When I first began looking for Phoenix i was running…
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Dododex
ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion
Dododex
ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion
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Under Nirvana - An ARK
Chapter 13 (B): Another Pathetic Character
Story by Bria!
Find the last chapter in PTERANODON and the next chapter in PELAGORNIS.
“You don’t sound so sure yourself,” Nova said. She sniffed the air slightly. It almost smelt like perfume or cologne. Bria began walking forward. Borealis tensed up, clenching his fists, but Bria simply brushed against his shoulder and knelt down to press her finger against the unconscious raptor’s neck.
“Hm,” Bria noted. “Not dead just yet. And you’ve already done the hard part of knocking it out. It’d be a waste to kill it now.”
“And why shouldn’t I? Besides the fact it did THAT.” Nova pointed at her old torn shirt and robe on the ground. “It’s also not exactly ‘friendly’.”
Nova’s eyes scanned Bria again. Her bun was neatly bunched up with a small hair tie. “She sure is dressed nicely for a graduation ceremony. It’s not like anyone was supposed to see what was under the robe anyway,” Nova thought.
Borealis scowled, slightly skeptical of the casual entrance of the woman.
“Your mysteries will not achieve anything. Get on with it and explain the meaning of… this.”
“Hm,” Bria muttered under her breath. “Survived unlike the others… probably a high level. Yeah. This should be tamed. This will be helpful for later.”
“Hello?” Borealis snapped his fingers. “Excuse me?”
“Huh? Oh. Right. My bad,” Bria answered with a chuckle. “How should I put this? You can tame dinosaurs here. Yeah. That’s basically it. If you knock them unconscious and feed them, they become your loyal, devoted pets. Neat, huh?”
“And how do you know this exactly?” Nova wondered aloud. Twinkle squawked in agreement. Bria glanced at the small dodo bird standing near Nova, raising her eyebrow.
“Uh, I thought you would know already?”
Nova slowly shook her head. “You sound off the rails, girl.”
“And that sounds highly dubious,” Borealis snapped. “These are reptiles with brains the size of walnuts. How can they ever be domesticated, no less obedient?”
Bria motioned her hand to the rest of the forest. “Look around you. We’re already on an island filled to the brim with dinosaurs that should be extinct, with medallions in our wrists that give us powers.” She tapped on her right wrist. “You should know by now, that anything may as well be possible here. Don’t act so surprised.”
Bria reached for a large pouch on her belt and took out a few scraps of meat.
“Look. If you don’t wanna tame it, then I will,” Bria sighed. Borealis stepped in front of the raptor. Bria looked up at him with disdain.
“How about you explain to us in depth before you risk all our lives?”
Bria tipped her sunglasses down, revealing her eyes. Borealis froze. Naturally, he stumbled back, his eyes still pinned to Bria’s. Nova raised an eyebrow at Borealis’ reaction.
“What the…” Nova thought. Bria put her sunglasses back up. Twinkle squawked skeptically, a bit wary of her now.
“Stop being an annoyance,” Bria murmured. The raptor slowly opened its jaws, and Bria slid the first piece of meat into the raptor’s mouth. It gulped it down with one swallow. Bria pressed her sunglasses up against her eyes again.
“I’ll cut straight to the chase, though,” Bria said. “I need you two for something. It’s a bit crucial. And also your other two buddies, wherever they may be.”
“Other two buddies–” Nova paused. “Wait a minute. How do you know about Ruby and Neddy?”
“Look. I’m not asking you to trust me. But I do need your cooperation. Otherwise, we’ll never escape this place,” Bria said. “I have what you need to escape. You have what we need to escape.”
“Oooookay. In that case… what do we need to do?”
Bria pointed her finger at a seemingly random direction before sliding another slab of meat into the raptor’s mouth.
“We’re forming a coalition, so to say. We need as many forces as possible for what’s to come. You five will be crucial.”
“Us five?” Nova asked, looking down at Twinkle. Bria seemed to be referring to the little dodo bird too.
“If my prediction is correct,” Bria said. “And I’m sure it will be, then a final enemy will await us before we’re allowed to escape. I doubt many will be able to fight it alone. We need to rally as many as we can to increase our odds, humans and beasts alike.”
“A… final enemy? Like a video game?” Nova questioned.
“Sort of. A video game, a story unfolding before our eyes.”
She motioned for Nova to approach. Approach, she did. Nova stared at the unconscious raptor with a heavy breath, her pettiness overwhelming her mind.
“I won’t let you kill it,” Bria declared. “I can’t let you hurt it either. That’s going to mess with the stats. Here, I can let you do something a bit more cruel.”
She pointed at one of the dead raptors nearby. Nova looked from raptor to raptor, a sudden realization overcoming her. She nearly threw up at the thought. She turned away, covering her mouth and gagging.
“How could you–”
“How could I what? You’re the one who suggested hurting it. What better way than to feed it its own kind?” Bria shrugged. “As far as I know, there are plenty of cannibals in the animal kingdom. This isn’t such a biggie. It even happened in the game.”
“Game,” Borealis whispered. “What?”
“Nevermind it then, nevermind it!” Nova said, still gagging. “Just… tame it or whatever and get it over with. I don’t care anymore.”
“Okay. Your loss.” Bria fed the raptor one last piece of meat. Its eyes fluttered open as it slid down its throat. Borealis raised his fists as the raptor rose from the ground. Nova fell on her bottom, looking up at the creature in terror. “Oh sh*t!”
But the raptor just stared down at her, not taking another step forward. Bria walked over to Nova, holding her hand out. Nova grabbed it, and Bria pulled her up. Nova was now face-to-face with the beast. Its eyes seemed dull, glazed over and distant. The predatory gaze was now gone, erased and replaced by something even more eerie.
“Perfect. It’s tame now.” Bria snapped her fingers. “Kneel.”
