Post by cranberry on Sept 23, 2011 21:51:24 GMT -5
The Ringed Land 2
A PSO Fan-Fiction written by Cranberry
Illustrations by Black Raiden & Dark Nova
Prologue
Two years have passed since the Ring Generals were defeated by the FOnewearls, Cranberry and Dark Force. Having narrowly avoided destruction, Pioneer 2 decided that landing on Ragol was still too dangerous and thus the ship remained in orbit around the planet. Sage, a FOmar, whom was now the leader of the landing project, was not able to persuade the officials to arrange a landing, but he was able to begin coordinating several construction projects to begin preparing for a future landing on the planet. The tower of Caelum is currently the largest construction project on Ragol and promises to serve as an important connection point for Pioneer 2 once completed.
Dark Force, determined to learn the fate of her parents, continues to search Ragol for any sign of them, with Cranberry by her side supporting her each step of the way.
Striker, a RAcast and Black Raiden, a HUcaseal, were married in the months that followed, and the grand celebration that formed their wedding was the talk of Pioneer 2 for weeks. The look of joy on Raiden’s face that day brought a smile to the face of even the most battle-hardened hunters. Both androids continued their work as hunters after the ceremony.
One day, Striker accepted a mysterious request from the Hunter’s Guild and set out to Ragol. 3 weeks have now passed and Striker has yet to return…
Chapter 1 – Missing RAcast
A cool breeze filled the air. A young FOnewearl lifted her head and closed her eyes as the wind blew through her red hair. She smiled softly as she raised her arms and stretched as she sat up in her sleeping bag. She looked up to the morning sun and rubbed her eyes. She wore red makeup on her face and around her green eyes and was wearing a lavandar night-gown. She wore on her left wrist a purple ring. Beside her rested an item pouch that carried her belongings, including her Magical Piece wand and Windmill cane. A purple Sato lay curled up on her sleeping bag.
The FOnewearl patted the Sato on the head, and then looked over to her right where a 2nd sleeping bag lay. Inside rested another FOnewearl, this one had black hair topped with a large red bow. She had brown eyes and a clean face without makeup. A red Sato was resting atop her sleeping bag, and beside it was her own item bag containing among other supplied, a Windmill of her own and a Double Saber. This FOnewearl was dressed in an orange night gown and was still asleep, her head resting against a pillow.
The red-headed FOnewearl pulled herself out of her sleeping bag and walked to the black-haired FOnewearl. “Are you still asleep, Cranberry?” she asked. Receiving no responds, she walked over to a small wood pile and placed a few pieces into a small pit that had been dug into the ground. She lifted her hand and cast a Foie spell onto the wood, setting it ablaze. She then placed a small griddle over the fire. Reaching into her pack she pulled out a thermos and poured a creamy batter onto the griddle. The batter soon began to sizzle and change to a golden brown color. After a few minutes, she heard a rustling sound and looked toward the sleeping bag where she saw Cranberry sitting up.
“Hey Cranberry, sleep well?” The FOnewearl asked.
“Good morning, Dark Force.” Cranberry answered. “Yes, I did. Oh, something smells good.”
Dark Force nodded. “Pancakes, they’re almost ready too. Come on over.”
Cranberry stood up and walked to Dark Force. “It looks delicious.” She replied giving a thumbs up.
Dark Force smiled and just as she opened her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by the sound of Cranberry’s BEE system activating. “What, a message?”
Cranberry looked down at the gauntlet on her arm. “Aye, it looks like Black Raiden is trying to reach me.” Cranberry answered as she activated the BEE receiver. “This is Cranberry, go ahead.”
“Cranberry, thank goodness. This is Raiden. I finally reached you.” Black Raiden’s voice answered through the speaker.
“What’s wrong Raiden?” Cranberry replied.
“It’s Striker. He’s missing. Nobody has seen him in 3 weeks now.” Raiden answered.
“What? Are you serious? That’s not like him at all.” Cranberry responded.
“He hasn’t answered any communications. He hasn’t checked in since he left Pioneer 2 either. And the conditions under which he left are very suspicious too.” Raiden said.
“Suspicious? What do you mean?” Cranberry responded.
“The Hunter’s Guild remembers him accepting a quest. But now all records of that quest are gone. All the guild counter woman remembers is that it involved him going to a facility on Ragol.” Raiden replied.
“That doesn’t narrow it down much.” Cranberry complained.
“I know. That’s why I need your help. Can you help us search for him?” Raiden pleaded.
