DieannaKill
Feb 21, 2014, 07:35 PM
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j320/DieannaKill/LOGO_TAT.png~original
Hello fellow Arks!
Here is the community poll featuring all of the story entries, as part of the previous thread. (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217183)
This poll will be up until the 6th of March.
Contestant Entries.
Takatsuki (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=75692)
[SPOILER-BOX]http://i.imgur.com/FFuzdtZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0C1Jy0T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mWCNihe.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/izsDeJr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tIqPwK6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BOY0Nmn.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]
Gama (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=34014)
[SPOILER-BOX]
Fake Human
https://copy.com/UiptotMp2OpBslTG
One day Dr.Gama Was conducting yet another Mischievous experiment!
He wanted to bring the cast master race back to its glory days!
https://copy.com/UULrJv4RItl48q4B
So he created a spy!
https://copy.com/zXjc3xC3wkvcljCE
A spy That Would Blindly Follow Commands...
https://copy.com/1WcIh0zGOJrcdCly
A synthetic organism, able to look and think like a human. trained to murder and lie.
https://copy.com/SDmxhZHVjPuzC6y7
But to Dr.Gama's discontent , his creation was more human than machine, and quicly fell in love with all living organisms, rejecting Dr.Gama's Supremacist Thinking and programing.
https://copy.com/Euxtl8F4R1RHEzBK
After Confessing to the arks the reason of his existence and pleaded for their help, they quickly found a place for his tending nature, and a place where other arks could keep and eye on him.
The End.[/SPOILER-BOX]
strikerhunter (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=78005)
[SPOILER-BOX]2nd Day Rookie Training
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38101
Kelly: For today's training course, you will need to hunt down a rock bear with your Claira Vista Rod.
Aerial: Shit............
Kelly: What? Did you forget your rod again?
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38103
Aerial: No I did not. In fact I had it hidden well by a tree trunk not too far from here so let me go get it.
Kelly: Fine go get it.
-2 minutes later-
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38105
Aerial: It should be here............why do I get the feeling that something big is behind me?
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38104
Aerial: Like something really big.............oh well rod is not here, a Chrome Dragon must had ate it. Guess I'll just go.
[/SPOILER-BOX]
lLain (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=75372)
[SPOILER-BOX]
Legends, as they are often told, begin with times of peace and tranquility. They take their origins from humble villages and small towns – settlements lined with well-worn trails and cobblestone roads, where the aroma of freshly-baked bread wafts from the windows of bakeries and quaint workshops tinge the silence with a constant, familiar ting. Quiet, ordinary places. These legends are born from the mouths of the travelers who have walked these roads, lived among the people, and witnessed firsthand the dire situations soon to come. They recount the lives of men and women thrust into conflict by conditions far outside their control – warring kingdoms, ruthless marauders, tyrannical despots, wicked beasts – and the struggle to rise to the challenges that threaten to consume their lives, their families, and their souls.
However, our legend begins with a vacation. And it has spaceships, intergalactic mercenaries, magical fish, and pirates. That's right, pirates.
Enjoy.
–
“But buttered Aculpus toes really do make a good stir fry!”
Lain planted the parasol into the sand, barely missing her own foot with the GeoTidal Measurement Capacitor. She looked over her shoulder, giving Faith an incredulous look. “Did you say toes?”
“Yes. You have to be careful, though. Aculpus are a natural predator of Torbons, and those always nibble on Shell Flowers, so most of their meat is poisonous. But you just set up a Capture trap, and lure one in with a treat. Then he howls, and the rest run over, and 'Woosh!'” Faith lifted her arms towards the sky, simulating the spatial transfer of the R&D Department's Capture Ring. “A shipment of toes. I buy them in bulk at Franka's Exquisite Culinary Delights.” A sour look crossed Faith's face. “Not Tag Aculpus toes, though. Those are disgusting.”
http://i5.minus.com/iJ0WVKjMHliu2.png
Lain stared, expression blank.
Faith blinked. “What?”
“I'm packing our lunch next time.”
Faith pouted. “I told you, I can cook! It won't kill you.”
Crystal-blue waves swept over the white sands of Vopar, lapping at the ankles of the beach-going pair. After the recent colonization project, the planet had become more of a tourist hot-spot than a battleground with indigenous wildlife. Coastal villages and resort towns had sprung up all around the ARKS landing site, forming a ring of proximity between the civilian population and the military force. Here, the word 'Darkers' was almost a thing of the past; the constant security details, contract work for independent mercenaries, and politically-sponsored territorial expansions had all but wiped the surface clean of the grotesque pigeons.
It was at one of these newly-settled villages that Faith and Lain had chosen to spend their leave from ARKS service. A break from the constant chaos and danger was long overdue; daily missions and campaigns (most of which were speedy infiltrations ordered by a certain bug-eyed general) had worn them down, so the change of pace was a welcome relief. Still, they knew that the downtime would be short-lived. With the constant Falz invasions triggered by Quna's squeaky concert voice, ARKS members rarely had time to relax.
Lain picked up her surfboard, and brushed a palm leaf out of her hair with her free hand. “I'm not so sure about your cooking. Being rare is better for equipment than food.” The image of slightly-burned shark-wolf toes popped into Lain's mind, and she grimaced. “Besides, I can't eat something that's purple. I have enough trouble with Cast-replica sushi.”
Faith gave a small sigh. “You need to be more open-minded, Lain. You won't know what you really like unless you try new things.”
“I won't need to replace my internals either.”
Faith frowned. “Lain …”
“Sorry.” Lain turned to her with an apologetic grin, and nodded towards the beachfront shop down the coast. “Well, if you want to try new things, why didn't you rent a surfboard? It's not as fun going out there alone.”
“Oh. Well, it's …” Faith clasped her hands behind her, and shifted her feet, digging the tip of her sandal into the sand. “I … can't keep my balance. You remember the wave pool on Ur, don't you?”
“I remember falling flat on my face. About four times, I think. You did way better than me.”
Faith pursed her lips to the side. “Still, it's embarrassing …”
Lain shrugged, and looked over at her parasol. Upon the side, attached to the magnetized pole, a computer monitor buzzed with activity, displaying churning line graphs and geometrical maps. Lain examined the display closely. After a moment, she pointed to a location far down the beach, past rocky outcroppings and the twisting coastline. “Well, where we're going, no-one will see us wipe out. The people inside that shop don't know what they're talking about. The GTMC says that the best waves are further down the coast, and barely anyone goes out that far.”
“But Lain, the wave pool was just practice …” Faith looked towards the bluffs in the distance in concern. “Haven't you heard what happens to the surfers here? The one who won the championship is still in blue screen; the waves slammed him right up against the rocks. He was a Cast, too, but it didn't matter. What if you get hurt?”
Lain shrugged. “I'll just buy new arms and legs.”
Faith shook her head and frowned. “I don't think this is a good idea …”
“Oh, come on. We'll pack up, walk down there, set up our stuff, and you can tan while I catch some waves. Then we'll just lay on the beach and watch the sun go down. We finally have a chance to relax for once, Faith. And you know what? I'll even try some of those barbecued toes you brought.” Lain gave her a persuasive grin. “Does that really sound like a bad time?”
Faith fidgeted, losing her fight against a smile. “No, it doesn't.”
“So? Let's go.”
Faith hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. With a quiet sigh, she followed Lain down the coastline, her sandals leaving patterned trails in their wake.
–
“This looks like the spot,” said Lain, lifting her gaze from the GTMC's monitor. “But …”
The duo surveyed their surroundings. The rock walls of a coastal cove stood in front of them, forming an oblong pocket of stone topped with tropical foliage, tucked away from the ocean. The lagoon within was small at best; no bigger than a luxury swimming pool, and not nearly as deep. A single narrow waterway fed the cove with pure blue water.
Faith laughed softly. “Um … not exactly what I expected …”
“This can't be right. Is this thing broken?” Lain set the parasol into the sand, and fiddled with the monitor, tapping just about every button on the display face. Still, the readings were unchanged. “How can there be waves in a cove? Piece of junk …”
“Well, there's still the sun.” Faith set her backpack down upon the sand, and unpacked her beach towel, laying it out over the white grains. Turning back to her pack, she dug deeper into its contents, and smiled at the discovery of items stashed but long forgotten. “We can build a bonfire! I brought Monomarshmates!”
Lain glanced over her shoulder at Faith. “Tell me you didn't buy those from someone in a marsh.”
Faith laughed. “Don't be silly. I bought them at the Naura Shop in the Tundra!” She tapped her ankles. “They're made from crushed Mammoth hooves. You just spin them inside a blender until they get squishy, then roll them into balls.”
“That sounds … delicious, Faith, but that's not really why I came out here …”
Faith shrugged, still smiling. “You can always find a good surfing spot some other time. It's not a total waste.”
Lain looked back towards the lagoon, letting out a discouraged 'Hmm'. The GTMC had been tested extensively by ARKS Research and Development, and had been confirmed to work specifically for this purpose. Tidal signatures were the only reliable way to pinpoint the biggest threat on Vopar – Bal Rodos. Those giant serpents left signals behind at every turn, and the devices had always managed to produce exact readings in the past. So why wasn't this one working? Was it defective?
“Lain? You coming?” said Faith, patting the towel beside her.
“Just a minute.” Carefully, Lain walked towards the edge of the lagoon, and peered into the crystal-blue water. She could see the sediment that covered the bottom of the pool clearly. Pebbles, algae, seashells. It looked the same as any other lagoon across the coast.
“Lain?”
Lain moved her left foot out over the water. She flicked the pool with her toes, disturbing the surface with a slight splash. Suddenly, a tiny wave swept out from the end of the lagoon at a speed too fast for robotic eyes to register. It rammed into Lain's ankles, knocking her off her feet.
“W-what?” yelped Lain, crawling backwards, back onto the sand. In an instant, the water receded, and the now-churning surface returned to peaceful tranquility.
Faith lifted her gaze, blinking at the downed Caseal. “Huh? What happened? Did you trip?”
Lain looked back at her in amazement. “You didn't see that?”
“See what?”
“The waves!”
Faith tilted her head. “Waves?”
Lain sprang to her feet, and ran over to the surfboard lying beside Faith. She scooped it up into her arms, and faced the lagoon with newfound determination.
