Unwitting guests

[Nova]

(closed)

Nova! Wake up!

The voice echoed in the maintenance chamber that a cat girl was spending in stasis while two men looked between her and various gauges and screens. The taller was a soldier and was more professional while the shorter civilian was getting distracted by the view of the anthro girl.

“Everything’s normal. But it doesn’t help me any; she’s still pretty pointless.” The soldier growled as he looked at the girl in the eyes.

“Well she’s cute. If you don’t want her, I’ll use her as a servant.” The shorter smiled as he looked at the specimen again.

“That’s alright, you won’t be getting her. Damn Aesop, this shouldn’t have happened. We should have had a soldier not a silly cat girl.”

That complaint of coarse summoned the metallic voice of Aesop, the AI that made the cat girl. “Hey, don’t complain. Be happy I’m willing to help. And quit calling her useless. She’s my finest work and she has her uses.”

“Well I wouldn’t mind making her into a wo…” The civilian almost snickered but was cut off by the soldier.

“Enough Jack. You’re a scientist, act more professional.”

“Aaron, You’re no fun.” Jack replied like a whipped dog.

“I don’t get the job done with fun. So no more games Aesop. What use does this girl have other than Jack’s fantasizing.”

“She can find other ruins, and interact with them. There’s one in Corone that isn’t too hard to find. I bet she can do it on her own.”

“Fine we’ll play your game, if she fails and gets herself killed it’s no problem with me.”

*-*-*

Nova went into the tavern, her face quite confused from all the people talking at once, overwhelming the translator and making everything sound like gibberish. The place stank of cheap ale that burned the cyborg’s nose. Most the men were rather scary looking to boot.

But this place was the place to get help, Aesop had given the advice that she shouldn’t go ruin hunting alone and Aaron told her that this tavern was the best place to look that was close enough to the target area.

The whole mess was making the cat girl nervous as most men ignored her and many looked at her with faces filled with dark desire.

“Hey baby, how about a night with me, I promise you it’ll be the best in your life.”

Nova looked to the man for a second as she heard the offer. “The best night?” Nova repeated with curiosity that the drunkard took as an Invite to come and grope the feline hybrid.

“Hey, let go!” Nova cried out as she swiped her nails to leave several wounds on the patron.

“Why you!” The man moved to hit Nova but the girl slid away and fled across the room. And kept her distance like a fearful animal waiting for a moment to escape or attack.

[Fallen King]

The Horse’s Mouth was not the most pleasant tavern on Althanas, though it wasn’t exactly the worst either. It was simply an unassuming stereotypical tavern with your standard stupid drunks. Usually these were simple working class men who came in everyday after work hoping to get drunk enough to temporarily forget their sad lives and maybe, if they were really lucky, score some cheap piece of ass to make them feel better for a night. Of course like a lot of your stereotypical old dirty taverns the drunks had a tendency to cause trouble especially when there was something with tits in the bar. That was why its owner had decided to hire a bouncer since it was better for business when the young, good looking females didn’t get molested by middle aged drunken men.

Vernon had to admit it wasn’t a bad deal. All he had to do was try and keep order in the place when things started to get a little out of control, which didn’t happen too often though it wasn’t exactly rare either. In exchange he was allowed to live in the janitors closet behind the bar and he got all the free peanuts he could eat and all the free watered down beer he could drink. With such a deal going for him he didn’t even mind the fact that the cheap son of a bitch that owned the bar wasn’t paying him any gold.

So far today had been one of the quiet days leaving the out of shape, alcoholic vagrant to his own devices, which meant that he had been slowly drinking since the tavern had opened up a few hours ago. Unfortunately the quiet part ended when a pretty little cat girl with a body that naturally attracted all the drunks like flies to shit. Most of them had a wife and enough morals to resist the urge to take any action more than looking and fantasizing though unfortunately that didn’t apply to all of them and one of the men seemed to want to do far more than look. Of course when the guy discovered the hard way that the thick smell of cheap booze wasn’t exactly an aphrodisiac to women he got mad and decided to turn violent.

“Damn it, now I have to do my job.” thought the half drunk bouncer.

With a grunt the former mixed martial arts champion got up from the bar and moved over to the pretty looking cat girl and her would be boyfriend.

