The Land of Darkness and Frogs

[Lyro]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The Land of Darkness and Frogs.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Its surface offers no discernible points of interest. To stare at it is to stare at an almost entirely black disk suspended in space. Almost.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]A small pinprick of light briefly flashes into existence on the surface, before disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. A plume of smoke, faintly illuminated by bright searchlights, rises into the air.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]======> Nevari: Descend[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCGlIjLT8OQ[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You stand in the middle of the clearing smoke, staring down at the hole you have just blown into the ground. Its darkness reveals nothing, but you gain a sense of great depth from looking at it. Were it not for your mole consorts' searchlights illuminating the edges of the chasm, most people wouldn't have even known it was there. But then, you are not most people.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Scouts, investigate."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] Several of the smaller moles step forward and anchor some ropes to some nearby boulders their head-mounted lights reveal. Some of the younger recruits make nervous noises as they tie the ropes to themselves; they will learn in time to trust you. Then, one by one, they all let themselves drop down the hole, their ropes' motors slowly lowering them into the abyss below. Their headlights swivel as they try to get a good look at the emptiness around them, but the darkness swallows the beams; the cavern below is vast.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Several tense seconds pass without a sound, save for the mechanical whirring of the ropes being lowered. Finally, one of the ropes goes slack, followed shortly afterwards by the rest. The cavern floor has been reached. Deep below, the moles spread out, scouting for any underlings the motion detector probes might have missed, but the coast seems clear. They then regroup and deploy the high-power lamps, setting them up in a circle around the landing point. The faint disk of light below becomes as bright as daylight, finally revealing the cavern walls - vast, towering obsidian formations, punctured from floor to ceiling with excavated passageways and natural tunnels. Somewhere below, at the end of one of those tunnels, another frog is being guarded, waiting to be captured.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You watch as the rest of your mole troops rappel into the darkness below; they do not need to be told anymore, they have done this enough times that they remember the procedure by heart. You are the last to drop down, landing in the center of a circle of your personal bodyguards. Already the rest of your troops have spread out to examine the periphery of the cavern. Flash lights sweep the pitch-black walls, looking for the markings identifying the appropriate tunnel. Cracking the code used by the underlings for navigation was one of your first breakthroughs in solving your land's quest; it has been crucial to your efforts to navigate the underground warrens the enemy uses for movement.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The search is slow and methodical. The moles are on edge. This is by far the largest blazeshaft you have explored so far. The smooth, polished igneous rocks beneath your feet reflect just enough light for you to see blurry likenesses of yourself and your troops. You watch as the grey blobs move about in precise patterns, combing the cavern walls with practiced precision. You had no idea obsidian could be so naturally reflective. While some parts are pitch-black, others look almost like… like glass.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Attention,"[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] you start to say, before the floor bursts open in several places. A deeper darkness starts seeping through, a writhing mass of limbs and twisted faces - shades, as if a land of darkness wasn't dark enough. Your bodyguards immediately tighten the circle around you, readying their assault rifles. The rest of your troops are taken by surprise, but quickly recover and form up in several groups spread throughout the cavern, surrounded by the approaching shades on all sides. This won't be easy.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You wouldn't have it any other way.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]======> Command[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You expand your communicator's visor until it covers the entirety of your right eye. Immediately the display switches to the collated view from your combat drones flying overhead, beyond the shades' reach. Five squads, seven fissures, from which anywhere between two to four shades have emerged. Two of the groups of shades are advancing towards you, while the rest have split themselves up and are targeting each of the five groups. You take out your own sniper rifle, THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE, and take aim with your one free eye.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Al^ha, s^rea< fire. <o not let them get close."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] You see no need to yell. Why would you? Your troops are all on a direct communication line with you. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"A an< C,"[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] you add, designating the two smallest groups, your visor's overlay having automatically assigned each group an identifier, [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"take cover >ehin< rocks, line formation. >, start moving slowly towar<s C; <o not turn your >ack on the enemy. < an< E, regrou^ with A, use what high groun< there is. All units, o^en fire on the nearest target."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] You finish lining up your own rifle and fire.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Chaos erupts all around you as bullets fly everywhere. The surrounding muzzle flashes light up the cavern, as the shades shriek and attempt to dodge the fire. Several are hit and start to bleed an oily mist that hangs in the air, but they keep moving, edging ever closer to your troops. Your own rifle shot misses, hitting the cavern wall instead, instantly melting a part of it into a pool of glowing lava. You prepare another shot even as you send orders to your drones to assist your bodyguards with their automated weaponry. Weaker but more precise shots start firing from above your head.