Crimson Canines (Complete!)

[Zer0]

The girl groaned and opened her eyes. "It won't let me die. Nothing is allowed to die . . ." her head rolled to look at the troglobite monster that was just staying still. "There are hundreds of them . . . run."


Suddenly Crimson growled at the ceiling, but there was no sound. He unsheathed the knife on his side, grasping it in his jaws.

Spoiler

"We found a survivor." said Hikaru through her comms. "Alert, hundreds of unknown hostiles might be hiding in the base."


She immediately began examining the girl just as the faint sound of multiple and multiple scratches on metal floated down from the ceiling. It sounded like it was coming from an open air vent on the opposite side of the room.


"She's right," said Hikaru, "this thing is keeping her alive, we have to carry it with us." she tried to move the troglobite, but it clamped hard on the stone debris it was lying on. "How do I knock this thing out?" she said worriedly rummaging her bag for something.


@Musical Dragon

 

[Zer0]

Connor, Komodo Rhino, and Sora ascended to the control deck where they stood outside the entrance.


Sora tapped the door. "There's water inside." he said. "One of you please pull that red lever over there." he pointed at the opposite end of the hall at the open blast door they had passed through earlier where there was a lever on the wall.


"That'll close the door and prevent flooding to the rest of the area."


When that was done and everyone readied themselves for the onrush of water, Sora and Komodo Rhino braced themselves on the side of the door and Sora opened it.


Tons of water flooded in immediately and immersed them all. They swam inside where they saw a thickly shelled octopus-thing wrapped around one of the control panels. It was slowly palpitating.


Suddenly, Hikaru's voice spoke into everyone's comms. "We found a survivor." she said. "Alert, hundreds of unknown hostiles might be hiding in the base."

​

@Beowulf

 

[Zer0]

@CkSmalling , your character met up with Sandai and Sai who were checking the bunker.


"Isn't it odd that there are no bodies?" said Sai, looking around. She suddenly turned around and pointed her gunblade at the hallway. "Hello? Is someone there?" she strode forward, Sandai bringing up the rear.


There was a splash and Sai exclaimed, "Ooh, I saw a walking squid thing!" she said excitedly pointing at a water hole on the floor of a half-submerged mess hall. This small creature no bigger than a head was swimming lazily inside.


"We found a survivor." said Hikaru's voice into the comms. "Alert, hundreds of unknown hostiles might be hiding in the base."

 

[CkSmalling]

"Roger that Hikaru." Robert said as he released the safety of his gun and it released a slow hum. "Ready when you are Sai. And i just hope its not just one. That will be just be toooo sad for ny trigger finger."


He removed his heat sensor and pointed it towards the darkness but to no avail. He switched the parameters to motion sensor and he froze.


"Ummm Sai, we might have a slight problem."

 

[Zer0]

"What's the pro-" the small creature leaped suddenly from the water and latched on to Sai's helmet. She yelled in surprise and tried to pull the creature out, but it wouldn't budge. It's flailing tentacles wrapped tightly around the helmet and a second later, by some accident, took the helmet off.


Sandai immediately helped her, pulling and stabbing the creature with his gunblade, but Sai was moving too much and he wasn't able to kill it.


"It's piercing my spine!" she yelled shrilly, now trying to pull the root-like tentacles that crept down her back.


"Stop moving!" said Sandai.


@CkSmalling, your character hears the sound of multiple scratches, like many, many, crawling creatures coming like a wave towards the group from the darkness of the mess hall.

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert aims his rifle at Sai's head and composes himself. "Sai dammit stop moving." She posew for a while and he takes a shot. The creature expoded and Sai collapses.


"Sandai pick her up we have to move i will try and provide some support. Whatever these things are, lets try to outrun them. " Sandai pick up Sai and we make a run towards the nearest exit.


"Komodo we need a plan to get out of the bunkers and towards safety. Send me a plan or something."

 

[Zer0]

The squad's helmet lights revealed a swarm of the same creature flooding into the mess hall, leaping forward with their root-like tentacles outstretched. The entrance of the messhall is swarming with them.


Sandai gave Sai a head-butt that woke her up. He jammed her helmet back in place as she got to her feet. Sandai spoke in his comms in rapid Japanese, as he fired at the wave of leaping monstrosities, but it was as effective as shooting at a swarm of ants-there were too many of them.


