Under the Sundowner Part 09
Under the Sundowner: Part 9
by Prowl-Ar Nightiger
"SHIT! We're not going to survive this one!" Dou yelled, as he slammed his staff into one of the giant blood-sucking insects.
"I hate to agree, but I'm out of magic and my health is nearly depleted as well!" Alec yelled.
Daniel sat off to one side and rolled his eyes as the bug that Duo hit whizzed through his transparent body. "Come on, hurry up and kill the rest of them or die, so that I can get back in the game."
Tye chopped a bug in half. "You're not helping."
"Just how am I supposed to help when I'm dead?"
"By keeping your mouth shut!" Alec said, as he slashed a bug with one of his hunting knives.
"Oh shi . . ."
Alec threw his other knife, skewering the bug that had hit Duo, but it was too late. Duo's body dropped to the ground.
"Oh this is just wonderful." Tye said, as he and Alec stood back to back facing ten bugs.
"The next time Daniel suggests a shortcut I vote we kill him before the monsters get a chance." Alec said, as he slashed at one of the bugs.
"Hey, if it wasn't for this swarm we'd be there by now. You can see the town just ahead."
"Daniel, shut up!" both Alec and Tye yelled.
"Oh great, now look what you did." Duo said, as Alec missed one of the bugs. It stabbed his shoulder and sucked him dry as his body crumpled to the ground.
Tye stumbled and tried to keep his balance but fell over Alec's body. He threw his arm over his face as the swarm dove for his prone form.
He felt three of the bugs land; though it felt more like they had dropped out of the air.
"So are you going to get up or not?" A new voice asked.
"Trace! What're you doing here?"
"Saving you worthless tail it would seem. Where are your Knar'tosh blades?" Trace asked, as he spun around killing another bug.
"I don't have them in this game." Tye said, as he grabbed Alec's hunting knife. "I'll just have to make due with this. After all, there's only six left."
"Twelve, the swarm grew when I joined your team." Trace said, as he spun around to cover Tye's back.
"Wait for them to attack." Tye said, as he sliced the wings off the first bug and then twisted the blade so that the second sliced itself in half. "Oh, and watch it, they attack in pairs." He said, as he stomped on the first bug.
"I noticed that." Trace said, as he ripped into the first bug with the saw on the back of his Knar'tosh blade and then cut the head off the second bug."
"So why are you really here?" Tye asked, as the bugs backed off to study their opponents.
"Dad took off again."
"HE WHAT!" Tye yelled.
Four of the bugs tried to take advantage of the opening and zoomed toward the twins.
"Down!" Trace yelled, and they both squatted down and raised their blades. Blood splattered over them. "You missed." He said as they stood back up.
"No I didn't, you did." Tye replied, as only one bug rejoined the swarm.
"Damn, when did you get so fast?"
"I've had to keep up with the kids over there." Tye said, as he pointed at the group sitting at the side of the clearing. "Now stop changing the subject, where did Dad go this time?"
"I have no idea. The last one to talk with him was Rusty."
"What did he say?"
"I wasn't able to ask him. He left just before Dad did." Trace said, as the last five bugs swarmed forward.
"Owe! These things really pack a punch. I'm down to half health."
"Yeah, and you didn't get any of them either. How are we going to explain it if we're killed now? So has Dawna gone after him yet?"
"Watch it, here they come again! She left at the same time that Rusty did." Trace said as Tye killed another two bugs. He grabbed a third and crushed it in his fist.
"Show off."
"Thanks. Yeah, she took that heavy fighter that she had Dare build for her." Trace said, as he wiped the blood off his blade.
"What are you doing?"
"There's only two of them left, I figured you could take care of them. Anyway, as you may have guessed, I've had Mahan keeping an eye on things but he refuses to give me any answers. So I figured I'd come and get your help, since he seems to listen to you."
Tye impaled one of the bugs with Alec's knife and ducked the second. He rolled forward and stood up holding Duo's staff. As the last bug headed toward him he swung the staff hitting it directly toward Trace.
Trace ducked. "Nice try, but just because I haven't been playing games like you doesn't mean I've lost my edge." He said as he sliced the bug in half.
"Right, let's get into town. I can contact Mahan there." Tye said, as the bodies faded from the clearing.
"Where did everything go?" Trace asked, as Tye picked up his sword.
"Once the battle is over all the equipment returns to the owner's inventory if they're dead."
"I guess I really should spend a bit more time in here but for the most part the VR chambers are always being used.
"You could always come down here and join us."
"Yeah right, and leave the ship in Dare's capable hands?"
"I see your point. So how about a drink when we get to the bar?"