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]A notification pops up in the corner of your display. D and E have both reached A and are now jointly defending against eight shades; nothing they shouldn't be able to handle. B and C are in trouble however. You need to get to them. You fire at the shade closest to them as it is about to make its attack: a streak of gold pierces the darkness and hits it directly in its skull, instantly turning the creature to a pile of grist. You smile and look at the shades closest to you. Your guards have done good work, and only one remains. You have one of your drones cripple one of its knees and the mole to your right takes it out. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Al^ha, arrow formation, to > and C, on the <ou>le."[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The six moles surrounding you move without hesitation, rushing forward to assist their comrades. Some of the shades see them coming and start hurling violet-tinged orbs at them, but the moles make efficient use of cover. You order B to climb on top of a small rocky formation behind them while directing C to cover B's assent; your drones remain at your side, watching your back while you are distracted. Alpha clears the remaining distance in the meantime and the shades soon find themselves surrounded. Bullets rain down upon them from all sides, and it isn't long before the last shade is reduced to nothing.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The situation dealt with, you turn your attention to D and E. Looks like they're finishing up as well, although… You mutter a curse to yourself. Some of them are sporting fresh wounds. You shouldn't have divested your attention from them this long; it looks like some of them will have to be evacuated. At least none of the squads are reporting any casualties.[/SIZE]



[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Well <one,"[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] you announce as the last foe is destroyed. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"They caught us by surprise, but we did not let that get the better of us."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] You walk over to the closest crevice and look down. A staircase is faintly visible at the bottom, illuminated by flickering blue and green lights. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Looks like they just made a shortcut for us too."[/SIZE]

 

[Lyro]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]======> Finish the job[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The stairs seem to have been built for much taller creatures. The steps are twice the height of normal troll steps and wide enough to let an army through. Which is exactly what you are doing. You are standing in the middle of your troops, climbing down the steps slowly but methodically. Occasionally, some enemies appear, either from above or below, but your moles dispatch them without even breaking pace. You are close.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The drone you sent ahead signals that it has reached the bottom. A few minutes later, you drop down from the last step and into a cavern of similar size to the one you were in before. This one, however, is illuminated in much of the same way as the stairs you just used, with small blue or green lights spread throughout. You assume by now that they are all that remains of an ancient emergency lighting system. They do not provide much light anymore, but they illuminate the room just well enough for you to see the frog in the middle of the chamber.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The frogs of your land lead a miserable existence. Spending their entire lives in darkness, they are completely blind and never grow past a certain stage. Eventually, they all find their way to the labyrinthine underground complex carved out by a civilization that has long since died out, only to be trapped in rooms like this one. Small underground rivers with tiny, equally-blind fish provide just enough nourishment for them to survive; one such river can be faintly heard at the far end of the room. The frog is currently standing still, trying to puzzle out what all these strange new sounds are.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You take your time. You know the boss will manifest itself the moment you make a grab for the frog; the game has become utterly predictable by now, though you will admit having been surprised earlier. You take a good look at the cavern walls, examining the various tunnels bored into the rock. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Set u^ some sni^ers u^ there,"[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] you say, pointing to several points high up. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Make sure you have a way to get >ack <own quickly."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] Eight of your moles pull out their grappling hooks and disappear into the darkness above. One by one, eight small green dots appear on your display, confirming their readiness. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"The rest of you, gather in the mi<<le, ten-^oint star formation. Stan< rea<y to s^rea< out into four car<inal grou^s if your ^osition is com^romise<."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] Your troops move out in silence and you watch them set up around the frog.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Finally, you call down your biggest drone and attach it to your back's harness. The drone reconfigures itself to lift you off the ground, and you fly up high enough that you can see the entire room's floor far beneath you. You stand ready with your rifle. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Commencing extraction. Stan< >y for hostiles."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] One of your secondary drones flies out from the main cloud and descends to the frog. Hovering just a few centimeters above it, the drone deploys a roughly frog-sized claw and launches it at the frog. It makes contact and immediately tightens around the frog as the drone takes off.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]======> Get ready[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ziKuWe5BE[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Nothing happens for a few seconds. Then the walls begin to bleed. Black shapes ooze out of every orifice in the cavern sides, a myriad of shades of various shapes and sizes. They all quickly fall to the ground, gathering together at one end of the chamber. As they come into contact with each other, their forms seem to dissolve and meld, producing an eerie mist right in front of the soldiers. As the last of the shades falls from the walls and join the rest, the mist begins to grow in height, solidifying itself as it does so. It isn't long before a massive creature stands before you, a hideous amalgamation of screaming faces and too many limbs. It towers over your troops in complete silence; you decide to rise slightly higher as a precaution, unsure of its reach.