"They're intelligent!" said Sai, popping a couple with her gun blade as she backed up. "It opened my helmet on purpose!"


"Everyone, fall back into the kitchen and block the doors!" said Sandai.


Five of the things leaped on Robert at once, their tentacles flailing for his helmet.


@CkSmalling

 

[thespacekid]

"Uh, Tama, do you see what's on that guy's face?" Vikram ventured, breaking the silence.


"Well, it seems like he has some sort of creature on his face!" the AI chirped. Vikram almost ground his teeth. The AI really did not fit the mood right now. Vikram pulled out his swords, as the camera spun from hand to hand. "Whoa, easy there cowboy! Don't wanna hurt him too much." Tama said merrily, but Vikram thought he could almost hear worry in the AI's voice. He smirked. I'll show the poor guy Santa isn't real.





He took a step forward towards the man who was ambling along directionless. The water under his boots splashed loudly and the man turned towards Vikram, the tentacles on his face retracting gingerly, as if feeling in the air to see if there was danger. Vikram took another step, splashing the water just a bit louder. Tama's voice popped up again in his comms system. "Uhh, no need for the dramatics, Vikram." I really should switch him off, Vikram mused.


The splash had drawn the man's attention, who crouched slightly, as if readying himself for attack. Vikram started striding along the corridor, water splashing loudly.


"Tama?" Vikram asked.


"Yes, Vikram?" The AI sounded curious, but still a bit nervous.


"There's always time for dramatics." Vikram grinned and pressed buttons on his swords, spinning them around, annd when he grasped them again, a blue streak ran down his blades. He broke into a sprint. The man jumped down onto all fours and started running towards him, water splashing everywhere, a slow, rising rumble emanating from where his mouth used to be.


"Komodo? Engaging hostile! But it looks like the hostile's stuck onto a person's face. Permission to kill?"

 

[Zer0]

"Negative, Vikram." came Komodo Rhino's voice. "Save the survivor."


@thespacekid , your character sees this creature stuck on the face of the survivor. It's tentacles are feeling out from the head. And you notice, though the survivor could not see, he moved as though he could and his motions were jerky and inhuman.


As you fight, you see that tendrils of the same color as the tentacles are all over the survivor's body.

 

[CkSmalling]

"Dammit where is a pistol when you need one?" He said as the tentacles draw near his face. He took out his combat knife and took a semi crouching state and waited. He ducked and one missed him but bad luck was on his side as three stuck to his head.


"Sai, Sandai any help would be appreciated right now!!!!" He swung his knife at the top of his head and managed to kill one in the process.

 

[Musical Dragon]

"Oh my gods..." Evie whispered, her stomach clenching. The woman was still alive, the creature taking over her body. Tentatively she approached the woman. Drawing her combat knife, she attempted to cut the tentacles from the body. Almost immediately she stopped, turning to Hikaru, her face solemn.


"The tentacles have pierced her spinal cord - it's controlling her body. If we try to remove it, she'll be paralyzed or dead." Evie lowered her voice so the woman couldn't hear. "She's basically dead already."


Just then she heard Crimson growl, directing their attention to the ceiling. As report from the others trickled in, Evie could already imagine what was causing the noise. The base had been taken over, and they were lucky to have made it this far.


"Hikaru, we need to get out of here." She turned back to the woman on the ground. "And we should put her out of her misery," Evie added, her knife hand shaking as she approached the woman. "Kill the creature and she should die quickly."


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

"No, I won't abandon one of my people." said Hikaru firmly. She took out a lazer cutter and began to slowly melt through the metal the troglobite monster was clamped on. "She's also a valuable witness, please cover me!"


Just then, small crawling squid-like monsters burst out of the air vent in the opposite side of the room like water from a broken faucet. It was obvious that they will be overwhelmed in ten seconds.


Twelve hurled themselves at Evie and Crimson, tentacles grasping the air for their heads.


@Musical Dragon

 

[Musical Dragon]

"Alright," Evie said, secretly relieved that she wouldn't have to kill the woman. Of course, she was already as good as dead, and Hikaru wouldn't be able to help fight with her hands full. Hikaru wasn't thinking straight, but there was no time to argue.


