Unusual Request
Prey
Tiddles
Hunters
Demonsk,
Ghrell,
Fahrn,
de Pesadillas
locations: old City under San Francisco, Iraq, future Earth of the Matrix, lunatic_cafe, Sahara Desert of Earth present
Demonsk considered...processing the request; trinitys_ghost relayed the request for the retrieval of a lost pet. Wanting the pet alive though, which didn't quite sit right. Tracking this species was difficult enough normally, it was among the most worthy of prey. To do so alive though, nearly impossible.
Completely so alone.
Location of signals of 3 other kindred on Earth, seek them out, form hunting party if they consent.
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The caverns that stretch out under San Francsico are extensive, having existed for longer than the city above has existed. The city below is combination of the parts of the upper construction that fell down there in 1906 with the great earthquake and of the work of people that have taken refuge in this largely unknown hidden place. A combination of homeless people and others that have just found their way down here over, nearly, the last 100 years.
It is also home to yet another stranger, not only to the world above but to the planet as well, though he has lived about both over half a year. He came here, Earth initally and the area later, to work over a philosophical detail...which he is no closer to solving. Still, he has enjoyed the area and the hunting has been good, if very elusive.
Of late he has had the company of another of his own, an old friend who sought him out of concern, the rarest of treasures among their kind. She, Fahrn, came because she both missed him and was worried about him...which would seem very odd to any of their type but then, they'd always had an odd relationship. Learning the skills of the hunt together, of an age, hunting as a pair for generations; no one who knew of them could figure why they had not paired up and raised young in all this time.
Neither could either of them, which was both perplexing and amusing but they had managed to not discuss it quite well for almost ever.
Ghrell surveyed the underground city from his vantage point near the tunnels that led upwards. It had taken much doing to convince Fahrn not to hunt the other dwellers down here but it had been accomplished without the loss of life of any...barely. He had not been to the surface to hunt his chosen prey in some time, not since the encounter with that odd mutation of one of his targets. That 6 armed creature has caused him to reassess a few things, which is about when Fahrn had shown up with her unusual timing still in effect. What had followed were the equivilent of several debates, upgrades to his arsenal (she always kept current on the newest of toys), and some heavy sparring. He was still a bit sore about the ribs from their last tussle, which pleased him.
Fahrn walked up behind him, looking over his shoulder at the view. She didn't quite grasp this situation of his, why things were so different for him but chose to accept it despite her misgivings. The problem of hunting other sentients, with the rare exceptions he'd found above, was hard for her to grasp but he'd still not gotten around to explaining the specifics on what brought this perspective to him.
Together they watched the humans here do their daily things. There were not many, maybe only 150 in all, but they didn't interfere with the two hunters and that habit was mutually beneficial to all. Ghrell had setup in what had appeared to be a circa police station of sorts, as had Fahrn when she arrived. It was at the farthest edge of "town" so they didn't interact much with those others here, except when traversing to the surface.
The tiniest fluctuation in the visual spectrum, near where they had their trophies and the bulk of their gear, caught both of them by surprise. Not only in the fact of it but the fluctuation was in a field of light that tangibles did not normally exist. As one, visual zoon activated, they tracked something insubstantial becoming substantial, moving towards where they now considered to be their own territory. Leaping to ground level, they rushed there.
Moving among the dilapidated structure, Demonsk easily located the gear and supplies of the hunters he'd been seeking. There were only 2 here, though it seemed a bit odd for the gear of the two being so close together. Unusual in the extreme, the area had a certain quality he'd noticed among other species of comraderie that was nearly alien tp his kind. Still, he had not come to criticize but enlist.
He could hear them coming, fast but stealthy; were his gear not set to enhance his senses significantly, he might not have noticed their passage at all; they were that good. This was promising.
Fahrn and Ghrell came to a stop just outside, entering slowly when it was evident that the intruder was making no effort to conceal itself. Their eyes fell upon him, relaxed yet prepared if they attacked. They kept their guards up, studying him; one of their own yet he carried himself with an air of one who stood beyond them.
Removing his helmet, Demonsk leaned back against a wall, "Join for hunting party?" and waited.
Ghrell removed his own helmet, as he could see Fahrn do from the corner of his eye, and considered this newcomer a bit more carefully. Standard gear for the most part but there were receptors of some sort incorporated into the armor of a technology he didn't recognize, nor could he guess at its usage. It wasn't uncommon for them to pick up new odds and ends in the course of hunting but usually it was gear inferior to their own, this had the look of something more advanced. As one of the oldest species in all Creation, there were very few in existance that had more advanced technology. Demonsk noticed the attention but said nothing, waiting.
The two stepped aside and left the newcomer for a brief moment to discuss it, allowing him to take note of what they had accumulated; the glowing red reindeer nose holding his attention the longest as being unusual but special. When they returned introductions were made but the details were held off. Fahrn took that a bit on edge, "Why not?"
Demonsk said nothing, his hunt : his rules, a part of the code they all knew regardless from where they might originate. He bade them to collect what they might feel necessary, only imparting the nature of what they were hunting without sparing the detail so they would get acid resistant armor as well. He called them closer and activated his own gear, transporting them across the planet to Iraq and the other transponder.
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Bodies strewn about everywhere, military hardware on fire with some of it still exploding from the ordinance, only one living soul as far as the eye could see...not that there was anyone around to appreciate that. Pesadillas crouched beside the leader's body, tearing the spine and skull free from the remains with a triumphant scream. He surveyed the carnage around him with a great deal of satisfaction, he had come across the two forces in combat with each other and had just waded in, killing indiscriminantly until someone particularly special presented themself. It had taken hours before either side was even aware of him slaying among them, a few minutes before he became the focus of the two, and a final half hour to finish them all off.