“Um, Lain ….” Faith reached out to her, and tugged on the hem of her swim-shorts. “I know you took lessons, and you're pretty good at this … but I don't think you can surf in shallow water.”
Lain smiled. “Watch me.”
With a burst of speed, Lain dashed towards the lagoon, and leapt into the water surfboard-first. On contact, the calm surface of the pool erupted into a foaming maelstrom. Waves splashed in every direction, rocking the surfboard, nearly launching Lain from her buoy. Gradually, amid the raging waters, she managed to find her way to her hands and knees, then to her feet.
Faith looked on from the beach, dumbstruck. Waves on command? “How are you doing that?” she called out.
“Beats me!” shouted Lain, grinning wildly. She nearly lost her balance, tossed by a rough wave, but righted herself in time. “This place … there's something special about it! Hydrothermal vents … maybe a gravitational anomaly!” She rode along the wanton currents, traveling laterally, across the pool. “But the readings were right! I just don't …”
Lain trailed off. A dark shadow had crossed over the waters in front of her.
But there are no clouds today. How –
“LAIN!” screamed Faith.
Lain turned her head to see a giant mass of purple and blue sweep into her vision. She dropped to her knees out of instinct, barely avoiding the colossal arm as it tore through the air overhead. A boom of pure strength shook the cove, jostling rocks from the algae-covered walls. Spatters of jettisoned water flew across the lagoon.
Lain looked up from her surfboard in a daze. Above her, an elephantine shadow covered the cloudless sky, staring down at her tiny frame with red eyes of rage. Giant, armored fists. Purple and blue scales. A juggernaut of a lizard.
An Org Blan.
“Where did that come –”
The creature roared, lifting its arms high above its head. Lain rolled off her surfboard, into the water, as the Org's fists crashed down, splitting the board like a piece of rotten driftwood. Bubbles and foam spilled over Lain's view; currents swirled around her, sweeping her through the water in a violent rush. She gasped against her will; a torrent of salt water flooded her mouth.
The echo of a scream.
Mine?
The crack of lightning. Another roar.
Faith!
Lain flung her head upwards, breaking the water's surface, gasping for air. She looked around frantically. At the far end of the lagoon, on the beach, Faith stood poised to attack, her Shirojiraobana at her side, another talisman already in her hand.
The Org Blan whipped around and charged straight for her.
“Are you crazy?” shouted Lain. “Run!”
Faith threw the talisman, calling down another Zonde from the electrical fields above. The photon bolt crashed down onto the Org Blan, striking it straight across the head.
It kept charging, unfazed.
“Faith!”
Faith took a Mirage Step backwards in an attempt to keep her distance. But the Org Blan had other plans. It leapt forward, flipping with the grace of a three-ton acrobat, landing squarely in front of her. The impact knocked Faith off her feet. She looked up to find a fist aimed at her head.
“Zondeel!” cried Faith.
The Org Blan swung – and hit thin air. It looked around in confusion, dazed by a translucent light show. It was the Zondeel, radiating from the still-floating talisman. A magnetic electrical field had sucked the creature back into the lagoon.
Faith held her Shirojiraobana close. “Too fast …”
“Hold on!” Lain sloshed through the lagoon, past the distracted Org, and bounded onto the other side of the beach. She scanned the sands desperately, searching for her Alva Striker. But the rod was nowhere to be found. Its black-and-orange plating had been lost among the chaos.
It's gone? At a time like this?
A thunderous 'CRACK' pierced the air.
Lain turned towards the Org Blan, expecting to find it reeling from another of Faith's lightning techniques. Instead, the creature was wielding an immense chunk of stone, swinging it about with one hand. The rock was the size of a rescue ship, craggy and jagged, torn straight from the floor of the lagoon.
The Org's eyes shifted in Lain's direction. It reared the boulder up above its shoulder, like a pitcher about to hurl a fastball. The stone cracked under its grip.
Oh, hell …
Lain dove to the side, tumbling across the sand as the Org hurled the gigantic rock across the beach. The boulder missed her by no more than a yard; it slammed into the cove wall behind her, and exploded with a deafening crash. Lain felt her vision shake, and winced as shards of stone rained down atop her back and legs.
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP.
A heavy darkness fell over Lain's view.
“Look out!” cried Faith.
Lain looked up. The Org Blan stood inches from her head, glaring down at her in fury. It reared a fist up to the sky, preparing a downward slam. There was no time to dodge. She was covered in rubble. Rolling away was impossible.
I'm done.
A white lotus drifted into Lain's view. It hovered in the air, floating, perfectly still. She closed her eyes.
This is what Casts see before they die, she thought. No flash of memories. Just a flower.
“Gizonde!”
Lain's eyes sprung open. A bolt of lightning leapt from the floating lotus, striking the Org Blan directly in its chest. It staggered backwards, falling onto all fours.
Not a flower. Faith's talisman!
Faith ran in between the monster and her fallen friend, planting her feet into the sand, readying another attack. She glared at the behemoth, gritting her teeth.
The Org Blan paused, staring them down. Then, without warning, it shrunk to a tenth of its size. Its purple scales melted away, and its horns and tail liquified, vanishing. In their place appeared a pointy, bright blue shell. In an instant, the hulking creature had morphed into a Torbon.
Lain stared at the tiny crustacean in bewilderment. “What … the hell?”
The Torbon wobbled a bit, steadying itself on spindly feet. It peeked out from under its shell, regarding Lain with beady little crab eyes. Carefully, it took tiny steps toward the prone Caseal, crawling over Faith's feet. One, two, one, two.
Then it blew sea water from the holes in its shell, splashing Lain in the face, and scuttled away.
Lain spat out the salty gunk, and glared at the retreating crab furiously. “Hey! Get back here, you little pr–”
“Lain!”
Lain looked up. Faith stood over her, a look of worry evident upon her face.
“Are you hurt?” said Faith, kneeling down beside her.
“No, I'm all right.” Lain brushed herself off, cleaning dirt and bits of debris from her shoulders. No real injuries. Casts were more durable than the organic races, thankfully.“What just happened? Since when do Org Blans do magic tricks?”
“I don't know. It doesn't make sense.” Faith glanced around, searching for the scaly shape-shifter. It was nowhere to be found; the cove was empty, aside from them. Still, something strange caught her eye, and she pointed towards the crumbling rock walls. “Lain, is that …”
Lain followed Faith's finger, and looked over her shoulder. There, in the spot where the boulder had shattered moments before, a narrow fissure stood in silence, carved into the stone. It was an ominous gateway, tall and dark, with a strange, tooth-like contour. Almost like the grin of a Garongo. It seemed to beckon to them, pleading for a closer look.
http://i1.minus.com/iAeN6B2uQFu4H.png
“A cave?” said Lain, rising to her feet. “But that wasn't there before.”
“Maybe from the boulder?” said Faith.
“No, that's too much of a coincidence.” Lain walked over to the entrance, and peered into the dark passageway. The stone within had been sliced clean through; the walls were smooth to the touch, and free from any outcrops of jutting rocks. “That boulder couldn't have done this. It's like someone took a beam sword to this place.”
“But how can that be?”
Lain turned to her, ready to speak – but she couldn't come up with an answer. How did mysterious caves appear out of nowhere? For that matter, how did random bodies of water kick up waves through their own will? Or local wildlife shift forms like a badly-tuned holograph?
Drugs? Definitely drugs.
Lain looked at Faith, convinced that one of the ingredients in their morning snack was actually a hallucinogenic. But Faith was preoccupied; her eyes were fixed on the entrance to the cave. Her curiosity was winning out again.
“Lain …”
Quickly, Lain thought up an argument against the unsaid plan.
“We just found a lagoon with its own wave generator, got attacked by a giant angry lizard, watched said lizard morph into a hermit crab, and found a mysterious cave that leads to somewhere between a Darker nest and who-knows-where.” Lain motioned to the entrance. “So if things up here are this weird, then can you imagine what's down there?”
Faith glanced at her, then looked back towards the fissure. She pressed her lips into a small pout.
Lain sighed. “You want to go in, don't you?”
“Yes,” said Faith.
“Okay.”
And so, the two trekked forward, slipping through the entrance to the tunnels of Vopar, descending into the darkness.
–
Some time later …
In a subterranean chamber deep within Vopar, vivid, prismatic colors danced over water-worn walls. Pyres of liquid flame burned atop ornately-sculpted pedestals, waltzing in unison with the lights thrown by their incandescence. High above, a biologically-lit sky of sea anemone and glowing gems cast an ambient glow over the cave. Waterfalls roared from openings near the cavern's ceiling, cascading down into a large underground spring.
Aaaaaaaaaah!
From one of these openings emerged Faith and Lain, holding onto each other for dear life. The echo of their scream drowned out the roar of the waterfall. They tumbled over the edge, plummeting headfirst into the pool below.
Splash!
A fistful of bubbles greeted Lain's face, swirling like a bundle of quarreling siblings. She batted them away, and pushed herself upwards, swimming towards a sparkling array of lights. Her head broke the water's surface, and cool cavern air swept into her mechanized lungs.
“Faith?” called Lain, looking around. Her partner-in-crime was nowhere to be found. “Where are you?”
A moment of silence. Then a sudden splash from behind. Lain whirled around, expecting some freakish monster with crab pincers and a voracious appetite to emerge from the pool. Instead, she found a waterlogged Faith. The girl shook droplets from her red, razored locks; her hair was a mess, but the rest of her seemed unharmed.
Lain waded over to her, sloshing through the waist-deep water. “Hey. You okay?”
“I think so … just a little shaken up.” Faith turned to Lain with a reassuring smile, but her expression soon changed to shock. She pointed towards Lain's chest. “Um, Lain …”
Lain looked down, and adjusted her swimsuit, blushing. “O-oh. Well, I wasn't expecting a water slide!”
Faith giggled, tossing her arms up into the air. “It's like a theme park!”
Lain stared at her, unamused.
“Sorry.”
“Where are we?” Lain gazed up at the ceiling, squinting at the far-away lights. “Some kind of undersea cavern …” She noticed the lit pedestals, and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe a temple?”
