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The Arks: Alternative Timeline
ACT 6: Calm Before the Storm
This is a Theri exclusive story.
Written by Ben (OBJ)
You do not have to read TAOH to understand this story.
Author's Note: There's a discrepancy for General Moon's eye colors. One of her personality's is portrayed as red and green, and the other brown or green. I apologize for the continuity error. It should be red, blue, and green, to represent the three obelisks.
ACT 6: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 16: Pigeon
“It’s all in the footwork.” - Captain Josh Swann
~
Pigeon stepped to the right, and swung at the man’s kidney. Albert merely weaved to the left, before swinging his torch at Pigeon again. Pigeon swiftly rolled underneath Albert’s flaps and then afterwards stabbed Albert in the calf. Albert let out a groan, and as he swung at Pigeon again, Pigeon slipped on his metal shield and blocked the impact.
CLANG!
The torch shattered into pieces, and Pigeon took his sword and swung at his wrist. His hand came clean off, landing in the snow and coating it in red. Albert clutched the stump of his hand. Albert grinned as he stumbled backwards. Pigeon’s sword glimmered, the blood dripping down the blade and onto the snow. Pigeon wiped the sword on his flak armor. Pigeon reached for his helmet and pulled it off. His dark green hair fluttered in the snow, and he squinted his eyes, slight pity for him. He had been a good fighter.
“You fought well, Albert,” Pigeon told him, “But your uprising ends. The Walkers of the Void live on.”
Albert scoffed.
“The Walkers do not deserve you,” Albert muttered, “You’re too good for them.”
Albert looked up.
“What are you waiting for? End it.”
Pigeon nodded.
“If you would like to challenge me again, you know where to find me.”
Pigeon slashed his sword.
As Albert’s body collapsed into the snow, Pigeon looked at his implant, seeing the death messages of his Argies and Austin. Pigeon sighed, looking up into the sky. He couldn’t get a break.
Pigeon trotted through the snow, exhausted both physically and mentally. That was his toughest battle yet, but the Goopers were defeated. Pigeon won again. He always won. Pigeon let out a huff, his silver tooth exposed. He thought about his only loss. It was General Moon who bested him, and it was General Moon who recruited him.
He remembered the day clearly. He was just trying to survive on his own. And she came to him, seeking him.
~
Pigeon was on an Argentavis, an Ankylosaurus in its talons, and approaching the Redwoods’ mountain, collecting metal when he heard violent flapping of wings ahead of him. Pigeon looked ahead to see a large Wyvern approaching him, a rider atop. Pigeon’s eyes widened. He quickly flew close to the ground, hoping that the rider wouldn’t notice, but it was too late. She was approaching him.
The Wyvern landed on the ground, and the rider dismounted, her fluttering white hair swinging back and forth. She had calculating, cold blue eyes. There was something off about her. As if she wasn’t supposed to be a part of this world. Pigeon hopped off his Argentavis. They were valuable tames. He could afford losing his kit, but certainly not his tames. He whistled, and his Argie flew away. He turned to face her.
“What do you want? I’m just minding my own business. Please move along,” Pigeon respectfully asked her. The woman stepped forward.
“I’ve been looking for you Pigeon,” the woman said, “I’m General Moon, and I’m with the Walkers of the Void. We want you to join us. You’re a strong combatant.”
How did she know?
“What do the Walkers want with someone like me?” Pigeon asked.
“That’s irrelevant. But you will make a worthy Captain. You will not regret it.”
General Moon’s implant flashed, and a request popped through Pigeon’s. Pigeon looked at it hesitantly. He enjoyed being his own boss. At the same time, he’d heard rumors about the Walkers of the Void. It was difficult joining and ever ranking up. This may have been his only opportunity.
Pigeon thought for a moment, then shook his head. He declined the request.
“I’m enjoying my life,” Pigeon explained, “And I don’t fancy violence.”
“That wasn’t a request, though,” General Moon glared, “It was an order.”
Pigeon clenched his fists.
“No means no-”
General Moon lashed forward, swinging a fist at Pigeon. Pigeon quickly ran to the side, his movement speed superior. Pigeon noticed General Moon’s glaring red eyes. General Moon swung her fists again, but Pigeon easily dodged. As she threw a flurry of punches, Pigeon noticed how much slower she was, and how much tired she had already become. What level was she? Had she even leveled any of her stats? It was absurd to him.
Pigeon smirked. So much for being a General. Maybe she was trying to start her own tribe and have him on her side. Pigeon pulled out his pike. Time to end the battle. He lunged forward and stabbed it at her, but she suddenly flickered away. Pigeon’s eyes widened. Where was she-
WHACK!
Pigeon’s head jolted to the side, and a tooth flew out of his mouth.
ZAAAAAAAPPP!
Then, he felt a jolt of electricity course through his body, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious, but not before feeling a pair of handcuffs on his wrist.
~
When Pigeon awoke, he was in a cage. He got up and realized all of his loot was gone, and he had nothing but the underwear he had woken up with. Pigeon bashed his strong, muscular body against the cage, but it barely shook. The air flickered in front of the cage, and General Moon manifested.
“Where am I?!” Pigeon barked.
“You’re in the Walkers’ base, up in the mountains,” General Moon smirked, pulling out a map and pointing at a marker. Pigeon sighed. This was it. Since Pigeon refused to be a part of the tribe, he was too much of a threat, and thus, must be contained.
General Moon shook her head.
“Like I said, I need you as a captain here. You’re one of the only capable people left,” General Moon said, “But, you saw what happened back then and right here and now.”
“You teleported,” Pigeon observed, “Do you have a Blessing?”
General Moon nodded.
“Yes. I do. I bought this account from one of the Five,” General Moon admitted, “That’s why I’m only Level 1. Now do you believe me? Will you join the cause?”
Pigeon thought, and then nodded.
“Yes.”
Moon lifted his hand, and then she and Pigeon shook hands.
~
Pigeon blinked his eyes, as he was thrown out of the memory. No more dwelling on the past. It was time to return back to base. Pigeon tried to trot through the snow, back to his Argentavis, but just a few more steps and his eye began to throb. Pigeon felt his face, and recalled Albert had taken his eye in the gruesome battle. Pigeon’s vision began to wane, and before he knew it, he passed out then and there.
Chapter 17: Sloth
General Moon pulled on Sloth’s ears, tugging him along with a glare through the hallways.
“You’ve caused enough trouble for me.”
General Moon led him to the prison, where she opened the door and then threw him in a spare cage. She locked the door shut, and then kicked the cage to the corner of the room.
BAM!
“There,” General Moon smirked, “Suffer for your insolence.”
Sloth sighed, crumpling onto the ground. General Moon looked off at one of the other prisoners in the room. A woman with piercing eyes. The woman smiled at General Moon, and General Moon scoffed.
“Have fun rotting in your cell.”
General Moon exited the prison, shutting the iron doors behind her.
There was a shift in the cell nearby.
“Hey.”
Sloth turned to face the woman who had smiled at General Moon.
“What do you want? Bug off.”
“You wanna get back at General Moon?”
“Yeah. So what? What can I do?” Sloth scoffed, “I’ll log off soon. There’s no point of staying around.”
“I have a plan.”
The mystery girl tossed a pickaxe over to Sloth. Sloth catched it, and looked at it.
“In an hour, we break out and tear this place down from the inside. I have weapons. Break down that cage until it’s almost on the verge of breaking. On his ‘mark’, we begin.”
“Whose?” Sloth asked. Ben shifted in the cell nearby, curious for the answer.
Mystery Girl looked down at the ground.
“A raid is imminent.”
Chapter 18: Mark
A meteor shower was hailing down upon the planet. A skinny, dark-skin man observed the phenomena with his hands behind his back. Mark sighed as he observed implosions occur across the wasteland. The ARKs hadn’t fallen down, and the old Walkers of the Void had failed in their conquest to defeat the King Titan.
