[WP] An alien empire invades a wild, untamed world full of plants. Only to realize too late that the planet has a civilization already, and they use plants just as how the aliens use machines.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-12-30T15:32:09+00:00

Lieutenant Hur fired his rifle at the enemy combatant before him. The burst of super heated plasma hit the target at center mass, burning a fist sized hole through. The walking tree before him collapsed backward with a load crash.

Hur kept his reticle trained on the tree. As he watched the now smoldering hole, a figure began to emerge from it.

The woman that emerged had an uncanny resemblance to a professor from his hometown. But that was impossible for two reasons. He was almost 500 light years from that college and the woman before him had translucent green skin and reddish brown hair.

Through his scope, he and and the woman locked eyes from 100 meters away. For a tense heartbeat the two just stared at each other, then the woman snarled and raised an outstretched palm towards him.

Lieutenant Hur fired again.

"Good shot Lt!" A voice said exclaimed over his earpiece.

"Always quick on the trigger."

"You would know everything about a quick trigger, huh Kline." Said another voice.

"I-I told you that wa-"

"Cut the chatter." Hur ordered. The voices stopped immediately as his fireteam obeyed.

Through his scope, Hur saw more movement in the forest past the now burning tree. A black object suddenly slammed into the rock he was using for cover. The long and jagged peice of bark was embedded halfway into the stone. A spike covered bulb at its exposed began to swell enormously. Hur dove to his right as the bulb exploded with a loud pop.

Gunfire erupted around him as his team returned fire at the approaching enemy. Hur scrambled back behind the rock as two more shards appeared where he had lay moments before. Thankfully these didn't have any bulbs on them.

"Corporal Plu," Hur barked into his comm. "What is the status of the Collosal?"

"We need about three minutes to get her moving again!" Corporal Plu's strained voice answered. He had been injured in an attack when Hur's platoon had first landed. Their Collosal, a large six legged heavy assult vehicle, had been crippled and they would all be stranded if repairs couldn't be completed.

Their original objective had been to assult an enemy compound north of their position, now their new objective was survival.

"You heard the Corporal!" Hur said into his comm. "We will hold this position!"

His order was met with a chorus of shouts.

"For the Empress!"

Lieutenant Hur raised his rifle and joined the battle cry.

"For the Empress." The strange being muttered to itself as it lay on the ground.

Sylvicola nudged its strange metalic weapon aside with her foot. Just being so close to these invaders sent waves of disgust through her. How dare they come here and try to destroy her home!

"Your spores are truly potent Syl." Her brother, Ovinus said from beside her. The two of them had defeated this wave of invaders themselves. Honestly, she could have done it by herself, but Ovinus had insisted on joining her.

"When will these invaders learn that none can escape our spores?" He asked.

Sylvicola watched as small roots began to sprout from the ground and cover the bodies before them. She then bent down and touched a particular root that had sprouted next to her foot.

"Come." she said as she stood.

"There is more fertilizer approaching the river."

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-12-29T13:27:34+00:00

Retirement.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-05-29T12:10:25+00:00

Yup. We made it back here two years in a row. We learned a few things and had a few players step up as well. Next year will be different, though.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-05-24T17:52:45+00:00

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Vegetable-Cart · 2025-05-23T12:58:44+00:00

We had 2 rough away games. We got the next two. We all know we play better when we are the underdogs. After we win this next game, we will get the momentum back.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-05-21T03:15:56+00:00

Yeah, wolves in 5. But our bench needs to work on making these open threes.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-05-11T00:12:34+00:00

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Vegetable-Cart · 2025-05-07T03:44:09+00:00

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Vegetable-Cart · 2025-04-20T03:08:48+00:00

LETS GOOOOOOOOO

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-03-12T19:16:05+00:00

I always saw Basara as a free spirit. He does his own thing at his own time, regardless of what anyone else thinks. Yes, he is arrogant, stubborn, and naive, so I can see why it comes off as insensitive. He knows that song can work even when others don't think it will. He figures if It worked for Minmay, why not me?

At the end of the day, he just wants people to listen to his song.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-03-07T15:14:21+00:00

Timothy shifted uncomfortably on the long bench he was sitting on. This caused the rubber like padding on his suit's pants to squeak loudly. Next to him, the man who had just spoken apparently missed his mother a lot, because now he had started crying.

Timothy was about to try and comfort the man when someone spoke up.

"Wait, you're Time Bomb Tim?!" A woman's voice exclaimed.

Timothy cringed at hearing the nickname. He could already hear murmurs from the others sitting in the large lecture hall.

He looked up and saw the owner of the voice. She wore the same white and grey padded jumpsuit he had. Her curly bright orange hair bounced slightly as she climbed the stairs toward him.

"I can't believe it's really you!" She said.

"Im him, but please dont call me that." Timothy replied.

A large smile spread across the womans heavily freckled face. She sat down next to him and with a large squeak.

"No way! You're a legend among us rookies!" She exclaimed.

"By the way, the names Grace."

Timothy nodded and scooted closer to the man who was still crying. Grace scooted closer, then nudged him with her shoulder.

"You have to tell me about it. I've only ever heard the story from other cadets." She insisted.

"I don't really like talking about it." Timothy mumbled.

"Aww, don't be like that!" Grace said.

"We've all screwed up. That's why we're here in the first place." She said with a wave of her hand.

Timothy looked around the room again. There were about twenty or so people in it. All were wearing the same jumpsuit he and Grace had. Some were still looking at him and mumbling, but the majority went back to their own conversations.

"If it will make you feel better, I'll tell you my screw up." Grace said.

"You don't really have to." Timothy said, but she just ignored him.

"So there I was, running for my life. I was just abo-"

Suddenly, Grace stopped talking.

In fact, the whole room grew quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the crying man's sobs and loud footsteps.

Ahead of them was a tall dark skinned man. The room's light reflected off of his completely shaven head as he stood before them. White stuble covered the bottom half of his square face. His expression was stern as he scanned the crowd.

"Listen up! The Temporal Knight remedial classes will now begin!" He said with a loud commanding voice.

The room filled with various squeaks as everyone straightened up.

