Returning from the Spontaneous Fae Events thread...Muscles drops to all fours and takes off, waddling further into the sprawling airship docking warehouse. It seems to be connected to the mining facility at all floors, with flaming rubble and rippling arcs of green lightning annihilating the bio-organic or magi-mechanical parts of the laboratory built on top. All of the giant warpwood insects and ships seem to be crushed, on fire or otherwise inoperable. Muscles bravely runs down a freight ramp!
Cave Story 3D music - Scorching BackAt the bottom of the ramp is a wide platform that is beginning to creak loudly, the metal groaning as the debris falling upon it begins to render it too heavy. The ramp Muscles is running along is built adjacent to the mountain wall, with the platform sticking out... the extended bit begins to bend and fold! Muscles lets out a panicked hoot and runs along the wall a bit further before shouldering open a set of heavy doors, the sounds of collapse following him... the hall is lit with green flame mingling amongst the regular fire, the two dancing about one another but the green drifting to the top of the crackling waves of heat. Muscles hastily makes his way down the tunnel, the doors to his side broken open by disaster or hand-held weapons... or locked shut with piles of rock pressed against the cracked windows.
Rounding the next corner, Muscles come to a flooded hallway leading into a wide-open foyeur! Somewhere it seems that the ceiling, walls and floors have begun to sink... and the water is much deeper than it appears! Summoning his power of being part-bear, Muscles wades into the water until it would come up over his head and then begins to swim forward, looking from side to side nervously. ... He hears something! Muscles doggie-paddles over to the side of the flooded hallway and sees Moa with his neck trapped in a ring of six-plastic(a rare and magical material) tube-frames! Muscles uses his mighty talons to gently clip the ring around Moa's neck and helps him right himself in the water. Moa gives a Honk of Gratitude! The two swim to the end of the hallway and continue onward, charging through some halls that seem to be covered... in blood!
The two round a corner and come to a fork in the road... KA-BOOOM!!!!!! The left fork collapses and hooting and honking they take the right fork. The two come across the one door forward, but it seems to be stuck with a small pile of debris behind it... working together with arms of muscle and head of iron, Muscles and Moa crash through the door after some concentrated Strength checks and come into the Dangerous Fey Creature Holding Pen! All of the pens seem to be tightly locked... one or two have been opened by force, one simply torn apart... the other blasted apart, the bars still glowing. At the end of the room is another doorway, but an angry-looking mound of vegetation is blocking the door, waving upwards with barbed tentacles at a cornered and desperately mewing Bubbles!
Muscles and Moa look to one another, then to the gargantuan shambling mound. It's really big! And it doesn't look tasty at all! Muscles looks around... then spies one of the locked cells, the only one with a living creature in it. Muscles chirps twice to Moa, who shakes his head spastically but Muscles shoulders past him and picks himself up for a two-foot waddle up to the cage. He looks inside... a panther's cold eyes look back... and Muscles strains against the door with all his might, breaking it at the hinges! He pulls it open a crack and lets out a low ursine growl.
The Displacer Beast(Shuffles) vaults out of the cage, glares at Muscles, glares at Moa, vibrates into a pack of 4 half-tangible images of itself... then whirls around and tears into the Shambling Mound from behind, ferocious claws, fierce fangs and a set of four barbed tentacle making swift work of something that's
merely a bit of plant-life. Bubbles gently deflates and drifts down, landing on Shuffles head as a kitten-sized bubble-cat.
"Mew."
Shuffles looks shrewd and assumes a stalking run forward through the door, not bothering to meet Muscles' or Moa's eyes. He's simply too cool to care what they think. Muscles and Moa take off after him! The next set of hallways are a chaotic mess... the remaining Raggamoffyns are either fighting with the more dangerous wild fey creatures or trying to clear a path with spells and machines. Muscles, Moa, Bubbles and Shuffles sneak along between the battles, the chaos of the quaking structure and the random bursts of elemental destruction making it easier than it looks... at the end of the hall, they discover a few lines of hastily set traps. Mister Boots is stuck in a one-way cage, oinking pleadingly. Moa headbutts the side of it until it collapses and then lets Mister Boots run up his head and neck to sit on his back. They crash through the next doorway as the battles behind them come to a feverish end... the facility begins to warp and collapse!
The last room is the bottom of the massive ship dock! There seems to be... one ship! Most of the fey creatures are on it, with Springs scampering around the dock area, rifling through boxes of tools and parts in a tizzy. The Grumpy Snail sits on the railing of the boxy-shaped merchant vessel, glaring disapprovingly at Springs! Muscles and friends run up to them and exchange a series of growls, meows, hoots, chirps, clucks, grunts and squeals, and then they band together! Muscles sets Mister Boots with the Grumpy Snail and the two head into the ship's cockpit. They come back out with a book that Mister Boots begins to read, Grumpy Snail dictating his instructions to the others!