Just then, the noise in the vents reached a crescendo and Evie turned in horror to see a group of squid-like creatures hurtling toward them. There was only one option, and Evie took it. Please work, please work...


Reaching onto her belt, she pulled two tranquilizers bombs from her sides, activating the 5 second delay. The bombs weren't meant to cause structural damage, and it was a risk Evie had to take. She chucked them at the creatures before grabbing Crimson and dragging him toward Hikaru. They hit the ground a second before the explosion, which left Evie's ears ringing. Slowly she rolled over to see the damage.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

The little monsters littered the floor, unmoving, some dropped down from the vent and staggered with jelly legs before slumping to the floor. The scuttling sound from the airvent stopped, then faded as the creatures retreated.


"Got it!" said Hikaru. Her suit must have strength enhancements too, since she lifted the woman over her shoulders, and tucked the piece of debris with the troglobite under one arm easily.


"That was brilliant!" she grinned at Evie. Sora's voice spoke through their comms in Japanese. "Hai!" answered Hikaru. "Evie, please grab four of those creatures and let's run back to the pods!"


@Musical Dragon

 

[Musical Dragon]

Evie breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the creatures lying still on the ground. "You okay?" she asked Hikaru and was happy to see the woman was fine.


She did as she was told and carefully grabbed four of the squid things, placing them in individual cases and returning them to her MOLLE. "Okay, let's get out of here. Come on, Crimson."


Her nerves on edge, Evie stepped out into the hall, Crimson at her side. She could only hope that they could make it back to the pods without issues.


"Komodo, we're heading back to the pods with four of the creatures for studying," Evie reported as she walked. "We have one infected survivor with us, but I'm not sure she'll make it."


@Zer0

 

[CkSmalling]

Sandai shoots twice on top of my head and two creatures fall to my feet. "I believe thanks are in order. Now lets get out of here and i will thank you properly." We shake our heads and jet out of the towers and towards the pods.


"Komodo, i believe our mission was a bust. The towers are crawling with..." He looks back to see them rushing towards them. "...whatever the hell these things are. Almost got all of us.".


"Quit yapping and make a move on Robert." Sai said running behind me Sandai right on her heels.

 

[thespacekid]

Vikram cursed when he got his orders. He was hoping for at least a little bloodshed. He sheathed his swords, and reached into his MOLLE for a combat knife. The man was still coming at him. Vikram ran towards the man, and grabbing him by the head, swung onto his back and pulled him down, so the man could do little but struggle. The tentacles waved around in panic as Vikram's knife went deep inside, trying to cut the troglobite away from the man's face. He finally managed to make an incision deep enough, and a stream of blood poured out, worrying him. He put his hand to the man's chest and felt a faint, but certain flutter.


"Uh... Is anyone around to help me? I have a survivor here, but I need to get going and help fix the reactor core!"

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Well shit." Connor says as he spots the thing on the control counsel. "Tell me we don't need that." he continued, but expected the worst and raised his LMG at it, moving so that if his shots did penetrate they wouldn't damage the counsel, so basically to the side. Then a thought crossed his mind, what if his shots won't even work? I mean, they would thanks to technology, but would the rounds be able to travel the distance in water? If not, he had a knife that he could use. As much as he didn't want to do that, he would if it was called for.

 

[Zer0]

"We don't need it." said Sora, passing the creature and swimming over to another control panel with screens lit up. The voices of their comrades engaging hostiles erupted in their comms.


Sora calmly replied to his comrades in Japanese while he typed on the screen. Komodo Rhino guarded him, while speaking to his own squad too.


"Eh?" exclaimed Sora quietly in surprise. He looked at the octopus-creature. "That thing is actively searching our data base . . ." His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Komodo-san, Connor-san, let's capture that creature."


As if it understood, the octopus-creature immediately curled and wrapped itself with it's hard shell-like tentacles.


The entire base suddenly shuddered and groaned as the titanic serpent shifted and moved. A dark shadow covered them all and slowly a fierce giant orange eye loomed down from above them through the great windows of the control deck.


(OOC: @Beowulf, gameplay-wise the guns work, just with a lesser effective range. And your gun has enough fire power to punch through the octopus' armor)

 

[Zer0]

"Leave the survivor and continue inside, Vikram!" said Izaya as the entire base moved, causing loose debris to fall crashing to the ground and slide colliding into walls.