Thundering footsteps echoed in the distance. Mark clenched his fist, his implant glowing bright. His levels flashed before his eyes. Level 999. Mark grinned as he looked up at the skies. Reports had shown that the Walkers of the Void had a change of leadership. His old archnemesis was gone. No more. So now Mark could do whatever he wished without interference.
He had been saving up levels and scheming for so long. It was about time he finally made a stand and take them down once and for all.
Mark walked up to a city terminal.
“It’s about time I take down your empire, Dan.”
Looking around at the chaos unfolding around him, stars exploded within his eyes. He equipped a shimmering ascendant red pike, and then transferred himself to the Island.
In the summer of 2019, I had just finished of my base and was living happily when suddenly one day I heard this beast outside my front door. I was scared cuz I couldn't run anywhere.I was only lvl 39 at that time but only had a raptor and a trike. I watched helplessly as it wandered closer and closer. I had now realized that I can only fight. I equipped my rifle and then...BOOM! I had shot at it! it came running towards me and started smacking my wooden base. My raptor got hit and started fighting and so did the trike, BUT DAT THING RIPPED DEM BOTH APART IN UNDER 30 SECONDS!I shot at it again and the next thing I saw was its massive claws upon me... THE END(press F to pay respects for claw(raptor) and spike(trike)
The Arks: Alternative Timeline
EPILOGUE
Story written by Ben (OBJ).
~
Click click click.
“Dan.”
“...”
“Yes, Bob?”
“I’ve gotten reports from the game. The Walkers of the Void is no more. We’ve fallen.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Bunch of people took control, and then it went all tumbling down when the Island base got wrecked by Mark with his Ice Titan.”
“Classic ‘ol Mark. I will miss our rivalry. He had his Red Pike?”
“Yes. He used it to kill the de facto leader.”
“Of course. That reminds me. Need to create that for Phase 2 of the ARK Protocol. Just to spite the man.”
“There’s more.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There was actually a third party responsible for doing most of the damage. They’re the reason Mark wasn’t blown off by turrets as soon as he jumped into our base. A Carcharodontosaurus had taken it all down.”
“A Carcha huh? I should add one of those to the Island. What was it called?”
“Romeo.”
“Okay, Romeo, I’ll make it as sentient as can be. Anything else you wanted to tell me friend?”
“Well, it was about the ARK Protocol. The Survivors, or Scholars, they certainly can’t survive on their own with just the base implants. Just like how the Devs gave you and the other four those Blessings to dominate the world, don’t you think you should give the Scholars the same attributes too?”
“...”
“I suppose you’re correct. I couldn’t culminate the best Story possible if they all just die off day one.”
“...”
“Okay. I’ll do it. Thanks for the report. Man, can’t believe our legacy’s over.”
“Well, you know what they say.”
“We Aren’t Meant To Live Forever.”
~
Mystery Girl stepped away from her flower garden. She looked behind her. A woosh of air, and a short woman around her height with blonde hair manifested. She had blue eyes. Mystery Girl’s eyes sparkled at the sight of her.
“Ah. We meet in person. Constellation to Character.”
“Shut up.”
“This is your true form?”
“Yes. Now are you ready to die?”
“...”
“I suppose so.”
A pause.
“Aren’t you afraid? All Characters fear death.”
“Not all of them. Some are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others. I am one of them.”
“And who do you believe you’re sacrificing yourself for? If you had chosen to stop sticking your nose in places where you don’t belong, you wouldn’t be here right now.”
“It’s not about that, Constellation. I can’t tell you what this is about. But you will learn soon. And soon, the cycle will break and the Characters will be free from your grasp.”
“You’re a sicko, you know? I still don’t get how you know all this. You’re an anomaly. You’re not supposed to exist.”
“Perhaps so, Constellation. But you aren’t supposed to be here, yet you still are. All Constellations are hypocrites. You are Characters in your own Story. You’ve only come here to feel in control.”
“Will you shut up and just let me kill you already? You can’t talk out of this.”
“I know I can’t.”
A deep breath of air.
“That’s… not the point. Just, be nice to Amar. She’s more like Moon than you are, Luna.”
A snap of fingers. Corruption, and then the file began to be deleted.
Goodbye.
The Arks: Alternative Timeline
ACT 7: Silver Lining
This is a Theri exclusive story.
Story written by Ben (OBJ).
You do not have to read TAOH to understand this story.
This is the final ACT of the story, besides the Epilogue.
Chapter 19: Strife on the Styx
“That problem is taken care of,” General Moon sighed, locking the prison doors, “I can finally attend the Story. It starts soon.”
General Moon walked down the metal hallways back to the meeting room, where the rest of the Generals had been waiting all this time. General Moon reflected on the state of this world. Apparently it had a long history. The previous Constellations had left. For what reason, she was unsure. It didn’t matter though. That meant more slices of the pie for her and the others.
General Moon felt her Influence increase. Her stats suddenly sparked, and her Teleportation Points quadrupled. She smiled. The effects of being a Constellation were kicking in, and even affecting her in-game body. She willed it, and she teleported into the meeting room. The other Generals immediately turned heads.
“Did you take care of it?” General Ghost asked. General Moon nodded,
“Yes. Sloth has been rightfully detained, and Austin slain, although not by me.”
“Serves them right. We can’t have these characters meddling in our affairs,” General Syl scoffed. General Moon blinked her blue eyes, looking at her peers with piercing eyes. Her eyes pinned to the timer in the middle. An hour in this dream world’s time. General Sun cleared her throat,
“Have any of you gotten sneak peeks on the Story? What’s it going to be like?”
“No. None at all,” General Apex replied, “All we know is that it will be a long, long ride.”
“Good. I like long stories,” General Moon said.
“I just hope there is some romance. I wanna see some cute scenes, that’s all,” General Sun shrugged.
“You’ve always enjoyed reading and writing romance, haven’t you?” General Ghost laughed.
Five minutes remaining.
“Who will the main character be? A human or a creature?” General Syl asked, “A king, a queen? A peasant? Will it take place in the cities? Or the seas?”
“I still don’t understand why the Creator of this Story is not joining us,” General Apex shook his head, “This is odd behavior. When you Constellations watched my Story I was there with you.”
“I’ve heard rumors,” General Moon proposed, “That the Creator of this Story was fragmented just like me-”
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Turretfire shot out as soon as the timer hit zero. General Moon’s eyes turned red and she let out a roar, getting up from her seat and slamming her fist into the wall.
“I JUST CAN’T WATCH THIS STORY IN PEACE, HUH?!” General Moon snarled, “Why did the Creator of this Story make it so difficult to be entertained?!”
A vicious roar of a carnivore emanated throughout the building.
“Uhhh, what’s going on?” General Ghost asked, getting up, “What should we do? I don’t know what to do!”
“Don’t worry about it,” General Moon’s red eyes glowed brightly. Her TP quickly tripled once more, “I will take care of it.”
She teleported out of the room.
By the time she did though, a dozen death messages of her subordinate guards popped up. She was atop the ceiling of the base, where she looked down upon a Carcharodontosaurus ravaging the mines. Turret Fire rained down upon the beast, but it just kept tanking it. General Moon squinted her eyes. Something was off.
She pulled out her spyglass and looked down at the beast. That’s when she realized it.
It was a wild.
“Someone lead this beast here, but who?”
The Carcharodontosaurus let out a bellow and bashed its head at the rickety walls. General Moon stumbled back, and looked down to see the turrets collapse. Dead guard bodies were strewn all about. Before General Moon could figure out who, the answer came to her in the form of a herd.
HONK HONK!
A pack of herbivores immediately charged in, their hoots and hollers echoing louder than the Carcharodontosaurus. General Moon looked down to see the guards had made their way to the ceiling where she resided. They all had fabricated rifles on them. General Moon shouted.
