Quake (volume iii)

[in_extremis]

WHO: Anyone downtown Temba! You don't have to have been part of the last two chapters to come see what's going on. If your character DID solve (or get close to) the Mystery of the...Weird Thing, you can send me or deal_me_in a message to work out any fun details.
WHERE: Near the fountain area of Temba
WHAT: Another strange earthquake strikes, and some mysteries are uncovered
WHEN: An early November evening
WARNINGS: I'll let you know if anything comes up.


The disturbances in the city since the overbearing eye winked shut had been mild. An occasional crumble of a building on the edge of collapse as a skittering animal went darting through it, a strong wind some afternoons that sent swirls of fallen leaves dancing through the empty streets, and maybe the sporadic shout and laugh as Temba's isolated residents were brought together. The rattle of the train rolling into the station now that it was active again was regularly the loudest sound during the day, a low rumble of its weight making the ground shudder until it sighed to its brief stop or disappeared once again into the tunnel. Nearby, the quicksand that had swallowed whole trees seemed to have been sated, its relentless hunger slowing and eventually stopping to form a strangely barren, but solid patch of the dark forest floor, where new growth was already starting to venture and the falling leaves started to gather.

When the next rumble struck, it rattled the heart of the city just as the sun was setting. The water of the fountain jumped with it, sending chaotic ripples that splashed puddles around the stonework. It didn't last long, just long enough to make the remaining windows in the town square shudder in their frames like a close peal of thunder, but it must have been strong. Strong enough to slough a rough chunk of wall off of the side of the livestock nursery. It was big, and seemed to only be getting bigger as it rolled to the side, dragging a pit of ground open in its wake that left the road cracked and a churn of soft, dark earth falling steadily inward to the uncovered hole. And it kept moving, lurching upward suddenly in a shower of debris, dirt and accumulated pebbles and the fall leaves scattering around it, and it blinked. First one eye open, then the other, before it started to move, lumbering slowly and softly with the rocking trundle of the weighty shell of stone it carried tipping side to side, making its way toward the water. It was hard to miss, the shell itself at least ten feet wide, though it blended easily in with the stonework as it crouched by the fountain and began to drink, looking like this mound of rocks had been there all along.

Across the square, Tony stood in a doorway of Lauri-Ell's gym, paint still slightly damp on his fingers and smeared on his jaw, drawn out by the sound but stricken with surprise as he saw what looked to him like the road moving. "Lauri, sweetheart...?" he tried calling very sweetly over his shoulder without taking his eyes off of the thing, hoping she was actually close after spending the last half hour glad he had managed to sneak in.

Comments

[small_compromise]

The tall steps shuddered beneath her feet, resulting in an almost mad scramble as Omega hurried down, height and haste making each step even more jarring. She clung to the edge of the wall once she'd reached level ground, her heart hammering against her chest as she looked anxiously around, suddenly very uncertain as to how sturdy these old buildings actually were.

Eventually the worst of the shaking had ceased, but there was still a very curious noise from outside, which was enough to draw her out of the hotel to see.

...was that pile of boulders moving?

"Whoa..."

[in_extremis]

Lauri-Ell wasn't around, apparently, and Tony probably deserved that, though just about no one else seemed to be around either, leaving him staring down a big, moving rock monster in the middle of town and calculating how lucky he had been not to be in this situation yet. He'd had enough encounters with the local wildlife to know that none of them could be trusted, and there wasn't much keeping the natural land from retaking this city the longer it sat at the end of the world. In the creature's relative stillness, as it considered the water and the edge of the fountain crumbled under its shifting claws, Tony tried a careful sidle along the edge of the square to get a better overview of the problem. It threw a long shadow up onto the facing building as it drank in the sunset, and seemed focused enough not to notice as Tony scampered around and squinted at it with just a stick that he had been mixing paint with in hand. It was another movement that made Tony freeze, arms out, ready for the next problem. It was a shift of those long shadows at the entrance to the hotel.

Omega was probably about the size of a snack for this thing. Quickly looking left then right as though something would inspire him to solve this problem, Tony came up with a very elegant flail of his arms to get Omega's attention over the shell of the beast, then an intent frown and point in her direction that was distinctly accusatory. They had to stop meeting like this.

