Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Terminator Fish; An Aquatic Avenger?
This place really got the short end of the stick... Ares stared at the wreckage and rubble of Hunter's shop. It was a stark contrast to the relatively untouched buildings along the rest of this street as this layer of the Freefire Federation had lucked out, for the most part, and been hardly hit by any of the fiery meteors. How typical that the one place that actually meant anything, and was actually valuable, got sniped like a bullseye... Sure the krakyrn aimed for it but there was only so much 'aiming' it could do with the primarily random firing method of the meteors. The shop had for sure seen better days, hell during its first day of construction it likely looked more well put together than this, but it was actually still somewhat standing on its own two legs. The explosions that took place here, thanks to all the chain detonating gadgets, destroyed almost everything except for the entrance to the underground as well as a small section behind where the counter had been. The garden was obliterated in full and the rows and rows of gadgets for sale had been sent flying off into the ocean or detonated amidst the chaos. Some walls still managed to somehow cling to their spots but most were just completely gone from existence or burnt to ashes. The fact that this shop was still in a 'liveable' condition, if you threw up a tarp over the wreckage, was actually rather impressive. Maybe some defensive gadgets, ones capable of summoning barriers, happened to activate automatically during the madness and preserve some parts of the floor, walls, and ceiling. It was all rickety though and a strong gale would no doubt bring the rest of this place tumbling down to the ground. Still, the underground area must have fared better if it was somewhere Nibbler could hide away this whole time without risk. Not that it mattered, this place could have been completely wiped off the Federation and Nibbler would have still just sat in the empty space and wallowed in pity anyway.
Ares wasted no time in heading down the semi-broken stairs because the longer he left Nibbler here the worse he felt. The little guy had no business living like this as it must have been awfully chilly to sleep here at night. There was nothing stopping the wind above from funnelling down here and making him cold in his doggy bed so Ares wanted to get him inside a nice warm house as soon as possible. Ares arrived in the underground and had to push aside some long metal slabs that had collapsed and were blocking the path forward. He could have snuck through the gaps, much like Nibbler must have done to hide himself in the back, but there was no reason to preserve this place in its current state. There was nothing of use left here and the shop was gone for good. No amount of rebuilding would make it what it once was now that Hunter and his gadgets were gone so, at most, it might be repurposed into a memorial sight. Either way, leaving things as they were was pointless and also a hazard. If Ares was going to bring Nibbler out then he didn't want to have to carry him in such awkward and tight spaces. Anyway, Ares did eventually find Nibbler tucked away in the corner furthest from the entrance. He was blankly staring at the wall and sniffling to himself with bags under his puffy eyes. He hadn't slept or eaten since yesterday and evidently done nothing but keep occasionally bursting out into tears. It seemed like it had been a while since his last outburst but seeing somebody come in here to try and console him again just reminded him of why he was upset. He tried to hold back the tears but through watery eyes looked Ares straight in his and whined.
Sniffle
...
bark?
'Papa?'
bark bark
'Where's papa?'
Ares didn't respond and that just led to Nibbler crying his poor heart out as he intermittently managed to just barely question where his father was between sobs. He hadn't come to terms with Hunter's death properly yet and was still hoping someone would bring back his dad. Ares didn't want to see this anymore so he walked over and knelt down next to to the tiny animal. He stroked his fin with one hand and brought out the small soul with the other. "Look Nibbler. Although he won't be back to normal for a while, this is your papa." Ares spoke softly and held the bluish light in front of Nibbler who's sniffles slowed down somewhat. Nibbler hadn't actually been expecting anyone to bring Hunter back, he was more so asking out of desperation and a refusal to accept reality, and yet Hunter had supposedly been returned to him in this strange form. Nibbler tried giving the soul a lick but his tongue passed right through it and that just made him sad all over again, maybe even more sad than before. This was what his father had become so he could protect him. Nibbler didn't understand what a 'soul' was or what it implied so he mistakenly believed Hunter was just going to be this emotionless, formless, dull blue light forever and started crying again and trying to apologise to his papa.