“GUARDS! FIRE AT WILL!”
BAM BAM BAM!
The bullets made their mark, but they barely hurt them. The herbivores brushed off the pain. The guards continued to fire at them, but clearly their hide was resistant to their bullets. They’d need teeth.
“You,” General Moon ordered a random female guard. She turned, her red hair covering her right eye.
“Y-Yes General?”
“Please gather the Giga Cryopods.”
The guard blushed.
“Of course ma’am.”
She scurried off. General Moon looked at her implant. More TP gathered. Down below, in the quarry, she noticed the metal doors had been blown open. Somebody had infiltrated the base. She teleported into the entrance hallway and ahead of her was a rider atop a Raptor. General Moon got into a battle stance, unsheathing her sword.
“Who are you?”
The woman turned around, a fierce look in her eyes. For a moment, she almost looked like Captain Pigeon. Determined.
“Your ender. Karma itself.”
Karma’s Raptor, Jira, let out a screech, and charged at General Moon, pouncing on her. General Moon tried to avoid her attack, but she was too slow. Being only Level 1 came with quite a few cons. The raptor managed to pin her down, and quickly took three quick bites. General Moon’s HP quickly plummeted. With just a few TP to spare, the reality around General Moon shimmered and she managed to teleport behind Karma.
Karma quickly jolted around.
“How did you do that?!”
General Moon smirked. Blue sparks shot out her hands.
“I have a Blessing.”
Karma raised her eyebrow.
“What’s that?”
General Moon shook her head.
“Nevermind that. It’s time to end this squabble.”
General Moon reached into her inventory space and pulled out a bottle with a thick red liquid and a cryopod. She threw the cryopod and a Shadowmane popped out. She took a swig of her medical brew, healing herself back up. She pointed her finger at the Raptor.
“Sic ‘em, Orbit.”
Orbit let out a roar and dashed forward at Jira. Karma was knocked off her back, and the two beasts quickly got in a tussle, leaving Karma to the wolves. Karma got up, brushing her short black hair to the side. Her navy blue eyes seemed to flicker yellow, orange, green, and magenta all at once.
“Let’s dance, darling,” General Moon laughed, holding her sword out. Karma pulled out her own sword.
“Let’s.”
~
“Now.”
BAM!
Ben, Mystery Girl, and Sloth had both broken out of their cages. By now, most of the prisoners had already logged off for the day. But those three had their missions to accomplish. Pickaxes in hand, Ben and Sloth prepared to tear down the prison doors, but Mystery Girl waved the keys she had snatched from the guard in the air.
“I got this. Don’t worry about it.”
She unlocked the prison doors, and the metal gates swung open. The three stepped outside, looking around carefully and noticing the loud roars and muffled sounds within. There was a raid going on, just as Mystery Girl had foretold.
Mystery Girl turned to Sloth. She pulled out a bunch of C4 and a detonator, handing it over to Sloth.
“Here. You can destroy all the creatures the Walkers own. Don’t worry about the cryopods. I’ve taken care of them.”
Sloth nodded.
“Thanks… I guess.”
Sloth rushed off. Mystery Girl turned to Ben. She handed him a metal shield.
“Use this to protect yourself. The doors to the mines are wide open. Get out of here while you still can. Head to the rivers and follow them until you reach the beaches.”
“But what about you?”
“I still have unfinished business here.”
Ben shuffled uncomfortably.
“I feel as if I should help you. You helped me escape, I should return the favor.”
Mystery Girl chuckled.
“Oh, this is the favor. Trust me. It’s for the best.”
Ben nodded.
“So be it. Stay safe. I hope we can meet again in the future.”
Ben rushed out of the building. It was for the best this happened. If he was ever killed by a Constellation… Mystery Girl shuddered. That would give the Constellation the right to kill the character if they pleased.
That would be the last time the two ever met. Mystery Girl sighed. A bad omen washed over her bones. A gut feeling told her it’d be the last time she’d ever get to see him again. No amount of flashbacks and unexpected memories could let her see his face one last time.
Mystery Girl closed her eyes, engraving his face in her memory. She failed to culminate him. Shaking her head, she opened her cold brown eyes, and marched onward. To the meeting room, where the Constellations resided.
~
General Moon dashed forward, slashing her sword at Karma. Karma could barely dodge to the side, as General Moon hacked a piece of flesh off Karma’s arm.
CRACK!
Karma let out a shriek, dropping her sword and clutching onto her arm. General Moon could tell that unlike Pigeon, she wasn’t a fighter. Something confused her though. How had she managed to lure the Carcharodontosaurus otherwise? Was she a split-character like her?
A thought ran through her mind, “Maybe not, maybe so.”
Another thought, “Please… Leave them alone.”
A cry rang throughout the room. General Moon looked on to see Orbit had slashed the throat of Jira. Jira was dead. Karma gritted her teeth.
“ENOUGH!!!”
Karma swung her sword as hard as she could at General Moon…
And missed.
Karma just stood there, dumbfounded. She blinked her eyes, but before she could react, General Moon stepped forward and sank her sword into her chest.
SHINK!
Karma let out a gasp, her eyes flickering all five colors. General Moon pushed it further in, and blood seeped out onto the metal floorboards. General Moon forced Karma down onto her knees, where her red eyes glowed brightest.
“It’s over little girl. Your Story ends here.”
Karma coughed out blood. Her voice squeaked,
“Ugh. How’d you know I was a little girl?”
General Moon rolled her eyes.
“Any last words?”
Karma grinned,
“You’ll get what’s coming to you. Mark my words… Mark my words.”
General Moon smiled, her eyes turning blue.
“I always win. Don’t count on it.”
Karma collapsed, and General Moon let out a sigh as all her TP recovered.
“Better go check on the Mines.”
General Moon teleported back up to the ceiling of the base, and observed the metal quarry down below. Noticeably, the Carcharodontosaurus was already wandering off, completely bored by the let down of a raid. The herbivores had completely overtaken the Mines though. It would be rendered inoperable for a while until they could clear them out.
The female guard General Moon had ordered to collect the cryopods came back empty handed.
“General, all the cryopods are gone.”
General Moon twitched a bit.
“What?”
“I apologize ma’am,” the female guard shivered, “Please forgive me.”
“Oh it’s quite alright. Don’t worry… I’ll take care of it.”
General Moon prepared to teleport, but she stopped her.
“W-wait!”
General Moon turned around.
“Don’t you want me and the others to help?”
General Moon laughed, “I can handle this on my own. Don’t worry about it.”
General Moon knew she was the only capable one, battle-wise at least. Besides Captain Pigeon. She wondered where he was. She had recruited him for this particular reason. He was one of the only combat-ready men she could trust. She herself wouldn’t stand a chance against most without her Blessing of an Upgrade Tree. He must had still been busy taking care of the Gooper tribe uprising in the Arctic.
General Moon thought about the cryopods. She thought about how they could have magically disappeared. Then, a frown appeared on her face. Of course it would be Sloth.
“That idiot. What did he do with them?”
General Moon quickly teleported to the prison room. That was already when she noticed something was off.
Both Sloth and Mystery Girl were gone, their cells vanished.
General Moon grinded her teeth. This was getting ridiculous.
“Alright Sloth. It’s about time I get rid of you.”
General Moon quickly teleported away.
~
Mystery Girl quietly snuck up to the meeting room. She peeked inside. The Generals were all lazily hanging about the table, waiting for General Moon to return. The countdown had already reached zero. Perfect. The plan had gone as anticipated.
Mystery Girl reached into her inventory space and equipped the rocket launcher she had made with the storage room’s resources. She aimed it at them.
~
Sloth threw a C4 on the Rex’s leg. He took a few steps back and then detonated it.
KABOOM!
