2021-01-23 Ia, Ia, Vhjunka Fhtagn! Part 1
| Iä, Iä Vhjunka fhtagn! | |
|---|---|
| Harvey finds a Nightmare | |
| IC Date | 23rd of January, 2021 |
| Players | Harvey, Gogh as Cthulhu ST. Perfection joins later in the scene! |
| Location | Below United Salvage Scrapyard |
| Prp/Tp | Storyline PRP |
| Spheres | Ratkin / Wyld / Gaian / BOO WEAVER! |
| Theme Song | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwHzmPYrROY - Iä Iä! |
Iä Iä Vhjunka Fhtagn!
The United Salvage Yard. The home of the Noble Magic Rats. The trophy of victory over the Get of Fenris. The place Gogh bit one of them. It's a good place. It's also a dump. This does not take away from the fact that, to an Engineer, it's near heaven. There is junk everywhere. There are materials. There are all sorts of things. And there is solid, heavy earth, for digging and tunnels!
Over the buildings comes a large drone. It moves low, and it moves fast; buzzing over the rooftops as if to minimize people being able to catch sight of it. It whurrs over the United Salvage yard. The Ratkins territory now. And it was time they started to deal with it. The drone comes to a landing on top of a pile of wrecks, its blades stopping. From the little canopy under it comes a black rat. He stops, rising up on his hind legs and sniffing in the air. Metal. Rust. Oil. It is all there. This is home. He glances down at the ground, peering about. Is it all safe?
Safe. Yes. Well, home. Safe. There are so many shiny things! The smells of oil and gas and other things that EXPLODE. Not much. But they are here! So many things. Hmm. There are no rats, though. No skittering friends. Perhaps the drone noise scared them. There are little tunnels, though! Along the base of the stacks, and deep between them
But they should be here. The rats should be here. The engineer lets out a keening sound, a call for rats! He then lowers down on all fours and begins to climb down from the large stack of cars. Something easily done, easily completed. Climb, jump and leap until he is finally on the ground. There are tunnels here. And he needs to find the rats first. To find out what they are doing, what they are up to and that he does not do something to upset their homes. So into the tunnels he goes!
It's far too quiet. There should be skittering sounds. There should be sniffs of scents of markings and musk. Of food. There is, instead, as the Patchy Black Rat descends, scents of ... lightning? Like the air before a storm. Like a place of Weaverness with a thousand buzzing picturescreens! Out of place! Wrong!
A few meters into the tunnels, and Harvey stops. He peers about the dark place and activates his Darksight. Sniffing in the air, he realises that indeed something is wrong. He lets out another keening sound, trying to call the rats before he goes deeper into the tunnels. He needs to find their nest.
From below, there is a shrill, answering keening sound. The cry of fear. Of terror. Of pain. Then nothing. Another little burst of that scent wafts up from below. The tunnel resolves in that ghostly sight in the tunnels takes shape. It's strange. Strange. Not the neat scrabblings of digging or burrowing. There are ridges. Then another. Then another. Smooth, then a moment's roughness, scrabbling along.
Patchy Black Rat looks at the sides of the tunnels, taking note of them. But it is the sound of fear that he takes most note of. Whatever else is in here with him and them, it is them that he needs to find. The rats. Their kin, even if not kinfolk. So he puts in some extra speed. Not without checking first, but hurrying along now.
Another keening screech. Another waft of ozone. This is closer. And now Harvey can see them, in the darkness. Panicking rats. Screaming rats. Rushing up the strange tunnel, at him, keening for their lives! A sniff. Kin. Kin. And SCREAMING
He pushes himself to the side, allowing the rats to pass him. As they run past, he squeaks out for them to hurry up. Hurry to the surface. He will save them! He will keep them safe! He will fight whatever comes! He tries to move forward, though, if the rats rush past him. So he can put himself between whatever comes for them and them!
Scents of terror wash past. Reality shifts - the smell from below is of the Shiny Place! Ozone and capture and screaming kin fleeing! There are children! There are strange marks in the ears! He sees it all, he hears the screams, and then ... then he sees what they flee from. It pulsates up the tunnel. It floops. It blurps. It spasms up the tunnel, filling it from top to bottom, side to side. Then another spasm of the same viscious fluid substance, opening and filling again in that blurping, pulsing expansion! Coming for him!