[small_compromise]

The girl had been gravitating closer towards the monstrous anomaly when she caught the frantic movement just past it. That got her to stop, although her motion to wave back was cut off as she saw the frown and the point. So she scowled a bit, giving a toss of her hands to emphasize the shrug as she had no idea what he was going off about. Surely he couldn't be blaming her for...whatever this big thing was!

[in_extremis]

She clearly attracted weird animals, she had a weird animal problem, which Tony expressed with another disapproving point and incredulous wave at this newest best. A bunch of the people that came from the same place she did could apparently talk to them or sense their presence or whatever, so maybe she had magical animal powers. Tony was doing a lot of pointing and waving.

It came to an abrupt halt as the creature lifted its head and Tony froze, arms retreating close to his body and watching the thing carefully as it swung its head from side to side, like it was sniffing the air. It wasn't immediately charging either of them, so Tony risked a tiny flick of his fingers were they were still tucked up against his chest to try to send Omega back into the cover of the hotel before it changed its mind.

[small_compromise]

That was like, two experiences with creatures and Tony was the one who'd found the last one! Completely unfounded grounds if Omega even knew what sort of wild reasoning was going on through his head. She shook her own head at him as she gave him a strange look, uncertain if he was having some kind of problem. His hand signals definitely needed work, if that was what they were supposed to be.

She looked back towards the pile of moving rocks just as Tony froze to look as well, her eyes widening as she did take a cautious step back, however going no further. It was definitely a lot bigger than Muchi the rancor, but then she'd only been an adolescent. Omega glanced back over at Tony, and by the shift of her gaze it seemed she understood his intention, however wasn't so sure taking cover in the building would be a good thing if the creature was suddenly drawn to the movement.

[in_extremis]

That was probably a fair concern, instead of just doing the first thing that came into Tony's head and dealing with the problem as it unfolded from there. The second thing that came into Tony's head was that he should clearly distract the creature, then, so it had no reason to be concerned with Omega and she could retreat safely. His gaze dropped slowly to the paint-covered stick that he still held, then he just as slowly wound back to hurl it like a javelin.

The stick didn't exactly have the weight of a mighty spear, and wavered in the air like it might be blown entirely off course before gently clattering to a stop against the rock-animal's foot. Tony watched intently, hands out and ready for anything, as the creature swung its head down in confusion, then eased its mass cautiously back away from the disturbance.

[small_compromise]

Although she could work out the intent it didn't keep Omega from cringing as Tony let that stick fly. Aggravating a creature that was already causing earthquakes just seemed like a bad idea. She held her breath as she watched the stick bounce harmlessly off the ground, eyes flicking from its landing to the creature to Tony and back.

The moment the large creature began to move, she started to back away a little more. Her heel caught on the edge of an uneven paving stone, and with a surprise squeak the girl fell backwards and onto the ground.

[in_extremis]

Unfortunately, Tony's primary combat talent was being aggravating, so when the creature didn't exactly respond and seemed to be mostly bewildered by having a stick near it now, Tony held his breath and started to search for something with more weight to lead it away. When he heard the squeak, he knew they were going to have to start thinking a lot faster.

Omega hadn't yet hit the ground when the creature lifted its head and started to spin, and Tony didn't wait to find out what it was going to do, sprinting toward it and throwing himself up onto its shell by the time it had made its full revolution. It gave a start at the disturbance, swinging its massive body more suddenly to the side to try to move away from the thing that had just run into it, swinging Tony's legs out with it before Tony managed to find his firm hold and started to climb.

Now clearly at a total loss, the creature continued to turn in a tight circle like it was chasing its own tail, or the weird thing dangling off of it, trying to get the scent eagerly enough to sent leaves scattering away from its heavy exhales.

[small_compromise]

The ground shuddered with its footsteps, which while weren't as bad as whatever it had been doing earlier to shake things up were still making things difficult for a girl trying to get back on her feet when it was so localized. Omega gasped as the creature started to turn towards her, catching only a glimpse of Tony before he vanished from her line of sight, effectively blocked out by the large, moving mound.