The raptor chittered, bending its knees and bowing its head toward Nova. Nova was taken aback by its blind obedience. Borealis seemed more intrigued than anything. Bria snapped her fingers, and the raptor returned to her side.
“Now, I would like to meet the rest of your allies,” Bria said. Nova chuckled awkwardly.
“I mean, we’d love to, but we don’t know where they are. We’re still trying to find them. We were going to check out that beam of light first,” Nova said, pointing in the distance at the red fireflies. Bria shrugged.
“Oh. Right. Those things. They’re pretty helpful. Okay, we can go there first, and then look for your friends.”
Bria walked off in the direction that Nova pointed them toward. The newly tamed raptor followed, its tail swishing back and forth. Nova and Borealis followed closely behind.
“She sure is an oddball,” Nova thought. She only got more excited at the thought. “But that’s what makes this so much fun.”
She looked at Borealis, who seemed to be studying Bria further.
“Though what she said is interesting. If you can domesticate the dinosaurs,” she thought.
“Maybe I can tame humans like you too.”
Journey Through All Creatures
Chapter 33: The Crag Cave
Note: Story starts in Achatina, The Island ABC order for Section I, Scorched Earth Exclusives and Aberration Exclusives for Section II and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Oasisaur, next chapter in Rock Elemental.
Chapters to the end of Segment II: 4!
Cave Chapters: Scorched Earth: Part 3/4: The Crag Cave
Day 14 of Scorched Earth
The sun began to rise over the horizon, its light encasing the Ark and dissolving the darkness away. The light flooded over Scorched Earth, signaling another day on this Ark. Two weeks on this Ark. The group had hoped to ascend off of Scorched Earth in the coming weeks. This was the day the survivors would do the last two caves. Soon, preparations would begin. As the light flooded through the window of the stone base in the northeast, the survivors inside the bedroom began to move their bodies. Sodden began to open his eyes on one of the beds on the right corner of the room. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, then let out an exhale. He then stood up, and saw Dorack and Nal moving their bodies around on their beds, starting to wake up. Sodden walked to the door, and Dorack sat up on the bed just then, and Serenity got up too. Nal yawned loudly as she sat up on her bed too, and Rod began to wake up too. “Okay, can you guys get into the kitchen when you’re settled? We gotta talk about our plan for today.” Sodden.
“Okay…” Dorack moaned as he stood up slowly. Nal, Serenity, and Rod stretched their arms and stood up, then Sodden opened the door, and everyone walked slowly towards the kitchen. The group then walked to some chairs at a table just near the forge room and a few meters in front of the dino pen entrance. They sat down on the chairs and looked at each other, with Sodden sitting in the front chair. “Okay, so today we will do two caves. We also gotta start our big Rex army. Don’t forget, these caves are dangerous and are far away. Did you find a Thyla yesterday?” Sodden asked, turning to Serenity and Dorack. “Uh, we did find a 140, but without kibble, it’s going to get almost no bonus levels. But for that, we need a Yuty. So should we go Yuty hunting today?” Dorack asked. Serenity turned her head to Dorack.
“Sounds like a good idea.” Serenity responded. Sodden then stood up.
“Okay. Since Rod was, for some stupid reason, unnecessarily disrespectful and rude to me yesterday, he will be staying back from this cave expedition. Dorack, you’re coming with me today. Nal, Serenity, find a Yuty and Thyla we can tame. Tell us when you find one. And Rod… go collect metal and some food for our Morellatops pack. And come back to base when I tell you to, or you will face the…” Sodden said, then Serenity cut in.
“Wait a second. What happened yesterday?” She asked. Rod sighed.
“Sodden was rude and accused me of this Ravage thing again.” Rod growled.
“You were the only one mad at me. I know you are thinking of something.” Sodden said. Rod growled and stormed to Sodden, then Nal walked to the two.
“Guys… guys, let’s calm down! We don’t need to fight each other. I know this Ravage thing was bad, but Rod admits he was not part of that. This is unnecessary. Let’s just calm down, okay?” Nal asked. Rod scoffed and turned away. Sodden sighed and looked away too, crossing his arms.
“Okay, if we’re done arguing, can we get back to what we were going to do today? Okay, maybe Rod should stay, mainly because if he and Sodden are just going to fight like this, it’ll make this take longer. We want to get to Aberration sooner, right?” Dorack said, his hands on the table. Sodden growled and walked over to Dorack. He put his hands on Dorack’s back. “We’re good, okay? You’re right. We gotta get started now.” Sodden said. Dorack nodded as he smiled, then the five walked to the fridges lined up at the wall across from the table, and opened the doors of two. They got some cooked meat and some jars of water. As they sat at the table to eat, Dorack was eating his meat while looking down at his lap. Something was going through his head.
“Oh… why can’t the ARKtic memories go away…” Dorack whispered.
~~~~
Day 21 of ARKtic
72 days before Nal and Dorack’s escape
“It’s Not Much… but it’ll Do”
Dark clouds. Rumbling. Creatures running for their lives. Fear accelerating in the hearts of the two survivors trapped on Snowball. Nal and Dorack stood in the cold snow, their hide boots wearing out and their feet beginning to feel like they would freeze off. The two shivered as they set up some walls and foundations. They set up 12 wood foundations in a 3 by 4 frame, then set up walls around the place, a door in the front, and some windows on the side. “You… you sure this will help?” Nal shivered. “It… i-it should…” Dorack said. The two had not gotten a proper source of warmth other than standing torches. The torches had helped them stay alive in the freezing snow. They thought a snowstorm was coming because of the gigantic dark clouds coming. Snowball could drop to -30 degrees in these storms, even -45 at night. 35 degrees below zero was expected for the sunset coming along. Nal and Dorack had collected resources, exhausted and freezing, but they had to get a base up or they would die. They have had a very tough three weeks, and things had to change now. They lay one level away from fur armor, aka their lifesavers. They had to get the base running and good warmth. They had stacks on stacks of wood in a storage box, which lay on the back walls of the new base. They had 20 standing torches total, 10 in each their bags. As they placed down their walls, Dorack could feel the ice cold snow make contact with his boots and feet, and he was shivering badly. Nal was breathing hard. “These past three weeks have been so bad.” Nal said.