Faith gazed in awe at the multicolored spectacle. “It's beautiful …”
For a moment, the two admired the natural ambiance of the cave, taking in the lights and sounds. Soon, Lain noticed that the place was more like a foyer than a tunnel; the room was structured, with a clearly-defined entrance and exit. One side wound deep into a submerged passageway, but the other ended in a staircase, ascending upwards.
“We should go that way,” said Lain, nodding towards the staircase. “Whoever built this place obviously intended for those to go somewhere. Besides, we might as well head towards the surface, or we'll never get out of here.”
“Right,” said Faith, nodding.
–
Thirty flights of stairs later …
“Who the hell designed this place? Rocky Balboa?”
Panting, Lain ascended another set of steps, climbing up onto an exquisitely-cut marble landing. It looked identical to the twenty-nine exquisitely-cut marble landings before. She placed her hands upon her knees, breathing heavily, and looked upwards. The staircase was never-ending; it seemed to extend up into a subterranean sky.
Following close behind was Faith, crawling on all fours, up onto the landing. She rolled over, onto her back, clearly out of breath. “I can't … go on …”
Lain looked at her in sympathy, and a bit of annoyance. “Come on, Faith. We're almost there. It can't be much further.”
“That's what you said ten minutes ago!”
“But …” Lain paused, thinking up an excuse. “You only think it's been ten minutes. It's actually been five. My biological clock is more accurate.”
Faith raised an inverted eyebrow at her. “But you don't have a biological clock.”
“Of course I do. It's digital.”
Faith frowned, and looked away. “Fine. You just keep going. Leave me behind. I'll be fine. Here. All by myself.”
Lain rolled her eyes, and let out a defeated sigh. “Do you want me to carry you?”
Intrigued, Faith rolled onto her stomach, and peered up at Lain with hopeful eyes. “Would you?”
Lain looked at her incredulously. “No …”
Faith pouted.
“Come on. We have to be close. Just tough it out!”
–
Twenty (more) flights of stairs later …
On her hands and knees, Lain crawled over the very last set of stairs, up onto the final landing. She wheezed uncontrollably, shuddered under the weight of the journey, and collapsed in a heap.
Faith, who had been riding piggyback, brushed herself off and stood up. She looked around curiously. Something in the distance quickly caught her attention; her eyes went wide, and she pointed to the object in excitement. “Lain, look! We're here!”
Lain mumbled something unintelligible into the pavement.
“Lain?” Faith peered down at her. “Are you okay?”
Silence.
Faith nudged her with her left foot. Nudge. Nudge nudge.
Grudgingly, Lain rolled onto her back, and looked up at Faith with a cheerful smile. “Oh, I'm sure I'll be just fine.”
“Sorry,” said Faith, toeing the ground in embarrassment. “But look!”
Slowly, Lain made her way to her feet, mumbling something about new hydraulics and a flex capacitor. She lurched around, and turned her gaze towards the structure in the distance.
Her mouth fell wide open.
There, no more than thirty feet away, stood a magnificent sea castle, grand and regal, glowing with arcane glyphs of prismatic light. Waterfalls spilled from each side of the chamber, emptying into a moat of sparkling blue. Orbs of cerulean water whirled under chandelier mounts, clear and visible from the windows of floors high above. Two entry staircases snaked down from the main door to the landing below, escorted by a grand proceeding of ethereal torches. An immaculate marble bridge extended out to the duo's feet.
http://i5.minus.com/ib0j9OczubJTrC.png
Lain and Faith looked at each other.
“That's a palace,” said Lain.
“Yes,” said Faith.
“Palaces have treasure.”
“Yes.”
“Piles and piles of treasure.”
“Yes.”
Lain and Faith stared at each other, unblinking.
“Jackpot!” they cried in unison.
The duo sprinted across the bridge, rushed up the staircases, and bolted for the main door. Lain reached the entrance first; she grabbed the door's handle, swung it open, and dashed inside.
Splash!
A crumbling, half-submerged entry hall greeted her. Lain swam upwards, shoved her head above the water's surface, and spat out a stream. “Again? This is really getting old!”
Faith peered down from her perch in the doorway, smiling. “But the wet style looks really good on you!”
A starfish fell out of Lain's hair. She stared up at Faith.
“Um …” Faith bit back a laugh. “Well … it made a nice barrette …”
“Faith?”
“Yes?”
“Is there anything else in my hair?” Lain turned her head to the side, and motioned for Faith to move in for a closer look. “I feel something else. Look.”
Curious, Faith leaned forward, inspecting the Caseal's drenched locks. “Where? I don't see –”
Lain grabbed her arm and pulled her off the ledge.
Splash!
Despite Faith and Lain's expectations, the palace's interior was anything but grand. Everywhere, expansive halls and lavish chambers now stood flooded, serving as little more than a system of canals. Alabaster, once-majestic sculptures lay in ruin, toppled amid fragments of stone. Mounds of algae covered the walls, blotting out the lights that shone so radiantly across the building's exterior. It looked as if the structure had been washed out by a millennium of never-ending floods.
“Piles and piles of treasure …” grumbled Lain, peeling a mass of slimy muck from her right arm. “More like three pounds of seaweed.”
“Ack!” Faith pulled a strand from her hair and hurled it across the chamber. “Disgusting! Lain!”
“You asked for it.”
Faith glared at Lain in annoyance. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught her attention. She pointed towards the source. “Lain, isn't that …”
Up ahead, several yards down the makeshift waterway, a tiny, bright blue creature sat atop the remains of the chamber's central fountain. A Torbon. It seemed unaware of their presence.
“I'd know that shell anywhere,” said Lain, eyeing the Torbon with contempt. “Hey!”
Startled, the beady-eyed crustacean jounced upwards, ripped from its aquatic daze. It took a quick glance at Lain and Faith, balked in fear, and scuttled away without hesitation.
“Oh, you're not pulling a vanishing act this time.” Lain pointed across the room, towards the entrance of an adjacent hall – the creature's escape route. “Faith, go around that way! We'll cut him off before he gets there!”
The two took off, sloshing through the water in a clumsy run. Lain managed to reach the hall's entrance first; she cut off the scuttling fugitive, sending it scurrying off in the other direction. Faith came around from behind, blocking its only path out. The Torbon glanced about, surrounded.
“Now what?” said Lain, leaning over the tiny creature menacingly. “Fresh out of teleports? Unless you can turn into a Luda Sorcerer, you're not squirreling your way out of this one.”
The Torbon shrunk into its shell, quivering in fear. Its tremors grew more rapid, more pronounced, more violent. Suddenly, its shell turned pure white, and a blinding light filled the room. Lain covered her eyes, struggling to see.
A moment later, the light was gone. Lain and Faith opened their eyes, and recoiled in surprise.
In a flash, the tiny crustacean had vanished. In its place stood a hydra – three hideous water snakes strung together inside a gigantic crab shell. They emerged from their den in succession, each more twisted and scaly than the last. Red, green, blue. A sibilant trinity, towering over Faith and Lain.
http://i3.minus.com/ibtMPd6SfuMF86.png
“What...” Lain stepped backwards, staring up at the three-headed menace in shock. “What the hell are you supposed to be?”
“Such insolence,” said the creature, enunciating its words between its three heads. “I am Cir Beros, bearer of the three elements, sentinel of this temple. For eons, I have stood guard at this gate, watching over the treasures contained within.”
“… Okay,” said Lain, baffled. “So what does this have to do with us? We just happened to find your little jet pool. You attacked us from out of nowhere!”
“It was a test of strength and resolve.” Cir Beros lifted its heads, staring off into space, reminiscing. “It has been many years since any adventurers have set foot upon my doorstep. But I have waited patiently, biding my time, waiting for those blessed with the knowledge and fortitude to overcome my trials. The Chosen Ones.”
Faith tilted her head. “Doesn't that get boring?”
“No. Now, as I was saying –” the green head cleared its winding throat, “only those whom I deem worthy of these riches shall be allowed entry. You must answer three riddles. Then, and only then –”
Faith raised her hand. “I have another question.”
The blue head sighed. “What?”
“Do you listen to Ice, Wind and Fire?”
“… No.”
“What about Three Days' Space?”
“Silence!” shouted Beros, glaring at her. “Your constant interruptions are ruining my oration! I've been practicing this for decades, you know!”
“Can we get to the riddles please?” said Lain, tapping her foot underwater.
The blue head pouted. “Don't you want to hear the rest of my story?”
“Not really.”
“Fine,” grumbled Beros, shrinking a bit into its shell. The blue head rose swiftly above the others. “Riddle Number One!”
A wave of silence swept over the chamber. The duo waited in anticipation.
“Who,” said the blue head, slithering closer, narrowing its serpentine eyes, “is my brother-in-law?”
Lain gave the hydra an incredulous stare. “What kind of a question is that?”
“Genealogical.”
Faith tilted her head. “… Lapras?”
Cir Beros gaped at them in disbelief. “You think … I'm related to a Pokemon? Outrageous! This is beyond belief!”
“Speak for yourself,” said Lain, struggling to hold back her laughter.
“Unbelievable! You two are an insult to the noble heroes who have made it this far!” Beros turned its noses up in the air, regarding the duo with disdain. “Your answers are incorrect. Remove yourselves from my temple. You are disqualified!”
Lain raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute. You can't do that.”
“Of course I can!” growled Beros. “I am the master of this domain! I make the rules!”
“But you never told us the rules.” Lain nodded towards Faith. “All you did was yap about your great history and bark orders at her. How were we supposed to know that we only get one guess?”
“That's right!” said Faith, chiming in.
Beros stared at the two in silence, contemplating their argument. “Fine,” it said. “Due to these … excruciating circumstances, I will give you a pass on the first question. Riddle Number Two!”
“Gotta know 'em all,” muttered Lain.
“Deep in the depths of the darkest trenches of Vopar,” said the red head, blowing embers from its scaly lips, “grows a plant that cannot survive even a pinprick of the Great Fire above. From its vines, amid the blackest brine, comes a pepper born of fire and flame. Its skin glows with the heat of a thousand volcanoes, white and blinding, like a scalding snow against cool obsidian.” Beros leaned its heads closer, hovering around Lain and Faith, encircling the pair. The red head twisted its visage into a derisive leer.“What is the name of this infernal fruit?”