He studies the skeletal prize he held, this one having been the only one to give him anything close to a challenge among them. It had fired at him till out of ammo, tried to run him over in a jeep, and then fought him with nothing but a knife and what little energy it had left. Impressive in itself, his knowledge of humans being all but nonexistant till today, if this was any indication he would enjoy his time on this world.
A signal resonated from his gauntlet, familiar from the last time it had gone off. Another hunter he knew was signalling him, just as he had days ago to acknowledge presence. This signal was a bit more insistant though, judging from indications it was closer to. Where was a bit vague until he noted an odd fluctuation in the visual spectrum just behind him. Turning he saw 3 more hunters appear from the ether.
Demonsk took in his surrounding with a great deal of enthusiasm, impressed by the butchery and the devestation. Fahrn was much of the same mindset but Ghrell wasn't on the same page. He walked away from them and crouched near one body, a female who just before dying had pulled out a photo to see a final time. He pried it from her fingers and gazed at it, a male and child looked back at him with frozen joy on their faces. Glancing from the photo to the fallen soldier, he closed her eyes.
Not believing what he was seeing, Pesadillas walked over and stared down at this other hunter. He had never seen one of his kind be so tender to discarded prey before, it nearly sickened him. Sensing the disapproval, Ghrell looked up at this other one, growling low in his throat and warning him off. Taking the challenge for what it was worth, Pesadillas planted his foot firmly in the center of Ghrell's chest and pushed him back causing the, only slightly, younger hunter to roll over and leap to his feet, preparing to charge this new one.
Fahrn stepped between them, firmly stopping them with her hands raised. Unusual but not unheard of, Pesadillas gave the other a disapproving grunt and stepped off towards Demonsk. Ghrell was annoyed but said nothing, glancing at her only briefly and then wandering off among the carnage.
Demonsk gave the particulars to Pesadillas, still not disclosing all but enough so that this hunter would have the forsight to arm himself appropriately. Surprisingly, Pesadillas indicated he was ready now, not needing anything other than what he carried. He did give a curious hend bend, indicating Ghrell with a curious look. Demonsk shrugged, indicating that it wasn't an issue with him and as it was his hunt...which was all the other needed.
Stepping close, the hunting party faded from view.
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They had come to Demonsk's vessel for the next leg of the journey, where he outlined the specific details of the prey they were after. They all brightened up considerably upon learning they were to hunt a linguafoeda acheronsis (scientific classification given by humans but as there had never been any other name for the species, it had been accepted by all others that had learned of it), almost enough that Ghrell and Pesadillas forgot their newfound disdain for each other. However, that didn't last so long after he let them in on a final detail.
"Alive?" Pesadillas barely choked out the word, "What's point in that?"
Fahrn took it in a bit better as it explained a lot as to why a hunting party was even necessitated. Demonsk could have done this by himself if he'd been seeking this creature himself. To capture it alive required great skill and would be nearly impossible alone. When a hunt to capture a live queen of that species was mandated, the party was anywhere from between 15 to 40 hunters. To capture just the one would work for this number.
Demonsk noted that Ghrell just accepted it outright, which made him feel better about this unusual hunter warming to the evident challenge. He looked to the one dissenter, "Prey is pet. Greater challenge to take alive."
Chewing that over, Pesadillas gave him a questioning look, "You make pet of this?"
"Not mine, took contract."
That seemed to satisfy the other hunter.
Leaving them to the back of the craft, Demonsk sat in the console and entered the next coordinates. Travelling between dimensions and over a planet he could do well enough on his own but the next location involved a bit more than just traversing distance or reality. Time was a factor. He paused for just a moment as he felt Fahrn come forward and peer at his controls, sensing her confusion at the unfamiliar controls. He glanced back briefly.
She viewed the console, familar with the basic layout but the actual instruments were lost on her. Demonsk had cleary integrated another technology into his vessel of a type she had not even dreamt of, though it probably involved the bizarre method he used for getting from one place to another. She caught his gaze and held it, "Why?" being all she could muster.
Chuckling, he answered, "Next place where prey from. Not just distant, other chronological point." her eyes widened as he noticed her shock, "We goto the future." he said simply.
Fahrn was rocked by that, never having considered time travel to be an option, certainly not as matter of fact as he had said it. He seemed pleased with her shock, which annoyed her a bit but she tried hard not to show it...pretty sure she failed.
In the back of the craft, Pesadillas was just finishing cleaning all the viscera from the skull and spinal column, beginning to polish it to a presentable sheen while keeping a casual eye on the other. Ghrell was leaning back on a chair, legs crossed, partially meditating and mostly resisting the urge to slam the other's head into the bulkhead. The tension had been so thick it was what had caused Fahrn to head after Demonsk, though she had been fairly certain they'd not start in on each other in her absence. She was probably right.
To take his mind off of Pesadillas, Ghrell opened a tube just around his back and pulled out a few strips of seal meat, he'd treated into jerky, to munch on. The move had caught Pesadilla's eye but hadn't seemed threatening so he'd ignored it. The scent of the treated meat, on the other hand, took him off guard. He's never smelled anything quite so good. Ghrell noticed the sudden movement of the other sitting up and staring directly at him, bringing his full attention to him. They regarded each other for moments that seemed to stretch on longer than they actually were. Finally, for no reason he could grasp, Ghrell tossed him a strip and sat back. Very taken with the taste, begrudgingly, Pesadillas made the slightest compliment to the other and enjoyed the snack.