The Rex’s leg was torn off, killing it. That was the last one of the breeding area. The Oviraptors, Breeders, and the like had all been blown to shreds. The surrounding foundations were damaged and battered from the impact. Sloth wiped the sweat off his brow, and then began to cackle softly to himself. The Walkers of the Void would pay for mistreating him.
A shimmer of reality echoed behind him. He turned around and was instantly met with a sword to the stomach from General Moon. Human blood spilled out onto the floor, mixing in with the blood of those he had destroyed.
“N-No last words?” Sloth gasped, his eyes already rolling up to the back of his head. General Moon smirked.
“You don’t deserve last words.”
Sloth collapsed to the ground. General Moon kicked his body.
“Little bugs. What an annoyance.”
KABOOM!
Another explosion rang out throughout the building, and General Moon could feel it in her feet. Her implant immediately dinged. She looked at it.
“General Sun was killed by ████!”
“General Apex was killed by ████!”
“General Syl was killed by ████!”
“General Ghost was killed by ████!”
General Moon sighed. There goes their Influence. Just one more issue to take care of, and this would finally be over.
~
SHOOM!
Mystery Girl’s head lifted up from the air. She dropped her rocket launcher to the ground. She already knew who it was.
“O-kay, I know that’s you.”
“You’re a freak.”
General Moon unsheathed her sword. Mystery Girl turned back.
“I can’t have you interfering in the Story,” Mystery Girl admitted, “It’s my duty as a Fragment to keep the peace.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just a character cursed with knowledge. You can’t exist. You’ll turn the Story upside down.”
“So will you by interfering in its plot.”
General Moon stepped forward.
“I got you there didn’t I?” Mystery Girl chuckled, “You Constellations are no different from us Characters.”
“Just finish the job.”
General Moon slashed at Mystery Girl. Mystery Girl collapsed against the wall, a weary look in her eyes. They locked eyes one last time. She grinned.
“I’ll see you soon then… huh? The plan still goes on. You’re playing into it, naive Constellation.”
Mystery Girl died. General Moon gripped her sword tighter. It was finally over. She felt somewhat ashamed by the amount of casualties, and the damage that had been done. The herbivores would still have to be taken care of, their army of Rexes were down, and she had lost around thirteen guards in the process. Worst of all, most of their valuable cryopoded creatures were probably dead, and their turrets were down. They were too vulnerable. Anyone could waltz in and cause problems at a moment’s notice
As soon as the other Generals respawned into their new bodies, General Moon would have to pull them together to assist her-
WOOOOOOOOSH!
ROAAAAAAAAAAAAR!
KAKRASH!
The metal base immediately went tumbling down, and General Moon let out a gasp, as she could feel the base collapse underneath her. Everything instantly shattered, and General Moon fell onto the side of the mountains, sliding down. She saw Pteranodons and Argentavis falling from the sky, and a Fire Wyvern too. She quickly teleported up to the Wyvern.
Atop the back of the Wyvern, she clutched onto his osteoderms.
“Fly, Jether.”
The Wyvern quickly flapped its wings, taking to the skies. General Moon assessed the damage.
Yep. Everything was gone.
General Moon looked on to see what had caused the damage. A ginormous Titan around half the size of the mountain had its large white arms clinging onto the peak of the mountain tip, a giant TEK platform saddle atop, a singular rider on it. A glimmer of red and purple. General Moon couldn’t make it out, but it was obvious. At their weakest, this person had attacked with their strongest force. An Ice Titan transferred from the Dead Earth.
General Moon whistled, and Jether quickly began to fly away. Slay the head of the dragon, and the rest of its body will collapse. If General Moon could kill its rider, the Ice Titan would become passive. Perhaps she could even tame it. For now, she’d stow Jether away and take care of it herself.
She quickly teleported onto the platform saddle of the Ice Titan. A skinny, dark-skin man was manning the reins, with no armor whatsoever. The man turned around, a grin on his face and constellations swirling within.
“Hey there! Long time no see Chaos!”
The dark-skin man raised his eyebrow.
“Oh. You’re not Chaos. What are you supposed to be? A knock off?”
General Moon chuckled at his insult.
“Ah. You must be Mark. Another one of the Blessed.”
“Infinite level capabilities will be hard to fight,” General Moon thought, “He already knows about my teleportation. No point in hiding it.”
A red pike manifested in Mark’s hands.
“You know me by the legends. I want to unify the people of the ARKs into one state. Only then will this savage land be tamed. Only then can we defeat the King Titan, and only then can we bring the ARKs back to their home. Only then can we complete this Story.”
“I’m not looking to complete this Story.”
“Then you’re a fool, and you must die!”
Mark swung his pike at General Moon, who barely dodged it.
“This pike can kill you in one jab if you’re not careful!” Mark taunted her, “I’d be cautious if I were you.”
“Cocky much?”
“I can afford to be. A blast from even the most powerful of shotguns couldn’t put me down.”
General Moon took out her sword and swung at Mark’s face, but before she couldn’t even blink, Mark’s arm moved up and deflected the attack. General Moon’s sword broke upon contact, and she gasped. Mark began to laugh like a madman.
“IDIOT! YOU’RE DEAD!”
Mark began to run around General Moon, blitzing around like a lightning bolt. General Moon could barely keep up with him. He had to be at least five times faster than the average human. Mark quickly dashed at General Moon and jabbed at her, and General Moon teleported behind him. General Moon landed a hit on Mark with her fists, but he was barely fazed. Another jab, and General Moon teleported to his side, kicking at his legs. Mark fell down, but quickly recovered. Mark jabbed at General Moon’s stomach, but as she tried teleporting away, it was then she realized she had run out of TP.
SHINK!
The pike sank deep into General Moon’s body. She let out a cough, her blue eyes shimmering to a silver. Her mind became a flurry of wild thoughts as all three of her personalities merged into one. For just a brief moment.
“It won’t be for nothing,” Mark told her, “Your sacrifice will bring about a unified people.”
General Moon didn’t respond as she died. Mark immediately felt a burst of EXP through his veins. He looked at his implant, and it exploded with Levels.
“Moon was killed by Mark!”
“YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 1000- YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 10,000- YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 999,999!”
Mark let out a howl, as he began pumping as many levels as he could into Health, Damage, and Stamina.
“NOBODY CAN STOP ME NOW! WE’LL FINALLY TAKE DOWN THE KING TITAN, AND FINISH THE STORY ONCE AND FOR ALL! I CAN FINISH WHAT I STARTED-”
Clank, clank.
A grenade popped down next to Mark. Mark looked at it, and laughed. Grenade. How hilarious. A grenade was like a pinch to an average person.
The grenade began spewing out a green gas. Mark’s eyes widened. What was going on-
Mark suddenly fell unconscious. There was the flapping of wings, and a strong Argentavis landed on the platform saddle of the Ice Titan. A man in a green scarf, green flak armor, and half of his face scarring jumped down.
Pigeon.
The man looked at the Blessed, shaking his head.
“Didn’t put any stats into Fortitude did you?”
Pigeon reached into his inventory and pulled out a load of Organic Polymer, which he had harvested from the penguins in the Arctic on the way back home.
“Saw your Ice Titan hop from the Blue Obelisk to here in one jump. Real slick raid and all.”
Pigeon shoved the Polymer into Mark’s mouth, and forced him to swallow. Mark’s face turned white, and then he turned cold. Mark was dead. Pigeon sighed, getting up from the ground.
This was the climax of his Story, at the least.
He looked out at the horizon. The sun was rising.
“Look at that, sun’s rising.”
Pigeon looked down upon the destruction that had ensued in just the past few hours. Perhaps if he hadn’t let Albert take out his eye, none of this would have happened. No point in crying over spilled milk. Perhaps this was for the best.
There was nothing more to this world anymore.