“She said no.”

“Why don’t you mind your own goddamn business,” responded the man as he attempted to shove the fallen K.O. King out of the way. Apparently the guy was a really mean drunk.

Wham!

Luckily he was also a slow-witted one. Vernon’s fist slammed hard into the guy’s mouth sending him reeling to the floor clutching a sore jaw. Being to drunk to fight the horny drunkard decided to simply cut his loses and go back to drinking.

“And to think a few years ago and that punch would have broken his jaw. God I miss the old days,” thought the old vagrant as he turned to the young catgirl.

“You okay kid?”

[Nova]

“Nya!” Nova yelped hearing the violent smack as the stranger laid a punch on the drunkard that attempted to molest the Cyborg cat girl. The hybrid’s tail puffed up and her ears pinned back as she got worried about what was going to happen.

But then there was calm as the drunk stopped and the stranger was not being aggressive anymore, simply asking a rational question. “Yeah, I’m um fine.” The kitty answered as she smiled meekly and smoothed her ruffled tail.

At least that was over… but there wasn’t anyone there that seemed like they were willing or able to help. Most the patrons were pretending that the fight didn’t occur and the rest were purposely ignoring the cat girl knowing the lithe little thing could only get them in trouble.

And then there was the fact that she needed help. Aaron told Nova that she wouldn’t be able to do it on her own, she just wasn’t strong enough and she needed to be resourceful enough to get help and the tavern was a disaster.

But there was a ray of hope in the man that helped her with the drunk. “Um, mister. Hey you think you can help me out. I’m hunting a ruin and well I need some help.”

I can’t fail now. I have to do this or I’m not worth anything.

Nova let her tail to wrap around a table leg and fidget as she wondered if she said the right words or had a chance that he would help. None of the others would and Nova was sure. “I’m sure there will be something there that’s worth your while.”

[Fallen King]

With his job done Vernon went back over the bar to resume drinking. Of course before he could even take another sip the lithe little thing he had just helped out caught him off guard with a question. It seemed as though the petite cat girl was more than just your average customer and the former mixed martial arts champion had to admit he was a little big intrigued by her offer even if he wasn’t the particularly adventurous type.

Lighting up a cigarette the big man thought about it. He had certainly heard his fair share of tales about ancient ruins filled with all sorts of magical items and priceless artifacts. Then again according to those stories such treasures were often guarded by horrible traps and unnatural monsters that liked to kill people, so it was definitely something he had to consider. Of course the odds of getting another chance to discover something that might allow him to get back at those bastards running the Radasanth Crime Syndicate and possibly get a chance to become the man he once was.

“Ah hell, the worst that could happen is I’ll be killed, I’ll help you out kid,” he said to his new companion “by the way, the name’s Vernon and I can leave whenever you want.”

With that the half drunk human got up off his barstool. He thought about going back to his room to get his wool cloak but decided against it. He could come back for it later. Besides it wasn’t exactly cold outside and the thing would likely hinder his movements a bit.

“Ready to leave when you are.”

[Nova]

Nova’s shy smile widened to one of pure contentment when she heard the large man agree to her proposal. One step closer to proving she was worth something to the condescending soldiers and scientists back home in the laboratories. Sure they wanted a weapon and instead got a cat girl but it wasn’t her fault and the computer was the only one that seemed to act that way.

But once she found the ruins then it would be deferent, they’d respect her. No more purposely spilling things and making her clean it up because she was useless. No she’d show them that she was a true Cyborg and was worth more than a girl that could clean floors.

“Thank you!” The kitty hybrid cheered a bit and while it was not audible, she could feel a little purr in her upper body. “I’m Nova. And I’m pretty much ready right now.” The feline smiled and headed out the door. The town was at the edge of the woods, the forest birds calling out to each other and mixing with the bustle of town life.

Now here was the hard part, figuring out which way to go. Nova had to think, Aesop said that Nova could find the place on her own and Aesop knew Nova more than she ever could. “Let’s see, maybe I can feel the ruins.” The Cyborg said mostly to herself as she closed her eye and tried concentrating then spun around, though that didn’t help. Once she calmed her self down and slowed her heart rate, Nova felt a pulling magnetism.