With Fahrn watching, Demonsk made the final adjustments necessary to bring them out over this future, parallel, Earth that the Matrix sprung from. He scanned the readings that he'd been given; the likely point of exit, from the lower levels, that the prey had used to escape and looked for a place to set down. Satisfied with what he decided on, he activated the ships' cloak.
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Each hunter was cloaked, inspecting their surroundings carefully for any trace of spoor or indicator. Of the four, only one of them was still largely unfamiliar with Earthin any way that mattered that even an alternate future version of it seemed inconsequential. The others were a bit stunned by the remains of what had once been a prime hunting ground for their kind, overrun by machine life and largely a wasteland.
Tunnels from below, mostly torn through to the surface, were all about them in various sizes. The ground heavily scored from an ancient battle that had never fully healed made detecting any sign of their target difficult but not impossible. Still, the overall bleakness was quite a bit distracting.
Separating himself from the others, Pesadillas eased off the concious and went more for the instinictive. They had been moving over the surface for only a little bit but there had been no trace as yet. It was frustrating but that's how hunts sometimes were.
Off in the distance he noticed an odd wavering, something moving far off but close enough he had the sense it was stalking him, or all of them for that matter. It was doing a good job of keeping out of sight but it was leaving traces of its own, enough that he could pick it up on one of the lower EM bands. Itself, it gave off barely a whisper of energy but it left eddies behind it of swirling confluence. As they weren't having much luck with locating trace of the primary, he intensified his personal cloak...just in case...and went to investigate.
The slightest residue of dried up slime barely garnered Ghrell's attention but it did register enough that he noticed it the second time around. He bent to inspect it, several days old by his perception of it, calling the others over to observe. Demonsk confirmed it was the same as the one they sought, taking a sample of it for anything further it might reveal upon later inspection. While he did this, Fahrn noticed the lack of the other hunter.
They spread out to find him, which turned out to be not so necessary a second later.
Pesadillas had cornered the sentinel easily enough, mystified by it but recognizing it for what it was, in function if not name. He had prepared to dispatch it quickly, it not aware of his presence until just after he got a weapon lock. It had whirled on him and charged, causing him only to get the most glancing of shots off before it was on him. Sliding between the tentacles, he extended his spear and slammed it through the center of the thing, sliding out from under it and getting free; the energy dispersal caused by the spear significant only to the sentinel. Determining it to be non functional, he tore off one of its tentacles as a prize and went to join the others, not realizing it had sent a signal to others before powering down.
He had just come across them when Ghrell started waving his arms and yelling at him. Passing it off as another of this stranger hunter's mannerisms, he ignored it until he saw that Demonsk and Fahrn were staring past him and above. He turned to follow their gaze, his jaws going slack at the sight.
Several hundred sentinels, spiraling together like a massive tendril were rising in the distance, going high for the tactical strength it provided. New programming, recently introduced, directed them to attack any life that was of an unknown nature to those established within certain parameters on the surface. They had initially detected the ship as it entered the atmosphere but lost it after it had landed and had been patrolling up to the point one of their number had become prey.
All of the hunters targetted and opened up with their plasma launchers, sheering into the massing and cutting bits of it away but not slowing it in the least. Backing rapidly to the ship, they fired as they went, all but Ghrell who stripped off a gauntlet and set its timer. He backed up quick and leapt through the closing doors as the craft took off. The sentinels pursued until they detected the device left on the surface. The craft retreating was leaving so no longer of primary concern. What was left behind might still be a threat.
The sentinels swirled around it, one looping it up and scanning it, unable to identify the characters that were being displayed until the last one winked out. A blinding flash from a minature thrmonuclear explosion ended the confusion, leaving the landscape as bleak as it had been when the hunters had arrived.
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No blame was laid on Pesadillas for bringing the machines down on them for he was only doing what they all did, hunt potential prey. There was a bit of ribbing about it though. He took it stride, even from Ghrell, as he inspected the tentacle...marvelling at its complexity and function. It made for a good trophy, though he was tempted to take it apart right there to see what wonders lay beneath the surface.
While not customary, Fahrn treated his few wounds, though such practice wasn't totally unheard of in hunting packs. Mostly an assortment of scrapes excepting a pentration wound he'd been too pumped to notice in his thigh. He winced only slightly as she worked on it.
Demonsk had returned the ship to the present time and was narrowing down a scan of where their prey was. He had noted a trace in the sample he'd procured to be interdimensional but hadn't had the time before to study it. Now, with the ships better equipment than what he carried on his person, he knew that the linguafoeda had accessed a portal and gone elsewhere to a place he was familiar with. He reset his personal transport unit for the location and went to join the others.
Ghrell and Fahrn were already wearing their protective armor, Pesadillas still insisting it wasn't necessary so Demonsk shrugged it off as his decision. Stepping close they left the confines of the ship and reappeared within the lunatic_cafe.
Spreading out, looking for more trace, they largely ignored the people around them and the abundant food and drink. Pesadillas took note of a very tiny humanoind with pointy ears and scoops her up, ignoring her protests. A quick look beneath the surface reveals a much stronger constitution than the outside meat would indicate, enough that her skull should make a good study for later.
Just as he's about to slash her open, Demonsk gets in his face about it and stops him with some threat of banishment. Not from himself but due to a security system the place utilizes that will send him somewhere he doesn't want to go...though he gets the impression that Demonsk wants to go there quite badly.
Just not now.
He drops the hobbit and is more or less shoved through another portal that Demonsk opens, he can see the other two hunters rapidly following.