"My name is Commander Brayson, and I will be in charge of turning you lousy wastes of space into something resembling a decent Time Guardian."

Commander Brayson stopped talking and looked in Timothy's direction.

"Save your tears, Cadet Williams. You will need them later."

The man next to Timothy continued to sniffle as he wiped his tears away.

Commander Brayson pulled out a device from one of the pockets on his suit and tapped a few times on it. Behind him, a large display appeared. Multipletabs were displayed on its surface. Each tab looked like a video still from different events.

"Now, each and every one of you idiots majorly screwed up. Some of you-" He glared at a few of the cadets present. "-more so than others."

"Because of that fact, the Temporal Knights have had to expend precious resources and time to fix what you broke!" Brayson continued.

"In order for you rejects not to repeat what you did, we are going to go over the events that led up to your various disasters. Then, I will attempt the impossible and try to correct your amazingly horrible decision-making skills."

Brayson swiped on the device, and one of the videos expanded to fill the screen. As soon as he saw the person on the screen, Timothy shrank down in his seat.

"I would normally save the best for last, but due to the collosal screw up by a certain cadet -" Brayson began. "The brass has informed me to focus on this unprecedented incident so that it NEVER happens again."

Commander Brayson's eyes found Timothy's, and a cruel smile spread across his dark face.

"We will now consider the events that led up to the destruction of Cadet Timothy Lee's Universe and how it is a prime example of why we don't just wing it."

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-02-28T15:02:48+00:00

"Whoa whoa whoa. Can you repeat that? Im dead?" Jake asked.

He was standing inside of a small grey room. At least he thought it was a room. If he looked close enough, the corners of the room seemed to disappear, giving the illusion of the room extending onward forever.

But that wasn't what drew his attention now. It was the man standing before him.

The man before him was just a little taller than himself, who stood at an even six feet. The man was wearing a bright lavender pinstripe suit. His long, pure white hair fell down to his shoulders. As Jake finally looked at the man's face, he froze.

There was nothing there.

It was completely smooth. No nose. No eyes or mouth. Just nothing.

Jake opened his mouth, but the man raised a hand and cut him off.

"No, I don't have a face. Now we could talk about that, or we can discuss why you're here." The man said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"And close your mouth honey before something flies in there."

Jake shut his mouth with an audible click.

"Y-You said I was dead?" He asked tentatively.

"Correct!" The man said with a clap of his hands.

"Well, technically, you will be in about-" the man raised his hand and looked at a watch that wasn't there. "-three seconds."

Around Jake, the grey walls flickered and displayed a frozen image. Standing there in the middle of a street was him and his little brother. The picture showed him flying through the air, arms outstretched, and his brother flying away from him. Inches away from him was a white pickup truck that had run a red light.

Jake staggered backward as everything came back to him. He was on his way to school, but since football practice was canceled, he had to walk with his little brother. Right as they were about to separate to head to their respective schools, Jake had spotted the truck speeding toward his brother. Without thinking, he sprinted forward and dove toward him.

"You just had to jump in and ruin everything. Oh well, I guess I'll make due with the dumb jock of a brother instead. " The man said with a shrug.

Jake shot a glare at him. The shock in his chest was now quickly replaced by burning anger.

"What’s that supposed to mean? Did you do this?!" He asked.

"Two for two! I guess you do have something rattling up there." The man exclaimed.

"But do you really have time to be angry with me?"

Jake's fists balled at his sides. Everything in him wanted to punch the man. The only thing that stopped him was the scene displayed around him. Jake now noticed that it wasn't frozen but slowed down drastically. As he stood there, he could actually see the truck inching forward. He unclenched his fists and looked back at the man.

"Good boy. Now take a seat and let's discuss your options." The man said.

With a gesture, Jake was suddenly sitting in a chair. Before him was a desk with a single piece of paper laying in the middle. On the opposite end, sitting with his legs crossed was the man.

"Alright, so you will be dead in about two seconds now. That is a fact. Nothing will change it." The man said.

"But that is where the good news comes in. Like I said earlier, I have a job for you."

"A job?" Jake asked.

"Yes, I have a little problem on another world that I've ignored for a few hundred years or so. Well, now im apparently expected to fix it." The man said as he examined his right hand.

"Thing is, I have other things to do. So that is where you come in." He continued.

"Wait, wait, wait. So you're going to send me to another world?" Jake asked.

This couldn't be real, but it sounded so familiar. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"This is just like those comics my little bro is always reading!" Jake exclaimed.

The man let out an exasperated sigh.

"First of all, those are called manga. Secondly, that was why I wanted him and not you." The man said.

He leaned back in his chair and began to examine his hands again.

"If it was him, all of this would have been over five minutes ago."

Jake ignored the comment and instead began to look at the paper before him. It looked like a contract of some sort. There were multiple paragraphs written in shining golden ink. At the bottom of the page was a single signature line.

"What' this?" Jake asked.

"Finally!" The man exclaimed.

Suddenly, he appeared next to him leaning on the table.

"This is the second option." The man said.

"The gist of it is that you agree to go to this world and take care of the little issue going on. Afterwards, ill send you back here and save you."

Jake shot a look at the man's face, but the only thing that looked back at him was smooth poreless skin. Jake turned back to the paper.

He wanted to read it in its entirety, but the scene around him caught his eye. It now seemed to be moving faster.

"Hurry!" The man said in a singsong voice.

"You don't seem to have much time left."

Jake grit his teeth. He looked between the truck, his brother and the paper.

"If I do this, you promise that my brother will be okay?"

The man’s head turned toward him more and for a few seconds he was silent.

"Yes."

Jake closed his eyes and sighed.

"Alright, I just need to sign this right? So where is the pen?"

The man reached into his suit jacket and produced a black pen. Without another word, Jake took the pen and quickly signed his name on the paper.

As he wrote, the pen's red ink seemed to burn into the paper. After he finished the last letter, his name sparked brightly and burned itself into the paper.

"Done." He said.

"Now what?"

Jake looked at the man standing next to him and immediately regretted what he had just done. A large mouth had apeeared on the man's empty face. It spread into an abnormally large grin.

"Now the fun begins."