Well, that is not good! Not good at all! At least he is between it and the rats. But there is no way he can fight it in rat form! Too small! Too weak! Too .. death! So, he does the next best thing! He.. uh.. bravely decides to lead it to the surface where he can fight it proper! So, he turns and as he turns he begins to move for the surface as well! Or, if he is lucky, find a sidetunnel to lead it along!
It does not take long. He shepherds the screaming, keening things up, and then there is a small fall. A small twist in the tunnel. He can dive in! But the other rats are not far ahead. They are slowing! And still it comes, blurping and plumging and slurping up in pulses!
He lets out a loud, shrieking sound to this, shrieking for the rats to move faster! He puts all the rage he can into it, forcing them to move along faster! FASTER! He stops at the other tunnel, at its entrance. He shrieks and hisses obcenities at the blobbing mass to then, at the last second, darting down the other tunnel, hoping to lure the other creature with him.
He dives down. There is a moment of rushing pressure as the air is pushed past him, stinking of that sparking smell of burnt air and too-fresh sparks. Then Nothing. It is quiet. The thing ... has ignored him. But he can see it. It is a deep, rich, viscous lilac, , pulsing and rippling. Like the guts of some massive thing.
Nope! Won't do. He turns around quickly and rushes back! This time, he does not hesitate. This time, he rushes up to the thing and attacks. He aims to find a part of it and bite into it, using his sharp incisors! *CHOMP MAFAKKA!*
The thing RIPPLES. There is a SCREECH from below, felt through the chomping jaws! And then, the whole thing pulses, shivers, and begins to recoil, folding back in on itself, again and again, pulling back down the tunnel! The Rat has a moment - hang on, savage, release?
Don't mess with a rat with sharp incisors. Like, sharp. Very sharp. He then lets out a sudden shriek! He's angry now! VERY ANGRY! That one attack made his blood boil and his anger erupt. His front paws with its claws dig into the mass, hanging on as he begins to bite harder! Deeper! Cutting through and cutting off. This thing wanted to mess with rats? Well, now it has an insane Engineer to mess with!
The thing recoils. It shreds under his teeth, under his claws, leaking a vile-tasting fluid that shimmers against his dark-seeing eyes. It rushes back through the tunnels, deeper and deeper, shrieking ... until suddenly it's not, suddenly the rushing walls open up. It is an open place. His eyes can make out tiny glowing things, here, there. He sees the ... the pseudopod attached, rushing back along the arm of a robed human, lifting it up in stunned silence. Not human. NOT HUMAN. There are ... too many fingers, the skin is deeper and richer in color than monkeyskin. And there are great teeth in a large mouth. And there is a squirming sack in the other hand. The keening and screaming and terror fill his ears and his mind
Harvey hangs on for dear life! Trying to find a good place to bite again! But he does not have time to do that. The tentacle thingie pulls him into this large area, this large cavern like place. And as he sees the .. creature .. he lets go. But even before he hits the ground, the rat is no longer a rat. He explodes up into the Warform of the Ratkin. You think a Garou Crinos form is dangerous looking? They can almost look cute. But the Ratkin warform? Rat and Man melded into one. It should be enough to stir anyones nightmare. In his right paw, he holds a sawed-off shotgun. Around his waist in a belt hangs his Rattery fetish. He SHRIEKS at the creature, and then just .. lounges at him!
The large Crinos that is Great Balls of Fire will give this creature pause. It will give it a reason to never go against Rat again. A large, hissing ball of INSANITY rushes against the creature and, once he gets close enough, rams the shotgun up against it and presses the trigger. It goes *BOOM* and fires concentrated storm of pellets at the creatures guts!
The creature lets out a screech of horror and pain - keening itself, dropping the bundle of rats in a sack, the sack spilling open and the rats inside screaming and scrambling. And there are more screams coming from deeper in the gloom, in those winding, strangely-cut tunnels. It pulls out a strange, slim rod from those robes, held in six fingers and two thumbs; and then that scent of burning, tortured air erupts again as lightning leaps from the silvery rod at the attacking Rodent of Unusual Shotguns!
The rats are STREAMING up the tunnel. Fleeing, keening, the stench of terror and blood and ozone filling the air, all around the legs of their savoir! But the figure, falling back, peppered with pellets ... levels the rod again, falling and stumbling back as that head almost splits in half, teeth spilling out both sides, massive fangs, screaming and echoing in the darkness as the lightning leaps out once more at the Engineer!