Pigeon looked at the last remaining Organic Polymer. A part of him wanted to stick around longer, but he knew that wasn’t feasible. Best to go out now like a champ then to get offline raided by some unemployed guy with nothing better to do.
Pigeon gulped the rest of it down, and died.
“Pigeon has died!”
The Walkers of the Void were no more. And with that, the Island could breathe a little better.
Chapter 20: Resolution
Ben had finally made it to the coastline.
The sun was barely beginning to rise, and he had been on the run for around a half hour by now. All that hard work would finally pay off. He could just settle down in a thatch hut, drink some martinis, tame a few Dodos for the heck of it-
Before Ben could fantasize anymore, a pack of Troodons viciously came out of the bushes without warning and tore him to shreds. Ben knocked out before he could even die.
“You have died!”
“Respawn Timer: 1 Month Remaining Before New Character Creation!”
~
As Ben looked at the respawn screen in his room, he shook his head. The door to his room opened, and his uncle, Son, and his brother, Franklin, entered.
“Yo, how’d it go?” Franklin asked. Ben shook his head.
“Remind me to never play ARK Multiplayer ever again…”
~
Will sighed as he shut off his console. He sat on the couch, reflecting on the journey he had taken. ARK PVP had always been so much fun to him. He had only wished his older brother Gerald would let him play with him more often, especially since he would be graduating soon.
Will put the controller down. It was about time he did more with him.
~
“EMMA YOU SOLD!” Connor shouted as Emma gritted her teeth, pulling her hand away from the mouse and keyboard. They were on the death screen, and their character ‘Karma’ had just been wiped from the save.
“Bro, why did you miss?! You could have killed her with that if you didn’t miss!” Jeffrey chastised her.
“I wanna see you try that! And don’t forget I was the one who got the Carcha-whatever it was called to help us!” Emma retorted in response. Little Kayla smirked.
“She do got a point.”
“You know what I just realized?” Tanya said.
“What?” Emma asked.
“This whole time we were supposed to be looking for Ben to ask him where he went,” Tanya reminded them.
“Oh yeahhh I kind of forgot about that. We got a little carried away. Hey, that was fun though!” Connor argued.
“Yeah I guess it was. Anyway wanna play Roblox?”
“Yeah sure, I don’t think we can find him on there anyway.”
~
“Well this is annoying,” General Moon muttered as she walked up the steps of the castle.
The foothold on the Island was done for. Nothing could save the base there, which was incredibly annoying because it turned out the Story was actually taking place on the Island all along. Mystery Girl and Mark ended up taking it all down, wiping out the Constellations’ Influence entirely. The other Constellations were upset, but they tolerant of it. General Sun had begun watching the Story first, and thoroughly enjoyed it so far. General Moon suggested that they could all probably get cameo characters if they wished.
“Will you put a cameo character in?” General Sun had asked. General Moon had shook her head at the idea. There was a trick up her sleeve she had been hiding all along.
The others’ bases had crumbled. The Walkers of the Void were no more. But General Moon was never really in charge of the Island. She had only taken temporary ownership. The real ARK she was in charge of was…
Fjordur.
And that was the castle she currently resided in.
She walked up to an artifact pedestal, which contained a crown with a rune in it. A red rune, that crackled at her presence. The rune she had managed to take with her into this Dream World. It was so beautiful. Her true source of Influence. It was a gamble for sure, leaving it all in this one artifact, but she had a suspicion this would happen.
She placed the crown atop her head.
Immediately, the world shimmered around her. She felt her body change and shift into a three-headed dragon, and the world flickered around her until she was in a void filled with stars and other Constellations. The earth was down below, a singular ARK orbiting around it. She peered inside it. She could see people scrambling around as they were transported inside. She grinned.
Her Influence was running low. She certainly couldn’t do much. At the most three major significant actions. She’d make them count.
She thought, then realized what she had been forgetting. She laughed. Right. She had to take care of HER.
The Story played out, and a few dozen chapters later, she made her move, flying down to the Earth below.
The Arks: Alternative Timeline
ACT 5: Eye for an Eye
This is a Theri exclusive story.
Written by Ben (OBJ)
You do not have to read TAOH to understand this story.
Chapter 13: Pigeon
BAM! BAM!
Pigeon took cover behind a bunch of metal nodes as rifle fire hit him from all sides. A fabricated rifle on his shoulders, he heard bullets whiz past him left and right. This wasn’t great. They were much more prepared than the Walkers of the Void had anticipated.
Pigeon took his fabricated rifle and zoomed in on one of the people firing at him. He pulled the trigger, and his head was immediately blasted off. He moved to the other adversary and blew his brains out too. Pigeon let out a sigh as more EXP flowed through his veins. Once Pigeon could defeat the Guardians of this ARK and its Overseer, he could ascend to a higher level.
“The reports stated they were barely getting an industrial forge,” Pigeon muttered in annoyance, “But they already have an army of Rexes and they seem to have quite the firepower already with those rifles. Did they transfer over from another world?”
Transferring was a difficult process on hardcore worlds, but it was still possible if you transferred from a hardcore world of itself. A lot of hardcore worlds nowadays had so little people due to the amount of death that was present. Pigeon cursed to himself. This tribe probably built up on Crystal Isles and then transferred over here with all of their tames. Now Pigeon probably had to prepare for…
A beam of water suddenly splashed out at Pigeon, and Pigeon dived out of the way and looked up to see a Crystal Wyvern flying above. Pigeon sighed. This was going to be annoying.
Pigeon had left his Argentavis behind, just in case the tribe had set up turrets. It was just going to be a quick grab and go. Pigeon would plant a bunch of C4 down and then blow it all to sheds. Though clearly things weren’t going to plan.
Pigeon switched out to a longneck rifle with a scope attached to it and then aimed up at the Crystal Wyvern. It was hard to see through all the snow, but at the same time it was also hard to see him. Buried in the snow, Pigeon took a deep breath, and on the exhale, he pulled the trigger, aiming at the Crystal Wyvern’s rider.
BAM!
A splash of blood immediately flew off from the crystal wyvern, and Pigeon saw a death message pop up on his screen. Pigeon smirked. The idiot was probably only wearing fur armor. Pigeon shivered, and felt the effects of the snow kicking at his body. Pigeon reached into his pockets and quickly pulled out a bowl of curry. He downed in, and his body felt warm and gooey. Pigeon flexed his flak armor and began firing at the Crystal Wyvern.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The Crystal Wyvern just kept taking hit after hit. Pigeon smirked. The idiots must’ve left it on passive. Pigeon aimed for the head, and then fired.
BAM!
The Crystal Wyvern was felled, and it immediately fell down toward Pigeon. Pigeon took cover near the metal nodes, and as the Crystal Wyvern fell atop the rocks it smashed them to bits.
BAM BAM BAM!
More gunfire from a front. Pigeon took cover behind the dead body of the Crystal Wyvern. It would only be a matter of time before they took out the Rexes and started chasing him down. Pigeon would need to find higher ground so they couldn’t reach him with their powerful tames. Pigeon quickly checked the inventory of the wyvern. Nothing useful except for a few parachutes. Pigeon quickly grabbed them. This was part of the plan.
Pigeon looked up the peak of the mountain and saw a trail leading up. Pigeon grinned. Perfect.
Pigeon quickly made a mad dash for it. More bullets whizzed by, and one even grazed his shoulder. Pigeon let out a sigh of pain as it did, a chunk of his health taken away. He had to keep moving. Weaving left and right, and combined with his increasing distance and the blizzard picking up was enough to lose Pigeon.
Alas, Pigeon made it to the top of the mountain. Pigeon reached into his inventory and pulled out a medical brew, downing it and recovering all his health immediately. As Pigeon took a breather, he reached for his belt and took out a spyglass. He peered at their base. There was a lot of stone gateways covering the small metal shack, and it was clear they were just setting up, as they only had one turret. Pigeon noticed a flaw in their design though. There was a part atop the gateways that actually provided cover from the turret. Pigeon would just have to be quick.
