Indigo Fire: The Naga Gatekeeper
For a while, I've
had a concept of a first person shooter where you play as an augmented snake
that had arms and legs. Sort of like an elite warrior based on agility and some
strength. It had taken quite a few wacky mission types, varying in different
world settings. The protagonist would be named Indigo, a blue, biologically enhanced viper. (I think that is the second blue snake character, aside from my avatar.)
The following is
a concept boss encounter. Wildly imagined in my perspective. I guess the character
is some sort of elite mercenary sold off to whatever mission requires someone
of unprecedented skill. More of an expendable person. [Ha ha, "an expendable", way
to phrase it.] That would explain why each of the missions are so unrelated to each other.
Anyway, here it
goes.
Indigo Fire: The Naga Gatekeeper
A
battalion of soldiers were sent to negotiate with a reclusive nation located in
a well-defended mountain range. There were only four entryways into the region,
each guarded by a gate-keeper. It had been years since any of the gate keepers
had been challenged, and legends declared that no one had passed them for a
time even before then. The
soldiers approached the southern gateway. A cave sat at the base of one of the
foreshadowing mountains. No one knew much of what lurked inside, and every
single one of them was quite sure that it was something that could kill them
all. They
stopped about a good hundred feet from the entrance of the cave. The blue snake
standing by the side of the squad leader, who was a formidable looking lizard. "Alright",
said the commander, "We've made it. We're at the gateway." Indigo
looked at the commander. He could see the nervousness lurking in his face. That
fear of the unknown was a nerve racking sensation. Indigo could feel it
himself. Just what were they all about to get into? He had ran blindly into
situations far too often, yet he still felt the adrenaline every time. "Indigo,"
the armored commander turned, "You're going to take point. We don't know much
of what is hiding in those caves. But, from what information we could gather,
there is something guarding the passage. A guard, of sorts. From some ancient
writings, we discovered that one must challenge that guard and best them in
combat. But there is a catch." Indigo straightened up to listen. "We can't kill
them." Indigo nods, seems like a reasonable rule. "They can, however, kill us."
Indigo gave a frown of disapproval. That wasn't very fair. "Killing the
gatekeeper will be taken as an act of war, something that will definitely not
help in trying to negotiate a treaty. We need you to go in there and subdue the
gatekeeper so that we can pass through safely." Indigo
took a breath. So they all just needed to overpower this gatekeeper, and they
could all go through. Sounded easy enough. "We
know how you are when faced in a life-threatening situation, and we can't risk
you killing the gatekeeper. So I'll be needing you assault rifle." Indigo
handed over his weapon. "You'll be armed with a modified dual-weapon." Indigo
received a rather odd looking weapon, it was a little large for his liking, but
bearable. "Its primary fire is a shock blaster. It can fire rapid bursts of
electrolyzed pellets to stun enemies. Secondary is a concussion blast. You have
four electrolyte canisters charged and ready. From our scans of the cave, there
are some natural hydrostatic vents you can use to recharge those canisters.
Your concussion cannon is capable of three round burst fire, but it will take
some time to charge up each shot. Roughly five seconds, depending on how many
shots are fired at a time." Indigo
glanced over the weapon, familiarizing himself with the weapon and getting a
good grip for it. "Now
go get 'em, tiger." The commander slapped him on the back, causing him to take
his first step. He took a few more steps before realizing that no one else was
making a sound to follow him. He turned around and saw everyone staring at him.
Some looked skeptical, others seemed hopeful, but one things was for sure, they
all stood perfectly still. "Wait.
Am I going in alone?" Indigo asked. The
commander stepped toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Me and my men
have talked it over. We need as many of us as we can to get through that pass.
If we all go in at once, the odds of at least half of us dying are pretty much
guaranteed. The way we see it. If you don't make it out alive, then no one
will. Not without killing her." "So,
I'm not going to have any back-up?" "Yep.
We will monitor your vitality signal and await your report, that is, if you do
somehow manage to beat her." "It's
a she?" "That
is what we gathered from our records. Now, go get her." The
commander shoved him again, forcing Indigo to accept his mission. Indigo walked
onward to the gloomy cavern. He was disappointed at having to go in alone, but,
what else was new? Almost every mission had him going in alone at some point,
but those were perfectly good reasons like being undercover. This, however, was
just plain stupid. Him going alone against some unknown threat in the middle of
a mysterious cavern. For all he knew, the creature was going to pounce on him
the darkness and the suicide mission would come to an end. He
took one more glance at the squadron behind him. Cowards. Well, then again,
perhaps they all would die if they followed him into the cave. Maybe the
commander was right. Everyone else was incompetent compared to him. Or was that
just their way of boosting his ego to better his chances? He
took another deep breath. Here goes nothing. He
walked through the long, winding cave. It was unusually wide, as if a river had
been used to carve it out and then redirected after the path had been
completed. Maybe even the size was to accommodate the abnormally large guard.
Whatever the case was, Indigo felt that it would make it a bit easier to see
the gatekeeper. As
he progressed, he found blue lamps that lit the cave. They looked like they
would be used in some sort of ritual, or maybe even a decoration of some sort. He
came to an area where the cave split in three directions- left, right, and
forward. The two side paths seemed to arc forward, eventually merging again at
some point. Indigo pressed onto the forward
path, readying his weapon. He kept his eyes about him, trying to find some hint
of what he was about to face.The cave arced downward into a sort
of ramp. He crouched through it, eager to see what lay behind that rocky
ceiling. He came to another intersection. This time, the forward path led to a
more expansive cavern."I sssmell an intruder..." a hissy
voice echoed through the caves.Indigo shuffled quietly to the wall."I know you're in here. There is no
hiding in this placcce..." the gatekeeper taunted.Indigo observed the chamber. Raised
plateaus adorned the four corners of the caverns. Waterfalls seeped out of the
walls and into shallow channels. Blue, electric torches hung symmetrically
across the room.This was no ordinary cave system. It
was an arena."Hmm... I sense only one odor in hear.
Are you alone? Poor thing. It was not wise for you to enter this place. You're
mine now."Indigo could hear the voice more
clearly, he determined the direction of the gatekeeper and aimed his rifle
towards a raised hole. Looked like there were more than four ways to enter this
room.He saw a head emerge from the
entryway. Then a body. Then a tail. It was giant snake. No, it was a naga, and
quite intimidating naga. She had the hood of a cobra, and the face of a viper.
He had expected a monster to be lurking in the caves. A dragon perhaps, but
this was still somewhere along those lines.She eased down to the center of the
room, making a show of intimidating the lone warrior. She was covered in a
shiny metal armor. On her back were three rather large weapons lined up and
ready to use. She was much more modernly armed than he expected. All she needed
was some fire breath, and Indigo would have ran for cover. Yet, despite all the
intimidating features, she seemed reasonable, not too reasonable, but
reasonable enough to not to attack him immediately."Ohhh, you are alone. And quite
smaller than I expected. Tell me, are you lost?" she asked, pulling her hand to
her chin in a feminine manner, playfully pondering his motives."No, I'm not lost. Just looking
around." He replied, trying not to look frightened."So you seek passage? Well, you seem
very mislead. One cannot pass through this way, unless they are deemed worthy
by the way's keeper. And, you see, I am she.""I kind of figured that out just
now.""So it seems. But did you know that
you have to best me in battle? Surely, you haven't come to challenge me all on
your lonesome, and with that sorry excuse for a weapon. That would be... quite a
foolish decision.""Well..." Indigo scratched his head in
