Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

Journey Through All Creatures

Chapter 50: The Xenomorph Showdown

Part 2/5: Night of the Raiders

8:15 PM

Dread’s base

Dorack lay on his cell bed, but he couldn’t rest. He kept staring at the cell doors, wondering when Dread was going to come over again. He stared right up at the ceiling, and he could hear quiet footsteps above him. Then he heard some yelling and growling. Dorack gasped as he heard deep, booming footsteps approaching the cell. Dorack sat up on the bed and looked right at the cell door. Then someone walked right to the door, turned to Dorack, and used a key to disconnect the lock and open the cell. They then stood in the doorway.

“Well, well, well. Dorack, you’re basically the number one enemy in this base. Well, number two. We all know who’s number one, heh. Anyway… Rod walked down into the arena a few minutes ago. He wanted to talk to Serenity again. You know, about the raiders at Sodden base. They disappeared completely. We tried contacting them. Nothing. But you know what else disappeared?” The person boomed in a deep voice, as he walked over to Dorack slowly, growling.

“Yeah. As it turns out, the cell where Serenity should’ve been was empty. She wasn’t there. Rod saw that the lock had been tampered with. Okay. I’ll give you one last chance. If you have anything to do with this crap… the raiders disappearing, and whatever… you will tell me now. Maybe, if you’re lucky, we’ll let you live for a little longer. But refuse… and Serenity’s trial happens the second we find her.” The person snarled as he leaned forwards to Dorack’s face. Dorack gasped in horror.

“But-” Dorack stammered, and the person cut in.

“NO BUTS!!! Listen, Dorack. I will not let this plan go down the drain. Remember what I said tto Sodden? Well, of course you don’t. You weren’t there. But basically, I said that no one survives my horror movie and gets away with it. You get the point, right?” The person sneered. Dorack stammered, trying to find an answer.

“Oh, I get it. You want the trial to happen now. You care so much about your friends. Rod even told me that she brought up… oh, how do I say this without tthrowing up… the power of friendship.” The person gagged. Dorack sighed.

“Well… I don’t know. She got out herself, okay? And knowing her, you will never find her.” Dorack stated, with a shaky voice. Marison cackled.

“Okay. I get it. Assassin powers and all that crap. But Dorack… you understand what that means, right? I tell Dread that as soon as we capture Serenity… she goes straight into that arena. Xenoslayer and Xenideath will be ready when it happens.” Marison sneered. Dorack groaned and nodded softly.

“Yes. But it doesn’t matter what you do. We’re getting out of here alive.” Dorack growled. Marison scoffed and stood straight up, then turned around to leave.

“Believe whatever you want. I don’t care.” Marison sneered and walked out the door, then shut the cell doors again and locked the door. Dorack groaned and slumped onto the bed. He then looked down at his implant, then sat up and put his right hand on the implant. Dorack then began to interact with it. He was going to send a message to Sodden. He had to tell him the plan. He needed to ensure everyone got out alive. He refused to give up, even when things were tough.

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8:20 PM

The gateway to the base was silent. Two guards at both sides. Both had gray-colored flak armor with a ascendant pike in both hands. Then they saw someone coming. They heard grunting and yelling. Then one person rose from the distance, gripping another by their arms.

“Oh, it’s just Decron. He’s a good raider. Looks like he has someone in his grip.” One guard said. Then Decron walked up to the gates, with Sodden in his grip. Decron held Sodden’s arms tightly as he dragged him across the floor.

“Hmm. Okay. Just put him in with Dorack. Not like he’ll be able to do anything, anyway.” Another guard said, then the gates creaked open, and Decron walked in. Then he walked up a hard metal path towards a 4 wall high base, with a curved corner to the left, and the path led to two metal doors. Decron then opened the doors, pulling Sodden in. The guards had informed Dread and Rod of this capture. Decron then walked towards the dungeon floor, across a long hall, lined with metal and stone walls, with torches and banners hung up on the walls. Even a Reaper head on the wall ttoo. Decron then walked down the hall to two big, locked doors. Decron opened the doors, then walked through and closed them. Sodden kept grunting and pulling at him. Decron then walked to Dorack’s cell. He then unlocked it and walked in. Dorack groaned as he covered his head with a blanket.

“Just leave me alone! Just… just stop…” Dorack muttered and sat up, then Decron threw Sodden onnto the bed and quickly turned to the cameras in front of the cell, then used his implant to temporarily disable them. That was one of his powers.

“Wha- what’s-” Dorack stammered in confusion. Sodden chuckled as he sat next to Dorack.

“Don’t worry. That’s just Skyocean right there. He inherits the survivor’s power too. So we’ll be fine. He has to stay in his form, though.” Sodden explained. Dorack sighed and nodded.

