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X-PATH 2 : The Forge of F.U. (Completed 15 April 2005)
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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 2133816" data-attributes="member: 6294"><p><strong>9: Puff, the Magic Dragon</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"What are you playing at, Johnson?"</span></p><p></p><p>"Sir?"</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"These last two shows. What are you playing at? You can't have an action extravaganza like the first episode, then follow it up with a limp finale like <em>this</em>."</span> Patton pointed a disgusted finger at the second tape.</p><p></p><p>"But that's the way it happened, sir."</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"Are we a goddamn documentary company, Johnson?"</span></p><p></p><p>"No sir."</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"Damn straight we're not. WCX is about entertainment. I want the order of these episodes reversed, and the footage edited to make it seem like that's the order things happened. Believe me, the audience would thank us if they knew."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>Voices floated in the darkness, echoing over the still, black waters of the lake.</p><p></p><p>Nightscale opened one yellow eye, then the other. Scales rasped softly on stone as the young dragon raised herself up, tongue flickering out to taste the air. The voices came again, speaking words she did not comprehend, but sending a message she understood perfectly: <em>intruders</em>.</p><p></p><p>Moving with surprising stealth for such a large creature, the young dragon slid into the water, her coal-black scales invisible in the dark water.</p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>Smith clambered down the iron rungs, all the way to the base of the shaft, which lay well over a hundred feet below the previous level. After stepping off the last rung onto the stone floor he quickly scanned the area with his flashlight. Seeing no obvious dangers, he shone the light upwards and blinked it twice.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, the endless bickering of his colleagues drew nearer.</p><p></p><p>"Damn inconsiderate o' these folks not to include an elevator." Floyd was the first to appear out of the gloom, huffing and puffing as he climbed down.</p><p></p><p>"Imagine what it'll be like climbing back up." Bev's voice floated down from the darkness with the smugness of someone who weighs four pounds, soaking wet.</p><p></p><p>Floyd's reply, uttered in a gasping exhalation, was nearly as unintelligible as it was unprintable.</p><p></p><p>Eventually, all five members of the group stood at the base of the ladder. They were on a low shelf of rock, running alongside a subterranean stream. The floor was damp from condensing moisture in the air, but not smooth enough to be slippery.</p><p></p><p>Smith pointed into the darkness.</p><p></p><p>"Ninja it."</p><p></p><p>Simon moved forward, disappearing into the gloom. After a few minutes, he returned.</p><p></p><p>"There's a bridge up ahead. It crosses the stream and then the path goes along the side of a big lake."</p><p></p><p>"We could go swimming!" Beverly suggested. All three GPE cameras immediately zoomed in on her.</p><p></p><p>"Shouldn't swim in a water hole until you've checked it for 'gators." Floyd warned, "I lost my cousin like that. She were a right pretty girl, too ..." he looked wistful. Beverly looked nauseous.</p><p></p><p>"No swimming." Such an activity smacked too much of fun for Smith's tastes.</p><p></p><p>The five humans made their way across the bridge and began to explore the lake side.</p><p></p><p>"I can't believe there's nothing down here." Fabio did not frown (it causes wrinkles) but his tone was clearly unhappy.</p><p></p><p>"Seems a long way to come to find nothin'." Floyd agreed. He moved over to Simon, "You sure this place is empty?"</p><p></p><p>As he spoke, a reptilian head burst out of the water, reared backward and then vomited forth a stream of caustic yellow acid. Viscous, sticky fluid spattered over stone as Simon instinctively dropped out of its path. Floyd was not so lucky, and the acid sizzled and steamed as it etched its way into his flesh.</p><p></p><p>"Why didn't you see <em>that</em> before we came down?" the Elvisite demanded as his shotgun roared in defiance. Water plumed around the scaled black head as the creature ducked back out of sight.</p><p></p><p>"It's a pitch black lizard in a pitch black lake in the middle of a pitch black cave. I'm a ninja, homes, not a magician."</p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>Voices floated in the darkness, echoing over the still, black waters of the lake.