Lain winced, and waved her hand in front of her nose. “Whatever you had for lunch.”
Beros recoiled, its heads snapping up in surprise. Its gaze turned deadly, digging deeper than the insult, six black eyes narrowing in rage. Gusts of wind swept from its nostrils, heavy and swift, like breaths of an enraged bull. “You dare mock me?”
“Look,” said Lain, brushing Beros off with a wave of the hand, “we both know that you really wanted to be born as a hermit crab, and you have identity issues, and you probably need to talk to a species therapist. But this whole 'wise old crustacean in a hydra's body' thing, with the riddle-me-this? Not our problem.” Lain crossed her arms and locked eyes with the three-headed guardian. “Now are you going to let us through, or do we have to force our way in?”
A deep lull washed over the confines of the temple. Ethereal torches burned in silence along the room's periphery. Licks of flame looked on from atop their pedestals, spectators to the left, to the right.
Beros roared.
“Damn it,” muttered Lain. “Faith. Can you pull off a Vol on this guy? I really don't feel like fighting him again.”
“Sure.” Faith wielded her Shirojiraobana, pulling out a talisman. She tossed it towards Cir Beros's shell. “Ra-bar-ta.”
A whirlpool of ice shards erupted from the talisman, encircling Cir Beros in a violent vortex of wind and cold. In a flash, the water around the three-headed quiz show host froze into a solid block of ice.
“All right, let's go.” Lain sloshed over to the edge of the waterway, and hoisted herself up onto the adjacent ledge. She turned back, extended an arm to Faith, and helped her up onto the overlook. Then, with a parting wave, the two trekked onwards, delving deeper into the palace, leaving Cir Beros behind.
“Wait a minute! Hey!” cried Beros, struggling against the ice floe. “Come back here! Do you want me to catch pneumonia?”
“What a whiner,” said Lain, continuing on. “Hey, isn't that a doorway up ahead?”
“My fins! They'll catch frostbite! My beautiful fins!”
“I think so,” said Faith, smiling. “Let's hurry!”
Up ahead, an inconspicuous-looking set of double doors inconspicuously stood in an inconspicuous location at the very back of the main room. They were surrounded by huge glowing pedestals shaped like meseta diamonds and statues of a rugged, mustachioed man in a purple navigator's suit. A giant sign reading 'Treasure Room' sat above the doors, blinking with vivid, prismatic lights.
“Definitely a storage closet,” said Lain. “Let's keep moving.”
“Lain!”
Grinning, Lain gave the double doors a push. They opened gradually, separating with a heavy, groaning creak. The duo peered inside.
Inside the room was something never before seen in the world of Phantasy Star. It was rarer than the rarest twelve-star, shinier than the brightest weapon camo, more unbelievable than a pink Ragne named Charlotte who spun webs of friendship and love. It was a greater prize than any of the skintight male costumes envisioned by Sakai. Yes, even the ones with feathers.
Lain and Faith saw stars.
“Is that … a treasure chest?”
–
Later that day, after a long and arduous journey across the coast, with a treasure chest in tow …
“Remind me why we didn't use a Telepipe again?”
Faith gave Lain a cheerful smile from her seat in the grass. “Because it's about the journey, not the destination?”
Lain frowned. “Sometimes I wish you were the Cast. I always get stuck carrying the luggage.”
Deep in the forests of Naberius, at Faith's secret Fairy Tale Castle, the pair sat on a garden terrace, next to an exquisite fountain and a balcony overlooking the woods. In front of them lay the treasure chest, in all of its treasure-chesty glory.
http://i5.minus.com/ip8MvKULVynUc.png
“You know, we never checked to make sure it wasn't empty.” Lain rested her chin on her palm. “That probably would have been smart.”
“I wonder what's inside …” Faith peered at the container in curiosity. “Gold coins … gems and jewelry … maybe some magic potions!”
“Only one way to find out.” Lain rose to her feet, dusted her hands off on her knees, and reached for the latch.
“But don't we need some kind of key?”
Lain smashed the rotten wood around the lock with a patented Caseal jab.
“Nevermind.”
Lain undid the latch from the inside, and opened the treasure chest. The duo looked inside. Surprisingly, for its size, the box was nearly empty. Only a small blue voucher lay within.
“An item ticket?” said Lain. She reached inside the chest, pulled the slip of paper out, and held it up to the sun.
Faith moved closer, gazing up at the ticket. “What does it say?”
Curiously, the two scanned the voucher's description, skimming over the printed characters. A long string of zeros caught their attention.
Their mouths dropped open in unison.
“One Billion Fun?!”
–
And so, Faith and Lain went AWOL from the ranks of the Arks Military, bought their own spaceship with the 1 Billion Fun Voucher, and turned to a life of piracy. They became renowned across the galaxy: rescuing the helpless, robbing the wicked, evading the law. And no-one ever managed to catch them, because they were just too damn awesome.
Nah-nah-nahnah-nah.
http://i3.minus.com/ibupYR9UxlnMq3.png
~The End~[/SPOILER-BOX]
yoshiblue (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=68067)
[SPOILER-BOX]
Working for vacations can be tough. Its costs 400 meseta to keep up my medical needs. I do like the taste of them though.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_164801_000_zps3572cf8e.png
Im constantly told that I need to buy better weapons. I keep telling them that I will only buy gunslashes. Buying a new weapon is going to take away from my vacation funds.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_165653_001_zpsbba2852c.png
I don't even want to talk about how much I had to pay out of my pocket for cashing the team ship into the coast.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_170310_002_zpsc7cd5c43.png
When I do get some vacation time though, I tend to grab it quickly from the nearest Arkscard ATM. Those things always give me a headache. Last time one tried to keep my card. I'm having none of it though
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_171054_003_zps99dc06e8.png
In the end, its always worth it. I may be tight on cash but nothing beats the priceless memories made when spending time with your love ones.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_171458_005_zps5854d335.png
As CAST like and artificial as a daughter she may be, I hope she loves me as I love her.[/SPOILER-BOX]
Sacrificial (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=80161)
[SPOILER-BOX]
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_013115_036_zps5b31077d.jpg
Amducia, Land of the Dragons,Land of Honour and the Land of Legends. This story is taught to even the smallest of dragonkin.
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_004958_019_zps9e928396.jpg
It is said that was once an Excile. A breed between the clan of Hi and Ro. Voh-rën, a she-dragon. Belonging neither to Hi or Ro, she had hatched honourless from her shell.
Hower Voh-rën was not powerless. The legends tell that she had gained both the savage power of Hi and the prowess from Ro
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_005238_020_zpsdf3536fa.jpg
It was a tough life. In the old days it was an honour to hunt the honourless. Voh-rën had to fight for her life on Hi territory.
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_012710_033_zpsa98aac17.jpg
One day, Voh-rën decided it was enough. No one would question her lack of honour if she could beat the most powerful dragon,Z'koth, in Hi territory. She went to his land.
"[Fight me][Z'koth of Hi.][Hiding][From a duel][No honour]"
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_010731_028_zpse8c4fe18.jpg
Z'koth appeared from the sky. His mighty wings spread,hacking into the air.
"[You][Abandoned Voh-rën][Dare Say][Me][No honour?][Accept challenge][And][Teach You][Lesson][Honourless!]"
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_010639_027_zps9825a417.jpg
So legend goes that the small she-dragon fought with all her might against the most powerful fire breather of Hi. No one knows who won the fight. Some say, they still fight to this day.
One refusing to lose his Honour. The other refusing to lose her chance.
To this day and age, young dragons are taught,that no matter your enemy.
Weak, Strong,Small,Big,Lucky and Unlucky.
The most important thing for a dragon is to have his Honour.[/SPOILER-BOX]
Karen Erra (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=65056)
[SPOILER-BOX]Prologue:
The ARKS received a hint, that a terroristic organization has a hidden base in lilipan mines. And so, Hope and Serafi, two ARKS, were sent out to investigate it. They attempted to enter the base at the given coordinates. The base was guarded heavily by a lot of security measures and bots.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_011746_092.jpg~originalSecurity Mechs kept approaching to prevent Hope and Serafi from entering further in the base. They destroyed them, one by one to get access into the base.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_011038_043.jpg~original"Looks like we're right here. So much security - that can't be a coincidence", Hope said. "Indeed. No way this is an abandoned base. I guess there are more problems getting in our way", Serafi said while pointing at more bots appearing.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_005210_001.jpg~originalAfter beating the security bots, the two ARKS arrive at a big field, when suddenly a person appeared a bit ahead of them.
"I think it's him. This must be Doomsday. Leader of the terrorists", Hope whispered. Before Serafi and Hope could even get any closer, they already heard the person saying: "I recommoned you to leave this place now... Or else!"
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_010326_021.jpg~originalAll of a sudden, a lot of mechs dropped from the ceiling around Doomsday, ready to attack the ARKS.
"Go my mechanical creatures of darkness, go and destroy them", Doomsday shouted.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_011230_052.jpg~original
Hope and Serafi tried to fight the hordes of mechs - but there were just too many of them. While Hope held the mechs off, Serafi called for ARKS reinforcements: "ARKS, Serafi reporting in! We request reinforcements in the lilipa mines. There's a horde of bots approaching us, we can't fight them off!" - without any success. The signal seemed to be jammed for some reason.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_012627_113.jpg~original
Somehow, Serafi and Hope made it back to the ARKS headquarters, giving report to their supervisor Koffie. "I did not expect, that Doomsday is capable of building such massive amounts of mechs", Koffie said. "True. But no matter what he's going to summon to block our way, we'll get him for his crimes - sooner or later", Hope replied.
Epilogue:
With a team of reinforcements, Hope and Serafi entered the base again, just a few hours later. Surprisingly, everything was in flames. No more security - no more bots - no more Doomsday, just the whole building lost in flames of a big fire. "Someone really tries to get rid of all his tracks here...", Serafi whispered to Hope while the ARKS retreated.[/SPOILER-BOX]
Prize of community poll.
The Darkness II [STEAM]
Thank you for your attention.
this Contest is brought to you as a Collaboration of the Phantasy Star Online 2 Roleplay Group (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/group.php?groupid=452) and Phashion Legacy (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/group.php?groupid=477)
And a special thanks to Dragonlily. (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=74267)
Hello fellow Arks!