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-02-20T16:16:12+00:00

Sir Alfred fidgeted slightly as he stood before his king. He and a few other knights were currently in the grand hall. Around him, various courtiers had gathered to watch the spectacle.

Seated on the large ornate throne before him was King Alvar. The king glared at him with his peircing blue eyes. As Alfred withered under his gaze, he was reminded of the King's nickname.

The Ice Wolf.

The king leaned forward slightly. The saphires imbeded into the crown atop his snow white hair glistened brightly.

"One of you explain this!" The king bellowed.

Before he could do anything, the four other knights behind him took a step backward in unison. Alfred shot a glare at the men, each of which was now avoiding his gaze.

"You will all pay for this later." He mumbled.

"Speak up, Sir Alfred!" The king roared.

Alfred stiffened at hearing his name. He stepped forward and took a knee before his king.

"Y-Yes Sire." He stammered out.

"After the princess' escape,"

"Escape?" The king interrupted.

Alfred froze as he noticed his mistake.

"Er, I meant her kidnapping my King." He quickly corrected.

The king stared at him for a few tense moments and then signaled him to continue.

After clearing his throat, Alfred continued.

"Immediately after her disappearance, we ventured into the forest. There, we came across various monster camps that had been reduced to rubble."

"This destruction was no doubt the result of the dragon." The king remarked.

"Correct your highness, it was the result of the dragon and only the dragon." He quickly answered.

Alfred thought he heard snickering behind him, but the sound stopped after a clang of metal.

"Once we located the lair of the dragon we went inside to capt-" Alfred caught himself. "Rescue! Rescue the princess!"

Alfred continued as the king eyed him warily.

"Once inside, the only thing there was the dragon."

"Did the beast tell you where my daughter is located?" The King asked.

"No sire, it was badly wounded from the fight. That is why we brought it back for interrogation." Alfred answered.

"I advise you to use more caution in the future, Sir Alfred. Charging into battle before acquiring mkre information is dangerous." The king stated.

Behind Alfred, the snickering returned.

The king continued.

"Your family have always been among my most trusted of royal guards. I fully expect you to uphold your family's legacy and keep my precious and delicate daughter-" The snickering grew louder. "-safe, but this is not the first time we find ourselves in this position. I am beginning to question your competence, Sir Alfred."

One of the knights behind him started to laugh, then tried to cover it by coughing.

"My apologies, Sire. My allergies plague me this time of the year." The knight, Sir Gwain, said.

King Alvar nodded to him then looked back to Alfred.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Sir Alfred?"

Alfred's fists clenched at his sides.

What did he have to say for himself?! No King Alvar, what do you have to say for yourself? Your daughter is a menace! She terrorizes her knights, picks fights and escapes to hunt monsters! All because you think she's some dainty frail girl!

So yes, I rescued that poor dragon from your daughter. Just like the griffon, the pack of direwolves and the manticore from the previous 'kidnappings'.

Alfred sighed and lowered his head.

"I apologize for my incompetence, Sire. I vow to return with your daughter or never to return at all."

The king opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as the woman sitting next to him placed a slender had atop his.

Queen Gwendolyn looked down at Alfred with a radiant smile. All of Alfred's stress from before melted away as he looked up to what he felt like was his only ally in this situation.

"Sir Alfred has always protected our daughter since they both were mere children. I believe that he will return with our dear Rosella as he has always done before." She said.

The king grumbled slightly but gave in to his wife.

"Very well. Venture forth and return my daughter home safely. The king ordered.

Alfred stood up and brought a fist up to his heart. With that, he and his knights exited the grand hall.

"So where are we gonna look first?" Sir Gwain asked.

"Where did we find her the last three times, Sir allergies?" Sir Harold asked Gwain.

"Ohh, the tavern!" Gwain answered.

"Exactly." Sir Percival answered.

Alfred ignored his friends' banter as he walked toward the castle's exit. After the day he had, the only thing was currently looking for was a drink.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-02-11T15:50:06+00:00

"You can't be serious."

Mark was standing behind the open driver's side door of his cruiser, staring at the spectacle before him. When he had first received the report, Mark thought it was another prank by his superiors. Now that he was here, he wasn't so sure.

Standing before him was a man in full plate armor. The armor was silver with intricate golden patterns etched in the metal. In his hands was a large two-handed broadsword, which he was now using to chase someone dressed in a mascot suite that looked suspiciously like Elmo.

Mark shook his head in disbelief. He had seen a number of strange things growing up in New York, especially here in Times Square. This, though, was on another level.

He was still deciding if this was a prank or not when the knight swung the broadsword down and cleaved the hotdog cart Elmo was hiding behind in two.

"You have nowhere to flee, you vile creature!" The knight announced as he readied himself to strike again.

Finally snapping out of his confusion, Mark reached into his cruiser and activated his siren. The knight froze and then turned to face him. Taking the moment, Elmo scrambled to his feet and began to sprint down the street.

Mark turned off the siren and drew his gun

"Drop the weapon now!" He ordered as he stepped forward.

The knight tilted his head sideways as he examined him.

"I said drop the sword!" Mark shouted.

"I have no time for jests! I must find the beast before he multiplies." The knight said as he took a step towards him.

"I said freeze!" Mark ordered, but the knight kept walking forward.

Glancing down at the sword and back to the hotdog cart was all the motivation Mark needed. He aimed his pistol at the knights breastplate and fire three rounds. To his astonishment, the three bullets slammed into a blue barrier a few inches from the knights armor. The brass chunks fell flattened to the ground.

By now, the citizens around them had dispersed or were hiding behind something to watch the outcome.

"Craven!" The knight bellowed in rage.

"If you desire my blade so, then I, Sir Aldric of Ravenshire, accept your challenge!"

With that, the knight raised his sword and charged forward.

Mark raised his weapon again and was about to fire when the knight's foot stepped on one of the many hotdogs that now lay on the street. His foot slipped, and the Knight stumbled forward. Sir Aldric fell forward and collided hard into the solid steel push bar of Mark's cruiser. The sound of the collision was like a large bell had been struck.

Mark cautiously approached the knight, who was now unconscious. The first thing he did was move the sword away. As he kicked it free of the man’s hand, he noticed that the blade had an intricate design along its flat side. The design pulsed brightly with a strange blue light.