</p><p></p><p>Nightscale crawled onto the cold stone shore of her island lair. She still could not understand the intruders' speech, but their voices were frustrated and angry. Slumping wearily to the ground, she twisted her head and hissed her outrage and hatred at the darkness.</p><p></p><p>Black ichor coated her flanks, dulling the sheen of her scales as it seeped from the wounds she had sustained. The intruders had powerful magic ... more powerful than she had expected, and more powerful - though she was loathe to admit it - than she could defeat. She shifted on the rock, leaving a streak of blood as her severed claw dragged along the ground.</p><p></p><p>Malice burned in her black heart as she peered across the water, but also fear. Four times she had blasted the intruders with her acidic breath, yet none had fallen. Four times they had responded with the strange wands they carried, and her own flesh had been torn and shattered.</p><p></p><p>Sick fury burned like fire in her belly as the dragon began to gather what she could of her treasure. She must flee, before the intruders could follow.</p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>"Man, we so got screwed on that big black lizard." Beverly complained her way back up the iron ladder, "It got away, and it didn't even have enough treasure to pay for the Gucci sweater it ruined with its icky acid. The only jacket I've got left totally doesn't go with this miniskirt."</p><p></p><p>"You look just <em>fine</em> from this angle." Simon's voice floated up from just below her. He sounded very sincere indeed.</p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>"Going to throw yourself over the waterfall, again?" Smith's tone was caustic.</p><p></p><p>"Nah, already done that. Let's just take the stairs down, this time." Floyd was unperturbed, "We can check out what's down here then -" there was a slight jump in the audio track as a sample was spliced in over what he'd really said "- head back to town."</p><p></p><p>The group descended the stairs beside the waterfall, entering the caverns the Elvisite had previously dismissed as 'much less fun than the journey to get there'. The appraisal seemed accurate: the area was waterlogged and mouldy, and appeared long-abandoned.</p><p></p><p>"Nothing here." Smith glanced around, then pointed. "Just hop across that stream and check behind that stalactite, Simon, and then we'll head back."</p><p></p><p>"Ninja!" Simon leapt the stream with ease. As he did so, a single, large eye flicked open on the stalactite's side, and long sticky tendrils suddenly flailed out in all directions. Two of them wrapped around the Super-Ninja as a massive mouth opened beneath the eye, exposing giant, shard-like teeth.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: DarkOrange">"What's this?"</span></strong> a hollow, booming voice rolled out of the cavernous mouth, <strong><span style="color: DarkOrange">"How sweet! A dinner that delivers!"</span></strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 2133816, member: 6294"] [b]9: Puff, the Magic Dragon[/b] [color=yellowgreen]"What are you playing at, Johnson?"[/color] "Sir?" [color=yellowgreen]"These last two shows. What are you playing at? You can't have an action extravaganza like the first episode, then follow it up with a limp finale like [I]this[/I]."[/color] Patton pointed a disgusted finger at the second tape. "But that's the way it happened, sir." [color=yellowgreen]"Are we a goddamn documentary company, Johnson?"[/color] "No sir." [color=yellowgreen]"Damn straight we're not. WCX is about entertainment. I want the order of these episodes reversed, and the footage edited to make it seem like that's the order things happened. Believe me, the audience would thank us if they knew."[/color] * * * Voices floated in the darkness, echoing over the still, black waters of the lake. Nightscale opened one yellow eye, then the other. Scales rasped softly on stone as the young dragon raised herself up, tongue flickering out to taste the air. The voices came again, speaking words she did not comprehend, but sending a message she understood perfectly: [I]intruders[/I]. Moving with surprising stealth for such a large creature, the young dragon slid into the water, her coal-black scales invisible in the dark water. * * * Smith clambered down the iron rungs, all the way to the base of the shaft, which lay well over a hundred feet below the previous level. After stepping off the last rung onto the stone floor he quickly scanned the area with his flashlight. Seeing no obvious dangers, he shone the light upwards and blinked it twice. Slowly, the endless bickering of his colleagues drew nearer. "Damn inconsiderate o' these folks not to include an elevator." Floyd was the first to appear out of the gloom, huffing and puffing as he climbed down. "Imagine what it'll be like climbing back up." Bev's