OASIS OCT Round 2 (Desmond) - Part 2

Finishing a quick look around the exterior of the pyramid, Desmond saw no sign of anybody or anything in the immediate vicinity. As he stopped for a break, he took a moment to take a better look at his surroundings. The air was stifling hot and completely still; Desmond could feel the sweat evaporating from his skin as soon as it was exposed to the dry atmosphere. This bothered him not, however; what bothered him was the sky. While the sky had not long ago been completely clear, it was now full of seemingly random arcs of lightning. They did not appear to be originating from a single point; indeed, there were no clouds in the sky to indicate a possible storm.

The bravado he had felt only moments before was now replaced by a growing sense of worry...

And then that sense of worry was replaced by a searing pain in his thigh.

"GAAAAAH WHAT THE FUCK!" Desmond shouted, looking down at his attacker. Immediately, he stepped back in shock; he had been ambushed by a rather large cat, with grey, mottled fur. As it finally let go of him with its claws, it stepped back and hissed at him. Desmond reached for his bow on instinct, before he stopped and took stock of what had just happened. How could a cat survive in the desert heat? Why had he not seen it until it was too late? And why the fuck was he aiming a weapon at a cat?????

Suddenly, the cat-creature before him spoke. "Face me here and now, twoleg!" it scowled at him, teeth bared. Desmond, suddenly taken aback at the fact that this... cat...? had just spoke, stuttered, "Umm... I, uhh... wait, what? You can speak?" Desmond lowered his weapon. "Who the rotten hell are you?"

The cat-creature replied, "My name is Leafmaple, and I shall take you down, and be free from this place!", digging its claws into the sand and standing its ground. "Umm... excuse me? You're trying to escape from here as well? But you're a... cat?" Desmond responded, fast becoming more and more confused. "Do not make a mockery of me! I was put in this fighting tournament, and I can fight just as well as any of you twolegs!" Leafmaple continued.

"Woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah, hold on a burger-flippin' sec... You're in this tournament too???" Desmond replied, dumbfounded, before turning his head to the sky and shouting, "Alright Paper, enough is enough! How the fuck do you expect me to fight a cat? A FUCKING CAT!!!!! YOU'RE TAKING THIS SHIT TOO FAR, ASSHOLE!"

Turning back to Leafmaple, Desmond spoke again, "Alright, alright, alright..." he said, returning the bow to his back, "I have absolutely no fucking idea what's going on here right now, but there's no way in hell I'm going to fight someone like... you... ok?" Leafmaple looked at him for a moment, before replying, "Why should I trust you? It was one of your kind that..."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'one of my kind'?" Desmond asked, "And what did they do to you?" Leafmaple looked down to the sand, voice shaking for a moment, "It was one of you twolegged creatures that killed my friend! Surely they were friends of yours, no?" Desmond thought for a moment, before beginning to reply, "Killed? But surely if your friend only died once-"

Desmond was cut off by a high-pitched screaming sound coming from behind him. Pushing himself and Leafmaple aside, he fell to the ground as a strange, reddish-blue orb flew past his head, missing him by mere inches. Turning around to face behind him, he saw the being from whom the attack had been launched...

And was instantly struck by fear, for that which stood before him was a being unlike any he had seen before.

The creature before him had three heads, each in the shape of a different beetle. It's chest seemed to be made of some sort of carapace, and it wore a robe that seemed to be fused to his waist. In its left hand, there appeared to be some sort of glowing orb; Desmond guessed this was from whence the attack had been launched. In its right, was a rather long spear, almost as long as the creature was tall.

"Umm, Leafmaple... you wouldn't have had anything to do with this guy trying to pop me, would you?" Desmond asked, voice shaking with apparent nerves. "Of course not! I fight on my own strength, unlike you twolegs, who seem to only be able to fight as a group!" Leafmaple threw back at him, as she too was struck by some degree of fear.

Suddenly, the creature before them moved, readying another assault on them. Throwing another orb of energy at them, Desmond and Leafmaple both leaped out of the way. Leafmaple was able to dodge the attack; Desmond, however, wasn't so lucky. The energy orb managed to hit his left foot as he dodged, and as it did, Desmond felt a searing pain where the attack connected. Looking down, he saw that his foot had somehow been taken away by the attack, and blood was now pouring from where his foot had once been.

Through the miasma of pain he was now in, Desmond wondered why the injury wasn't healing. Surely his pendant couldn't have run out of energy already? Or was it something to do with what that "energy" stuff he had been hit by was made of. Looking up from where he lay, he saw that the beetle-creature had not moved from where he stood, but instead appeared to be speaking with Leafmaple now.