Ares hurriedly calmed him down and explained that this was only temporary and he could be brought back to normal life, like he used to be, just that it would take a while. If Nibbler wanted to see his papa again, he was going to have to be a good sharkdog and keep cultivating to increase his life span and stay alive until then. Ares explained to Nibbler he would have to come and live in the sect, as Ares couldn't stay here and the soul needed to go with him, and thankfully Nibbler seemed to understand. He was still a child but paid a lot of attention to this matter as he wanted to understand it all properly. He would be leaving the Federation, and this building, which hurt somewhat but if it meant seeing his dad again one day then it would be worth it. Nibbler could grow into a big and strong sharkdog so that he could keep Hunter safe the next time he was alive so that this would never happen ever again. Also, he would be in the company of friendly people he liked, that being Ares and Onno, so it wasn't like he'd be lonely if he wanted pets or to play around. It was a better choice than just sitting here forever and giving up on everything so, although he was still disheartened and feeling empty inside, Nibbler allowed himself to be picked up by an opportunistic Ares and carried away in his arms. The doggy bed was brought along inside the Primordial Blade as a memento of the Federation and the place Nibbler had grown up in but, other than that, this would be the sharkdog's final time in this space so Ares let him look around and take in the familiar sights and scents. There were many memories here, and the smell of gunpowder and metal reminded Nibbler of every one of them he cherished, but he had to let go of it all in order to see the thing in his memories that mattered the most. Hunter could recreate the lab elsewhere but no amount of gadgets were going to bring Hunter himself back.
After giving Nibbler a minute, Ares carried him away through the path he made earlier and brought him outside the shop. Nibbler's new abode was going to be the Heaven's Path sect, name change still pending, but for now he would be staying at Ares' place! Ares could have pawned Nibbler off to Onno but he wanted to keep the cute fella around and so the convenient excuse of having Hunter's soul meant it was for the best if Nibbler stayed with him. If Nibbler got depressed at any point then Ares could bring out Hunter's soul to make him feel a bit better and remind the sharkdog what his goals were. Nibbler wanted to become a powerhouse and cultivate to live a long life and see Hunter again. Simple but effective reinforcement for his behaviour to go back to normal. Nibbler would inevitably be crestfallen for a while, and happy joyful Nibbler without a care in the world would take a good while to come back, but he'd slowly return to his normal self as he became accustomed to Hunter's lack of presence. Nibbler would normalise the thought that Hunter wasn't around right now and a smile would adorn his face once more in due course. Time healed all wounds, as it were. Maybe if Hunter was permanently dead with no hope on the horizon that might not be an applicable saying but thankfully the situation was salvageable so Ares carried the sleepy sharkdog back home and placed him in his bed. Ares then put that bed on top of his own and covered Nibbler with the blanket because he'd been shivering on the return trip something fierce and was very obviously going to be sick if he didn't warm up soon. Luckily his animalistic nature meant he wasn't too much at risk of such a thing but better safe than sorry! Also, any excuse to have Nibbler sleeping soundly next to Ares was valid! Ares wasn't entirely selfish though as he did bring out and hold Hunter's soul next to Nibbler until he was in a deep sleep and felt comforted enough that he didn't need it anymore.
And with that taken care of, there was really only one issue left to solve. Ares could find Massai when he disembarked, and go along with him to the Oasis sect for a rundown of what Hunter's job was, so that could be put on the side for now... No, what Ares really wanted to solve some time soon was who the hell those two other guys were! This was a mystery that had been plaguing Ares' brain for far too long and answers were needed! He'd met them all the way back when he also first met Hunter so not knowing this entire time had been eating away at him. Who were these two idiots?! Unfortunately, however, the only person who might know where they are, Onno, probably wasn't going to show up again for a while now that all his matters were taken care of. Hunter's return was plausible and he would understand that Ares had Nibbler if he ever went to go check Hunter's shop and found out the sharkdog wasn't there anymore as Ares had left a small note. Onno had nothing left on his mind as even Jebben was dealt with so other than any troubles with his father, which he could sort out himself, he had no reason to come check up on Ares anymore.
Speaking of Cash, he'd been somewhat quiet as of late. Sure he mumbled about assassinating Ares, regarding the Deep blue, but it was a rather half-hearted declaration accompanied by an exasperated sigh. He wasn't forlorn over the loss of his son... Well, not for any reason that made any sense anyway. The first son of his to ever openly disobey his wishes and carve out his own life, separate to what cash wanted of him, was also the first to outdo Cash and in such dominating fashion. No matter what Cash did from now until the day he was on his deathbed, Hunter's contribution to the Federation would forever outclass him. No amount of money would ever make up for Hunter's one, single sacrifice and his fame would skyrocket to supersede Cash's until the heat death of the universe. Cash's 'empire' felt rather petty and insignificant in comparison so he was contemplating how exactly to overcome this major loss. He'd come up with an answer eventually, and this was not the last time anyone would see this man or the Federation, but for now he was toning his arrogance and generally evil ways down. He wasn't upset because Hunter died, no, he was upset he had to finally acknowledge one of his son's. It was something he'd never anticipated but his expectations were too narrow minded and never considered a different path that brought about such unpredictable results. While everyone was singing Hunter's praises Cash would be forgotten about unless he could match Hunter's contribution and do something equally as notable...