The blast door that was in front of Vikram opened to reveal a large machine room where there were pipes, valves, and levers all labeled in Japanese. A crack had appeared in the wall and ocean water was gushing through.


In a corner was an engineers room where there were many processors and control consoles, and possibly a port to download Amber Fox's data base.


The mini-map blinked and showed Vikram an arrow path near the engineers room. The mounted camera on his helmet pivoted. "The reactor coolant valve is there." said Tama. "Red colored, second row and third one from the right-turn it all the way clockwise!"


(OOC: @thespacekid, I'll assume the cult gave you a small data storage device like a flash drive that you can just automatically plug into a port and it'll do the rest for twenty minutes, though you can stop the download and escape with whatever you got if the situation becomes too dangerous.)

***

​

Hikaru, Evie, Crimson, Robert, Sandai, and Sai all met up at the pods, the last three firing behind them as they were being chased by a flood of the squid like creatures.


Hikaru immediately placed the survivor in what looked like a fulton extraction device similar to Crimson's, swam out, and activated it under water.


"Robert, Evie, bring Crimson and rescue the survivor Vikram found," said Komodo Rhino's voice through the comms, "he's beneath the power core room."


Suddenly, a segment of the wall broke and tore like fabric as the serpent shifted, blasting them all with a torrent of water.


@CkSmalling , @Musical Dragon


(OOC: All allies are shown as green labeled arrows in the HUD mini-map, though right now the mini-map isn't accurate since it shows the base as a complete whole and we're all in this tilted wrecked segment with collapsed sections and bent hallways)

 

[Zer0]

"You might want to go help the others by the pods." Izaya told Randus. The white haired teenager nodded outside the hallway where gunshots were heard.


(OOC: We have a new player everyone! Just assume his character, Randus, has been with us the whole time during the mission)


@randomizedrp

 

[RandomBlobMan]

Randus grunted.


"Yeah, sure. All the things happening. I'll make sure I won't be lost."


He said, walking out to the hallway. He made sure his gun was loaded and ready, and searched for the source of the sound. He slowly walked towards where gunshot sounds were coming from.

 

[thespacekid]

Vikram nodded once: Okay. He ran towards the valve, and struggled to push him down. Debris was falling all around him, making the section of the base he was in shake violently. An idea sparked in his mind and he waited patiently for the next shake. The camera on his shoulder was gazing intently at the valve, and in his comms system, Tama kept giving words of encouragement. "Just a little bit more! You got it!"


When the next shake came, Vikram left his body limp and let himself be slammed into the flooded floor, making sure to land on the camera. Almost instantaneously, Izaya's voice came over the comms, "Hey! Tama reports that the camera's been damaged!"


Vikram stood up and brushed some water off of his suit, looking at the now destroyed camera on his right shoulder. "The base is moving too much! I'll have to do this quickly!" Vikram ran up to the port in the wall marked "Secret". Clever, he thought. There was a program on the flash device which would self activate the moment it was plugged in, so he plugged it in, and ran back to the valve, pulling on it again.

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert looks up and see's the serpent move and his smile breaks. "Ohh this is not good. Not good at all at all."


"I agree Robert. The core might be our salvation now." Sandai said holding his hips.


"But we have no orders to go to the reactor room..." He holds his helmet as new instructions come through. "...well well well looks like we are going to the core after all. You all good to go Sai?"


"Yea lets blow this serpent to hell." Sai said with a smile on her face.


"Now you are talking my language." Robert takes his gun and it glows white. "Lets go. And lets be careful. There is a chance a hole might have been created by the serpent moving."


"Okay. I will lead and please stay close to me." Sai said loading her gun. Robert and Sandai look at one another and smile. "Oh my God." Sai said, rolling her eyes and entered the building, the others following her closely.

 

[Zer0]

Minutes later, Izaya's voice spoke. "Good work, the coolant's flowing in. Sora, charges are set, let's get out of here."


"Everyone, withdraw to the surface!" commanded Sora through their comms.


"Crimson Canines, get that survivor and withdraw, me and Connor will catch up." said Komodo Rhino.


@thespacekid