto the line and fell he braced himself before he hit the wall. Without a word, he started to walk up. He had to get back into the fight, he had to! And he had to get to an allied Island as soon as possible, they needed to know about this! he had done it, he had done it! He found out how the False Plants spread! This alone would mean his name would live for eternity. But only if others learned what he had just figured out!

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The strong two-leggers had tried to destroy the Spark! What would drive the little thing to do that of all things?! The Bearer looked around and blinked as it realized that the scream of rage had sent the stronger two-legger away. Now all it needed to do was deal with the other one. As it slowly got up it started to growl. Maybe a show of force might cause the two-leggers to give it enough time to find a way out. It could feel that the Spark was nearing the time it would take the Bearer’s body. It had to get to a place that it could plant in, a place well-defended!

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Xordig looked at the Beast as it slowly got up and growled at him. The wounds on its body were slowly healing and he knew, he knew it was figuring out how to kill him. He had to keep fighting, he couldn’t stop now. And the way that Burt had passed on that command, made him worried. If he had realized something that made this monster’s destruction that much more important, then Xordig had to do it.

But how? This thing was hurt by what Xordig had, but Burt was the MVP in this battle. And with everything that had happened, he didn’t know “Nothing to do but the old faithful, hu?”

With a roar he charged forward, Burt’s Plasma pistol firing away. As the bolts hit the Beast’s face, some of them hit the mouth and the inside of the False Plant. As it stumbled and was forced backward more bolts hit it, causing flame to sprout where they hit. Xordig looked up and saw Burt on top of the wall, blasting away as he dropped down a rope.

“Keep firing! If I’m right we have to destroy that thing!” Burt called down as he fired.

Xordig felt shocked. Burt was acting like this thing was a bomb waiting to go off. He turned and growled as he looked at the Beast and roared as he kept firing!

He never noticed, but a strange warmth was starting to flow within him, a warmth flame started to grow with him. A warmth that would soon save his life.

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The other two-leggers had hit the Spark’s covering! The little horror was just like the other, how dare they! They were food things, they had no right to hunt the New Giver! And this blockage was starting to look like something had made it! All the Bearers and their guards wanted was to bring their Sparks to places of safety! Each one was all the Birther had been able to grow in time of the next Awakening. And these things dared to stop them from doing their duty?!

It felt something within it break. As the Beast tried to keep moving it, felt the flame of the Spark start to flex. This was it, this was why it had been born. It could only hope that the Spark would be able to handle the Two Leggers, it could do nothing else. As the flame raced through its body, the last thing the Bearer felt regret that the Spark hadn’t traveled that far.

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As Burt kept firing, his fear was growing. If he was right, then this was the worst thing that has happened. If he was right, then this thing represented more danger than anything he had ever heard of. It had to be stopped here and now!

Suddenly, the Beast threw its head back and released a roar as a light shined from its center. As the light intensified a cracking was heard before the Beast exploded in a blast of light and sound.

Burt dropped the last three feet, his senses slowly coming back. He heard things first, and it was a sound that filled him with dread. Looking up as his vision returned, he paled in fear. Where the Beast had been was now a tree that growing by the second. It was already five feet tall and half a foot wide. Despite its height, it was a solid green and it was growing branches at odd angles. And from the branches came green vines that were slowly moving in the wind. But then Burt realized, there was no wind here.

He watched in horror as the vines reached for Xordig who was still stunned. He knew then what he had to do if he wanted to be able to live with himself.

“XORDIG, ROLL!” Burt roared as he fired at the tree. It released a screech as the blast hit the middle of the trunk.

All at once the vines shot towards him lightning fast! He fired again and again until his borrowed blaster ran out and the vines grabbed him.

“Storms! Let go!” Burt cried out as he tried to get free. But with three vines around each limb and two around his mouth, it was impossible. As the vines picked him up, he could only hope someone killed him.

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Xordig blinked as he looked up. All he could remember was that something had happened. As he looked up he saw Burt in the air, vines around him. He turned his head and saw a tree, a large part of its body opening to reveal an opening. As he saw for a moment he wondered where the Beast was and then everything hit him. Squeezing his hand around the weapon Burt gave him, he fired at the opening.

As the blasts hit the tree, some went into the opening. As that happened a few of the vines suddenly attacked him. He growled and rolled away, dodging them and getting back on his feet. His free hands all flexed and he growled low in his throat.

“Thanks! Now kill me!” Burt bellowed as his mouth was freed.

“What?!” Xordig demanded in shock as he fired at the tree.

“This thing needs live meat to copy them! So kill me!” Burt yelled.

All Xordig felt was a sense of shame and horror. As that died his rage sparked and he felt a spark of something that blossomed into an inferno within him.

Aether Template Battle Operative

1st Skill; Aether Combat Boast

A strange blue energy aura suddenly engulfed Xordig. It felt like it was sending energy throughout his body, energizing him. He saw the vines pull Burt closer to the opening and he reacted. Without a second thought, he leaped at the vines and grabbed them. Without even stopping he tore them apart as he completed his jump.

Burt fell to the ground and rolled away, jumping up. Xordig appeared behind him and fired at a vine.

“You got the ‘Power’!” Burt said as he fired at the tree.

“Yeah, so what is that thing!?”Xordig asked as he glared at the vines, firing another blast at one of them as it got closer.

“It has to be a ‘Daughter Tree’! This is the ‘daughter’ of the False Plants source! It must be trying to spread!” Burt snarled as he fired again.

It was the sounds of something falling that almost took their eyes off the roots. But it was when stone walls rose to block the vines that they looked towards the sound. Terra and Jess had defeated their Beast and were coming to help. All Locke did was fire spears of stone as Jess ran at the tree, her body covered in a crimson energy aura.

With a roar, Jess punched the top of the tree and broke off where she hit.

The tree screeched and as vines shot up towards her, she jumped at the wall. When she hit it she pushed off it, the vines shooting past her as she spun until she was back in front of the tree.

Locke hadn’t been idle, and sent five spears at the tree, impaling it.

As the tree screeched in pain, Xordig bellowed and ran at it, a mad idea in his mind. As the vines went at him, Burt kept firing, destroying them as Xordig made it closer.

Jess joined his charge as Locke formed and sent two barded rock spears from both sides of the tree. With effort, he pulled the spears back into the earth, even as vines grabbed them. Finally, he pulled most of the tree apart, revealing a single eye on a mass that was at the center of the plant. With yells, Xordig and Jess both reached the mass and punched, sending the flesh part flying into the air. Before it hit the wall, a bolt flew between Jess and Xordig, hitting the mass before flames erupted. As it burned, they turned and looked at Burt who only glared at the burning remains.

“For all those your kind have eaten, may you find no rest in the deeps!” Burt spat and looked at the remains of the tree. With a pale look, he looked around at the others, questions on his face. “Just what was that?”

“No idea, let's help the others then talk later!” Jess said with a scowl at the final wall. “So bring that wall down now!”