Here is the community poll featuring all of the story entries, as part of the previous thread. (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217183)
This poll will be up until the 6th of March.
Contestant Entries.
Takatsuki (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=75692)
[SPOILER-BOX]http://i.imgur.com/FFuzdtZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0C1Jy0T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mWCNihe.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/izsDeJr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tIqPwK6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BOY0Nmn.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]
Gama (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=34014)
[SPOILER-BOX]
Fake Human
https://copy.com/UiptotMp2OpBslTG
One day Dr.Gama Was conducting yet another Mischievous experiment!
He wanted to bring the cast master race back to its glory days!
https://copy.com/UULrJv4RItl48q4B
So he created a spy!
https://copy.com/zXjc3xC3wkvcljCE
A spy That Would Blindly Follow Commands...
https://copy.com/1WcIh0zGOJrcdCly
A synthetic organism, able to look and think like a human. trained to murder and lie.
https://copy.com/SDmxhZHVjPuzC6y7
But to Dr.Gama's discontent , his creation was more human than machine, and quicly fell in love with all living organisms, rejecting Dr.Gama's Supremacist Thinking and programing.
https://copy.com/Euxtl8F4R1RHEzBK
After Confessing to the arks the reason of his existence and pleaded for their help, they quickly found a place for his tending nature, and a place where other arks could keep and eye on him.
The End.[/SPOILER-BOX]
strikerhunter (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=78005)
[SPOILER-BOX]2nd Day Rookie Training
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38101
Kelly: For today's training course, you will need to hunt down a rock bear with your Claira Vista Rod.
Aerial: Shit............
Kelly: What? Did you forget your rod again?
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38103
Aerial: No I did not. In fact I had it hidden well by a tree trunk not too far from here so let me go get it.
Kelly: Fine go get it.
-2 minutes later-
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38105
Aerial: It should be here............why do I get the feeling that something big is behind me?
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2798&pictureid=38104
Aerial: Like something really big.............oh well rod is not here, a Chrome Dragon must had ate it. Guess I'll just go.
[/SPOILER-BOX]
lLain (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=75372)
[SPOILER-BOX]
Legends, as they are often told, begin with times of peace and tranquility. They take their origins from humble villages and small towns – settlements lined with well-worn trails and cobblestone roads, where the aroma of freshly-baked bread wafts from the windows of bakeries and quaint workshops tinge the silence with a constant, familiar ting. Quiet, ordinary places. These legends are born from the mouths of the travelers who have walked these roads, lived among the people, and witnessed firsthand the dire situations soon to come. They recount the lives of men and women thrust into conflict by conditions far outside their control – warring kingdoms, ruthless marauders, tyrannical despots, wicked beasts – and the struggle to rise to the challenges that threaten to consume their lives, their families, and their souls.
However, our legend begins with a vacation. And it has spaceships, intergalactic mercenaries, magical fish, and pirates. That's right, pirates.
Enjoy.
–
“But buttered Aculpus toes really do make a good stir fry!”
Lain planted the parasol into the sand, barely missing her own foot with the GeoTidal Measurement Capacitor. She looked over her shoulder, giving Faith an incredulous look. “Did you say toes?”
“Yes. You have to be careful, though. Aculpus are a natural predator of Torbons, and those always nibble on Shell Flowers, so most of their meat is poisonous. But you just set up a Capture trap, and lure one in with a treat. Then he howls, and the rest run over, and 'Woosh!'” Faith lifted her arms towards the sky, simulating the spatial transfer of the R&D Department's Capture Ring. “A shipment of toes. I buy them in bulk at Franka's Exquisite Culinary Delights.” A sour look crossed Faith's face. “Not Tag Aculpus toes, though. Those are disgusting.”
http://i5.minus.com/iJ0WVKjMHliu2.png
Lain stared, expression blank.
Faith blinked. “What?”
“I'm packing our lunch next time.”
Faith pouted. “I told you, I can cook! It won't kill you.”
Crystal-blue waves swept over the white sands of Vopar, lapping at the ankles of the beach-going pair. After the recent colonization project, the planet had become more of a tourist hot-spot than a battleground with indigenous wildlife. Coastal villages and resort towns had sprung up all around the ARKS landing site, forming a ring of proximity between the civilian population and the military force. Here, the word 'Darkers' was almost a thing of the past; the constant security details, contract work for independent mercenaries, and politically-sponsored territorial expansions had all but wiped the surface clean of the grotesque pigeons.
It was at one of these newly-settled villages that Faith and Lain had chosen to spend their leave from ARKS service. A break from the constant chaos and danger was long overdue; daily missions and campaigns (most of which were speedy infiltrations ordered by a certain bug-eyed general) had worn them down, so the change of pace was a welcome relief. Still, they knew that the downtime would be short-lived. With the constant Falz invasions triggered by Quna's squeaky concert voice, ARKS members rarely had time to relax.
Lain picked up her surfboard, and brushed a palm leaf out of her hair with her free hand. “I'm not so sure about your cooking. Being rare is better for equipment than food.” The image of slightly-burned shark-wolf toes popped into Lain's mind, and she grimaced. “Besides, I can't eat something that's purple. I have enough trouble with Cast-replica sushi.”
Faith gave a small sigh. “You need to be more open-minded, Lain. You won't know what you really like unless you try new things.”
“I won't need to replace my internals either.”
Faith frowned. “Lain …”
“Sorry.” Lain turned to her with an apologetic grin, and nodded towards the beachfront shop down the coast. “Well, if you want to try new things, why didn't you rent a surfboard? It's not as fun going out there alone.”
“Oh. Well, it's …” Faith clasped her hands behind her, and shifted her feet, digging the tip of her sandal into the sand. “I … can't keep my balance. You remember the wave pool on Ur, don't you?”
“I remember falling flat on my face. About four times, I think. You did way better than me.”
Faith pursed her lips to the side. “Still, it's embarrassing …”
Lain shrugged, and looked over at her parasol. Upon the side, attached to the magnetized pole, a computer monitor buzzed with activity, displaying churning line graphs and geometrical maps. Lain examined the display closely. After a moment, she pointed to a location far down the beach, past rocky outcroppings and the twisting coastline. “Well, where we're going, no-one will see us wipe out. The people inside that shop don't know what they're talking about. The GTMC says that the best waves are further down the coast, and barely anyone goes out that far.”
“But Lain, the wave pool was just practice …” Faith looked towards the bluffs in the distance in concern. “Haven't you heard what happens to the surfers here? The one who won the championship is still in blue screen; the waves slammed him right up against the rocks. He was a Cast, too, but it didn't matter. What if you get hurt?”
Lain shrugged. “I'll just buy new arms and legs.”
Faith shook her head and frowned. “I don't think this is a good idea …”
“Oh, come on. We'll pack up, walk down there, set up our stuff, and you can tan while I catch some waves. Then we'll just lay on the beach and watch the sun go down. We finally have a chance to relax for once, Faith. And you know what? I'll even try some of those barbecued toes you brought.” Lain gave her a persuasive grin. “Does that really sound like a bad time?”
Faith fidgeted, losing her fight against a smile. “No, it doesn't.”
“So? Let's go.”
Faith hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. With a quiet sigh, she followed Lain down the coastline, her sandals leaving patterned trails in their wake.
–
“This looks like the spot,” said Lain, lifting her gaze from the GTMC's monitor. “But …”
The duo surveyed their surroundings. The rock walls of a coastal cove stood in front of them, forming an oblong pocket of stone topped with tropical foliage, tucked away from the ocean. The lagoon within was small at best; no bigger than a luxury swimming pool, and not nearly as deep. A single narrow waterway fed the cove with pure blue water.
Faith laughed softly. “Um … not exactly what I expected …”
“This can't be right. Is this thing broken?” Lain set the parasol into the sand, and fiddled with the monitor, tapping just about every button on the display face. Still, the readings were unchanged. “How can there be waves in a cove? Piece of junk …”
“Well, there's still the sun.” Faith set her backpack down upon the sand, and unpacked her beach towel, laying it out over the white grains. Turning back to her pack, she dug deeper into its contents, and smiled at the discovery of items stashed but long forgotten. “We can build a bonfire! I brought Monomarshmates!”
Lain glanced over her shoulder at Faith. “Tell me you didn't buy those from someone in a marsh.”
Faith laughed. “Don't be silly. I bought them at the Naura Shop in the Tundra!” She tapped her ankles. “They're made from crushed Mammoth hooves. You just spin them inside a blender until they get squishy, then roll them into balls.”
“That sounds … delicious, Faith, but that's not really why I came out here …”
Faith shrugged, still smiling. “You can always find a good surfing spot some other time. It's not a total waste.”
Lain looked back towards the lagoon, letting out a discouraged 'Hmm'. The GTMC had been tested extensively by ARKS Research and Development, and had been confirmed to work specifically for this purpose. Tidal signatures were the only reliable way to pinpoint the biggest threat on Vopar – Bal Rodos. Those giant serpents left signals behind at every turn, and the devices had always managed to produce exact readings in the past. So why wasn't this one working? Was it defective?
“Lain? You coming?” said Faith, patting the towel beside her.
“Just a minute.” Carefully, Lain walked towards the edge of the lagoon, and peered into the crystal-blue water. She could see the sediment that covered the bottom of the pool clearly. Pebbles, algae, seashells. It looked the same as any other lagoon across the coast.
“Lain?”
Lain moved her left foot out over the water. She flicked the pool with her toes, disturbing the surface with a slight splash. Suddenly, a tiny wave swept out from the end of the lagoon at a speed too fast for robotic eyes to register. It rammed into Lain's ankles, knocking her off her feet.
“W-what?” yelped Lain, crawling backwards, back onto the sand. In an instant, the water receded, and the now-churning surface returned to peaceful tranquility.
Faith lifted her gaze, blinking at the downed Caseal. “Huh? What happened? Did you trip?”
Lain looked back at her in amazement. “You didn't see that?”
“See what?”
“The waves!”
Faith tilted her head. “Waves?”
Lain sprang to her feet, and ran over to the surfboard lying beside Faith. She scooped it up into her arms, and faced the lagoon with newfound determination.
