The Clipper's Remains

Edgar Holden wrote:

DRAKE wrote:Catherine kept blacking out, feeling her consciousness fade as her body continued to be put through the abuse of Himiko's second stomach despite no longer residing there. Thankfully, Ed was ridding of the noxious fluid via this water form. She slowly opened her eyes, eyes which were blinded from acid but slowly returning to their natural color peeked down as she was flying. "J..jealous..." she said, slowly. "...bitch..." she closed her eyes again, not even reacting to the spears which flew through the liquid barrier and zoomed past their faces.

Random Mobs wrote:The way it spoke to Deznik had made him angry. It went deep underground, sounding the war drums and called for their 'God' which dwelled in the depths of the ocean around Shi no Shima.

As they were, several spears were being chucked at them from many of the more intelligent lizardmen. "Kill them! Crush them!" they cheered down below, each spear throw slowly becoming more accurate than the last...

Catherine may not have reacted, but Edgar did. He hardened the outer shell of the water's density to protect against the spears, before emerging from beneath the bubble, levitating it with his mind, as he gazed down at the island. Filled with these primitive reptilian people, and he growled out deeply.

"I warned you, Deznik. I warned you but you did not listen. Now you, your people, and your lands will reap your folly. Behold!" Edgar's form began to change once again. He grew, fast. His horns elongated as a tail and wings burst from his back. His armor disappeared in a flourish of energy as his aura exploded around his expanding form. Edgar's skin darkened, and hardened to black obsidian crystal like scales that peaked and spired all over.

Within mere moments, the growing enormity of Edgar's bulk slammed into the shallow waters off the coast of the island. The immense dragonlike being towered to it's full height...



The creatures blazing red eyes contrasted sharply with the sheer jet blackness of it's features as it gazed upon the inhabitants of Shi No Shima with scorn and contempt. "I will not sink or disintegrate your island this day, as not all of your people are guilty of your crimes Deznik, but.... A reckoning was promised." The great head turned toward the factory they had just occupied, apparent territory of Deznik's particular clan, and with a great heave of his chest, Edgar unleashed the fury of Hellfire upon the former Japanese factory. Reducing it to ash dust, and it's foundations and the ground it was built upon was melted down into slag and lava, destroying it completely.

"Scar'd's beard..." escaped the lips of a man observing the scene in the distance through the lenses of his binoculars. Hellfire and destruction rained upon the Outsider Compound long since inhabited by those lizard folk. He was miles away from the blast, but could feel its heat this high in the canopy. He could feel the rumble yet, and he was hoping his 'home' would still remain in the tree tops once the shock wave had came full circle. Thankfully, the old bird wasn't going to crash for a second time, all of the Fifth Degree Captain's work in keeping her off the jungle floor had succeeded.

He observed the dragon, and couldn't help think of the tales of Scar'd. He would even bet the War God himself would be impressed with the creature, especially since it was a man. Yes, he observed a floating man upon hearing the reports of gunfire in the direction of the facility. He saw him standing in mid air as if on a plane of glass... it could be that he was a War God, it could have been Scar'd himself with his old world armor clad in his rigid and bulky form. But, it was mostly lost in the fiery transformation. It was a scene for the memory banks, and proof that nothing dull happened on the Island of the Dead...

He closed his eyes, lowering the binoculars as the beast flew away carrying someone he was trying to protect. He didn't have enough trust to the pair to light up one of the few flares he still had left. For all he knew, he was still eligible food for him. Not like anything would want this dried out hide anyhow. He smirked at his mental note, then began to descend from the 'crows nest' into his cabin. The interior of the ship had changed over the years... how many have passed since he was left here? Rust spots were the extent of his worries as he kept flora and fauna out on a weekly basis. He ran out of the airship stuff the techies spread on the HighWind perhaps three years after he set this place up, so he had to put up with it.

Consoles that had been long since dead greeted him with their dusty cracked screens as he passed by, making his way to the cargo hold and engine rooms. At one point this airship housed one hundred and fifty souls, now it was one decrepit relic with and older relic living within it. The Tenik-Bladebreaker Fusion reactor still worked, but he tended to keep the ship's interior unlit unless in emergencies. It kept the predators of Shi no Shima unaware of him. It was still running though, fueling the electric fences he posted about the canopy to keep the treetop freaks out of his home.

There were some, however, he had been on somewhat friendly terms with. The mini-dridders, small spider like people who still could slip through his defenses wouldn't bite or steal from him as long as he allowed them stay where it was warm within the ship. They were a prey item for some of the bigger predators out there, and they occasionally brought him exotic fruits and wove their silk which he used as the common adhesive in this place ever since he ran out of duct tape. He couldn't really converse well with them, but he shied his boots away from them when he saw them, and they generally would hide till he was stationary anyhow.

In the cargo hold now, he passed by the broken remains of crates and vehicles he had scrapped for parts during his extended stay on this island. There was never enough things they could have used to repair the airship, make a motorized boat or anything. The Island... seemed to just know when you were trying to leave. Things went missing, engines would seize and there would be attacks by the Islands Fauna almost as if it were planned. The Island was a physical being in Karadin's mind, and it knew when to play him. Yet, he bit back too. He defied it, where others failed he remained. Still did. The last of his crew.

"I hope Vod and his sons are livin' well." he said again, like a mantra. "I got this lovely highrise, so I shouldn't complain." he chuckled to himself, opening the bay doors with the manual crank. The heavy doors slowly shifted open, exposing a large door that overlooked the Jungle. He stepped out from the extended ramp, onto the low thick limb of a giant junglewood tree. He leaned against the central trunk, and gazed down at the jungle floor about a hundred feet below him. He thought often of the outside world. He hadn't received a shred of news since he crashed on this place, save for a few oddities from the communicators he still hooked up every blue moon. Something about this 'A.D.N' thing that seemed weird was running about, but it seemed that Sephiroth had somehow been defeated too. He didn't hear anything about DarkSEED, Tenik or Rebels. It had been mostly white noise for Karadin.

He sighed, giving himself an arms check before he would descend from the safety of the canopy. His assault rifle was loaded and primed for use, though he wondered how much longer it had given its sad state. He dared not fire it in full auto these days, as he expected the 7.62 x45mm cartridge would make it break apart in his hands if he let the bullets fly nilly willy. He had a pair of DarkSEED's standard handguns though, a left and right handed version which allowed him to use both at a time. Each housing .44 Special, with sound suppressors that still worked. The under mount torches were kinda stuck on them, and broken, but he didn't need their torch light anyhow.

He checked his combat bowie knife, and slid it back into place before dawning the DarkSEED helmet. His armor wasn't the uniform he wore when he arrived on this island, but the standard grunt issue uniform worked well in this environment and kept him cool while also safe from the environment. Strapped and ready to go, he grabbed his pack, pushed down the coiled up rope ladder and descended. Once on the ground, he pulled the rope ladder down and slipped it back into his pack before pressing a switch on the remote he carried with him that automatically shut the bay doors above the trees. He was going to go on an extended hunting excursion, courtesy of the giant dragon from Hell. The Jungle will be prime with fresh meat tonight.