Cranberry looked to Dark Force, whom nodded in responds. Cranberry nodded back to her. “Dark Force is here with me. We’ll both help you look for him.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate this. Sage has done some investigation himself and provided me with a map of operational facilities that are on Ragol. I’ll transmit you a copy. I’m going to be searching the mine. If you discover anything, please let me know right away. And please give my thanks to Dark Force too. Raiden out.” Raiden answered.
Cranberry’s BEE receiver beeped as it completed downloading the map Raiden sent. Cranberry synchronized it with her area map.
“So, we’re currently on Gal Da Val island. The control towers and the seabed are both areas marked on Raiden’s map.” Cranberry informed.
“I wanted to go to the control towers anyways,” Dark Force replied.
“Aye, that thing you overheard from another hunter.” Cranberry answered. “Kolvich.”
Dark Force nodded. “Kolvich yes. It’s a word that I am… I am familiar with. The hunter I spoke to said the computer system there had a screen that said ‘Kolvich operation’ on it. I want to see it.”
“All right then, how about we get going?” Cranberry answered as she took a deep breath and whistled. “Here boy! Here! It’s time to go!”
A large Tollaw rose from behind some bushes and trotted over to the two. It crouched down in front of them and waited patiently at their feet.
“Good old Tsumikiri J-Tollaw.” Dark Force said as she patted it on the head and fed it a Photon Drop.
Cranberry jumped onto the creatures back while Dark Force put out the fire and gathered up the pancakes. “I guess we’ll eat on the way.” Dark Force said as she hopped onto its back. “Let’s move out!”
Rising to its feet, the J-Tollaw began trotting down the path as the two FOnewearls rode on top. After a short ride, they reached the main gate of the Central Control Area.
“The gate is already open? Is somebody else here?” Dark Force said as they dismounted.
“There haven’t been any hunters sent down here for a while now. Let’s check it out.” Cranberry answered. “It’s a little dangerous for J-Tollaws. You wait here boy. We’ll be back.”
The J-Tollaw snorted in responds as the two walked through the gate.
To their surprise, they found that the inner doors were already unlocked as well. And the only thing that greeted them was a small number of Gees. They quickly dispatched the Gees with their techniques and walked through the area.
“There’s not many monsters here today.” Cranberry commented.
“Count our blessings I suppose.” Dark Force answered. “The teleporter is just ahead. Let’s see if we can set it for the West Tower.”
As they approached, Dark Force quickly approached the terminal and examined it.
“Can you set it for the tower?” Cranberry asked.
“It... it already is.” Dark Force answered, with noticeable astonishment in her voice.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Cranberry answered.
“Me too.” Dark Force agreed.
“Well, let’s face it together then, like always. Let’s go!” Cranberry answered as she activated the teleporter. Dark Force nodded and followed Cranberry in.
Inside the tower, the 2 FOnewearls carefully crept forward, looking for any sign of movement. They carefully walked up the slope toward the door, scanning every inch of the room.
“What’s going on? There’s nothing here.” Dark Force said in a confused voice.
“Don’t drop your guard. Stay alert.” Cranberry answered as she cautiously crept through the door and up to the 2nd floor.
Floor after floor, the 2 walked through the tower. The only opposition they met along the way was a few Recoboxes. Before they knew it, they were standing before the entrance to the 10th floor.
As they stepped inside, they found that this floor too did not contain any creatures or machines. Dark Force promptly walked to the computer terminal and examined the screens closely. As she did so, Cranberry looked around the room, something in the corner catching her eye. She cautiously began moving toward it.
“Cran?” Dark Force asked as her friend moved away.
“There’s something over there.” Cranberry answered.
“What?” Dark Force said as she spun around and drew her weapon.
“No no, it’s fine. It looks like pieces of metal. Keep looking, I’m just taking a look.” Cranberry answered. “It might be remains of an Epsilon.”
Dark Force returned her attention to the screen. “Gosh, everything is so locked down. It’s hard to get this to do anything at all. Kolvich… Kolvich… where is it?”
Cranberry knelt down and examined the pieces of metal. She lifted a piece up and examined the other side, looking it over carefully. The pile was larger than she first thought.
“Oh!” Dark Force shouted with excitement. “This is it! Kolvich! It is here!”
Cranberry looked up. “Really? You found something?”
“It’s heavily encrypted. I can’t gain access to most of the file. But I can get the sub header.” Dark Force answered. “Got it. It says TLR. Transmit Point 14.”
“What’s that mean?” Cranberry asked.