“Um, Lain ….” Faith reached out to her, and tugged on the hem of her swim-shorts. “I know you took lessons, and you're pretty good at this … but I don't think you can surf in shallow water.”
Lain smiled. “Watch me.”
With a burst of speed, Lain dashed towards the lagoon, and leapt into the water surfboard-first. On contact, the calm surface of the pool erupted into a foaming maelstrom. Waves splashed in every direction, rocking the surfboard, nearly launching Lain from her buoy. Gradually, amid the raging waters, she managed to find her way to her hands and knees, then to her feet.
Faith looked on from the beach, dumbstruck. Waves on command? “How are you doing that?” she called out.
“Beats me!” shouted Lain, grinning wildly. She nearly lost her balance, tossed by a rough wave, but righted herself in time. “This place … there's something special about it! Hydrothermal vents … maybe a gravitational anomaly!” She rode along the wanton currents, traveling laterally, across the pool. “But the readings were right! I just don't …”
Lain trailed off. A dark shadow had crossed over the waters in front of her.
But there are no clouds today. How –
“LAIN!” screamed Faith.
Lain turned her head to see a giant mass of purple and blue sweep into her vision. She dropped to her knees out of instinct, barely avoiding the colossal arm as it tore through the air overhead. A boom of pure strength shook the cove, jostling rocks from the algae-covered walls. Spatters of jettisoned water flew across the lagoon.
Lain looked up from her surfboard in a daze. Above her, an elephantine shadow covered the cloudless sky, staring down at her tiny frame with red eyes of rage. Giant, armored fists. Purple and blue scales. A juggernaut of a lizard.
An Org Blan.
“Where did that come –”
The creature roared, lifting its arms high above its head. Lain rolled off her surfboard, into the water, as the Org's fists crashed down, splitting the board like a piece of rotten driftwood. Bubbles and foam spilled over Lain's view; currents swirled around her, sweeping her through the water in a violent rush. She gasped against her will; a torrent of salt water flooded her mouth.
The echo of a scream.
Mine?
The crack of lightning. Another roar.
Faith!
Lain flung her head upwards, breaking the water's surface, gasping for air. She looked around frantically. At the far end of the lagoon, on the beach, Faith stood poised to attack, her Shirojiraobana at her side, another talisman already in her hand.
The Org Blan whipped around and charged straight for her.
“Are you crazy?” shouted Lain. “Run!”
Faith threw the talisman, calling down another Zonde from the electrical fields above. The photon bolt crashed down onto the Org Blan, striking it straight across the head.
It kept charging, unfazed.
“Faith!”
Faith took a Mirage Step backwards in an attempt to keep her distance. But the Org Blan had other plans. It leapt forward, flipping with the grace of a three-ton acrobat, landing squarely in front of her. The impact knocked Faith off her feet. She looked up to find a fist aimed at her head.
“Zondeel!” cried Faith.
The Org Blan swung – and hit thin air. It looked around in confusion, dazed by a translucent light show. It was the Zondeel, radiating from the still-floating talisman. A magnetic electrical field had sucked the creature back into the lagoon.
Faith held her Shirojiraobana close. “Too fast …”
“Hold on!” Lain sloshed through the lagoon, past the distracted Org, and bounded onto the other side of the beach. She scanned the sands desperately, searching for her Alva Striker. But the rod was nowhere to be found. Its black-and-orange plating had been lost among the chaos.
It's gone? At a time like this?
A thunderous 'CRACK' pierced the air.
Lain turned towards the Org Blan, expecting to find it reeling from another of Faith's lightning techniques. Instead, the creature was wielding an immense chunk of stone, swinging it about with one hand. The rock was the size of a rescue ship, craggy and jagged, torn straight from the floor of the lagoon.
The Org's eyes shifted in Lain's direction. It reared the boulder up above its shoulder, like a pitcher about to hurl a fastball. The stone cracked under its grip.
Oh, hell …
Lain dove to the side, tumbling across the sand as the Org hurled the gigantic rock across the beach. The boulder missed her by no more than a yard; it slammed into the cove wall behind her, and exploded with a deafening crash. Lain felt her vision shake, and winced as shards of stone rained down atop her back and legs.
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP.
A heavy darkness fell over Lain's view.
“Look out!” cried Faith.
Lain looked up. The Org Blan stood inches from her head, glaring down at her in fury. It reared a fist up to the sky, preparing a downward slam. There was no time to dodge. She was covered in rubble. Rolling away was impossible.
I'm done.
A white lotus drifted into Lain's view. It hovered in the air, floating, perfectly still. She closed her eyes.
This is what Casts see before they die, she thought. No flash of memories. Just a flower.
“Gizonde!”
Lain's eyes sprung open. A bolt of lightning leapt from the floating lotus, striking the Org Blan directly in its chest. It staggered backwards, falling onto all fours.
Not a flower. Faith's talisman!
Faith ran in between the monster and her fallen friend, planting her feet into the sand, readying another attack. She glared at the behemoth, gritting her teeth.
The Org Blan paused, staring them down. Then, without warning, it shrunk to a tenth of its size. Its purple scales melted away, and its horns and tail liquified, vanishing. In their place appeared a pointy, bright blue shell. In an instant, the hulking creature had morphed into a Torbon.
Lain stared at the tiny crustacean in bewilderment. “What … the hell?”
The Torbon wobbled a bit, steadying itself on spindly feet. It peeked out from under its shell, regarding Lain with beady little crab eyes. Carefully, it took tiny steps toward the prone Caseal, crawling over Faith's feet. One, two, one, two.
Then it blew sea water from the holes in its shell, splashing Lain in the face, and scuttled away.
Lain spat out the salty gunk, and glared at the retreating crab furiously. “Hey! Get back here, you little pr–”
“Lain!”
Lain looked up. Faith stood over her, a look of worry evident upon her face.
“Are you hurt?” said Faith, kneeling down beside her.
“No, I'm all right.” Lain brushed herself off, cleaning dirt and bits of debris from her shoulders. No real injuries. Casts were more durable than the organic races, thankfully.“What just happened? Since when do Org Blans do magic tricks?”
“I don't know. It doesn't make sense.” Faith glanced around, searching for the scaly shape-shifter. It was nowhere to be found; the cove was empty, aside from them. Still, something strange caught her eye, and she pointed towards the crumbling rock walls. “Lain, is that …”
Lain followed Faith's finger, and looked over her shoulder. There, in the spot where the boulder had shattered moments before, a narrow fissure stood in silence, carved into the stone. It was an ominous gateway, tall and dark, with a strange, tooth-like contour. Almost like the grin of a Garongo. It seemed to beckon to them, pleading for a closer look.
http://i1.minus.com/iAeN6B2uQFu4H.png
“A cave?” said Lain, rising to her feet. “But that wasn't there before.”
“Maybe from the boulder?” said Faith.
“No, that's too much of a coincidence.” Lain walked over to the entrance, and peered into the dark passageway. The stone within had been sliced clean through; the walls were smooth to the touch, and free from any outcrops of jutting rocks. “That boulder couldn't have done this. It's like someone took a beam sword to this place.”
“But how can that be?”
Lain turned to her, ready to speak – but she couldn't come up with an answer. How did mysterious caves appear out of nowhere? For that matter, how did random bodies of water kick up waves through their own will? Or local wildlife shift forms like a badly-tuned holograph?
Drugs? Definitely drugs.
Lain looked at Faith, convinced that one of the ingredients in their morning snack was actually a hallucinogenic. But Faith was preoccupied; her eyes were fixed on the entrance to the cave. Her curiosity was winning out again.
“Lain …”
Quickly, Lain thought up an argument against the unsaid plan.
“We just found a lagoon with its own wave generator, got attacked by a giant angry lizard, watched said lizard morph into a hermit crab, and found a mysterious cave that leads to somewhere between a Darker nest and who-knows-where.” Lain motioned to the entrance. “So if things up here are this weird, then can you imagine what's down there?”
Faith glanced at her, then looked back towards the fissure. She pressed her lips into a small pout.
Lain sighed. “You want to go in, don't you?”
“Yes,” said Faith.
“Okay.”
And so, the two trekked forward, slipping through the entrance to the tunnels of Vopar, descending into the darkness.
–
Some time later …
In a subterranean chamber deep within Vopar, vivid, prismatic colors danced over water-worn walls. Pyres of liquid flame burned atop ornately-sculpted pedestals, waltzing in unison with the lights thrown by their incandescence. High above, a biologically-lit sky of sea anemone and glowing gems cast an ambient glow over the cave. Waterfalls roared from openings near the cavern's ceiling, cascading down into a large underground spring.
Aaaaaaaaaah!
From one of these openings emerged Faith and Lain, holding onto each other for dear life. The echo of their scream drowned out the roar of the waterfall. They tumbled over the edge, plummeting headfirst into the pool below.
Splash!
A fistful of bubbles greeted Lain's face, swirling like a bundle of quarreling siblings. She batted them away, and pushed herself upwards, swimming towards a sparkling array of lights. Her head broke the water's surface, and cool cavern air swept into her mechanized lungs.
“Faith?” called Lain, looking around. Her partner-in-crime was nowhere to be found. “Where are you?”
A moment of silence. Then a sudden splash from behind. Lain whirled around, expecting some freakish monster with crab pincers and a voracious appetite to emerge from the pool. Instead, she found a waterlogged Faith. The girl shook droplets from her red, razored locks; her hair was a mess, but the rest of her seemed unharmed.
Lain waded over to her, sloshing through the waist-deep water. “Hey. You okay?”
“I think so … just a little shaken up.” Faith turned to Lain with a reassuring smile, but her expression soon changed to shock. She pointed towards Lain's chest. “Um, Lain …”
Lain looked down, and adjusted her swimsuit, blushing. “O-oh. Well, I wasn't expecting a water slide!”
Faith giggled, tossing her arms up into the air. “It's like a theme park!”
Lain stared at her, unamused.
“Sorry.”
“Where are we?” Lain gazed up at the ceiling, squinting at the far-away lights. “Some kind of undersea cavern …” She noticed the lit pedestals, and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe a temple?”
Faith gazed in awe at the multicolored spectacle. “It's beautiful …”
For a moment, the two admired the natural ambiance of the cave, taking in the lights and sounds. Soon, Lain noticed that the place was more like a foyer than a tunnel; the room was structured, with a clearly-defined entrance and exit. One side wound deep into a submerged passageway, but the other ended in a staircase, ascending upwards.