Crackling and sizzling now, the large War-Rat that is Great Balls of Fire is not doing too well! Not built for direct confrontations, the creature is doing bad. His fur is almost on fire from the lightning that shoots out from the creature he is engaging. He can feel the pain surging through his body, he can feel the anger surging. But he can also feel his muscles no longer responding as they should. The pain is too great! And he can feel himself starting to lose. But he does not stop. Having called on his inner rage, he powers through once more as he follows the creature as it retreats. He fails to avoid the lightning, getting struck once more. But now? Now he is up against him! he shoots off his shotgun again, once more striking with a full size of pellets into the creatures gut! He then lunges at him! His large, sharp Crinos incisors dig into the shoulder of the creature, biting hard!
The thing crashes down in a splurt of sickly yellowish fluid that leaps into the air as it hits the ground. The ground is trembling, under the War-Rat's feet, even as the lightning dances along his fur, sparking and shocking and puffing it out and making him seem even bigger than before! That silvery rod *snaps* as it hits the floor, a hiss of smoke and something more escaping, something virulent and vile billowing out from the twisted technology. The last of the swarm escapes up the tunnel, and the target of the War-Rat's ire lies on the ground, leaking and ... settling, thinning, spreading out like a too-rotten tomato dropped onto the ground. Like cheese melting under a heat lamp. He can *feel* the trembling coming from around corners, as many feet slap against the floor. What to do? What to do?!
Maybe fifty yards again. It's hard to tell. The rushing air, and the subdued keening of the fleeing kin. The oozing of the downed ratcatcher. A moment, strangely, of peace and stillness amidst the chaos. But there are feet approaching. Slapping on stone. And then a burst of that smell and sickly-sweet scents from that oozing figure, as something shatters, deep within that yellowish-pink mass
Still hurting from the electricity that struck his body, Great Balls of Fire fails to find the peace he needs to let his body heal. But the sounds, the smells and all the other things has him shrieking in anger! He does not have any of his gear with him. No way to make bombs. No way to prepare. This was unexpected. But the thing on the ground? He aims his shotgun at it and SHOOTS once more, for good measure, into the mass!
The shotgun blast tears away the robe. The Engineer can see the vile truth. What lies below is a pulsating and shivering yellow mass of pseudopodea, swarming from two large holes in the creatures body. Under it, the thing wriggles and squirms in a cocoon, twitching like a fetus in some horrific, insane womb, as sparks fly and lights flash under the translucent ... muck. The head is too large. The hands have too many fingers. The teeth are vile and huge and the mouth nearly splits the head in half. And it is barefoot, with long nails. Nails are scraping on the rock as feet slap and run and close in!
Is it still moving? It is still moving! Or is it? It does not matter. Great Balls of Fire has more shots left. He lets out a loud, shrieking sound as he moves upon the creature on the ground. This.. weird.. strange mass of blobby blobbness! He lets out a really earpiercing sound as he aims the muzzle at the creature on the ground, to then begin to fire. *BLAM* *clickity* *BLAM* *clickity* *BLAM*. Three shots ring out. Three empty shells pop out of the side of the shotgun. Three sets of swarms of pellets explode out from the shotguns muzzle to slam into the blobby mass of flesh on the ground before him.
The strange ooze shudders under the first shot. The shotgun pellets are captured, and they begin to dissolve in that ... that STUFF. The second disrupts it even further, and the third sends gobs of it flying, as the twitching, mewling thing underneath is exposed! All the while, that rumble closes. And then there are. More. MORE. More things. Robed. Their heads opening to expose those rows of teeth, emerging from tunnels into that open space. More hands reaching into robes!
Well, no. Nope. Very much nope. There is a time for heroics, and a time for getting the fuck out of dodge. When more of them coming into the open area, and him out of bullets and no ingredients for bombs? The large ratman turns and darts for the tunnel he came from earlier! Reaching it, he tries to go for his rat form as he dives into the tunnel. Time to flee with the rest of the rats!
The Engineer can hear them behind, as he flees and scurries. And then he can feel ... pressure. Rushing up from below. Air being pushed up. SOMETHING is filling the tunnel behind him ...
All of this was not expected! And it has caught him a bit winded. But he still has more to give. When the thing is chasing him, the rat lets out sound of fright before he puts all of his efforts into running. Filling his lungs with air and just pushing forward! Fighting through the pain and the fatigue. But up the tunnel he goes, fast and quick and safe! The black rat is built for survival and survive he does!