Pigeon took a few steps back, and then jumped off of the ledge. He quickly equipped his parachutes, and he slowly began to float down to the gateway. The turret whirred, and then began firing at him, but it was too late, Pigeon had made it to the gateway. He dropped down, and pulled out his C4 and detonator.
“Here we go-”
BAM!
A bullet suddenly hit Pigeon in the eye. Pigeon let out a grunt as he felt his eye. That was definitely a goner. Pigeon looked down to see a fat man with a huge back pointing a revolver at his face, the barrel steaming. The man grinned.
“Finally got you, you little punk!” The man snarled.
Pigeon glared at him. He tossed the C4 behind him onto the turret, and then jumped from the gateway. As he did he pressed the button on the detonator, and everything blew to shreds.
BEEP BEEP!
BOOM!
A large explosion culminated behind Pigeon as he fell atop the fat man and began throwing fists at him. The fat man tossed Pigeon off, and he went tumbling through the snow. Adrenaline was keeping Pigeon from writhing on the ground in pain, but that would soon end. Pigeon stood up and faced off against him.
“You’ve done quite a bit of damage,” the fat man glared, “You’ve killed my tribemates, and now you’ve blown my base to shreds.”
“Who are you?” Pigeon asked, “And what’s your business here? The Island isn’t a suitable place for a megatribe’s base. The Crystal Isles is much safer and filled with less tribes!”
“The name’s Albert. And I’m here because I’ve heard there’s been a vulnerability in the Alpha Tribe of this hardcore cluster,” the fat man sneered, “A change of leadership? Anyway, everyone’s predicting they’ll soon crumble. The de facto generals will not be able to maintain this empire.”
“You lie. The Walkers of the Void will never fall, and especially not to you.”
“True. I alone could not take them all down, but you will fall eventually, I’m just evaluating your forces,” Albert laughed, “And it seems you are all running low on men. I’ve heard you’re the highest ranking captain of the Island Sector. What is someone like you doing here taking care of the dirty work?”
Pigeon scoffed.
“That is not your concern!”
“I believe that means I am correct. The Island sector is growing weaker,” Albert glared, “Kill me, or annihilate me, I will come back ten times stronger and more prepared. The Goopers always win in the end!”
Pigeon unsheathed a sword, while Albert pulled out a torch and shield.
“Bring it on then! Show me your strength, coward!” Pigeon howled.
The two let out battle cries and charged at one another. Pigeon slashed at Albert’s body, but Albert merely blocked it with his shield. Albert swung his torch at Pigeon, and even though Pigeon managed to dodge the blunt attack, the flames quickly caught onto Pigeon’s face and began to roast him. Pigeon let out a cough as ash poured into his mouth. Albert grinned.
“Clearly you don’t know the Gooper way. The Goopers stay winning!” Albert boasted.
“You barbarians use torches for PVP? How savage,” Pigeon spat as the snow quickly doused the flames.
“It’s quite the normalcy in officials. Only a true captain would know. Now I know you don’t know a thing about PVP.”
“Say that to your dead tribemates,” Pigeon chuckled.
“You may have slain my tribemates, but they managed to hold their own against a seasoned captain,” Albert barked, “I’m proud of them. Now let’s dance!”
The two charged at each other. And not even the ringing death messages of his Argentavis was enough to distract him from this battle.
Chapter 14: Will
Will immediately slashed down at Austin. Austin’s head was swiped clean off, and his death message popped up on Sloth’s implant. Sloth let out a shriek of fear, and began to scurry off into the woods. Will grinned, licking his lips.
“Come out! Let’s play!”
Will dashed after Sloth like a mad man. Sloth looked back to see that he was still giving chase. This wasn’t good at all. Both of their Argies were dead, and not only that, but his teammate was as well.
A few minutes later, Sloth managed to make it to the rivers, and he was already out of stamina. Sloth looked around. He needed something that could ward him off. That’s when he saw it. A spiny Ceratosaurus, frolicking in the rivers, its tail swishing side by side. Sloth smiled. This was his distraction.
Will burst from the foliage and swung his sword at Sloth. Sloth let out a cry of pain as the sword cut his flesh, but he pushed past the main and dove into the water, swimming after the carnivore. The Ceratosaurus sniffed the air, and immediately let out a roar, dashing into the water and creating waves. It wasn’t after Sloth though. Its first target was Will.
The Ceratosaurus let out a roar and charged at him. Will let out a roar of his own and slashed at the Ceratosaurus’ face. Blood spewed out of its face and onto Will’s face, and suddenly shock ran down Will’s spine as the venom inside began to seep into his skin. The Ceratosaurus collapsed into the river, its blood floating all throughout and killing the fish inside, and Will took a few steps back and collapsed into the sand.
Sloth emerged from the river, a grin on his face.
“Look at you, writhing on the ground like the Bob you are,” Sloth snarled. He took his pistol out, aiming at the man’s head. “Pests like you don’t deserve to live. Ever!”
As Will lay in pain on the ground, he thought about his first kill on the Island. Not a man, but a beast. A Carnotaurus. Was this karma for what he’d done? Perhaps so. The Carnotaurus was only trying to survive. It did not deserve to die just for trying to kill Will.
Will closed his eyes and accepted his defeat. Sloth pulled the trigger.
BAM!
The gunshot rang all throughout the rivers. Birds flew away from the treetops, and everything was silent for a moment. Sloth let out a sigh, exhausted. Finally, it was over. Sloth put his pistol away.
“You were quite annoying, you know that?”
A gush of wind suddenly fell atop Sloth, a large shadow growing above him. Sloth looked up and saw a fire wyvern landing down behind him. Sloth immediately reached for his pistol, but not before realizing who was riding it. General Moon. And she looked mad.
“Sloth,” General Moon glared. Sloth gulped.
“You’re in so, so much trouble.”
Chapter 15: Karma
Tonight was the night.
Karma had one last dinosaur she wanted to tame before laying siege on the mega tribe that had slain Gerald. One dinosaur that could very well turn the tide of the battle. A dinosaur so powerful and mighty that almost nothing was able to challenge its name. Its name?
The Carcharodontosaurus.
Karma looked upon the mighty beasts she had managed to domesticate up to this point. A whole herd of Triceratops, a handful of Kentrosaurus, and even a few Diplodocus and a Therizinosaurus that easily followed her lead. They may have been herbivores, but not only were they easier to tame, they packed just the amount of punch. Through experimentation, she had also discovered that the herbivores were resistant to flames and gunfire. It was perfect. Now all she needed was the firepower to fight back. This Carcharodontosaurus that was lurking near the mountains would do just that.
They were quite a few whiles away from the actual base. The mountain range was disconnected but spread far and wide throughout the center of the Island. The prey was scarce, the predators equally so. All had been wiped out by this apex predator. And now all it was doing was resting, its red stripes coated in blood and its body heaving up and down. It had a slender jaw, and spines running all along its back. It was certainly beautiful, almost like a bloodied angel.
Karma had read up on guides on how to tame it, but only one person seemed legitimate enough to be correct. A woman on a companion app called Moon. She had claimed proving yourself worthy was the only way to tame the beast. Karma slowly walked up to the beast. She had left her tames behind, just so they wouldn’t be hurt. Suddenly, the beast’s eyes riled up, and it arose, letting out a roar looking down upon Karma. Karma was small. Karma was weak. Karma was unworthy of being consumed by such a massive predator.
“Allow me to show you!” Karma shouted, “My worthiness!”
Karma signaled to the mountain base.
“That is what I wish to raid. No more, no less. I am doing it out of spite. Vengeance. They must pay for their unjust ways. Aid me, and you’ll taste blood of the strong like no other!”