“We should go that way,” said Lain, nodding towards the staircase. “Whoever built this place obviously intended for those to go somewhere. Besides, we might as well head towards the surface, or we'll never get out of here.”
“Right,” said Faith, nodding.
–
Thirty flights of stairs later …
“Who the hell designed this place? Rocky Balboa?”
Panting, Lain ascended another set of steps, climbing up onto an exquisitely-cut marble landing. It looked identical to the twenty-nine exquisitely-cut marble landings before. She placed her hands upon her knees, breathing heavily, and looked upwards. The staircase was never-ending; it seemed to extend up into a subterranean sky.
Following close behind was Faith, crawling on all fours, up onto the landing. She rolled over, onto her back, clearly out of breath. “I can't … go on …”
Lain looked at her in sympathy, and a bit of annoyance. “Come on, Faith. We're almost there. It can't be much further.”
“That's what you said ten minutes ago!”
“But …” Lain paused, thinking up an excuse. “You only think it's been ten minutes. It's actually been five. My biological clock is more accurate.”
Faith raised an inverted eyebrow at her. “But you don't have a biological clock.”
“Of course I do. It's digital.”
Faith frowned, and looked away. “Fine. You just keep going. Leave me behind. I'll be fine. Here. All by myself.”
Lain rolled her eyes, and let out a defeated sigh. “Do you want me to carry you?”
Intrigued, Faith rolled onto her stomach, and peered up at Lain with hopeful eyes. “Would you?”
Lain looked at her incredulously. “No …”
Faith pouted.
“Come on. We have to be close. Just tough it out!”
–
Twenty (more) flights of stairs later …
On her hands and knees, Lain crawled over the very last set of stairs, up onto the final landing. She wheezed uncontrollably, shuddered under the weight of the journey, and collapsed in a heap.
Faith, who had been riding piggyback, brushed herself off and stood up. She looked around curiously. Something in the distance quickly caught her attention; her eyes went wide, and she pointed to the object in excitement. “Lain, look! We're here!”
Lain mumbled something unintelligible into the pavement.
“Lain?” Faith peered down at her. “Are you okay?”
Silence.
Faith nudged her with her left foot. Nudge. Nudge nudge.
Grudgingly, Lain rolled onto her back, and looked up at Faith with a cheerful smile. “Oh, I'm sure I'll be just fine.”
“Sorry,” said Faith, toeing the ground in embarrassment. “But look!”
Slowly, Lain made her way to her feet, mumbling something about new hydraulics and a flex capacitor. She lurched around, and turned her gaze towards the structure in the distance.
Her mouth fell wide open.
There, no more than thirty feet away, stood a magnificent sea castle, grand and regal, glowing with arcane glyphs of prismatic light. Waterfalls spilled from each side of the chamber, emptying into a moat of sparkling blue. Orbs of cerulean water whirled under chandelier mounts, clear and visible from the windows of floors high above. Two entry staircases snaked down from the main door to the landing below, escorted by a grand proceeding of ethereal torches. An immaculate marble bridge extended out to the duo's feet.
http://i5.minus.com/ib0j9OczubJTrC.png
Lain and Faith looked at each other.
“That's a palace,” said Lain.
“Yes,” said Faith.
“Palaces have treasure.”
“Yes.”
“Piles and piles of treasure.”
“Yes.”
Lain and Faith stared at each other, unblinking.
“Jackpot!” they cried in unison.
The duo sprinted across the bridge, rushed up the staircases, and bolted for the main door. Lain reached the entrance first; she grabbed the door's handle, swung it open, and dashed inside.
Splash!
A crumbling, half-submerged entry hall greeted her. Lain swam upwards, shoved her head above the water's surface, and spat out a stream. “Again? This is really getting old!”
Faith peered down from her perch in the doorway, smiling. “But the wet style looks really good on you!”
A starfish fell out of Lain's hair. She stared up at Faith.
“Um …” Faith bit back a laugh. “Well … it made a nice barrette …”
“Faith?”
“Yes?”
“Is there anything else in my hair?” Lain turned her head to the side, and motioned for Faith to move in for a closer look. “I feel something else. Look.”
Curious, Faith leaned forward, inspecting the Caseal's drenched locks. “Where? I don't see –”
Lain grabbed her arm and pulled her off the ledge.
Splash!
Despite Faith and Lain's expectations, the palace's interior was anything but grand. Everywhere, expansive halls and lavish chambers now stood flooded, serving as little more than a system of canals. Alabaster, once-majestic sculptures lay in ruin, toppled amid fragments of stone. Mounds of algae covered the walls, blotting out the lights that shone so radiantly across the building's exterior. It looked as if the structure had been washed out by a millennium of never-ending floods.
“Piles and piles of treasure …” grumbled Lain, peeling a mass of slimy muck from her right arm. “More like three pounds of seaweed.”
“Ack!” Faith pulled a strand from her hair and hurled it across the chamber. “Disgusting! Lain!”
“You asked for it.”
Faith glared at Lain in annoyance. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught her attention. She pointed towards the source. “Lain, isn't that …”
Up ahead, several yards down the makeshift waterway, a tiny, bright blue creature sat atop the remains of the chamber's central fountain. A Torbon. It seemed unaware of their presence.
“I'd know that shell anywhere,” said Lain, eyeing the Torbon with contempt. “Hey!”
Startled, the beady-eyed crustacean jounced upwards, ripped from its aquatic daze. It took a quick glance at Lain and Faith, balked in fear, and scuttled away without hesitation.
“Oh, you're not pulling a vanishing act this time.” Lain pointed across the room, towards the entrance of an adjacent hall – the creature's escape route. “Faith, go around that way! We'll cut him off before he gets there!”
The two took off, sloshing through the water in a clumsy run. Lain managed to reach the hall's entrance first; she cut off the scuttling fugitive, sending it scurrying off in the other direction. Faith came around from behind, blocking its only path out. The Torbon glanced about, surrounded.
“Now what?” said Lain, leaning over the tiny creature menacingly. “Fresh out of teleports? Unless you can turn into a Luda Sorcerer, you're not squirreling your way out of this one.”
The Torbon shrunk into its shell, quivering in fear. Its tremors grew more rapid, more pronounced, more violent. Suddenly, its shell turned pure white, and a blinding light filled the room. Lain covered her eyes, struggling to see.
A moment later, the light was gone. Lain and Faith opened their eyes, and recoiled in surprise.
In a flash, the tiny crustacean had vanished. In its place stood a hydra – three hideous water snakes strung together inside a gigantic crab shell. They emerged from their den in succession, each more twisted and scaly than the last. Red, green, blue. A sibilant trinity, towering over Faith and Lain.
http://i3.minus.com/ibtMPd6SfuMF86.png
“What...” Lain stepped backwards, staring up at the three-headed menace in shock. “What the hell are you supposed to be?”
“Such insolence,” said the creature, enunciating its words between its three heads. “I am Cir Beros, bearer of the three elements, sentinel of this temple. For eons, I have stood guard at this gate, watching over the treasures contained within.”
“… Okay,” said Lain, baffled. “So what does this have to do with us? We just happened to find your little jet pool. You attacked us from out of nowhere!”
“It was a test of strength and resolve.” Cir Beros lifted its heads, staring off into space, reminiscing. “It has been many years since any adventurers have set foot upon my doorstep. But I have waited patiently, biding my time, waiting for those blessed with the knowledge and fortitude to overcome my trials. The Chosen Ones.”
Faith tilted her head. “Doesn't that get boring?”
“No. Now, as I was saying –” the green head cleared its winding throat, “only those whom I deem worthy of these riches shall be allowed entry. You must answer three riddles. Then, and only then –”
Faith raised her hand. “I have another question.”
The blue head sighed. “What?”
“Do you listen to Ice, Wind and Fire?”
“… No.”
“What about Three Days' Space?”
“Silence!” shouted Beros, glaring at her. “Your constant interruptions are ruining my oration! I've been practicing this for decades, you know!”
“Can we get to the riddles please?” said Lain, tapping her foot underwater.
The blue head pouted. “Don't you want to hear the rest of my story?”
“Not really.”
“Fine,” grumbled Beros, shrinking a bit into its shell. The blue head rose swiftly above the others. “Riddle Number One!”
A wave of silence swept over the chamber. The duo waited in anticipation.
“Who,” said the blue head, slithering closer, narrowing its serpentine eyes, “is my brother-in-law?”
Lain gave the hydra an incredulous stare. “What kind of a question is that?”
“Genealogical.”
Faith tilted her head. “… Lapras?”
Cir Beros gaped at them in disbelief. “You think … I'm related to a Pokemon? Outrageous! This is beyond belief!”
“Speak for yourself,” said Lain, struggling to hold back her laughter.
“Unbelievable! You two are an insult to the noble heroes who have made it this far!” Beros turned its noses up in the air, regarding the duo with disdain. “Your answers are incorrect. Remove yourselves from my temple. You are disqualified!”
Lain raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute. You can't do that.”
“Of course I can!” growled Beros. “I am the master of this domain! I make the rules!”
“But you never told us the rules.” Lain nodded towards Faith. “All you did was yap about your great history and bark orders at her. How were we supposed to know that we only get one guess?”
“That's right!” said Faith, chiming in.
Beros stared at the two in silence, contemplating their argument. “Fine,” it said. “Due to these … excruciating circumstances, I will give you a pass on the first question. Riddle Number Two!”
“Gotta know 'em all,” muttered Lain.
“Deep in the depths of the darkest trenches of Vopar,” said the red head, blowing embers from its scaly lips, “grows a plant that cannot survive even a pinprick of the Great Fire above. From its vines, amid the blackest brine, comes a pepper born of fire and flame. Its skin glows with the heat of a thousand volcanoes, white and blinding, like a scalding snow against cool obsidian.” Beros leaned its heads closer, hovering around Lain and Faith, encircling the pair. The red head twisted its visage into a derisive leer.“What is the name of this infernal fruit?”
Lain winced, and waved her hand in front of her nose. “Whatever you had for lunch.”