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Fahrn landed in sand, sinking up to her knees before pulling herself out; the portal had opened a few meters above the ground. As the others set down, she got her bearings. It appeared to be a desert, dunes stretching off as far as she could see in all directions. No evident threats nearby, her hearing picking up nothing significant.
As she took in the view, Ghrell once again located the spoor of their prey, heading in a nearly straight line towards distant cliffs. Indicating it, he headed that way, warming to the chase. The other locations had only offered clues but this was much more definitive. Spreading out, over 30 meters from each other to miss nothing, they all proceeded that way.
There was no deviation in the overall direction, minus a snack it had brought down which appeared to be a camel, evidenced of other scavengers having taken advantage of the corpse since the linguafoeda had slain it. The way was quick with few distractions, every other living thing having given the area a wide berth since the creature had come to roost here. It only had a few days lead on them but it had clearly made its presence known. Around the perimeter of the cliffs there were numerous remains that had, like the camel, been picked clean by any scavengers daring enough to risk the area, including human skeletal structures.
As it was clear the pet had made these cliffs its home, it was just a matter of determinging where or if it could be made to attack one of them. They broke into 2 groups, partners keeping their distance but being in constant view of each other. Because Demonsk felt that staying on edge was essential for such a hunt, he paired Fahrn with himself, leaving Ghrell and Pesadillas with no other options; figuring the two hunters obvious dislike for each other would keep them on their toes.
Both groupings found evidence of an attempt at forming a hive, though with only the one creature it hadn't had much in the way of time to form anything truly substantial. Spoor led to hivelike structures built here and there but there was little interconnectivity. The organic secretions were arrayed around drop offs and caves, Ghrell assuming there were similarities to a spider's web, that perhaps the creature had tried to create a sensitivity system. If so, this might help them out. Pesadillas quickly disproved that theory by grabbing a section and tearing it from the wall and waiting, not expecting much, looking at the other like he was some kind of nut, which he didn't find that hard to do. Ghrell bit back the urge to eviscerate the other as it wasn't in the best interests of the hunt.
Demonsk and Fahrn thought they located activity near to them and swept, in a flanking manuever, to the area. They found the recently caved in skull of some type of flightless bird, blood evident on the body and ground indicating a very recent kill. They scanned their surroundings as best they could but it revealed nothing. The pet had clearly been here recently but how was anyone's guess.
"How think it kept as pet?" Ghrell kept up his stealth but didn't figure a bit of conversation with his bastard partner would impede anything.
Pesadillas stayed quiet on his side, though he had to admit the concept had been bothering him too. He gave a grunt and a shrug after a moment, for want of anything else. Noting Ghrell had a good stance, despite what else he might think of this other hunter's troubling beliefs, he couldn't fault him for his skill.
It just when he was so distracted that "Tiddles" made its presence known. Leaping from above them, it landed between them, tail whipping out and unseating Pesadillas, while it hissed at Ghrell. Opting to poke it threateningly, knowing that killing it wasn't an option, Ghrell roared out a massive signal to the others and at the biomechanical creature before him. It screamed shrilly at him, biting at the spear, rearing back and then leaping at him.
It didn't get far.
Grabbing the tail in both hands, Pesadillas swung it around hard, being in the air at that point helped, slamming it into a cavern wall. Barely stunned, it slid along the wall and then jumped at him, knocking him off his feet. Barely paying attention to Ghrell, it grabbed the hunter it had by the head, jaws sliding open and the inner jaw getting ready to launch.
Pesadillas fought its grasp enough to get his head out of the way of the first strike, the inner jaws scraping the ground just next to his head. Ghrell, wrapping his own hands around its head, yanked it back hard, Pesadillas, pushing from below, to get it off of him. Together, they wrestled it into a standing position, both clearly aware that it was nearly a match for them both. Tail whipping all over, feet off the ground as it tried to slash them with its talons, claws on the hands, scraping along their flesh, and having to dodge those inner jaws while holding it wasn't working out well. Kicking down hard, Tiddles knocked them both off their feet. Picking the less armored one, it sped over to him.
Landing just to the left of it, Fahrn launched a net at it, hauling it off its feet and slamming it against another of the far walls. It pushed off hard as it could, the wall breaking from the net hooks that were mostly impaled into it. Just about free, it strained back to get at the hunters again.
Demonsk stepped into view, launching another net over it, just as Ghrell did the same. Stepping up, Ghrell took out one of his newer toys he gained in San Francisco and hit the thing with several thousand volts from his taser. It screamed from the shock but it took 5 more such blasts before it stopped struggling and sagged in the nets.
Pesadillas clasped a hand onto Ghrell's shoulder, all that was needed to be said accomplished in that, which the younger hunter appreciated. Grabbing the creature's left arm, Pesadillas slashed it off, tearing it free and holding it high, screaming to the heavens above in victory. Demonsk waited for a the briefest of moments, till the roar died down, which was a bit longer than he'd have liked when Fahrn and Ghrell chimed in, and then pointed to the arm to remind Pesadillas this was supposed to be a live hunt.
Snickering, all Pesadillas gave out was, "Pet still living." before turning and heading to help Ghrell secure the creature.
Rolling his eyes, Demonsk looked over to Fahrn who shrugged and turned quickly so he wouldn't see how amused she was.
All that was left was for Demonsk to summon the ship and the securing of Tiddles to bring back to his owner. The others chose to be dropped back at their respective locations first, though they did seem much closer to each other than when they were picked up.
After dropping off the last of them, he set the ship to head back to the Matrix's Earth.