“I agree. If things don’t change, we’re not lasting any longer here.” Dorack said. The two stood at the base door and they walked through it. They stood on the foundations, then put up the second layer of walls.
“Dorack… we should be done soon. I feel like a snowstorm… i-is coming…” Nal gasped. Dorack reached into his bag to get out ten more walls, then he walked to the back walls and jumped up to place the walls. The second layer of walls was coming together. A box house would have to do for now. When they finished putting up the walls, Nal walked to the left side and placed down a staircase that went up two walls. Dorack walked up the stairs to place ceilings. He placed them outwards from the stairs and to the walls, to stabilize them. He kept putting down ceilings over the entire base until the only part left uncovered was the part with the stairs. Dorack held the last two ceilings in his hand, then he walked down the stairs, under the roof, and put down the last two ceilings, fully encasing the house. Nal put up two wooden pillars to hold up the ceiling near the right corner, then Dorack put two more on the center floor. Then they walked to the door and looked around.
“Well, it’s not much, but it’ll do.” Dorack said.
“Yeah. Let’s hope it holds up against this snowstorm. We were lucky to survive the last one.” Nal said. Dorack nodded.
“Don’t bring me back to Day 9, please. This has not been a good ride for us so far. We’ve been freezing in hide armor and a thatch hut for three weeks. We need an improvement.” Dorack said. Nal turned her head to Dorack.
“You’re saying this should be our permanent base?” Nal said. Dorack nodded.
“It’s not much now, but when we get more levels and better supplies, we can set things up nicely.” Dorack said.
“Yeah. It is nice being near an obelisk. One day, when we get the artifact, we can send a beacon for Red to create a path back here and we can leave.” Nal said.
“But until then, we’re just going to have to survive.” Dorack said. Nal nodded.
“How can we get more levels? All we have is the deer and argies to kill. And they keep getting ravaged by Yutys, wolves, and sabers! Don’t get me started on the Rexes.” Nal said. Dorack sighed. He walked to Nal and looked deeply. “Listen, I know this is scary. This is for both of us. But we can survive this if we play smart and work together.” Dorack said. “True. How else were we able to survive three weeks in such a tough Ark?” Nal said.
“I know.” Dorack said, nodding his head slowly. Then they heard louder rumbling.
“The storm’s going to be here soon.” Nal said. The two then walked to the windows and put the window covers on them. Then they walked to the center, near the pillars, and they put down 4 standing torches, circling the pillar. Then they put down two beds, one on each side of the pullar. They placed down two more torches on the sides of the beds.
“Okay. You got the food, right?” Nal asked. Dorack nodded.
“I was able to kill some sabers and an Argy, so I think we should be good on food for the night.” Dorack said. He then sat down on the bed. Nal sat down on hers. “Let’s get that food set up. Okay?” Nal asked. Dorack nodded.
~~~~
The five survivors sat outside their base. They were in front of an Argy, a Lymantria, and their Alpha Raptor. Dorack stood with Sodden next to the Argy, and Serenity and Nal stood behind the moth. Rod stood at the porch. “Okay, so the plan is that me and Dorack go to the Crag cave and Nal and Serenity will find us a Yuty. Rod will stay.” Sodden said. Serenity then walked over to Sodden.
“Sodden, I don’t know what happened yesterday, but it seems like a lot to just leave him here over a stupid argument.” Serenity said. Sodden sighed.
“Well, I just don’t like what he’s thinking. He was going to talk with someone named Dread. You know him?” Sodden asked.
“Yes. He was the second leader of Drake Death. I don’t know very well… but he might’ve been in Rod’s tribe.” Serenity said. Rod scoffed. “That… that stupid idiot. I had nothing to do with Drake Death. I never even went to Aberration! You can shut up now about the…” Rod said. He then started looking around. Sodden then burst into laughter. “This is the part where a Giga ambushes us, except they don’t spawn here! You can shut up!” Sodden yelled. Rod growled deeply. “This is why you’re staying. I don’t see much reason to trust you right now. I’m actually starting to think you’ve been lying all this time. Ever since the day I met you. Even tried to raid their base. Why? Why did you raid their base that day?” Sodden yelled. Then before anyone could say anything, they heard screeching. It sounded scrambled, but also serious. It was quiet. As if something was calling. Rod looked into his bag. A Jerboa peeked out and made the calling sound again. Everyone gasped loudly. “I know exactly what that sound means.” Serenity whispered. “This is bad. Really bad. Okay, no time to talk. One last go over. Cave, me and Dorack. Yuty, Serenity and Nal. Get a tent as soon as you can. Rod, stay here. Let’s go!” Sodden yelled. “Aye!” Everyone except Rod yelled. Serenity and Nal got on the moth, and set out west to the mountains to find a Yuty. Sodden and Dorack got on the Argy, took off the ground, the Argy then picked up the raptor with its talons, then it flew west towards the Western Mountains and World Scar to find the Grave of the Tyrants cave, which held the Artifact of the Crag.
~~~~
The sun was nearly fully below the horizon. Only a crescent moon rose that night, so it would be dark that night. The dark clouds had gotten far thicker and bigger, and have covered most of Snowball like a blanket. The wind had picked up quite a bit by now and the snow was beginning to descend upon the Ark. The snow fluttered down quickly, covering the entire Ark too. Inside the small cabin near the gray obelisk, the snow’s whistling had begun to engulf the cabin and the surrounding area. Nal and Dorack had used some metal boards to keep the windows shut and the door closed. They lay on their beds, under the covers. The snowstorm had begun, and the Yetis and polar bears were beginning to spawn. Dorack and Nal had to stay hidden from them. The last time a snowstorm hit, a polar bear found Dorack and Nal at the base and it almost cost them their lives. Dorack covered his mouth while grasping a piece of cooked meat. The standing torches had a fire in them, crackling and letting out bright light and a lot of warmth. The warmth would keep them safe inside the house until the storm passed. Dorack held the cooked meat to his mouth and began to bite through it. Nal heard the crunching of meat and turned her head to Dorack’s bed.