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You set your rifle to its maximum possible setting, and it begins to glow, becoming warm in your hands. A bead of cold sweat runs down the side of your face, and your hands start to shake, but your voice betrays no uncertainty. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Stea<y. Fan out in grou^s of ten. Sni^ers, aim at its ^an. Everyone else, concentrate on its torso. O^en fire."[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]A rain of bullets impacts the creature almost simultaneously… and passes through its body without leaving a trace. Your grip on your rifle tightens. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Immunity to ^rojectile wea^ons,"[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] you inform your troops. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Fall >ack >ut stay rea<y. I will han<le this."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] If it's anything like some of the smaller scale amalgams you have seen, you will need energy weapons to break down its bonds and break it apart. You curse your lack of foresight - you were planning to equip your troops with powerful new weaponry, but the grist cost was prohibitive. You will make it a priority after this is over.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You squeeze the trigger. The air in front of you goes into a fusion state as the rifle's raw power surges forward, hitting the creature squarely into what passes for its head. Some of it is dispersed and ends up passing through it, but the bulk of it hits. The black mist glows white at the point of impact, and seems to break apart. The constituent shades become visible, silhouetted against the glow, and begin to gain form. You are about to order your troops to fire when the glow disappears and the shades meld back together into the creature's head, which turns to look at you with glowing purple eyes.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Your arms begin to tremble again, and you almost lose your grip on your rifle. You line up another shot and fire, merely grazing the side of its head this time. Once more, it seems on the verge of working, and once more it fails, even faster this time. The creature raises an arm towards you and a giant purple orb begins to form in its palm. You feel panic start to rise within you; you're not ready for this. You begin shooting wildly at the creature, not aiming anywhere in particular. None prove effective - if anything, the creature seems to be regenerating faster… or are you just imagining that? Your flight patterns become erratic too, as your drone becomes confused at the signals you are sending it.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Fortunately, this ends up saving you, as the creature throws its orb where you were flying just moments ago, missing you by several meters. Unfortunately, it also seems to lose interest in you at the same time and turns to look down at the creatures running for cover beneath it. It raises one of its feet and brings it down hard on the closest squad, trapping them underneath it. At least its semi-misty constitution seems to prevent it from crushing them underfoot, but already it is preparing another projectile from its finger tips.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]======> Focus[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ay_iDRAbc[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You breathe deeply. The voice is right, you are panicking. You wipe the sweat from your brow and close your eyes. The scene plays out at reduced speed in your mind's eye. You see your troops, slowly running away. You see the charging orb of death, steadily expanding in the creature's hand. You see its hand approaching the trapped moles, fingers outstretched. They have 17 seconds to live, 17 seconds before the orb blasts off and destroys them. What can you possibly achieve in 17 seconds?[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Your weapon's energy isn't sufficient to break down the electromagnetic field keeping this amalgam together. Either your weapon's own field is too weak, or it can regenerate the field faster than you can break it. But the field is just tying separate entities together, like molecular bonds between atoms. You don't break apart a molecule by destroying each of its atoms, you attack its bonds. This creature's mist is so dense as to make the bonds between its individual shades invisible, but they must be there - you saw the creature's shades when you hit it before, they're still in there. And if you can't blast them out of the creature, maybe you can slice them out.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You open your eyes.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]12 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You switch your rifle's mode to produce a sustained wide-beam instead of the concentrated bolt it was producing until now. A light switches on to confirm the change.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]10 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You raise your rifle to your eye. The creature's hand is just above its foot now, which it is starting to raise, exposing the moles below.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]9 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You aim at one of the fingers of its outstretched hand. Below, the moles are struggling to get up. The other squads, now scattered throughout the cavern, are all aiming at the creature's hand, unwilling to fire for risk of setting off the orb prematurely.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]7 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You squeeze the trigger. The air in front of you glows gold in a thin, horizontal slice that reaches one of the beast's fingers at the speed of light. It doesn't even flinch and ignores you as its finger begins to glow white. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"^re^are to fire,"[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] you order your snipers, still in their original positions.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]4 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Your rifle's sustained beam passes through the finger and comes out the other side, cutting it off. A black blob falls to the ground beneath it, breaking into two shades as it does so. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Fire."[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]1 second.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Both shades are hit from four different locations at once, instantly killing them. The orb they were helping generate shrinks substantially… but it does not disappear as you had hoped. It starts hurtling towards the ground.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]0 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Your face reveals nothing as you watch half of the trapped moles disappear in a flash of purple light. Too slow. You were too slow. The giant is already charging up some additional attacks - you will not let it claim any more lives. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"All a>le troo^s, ^re^are to fire. ^rone units, kee^ your hea<s <own."[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] You discard your rifle's now empty battery and insert a new one, before increasing the beam's power consumption. You take aim once more.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]This time, however, the creature seems to understand what you intend, and attempts to shield its own body parts with its back. You start to fly around the chamber, looking for a clear shot. You finally get it, and another finger is sliced off, much faster than the previous one. The three shades which spawn from it are summarily taken out by your soldiers. You continue to fly around, slicing off each of its fingers one-by-one. It retaliates by throwing smaller orbs at you, which you manage to dodge for the most part - one of them hits a part of your drone, destroying one of its secondary propellers, but your mobility is mostly unaffected.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]With its fingers all gone, the monster loses its ability to create projectiles. Its form then dissolves for a few seconds, reverting to a shapeless mist, before solidifying once more into a smaller version of itself (one that is merely five times your height), albeit one with four three-fingered arms this time. You prepare to line up some additional shots when it unexpectedly jumps up into the air towards you. You desperately try to swerve out of its way but it latches on to you with one of its arms; your drone immediately stops its propellers, incapable of accepting the strain of such weight, and you both plummet to the ground. 5 seconds until impact.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You turn your rifle to the creature attached to your legs. It is trying to drag you into it. You're not sure if it can add trolls to itself, and you're not keen on finding out. You don't bother scoping in at this distance.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]3 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The beam starts to saw at it. One of its arms is cut off, but it immediately latches on to you with another one. You swivel to cut that one too, but already its other two arms have grabbed you.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]1 second.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The second arm falls off, but it's too late. At least you managed to stave it long enough to avoid being absorbed by it. Your immediate concerns become a lot more down-to-earth.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]0 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Still falling. Guess you were off by a bit.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]-0.7 seconds.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Everything hurts. Your vision dims, and you are only vaguely aware of your surroundings. At least your head and back landed on something soft; you're not sure what, but it's warm. Your arms didn't fare so well, and you have a feeling your right one might be broken. The creature landed next to you, and already it seems to be standing up. Something else is happening next to you, lots of little feet moving quickly. Somebody takes your rifle - you're not in any position to protest - and you hear its beam fire, followed by concentrated gunfire from all around you. Good, someone else is taking charge. You can rest for a bit. You start to drift off.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]======> Get a hold of yourself, if you would kindly[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Your eyes flash open. What are you thinking? You're the commander, the commander doesn't take naps. You get to your feet, ignoring the pain in your right arm for now, and take stock of the situation. Your drone lies in pieces on the ground next to you - looks like the creature managed to smash it while it was holding on to you. Your moles surround you, many of which are currently firing at fleeing shades. One of them is carrying your weapon and methodically carving out pieces off the shrinking monster. Already it is in its dying throes, struggling to maintain its form. It won't be long before your troops are victorious. Before you are victorious.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You feel a tugging at one of your sleeves and look down. One of the medics wishes to bandage your arm. You kneel and let it do its job, looking at the scene around you. You try to remember where your troops fell, but the lack of light and uniformity of the cavern floor prevents you from recognizing it. Your blood is still boiling at the thought, and you look at what is left of the creature responsible. It's a miserable thing now, huddling in a corner, desperately trying to evade your troops' onslaught.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]You wait for your medic to finish its work, then get to your feet. It turns out your fall was cushioned by several of your moles who threw themselves beneath you; you take a moment to ensure they haven't sustained any severe injuries as a result, then move to the mole firing your rifle. It notices your approach and immediately hands it over with a salute. You return the salute and grab the rifle, removing its battery pack. You then rip out the power source from your destroyed carrier drone and plug it directly into your rifle. The weapon glows with the new energy. You change its mode back to output as much power in a cone as possible, climb on top of a nearby rock and fire at what is left of the boss.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The entirety of its body becomes bathed in a golden glow, the darkness turning to a brilliant white. Its component shades appear just long enough to be vaporized by the intensity of the blast. You leave the weapon running until the drone's power supply runs out, long after the last shade has been destroyed. Only then do you switch it off, discard the power supply and sit down on your rock. Your rifle lies discarded at your feet, and you lean on your unbandaged arm for support. All around you, the expectant faces of your consorts are looking at you - some look exultant, others terrified, but all look up to you, waiting for your next command.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]A faint whir breaks your concentration and you look up. The drone which captured the frog has chosen this moment to float back down, the frog still held firmly in its claw. You reach out your hand and the claw expands, dropping the frog into your palm. It stands there, visibly shaken but otherwise unscathed. You tighten your grip around it, just enough so that it will not escape, and look to your followers. You smile wryly.[/SIZE]



[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Victory."[/SIZE]