That was for Cash to ponder over, though. Everyone else was finally able to relax and unwind! There was nothing left to do, nothing that could be done anyway as Ares had to get lucky and happen across the two strange men by chance if he wanted answers on that front, so it was finally vacation time! Ares was looking forward to it to the point he was even willing to let that dumb eagle out of the backfire artifact and feed him until his stomach could explode! Rox, Aejaz, Ares, and... Well the eagle didn't have a name yet but Ares would figure that out in due time. He was honestly just tempted to be spiteful and call the thing 'Eagle' to mess with it but the bird might honestly have a tantrum and refuse to work ever again... Anyway, everyone listed was going to be feasting on curried fish from that one restaurant, as well as good food from other talented chefs, Ares included, until they couldn't fit another bite in their stuffed mouths! Ares would even treat Nibbler too as he deserved to have some comfort food in these trying times. Throw in some refreshing cocktails and life was good!
Ares and co stuck to the aforementioned plan and had a blast for the next few days while the Federation sailed them towards their next destination. Nibbler stayed with Ares for now but he was going to be sticking with Onno when Ares disembarked, as taking a sharkdog to a desert wasn't ideal, so he enjoyed all the time he could get with Hunter's soul until then. He also enjoyed the good food and had visibly perked up by the time the Federation was nearing Xasca. He wasn't smiling or anything, and was absolutely still moping about, but he would bark words other than 'papa' now and could hold a conversation if need be. He would still rather not chat but it was something, at least! Actually, what Nibbler was doing a lot of, was training! He'd taken what Ares said to heart and spent a lot of time cultivating whenever he wasn't being fed or cuddled. Rather, Nibbler had to shove his paw in Ares' face on multiple occasions to remove the leech that was obsessed with hugging him. It's not that Nibbler didn't enjoy the attention, he was just hyper focused on his task and future goals.
Anyway, the Federation had recovered somewhat since the krakyrn incident and buildings were already being reconstructed at an impressive rate. Obviously any belonging to the richer folk living on the Federation were given priority but, as luck would have it, there weren't many such buildings that been destroyed so it didn't take long for rebuilding efforts to be directed towards the poorer areas. Also, none of the rebuilding slowed down the Federation's sailing pace at all. If anything, Geordie was flooring it now because he wanted to reach port as soon as possible and confirm his nightmare journey was over. He and his Federation had survived this gauntlet of ordeals, and things could only get better from here now that all threats were dead, but it was still an incredibly rough journey and he wanted to get some sleep. Ever since the time the twisted had shown up this man had not gotten a wink of sleep because he constantly had a bad feeling in his gut things would just keep going wrong. He ended up being right as can be and so he kept himself wide awake and alert for any threats sneaking up on the Federation at night. Ironically, all the threats from the twisted onwards all happened during the day, and he actually could have gotten some shut eye here and there, but it wasn't the end of the world or anything. He was cultivator at the peak of transition realm so he could manage a journey of this length without rest. That didn't mean he didn't want any, though, so reaching those sweet sweet docks and handing off restock tasks to his underlings as he retreated to his cabin was a reward for his hard work he was really looking forward to.