“Okay, guys. These cameras are down. What I’ll do is morph into Dread and get you guys into that chamber. With the machine holding Nal. But I can only help for so long. Inheriting all his strength is going to drain my energy quickly. Hopefully, it’s enough to keep you guys going until Syl gets here. She and the army should be here soon. They’ll ambush the defenses on the outside. Syl will lead her main troop into the base.” Decron explained. Sodden and Dorack nodded.

“Okay. So… what now?” Dorack asked.

“Well… I need to morph into Dread and get y’all out. Then I’ll help with the machine. But we have to make sure-” Decron said, then suddenly, a loud noise cut him off. There were loud blares around the place, alarms going off. Then red flashed across the dungeons. Then they heard loud yelling and stomping on the floor above. Sodden gasped.

“Looks like they’re already here.” Sodden said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CRASH!

The walls around the base fell apart. Syl, morphed into a Reaper, bashed through the walls, with 10 Rock Drakes and 25 Megalosauruses behind her. All had saddles, and there were three Rock Drakes that ran ahead to the front of Syl. The three Rock Drakes had riders on them. One The Reaper Queens at the other end of the gate ran through the back doors, across the field near the base, and straight towards Syl and her army. One screeched loudly and ran straight at them. Syl huffed deeply.

“CHARGE!” She yelled, and the Rock Drakes stormed forwards, one gliding at the Reaper Queens. Three were coming. Meanwhile, the real Dread stormed out of the front doors and saw the carnage - Syl began sinking her teeth in one of the Reapers’ tail. They tried to crunch it apart, then the Reaper Queen used the end of the tail to smack Syl hard, throwing her back. She stumbled backwards a bit, then the leading Rock Drakes then flew upwards, then slammed onto the back of another Reaper Queen. The Reaper screeched in pain as the Rock Drake’s claws and teeth began breaking their armor. Dread growled deeply and then ran straight at Syl, and he leaped upwards, leaping a staggering 12 meters - to catch hold of Syl. Then as Dread grunted and tried to get a sword out of his bag, a Rock Drake shot past and grabbed him, then threw him off. He was launched across the field, to the wall, then landed hard on his feet. He had taken basically no damage. Dread growled deeply and took out a cryopod. He then threw it on the ground - and it released his first Reaper Queen - the second strongest one he has. Then he got on its back and charged at Syl. Syl gasped as she stood across from another Reaper. She then leaped forwards right before Dread could strike her, and Syl then ran along the big metal walls, and Dread yelled in anger as the Reaper Queen he was on charged towards Syl. Then suddenly, the Reaper Queen felt a major jolt right in her back - something had shot deeply into her armor. The Reaper stopped and roared in pain, and Dread shouted as he was thrown off, and hit the ground on his head. He got up, growling deeply. He only took 2 damage from everything. And his armor was exactly why. Killing him manually would not be a option. He looked up to see a Reaper Queen’s tail lodged into Dread’s Reaper. The tail bbegan swerving up and down violently, rapidly dropping the Reaper’s health. Drake had come to save Syl. Drake continued to injure the Reaper Queen.

“Drake! Don’t get her too low or someone might get impregnated!!” Syl shouted out. Drake grunted in affirmation as he continued to damage the Reaper’s insides. Then Drake released the tail, which was now full of acid and burnng hard. The armor wouldnn’t last forever. Drake then clamped down onto the Reaper’s neck and threw her across the base, and she slammed down onto the other end of the wall. Drake screeched loudly as he then picked up Dread with his still acidic tail, and he then ran around, yelling and cackling. Syl gasped in horror. Was Drake really going to do this? Then Drake compressed the tail tightly, and Dread groaned and yelled as he tried to reach for the bag. His bag then cracked open and all his items fell out. Drake hoped it would do serious damage to the armor. Then Dread yelled and lifted his fist and then slammed it into the very tip of the tail’s spike chamber, the place where impregnation happens, and it caused a huge jolt of pain to spread through Drake. Dread had badly damaged the armor,, and now the acid was spreadiing into the interior; where all his main organs were. This was bad news for Drake. Drake screeeched in pain and anguish as he dropped Dread. He then stomped forwards and groaned, as he began glowing blue. He then began shrinking and screeching, and quickly shrank down to human size. His shapeshifting abilities protected him from the radiation, but that was the least of his worries. Drake lay on the ground, groaning, with acid burning through his leg and shoulder, blood pouring out of his back. Dread chuckled and stormed to him, then Syl charged at Dread and swung her tail forwards, knocking Dread back, and then she picked up Drake with her tail and turned to the base.

“Drake. You need to get inside, okay? We’ll try and stall everyone. But you have to get to Dorack as fast as possible, okay?” Syl explained as she placed Drake down at the front door. Drake slowly stood up, groaning, clutching his shoulder with a bandage, and he then burst through the door, limping towards the dungeon. Dread then roared loudly and leaped onto Syl’s tail, then took out a sword as Syl began to screech and swing the tail around. Dread wasn’t having it, though. He continued to hold on and started stabbing her in the tail, trying to break the armor. Dread’s armor only took half damage, and he was still going strong. The acid did practically nothing to Dread. Drake then groaned as he limped through the base, across the halls, while he could hear loud yelling and crashing. Then 10 people stormed out of the east side of the base, a big door near the center hall, and they all ran out of the front door. Their attributes protected them from radiation, so they didn’t need hazard suits. The insulated base was just to protect the prisoners inside. Drake was burning hard. He had a big hole in his shoulder, and his arm was beginning to get loose. Thankfully, none of the acid reached his implant, so Drake woould only have to worry about losing his levels. Then someone ran towards Drake quickly. It was Skyocean, still morphed into Decron.

“Oh, my god. Drake!” Skyocean yelled, worried, and he ran to Drake as he collapsed onto the hard metal floor. Drake gasped in pain as the aacid continued to sizzle through his body. Skyocean sat down near him and gasped in horror.

“Drake. What happened?” Skyocean asked. Drake groaned softly.

“I… I was a Reaper Queen… and I tried to grab Dread with the tail… he was going for Syl… Dread broke my creature armor, injured me enough to put me back into human form…. Skyocean…” Drake sputtered, shaking softly. Skyocean sniffled softly and looked down the hall to the first floor of tthe dungeon.

“Okay. Uh-” Skyocean said, then Drake cut in.

“Don’t bother with me. I’ll just delay this plan. You have to leave me here. Just put me in a safe and secure spot and take all my items. That acid is getting really close… ah. Really close to my chest. It’ll kill me in seconds.” Drake gasped in pain, barely moving. The acid was burning hot and going through his shoulder, towards his lungs. Skyocean groaned and picked Drake up by his left arm and dragged him across the hall to a door. The door was a secret storage room. Skyocoean had access to it since he was morphed into someone from Dread’s tribe. He wasn’t’ physically part of the tribe itself, though. Skyocean swung the door open and lifted Drake. Skyocean groaned and shot Drake into the room. Drake rolled onto his front, with his back up to the ceiling.

“Skyocean… get them out… jusst do it.” Drake whispered softly. Skyocean nodded, with a determined look. He then shut the door and ran down to Dorack’s cell.

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Red and gold messages on everyone’s implant. That was what was appearing over and over again. Some people from Dread’s tribe were dying quickly thanks to Syl and her army, but Dread was easily taking down the Megalosauruses. The Rock Drakes tried their hardest to back them up. Syl screecheed as she ran at Dread, who had a Rock Drake by the neck, and was about to reach in his bag. The rider gasped and hopped off, then ran straight at Dread, but Dread used his left arm to strangle the rider, lifting him up. He then threew the rider forwards, around 12 meters, 4 in the sky, and he slammed into the ground, hard, on his back. Syl then swung her tail around, knocking Dread back, and also knocking down one of his tribemates. Rod then stormed out of the base, looking at the carnage that was going down. Severed Rock Drake limbs, Megalosauruses full of bullet holes, and acid puddles across the ground. Rod growled deeply and lifted his implant to send a message to Dread.

“Listen up. The second I find Serenity, she’s going into that arena. And you get these idiots out now!!” Rod typed angrily. After he sent the message, he then took out a cryopod and threw it on the ground. Then a Reaper Queen came out. Rod climbed up onto it.

“Time to end this.” Rod sneered. He then led the Reaper straight at Syl, who was running at one of Dread’s Rock Drakes. Then Syl turned her head to see Rod on a Reaper Queen, charging at her. Syl gasped and leaped forward, causing Rod to miss and slam his Reaper into the walls, shattering them and causing them to fall completely. Rod growled and turned to Syl.

“I woulld love to f—- impregnate you right now.” Rod sneered deeply. Syl gasped.

“Language, you monster!” Syl yelled as she charged at Rod, and both Syl and Rod’s Reaper rammed into each other’s heads. They started growling as they pushed each other hard, then Rod’s Reaper swung her tail and knocked Syl back, and Syl fell onto her back. Syl then got up and leaped as Rod was about to slam the tail into her. Rod growled as Syl leaped forward, roaring as she clamped down onto the neck of Rod’s Reaper, trying to break through the armor. Rod growled and leaped onto Syl’s head, and took a sword out of hhis bag as Syl began swingning her head wildly, trying to throw Rod off. Rod wasn’t budging, though. He lunged forwards to the back of Syl, and he began to strike her with the sword, hard, trying to penetrate the armor. Syl screeched loudly and swung her tail at her back, trying to bash Rod away. Rod kept swinging around the back, dodging the tail. Syl then noticed Dread charging at her with a sword.. Dread yelled as Syl shot her head forward and clamped down at him, but Dread dodged it and grabbed the lower part of her jaw, and she shot her head up, trying to throw him away, and as she swung her head wildly, Dread slipped from the jaw and slammed into the ground. Syl gasped as she felt cracking and a deep pain in her back. Rod was trying to break the armor. Syl knew what she had to do.

“Megalosauruses! Rock Drakes! Come to me. Now.” Syl stated sternly. The riders grunted and ran towards her. Most of the creatures from both sides were dead. Syl knew what she had to do, but it would mean draining every biit of energy she had. Syl grunted softly and swwung her tail as fast as she could, aiming right at Dread, and she struck Dread hard in his right shoulder, and Syl then trapped him in the core.

“Wait… Syl! What- NO! That’s…” One of the riders yelled in worriedness.

“It’s the only way! Be ready to go back to the base.” Syl stated.

“But… what about Skyocean and Drake!?” Another rider shouted. Syl sighed.

“They’ll be on their own for now.” Syl said. Dread tried to wiggle out the tail, but the grip w as really strong. Dread lifted his hands to push the tail and break it, then as soon as he did, the two-pointed organ on the rump then shot forwards, right into Dread’s mouth, and as soon as it entered, it held down on his face, right through his mouth into his neck, and something shot out of it - a Reaper embryo. Both Dread and Syl screamed loudly in pain, and Syl’s body began to crack, and there was a sizzling sound coming from her belly. Then big cracks appeared in her back, glowing magenta and with acid spurting out. Rod yelled as the armor he was on split apart and he toppled over and fell to the ground.

“SYLVEEVEE!!” Onne of the riders screamed in concern. Syl roared loudly in great pain - she was using all her energy to impregnate Dread - something a shapeshifter can barely survive. Then a loud cracking sound rose from her tail; there was acid pouring out of it, and a magennta glow too. Syl screeched loudly as her body began to crack apart. The cracks widened and they began to spread across her body. Acid pouring out of her body, with some dark red ooze coming out of her back. She glowed brightly and screamed louder in anguish, then one of her arms cracked and split off and fell to the ground, decomposing. Then the organ inside Dread’s body retracted after 30 seconds. Dread collapsed to the ground,, his armor badly damaged. His mouth was slightly stained with blood. Rod got up, groaning, and stormed into the base.

“Come on, Dread. That idiot’s dead anyway.” Rod growled. Dread looked up at Syl, growling deeply, then spat on the ground and walked into the base. Syl was not doing well at all. Her Reaper body had nearly lost all its armor, then it began pulsating magenta-white, and it suddenly burst apart, and a bright ball of white appeared briefly around where the creature once was. Syl, back in her human form, fell from where the back of the Reaper once was, and a Rock Drake ran to below her back, and the rider caught her in their hands. She was badly bruised, blood coming out of her upper arm, and she was unconscious. The riders were shocked and worried, but they didn’t have time to react. They looked at each other, and grunted in affirmation. They then turned around to the broken walls and they left the base.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile…

Sodden, Dorack, and Skyocean were all standing in front of a big, metal door. The alarms and everything. Skyocean looked around, tapping his chest with his finger.

“Hmm. Okay. I think… okay.. We have to disable these alarms. Once we go in there, we cannot leave until we get Nal back. Okay?” Skyocean explained. Dorack and Sodden nodded and grunted in affirmation. Skyocean smiled and nodded, and turned to the door. There were two metal poles coming out of the center of the door. Both were relatively short, attached to a sort of wheel. Skyocean then sighed and looked at his implant.

“Okay. I’ll morph into Dread now. The second we do this, there’s no going back.” Skyocean said. Sodden nodded and smiled.

“You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.” Sodden said as he put his hand on Skyocean’s shoulder. Skyocean was about to say something else when suddenly, a horrible noise cut through. They heard deep, shrill screaming. There was also cracking, sizzling, all within a few seconds.

“What!? What’s going on?” Dorack asked in confusion, looking around frantically. Skyocean was silent.

“That’s Queen Syl. Something’s going on up there.” Skyocean explained. Sodden gasped.

“What- what’s happening?” Sodden asked. Then someone appeared at the end of the hall and ran towards them. They seemed to come around the main door. They had tears in their eyes.

“Guys! Get in the vault! NOW!!” Drake screamed with urgency, panting as he ran. Sodden gasped.

“Uh-” Sodden said, about to start a question, but Skyocean cut him off.

“No. I need to go now.” Skyocean explained, then he looked down at his implant, and used it to morph into Dread himself, inheriting his clothes and powers. He even had his armor. But it wouldn’t be long. Skyocean immediately burst down the door, and used his implant to disable the alarms - Dread was capable of disabling security measures. Skyocean then stormed through, and the others followed him. Something was going on, and it was not good.