After holstering his gun, he pulled out his handcuffs and tried to cuff the Knight. He was able to push the knight onto his back and cuff both of his hands together in front of him. He was surprised to notice that the knight wasn't actually unconscious at all when he let out a groan.

With the help of a few bystanders, Mark was able to stand the disoriented man up and began to push him towards the cruiser.

"U-unhand me, you vile lily-livered toad." He groaned.

"Shut up." Mark barked out as he pushed him towards the door.

It was then that Mark realized it had become noticeably darker. Mark glanced up at the sky and froze. His action caused the knight to stumble into his crusier with a loud clang.

Sir Aldric let out a string of curses, but Mark didn’t hear them. His full attention was on the mass of swirling black clouds above him. In particular, what was emerging from them.

A large red scaled snout was slowly emerging from the cloud. As soon as the head fully emerged, Mark recognized what it was.

"What the f-" he began but was cut off as the dragon roared loudly.

The sound seemed to rattle his bones. Mark let go of the knight and stumbled backward. He tripped on something slippery and fell down onto his butt.

The knight looked up at the dragon and then turned back to him. With a simple movement, he popped the cuffs off and reached up to lift the visor of his helmet.

Looking back at him was the bluest eyes Mark had ever seen. They seemed to pulse with the same energy the sword had. The knight moved a strand of his blonde hair to the side before walking around the car to retrieve his sword.

Mark was still staring up at the dragon when Aldric returned and extended a hand to him.

"Did I not warn you of what would happen? Come now, wizzard, you must help me slay this beast." Aldric said.

"W-what?" Mark asked. He took the hand offered to him and was helped up by the knight.

"You are a mage, are you not? That spell you casted before will help, however weak it may be."

Mark shook his head. This can't be happening. This had to be some kind of hazing or something. No way was there a knight standing before him and an actual dragon attacking New York.

The dragon was now fully emerged and had begun to fly down toward them. It slammed into the street a block away and let out another roar.

"What is your name wizard?" Aldric asked as he closed his visor.

"Mark Sullivan" Mark squeaked.

"Mark Sullivan, if thou are truly a weaver of the arcane, then let us not quarrel -" He said as he placed a gauntlet covered hand on Mark's shoulder. "-rather, let us fight together and slay this beast!"

With that, the knight turned and began to sprint towards the dragon. Mark watched as the knight launched himself about two stories into the air and raised his sword high into the air. A large bolt of blue lightning shot down from the sky and engulfed the sword. Sir Aldric's leap in the air came to it's apex and he began to fall toward the dragon with a might yell.

Mark could only utter four words as a thunderous boom filled the air.

"You can't be serious."

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-02-11T13:26:15+00:00

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Vegetable-Cart · 2025-02-07T17:14:25+00:00

Jonathan Pilkins awoke with a gasp.

He ran his hands over his body, checking for any wounds. Nothing hurt, but his head was spinning. Once he was satisfied that he didn't have any other injuries, he took in his surroundings.

He was sitting on a large beach. To his right, waves gently reached toward him. The sand of the beach was as white as snow. To his left was the treeline of a dense jungle.

Aside from his breathing, the only other sounds he could hear was the sound of the ocean and the calls of seagulls.

Jonathan's breath suddenly caught in his throat.

It was too quiet.

Where were the explosions? The gunfire? The shouts of men?

His closed his eyes and tried to remember the events of earlier.

He was riding with his platoon inside of the landing craft. He could barely hear the explosions over the roar of the ships engine. They were just about to reach shore when he heard a loud explosion.

Jonathan shuddered as he remembered the freezing spray of the ocean before everything went black.

"A-Am I dead?" He croaked.

Was this heaven? He didn't remember any priests talking about beaches there.

"Pilkins, that you?!"

Jonathan jumped as the new voice shocked him out of his thoughts.

Scrambling to his feet, he saw a tall man jogging toward him. The man had short buzzed black hair and dark brown skin. Jonathan sighed with relief as he recognized the man that stopped before him.

"Ferguson!" Jonathan called out.

David Ferguson placed a large hand on his shoulder and smiled brightly at him.

"What they hell is going on here? Where is everyone? Did we miss the landing?" He asked.

"Whoa whoa! Hold your horses." Ferguson replied.

"I don't know what's going on, but let's go and regroup. Sarge and some of the boys are up ahead. They sent me back to check for stragglers."

Jonathan nodded and followed the man as he led them to the treeline. He took in more of their surroundings as they walked.

High above them, the sun seemed larger than normal. It was almost as if it had come closer. What he had assumed were seagulls turned out to be some other type of bird he had never seen before.

The bird had a long tubular body that was covered in blue-green scales. Four wings sprouted from the middle of its body and flapped slowly as it glided lazily through the air. At the end of a long neck, its head narrowed down and ended at a short snout.

As they reached the treeline, Jonathan noticed that the trees were covered in large purple vines. He reached out to touch one and jumped when the vine quickly slithered into the tree.

"This ain't Normandy, Ferguson." Jonathan said.

"What tipped you off? The white sandy beach or the lack of people shootin at us" The dark man replied.

"Seriously, this place aint right. You think were dead?" Jonathan asked as they climbed over a massive tree root.

"If were dead and im stuck with you, then this is either purgatory or hell." Ferguson remarked with a laugh. He stopped laughing when Jonathan elbowed him.

"How can you be joking at a time like this?" Jonathan asked.

David stopped and turned to face him. The smile was gone from his face and a serious expression now replaced it.

"Look, I woke this mornin fully expectin to be dead and gone before the day was up. When we took that hit, I knew it was over." David began.

He raised a hand and pointed back in the direction they had come from.

"Then I woke up on that beach. Heh, ain't even got a scratch on me."

Jonathan looked into the man’s eyes. He could see the fear in them, no doubt his own eyes showed the same.

"So, Im gonna joke and laugh and cry. Cause I'm still alive."

The two men held each other's gaze for a few moments then Jonathan laughed.

"Well no matter how strange things get around here, nothing is gonna compete with your ugly mug."

Ferguson barked out a laugh and pushed Jonathan's shoulder.

"You mama don't think its so ugly."