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OOC: AT THIS POINT, HARVEY RETURNS TO THE SHANTY VILLAGE TO TALK TO GOGH AND PERFECTION ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE! THIS IS PART OF THE SAME SCENE AND PLOT!
Gogh snoozed. She laid in her little nest on her side, and the squealing ratlings were clambering about the nest. They already showed an interest in sharp things, tumbling over one another when they were not suckling on their mother's teats. But it meant that Gogh watched, and chattered as folk came in, and ate. Ate a great deal.
It had been a mad dash to leave the tunnels under the Scrap Yard. Once on the surface, he had taken a few moments to let his body regenerate the wounds from the lightning. That did not take long. He then skipped out of there, getting up on the pile of cars to his Rat Drone. Climbing into the cockpit, he removes his Rattery fetish and plugs it in. A paw on it, activating it, and the Drone powers up. He then wizzes the heck out of there! Its a quick flight over the rooftops of the city until he can finally land on top of his RV. He then grabs his fetish, folds it back into his body before he just scrambles out on the top of the RV, < Tentacles! > he squeks out! < OOZING TENTACLES! >
Perfection also snoozes. Perfection snoozes in her hoodie, because there's less ratlings there. She tried to snooze on the ratlings but they kept moving and making noise. Now, she blinks awake as there's a Harvey, and her whiskers twitch and she looks up at him. Sitting up, as the words reach her brain. <Hooray!> Perfection declares brightly. <OOZING TENTACLES!> A beat.<Why are we celebrating oozing tentacles?> With a feral hiss and a coelescing of fur, Fatter Soap becomes a dark grey rat
Gogh, too, blinks awake, and clambers to the edge of her nest. She peeks her head out, sniffling, and flicks her ears up in the direction of the Engineer <<Don't wiggle ears at them>> She suggests <<THen they don't ooze. What happened?>>
The black rat up on the RV roof lets out another squeaky shriek, before he dives into his RV via the roof hatch. There is quite a ruckus and comotion within it for a few moments before he suddenly bursts through the front door. In human form. Holding in his left arm, clutched to his body, a bunch of bottles with chemicals and in the other hand his shotgun and a box of shells. He does not quite make it, though, skidding and falling on to the ground, "Tentacles! Lots of them. All evil! Killing rats. Under Salvage!"
Perfection shifts in under the hoodie, slowly growing into it as she, too takes human form, sitting in her bicycle shorts and bare feet, arms wiggling out of the hoodie, looking at the Engineer and then the rat mama. "...Killing rats? THIS WILL NOT STAND!"
Gogh makes a little sound of protest as the loud noises are met with a barrage of chirping rat pups. She sighs and wriggles back, her whiskered nose peering from the nest, suspicious and wary, her ears flicking in thought <<Tell us more>> She urges <<Are they safe? Is the danger past for now, or immediate?>>
There is a sudden, manic little sound from Harvey. He goes completely still, "Am I still here? I am still real?" he breathes fast, hard. He then lets go of everything. The shotgun, the box of shells, the chemicals. He grabs one bottle though, and squirts some of the liquid out on the ground in a small pool. He then reaches into his pocket, pulling out a zippo, "Alive.. alive.. alive.." he whispers, fast and quick. He then flicks the zippo and .. sets the pool of chemicals on fire. FOOF! it goes, starting to burn, "Yes... yeees.. alive. Fire.. alive." he puts the zippo away. His eye goes transfixed on the flames, "Fire.." he whispers, as if he was nothing more than an insane Twitcher and not an Engineer. It does seem to calm him down, though, "Many things. Under the Yard. In the tunnels. Hunting our Kin. Too many. Almost died. Too many.. almost died. Too many.. almost died.. Too many.. almost.. died.."
"You are here," Perfection reassures the Engineeer, moving along and idly, opens the box of shells while Harvey makes fire. She takes one out, studies it, and places it in her pocket. Then, she finds a safety pin, and puts that with the other shells before putting the box down. "We shall avenge them. And you. Tentacles can stay, but not if they kill our kin." She concludes sagely.