The Carcharodontosaurus snarled. It was unsure, but as it pondered, it nodded. For now, it would assist her. This would not be permanent.
The Carcharodontosaurus stepped from its resting spot. It would join her in battle.
“What is your name?”
The Carcharodontosaurus let out a huff of air, and a thought ran through Karma’s mind.
“Romeo, the Angel King.”
Karma smiled.
“That surely is a worthy name. Now, let us charge!”
The Carcharodontosaurus began to march toward the base, slowly, while Karma got to her tames and rode atop her trusty raptor Jira. She could sense their unease. But for now, they would have to settle for this. For Gerald.
The march began.
Cato: The Theri of Doom
A true story
Chapter 2: Manipulation and Revenge
One day, I went out for a hide Run so that I could upgrade my trike saddles (with the upgrade station mod) and I saw him. Cato. I wanted to kill one of his friends. Cato’s spirit is in every Theri. Either good or bad. If good, he’ll spare. If bad, he’ll STALK! He brought a friend and I tried to destroy him with my bow, but he got in my head and I died. Lost my stuff. So I got revenge. I got my stuff back, brought a really good trike, and killed him and his friend. What was my reward? Theri claws, my satisfaction with destroying him, and Theri babies! But I know he’ll come back with vengeance.
One day soon…
-RelatingHen8906
Be careful when taming Therizinos - we are dangerous, crafty and spiteful. Two humans went after me today. One came near me, I chased him, and i clawed him damn good. I followed him up a ramp. He had lured me into a 2x2x2 taming pen.
I was trapped, so they start firing darts. Well, i was annoyed that he’d fooled me. my torpor was close to full. But I didnt want to be tamed, and I’d be damned if I was gonna be enslaved by these stupid ugly humans shooting me.
So I said, screw your trap, screw the rules of this game, and I just straight up jumped out off their pathetic pen - straight cleared the wall I’m not supposed to be able to jump - and went and launched myself off the rock formation I was on, right into the water at least 250 metres below.
Damn right. Those humans werent gonna tame me. Pity the megaladons I landed near were hungry. I heard the next Theri they trapped straight up walked through the wall like he was Kitty Pride from Xmen. I hear they still havent caught one.
The Arks: Alternative Timeline
ACT 4: Snowball Effect
This is a Theri exclusive story.
You do not have to read TAOH to understand this story.
Chapter 10: Mystery Girl
Ah, here we go. Took long enough.
I will be filling in this chapter. :)
~
The Dex told me everything I needed to know. I’m not sure why these stories are here, but, it’s whatever. I have the information I need to take this whole operation down from the inside. I have the knowledge, and I now have my experienced friend here to help me.
It’s going to begin soon. I can’t let those constellations run amok when the story begins. Otherwise, I can’t be sure that he will survive and find the Truth about this world.
There will be a meeting soon between all the major constellations. Once it occurs, they will prepare to watch the story. They may interfere in its storyline if they do. I must stop this from happening by taking away their influence.
I’m here for a reason. I’m not just trying to escape this place, no, I’m going to take down the Walkers of the Void. Once and for all.
~
After a few hours, it turned night time, the sun setting down and casting its orange, warm rays across the horizon. Looking off into the sunset gave me a feeling of nostalgia. Heh, sorry if my writing isn’t good. This is my first time, and usually Ben’s the one who writes these, even if he doesn’t know any better.
There was something comforting about it, despite being a slave for this new empire. Even at the lowest, everything felt so beautiful. I couldn’t even feel mad for the others. How they’d soon be tossed onto that island for that ‘story’. Even if we weren’t real, life was still precious.
Anyway, Ben walked up to me with a pickaxe rested on his shoulder. The others were already preparing to re-enter the facility and head back to their cages, but there were so many of us the guards didn’t notice we were straying off.
“What’s your level right now?” Ben asked me.
“Level 30 or so,” I replied.
“Cool, I’m 35,” Ben said.
“How’d you level up faster than I did? I don’t get it,” I asked, curious.
“Oh, you get a boost in EXP around tribemates. I created a tribe and asked a few people to join, and their work gave me a boost and even a bit of a share,” Ben replied, “Sorry I couldn’t tell you. That guard was staring us down, didn’t want him getting any more suspicious.”
“It’s alright. I already knew that, just joking with you,” I laughed, “Come on. Let’s head back to the cells. I’ve thought of a plan.”
Us two started walking back through the hallways, pickaxes in hand. I looked at the guards leading us. Most only had simple pistols and longneck rifles. I bet that if all of us prisoners banded together we could easily overpower them. Though, we’d have to worry about any other reinforcements that’d come.
Besides, I wasn’t necessarily trying to escape. I was trying to crash a meeting.
“We’re going to stash bits and pieces of raw metal,” I told Ben, “They won’t know if some of it goes missing. We can just store it away in our implants’ space.”
“Hmm, that’s smart, and I presume we’ll use it to make weapons and armor to fight our way through and escape?”
“That’s basically the gist.”
“Okay, I like it, but how will we smelt the metal?”
“I’ve memorized the basic layout of this facility,” I said, “There’s a storage room with any other resources we could use. Guards barely monitor that area because the armory and the outside perimeter are far more important.”
“There’s a smithy in there right?”
“Yes, the door was open when I passed by. That’s how I could even tell.”
“So one of us should sneak out and make some weapons and armor.”
I looked at the metal doors leading to the supply room. We were so close yet so far. But I knew I had to bide my time.
We were escorted back to our cages. The guards left the room, and shut the door behind us, locking it. I peeked out of the cage, and smirked.
“Haven’t you realized one thing? They forgot to take our pickaxes away,” I told Ben, “We could break out of these cages.”
“We could. But that would raise suspicion. Make sure to make a cage for yourself once you come back,” Ben pointed out.
“Got it.”
I took my pickaxe and whacked it at the door. The lock broke, and the door swung open. I looked around the room. The rest of the prisoners were asleep, except for Ben and I of course. I snuck up to the door and afterwards took a metal splinter off my pickaxe. I bent it into a lockpick, and then picked the lock. The creaky door swung open.
CREAAAAK!
“Hey, what was that noise?” a random guard said. A beam of light poured onto my face, and before the guard could react I rushed forward and slammed my pickaxe into his unprotected face. I started swinging frantically, and before the guard could react I had killed him. His body toppled to the ground. I looked around, before taking the guard’s body and pulling it back into the prison area, stashing it away in the crate of metal pickaxes.
“Hey!” Ben whisper-shouted to me. I turned back.
“What the heck did you do?”
I put a finger to my lips, shushing him. I reached into the guard’s pocket and pulled out a pair of keys. This would be useful.
I snuck back out the door and went to the supply room, unlocking the door and rushing inside. Taking the raw metal that Ben had given me, along with my own, I managed to smelt a few metals in the forge in record speed.
The whole point of this operation is not necessarily to craft weapons. It’d be to sabotage.
After I created a few pikes, crossbows, and arrows, I leveled up my remaining stats into weight capacity and HP. Then, I stashed them away in my inventory space. Before I went though, I grabbed some polymer and cementing paste, and I used the fabricator to craft a very powerful weapon that would be useful in crashing the meeting. Though, I won’t spoil the fun. After all, if I tell you what I’m making, you’ll do something to stop me, no? ;)
I closed the door behind me before leaving, and then I snuck back into the prison room unscathed. I gave Ben some of the supplies I’d crafted, and then I lay down on the ground to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day.
Chapter 11: Austin & Sloth
“Would you care to explain why one of your Shadowmanes was killed while you two were away from base on a RESOURCE expedition?”
“Uhhh,” Austin murmured. He nudged Sloth on the shoulder. Sloth cleared his throat.
“General Moon, it happened out of nowhere. We were attacked by a Bob who pumped ALL his stats into strength! We couldn’t help it!”
General Moon scratched her chin, observing the two soldiers carefully.