The result of Tony's...attack? Distraction part two? only made for more shaking as the creature moved abruptly, and Omega pushed herself back along the ground to make sure she wasn't caught anywhere near it if it widened its little stompy dance radius. She eventually managed to crawl back onto her feet, still watching it spin circles. Aah, what would her brothers do in this situation? It didn't necessarily look like it was angry- she had seen angry creatures. Was there something on the tablet's database? Tech would do this a lot faster...

[in_extremis]

It didn't happen very quickly, but the creature eventually figured out that going in circles was not getting it anywhere and slowed to a rocking stop as Tony made his, now slightly dizzy, way to the top of the shell. At the time, it seemed to be as good of a place as any to be at this point, though he wouldn't be prepared to explain himself as the animal started to...stand.

There was something distinctly familiar in the way the world lurched and Tony had to stumble forward to try to keep his balance, crawling quickly toward the animal's flat, rocky head and away from pitching backward off of it. For all he was prepared to blame Omega for her animal powers, Tony realized with a dawning horror that he had been here before just as the beast gave a shake and successfully dislodged Tony's feet from scaling its back once again.

[small_compromise]

"Tony!-" Omega blurted as she saw the man lose his footing. She started forward again, hands upraised despite having little idea of an actual plan. "H-hey, um, over here?" She called out a little more softly to try to get the beast's attention. Unable to see which way Tony had fallen, she hoped to keep the creature from accidentally stepping on him if he'd ended up on the ground.

She supposed if someone were crawling around on you then of course you'd get a little agitated. "It's okay," she tried to coax, casting a quick glance around for the best direction to run if she ended up needing to.

[imnotleia]

Not for the first time Poe reached for a blaster that wasn't there, edging back from the creature as he tried to work out what he was looking at.

He silently caught Tony's eye from across the way, hand trying to shush BB-8's warbling questions lest it draw the attention of the thing.

He made the universal sign for 'what the kriff IS this thing???' at the other man, brows jumping high on his face.

[in_extremis]

As long as they didn't mess with it, it didn't seem like the creature cared much for them, so Tony bit his tongue and met Poe's gesturing with comically wide eyes and a spread of his empty hands in a theatrical shrug. This was not his area, he did not have a PhD in big, weird turtles. They couldn't just stand here, though, so Tony tried to wave Poe back into the shelter of a building, only to change his mind, waving no, no, and scoop a hand toward himself with a twirl of the other finger for Poe to make his way closer. They'd meet in the middle, maybe, there, Tony pointed, like the diner. In the remnants of the shudder the creature had sent through the town square, everything felt like it was shifted loose and holding its breath, and in an errant gust of wind a shattered brick came showering down the wall behind Tony, making him cringe at the sudden sound with the same theatricality that he had been using to try to communicate with Poe. Slowly, he turned to make sure no more was coming, then shot a sidelong glance back at the creature, who seemed to be listening just as intently.

[imnotleia]

Both men seemed fluent in over exaggerated miming, Poe interjecting with his own a few times before he nodded, accepting the arrangement. He had just started to move when the brick fell, and he froze almost comically in horror for a moment.

At some point he breathed again, and had nearly crossed the space to the halfway point when he realized BB had rolled off towards the creature, chirping curiously and peering up at the behemoth.

[in_extremis]

Tony had kept his eye on the creature all the while, waiting for it to realize it wasn't alone and start rampaging, so the droid coming in for a closer look was not as much of a surprise to him. He had stopped his attempt to reach Poe fairly soon, giving a small wave of his hands at BB-8 to try to get his attention now, and crouching and trying the move again more emphatically when it didn't immediately result in BB changing course. Tony was still sitting on his heels with his arms outstretched when BB made a noise.

The animal snorted, spraying water across the fountain, and slowly heaved its bulk over to consider this beeping thing. It blinked several times, then stomped a heavy foot on the ground deliberately, surprising Tony enough to pitch forward into a crawl in his hurry to catch up to BB-8 before he got his feet properly under himself. He didn't know if he could salvage the droid from being crushed.