"Sounds good to me. Oh by the way, are those three always this quiet?"
"Are you kidding? Most of the time I can't shut them up."
"Oh I get it, they're just trying to show the proper respect because of my Lightstripe blood." Trace said, as he walked over to the group. "Hello, my name is Trace Lightstripe, son of Lord Prowler Lightstripe, descendent of Shendria."
"Master Lightstripe it is an honor-" Duo began.
"Yeah right. I suggest you get to know me before you start throwing around words like master and honor, because they really don't fit. Now come along, and I'll see if I can teach you the correct way to address a member of the Lightstripe Clan.
Tye bit his lip in an attempt to keep from laughing and the stunned look of Duo's face.
"Kids these days. I'd have thought they would have realized after spending so much time with you, that just because we supposedly come from royal stock, doesn't mean we are some sort of royalty."
"Oh I don't know about that. I get the feeling that most people who get to know you, realize that you're a royal pain."
* * *
Tye glared at the bartender that Mahan was impersonating. "What do you mean he needed some 'personal time'?"
"Exactly that. There were a few things that he needed to finish up concerning his last mission." Mahan said, as he placed a glass in front of Tye. "Now would you like to order a drink?"
"So after everything that happened Dad just took off on his own to clear his head?" Trace asked, as he pointed to a red bottle with a crude drawing of a mushroom cloud on it.
"Well, yes and no. Yes, he took off on his own but Dawna followed him with her heavy fighter. If he gets into any trouble she'll make sure he gets out of it."
"Rusty was also with him on the 'Kriosh' mission so why didn't he go with Dad?" Tye asked, as shook his head at Trace's choice of drinks.
"Rusty hasn't been sleeping well after that mission so he went down to the park. I guess he's hoping that a long run will help to clear his head and exhaust him to the point where he can sleep."
"I know Lord Lightstripe is busy, and Tye told us that we weren't to disturb him right now, but do you think you can schedule a time for us to meet with him?" Daniel asked, as he reached for the bottle of Nuke.
"It doesn't have to be right away, though the sooner the better, we'd just feel more comfortable if we had a set date to look forward to." Duo said, as Daniel pulled the bottle close to his glass.
Mahan quickly whisked the alcohol away and returned it to the shelf.
"Hey, what gives you served that to Trace." Alec said, as he scowled at Mahan.
Mahan laughed. "Sorry, but as I've told you on numerous occasions, alcoholic beverages are for adults only. Though these two might appear to be the same age as you, looks can be very deceiving."
"You know, they have a point. If Dad knows that he has a meeting he's likely to stay out of trouble, for a while at least." Trace said, as he downed the shot of Nuke.
Tye laughed as Trace gasped and a pair of mushroom clouds rose from his nostrils.
"That never happens when I'm at the Sundowner." Trace said, as he dropped the gold coins he'd received in the earlier battle on the counter. "Keep the change, I won't be coming back."
"Leaving so soon?" Tye asked.
"Yeah, I guess we overreacted just a bit. Dare just informed me that Dad has returned. I guess I'll see all of you around." Trace said, as he stepped out the door and out of the game.
"Alright, one week from today. I can't give you a specific time until Prowler actually sets one, but I'll keep you informed." Mahan said, before the bartender gave a slight jerk.
"Have you made a selection yet?" The bartender asked Tye.
"Yeah, I'll take a bottle of Meltdown and the other three will have Frosts. We'll be in the booth in the corner." Tye said, as he stood up and headed for the booth.
The door to the bar swung open and the quartet of bounty hunters marched in. "I don't care. Even if it was Prowler I still wouldn't care. He has no right to freeze the game just so that he can have a chat with Tye!" Seeker said, as she slammed several coins down on the bar and ordered four pints of whatever they had on tap.
Tye groaned as Seeker spotted them and started toward their booth.
"Ah hah! There you are. So what was so important that we had to wait for Trace to leave the chamber before we could enter?" She demanded.
"I don't see as it is any of your-" Daniel started.
"Stay out of this Stripes! This is between Tye and-" Seeker was unable to complete her sentence due to the fact that Alec had hit her with an air blast to the gut.
Everyone except Tye and Daniel just stood and stared at Alec. Daniel had curled into a ball in the corner of the booth and was silently shaking.
"Mahan, freeze game. Duo and Alex, stay here with Daniel. The rest of you; outside right now we've got a few things to discuss." Tye said, as he walked across the bar and helped Seeker to her feet.
"If you don't mind, I'll stay here." Spike said, as he slid into the seat that Tye had vacated. "I already know what this is about. I don't need the lecture, and I also know a bit about how Daniel feels."