Muscles sniffs around the dock area for a bit before discovering the remains of Byss Sincent's dodgy little ship. He smashes a few nearby crates and tears a storeroom door off it's hinges, then hoots merrily to the others as he walks out carrying... the Dryad's Sapling! It seems she is too scared of the current disaster to stray out of her tree, but Muscles gently carries the sapling over to the ship and gets it aboard before helping the others.
Muscles and Moa realign one of the engines! Bubbles carries a tax of essential atmospheric gas up to the ship by inflating to the size of a car! Shuffles helps patch a line of canvas lying adjacent to the ship! Springs and Colosso herd the fey creatures onto the vessel! Mister Boots and Grumpy Snail begin the launch protocols! Bubbles deflates a bit and drops down to the roof of the ship with a meow and Shuffles rests patiently on the deck, preferring to not bother with the rest of the tamer creatures below decks. Moa honks excitedly and Springs runs around in circles snapping at Muscles heels as he waddles onto the ship! It's time to launch!
...
...
...
The gas billows out... the atmosphere begins to form... but the ship isn't moving! Rumble rumble rumble! Quake! It seems to be stuck on something! Muscles lets out a panicked cluck as a gout of green fire and bolts rockets out of the side of the dock... everything tilts... the entire facility is about to collapse! With a great heave, Muscles drops to all fours and throws himself off the side of the ship, landing with a little quake of his own! He whirls around and rises to both feet, then shoulders into the ship with all his mighty!
Grrrr!
Hooottt!!
Hrrnnnghhhhh!!!
He's doing it! The ship is beginning to rise at the front end as it dislodges itself from it's bad position wedged into the corner of the dock, wing pinned between at the corner wall. Muscles sweats and feels really hungry but he keeps pushing, determined to...
BOOOOOOOM!The ship is cast forward by the intense destruction, as well as... Muscles, who drifts into the cold vacuum of space.
He... he's flying again... but it feels worse this time.... very cold... Muscles... spins in place... then drifts to a halt, only twirling slowly, letting out a Cluck before... he can't breath, so he just holds it in like during a bath time. He... he can't really see or hear anything. Maybe there's the catastrophic green-red glow of the facility collapsing into a Fey energy paradox somewhere above... beneath... him? But... no sign... of his friends... no sign of... fey creatures... or Fools-Errant.
Muscles begins to close his eyes, feeling very tired.
He did a good job.
...
...
...
Chomp. Chomp! Moa and Springs bite into Muscles generous rear end with beak and teeth as hard as they can, Springs with his tail wrapped around the railing, Moa hanging over the side with his comically large flipper feet pinned against the rail, they both struggle to right themselves and pull Muscles aboard. The ship is flying somehow and has an atmosphere bubble, but is tilting dangerously. They strain and strain and strain... their necks begin to ache... but... Muscles is too heavy!
"
HEAVE HOR" A pair of massive branch-hands seize Moa and Springs and pull them off the railing, reeling Muscles in as easily as pulling in a length of rope. The three are pulled off their feet a little too quickly and fly backwards as the ship rights itself, assuming a smooth and steady flight. They clonk against Willard's super-wide frame, dealing no damage and landing in front of him, eyes spinning. Muscles shakes his head back and forth and takes in some air as he gapes up at the tree-trunk treant.
Willard holds up a box full... of delicious food and sweet spiced rums! It's just one of dozens they find in the ship's hold! A weird-looking girl with long black hair and bangs made of chitinous
moving spider-legs peeks up over the side of Willard's head, resting inside of his empty tree-trunk body. She rolls her eyes at the new animals, takes a bottle and sits back down, poofing out of sight and resting in Willard.
Muscles, Moa and Springs look to each other... then grab some food! Everybody cheers! It's a party! Up above, the ship has righted itself because the atmospheric gas has coalesced into a huge bubble around... Bubbles, who is draped in the canvas and is now the size of a small blimp! Mister Boots and the Grumpy Snail sit at the controls of the vessel, setting a course... for Gateway!
Kirby's Dream Land Credits musicIt will be a long voyage, but they're well-stocked and should arrive by the start of the next week... when they land at their chosen destination with a ship full of fey critters, Miss Elizabeth Duval makes this face:
Muscles and friends land the vessel next to Boss Bas' pond and disembark, Muscles proudly hooting as he carries the Dryad's Sapling back to Miss Duval's house. The shy little spirit manifests as a feminine green-skinned spirit long enough to give Muscles a kiss on the cheek, which makes his neck-feathers curl. :> *blush*
Good job, Muscles! That's the end of Muscles Adventure #3!
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Topic: Muscles Adventures #3 (Read 3483 times)