Still, Xasca was a few hours away and so Ares, who was somewhat bored after having nearly fully explored the immediate area around where he'd been living, had taken to fishing in his spare time. Whenever he wasn' trying to achieve passive cultivation, temper his body with resources, or pressurise his Extinction Converter, he was reeling in whatever sea creatures he could find. He wasn't particularly great at it, as he refused to use Omniscience to copy the technique of better fishermen because that was just a way to be a massive killjoy to himself, but he wasn't terrible either! There were some Dominus techniques buried in his brain for this particular hobby which raised a few questions Ares already knew the answer to. Why on earth this moron tried to treat a fishing rod as a weapon Ares didn't really want to know... What inspired such madness? Ares figured he would get a dumb response if he asked so just left it well enough alone. Plus Dominus must not have had a great time of it as the knowledge on fishing rods was pretty underwhelming compared to just about anything else that could be considered a 'weapon' so he probably gave up rather quickly. There must have been something else that fulfilled the same niche a rod would, pulling enemies closer, and so he just used that instead because it likely wouldn't snap on bigger targets. Maybe a grappling hook or a portable anchor or something. Dominus probably had plenty of stories to tell regarding fishing rods but Ares didn't care about any of that, he just wanted to sit at the edge of the Federation and cast his line! He'd even roped Aejaz into coming along as today was the last day they'd have a chance to do this and Aejaz was interested enough in the experience to join in. What else was he going to do anyway? Steal more stuff again? It was the last day of the Federation journey for crying out loud! He needed to live a little so he acquiesced when Ares bugged him and they were now both staring out at the ocean and seeing who could get a bigger catch by the time they were done here. Nothing was on the line, both figuratively and literally for these two terrible fishermen, but Ares had been tempted to put his brother through hellish training if he lost the unofficial bet. It was vacation time though so Ares was lenient and didn't threaten to go down that route even though he spent a lot of time considering it!
The fishing excursion wasn't necessarily going well, through, because Aejaz clearly had something on his mind and was distracted. It was plain as day as he was staring off into the distance and not even paying attention to the few times his rod jiggled slightly in his grasp. Ares could hazard a guess what he was so pensive about but it was dumb and Ares felt like slapping the moron. What happened with Hunter had gotten to him to some degree but that was stupid because Ares couldn't die! Not permanently at least. This shmuck was never going to lose his brother like Onno had because Ares was too stubborn for that measly thing called death to pester him for any longer than a minute or two at a time. Sure Ares was in the firing line a lot, both due to his fundamental champion duties, which necessitated getting stronger and going on dangerous adventures, as well as his personality, which just happened to make lots of enemies, but Ares was confident he could live through all of those handicaps with ease. It wasn't cockiness either so Aejaz really shouldn't be worrying too much about if Ares was going to die and how long it would take him to return. It was a silly thing to be working himself up over but Ares appreciated the consideration nonetheless. Ares figured that just coming out and telling him not to be so concerned wouldn't help, though, so he tried his own brand of dumb humour to ease up the atmosphere... By making a joke that was painful enough such that any passer by who opted to drown themselves in the ocean after hearing it would be fully justified. "Hey 'Jaz. Which Firestarter can burn the most buildings?"
Aejaz was yanked out of his thoughts by this bizarre question so he gave a half smile and played along with. "I dunno. Who?"
"Jerry can!" Ares looked rather pleased with himself but everybody in the nearby vicinity groaned and proceeded to walk away lest they be subjected to overhearing more agonisingly bad puns.
"...." Aejaz was speechless his brother was this good at being annoying. Still, Aejaz knew why Ares had done this so it did somewhat brighten up his mood and help him forget about the thing he was wasting far too much time on. He wasn't quite over it but the sudden appearance of a whale, about a mile away, did help take his mind off it yet again. "I wonder what kind of whale that is..." Aejaz didn't have Omniscience, and his divine sight wasn't particularly amazing, so he couldn't quite tell from here. Ares, off to the side, gave it a check and then said something incredibly weird.
"Hmmm. You wanna know? Try thrusting your crotch in its direction..."
"... What? Why on earth would I do that?"
"If it returns the gesture, then you'll know its a humpback!"
"... Pfft. Stop!" Aejaz got a small chuckle out of that bad pun as he hadn't seen it coming but that didn't mean he was accepting of this garbage! "I'm fine now and, besides, at this rate even the fish are going to roll over and die to get away from your terrible jokes."
"Heh." Ares looked particularly smug for no good reason but he nodded and agreed to stop making these puns for now at least. he clearly wasn't in the company of people who would appreciate them for what they were worth! "Speaking of fish, by the way, that's a rather interesting one you just reeled in with your fishing rod..." Aejaz' mood had improved and, as a result, so too had his overall awareness. He'd pulled up a fish during his whale conversation with Ares without even realising it so he looked down in the direction Ares just nodded in to see what fishy friend had been reeled in.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Aejaz freaked out as soon as he saw the bright orange eyes of a twisted happily staring right at him. How on earth he'd reeled in a twisted during the day was anyone's guess but Ares found it hilarious that this particular fishy friend Aejaz reeled in was a dangerous one. Still, the twisted looked happy during all of this because it was getting a chance to be with some new friends up on the surface which was a rare occurrence even if it didn't quite understand how it had been dragged up and above the ocean like this. This might honestly have been the first twisted to ever be fished in all of Sheryashkan history! The only person not happy here was Aejaz who didn't want to be anywhere near this thing! He quickly wriggled the rod and chucked the cursed animal back into the ocean where it belonged before retreating from the edge of the Federation with a look of apprehension in his eyes. It seemed he wasn't coming back for another round of fishing any time soon which gave Ares another laugh. Ares threw some spare bread into the water and watched as the twisted chomped on it, gave a thankful cry, and then disappeared to go have fun with a sunken cannonball under the water or something. Ares wasn't particularly fussed if there were monsters about so he kept at the fishing for a while as Aejaz just watched in the background.