embarrassment, "That is kind of why I'm here.""I guess you didn't expect to find a
two ton naga guarding the way did you? Tell you what. If you start running now,
I'll give you a ten second head start."Indigo readied himself, quickly
planning on what he was going to do once the gloves were off."You might want to make that three,"
he stated.He immediately strafed to her right
and fired a concussion blast. The force of the blast knocked her head just
enough to make her angry. The little stunt he'd just pulled would not go
unpunished. "You little..!" she exclaimed as she pulled out the gatling gun
that was strapped to her back. As Indigo bolted up a ledge, she began to fire.Indigo saw the weapon fire trailing
toward him. It was quite a ways off, but the naga did not care. With a weapon
like that, there was no need to really aim. She just needed to point it roughly
in the desired direction, and she was sure to hit something.The barrage of bullets sunk into the
wall, emitting sparks with every single impact. The place was specifically
designed to take all sorts of punishment, despite being ornately decorated for
an arena. Indigo could not let her aim reach him. He fired a stream of shock
pellets at her arm, causing her to lose grip on and cease fire."Aaaaagh!" she hissed from the
stinging pain. That little insect was going to die.Indigo hasted to make use of the
opening he made, charging up to her like any other pawn he'd faced. She
attempted to knock him away with her tail, but he rolled over her sweeping
strike. He then clambered up her back and buried the blaster in a gap of her
plating.He pulled the trigger and sent a
painful drill of electricity in her back. The naga hissed out in fury. The
plate of armor came loose from the electrical fire. Indigo peeled it off and
exposed soft spot. The naga grabbed him and threw him across the room. He still
held on to his weapon, knowing not to lose it during battle.He landed at the foot of the
parallel ledge. The naga switched weapons, opting for a more precise rail gun.
Indigo got up and saw her already aiming the lancer at him. Without hesitation,
he climbed up the ledge. A powerful stream of concentrated energy fired at the
area he stood only a moment ago. "Hold still you little worm!" the
naga shrieked."Why don't you try aiming, you
stupid snake!" shouts Indigo as he retreats into the surrounding corridors.The naga moved to cut him off. She
rounded a main entry way and readied her shot. Indigo slid into view, the naga
pulled the trigger. The slug sailed clean over the ducking snake. She missed. Indigo fired another concussion blast at her
face, causing her helmet to smack painfully against her nose. She instinctively
covered her face and grimaced. That weapon was terribly annoying for her to put
up with. Why didn't he have a regular weapon like any other warrior?Before she could recover, another
abrupt wave smashed into her hand, jerking her head back again. "Gahhh! Stop
doing that!" she hissed. She moved to search for her target, but he vanished. It
took her a moment to realize that the blue snake was once again on her back. She
turned her head and saw his tail wiggling in the air behind her, "Don't you
dare... AAAAAAAAAGH!!!"Indigo fired his shock blaster
between the shoulder plates. She fell on her stomach. The invasive sting only
infuriated her. She mustered all her rage from the irritating shocks and pushed
herself back up. She rammed against the side of the cave, throwing her attacker
off. She blindly swiped her tail and knocked the rude reptile into the center
arena once more. Lucky her.Indigo tumbled once more into the
center room. The sudden impact of metal plates shook his vision for a moment.
He wasted no time in getting back up. He readied his weapon and looked toward
the direction of his enemy. Once the blurry image came into focus, Indigo's jaw
dropped."Let's see you dodge this you
irritating eel!" she hissed, bearing on her shoulder a salvo rocket launcher.
She pulled the trigger and six rockets flared forward in a flurry of smoke and
fire. Indigo leaped out of the way. The rockets flew a few by and exploded,
sending several waves of heat and dust into the room.The gatekeeper readied a second
salvo. Knowing just where that blue freak was in the smoke."DIE!" She then fired another salvo into the room.
The rockets crashed near the left ledge, sending another cloud of dust and
debris into the air, replacing the fading smoke of the last barrage.She switched back to her gatling gun
and readied for him to leap out of the smoke. Just in case he managed to
survive the explosions, which he probably did, despite her being pretty
thorough with making sure he was dead. The dust fell back to the ground rather
swiftly, the moisture in the air must have been the cause of that.He was nowhere to be found. She
moved toward the center of the arena, trying to find where the little parasite
had gone. This was her arena, and no matter which way he came from, she was
prepared to gun him down.She sensed a faint pattering of feet
come from behind. She swerved her weapon in the direction of the noise and
immediately began spewing shots at the corridor. Indigo leaped over the stream,
he didn't expect her to react so quickly and had almost been caught in the
stream of bullets. He aimed his weapon on the rising gatling gun and fired a
concussion blast. The naga's primary weapon was forced downward, causing her to
lean forward from the cumbersome weight.Indigo placed his foot on the base
of the gatlign gun and kicked at her head. Her head jerked back. He spun
forward over her and yanked the helmet off of her head. He kicked her neck and
fell to the floor.She brought her weapon around to end
him, but a simultaneous fire from his dual-weapon shocked her hand, and caused
her to drop her gatling gun. She hissed in frustration. She
didn't need that cumbersome weapon to deal with her opponent. She would crush
his skull with her own hands.Indigo made an effort to climb on to
her back, but she quickly seized him by the neck and held him up. He fidgeted a
bit with her oversized palm. He couldn't breathe with her monstrous grip
sealing his airways. "I have you now you little piece of-" Indigo fired the blaster at her
head, her helmet was no longer there. It was an easy target."AAAAAAAGH!" she immediately let go
of him and shielded her face. The burst of electricity surged through her head,
burning her nose, numbing her mouth, ringing her eardrums, and stinging her
eyes. "AAAAAAGH! EEEERNH! EEEEERNH!" the
sudden shock to her bare face made all her senses buzz in excruciating pain.
She let go of her face, eyes scrunched tightly trying to avoid the sting of
opening them. She lashed around with her hands, blindly trying to find that
wretched snake. "Curse you, you filthy trash! I'll rip you in half. I'll tear
out your heart! I'll kill you! As soon as I get my hands on you, you will know-"Indigo was already climbing her back
while she yelled her threats. He found that shoulder plates were gone, but
there was still a layer of weaved material, guarding her skin. He clawed into
it and tore an opening. He then fixed his weapon upon the neck of his opponent
and let it rip.The oversized tayser fired directly
to her spine, sending unrestrained pulses of electricity throughout her body.
Her neck jolted up. Her eyes shook in their sockets. Her tongue flicked
uncontrollably. Her arms splayed out in
a wiggly manner. And her long, slender body spasmed from her chest, all the way
to the tip of her tail. "GuuuUUUuuuUUUuuuUUUuuuh!" was all
that could come out her mouth as she fell face-first to the floor. The gun
continued to fire for a good fifteen seconds. A weakening numbness overtook her
body. It electrified her until she could barely feel the pain anymore, but she
still had some fight left in her. She was not going to let him win.Indigo stopped his fire. His second
canister was depleted. He needed to reload. "Are you finished yet?" he asked,
sincerely wondering if she was going to give up."No, I will not surrender. Not to
some low-life, skinny little worm!" She brought her arms to bear herself up,
ignoring the trauma her shaky limbs were experiencing. Before she could reach
the point to retaliate, she felt another electric bolt sear into her neck.
"AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUU!" she squealed as she fell back to the floor. That was the
most lady-like thing to come out of her mouth throughout this whole ordeal."Give up already! I beat you fair
and square. If you keep trying to fight, I'm going to keep shocking you until
your nerves fry. And I'm sure you don't want to live the rest of your life like
a vegetable.The naga considered his words. As
much as it broke her callous heart to admit, there was no use in fighting
anymore. She had indeed been bested by as single snake. She had been disarmed
and humiliated. He muscles ached. Her nerves hurt. This was all a horrible dream. How
could such a little twerp like this beat her into submission? This was her
arena. She had all the advantages. She had the bigger size. She had the better
weaponry. She had the newest armor. And she had the experience in fighting in
this cave. She should not have lost. Perhaps, he was the better warrior.
Perhaps he was worthy to pass through. Or maybe he was just lucky. That had
to be it, he must be blessed with some guardian angel to help him out of every
situation. Ah, who was she kidding? She wasn't superstitious. He said it
himself. He beat her fair and square. Well, maybe not fair, the odds were
unfavorable toward him, but he still beat her."Ok," she said in a cracked voice,
"I give up. You win. You are worthy to pass through this place. You may enter
the forbidden kingdom."Indigo could feel her heartbreak.
