FactionGuerrilla
I'll do what I can.
When the beanie boy touched Cole's shoulder, MacGrath slightly tensed up- ready for some sort of action that could potentially stem from this. Probably pissed the kid off with the mention of being a terrorist or something. After a few moments, though, it looked like the kid was kind of confused- like his face was betraying his thoughts. Whatever the hatted kid wanted to do, it obviously seemed to be related to a power that the former had lost, just like Cole's Conduit traits. Either way, the Seattlean obviously tried to cover up his tracks by claiming to be a fan.
Cole didn't entirely buy the kid's explanation of being a huge fan, but he let it pass for now. He shrugged before turning back to the situation at hand- the mess they were in right now. An Asian boy addressed Cole specifically with a "big guy"- was he really that big to other people?- before declaring that the ruined portal was somehow keeping everyone in. He couldn't help but sigh quietly, scratching his chin as he thought.
"Well, there's gotta be some way to disable the portal. At least, long enough for us to collect the parts we need and properly fix the damn thing... Right?" He tried to reason, though his voice betrayed his uncertainty right at the very end. If all this was happening, and there was some stupid "Law of Weirdness" or whatever the old man had declared earlier, practically any and all sorts of logic had been thrown out the window the instant everyone arrived. As the fanboy came over and started talking to the other normal human, Cole couldn't help but fold his arms.
"This place is starting to turn into a cosplay convention or something gone wrong. At least, for better or worse- I'm more surprised we haven't encountered more nutjobs who got sucked into this Gravity Falls place like eyeball over there." He jabbed a thumb in Peepers' direction, who didn't exactly look like a friendly alien. That said, there were still some shady people running amok in Cole's opinion- specifically Kay and Epsilo- but as Cole had said, they hadn't attacked yet so there was no need to get hostile just yet.
As the scientific old guy declared that what lay ahead would be "beyond your run-of-the-mill weird", the Demon of Empire City couldn't help but smirk at the thought that everything here was considered "normal" to the old-timer. He couldn't help but call bullshit; considering all the people and animals running amok in this underground base, Cole couldn't think of anything that could be any stranger than this sight.
But unfortunately, it turned out the group was going to be led on these expeditions by the two little kids. Sure, they probably knew the woods better than anyone else, but Cole didn't trust their... skills, per se. When the boy smacked himself with his own flashlight before flipping the girl's long hair, that pretty much sealed the deal for Cole. He'd have to make sure he watched his own back from here on out. Neither seemed too competent.
The only question was whether he'd go off to the caves to fight some "Multi-Bear" creature, or the woods and deal with some less-than-helpful gnomes. Surely they couldn't be as strong as Titans or even the First Sons, right? Sure, Cole didn't have electricity to back him up, but in return he had a circus show of people who would go along with both groups to help out. Plus he still had his Amp- worst case scenario, he'd just start swinging and hope for the best- and that nobody was in the way of his weapon, lest he wound some of his own comrades.
"Hey, you going to the caves? Multibear sounds like a more enjoyable experience than gnomes and grow-shrink crystals."
Cole's fan interrupted his thought process, asking about the caves. When Delsin put it that way, Cole felt a bit better fighting a giant bear rather than punting some annoying-sounding garden gnomes. Besides, what could go so wrong with some cave exploration? Probably a lot especially considering everyone was being led by some not-so-intelligent kids who hadn't even reached their teenage years, but that was a different subject.
"Sure, why not. As long as we all go as a group, I don't think a bear can maul a horde of people all rushing at him at the same time." Cole decided, turning before he joined the cave group. He eyed the "leader" of the group a few times, sizing the kid up, before internally deciding that he'd be better off just letting the kid lead and not do anything else.
After a while, they seemed to stumble upon a campfire of sorts. When the little boy Dipper asked if they wanted to investigate, Cole couldn't help but snort quietly. What kind of a question was that? They were in some foreign territory, and they needed all the information they could get. Before MacGrath could voice his own opinion, everyone else sensibly agreed to check it out. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a complete dud- excluding a pack of marshmallows, which a bipedal dog quickly snatched up- and everyone moved on pretty quickly. What a shame.