[on_repeat]

The blaster was trained on the creature, but no bolt was fired. Instead, Echo continued to stare, forgetting nearly everything that occurred beforehand as he held the device up to where his mouth was within the confines of his helmet.

"...There's a giant rock," he said after a few moments of working his jaw, sounding uncertain despite stating the obvious. "Drinking water."

"--Are you drunk?"

"What-- no!"

"Did you raid my bar on the sly? I thought you were on duty forever-- "

Echo cut the feed with a grunt. "Why did I even call him," he muttered, working as fast as he could to properly call it in.

[in_extremis]

"What is it?"

While Echo had been occupied with getting very little helpful feedback and busy hands, Tony had snuck up behind him. Not with the intent of taking him by surprise, of course, Tony would never do such a thing, but trying not to lure the attention of the monster that had joined them downtown and made the whole area shake. He stood where he could lean just over Echo's shoulder with his hands in his pockets and an expression of mild innocence, much looser than any gun pointing that Echo was doing for them.

[on_repeat]

He should have been prepared for that, rock monster or no.

The clone flinched, every muscle tensing for a hot second before returning to whatever level he was on before Tony appeared out of nowhere. "That's what I'm trying to figure out," he replied, barely sparing the man a glance as he continued to tap the device. "I'm not even sure if we even have information on this thing. Or if anyone else knows, for that matter."

[in_extremis]

If anyone should have recognized a giant animal casually strolling around the city, it should have been the guy who made strolling around the city his life's work, and Tony pouted like he didn't quite believe Echo had no experience with something that made such an impression before it got this far downtown. "Have you been slacking?" he accused, like Echo was being paid for these patrols. He waved his hands before Echo could do more than glare at him, continuing, "What do we do?" If he didn't know what it was, surely Echo had response protocols prepared for such a situation arising while on duty. Tony definitely didn't. His animal control experience was limited to occasionally scaring those rodent things out of the forge when they got too comfortable. He could not claim he was otherwise successful.

[on_repeat]

The black visor glanced up at the accusation, the scowl hidden despite Tony skipping to the next step in the process. He then shook his head, a sigh filtering through the vocabulator as he trained his gaze back to the beast in question.

"Normally the next course of action would be to subdue it," Echo surmised, "but it doesn't seem to be bent on destroying its surroundings." His own experience mostly had him dealing with droids, so the protocol was completely different and not very applicable to the situation they found themselves in.

[in_extremis]

It didn't seem to be destroying anything...yet, in Tony's estimation, because it didn't look like it was going to be particularly delicate, either. Even leaning up against the fountain to drink, it clawed at the stone and gouged out furrows in the stone with its long claws, dislodging a brick entirely as it shifted its weight. Tony nodded along thoughtfully, and after a beat offered, "I've got a big net." It wasn't meant to be for wildlife emergencies, but it was conveniently very close.

[on_repeat]

The helmet canted, turning at the sound of claws meeting stone. "Big is good. But there's only two of us," Echo noted, the blaster in hand lowering but still held aloft. "Do we have anything to weigh it down?"

[in_extremis]

"Maybe..." Tony started, eyes rolling toward the sky and one finger up to tick back and forth like a metronome, "pick it up?" He didn't know what, exactly, would keep something that big held down, but he did know that taking away its leverage would be a better trick. "With a ship. Can you fly?"

[on_repeat]

Echo quirked a brow at the gesture, his gaze flicking upward once Tony finished the thought. The idea could work. "I can't," he said after a beat, "but I can learn. Think it needs to be stalled?"

[in_extremis]

Not that it was a bad question, but Tony considered the animal which seemed to be slowly settling down even as it pushed its nose into the water, tucking its legs up under the heavy, rocky shell until it looked like a mound of boulders balanced against the fountain, and gave a dubious hum. "I think it's a safe gamble," he answered eventually. The bigger challenge might be getting it to move at all to get the net under it. "Let's see if we can get it packaged first," he suggested with a tap to Echo's back to get him to follow toward the gym and help Tony collect his precious tennis net.