<<But NOT dead>> Gogh says. She assures. She frowns, and breaths, her tail twitching, and then speaks, a Rat Momma <<Come here>> She insists, looking up with those ruby eyes <<Tell us what you saw. You live. Tell us what you did. Tell us the story. You can come and pile here if you want>> She nods her head <<Tell the story to *those that are alive*>>
Harvey does not notice what Perfection is doing to his shells! The fire is all that consumes his mind right now, but eventually the fire burns out. He takes a deep breath, putting the zippo away. He raises his eyes from the ground, then reaches for the box and his shotgun. He begins to reload it. 1.. 2... 3.. pin. He stops. Pin? He looks at it, "Safetypin?" he mouths, looking surprised. He then looks to Gogh, "Creatures. Under the Yard. In the tunnels. I think.. creatures. Possibly. I might have lost my mind. They shot at me. Lightnings. Many of them. Were taking our kin. One first, then many more. Many, many more. They are not safe."
Perfection casually wanders over to Gogh, and settles, carefully moving the nest to her lap, so Rat Mama and pups will be safe. Looking up over at Harvey and listens, carefully. "If they are under the yard, they are a threat to more than just out kin. They are a threat to us, also." She opines. "We should stop them."
Gogh is still all concern. She lets out a little breath << Assume you did not lose your mind. Harvey, I believe you. We are here. We need to know>> She soothes. She says quietly. She twitches her nose and sniffs <<Are the kin safe now? Did you save them?>>
For a few moments, he still stares at the safetypin. And from the look in his eyes, its as if he was trying to figure out if he was still insane or not. Is what he sees real? Harvey blinks once, ".... fire?" he wonders, taking a deep breath. He shakes his head, snapping out of it, tossing the safetypin to the side. He reaches for another shell instead, loading the shotgun with more. 4.. 5.. 6. All done. He then gathers up his chemicals, looking over to Perfection and Gogh, "Should be safe. Yes. Safe. Most of them. Got them out. Could have been some lost. Before I got there. Can't say. Don't know. But saved the rest."
"You did an excellent thing, a good good thing. Good goods at greatly reduced prices." Perfection declares. "The first law of thermodynamics..." She trails off. "Wait. Yes. Saved kin. Now burn out. Bug hunt. Tentacle hunt? Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."
<<Then you saved them>> Gogh nods seriously <<First things. We will go and help ensure all others there are safe. You will both carry me and my nest to the Yard, so we can bring them around me as you hunt and protect. Then we can make sure this is *good and safe* for all, yes?>>
"Must make bombs. Bombs that make fire. Lots of fire. Firebombs. Burn it out. Too many of them. Too many of them. Took too much to bring down." Harvey begins, to then silence. He lifts his head up and looks to Gogh and to Perfection, "Yes. Yes. Wait. Yes. Will build you nest! Good nest. Can hook to Drone. Fly you both over there. Will be good. Will be safe." he nods his head, "But first. Must make bombs. Ooh.. bombs. And Fetish. Fetish later. Bombs first." he looks to Perfection, "Hunt."
Perfection studies him, and glances to Gogh. "We will get you excellent nest and safety. And I will go find some nice tool from our collections," She concludes, with a bright smile. Eyes gleaming with excitement, large and dark as she looks to Harvey again. "Hunt."
<<Hunt>> Gogh decrees <<We do this right. We set up safety. We bring tools. We defend the Nest. Then we burn them out>> Her eyes are bright as she decrees to her Deceit. << I will work with our kin there. Make safe as you find. Yes?>> And a slow breath <<But we are careful. Are you still hurt?>> She asks Harvey , concerned
Harvey silences. He lifts his head up a bit, glancing at the sky. He then looks back to Gogh, "No. Yes.. no." he says, "Was hurt. Almost died. Almost did not make it out. Electrocuted. Very bad. Very painful. Dead.. almost. So close." he shakes his head, "Body did not want to heal. Stressed." he pauses, "But made it out. All better now."
"You made it. You're better. And what does not kill us makes us weirder." Perfection assures him. Setting down the nest, rising, pacing. "We shall be ready!"
Gogh lets out a little chittering nod <<You are strong>> She reassures <<You survived. So now we will prepare and we will move! We will take the Salvage Yard and prepare, yes-yes!>> She chitters up excitedly, the ratlings chirping as her very own chorus
"Stupid, stupid mutts. Stupid dogs. Stupid mutts. They set up above a nest of evil. Nest off darkness. Nest of oozing ooze!" Harvey spits on the ground, "Stupid dogs! Never looking under their feet! Always letting things fester and grow!"