“Dude… eat that quietly. There could be Yetis right outside.” Nal whispered loudly. Dorack sighed as he turned his head to Nal, then peeked out of the blanket.
“How can they hear us over the snow?” Dorack said. The snow and wind whipping was very loud, like a whirring sound but more pitched. The sound of the wind and snow was drowning out the sound of survivors inside the shack, and thus the Yetis could not hear it unless they were right outside the door. Nal was breathing quietly, as she grasped a piece of cooked meat inside her left hand. She moved it to her mouth and started eating the meat. “Let’s just eat then we can go to bed.” Nal said. Dorack nodded. They ate through the meat pieces, then they rolled over and lay down in their beds, softly and tired, as they began to close their eyes and go to sleep. The night was dark, cold, and quiet. The only light you could see outside of the cabin would be the Gray Obelisk close by.
On The Island that day…
As the two survivors began to fall asleep, something was brewing in Nudon on The Island. Red sat on the top of the volcano, looking up. It was still day at The Island, since time at Snowball was 5 hours ahead of the time at The Island. Red looked down, a tear rolling down his face. Sal sat on the ledge with him. Behind them was an Argentavis. Red had his knees up to his body, his head was down between his knees, and his hands on his head. Sal patted his back.
“It’s been three weeks. Still nothing. Where are they?” Red asked, his voice breaking.
“Yeah. I miss Nal a lot. Dorack’s such a cool dude. I miss them.” Sal said, sniffling.
“Why did I even decide to send them to Scorched Earth? If I hadn’t done that while the ascension path was unstable…” Red said, then Sal put his hand on Red’s shoulder.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Codred. We didn’t know the path was going to be interrupted today. We didn’t see the Creator’s message or warning. We didn’t notice that. If there’s one thing we should blame, it’s timing. Like… oh, who am I kidding? Our two best friends are gone.” Sal said, his head down too.
“Sal… don’t call me by my real name. And yeah, this sucks.” Red said. 4 PM in The Island, 9 PM in Snowball. The sun was shining dimmer than usual, and the day was dark. Clouds spotted the sky like black dots. As if the Ark was crying along with Red and his tribe. Nudon had lost two great friends.
“Oh, Nal. I hope you’re doing fine, wherever you are. Please, if you’re still alive, if you and Dorack are still alive, we miss you.” Sal said, looking up at the sky. Nal and Dorack were a brave pair of friends. They would take on tough caves, tame tough creatures in wild ways, like how Nal once tamed a Giga while riding its back, and go on boss fights with their friends to grind for tekgrams. They didn’t want to ascend, they just wanted to have fun and grind all they could. Nal and Dorack were cherished by all of Nudon, they helped people in many ways, and even confronted poor Codred when he lost his friend Elaine permanently due to a horrible incident in the Strong Cave. Red sniffled more and looked up at the sky.
“Nal, Dorack… please… find us again. Please. If you can, wherever you are, please tell us where you are. I cannot stand watching your presence float through the air, unknown, as if like Elaine’s essence back in 2023…” Red said, his voice breaking again. They had taken some off time from their grinding to look up and pray to the Creator they could see Nal and Dorack again.
(In a few chapters, we will see Day 1 and how ARKtic began…)
~~~~
Sandstorm was coming. This was all Sodden could think about. The sandstorm would arrive soon, and Sodden and Dorack were nearly to the cave entrance. As Sodden and Dorack rode their Argy, Dorack would not turn from Sodden. He wasn’t all that happy, but at the same time, he liked what was going on. He did not trust Rod still, but he felt like trying to take all the answers out now could ruin everything for Sodden. Terad would find this out, and he would brainwash Sodden as soon as he returned to The Island, thus forcing him into hiding. But this would definitely cause the group to be more vulnerable to Rod. Dorack did not know the safest option right now. He finally let out a sigh, and Sodden turned his head around quickly. “Oh, you wanna say something? You’ve been silent the whole way here. What do you want?” Sodden asked. “Listen, you need to apologize to Rod. I believe it’s dangerous to expose him now, because we could be trapped due to Terad finding out and we’d be vulnerable. You saw what Rod can do with his raid, right?” Dorack asked. Sodden looked forward and shook his head.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to do that. He’s not even that bad, as far as I know. But yeah, I don’t like him. And even if he tried to do something, we can stop him quickly.” Sodden said. “Sodden… what I’m saying is, we need to apologize to him. We gotta stop him from being mad at us. You need to apologize for what you did yesterday.” Dorack said. Sodden was about to say something else when they noticed a strange brown fog-like cloud coming from the north. It rose over the horizon, and it soon appeared to be super tall. The wall came as it begun to cover the Ark, approaching the dunes. “What? It’s here already?” Sodden said. The wall came faster and got bigger, and it was clear what it was. A sandstorm was on the way. They heard quiet rumbling, and the sky began to darken. The Argy then shot down to the ground, towards the cave just below them. The sandstorm was coming fast, so they had to get into the cave fast. The Argy landed just outside the hole in the mountain that was the cave entrance, and Sodden and Dorack hopped off of it and put the Argy in a cryopod. Then they both ran into the cave entrance as the large wall of sand began to cover the entire Ark, and some thunder rumbled with the sand covering the whole Ark. The storm and wind began to push hard on the foliage around the area, but Sodden and Dorack were safe inside the cave. Sodden and Dorack let out a big exhale and walked deeper into the cave. The raptor followed the two survivors in. Sodden and Dorack got on the raptor and they ran deeper in the tunnels. It would be a large cave, so they got started. They kept going through the tunnels, and the raptor pounced at any wolf or mantis that came for them. They then approached the first river, and there was a strange looking rock near the other side of the river at the path. “That’s a golem.” Sodden said.