"Fine." Tye growled, as he nearly dragged Seeker out the door.
* * *
Seeker leaned against the skeleton of what at one time was a motorized transport. "So what was, that, all about?" She gasped.
"First, let me apologize for Alec. He over reacted and I'll be having a word with him about it later." Tye said.
"Oh you think?" Nature growled.
"Stay out of this Uncle, at least until you have all the facts. The reason Alec hit Seeker was because of the way she both humiliated and insulted Daniel."
"I just called him 'Stripes' like I do all you tiger types. All of you except your Dad, I go out of my way to find new and creative names to call him." Seeker said, with a smirk and a twitch of her whiskers.
Tye paced back and forth trying to figure out a way to explain the situation without betraying Daniel's secret. "I know that you didn't mean anything by it, but calling Daniel, Stripes, is the same as calling me a programming error, Nature a pet, or Jace a slave."
Both Jace and Nature growled and stepped forward.
"Bad example. All right then, here is an example that might fit the situation. What would happen if I walked up to Dad and told him that it's his fault that Accordia was destroyed?"
Nature nearly tripped as he jumped backward and Seeker slid down the fender to sit on the cracked cement.
"I... how can just calling him as Stripes cause that kind of reaction?" Seeker asked, as she pulled a weed out of the sidewalk and began to delicately shred it with her claws.
"Sometimes it doesn't matter how many centuries pass, there are certain truths that will always remain the same no matter how much we try to change them. Things like if a person is different they are likely to be picked on. There is of course more to it than that but-".
"But you can't betray his trust by telling me right? Well then, I have an apology to make." Seeker said, as she stood up and marched back into the bar.
Tye started to follow but was forced back out as both Duo and Spike were roughly shoved through the door.
"Sorry guy's, but this is between me and them. If I see even one whisker past that doorway before I've patched things up, I'll make all of your lives miserable. And if you don't believe that I can do it just remember my clan affiliation." She yelled, as she pulled the door shut.
"Is she-". Duo started, but quickly closed his mouth as he glanced at Nature and Jace.
"A shifter?" Tye asked. "No, she's something much worse. She's a Snarion of the Trickster Clan, and trust me they didn't get that name just because they can do what most people consider elemental magic tricks."
Nature groaned. "Remember the time she reversed the artificial gravity on the Blade Hunter while everyone was asleep?"
Tye shuddered. "I'm still trying to forget."
"That doesn't sound that bad. For a joke it isn't even that new." Duo said, as he sat down.
"She made sure to secure everything to the floor first. It must have taken her a week of preparation to get everything bolted and glued down." Tye started.
"So after everything was set she called a red alert drill." Nature said, as he started to giggle.
"We all jumped out of bed only to drop to the ceiling." Tye bit his lip to keep from laughing.
"As you can imagine some of us don't wear pajamas to bed and of course the only way to get the gravity back to normal required going to the bridge. So the first step was getting dressed. By this point we hear Rusty yelling into the intercom that someone was going to die."
Tye cleared his throat. "You see, while we were asleep she went around and sealed all the lockers. The only way to get them open was to apply a solvent, which was in engineering."
"No one wanted to be the first to venture out and fix things. However when we did decide that there was no other choice we discovered that all our doors were locked. That is, all the doors except for Rusty's." Nature couldn't help it he burst out laughing and couldn't stop.
"When he stepped out into the corridor he set off a sensor that automatically triggered the security system and flashed a picture of him onto every monitor aboard the ship. The only clothing that Seeker had seen fit to leave him was a very skimpy pair of lavender panties with white frill." Tye said, shaking his head.
"You're forgetting the three hot pink smiley faces one in front and one for each cheek." Nature quickly added.
"He didn't even realize he was being filmed until he reached the bridge. Of course, by that point, I'd made it to an escape pod and was well on my way down to Hollow Base Park. I spent two months in hiding for that one. But you know, since then he's never criticized me when he's found me on duty with my sketch pad in hand." Seeker said, as she stuck her head out the door. "Now, if you four will get back in here, we've got a barroom brawl to get back to. We wouldn't want to disappoint the fans, now would we?"
Tye rolled his eyes. "I just know I'm going to regret this."
"What are you complaining about?" Nature asked. "Your team has already flattened Seeker, so it is now four on three." He said, as they reentered the bar and moved to position themselves exactly as they had been just before Tye froze the game.
"I guess that means this is going to be another town we'll never be able to return to." Duo said, as he slid back into his position in the booth marked by a ghostly image of him self.
