Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 73: Made With Love

Original Post Date: Jun 20, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Triceratops, next chapter in Titanomyrma.

~

PEW!

A tranq arrow flew into the Stegosaurus, and it let out a loud bellow. Eleven more tranq arrows were sticking out of its body, so with the twelfth hitting its target, it was soon to collapse unconscious. It let out a groggy roar, and fell to the ground. Two men sitting within the safety of a tree let out a cheer and high-fived each other.

“Woo hoo! We did it!” Paul cheered as he pumped his fists in the air. Carlos let out a chuckle and slid down the tree to analyze their surroundings. Many other Stegosaurus and Triceratops lay unconscious in the area. It was a miracle that they managed to knock them all out without any of them noticing them up in the tree, but a smart move on Paul’s plan.

“Now all we need to do is feed them, at least, that’s what Ben said,” Carlos said. He reached into his pockets, but he felt nothing inside of them. He had nothing!

“Uh oh… Paul, do you have anything that you could give them?”

Paul sighed, and dropped a large cloth bag. Hundreds of cherries began to spill out of it and onto the ground. Carlos reached over and gingerly picked up a bunch.

“I was going to eat them all later, but I suppose we can use them to tame these creatures,” Paul sadly said.

“Oh, sorry man… We can just collect a bunch from the bushes then and feed them that!” Carlos suggested.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Paul replied, “Just use the cherries. I can always get more later.”

“Whatever you say.”

Carlos began to distribute the cherries out equally amongst the herbivores, and they began to eat. It would take a while for them to finish taming, so for the time being the two decided to chill. They both took a seat at the base of one of the trees, and let out a sigh at the hard day’s work. The sun was shining upon them, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. A flock of Pteranodons flew overhead, with one giant Pteranodon with a weird-looking head slowly following behind. Paul smiled at the sight.

“You know this place isn’t so bad,” Paul stated, “I wouldn’t mind living here. It’s a lot better than back in the West.”

“Here on this island?” Carlos asked, flabbergasted.

“No, back at that city that the school was in. What was it called? Star City!”

“Ohhh, I honestly thought you didn’t mind living here like some caveman with the dinosaurs, heh heh,” Carlos laughed. Paul’s eyeballs seemed to be popping out of his head in exasperation.

“Carlos!!! Why the hell would I want to be here on this island??? The only good part about it is the cherries!!!” Paul screamed. Carlos let out another laugh.

“Yeah they do taste pretty good I’ll admit. Maybe they’ll make my cooking taste good for once…” Carlos mumbled, looking down at the grass. Paul gave a sorry look to Carlos, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Your cooking is good, what do you mean?”

Carlos shot a look at Paul.

“Come on Paul, don’t lie to me. We both know that I’m one of the worst chefs in the world. For crying out loud I almost burned the school down in culinary class!”

“I thought your egg tarts were very tasty, for the record,” Paul admitted with a finger in the air, “Even though they looked super burnt and really gross on the outside, it was as yummy as the food my mom cooks! It’s some of the best I’ve ever had!”

“Okay now I know you’re messing with me,” Carlos tried to laugh, looking away. Paul sighed, taking his hand off his shoulder.

“Carlos, if I really were pretending to like your egg tarts, I would not have eaten the rest of the batch. I think you’re a great chef, Carlos. You’re too hard on yourself. You’re never gonna get better if you’re holding yourself back,” Paul told him softly, “Your food is made with love. Love’s all that matters to me in life. I think Ben understands that most. Live, laugh, and love.”

“Ben understands that the most? That’s funny. He’s never loved anyone before, romantically,” Carlos laughed, wiping a tear away from his eye. Paul ignored Carlos’ comment, turning away and facing the herbivores. They seemed to be waking.

“You never know,” Paul said with a sly smile.

“WAIT YOU’RE SAYING THAT BEN LOVES SOMEONE?!” Carlos shouted, getting up close to Paul’s face. Paul squinted his eyes, and looked away slowly. Carlos asked again, “DO YOU THINK IT’S SOMEONE HERE?!”

“...Sure. But you never know what people have stored in their minds. I can feel people’s love. But it’s sad. Many people lack it. Even the ‘cutest’ couples. I try to tell Ian too, but he never listens. Ben has the most love in his heart. He expresses it toward us, his family, but there’s still so much left. There has to be someone else.”

Carlos chuckled.

“I never would have thought. Maybe we’ll meet her some day?”

The Stegosaurus and Triceratops soon woke up, groggily walking over to Carlos and Paul. There were about seven Triceratops and four Stegosaurus. Paul got up from the ground and began to pet the biggest one.

“Say how do you even ‘see’ love? I feel like you’re just making things up.”

Paul smiled,

“At first, I considered it from their actions, but after Ben left for here, I met a very wise woman who claimed to know him. She told me it was all about the eyes. And she was right. They tell us everything.”

Carlos let out a laugh, and began to walk off with the herbivores following closely behind.

“Oh you’re really getting me now! I’m not that gullible, Paul.”

Paul smirked.

“Believe what you wanna believe, Carlos.”

The two began to walk back home, but as their hut came into view, a wall of fire sprouted from the ground in front of them. Paul and Carlos let out a “Woah!”, and took out their weapons. Paul unsheathed a longsword, and Carlos took out a frying pan. The two turned around to see a woman wearing red flak armor approaching them with a pike drawn. She had orange-brown hair, and tears ran down her cheeks as if she were grieving for someone’s death. A fireball floated in her other hand. Paul’s eyes widened as he peered into her eyes.

“Um. Hello? Is everything the matter? You don’t look so well. We can talk about it-” Paul was cut off by her.

“Shut up. I just need to know… Are you two Ben’s ‘friends’?”

“Yes we are!” Paul shouted, “Now what’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it-”

Carlos gasped, pointing a finger at the woman.

“Wait a minute! You must be the woman Ben loves!” Carlos blurted, “I guess you were right, Paul. Why else would someone go out looking for him so intently?”

June’s eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and her eyes began to brew even more tears. She scrunched her eyes at the duo, and clenched her pike harder. The fireball in her hand began to grow larger.

And then she charged at them.