Tiddles
Hunters
Demonsk,
Ghrell,
Fahrn,
de Pesadillas
locations: old City under San Francisco, Iraq, future Earth of the Matrix, lunatic_cafe, Sahara Desert of Earth present
Demonsk considered...processing the request; trinitys_ghost relayed the request for the retrieval of a lost pet. Wanting the pet alive though, which didn't quite sit right. Tracking this species was difficult enough normally, it was among the most worthy of prey. To do so alive though, nearly impossible.
Completely so alone.
Location of signals of 3 other kindred on Earth, seek them out, form hunting party if they consent.
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The caverns that stretch out under San Francsico are extensive, having existed for longer than the city above has existed. The city below is combination of the parts of the upper construction that fell down there in 1906 with the great earthquake and of the work of people that have taken refuge in this largely unknown hidden place. A combination of homeless people and others that have just found their way down here over, nearly, the last 100 years.
It is also home to yet another stranger, not only to the world above but to the planet as well, though he has lived about both over half a year. He came here, Earth initally and the area later, to work over a philosophical detail...which he is no closer to solving. Still, he has enjoyed the area and the hunting has been good, if very elusive.
Of late he has had the company of another of his own, an old friend who sought him out of concern, the rarest of treasures among their kind. She, Fahrn, came because she both missed him and was worried about him...which would seem very odd to any of their type but then, they'd always had an odd relationship. Learning the skills of the hunt together, of an age, hunting as a pair for generations; no one who knew of them could figure why they had not paired up and raised young in all this time.
Neither could either of them, which was both perplexing and amusing but they had managed to not discuss it quite well for almost ever.
Ghrell surveyed the underground city from his vantage point near the tunnels that led upwards. It had taken much doing to convince Fahrn not to hunt the other dwellers down here but it had been accomplished without the loss of life of any...barely. He had not been to the surface to hunt his chosen prey in some time, not since the encounter with that odd mutation of one of his targets. That 6 armed creature has caused him to reassess a few things, which is about when Fahrn had shown up with her unusual timing still in effect. What had followed were the equivilent of several debates, upgrades to his arsenal (she always kept current on the newest of toys), and some heavy sparring. He was still a bit sore about the ribs from their last tussle, which pleased him.
Fahrn walked up behind him, looking over his shoulder at the view. She didn't quite grasp this situation of his, why things were so different for him but chose to accept it despite her misgivings. The problem of hunting other sentients, with the rare exceptions he'd found above, was hard for her to grasp but he'd still not gotten around to explaining the specifics on what brought this perspective to him.
Together they watched the humans here do their daily things. There were not many, maybe only 150 in all, but they didn't interfere with the two hunters and that habit was mutually beneficial to all. Ghrell had setup in what had appeared to be a circa police station of sorts, as had Fahrn when she arrived. It was at the farthest edge of "town" so they didn't interact much with those others here, except when traversing to the surface.
The tiniest fluctuation in the visual spectrum, near where they had their trophies and the bulk of their gear, caught both of them by surprise. Not only in the fact of it but the fluctuation was in a field of light that tangibles did not normally exist. As one, visual zoon activated, they tracked something insubstantial becoming substantial, moving towards where they now considered to be their own territory. Leaping to ground level, they rushed there.
Moving among the dilapidated structure, Demonsk easily located the gear and supplies of the hunters he'd been seeking. There were only 2 here, though it seemed a bit odd for the gear of the two being so close together. Unusual in the extreme, the area had a certain quality he'd noticed among other species of comraderie that was nearly alien tp his kind. Still, he had not come to criticize but enlist.
He could hear them coming, fast but stealthy; were his gear not set to enhance his senses significantly, he might not have noticed their passage at all; they were that good. This was promising.
Fahrn and Ghrell came to a stop just outside, entering slowly when it was evident that the intruder was making no effort to conceal itself. Their eyes fell upon him, relaxed yet prepared if they attacked. They kept their guards up, studying him; one of their own yet he carried himself with an air of one who stood beyond them.
Removing his helmet, Demonsk leaned back against a wall, "Join for hunting party?" and waited.
Ghrell removed his own helmet, as he could see Fahrn do from the corner of his eye, and considered this newcomer a bit more carefully. Standard gear for the most part but there were receptors of some sort incorporated into the armor of a technology he didn't recognize, nor could he guess at its usage. It wasn't uncommon for them to pick up new odds and ends in the course of hunting but usually it was gear inferior to their own, this had the look of something more advanced. As one of the oldest species in all Creation, there were very few in existance that had more advanced technology. Demonsk noticed the attention but said nothing, waiting.
The two stepped aside and left the newcomer for a brief moment to discuss it, allowing him to take note of what they had accumulated; the glowing red reindeer nose holding his attention the longest as being unusual but special. When they returned introductions were made but the details were held off. Fahrn took that a bit on edge, "Why not?"
Demonsk said nothing, his hunt : his rules, a part of the code they all knew regardless from where they might originate. He bade them to collect what they might feel necessary, only imparting the nature of what they were hunting without sparing the detail so they would get acid resistant armor as well. He called them closer and activated his own gear, transporting them across the planet to Iraq and the other transponder.
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Bodies strewn about everywhere, military hardware on fire with some of it still exploding from the ordinance, only one living soul as far as the eye could see...not that there was anyone around to appreciate that. Pesadillas crouched beside the leader's body, tearing the spine and skull free from the remains with a triumphant scream. He surveyed the carnage around him with a great deal of satisfaction, he had come across the two forces in combat with each other and had just waded in, killing indiscriminantly until someone particularly special presented themself. It had taken hours before either side was even aware of him slaying among them, a few minutes before he became the focus of the two, and a final half hour to finish them all off.