“We gotta go around it.” Dorack said. Sodden nodded, then they quietly walked off the path and through the water, and as they did, a mantis leaped from the path through the front tunnel and at Sodden. The raptor roared as it jumped out of the way, and the mantis hit the water. The raptor lunged at the mantis’ back and sunk its teeth and claws in its abdomen and legs. The mantis roared as it tried to shake the creatures off, but it then collapsed after a few seconds. The Raptor backed up then turned to the path, walked back to it, and kept walking deeper into the cave. It ran fast, but after a minute it started getting slowed down by wolves jumping out of the ground and pushing the raptor. There were also arthros, spiders, and mantises coming. They were not even halfway done with the cave. There were spiders jumping from the walls, some arthros slithering from the front, mantises skittering to the raptor from the back, and even a few wolves that leaped at the raptor. As the raptor got pushed around by the wolves, Sodden and Dorack held tightly on the saddle. “Get the sword!” Sodden yelled. Dorack nodded. He held the saddle with his left hand, then reached into his bag with his right. He took out a sword, then as he got thrown off, he yelled. He lunged his right hand and grabbed Sodden’s foot, holding the sword to the side. As he held on, the raptor roared as it jumped. A wolf bit its foot, another sat on its other paw, and the raptor screeched and bit a wolf’s nose. The wolf screeched and backed away. The wolf biting the raptor’s paw then got shoved over by the raptor’s tail, but the spiders had started shooting webs out of their mouths. The arthros were almost here. “Oh, no. This is bad. The Arthros are what can really mess this up.” Dorack gasped. He stared deeply at the wolf that was knocked over, and it growled as some weird swirls went on in its eyes. “What?” Dorack said, confused. He stared closer, then saw something inside. The wolf got up, growling. Dorack’s jaw dropped by what he saw. “What… it was badly hurt just now! It had a wound on its leg, now it’s healed. What?” Dorack said in shock. Then the mantises came to attack. Two mantises lunged at the stunned raptor, and its claws made contact with the raptor, shoving the raptor hard against the wall and knocking Sodden and Dorack off. They lost balance and fell off the raptor, then the two got up fron the wet ground and ran from the raptor. They looked to see the arthros coming, hissing. “We’ll worry about the wolves later. Right now, we gotta save our raptor.” Sodden said. Dorack nodded. Sodden took a cryopod froom his bag and threw it on the ground, and Reaper rose from it. “Get the Arthros, girl!” Sodden said. Reaper growled in affirmation then ran at the arthros, and leaped. The arthros opened their mouths and sneezed as they launched an acid ball at Reaper. The acid hit Reaper on her tail, damaging the saddle reins badly. But Reaper’s claws sunk into one of the Arthros’ back and then sunk her teeth into its head. She ripped the body apart, then the other Arthro leaped at Reaper. Meanwhile, the Alpha Raptor was crunching down the heads of the mantises clawing at it. The spiders had webbed the raptor, but the raptor was powerful and tore up the webs. It then twisted the neck of one of the mantises and leaped at a spider. It inserted its teeth in its body and the spider fell flat on its body, its body broken down. The raptor ran at the two wolves clawing it. The raptor crunched one of the wolves down, they sunk their teeth into its head, breaking its face and choking it up. Then the raptor dropped the wolf. The other wolf was frozen. Sodden and Dorack walked closer. “Uh…” Sodden said. The wolf’s swirls were white. “Wait… you kind of remind me of Tundra… no. You… you were stuck there. We couldn’t bring you… how did you even… it’s not you. You’re just an illusion, a shadow of a tame we loved so long ago. What… what are you doing…” Dorack said. The wolf did not budge. Its eyes kept swirling and it did not blink once. Dorack stared closer. He could see the eyes of Tundra inside. The eyes of the wolf that saved their lives many times in Snowball. “Dude… let’s just go find the artifact.” Sodden said. The wolf then howled and shot its head up as some ice began to form around it. “What the heck?” Dorack said. “No time to chat! It’ll cause a cave-in if it does that! GO!” Sodden said. The two jumped onto the Alpha Raptor, and he along with Reaper ran deeper into the cave as the ice spread across the room, up to the ceiling. The ice immediately melted slightly because of the heat in the cave, causing the rocks to get wet and begin breaking. Sodden and Dorack had to get the artifact fast, and avoid the creatures, because whatever wolf they found was about to trap them in the cave!
~~~~
Day 22 of ARKtic
71 days before Nal and Dorack’s escape
It was very early in the morning of Day 22. Around 3:30 AM, the moon was far west already. The snowstorm had faded, but a pile of snow encased the cabin’s back and blocked the windows and door. Nal and Dorack were sound asleep in their beds, the quiet wind whistled around the cabin. But the sky was clear, stars speckled the entire sky, and the crescent moon in the distance. There were almost no clouds in the sky. A clear night. The stars seemed to form a shape, what seemed like a man named Codred. A man with a red flattop and a shaved black beard. What seemed to be a shotgun sat next to it. A constellation sat in the sky, symbolizing the tribemaster Codred, or Red for short, who had been looking up at the sky all this time. He would not stop thinking about where Nal and Dorack was. Little did the pair know, Codred and his friends were praying to the Creator, hoping for Nal and Dorack to get home one day.
One day soon.
A shape next to Codred was formed, a girl with long blonde hair and a pike with a red orangeish tip on the top next to her. Elaine. The cherished survivor who had permanently died due to a incident in the Strong Cave over an year ago. Codred was watching, and praying that one day, Nal and Dorack would thrive in the frozen waste and find a way to get back home. One day, Nal and Dorack would survive and thrive in the frozen waste that was Snowball, and find a way back to their home Ark.
~~~~
Sodden and Dorack found the artifact podium after almost five minutes of running. The walls were rumbling quietly, some rocks fell. They ran to the artifact container,, then Sodden lifted the artifact lid off, then lifted out the artifact and put it in his bag. “Let’s check on the others and get out of here.” Dorack said. Sodden nodded. They then turned around and ran. They ran for the cave entrance, they ran fast and hard. While the raptor was roaring and running, Dorack looked at his implant. He activated the recorders to send a message. “Guys, you good?” Dorack asked. He turned off the recording and sent the message. Nal responded a minute later. She and Serenity had found a 140 female Yuty, and were able to knock it out and feed it before they had to go into a tent. “Okay, good. Nal and Serenity are fine.” Sodden said, relived. Dorack nodded. Then they looked forward and gasped. The cave was rocky, and crumbled. Rocks everywhere, icicles on the ceiling. The wolf stood in the path. “Just… what are you?!” Dorack said. The wolf did not respond. It stepped closer to the raptors. Sodden growled, then the two raptors dashed forward, but the wolf roared. Dorack gasped and stopped the raptors by whistling. “Wha…” Sodden said.
“Shush.” Dorack said. He got off the raptor and turned to the wolf.
“Tundra… I know these eyes when I see them. Is… let me see your paw.” Dorack said. The wolf whimpered as it backed away. Its front left paw had a white snowflake on it. Dorack walked closer, and the wolf lifted its paw and pointed it at Dorack. Dorack took it. The stats were shocking. Level 709, unclaimed. 12000 HP, the colors, the stats. Unclaimed by Tribe of Nudon. This was Tundra. “Wha… these are Tunda’s exact stats. But… how?” Dorack asked. “What were these weird powers, anyway?” Sodden asked. “Feels like a creature of nightmares. No pun intended. But seriously… what… what is this? Okay. Until I figure out what’s happening here, you are going to stay here.” Dorack said. The wolf purred in curiosity. Dorack stood up and let go of the wolf’s paw. “Okay… that was weird. How could a creature get from Snowball to here? To do that, it would have to have been transferred throughout an Obelisk. Then even if you directed it to Scorched Earth and went there, someone would’ve had to have taken the cryopod and threw it out. Who would do that?” Sodden asked. “Hmm. I do know of someone who went to Scorched Earth a few months back. It… it went way smoother than… well, you know. But… I don’t remember taking Tundra to The Island.” Dorack said. “Well, yeah, but who would take the cryopod?” Sodden said. Then he and Dorack gasped in unison. “My friend went here before the Ravage, meaning Terad was here when the cryopod had been put here. He might’ve found the cryopod and threw it away. We need to talk to Serenity. Let’s meet up with her.” Dorack said. Sodden nodded as he smiled in agreement. “But who would take Tundra to The Island?” Sodden asked. Dorack gasped and smiled.
“Jerboa, that’s who. He must’ve snuck the cryopod home and put it in an obelisk. Then maybe Terad found the cryopod and threw it here… because he thought it was useless. Oh, my god. We gotta talk to Serenity to confirm this.” Dorack said. He got back on the raptor, then the group ran to the cave entrance. The sandstorm had thankfully just passed, so they could get to Serenity now. Sodden took a cryopod out of his bag, threw it at the ground, and an Argentavis came out. Sodden then put the two raptors in some cryopods, then Sodden and Dorack hopped onto the Argy. They took off and flew in the direction of where they knew the others would be taming the Yuty.
Another long chapter, DONE.
Well, just 3 chapters to go until the Segment II Finale.
Anyway, that’s all, later.
-RelatingHen8906
The Arks: Over Heaven
Chapter 13b: Another Magnificent Character
Original Post Date: Jan 24, 2024
Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Pteranodon, next chapter in Pelagornis.
~
“Who?” Samuel asked. He squinted his eyes at Ben and tried to pick up as many details as he could. He had long, thick yet straight hair that fell to his sides, and he was still wearing his graduation robe, just like Samuel. Unlike Samuel, Ben had his sleeves rolled up, and he had no graduation cap. Samuel took a smell of the air and noticed a nice smell coming from his arms. It was almost as if he was wearing perfume or cologne.
“What do you mean who? It’s me, Ben!” Ben shouted.
“Sorry, I don’t really think I know you,” Samuel apologized. Samuel eyed Ben’s belt and noticed he had a few stone tools.
“Hold on, how’d he get those? Only Ruby knows how to make them!” Samuel thought. Aurora scowled, still not trusting the newcomer.
“Who am I to trust you? You still haven’t answered my other questions.”
Ben’s facial expression suddenly changed, and he stared at Aurora with a dead serious look.
“Look. Me and my group found a way to tame the dinosaurs of this island. With the process you can make them your pets. You can make them your personal bodyguards. It’s only reserved for those who were strong enough to best them in battle,” Ben explained grimly.
“What? Tame dinosaurs? How’s that even possible?” Aurora said.
Ben put his arms up in the air, spinning around and showing all of the wonders of this forsaken place.
“Just look around. Dinosaurs, weird glowing obelisks, glowing supply crates which give knowledge, weird gems in our arms, don’t you think anything is possible? Like riding a T-Rex?”
Samuel eyed Ben’s wrist and saw an implant there too. It was glowing green, and Samuel looked at Ben’s rolled up sleeves. He could have sworn vines were poking out of them.
“Suspicious,” Samuel thought, “But I’m more intrigued than anything. How does he know about this dinosaur taming? How did he get those tools? Who is his group?”
Ben’s eyes darted to Samuel and he smirked.
“You must be REALLY suspicious of me right now,” Ben said with a sigh. He then gave a big grin, “Don’t need to be! I have no reason to be risking my life over this. But I did come trying to find people for a reason.”