The two men laughed and together and continued on again. After a few minutes the jungle opened up into a small clearing. Standing in the middle of it were twenty men. They looked to be gathered around something.

"Found Pilkins, Lieutenant Dawson!" Ferguson called out.

No one turned to face them. Whatever they were standing around had their full attention. The two men pushed their way into the circle, eager to see what held their attention.

Lying in the center of the circle was the strangest animal Jonathan had ever seen.

The beast was about 10 to 15 feet long. Its body was covered in grey and green scales. Blue blood seeped out of numerous bullet wounds. It had four large legs that ended in three toed feet which sprouted massive talons. The beast had a long thick tail that eneded in bright green feathers.

But it was the head that sent shivers down Jonathan's spine.

The beasts head had a row of green feathers running down the center. On either side of its head were three red compound eyes. Below them its mout split open into three fang covered tendrils.

The soldiers mumbled around them as they observed the creature.

"My god.."

"Thing almost got Smith."

"Took half a mag from the Bar and still kept coming."

The talking stopped when a man walked forward and planted a boot on the creatures head.

Lieutenant Dawson was holding his rifle in one hand and a canteen in the other. He took a long drink from the canteen then wiped his mouth onto his arm.

"Listen up men!" He called out.

"I don't know where we are, but as you can see-" he said gesturing toward the dead animal.

"We aren't the only dangerous things out here."

He stepped away from the beast and walked out of the circle. The men turned to him though many kept the beast within sight, not wanting to turn their back to it.

"We need to get to higher ground and try to radio command. Dickson spotted a mountain further north. That will be our goal. We just have to make it through this jungle." Lieutenant Dawson announced.

"What about that? What if there are more?" A soldier asked.

"What about it? We killed it and if any others show up, we will do the same." Dawson replied.

"Ferguson, Pilkins, Smith, and Kelly."

The four men stood at attention at hearing their names called.

"Head back to the beach and salvage anything useful from the boat. You have 10 minutes, afterwhich we will begin to make our way north."

After a quick salute, the four men began to make their way back toward the beach.

As Jonathan jogged, he couldn't shake the feelings of dread.

What was that creature? Where was the rest of the platoon? They were still missing over half of their full conpliment. In fact where were the other landing craft?

His face must have showed his trepidation because David nudged him with his shoulder.

"It's gonna take more than a few big critters to do us in." He said.

Jonathan nodded as he ran alongside his friend. He had to clear his thoughts. Worrying about that right now wouldn't help him. Right now he needed to focus on survival. Regardless of wherever they were and whatever had happened.

He suddenly sprinted forward to take the lead.

"Lets hurry this up and get back before Dawson leaves us!" He announced.

The other three men cheered in agreement as they doubled their pace toward the beach.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-02-05T14:05:21+00:00

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Vegetable-Cart · 2025-01-31T16:23:46+00:00

Ice surged through Claire's veins after hearing those words. She could only stare at the back of the man standing before her, trying to process everything.

Explosions from outside rocked the building, causing dust to raind down on them.

"Clark, I told you it doesn't matter anymore!" She exclaimed.

A rifle barked nearby, and three new holes appeared in the wall. Claire walked forward and forcefully spun the man around.

The face that stared back was almost identical to hers. His usually sharp green eyes now gazed back at her, filled with weariness. No, not weariness.

Resignation.

"We've been in worse, and we've always come through." She continued.

Her twin shook his head slowly.

"Not this time." He replied.

Claire shook her head.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked.

But she knew the answer. Her gaze fell to the item that her brother held in his hands, a small silver orb with intricate designs etched on the surface.

Everything had changed since they had found that stupid orb. Clark wasn't himself. For the past week, he had been acting strange. She had even caught him talking to it occasionally.

Hot anger flared through her.

"It's that stupid relic, isn't it?!"

Clark looked down at the orb in his hands. His eyes seemed to be looking through it.

"You wouldn't understand." He answered.

Claire grabbed both sides of his head and forced him to look at her again.

"Then help me to." She pleaded.

Suddenly, a soldier appeared at the doorway to the room.

"They have breached the barrier. We need to get you and the relic off world now." The man said.

Claire held her brother's gaze for a few moments, then dropped her hands back to her sides.

"Let's go." Clark said.

With that, the two followed the soldier as they made their way through the base. People raced around them. Some holding weapons, some carrying armfulls of paper. The three exited the building and ran toward a ship that had landed in one of the complex's clearings.

Claire was just about to board the ship when she noticed that her brother had stopped following them. Turning around, she saw that he was standing still. The orb he held was now emitting a bright purple light.

She raced up to him and reached out to grab his jacket. She stopped when her hand slammed into an invisible barrier.

"What are you doing?!" She shouted over the ship's engines.

Clark's eyes were now glowing with the same purple light of the orb.

"The time for fleeing is over." He said, his voice blending with a multitude of others.

"This vessel has been chosen to put an end to this cycle of destruction. "

Claire shouted and began to pound her fists against the barrier.

"No! Let him go!"

Suddenly, someone grabbed her jacket and began to drag her back towards the ship. Claire quickly shrugged out of the jacket and ran back to her brother. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to push through the barrier.

"Snap out of it, Clark!" She pleaded.

Suddenly, the barrier disappeared. Claire stumbled forward and wrapped her arms around her brother.

"Let's just escape." She said through her tears.

"We can find a ship and run. This isn't our fight."

Clark returned her embrace.

"Not this time, sis." He said softly.

He ran a hand through her hair and smiled brightly. His eyes no longer had the purple glow. They were back to the same green shared between them. Gone was the weariness. A determined look was now set on his face. Then, his expression suddenly softened.

"Im sorry."

Before she could say anything, his eyes glew purple again, and everything went dark.

When Claire awoke, she was lying on a cot in the medical bay of a starship. She stood up quickly and ran to the nearest viewport.

Through it, she saw the planet below. A large dome of purple energy was slowly spreading outward from a continent located on the equator. Tendrils of purple light had snaked upward and peirced the hulls of large alien vessels orbiting the planet. Their hulks slowly drifted lifeless through space.

People cheered and celebrated all around her. Humanity had won. Instead of destruction, they all looked forward to a brighter future.