Beros recoiled, its heads snapping up in surprise. Its gaze turned deadly, digging deeper than the insult, six black eyes narrowing in rage. Gusts of wind swept from its nostrils, heavy and swift, like breaths of an enraged bull. “You dare mock me?”
“Look,” said Lain, brushing Beros off with a wave of the hand, “we both know that you really wanted to be born as a hermit crab, and you have identity issues, and you probably need to talk to a species therapist. But this whole 'wise old crustacean in a hydra's body' thing, with the riddle-me-this? Not our problem.” Lain crossed her arms and locked eyes with the three-headed guardian. “Now are you going to let us through, or do we have to force our way in?”
A deep lull washed over the confines of the temple. Ethereal torches burned in silence along the room's periphery. Licks of flame looked on from atop their pedestals, spectators to the left, to the right.
Beros roared.
“Damn it,” muttered Lain. “Faith. Can you pull off a Vol on this guy? I really don't feel like fighting him again.”
“Sure.” Faith wielded her Shirojiraobana, pulling out a talisman. She tossed it towards Cir Beros's shell. “Ra-bar-ta.”
A whirlpool of ice shards erupted from the talisman, encircling Cir Beros in a violent vortex of wind and cold. In a flash, the water around the three-headed quiz show host froze into a solid block of ice.
“All right, let's go.” Lain sloshed over to the edge of the waterway, and hoisted herself up onto the adjacent ledge. She turned back, extended an arm to Faith, and helped her up onto the overlook. Then, with a parting wave, the two trekked onwards, delving deeper into the palace, leaving Cir Beros behind.
“Wait a minute! Hey!” cried Beros, struggling against the ice floe. “Come back here! Do you want me to catch pneumonia?”
“What a whiner,” said Lain, continuing on. “Hey, isn't that a doorway up ahead?”
“My fins! They'll catch frostbite! My beautiful fins!”
“I think so,” said Faith, smiling. “Let's hurry!”
Up ahead, an inconspicuous-looking set of double doors inconspicuously stood in an inconspicuous location at the very back of the main room. They were surrounded by huge glowing pedestals shaped like meseta diamonds and statues of a rugged, mustachioed man in a purple navigator's suit. A giant sign reading 'Treasure Room' sat above the doors, blinking with vivid, prismatic lights.
“Definitely a storage closet,” said Lain. “Let's keep moving.”
“Lain!”
Grinning, Lain gave the double doors a push. They opened gradually, separating with a heavy, groaning creak. The duo peered inside.
Inside the room was something never before seen in the world of Phantasy Star. It was rarer than the rarest twelve-star, shinier than the brightest weapon camo, more unbelievable than a pink Ragne named Charlotte who spun webs of friendship and love. It was a greater prize than any of the skintight male costumes envisioned by Sakai. Yes, even the ones with feathers.
Lain and Faith saw stars.
“Is that … a treasure chest?”
–
Later that day, after a long and arduous journey across the coast, with a treasure chest in tow …
“Remind me why we didn't use a Telepipe again?”
Faith gave Lain a cheerful smile from her seat in the grass. “Because it's about the journey, not the destination?”
Lain frowned. “Sometimes I wish you were the Cast. I always get stuck carrying the luggage.”
Deep in the forests of Naberius, at Faith's secret Fairy Tale Castle, the pair sat on a garden terrace, next to an exquisite fountain and a balcony overlooking the woods. In front of them lay the treasure chest, in all of its treasure-chesty glory.
http://i5.minus.com/ip8MvKULVynUc.png
“You know, we never checked to make sure it wasn't empty.” Lain rested her chin on her palm. “That probably would have been smart.”
“I wonder what's inside …” Faith peered at the container in curiosity. “Gold coins … gems and jewelry … maybe some magic potions!”
“Only one way to find out.” Lain rose to her feet, dusted her hands off on her knees, and reached for the latch.
“But don't we need some kind of key?”
Lain smashed the rotten wood around the lock with a patented Caseal jab.
“Nevermind.”
Lain undid the latch from the inside, and opened the treasure chest. The duo looked inside. Surprisingly, for its size, the box was nearly empty. Only a small blue voucher lay within.
“An item ticket?” said Lain. She reached inside the chest, pulled the slip of paper out, and held it up to the sun.
Faith moved closer, gazing up at the ticket. “What does it say?”
Curiously, the two scanned the voucher's description, skimming over the printed characters. A long string of zeros caught their attention.
Their mouths dropped open in unison.
“One Billion Fun?!”
–
And so, Faith and Lain went AWOL from the ranks of the Arks Military, bought their own spaceship with the 1 Billion Fun Voucher, and turned to a life of piracy. They became renowned across the galaxy: rescuing the helpless, robbing the wicked, evading the law. And no-one ever managed to catch them, because they were just too damn awesome.
Nah-nah-nahnah-nah.
http://i3.minus.com/ibupYR9UxlnMq3.png
~The End~[/SPOILER-BOX]
yoshiblue (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=68067)
[SPOILER-BOX]
Working for vacations can be tough. Its costs 400 meseta to keep up my medical needs. I do like the taste of them though.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_164801_000_zps3572cf8e.png
Im constantly told that I need to buy better weapons. I keep telling them that I will only buy gunslashes. Buying a new weapon is going to take away from my vacation funds.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_165653_001_zpsbba2852c.png
I don't even want to talk about how much I had to pay out of my pocket for cashing the team ship into the coast.
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_170310_002_zpsc7cd5c43.png
When I do get some vacation time though, I tend to grab it quickly from the nearest Arkscard ATM. Those things always give me a headache. Last time one tried to keep my card. I'm having none of it though
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h368/Redmage64/PSO2/pso20140214_171054_003_zps99dc06e8.png
In the end, its always worth it. I may be tight on cash but nothing beats the priceless memories made when spending time with your love ones.
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As CAST like and artificial as a daughter she may be, I hope she loves me as I love her.[/SPOILER-BOX]
Sacrificial (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=80161)
[SPOILER-BOX]
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_013115_036_zps5b31077d.jpg
Amducia, Land of the Dragons,Land of Honour and the Land of Legends. This story is taught to even the smallest of dragonkin.
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_004958_019_zps9e928396.jpg
It is said that was once an Excile. A breed between the clan of Hi and Ro. Voh-rën, a she-dragon. Belonging neither to Hi or Ro, she had hatched honourless from her shell.
Hower Voh-rën was not powerless. The legends tell that she had gained both the savage power of Hi and the prowess from Ro
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_005238_020_zpsdf3536fa.jpg
It was a tough life. In the old days it was an honour to hunt the honourless. Voh-rën had to fight for her life on Hi territory.
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_012710_033_zpsa98aac17.jpg
One day, Voh-rën decided it was enough. No one would question her lack of honour if she could beat the most powerful dragon,Z'koth, in Hi territory. She went to his land.
"[Fight me][Z'koth of Hi.][Hiding][From a duel][No honour]"
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_010731_028_zpse8c4fe18.jpg
Z'koth appeared from the sky. His mighty wings spread,hacking into the air.
"[You][Abandoned Voh-rën][Dare Say][Me][No honour?][Accept challenge][And][Teach You][Lesson][Honourless!]"
http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r792/Sacrificiall/pso20140218_010639_027_zps9825a417.jpg
So legend goes that the small she-dragon fought with all her might against the most powerful fire breather of Hi. No one knows who won the fight. Some say, they still fight to this day.
One refusing to lose his Honour. The other refusing to lose her chance.
To this day and age, young dragons are taught,that no matter your enemy.
Weak, Strong,Small,Big,Lucky and Unlucky.
The most important thing for a dragon is to have his Honour.[/SPOILER-BOX]
Karen Erra (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=65056)
[SPOILER-BOX]Prologue:
The ARKS received a hint, that a terroristic organization has a hidden base in lilipan mines. And so, Hope and Serafi, two ARKS, were sent out to investigate it. They attempted to enter the base at the given coordinates. The base was guarded heavily by a lot of security measures and bots.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_011746_092.jpg~originalSecurity Mechs kept approaching to prevent Hope and Serafi from entering further in the base. They destroyed them, one by one to get access into the base.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_011038_043.jpg~original"Looks like we're right here. So much security - that can't be a coincidence", Hope said. "Indeed. No way this is an abandoned base. I guess there are more problems getting in our way", Serafi said while pointing at more bots appearing.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_005210_001.jpg~originalAfter beating the security bots, the two ARKS arrive at a big field, when suddenly a person appeared a bit ahead of them.
"I think it's him. This must be Doomsday. Leader of the terrorists", Hope whispered. Before Serafi and Hope could even get any closer, they already heard the person saying: "I recommoned you to leave this place now... Or else!"
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_010326_021.jpg~originalAll of a sudden, a lot of mechs dropped from the ceiling around Doomsday, ready to attack the ARKS.
"Go my mechanical creatures of darkness, go and destroy them", Doomsday shouted.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_011230_052.jpg~original
Hope and Serafi tried to fight the hordes of mechs - but there were just too many of them. While Hope held the mechs off, Serafi called for ARKS reinforcements: "ARKS, Serafi reporting in! We request reinforcements in the lilipa mines. There's a horde of bots approaching us, we can't fight them off!" - without any success. The signal seemed to be jammed for some reason.
http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac202/serafisenba/pso20140221_012627_113.jpg~original
Somehow, Serafi and Hope made it back to the ARKS headquarters, giving report to their supervisor Koffie. "I did not expect, that Doomsday is capable of building such massive amounts of mechs", Koffie said. "True. But no matter what he's going to summon to block our way, we'll get him for his crimes - sooner or later", Hope replied.
Epilogue:
With a team of reinforcements, Hope and Serafi entered the base again, just a few hours later. Surprisingly, everything was in flames. No more security - no more bots - no more Doomsday, just the whole building lost in flames of a big fire. "Someone really tries to get rid of all his tracks here...", Serafi whispered to Hope while the ARKS retreated.[/SPOILER-BOX]
Prize of community poll.
The Darkness II [STEAM]
Thank you for your attention.
this Contest is brought to you as a Collaboration of the Phantasy Star Online 2 Roleplay Group (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/group.php?groupid=452) and Phashion Legacy (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/group.php?groupid=477)
And a special thanks to Dragonlily. (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/member.php?u=74267)