“Yeah, I think I can feel it.” She looked to her new partner. “It’s this way. I’m really sure of it.” Nova announced as she lead the way into the forest and hopefully to the ruins.

[Fallen King]

((Nova, if you have any problems regarding any of my descriptions regarding the ruins, please let me know and I will be more than happy to change them.))

As the partially drunk and soon to be fired bouncer followed Nova outside (leaving his wool cloak in the bar by mistake) he couldn’t help but let his eyes drift to the lower extremities of her backside. Part of this was undoubtedly from the alcohol where as the other part was from the fact that he hadn’t been laid in awhile. Whatever the case may have been he had to admit he didn’t mind the view too much. After all she was pretty even if it was in the jailbait sort of way.

The crisp chilly air outside actually felt really good. It wisped through Vernon’s nostrils and nipped at the man’s skin helping fight off the mind weighting effects of the alcohol running through his blood. The fact that the normally harsh sunlight was being blocked out by the thick gray clouds above made things seem even better. It was a good feeling that combined with the nicotine of the cigarette he was smoking quite nicely (aside from a few particularly annoying sounding birds). It never occurred to him that these were all signs that it was going to rain soon.

When the two stopped Vernon listened with little interest to what the girl had said. He didn’t know what she meant by saying that she could ‘feel the ruins’ nor did he particularly care. The alcohol wasn’t exactly doing wonders for his normally relatively short attention span. Instead he basically just nodded in agreement with whatever it was she had just said and continued to follow her to the ruins.

The ruins surprisingly weren’t that far. No more than a few miles walk away, but they were very well hidden. The majority if the ruins were underground with only the tips of most buildings showing up, though some of the larger towers extended a good one or two stories above the rock a dirt. What was actually above ground were covered by foliage. Thick brush and grown over most of the lower stuff with large, web like vines clinging to the towers in all places.

Of course the state of decay didn’t make the ruins any more impressive. All the buildings (at least what could be seen of them) were composed of a bright red rock. Through out the crevices of this rock there was a glowing purple substance of unknown origin. The most outstanding part of the whole thing was that every building actually seemed to be alive in someway, with all the rocks making small and subtle movements and the surface actually seemed to be crawling a bit. It was an odd sight to say the very least.

When the shock of the initial sight of the ruins wore off Vernon asked one very simple question to Nova. “So, what now?”

[Nova]

“Wow, they look like trees.” Nova said as she noticed the spires rise from the ground with the trees. Most people would think they’re trees from first glance and since not many came this way, the ruins were merely thought of as weird trees. Nova really thought the view of the large structures was quite magnificent, though the towers were likely just there for some purpose and the real ruins were underground.

“Nya, We need to find a way in.” Nova swished her tail as she looked around on the ground. The ruins were a nice sight but the treasures that she would need to find and prove that she found the ruins lay deep in the underbelly. But it was mostly a matter of finding an entrance.

Thankfully for a people knowing that they were looking for something here had no problem finding the entrance, though it wasn’t in plain sight, looked more like a grass covered molehill than anything artificial and better yet the doors were unlocked.

Nova was first to enter, her enhanced heart raced with excitement as she walked into the dark. Nova almost yelped when a few lights came on, mostly flickering and sparking but providing adequate light.

“Hey Vern, any ideas what we’ll find?” Nova asked; she felt sure it would be easy to look around and find some stuff of value and then leave. It was going to be easy and the cyborg just knew she would show them she was worth something and it would be easy for a girl like her. “And if you see something you want, feel free to take it, no one’s going to miss it.” The cat girl giggled from her success.

[Fallen King]

“Hell if I know,” responded Vernon to Nova’s question “usually in stories and whatnot there’s monsters and shit guarding some ancient all powerful treasure such as the secret to the universe or something’. O’ Course those are just stories.”

To now considerably more sober human the ruins were truly amazing. The bright red, pulsing walls, the odd architecture, and what Vernon could have sworn were tiny mechanical bugs occasionally skittering across the walls, floor or ceiling. Like Nova, he had been more than a little startled when the lights had suddenly come on, but when nothing tried to kill them; the former fighting champion had gotten his composure back.

“And I was amazed by the architecture in Raiaera? Those elves ain’t got nothing on these aliens.”