He studies the skeletal prize he held, this one having been the only one to give him anything close to a challenge among them. It had fired at him till out of ammo, tried to run him over in a jeep, and then fought him with nothing but a knife and what little energy it had left. Impressive in itself, his knowledge of humans being all but nonexistant till today, if this was any indication he would enjoy his time on this world.
A signal resonated from his gauntlet, familiar from the last time it had gone off. Another hunter he knew was signalling him, just as he had days ago to acknowledge presence. This signal was a bit more insistant though, judging from indications it was closer to. Where was a bit vague until he noted an odd fluctuation in the visual spectrum just behind him. Turning he saw 3 more hunters appear from the ether.
Demonsk took in his surrounding with a great deal of enthusiasm, impressed by the butchery and the devestation. Fahrn was much of the same mindset but Ghrell wasn't on the same page. He walked away from them and crouched near one body, a female who just before dying had pulled out a photo to see a final time. He pried it from her fingers and gazed at it, a male and child looked back at him with frozen joy on their faces. Glancing from the photo to the fallen soldier, he closed her eyes.
Not believing what he was seeing, Pesadillas walked over and stared down at this other hunter. He had never seen one of his kind be so tender to discarded prey before, it nearly sickened him. Sensing the disapproval, Ghrell looked up at this other one, growling low in his throat and warning him off. Taking the challenge for what it was worth, Pesadillas planted his foot firmly in the center of Ghrell's chest and pushed him back causing the, only slightly, younger hunter to roll over and leap to his feet, preparing to charge this new one.
Fahrn stepped between them, firmly stopping them with her hands raised. Unusual but not unheard of, Pesadillas gave the other a disapproving grunt and stepped off towards Demonsk. Ghrell was annoyed but said nothing, glancing at her only briefly and then wandering off among the carnage.
Demonsk gave the particulars to Pesadillas, still not disclosing all but enough so that this hunter would have the forsight to arm himself appropriately. Surprisingly, Pesadillas indicated he was ready now, not needing anything other than what he carried. He did give a curious hend bend, indicating Ghrell with a curious look. Demonsk shrugged, indicating that it wasn't an issue with him and as it was his hunt...which was all the other needed.
Stepping close, the hunting party faded from view.
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They had come to Demonsk's vessel for the next leg of the journey, where he outlined the specific details of the prey they were after. They all brightened up considerably upon learning they were to hunt a linguafoeda acheronsis (scientific classification given by humans but as there had never been any other name for the species, it had been accepted by all others that had learned of it), almost enough that Ghrell and Pesadillas forgot their newfound disdain for each other. However, that didn't last so long after he let them in on a final detail.
"Alive?" Pesadillas barely choked out the word, "What's point in that?"
Fahrn took it in a bit better as it explained a lot as to why a hunting party was even necessitated. Demonsk could have done this by himself if he'd been seeking this creature himself. To capture it alive required great skill and would be nearly impossible alone. When a hunt to capture a live queen of that species was mandated, the party was anywhere from between 15 to 40 hunters. To capture just the one would work for this number.
Demonsk noted that Ghrell just accepted it outright, which made him feel better about this unusual hunter warming to the evident challenge. He looked to the one dissenter, "Prey is pet. Greater challenge to take alive."
Chewing that over, Pesadillas gave him a questioning look, "You make pet of this?"
"Not mine, took contract."
That seemed to satisfy the other hunter.
Leaving them to the back of the craft, Demonsk sat in the console and entered the next coordinates. Travelling between dimensions and over a planet he could do well enough on his own but the next location involved a bit more than just traversing distance or reality. Time was a factor. He paused for just a moment as he felt Fahrn come forward and peer at his controls, sensing her confusion at the unfamiliar controls. He glanced back briefly.
She viewed the console, familar with the basic layout but the actual instruments were lost on her. Demonsk had cleary integrated another technology into his vessel of a type she had not even dreamt of, though it probably involved the bizarre method he used for getting from one place to another. She caught his gaze and held it, "Why?" being all she could muster.
Chuckling, he answered, "Next place where prey from. Not just distant, other chronological point." her eyes widened as he noticed her shock, "We goto the future." he said simply.
Fahrn was rocked by that, never having considered time travel to be an option, certainly not as matter of fact as he had said it. He seemed pleased with her shock, which annoyed her a bit but she tried hard not to show it...pretty sure she failed.
In the back of the craft, Pesadillas was just finishing cleaning all the viscera from the skull and spinal column, beginning to polish it to a presentable sheen while keeping a casual eye on the other. Ghrell was leaning back on a chair, legs crossed, partially meditating and mostly resisting the urge to slam the other's head into the bulkhead. The tension had been so thick it was what had caused Fahrn to head after Demonsk, though she had been fairly certain they'd not start in on each other in her absence. She was probably right.
To take his mind off of Pesadillas, Ghrell opened a tube just around his back and pulled out a few strips of seal meat, he'd treated into jerky, to munch on. The move had caught Pesadilla's eye but hadn't seemed threatening so he'd ignored it. The scent of the treated meat, on the other hand, took him off guard. He's never smelled anything quite so good. Ghrell noticed the sudden movement of the other sitting up and staring directly at him, bringing his full attention to him. They regarded each other for moments that seemed to stretch on longer than they actually were. Finally, for no reason he could grasp, Ghrell tossed him a strip and sat back. Very taken with the taste, begrudgingly, Pesadillas made the slightest compliment to the other and enjoyed the snack.