"I take it you three worked things out?" Tye asked, as he too moved into place.
"Yeah, Seeker is really nice when you get to know her." Daniel said.
"Try not to think good thoughts about her. Especially considering she's about to try and beat the crap out of us." Tye said, as he checked to make sure everyone was ready. "Mahan, restart." He sighed.
* * *
A chair crashed over the bar and Tye covered his head. Spike had kicked him over the counter and Tye had decided to play unconscious until he had no other choice but to move.
"SHOCK!" Nature yelled, seconds before flying over the bar and landing next to Tye. "Remind me never to call Duo a cute and cuddly little bear again."
Tye stared at Nature with his mouth hanging open in shock.
"Hey wait a minute! It's not like that! I wasn't, I mean..." Nature began to babble, as his ears turned red.
Tye couldn't help himself; he started laughing at the wolf's embarrassment. He stopped short, when a hand grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him over the bar. Tye only had time to grab an object from under the counter to use as a weapon.
"So, you thought you could just hide back there until the fight was over, did you?" Seeker growled.
Tye just grinned and swung the object. He barely stopped before the short wave radio could impact with Seeker's head. However, as she ducked, Tye was able to shove her backwards into a large human.
"Damned hair bag." He sneered.
"His fault." Seeker mewled, a second before joining Nature.
Tye just smiled and ran. He was able to get a hold of Alec and shoved him out the door before turning back to the fight. "Duo, Daniel, we're out of here!" He yelled.
Duo nodded and marched toward the door, knocking anything and everything that stood in his way to one side.
However, both Jace and Spike had Daniel trapped in a corner. Though he was doing a good job of holding them back with a pair of chair legs, he was using as clubs, there was no way for him to escape.
"More hair bags, and ganging up on a human as well. I'll teach you both a lesson."
Spike and Jace slowly turned around and looked up at the human. They glanced at each other and nodded. Jace dropped to his knees and slammed his fist into the man's groin. As he started to double over Spike nailed him in the gut with a kick. The man flew across the room and crashed through the wall. Jace and Spike quickly turned back to deal with Daniel only to discover that he was gone.
Daniel ran around the corner of the bar and waived at the others. "If we're going I suggest we run. Those two are going to be pissed when they discover I cheated by going out the window."
"So why are we running away? We could have finished them off. Besides, we still don't have any supplies." Duo said, as they reached the edge of town.
"It doesn't matter. We've just accomplished the first task on our agenda." Tye said, as he held up the short wave radio. "We now have the equipment we needed to rig a broadcast when we catch up with Dare. I've got it set to the right frequency, find a working power source, catch up with Dare, and then... Oof." Tye gasped, as he was knocked down.
"Oh, sorry about that I was just telling my friend here that... this town... Oh Shock!" Dare yelled, as Daniel and Alec grabbed his arms. Dou, bear hugged Ice while Tye quickly stood up.
"Please, don't do this. We haven't done anything wrong." Dare whined.
"Don't be afraid, we're not bounty hunters. We're a rescue team."
"Let go of us!" Ice yelled, as she tried to escape from Duo.
"Do it!" Tye yelled.
Ice jumped away and pulled out a sword. "What are you playing at?"
Tye pulled his own sword out. "We don't have time for this. The bounty hunters are right behind us. You can either trust us or take a chance with them.
"Do you really think that trick is going to work?" Dare laughed.
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. You see my mission is to rescue you. Unfortunately we haven't yet found a way to contact the starship."
"Wow, a ship that can sail to the stars. See Ice, I told you we should have waited for the airship in Port Argo."
"That sounds like a excellent idea. How about we all go to Port Argo and cross the ocean. After all, you're a wanted man on this continent." Tye said, trying his best to look innocent.
"Whatever we're going to do, I suggest we do it fast. It looks like the bounty hunters have extricated themselves from the bar fight!" Duo yelled.
"Port Argo it is then, but I'm keeping a close eye on all of you." Ice said, as she glared at Tye.
"Alright! Airship here I come!" Dare yelled, as the group ran from the bounty hunters.
From this point the story takes one of two paths. The first path changes the last scene of this chapter and has the group capture Dare ending the game with the end of the story only a couple of scenes later. The second path picks up with a new scene where the combined group is making thier way to Port Argo and the wonders of a new continent with an early industrial age begining to take hold.
As soon as I get it edited I'll go ahead and post the original ending. However, if anyone wants the story to continue let me know. Without feedback and suggestions I don't really have the drive to continue. I'm sure that eventually I'll get back to it, but it could take years.
Also if you anyone wants to know more about the characters, cultures, planets or tech just ask.