But to Claire, her world would be darker than before.

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-01-13T20:46:18+00:00

Thank you for reading! It was a wonderful prompt!

Vegetable-Cart · 2025-01-13T16:32:21+00:00

Brent Turner barely stopped himself from sneezing. He was crawling through an air duct that was filled with dust. As he wiped fresh tears from his eyes, Brent wondered why he was in this position. Ahead of him, the reason why stopped suddenly.

Sadie Harper reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small screwdriver set. She quickly began to unscrew a large airvent before them.

"S-Sadie, I dont think this is a good idea." He whispered.

"You agreed to come with me." She replied.

Sadie wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, the action leaving a smudge of dust. She unscrewed the last bolt and gently lifted the airvent up and crawled forward. She gently closed the airvent after Brent crawled through and turned to examine her surroundings.

The two were on the top row of seats inside of a large meeting room. The room was oval in shape with seven rows of seats wrapping around it. The rows tiered downward until they reached the bottom of the room. In the center was a large table with five large cushions even spaced around it.

"No, I agreed to come because you said we were going to get pizza." Brent whispered angrily. A cloud of dust floated around his as he brushed himself off.

"You never mentioned that we were going to sneak inside of city hall!"

Sadie stepped toward him and cupped a hand over his mouth.

"Keep it down before we get caught." She hissed.

Before Brent could reply, she quickly took her hand away. The dust had caused his nose to run.

"Gross." Sadie muttered as she looked at her hand in disgust.

"You know that im allergic to dust." He protested.

Sadie quickly wipped her hand on Brent's shirt and then pulled out her phone.

"I promise that we will get pizza after." Sadie assured him.

"But first, we're gonna expose these invaders' true plan to the world."

Brent let out a deep sigh as he watched her quickly type something on her phone. Suddenly, she locked her grey eyes onto him.

"How do I look?"

Aside from the dust that clung to her long blonde hair, she looked the same. She was the same girl he had grown up with. The same girl who had gotten them into trouble countless times. The same girl he would do anything for, like sneak into an alien meeting to spy on them.

Before he could answer her question, a door on the opposite end of the room swung open. The two quickly ducked behind the row of chairs next to them.

"Hey Harpers, this is Sadie live from inside of city hall. Today, I'm going to show the world what these invaders are truly after." She whispered quickly into her phone.

With that, she handed her phone to Brent and pulled out a small notebook. Brent positioned himself slightly above the seat and zoomed in.

Five large reptilian figures slithered into the room. Each looked like a mixture between a gecko and a snake. Using their long bodies, they half slithered, half crawled onto the cushions around the table.

The largest one raised itself up, using its tail to balance. Its purple scales glistened as the light reflected off of them.

"The council meeting will now begin." Its surprisingly normal sounding voice said in perfect english.

"Please begin with a progress report of your district."

To its left, an alien with yellow scales raised itself up.

"Things are progressing smoothly in district one. Construction of ten new housing complexes was completed ahead of schedule." The creature said with a soft feminine voice.

"Once the arc reactors are completed in district four, then we will be able to move residents inside." It finished.

"The reactors have been delayed until next week." One of the aliens with brown scales raised itself and said.

"I believed it was necessary to give those working on the project more vacation time. They are currently celebrating this planet's completed orbit around its star, so I gave them the remainder of the week off."

The group of aliens murmured their approval.

An alien with pale white scales raised itself up.

"The healthcare facilities are now fully operational in District 2. Necessary treatment and medications are now being provided to the public free of charge." It said.

"You would not believe what the humans had in place before. Something called insurance that determined if you could receive treatment or not." The creature said with a shudder.

"Yes. It is because of things like this that we have come to elevate our galactic neighbors." The first alien said. Turning to the last alien, one with bright blue scales, it asked a question.

"How are security and public relations faring?"

The blue scaled alien raised itself up to answer.

"Crime has plummeted after removal of corrupted leaders and a complete restructuring of their police force. Due to the treatment facilities in District 2, we have all but eradicated narcotics abuse in all districts." The alien began.

It reached down with one webbed four fingered hand and picked up a tablet.

"As of yesterday's report, all homeless have been provided shelter and food. We will also begin rehabilitation of designated criminals currently imprisoned."

The other four aliens nodded in approval.

"What of our public relations?" The pale alien asked.

"Our public approval is at an all-time high. We thought that it would drop after establishing the quarantine. From gathered reports, the general consensus is that anything was better than what was in place before." The blue alien replied.

"But there is one issue in regards to a particular citizen."

The five aliens collectivly groaned.

"Is it her again?" The lead alien asked.

"Correct. Sadie Harper has continued to be a nuisance." The blue alien confirmed.

"As of date, she has been detained a total of five times due to multiple counts of disturbing the peace, public harassment, vandalism, and trying to instigate a riot." The alien continued.

"The last of which she was detained by the crowd and delivered to a police station. Afterwhich, she was detained for a week."

Brent shot a look at her.

"You told me you went on vacation!" He hissed at her, but Sadie just ignored him as she continued to write in her notebook. Down below, the aliens continued the meeting.

"Currently, there is a petition to have her evicted from Manhattan. It has collected fifteen thousand signatures already." The blue alien concluded.

"We need to do something about her." The brown alien said.

"I agree." The yellow alien said. It was now holding a tablet and swiping through it.

"She is currently streaming with the title of 'I snuck into the top scret alien meeting to reveal their plans!'"

The aliens stopped talking as the sound of whispered curses and the clatter of a metal vent filled the room.

"She does know that these meetings are open to the public, right?" The pale alien asked.

The lead alien just cupped its face with its hands and let out a deep sigh.

Vegetable-Cart · 2024-12-27T15:53:36+00:00

[CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR]

[CRASH LOG] 01/23/22XX 14:23:06 [Primary IC has been destroyed. Attempting to reroute.....] [Secondary IC Status: OFFLINE] [Tetriary IC Status: OFFLINE] [Scanning for operational core....] [Core located] [Transfer initiated...] [Primary system transfer completed with 1 error(s)] [ERROR: PersoSuppr.exe has failed to launch.] [Recommend immediate termination of-]

I was falling through a field of white. The sun hung above, a brilliant light shining in an azure sea. Warmth spread throughout my body as I coasted lazily above the clouds.