With Fahrn watching, Demonsk made the final adjustments necessary to bring them out over this future, parallel, Earth that the Matrix sprung from. He scanned the readings that he'd been given; the likely point of exit, from the lower levels, that the prey had used to escape and looked for a place to set down. Satisfied with what he decided on, he activated the ships' cloak.
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Each hunter was cloaked, inspecting their surroundings carefully for any trace of spoor or indicator. Of the four, only one of them was still largely unfamiliar with Earthin any way that mattered that even an alternate future version of it seemed inconsequential. The others were a bit stunned by the remains of what had once been a prime hunting ground for their kind, overrun by machine life and largely a wasteland.
Tunnels from below, mostly torn through to the surface, were all about them in various sizes. The ground heavily scored from an ancient battle that had never fully healed made detecting any sign of their target difficult but not impossible. Still, the overall bleakness was quite a bit distracting.
Separating himself from the others, Pesadillas eased off the concious and went more for the instinictive. They had been moving over the surface for only a little bit but there had been no trace as yet. It was frustrating but that's how hunts sometimes were.
Off in the distance he noticed an odd wavering, something moving far off but close enough he had the sense it was stalking him, or all of them for that matter. It was doing a good job of keeping out of sight but it was leaving traces of its own, enough that he could pick it up on one of the lower EM bands. Itself, it gave off barely a whisper of energy but it left eddies behind it of swirling confluence. As they weren't having much luck with locating trace of the primary, he intensified his personal cloak...just in case...and went to investigate.
The slightest residue of dried up slime barely garnered Ghrell's attention but it did register enough that he noticed it the second time around. He bent to inspect it, several days old by his perception of it, calling the others over to observe. Demonsk confirmed it was the same as the one they sought, taking a sample of it for anything further it might reveal upon later inspection. While he did this, Fahrn noticed the lack of the other hunter.
They spread out to find him, which turned out to be not so necessary a second later.
Pesadillas had cornered the sentinel easily enough, mystified by it but recognizing it for what it was, in function if not name. He had prepared to dispatch it quickly, it not aware of his presence until just after he got a weapon lock. It had whirled on him and charged, causing him only to get the most glancing of shots off before it was on him. Sliding between the tentacles, he extended his spear and slammed it through the center of the thing, sliding out from under it and getting free; the energy dispersal caused by the spear significant only to the sentinel. Determining it to be non functional, he tore off one of its tentacles as a prize and went to join the others, not realizing it had sent a signal to others before powering down.
He had just come across them when Ghrell started waving his arms and yelling at him. Passing it off as another of this stranger hunter's mannerisms, he ignored it until he saw that Demonsk and Fahrn were staring past him and above. He turned to follow their gaze, his jaws going slack at the sight.
Several hundred sentinels, spiraling together like a massive tendril were rising in the distance, going high for the tactical strength it provided. New programming, recently introduced, directed them to attack any life that was of an unknown nature to those established within certain parameters on the surface. They had initially detected the ship as it entered the atmosphere but lost it after it had landed and had been patrolling up to the point one of their number had become prey.
All of the hunters targetted and opened up with their plasma launchers, sheering into the massing and cutting bits of it away but not slowing it in the least. Backing rapidly to the ship, they fired as they went, all but Ghrell who stripped off a gauntlet and set its timer. He backed up quick and leapt through the closing doors as the craft took off. The sentinels pursued until they detected the device left on the surface. The craft retreating was leaving so no longer of primary concern. What was left behind might still be a threat.
The sentinels swirled around it, one looping it up and scanning it, unable to identify the characters that were being displayed until the last one winked out. A blinding flash from a minature thrmonuclear explosion ended the confusion, leaving the landscape as bleak as it had been when the hunters had arrived.
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No blame was laid on Pesadillas for bringing the machines down on them for he was only doing what they all did, hunt potential prey. There was a bit of ribbing about it though. He took it stride, even from Ghrell, as he inspected the tentacle...marvelling at its complexity and function. It made for a good trophy, though he was tempted to take it apart right there to see what wonders lay beneath the surface.
While not customary, Fahrn treated his few wounds, though such practice wasn't totally unheard of in hunting packs. Mostly an assortment of scrapes excepting a pentration wound he'd been too pumped to notice in his thigh. He winced only slightly as she worked on it.
Demonsk had returned the ship to the present time and was narrowing down a scan of where their prey was. He had noted a trace in the sample he'd procured to be interdimensional but hadn't had the time before to study it. Now, with the ships better equipment than what he carried on his person, he knew that the linguafoeda had accessed a portal and gone elsewhere to a place he was familiar with. He reset his personal transport unit for the location and went to join the others.
Ghrell and Fahrn were already wearing their protective armor, Pesadillas still insisting it wasn't necessary so Demonsk shrugged it off as his decision. Stepping close they left the confines of the ship and reappeared within the lunatic_cafe.
Spreading out, looking for more trace, they largely ignored the people around them and the abundant food and drink. Pesadillas took note of a very tiny humanoind with pointy ears and scoops her up, ignoring her protests. A quick look beneath the surface reveals a much stronger constitution than the outside meat would indicate, enough that her skull should make a good study for later.
Just as he's about to slash her open, Demonsk gets in his face about it and stops him with some threat of banishment. Not from himself but due to a security system the place utilizes that will send him somewhere he doesn't want to go...though he gets the impression that Demonsk wants to go there quite badly.
Just not now.
He drops the hobbit and is more or less shoved through another portal that Demonsk opens, he can see the other two hunters rapidly following.
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Fahrn landed in sand, sinking up to her knees before pulling herself out; the portal had opened a few meters above the ground. As the others set down, she got her bearings. It appeared to be a desert, dunes stretching off as far as she could see in all directions. No evident threats nearby, her hearing picking up nothing significant.
As she took in the view, Ghrell once again located the spoor of their prey, heading in a nearly straight line towards distant cliffs. Indicating it, he headed that way, warming to the chase. The other locations had only offered clues but this was much more definitive. Spreading out, over 30 meters from each other to miss nothing, they all proceeded that way.
There was no deviation in the overall direction, minus a snack it had brought down which appeared to be a camel, evidenced of other scavengers having taken advantage of the corpse since the linguafoeda had slain it. The way was quick with few distractions, every other living thing having given the area a wide berth since the creature had come to roost here. It only had a few days lead on them but it had clearly made its presence known. Around the perimeter of the cliffs there were numerous remains that had, like the camel, been picked clean by any scavengers daring enough to risk the area, including human skeletal structures.
As it was clear the pet had made these cliffs its home, it was just a matter of determinging where or if it could be made to attack one of them. They broke into 2 groups, partners keeping their distance but being in constant view of each other. Because Demonsk felt that staying on edge was essential for such a hunt, he paired Fahrn with himself, leaving Ghrell and Pesadillas with no other options; figuring the two hunters obvious dislike for each other would keep them on their toes.
Both groupings found evidence of an attempt at forming a hive, though with only the one creature it hadn't had much in the way of time to form anything truly substantial. Spoor led to hivelike structures built here and there but there was little interconnectivity. The organic secretions were arrayed around drop offs and caves, Ghrell assuming there were similarities to a spider's web, that perhaps the creature had tried to create a sensitivity system. If so, this might help them out. Pesadillas quickly disproved that theory by grabbing a section and tearing it from the wall and waiting, not expecting much, looking at the other like he was some kind of nut, which he didn't find that hard to do. Ghrell bit back the urge to eviscerate the other as it wasn't in the best interests of the hunt.
Demonsk and Fahrn thought they located activity near to them and swept, in a flanking manuever, to the area. They found the recently caved in skull of some type of flightless bird, blood evident on the body and ground indicating a very recent kill. They scanned their surroundings as best they could but it revealed nothing. The pet had clearly been here recently but how was anyone's guess.
"How think it kept as pet?" Ghrell kept up his stealth but didn't figure a bit of conversation with his bastard partner would impede anything.
Pesadillas stayed quiet on his side, though he had to admit the concept had been bothering him too. He gave a grunt and a shrug after a moment, for want of anything else. Noting Ghrell had a good stance, despite what else he might think of this other hunter's troubling beliefs, he couldn't fault him for his skill.
It just when he was so distracted that "Tiddles" made its presence known. Leaping from above them, it landed between them, tail whipping out and unseating Pesadillas, while it hissed at Ghrell. Opting to poke it threateningly, knowing that killing it wasn't an option, Ghrell roared out a massive signal to the others and at the biomechanical creature before him. It screamed shrilly at him, biting at the spear, rearing back and then leaping at him.
It didn't get far.
Grabbing the tail in both hands, Pesadillas swung it around hard, being in the air at that point helped, slamming it into a cavern wall. Barely stunned, it slid along the wall and then jumped at him, knocking him off his feet. Barely paying attention to Ghrell, it grabbed the hunter it had by the head, jaws sliding open and the inner jaw getting ready to launch.
Pesadillas fought its grasp enough to get his head out of the way of the first strike, the inner jaws scraping the ground just next to his head. Ghrell, wrapping his own hands around its head, yanked it back hard, Pesadillas, pushing from below, to get it off of him. Together, they wrestled it into a standing position, both clearly aware that it was nearly a match for them both. Tail whipping all over, feet off the ground as it tried to slash them with its talons, claws on the hands, scraping along their flesh, and having to dodge those inner jaws while holding it wasn't working out well. Kicking down hard, Tiddles knocked them both off their feet. Picking the less armored one, it sped over to him.
Landing just to the left of it, Fahrn launched a net at it, hauling it off its feet and slamming it against another of the far walls. It pushed off hard as it could, the wall breaking from the net hooks that were mostly impaled into it. Just about free, it strained back to get at the hunters again.
Demonsk stepped into view, launching another net over it, just as Ghrell did the same. Stepping up, Ghrell took out one of his newer toys he gained in San Francisco and hit the thing with several thousand volts from his taser. It screamed from the shock but it took 5 more such blasts before it stopped struggling and sagged in the nets.
Pesadillas clasped a hand onto Ghrell's shoulder, all that was needed to be said accomplished in that, which the younger hunter appreciated. Grabbing the creature's left arm, Pesadillas slashed it off, tearing it free and holding it high, screaming to the heavens above in victory. Demonsk waited for a the briefest of moments, till the roar died down, which was a bit longer than he'd have liked when Fahrn and Ghrell chimed in, and then pointed to the arm to remind Pesadillas this was supposed to be a live hunt.
Snickering, all Pesadillas gave out was, "Pet still living." before turning and heading to help Ghrell secure the creature.
Rolling his eyes, Demonsk looked over to Fahrn who shrugged and turned quickly so he wouldn't see how amused she was.
All that was left was for Demonsk to summon the ship and the securing of Tiddles to bring back to his owner. The others chose to be dropped back at their respective locations first, though they did seem much closer to each other than when they were picked up.
After dropping off the last of them, he set the ship to head back to the Matrix's Earth.