Dark Force frowned. “I… I don’t know. I… nothing else is responding. It won’t open. Blast it!” Dark Force pounded her fist on the console. “Please! Open! I need to know more! Open!”
“Calm down DF. Don’t get worked up. Let’s take what we do have and try to work with it. Try running a search on TLR or Point 14.” Cranberry advised.
“You’re right. I’ll try and dig a little deeper.” Dark Force answered. She spent several minutes working with the terminal before she spoke again. “I have something. TLR wasn’t recognized, but Point 14 is. It’s a location far to the north. Wow, it’s really far to the north… almost to the ice cap.”
“What is located all the way up there?” Cranberry asked.
“Nothing. We haven’t developed that far north.” Dark Force answered.
Cranberry continued shifting through the metal pieces, until she gasped in surprise. “Dark Force! Come over here!”
“What?” Dark Force stated as she dashed over to Cranberry.
“L-look!” Cranberry said as she pointed to the metal.
“It’s a purple ring. Wait, you don’t think… could this be Striker’s Ring?!” Dark Force exclaimed.
“I think so.. look, all of this metal on the ground. Some of it looks like RAcast armor.” Cranberry explained.
“No, you’re not telling me that Striker is…” Dark Force asked.
“No, there are fragments of armor, but most of this is not even RAcast. Look over here, a Baranz Missile shell. This had to have come from Striker’s Baranz Launcher. Striker was here, and it looks like he was involved in a battle. He would never leave that ring behind. Something has to have happened to him.” Cranberry continued. “Great scott, this is not good at all.”
Dark Force looked down at the other metal. “What is that other metal from? That’s not an Epsilon.”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen it before.” Cranberry answered.
“I’ve gotten all the information I can from the computer. Let’s return to Pioneer 2. We should tell Raiden what we’ve found.” Dark Force suggested.
“Aye. Let’s bring a piece of this metal back as well. Maybe we can find a clue from it.” Cranberry agreed as she picked up a piece. “All right, let’s head back.”
End of Chapter 1
Chapter 2 teaser:
With Striker’s disappearance now looking like a kidnapping, Black Raiden teams up with Sage to track down the source of the metal fragments found in the tower. Meanwhile, Cranberry & Dark Force set out for the mysterious arctic Point 14 to search for more clues about Dark Force’s parents. Will the metal analysis provide a clue to Striker’s whereabouts, and what secrets are buried within the snow?
A PSO Fan-Fiction written by Cranberry
Illustrations by Black Raiden & Dark Nova
Prologue
Two years have passed since the Ring Generals were defeated by the FOnewearls, Cranberry and Dark Force. Having narrowly avoided destruction, Pioneer 2 decided that landing on Ragol was still too dangerous and thus the ship remained in orbit around the planet. Sage, a FOmar, whom was now the leader of the landing project, was not able to persuade the officials to arrange a landing, but he was able to begin coordinating several construction projects to begin preparing for a future landing on the planet. The tower of Caelum is currently the largest construction project on Ragol and promises to serve as an important connection point for Pioneer 2 once completed.
Dark Force, determined to learn the fate of her parents, continues to search Ragol for any sign of them, with Cranberry by her side supporting her each step of the way.
Striker, a RAcast and Black Raiden, a HUcaseal, were married in the months that followed, and the grand celebration that formed their wedding was the talk of Pioneer 2 for weeks. The look of joy on Raiden’s face that day brought a smile to the face of even the most battle-hardened hunters. Both androids continued their work as hunters after the ceremony.
One day, Striker accepted a mysterious request from the Hunter’s Guild and set out to Ragol. 3 weeks have now passed and Striker has yet to return…
Chapter 1 – Missing RAcast
A cool breeze filled the air. A young FOnewearl lifted her head and closed her eyes as the wind blew through her red hair. She smiled softly as she raised her arms and stretched as she sat up in her sleeping bag. She looked up to the morning sun and rubbed her eyes. She wore red makeup on her face and around her green eyes and was wearing a lavandar night-gown. She wore on her left wrist a purple ring. Beside her rested an item pouch that carried her belongings, including her Magical Piece wand and Windmill cane. A purple Sato lay curled up on her sleeping bag.
The FOnewearl patted the Sato on the head, and then looked over to her right where a 2nd sleeping bag lay. Inside rested another FOnewearl, this one had black hair topped with a large red bow. She had brown eyes and a clean face without makeup. A red Sato was resting atop her sleeping bag, and beside it was her own item bag containing among other supplied, a Windmill of her own and a Double Saber. This FOnewearl was dressed in an orange night gown and was still asleep, her head resting against a pillow.