“Now, did you manage to at least capture the bob and bring him back? If what you say is true, he could prove a valuable asset to the Mines. Our metal output would increase.”
“Uh, ma’am, we did not consider this…” Sloth whimpered, “We’re so sorry. We shooed him off.”
“Shooed him off, you couldn’t even kill him, okay, so here’s what I’m getting correct,” General Moon calmly said. Her relaxed nature suddenly transformed into anger, and her blue eyes turned green, “YOU IDIOTS LET A BOB KILL ONE OF MY SHADOWMANES AND COULDN’T EVEN BOTHER KILLING THAT BOB?!”
“Ma’am, like Sloth pointed out, that Bob had placed all his stats into strength. We couldn’t risk death-”
“We gave you… GUNS. YOU HAVE GUNS,” General Moon barked, “YOU COULDN’T EVEN USE THEM? You know what, I’ve had enough of your stupidity! I’m demoting you both to guard duty!”
“What?! Ma’am, you can’t do this, guard duty is too boring!” Austin argued. General Moon glared at Austin, and he gulped, shutting up. General Moon sighed, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they were blue once more.
“It truly is a shame that Moonbeam has been killed… again,” General Moon sighed, “Nonetheless, my orders are absolute. I suggest you head to the living quarters and change out to a guard’s outfit, befitting of your status. Now I must attend to errands. Very, very important errands. The Story begins soon.”
General Moon walked off, leaving the two standing there. Furious.
“This is… STUPID!” Austin whisper-shouted to Sloth. Sloth nodded in agreement.
“That stupid Bob just got us demoted,” Sloth muttered, “What do we do about it?”
“We should find him and kill him, wipe that pest off this world. I reckon that’ll be good.”
“Yeah, good idea, let’s go!”
The two quickly rushed down the hallways. While it was true they had been demoted, nothing was stopping them from taking a few tames along with them to avenge their dignities. As long as they were quick about killing him, then nobody would notice, and most importantly, General Moon wouldn’t be notified with her implant that they had killed somebody (last time they checked, her notifications for such matters had been disabled. She hadn’t questioned them about killing that guy named Gerald).
The men made their way to take-off, where a variety of flying mounts were. There were mostly Argentavis and Pteranodons, though there was one Quetzal.
“Hmm, where’s that huge big bug thingie?” Austin asked.
“I heard General Moon gave Pigeon permission to use it. Something about a tribe uprising in the far Arctic north.”
“What a load of junk,” Austin spat, “Pigeon doesn’t deserve his status.”
“It’s fine. We can take the Argies. We’ll pick him off the ground and kill him.”
The two took the two finest Argentavis available: Brian and Berry (they were both tamed by Pigeon, so it was okay to steal them). They were both mate boosted, which was even better. As they saddled up, they took off to the skies and headed back to where they had fought that dastardly Beach Bob.
~
When they made it back to the beach, they noticed dried up specks of blood down below on the beach. There was a trail leading into the jungle.
“I don’t think a Beach Bob like him would stay in the jungle. He probably made it out the other side to one of the rivers,” Sloth said.
“Good point. Let’s fly above the jungle then.”
The two continued taking flight above the jungle, when they heard a whir come from down below.
“Hey, you heard that?” Austin asked. Sloth nodded.
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s anything-”
BAM BAM BAM BAM!
There was fast, quick gunfire. The two Argies were instantly shredded, and the Argies fell into the thick jungle. The two let out cries of pain as they were hurtled off their saddles and onto the ground. Austin felt his arm snap, and Sloth felt his foot roll and sprain its ankle.
“Ah, f##k!” Austin swore as he looked at his implant and the death messages of their Argies, “Pigeon and General Moon will be so pissed…”
“What the hell was that though? Who got turrets built up so fast in here-” Sloth was interrupted by clanky footsteps. They turned to see a man in flak armor with a sword standing before them, an aura dissipating from his body. He must have taken an Enduro Stew.
“Hey! We meet again,” the man said. His voice was familiar. Sloth’s eyes widened.
“No way! You are-”
The man grinned.
“That’s right. It’s me, Will. Now. Are you ready for Round 2?”
Chapter 12: General Moon
It was soon.
In approximately a day’s worth of time in her world, the Story that was so profoundly teased would begin. Constellations were already brewing, shuffling. More importantly, Moon had been scheming. She knew if she was quick, she could get her influence over the Story. She could have power over the characters. Get what she wanted. After all, it was no fun if you couldn’t pull some strings.
In this dream world, though it’d take another month. The time dilation was weird, but luckily, she and the other Constellations who had wanted to view the Story unveil as it was still being developed had managed to enter the dream world and personally gain their influence.
Still, it was quite difficult. They could only ever show up in the game they were linked to. ARK. And they had to entrust their influence and power to each ARK in the game. It was easy work though. Taking over the Walkers of the Void was simple, especially with the true leader’s absence.
General Moon waited in the meeting room. There was a timer there, counting down until the Story would begin. She was waiting for the others to arrive. It’d be quick. They had a TEK Transmitter.
Suddenly, the door clicked open. General Moon turned to see the first Constellation enter. It was General Sun, of Scorched Earth. She had short orange, fiery hair, and glasses. General Sun gasped as she saw General Moon.
“OMG, your human form looks so pretty!” General Sun commented. General Moon laughed.
“Thanks! I based it off my Biggest Fan.”
“Ohh, that’s sweet. Skyler? She’s nice.”
“Yeah…” General Moon blinked, and her eyes turned brown, “Skyler.”
General Moon blinked once more, and they turned blue. General Sun frowned.
“I still can’t believe you split into three when we entered. That must be so annoying.”
General Moon smirked.
“It’s nothing, really. I view Irae and Amaree as sisters, if anything.”
“Hey, long time no see!” a man said as he entered the room. It was General Apex, of Ragnarok. He was quite tall, yet skinny.
“Good seeing you here once again, how has your Story been treating you?”
“Seen better days. But I’m soon to catch up to you!” General Apex teased, “Will General Wyv of Lost Island be attending?”
“I got his message the other day. He won’t be here for the beginning, he’s going to join when the tensions start rising.”
“Hey! Wait up for me!” a voice said. They turned to see a young boy with gray hair and a short stature enter, “Man, can’t believe SunnyFox57 got here before I did.”
“MrGhostGamer, you’re always late to whatever we need to attend,” General Sunny rolled her eyes, “How’s Crystal Isles?”
“Eh, boring. People barely come by, nothing happens. Can’t believe you guys got story ARKs.”
“We called dibs, you should’ve got something like Aberration,” General Sunny teased.
“I already claimed Aberration, so that’s not happening,” a magenta-haired woman entered the room. It was General Syl, of Aberration.
“I think that’s everyone then?” General Moon said, glancing at the timer again. Just twelve hours left. Time was a strange essence.
“What about the Creator of this Story? Usually Creators of smaller Stories attend the watch party with their fellow Constellations,” General Apex asked.
“Apparently not this time,” General Moon replied, “Now, enough. Let’s think about how to spread our influence in this Story-”
There was a ding on all the Generals’ implants. They seemed confused, before looking at their implants. Two messages showed up.
“Brian (Argentavis) was killed by Turret!”
“Berry (Argentavis) was killed by Turret!”
General Moon sighed. She got up from her seat.
“That must be Austin and Sloth. I demoted those two just an hour- no, a few minutes ago,” General Moon explained to the others, “I’ll have to deal with this. Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
“You better be. The Story’s about to start any minute!”
~
General Moon rushed to the take off, and quickly reached into her inventory and pulled out a cryopod. She threw it to the ground, and a Fire Wyvern dropped onto the helipad. General Moon put the cryopod away and hopped on the Wyvern.
“You two are so dead,” General Moon glowered, her eyes red, “To the skies, Jether.”
The Fire Wyvern took off.