voice floated down from the darkness with the smugness of someone who weighs four pounds, soaking wet. Floyd's reply, uttered in a gasping exhalation, was nearly as unintelligible as it was unprintable. Eventually, all five members of the group stood at the base of the ladder. They were on a low shelf of rock, running alongside a subterranean stream. The floor was damp from condensing moisture in the air, but not smooth enough to be slippery. Smith pointed into the darkness. "Ninja it." Simon moved forward, disappearing into the gloom. After a few minutes, he returned. "There's a bridge up ahead. It crosses the stream and then the path goes along the side of a big lake." "We could go swimming!" Beverly suggested. All three GPE cameras immediately zoomed in on her. "Shouldn't swim in a water hole until you've checked it for 'gators." Floyd warned, "I lost my cousin like that. She were a right pretty girl, too ..." he looked wistful. Beverly looked nauseous. "No swimming." Such an activity smacked too much of fun for Smith's tastes. The five humans made their way across the bridge and began to explore the lake side. "I can't believe there's nothing down here." Fabio did not frown (it causes wrinkles) but his tone was clearly unhappy. "Seems a long way to come to find nothin'." Floyd agreed. He moved over to Simon, "You sure this place is empty?" As he spoke, a reptilian head burst out of the water, reared backward and then vomited forth a stream of caustic yellow acid. Viscous, sticky fluid spattered over stone as Simon instinctively dropped out of its path. Floyd was not so lucky, and the acid sizzled and steamed as it etched its way into his flesh. "Why didn't you see [I]that[/I] before we came down?" the Elvisite demanded as his shotgun roared in defiance. Water plumed around the scaled black head as the creature ducked back out of sight. "It's a pitch black lizard in a pitch black lake in the middle of a pitch black cave. I'm a ninja, homes, not a magician." * * * Voices floated in the darkness, echoing over the still, black waters of the lake. Nightscale crawled onto the cold stone shore of her island lair. She still could not understand the intruders' speech, but their voices were frustrated and angry. Slumping wearily to the ground, she twisted her head and hissed her outrage and hatred at the darkness. Black ichor coated her flanks, dulling the sheen of her scales as it seeped from the wounds she had sustained. The intruders had powerful magic ... more powerful than she had expected, and more powerful - though she was loathe to admit it - than she could defeat. She shifted on the rock, leaving a streak of blood as her severed claw dragged along the ground. Malice burned in her black heart as she peered across the water, but also fear. Four times she had blasted the intruders with her acidic breath, yet none had fallen. Four times they had responded with the strange wands they carried, and her own flesh had been torn and shattered. Sick fury burned like fire in her belly as the dragon began to gather what she could of her treasure. She must flee, before the intruders could follow. * * * "Man, we so got screwed on that big black lizard." Beverly complained her way back up the iron ladder, "It got away, and it didn't even have enough treasure to pay for the Gucci sweater it ruined with its icky acid. The only jacket I've got left totally doesn't go with this miniskirt." "You look just [I]fine[/I] from this angle." Simon's voice floated up from just below her. He sounded very sincere indeed. * * * "Going to throw yourself over the waterfall, again?" Smith's tone was caustic. "Nah, already done that. Let's just take the stairs down, this time." Floyd was unperturbed, "We can check out what's down here then -" there was a slight jump in the audio track as a sample was spliced in over what he'd really said "- head back to town." The group descended the stairs beside the waterfall, entering the caverns the Elvisite had previously dismissed as 'much less fun than the journey to get there'. The appraisal seemed accurate: the area was waterlogged and mouldy, and appeared long-abandoned. "Nothing here." Smith glanced around, then pointed. "Just hop across that stream and check behind that stalactite, Simon, and then we'll head back." "Ninja!" Simon leapt the stream with ease. As he did so, a single, large eye flicked open on the stalactite's side, and long sticky tendrils suddenly flailed out in all directions. Two of them wrapped around the Super-Ninja as a massive mouth opened beneath the eye, exposing giant, shard-like teeth. [b][COLOR=DarkOrange]"What's this?"[/color][/b] a hollow, booming voice rolled out of the cavernous mouth, [b][COLOR=DarkOrange]"How sweet! A dinner that delivers!"[/color][/b] [/QUOTE]
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