"Who are you, and why have you interrupted our battle?" Leafmaple asked the creature. The creature's three heads turned towards her, but only the middle one seemed to be able to speak. "You wish to know my name, scrawny mewling? Very well..." The middle head spoke, "I am known in these lands as Scarabux, and I was born of the corruption that has claimed this place. The two of you," Scarabux glanced over at where Desmond lay, "are anomalies, and I shall be the one to purge both of you."

Raising his left hand, Scarabux fired another orb of energy, this time aiming for Leafmaple. She was able to doge it easily, and she began circling him, trying to find an opening. Running around to his back, she crouched down, preparing to leap at him. However, before she was able to do so, Scarabux spun around, swiping his spear at her. Leafmaple was not able to dodge in time, and the tip of the spear caught her in the side, sending her flying.

Finally landing, Leafmaple tried to get up, but found herself unable to move. "Wha... what was in that spear of his?" She found herself wondering, as the incoming darkness clawed at her vision. Finally succumbing to the poison, she closed her eyes...

"Maple... I'm sorry..."

Turning his attention back to Desmond, Scarabux approached him, spear at the ready. Desmond, still gripped by pain, and feeling faint from blood loss, could do nothing but lay there. "You think youself a mighty warrior, Desmond, but you are nothing but a weak, arrogant piece of dirt" Struggling to move, Desmond tried to crawl away, but found himself swiftly impaled through the chest on Scarabux's spear. "Now, weak one... Die."

Tossing Desmond aside, Scarabux turned his attention away from where the two "warriors" had been. and raised his left hand. Conjuring a large ball of his energy, he threw it into the sand before him. Nothing happened for a moment, until the sand before him collapsed, revealing a giant whirlpool, sand spiralling around it before disappearing into the giant hole in the center.

"Now... time to purge this place."

****************************************************************

"Urr... Urrgh..."

Desmond slowly opened his eyes, but where he was now was almost completely black. Raising his hand, he waved it in front of his face, but could barely see anything. Fortunately, his foot appeared to be back to normal. Placing his hand then on the ground, he went to push himself up, but felt something soft as he put his hand down. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, he could make out the shape of what appeared to be a cat, lying on the ground next to him. Desmond assumed that this was Leafmaple. He felt her fur, laid his hand on her side. Thankfully, she appeared to be breathing.

Standing up, Desmond looked around him. The two of them appeared to be in a small room, with no discernible features apart from what appeared to be a door with a small handle. As he walked to the door, he heard Leafmaple stir, so he turned around and went back to her side.

"Ugh... what was that... how am I still alive?" Leafmaple groaned, stretching as she too adjusted to the darkness. Turning to see the figure before her, she tried to get up, but found herself still somewhat tired. "Hey, you ok?" Desmond asked her. "You... why are you here too?" Leafmaple asked back, as she finally found herself able to rise to her feet. "Where are we?"

"Well, I haven't got the foggiest fuck where we are, but I do know that we need to get the hell out of here. Any ideas?" Desmond turned back to the door, and tried the handle. It would not turn, and he could not see any sign of a key nearby. As he was about to search the rest of the room, the bracer on his wrist let out a series of short beeps. He looked down, and saw the screen flashing:

>>LOAD FIRE ARROW?
>>YES
>>NO

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to see what the hell this thing does" Desmond thought to himself, tapping YES on the display.

>>FIRE ARROW LOADED
>>HOLD ARROW TO EQUIP

Grasping an arrow out of his pouch, Desmond was almost taken aback as the tip of it almost immediately burst into flame. Dousing the room in light, he was finally able to see the rest of their surroundings. There was what appeared to be an altar in the room, upon which lay a small, key-like object. Picking it up, he returned to the door, but could not see any sign of a keyhole. Growing frustrated, and wanting to escape, he thumped the door with his fist. At once, the key in his hand disappeared, and he heard a click coming from just outside the door, as it swung open a crack.

Turning back to Leafmaple, Desmond spoke, "Well, I, uh, guess this is our way out of here... I'll lead the way." Leafmaple hissed back, "What makes you think I should listen to anything you say, twoleg? For all I know, you were the one that put me here!" Rolling his eyes, Desmond replied, "If I put you in here, why the hell would I lock myself in here with you? Anyways," he turned back to the door, "That Scarabux freak is still probably nearby, and unless you stick with me, we're both fucked."

Thinking for a moment, Leafmaple came to a decision. "Fine, twoleg. I shall go with you. But mark my words: try any funny business with me, and you'll be sorry." Wondering what a cat could do to him, Desmond answered, "Fine, fine. Let's get going."

Desmond opened the door, as they stepped forth into the unknown...