It was still hard to for Vernon to believe he was actually inside the alien ruins. He had never been the adventuresome sort. Hell, even when he traveled all over the world as part of the AFL (Althanas Fighting League) the most exotic place he had ever been to was Haidia or Alerar. Yet even walking down the tunnel under the glow of the light that seemed to becoming from nowhere it was already apparent that the aliens were way out of the drow’s league.

“So Nova, whatdaya think we’ll find in these ruins?”

[Nova]

Nova smiled when Vernon returned her question. Guess she had more of an idea of what this place held since she was the one looking for it. “I’m not sure but I bet there’s going to be some cool stuff somewhere around here.“ Nova picked up pace as she finished, getting really excited about what she would find.

Going down the smooth hallway had several doors, most of them dark and holding surprises. Nova choose one at random sine they all looked the same. It wasn’t a door that you push or pull open but Nova had seen similar and they slid, though by themselves or with the press of a button, and they didn’t seem to be working. Still maybe she could force it. Nova scratched at the door a bit, then found a hold on the corner. The Cyborg whimpered as she activated the nanomachines in her body for a burst of strength to force the door open. After a bit of protest and growling, the sliding door budged into a dark room.

“I hope something really neat is in here, I don’t think I’ll get the others open.” Nova was panting as she went in to the room. It was dark, and she didn’t have any optic enhancements, might be something that she could ask the engineers for.

But still nothing would be getting done if she didn’t go in. Somehow it was creepier than the hallway, which had some light. The floor felt slick so Nova was being careful as not to fall. But then she heard something metal clash. “Vern, is that you?” Nova asked with a bit of fearful edge on her voice. But the nervousness made her take haste and slip, falling on her hands and need.

“Ow, it’s really slippery. What is on this floor?” Ki looked at her hands but couldn’t really see them but they felt slimy. “Ew, ew ew!” She screamed and ran towards the little light coming from the open door, on all fours and occasionally slipping and colliding with the wall outside.

“There’s slime all over the floor, it’s really gross in there.” Nova whined while looking at her guardian, not sure what to say, and blushing a bit and whipping the sludge off on her shirt before licking her hands clean.

[Fallen King]

“The hell?”

For a moment things had gotten normal again (if you ignored the fact that Vernon and Nova were in alien ruins) with the fighter following his female companion. That was things were normal until him randomly stopped in front of many completely identical (or nearly so) doors. It was then that the former fighting champion noticed his lithe little companion do something that made him seriously question his masculinity. Vernon was never the sharpest tool in the shed, yet he could easily tell that the large doors were heavier than anything any man should be able to lift. Yet somehow a cat girl that looked as though she weighed about half as much as he did was able to hoist it up. It was a surprising revelation to say the least.

“Oye, strange fucking day.”

Vernon followed is odd little companion through the doorway, and into the dark room. The first thing that struck the large male was the smell of the room. Like all your standard ominously dark and scary rooms it smelled dank and wet. Yet the smell was different, it was more putrid and actually a little bit spicier than most other foul smell that Vernon had become accustomed to over the years. While it wasn’t enough to make him throw up or anything it did cause the large man to cup his hands over his nose and mouth.

The next thing that Vernon immediately noticed was the slick slimy substance coating on the floor. The slime acted like grease and made it hard for the fighter to stand. In fact there were several times where he almost fell flat on his ass after stepping in a particularly slippery spot.

Then came the loud sound of crashing metal that echoed through the dark room. Like Nova, the large and still slightly drunk fighter immediately lost his balance on the slippery floor as a result of being startled. At first he had figured that the only thing that caused that sound was Nova falling and banging into something. As the fear set in that was what he desperately wanted to believe. Unfortunately Nova quickly removed any hope of such an idea.

“N-no it wasn’t,” responded the scared fighter as it dawned on him that the strange ruins might not be completely abandoned “I was actually hoping it was you.”

Nervously the fallen K.O. king inserted is slimy fingers into his steel knuckles. He was no hero. He was use to fighting men, and occasionally elves or dwarfs. He wasn’t a hero like the famous Damon Kaosi or Letho Ravenheart. He didn’t go around slaying monsters and dragons. He wasn’t trained for it. Unfortunately it seemed as though he was about to have to learn real quickly how those heroes in the bard’s tales did it.