The red-headed FOnewearl pulled herself out of her sleeping bag and walked to the black-haired FOnewearl. “Are you still asleep, Cranberry?” she asked. Receiving no responds, she walked over to a small wood pile and placed a few pieces into a small pit that had been dug into the ground. She lifted her hand and cast a Foie spell onto the wood, setting it ablaze. She then placed a small griddle over the fire. Reaching into her pack she pulled out a thermos and poured a creamy batter onto the griddle. The batter soon began to sizzle and change to a golden brown color. After a few minutes, she heard a rustling sound and looked toward the sleeping bag where she saw Cranberry sitting up.
“Hey Cranberry, sleep well?” The FOnewearl asked.
“Good morning, Dark Force.” Cranberry answered. “Yes, I did. Oh, something smells good.”
Dark Force nodded. “Pancakes, they’re almost ready too. Come on over.”
Cranberry stood up and walked to Dark Force. “It looks delicious.” She replied giving a thumbs up.
Dark Force smiled and just as she opened her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by the sound of Cranberry’s BEE system activating. “What, a message?”
Cranberry looked down at the gauntlet on her arm. “Aye, it looks like Black Raiden is trying to reach me.” Cranberry answered as she activated the BEE receiver. “This is Cranberry, go ahead.”
“Cranberry, thank goodness. This is Raiden. I finally reached you.” Black Raiden’s voice answered through the speaker.
“What’s wrong Raiden?” Cranberry replied.
“It’s Striker. He’s missing. Nobody has seen him in 3 weeks now.” Raiden answered.
“What? Are you serious? That’s not like him at all.” Cranberry responded.
“He hasn’t answered any communications. He hasn’t checked in since he left Pioneer 2 either. And the conditions under which he left are very suspicious too.” Raiden said.
“Suspicious? What do you mean?” Cranberry responded.
“The Hunter’s Guild remembers him accepting a quest. But now all records of that quest are gone. All the guild counter woman remembers is that it involved him going to a facility on Ragol.” Raiden replied.
“That doesn’t narrow it down much.” Cranberry complained.
“I know. That’s why I need your help. Can you help us search for him?” Raiden pleaded.
Cranberry looked to Dark Force, whom nodded in responds. Cranberry nodded back to her. “Dark Force is here with me. We’ll both help you look for him.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate this. Sage has done some investigation himself and provided me with a map of operational facilities that are on Ragol. I’ll transmit you a copy. I’m going to be searching the mine. If you discover anything, please let me know right away. And please give my thanks to Dark Force too. Raiden out.” Raiden answered.
Cranberry’s BEE receiver beeped as it completed downloading the map Raiden sent. Cranberry synchronized it with her area map.
“So, we’re currently on Gal Da Val island. The control towers and the seabed are both areas marked on Raiden’s map.” Cranberry informed.
“I wanted to go to the control towers anyways,” Dark Force replied.
“Aye, that thing you overheard from another hunter.” Cranberry answered. “Kolvich.”
Dark Force nodded. “Kolvich yes. It’s a word that I am… I am familiar with. The hunter I spoke to said the computer system there had a screen that said ‘Kolvich operation’ on it. I want to see it.”
“All right then, how about we get going?” Cranberry answered as she took a deep breath and whistled. “Here boy! Here! It’s time to go!”
A large Tollaw rose from behind some bushes and trotted over to the two. It crouched down in front of them and waited patiently at their feet.
“Good old Tsumikiri J-Tollaw.” Dark Force said as she patted it on the head and fed it a Photon Drop.
Cranberry jumped onto the creatures back while Dark Force put out the fire and gathered up the pancakes. “I guess we’ll eat on the way.” Dark Force said as she hopped onto its back. “Let’s move out!”
Rising to its feet, the J-Tollaw began trotting down the path as the two FOnewearls rode on top. After a short ride, they reached the main gate of the Central Control Area.
“The gate is already open? Is somebody else here?” Dark Force said as they dismounted.
“There haven’t been any hunters sent down here for a while now. Let’s check it out.” Cranberry answered. “It’s a little dangerous for J-Tollaws. You wait here boy. We’ll be back.”
The J-Tollaw snorted in responds as the two walked through the gate.
To their surprise, they found that the inner doors were already unlocked as well. And the only thing that greeted them was a small number of Gees. They quickly dispatched the Gees with their techniques and walked through the area.
“There’s not many monsters here today.” Cranberry commented.
“Count our blessings I suppose.” Dark Force answered. “The teleporter is just ahead. Let’s see if we can set it for the West Tower.”