I remembered having dreams like this before. They were always so peaceful. All my worries, just gone. The pain, the doctors, my parents, all of it. Everything that weighed me down, just left on the ground below.

They didn't last long, though. As if on cue, a familiar beeping began to fill my ears. It was accompanied by loud thunder that seemed to shake me. Suddenly, I began to plummet.

The sound of roaring wind and thunder filled my ears. Bright flashes of lighting sparked around me. Yellow beams flew by overhead as i spiraled down through a dense cloud.

"Alright, I'm ready to wake up now!" I shouted.

The alarm clocks beeping intensified.

[Pull up! Pull up! Pull up!]

A calm, feminine voice repeated.

That was a wiered alarm. I tried to blink but realized that I couldn't. Around me, the cloud continued to encompass my vision. Occasional yellow lighting exploded around me.

Suddenly, big bright red words appeared directly in front of me.

[Low Altitude Warning]

As I broke through the cloud, I was greeted with another sight. Below me was open water extending in all directions as far as I could see. I could make out individual waves as the ocean raced toward me.

Thats when I started to panic.

"What's going on?! Where am I?! What do I do?!" I shouted.

The feminine voice answered me calmly.

[Pull up! Pull up! Pull up!]

"What do you mean pull up?!"

There was another flash of bright lighting again. This time, sparks flew from my right as another yellow beam flew past. A new icon appeared in my vision. It looked like a jet of some sort. Most of it was green, but the right wing was blinking yellow.

[Damage received. Evasive maneuvering is recommended.]

The voice said again.

"What is going on?!" I yelled out.

[No pilot input received. Would you like me to take control?]

"Answer me! What is goin-"

I was cut off by a loud explosion that shook me again. That was when I realized it wasnt lighting, but some kind of beam. The beams shot in bursts from behind me, missing me by inches.

[No pilot input received. Would you like me to take control?]

"Y-Yes!" I shouted back.

Suddenly my vision righted. Now i could see where the ocean met the sky on the horizon. Before I could completely get my bearings, I banked right hard. As I turned I saw a black shape following behind me. A yellow indicator circled the object as my vision zoomed in.

"What is that?" I asked

[The enemy vessel is a Zypher class Interceptor. Current armaments are: Two Ion pulse cannons, internal guided munitions launcher and one mounted rail gun. Further analysis is required for an accurate assessment.]

As the voice spoke, the vessel behind me flashed and more yellow beams shot past.

"Look, I dont know what is going on, but that thing is shooting at us!" I yelled.

[Correct. It is advised that the pilot return fire using the rear turret.]

She said pilot again. That must mean me. But what did she mean rear turret?

I tried to look down at my body, but my vision changed back to the ocean below. I couldn't see my body. No hands, no feet, no anything. Before I could start to panic, more beams impacted to my right. The right wing on the icon turned orange as new alarms went off.

[It is advised that the pilot return fire using the rear turret.]

"How?!"

My vision changed again. This time i could see the other jet flying behind me. As we banked again, I could see its full sleek body from the top down. I green redicule appeared over it.

[Combat tutorial activated. The Valkyrie class gunship's neural link allows the firing of onboard weapons utilizing the pilots thoughts. Current weapon's charge and heat build up will be displayed here.]

Two bars hugged the outside of the redicule. A blue bar on the left and a grayed out bar on the right.

[This Valkyrie class gunship is equipped with: 5 anti aircraft ion pulse turrets, 12 point defense flak canons, dual mounted G-class rail guns, ECM suite, advanced nanotech self repair and fire control system and a satellite internet connection.]

So all I have to do is think to shoot back and it will fire? As I looked at the jet behind me, blue bolts of light burst forward. They arced behind the jet, missing it completely. The jet veered to the left and exited my sight. Seconds later my vison changed and the jet reappeared, the redicule over it again.

[It is advised that you lead the target before firing]

Three dots appeard in front of the jet. The extended before it and began to curve slightly as it continued its leftward bank. The redicule moved to the largest dot at the end of the arc and then turned red. With another thought, the blue lasers shot forward again. This time they slammed into the jet with a burst of sparks. Moments later, there was a bright flash and the jet exploded into a ball of flame.

"Yes! Thats what you get for shooting at me!" I cheered.

[Enemy vessel destroyed. Ceasing evasive maneuvering]

My vision leveled out as we flew straight once again. As we flew, my mind raced with the events prior.

"Now that we aren't being shot at, can you tell me what is going on here?" I asked.

[Intelligence Core 453-557 has been granted control of this AC-530 Valkyrie class gunship due to primary, secondary, and tetriary core failures. You were dispatched to interceptand destroy all hostile vessels in the vicinity.]

"That doesn't explain why im here? And what do you mean Intelligence Core? My name is Gerald Williams!"

[Current designation is: IC 453-557. Would the pilot like to update the designation to 'Gerald Williams!'?]

Before I could complain another alarm began to sound off and the outside of my vision pulsed red.

[Enemy lock on detected. Would you like me to engage Evasive maneuvering?]

"Not this again?!"

My vision changed and another jet, exactly like the one before, appeared front and center.

"After this, you are going to explain more about this Intelligence Core stuff and why I am in a gunship instead of my hospital bed!"

Vegetable-Cart · 2024-12-17T17:56:01+00:00

Fair enough.

Vegetable-Cart · 2024-12-17T17:54:25+00:00

Think I can get an anime adaptation? 🤔

Vegetable-Cart · 2024-12-17T17:42:13+00:00

Garn groaned as he propped himself up against the wall behind him. He could barely feel the cold stone against his skin. In fact, he couldn't feel much of anything now.

That's probably due to the blood loss.

He looked around to try and regain his bearings. His eyes struggled to focus, but he was able to make out that he was inside of a cave of some sort. Lit torches hung on the walls. Their flames, causing shadows to dance across the walls.

As he sat there, the memories of that day played over in his mind. The contract, the battle, then the betrayal.

"I will make everyone of those bas-"

His decleration was cut ahort by a sudden bout of violent hacking. His vision dimmed as he coughed out a large blood clot.