“And what’s that supposed to be?” Aurora said.
“Well, to put it straightforward, the Book Club wants more members,” Ben explained, “A few others and I had found each other when we first woke up, some of the most prestigious writers and readers. Then one of us realized that the place we were in practically replicated the places of a book that they had read.”
“What?”
“That’s right. The island we’re on now,” Ben said, looking up at the rising sun, “Is the same setting as a book that someone had read.”
“And how are we even supposed to believe you?” Samuel laughed. Ben looked at the unconscious raptor, which was breathing faster and seemed close to waking up.
“I’ll prove it to you right now. Feed that raptor some meat.”
“Excuse me? Are you trying to order us around?” Aurora said with a scowl.
“No. Just trying to prove to you…” Ben said. Then a big smile grew on his face, and he laughed, “That this place is just like a fantasy, sci-fi story!”
Samuel and Aurora both dug around their pouches, but unfortunately had no meat.
“It doesn’t matter where it comes from,” Ben revealed. He and Samuel both looked at the other dead raptor corpses, and Samuel turned white. Samuel looked at Ben, and he nodded in affirmation. Samuel walked up to one of the dead raptors and dug his hatchet into it, cutting its torso into pieces for the raptor to feast upon. Samuel then took a few pieces and put them in the unconscious raptor’s mouth. It began to feed on them, and suddenly its eyes fluttered open!
“Oh, crap!” Samuel said, scurrying away. Aurora aimed her spear at the raptor’s skull, and Samuel looked back at Ben who stood as still as a rock, watching everything unfold.
The raptor’s eyes darted around for a moment, then got up onto its feet again. It eyed Samuel for a second, and then just blinked, and kept standing there like some machine.
“What the-”
“Look at that. It’s tamed now,” Ben said with a smirk. He smiled, “Heh heh. Try saying ‘Follow me’!”
Samuel said, “Follow me.”
Samuel began to walk away, and the raptor slowly walked behind him, its arms down and its eyes dull. Samuel turned around, his eyes widened, and impressed.
“So you are correct,” Aurora said in awe.
“I am. Believe me now?” Ben asked with a grin, “I’m not trying to be smug. I genuinely want to be friends with you both.”
Samuel smiled, a realization crossing his mind.
“If this island really IS based on a story, then that means the Book Club has information about it. Maybe there really is a way to escape this island,” Samuel thought.
“Okay then. We’ll join your book club,” Samuel declared.
“What?!” Aurora said, “But what if they’re dangerous?”
Samuel looked back at Aurora with a cheeky grin.
“Let’s be real. What are a bunch of bookworms going to do?”
Aurora sighed.
“I guess you’re right. But we still have people to find. We had two allies that we got separated from an hour or two ago. We need to find them,” Aurora explained to Ben.
“Perfect! I’ll help you,” Ben decided, “But before we even start, we need to go to that beam of light.”
“Oh really? We were planning on doing that before we got ambushed by the raptors,” Samuel said.
“Good idea. Those beams of lights lead to beacons which give loot,” Ben told Samuel. He pointed to the tools on his belt. “That’s how we even got these to begin with. Well, sometimes the beacons give knowledge too, but those are rare.”
“Knowledge too?” Samuel thought. He looked down at his sleeve, which was covering his left wrist, “Would I even have the ability to get knowledge without the implant?”
Aurora nudged Samuel, who looked back up.
“Come on. Let’s go, or that guy’s going to leave without us,” Aurora said. Samuel nodded.
“Okay. Coming.”
Aurora walked off with Samuel, and while the raptor followed behind, Star let out a scoff. Star grumpily trotted behind, ruffling her feathers and giving Aurora the stink eye- Woosh.
Samuel looked behind and saw some red plume of dust hovering in the distance, and as he squinted his eyes at it… he could’ve sworn he saw a raptor head. He blinked his eyes, and it disappeared.
“Must, must’ve been my imagination,” Samuel thought as he walked along. But even as he did, something kept gnawing at him, telling him to watch out. To be careful. And that feeling was fear.
The Obelisk
-Chapter 97-
Forest could hear the deep thump of his heart in his head as he ran heavily. He slowed down to a trot and stopped, talons shaking. He closed his eyes to shake the dust away as he panted quietly.
“No! Orbit!” He could hear Nyx shout out, stopping to whirl around. Forest glanced back and saw that the entrance and several parts of the cave had collapsed, leaving nothing but darkness ahead.
“Orbit,” Nyx cried sadly, her voice wavering. She set her talons on the fallen wall of stones, her blue eyes wide and full of sorrow. “How can this be happening?” She wailed.
Crimson came panting at Forests side, her long snout contorted in a small scowl. “We gotta keep going, this cave could—”
She stopped, dipping her head to look down at Forest’s bag. The others turned and stared. Forest felt his spine prickle. In his bag, the rune had started to pulse lightly, lighting up a small part of the cave.
It grew brighter and then slowed, it’s glow casting a line of light that stretched further down the cave. Forest watched the light blankly, the glow reflecting in his eyes. He stepped forward to follow it.
“Forest, what are you doing?” Crimson called, lashing her tail.
The rune began to beat rhythmically as he followed its trail. It blazed bright green and then it stopped, and the tunnel grew dark again. Then Forest paused. There was a light coming from the end of the cave.
“Forest!” Spark called. The others came after him as he padded into the cave and out of sight.
They caught up with him moments later, stopping to stand behind Forest.
Rust looked up. “What…”
Forest stared up at the three portals, his head lifted and his feathers fluffed up.
The Five gazed in silence and awe. A gust of wind blasted from the middle portal, buffeting against Forests face. Then he stepped forward and set one talon on the middle of the portal.
“Forest!” Nyx shouted.
Immediately it pulled him in. His tail disappeared into the golden liquid and roaring with fear and determination, his friends jumped in after him.
***
Yellow and gold swirled around him. He yelled out in fear as he was pulled forward and shot out of the portal onto the ground.