As they approached, Dark Force quickly approached the terminal and examined it.
“Can you set it for the tower?” Cranberry asked.
“It... it already is.” Dark Force answered, with noticeable astonishment in her voice.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Cranberry answered.
“Me too.” Dark Force agreed.
“Well, let’s face it together then, like always. Let’s go!” Cranberry answered as she activated the teleporter. Dark Force nodded and followed Cranberry in.
Inside the tower, the 2 FOnewearls carefully crept forward, looking for any sign of movement. They carefully walked up the slope toward the door, scanning every inch of the room.
“What’s going on? There’s nothing here.” Dark Force said in a confused voice.
“Don’t drop your guard. Stay alert.” Cranberry answered as she cautiously crept through the door and up to the 2nd floor.
Floor after floor, the 2 walked through the tower. The only opposition they met along the way was a few Recoboxes. Before they knew it, they were standing before the entrance to the 10th floor.
As they stepped inside, they found that this floor too did not contain any creatures or machines. Dark Force promptly walked to the computer terminal and examined the screens closely. As she did so, Cranberry looked around the room, something in the corner catching her eye. She cautiously began moving toward it.
“Cran?” Dark Force asked as her friend moved away.
“There’s something over there.” Cranberry answered.
“What?” Dark Force said as she spun around and drew her weapon.
“No no, it’s fine. It looks like pieces of metal. Keep looking, I’m just taking a look.” Cranberry answered. “It might be remains of an Epsilon.”
Dark Force returned her attention to the screen. “Gosh, everything is so locked down. It’s hard to get this to do anything at all. Kolvich… Kolvich… where is it?”
Cranberry knelt down and examined the pieces of metal. She lifted a piece up and examined the other side, looking it over carefully. The pile was larger than she first thought.
“Oh!” Dark Force shouted with excitement. “This is it! Kolvich! It is here!”
Cranberry looked up. “Really? You found something?”
“It’s heavily encrypted. I can’t gain access to most of the file. But I can get the sub header.” Dark Force answered. “Got it. It says TLR. Transmit Point 14.”
“What’s that mean?” Cranberry asked.
Dark Force frowned. “I… I don’t know. I… nothing else is responding. It won’t open. Blast it!” Dark Force pounded her fist on the console. “Please! Open! I need to know more! Open!”
“Calm down DF. Don’t get worked up. Let’s take what we do have and try to work with it. Try running a search on TLR or Point 14.” Cranberry advised.
“You’re right. I’ll try and dig a little deeper.” Dark Force answered. She spent several minutes working with the terminal before she spoke again. “I have something. TLR wasn’t recognized, but Point 14 is. It’s a location far to the north. Wow, it’s really far to the north… almost to the ice cap.”
“What is located all the way up there?” Cranberry asked.
“Nothing. We haven’t developed that far north.” Dark Force answered.
Cranberry continued shifting through the metal pieces, until she gasped in surprise. “Dark Force! Come over here!”
“What?” Dark Force stated as she dashed over to Cranberry.
“L-look!” Cranberry said as she pointed to the metal.
“It’s a purple ring. Wait, you don’t think… could this be Striker’s Ring?!” Dark Force exclaimed.
“I think so.. look, all of this metal on the ground. Some of it looks like RAcast armor.” Cranberry explained.
“No, you’re not telling me that Striker is…” Dark Force asked.
“No, there are fragments of armor, but most of this is not even RAcast. Look over here, a Baranz Missile shell. This had to have come from Striker’s Baranz Launcher. Striker was here, and it looks like he was involved in a battle. He would never leave that ring behind. Something has to have happened to him.” Cranberry continued. “Great scott, this is not good at all.”
Dark Force looked down at the other metal. “What is that other metal from? That’s not an Epsilon.”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen it before.” Cranberry answered.
“I’ve gotten all the information I can from the computer. Let’s return to Pioneer 2. We should tell Raiden what we’ve found.” Dark Force suggested.
“Aye. Let’s bring a piece of this metal back as well. Maybe we can find a clue from it.” Cranberry agreed as she picked up a piece. “All right, let’s head back.”
End of Chapter 1
Chapter 2 teaser:
With Striker’s disappearance now looking like a kidnapping, Black Raiden teams up with Sage to track down the source of the metal fragments found in the tower. Meanwhile, Cranberry & Dark Force set out for the mysterious arctic Point 14 to search for more clues about Dark Force’s parents. Will the metal analysis provide a clue to Striker’s whereabouts, and what secrets are buried within the snow?