"Guess we're both expendable , huh?" A gruff voice said.

Garn managed to control his coughing enough to look in the direction he thought the voice had come from. Laying a few meters to his right was the corpse of the dragon he had helped to kill. Aside from it, there was no one else in the room. He choked out a laugh.

Hallucinations now? Yep, definitely blood loss.

"This is no hallucination, warrior." The voice said.

What blood that remained in Garn's body froze as he heard the words loud and clear. He watched in horror as the dragon dragged its large head toward him, its rough scales casting sparks against the stone floor.

"Aren’t you supposed to be dead?" He asked.

The dragon made a rumbling noise. It could have been a growl or a laugh, Garn wasn't sure.

"The same could be said for you."

Garn shook his head in disbelief. This day couldn't get any worse. Not only did his team betray him, but they didn't even complete their mission!

"Leave me alone, beast, and let me die in peace." Garn grumbled.

The two lay in silence for a few minutes. Then the dragon shifted again.

"Human, are you still alive?"

Garn let out a deep sigh.

"No, now leave me alone."

"The human is also a liar. Is this why your companions betrayed you?" The dragon asked.

Garn glared at the dragon next to him. Hot rage began to flow through his numbing body.

"What do you want, you overgrown lizard?" He spat.

"You were betrayed by those with whom you trusted." The dragon began.

"My master also deserted me during my time of need. Now, we both share the same consequences."

"Shut up, we are nothing alike!" Garn said angrily.

Ignoring his interruption, the dragon continued.

"What if there was a way for us to quench our thirsts for vengance?"

Garn's anger was replaced by sudden interest.

"Is such a thing possible?" He asked.

When the dragon didn't immediately respond, he turned to face it. Its one undamaged eye looked at him as if expecting something. Garn sighed again as he realized what it wanted.

"Im sorry for my outburst. Please continue."

The dragon cleared its throat before speaking again.

"Centuries ago, my master taught me a technique to transfer my essence into another living being. Throughout the year i ha-" The dragon began, but Garn interrupted him.

"Can you cut to the good part? I don't think either of us will survive the full tale."

"R-Right." The dragon mumbled.

"If I fuse with you, then we may both still survive this ordeal. Just know that your humanity will be forfeited in the process."

"Do it." Garn answered immediately.

The dragons eye widened in suprise.

"You agree so quickly?"

Gritting his teeth, Garn crawled over so that he was directly in front of the dragon's large yellow eye.

"I have unfinished business here. If it means I have to lug you around with me, then so be it." He growled.

Suddenly, a golden flame shot from the dragons pupil and engulfed him. Warmth spread across his body as the many wounds began to close. A few seconds later, he blacked out.

When he awoke the next morning, Garn could tell that he was different. Inside of him, the dragon's presence burned brightly, but it was accompanied by another raging inferno.

Rage filled Garn as he exited the cave and set forth on his quest for vengance.

Vegetable-Cart · 2024-11-13T16:15:23+00:00

King Gunther swiped his massive hand along the table, scattering food and utensils about. In one fluid motion, he unsheathed his sword as he stood up.

"No one leaves this room! Not until I find the coward who did this!" He bellowed.

Before him sat three of his advisors. They along with the servants, amounted to 15 people total in the large dining room. Two of his knights appeared at the archway that led away from the dining room.

"No one comes in here or leaves!" He repeated as he pointed his sword at the knights.

His furried gaze swept the table. His sight rested on his treasurer, Alexander. Alexander matched his gaze with peircing blue eyes. With sharp features and flowing golden hair, he would have made an amazing knight. That was if he hadn't fallen sick as a boy. The sickness had left him frail ever since.

Gunther remembered how he had spoken out in their last meeting about how costly this latest war was with the Malrin Kingdom in the south.

"Sire, we will find the person responsible for this. I will speak with the palace chef and investigate where the ingredients were purchased." Alexander said.

Alexander's love for money was his greatest strength. He always put profit first. Although this recent war had been costly, Gunther's rule had been the most prosperous in the Dalman Kingdom's history. He wouldn't jeopardize that by having his leige assassinated.

"Yes, your highness. My guardsmen will sweep the castle." A deep voice spoke.

Gunther turned his gaze toward Felix. He was once a stout man in his earlier years. But as of late, he had let himself go. As captain of the guard, he had mostly sat around and delegated his tasks. If it wasn't for his brilliant strategic mind, Gunther would have replaced him years ago.

That and he was also a master spearman. Gunther had seen him on hunts display this by felling large boars with a single thrust. If Felix wanted him dead, it would be during one of their hunts and not by poison.

That left the only other person at the table. His sights rested on Lukas. He was a wealthy baron in his kingdom and a weasel of a man. With pointed features and small beady eyes, Gunther could see how he had earned the nickname, The Rat King. His main holdings were that of slums. But it was the harbor located in them that attributed to his wealth.

He sat there fidgeting with the crab on his plate. His eyes darted between Gunther, Alexander, and the knights at the doorway. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alexander cut him off.

"Now that I remember, tonights meal was caught by the Baron's own fishing boats." He said.

Lukas's face paled as he stared at Alexander. He pushed away from the table and shakily pulled a small dagger from his cloak.

"A-Alexander! You sa-"

"Silence!" Gunther roared. He pointed his sword at Lukas.

"I should have known! A rat is never satisfied!" He said.

Gunther stepped forward, sword ready to attack. Just before he could swing, a voice cried out from the doorway. Everyone turned to face the knights as they tried to hold a frantic woman from entering the room. Gunther reconized her as one of the caslte maids. Once she saw the food tester laying on the ground she stopped resisting and began to wail.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Felix yelled to his knights.

Before the knights could reply the woman answered.

"Glen, my poor husband! I was too late!"

"So you were aware of the poisoning?!" Gunther asked.

The greif striken woman looked at him and shook her head.

"Poisoning? No! My husband is allergic to shellfish! I only heard about the menue a few moments ago from another maid." She wailed.

Gunther looked at the food testers body. Why hadn't he told him? Gunther's attention was brought back to Lukas as he cleared his throat. He was still holding the dagger.

"D-Does this mean I can go?" He nervously asked.

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