Forest groaned quietly. Thumps and shouts came from behind him, and the Five lifted their heads in turn.
The moon was high in the dark, cloudless sky. They were all standing on a large flat cliff, somewhere Forest didn’t recognize. Somewhere very strange.
He struggled to his feet. The others came over to his side, wincing and wide-eyed.
The rune came back to life. Forests blood suddenly ran cold, and his body moved, stepping back slowly. “Guys,” he hissed.
A low, chuckling growl came from ahead. Giant claws came into view as something climbed up from the edge of the cliff to stand, tall and towering over them.
“Silly little juveniles,” The Wyvern growled.
Riddles of the Phoenixes series
The War of the Phoenixes.
Chapter eighteen: Marvelo’s request.
“Is it done?” Tom asked Marvelo, who knelt in front of him. “Yes, my lord. The Lightning phoenixes kingdom is ours.” Marvelo said, rising. Tom nodded and ran his finger down the armrest of his throne. “Good. It seems our spy was telling the truth. You will be rewarded once the war is over.” Tom told Marvelo. Marvelo nodded, but Tom could seem him grinding his teeth. “Sir? If you don’t mind me asking…there is one thing I want in reward…” Marvelo began.
“No.” Tom interrupted. Marcelo’s eye twitched with irritation. “If it’s true…I want to be the one to do it.” Tom said. Marvelo flexed his jaw and Tom saw his hands twitch. “Remember your place Marvelo. Remember who gave you that implant. Remember…you owe me.” Tom said. Marvelo bowed again. “Yes sir.” He said. Tom smiled inwardly. “Dismissed.” He said.
Marvelo quickly did so. Tom sank back on his throne and massaged his forehead. He had a headache again and felt a tiny bit nauseous. Tom sighed. Even almost invincible people got headaches. Strange right? “We heard how you’re using your power for evil. It’s corrupting you. You’re turning into…a monster.” His parents words echoed through his thoughts. Tom clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in determination.
He would show them. He would show them all! Just then the door opened and a guard came in. “Sir. We found Hailey and Jaron in the medallion room. All the medallions are gone.” The guard said. Tom sat straight up in his throne and his medallion glowed vibrantly. “WHAT?!?!” He bellowed. The guard cowered. Tom clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He could feel the Krakos stirring inside him but Tom forced it down. Not now. “Tell them to come in.” Tom said in a dangerously low voice. The guard ran out of the room to do so.
Josephina and Jaquin stood outside the doors to the throne room. Peggie and Brutus were quietly giving them tips on what to do. “Act innocent. You did nothing wrong so prove it.” Peggie said, from Jaquin’s shoulder. “DON’T tell him anything about Jay. Don’t spill any secrets, I’m talking to you Josephina!” Brutus growled. Josephina scowled at him. “I’m great at keeping secrets!” She retorted. Jaquin, Brutus, and Peggie gave her doubtful looks. “And remember call Tom “father”. Act like you’re usual brain washed selves.” Peggie said.
“Yes, and remember y’all “names” are Hailey and Jaron.” Brutus said. “Got that?” Jaquin and Josephina nodded. They stood in silence, waiting for the guard. “WHAT?!” A voice bellowed from the throne room. Jaquin and Josephina gulped in fear. Moments later, the guard ran up. “Follow me.” He said. Hailey and Jaron slowly followed him. Brutus and Peggie watched worriedly. “Do you think they’ll do okay?” Peggie asked. Brutus grimaced. “Nope.”
-SunnyFox57
Frozen wings
Chapter 2
“What’s your name phoenix?” Asked dagger on a tone of authority “it-it’s icicle” responded icicle “don’t be hard on him brother your scaring him” rose said “I know but how do we-“ dagger said but getting cut off by rose “he’s an ice phoenix, ice phoenix’s are against the desert people” rose said snapping at her own brother dagger
__________
Time skip
__________
“Grandmother?” Rose said tiredly “you have the go icicle and dagger are in the forest” roses grandmother said “why-“ rose said getting up “the desert people are here and you have to go” roses grandmother said, rose went as fast as her legs can bring her up into the forests in the mountains “alright now that your here lets go moving” dagger said walking down on the other side of the mountain “I’m sorry” icicle said sad and guilty “it’s not your fault icicle” dagger said “for now we have to get moving as far as we can” dagger also said
End of chapter two
-angel
Frozen wings
Chapter 1
“What phoenix is this” Rose asked her grandmother(and daggers) “it’s an ice phoenix yes they are very rare” roses grandmother said, “an ice phoenix huh” dagger responded, “how haven’t-haven’t they gone away 10 years ago” dagger responded “yes but this will save the last Arctic, “W-where am I?” Asked the ice phoenix “your safe now” answered roses(and daggers) grandmother “my name is snowdrop” said the ice phoenix “well snowdrop welcome to your new home? I guess” said rose welcoming him while dagger shook snowdrops wing.
Sorry it’s short
-angel
Frozen wings
(This will be based off of avatar the last Airbender)
“I hate fishing and I don’t wanna use my powers to fish and plus I’m horrible at it” complained rose, “oh hush at least the desert people aren’t after us” said a pissed off dagger, “We are freaking drakes, we are not meant for fishing” said rose, “we are aquatic drakes and we can swim but we have to learn to fish from land” snapped dagger, “h-hey! You see that” said rose immediately going underwater, as dagger caught up to he saw an underwater frozen iceberg with a blue icy phoenix?. ‘Aquatic language:what is that rose?’, ‘aquatic language:I don’t know dagger’, until rose chipped the iceberg apart with the already crack in the iceberg, she grabbed the unconscious icy phoenix and went onto land, “what do you think your doing!? Rose!” Dagger said, “let’s bring this to the village maybe it’s a phoenix that got a color mutation” said rose, “alright” responded dagger
Have a good day/night!
-angel