A few minutes after that incident, the caves ended up leading to a place close to... something. Some people were chanting about something, with their giant shadows cast along the cave walls. And that stench. Phew, that stench was pretty bad. One whiff, and...
"Yeah, definitely smells like cavemen here," The Electric Man wryly commented, unslinging his Amp and extending the prongs. As the blue-haired man from earlier gave some battle orders, Cole had no real problems following them. As his fiance or wife or whatever went to the side heeding her husband's orders, MacGrath kept himself behind Lyle and the dog. Aaaaaaaaaand...
...No Multibear-slash-apparently-Hydra in sight. Rather, it was a bunch of Minotaur-looking creatures- apparently Manotaurs- who were beating the living hell out of each other. Cole relaxed ever-so-slightly, but remained tense as a tooth flew past everyone. When the Asian kid asked Dipper if they were "harmless", Cole slowly retracted the Amp- not making too much movement just in case the Manotaurs didn't have such good eyesight, eyeing Hiryu before speaking quietly yet gruffly.
"They haven't attacked yet, but I don't think you'd want to join that fistfight, right?" He asked just before the drill sergeant apparently caught the attention of the Manotaurs with an equally-quiet whisper. They stopped fighting to look right at the group, visibly agitated by the sound of Johnson's voice, before coming over and asking who had apparently said a "Manly scream".
Well, shit.
Cole's muscles tensed up, ready to spring into action, but it turned out he didn't have to. Everyone began some kind of dumbass flexing contest, from Johnson being hailed as some sorta man to Epsilo the ogre apparently getting into the action and even a caped skeleton flexing nonexistent muscles. This was completely laughable if Cole was describing the sight to someone else- but right now it really confused the hell out of him. He wasn't about to voice his thoughts, though- if he did, he risked pissing the Manotaurs off with his own "polarizing" ideas compared to theirs-
"IDIOTS!"
MacGrath glared at the brown-haired kid who had apparently thought now, of all times, was the best moment to call them fools. Turns out he didn't have to reprimand the kid, though- he got his hand pretty much smashed to pieces by one of the manotaur's powerful grip, and Cole grimaced but didn't flinch. He wasn't going to make the same mistake- if his hand was smashed, he didn't have his Electrical abilities to regenerate it quickly. Either way, Kazuma's torture (and another Manotaur brawl) quickly ended at the mention of a Leaderaur. As everyone else filed off, Cole pat Kazuma on the shoulder more out of pity than sympathy.
"Next time, I suggest you think twice before insulting giants that are more than twice your size," The Electric Man commented before heading off, following everyone to find a Leaderaur. Which turned out to be a frail oldish bull-
Nope.
The bull got eaten alive by an even bigger, menacing behemoth. Cole couldn't say he hadn't seen people be eaten alive- the Swamp Monsters' Devourer literally swallowed people whole. Hell, he'd been a target for snacking a few times himself- though most of the time the beasts had found him a hard guy to snack on, especially when he was a walking battery that could fry their tongues. Regardless, MacGrath listened as the Asian boy apparently bullshit up three reasons for why they wanted to hunt this Multibear thing. Cole instinctively put the Amp away to seem a little more respectful as everyone began chiming in, adding their own points and inputs. What the hell, it couldn't hurt to throw in his own comment. He just hoped this giant bluff everyone was painting worked, and that the Manotaurs couldn't smell bullshit.
"The sooner we get to fight this multibear and get to prove our worth, the better off we are. That's why we need your help tracking the bear down," The Conduit stated, sticking to relative facts that would hopefully please the Manotaurs and not be a lie. The cave team did need to be worthy enough to beat the multibear in order to get back, and they would be better off the sooner they got their hands on the stupid claws. Did they necessarily need the Manotaurs' help? Yeah, that was probably true- otherwise chances are Dipper would just flat-out get everyone lost.
Last edited:
