The group made their way together along the wooden pathway to closer to the water. Before long, they started to approach the very end of the wooden pathway, just above the water and seeming uncomfortably close to the massive waterspout. A brief sojourn over the water led them to another set of wooden platforms, during which they received a report from Ratchet, Clank, Cronk, and Zephyr. The weather device controlling the the waterspout was apparently called a Weather Alterations Systems Platform, or WASP for short. It was designed to release a burst of electrons into the clouds to create lightning storms, and was patented by Nevo Binklemeyer.
"Isn't that the partner of Dr. Frumpus Croid?" Qwark asked. "The one who was working with him to study the energy in the creatures?"
"And didn't that first video log talk about Nevo Collectus?" Alister added. "Coincidence?"
"Obviously not," Nefarious countered. "Obviously, the energy inside the creatures that they extracted for study is manipulating Nevo Binklemeyer to do all this, probably to arrange such things so that it can unleash either an imprisoned race or its full power. Further logs will probably have confirmation of that, and maybe a few more details."
"Seems like a sound theory," Twilight allowed. "We'll probably need more details to know exactly what we're up against...especially if it's something the Cragmites felt had to be imprisoned. Maybe we might even come to understand a logic behind the Cragmites actions."
"They were trying to exterminate all sentient life in the galaxy," Alister growled out. "How, exactly, can that be logical?"
"What if the energy entities required a neuro-chemistry of a certain level of complexity in order to accomplish their goals, and whatever their goal is was so unspeakable the Cragmites felt mass extermination of anything that could be a viable host was preferable?" Twilight countered calmly.
"And what kind of goal could be that bad?" Alister demanded irritably.
"Would you like an itemized list?" Nefarious offered. "I can think of seven goals a race of energy-based entities capable of manipulating entities of matter might have that would be worse from the perspective of matter-based entities than mass genocide. Once I actually start listing, I can get at least a dozen more."
"...you are being sarcastic, aren't you?" Alister asked hopefully.
"Not in the slightest," Nefarious replied. "I'm already up to 25. Would you like them arranged in order of length, effort required, or predicted levels of atrociousness?"
"I'd rather you not tell me anything that would make me empathize with the Cragmites," Alister grumbled. "The last thing I need is that on top of the guilt I'm already carrying around."
"Fair enough," Nefarious allowed. "But if it turns out that is the case, I will be telling you where on the list it is, ordered by predicted levels of atrociousness."
"If you must," Alister groaned with a roll of his eyes.
Before long, the group found another local standing by a yellow boat, seeming impressed at seeing how easily the group made their way through. "Well hello there!" he greeted warmly. "I didn't think anyone was left in town. What can I do for you?"
"We're attempting to reach Terawatt Forest to find Dr. Frumpus Croid, so we can learn how to stop Ephemerus," Twilight explained. "Can you help? A nearby railway station, perhaps?"
"Well, there's a station over by the lighthouse," the local offered. "I'd take you there myself, but the water's too dangerous for boating. Ephemerus hauled in that WASP last month to create a natural habitat for the Sepiads. The storm ran everyone out of town."
"We could do something about that WASP," Alister mentioned idly. "How do we get up there?"
"Well, the collectors use that cannon over there to launch food to the Sepiads," the local explained, gesturing down another path. "I...suppose you could use it to reach the platform."
"What's a Sepiad?" Qwark asked Nefarious.
"Those tentacles we've been seeing," Nefarious explained. "Sea dwelling predators indigenous to Reepoor."
"The Cragmite homeworld?" Twilight gasped out in surprise.
"Exactly," Nefarious confirmed as the group made their way to the cannon. "They usually travel in packs and bring food back to their king."
"We probably don't want to tangle with the king, do we?" Qwark asked nervously.
"But we'll probably have to, won't we?" Alister grumbled, checking his weapons.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Twilight offered nervously, climbing back up to Qwark's back.
At that moment, a massive crustacean with a tooth-filled maw, stalk eyes, and two large tentacles dragged itself partway onto the platform. The group immediately opened fire, trying to unleash enough damage to either destroy it or at least make it back off. However, no matter how much damage they inflicted on its front, it just took it, not seeming to even flinch.
After a time, however, a sonic buoy activated beside a nearby crank station. When rung, it lowered food of some sort above the Sepiad. It raised up, trying to get at the food, exposing its less protected underbelly. Damage inflicted there resulted in a much stronger reaction, and before long it fell over before slumping back into the water, either unconscious or dead.
As the group prepared to make their way across to the cannon, another video log rose up out of the water. The screen displayed various images of a wrecked lab and a traumatized scientist. "Holo-diary, 002," the voice that had narrated each of the entries began, sounding desperate and panicked. "A heinous crime has been committed. This morning, I awoke to find my laboratory in shambles. The vectomorphic triciliscope was smashed, the crack resistant flume canisters were cracked, and worst of all...an egregious theft had been committed. The plans for the protomorphic energy extractor...gone! All that was left behind was a recipe for Drophyd stew! Mr. Dinkles, my friend, my muse! Someone had taken him. But it couldn't be...no! Nevo, what have you done?" With that, the log ended.
"Who else thinks Mr. Dinkles - or the energy inside him - is manipulating Nevo?" Qwark asked.
"Me," Alister confirmed.
"Me!" Twilight added.
"I hate agreeing with you, Qwark!" Nefarious snapped. "...but me too."
"As long as we know what we're doing!" Qwark proclaimed happily.
nice update!!
Having not played this particular game before, part of me hopes that they're wrong about the energy; that there's actually nothing overtly malevolent about it, and the Cragmites sealed it away for entirely selfish reasons.
But at this point, the odds of the Heroes being blindsided by a plot twist not stemming from Twilight herself seems pretty slim.
7416537 Same boat here, but I subscribe to the belief that there's a reason behind all actions, good or bad, so I wouldn't really be surprised.
So basically the same situation that made the Forerunners make the Halos to exterminate all life, just to kill off the Flood?
7416624 basically.
Although I might of sugested mysef reverting the state to a protosapience that could withstand the energy and still advance. Lik quark and the monkeys who raised him.
7416537 I am sorry to inform you that the energy is actually not malevolent at all. However, Dinkles resembles a cat, loosely.
I love that genre savviness at the end
I still stand by my theory that Quark is actively using his reality warping abilities to make himself sound smarter by believing that he can be smart if he wants to. On top of that he stopped believing that Nefarious is completely evil thanks to twilght and started believing that he has some good in him
7417187 Probably.
7417187
Imagine that reaction : "you made me good! Against my will!"
I just realized that Orvus and Nefarious can go 6 minutes into the past and need puzzles or weapons to be strong. In Dragon Ball Super; we get Whis who can only travel back 3 minutes into the past and has too much power to calculate.
7417974 I'm imagining Wander doing that to Hater.
7422230 I just finished AJ and Pinkie's stories so... yeah. I was actually accurate with God of War Pinkie Pie.
7418979
Yes. Just yes.
On another note, Venn Diagrams!
(I'm not talented enough to make an actual text art thingy, soooooo IMAGINATION!)
Pinkie
-An earth pony
-Has family shown on-screen
Wander
-A galaxy-travelling, furry spoon-like creature with a green hat
- Is actually over 1000 years old despite acting like an adorable child all the time
Both
-Love parties
-Love making others happy
-Break the rules of a reality on a regular basis
-Seem to take nothing seriously (with notable exceptions)
These two characters are just so amazing, and the two characters work so well together, that I would definitely write a story like this one. If I wasn't so lazy. xD
7426175 i would definitely read that
Oh great. It the Halo Rings again.
7970248
It's just your classic "zombie apocalypse" scenario, only where everything is controlled by an Alpha beast, such as Gravemind in Halo.
I just love it how every chapter the characters already know what’ll occur in the future - well for most chapters
Wait a sec...
Nevo Collectus...
Nevo Collect us...
Never collect us?
If the energy IS doing this, then that name might make sense.
10107219
Playing Pokemon has never felt so insidious.