She had never been beaten before. That must have taken her a lot of will just
to admit. He could feel her body suddenly go limp. It still shook here and
there from the shocks she received. But other than that, she was completely
shattered in both mind and spirit."I am so humiliated," she said, "I'm
not worthy to be a gatekeeper." She began to cry.Indigo couldn't just stand on her like
some heartless monster and watch her sob. He slid off of her and put a hand on
her bare shoulders. "Hey, don't say that. You fought valiantly. I haven't been
thrown around like that for a while. You are a great warrior. You know. The
moment I first saw you, I thought I was as good as dead. You nearly tore me to
shreds several times! In fact, I shouldn't have won. You gave me a head start!"The naga thumped her head on the
floor. Of course! She gave him the inch he needed to trample all over her!
Well, maybe not trample, but just enough of a chance so that he could win. She
underestimated him. It was such a simple mistake that cost her the fight. It
was a lesson she needed to learn. Actually, it was a reminder of what she had
been taught. This stranger must have been sent from above to put her in her
place. She was a gatekeeper. She needed to be alert and wary of danger. Not
arrogant and proud. It is by such people that kingdoms fall, and she must be better
than that if she were to keep the enemy from breaching her wall.She smiled at that thought. She then
shifter her eyes to see the soul of her opponent. He meant every word. He was
better than her in more ways than one. She picked herself up once more, nearly
failing in her attempt. The adrenaline was gone and she felt the strain of her
battle.Indigo backed away as he suddenly
felt quite small in comparison to her."No hard feelings right?" he asked."Oh, I'm still upset at you for
taking that head start.""I see. Well, I have some- friends
that need to pass through here. I was wondering if they could come with me.""What?""Well, the reason they sent me in
here was to get them access. They want to discuss a treaty with their nation
and yours.""You mean they sent you in here
alone?! The cowards! I will not be granting them entry if they are willing to
send one person all alone to die by my hand! They are not worthy.""Oh please, you're in no condition
to fight, and they mean no harm to anyone.""I can't allow strangers to enter
without them challenging me.""I challenged you on their behalf!
You must let them in, or I'm not going."The naga paused. That was such a
ridiculous threat, it would be less trouble for her if he simply walked away.
Or did he mean that he wasn't going to leave from belittling her until she
agreed? She did not want to argue anymore. She was exhausted."Ok, fine. They can pass. But if
they have weapons, they must leave them behind. I will not let them enter with
weapons of any kind. You know. I have a very
keen sense of smell, and I can tell if someone is trying to smuggle an
armament. Even if it's just a pocket knife.""Thank you, ma'am." Indigo smiles,
he switches to his radio transmitter "Commander. Come in commander!""Yes, Indigo. What is it? Don't tell
me you turned chicken.""I've managed to get your access to
the pass granted. You are free to enter in, under the condition that you leave
all weapons behind, including knives and sharp objects. The people are very
strict in regards to safety and they will not take lightly to anyone sneaking
in with so much as a pocket knife. I'll say again for clarification. You are
not to bring any weapons of any kind.""Well, hot tamales. You really beat
the gatekeeper?"The naga grimaced at the remark. Indigo
smirked, "Well, it was a close one. I think she let me win, actually. I'll see
you shortly."Indigo looked up at the naga and
found her smirking. The naga couldn't help it. Even this little viper held her
honor high, in spite of being defeated by him. Indigo spoke, "You should probably
make yourself presentable. You don't want to look like some mistress who took a
beating from her husband."She chuckled at the thought. She
looked herself over. Chunks of her armor were missing and a few dark spots
showed where exactly she had been tased. She really looked like she has been
beaten by a lover. In a way, she kind of felt like that was indeed the case. She picked up her helmet and placed
it on her head. She then went to retrieve the armor that had fallen off during
the fight. She came back, fully outfitted and just as intimidating as she first
appeared."How's this?" she asked Indigo as
his back was turned.He turned around casually, but then
jumped backward at the sight of her. She looked ready for a rematch. The rocket
launcher was mounted on her shoulder and pointed directly at him."gulp That's more like it..."