Creak
What the? About ten minutes of not getting a single bite later, Ares' rod looked like it was about to suddenly snap and he couldn't help but wonder what on earth had bitten the other end of it! He'd landed a real big fish if the struggle he was currently undergoing to reel it in was any indication! Ae3az better be thankful the training regimen wasn't still in the cards because Ares looked like he was going to win this contest soundly! Ares had no clue what kind of big fish there were hiding around in Xascan waters but he was about to find out. "Heave... HO!" Ares used all his strength and fully leaned back to dredge up the mystery fish and dangle it in front of him above the water. "Eh? What the hell are you supposed to be?!" Ares had never seen a fish like this but, then again, nobody had! This thing was about the size of three footballs but it was also incredibly thin. It wasn't wide but it was tall and long, like some kind of 2d fish, but the real shocker here was that 90% of its body was made of metal! There were weird metallic lenses for eyes, a barrel for a mouth, and razor edge fins. Whatever the hell this thing was, it was clearly not normal! Was it Neo Gear getting involved and spying on Ares again? Honestly, probably not... Ares didn't get that kind of vibe from it so his curiosity only doubled. As Ares pondered what this thing was, and what to do with it exactly, the fish's mouth opened and a pre-recorded message played through some speakers inside it.
"Scanning. Scanning. Result: permission not granted. You are neither a test subject nor an administrator. Executing termination protocol alpha."
"Termination what now?" Ares couldn't believe his ears! The hell did this stupid fish think it was going to do to him exactly?! God of destruction vs fish! Ares knew who he was placing his bet on! That being said, the fish resolutely opened its mouth and pointed the barrel at Ares as if it had some kind of plan so Ares entertained the weird creature purely to see what the little fella could do. A strange red light appeared in the fish's mouth and Ares had a feeling in his gut that maybe he should dodge this just in case...
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Ares ducked right in time to dodge a colossal laser beam that went sailing past his head and blew up a giant warehouse behind him. Ares was stunned! This thing was packing some serious firepower in that small body! What the fuck was this thing being fed?! Better yet, who made it? There was no way in hell Neo Gear had this kind of technology otherwise they could have just taken over the entire domain with lasers this compact and powerful. Was this fish divine retribution?! Was it payback for all the fish souls Ares had experimented with? Did this creature get put in Sheryashka just to spite Ares and get revenge for all of fish kind?! It damn well nearly took his head off!
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Shouts from deeper in the Federation rung out and, honestly, Ares didn't know how to explain this bizarre incident at all so he quickly shoved this beeping fish into his Primordial Blade, stashed it away somewhere it couldn't do any harm, and then bolted away with Aejaz in tow as sailors started arriving at the scene of the crime. Unfortunately for them, there was nothing left other than two fishing rods, the end of one of which was being nibbled by a twisted, so they wouldn't be figuring out who the vandals were basically ever. Luckily nobody had been in the warehouse at the time of the explosion but that didn't meant his whole situation wasn't incredibly fishy!... More so than they knew... As for Ares, he was going to be spending a good while investigating this damn robo war machine fish! Seriously, even the random wild life in Sheryashka was cursed! Why did everything in this domain have to be unreasonably dangerous for no apparent reason!? Actually, now that Ares thought about it, almost all such cases were typically related to beings from higher domains interfering so maybe this was the case with the damn fish as well? Dominus was mumbling something along those lines so maybe it wasn't some kind of robo fish assassin looking to claim vengeance on behalf of his aquatic brethren's experimented souls. Maybe it really was just some kind of dodgy creation from a mad man after all... Though that interpretation was way less fun. Regardless, it was time for Ares to do some digging and that would likely be what he spent the rest of the day doing until the Federation Arrived in Xasca. It wasn't quite a frog but Ares was going to dissect this animal in the name of science regardless and see what secrets he could uncover!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone